Shinsuke pressed the enter key on his computer several times, but it was of no use.
He could not open the excel document with this month's sales.
"Hey Saizo, did you edit the sales report again without closing it?" He growled at his colleague without even deigning to look at him.
"No?" Saizo simply replied, also absorbed in his work. "Wasn't it you who had edited it last?"
Shinsuke mentally kicked himself.
Of course it was indeed him who had edited it last, just earlier this week.
Maybe he had done something wrong, resulting in the excel sheet being locked?
He would have to ask the IT department for help.
Closing the folder where the problematic file was, he returned to his e-mail box, and began to check all the messages he had received between yesterday night and this morning. There were already a hundred of them, and he unconsciously clicked his tongue. Sorting through it all was going to be time-consuming, but he didn't really have a choice.
Quickly, he sent several e-mails to Saizo - who would himself forward some of them to a third person - and with surprise, found a message from the new intern.
Oh, does she have something to return? Already?
He opened the attached document, and sure enough, a huge spreadsheet popped up on his screen.
Why had she made things so difficult for herself?
Quickly, he inspected some elements in the cells. Then he opened a document on his own computer, displaying another spreadsheet.
In truth, he had already finished compiling said document several days ago, and didn't need anyone to work on it at all.
But when he saw the opportunity, he couldn't help but give her this ugly and tiresome task; with a shortened deadline, at that. After all, even if she didn't finish, or made mistakes, he would still have perfect data to send to the accounting department.
Quickly scanning the two documents, he saw that the calculations were all correct, although the overall presentation could be improved.
Damn. She was pretty good at this kind of work.
But it was still too early to have regrets.
He sent the email back to the young woman, before straightening up in his seat.
"Shinohara!" he shouted as he peeked over the plastic partition; waking up a part of the floor that was still dozing and only stayed awake this early in the morning with the equivalent of a caffeine IV.
Immediately, the young woman stood up, looking directly at him, without the slightest hesitation.
"Edit me quickly your document! It's stuffed with spelling mistakes!" He reprimanded her. "And we have a pre-formatted spreadsheet available, so learn to use what's at your disposal, instead of giving your superiors a headache!"
"O... Okay, Chief!" She said before sitting back down with haste.
'If she thinks she's off the hook, she's got her finger in the eye,' he thought.
He was about to search his inbox again, when a voice he knew too well whispered with an amused tone.
"Bored already?" Saizo smiled.
Shinsuke frowned.
"Bored of what?" He growled, staring at his screen in front of him.
"Of tormenting our little Shinohara," his colleague insisted maliciously.
"I'm not tormenting her," he replied hastily. "I'm just returning the favor."
"The favor?" Saizo repeated, intrigued. "Did something happen between the two of you?"
This time, Shinsuke had enough, and turned sharply to the side to look at Saizo.
"What the hell are you going to imagine ?!" he grumbled.
"Well, I have to imagine things, since you don't tell me anything!" Defended the other man, with a big smile.
Shinsuke huffed loudly, before turning back to his screen.
It was a very strange story.
He was convinced that the young intern and the crazy woman from the other night were the same person. At least, their faces looked alike. But after all, he had drunk well that night.
And until now, she hadn't let anything slip out, and had never directly answered his questions.
Could it be that he'd been mistaken about her, after all?
He nervously clicked his mouse several times in a row, frustrated at being stuck in a dead end with this situation.
And if he'd really been wrong and got the wrong person, he'd rather die of shame alone, if possible without hearing Saizo snicker at the situation like a kid who'd put a farting cushion on the teacher's seat.
But before that, he had to be sure.
He decided he would confront her directly on the subject, even if it meant putting his pride aside.
He could be insufferable and severe towards people who screwed him over or didn't do their job. But he wasn't stubborn and foolish either so as to set aside his own mistakes.
He leaned back, and while stretching to crack his vertebrae, addressed Saizo.
"Say, isn't the team dinner Friday night?"
The question coming out of nowhere surprised his friend, who frowned, then readjusted his glasses on his nose before turning to look at him properly.
"You plan to come?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"What, I can't, is that it?" Shinsuke got angry.
Saizo smiled a little, before leaning on his desk, still without letting him out of his sight.
"You know you usually don't come in unless forced to by the management..."
"We haven't had management for at least a month," Shinsuke retorted dryly. "And besides, they're never around long enough to know us."
They then heard footsteps stop behind them, and saw with surprise Ito Ren leaning between them, as if he'd been part of the conversation from the very start.
"Speaking of which, I heard through the grapevine that we're getting a new Department Head soon," the serious man said.
"Oh, HR delivered some juicy info again, I see..." Said Saizo, grinning.
Shinsuke just huffed, before leaning back to his desk to resume his work.
"Don't mind him, he's rethinking his life choices," Saizo said, nodding at his superior and friend. "But tell me, Ito-san, do you have any other neat info to share? Like for example, about Shinohara-san?"
The name made Shinsuke react, and he froze momentarily in front of his computer, before starting to type louder on his keyboard.
This behaviornof him was obviously noticed by a smiling Saizo, although the latter refrained from making any comment.
"Shinohara-san is quite cheerful," Ren began to reveal. "But even though I originally thought she came to the company on a whim, it seems she's a serious person and diligent in her work."
With these last words, Ren had given a discreet glance to Chief Kobayashi.
"I see... So she's not a problematic element?" Saizo asked.
Before he could even get an answer - he didn't needed one, really - the bespectacled man leaned towards Shinsuke, and announced with an apathetic smile:
"I understand better now... That's why you suddenly seem troubled."
Chief Kobayashi didn't say anything back, although it was clear that he'd heard Saizo's remark.
However, the latter was called to attention by Ren.
"On the other hand, I heard that Kubo-san was in the hot seat." He said with a detached look.
"Oh, is HR finally fed up with him?" Saizo asked, intrigued.
"No idea," Ren replied, shaking his head. "But apparently they've got a file out on him, and it's not pretty."
"Well! So much for a surprise!" Saizo exclaimed in a low voice.
Ren excused himself and resumed his journey from the break room to his own desk, leaving the two managers behind.
"Did you hear that? It seems that Kubo-san is finished..." Said Saizo while turning on his seat.
"He reaped what he sowed," said Shinsuke at last.
"Still... I wonder if it has anything to do with that rumor..." Saizo wondered, with a thoughtful look.
Without saying anything more, he resumed his work, which annoyed Shinsuke.
He couldn't just say that, and then say nothing about what he was going to reveal!
Shinsuke then stopped typing on his keyboard, and turned to Saizo.
"What rumor?" he asked, frowning.
Saizo then imitated him, abandoning his keyboard to turn to him; creating a small chatting area between the two men.
"Right, you usually don't pay attention to what Ito-san can say, when he passes by here..." Said Saizo thoughtfully, iddly scratching his chin.
"And?" Shinsuke became impatient.
"There are rumors that several interns quit before the end of their apprenticeship year because of him."