Chiba Takuya had just closed the door of his office to isolate him and Mrs. Asanuma, when curiosity pushed him to look quickly through the glass walls.
He had to know what was going on. Because right now, he was completely lost.
"No but seriously. This guy has a girlfriend?" He said to himself aloud, while squinting his eyes.
Mrs. Asanuma, if she was surprised, didn't let it show. But Takuya was far too shocked to just keep quiet.
"That guy is a real icicle at work," he continued to say, dumbfounded; "he never smiles and hardly speaks. So... how???"
No, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Especially since there had been absolutely no indication that the young man was indeed in a relationship.
"Perhaps he's just shy, and prefers to keep for him alone his private life?" Mrs. Asanuma wondered as she placed a new sheaf of paper on her boss' desk.
Takuya just sniffed loudly, before finally sitting down in his chair. He glanced around a bit, trying to keep track of what was going on in a discreet way.
The young Nijima did not seem surprised or embarrassed. Nor even unsettled.
He was still the same unperturbed and inexpressive person that Takuya had taken into his team two years ago.
However, the woman who was facing him kept smiling while talking to him.
Ah, what he would give to hear what was being said there!
From where he was, he could only see a part of what was going on. And soon, the two youngsters disappeared into the elevator, leaving Takuya wanting more.
"Osagawa Sensei called a few minutes ago," Mrs. Asanuma added as she made herself two cups of instant coffee.
"Oh? What did he want?" Takuya asked curiously as he swiveled his chair towards his subordinate. "If it was about his manuscripts, everything is good and will go straight to the formatting."
"He called to thank you," She said as she placed one of the cups on the desk, and kept the other in hand. "He was very pleased with the 'young man' you sent, in his own words."
"Huh? Was he talking about Nijima-kun?" He grimaced as he picked up the cup on his desk. "What could that jerk have done to be liked by the prickly Osagawa sensei?"
Mrs. Asanuma merely smiled, before starting to drink her coffee.
No, really. What did Master Osagawa see in this guy?
If he said he was satisfied with him, it was like saying 'I look forward to working with you again'.
Did the two men have something in common? Or had they bonded?
He took a sip of his coffee, and began to read an interview proposal addressed to the author in question. It had been a while since there had been such an advertisement about Master Osagawa, so this was an opportunity not to be missed.
"Call me Nakatsuki, will you?" He asked Mrs. Asanuma, waving the proposal he had in his hand. "I need to plan this with him."
The woman took her cup with her, and walked out of the office to get the person mentioned.
Takuya, on the other hand, took a quick look at one of the frames set before him. He had framed one of his daughter's drawings, although he didn't really know what she had tried to draw there.
"Could it be a tiger?" He muttered to himself, after a few minutes spent contemplating the work of the little girl.
But again, he was not sure of anything. It was more a big doodle of colors than anything else.
Meanwhile, the commotion in the rest of the premises had subsided; at the same time, the two people at the heart of the rumors had slipped away.
Two people who were now outside, in the parking lot.
And as usual, I remained silent, waiting as I observed the private investigator's attitude.
"So, surprised to see me?" She asked, smiling.
I shook my head negatively.
"I thought you wouldn't accept my offer," I said, looking at her. "But here you are, appearing at my workplace, introducing yourself as my girlfriend...."
"Ah... About that..." She said, looking away momentarily and putting her right hand on her left arm. "I've been thinking for the past few hours... And... Sorry... For that..."
She quickly pointed to my black eye with her index finger, all the while looking a little downcast. She seemed to really regret what had happened.
"I can't really control my strength, so I suspect it must be painful..." she continued.
"The owner of the inn was kind enough to give me something to ease the pain," I explained, remaining perfectly still. "But it still hurts a lot. I'll go see a doctor, once the day is over."
"What? You haven't gone to one yet?" She exclaimed with surprise. "It looks serious though!"
"It's okay," I replied simply. "But it adds one more thing for me to blame on you."
"Yes... I know..." She winced. "That's why I'm coming back with, in turn, an offer of mine to you."
I nodded my head, a sign that I was listening carefully. Maybe that black eye wouldn't be all bad after all.
"You want to spend time with me to try to feel emotions, right?" She asked without really waiting for a confirmation from me. "You have an office job, so I guess your hours are always the same, with some exceptions."
I confirmed this to her with a nod.
Did that mean she was willing to have me around?
"But you have to understand that my work is very important to me, and that I can't accept you like this, without knowing what you're worth." She added.
"What should I do, then?" I asked, pleased to hear that she was considering the solution I preferred.
She quickly reached into one of her pockets and pulled out her cell phone. And after a few seconds of tapping on the screen, I felt a vibration in my suit pocket.
"I sent you an address. As soon as you're done working today, meet me there." She explained seriously. "Anyway, stop by and get your eye fixed already, huh."
"What exactly are we going to do?" I said to find out more.
She put her phone away, then smiling at me with confidence, said:
"I'm going to proceed with your field assessment!"