Queen of Love

“Excuse me, sir?”

Takatani waved his hand as if that were an inconsequential, off-handed statement. “I’ll be shaking up the structure of the company at the end of the year. You know how it is. Some people resign between now and then. Others have to be let go for their incompetence. I need leaders in this company. Proven agents who can make us some damn money. Hng! Are you a go-getter or not, Sugiya-san? Don’t you want Ishida’s position after I shift him elsewhere? It comes with a nice raise and a fancier title.”

“Of course, I want it, shachou.”

“Then sell a damn apartment to your girlfriend! Blow her mind so hard she’s telling all of her Singaporean who’s-its that Atsukatta is the place to come buy their Tokyo real estate. Forecasts say things are only going to get hotter here once the borders fully open back up. Tetsu wa atsui uchi ni ute! Strike while the iron’s hot!”

Apparently, he had to say that idiom in two languages to get the point across to Aya’s bilingual brain. I should teach Genny that one.

“Yes, shachou.” Aya stood up and bowed to her boss, both arms clasped to her side. “May I go back to work? I’ve got listings to comb through.”

Takatani shooed her away with a flutter of his hand. “Un. Sell her something expensive, would you? Oh, and Sugiya?”

His dropping of her title was duly noted. “Yes, sir?”

“Stay away from cameras! They’re everywhere!”

He said that loudly enough while the door was open that half of the office looked in their direction. That included Mr. Ishida, who pretended he hadn’t been listening when Aya sat down at her desk across from him.

“Everything all right?” he tacitly asked.

Aya grunted. “Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

“Ah, that means you’ll need some coffee. The secretary is out today. Rumor is she finally caught it.”

Aya unfortunately knew what he referred to. “Great. Can’t wait to take that test again.”

“It’s not so bad now. Besides, we get to order Kenji-kun around in her stead. Wanna tell him to get us some coffee? You can have the honors.”

Aya looked away from her monitor and met her supervisor’s mischievous gaze. “You shouldn’t have.” She searched for Kenji, and soon found him at the copying machine, diligently creating excess paper for everyone who worked at Atsukatta. “Oi! Kenji-kun!”

Nobody else paid attention as the youngest member of Team Atsukatta nearly dropped his fresh papers. “H… hai, Sugiya-san!”

“Get us some coffee! Er, please?”

“Hai!”

The way he hustled into the kitchen was hilarious enough to make Aya laugh as soon as he was gone. “It really is the small things, huh?”

“I mean, you could’ve been more polite, Sugiya-san.”

“You’re right. Once he comes over, I’ll invite him out to lunch later to make up for it. I’m in a good mood anyway.”

“Oh? Even after what shachou did to you in there?”

Aya shrugged. “Things are looking good in my life.”

A wry smile crossed Ishida’s wrinkled face. “Personal or professional?”

“Both, apparently.”

“Ah, it’s good.”

“You’re happy for me, huh?”

“And myself. Make no bones about it, Sugiya-san, I’m currently in the lead in the office pool for how long your relationship with Lady Liu lasts.”

Aya sat upright in her seat and shot a single dagger from her gaze. “Excuse me?” She tapped her finger to get her supervisor’s attention again. “Who do I see about this pool? Because I want in on it.”