Suprisingly well

Admitting to himself that he couldn’t go a day without having sex with a woman was both a liberating and confusing feeling to Shuichi. On the one hand, he no longer had to lie to himself about it or feel the guilt or cognitive dissonance that came with that denial. But, on the other hand, it felt strange to get up the next day and go to work as if nothing had happened. As if everything was normal.

“I… honestly expected things to be different somehow,” Shuichi thought to himself as he sat working in his cubicle. “I’m not sure how, but… can someone really continue to be a normal office worker after what I’ve done? After what I plan on doing every night? After how I’ve changed?”

And yet, his day continued at a normal pace. He still read reports, drank at the water cooler, and was ignored by most of his coworkers like usual. The only difference was the fact that he now had something to look forward to when he left, and that somehow made work a bit more tolerable.

“Hey there, Shuichi!” Another thing that clearly didn’t change was that he still jumped when Kaito slapped a hand onto his back, despite the man’s greeting right beforehand. “How’s it going, man? You holding up well?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Shuichi replied with a nervous laugh. “It’s been an… interesting last few days though, to say the least.”

“Interesting? Pfft, for once I’m jealous of you! It’s been work, work, work for me ever since Tuesday,” Kaito replied. “But my big project should finally get finished tomorrow, and me and the boys were planning on going to a bar after to celebrate. Do you wanna come with?”

“Well, I’m, uh… not sure…” Shuichi lied. He really did not want to go anywhere near a place that served ****, but at the same time he didn’t want to hurt Kaito’s feelings, especially since he was the closest thing he had to a friend.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be lots of fun, and a great way to start the weekend!” Kaito insisted with his hand still on Shuichi’s shoulder. “Besides, maybe you’ll get lucky and meet a woman who’s into black baseball caps. Something tells me a guy like you could really use a chance to get laid. Hell, if we’re lucky, we might even be able to find you a girlfriend while we’re out!”

“G-girlfriend!?” Shuichi gasped in surprise. His head seemed to spin at the idea, and he began to feel a bit dizzy. It was as if his mind was assaulted with a thousand different questions at once. Did he want a girlfriend? Would he really find one at a random bar? Would he even be able to get a girlfriend if has to pay for sex every night? “Uh, that’s very… um, I think-“

“That’s the spirit, Shuichi!” Kaito just laughed and pat Shuichi again on the shoulder, taking his stammering as approval. “We’ll be at the ‘Bon Voyage’ at 7 PM, but don’t worry about being late. After all, we’re doing this to escape deadlines, not enforce ‘em!”

“R-right, Mr. Momota,” Shuichi sighed, giving in. “I’ll see you at the-“

“Ahem!” A stern cough suddenly sounded from behind, causing both Shuichi and Kaito to freeze in place. Turning around slowly, they both saw the only person in the entire company who could make someone as brave and boisterous as Kaito Momoto quake in his boots staring back at them with cold, green eyes.

Her name was Kirumi Tojo, and she was their boss. Not just their boss either, but everyone’s boss; she was CEO of the whole company, so every employee in the office building answered directly to her. She had short, dirty-blonde hair and was wearing her signature vantablack tie, white undershirt, black silk best, black silk gloves, black dress pants, and black flats. All of her dark clothes contrasted strongly against her pale skin, making it seem even smoother and more perfect than it really was.

While most CEOs would spend much of their time golfing, going on trips, or being sequestered in their offices, Kirumi Tojo was different. She took her duty to her shareholders very seriously and would personally inspect her employees to make sure everything was running smoothly. And today seemed to be an inspection day.

“And what exactly are you two doing?” Kirumi asked, her hands interlocked with each other as she patiently waited for a response.

“Oh, uh, hey there, Kiru- I mean, Ms. Tojo,” Kaito said hastily as he turned to face her. “Me Shuichi here were just discussing, uh… stocks in the, uh… boat markets! Yeah, that’s it!”

“Really now? Because it sounded to me like you two were avoiding work,” she replied, being blunt as usual.

“What, us? Nooo!” Kaito waved his hand in an exaggerated and dismissive way. “Shuichi and I would never even dream of wasting the company’s precious time.”

“Augh…” Kirumi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, I don’t mind if you chat a little bit during work, but please try not to let it interrupt your workflow. And when it comes to discussing… vulgar topics, leave them outside the office entirely. Am I understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” both boys answered in unison.

“Very well then.” Kirumi gave Shuichi and Kaito a respectful bow. “Have a good day then, gentlemen.”

“Phew…” Kaito sighed as soon as the woman was out of earshot. “Man, what’s her problem? I mean, I know its kind of her job to have a stick up her ass every day but come on! Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for her to get laid too.”

“I-if you say so,” Shuichi stammered. “A-anyways, I really should get back to work now.”

“Right, right…” Kaito finally let go of Shuichi’s shoulder and headed back to his cubicle. “Talk to you later, Shuichi."

The rest of Shuichi’s workday continued without incident, and he ended up packing up his bag and heading to his car at his usual time. Instead of heading straight home, however, this time he went directly to the city’s red light district.“Alright, this is going to be my first time actively searching for a girl to hire for myself,” Shuichi thought to himself as he turned onto the lewd street. “This shouldn’t be that hard. I did hire Kae, after all. All I need to do is pull up next to a girl and ask for her price. I p-probably won’t accidentally solicit a woman who’s not an escort… and even if I did, I’m sure they’d forgive an honest mistake. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”