Shuichi goes to work, and gets a few surprises

When Shuichi arrived at his office building the next morning, the light of the rising sun was still just barely beginning to send its vibrant rays over the horizon. He was still embarrassed about what had happened Friday night at the bar, so he came to work a few minutes early to try to avoid running into his coworkers. He would have called in sick that day, but he knew that he’d have to go back to work eventually, so he decided it would be best to just bite the bullet now and pray that no one noticed him for the rest of his career.

After spending a few minutes tiptoeing around office cubicles, he managed to arrive at his desk without incident. He let out a sigh of relief, put his things down, and was right about to begin his work for the day when he realized that something was different that morning; there was a steaming cup of coffee sitting beside his computer.

“Good morning, Mr. Saihara.” Kirumi’s respectful, but authoritative voice greeted from behind Shuichi. “How are you this morning?”

“Oh, uh, I’m just fine, thank you for asking.” Shuichi turned around towards the young CEO but couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye. “But I think someone might have accidentally left their coffee at my desk.”

“That was no accident, Mr. Saihara,” Kirumi replied, her gloved hands calmly intertwined with each other. “I made it for you. I thought some caffeine would help improve your work ethic for today, and I thought this would be a good way to show the company’s appreciation for all the work you’ve done here.”

“Oh… why thank you, Ms. Tojo.” Shuichi nervously lifted the cup up and took a sip. His eyes shot open as the perfect mixture of coffee, cream, and sugar washed over his tongue. “Wow! This is… the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had!”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Kirumi gave a respectful bow. “You know where to get more hot coffee if you need it, right?”

“Yeah, the break room, right?” Shuichi replied.

“Yes…” Kirumi’s eyes glanced to the side for just a moment. “… but I have more in my office if you need it too. Have a good rest of your day, Mr. Saihara.”

“Yeah, you too!” Shuichi waved weakly as his boss walked back towards her office. “She… wasn’t just flirting with me now, was she?” Shuichi shook his head and turned back towards his desk. “No, of course not! She said it herself at the café; she likes to keep her corporate life separate.”

Shuichi took another sip from his coffee and was about to start working when he noticed that there was something under his keyboard. Curious, he reached underneath it with his spare hand and pulled back a pair of Kirumi’s lacy purple panties.

“Hmmm!?” Shuichi was so shocked that he nearly shot his coffee back out his nose, and just barely managed to avoid falling right out of his seat.

“Huh? Shuichi, is that you?” Makoto’s said nearby, turning to the source of the commotion.

“Oh no…” Hearing his coworker’s footsteps drawing close, Shuichi panicked and hastily shoved Kirumi’s soft panties into one of his pockets.

“Ah, there you are! Good morning!” Makoto greeted as he walked into the cubicle. “I heard about what happened at the bar last Friday. The party didn’t really go well for you, did it?”

“Yeah, it didn’t.” Shuichi looked away in shame. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“What?” Makoto blinked at Shuichi in confusion. “Why are you the one apologizing?”

“Because I messed up of course…” Shuichi replied, sadness weighing on his face like lead. “I let everyone down, and I made a fool of myself. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t even consider me a man anymore.”

“Hey, come on, Shuichi! It’s alright!” Makoto insisted. “Even the best of us strike out every now and then, after all. I’m sure that no one here thinks any less of you for what happened.”

“I’m not sure if that’s true, but… thanks for saying that anyways, Mr. Naegi,” Shuichi said, finally looking up at Makoto.

“Anytime, Shuichi!” Makoto replied. “Have a good rest of your day, okay?”

“I’ll try my best, Mr. Naegi,” Shuichi said, his sullen voice already showing signs of more optimism. “By the way, that’s a very nice tie that you’re wearing today.”

“Huh? Oh, right, thanks!” Makoto rubbed the back of his head and held the tie up so Shuichi could get a better look at its fine brown silk. “My little sister actually got it for me out of the blue yesterday. I think she must have gotten a promotion at work or something if she could afford this.”

“Mghh!?” Shuichi gagged on his coffee right as Makoto finished speaking.

“Is something wrong, Shuichi?” Makoto raised a concerned eyebrow as Shuichi wiped the coffee from his chin.

“No, no, my drink’s just a little bit hot is all!” Shuichi hastily replied with a hand over his mouth. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? I have to get to work.”

“Okay then, I’ll see you around.” Makoto gave a quick wave before heading back to his own desk, leaving Shuichi alone in the cubicle.

“So much for not being noticed…” Shuichi let out a long sigh and slumped in his chair as his muscles relaxed. “At least I should be able to work in peace now. Hopefully the rest of my day will be at least a little normal. I don’t think my heart can take any more surprises…”

Shuichi got to work and, to his relief, he managed to make it through the rest of his day without incident. Sure, he was tempted to go see Kirumi to find out if she really had ‘coffee’ waiting in her office for him, but a mixture of fear and embarrassment kept him glued to his seat with her panties burning a hole in his pocket the whole time.

When the clock finally struck five, Shuichi found he couldn’t gather up his things fast enough. Once his briefcase was packed, he made a beeline straight for the exit without even caring to be stealthy anymore. He managed to make it all the way to the parking lot before he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey there, Shuichi! There you are!” Kaito greeted as he pat Shuichi. “It’s good to see you again!”

“O-oh… hey, Mr. Momota.” Shuichi replied, hiding his eyes underneath the brim of his cap. “Look, I’m… sorry about what happened at the party on Friday. That was entirely my fault, and I understand if… you don’t want to be seen with me at a party again.”

“What? You’re still sore about that? Come on, Shuichi, don’t sweat it!” Kaito smiled and pat Shuichi strongly on the back. “So you were rejected, it’s no big deal!”

“You’re… not angry at me?” Shuichi looked up with genuine surprise on his face.

“Of course not! You didn’t do anything wrong! You just had some bad luck is all! And, I, uh… I probably shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that…” There was a tint of remorse in Kaito’s voice, but his boisterous personality quickly covered it up. “Besides, we’re bros, bros always have each other’s back no matter what, right?”

“Mr. Momota…” Shuichi felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He was certain that if he saw Kaito today he would be the target of laughs, jeers, or disappointed looks, not… friendly support. None of his male friends had ever been this understanding before. “Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“No problem, Shuichi!” Kaito pat once again, accidentally causing the shorter boy to stumble; though this time, he didn’t seem to care. “Anyways, even if you couldn’t get the girl this time, you’re still a babe magnet deep down, I can tell! Your luck with ladies is going to change any day now!”

Kaito discretely glanced out into the parking lot and saw Pandora walking in. She gave Kaito a quick wink and hid behind a nearby van.

“Alright, little boy, let’s get this playdate started~” the escort whispered to herself as she set a timer to two hours and hid it inside her shirt.

“Yep, any day now!” Kaito finally let Shuichi go. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Shuichi. Have a good night!”

“Y-you too, Mr. Momota.” Shuichi smiled as he waved Kaito goodbye and resumed walking to his car, this time at a much calmer pace. He sat down in his seat and was right about to turn on the engine when he heard yet another voice speak up from behind him.

“Ooooh my gosh! Are my eyes deceiving me!?” Pandora said next to Shuichi’s passenger side door, her hands shaking in front of her face in giddy excitement. “Is this really an MTS 20XX Convertible!?”

“Uh… yeah, it is,” Shuichi replied in confusion. “You’re familiar with the model?”

“Of course I am! It’s only the sexiest, most fashionable, best-looking car in the whole world! They’re so rare, I didn’t think anyone in this city had one! And it’s in my favorite color too! This is so amazing, I can’t even believe it’s real!” The blonde girl carefully extended a finger and touched the spotless maroon paint job. “Oh my god! It’s real! It’s real, it’s real, it’s real!”

“Yeah, it is.” Shuichi blushed, not sure how to react to this strange woman. “I didn’t buy it myself, though. It was a gift from my parents.”

“So? You still choose to drive this hotrod, and that makes you cool too in my book!” She girl smiled and gave Shuichi a peace sign with her fingers. “Say, what’s your name?”

“You want to know my name?” Shuichi asked, to which the woman nodded eagerly. “It’s Shuichi Saihara.”

“Shuichi… what a super cute name!” The woman bounced on her heels, causing her breasts to visibly shake in her exposed bra. “My name is Pandora Higa! It’s nice to meet you!”

“L-likewise.” Shuichi did his best not to scrape himself on Pandora’s long pink fingernails as he shook her hand.

“Say, you don’t happen to be busy tonight, are you?” Pandora asked with a curious look in her eye.

“Actually, I don’t have anything planned until nine.” Shuichi swallowed, still not sure where this was going.

“Really? That’s awesome!” Pandora clapped her hands together. “I’m not doing anything right now either! What do you say we hang out with each other for a while?”

“Hang out… with me!?” Shuichi gasped and slammed his back into his car door like she had just drawn a gun on him. “B-but we just met, and I don’t even know what we’d do together!”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that. I’ve got you covered!” Pandora nimbly climbed into the driver’s side seat of the convertible. “I know all the best places in town to have fun, trust me!”

“O-okay then... I guess there’s no harm in hanging out for a little while.” Shuichi stuck his key into his ignition and silently hoped he wouldn’t sweat himself to **** by the time they got where they were going. “What did you have in mind?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not far from here.” Pandora placed one of her soft hands on Shuichi’s shoulder and pointed towards the road heading north. “Just follow my directions and we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“G-got it.” Shuichi turned on the engine and drove out of the lot, too busy paying attention to Pandora’s instructions and the road to notice the sleek black car leave the lot behind him.

“Is this… really happening?” Shuichi wondered to himself as he drove. “A beautiful woman came out of nowhere and wants to go on a date with me? I know Kaito said my luck would turn around, but this is so surreal that it’s like a dream… or a nightmare.” Shuichi glanced back towards Pandora and admired the way her smile sparkled and how her pigtails bounced like playful puppies whenever she turned her head. “Well… even if it is, I hope I don’t have to wake up anytime soon”.