Very pleasant... for the most part.

“Thank you, Ms. Nakano.” Shuichi waved and walked into his boss’s office, where he found Kirumi pouring fresh tea into fine white china cups alongside two finely prepared plates of salmon Wellington.

“Greetings, Master Saihara,” she greeted as the door shut behind him. “It is good to see that you could make it. I trust that your night out yesterday went well.”

“Yeah… Kaito’s gift was a little unexpected, but I still had a good time overall,” Shuichi answered, sitting down at the coffee table. “It was a bit exhausting, though… not to mention, I had some other friends who wanted to hang out afterward, so I’m kind of amazed that I didn’t sleep through all of today.”

“Well, that is what we have caffeine for, is it not?” Kirumi sat down as well and took a sip from her teacup. “Please, tell me more about what happened. Mr. Momota refused to tell me his full plans, so I am curious as to what transpired.”

“Well, it’s a little embarrassing to talk about, but… he took all of us to a stripclub downtown,” Shuichi explained as they both began to eat. “The really big and famous one; you know, the Titty Typhoon.”

“Ah, yes; I have heard of that place. I even know a few maids who have spent some time working there. From what I gather, they only have the dancers of the highest quality.” Kirumi replied. “You must have had quite the experience. How close did you get to see them?”

“Kaito managed to book us all front-row seats, so we were still pretty close, but a few got even… closer than that.” Shuichi felt his pants get a little tighter as he remembered his encounters with Sunshine, Lisa, and the others. “And then after a few dances, a few girls took me to a VIP room and… I might have lost control of myself a little bit.”

“You mean… you showed those women the joys of your body as well? That must have been lovely,” Kirumi said casually. “How many were there?”

“T-three of them… at once…” Shuichi tried to hide his words behind his food, but Kirumi’s sharp ear caught it all. “And we went at it pretty rough too… I can still kind of feel their bodies on mine.”

“Excellent… I’m proud of you for taking charge of them like that.” Rather than looking down on Shuichi like he was afraid she might do, Kirumi had one of the most serene and genuine smiles he’d seen on her in a while. “You should let your inhibitions go like that more often. It suits you.”

“It suits me?” Shuichi let out a surprised laugh. “I don’t think so… you’re making me sound like some kind of playboy.”

“No; a playboy is someone who has pleasure without care,” she countered. “But you, I feel, are much more than that.”

“Really? Is that why you gave me those… extra gifts yesterday?” Shuichi asked.

“You… sound as if you’re upset.” Kirumi put down her teacup out of concern. “Is there something wrong?”

“Of course there is,” Shuichi replied, biting back the urge to keep quiet. “You just gave me such a massive amount of money out of nowhere… how am I supposed to react to that like it’s just a giftcard or something?”

“If you are concerned about the check I gave you, I promise you that there is no risk of it causing a scandal; the money was from my own, not the company’s, and I made sure to take the right steps so that it could not be traced back,” Kirumi assured him. “It was not as if I needed the money anyways, so feel free to use it however you wish.”

“I know; you’re not someone who’d make a simple mistake like that,” Shuichi replied, flashing a brief but bitter smile. “But at the same time, it somehow makes me feel… dirty accepting it. I don’t want you to think that the only reason I spend time with you is for money and favors. It makes me feel like…”

“Like a whore?” Kirumi finished for him.

“Ah!” Shuichi nearly jumped out of his seat. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to say something so… insensitive.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kirumi said, putting up a hand. “It’s my fault for not thoroughly considering your feelings in the first place. I can take the money back if it means so much for you.”

“Well… getting that money was embarrassing, but… I was kind of low on money…” Shuichi blushingly admitted. “But next time, just get me a new briefcase or something, okay?”

“Very well then.” Kirumi bowed and returned to her meal. “Though, I’ve noticed that you still haven’t mentioned the other gift I had given you.”

“O-oh, right… that.” Shuichi blushed as he remembered the cat-ear headband. “Do you… really want to try doing something like that?”

“Only if you wish to as well, but I can assure you…” Kirumi placed her hands on her head to look like cat ears. “I make an excellent pet.”

“I-I’ll keep that in mind,” Shuichi stammered, the image of Kirumi wearing the cat ears and being adorable flashed through his mind and made his heart skip a beat. “But let’s just keep eating for now.”

“Very well,” Kirumi said before taking another bite. After that, the two of them kept idly chatting for the rest of their lunch hour, discussing local news, events, and their friends and family. Eventually, though, their meals were both finished and it was time for them both to return to work.

“Thank you for the meal, Ms. Tojo; it was delicious,” Shuichi said as he picked up his bag.

“It was no trouble, Master Saihara.” Kirumi bowed graciously. “To me, your praise is more than enough reward for doing this.”

“Right, of course.” Shuichi laughed and moved to open the door back out to the hallway. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then, okay? Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll get the chance to use those caaaaa… A-Annie!?”

To the office worker’s shock, standing on the other side of Kirumi’s door was none other than the VP of the company, Annie Scholten, wearing her signature sunglasses, and was tapping her foot impatiently as she stared holes through Shuichi’s chest.

“S-sorry!” Azura whispered behind the blonde. “I tried to say you were at lunch, but she was rather… insistent.”

“G-greeting’s, madam. It is good to see you again.” Shuichi got out of Annie’s way as fast as he could and bowed so deeply that, if he still had his hat, it would have gone flying. “What brings you here?”

“I am here to discuss business with our CEO, isn’t that obvious?” she replied, her words as sharp as knives. “You, on the other hand, don’t have much reason for being in here, do you?”

“We were just having lunch together, Ms. Scholten; nothing more,” Kirumi replied, her confidence unshaken. “There are no anti-fraternization policies at this company, you know.”

“Maybe, but it is still so unsightly,” Annie said, hands on her hips as she walked in. “And why you’re insisting on eating with him of all people…I still can’t understand what you see in him. He looks a bit more like a doormat than a man to me.”

“A doormat?” Shuichi felt a pang of deep shame as he usually did after insults like that but, to his surprise, that emotion wasn’t alone this time. He felt an ugly feeling crawling out of him, slowly burning the shame out of him into something else.

“If your business is only with me, then may I suggest that we excuse Mr. Saihara from the room then,” Kirumi suggested. “After all, I am sure he has work that he still needs to complete.”

“No; have him stay,” Annie replied. “I may have come here to talk to you, but what we’ll be discussing will concern him as well.”

“Eh!?” Shuichi gasped. “W-what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors already, but there’s a chance C.O. Inc. is going to undergo some serious reorganization as a company soon. A big one,” Annie explained. “Of course, in those situations extraneous parts of the company will have to be trimmed, and… well, the board has been considering outsourcing most of the auditing for a while now. Which means…”

Annie stepped closer to Shuichi, staring deeply into his eyes and making him feel absolutely tiny.

“Come next month, you’ll probably be unemployed.”

Shuichi felt a whirlwind of emotions rush through him at the revelation. He always knew his position was untenable, but to have it said so flatly to him was a shock. He felt filled with fear of what he could lose if he was unemployed, the potential humiliation of having to ask friends or family for help, wondering why he even bothered dedicating himself so much to the company if they were just going to toss him aside like that.

But underneath all the despair, there was something else too… an anger. Not just at the company and this situation, but also at Annie too. He knew that the only reason she was speaking to him like this was because she knew her job was secure. Because she thought that she was better than him; because she wanted to see him squirm.

He knew that things would be different if he had the chance to be alone with her, though. Shuichi was sick and tired of arrogant women humiliating him. With just a few minutes together, he could get her on her hands and knees, making her cry out his name underneath him, begging for more as sweat dripped down her breasts and she thanked him every time he slapped her on the-

“W-what am I thinking right now!?” Shuichi gasped inside his own head, suddenly sick to his stomach. “I can’t think about doing something like that to her, no matter what she says to me!”

“Well?” Annie was tapping her foot again. “Do you have anything to say about that?”

Shuichi took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“I think… if that’s what’s best for the company, then I will accept that decision,” Shuichi finally said. “I’m not under any delusions that I’m irreplaceable, after all, and if it helps my colleagues reach even greater heights then I would gladly be let go.”

“Huh…” Annie seemed taken aback by Shuichi’s answer. “I wasn’t expecting that answer. Are you sure you don’t want to panic, or beg for your job?”

“I hardly see how either would help my situation,” Shuichi replied. “After all, it’s not like the reorganization has even been finalized, right?”

“It has not,” Kirumi answered. “And if I have anything to say about it, it won’t be happening at all. I’ve opposed the idea for a long time, and both you and the board of directors are aware of this, Ms. Scholten.”

“Tch. You say that now, but you can’t keep avoiding this forever Ms.Tojo.” Annie replied, annoyed at her diplomatic answer. “You know what an opportunity this would be for the company.”

“I believe now we are starting to discuss things that would definitely get us in trouble if our… business partners found out,” Kirumi pointed out. “I have been polite so far, but I must insist that Mr. Saihara leave now.”

“Very well then… you may be on your way,” Annie told Shuichi. “I have to say, though… you’re not quite as spineless as I first thought you were. I respect that you’re not willing to grovel, but you’re not off the chopping block just yet. If you continue to impress me like that, then you just might not get liquidated after all. Understand?”

“Yes ma’am; I promise I won’t disappoint you.” Shuihci bowed one last time and left the room, leaving the two executives by themselves.

“So… is there really nothing I can do to convince you that merging with the Togami Conglomerate is a good idea?” Annie asked when she was certain they were alone, taking off her sunglasses.

“Of course not; we are perfectly fine on our own right now,” Kirumi replied. “Joining with them would offer us minimal benefit for the cost of large disruptions to our daily operations. I see no adequate reason to endorse such a venture.”

“You saw the revenue projections I showed you, didn’t you?” Annie asked. “We could increase our profits upwards of 300% if we complete this merger - and I don’t need to tell you how much that would increase the value of the company for the board and our shareholders.”

“But those profits would only increase because we’d help Togami create a near monopoly on the market,” Kirumi pointed out. “And regulators would cause us all, including the shareholders, quite a lot of pain when they caught wind of that.”

“Please - you know that no one investigates Togami,” Annie countered.

Kirumi glared at the blonde woman from behind her bangs. “My decision stands.”

“Alright… I’ll accept your decision then.” Annie turned to leave. “But you know that it doesn’t come down to you; it’s the board’s decision. And I will find a way to convince them, with or without your help.”

“And I wish you luck in that endeavor.” Kirumi picked up her teapot and politely poured the VP a cup of tea. “Care for a drink?”

Annie just rolled her eyes and left the room for the hallway, where she took out her cell phone.

“Hello, Ms. Togami? I’m afraid Ms. Tojo is still adamant about refusing the merger. I’d say that you should offer better terms, but at this point it may be better for you to try expanding your business somewhere else instead.”

“She’s that adamant about refusing me, is she? Strange... I’ve never been denied like this before,” a voice said on the other end. “This doesn’t end the chase, however. It just means it’s about to get… a lot more interesting.”