“The upcoming completion of the Scramble Walk is the biggest piece of good news we’ve had so far this quarter,” said a smiling Chief Sugawara.
The others gathered in the conference room smiled with him. Some even attempted applause.
“We have avoided making overly optimistic predictions until we entered the final stage of the project, but I am pleased to report that the large-scale construction of sidewalks crossing all major roads and railway lines around the station is now well on its way to completion. As a result of this, the foot-traffic capacity is expected to rise sharply, and the projected economic effect is estimated to be comparable to that of building another Tokyo Station at this point.”
This time, genuine applause broke out.
“Additionally, turning our attention to pedestrian-walkway construction along the tracks connected to the Scramble Walk, we have simultaneously launched eleven projects that address more recent challenges, such as installing greenery and improving river water quality. Each project will be audited every two weeks, ensuring everything is carefully checked over at every point in the process. Are there any questions?”
With such good news, there were no questions from either Finance Planning or Corporate Planning.
“Now,” Sugawara said, “I would like to answer a question from the IR department.”
Takenaka let out a small gasp. No one but Mitsuhiro had expected this. The team members looked at each other, trying to figure out who had asked the question.
Seeing this, Sugawara frowned a bit.
“The police and fire department conducted an investigation into a small fire that broke out in the East Wing basement and determined that it was caused by human activity. This resulted in a temporary closure of the site, which had a slight impact on the construction schedule, but we expect to be able to make up for the delay at this point.”
Takenaka slowly turned his gaze to Mitsuhiro. His expression was nothing short of ferocious. Everyone else on the team glanced at Mitsuhiro, then averted their eyes.
Mitsuhiro didn’t meet his boss’s gaze. Instead he looked toward his father, who was standing next to Sugawara with a smile. He was gently nodding in a gesture of silent praise.
Sugawara noticed Mitsuhiro’s gaze and glanced to the side, then turned back and took his glasses out of his breast pocket. Everyone, including Mitsuhiro, thought he was going to put them on, but instead he held the glasses in one hand and continued speaking.
“At this time, the person who started the fire has not been identified. As a result, we are increasing security patrols and monitoring for any suspicious people entering or leaving the premises, as well as for any inappropriate behavior by workers. No similar fires have been spotted since then. The damage is extremely minor, and it will cause no significant change to the construction schedule, so I think it is worth considering whether this should be disclosed to shareholders or not. That’s all from me.”
Sugawara sat down, his report finished. His hands were still clasped around his glasses; instead of putting them on, he seemed to be pressing them against his chest. Mitsuhiro didn’t wonder at all why Sugawara was doing this, though. He looked around for his father, only to find he had disappeared from the conference room.
Takenaka stood up quickly. “Regarding the report just now from Chief Sugawara, we believe that this should be treated as a minor accident. Chief, thank you very much for taking the time to report this to us.”
With that, Takenaka bowed and immediately sat down again. He didn’t look at Mitsuhiro again for the rest of the meeting. Neither did any of his teammates.
Later, when Mitsuhiro was at his desk and about to leave work with his bag, Takenaka shot him a hard glance as he walked up to him.
“Matsunaga…”
He motioned with his eyes for him to enter that partitioned meeting booth. Mitsuhiro obeyed, feeling the rest of the team watching him. Takenaka sat down at the table, Mitsuhiro across from him.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You reported it to the Chief.”
“Um, yes. It was,” he replied, sounding perfectly natural about it.
Takenaka seemed more taken aback than angry. “Don’t you understand what you’ve done by reporting it to the Chief himself? I made you part of this team because I trusted you, and now you’re going off on your own. Don’t you feel sorry at all?”
Mitsuhiro certainly didn’t. But he knew that any further defiance right now would cost him his company car. After all, Takenaka was his boss…even if Mitsuhiro was much more important in terms of the work they were doing.
“I’m sorry. I thought the East Wing was the key to this whole project. I went too far.”
“It is the key, yes, but… Are you okay? Do you understand what I’m coming from here?”
“Yes. From now on, Mr. Takenaka, I will follow your instructions. My father told me that this was an important job, so I may have gotten carried away.”
“Your father again?”
“Eh? Oh… I’m sorry. I thought that’s what I was told.”
“Maybe you should take a break.” Takenaka was studying Mitsuhiro’s bruised face.
“I’m fine, sir. I’ll find Yoshikazu Hara right away so we can wrap up this case.”
“What about the interview report?”
“Oh, yes. Can I ask for some help with the transcription?”
“…Look, assigning these tasks to other people is the way information starts leaking out. I taught you that we complete all our work within the team alone. That’s the iron rule here.”
Takenaka’s tone suddenly grew cold. It felt like he was reevaluating Mitsuhiro in his mind—was he just having a bad day, or was he always this error-prone? It was an unbearably unpleasant experience. Mitsuhiro could sense the mutual respect that had existed between him and Takenaka vanish, like turning off the light.
“I’m sorry. I’ve already made an appointment to meet with Tamai Construction…”
“You were going to go without even giving me your interview report?”
“No, there was a sudden request last night. I didn’t have the time to tell you until now…”
“All right. Fine, then. Finish your report by the end of the day. I’ll contact the Chief, so go apologize to him. You don’t need to attend the meeting with the PR team.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you’ve got company car access until the end of this week. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Mitsuhiro softly replied. He wasn’t all that discouraged, but the anger was making his voice a bit raspy.
Takenaka frowned, but he left without further comment.
Intensely frustrated by all this, Mitsuhiro clutched his bag tightly to his side as he left the HQ building and walked through the scorching sun, uphill toward the company parking lot. When he opened the driver-side door, the smell made him flinch. The sauna inside had only served to intensify Yoshikazu Hara’s body odor. The sweat and grime stung his eyes. He had completely forgotten to buy the deodorizing tools he meant to.
Covering his mouth with one hand, he sat in the driver’s seat and placed his bag on his lap. Starting the engine with the door open, he turned the air conditioner on full blast.
What an incredible asshole your boss is, said his father in the back seat. I’d love to see that prick covered in ashes someday. Then he’d understand how important your work is.
“Can you do that?” Mitsuhiro asked aloud, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
If you want me to, I can. His father grinned. The ash is kind of like your footprints. Just watch, all right? Keep your nose to the grindstone, and just you wait and see what happens to him.
“Okay, I will.”
This unexpected jolt of encouragement gladdened Mitsuhiro as he closed the door, fastened his seat belt, and drove off.
First, he parked near a row of big-box stores and bought three bottles of deodorizing spray and two boxes of large alcohol disinfectant wipes. Returning to his parking space, he quickly gave the car’s interior a touch-up. It did the trick well enough that he could finally close the windows again.
Feeling the cool air flood the interior, he took his phone out of his pocket. He checked his call log, noticing that his mother had called him yet again, but he had other things to do at the moment. He selected Araki’s number from his call history.
“Tamai Construction, Araki speaking.”
“Hello, this is Matsunaga from Shimaoka. I’m calling about the amulet we discussed.”
“All right. Everything’s ready with that. Would you like to receive it today?”
“If I could, yes.”
“I’m planning to visit the East Wing at one PM. Would you like me to visit your office afterward?”
“No, I’ll be out all day today. How about we meet at the East Wing’s construction-zone parking at twelve thirty?”
“That works well for me, actually.”
“Good. Let’s go with that. Also, I’m sorry to ask, but I have one more request…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I was wondering if it was possible to talk you down on the price a little…?”
He could hear Araki sigh over the phone. It was the sound of someone wondering why he had to put up with these unreasonable people all the time.
“I’m afraid that we cannot lower the harvest offering for Tamai’s amulets. There is no deadline for this purchase, however, so I can provide it whenever you are ready with the fee.”
“Okay. Sorry to bring that up. I have the money for you.”
“Well, I hope you don’t put yourself into dire straits over this, please.”
“It’s all right, thank you. I’ll see you at twelve thirty.”
As soon as he hung up, he let out a sigh. “Harvest offering,” he calls it. More like extortion. But—as Mitsuhiro tried to tell himself—he had no choice. Drastic times call for drastic measures. As long as he had the amulet, everything would be fine. With that reassurance in mind, he called the office at the construction site.
The staffer there confirmed that Takenaka had made an appointment with Chief Sugawara for him. He told him he’d be right there, hung up, and as he took the wheel, he suddenly wondered what happened to the man collapsed at the bottom of the hole. The Twitter guy. The owner of the other phone.
That’s not your problem, said his father behind him. Mr. Araki didn’t say anything about him, did he? Just focus on your job.
“Yeah. All right, Dad.”
Mitsuhiro nodded to his father in the rearview mirror and put the car into gear.