Suzui eventually found Jin sitting on a park bench a short distance away.
“Jin?” he called.
“Oh.” The man looked up. “I’m sorry, Suzui. I’m not very fond of dogs.”
“I’m surprised.” Suzui chuckled and sat down next to him.
Jin sighed. “I’m sorry for embarrassing us. You were really great, though. The section chief from the other company was really amazed by your presentation. They didn’t agree to stock our products, but still, I wish everyone at the company could learn sales pitches from you.”
“Huh? Really?” This came as a surprise.
Suzui hadn’t gotten any positive feedback during the meeting. The potential client’s section chief had looked bored by the presentation. Jin didn’t seem at all surprised when the man promptly handed back the details and said, “I don’t think we’ll be taking this one.” Suzui convinced him to keep the sheet, but it could hardly be called a success.
“‘Huh? Really,’” Jin parroted, surprised in return. “When you left momentarily with your contact, the clerk said to me, ‘With a presentation that clear, you get all the information you need without looking at the sheet. We can’t accept an offer now, but I’m sure that when the time comes, we’ll be in touch.’”
“Oh, is that why…”
Is that why they didn’t need the materials? Suzui had to think on it.
“It helps that you have a very nice voice. I’m sure it makes your presentations clear and memorable,” Jin added.
“No way…”
If anything, Jin was the one with the pleasing voice. He cut a fine figure, and he had an actor’s gravitas. It was nice to receive compliments from him. However, Suzui wasn’t used to this sort of praise, and he could only mumble back, “Thank you.”
Jin had met lots of people in his life. The old woman called him by a different name. It was probably just a case of mistaken identity, but it did raise a question: What did Jin do before joining the company?
He’s probably led a much richer life than I have and been through a lot, Suzui thought. “I appreciate you saying that…but I already know the truth. I know why they didn’t buy that item from us.”
Jin watched the younger man carefully and quietly. Suzui pictured the info sheet in his briefcase and admitted the truth.
“I was involved in developing the product we presented today. I worked on it back when I was in the planning department. A spring roll that would stay crispy even at room temperature, specifically for boxed lunches—it was the first item I ever got approved. I would’ve liked to see it go from planning to development to retail, but…”
A sudden personnel shake-up had sent Suzui to sales instead, cutting off that career path. The product he helped devise was like his baby, the very first thing Suzui ever worked on. He’d hoped that whoever replaced him had seen the project through as he envisioned.
Unfortunately, when he had a chance to taste-test the finished spring roll, Suzui was disappointed. He couldn’t tell what made it different from the ones that had come before. When he learned that his suggested manufacturing method wasn’t being used, he lost almost all personal attachment, even as a salesman tasked with selling the product.
“It just didn’t taste good to me. And when I hear other people claim, ‘It’s better than before,’ I have to assume they’re basing that off of nothing but the new packaging. It hurts. I can’t in good conscience pitch the qualities of something I don’t truly believe is good.”
“Suzui,” said Jin. Suzui looked up and met Jin’s clear gaze. “You poor thing.” His voice penetrated deep into Suzui’s mind, sonorous and crisp. “You really cared about this item, didn’t you? When you say it tastes bad, it tells me that the ordeal must have really hurt you.”
Oh, Suzui thought. Jin stared him right in the eyes.
“You thought really, really hard about this product. I’m sure that came across to our clients during the sales pitch.”
“You…think so?”
“Yes. I do,” Jin replied.
Something warm spread through Suzui’s chest. It felt like a part of his true thoughts, a piece even he’d never noticed, was being recognized and affirmed.
Jin stood from the bench. “We should get moving. The section chief will scold us again if we’re not back at the office on time.”
“Good idea,” Suzui said, grimacing.
A little time had passed since Suzui went from calling her “Mutsumi” to “Section Chief.” Initially, she’d said that people could use whatever name they were used to, but everyone was so pleased with her promotion that they intentionally called her “Chief” to help make it official. Suzui wasn’t accustomed to it yet. He was still adapting to the new chief’s regulations as well, particularly the observance of work hours.
Mutsumi had a child and a family, and she always left on time. If you wanted to tell her something, you had to do it during regular work hours. She even begged employees to cut down on overtime and business meals with client companies. None of it was mandatory, she simply expressed a vague displeasure about it all, which Suzui found irksome.
At some point, he began to think, It’s easy for you, since you always go home right on time. Most work time in a sales position was spent out of the office. Mutsumi had been in this division long enough to know that clerical tasks could only be finished once you returned from meetings. However, she felt bad for leaving early despite being the boss, so she forced her schedule on everyone else.
She used her child as an excuse to escape, but as a leader, her job was to stick around after hours while others completed their responsibilities.
“Um, Jin,” Suzui called hesitantly. He’d been wondering if he ought to say anything for the last few days. Now that they were safe outside the office, it seemed as good a time as any. “Is it just me, or has the chief been kind of hard on you recently?”
“Jin? Excuse me, Jin? What do you think of this? This should be fine, right?”
Recently, it had become obvious that the section chief relied on Jin, the oldest employee, more than anyone else. That was standard to a degree, but her demands had become excessive.
What concerned Suzui most of all was a comment he heard in passing out in the hallway recently.
“I was counting on you! I only told you because I thought you could handle it!”
The comment gave Suzui déjà vu. It was very concerning. But he trusted that Mutsumi would handle it better than someone else had.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Jin assured him, grinning and shaking his head. His voice was as gentle and kind as could be.