Chapter 1.2 - Arriving at Work
Three stations later, she entered her workplace building. It was a fairly big building with multiple shops in the lower levels. Her office was on one of the top floors, high enough to warrant the convenience of using the elevator. Not in the mood to share the elevator with a bunch of strangers that were likely to stop it on every second to every floor, she slipped past the shops on the first floor towards another elevator at the rear side of the building. It was located next to an expensive looking jewelry shop. Apparently it was once situated fairly close to the center of the building before it went through renovations and annexes were built along with bigger and more modern customer friendly elevators. Maybe it was now just too far away from the building center, or maybe all the glamorous sparkle from the shop was intimidating to people, or maybe it was because it was simply an old elevator. In any case, while it was a public one, practically it was as good as a staff elevator. And given the time of the day she started working today, Mirei expected she could get a quiet direct ride up to her office floor by herself.
But when she entered the elevator and the doors were just about to close, somebody else hurried to catch the same ride. It was a man in a completely inconspicuous salaryman suit. Or no, was it a new recruit suit? She vaguely remembered his face from the crowds of new interviewees back in spring. Though she couldn’t recall if she had seen him around after that.
“Oh, Miss Hagiwara… I thought… you’d have a day off today.” The man greeted her nervously. His breath was unsteady.
Black over white with a red and white striped tie in between. About as red as the man’s face. He was sweating. Maybe it was because it was summer, and he was still wearing a suit, or maybe it was because of him running or maybe…
“No, I only had a private errand, so it was just a half day I took off.” She replied curtly.
“I see…”, he seemed a bit lost about what else to say. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing ever came out. Eventually the elevator stopped and the door opened. Mirei moved almost on reflex, but she stopped and instead transformed the impulse into beckoning the man to exit first. Almost absentminded, he needed a second to react. Then, as if reality came back to him all at once, he jumped out.
“Happy working.” Mirei gave him a polite bow and passed him by.
“Erm… Excuse me!” The man stuttered, but still almost shouted the words out.
Mirei stopped in her tracks. She turned around. “Yes?”
“M-Miss Hagiwara, w-would you mind joining us for lunch today?” He seemed eager, almost desperate to get it out.
“...” Mirei took the liberty to pause for a few seconds before answering. “I’m sorry, but I already ate on the way here. So I will work through lunch to catch up for the lost hours.” She added an apologetic bow to it. “Maybe another time.”
She quickly turned and moved on without looking back. Her footsteps were fast-paced. It was still some time before noon. She had taken half a day off just in case, so there was ample leeway for her workload, yet she just felt like she had better hurry to it.
“Hello Miss Hagiwara.” She was greeted as soon as she entered the office space. It was by another man in your usual salaryman suit, although this one had taken off his suit and was walking around in just his shirt and tie. He was one of the longer standing employees, so had more leeway with the dress code, and maybe was about to get on in his years a bit. Which was to say, his shirt was starting to get a bit too tight in places, stretching the buttons.
“Good morning.” She responded to the greeting in turn. “Mister Line Manager.”
“You look fresher than usual.” He grinned. “Did something good happen today?”
“Oh no, no. I just got a bit more sleep, is all.” She quipped back. “I had to wait quite a while in a queue, so I had a little nap with my eyes open.”
“I see.”, he donned an understanding smile. “Here’s hoping that work will be interesting enough to keep you awake then.”
“I’m sure.” She smiled back with all her might.
And true to his word, when she started her computer, the mailbox greeted her with inquiries and requests aplenty.
