Chapter 7

“Okajima, we’re heading out for client rounds.”

“Riiight.”

Okajima replied with a heavy sigh while leaning his entire body against the back of his chair.

I had warned him countless times since his first day on the job to reply properly, but since the managing director spoiled him rotten, it had absolutely zero effect.

So by now, I had completely given up.

“Well then, Hosotani-san, I’m heading out.”

“Yup, stay safe out there.”

As I tried to leave the office after bidding Hosotani-san farewell,

“Ah, wait just a second~!”

The managing director turned around toward us while applying her lipstick.

“Yes? What is it?”

When I asked,

“Not you, I’m talking about Okajima-kun. Okajima-kun, come over here for a sec~.”

The managing director beckoned Okajima over with a suspicious smile.

“Comin’ right up~.”

Okajima scurried over to the managing director’s side like a trained monkey.

The managing director made Okajima sit right next to her, and while touching Okajima’s body all over, she started chatting and laughing with him.

Up to this point, it was honestly a common occurrence, so I didn’t pay it much mind, but the next moment—unbelievably—the managing director placed her own foot right on top of Okajima’s foot, pulling off a brazen stunt that would put even a cabaret hostess to shame.

Okajima was something else for not questioning being treated like a pet, but the managing director was something else, too.

Even though her actual son was right there on the same floor, she unashamedly laid her womanly instincts bare without a shred of embarrassment.

“—She’s close to sixty, yet she’s really going at it.”

“Eh? Did you say something~?”

Responding to my voice, which was no louder than a whisper, the managing director turned her face toward me—a face caked in heavy makeup resembling a mandrill.

“Ah, no… I’d like to get going on my rounds…”

“You go by yourself today. I’ll personally teach Okajima-kun some special work, so it’s fine.”

“Haa…”

“Onitsuka senpai, take care of things out there!”

Well, if that was the case, I was totally fine with it.

It was way easier without Okajima around anyway.

But was Okajima really okay with this?

If it were me, spending the day acting like a host for a fat middle-aged woman pushing sixty would be the absolute worst.

Doing rounds out in the hot weather was a million times better.

“Well then, I’m off.”

And just like that, I left the office today without dragging along my useless junior for the first time in a while.

“I’m back~.”

When I returned to the workplace from my client visits, most of the employees had already left for the day, and the only ones remaining were my senior Hosotani-san and my peer Saeki.

“Ah, o-welcome back, Onitsuka-kun!”

“W-What, Yamato. I thought you were heading straight home…”

“Nah, I can’t just take important documents home with me, so I came back to drop them off. More importantly, what were you two doing?”

When I opened the office door, it looked like the two of them had been up to something behind the copy machine.

“Ah, er—Hosotani senpai said the copy machine was acting up, so I was just checking it out.”

“That’s right. It wouldn’t make copies at all…”

“Is that so?”

I started walking over toward the two of them to take a look at the copy machine myself, but—

“Ah, it’s fine already, Yamato! It looks like it fixed itself. More than that, you must be tired, right? Hurry up and go home, I’ll lock up this place and head out.”

“Yup, that’s for the best. Onitsuka-kun, you’ve been constantly stressing out over Okajima-kun lately, haven’t you?”

Since the two of them kept saying that,

“Haa, well… Then I’m sorry, I’ll be leaving first. Saeki, see you tomorrow too.”

“Yup, bye-bye, Onitsuka-kun.”

“Ou, see you later, Yamato.”

I decided to accept their kindness and left the workplace behind for the day.