New Client!

Hmmmm… Something here feels off about this room.

A man in a slick formal suit walks into the room cautiously. His eyes slowly gaze from left to right analyzing every edge and corner of the room. He takes a step back and leans on the wall right beside the door from which he entered.

Still with visible confusion and suspicion written all over his face, the man reaches over to his right-hand pocket and brings out his phone.

*phone dials*

“Hello? Kuro, report to my office- now.”

An enthusiastic voice rings out on the other end.

“Ohh you noticed it again?! No way hahahaha… Yes sir, I’ll be right there.”

Moments later, a young-looking teenage boy bursts into the room holding drink carriers in both hands. He’s wearing the same formal suit as the man, minus the slickness as his outfit is riddled with creases and coffee stains. He immediately faces the man with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Mr. Kyouya! Did you see it?!”

Kyouya inches away from the fervent teenager who’s a few hand waves away from ruining his favorite everyday standard suit with caffeine.

“Before I answer that, I want to reiterate that I organized my office in a perfect manner such that I can freely move around and perform my tasks efficiently.”

At first glance, nothing seems out of the ordinary in the office room. Everything is as it should be, the filing cabinets are perfectly aligned to the left, the picture frames on the right, and the desk cabinet and desk chair right in the middle. With a big view of the outside.

Kuro fiddles with one of the drink carriers as he observes Kyouya observing the room.

“Yes, yes, so did you figure it out? The answer to this week's game of....“Spot the difference”!”

A cup falls from the drink carrier, which Kuro immediately snaps up before it hits the floor. He lets out a wide grin as if to say, don’t mind me.

*sigh* Kyouya holds one of the plant pots on the cabinets and gives it a twist to the left.

“This plant pot is rotated 45 degrees off its usual position…”

Kuro’s eyes sparkle in amazement.

“So cool! How do you manage to get it right every single time!?”

It’s hard for Kyouya to tell whether organizing is actually an amazing feat or if the kid is just messing with him.

“Just- go back to your office already, kid.”

“But sir, I’m your assistant. This is also the office where I often stay.”

“Right… So can you please disappear from existence- I mean- go grab me 10 cups of coffee from the vending machine?”

“Ehh but you just ordered me to do that same task like two hours ago…see?” Kuro places the drink carriers on the table. “10 cups of coffee.”

“You know it took me like 2 whole hours to get these because of the line and every other hassle of carrying this much coffee cups. Hey, you’re probably not even going to drink all of these-”

Kyouya interrupts him with a sarcastic voice.

“Ssshhh don’t question my authority, everything I say has a sensible reason behind them. So just be a good assistant and go get me another 10 cups of coffee.”

He sits down on the desk and opens up a newspaper. Kuro slowly walks toward the door, looking dejected.

“Mr. Kyouya don’t you feel any pity for lil’ old me? I’ve been going back and forth from the office to the coffee machine which is ON the 8th floor. I have to go through 20 floors just to get coffee. I mean, there’s a coffee machine on OUR floor but you say that the coffee down there tastes better. We haven’t even tested if it tastes different.”

Kyouya doesn’t budge in the slightest. Instead he picks up one of the cups and waves it at Kuro without looking away from the newspaper.

“Shooooo go already Kuro, and remove the audio recorder you’ve hidden in this cup of coffee.”

Kuro immediately flips from being gloomy to his usual cheery self, whatever that is. 

“I -uhhhh… audio what? Ehe…” He sheepishly takes the bugged coffee cup.

*sigh*

After removing the device taped under the cup of coffee, Kuro exited the room.

Kyouya takes one more look around the room and takes a deep breath before putting the newspaper away. As he was about to sit down, he pulled out his phone and started dialing.

The phone rings for a moment. An almost monotonous female voice greets him.

“Good day, this is the main branch of the Nagamori Corporation, how may I help you today?”

“Hello? May I speak with my parents?”

The line pauses for a moment.

“Sir Kyouya, I’m terribly sorry but both Mr. and Mrs. Nagamori are currently attending a house party for a client.” The same voice, but without the exhausted tones.

“Ohh, I see… Thanks for informing me Susan, I’ll try calling next time. Bye…”

Kyouya hangs up and places his phone on his desk. He adjusts the phone parallel to the edge of the desk . After doing so, he gently laid his head down on the desk in front of him.

*phone ringing*

Kyouya raises his head and gazes over his phone screen, it reads “Old Man”. He quickly picks it up to answer it.

“Hel-”

A raucous voice blasts through the phone speakers.

“Kyou! How’s my favorite grandchild doing?”

“That’s only true because of the fact that I am your only grandchild. And by the way, how are you still alive, old man?”

“Ohh come on Kyou, why are you so mean to your grandpa? Don’t you even miss me?”

The sound of the old man’s laughter lifts up his mood a little.

“I’m just in a bad mood, old man… I was in a somewhat better mood earlier though so that would’ve been a better time for your call.”

“In a bad mood? I’m not even gonna ask if it’s work-related since I know you never encounter any problems there. So I’m guessing this is about… getting problems with a girl?!! I want five great grandchildren!- ehhemmm…I mean- do tell me more about her, Kyou.”

“Ughhh no, it’s about my parents again, you probably already know that… And why do you always bring up your dream of having five great grandchildren in our conversations?! How many times do I have to tell you, I have my eyes set on a different goal right now, love can wait.”

“Because I might not have enough time left in me to actually see those future great grandchildren of mine…”

“Pfft… Old man, I believe in the saying about bad weeds being difficult to get rid of. I don’t see why you’re worrying like that hahahaha!”

“Well that’s true…but what about you, why are you feeling down? Thinking that you’re still not achieving enough to get your parents’ attention? You’ve already brokered enough “business deals” to rival half the assets of your parent’s legacy.”

“I see what you’re trying to do here. But you should know that you can’t use such words to appeal to my empathy, you old con-artist. “

“Woah now, I’m serious! I’m just trying to cheer you up, Kyou.”

*phone rings to notify that there is another call incoming*

Kyouya reads the text flashing on his phone screen, “Business Deal no. 45”

“I have to go now, see you later, old man!”

Kyouya hangs up on his grandfather and picks up the incoming call.

~~~

“Understood, I’ll start making the necessary preparations now, thank you.”

Kyouya proceeds to call Kuro on his phone.

“Kuro, where are you?”

“Still on the coffee machine, sir”

“I got a call from our client, it's a big one. Report to my office immediately.”

“But sir, I’m just about to get my 9th coffee from the machine. What am I supposed to do with these?”

“Just give the coffee to the other people waiting in line. “

“Roger that…. Hey guys! Who wants free coffee?!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Young lady, may I ask if I heard you correctly? You want to buy ALL of my bread in stock?”

The man at the counter is surprised at the request of the lady in front of him.

“Yes sir…So how much? 133.72 for each loaf?” She opens up her wallet.

“Yes, and I currently have 187 in stock. So that would be… hold on, let me get my calculator-”

“25005.64… Here’s 26000, my change would be 994.36.”

“Ohh wow, you’re one sharp little lady!”

“Ohh not at all, just pretty average. And of course there could also be the possibility that since I already knew the price of each bread based on the poster by that wall, I could’ve just come here with a calculated total in my mind. But then again, I would have no information on the stock you have left so….”

“Uhhhhh… I’ll go get your bread and your change. Please wait here.”

The lady smiles and bows at the bakery owner before proceeding to the vacant seats in the corner. Just as she takes out her phone, it rings. She reads the text flashing on the phone screen and the smile on her face widens.

“Yes?”

“You got reservations to make with the new client”

“New client?! For real?- Yes! Lay out the details, I can listen while I’m waiting for my bread.”