CHAPTER - 19
Konomi had gotten dressed in black pants, a bright white shirt, a suit jacket and a long brown trench coat. All of these things were the most expensive and "luxurious" clothing she owned. None of it was bought by her, but instead they were collective gifts from friends or colleagues on birthdays. She completed her look with the work party heels she always wore for her previous work place party meetings. Another one of her "only" luxurious things she owned.
Konomi hated having to apply makeup, but as a secretary she had taught herself the art and was fairly good at it. So the makeup didn't take long at all and she was ready 30 mins before the time she needed to leave for the place of meeting, or rather, battle grounds.
"Well, better be early." She thought and headed out.
"I'm leaving!" Konomi said at the door.
"Have a great day ahead." Her father replied.
Turns out that Konomi was so anxious to get to the cafe that she ultimately arrived 45 minutes early.
She sat down and thought to order herself a sandwich and coffee. She hadn't eaten much till now after all. The day was unnecessarily full of events for some reason. Last of which was about to happen soon.
Just as she got back from the restroom after reapplying her lipstick and touching up her makeup she saw Takanori-san seated at her table.
Feeling embarrassed suddenly, she smiled and said, "Sorry for making you wait."
"Not at all. I saw you walking into the cafe way before time. I got here 5 minutes and ago and was waiting for you to finish up. I thought to impose on you and start our meeting 5 minutes early. Something tells me this would require my time and attention. I apologise for imposing on you." Takanori replied.
Takanori-san is being uncharacteristically chatty. Konomi thought.
"No no Takanori san. I am glad you did. I am eager to talk to you after all." Konomi replied.
"Well, I'm all ears. How can I help you?" Takanori said.
"Takanori san it is no secret that on paper I do not qualify for the job of the secretary to Yu- Irie san. And yet he came to my doorstep along with you to offer me a job. That's highly unusual. I am having a hard time to believe that the job description is all there is to it." Konomi said point blank.
Wow she really doesn't beat around the bush huh. Takanori thought.
"Yes. Indeed. 'Unusual' is one word for it I suppose. At Pandai, Sagawa-san we have always believed in hiring a person and not their resume. That is the secret to our continued success. We take special care in that. We even go out and scout at times for the correct people for the positions in our organisation. This scouting process often involves the head of the department head to go out in person to make that offer. Which in your case is the Chairman." Takanori replied as he had expected what Konomi would ask.
"That still doesn't explain the tenacity. Buying my father his things from the grocery store, coming to my doorstep, and everything else." Konomi inquired.
"Now now Sagawa san. What you are calling "tenacity" is only our Chairman's dedication towards building a better company by hiring the right people." Takanori replied. Even he didn't like his habit of twisting words, but he was exceptionally good at it.
"What about Satoh-san's child? How does Irie-san know about that?" Konomi asked.
Takanori wasn't expecting this question. Though taken aback, he recovered quickly before Konomi could notice.
"We do thorough background checks before hiring someone. The information forms part of it." Takanori replied.
"That's a downright breach of privacy." Konomi replied.
"It's more of a collection of information from different sources. We never broke the law while collecting the information. And none of the contents of the reports have ever come back as false till now." Takanori said.
"I can still sue you for breach of privacy." Konomi said.
"You can't. The information on you was handed to us by your previous company. Satoh san too can only bring a civil suit at most, and that too will find it difficult to stand before a court of law." Takanori replied.
Suddenly the hair on the back of Konomi's neck stood and she felt alarmed. The man was sitting away from her with his hands to himself and yet she was suddenly very aware of him. She looked at him properly. He looked somewhere around 45-47, wore glasses and had such thick eyebrows that almost covered his eyes and hid his expression. The man was very much the right man for the title of Head of Legal at Pandai.