9 The Cat is Out of the Bag
When you're keeping a secret, it's like walking on a dark alley. You are afraid that something might turn up on your path even if it's just an alley cat.
Shizuru was packing her things for the trip. She was excited but she was also afraid. She had let herself too emotionally attached to this thing which she initially called as nothing but an assignment. At this point, she doesn't see how she could get out. It was easier when she was at Nature's Best because she immediately got hold of evidence. She resigned and said that she's moving and that was it. A week later, The Rising Sun issue came out and her mission was a success. Now it's different. She acted on a whim when she entered the Kuga Marketing Corporation. She sat on her bed and questioned all the things that she had done in her past life.
"I didn't imagine that I would have to go through something like this before I realize that I had been bored with my life. I had been seeking for something that I didn't know," Shizuru mumbled. She then thought about what Kuga Hayato told her when she took over the task of getting the magazines from Akira.
"Akira, I'll get the magazines," Shizuru said. The young man nodded and left her at Hayato's office.
"Natsuki wants magazines?" Hayato said.
"Yes, she said she'd borrow from you," Shizuru explained.
"Ah, okay," Hayato replied while continuing his work. He pointed to the magazine rack to motion Shizuru. He noticed that Shizuru left The Rising Sun. "Of course, she doesn't want Natsuki to see that. I wonder what she intends to write soon."
"Shi-chan, there's another one. I think Nat-chan should read The Rising Sun. It's very informative," Hayato said. Shizuru hesitantly picked the magazine and noticed that it was the April issue. And then she noticed that the May issue was on Hayato's table.
"But you'll have nothing left to read," Shizuru said.
"But that one is good, make sure to tell Natsuki to read the article about Nature's Best," Hayato casually said. "Poor company, we had a 20% share in their stocks. Anyway, I wonder how they were found out. Maybe it was an insider's job. The CEO of that company is my friend. He said that one of his sons assigned in the production unit wanted to lessen the expenses and they were all surprised that the boy would do something like that."
"I'll take my leave Kuga-sama. Thank you for the magazines."
Shizuru sighed. She knows that she had just been doing her job and because of her job, she shouldn't be too close to people. They might get hurt when they find out that she got close to them because she had an assignment to accomplish. But going undercover is better that telling people that she's a correspondent of The Rising Sun. People don't withhold facts when they believe that you are one of them. It seems then that in her job, it is sometimes inevitable to hurt people.
When Shizuru came in the office that morning, she already brought her luggage bag and she left it in her car. She was surprised that Natsuki wasn't in the office yet. The green-eyed lady is usually early because she owns one of the units in The Sky Tower. When she sat down on table, she saw a note which was obviously left by Natsuki.
Shizuru
We'll leave late in the afternoon. I'll be there in the afternoon. Don't forget to bring the documents we need.
Natsuki
Shizuru smiled. Most of the time, Natsuki doesn't treat her as a secretary. She treated her as a valued friend. Natsuki is…special. She never had someone like her. "I think I have to be honest with myself. I think…I like her. I think I should be honest with her."
Shizuru sat on her swivel chair and then she glanced at the calendar on her table. One month and two weeks. That's how long she had stayed as Natsuki's secretary. She had to leave soon. She brought out her notebook and she tried to check if there's anything useful in her notes and she found nothing. A moment later, Nao came into Natsuki's office bringing a memo for Natsuki.
"Where's Kuga-san?" Nao asked.
"She'll be back in the afternoon," Shizuru replied. She didn't like the way Nao looked at her but she tried to smile to hide her emotion.
"Here's a copy of the memo for her. It's for the celebration of the 6th Anniversary of the company next month."
"Okay, I'll receive it for her," Shizuru said as she signed for Natsuki.
"Is that your way of flirting? Always smiling even if you don't like the people speaking to you?" Nao said showing her aversion to Shizuru.
"Ara, Yuuki-san, have I done something wrong for you to speak of me like that?" Shizuru replied trying to control her emotion. Now she's into a real office drama. Nao is obviously jealous because of Reito's unwanted attention to Shizuru. Shizuru's pride is threatening to burst out. "How dare she to talk to me that way as if she's my boss?"
"Stay away from Reito if you don't want to get into trouble," Nao said. Shizuru felt that the woman is really picking a fight with her. She must have been waiting for this opportunity to come. The last time she went at The Metro Lounge, she noticed how Nao glared at her but Natsuki never left her side so Nao didn't say anything to her.
"I think you should say that to him. He always comes here asking me to join your group and I think he means it in a friendly way. Besides, he is our boss so I try to accept his invitations." Shizuru reasoned out.
"Liar! You lying bitch. You're leading him on in the same way that you're leading on Kuga-san. It's very obvious you know, the way she protects you. I bet you love the attention," Nao provoked. Shizuru is very mad by now. Natsuki's name has been dragged in the heated conversation.
"Yuuki-san, I don't have any interest in Reito-san so please just leave me alone. I won't join you guys at The Metro Lounge anymore, if that's what you want. And please don't put wrong ideas in your head. I'm not leading anyone on," Shizuru expressed.
"And why should I believe you? You're so good at lying. You think you're so smart to hide it from everyone. Call it the sixth sense of a woman. I know who you are and what you're doing in this company," Nao smirked. She saw the changed in Shizuru's expression which means that she was understood. "Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone yet but once I see you doing anything inappropriate around Reito, I'll tell Kuga-san about you." Nao left the office leaving the stunned Shizuru with a swagger.
Shizuru panicked. She sat on her chair and then she drafted a resignation letter. She'll just leave it on Natsuki's table. In her experience, time heals everything. Maybe she should just vanish and then show up to Natsuki a month later and tell her everything. She printed out the letter and she began to think about her future actions.
"I don't have a problem leaving this company but Natsuki…She'll get mad if I just leave without telling her my reasons. If she finds it out from Nao, Nao would surely exaggerate her story. She might make it appear like I just used Natsuki for my job or something along that line. Knowing Natsuki, she'd get mad. I guess it's best if she finds it out from me," Shizuru massaged her temple and then she noticed tears escaping the sides of her eyes. "It's been so long since I cried. I thought I could tell her I like her."
Meanwhile, Natsuki was out of the office that morning because she went to the main office of the Red Ink Publishing Company. It didn't take long for her to be received at the the working station of The Rising Sun. She introduced herself and she was welcomed into Haruka's office.