What's this, another chapter? Yeah… This one's got some development going on hope you enjoy. I remember when I used to write so much up here, now I got nothing. Thanks to all my reviewers, by the way.
Disclaimer: Still broke in every way, I claim nothing.
[Chap 6]
Natsuki stepped into the office the next day heading for her cubicle when suddenly a figure appeared on her way. "N-Natsuki, where are you going?"
It was none other than the stuttering mess known as Takeda. She did not need this so early in the morning; actually she'd prefer to skip him all together. "Uhh, getting to work?"
He looked confused before brightening up in thought, "Nobody's told you yet? Today is our end of the month meeting; we tally up our sales and see who wins for the month." Natsuki could feel her stomach drop at the thought of her non existing sales. "Of course, I already know who is going to win again." Masashi smirked confidently, trying to look impressive while massaging his chin.
When Natsuki noticed that he was about to open his mouth again, she interrupted, "So… can you tell me which room it's at?" She'd take seeing her failures in public than hearing another, 'Masashi is so great' speech any day.
"Sure, I'll walk you," Masashi said, looking momentarily put off, not many interrupted his inspiring ramblings.
"You really don't have to, just tell me-"
"None sense, we'll get to walk and talk this way. As I was saying…" And so the dreaded 'Masashi is so great' speech began and Natsuki had to wonder what it was about this place that screwed her at every turn that she took.
Thankfully this walk was short as they reached the meeting room down the hall. Takeda kept talking enthusiastically, not noticing that Natsuki was spacing out, thinking of anywhere else she would rather be. Seriously though, she would really rather be anywhere else.
The room was full of people sitting at the tables, chatting excitedly, asking each other what their total was. The numbers varied from high one digits to the doubles. She tuned it out and spotted Nao, in a rush to rid herself of Takeda, she turned to him briefly, "Thanks for bringing me here, I'll find a seat."
She was gone before he could even react, 'Ok, she's always rushing off when you are around, that's a good sign, she's nervous!' He repeated over and over every time this happened. It was his own cheer to keep him company when Natsuki would not.
In her rush, Natsuki did not notice the red eyes following them as they entered, seeing their interactions from the front of the room. By the time she did notice the younger girl was looking already elsewhere.
Mr. Fujino stood up, clearing his throat before speaking in his booming voice. "Alright, this month's meeting will now commence!" Once he got every ones attention he smiled, "As it is customary we will proceed with the dealership's anthem, written by yours truly!"
He struck a directors pose before he noticed all of the blank stares that met with his. From behind him, Maria looked just as blank, saying, "I told you nobody memorizes it."
A shadow fell over Fujino's eyes, nobody willing to speak.
"Why must we go through this every month? This anthem helped build what is now one of the biggest dealerships on the map! It inspired many a salesperson, gave hope through many a hardship, yet all it ever gains from people is their forgetfulness and ridicule. Ohhh, how sad days have become." He stopped for dramatic effect, looking downcast as everyone in the room surprisingly enough began to look guilty, the silence starched until Fujinos face bounced up again, "But I brought copies though, so it's all good. Maria, if you would pass these, please." Ignoring the collective groan from everyone around the room, the man smiled on.
She said nothing as she distributed the sheets and took her seat again. "Now then, let's begin our proud anthem, 'Winter Child!'"
From her spot behind her father, Natsuki saw Shizuru cover a rather heavy facepalm with by rubing her eyes furiously. 'Heh. Well that's amusing. '
The meeting moved on at a surprisingly professional pace, coming from Mr. Fujino. As soon as the anthem was over, the man switched personalities. First he addressed news and complaints, then he got out the suggestion box. Fujino read every single one, even the ridiculous ones obviously mean as a joke. Maria took the stand next to point out any outstanding behavior she had been a witness of.
Their boss took a moment after that to talk about the new car models coming in next month, and some special assignments he has under way. Assignments for which you need an impressive sales average to be considered for.
Then finally it was time for the numbers, he uncovered a dry eraser board with names and numbers, after a minute of looking for herself, Mr. Fujino told her she was exempt for this month. Natsuki released the breath she had been holding though out the meeting.
Fujino started with the group that sold the least, giving tips and stern encouragement. He was straight faced with every person. Finally everyone was addressed except the top three.
"Now we reveal out top three," Fujino took out some cards, "At number three we have Nao, with sixteen sold this month, congratulations." Natsuki looked at her friend in shock, for all her laziness, Nao actually did stuff… Nao, on the other hand crossed her arms moodily, angrily muttering at herself.
"Akira, you got second with place eighteen sold. Good job."
"Thank you." Akira said respectfully.
"And that leaves Masashi, our top salesman this month again with twenty five cars sold this month." Everyone clapped unenthusiastically, the routine long worn out by now. Everyone looked bored a Masashi stepped up, a look of mock shock on his face. Natsuki on the other hand looked had a very real stunned expression, 'This guy got a huge gap on the second place! I couldn't even sell one!'
"The number's a bit small for you don't you think?" Fujino said as he clapped Takeda on the back.
"Yeah, I apologize, I found myself… distracted this month." He looked directly at Natsuki for a second, as he said that before turning back to his boss "Won't happen again though."
"Everyone gets an off month. Here is your prize," He handed Takeda a wrapped box, "We'll place your picture on the 'Employee of the month' wall again."
"Thank you so much! I couldn't have done it without you guys." He addressed the room, the only people who looked interested though, where the usual crown of girls that always went crazy for Takeda, some people looked downright insulted.
Mr. Fujino said some words There wasn't much left to say after that, the meeting closed quickly and Natsuki followed a still fuming Nao out. "I don't believe this crap."
"You said he always wins-"
"I wasn't talking about that idiot! I was talking about Akira!" Nao yelled, not caring about who heard her in the hall. "She's always sneaking in second place like some sort of ninja."
Natsuki blinked, Nao was pissed at the quiet girl? This was hilarious. "A ninja, Nao. Really?"
Nao glared at her, "If you ever get in the top chart you'll know what I mean. I've had second for the past three months! She broke my chain."
She mock comforted her friend as they both walked back to their spaces. As everyone spilled onto their own areas Natsuki decided to ask the question that was stuck in her head, "Hey, did the boss mean it when he told Takeda that his sales number was small this month?"
Nao stared at her, "Yeah… that guy is usually in the thirties. Now that you mention it the number was pretty low for him."
Thirties? Natsuki had never imagined that a person could sale so many cars,then again she had never done much research about it either. "You weren't even paying attention were you?
Nao shrugged, "I was pissed off, couldn't help it. Why the interest anyway? You just ought to get used to it, it'll only piss you off if you mind it too much." Nao spoke from experience of course, but like hell was she going to tell Kuga that!
"I'm not interested! These numbers are just beyond me. What did I get myself into Nao?"
Nao shrugged the insecurities off, "You're just getting those newbie cold feet. Shake it off mutt, you got a date with a costumer remember?"
In all the commotion that was the meeting, she had forgotten of course. She looked at her watch, 'Shit! I told her to meet me at the garage five minutes ago!'
"Crap!"
[Chap 6]
You know, I don't usually wait around.
I am so sorry!
Relax I like you so that's ok. Just don't make that a habit.
Natsuki wasn't expecting to meet her again though. She was sure she knew which vehicle to head for.
Oh my, there are so many lovely cars in here!
They passed the Lincoln, they passed the Cadillac, they passed the Jaguar, and they passed the Audi. Higher and higher they went, up the price range.
Hey, there is a Mercedes!
It can wait until I show you the first choice
Natsuki had ignored the skeptical look on her costumers face at the time; it was easy due to her one track mind. They soon reached the destination and to Natsuki's pleasure, she received the response she was looking for.
Ohh, it's beautiful!
It's a Bentley, one of the smoothest rides I've ever had
Not long after that, they took it out for a spin. The woman could believe how obvious her choice was, then, the Mercedes, completely forgotten.
That was amazing, what colors does it come in?
Everything after that was discussed in Natsuki's cubicle, where the woman proceeded to fill out the documentation.
In a daze, Natsuki held the folder containing her first sale, a pretty damn expensive one at that, too. She stretched her hand for a shake, "Thank you so much Ms-"
"Drop the Ms and call me Ahn." She smiled. "It is regrettable that I won't see you as often anymore. I do come to visit that airhead often enough, though so maybe I'll get lucky."
"Y-yeah." She handed the keys and they shook on the deal. Natsuki stared off at her first official sale after Ahn walked out. Before the month ended, too. She had one tally.
"Would you look at that." She looked up to see her interruption and found Nao leaning against her cubicle's edge, smirk on her face, "A Bentley. Nice going."
"Yeah, it's great! I'm gonna take this the office!" She ran off, quickly finding the proper room, and as soon as she opened the door, she nearly jumped out.
Chie and Aoi where in the room, facing each other, much like the first time Chie's back was to her, however Natsuki composed herself once she noticed that everyone was clothed and decent. The other two women in the room turned at the sudden entrance.
"Natsuki! Hey, haven't seen you in a while." Chie greets, urging her to step inside.
"It's good to see you in more… proper circumstances." Aoi laughed nervously.
"I- ah, I just came here to drop this off…" This was their office?
"Oh, is that? Why, Natsuki, did you just get your first sale?" Chie eagerly took the folder from her, opening it up, Aoi looked along with her, "It is! Congratulations, keep it up!"
"That is an impressive model to sell." Aoi added.
All that Natsuki could do was nod, "Thanks."
"I'll get this straight to the boss' desk, he'll be happy to see it!"
Natsuki protested, "Chie, wait a minute-"
Aoi cut her off, "He has been waiting for this you know, don't worry, Chie is right he'll be happy."
"I don't think you should bother him." She said, wishing they wouldn't make such a big deal about it.
Chie ignored her of course, "Speedy delivery, I'll be back!" She walked past Natsuki, leaving the two alone.
"You're only supposed to organize them in the system aren't you?" She said weakly.
Aoi, laughed at her dark haired companions antics, "Chie gets excited, but to tell you the truth, we all are."
She sounded so honest that Natsuki couldn't help but feel comforted. She nodded, walking out of the office and heading back to her place. She was halfway there when someone almost bumped into her, "I'm sorry." The person apologized quickly.
"Don't worry a-" She looked up, seeing the familiar dark haired man followed by another, less pleasant familiar face. That's when she realized he wasn't apologizing about almost bumping into her. The second figure spared her a furious glare and short as it may be Natsuki felt the full capacity of it.
For there went, Reito Kanzaki followed by her estranged father and they were heading straight to her boss' office.
[Chap 6]
The door opened loudly, revealing a Mr. Fujino hunched over his desk, he looked up at the new comer in his office. His eyes widened a fraction after he recognized the dark haired man before him. The man was slender, a few inches shorter than him and looked sharp in his business suit; unlike Fujino himself who preferred to be more business casual.
"Shin, wha-"
"That is Shinobu to you Fujino." The man spat out distastefully, sneering as the last name passed through his lips. The taller of the two looked unfazed by the out bust, as if expecting it. "And you know damn well why I'm here!"
Fujino scratched the back of his neck, motioning for the other man to sit. This was going to be an uncomfortable conversation. Shinobu did, never taking his glare off the target. "So, you have finally come, Shinobu Kuga." Mr. Fujino said pleasantly, after recovering from the shock, "What took you so long?"
"Don't give me that crap, Fujino, why the hell is my daughter working for you?" Shinobu growled, recognizing the other man's mask of calmness as an attempt to rile him up. It was working.
Shin had always been direct. Fujino, faked surprise, "You barely found out? Natsuki has been here for weeks, Shin," Fujino gave a long whistle. The dark haired man growled again at the casual use of his name as a manila folder was tossed before him, "She's even sold her first car, we were all so proud of her."
Mr. Fujino said slowly, watching the reactions the man before him had. He looked sharply for any weaknesses.
Shinobu stared at said folder in contempt, as if his anger would make it go away. He saw his daughter's name on the tab, Natsuki Kuga: Fujino Vehicles. Then he spoke, very quietly. "This is low, even for you."
They both sat in silence; the tension was thick, both men waiting for the other to make his move. Fujino leaned on the desk, placing his hands under his chin, while Shinobu griped the armrests of his chair.
"How is your dealership going, Shin?" The taller man said, he wanted to get this oh-so-pleasant chat over with, the sooner the better so might as well trigger the reactions sooner.
"You knew she was supposed to come work for me-"
"Well she came to me instead."
Shin felt his voice rising, "-and you just jumped at the idea of taking her away didn't you? You jumped at the thought of ruining my plans again!"
At this, Mr. Fujino reacted; leave it to Shin and his selective memory to pin the blame on everyone else for the problems he stirred, "I ruined your plans? You almost cost me everything!"
Shinobu scoffed, offended, "You should have been grateful! I was your first business partner when you started off here, I was the one who helped you impress your wives family, Peter!" He realized he was at the edge of his chair, breathing heavily and sat back remembering where they both where; work.
Shin looked at the other man; he was quiet again, waiting to hear just what kind of skeletons Shin was about to bring up. He was waiting to see just how far their conversation would get. Shin took a second to fix his tie before adding, "Did you forget the past, Peter? Did you forget who you where before the Fujino family adopted you?"
Mr. Fujino began massaging his temples. Remembering the past always made him feel drained, thinking about all of the tireless night he spend building himself; all the times he had to bend over backwards for the Fujinos. Those times where over, long gone, things were different now so he hated looking back.
"You where nothing, Peter Alder, just some nameless foreigner in love with the rich girl, nobody but I took you seriously." Shinobu was the one who took his chances on this hotshot guy with nothing to his name but his ambition. Shinobu had been the first to recognize the potential this man had, and yet Shinobu had always been last in the other man's mind. How many times did they miss important opportunities because the Fujinos called and the dog followed? "And then you became a liability."
"So you got rid of me, right? That's all you've ever done, thrown people away," Fujino said crossly, forgetting the pleasantries altogether, "Natsuki came to me for a reason you know? You should evaluate yourself."
Shin glared, "Oh, I have. I've been far too lenient and believe me that stops now."
"For goodness sakes, what are you going to do, drag her out of here?" Fujino said, like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"I am going to crush you, and then Natsuki will learn her lesson and come back, begging for forgiveness." Shin said icily as he rose from his chair.
Fujino blinked at this, as if shaken out his anger. He rose from his chair as well, a worried look crossing over his face, "Listen Shin, whatever issues we have are separate from your daughter. Don't blame her; Natsuki has nothing to do with this."
Shinobu looked taken back by this, blame Natsuki? That's what Peter was worried about? Then he recovered quickly, clearing his throat, "Don't be ridiculous Peter, I said I would crush you not her." And for a second, Mr. Fujino thought he heard a mumbled 'she is my daughter after all.'
Fujino nodded, looking relieved as the shorter man walked towards the exit. He was about to sit until he noticed Shin was still standing by the door. The man started speaking; hand on the handle, only showing his back.
"You said that I almost caused you everything but I didn't, you still have your family." He paused to take a deep breath, shoulders rigid. "So stay away from mine."
With that, Shin left yelling for Reito to follow him. Fujino fell down to his chair in a heap, emotionally drained. He shook his head slowly. "You're always doing things wrong aren't you?" He asked himself. He spotted the folder on his desk and he couldn't help but give a small, helpless smile. He reached for it and began looking through it more thoroughly, "Well, there goes my chance at a partnership again."
Not for the first time did he wonder, for how much longer would he be at odds with his old friend?
[Chap6]
Shinobu rushed off angrily, nearly knocking someone out of the way, he did not stop, hearing Reito apologizing for him. He did not look for his daughter's face again fearing that he'd only explode and cause another scene. He had yelled so much, god knows how many employees had heard him.
Watching him go, Natsuki came up to the person her father walked passed, "Sorry about him, he has a terrible temper…" She said awkwardly.
"Ara, I am fine, he didn't even touch me. You don't seem to be happy though."
"I should be but he has a way of ruining that." Natsuki said tiredly. She didn't want to say more, until she spotted a spark of concern in Shizuru's eyes. Her mouth just started speaking, "He's my dad and we don't get along." She said briefly.
"Ah," Shizuru understood then, "It's terrible that he can ruin your mood."
Natsuki wondered why Shizuru expected her to be happy, this whole month had been depressing sales wise for her, so the younger girl had never seen her in a 'good mood' this late during the day. In fact, today had been her first good day, until her dad showed up…
"After all, didn't you just make your first sale?"
Wait, did news spread around so fast? How did the girl even know that?! "How do you even know that?!"
Shizuru pulled out her cell phone, waving is slightly, "Ara, Ahn told me of course."
"You know Ahn?
A nod, "I met her years ago through my father, they were partners you know." She said as if it was common knowledge to all, "She said to thank you again, and that she is really pleased with the choice."
A moment of silenced passed as Natsuki rolled the information around in her head, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Hm? What would have been the challenge in that?" She said easily, "Father gave you a really picky costumer in hopes of training you to look deeper into a person's profile."
"This was training?" Natsuki asked skeptically.
Another nod, "In order to be a good saleswoman, you'll need to learn all sorts of things about a person to digest which vehicle suits their needs." The more she went on the more Natsuki wanted to bang her head against the wall, "And with the type of high profiled costumers we receive, Natsuki will need to dig up things like job areas and connections quite often. Ahn is not the pickiest; there will be some that are by far worse."
This wasn't a normal dealership; this was one at the top, so of course they'd have costumers to match. 'How did I miss that?' Her boss must be so disappointed, she took so long…
"However the test wasn't about how long it would take, my father wanted to know if you could make the sale to someone like Ahn."
Natsuki looke up at Shizuru, "So, I passed?"
Shizuru smiled, and for the first time it wasn't empty, "With flying colors."
[Chap6]
Wow, I snuck in there waaay more characters than I had planned. Quite a few things got revealed here, I couldn't help it, some things just wrote themselves. As always hopefully you all will let me know how I did, drop me a line I appreciate every comment I get.