"Alrighty fellas! Let's talk insurance." Gura started, speaking with more enthusiasm than insurance ever merited.
At the ground floor cafeteria of Purdy's Wharf Tower One, Tako Eats, Irys and Bae sat on one side of the table with their short but experienced mentor Gura sitting between them. The proprietress, Ina'nis Ninomae, sat across from them and her expression was absolutely radiant - again, something that a meeting about insurance didn't merit at all.
Ina slyly sidestepped Gura's opener and smiled warmly at her two new juniors instead.
"So, how is Bread Dog treating you two?" Ina asked them with genuine interest, "Are you actually learning anything from Gura here?"
"Oy." Gura narrowed her eyes.
"I'm just joking." Ina stuck out her tongue, "I've been a client of Bread Dog ever since I started Tako Eats and Gura's been my agent since day one. So Bread Dog's sort of like a family to me now."
"A family that you tease a lot, Inya?" Gura tested.
"That's what a family does, Gura." Ina spoke sweetly, but it only made Gura's face more sour, "The closer they are, the more relentless the teasing."
A tense stand-off started between the two, but it was woefully one sided. Gura's frown never stood a chance against Ina's smile.
"Alright, alright." Gura conceded, blushing slightly. She cleared her throat and turned to her juniors, "Just so you know, we've got a whole range of clients. Ina here is on the friendlier side."
"Friendliest." Ina chimed in mischievously.
"Sure, whatever." Gura grumbled. She leaned back into her seat , "She's agreed to help me show you two the ropes about how client meetings go and to get your feet wet a bit."
"I'm the tutorial boss." Ina beamed. She curled up her fingers and tried to act like a monster, "Wah!"
Ina failed miserably, only succeeding in looking adorable. Her failure was so catastrophic that it left Gura blushing even harder.
Irys and Bae watched the exchange between Ina and Gura with equal parts curiosity and amusement. They didn't need to pass the Insurance Licensing Exam to know that the two of them were more than just agent and client.
It made them wonder how deep their 'Halifax Harbor' was.
Watching them go at each other like that made Bae feel a little bit jealous. She couldn't see Irys' face from where she sat, so she wondered what sort of face the Nephilim was making - and what was going on through her mind.
Before Bae could crane her neck back enough to get past Gura's head of white hair, the shark-girl took a deep breath and got down to business. At the drop of a hat, Gura's expression became bright and her tone became businesslike, albeit with underlying genuine friendliness.
Gura took control of the conversation like a wave washing firmly but gently into the shore. She asked leading questions to Ina about how Tako Eats was doing, taking down notes on her little Bread Dog notebook while she listened attentively. Tiny nods of her head and brisk, affirming comments spurred Ina to spill the beans and tell Gura everything she wanted to know.
Then, with a quick glance over her notes, Gura summarized Ina's situation and proposed a number of tweaks to her insurance policy without missing a beat. Gura even got Irys and Bae involved, letting them chime in and ask questions of their own too.
It was almost as if Gura had turned into a completely different person.
By the end of the talk, Ina accepted most of Gura's suggestions and the two of them shook hands over it.
"I'll be in your care again, Gura." Ina smiled.
"You can count on us, Ina!" Gura smiled back. The shark-girl glanced at her two wards and grinned and she asked, "So, whaddya think?"
Irys and Bae's jaws dropped to the floor.
So that's why she's Boss Sana's star saleswoman. That title wasn't just for show.
"I think their silence says it all." Ina chuckled. She leaned forward and looked into Gura's eyes, "You've always been breathtaking, after all."
"Aww, you're gonna make me blush, Inya~" Gura answered tenderly. She patted her students' shoulders and grinned, "Anyways, you two. We'll print the paper documents upstairs and send them over to Ina for signing before lunch. Can I count on the two of you?"
The moment Gura said this, the two new-hires puffed up their chests and answered in tandem.
"YES CHEF!"
Ina burst out laughing.
"Oh my God, Gura!" Ina wiped tears from her eyes.
"They've got the spirit, chief!" Gura hummed proudly, "I've got high hopes for them."
"So do I." Ina finally caught her breath. She smiled at Gura, "They're learning from the best, after all."
Gura grinned.
With that, the meeting ended. Ina bid farewell to them and Gura led her students to the elevator. Gura called the elevator with her elbow and turned to Irys and Bae.
"It takes a bit of getting used to, but these meetings are a bit of a dance." Gura explained, tracing a whirlpool in the air with her fingertip, "There's a lot of give and take, and you gotta be ready to meet each other halfway till you have something you can shake your hands on." She folded her arms and smiled, "Then, you sign the contract and service it till you have to renew - and the dance begins again. Sort of like a relationship."
At the mention of relationships, Bae shuddered. She felt Irys' gaze on her back, but she couldn't dare to face the Nephilim.
…
The elevator arrived and the three saleswomen rode it up to the Bread Dog office suite on the eleventh floor. Gura promptly excused herself and left Irys and Bae with Kaela at the reception to handle the tail end of Ina's transaction.
Kaela showed the new-hires to the copy room and showed them how to use the printer.
"Remember - greyscale only. We don't have colored ink in stock." Kaela reminded them sternly, "Before you print, make sure you're using the right template - and make sure you're using the right sized paper. We don't have infinite resources here." She snickered and whispered beneath her breath, "Maybe I should plant sugarcane."
Kaela rambled on about 'redstone' and 'automation' and saw herself out of the copy room, leaving Irys and Bae alone.
For a while, the two worked quietly side by side. When Bae glanced up from the stacks of paper reams, she realized that this was the first time that the two of them had been alone together since their encounter on the first day of work.
Bae's stomach was tied into a knot.
The whir of the company printer and the occasional ring of landline telephones broke the silence, but neither of them said a word.
That is, until Irys thumbed through the first batch of papers and mused to herself.
"A three year relationship, huh?" Irys muttered, "Bread Dog and Tako Eats."
"Y-yeah." Bae agreed sheepishly, "It's on the case file."
"Sort of reminds you of something, doesn't it?" Irys asked, glancing at Bae from across the room.
"Three years…" Bae started. Then, her eyes shimmered, "Oh!"
"But that's the past." Irys tucked a lock of her hair behind her ears, "It was fun while it lasted, but we ended it. I ended it."
Bae turned away from Irys' gaze.
"I know." Bae agreed.
"Good." Irys snorted, "Now, we're just colleagues." A long pause followed before she added, "Nothing more."
"I know." Bae repeated with much less conviction.
Tension hung in the air between the two colleagues. Bae pursed her lips. She racked her brains for something to say, but she struggled. Everything came to her mind at once, clogging her thoughts. Not a word escaped her lips.
Then, as if on cue, Irys' and Bae's stomachs grumbled audibly.
The two office ladies blushed with embarrassment, but it broke the awkward ice just enough for Bae to gather her resolve.
Give and take, Bae. Give and take!
She took a deep breath and prepared herself to speak.
"So…" Bae started, "Do you have plans for lunch?"
The question flowed from her mouth so naturally that she didn't realize it until Irys started fretting. The Nephilim folded her arms and turned away to save face, but she still answered Bae.
"Not yet." Irys probed, "Why?"
Bae picked up the first stack of Ina's insurance policy and asked, "Wanna grab lunch at Tako Eats after we deliver these?"
Irys paused thoughtfully.
Bae gulped. She prepared herself to get shot down spectacularly.
Then, Irys turned to Bae and gave her answer.
"Fine." Irys accepted, "As colleagues."
"Of course." Bae smiled, "As colleagues."
Then, the noontime cannon fired from Citadel Hill.
Irys and Bae picked up their documents and made their way to Tako Eats downstairs.
As colleagues.
Even then, Bae was over the moon.
…
Nowhere With You
Working Lunch
…
To Be Continued