Exactly.
Ha, I figured you weren't, but I had to ask... It was just a phrase (can't remember which one at the moment), it seemed very French-like to me right then.
Hahaha! If you ever remember, let me know. I'm curious.
Classic Miki. :yay:
If you have the inspiration, keep 'em comin' dude!
Okay, man.
I like Miki classic and lazy.
I hope all of the mood switches in my story aren't "overly choppy. " They're supposed to be irregular to some extent, but I want it to look like I'm meaning to do it that way. Miki can't decide what she feels (read:
I can't decide what she feels. Hah).
I had a bit of fun in some parts of this one.
5For the first time in four years, I overslept and was late for work. We had a meeting first thing in the morning with bosses from our two main sponsor companies. I was supposed to be present at that meeting for reasons I could not understand. Maybe they wanted to check out the goods to make sure it was worth keeping their money in our company. They were always a bit sleazy like that, but I could not complain. It was business after all. We used them in other, worse ways.
I ran into the building at half past ten, trying unsuccessfully to catch my breath. The meeting had been slated for nine o'clock sharp. It was supposed to go for two or three hours, including a break at the midway point.
When Tanaka, the secretary, caught sight of me, she jumped up and grabbed me, ushering me into a little room beside the meeting room while scolding me for being so careless. I outranked her in our company, but she was older than me and I really respected and liked her, so I hung my head down and allowed her to unleash sharp words about how I looked like a mess and was not presentable to the rest of the world and that the inevitable fall of our company was entirely my fault, etcetera, etcetera.
When she finished her scolding, I found myself feeling bad. She took pity on me, smiled, and told me that I still had a chance to save everything.
"Just be yourself. Everyone likes that tough Fujimoto charm."
I snorted.
"Don't try to fool me. Nobody likes that."
She looked like she had been caught in a lie and then laughed while patting my shoulder.
"Well, they might not like it, but they'll definitely fall victim to it. They all do."
So I went into the meeting room. Feeling a bit stronger because of Tanaka, I bullied the two big bosses - by sweet-talking and complimenting them - into agreeing to a three-year binding contract with us. I had perfected the art of passive aggressive coercion, and I could see my boss almost tearing up with gratitude.
When the talks were concluded, my boss came up to me in private.
"You did a wonderful job here. Thank you very much."
I smiled and nodded. He lowered his voice.
"If you are ever late for another meeting again, I will fire you."
I sighed as he walked out of the meeting room. I knew he did not mean it, but this would be all over the company within hours. I could just hear the conversations now...
"Miki got the big boys to sign a three-year contract, but she was late for the meeting!"
"I heard Bossman threatened to fire her."
"Where'd you hear that?"
"From his secretary. She overheard."
"That Miki. She's got it coming to her."
"Yeah. What's up with her anyway? Always so stoic. Gives me chills."
"But she's so hot. I mean, she's two years older than me, but she doesn't look it."
"Huh! Yeah, I'd do her. I don't care how old she is."
"I hear she's single."
"Haha, I bet she goes through 'em like fire through tissue."
"Well, I heard she hasn't had a boyfriend in over ten years."
"Yeah right. She's probably been fucking the boss. Why does he always get the hot girls and we don't?"
"Because we're only security guards. And you're married, you wanker."
"Yeah, but that didn't stop me before."
"You two are horrible!"
"Uh... ah... Fujimoto-san. H-how can I help you?"
"You can start by confessing to your wife and apologising to her!"
"AAAAAAA!!!!"
Screaming ensued.I smiled as I imagined scolding them, unleashing my sexy and dangerous words on them.
Sometimes I let my imagination run wild with the conversations that the people around me must have had regarding me, and they often ended with me bursting onto the scene and scaring them.
"Fujimoto. Call on line two!" Tanaka's voice called out, breaking me out of my reverie.
I walked out of the empty room and over to the phone at Tanaka's desk. My heart sped up to insane speeds and I swallowed down my fear as I picked up the phone, pressing the button for the correct line.
"Hello?"
"Have you done it yet?"
I groaned.
"Shiba-chan, leave me alone."
Last night after my strange fit, Shibata had happened to call me to give me a final pep talk just before going to bed. She had made me promise to tell my manager the next day about my upcoming trip and then she said good night and hung up while I sat there wondering why I felt like a tamed lion that was being made to jump through the hoops that she held.
Since when did I get totally and completely owned by Shibata?!
"You haven't, huh? Do it now!" she encouraged me.
Ordering me around like she's my master.
"I'm gonna do it in a second. Relax!" I snapped in reply.
Nobody but one person had ever owned me.
"I
am relaxed. You're the one who's uptight," she laughed lightly.
Teasing me. Nobody got away with teasing. Just one person.
"Why didn't you call me on my cell phone?" I demanded.
I always insisted that calls to me on the main line at work were in the case of emergency only. Emergencies like having to notify me of a sudden death...
"I did but you didn't pick up."
I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder and used both hands to search through my purse. I could not find my phone.
"Shit," I swore quietly. "I left it at home."
I tried to picture in my mind where I would have left it.
"-an, are you okay?"
Did she just call me Miki-tan? If she did, I'm going to kill her!
"Miki-chan?"
I'm hearing things. I'm hearing things..."I'm fine!" I barked into the phone, quite obviously not fine. "Don't call me again here. I'll call you later."
I slammed the phone down on the hook and Tanaka jumped.
"Get drunk and give your work number to a stranger last night?" she asked jokingly, but I was in no mood for kidding around.
"A really annoying friend," I growled, and I stalked off, probably killing my chances of ever becoming friends with Tanaka.
I headed to the little alcove they called my office and I sat down on my chair, turning the stereo on and plugging my earphones in to listen to music. The digital readout said that my files were being played randomly. Old Christina Aguilera music started to screech into my ears and I picked up a pen and doodled on a piece of paper on my desk.
Christina switched to Suzuki Masako. Suzuki Masako switched to Koda Kumi. Koda Kumi switched to Matsuura Aya.
I hit skip.
Britney Spears' earlier works. Two tracks played.
It switched into Matsuura Aya.
I hit the skip button.
Natsukawa Rimi. Boring. Not in the mood. Skip.
Matsuura Aya.
SKIP.
Matsuura Aya.
SKIP.
Matsu-
SKIP!
I yanked the earphones out and slammed my hand down on the stereo's power button. I got up and went over to the window, opening the blinds.
"It's not funny," I mumbled to the city that lay before me. I had a good view of Shinjuku from the twenty-fourth floor.
"Stop playing with me. Stop it."
I was not quite sure who I was addressing. Maybe a higher power.
Maybe a ghost was playing with me. A mischievous spirit.
She was always mischievous. Always liked to cause me grief. Maybe she was here controlling my stereo, urging Shibata to call me at work, filling my mind with visions of her death.
I hit the glass of the window and turned around slowly. I knew what I had to do. I walked to my desk and sat in my chair again. I thought carefully about what I was about to do. I did not like it, but I needed to do it.
I took a deep breath and then picked up the phone.
I dialled a number that I had not dialled in months. Quite possibly a year.
The phone rang five times. I was about to give up when a never-changing, sweet and cheerful voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi," I said shakily. "Can I talk to you?"
~