Nagoya, Meiki Ward.
While the sky had turned almost dark, the area around the Shinsei Securities headquarters was brightly lit, the flow of people and cars immense.
At a walking distance of 400 meters from the main entrance was the huge parking lot of Shinsei Securities, a white Toyota HIACE with the black logo of Mirai Reforms on it entered the lot.
The car was parked near the entrance of the lot, a tall man stepping out of the white Toyota HIACE. His black hair, slightly damp from the July heat, framed his face neatly, the strands not falling messily to look unkempt.
He wore navy cargo pants, a light gray work shirt with the logo of Mirai Reform printed on it, a tool belt hung at his waist with a yellow helmet and a respirator hanging down from it.
"Sigh, I've gotten too kind," said Kenji, sliding open the back door of the car, still annoyed that his rest day was ruined by a sudden call.
Shaking his head, Kenji pulled out a folding ladder and a backpack, carrying both like nothing and walking towards the main entrance.
As expected of a security company, at the entrance near the sensor doors stood four tall and intimidating figures in black suits, their posture not showing a hint of laziness.
"The surge in strength sure has brought a change, I feel like I can take down at least three of the four," thought Kenji as he looked at the tough-looking guards at the entrance, still remembering a week ago when he had visited he felt a bit scared of any one of them, and now it felt like he could almost take them all down on his own.
Walking up to them, Kenji handed his Mirai Reform employee card and stated his business confidently.The guard went through the employee card and then, checking his name on the appointment list, allowed him to enter but not before doing a check to confirm he didn't carry anything dangerous on him.
The moment he entered the building, Kenji couldn't help but close his eyes in bliss as the cold temperature—a world's difference from outside—really acted as a lifesaver.
"If anyone ever said to my face that summer is better than winter, then forgive me father, but I'll be returning to my previous life self." Kenji couldn't help but stop to enjoy the cool breeze in the lobby, not able to understand those summer lovers and having dangerous thoughts about them.
Though knowing he was already running late for the six-hour deadline, he immediately walked to the reception area and handed the receptionist in the black suit his employee card.
After checking the card, the receptionist pressed the black earpiece in her right ear and spoke. "J4, please escort the renovation worker from Mirai Reforms to the VVIP floor."
Barely a minute later, from the elevator near the reception area, Kenji saw a woman with short brown hair in a black suit walking out. Kenji saw her walking towards them, taking long strides with a somewhat annoyed look on her face, but when her black eyes fell on his face, she froze and her movements came to a halt immediately.
Immediately her steps turned small and light, fixing the tie around her neck and brushing her hair to make it look smooth, a bright smile appearing on her face, showing the two cute dimples on her cheeks.
"Hello! I'm J4. Sorry to have made you wait for so long," said the short brown-haired woman to Kenji, her smile not leaving her face as she spoke, the sparkling eyes fixated on his face.
"This face really comes handy in some situations. Thank you, God," said Kenji inwardly, as having good looks really benefited him throughout this life, especially to calm down angry women.But Kenji knew he still had to act polite and show gentlemanly behavior.
"Kenji Tanaka, and I should be the one to apologize actually, I arrived quite late with not much time left in the deadline." Responded Kenji honestly, as it took him nearly two hours after his team leader's call to arrive here. First, he had drunk somewhat; even though he had not felt anything, he still waited an hour out of caution and then headed to his company to get the tools needed for the work.
"No, it's okay, Tanaka-san, as we all have some unforeseen circumstances to handle sometimes. Please follow me." Saying that in a sweet tone, J4 smiled again and pointed towards the elevator from where she had walked out earlier.
The receptionist couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sweet behavior of J4. Earlier she was complaining and saying all sorts of words to the late renovation worker, and now she had taken a 180-degree turn in behavior.
"Thank you."
Kenji, thanking, followed her into the elevator, her pressing the ID tag around her neck on the control panel of the elevator and then pressing 60.
"Umm… was Tanaka-san among the teams that came to renovate the building last week? I mean I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if I had seen you even once," asked J4, tucking her hair behind her ears with her beautiful eyes fixed on him."I was, but it's a super huge building, so not spotting each other doesn't sound that odd. And likewise, I would be doubting if I have Alzheimer's if I had seen and forgotten J4-san," responded Kenji with a faint smile on his face, gazing back into her eyes without any hesitation.
Unlike his previous life, thanks to his face and mature behavior, Kenji had never lacked opposite sex company in this life and had gotten pretty smooth in dealing with casual flirting.
But perhaps it was because he had been in the environment of casual flirting and sex for so long that he had lost the ability to distinguish his own feelings for someone—whether he felt any emotional connection with them or just lust.
Perhaps both needed to be a part of a serious relationship, but whether he felt both or just lust, no one but himself needed to figure that out.
J4 found herself unable to maintain eye contact with Kenji's for long, gazing down and her cheeks showing a clear flush, words about to leave her mouth but the arrival of their floor making her stop whatever she was about to say.
"Damn! Can't you be a bit slow? Install some old elevators, these ones are too good," cursed J4 inwardly, complaining about the good quality of the elevators, which most dreamed of.
Ding!
The elevator opened at the highest floor in the building. Following the lead of sulky J4, Kenji checked out every ceiling vent on this floor: some with loose screws dangling down somewhat, some vibrating continuously, and some even blocking the cold air flowing out of the vents, making it stuffy.
"How can he make such a blunder? They say jobs are not available, but they seem to be hiring anyone these days," muttered Kenji as he gazed at the loose vents, the sloppiness of someone coming to haunt him on his rest day.
Still, knowing it was no time to complain and he had to fix them quickly, he followed J4 to the back service corridor and, using the ladder, climbed into the crawlspace above the ceiling, ready to screw tight any loose vent while aligning them properly.
-----------------------
As Kenji was busy fixing the vents, the calm on the first floor was suddenly broken as the receptionist, after receiving a call, suddenly stood up with a flustered face, shouting without caring much about professionalism.
"Hurry up! The VVIP will be here any minute now!"
Her words threw most into a panicked state, the VVIP arriving three hours ahead of the schedule. All the agents and workers rushed towards the entrance.
Security Chief, Hayashi Takeru, a man with a tough face and about in his mid-forties, rushed out of the stairs followed by a long line of agents in black suits, hurriedly guiding them to make two rows at the entrance with a gap in between for the VVIP to walk through and enter the building.
"Hurry up! Bring the carpet!!"
Director of Operations, Okabe Masahiro, hair all white but combed properly, around his early sixties but running towards the entrance like a young man in his twenties, guided some workers who were carrying an expensive-looking carpet towards the entrance, spreading the carpet for the VVIP to walk on.
After making the necessary arrangements, Chief Takeru and Director Masahiro walked side by side to the spot where the ride of the VVIP would stop.
"What do you think, Chief Takeru? Will her appointment affect our status within the company?" asked Masahiro in a low voice, making sure no one aside from Takeru heard what he said.
"From what I know, right from a very young age she has had a strong desire for control and doesn't intrude into something she isn't confident to control. Since she has accepted the position of CEO, then it is most likely that she holds the strongest decision-making power, probably even more than Clan Head Hiashi himself."
"I don't know whether our status will be affected immediately after her arrival, but if we—especially you—maintain that big shot attitude, then ending up being sliced into pieces and thrown into the river is the lightest outcome."
Thud!
His words seemed to have removed all the strength from Masahiro's legs for a second and he nearly tripped, barely staying standing and taking out a tissue to wipe the sweat all over his scared face.
"Hehe… don't joke, Chief Takeru… she can't be that cruel? Right? Right?" asked Masahiro while letting out a nervous laugh, though Takeru scoffed at his words.
"You can try her. Anyway, at your age you don't have much long to live anyway."
Takeru's words turned Masahiro's face black with veins popping on his forehead.
Just as Masahiro was about to say something in anger, a noise from the distance took his and everyone else's attention as a long row of Toyota Black Crowns appeared in their vision, in the middle of them a white limousine, stopping right before the entrance.
Thud!
From the passenger seat a woman in her mid-thirties carrying an aura of professionalism stepped out, a chestnut-brown bob cut, donning a slim-cut charcoal gray skirt suit, knee-length pencil skirt with a fitted blazer, a white silk blouse with a subtle bow tie collar.
Minami Aizawa, secretary and the person closest to Takamura Ren, dealing with most of her personal matters.
Walking to the rear, after giving the surroundings a look and receiving some information in the earpiece, she bent down a little and gracefully opened the door, a delicate hand with a thin diamond bracelet on the wrist extending out, Aizawa grasping it gently as the star of tonight stepped out into view completely.
She wore a slim-cut dark navy suit which radiated authority without sacrificing a hint of her femininity. Underneath, a high-neck cream silky blouse, small pearl earrings, and black stilettos that added to her tall frame of around 170 cm.
Long, straight black hair, sleek and glossy, parted cleanly to one side. Her face fair and calm, impossibly symmetrical with a beauty that felt controlled rather than fragile. Sharp, almond-shaped black eyes—observant, as if nothing escaped them.
"Welcome, President!"
As soon as she stepped out, all the agents lined up at the entrance shouted in a synchronized voice to greet her, bowing at the same time.
"Welcome, Lady Ren! Hopefully the drive to here wasn't too tiring," said Masahiro, stepping forward, a nervous look on his face as he gazed at the woman with the power to decide anything about his life before him.
"Greetings, President. We are honored to have an aspiring person like you as our new leader. Surely, we will progress even further under your care."Chief Takeru was much calmer than Masahiro, bowing at the end of his words.
Ren eyed them for a few seconds with a neutral look on her fair face before flashing a small smile, her cherry lips parting.
"I'm flattered, Director Masahiro. Chief Takeru. I'll be looking forward to learning something valuable from your long years of service here. I hope it helps in running the company even better."
Her words brought an excited look to Masahiro's face as it nearly turned red and he nodded quickly. "Yes! Of course, Lady Ren! We are always here to help in any matter."
Takeru's inner tense feeling was also somewhat swept away by these words of hers.
"It's pretty hot outside! Should we head inside, President?""Of course. I would love a complete tour of the place as well.""Please follow us."
As Ren entered the building, the workers and agents gathered to welcome her dispersed and only the director, chief, and secretary Aizawa accompanied Ren for a full tour of the building.