Rena discovered Akane was right about the new candidate. In fact, Rena couldn’t believe how impressive her résumé was for someone of her age. At the age of 24, and after graduating from one of the most prestigious universities in the country, the girl who shared the same surname as her had already worked in big corporations in Japan. When she checked her résumé for the first time, Rena was having a hard time matching the drenched girl who was patiently waiting for her turn in the hallway with the person who had accomplished all those things on the paper.

Could looks be so deceiving?

She hired her. It was the most logical decision, albeit the fact she couldn’t say the new candidate had made a first good impression on her. In the end, this brief, awkward moment in the elevator was all-forgotten. What mattered the most to Rena, was what Jurina Matsui could bring to the team. Rena had been looking for someone with the necessary skills to build the time machine, and it seemed the younger girl was in capacity to help them.

Jurina Matsui didn’t disappoint her. In only one month, Rena was amazed by the amount of progress they had accomplished with the latest addition to the team. Of course, she didn’t fool herself into believing it would be an easy task. They were progressing much faster thanks to her new assistant, but there were too many unknown parameters to know if they would ever manage to reach their objective.

Rena was more than grateful for her help, but she couldn’t say that she had truly bonded with her new assistant. When it came to work, the other girl was always polite and on time, and anything but dedicated and professional. However, there was one personality trait she had difficulty adjusting to. Indeed, it didn’t take her long to discover that Jurina Matsui was a total flirt.

She was almost sure that she had flirted with everyone on floor 22, men excluded. It didn’t escape Rena’s keen sense of observation that Jurina’s conversations with her male co-workers always remained strictly professional. Why that? The head of Matsui Corporation found this difference in treatment between both es more than curious, but she kept her thoughts carefully to herself.

There was one realization that disturbed her even more than Jurina’s flirty nature and obvious disinterest in men. Being her assistant, they interacted a lot during the day. There was one pattern her assistant followed with every other woman of the floor, except with her. She never tried to flirt with her. Not even once.

Jurina would smile to her here and then. Her kindness showed on many occasions, such as when she would bring her everyday her coffee inside her office at the 4 p.m. break. It wasn’t something Rena had ever requested her to do, but that her assistant had taken the liberty to do on her own initiative. However, it never went any further than that. Rena could tell her assistant chose her words carefully each time they spoke. In fact, there was a form of shyness in her eyes that only seemed to appear when they interacted.

Was it because Rena was her superior, and as such her assistant feared she would be overstepping boundaries if she acted too carefree with her? Rena had not a clue, but was more than once taken aback by this difference of treatment towards her. She should be glad that her assistant was respectful and hardworking, so why was Jurina’s attitude towards her troubling her so much?

Today again, Rena was witnessing her assistant’s flirty behavior right in front of her nose. Because of the time machine project, the 24-year-old girl worked in close collaboration with Akane, and it seemed she had taken a particular liking in her. She flirted with her best friend way more often than with the other women of the floor. And, unfortunately for Rena, Akane’s office was located right in her field of vision, making it impossible for her to ignore Jurina’s actions. 

This morning, Rena had plenty of work to do, but had a hard time focusing. A few minutes ago, her assistant had arrived at Akane’s office, and was leaning over her shoulder to show her something on the touch screen monitor. They were too far for Rena to distinguish what they were saying, but she couldn’t detach her eyes from the scene. Jurina had casually placed her hand on Akane’s shoulder, an amused smile plastering her best friend’s lips as Jurina was evidently saying something funny to her.

“Why does she keep doing that?” Rena muttered, displeased by her assistant’s impossible flirty attitude.

A knock distracted her, the automatic door sliding open as a long dark, curly-haired woman entered her office. “It’s 12:45 p.m. Want to go out for lunch?” Airi, her 27-year-old Human Resources manager, offered.

Already? Rena was shocked by the revelation. She barely had accomplished half of what she was supposed to do this morning. “Yes,” Rena replied, knowing she needed a break. She lost focus as soon as her assistant arrived and began to flirt with Akane. “Just give me a few minutes. I want to finish this.”

“Alright.” Airi nodded, taking a look at the tablet computer Rena was pointing at. “Come and see me at my office when you’re ready.”

As Airi was about to turn on her heels, Rena felt the need to ask her one particular question. Something had been nagging her for a while, and witnessing her assistant’s behavior with Akane prompted her to voice her concern. “Doesn’t it… bother you? Seeing Jurina-san flirting with everyone, especially with your wife?”

“Absolutely not,” Airi replied, much to her surprise. “It’s mostly light teasing, and Akane doesn’t mind. Besides, you can tell the women enjoy the attention they are getting. I can’t count the number of times I heard them gushing over your assistant.”

“She never flirts with me,” Rena mumbled. When she realized the words she had blurted out without thinking, she looked away in discomfort. For a minute, she hoped her friend had not heard her, but soon discovered it was only wishful thinking on her behalf.

“No, she doesn’t,” Airi conceded. “Why do you think that?”

“I have no idea,” Rena admitted her ignorance. On one hand, she wasn’t feeling particularly at ease broaching such a subject but on the other, she felt relieved getting it off her chest. And who better could she talk about it than with a trusted friend? A friend who had also apparently well noticed this difference of treatment she was being subjected to?

“And I think I’m being paranoid lately.” Rena frowned, remembering vividly a few strange occurrences. “I’m under the impression she purposely flirts more with Akane because she knows I can see her from here. It’s stupid, isn’t it?”

Rena looked up in expectation, hoping Airi would state that it was indeed only a figment of her wide imagination. Why would her assistant be doing that? It made no sense. However, Rena couldn’t ignore that her assistant glanced often in her direction when she visited Akane’s desk.

“Of course, she’s doing it on purpose,” Airi chuckled softly, shaking her head in disbelief. “I adore you Rena but sometimes, you can be so clueless.”

“What?” Rena searched her friend’s eyes for an explanation, but she never elaborated. Rena didn’t miss the amused look plastered on her face as she left her office.

Rena stared at her retreating form, processing their odd conversation. She couldn’t shake off the sensation that Airi was trying to convey a message, but her mind was failing to decrypt it. Rena looked down to the tablet computer and tried to resume her work, but had a hard time getting back on the task at hand. Airi’s last cryptic words rolled in her head over and over. What was she missing?

“Oh no, it’s raining...”

Rena turned her head in surprise when a familiar, feminine voice sounded next to her. It was 8 p.m. and as she was about to leave the building to go home, she had noticed the rain falling in abundance through the front door. Once again, Rena knew she had taken the right decision by not trusting the weather forecast and placing her mini-collapsible umbrella inside her handbag. However, it appeared her young assistant – who was standing next to her and watching the rain falling outside in concern – had not taken such precaution.

Rena pondered over her words, and knew by the light, dark blue vest her assistant was wearing that she would get drenched if she dared stepping outside. If she wished to stay dry, she had no other choice but to wait for the rain to stop. And, considering how heavily the rain was falling, Rena guessed she would have to wait for a while.

“You can walk with me if you want,” Rena suggested. “Where are you going? Is your car parked in the parking lot?”

By her assistant’s startled look, Rena could tell her she was not expecting such an offer. Her surprise slowly turned into a pleased expression tainted with slight embarrassment. “No, I don’t have a car. I take the subway. But I don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re not bothering me at all. I’ll walk you to the station.” Rena opened her umbrella and made her way outside, the younger girl quickly stepping underneath to take shelter. Rena moved towards the direction of the nearest subway station, taking in how her assistant was being silent beside her. With her other female co-workers, she was very talkative, but had a tendency to be much shyer when it came to her. Along with the fact that she never flirted with her, it was an aspect of her assistant’s behavior Rena didn’t fully grasp.

As they walked down the streets of Tokyo, Rena realized that it was the first time they found themselves alone outside the workplace. Rena rarely went out with her employees, except for the monthly dinner organized by Airi for all the employees working on floor 22. Rena never felt at ease during social events, but was conscious of her obligations. There were certain traditions that she couldn’t afford to break.

As for her close circle, there were only two people she got along well enough to consider as good friends. Akane was a long-time friend, whom she had met when she was studying at University. As of Airi, she was one of the first people she hired when she decided a year ago to create this special division on floor 22. Between her best friend Akane and the new Human resources manager, it was love at first sight. Six months after meeting each other, they were tying the knot.

Until now, Rena had kept silent when she witnessed her assistant flirting with Akane, surprised neither Akane or Airi minded the girl’s actions, even passing it off as something innocent. But what if it wasn’t? What if her assistant had genuine feelings for Akane and no one warned her it was a wasted effort? For so long, Rena promised herself she wouldn’t broach this particular subject with her assistant, refusing to meddle in her personal life. However, this evening, she couldn’t keep quiet.

“There’s something you need to know about Akane-san,” Rena started hesitantly, almost not believing she was going to have that conversation. She had to keep repeating herself that it was the right thing to do, in order to continue. But how could she announce her the news without hurting her, if she happened to have feelings for her best friend? In the end, she figured it was best not to beat about the bush but simply be honest. “She’s… she’s married to Airi-san.”

Silence enveloped them, Rena hoping she hadn’t made a big mistake by bringing up such a sensitive topic. Her assistant didn’t say a word, and Rena was too ill-at-ease to look back at her. “I…”

“I know.” Her assistant interrupted her before she had time to formulate a semblance of an apology. “I like Akane a lot, but I’m interested in someone else.”  

Rena tilted her head towards her in surprise and stopped. Her assistant’s confession came out of nowhere and Rena felt destabilized, not knowing what to make of it. And what about this shy, but serious look she was giving her? Rena waited, sensing her assistant wanted to say more. Indeed, the younger girl opened a few times as if she meant to add something else, but no other words managed to leave her lips.

When it became clear that she wouldn’t elaborate, Rena glanced back to the street and resumed her walk, trying to figure out what her assistant was trying to say. The younger girl had always acted timid around her, but this evening, she was being more agitated than usual. Evidently, something was troubling her, and she found herself curious to know what it was.

They had arrived at the subway station, but the younger girl didn’t seem in a hurry to leave her side. In fact, she glanced back and forth between her and the entrance of the subway station, as if torn about her next course of action, until she fixed her eyes on her. “Are you doing something tonight, Rena-san? I want to buy you dinner.”

Rena didn’t often find herself speechless, being naturally a very composed and eloquent person, but her assistant’s unexpected offer managed to catch her off guard. Despite her assistant’s eyes set on her firmly, she could easily read the apprehension mixed with expectation in them. Rena could tell it had taken quite an amount of courage from her to utter such bold words.

They were standing in the middle of the street, under a driving rain, receiving curious looks from bystanders. Rena ignored the attention, looking into the depth of her young assistant’s brown eyes. They shone with such determination, that Rena knew the younger girl wouldn’t move an inch until she received a reply from her. Her previous confession made suddenly sense. This dinner wasn’t a friendly invitation. And, as Rena made the link between her offer and her assistant’s behavior this past month, she understood what Airi had tried to explain earlier in her office.

As the head of Matsui Corporation, Rena had been courted by many men. The majority approached her for her wealth, while a few were more genuine with their feelings. However, never once did she respond positively to any one of them. For a while, she believed her lack of interest originated from her entire focus on her work. Since her father passed away and left her sole heiress of Matsui Corporation, she barely had any free time.

Rena realized what had been going under her nose recently, and what her assistant was expecting from her. Her assistant had a magnetic effect on others, and Rena never denied the fact that she found her attractive. She believed so from the very first moment she laid eyes on her in that elevator. And what about all those times she had been disturbed by her assistant’s flirty behavior with others? Much as she tried to conceal it, she was conscious of her petty feelings of jealousy. By the sound of her beating heart, Rena already knew the answer she would be giving her.

Rena didn’t know how this date would turn out, but she wanted to give it a chance. “I’m free. Where do you want us to go, Jurina-san?”

“You are?” Jurina’s eyes lit up in joy, and Rena couldn’t help smiling at her genuine reaction. She could literally see the relief spreading across her face. “Follow me, I know the perfect place.”

Rena nodded, noting the way her assistant became more relaxed and talkative as she led the way. The tension between them had dissipated by miracle, almost as if it had never existed in the first place. Rena laughed softly when her assistant made a funny joke, finding it hard not to be affected by the charming smile she was sending her. After tonight, Rena had a good feeling their relationship would never be the same anymore.

Version edited on August 12, 2019.