Actually, There’s Someone at Your Workplace Who Likes You ~ I’m Being Transferred to a Sales Office Filled With Only Beautiful Women!? - Chapter 66: Who Exactly Was She Making Excuses To?

“Pretending to be in a relationship with Hirarin and going on a date…?”

The moment she imagined this, Honoka’s face suddenly felt as hot as if it had caught fire.

“Ah, no, no… it’s just acting to convince Mom! It’s not like I think dating would be fun or anything!”

Who exactly was she making excuses to when she was alone in her room? Suddenly coming to her senses about this behavior she didn’t understand herself, Honoka couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Oh, but…”

Even if she showed her mother a scene of her dating Rinta, would her mother, who always insisted that “only handsome men will do”, be convinced?

She realized there were other options if she just wanted to convince her mother and avoid the marriage meeting. Honoka had been approached by many men before. Among them were some who were absolutely gorgeous in appearance. If she asked such a man to play the role of her boyfriend, the problem would likely be solved.

—However…

“No, no, that won’t work!”

If she made such a request, they might hold it over her or use it as leverage to make strange demands later. Among the men who had approached her before, there was no one Honoka felt she could trust. In that sense, only the sincere and trustworthy Rinta was someone she could ask for such a favor.

And even before the matter of trust, Honoka felt that among those men, there was no one she would want to date, even if it was just pretend.

Honoka imagined the scene of explaining the situation to Rinta. In her imagination, Rinta said—

“Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ll do my best to be your fake boyfriend. For your sake, Honoka.”

And Rinta smiled gently.

“F-f-for my sake…?”

—Though this was purely the Rinta in her imagination.

Honoka suddenly felt embarrassed by Rinta’s words and smile, and again felt like flames were erupting from her face. She started fidgeting with her chestnut-colored hair frantically.

Then—coming back to her senses, she realized how silly she was being.

“W-what am I doing…”

Why was she feeling so embarrassed and excited over an imaginary Rinta?

Had she gone crazy? She was not a middle or high school student anymore. Wasn’t it strange to get so embarrassed and flustered just thinking about Hirarin? No, no, she needed to calm down for now.

Honoka tried to calm her feelings this way, but she couldn’t stop her heart from racing and fluttering whenever she thought about Rinta.

Although Honoka had dated men before, she had never truly fallen for anyone. Therefore, she didn’t know what to do with these intense emotions.

Ah, but still, Hirarin was the only one she could ask for this kind of favor—Honoka thought again.

By the way, if her mother saw Rinta, would she approve of him?

Since her mother would be watching from a distance, she might not see clearly and might not say he was unacceptable for not being handsome. That would be lucky.

But if her mother got a good look at Rinta’s face—

It was true that when they had first met, she’d thought that Rinta was not conventionally handsome by anyone’s standards. But his face when he was focused on something, or his occasional gentle smile wasn’t bad… that’s what she thought now.

Yes. When she told Rinta’s classmates at the drinking party that “he’ll get a girlfriend soon”, it wasn’t just flattery. Honoka genuinely believed it.

So her mother might surprisingly accept Rinta’s appearance.

But if her mother said something like “He’s not handsome, so he’s no good”—

“Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

So she decided that tomorrow, she would definitely ask Rinta for help.

(Ah—I just had a good idea. If Mom says he’s no good because he’s not handsome, I can respond like this:)

“I’m the one dating him, not you, Mom. I love this person, so it’s fine!”

The moment she pictured those words in her head.

“Aaaaaaah! Huh? Huh? Huh? D-do I like Hirarin?!”

After clutching her head and agonizing for a while, Honoka came back to her senses.

“Oh, no. I was just thinking of lines to convince Mom.”

Honoka was so flustered thinking about Rinta that she was completely confused about everything.

◆◇◆◇◆

The next day; Monday morning at the start of the week.

Honoka had been feeling nervous ever since she woke up.

She needed to ask Rinta to be her fake boyfriend. What kind of face should she make, and how should she phrase such a request?

—Could she say it properly?

“Hirarin. I’ll let you play the role of my boyfriend.”

—Ah, no, that was stupid. Such a haughty way of asking would make her look like a complete fool.

“Hirarin! I need you to help me deceive my mom!”

—While not incorrect, this sounded like inviting him to commit a crime, didn’t it?

While working, Honoka turned various ideas over in her mind, but she couldn’t come up with an appropriate way to ask. And every time Rinta appeared in her field of vision, Honoka found herself thinking about all sorts of things.

(But even though I’m asking him to be my boyfriend, it’s just pretend~ It’s not a real confession or anything. I should just casually ask him. Yes, a fake boyfriend. Yeah, fake-fake. Easy peasy!)

She muttered nonsensical words in her head to distract herself from her anxiety.

But she couldn’t have such a conversation in front of others. She needed a moment when they were alone. She couldn’t miss that opportunity.

A little after noon, Jinguji-shochou went out to visit a client, leaving only Honoka, Rinta, and Ruka in the office.

Then suddenly Ruka stood up.

“I’m going to buy lunch.”

Apparently, she was going to buy a convenience store lunch box.

“Oh, right. Is it okay if I stop by the bank on the way? I need to withdraw some cash.”

She was referring to the money needed for train fares, coin parking fees, or small purchases.IIt was money given to employees when company expenses needed to be paid in cash.

In this branch office, Ruka managed this, and when the cash on hand ran low, she would go to the bank to withdraw more.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Take your tiiiiiime.”

Honoka’s line came out unnaturally forced due to her nervousness. However, Ruka didn’t seem to notice anything strange and simply replied “Thank you,” which made Honoka feel relieved.

After watching Ruka’s back as she left the office, Honoka glanced at Rinta, who was facing his computer at his desk.