The Person Who Gave Me An Extraordinary Life Was You, A Beautiful Executive Secretary - Chapter 3

Episode 3: Executive Secretary

The next day, I woke up at the usual time, washed my face, changed clothes, skipped breakfast, and left my room.

From there, after about an hour’s journey by foot and train, I arrived at the office building where I work.

It’s a pretty large building, with various departments like HR, accounting, sales, PR, and technology spread across it.

Consequently, there are quite a few employees, so even if you pass by someone in the hallway, you might not remember their face and name.

It’s the headquarters building of Five Star Industries, a comprehensive electronics manufacturer with factories and bases in Japan and overseas.

I took the elevator up to the fifth floor, and as I walked down the hallway, there was an open space with many desks lined up.

In one corner is the section I belong to, the first section of the second development division in the technology department.

“Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning.”

I greeted my boss and took my seat, then turned on my computer.

As usual, I checked my internal emails and chats.

“Hey. Kousaka-kun!”

A voice came from a desk a little ways away. It was the chief of the second development division, Kureibayashi-san.

“Yes?”

I replied and stood up, facing his desk.

“Are the presentation materials I asked you to prepare ready?”

“Um, it’ll take a little longer. I remember you said you needed them by the end of the day, so I was planning to finish them up in the afternoon.”
“Sorry, but it would be really helpful if you could hurry. I need to review them here and make some adjustments.”

“Yes, I understand.”

It is a daily occurrence for me to hear such petulant remarks in the morning.

I sighed quietly so no one else would notice, then returned to my seat. From the neighboring desk, a quiet voice spoke up.

“Man, the chief is so whimsical. I’m pretty sure he said it had to be done by the end of the day too.”

“Well, whatever. I’ll just switch around my morning and afternoon schedules and get the chief’s request done first.”

“Yeah, hang in there. I’m heading to the lab, so let me know if you need any help.”

“Thanks.”

The one who spoke to me was my colleague from the same year, Yoshikage Yamagata.

Actually, he was asked to do something similar to me, but he finished submitting it to the chief first thing yesterday morning and received a lot of praise for it.

Since joining the company, he’s been good at his job, tall and handsome.

Add to that his friendly personality towards someone like me, and it’s easy to see why he’s already highly trusted by the higher-ups and popular with the ladies.

On Valentine’s Day, he came back home with bags full of chocolates, both from friends and admirers.

He’s the epitome of a popular extrovert, that’s Yamagata’s daily life.

Anyway, I focused all my energy on quickly finishing up the task the chief had asked for. After about two hours, I managed to put something together and sent it via email.

“Chief Kureibayashi, I’ve sent the presentation materials!”

“Ah, thanks.”

With a curt reply, the task was temporarily finished.

As I checked through the internal emails I had missed, the office suddenly started buzzing with activity.

What’s going on? Did some big shot come to visit?

Pretending not to notice, I kept my gaze fixed on my computer screen, but I suddenly felt a refreshing breeze pass by my side.

Inadvertently, I looked up towards the chief’s desk and saw the back of an unfamiliar woman.

Her long black hair seemed to reach her waist, shining with a glossy sheen. She was wearing a navy skirt suit that hugged her slender figure.

“Sorry to bother you, Chief Kureibayashi. I’m here to discuss the presentation for Executive Director Isayama, and I’d like to go over the arrangements.”

“No, no, I’m sorry for having you come all the way. If I remember correctly you’re Shiraishi-san, the new executive secretary for Executive Director Isayama, right?”

“Yes. Since April, I’ve been working as both an executive secretary and in sales planning. So I still have a lot to get used to.”

“Oh, no worries. That’s understandable. But I’ve heard the rumors. You’re quite talented.”

“No, that’s not true…”

Unusually for Chief Kureibayashi, who often has a stern expression, he was now visibly relaxed.

“Shall we head to the conference room?”

The chief stood up and escorted her. As she turned her face towards me, it was as translucently white as ice, with big black eyes and a straight nose—

Huh? This person…

Realizing that I was staring intently, she also turned her gaze towards me—

And then, both of us froze in place like ice sculptures.

“Is there something wrong?”

“…Ah, no…”

She averted her gaze from me and followed Chief Kureibayashi, slipping past me.

There’s probably no mistaking it.

She’s Setsuna Shiraishi, the person I spent time with at the Night Theater last night.

God, is this also your capriciousness?

Unable to keep up with my train of thought, the rest of the morning was unproductive.

After having lunch, I headed to Yamagata in the laboratory.

“What’s wrong? You look down. Did the chief scold you again?”

“No, it’s something else. Hey, do you know a person named Setsuna Shiraishi?”

“Huh!? You don’t know her?”

“No, not at all.”

He shook his head incredulously.

“Man, you’re too uninformed, even if you’re indifferent to others. She’s been in the sales department since two years ago, and she’s famous in the company for being both capable and beautiful. From April this year, she’s also been working as an executive secretary. Probably, some big shot liked her and pulled her into the role.”

“Is that so? So, are we junior to her?”

“Yeah, probably. Hey, are you interested in Shiraishi-san?”

“No, it’s not like that. I just happened to see her visiting the chief’s desk, and I was curious about who she was.”

“I see. Well, that’s fine then.”

“…What do you mean, ‘that’s fine’?”

I couldn’t help but ask about Yamagata’s vague statement.

“If you’re curious about her, just ask her yourself.”

“I’m not curious about her!”

I denied it reflexively, but something about his words struck a chord with me. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try and talk to her.

As I was immersed in the screen thinking this, I noticed a reaction in the internal chat.

Maybe some other work instructions.

When I opened the page with that in mind, it was a message from Setrsuna Shiraishi.