always | gojou satoru [rewriting]

chapter 11 - getting to know each other

After a few days of deciding, you've finally accepted Mr. Nanami's offer. It was definitely not easy to receive that kind of offer and obviously, you would get paid higher than you were in your current position. You might settle off your mom's debt earlier than you expected. That was what you had in mind.

After a week of working as Mr. Nanami's secretary, it was actually not that bad. He helped you a lot and made sure that you understood every tasks that were given. He was a nice man and he would not let anyone feel insecure just because he's the CEO's son. Talking to him makes you feel like you both are just on the same level.

"Your afternoon meeting with Reido Group is cancelled. The reason is not stated." you informed Mr. Nanami after you received a mail from them. You could see the change of expression on his face.

"They've been cancelling meetings a lot lately. I wonder what's happening." he let out a sigh, leaning his back and head  against the chair as his eyes fixed to the ceiling. "Y/n, Can you make me a cup of coffee? No sugar."

"Of course." you left his office and headed towards the pantry. There, you happened to meet Inumaki, who was enjoying his bento. "Oh, looks like someone is hungry." you smiled at him.

"Well, hello there, Nanami's secretary." he flashed a smirk and laughed, "I haven't been eating well. Too busy. Um, have you heard about the CEO is going to retire soon? Probably in a week from now. That's why Nanami is in charge now."

"Really? I did see him yesterday. He looked kinda sick. I think it's better for him to rest at home." you said but Inumaki shook his head, "Why?"

"Y/n, I feel like there's something fishy going on." Inumaki lowered his voice so only you could hear it, "Trust me, he wasn't that sick looking before. It happened so fast I couldn't even remember when it started. Nanami didn't tell you anything?"

"Nope. But, he seemed stressed since yesterday." you informed while making his coffee. "Just now, he asked for coffee without sugar which is a bit strange. He told me before that he likes it when his coffee is sweet. He doesn't like it bitter."

"I see. You should calm him down. Buy him cakes or whatever to cheer him up. Or give him a hug."

"And tell me why the hell should I do that?" you eyed Inumaki with a serious expression, while he just giggled. "I really should go now. We'll continue our talk later!" you exited the pantry and carefully headed towards his office and gave him his coffee. "Here you go."

"Thank you," he said softly, immediately sipping his coffee. "Ah, I usually don't drink coffee without sugar." he spoke, then looked at you. "I'm sorry that I had to show you this side of mine. I've been so stressed out and seems that I couldn't hide it anymore."

"It's totally fine! We're humans, after all. There are times where we feel down, sad and it's normal to feel that way. Please don't apologize." you tried to comfort him even though you weren't good at it. "Maybe I should give you some space to calm you down or do you want me to grab you something to eat? Desserts, perhaps? You'll feel a lot better if you eat one."

"Let's go then."

You were quite puzzled as he stood up from his seat, wearing his tan blazer. He pressed a button on the intercom, "Ijichi, I need to go somewhere. I'll be in the lobby in 3 minutes."

"Oh? I thought Iㅡ"

"I know this one place that has amazingly delicious desserts. I must take you there so you could experience it yourself." he said with a slight smile on his face. Then, he noticed you were hesitant to tag along or not. "You're my secretary. You should be by my side all the time." he stated which made your heart almost jumped out of your chest, "So that means, you must come along with me to eat desserts too."

"Ah, I see. Alright then." you nodded as you followed him from behind. You never thought you would go somewhere with him out of working purposes.

As Mr. Nanami and you arrived at the lobby, you saw Ijichi at the entrance with a car so you escorted Mr. Nanami towards him and made sure he went into the car first before you. "Where should I head to?" Ijichi asked. Mr. Nanami replied, "At the usual place." and with that, he drove the car carefully to the destination.

"Here it is."

It was just around 20 minutes to get to the place where he referred as 'the usual place'. It was a dessert cafe. Both of you entered the cafe and the place smelled so good. "I've tried everything here. But, the banana cream cheesecake is my all-time favourite. he said.

"Oh, you brought a partner!"

Both of you immediately looked at the person who was walking towards your table. A beautiful looking woman, wearing a yellow floral dress which fits her perfectly.

"Ah, this is the owner of the cafe." Mr. Nanami informed and you nodded in reply. "Good afternoon, Ms. Erika. I haven't been seeing you in a while."

"I had to go back to my hometown to settle a few errands. But, now I'm back!" her smile was so bright, and you really admired how cheerful she looked. Not to mention her cute dimples showing on her cheeks. "Seems like you have a partner now. You would always come here alone and it makes me wonder sometimes how come a handsome and rich guy like you couldn't afford to have a girlfriendㅡ"

"I'm sorry to break it to you but this is actually my secretary."

"Oh." she somehow looked disappointed but then let out a laugh, "Sorry, my bad! I honestly thought that you're his girlfriend." she looked at you while giggling, "You both look good together."

What?

"Anyways, it's her first time coming here. Could you recommend something good to her?" he changed the subject.

"Sure! You should really try our famous lemon tart." she smiled and then had her eyes on Mr. Nanami, "How about you? As usual?" he nodded at her question.

"I'm sorry. She's a bit talktative." he said to you after Erika left the table.

"You must really like the desserts here." you commented, and thought that he must've come here often until the owner itself recognized him.

"Here, your lemon tart and banana cream cheesecake!"

As you took a first bite of the lemon tart, you honestly felt like you were in heaven. "Oh my god, this is amazing." you were definitely in love. You loved how the sourness of the lemon exploded in your mouth and turned into sweetness a second later.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." he said as he indulged his favourite cheesecake. "Everytime I come here, I would feel at ease. I feel like all of my problems are gone. And you were right, eating desserts really do make me feel better."

"I know right? Here's a random story. I used to gain 8kg in a month when I was in high school because I couldn't stop eating my mom's brownies. She used to sell them and I kept stealing some." you opened up to Mr. Nanami, "But, really, desserts are the best medicine for stressful days even though it's only temporary." you chuckled at your own words, and so did him.

"I really enjoy talking to you, Y/n." he flashed a smile while enjoying his cake, "You can just call me Kento, by the way."

"Hm? You want me to call you.. Kento?" you looked at him, a bit confused. Did you just hear him right?

"Yes, I just want you to feel comfortable around me and I hope we can be friends as well."

You flashed a smile at him, "Sure, Kento. I kinda like the sound of that."