An Uncommon Office Romance!

Chapter 3

Monday 9:00 a.m.

Akito's Apartment
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Akito
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I wake up groggily Monday morning, knowing work starts in less than an hour. Today, there will be a meeting about Hana, the new member of the exec team. I roll out of bed, feed and pet Benji, and have a shower. As I'm getting ready to head into work, I see an important email from Takamoto Tech.

From: takamototech@*mail.com
To: akitotakahashi@*mail.com

Important announcement: There will be a surprise topic to be discussed during the meeting.
Please welcome the change, thank you.

Fumiko Hayashi
Executive Coder
Takamoto Tech

Huh. A surprise topic, hm? As I'm putting my shoes on, I ponder what the topic could be about. I leave the house and take my bike to work whilst listening to white noise just to take my mind off of the meeting.

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Takamoto Tech -9:30 a.m.
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Hana

I've unpacked my boxes from my old office and make my new desk look like its former counterpart. I smooth my pink blouse out, and walk to the meeting room, my black pumps clicking under me.

Before I open the door, I take a few breaths and let calm wash over me. Inside, Fumiko and 2 others sit on the 3 upper most chairs and Akito and another unknown employee sit closer to the bottom. Unfortunately for me, my seat is in the middle of Akito and the employee. Fumiko stands up, smooths her beige skirt, and begins speaking.

"Welcome everyone, and a warm special welcome to Hana! Everyone, before we kick start this meeting, I'd just like everyone to say their name so Hana would know who she's talking to."

One by one, people start to speak up and give small introductions. Once the introductions get to Akito, however, all he does is clear his throat and say his first and last name. Fumiko doesn't seem to notice, and if she does, she doesn't bring it up to escalate anything. "Now that the intros are over, let's begin the meeting, shall we?"

Fumiko goes into detail about clientele and profits for the last year and suddenly starts speaking about an upcoming project coming up soon. "...For this project, I'd like each of you to get into organized groups and start working on it. The client would like a functioning website with all parts done by each respective group. I already have all of the groups planned out and will be as follows."

She writes: "Hana and Akito" "Ren and Asahi" and "Hiroshi and Takuya". She points to the names and says, "These will be the groups that you all will be placed in. No exceptions. Oh, and, try not to say she's unprofessional in front of her face, hm? You haven't even seen her work ethic yet." She said the last sentence with a tight smile and Akito drank his coffee as if he hadn't heard anything. "And with that, this meeting is over. Everyone, you may go back to your desks now."

Hm, he sees me as unprofessional? Of course he does. He looks like he would make a cat cry. Trying to ignore Fumiko's remark, I return to my desk with a mug of coffee and when I get there, I see Akito standing close to my desk, as if he's waiting for me.

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Hana's desk- 10:20 a.m.
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Akito

Shit. Why would Fumiko make that remark in Hana's presence? Did she say that to cause trouble? 'Anyway, where is Hana, I really need to speak to her.' I think, and as the thought materializes, she's advancing to her desk, a cup of coffee in one of her hands. She squints her eyes and says while squinting, "Hm. I thought you didn't want to want to work with me because of my lack of work ethics and professionality? Are you willing to work with me now?"

"Shit, I'm sorry Fumiko said that, but I was skeptical about your work and I wasn't sure if you would be up to standard." I also muttered something along the lines of "You look like a friend of mine." She seems to ignore the remark and sits at her desk. She looks up at me and says "Well, what would you like to discuss?" I pull a chair up and start to discuss more details of the code that I would like her to write.

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Takamoto Tech 6:30 p.m.
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Hana

It's late, and Akito has been doing programming work beside me for about an hour. I take a glance at him, and the blue light from the screen illuminates his slender, toned face. His jaw is sharp, and his hair frames his face perfectly. He looks familiar, a bit too familiar. I try to think of who he could be in my past, but I keep drawing blanks. He suddenly gets up, and I turn to him, and I see he's getting 2 coffees. I get up, but he motions for me to stay seated as he walks back. I notice his slender legs and his tall frame. He returns to his seat and we get back to work, the quiet hum of the monitor keeping us working throughout the rest of the work night.

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Akito's apartment 11:30 p.m.
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Akito

She really reminds me of someone I knew. Maybe if I go back to my memories, I'll find her.
I really would like to get to know her, but something is blocking me. I'll break that block no matter what.

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Hana's Apartment- 11:30 p.m.
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Hana

I can't shake the feeling that I knew him before. Maybe Souta and I were friends with Akito and he left? I'll figure a way to break his shell and finally figure out who he truly is.