moving up

Chapter 18

When Aizawa calls Momo to the office, she assumes that it has something to do with her conversation with Shoto. At least, she has no reason to think that she's in trouble, and things have been going so well that there's no need to be paranoid. He has her sit down and sits across the desk from her.

"So," he says, "are you interested in full time?" As always, he gets straight to the point, likely hoping to be able to get this over with quickly so he can get back to whatever it is he does when he isn't on the floor. Most of the other employees have bet on sleeping.

"Yes, I am," she replies. So, it's exactly what she expected it to be.

"We've got a new position coming open soon, and we've talked it over, and we've pretty much come to the decision that you're the one we want to fill it," he says. "Rather than going through the trouble of conducting interviews, if we can avoid it."

"What sort of position?" she asks, not sure if she should let on that Shoto has told her everything about it. And Aizawa goes on to describe everything that Shoto described to her, not seeming to know that Shoto has described it to her.

"So, if you think that's something you'd be interested in, we can start putting through the paperwork. You'll be getting a raise, obviously, which would kick in the first pay period after the promotion goes through."

When she agrees that she wants to take the position, they begin working on the proper paperwork together, and while they do so, he says, "You came pretty highly recommended actually. Shoto seems to think pretty highly of you, I haven't ever seen him praise anyone this much."

She feels herself start to blush, and really wishes she could turn that off, because it is definitely not the time for that right now. "Oh, really? Ah, I appreciate it..."

"You two are kind of close, huh?"

The question takes her by surprise, and, once she's fully processed it, it's all she can do to hide her panic. Has she been found out again? Does her own boss know about her hopelessly one sided crush? Why else would he say something like that? Though she knows that there are probably plenty of other reasons for him to, she suddenly can't think of any.

"I...wouldn't say that," she says. "We just work together."

"Yeah, but he does like to have you scheduled with him," replies Aizawa with a shrug. "I mean, I agree that you've done exceptionally well in your position, so I guess I can see where he's coming from."

Her blush deepens, not because of Aizawa's compliment, but because she feels closer and closer to being exposed. Does he know, or doesn't he? Does he suspect something more- and, even though she knows she shouldn't she really wishes there more!-? He's never been an easy man to read, and especially now, she can't figure out what it is that he's thinking, so she just keeps quiet.

There is an incredibly uncomfortable silence- though maybe that's just her- while she waits for him to finish the paperwork and dismiss her, and for the rest of her shift, she tries not to let herself worry about what Aizawa said. It really was probably nothing; he's probably just surprised that they're friends, if Shoto really doesn't praise other employees quite as often.

But that means that Shoto praises her more than others, and that causes her to overthink as well.

~X~

The next day, when she comes in, Shoto is already there. A part of her thinks she should try to avoid him more after her conversation with Aizawa, but the part of her that wants to be excited about her promotion wins out, and she hurries over to talk to him.

"Did you hear?" she asks, in a hushed tone because she isn't sure how much of a secret it is.

"About your promotion?" he replies, giving her a small smile. "Aizawa told all of us that he was going to offer it to you. Everything is pretty much official now."

"Thank you so much for recommending me," she says. "I really appreciate it. You've always been so helpful, and I promise I'll do my best in this position. You won't regret recommending me for it!"

"You always take everything here so seriously," he says, "and I mean that as a compliment. To some people this is just a job, but you're serious, and I can tell that's not the case with you. I already know I won't regret it."

She doesn't know how she's supposed to process all these compliments today, and she remembers her conversation with Aizawa again, feeling her face start to go red. They seem close, huh? Right now, it's not hard to see why, but to think about that right now...

"I'd like to do something to celebrate with you," he continues, and that snaps her out of her thoughts. However, she has no idea how to process what he's just said. He wants to celebrate with her? What does that mean? Does that mean what she thinks it does? It couldn't, because that would be absolutely ridiculous, completely unrealistic, but the more she thinks about it, the less she's able to think of any other possibility.

So what on earth is she supposed to say to him? She barely feels like she can breathe, but if she hesitates for too long, she's only going to look weird, and she's just barely able to get out, "What would you want to do?"

Shoto pauses for a moment before saying, "Well...usually when we have something to celebrate, we'll order something for the store. Like pizza or cupcakes, or something like that. We can't do anything until the announcement is made, but I'd like to."

Oh. Of course.

She should have known that he meant something involving the whole store. There was no reason for her to jump to any conclusions and get her hopes up and tip him off to how hopeless she is. He'll probably have her figured out in no time if he hasn't now, and the longer she takes to reply, the more obvious she becomes.

Finally, Momo clears her throat and says, "That sounds like a lot of fun. Thank you for being so thoughtful, Shoto."

"It's really nothing," he says. "The management team as a whole likes to do celebrate everyone's achievements."

It isn't long after that that they both have work to do, and she's thankful for the chance to get out of the conversation. She's sure that he's looking for an excuse as well, since he must feel incredibly awkward after the potential misunderstanding. Just when things start to turn around and go well for her, she has to do something stupid like that to remind her of the position she's actually in.

But she's going to be full time now, which means that she has to try even harder. As a sales floor lead, she's got to set an example for others. She's got to step things up, and be the best that she can be.