I Was Abandoned by My Fiancé and Betrayed by My Best Friend—A Story from Rock Bottom - Chapter 42

Several more days had passed since then.

The office atmosphere had regained its brightness, with everyone moving forward and focusing on their work.

But beneath the surface of that cheerful mood.

A new ripple of darkness was gradually spreading for us.

◇ ◇ ◇

The cafeteria during lunch break.

“Hey, Udo-san. Haven’t you been going out with Executive Vice President Kiryū a lot lately?”

The senior from the sales department who was sharing my table brought it up to me.

“Wh-what!? Wh-what are you talking about?”

I tried to laugh it off nervously, but the senior next to me also had a deeply interested expression.

“Lately, there’s been some talk around the office. They say Executive Vice President Kiryū has become kinder than before.”

“Yeah, yeah. People are saying ‘maybe there’s someone special.'”

My fork nearly slipped from my hand.

“Th-that’s…! It’s just work-related matters, I tell you!”

“Fufu, we’ll leave it at that then~”

“You should be careful too, Secretary Udo-san. Rumors like that spread quickly.”

Their laughter bubbled around me.

“B-but even if you say that…”

Yet I couldn’t bring myself to laugh.

Because I’m Kiryū-san’s secretary, working in the closest position to him…

(This is bad. Really bad! Could it be that we’ve already been found out?)

While everyone was chatting and laughing, I hurriedly stuffed my lunch into my mouth.

I finished my meal earlier than usual and hastily left the cafeteria.

◆◆◆

Afternoon work.

On my way back from a meeting in the secretary department, I ran into Naoya-san—no, Executive Vice President Kiryū—at the corner of the hallway.

“Udo, the afternoon report documents?”

“Ah, yes! I’ll bring them right away!”

I tried to make my voice sound proper.

But his eyes softened for just a moment, making my heart leap.

He immediately averted his gaze and quickly walked away.

Watching his retreating back, I noticed female employees from other departments watching from a distance.

(…As I thought, this is bad.)

Probably, the “rumor” had already reached most people’s ears.

If things continued like this, I might cause trouble not just for myself, but for him too.

◆◆◆

The next day, during morning work hours.

I was suddenly summoned to the president’s office.

When I opened the door, President Kiryū Issei—Kiryū-san’s father—was sitting quietly.

And across from him, Kiryū-san was also seated.

“Udo-kun. Have a seat.”

The president greeted me with a cold voice.

“Yes. Excuse me.”

I bowed slightly and sat on the sofa next to where Kiryū-san was sitting.

The president glanced at us and began speaking.

“Lately, there have been rumors about you two in the company. Regardless of their truth, is it affecting your work?”

“N-no… Not particularly…”

My heart was pounding loudly.

“Let me ask you directly, are you two dating?”

My heart gave a big leap.

“……”

We could only remain silent and look down.

“…I see.”

The president shifted his gaze from me and looked at Kiryū-san, speaking in a louder voice.

“Naoya, make sure to keep your public and private lives separate.”

“…Yes.”

Kiryū-san’s voice was calm.

He was looking straight at the president, but his profile appeared unusually stern.

“Young men and women are free to fall in love. But this is a company. An organization that operates on trust. Know your limits.”

“…I understand.”

“My apologies.”

We had no way to respond to the president’s heavy words…

—Just then.

A knock came at the president’s office door.

“Issei, I’m coming in.”

A somewhat familiar voice.

When the door opened, there stood Chairperson Ayano.

(Ayano-san!?)

“Chairperson, why are you here?”

Before I could speak, President Kiryū stood up smoothly and asked.

Ayano-san brushed past his words and looked at us.

“Oh, you’re already here. I was looking for you two.”

Kiryū-san and I exchanged glances.

Then Ayano-san turned her attention to the president.

“Issei, it seems you’ve already spoken with them.”

“Yes. I questioned them and gave them a warning.”

Ayano-san let out a small sigh and looked at us.

“Naoya, you should talk with the president a bit more. —And Miharu-san.”

“Y-yes.”

“Would you mind having a little chat with me?”

Chairperson Ayano’s eyes were clear and sparkling.

“…U-understood.”

She gave a cheerful smile at my response.

“Then Naoya, I’ll be borrowing Miharu-san for a while.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the two standing there, I followed Ayano-san out of the president’s office.

I was led to the chairperson’s office and invited to sit on the sofa.

“E-excuse me.”

I cautiously sat down on the fluffy sofa.

Looking up, I saw Ayano-san smiling with straightforward eyes.

“It’s… been a while.”

I gave a slight bow.

“That’s right. It has been some time since we last met.”

Ayano-san prepared tea with practiced hands and served it to me.

“Thank you. I should be doing that, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Right now, you’re a guest.”

Ayano-san answered while smiling.

Then she settled gracefully onto the sofa opposite me.

“Are you dating Naoya?”

A straight-to-the-point question came flying at me.

For a moment, my voice caught in my throat.

“…Yes.”

I realized that lies and evasion wouldn’t work with Ayano-san.

More than anything, I couldn’t do that to someone who was truly my benefactor.

“I see! So that boy has noticed your charm too.”

“I don’t know about that but I’m grateful to Naoya-san.”

Ayano-san looked into my eyes and smiled cheerfully again.

“You’re building a good relationship. It seems you’re not just a kind girl after all.”

“Ayano-san…”

I felt a little embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. That’s not why I asked you here today. To pry into such matters.”

“…What do you mean?”

Ayano-san’s expression became slightly more serious.

“Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“Something to ask of me?”

Ayano-san took a sip of tea before continuing.

“Yes. I’d like you to learn something separate from your work at this company.”

“Learn?”

What could it be? I couldn’t understand at all.

“I can’t reveal everything right now, but one part is leadership education. The second is about the organizations and systems of society as a whole.”

“Huh?”

Somehow the scale of the conversation was so large I couldn’t keep up…

“Can I really do such things?”

“I believe you probably can.”

Ayano-san continued with sparkling eyes.

“One more thing. This isn’t for right away, but I’d like you to do it several years from now…”

Regarding that, Ayano-san explained everything to me carefully, one point at a time.

I listened while turning my brain at full capacity to deepen my understanding.

Before I knew it, about thirty minutes had passed.

“…Well, that’s the gist of it. I ended up explaining at length.”

“No, not at all. But if I learn all that, I’ll become something incredible, won’t I…”

Ayano-san laughed at my words.

“You can definitely do it. It’ll be fine.”

“Ayano-san…”

Ayano-san finished the remaining tea.

Then, as if remembering something, she spoke up.

“Ah, about the office rumors, I’ll take care of that for you.”

“Wha—!? Is it really okay to let you do that?”

“Leave it to me. I won’t let anything bad happen.”

Ayano-san’s eyes sparkled as she smiled.

“Well, that’s enough for today. You may go back now.”

“Yes. Thank you for everything. I’ll try to do what I can.”

“Fufu. That’s a good attitude. I’m counting on you.”

I stood up, bowed, and left the chairperson’s office.

Regarding the rumors about Kiryū-san and me, I intuitively felt that trusting Ayano-san was the best course of action.

◇ ◇ ◇

In the evening office.

As I was preparing to leave, a quiet voice came from behind me.

“Udo… I’m sorry about everything. Are you still worried about it?”

Turning around, I saw Kiryū-san standing there.

His tie was loosened, and he looked somewhat tired perhaps his talk with the president had run long.

“N-no… Well, just a little…”

“…I’m sorry. My position is making this worse.”

He had an apologetic expression that was unlike his usual self.

“No. Regarding this matter, Chairperson Ayano was concerned too.”

“I see. Did she say anything…”

“Yes, well…”

Kiryū-san paused before answering in a slightly lower voice.

“But I don’t regret it.”

“…Huh?”

Naoya-san approached me and gently brought his hand to my cheek.

My heart leaped with a thump.

“Being involved with you, having you here beside me like this. For me, it’s become ‘strength for my work’ too.”

Matter-of-factly, but in a quiet voice.

That alone made something warm spread through the depths of my chest.

I let out a small breath and smiled.

“…Yes. I won’t lose either.”

He nodded quietly and walked away, his back to the office lights.

Watching his retreating figure, I thought.

—This love will definitely require considerable “resolve.”

But even so…

I still wanted to be with this person.