The Heir I Dragged Into My “He’s My Fiancé!” Lie Is Somehow Playing Along!? - Chapter 2.2

“Good morning. I’m Shirotsuki, assigned to the Secretary Division starting today. Pleased to meet you!”

Alice gave her arrival greeting to the employees gathered inside after passing through the Secretary Division door located in a corner of the top floor.

(When I think of the Secretary Division, I imagine it as a glamorous, star department filled with sophisticated beauties, but…!)

The room contained four men in suits of varying ages. There were only two women, both around Alice’s mother’s age, with no particularly flashy impressions in their clothing or makeup.

Though there were several desks equipped with desktop computers and landline phones, there were no personal items on them, giving a tidy, organized impression.

A man sitting at a slightly separated desk immediately stood up and approached Alice.

“We’ve been notified. I’m Section Chief Honami. I believe Kido-san has already explained the duties to you, but until you get accustomed, the entire Secretary Division will provide support. For now, take your time and learn thoroughly from your seniors. Let’s work hard together from now on.”

Honami appeared to be around fifty. He had the composure befitting a section chief, a smart physique, and features as handsome as a leading actor. Even facing Alice, who was currently the company’s “person of the moment,” he showed no signs of probing with questions like “So you’re that Shirotsuki-san?” or unnecessarily bothering her.

At the perfect moment, Kido, who had been waiting behind Alice, spoke up.

“The Section Chief is the head secretary to Chairman Ozora. The Chairman still frequently travels for inspections to various stores, and sometimes a secretary from the division accompanies him. Section Chief Honami used to be away often as well, but due to head office duties, other employees now accompany the Chairman.”

Alice could roughly picture the situation described so casually.

After all, she had experienced the commotion when executives visited even at the store where she went for training as a new employee.

(Back then, the former Public Relations Department Manager, “Manager Ozora,” now “Yoshino-san,” was scheming to proposition female branch employees to make them his mistresses whenever he had the chance… but officially, he was there for work, not mistress-hunting.)

Because Kao Resort operated numerous lodging facilities domestically and internationally, there were always matters requiring upper management inspection at some location; new restaurant menu tastings, minor interior renovations, garden plant replacements, and so on.

Thus, executives were constantly traveling, squeezing trips between their regular head office duties.

During busy periods, it seemed they’d cross prefectures to visit multiple stores in a single day for tastings and meetings, then stay overnight at the last store to confirm operations as well.

Actually, it wasn’t just executives; even regular employees underwent training periods at stores after joining, and even those like Alice assigned to head office sometimes went to support during peak seasons. Essentially, it was a profession with frequent business trips.

“As for the Secretary Division’s structure, the basic rule now is that male secretaries accompany male executives on trips, and female secretaries accompany female executives. There are exceptions, though. Until a few years ago, there were various troubles, so the Section Chief organized things accordingly, and the division now has more men, matching the ratio of male executives. Currently, the only female executive traveling domestically with a secretary is Vice President Akiko.”

To Kido’s smooth explanation, Alice replied with her eyes, “I understand.”

Honami, listening beside them, added in a casual tone.

“Not just business trips, but also entertaining dinners. Nowadays, compliance is strict at every company, but that’s just a facade; some business partners still expect special treatment during negotiations. No matter how competent, sometimes it’s better for everyone if female secretaries don’t attend. That said, I have no intention of taking work away from women. The reality is that just covering for Vice President Akiko keeps our two female secretaries extremely busy, so we have high hopes for you, Shirotsuki-san.”

Alice felt tense, thinking that “special treatment” expected by business partners probably meant requests to “introduce” pretty female secretaries.

Though not female, the handsome man Kai had also recalled something with a disgusted expression, so perhaps there were situations where rigid compliance alone couldn’t handle things, requiring highly skilled maneuvering.

“So, both internally and externally, you’ve created a system to prevent troubles related to male-female relationships before they happen. I’m glad it seems like a comfortable workplace.”

Everything she was thinking came out of her mouth, and Alice panicked inwardly.

Honami broke into a smile.

“Of course, that’s unrelated to our actual duties. We want to appropriately review such ‘annoyances we’d rather avoid to focus on work.’ It’s often said that interpersonal workplace relationships are a major cause of turnover at any company.”

Ahh~, I get it, Alice nodded vigorously in full agreement.

Kido, seeing this, said something casually that couldn’t be ignored.

“No matter how many precautions we take in advance, some clients, based on their image of Yoshino-san from his manager days, still ‘prepare women for entertaining occasions.’ And with a young, handsome male manager like Yumikura, problems have also arisen where the other party makes unreasonable demands.”

“Ah!” Alice’s eyes widened as she looked at Kido.

“I heard a bit about that. So Yumikura Manager really is having his chastity targeted…!?”

Without changing expression, Kido acknowledged, “That’s right.”

He admitted it.

(From what Kai-san said, I had a vague idea. But the Public Relations Department, especially due to the previous Yoshino-san’s image, gets entertainment with women prepared, and since their work connects them to the entertainment industry, there are many chances to meet beautiful women. And Kai-san himself has those specs, plus lots of opportunities to meet people!)

Eek~! As Alice’s thoughts showed entirely on her face, the Secretary Division door clattered open.

“Good morning! Looking forward to working with you today!”

The face that appeared belonged to Yumikura Kai, dressed in a perfectly tailored three-piece suit—the epitome of executive style.

His refined beauty shone with a radiant smile.

“Good morning,” replied the secretaries who weren’t on phone duty at that moment.

Kido also said “Good morning” and then quietly added, “Speak of the devil.”

Kai turned his face toward Alice and spoke with a superb smile.

“Good morning. Starting today, right? How’s the work?”

Light seemed to stream in from behind him, the air sparkling as if flowers bloomed all around.

While everyone present narrowed their eyes at the sheer divinity, murmuring “Whoa” and “This is…”, Alice dutifully replied.

“Since it’s been less than thirty minutes since work started, if I answer ‘Seems doable,’ ‘I can handle it,’ or ‘I’m already used to it,’ it might come across as ‘Are you making light of the job!’, but as for my own determination, I intend to face this work with sincere dedication.”

They were at the company, Kai was her superior, and until now they’d had no work-related contact.

As a company employee, Alice set aside their private relationship for the moment and answered based on her position within the company up until last week—that is, with the awareness of an executive versus a regular employee.

As a result, the conversation lacked any of the sweetness others had faintly hoped for. A subtle atmosphere drifted with “Huh?”” and “What’s that mean?”, and even Kido looked slightly taken aback, his gaze shifting to Alice as if thinking, “Well, that’s one way to put it.” But Kai, at the center of it all, showed no sign of being perturbed whatsoever.

He nodded, beaming a full smile that seemed to say he was happy just to be able to talk with Alice.

“You’re right. Asking ‘How’s the work?’ was premature. The duties will probably change quite a bit, but do your best. I’ll also put in a word with the Vice President for you. And Kido, I’ll handle the morning tasks and adjust the afternoon schedule, so feel free to focus on new employee training today.”

After finishing, he smiled at everyone, said “Well then,” and left through the door.

After the door clicked shut, everyone’s meaningful gazes focused on Alice.

Only Alice remained unaware of the atmosphere as she turned to Kido.

“Sorry, what were we talking about again?”

“I believe we were discussing Yumikura Manager’s chastity.”

“Ah—!”

Alice cried out, having completely forgotten, at Kido’s nonchalant reply.

Seeing this, Section Chief Honami burst out laughing, and laughter rose in the room. Kido swiftly followed up.

“So, regarding the matter of Yumikura Manager and Shirotsuki-san, I think everyone was curious, but it’s pretty much as you see. You could say it’s neither more nor less than that. It depends on how hard Yumikura Manager works from now on…”

What did he mean, ‘neither more nor less than that’? Ignoring Alice’s questioning look, Kido gave an overly simple explanation to the secretaries present.

“I see, I roughly understand.”

“Roughly understand what?”

Seeing Honami nod with a knowing look, Alice couldn’t help but ask.

The one who answered was a male secretary around Kido’s age who popped his head out.

“Well~, we heard that a female employee rumored to be the future company president’s wife was joining the Secretary Division, so everyone here was trembling with fear. In a good way, we feel pleasantly surprised. I’m Miwa, assigned to the President. Pleased to meet you!”

He had a clean, well-groomed appearance, was tall with a sophisticated impression, and wore a refined smile.

Not only introducing himself, he also offered his business card.

“Future company president’s wife…?”

Feeling daunted by the outrageous term that had popped out, Alice accepted the card. Then the other secretaries also approached and gave her their cards. Since they didn’t wear employee badges around their necks, this considerate gesture was a great help for Alice, who had to learn everyone’s names at once.

“I’m Takase! Third year here, so I’m the only one here who’s your junior, Shirotsuki-san. Pleased to meet you!”

The one who spoke in a bright voice was a young male employee with a distinctly puppy-like aura.

He looked as fresh as a new employee.

After everyone present finished their brief self-introductions, Honami resumed the work explanation. “This room uses a free-address system, meaning there are no fixed desks. When working in the Secretary Division, please use any available spot.”

“Is managing documents and important files okay with that? The Secretary Division seems to handle various things.”

When Alice asked, Honami replied, “Well, we have many outings, starting with business trips.”

“It’s to prevent accidents where someone might leave documents out or computers open, thinking ‘it’s my own desk,’ when we’re often away from our seats. Precisely because we handle highly confidential materials, we want everyone to pay meticulous attention themselves.”

To Honami’s smart explanation, Kido added commentary.

“Some of us, like the Section Chief, Miwa-san, and myself, are assigned as exclusive secretaries, but if we had fixed desks, intruders might think, ‘If I search that desk, I’ll find Yumikura Manager’s confidential documents,’ and target us. In that sense, the current setup is comfortable. Other than that, we just make sure the room isn’t left empty during work hours and that someone answers the phone as quickly as possible.”

“Understood. That’s logical!”

Just as Alice replied, a knock sounded and the door opened.

A woman’s voice rang out.

“Is Shirotsuki-san, who started today, here? Could you come to my office for a moment?”