As a woman, she instinctively felt uncomfortable about such arrangements. But as Genesis's branch general manager, that excess sympathy was quickly snuffed out.
In this world, such things were far too common.
As long as it didn't affect Soyo or her own work, it was none of her business.
"This way, please."
Rie quickly adjusted her mindset and pressed the elevator button.
...
The elevator ascended.
Seiji toured the facility, eventually following Rie into the general manager's office.
The space was enormous. Two floor-to-ceiling windows framed the Shibuya streetscape. At the center sat that massive black calfskin desk, gleaming subtly in the sunlight.
"Good eye. The desk suits the room."
Seiji surveyed the surroundings, walking to the desk and pressing his palm against its surface.
"This is a custom Italian import." Rie introduced it with a smile. "Considering privacy and comfort, I specifically had them widen the space under the tabletop..."
"Privacy."
Seiji repeated the word, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Indeed, you've thought of everything. Manager Nagasaki, excellent taste."
Hearing the president's praise, the weight finally lifted from Rie's chest. "I'm glad you approve."
"Now, I'd like to think alone for a while."
Seiji turned, his calm gaze settling on Rie. "Aside from my secretary, I don't wish to be disturbed. Is that acceptable?"
"Understood."
Rie didn't hesitate.
The boss wanted to use the office. Perfectly natural.
"I'll be in the conference room at the end of the hall, awaiting your orders. I've already cleared this floor of staff, and security will guard the elevator. No one will disturb you."
She withdrew respectfully, considerately pulling the heavy soundproof door shut behind her.
Click. The lock engaged.
The vast office fell into dead silence.
Seiji loosened his tie, circled the desk, and settled into the executive chair. He leaned back, legs naturally parted, fingers drumming lightly on the armrest.
Tap, tap, tap.
The rhythm was like a signal.
Sakiko, who'd been standing invisibly by the door, tensed her shoulders the instant she heard it.
She looked up at the man silhouetted against the light.
No words needed, no glances exchanged. Weeks of "training" had etched these conditioned responses into her bones.
Sakiko took a deep breath, gently set the briefcase on the coffee table, and walked toward the black desk.
"You heard her too. The space under the desk is quite generous. Perfect for you to hide in."
Seiji smiled as he spoke.
"...Yes." Irritation flashed through Sakiko's eyes, but she obediently knelt.
Her knees touched soft wool, yet a chill shot from her tailbone straight to the crown of her head.
This is Soyo's mother's office.
And I'm about to do... degrading things here.
"Get in."
Another command.
Sakiko lowered her head and crawled into the specially widened space beneath the desk.
...
At the same time.
First floor lobby.
"Um... I'm Soyo Nagasaki. I'm looking for Manager Nagasaki."
At the reception desk, Soyo somewhat nervously presented her student ID.
"Ah, you're Manager Nagasaki's daughter."
The receptionist smiled, handing her a visitor's pass. "The manager should be in her top-floor office. The president is visiting, so please be careful when you go up."
"Thank you, miss!"
Soyo flashed a sweet smile and hurried toward the elevator.
The numbers began climbing.
10... 15... 20...
She reached the top floor.
...
Top floor.
Inside the general manager's office.
Beneath the desk.
Sakiko's hands reached out, expertly unfastening the belt buckle.
Seiji didn't look down at her. He remained reclined, gazing leisurely out the window, pleasure evident on his face.
But his hand wasn't idle.
That hand which controlled so many fates now pressed against Sakiko's head, rhythmically pushing her skull downward.
"Mmph..."
A faint whimper escaped.
Sakiko's lashes trembled violently, her cheeks flushed crimson. Her expression was pained yet carried a heartbreaking obscenity.
Even in this situation, she still tried to perform perfectly, to give Seiji the best experience possible.
Her utter submission made her seem more pitiful, and yet... more enticing.
That once-proud head began bobbing like a pestle.
...
The hallway.
The elevator doors opened.
Soyo stepped out, finding the corridor deserted.
"Strange, is everyone at lunch?"
Puzzled, she walked toward the heavy mahogany door at the end.
One step, two steps.
Soyo drew closer to that door.
It wasn't fully latched, a tiny gap remaining.
Soyo smoothed her skirt, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock.
"Mom? I'm here to deliver..."
But before her hand touched the door, sounds from inside reached her ears first.
Not conversation, not the rustle of paperwork.
It was a strange... wet sound.
...
Inside the door.
Beneath the desk.
Seiji sensed the presence outside.
Soyo's presence.
His smile deepened.
No panic, no pause in his movements. Instead, the hand pressing Sakiko's head suddenly increased its force.
"Deeper."
Seiji commanded, his voice cold. "Take it all."
Sakiko couldn't resist.
Under that irresistible pressure, she was forced to tilt her head back, her throat opening completely.
The massive intrusion instantly filled her mouth and esophagus, pushing past physiological limits.
Glurk...
Because she was stuffed so full, air was squeezed out, and her throat spasmed into an involuntary swallow.
That sound.
In the silent office, impossibly clear.
...
Outside the door.
Soyo's hand froze in midair.
The sound pierced her eardrums like a red-hot needle.
Glurk... glurk...
Thick with struggle and forced suffocation, accompanied by the dull rhythm of flesh meeting flesh.
Even inexperienced as she was, Soyo couldn't possibly not understand what this meant.
That's...
Soyo's pupils shook violently. The bento box nearly slipped from her grasp.
Mom is in there?
That president is in there?
Are they... doing that?
"No... it can't be..."
Soyo's face went ashen.
Her mother wasn't the type to sell herself. She couldn't possibly be doing that in an office...
But the sounds didn't stop.
They grew more urgent, more intense.
Mixed with a muffled, animal-like whimper.
"Mmph... ngh..."
The sound was suppressed, pained, yet achingly familiar.
Soyo's mind detonated.
That voice doesn't sound like Mom?
Why does it sound so much like... Sakiko?
As if possessed, Soyo didn't knock, didn't flee.
Her trembling hand pushed against the ajar door.
Noon sunlight blazed.
The office was blindingly bright, too bright for any shadows to hide filth.
But the moment she stepped inside, Soyo's feet locked in place.
The instant the door opened, a cloying, overpowering scent slammed into her face, mixed with something musky, coating her throat like hot oil.
Then came sound.
Glurk...
A wretched swallow.
Followed by violent coughing.
"Cough... hack... haah..."
Soyo's pupils contracted.
Her gaze cut through the reception area, landing directly on that black desk symbolizing power.
Her mother wasn't there.
Sitting in the executive chair was a young man.
Seiji Fujiwara.
He reclined against the backrest, shirt collar open, posture relaxed and languid, expression serene as he admired the view outside. Even though under his desk... disturbing sounds and movements continued.
Equally.
Seiji saw Soyo too.
Their eyes met.
Seiji showed no hint of being caught. He merely raised an eyebrow, his smile meaningful.
Then.
Under Soyo's blanked-out stare, a slender, pale hand struggled to grip the black desk's edge.
A hand Soyo knew intimately.
But now, that hand trembled, the wrist bearing a glaring red mark.
"Seiji... you were too rough..."
With a hoarse, honeyed murmur, a willowy figure slowly crawled out from that generous space beneath the desk.
It was Sakiko Toyokawa!
The girl emerging from under the desk wore an OL uniform, but looked utterly wrecked. Her glasses were gone, sweat-damp strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, her whole being radiating the exhausted decadence of being used too hard.
But what truly shattered Soyo was Sakiko's face!
That face, once so ethereal it seemed untouched by worldly concerns, now burned with a sickly flush. Glistening threads still hung from the corner of her mouth. Translucent, cloudy droplets slid down her chin, dripping into her uniform's collar.
Sakiko hadn't noticed the door opening behind her.
Back to the entrance, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand while unsteadily bracing herself against the desk to stand.
Her legs were weak from kneeling too long, making her wobble, which only added to that precarious, cruelly sensual aura.
"Cough... almost choked me."
Sakiko muttered, her tone holding little anger, instead conveying the resignation and compliance of long habituation.
Then she made a move that utterly destroyed Soyo's worldview.
Sakiko placed both hands behind her, hoisting herself onto the desk!
Zzip...
The sound of stockings against leather.
With practiced ease, with what could only be called initiative, she pushed that already-too-short pencil skirt up to her waist.
Her secret garden was a swamp.
Sakiko leaned back slightly, facing away from the door, spreading her legs of her own accord, presenting herself in a posture of complete surrender. She held nothing back from the man in the chair.
"Since you're in such high spirits..."
Sakiko's voice was raspy, carrying a faint note of seduction.
"Then let's continue. Please hurry... I still need to practice piano when we're done."
Piano.
Her former dream.
Yet now Sakiko, with fingers that once touched keys, willingly spread her own body apart.
CLATTER!
A sharp, jarring crash echoed through the dead-silent office.
The sound of lacquerware hitting the floor.
Soyo's hand had gone limp. The carefully prepared three-tier bento box crashed onto the carpet.
The noise finally startled Sakiko.
Her movements stopped, frozen in that pose as if time had stopped.
Then, mechanically, she turned her head.
Her gaze crossed the vast office, over the mess on the floor, finally colliding with the ashen, swaying girl in the doorway.
The air crystallized in that moment.
...
Meanwhile, at the conference room at the end of the corridor.
Rie massaged her temples, having just finished a briefing. Out of habit, she pulled out her phone.
The screen was dark.
"Oh, it died..." She suddenly remembered. Soyo had said she was bringing a bento!
She immediately looked at the wall clock.
12:15.
"Oh no!"
The secretary beside her mentioned casually, "Manager, Miss Nagasaki arrived two minutes ago."
"She arrived? Where is she?"
"Reception said Miss Nagasaki took the bento and went straight to your office. Nobody stopped..."
"What did you say?!"
Rie's voice shot up an octave.
"She... she went to the office?"
Rie's face drained of color. Documents scattered from her hands with a clatter.
Others might not know, but she knew perfectly well.
Half an hour ago, Seiji had specifically commandeered her office, citing its "private environment," and given strict orders: "No one but my secretary may disturb me."
A virile young man in power, a beautiful female secretary, a sealed office...
As an adult who'd spent years in the corporate world, how could Rie not guess what was happening inside?
But the problem was... Soyo had gone in!
If Soyo had walked in on the president's "private moment" and angered that cold man...
Or worse, what if that man developed some interest in the intruding Soyo...
An icy dread shot up her spine.
"Manager?"
Rie didn't bother answering. She shoved her chair back and sprinted down the corridor.
"Soyo! Please... please don't go in!"
...
"So... Soyo?!"
Sakiko's voice was dry and cracked.
Her previously calm eyes exploded with undisguisable horror and shame.
"Um, I..."
Instinctively, she tried to close her legs.
But her body was limp and powerless. She could only remain frozen in that position, nailed to the pillar of disgrace.
Soyo's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Her gaze ping-ponged between Sakiko's fluid-streaked face and her completely exposed lower half.
This is the truth?
This is why Sakiko has been avoiding everyone?
"It seems we have an audience."
Seiji remained seated, his eyes showing no panic at being discovered. Instead, he smiled with careless amusement.
He stood, and in this supremely awkward moment, grabbed Sakiko by the waist.
"Ah!" Sakiko let out a panicked yelp.
Seiji gave her no chance to escape, pressing her flat against the desk.
"Since you're here, might as well watch."
His voice was low, each word hammering into Soyo's heart like nails. "You're Sakiko's friend, right? I don't mind you seeing another side of her."
"No... don't..."
Sakiko's lips moved, but she could barely make a sound.
Watching this scene.
Soyo felt her stomach clench violently, as if an invisible fist squeezed it.
Just then.
Click, click, click...
Rapid high-heel footsteps approached from the other end of the corridor.
Mom!
"Soyo? Where are you?"
Rie's voice came nearer.
For Soyo right now, it was no different from a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.
Mom is coming!
If seconds ago Soyo had been consumed by rage and shock at the betrayal, now a far more terrifying crisis swallowed her whole.
What will happen if Mom sees this?
Will it cause conflict between Mom and this President Fujiwara?
No.
No matter what, I can't put Mom in a difficult position!
Under the pressure of fear, Soyo's eyes changed.
She quickly bent down, stuffing all the scattered bento boxes and food back into the bag.
---
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