[Kyosuke POV]

I pressed the button for the 6th floor and watched the elevator doors shut sealing my fate. My body was sluggish coupled with robotic movements. As soon as the doors opened, I would be facing the firing squad. There was nothing I could say or do to avoid it. I slapped my cheeks and let out a hearty grunt. There was no running from this. I have to face it properly like a man.

The elevator chimed and opened. I stepped out with a smile and greeted the other workers in the nearby cubicles while making my way to the sales area. Keeping up appearances was a bit more challenging than I realized. There was a huge knot in my stomach and my hunger hadn’t returned so I was working with limited energy reserves and a constant dulling pain in my body.

“Good morning, Mizushima-senpai.”

“Good morning, boss.”

My teammates gave me an enthusiastic greeting. How could I not respond in kind?

“Good morning, everyone. Ready to get started?”

I sat down and noticed something was a bit off. My muscle memory kicked in and tried to lay my briefcase down next to my desk but for some reason, it was already there.

“Were you working late last night senpai? You forgot to take home your briefcase.”

I clicked my tongue while stifling my entire body from convulsing. The memories of what transpired quickly took over my conscious.

Shit! I got out of here in such a hurry I forgot to pick up my bag.

“I-I was a bit distracted.”

I scratched the back of my head and laughed. It was painful from my end but hopefully they didn’t see it as such.

“So your apology tanked?”

Makino-san’s question bored right through my heart. I had completely forgotten all about that. Then again, why would I still go through with it after I found out she was trying to get me fired?

Before I could answer, Furukawa-san chimed in.

“I don’t think so. Senpai looks like he’s in a pretty good mood this morning. I can’t imagine he’d be this happy if something bad happened last night.”

My body trembled again and no amount of strength could hold it back.

When did she get so sharp?! Is Fukuwara-san a secret genius or something?

“T-That’s not exactly it.”

My fumbled together response didn’t look like it was going to fly. They both looked at me with a concerned gaze as if attempting to stare straight into my soul and rip out the truth.

“Suspicious.”

“Definitely suspicious.”

I involuntarily winced. What the hell could I honestly say that could get me out of this mess? I thought I had enough dealing with the potential repercussions from Abukara but these two are only going to make matters worse.

God, please save me.

“Did something happen between you and Abukara-senpai last night?”

Don’t ask me that Furukawa-san! I’ll give you anything you want to drop it right now!

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I averted my gaze trying to switch my focus to my computer.

“What are you hiding, boss?”

I’ll give you 100 gacha spins if you promise to drop this right now!

A cold sweat began to drip down my forehead and along the side of my face. The computer mouse shook in my hand. I was only making matters worse the longer I stayed silent. The last thing I wanted them to do was cook up their own scenario of what happened and start spreading rumors.

I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair. At the very least, I should be honest with them. They don’t need to know every detail of what happened last night but maybe this will at least settle things enough to drop the subject.

“Actually – “

“Good morning Kyosuke.”

I turned around and found Akira looming over me. He was completely expressionless. The perfect poker face. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at this moment.

“Excuse me, everyone. I need to borrow your leader for a moment.”

My eyes widened. He motioned for me to follow him into his office as he started without me. I gave Furukawa-san and Makino-san a forced smile before standing up.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

I have never wanted to be somewhere else more than I did at this very moment.

Akira! You are a saint! May God bestow you with a thousand blessings!

I stepped into Akira’s office and closed the door. Suddenly the dread of what was to come had finally hit me. What if Abukara had already spoken with him about what happened? Am I about to get fired? Are there police waiting for me outside?

Beads of sweat started to rain down my forehead as I took a seat across from Akira. There was a thick air of silence between us. A common sales strategy is the first person who speaks loses so I opted to remain quiet. Luckily, I did not have to wait for long.

“So, how did the apology go?”

I raised an eyebrow.

Are you joking? Is this a trap? You know everything that went on, don’t you? Are you testing me right now to spill my guts and tell the truth?

My fingers instinctively clutched the armrests.

“A-About that…”

Akira sighed sulking a bit in his chair.

“I told you to give her a simple apology. I wasn’t asking for much.”

Eh? He seems disappointed. T-That’s good, isn’t it? He doesn’t know a thing.

“W-Well I tried but y-you know how things go…”

He shook his head and continued.

“Try to get along better, for my sake at least. If the Vice President finds out my top two employees are constantly bickering then she’ll be the one to step in and I won’t be able to save you this time.”

I sighed, sulking my head a bit and giving a shot nod.

“Right, right. Whatever you say boss.”

His eyes twitched in annoyance. Did he not believe that load of crap I just fed him?

“You know…”

Akira leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms.

“I’m sure if you got to know Abukara-san a bit better, you might hit it off. I think you’ll even find you have more in common than you realize.”

Blood swelled into my cheeks as panic set it. I couldn’t even look him in the eyes and averted my gaze as I tried to stifle the unwanted emotions from breaching further.

“W-What the hell are you babbling about?”

Does he not realize what he just asked me? There’s no way in hell I’d cozy up to the devil. Especially after what we went through last night!

If a bolt of lightning struck us both and wiped our memories of yesterday, I’d be the happiest man alive. Or maybe it’s not too late to run outside, get hit by a truck, and hope I’m sent to a fantasy land where the women there are much less confrontational.

What am I saying? That could never happen. Besides, I love my life here.

“By the look on your face, I can tell it’s a lot to ask.”

I finally calmed down enough to turn and face him properly.

“It’s like asking the devil what God wants for Christmas.”

I sighed while Akira chuckled.

“What’s the real reason you guys fight so much? Did you ask her out on the first day and get rejected?”

My fists slammed into the chair’s armrests as I lifted myself from the seat.

“Don’t be stupid! You think I’d ever ask her out?!”

Hmm… That’s strange. I would usually think “That would never happen” or “over my dead body” but my instinctual response was lacking punch today. I wonder why.

“Why not? This never leaves our office since I’m her manager but she’s quite the beauty. In fact, I’m surprised she doesn’t have a boyfriend already.”

Who would date that demon?!

I clicked my tongue not wanting to give that assessment another thought and crossed my arms while falling back into my seat.

“It’s because she doesn’t know the work that I do. Everything to her is cookie-cutter. She thinks she can just hand me a piece a paper with some notes on it and the deal is done.”

“Hmm… So that’s it?”

He leaned forward and planted his elbows on his desk while masking his expression between his folded hands.

Was he trying to be some kind of villain now?

I raised my eyebrow and gave him a quick and shallow glance.

“Now you decide to pay attention?”

Akira nodded. He looked like he was deep in thought.

What was this guy planning?

“I think I might have a solution to your problem.”

“Oh, you’re finally going to bring that priest I’ve been asking for?”

He shook his head. I thought that would actually rile him up a bit. Maybe he’s getting harder to break or I’m losing my touch.

“Give me a few days. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

I raised an eyebrow still not being entirely convinced.

“How about we bet a sushi dinner on it?”

He flinched snapping back a bit. Maybe his plan wasn’t entirely fool proof. Akira cleared his throat a bit and returned his gaze to mine with a smile.

“It would be a small price to pay for my sanity around here. You’re on.”

He extended his hand across the desk.

I shrugged, standing up and responding in kind giving his hand a hearty shake.

“I’m not a cheap date.”

Akira smirked.

“I know. That’s why I can’t afford to lose!”

We sat back down at the same time. Honestly, if he knew something that would charm the devil then I would be all for trying it. It’s not like I wanted our relationship to continue like this. I don’t like being hated. I mean, who does? Taming that demon would be tricky. I started to think about what he could possibly have in store to extract Abukara’s cute side.

Wait a second? What was I thinking?! Her lips must truly be cursed or something. I’m starting to become possessed.

While I was lost in thought, Akira checked his watch and snapped a quick glance in my direction.

“Your meeting with the marketing team will be starting in a little bit. Don’t you have some prep work to do?”

“You mean praying?”

He threw a pack of sticky notes in my direction.

“Get out of my office!”

I barely avoided contact with the violent projectile and quickly dashed out of his office. Now I only had to survive this next meeting. And who knows what she might be thinking at this instant. Perhaps she prepared another presentation where she reveals what happened last night to everyone, diminishing my name professionally to all of my colleagues.

A shiver ran down my spine as I begrudgingly sat back down at my desk and did the one thing I thought would help me in this situation.

Pray.