What was it?
Mr. N’s eyes weren’t on me, fortunately, but were staring into the room as he was finishing a sentence, and I held my breath, counting three, two, one. The moment […]
That night
I sensed relocation to Germany was going to be a stepping stone rather than a destination. I was 27 years old single woman who’d coil at a sight of a […]
An avuncular mentorship
Mr. N was known in the company as a difficult person. The men suspected Mr. N must be hiding critical information from the HQ for his gain. My impression was […]
Biz trip to Europe – part 2
I had arranged to meet with Jon, the investor, on the first evening of our arrival in London. He came to the hotel in his BMW convertible. He took me […]
Adequacy of a woman
The more desperate Miss Nagai became about her pursuit of a husband, the harder I tried to persuade her to take control of her own happiness. And I did so […]
Banality of happiness
Unlike Miss Nagai and other women at work, I had no optimism toward marriage. My skepticism started with my parents, who demonstrated the inequality in a conventional marriage daily. Violence […]
Passivity of love
Since the arrival of Miss Morita and Miss Hashimoto, all four women had lunch together. The more we relaxed with each other and let ourselves be seen, I realized Miss […]
Miss Nagai the killjoy
The fellow assistant, Miss Yoshino, left the company and was replaced by Miss Nagai. She was 28 years old, small-build and round-faced, and while she wasn’t bad to look at, […]
Future of assistants
Mr. Tada’s team supported the management of subsidiaries and affiliate companies. The responsibility ranged from budget planning to financing to general managerial decision-making support. They required sophisticated business skills that […]
Vengeance
I initially considered Jon as another Noah, whom I also saw at the time. With his privilege and power, Jon introduced me to an illusion of the world where I […]