Two weeks after that meeting, my first assignment was to accompany him to a private dinner held after the signing of a partnership agreement.
Hisao never tried to talk to me, and I had no desire to call him either. I tried to build a good relationship with his assistant, who called me and told me that the main responsibility entrusted to the thirty-four-year-old man was running a logistics forwarding company with a long-standing reputation in Japan.
In the two years since taking over as its head, he had managed to increase profits by nearly 25 percent annually, earning his family's approval.
That afternoon, I arrived at his office in Marounochi, Tokyo. An assistant escorted me into his office.
"Good afternoon, Hisao-san." I bowed politely as I arrived at his office that afternoon, dressed in modern formal attire in the white-and-black tones he had requested: a white business jacket and a black knee-length skirt that flared slightly, flawless makeup, low heels, and only a small pair of pearl earrings for decoration. This was my first assignment two weeks after the signing.
He looked at me. The only other time he might have seen me dressed normally like this was when we first met at that Italian restaurant, but I had barely worn any makeup then. Every other time, I had been in my formal geisha costume.
"Kanna-san, good afternoon. Have a seat for a moment...." He gave me a small smile, so I concluded that my appearance met his expectations. Meanwhile, his assistant was still asking him to sign a few documents.
His assistant finished and left the room after bowing respectfully to me. I smiled and bowed back.
"Mayumi-san, good afternoon. It's nice to see you. Thank you for your help."
"Kanna-san, I'm happy to help." His assistant quickly moved away from my side. We were actually already friends.
"Oh, you know Mayumi?"
"She was the one who called me and gave me the schedule, as well as explaining who our clients are. Congratulations on the success of your new contract."
"Thank you." He sat down on the sofa beside me, already wearing his jacket again. "Do you know Mr. and Mrs. Yoshibara?"
"I've met Mr. Yoshibara several times in Gion and Tokyo, and I had the opportunity to work with him once as a model for one of his products last year."
"Oh, I see. So you often receive offers to model products, too."
"Yes. I'm lucky that several clients trust me."
"Does 'several' still mean you can count them on your fingers, or have you lost count?" There was no way I could answer such a blunt question. He would think I was being arrogant.
"I'm simply lucky. I—" He raised a hand to stop me.
"You've forgotten my rule. When you answer me, don't dance around the point. I didn't ask for a number. I know you can't tell me that. I only asked for a general idea."
"I suppose I would say I've lost count." I looked at him. Fine, if what he wanted was the truth.
"Hmm... well, good for you. It seems you're truly a hard worker." His expression softened.
"I only try to do my best."
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Hisao-san." I imagined that if Aiko ever came here, she would immediately start acting coy in this room the moment Hisao offered her a drink.
"There's something I need to clarify here. Since you're my companion, I assume we can claim that we're in a relationship...." I gave him a small smile and immediately cut him off with a polite bow.
"I'm sorry, Hisao-san, but I need to clarify something. You may not know this, but this isn't the first time I've taken on the role of a companion. Many other businessmen have used my services in that capacity. Since I've accepted a partnership agreement with Mr. Yamada, I won't be accepting companion work for any other company for the next year, though I can still work as a geiko at teahouse events. I'm a geiko, an artist by profession. As I said, my status is that I'm not dating anyone. I will remain your companion in my professional capacity, without any special relationship that needs to be explained...."
He fell silent. Apparently, my rejection of his attempt to make a unilateral claim had annoyed him. But the truth was, I didn't care whether he was upset or not, as long as I did my job well.
"Have you bought a gift for us to bring?" I chose to ignore him. His feelings weren't my concern, and I reminded him about a gift for the clients we were about to meet as part of my duties as his companion.
"This is a dinner we're hosting. Do we really need to give them a gift?" he asked suddenly.
"Your grandfather always says that gifts make people smile whenever he invites someone over. At events in a teahouse, he always arrives with a small gift for his guests. Small or large, a gift is a way to show appreciation for a friendship and a business relationship. If you haven't bought one yet, we can still stop by a department store." I offered my suggestion.
"I know. I've already prepared one. Thank you for reminding me." He was smiling now. Apparently, he had only been testing me.
"Oh, good. Is there anything specific I should know about this dinner?"
"No, I don't think so. Is there anything I should know?"
"Ah, I heard Mrs. Yoshibara has trouble drinking because she's allergic to alcohol. I had the opportunity to meet her once, and she mentioned it."
"Oh, good to know. It seems you're actually more familiar with them than I am."
"As I said, I'll do my best to help you according to my duties and experience." He snorted irritably, then laughed.
"Why do you speak so politely, stiffly, and formally like that?" I wasn't some Roppongi girl. I let out a long sigh.
"What exactly were you expecting...?"
"You're my companion. Shouldn't we have some kind of connection instead of talking so stiffly like this?" What did he actually want? For me to act sweet and pretend to be his lover? I was only his companion. A companion didn't flaunt intimacy in front of clients. How annoying!
"I'm simply being polite to you. I'm sorry if my politeness bothers you." What do you expect?! For me to flirt with you?! Go home, go to sleep, and dream about it! Do you think everyone will willingly flirt with you? You're the fool! Do you think you can buy me with your grandfather's champagne tower? I'm not that cheap. I immediately found myself hating him.
I cursed him viciously in my head, but my face kept its small smile. Just as he had said, my double face was perfect.
"All right, then. How about we start with some personal questions? I heard you were from Tokyo."
"My mother died when I was fifteen." He was silent for a moment.
"Your father?"
"He died when I was seventeen." I answered with a neutral, emotionless expression, my face decorated with a small smile.
"Oh, that's terrible."
"I don't need your pity." I answered him briefly. Again, my voice was flat, and I sat up straight across from him.
"How did you end up in Gion?"
"The Okasan of my okiya is my aunt. She wanted me to be able to carry on her okiya. My father left me no money for college because he was killed while protecting Mr. Daniel Tan as he spoke at a club eleven years ago." He wanted me to be honest, so I would be honest.
He fell silent and looked at me.
"Killed while protecting Daniel? I had no idea about that story. You must have had a difficult life." Once again, he was trying to pity me. I didn't like people trying to pity me like that.
"No. Whether life is difficult or not depends on our attitude toward it. I don't feel that anything has been difficult." Perhaps he hoped that if I asked for his pity, he would have a chance to make me lean on him. Why was talking to him so irritating...?
"You don't have any questions for me? Try asking something...."
"Do you have any food allergies?" He grimaced.
"No." But he answered me anyway.
"Then I don't have any other questions." He laughed.
"Would you be willing to hold my arm?"
"Would you like me to hold your arm?"
"Yes."
"All right, then." I didn't mind. It was only holding his arm. Companions did that when asked.
"Can I kiss you?" He flashed a broad grin as he said it. I narrowed my eyes and smiled at him. Did he think I was some Roppongi girl he could kiss and pull onto his lap the moment he showed up?! How rude.
"You can try and see what happens...."
"You really think badly of me, don't you?"
"You're the one saying that, not me."
"Have you ever been kissed?" His next question made me grit my teeth!
"That has nothing to do with my job."
"I can help you if you don't do it often." Now I was furious.
"What business is it of yours?!" I raised my voice, and he laughed. He had succeeded in provoking my anger.
"You're prettier when you're angry. I hate that fake smile of yours." He continued laughing. He had deliberately provoked me. From now on, I would ignore him and stop responding to anything he said.
"All right, all right, don't get angry. Do you want something to drink now? Calm yourself down. Don't worry, I won't try to kiss you. But if you want me to, you can ask. I'm sorry. I won't bother you anymore, Kanna-san...." He was still laughing, and I glared at him irritably.
I hated this man.
Calm down, Kanna. This irritating man is your coworker. Even if he were your enemy, you couldn't let him win. He was only playing around.
"Thank you. I'll remember that...." I put my mask back on once I had regained control of my anger.
"Where do you live in Tokyo?" he asked, moving on to another subject.
"The okiya has an apartment in Tokyo, so I live there."
"I see. Two weeks from now, I need you at a daytime house party, followed by a formal dinner that evening. Come to my house. Give your apartment address to Mayumi, and she'll arrange for someone to pick you up. The housekeeper will prepare a room for you."
"All right...." I wasn't going to argue. As long as I had my own room. Accommodation was covered by the person hiring me.
"All right, let's go." He walked toward the door, and I followed him. He was being polite now, opening the door for me and letting me leave first.
I waited for him to close the door behind us.
"Shall we...?" He offered his arm for me to hold. I slipped my arm through his, and we walked away without any trouble.
"I heard your English is good."
"Yes. You can rely on me."
"Hmm. You never went to college abroad, did you? How did you become so fluent?"
"I like English, and there are many ways to study it. You don't have to meet a native speaker to learn; online resources can be just as effective. As long as you keep practicing and studying, the results will show, and over the past few years, I've had many opportunities to practice it in person." I answered him in English so he could judge my ability for himself. I had heard that he graduated from college in the USA. Of course, he could speak like a native.
"You're truly fluent. I'm impressed now. You've worked hard." I preferred being praised for my abilities.
"Thank you. I hope I can help."