2.5
“Oh, it's over... I'm more tired than I thought.”
The interviews began at 4:00 p.m., but it was now well past 8:00 p.m. after meeting with a total of six people.
Kamogawa felt the overwhelming exhaustion.
There’s no doubt that each and every one of them’s a professional in their field. But as human beings, they were all so immature and nauseating.
One shouldn’t even think of having a decent conversation with them. It would be easy to hire everyone here today, but…
“What are you going to do?”
“We’ll hire Ishida and Souya, although they have strong attitude problems. Then Tabuchi, who I feel has the most sensibility. The rest have internal issues that outweigh their abilities so I'm not going to hire them this time.”
“I don't care what he said, but his career and his way of thinking were great, weren't they? I don't understand it…”
However, it remains to be seen whether the project will start to work or not. I’m not sure I can get rid of my anxiety. Even if they were competent, I didn't get the feeling that they were outstanding. Is this really the way to provide the best education?
“Let's go out for dinner.”
Thinking about it isn’t going to help me, I should reset my head for the time being.
“In times like this, let's go out and have a good time!”
I invited Kamogawa to dinner for a change of pace, and as soon as I got up from my seat, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket.
“Ayanokouji-san, did you see something fall?”
He said, holding out to me a piece of paper he had picked up from the floor. It was a business card.
“Tsukishiro, huh?”
According to Naoe-sensei's introduction, he's a general contractor…
“Oh, he gave you his card, didn't you? It's a mess.”
“I might want to check it out and see how competent he is.”
“Oh, you're going to call him? He had a scary smile, though.”
Despite his dubious title, Naoe-sensei would never let a useless person near him. I might try to get in touch with him.
I’ll try calling the number on the business card on my cell phone. If I can't make a connection here, I can dismiss it as a dead end.
That was how I felt. I typed in the number, and after a few rings…
“I was expecting to hear from you, Ayanokouji-san.”
Based on the tone of his voice, the man who answered the phone without hesitation seemed to be Tsukishiro.
“How did you know it was me?”
I had never given him my number, and this was the first time I had ever called Tsukishiro.
“It was only natural that I'd look it up beforehand.”
“That bugs me.”
It's not surprising to find out my phone number, since it's something you can easily find out by asking around Naoe-sensei or his secretary. What I don't like was that he acted as if he knew I was calling him.
“What has Naoe-sensei instilled into you?”
I don't think it was just an introduction. I sensed intuitively that there was a set-up behind the scenes.
“I understand what you mean, but I can't answer your question here.”
“You're watching me to make sure I don't mess up—is that what you're doing?”
You can't perceive the essence of what's going on or what's upsetting the other person just from their voice.
But at the same time, it would be a dangerous judgment.
This man Tsukishiro doesn’t seem to show his openings easily, at least as far as my intuition is concerned.
“If you don't mind, can we meet soon? It may meet your expectations as well.”
While I was thinking about what to do, Tsukishiro made an invitation.
“What do you expect?”
“You called me because you have a problem, didn't you?”
“You're very confident, aren't you? I haven't said a word about it yet. If you raise your expectations too high, you may regret it.”
“I'm ready now if you need me.”
Now? He seems pretty sure. Or is there another reason? I'm wary of a trap, but I'm going to take him up on it.
“Then, now's the time. Don't tell me you can't do it.”
“Of course not. What shall we do? I can come to you. You're in your office, aren't you?”
“You bastard.”
He even knows that I'm at the office right now?
“I think our conversation will go more smoothly if I come to you. I'll give you an hour or so.”
“Suit yourself.”
Whether or not he was convinced that I would contact him is another matter, but I’m sure that Tsukishiro was and is aware of my surroundings.
This big project is always being kept in the loop with Naoe-sensei at the center.
“Um, what's going on?”
“I'm meeting Tsukishiro now.”
“Oh, now? But I'm dining out with you…”
“You're on your own. I'll meet him alone.”
With one foot in the project, Kamogawa’s treasure trove of information.
His presence is a hindrance to us, since he may become our enemy.
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