Chapter 20: Sapporo

Melina sat in her small office surrounded by moving boxes. Her assignment in Sapporo was over and she was attempting to separate the business and personal items as she packed. As usual, she was regretting her pack rat habits.

She finished emptying one drawer of her desk and pulled the next one open. She smiled to herself when she saw its contents. This drawer contained six months of souvenirs of her relationship with Shinichi.

She took out a battered ski pass, thinking of their disastrous time on the slopes. Sapporo was near several popular ski resorts, so they had booked a weekend at one in January. Most of their time was spent helping each other up after yet another fall, as neither had skiied in years. After three hours of ending up like what Melina described as “yard sales” - their skis and poles scattered around them - they gave up and spend the rest of the evening drinking Irish coffees before retiring to their room early. For once, they had both been too worn out for sex.

The drawer held a collection of boarding passes and rail tickets. There had also been plenty of weekend stays at his country home - the venue they both preferred. It had a nostalgic value; it was where they had discovered each other, fallen in love. Their sexual encounters were almost always more intense when they met there.

However, their weekends in Osaka had not gone entirely to waste. Shinichi told Melina of his fantasy of fucking her on his desk, which led to the fantasy becoming near-reality one Friday afternoon after she arrived from Sapporo. After she spent several minutes on her knees sucking his cock, he had bent her over his desk face down, her ass in the air, before pulling up her skirt. He had just finished pulling her panties down when his office manager suddenly came in unannounced, looking for a report. Both women had screamed in unison, with Melina diving under the desk and the office manager running backwards out of Shinichi’s office as he stood red-faced, both hands over his wilting penis.

She found a large brown envelope and carefully poured the contents of the desk drawer into it before sealing it with masking tape. She put the envelope in her briefcase. It was time to get dressed for her farewell dinner.

When she arrived at the restaurant, the head of the Sapporo office was there, together with several other senior colleagues. There was also a dinner guest she hadn’t expected to see. Hitoshi Miyahara, the head of her company’s Japan operations, sat at the head of the table. He rose, pulled out her chair for her.

“You’re looking very well, Miss Reilly,” he said. “And, as usual, your reviews have been excellent.”

Dinner was a tasteless blur. She couldn’t imagine why Mr. Miyahara would have traveled all the way to Sapporo to attend her going-away dinner. She began to wonder if she was going to be unofficially chastised for her relationship with Shinichi, although she had never asked for a single day off during the last six months and had even been sure to never call him using the company phone.

Finally the dinner plates were taken away and the men started in on the cognac. She decided to play it safe and ordered coffee. After everyone had finished one drink, Hitoshi stood. He did not need to tap on a glass for attention.

His speech was mercifully short. He thanked the Boston office for their assistance and support. He quoted some quarterly sales figures that received a polite round of applause. Finally he turned to Melina.

“I think everyone here will be pleased with the contents of this envelope, especially Miss Reilly,” he said. He handed her a plain white envelope with her name typed on it.

She bowed, thanked him for what she was sure was a bonus check. She sat down and put the envelope in her handbag, only to realize that Hitoshi was still looking at her.

“I think we would all prefer it if you opened the envelope now, please,” he said.

She tore the envelope open, pulled out a single sheet of business stationery. It wasn't a check; it was a letter.

She read it twice before she realized that the permanent position of Vice President of Research was being offered to her, that it included a generous salary and benefits, and that she would be based in the company’s Osaka office should she accept the offer of employment. The letter was signed by Hitoshi Miyahara.

She stood up, trying not to sniffle. “I would be most honored to accept your offer, Mr. Miyahara. Thank you so much.”

During the last months, Melina and Shinichi had been plotting, discussing and discarding several methods of remaining together after her assignment in Japan ended. But there had always been a sticking point. Although Shinichi was willing to marry Melina, he did not want to schedule his proposal according to a deadline imposed by the immigration authorities. Melina was willing to bring Shinichi to Boston and help him settle there, but they reluctantly agreed that he probably wouldn’t be happy, especially since she had come to prefer Japan to the United States. And Shinichi had just recently made amends with his father, who to everyone’s surprise, had taken an immediate liking to Melina when introduced to her.

She was leaving Sapporo next morning to join Shinichi at his country house. He had arranged two weeks off to spend with her. She couldn’t stop smiling when she thought of showing him the letter. It was the perfect solution for both of them.

As she returned home in a taxi, she decided she couldn’t wait to share her news. She pulled out her cell phone to call Shinichi, but stopped in mid-dial.

Had Shinichi gone to Hitoshi and asked him to make the job offer?

She tried to convince herself that he had nothing to do with it. Shinichi was well aware that she took her job seriously. Certainly he knew that she wouldn’t be happy with a job that only existed as the result of a personal favor.

Melina took the letter out and read it again. There was nothing out of order; it was as cut and dried as any standard offer of employment. Finally she took out her phone, realizing that she couldn’t postpone the call.

“Mr. Miyahara? I apologize for calling you this late.”

“It’s no problem, Miss Reilly, just be glad the karaoke hasn’t begun yet.” He sounded slightly drunk.

“May I ask you one question about the job offer? I’m afraid it’s rather personal, but I have to ask.”

“It’s no problem, dear, go right ahead.”

“Did Mr. Sakakura have anything to do with this job offer?”

Hitoshi paused. “Not really, no. Except for one thing …”

Her heart sank to the floor.

“Before I met with my senior staff to discuss your job offer, I asked Shinichi what the odds were that you would accept the job. You see, there were several people I had to convince of your worth to the company before making you the offer, and I didn’t want to go through all that if you weren’t interested in the first place.”

She felt her heart shift into reverse.

“So he didn’t ask you to offer me a job?”

Hitoshi snorted. “Of course not. You heard how much money we’ve saved going in-house with research. Bringing you in full time will save more. I’m a banker, not a mi-ai. Shinichi can find his own girlfriends without my help.”

She giggled, thinking of Hitoshi working as a professional matchmaker or mi-ai.

“Thank you, sir. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

He wasn’t quite finished. “One last thing, Miss Reilly.”

“Yes?”

“I may be a cranky old man, but I’m very pleased that Shinichi and you are, well, a couple. I’ve never seen him happier.”