When Hiroshi got to his office, Akiko was in her seat at work on her computer. He was so pleased she was back, he shut his eyes and stood by the coat rack for a moment.
“You missed the morning meeting. The chief called. Ishii is waiting for you. And check the notes on the back of your computer…” Akiko rattled off a list, a delight just to hear her.
Hiroshi tried not to look immensely relieved as he hung his coat on the rack and disinfected his hands. “How did you manage to escape?”
“Sakaguchi said I’d contribute better from here. He’s making more decisions. It’s great he’s going to be chief, isn’t it?”
“I hope he doesn’t get chewed up by the bureaucracy.”
“I think it’ll go the other way. Would you want to go up against him?”
“Wouldn’t ever think about it.” Hiroshi headed for the espr
