‘Mr Arai,’ Madam whispered, snapping Shoji out of his thoughts.

Shoji bowed to the man and took a seat.

‘I won’t take up too much of your time,’ the man said. ‘My wife seems to be fond of you. Please continue to take care of her. I’m glad she has found a reliable person to talk to.’

‘The honour is mine,’ Shoji said, finally understanding who the man was. Yet he couldn’t help but be surprised to learn that the man was Mizuki’s husband. The two of them had such opposite dispositions. While Mizuki was kind and gentle, her husband radiated an intimidating and oppressive air. The atmosphere felt heavy around him.

The man shifted his eyes to Madam, and she nodded.

‘You can go now,’ Madam said to Shoji.

Still puzzled, Shoji bowed and returned to the waiting room. A few minutes later, he was called again, this time to speak with Madam one to one.

Once he’d sat down, she pointed her pen at him and asked, ‘Have you wondered why you’ve only been seeing one client?’

Was this an appraisal of his performance? ‘I’m still new. It will take a while to receive other requests, but I will try my best to improve and work hard.’

‘That’s not the case, my dear. In your second week, a few clients requested you, but we had to turn them down because of your special status.’

‘Special status?’ Had he heard her right?

‘You need to understand the situation. I wouldn’t normally reveal this kind of information, but he has given me permission. Mr Arai, the person you spoke with is one of the owners of the company, and the one who is in charge of overseeing this establishment.’

‘Aren’t you the manager?’ He had thought she ran the place.

‘Me?’ Madam giggled. ‘I’m just a normal employee, not much different from you. I’m not even the most senior here.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Shoji mumbled, wondering who the head of the staff was. Could it be Mr Sato? No, it was unlikely the boss would spend his days escorting listeners to their clients’ tables. Perhaps someone in the shadows? Someone he had not yet seen …

‘Our owner is an important figure, and so is his wife. At his request, he wants you to serve only her.’

Shoji was taken aback. ‘Why wasn’t I informed?’

‘It’s not our practice to divulge our clients’ instructions unless we’ve received specific permission to do so. I understand you might be concerned about how the arrangement will have an impact on your income. After all, you’re earning a commission. But don’t worry. There is a privilege that comes with your special status. As part of the deal, we’re going to pay you the same commission as the top earner of the month.’

Now, that was way too generous.

‘In exchange, please be cautious in your conduct. Recently there have been some leaks.’ Madam pressed the back of her pen on the table as if crushing an insect. ‘I would hate it if anyone I oversee broke our rules and the company had to deal with them. Believe it or not, I care about all of you, my lovely children.’