I’m Having Trouble With a High School Girl I Meet on the Commuter Train Who for Some Reason Has Take

Chapter 29: - June 22( (Monday): Presentation   

At last, the presentation for the Tanabata campaign was here.

 

We visited the headquarters of the cell phone manufacturer and presented our plan.

 

If our plan was recognized as more appealing than those of other companies, we would be awarded the job for the Tanabata campaign.

 

For a large headquarters, the presentation was held in a modest conference room.

 

The other companies had already finished their presentations, and we were the last to go.

 

There was a panel of five judges.

 

Three employees were selected from each department, led by the Cool-Beauty lady in charge who was always there for us.

 

Kaedezaka sat next to the lady in charge.

 

As I handed out the materials to the judges, Kaedezaka whispered to me.

 

“Good luck, and let me see you look like a fool.”

 

“Unfortunately, I have no plans to do so.”

 

Then the details of the project were shown on the projector and explanation began.

 

Otomizu, who was to make the opening presentation, was nervous but explained clearly.

 

“So far, this is the attraction of this project. Next, the team leader, Sasamiya, will explain the flow of the event.”

 

As I took over the microphone, Otomizu’s eyes glittered with the aura of praise.

 

All right, all right.

 

I’ll praise you later, so just be patient for now.

 

Then I explained the details of my plan, and all that was left was the Q&A session.

 

“That’s all I have to present about the proposal. Are there any questions?”

 

Kaedezaka hadn’t said a word so far.

 

It was probably the right time to launch an attack.

 

I looked over at Kaedezaka, who was flipping through the materials in an unenthusiastic manner.

 

Apparently, she was not amused by the fact that our project was better than expected.

 

Instead, it was the cool, beautiful woman in charge who raised her hand.

 

“It’s a great idea. It has enough impact, as expected of Sasamiya-kun.”

 

“Thank you very much.”

 

The other judges also gave good responses.

 

Kaedezaka was the only one who didn’t seem to like it, and her mouth was agape, but I guess she had nothing to complain about.

 

Suck it up.

 

“But…”

 

The lady in charge lowered her voice.

 

“I think you have a big problem on your hands. I’d like you to fix that first.”

 

A big problem? What do you mean?

 

Was there something I had overlooked?

 

The other judges looked at each other with a wry smile on their faces.

 

I thought Kaedezaka had set something up, but she didn’t know what was going on either and looked at the judges suspiciously.

 

“What is it?”

 

The woman in charge pointed her finger next to me and said.

 

“I got a call from your director first thing in the morning. I heard that Otomizu Haruka-san made a big mistake early on in her career. If that’s true, I’d like you to remove her from the team.”

 

A call from the director!!

 

I thought Kaedezaka had set something up, but she didn’t know what was going on either and looked at the judges suspiciously.

 

That frog-faced, middle-aged fat man!

 

You’re just trying to relieve your frustration by interfering with my important work!

 

“Wa… me…. I-I’ll leave my seat. …”

 

Otomizu stepped back to leave the room.

 

Surely he wished she was gone.

 

But that’s not true, I shouted.

 

“Otomizu. You don’t have to leave.”

 

“But!”

 

“What we’re proposing is a job in which we all participate.”

 

Otomizu did a great job with this presentation.

 

She was learning to work well.

 

She was not at fault.

 

And I, as the team leader, was responsible for getting us through this.

 

“Please listen to me! Otomizu has grown so much in the past three months! There is no reason to remove her, in fact, she is indispensable. If anything happens, I’ll definitely take responsibility!”

 

As usual, it was an unprofessional talk with no logic. There was no emotion behind it.

 

But I can only say it this way.

 

I will protect Otomizu. I’ll do my job well.

 

Yes. The only thing I can do is to do something about it.

 

I bowed my head deeply and gave it all I had to make her believe me.

 

It was an impulsive push.

 

I know it didn’t look very professional, but it was the way I did it.

 

When the judges were silent, a woman spoke up.

 

“I’m going with Sasamiya-san and the others’ proposal.”

 

I raised my head and saw that it was Kaedezaka, who had said she would interfere.

 

She fiddled with her long hair and looked grimly at the document.

 

“Based on logic, I think Sasamiya-san’s proposal will be more effective than the others. And the cost is lower.”

 

I was surprised that Kaedezaka would follow up on this.

 

Our eyes met for a moment, and Kaedezaka’s eyes were filled with shyness before looking down at the materials at hand.

 

After hearing Kaedezaka’s opinion, the lady in charge thought about it for a while.

 

Then, after giving the other judges a look, she slowly opened her mouth.

 

“I understand. I’m sure you’ll be fine if you have Sasamiya-kun, who is strong in dealing with troubles. It was a good presentation. Expect a response.”

""

 

The lady in charge looked at Otomizu as she continued.

 

“I’m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. It was our fault for believing that trivial story.”

 

“What?! No! Oh no, it’s totally fine!”

 

Otomizu waved her hands from side to side in panic in front of the lady in charge who lowered her head.

 

Her hands already stopped trembling. Thank God.

 

After calming down, Otomizu turned to me and showed me a happy smile that she had never shown me before.

 

“Sasamiya-san. Thank you very much.”

 

I just bowed my head. … I was about to say something, but seeing Otomizu looking so happy, I couldn’t say anything.

 

Oh, man. She’s a really cute junior.

 

■–Afterword–■

 

In the next installment, Sasamiya will take on the head of the department who has repeatedly done bad things!