Failure
The only audible sound in the lavatory was that of Mai’s tears hitting the floor. It startled herself. How long am I here already? She looked at her watch. 20:53.
Oh no.
She quickly wiped her tears with her sleeves, flushed the toilet as if she didn’t lock herself up just to cry, and left the stall. Passing the fountains, she quickly threw some water on her face in the hopes of erasing every trace of her anguish.
She quickened her pace through the hall on her way to the office, wondering if the others already left. When she entered the room, most lights were already out, except the light on her own desk and a dim light that came from the little kitchen in the corner on the other side.
She sighed, looking at the half empty canvas that was still open on her computer. The last edit was hours ago. A whole week and all I have is nothing. She felt her tears welling up again.
“Oh, you’re still here?”
Mai gasped and looked wide eyed to her left. A woman stood in the door opening of the kitchen, holding a plate with a pile of sandwiches. She grabbed the top one with her free hand and took a bite while she looked at Mai.
“S-sorry, I didn’t realize someone was still around,” Mai stammered.
“You are the new girl, right? I don't think I properly introduced myself yet. My name is Hina”, the woman revealed.
“I’m Mai. Nice to meet you,” she replied hastily. Finally, someone seems to acknowledge my existence.
“Hey, have you been crying?” Hina asked while walking towards Mai, squinting at her face.
“N-no.” Mai brushed her hands over her her cheeks quickly.
“Your eyes, Mai... they’re as red as can be. Hey, I just made some sandwiches, do you want one?”
“If that’s okay?”
“Sure, here you go,” Hina said while handing over a delicious looking sandwich filled with lettuce and cheese. Mai took it with both hands.
"You want to talk about it?”
Mai shook her head and took a bite. She closed her eyes and a “mmm” escaped from her. She didn’t know if it was the actual taste or just the fact that someone was finally being nice to her, but she swore to herself this was the best sandwich she had in a long time.
“What are you working on?” Hina asked, nodding to the design on Mai’s computer.
“Well,” Mai said after swallowing her bite, “it’s supposed to be a new brand design proposal for Tokyo Magic. Miss Moriyama was supposed to guide me on this assignment, being it my first and having no background information at all. But she either is not here, or has no time to answer my questions. She has not been very nice to me... Ah, forget I said that. Anyway, I am supposed to give a presentation to her tomorrow morning and this is all I have.”
“Hmm, yeah, this isn’t the perfect moment to start working here, I have to admit. You are aware of the New World assignment, aren’t you?”
Mai nodded.
“It’s our biggest client and it is possible we won’t be able to make their deadline, meaning we could lose them. It would be a huge blow to our agency. So everyone is pressured, stressed, you know. Also, don’t take Miss Moriyama the wrong way. I know she can come across very strict and demanding. She...”
Hina thought for a second and continued.
“She has her reasons. But behind that demeanor lies a very sweet girl. She might just be testing you.”
Mai’s thoughts drifted off to the moment she met Keiko Moriyama, the assistant manager. She never met someone that was both the most charming and the most intimidating person ever. The kind of person you both admire and fear. Their first contact was hasty, but Keiko made direct eye contact without looking away once and with that made an impression not many have done before.
“Why don’t we just go and call it a day as well?” Hina said, breaking Mai’s daydream.
“I need to finish this though.”
“Mai, let’s be honest. You are not going to finish this tonight.”
Mai thought, sighed and covered the sensor of her monitor with her hand, powering off the device. She was not looking forward to the next day.
“Ah, Mai, there you are. Finally.” Nancy came to her in a rapid pace and pressed a pile of papers against Mai’s body. “I need these documents scanned and be uploaded to our asset server.”
Mai, still wearing her coat, looked at Nancy, then to the pile of papers, and back to Nancy again.
“Come on, hurry up and take these documents.”
“I... I can't do that now. I have a meeting at 9 o’clock and...”
“That gives you 8 minutes to get this started. We all have to work a bit extra to meet the deadline, what makes you so special you think you don’t have to?”
“I don’t. I-”
“Leave her alone Nancy!” the stern voice of Keiko sounded behind them. “You can do it yourself Nancy. Mai, if you are ready, meet me in the presentation room.” Both Mai and Nancy followed her with their eyes as she walked past and entered the presentation room, closing the door behind her.
“Bitch”, Nancy whispered and turned to Mai again. “All right, listen carefully, I don’t have time for this bullshit. I am going to drop this on your desk and you do it the minute you are done there.”
Mai made herself as small as possible and nodded.
9 minutes later. knock, knock.
“Come in,” she heard the voice of Keiko say at the other side of the door. Mai entered the room.
“I came to show you my brand proposals for our client Tokyo Magic.”
Mai walked quickly to the laptop that was connected to a large beamer, put in a USB-stick and after a few clicks, the first slide of her presentation appeared on the white screen. She looked at it and gulped. She had hardly anything.
She looked at Keiko, who sat behind a small table in the middle of the room. She had her hair in a bun, which made her strong out eyes come out even more. Her perfume sent out a subtle jasmine fragrance. Mai noticed the scent before, and found it to be very nice. And her attire was-
“Explain, please. And don’t just show me your designs, but elaborate on the philosophy behind it,” Keiko said impatiently, waking Mai from her trance.
“Uhh, okay, I’ll start with this,” Mai stammered and nervously went through her presentation. It didn't last long.
“So this is what I came up with so far,” Mai concluded after 3 minutes, seemingly hours. Throughout these minutes, Keiko just stared, not showing any emotion. Now, she got up from behind her table and walked slowly towards Mai, who felt her heart beating.
“This is what you have come up with?” she asked Mai calmly.
“Y-yes, it is. What do you think of it? I know it isn’t as complete as you’d like. But I hope it’s a start?”
Keiko sighed. “This is very disappointing, Mai. Your work doesn’t match the requirements of our client at all. Surely, a girl with your talent can do better? Have you even read the documentation?”
Upon hearing those words, Mai was on the verge of tears, but then she remembered the words of Hina, “she might just be testing you”. Mai furrowed her brows.
“You don’t have to be so mean about it,” she hissed.
“Mean?” Keiko blinked a few times before erupting into laughter. "Mean? Come on now. Your work is subpar. I’m just being honest.”
“You know why my work is subpar?” Mai lashed out. “You threw me behind a desk, handed me a file and ran off! Have you actually checked the contents of what you have given me! The assignment details are only one paragraph! And then you were gone all day every day without notice. You never returned my calls! And no one else can or will answer my questions. Just how am I supposed to create something that fits the clients’ needs when you don’t even know how to properly brief me!”
Mai then noticed the disbelief on Keiko’s face, realized she just raged against her senior and paused her tantrum.
“I-I guess I am fired, right?” Mai said with a little voice and walked towards the door.
“Wait! Don’t you walk away from me!”
Mai halted and slowly turned around. Keiko once again walked towards her. “Not once in my life have I experienced such rudeness.”
“I’m so sorry,” Mai again apologized and made a deep bow.
“But, you are not entirely wrong,” Keiko continued in a more subdued tone of voice. “Besides, I like your attitude. This company could use someone that is not afraid to speak her mind. We have enough bootlickers as it is.”
Mai slowly recovered from her bow, surprised and still trying to comprehend what she just heard. “But I... I went too far. Way too far,” she reacted.
“Listen. There is this big New World going on. You know that. I had meeting after meeting with them this week to discuss the progress. That’s why I didn’t had the chance to guide you properly. For that I apologize.”
Mai blinked in silence. Was she hearing this correctly?
“I’ll give you a few days extra to work on this assignment. Throw away all you have done, honestly, it’s crap. And I will continue to be very very busy, so I still can’t give you the attention you might need. But you can find more information about Tokyo Magic on our server. We worked for them before. You can ask Hina or Mari, they know were to find the files. If they don’t cooperate, tell me. And design something decent this time. Oh and one more thing. Don’t you ever raise your voice to me again.”
Keiko looked at her watch. “Damn, this took too long,” she said and walked out of the presentation room, leaving Mai behind, who grabbed the opportinity to burst into tears.
“Good day Miss Ito,” the face on the big screen greeted.
“Good day as well to you, Mister Sato,” she replied. “To what do I owe the pleasure.”
“I’m sorry for wanting to speak to you personally, and on such short notice, but it's important.”
“I won't lie, I am surprised by your request. This concern of yours, is it something you have discussed with Miss Moriyama as well? I wasn’t informed of any issues.”
The man thought for a second, then replied.
“Miss Ito, do you remember how we started cooperating a few years ago? I was blown away by the freshness of your company's design proposals. They were different, they were progressive, and they were expressive. Three properties I’d like to attribute to my company as well. They were made by your employee, Miss Nancy Ishikawa. Her explanation of the philosophy behind her designs made sense. The other agencies that pitched that day, well, their stories were slick sounding nonsense. But what Miss Ishikawa said back then, as nervous as she was, clicked with me.”
Ito nodded, waiting for the ‘but’.
“During the early stages of the project, her concepts stood out as well,” Sato continued. “As I pointed out back then, she understood what I wanted, and what my company needed. But the designs we have been discussing over the recent weeks reflect little of that.”
Ito raised her eyebrows hearing Sato’s last sentence. “That surprises me, to be honest. Many of my employees are involved in your project, that's for sure. We need all the hands to create for a company such as yours. But at the end of the day, Miss Ishikawa still is the main designer.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Miss Ito, but I think she is being influenced by Miss Moriyama. And not in a good way. Once the brand renewal project took off, she was entrusted with supervising the whole thing. And she knows how to do that, but as time progressed, I got the impression she meddled with the design process more and more. Something I also addressed on our latest meetings. But I realized that little was done to change that. That’s why I wanted to speak directly to you, and propose a solution to this problem. To put it bluntly, I want you to take Miss Moriyama off the project, completely. I want it to be supervised by Miss Nancy Ishikawa.”
Ito's face turned pale. “W-wait, that is a very... unusual request. I can’t just push Miss Moriyama aside. I mean, a project of this magnitude needs the supervision of someone with a track record. Miss Ishikawa is a designer, a very good one. But she has zero experience supervising a project. This could prove far more disruptive for the process.”
Sato sighed.
“Well, you are a creative agency, aren’t you? I am sure you will figure out a way to make it work. I want Miss Ishikawa to protect and guide the core principles of this project at all times. If that is not possible, I am afraid I have to end our business together.”
Ito, at a loss for words, repeated the conversation they just had in her head. She knew this was going to be troublesome. Especially telling Keiko. She could already predict the riot.
Her head started to nod slowly.
“Consider it done.”
Fifteen minutes later, Keiko and Nancy stood before the director’s desk.
“Sorry ladies, there’s no way to ease this in so I’ll just tell you straight away. Keiko, you are off all projects related to New World. Nancy, you will be responsible for guiding them from now on.
“What?!”
Keiko drew her nails into the palms of her hands.
“This is unacceptable! If you are really going to give my function to her, I quit!”
“Please calm down,” Ito said to her, already expecting a temper tantrum.
“No, I am not, not calming down. How dare you even consider this? Taking me off the project is one thing, but you are going to let this woman do my work? Impossible! She won’t last a single fucking day!”
Nancy didn’t say anything, but just looked quietly at the floor, not showing the other two the slight smile that formed on her face.
“Keiko, it is happening. Think of it what you want. But this is not a discussion,” Ito replied calmly but clearly.
“You’re making a big mistake!” Keiko yelled as she walked away and slammed the door.
“She won’t quit,” Ito said after a some very silent seconds.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Nancy asked, feigning shyness. “I’m not sure if I know how to-”
“Don’t worry. Things will mostly stay the same. You’ll only have to visit New World every now and then to discuss the project. Mister Sato is very fond of you, so you’ll be fine!”
Although Nancy maintained a calm composure, inside she felt overjoyed. She didn’t know if it was because she finally got the position she desired for so long, or because she just witnessed Keiko losing it. It was probably a bit of both.
A faint light lit the desk of Mai. A common sight for the last two weeks. It was dark outside, and because her colleagues already quit for the day, most office lights were already turned off. Mai preferred it that way. In the evening, her inspiration often reached new heights. Her thoughts could calm down in this empty and dim-lit office, when everything was quiet and peaceful. At 20:41, she heard her stomach rumble, at which point she decided it was time to leave as well. She turned off the light on her desk, but then noticed a soft, peculiar sound coming from one of the meeting rooms. Mai approached the closed door on her toes, and put her left ear on it. Is someone crying? Whoever was in there must have been there for quite a while.
Mai slowly opened the door and as the light from the office shone into the meeting room, she immediately recognized the silhouette of Keiko, who looked up to see who was at the door.
Her eyes were red. Her hair disheveled.
“Miss Moriyama? What-”
“Close the door and leave me alone Mai... I am a failure and you know it.”
