Chapter 16: The Whole Floor

At nine o'clock on Monday, the thirty people of Section Three stood up for the morning greeting.

Nanami stood up with them, in her grey suit, with an envelope in her hand.

Iwase came out of his glass office smiling.

He had recovered from his cold, and his hair was slicked back, and he wore a fresh dose of cologne.

"Hoshino," he said, loud enough for the room. "Today is your last day at this desk. I hope you'll make Sapporo proud."

"I'm not going to Sapporo," Nanami said.

The floor went silent.

"It's an order from the department."

"Then I'll answer it in front of the department."

She laid the envelope on the nearest desk, which happened to be Aya's.

"This is my resignation," she said. "The company can have it today. But first I want to say one thing to all of you."

She turned to face the floor.

Her heart was pounding, but her voice was the one she used to read the quarterly sales numbers, calm and clear.

"Section Chief Iwase has done things to me that every one of you has seen.

"I am done carrying them quietly.

"I am not asking you to defend me. I am asking you to stop looking at your plates."

Nobody moved.

Iwase laughed, loudly and badly.

"That's absurd. This is hysteria. Hoshino is overworked, and she's inventing..."

"I'm not," Aya said.

She was on her feet with her bright yellow cardigan buttoned wrong and her phone held up in front of her.

"I filmed it," she said. "Four seats down. I filmed the whole banquet."

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