Eat or Be Eaten (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 3

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A few minutes' walk from the Hibiya station, on the twenty-fifth floor of a building next to a very old and famous hotel, was A&6, the agency Gulf worked for.

"Welcome back, Gulf."

Walking down the hall from the elevators and turning right, Gulf went through a frosted glass door and passed the receptionist's desk on his way into the office. There were no walls in the large space. Groups of three desks pushed together formed one unit, and the units were separated by partitions.

Gulf went to his own desk, and started his computer to check his email.

In his desk's inbox he found a bundle of files that needed his attention. There were also a large number of phone messages piled on his chair. After glancing over all of this, he began returning calls while he checked his new email.

Gulf had started working at this agency because his father worked there.

He had heard his father talk about the work ever since he was little and when he'd seen it first-hand, he realized how interesting management consulting could be.

I want to start a business. I want to help my company to recover after falling on hard times. I want to expand into a new sector. I want an evaluation of my company's current performance.

These were the kinds of requests he handled, each requiring different advice to help realistically guide the business.

Gulf was interested in economics, and of course he had majored in it at college. When he graduated, he went to a school in America, then stayed to work for a few years at a consulting agency. There he had gained experience in mergers and acquisitions, and then he returned to Japan three years ago. He had been working at A&6 ever since.

At first, there had been a lot of gossiping behind his back since his father worked there, too.

Gulf's good looks may also have inspired some jealousy.

When he won a project, people said he "got it with his looks," even though people in the industry knew better than anyone that negotiations weren't as simple as that. Or "he got it with his body"; Gulf was sure some percentage of Japanese men were gay, but he didn't think it was common enough for that to work.

They also said "he got it with money," but since the whole point of working was for the clients to pay him, he didn't see what would be accomplished by him giving them money.

All of these various bizarre rumors had completely disappeared six months after he started, but it wasn't simply more proof of the old saying that everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame. Rather, Gulf's amazing performance in the six months after he joined shut everyone up. There was no longer anyone who doubted Gulf's chops as a consultant.

That included his father.

"I look forward to it, then. Goodbye."

As soon as Gulf had finished with the critical phone calls, his father stuck his head over the partition.

Since Gulf took after his mother, there weren't many people who could tell they were father and son even when they stood side by side.

"Working hard?"

"Of course." Gulf glanced up to see who it was, then turned his attention back to his computer screen.

Gulf's father wore an off-the-rack, top-of- the-line Kiton suit as if it were a second skin. He was a pioneer in Japanese consulting.

Now that Gulf had more experience and his performance record, he looked up to his father. He had left home when he graduated from high school, so they no longer lived together, but they saw each other at the office.