Chapter Text
The evening is still young, and the day at the office was a success. Maki's project was a huge improvement for the company so that he could increase his salary. From now on his interests pay him more. With that in mind, he drives home in his black car. With the fresh success in mind, suddenly everything is shining even more, the lights and the setting sun. The air feels even more alluring in its summer peak. He loosens his tie, and as he touches his shirt, he remembers that this was his last clean one. His mood crumbles a little, and a sigh escapes his lungs. How is he supposed to bring a stranger into his house? But the next project is already on its way to fully consume his time. Since it is the weekend, he is not in need of business clothes, but on Monday he needs to look all clean and polished again. He can take care of his house on his own for the next two days, but when Monday comes, everything will get dirty again.
♡
At home he tosses his keys into the bowl beside his front door that closed with a tiny "peep" sound, showing him that the safety electronics work. But before he wrenches himself behind the desk, he makes himself something to eat, if that is even possible at his chaotic kitchen...but at least he got the salary increase, right? After a shower and change into his homewear, which happens to be a simple white shirt with gray joggers, he sits at his desk, searching for a professional cleaning company that offers an extensive variety of services. He found a few pages that popped up immediately, but he knows not to get caught by alluring advertising and to think and, even better, read twice. He scrolls down on his desktop and finds a page called "Your Clean Right Hand." It was simply structured and showed all their qualities and for whom they have already worked and how satisfied their customers are with them. Before he looks at the profiles of the workers, he seeks out the head of the company to see who it is and if it is a trustworthy person or not. Maki sees the picture of the boss and underneath his information. Where he comes from and his academic accomplishments, such as his own work experiences. He seems serious. Maki scrolls through the profile and sees that the boss and his company are registered in the commercial register.
However, now he aims for the employees to seek out an available male professional cleaner. But to his dismay, there are only female workers. With that knowledge, he opens a new window on his desktop to search for another cleaning company that has male cleaners. A long time passes, and he could not find any male cleaners that also have time to live with him. And the other pages seem unserious without any personal information about the boss or employees. With a little slump of his shoulders, he opens the old window back to the page and the available workers. A few moments later he got a little discouraged; his free hand wandered through his damp hair. The reason for this is that almost all women only work part-time or to a certain extent, with no room renting. Maki thinks that it could be due to motherhood, caring for family, or simply not trusting strangers to share a house. The words "family" and "motherhood" feel so foreign in his mind because he doesn't think of such things on a daily basis. Success is the only way to fully live your life, at least that is what he believes in. He had to admit that he is not getting younger, but still, the interest in getting to know someone and sharing a whole life isn't something that he wants to consider. He has no time for it either.
His hand moved the mouse to the page with the available cleaners that also rent a room. A few women are listed, but almost all are booked. They are sorted by cleaning experiences, such as for whom they have worked before, where, and how satisfied their customers were. There he scrolls down and sees a picture of a young woman, and the picture is colorful, not slightly milky because of currently being booked. She is available. With a click he reads himself through her profile. It says that she has many hours of experience in cleaning and has taken several extra professional classes to deepen her knowledge about hygiene and how to prevent mold problems. She was booked many times, and all of her customers were very happy with her work experiences and the outcome of them. He also reads that she is stubborn and won't stop until the place she has to clean is literally shining and spotless, which makes her special. Even when her shift ends, she is ready to continue her work for a few more hours. The special thing about her abilities is that she has experience in taking care of expensive places and knows which products to use on gold, silver, and platinum, such as leather. She has experience in cleaning both middle-class homes and upper-class houses, such as cars. She is available right now and only one call away to let her start. At the end of her profile, he reads that she is able to move in anytime and anywhere, making her flexible. With that, he picks up the wired phone on his desk and calls the company, hoping that he could go and pick her up before it gets too late and he has to wait until tomorrow.
The phone was ringing, and he had already lost hope, but after the last ring, someone picked up, a secretary. "Good day. You are calling 'Your Clean Right Hand.' Here is Ms. Janet. How can I help you?" The secretary said confidentially.
"Good day, my name is Mr. Maki Shinichi. I got interested in one of your cleaners, especially those who can move in." Maki spoke, absently looking at the picture on the screen before him.
"I see, you have already decided what you need specifically. Let's see who is available since almost all of them are booked."
Maki hears the secretary scrolling with the mouse clicking in the background, humming to herself.
"Here we have the last one. It's our cleaner, Hime."
"So? Your name is Hime, huh?" He thought with his eyes glued on her face.
"When do you need her, sir? She could start anytime soon until we have closed. That would be in two hours."
"That is perfect. I would come and pick her up in the next hour."
"Great, I am going to send you the contract via email, and please bring it with you. Fully filled out and signed."
"I will, thank you, Ms. Janet. See you later."
"It is my pleasure, sir. See you."
Maki got into his bathroom to make himself a little more presentable. He gets his button-up shirt from today and uses perfume to make it smell fresh since he has no time to throw it into the washer and dryer. He combines it with his usual black trousers. His hair is slicked back but not too strict; a stubborn hair is loose over his forehead. Back in his home office, he makes sure that he has all the papers right, too. With that he leaves his home office and walks through the hall with the carpeted floor and towards the stairs to grab his shoes and keys.
♡
At the company the secretary sees his car pull up in the underground parking lot; she sees him get out of his car through the camera on her desk.
As the bell rings, she speaks into the speaker. "We expected you, Mr. Maki. Please come in; it is the fifth floor."
Maki uses the elevator that was directly connected to the cleaning company. He sees himself in the mirror and hopes that they don't get a bad idea about him. With a ping, the elevator opens into an open space that is marble tiled with Fauteuil Grand Confort chairs, knowing that each of them is extremely expensive. At the right side is the desk of the secretary, and the walls are adorned with art. Looking straight, he can see the skyline since the big windows are not to be missed. He steps out of the elevator only to be greeted by the secretary. She is a true office siren. Slender, neat, and undeniably intelligent. Behind her is a corridor he could not see from the elevator, and the same is on the left side, too. It seems as if these corridors are only for the staff. She gestures him towards the big windows since that is where the main actions will happen. And to his right he sees a curved staircase and a few doors. The place has a fireplace, carpet, and much expensive furniture. In the middle is a low coffee table with cups and coffee utensils.
"Please wait here; I will bring Mr. Campbell. Without him, no cleaner is allowed to start the work. Please don't get me wrong."
Maki looks out the window as he waits. The sun is slowly setting, but there is still enough light since it is summer. The furniture reminds him of these in his own company, and he thinks that this must indeed be a serious place.
"Yes, this is Mr. Maki. He is interested in our Hime." Janet said while walking towards Maki, on her side the head of the company. A guy not much different from him, maybe a little older.
Maki stands up and reaches out to shake his hand.
"Mr. Campbell, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have already talked to Ms. Janet." Maki said in his business voice and sat back down as Campbell sat in front of him.
"Ms. Janet told me about your interest in one of my girls." Campbell said and lit a cigarette.
"In one of his girls?" Maki recalls and ignores this suspicious description and moves on.
"That is right; it is the one that is also ready to move in. I have a spare staff room."
"Can I have the papers?" Campbell cut him off and pointed to Maki's case.
Maki is a little irritated by his behavior but shakes it off without a single sign. He hands the papers over.
The first thing Campbell looks for is his salary: "Six digits, yeah? You must be a very smart company leader. I see, your company is in the 'Boulevards Future' building?" Campbell raises an eyebrow at him, wondering how someone could come so far in his career. "But I see, you are registered, too. You pay taxes like a good boy, and your criminal record is clean. I think that I can trust you on my Hime." He throws the papers on his coffee table, drags a pull of his cigarette, and looks Maki deep in his eyes.
The cigarette isn't even nearly done, but Campbell presses it into the ashtray and then leans closer to Maki, whispering, "Look, if Hime only says something negative about how you treat her. I will simply end your career, is that clear?"
Maki thought he wanted to say something different but not THIS. A small shiver runs down his spine, but he nods and agrees. "Yes, sir."
"Janet? You can tell Hime that she can start packing her things; we will wait here. Tell her that she can take her time." The last sentence was said towards Maki to check for any signs of being impatient.
But Maki remains calm. As Janet is gone, Campbell and Maki continue to talk, and Campbell apologizes for his behavior, saying that he simply doesn't trust guys renting a female cleaner, but he still stays firm on his warning towards Maki. About half an hour later Janet comes back with Hime on her side. Both women walk down the curved staircase, and Maki recognizes her from the picture. The pitch-black hair, the dreamy face...he has to pull himself out of his stare to not make the situation worse. She wears a dark blue business outfit. A tube skirt, a white button shirt, and a jacket in the same color as the skirt. With black tights, such as small heeled pumps. In her hand a suitcase. Maki and Campbell get up, and to Maki's surprise, Campbell gets a little nervous around her, like a teenage boy.
As Hime stands in infront of them, Maki is struck by her alluring demeanor. He feels how his heart made a little jump. She simply looks stunning without much effort, and at the same time, an air of cuteness is around her, showing her good personality. How she stands there, her feet that are covered in the black pumps are a little pointed toward each other, a sign that she is a little nervous, and it shows that she is young. He knows this aura; it is the same as from these post-war arts. A pin-up Americana girl. Those green eyes...he can't wait to see those orbs in the morning. Or how loose strands will lie all over the floor. All his nerves and senses scream yes, yes, yes.
"Uhm, well. This is Mr. Maki. He needs to rent you for his house." Campbell said, scratching his eyebrow.
"Good evening, Mr. Maki. My name is Hime. Nice to meet you, and I hope for excellent teamwork. I am ready to start." She spoke in her calm voice and smiled with closed lips.
Mr. Campbell and Janet bring them to the elevator to finally say goodbye. Hime waves at them, and Maki can't help but find it cute. The ride down into the underground parking lot is peaceful. Hime looks up to him and smiles, making him wonder if she is indeed used to being around rich people. Maki gently smiles back. As the elevator opens, Maki leads her toward his car, taking her suitcase out of her hand.
"Oh, thank you, but you don't have to do that." Hime shyly giggles, timidly walks beside him towards his car.
Maki drags her suitcase into his luggage and opens the door for her to sit in. The drive to his house went quiet with only some questions here and there. Hime could not help but think how good he looks for someone his age and that he still hits the gym. She feels that he is trustworthy; she can hear it in his voice and see it in his unique demeanor. Since she has a lot of experience with people, she simply can see those attributes quite easily.
At home, Maki opens the front door for her and lets her enter first. Hime's eyes already lay on the chaos in front of her.
"Welcome home, Hime" Maki gently says as he eyes the chaos himself.
Hime pulls herself out of the stare and grins. "I am already feeling at home."