After she dropped her fiance Claire Jacobs off that morning at Moon Lake College, Jen Decker drove straight to her job interview at Tachibana Enterprises.
To say she was nervous was an understatement, but Jen was determined to put her best paw forward in hopes of getting the position because working for Tachibana meant not only working for one of the best companies in the nation, if not the world, but perhaps the only were friendly company on Earth as well.
She had arrived with plenty of time to spare, and was promptly shown to the waiting area outside of the Human Resources department.
Eschewing the refreshment offer from the lady on duty, Jen waited to be called, despite the fact she was apparently the only interviewee present.
When the lady escorted her into the HR office proper, Jen was shocked to see who was waiting for her: Tachibana no Akane herself!
"Ohayōgozaimasu. Anata ni aete kōeidesu Tachibana no Akane-san," said Jen, bowing slightly before the lady seated behind the desk.
(Via Google: "Good morning. It's an honor to meet you Tachibana no Akane," for those like me who do not speak Japanese.)
The leader of the Skulk, as well as one of the more prominent businesswomen known today, blinked in surprise. "Ohayōgozaimasu. I did not know you spoke Japanese Mrs. Decker," replied Akane.
"Not fluently enough to feel confident in listing it upon my resume like I did Spanish," admitted Jen, "but I have acquired some knowledge of it in my travels over the years when my husband Jeff served in the military."
"I see. Please, have a seat. I have not had the opportunity to do so before now, but my condolences upon your loss. By all accounts, he was a fine man," said Akane.
"Thank you. He was," said Jen, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk Akane occupied.
"Now then, since the position you are applying for is that of my personal secretary, I thought it best to conduct the final interviews myself. To be fair, you are just the first scheduled for today. There are a few other applicants, but I will not be making my decision of who to hire until after I have talked to each of you individually."
"I see. I assume that the Town Council's decision Friday night is what postponed my originally scheduled interview Saturday?" asked Jen.
"All of them, but yes. It is a two edged sword before us. I can see both sides of the issue. That wererat* was the biggest risk of late, drawing state attention, if not national as well," Akane answered, not wanting to think about Dymixious Drake. (*2) "I can understand the desire to continue our tradition of secrecy, but I fear the day may come when that is no longer possible."
"I know. My biggest concern at the moment is those that might somehow trace Ulysses back to my family and think we are somehow responsible for the Town Council's decision," admitted Jen.*
"Current responses to the matter at hand have not been as civilized as I had hoped they would be, for regardless of how you feel about the Council's decision, considering our longevity, I feel weres in general should be more mature and responsible than they have been acting over the last day or two. But you have my promise as leader of the Skulk that no one shall ever seek any retaliation from you or yours over this, no matter how things turn out," swore Akane.
"Arigatōgozaimashita." ("Thank you.")
"Now then, the position you are applying for is that of my personal secretary within Tachibana Enterprises itself, for tradition dictates the similar postition within the Skulk goes to either a werefox or vixen," said Akane, as the job interview continued.
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*Lionel Ulysses at the beginning of this series, who is also responsible for killing Jen's husband Jeff.
*2.) Another unwanted attention drawer in more recent episodes, who had "ties" to Akane herself.—tmw.