CITRUS ~ A Long Way From Home / Trust

Chapter 32

Day 5

<<Speaking English>>

The rest of the morning seemed to run smoothly as any other day at the conference. The staff at Fredrick's were showing signs of things returning to normal, while the clients continued to gather more information about future projects and given time to ask questions about them.

Yet Yuzu couldn't help but notice how the atmosphere seemed to change a little with the clients. She didn't get the impression that they were thinking about canceling their contracts with the firm anymore. In fact, the questions they were asking seemed like they were planning on coming back next year.

She really couldn't tell if Mei's speech helped make a difference or not, but everyone seemed to want to talk to Mei more then before. Almost like she was someone famous.

Even Mei was acting more positive then before. She even asked Miss James from the Altwell Corporation, who talked with her a few days earlier on the bus but never left town, to join them for lunch so they could talk business.

They had a lot to talk about as Mei and Miss James shared insights into each other's presentations, while Yuzu and the other assistant shared stories about the week and what their experiences were like.

They had a great time as Yuzu watched Mei really open up, actually enjoying her conversation while expressing herself. It was a big change compared to earlier this week. Miss James even reminded Mei to keep their business card in case she changed her mind about wanting to work for Altwell in the future, to which Mei humbly thanked her for their interest.

Yuzu was so happy for Mei. She wanted to hug her so badly, but knew it'd have to wait until later.

- - - - - - - - - -

April was partially busy during her lunch break, helping to deal with some of Mills's paperwork and affairs now that he was technically gone for good. She found herself eating her sandwich while on foot, moving from one end of the building to the other, while staying on the phone with clients waiting to set a callback appointment with Mr Fredrick.

It was a lot of extra work that April wasn't prepared for this morning, but she didn't mind. It's all because word got out about Miss Aihara's speech earlier this morning, causing some clients, who were considering closing their contracts with the firm, to call back.

It was hoped that they could be convinced to keep working with the firm, but it would take a lot of time and patience.

As she strolled around the office, she happened to glance out into the dining courtyard where some clients were eating.

She could see Miss Aihara and Yuzu sitting with the Altwell rep, enjoying lunch together at a nearby table. It was nice to see the young couple enjoying themselves and doing much better now after the crazy week they had.

She thought about how both Miss Aihara and Yuzu grew over the past week. They had some rough days, but it looked like they really overcame them. She felt that she may have learned something from these young ladies, and was thankful to get to know them during the week, and not just because Chairman Aihara asked her to.

And now at the end, she was happy with the idea of keeping in contact with them, hoping to see them again in Japan someday.

April wished she could join them for lunch, but unfortunately she still has work to do as she continued her stroll down the corridor to file some paperwork.

- - - - - - - - - -

After lunch, the clients gathered in the conference room one more time. Final presentations were completed and the firm had a celebratory send off. It was a final time where everyone, who wasn't going to stay for the sixth day, could meet with one another and finalize any deals or say their goodbyes.