Larry knew it was going to be one of those days when his alarm started blaring. He knew he shouldn't have eaten so late at the treasure eatery last night, but he hadn't eaten the entire day before. It ended up keeping him up all night depite downing all that peptol bismol.
Groggily getting ready for the day, he wearily dragged himself out the door and started a brisk walk to Medali gym. There had been some incidents regarding his gym challenge, some kids getting lost or complaining about the difficulty- he sighed to himself. It was time to make some changes anyways, he supposed.
The morning meeting went on for what seemed like ages- and what could have been an email ended up being a waste of 2 hours. Larry groaned at the time wasted, he could have tackled the paperwork in his office with that time.
His alarm went off, and it was his cue to make his way towards the pokemon league HQ. His gym needed him, but the members knew better than to keep the businessman for too long. He quickly caught a cab when Rika started calling him during the ride.
"It's not looking good here Larr, Geeta's looking for that report on suspicious crater activity, and the head of the marketing team is acting up again"
"What? She said the deadline was next week-"
The commute to the pokemon league was exhausting, never ending phone calls and texts about work seemed to bombard him. Even the cab driver gave him a sympathetic look as he paid his fare.
The toll of both being part of the marketing team and the elite four seemed to jump on him as soon as he made it through the door, not even a step in and office workers started swarming for his stamp of approval, paperwork, and reports piled for him. He listened to their explanations, nodding half heartedly as he got himself a cup of coffee and made a beeline towards his office.
A beep sounded the alarm for his lunch break. His sweet, beloved lunch break.. He barely even got to open his bento box before Rika knocked on the door.
"Hey Larr, surprise meeting with Geeta and the advertising crew, we start in 5, bring Poppy with you, I gotta go get Hassel"
Before he could get a word in, she hurried off, leaving him dumbfounded, his bento box unopened.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and sighed softly.
This truly was a shitty day.
Larry found Poppy quite quickly, she beamed at the sight of him, and he returned the smile.
"Mr. Larry! Someone told me we gotta go to a meeting!"
"Yep, that's right kiddo, let's hurry up so we can go back to lunch"
She nodded happily and held onto his hand, dragging him down the hallway. Halfway through, Poppy seemed to notice his sluggish movements.
"Is everything okay Mr. Larry?" She asked concerned.
Larry snorted to himself. "It's okay, I'm just a little tired today. Kids like yourself shouldn't have to worry about adults like us, don't worry"
Poppy didn't seem convinced, but kept quiet the rest of the walk to the meeting room.
The two entered the room, and Geeta gave the two her usual polite smile.
"Ah, you're finally here, Y/n here managed to make some time today to join us here"
Larry froze. He had no idea you were going to be here today. He stood ridgedly in the doorway.
Your job as the head of advertising meant you worked closely with his department for marketing, but you were often called away for important meetings, or meeting celebrities for advertising gigs that he hardly ever got to see you, which might be better for his health, because his heart always skipped a beat whenever he saw you. How did you manage to get here today?
You looked up from your paperwork, and gave him a small smile. Larry could have sworn his heart stopped there and then. It wasn't until Poppy started whining about the chairs being uncomfortable that he remembered to move.
"Mr. Larry, can I sit in your lap today? They didn't bring my high chair today!"
You giggled to yourself at that, and Larry could feel his ears start to turn red. It wasn't uncommon that Poppy opted to sit in the elite four's lap since she considered them all aunts and uncles, but why were you giggling? Did it seem weird? Did you think it was funny? Was he making himself look like a fool in front of you?
"I think that's a wonderful idea Poppy, Larry, would you mind?"
Geeta gestured Politely to the chair Poppy was sitting in, and Larry nodded dumbly as he sat down. He knew better to argue with her.
You giggled at the sight of Poppy happily chatting away in Larry's lap, while he looked down at the paperwork to avoid your gaze.
"My, my, aren't you sweet Mr. Larry?" You teased, Causing the red to spread from his ears to his cheeks. He awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Here poppy, I got you some crayons from my trip to Levincia, why don't you draw something during the meeting?"
You handed the crayons to the elated girl, and she started drawing immediately on the Larry's paperwork.
He sighed, his documents now covered with colorful hearts and flowers. Geeta, you and several other workers couldn't help yourselves as you all laughed at the adorable sight, and you gave him a wink.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get another copy Mr. Larry"
Larry was sure he's die by a heart attack by now.
The meeting was long and slow, but ended on a productive note. Larry tried not to stare everytime you spoke up, but he couldn't help but admire how well your suit hugged your body, the glint of your necklace, or your pretty pink lips. It didn't help that every now and then you caught his eyes and gave him a small smile.
He honestly didn't remember a single word about the meeting, everything passed by for him in a daze as he tried not to stare at you. A small tug on his arm brought him back to his senses.
"Hey Mr. Larry, thanks for letting me draw on your papers! I have something for you!"
Poppy motioned him to lean down, and put a small pikachu sticker on his cheek. It had the words 'Well done!' plastered over it.
"Um, don't worry about it Poppy"
She giggled and ran down the hall towards Rika, probably getting back to that lunch break.
He sighed softly to himself as he watched her run, and was about to go get his lunch himself when he felt someone staring.
Startled, Larry took a step back when he realized you were leaning in towards him, what were you doing? Why were you starin-
Ah, the sticker on his cheek.
You leaned in and whispered in his ear, causing a shiver to run down his spine.
"I didn't know you were such a softie Mr. Larry."
You handed him a stack of papers.
"I got you some fresh copies, make sure Poppy doesn't draw on these hm? You might not be able to read what's on it"
Before he could reply, you walked away briskly. He stood there silently.
The businessman looked down to see a small note written on the papers, with a phone number.
Larry couldn't help but give a small smile as he started to make his way down to his office.
Maybe this wasn't such a terrible day after all.