#receptionist!reader

Call It Fate, Call It Karma

Part one: Jitters and Bunnies

Part 2

WC: 3.1k

Summary: You get a new job as a receptionist at Checkmate. When you’re introduced to a particularly cute coworker, Adrian, you have to decide if it’s better to stay in your comfort zone or take a leap.

Tags/warnings: Eventual smut MDNI, workplace romance, friends to lovers, coworkers to lovers, girly!reader, receptionist!reader, afab!reader, awkward flirting, undertones of cheating, Chris isn’t in Salvation bc I love him, swearing, no use of y/n

A/N: I’ve been so excited to get started on this! I have so many ideas for this storyline, any and all feedback is super, super appreciated. Your comments keep me going fr. Also yes this fic is named after a song. Enjoy!!

Perfectly manicured fingernails tap restlessly on your steering wheel as you sit in your car, waiting to be exactly 5 minutes early to your new job. Your heart rate is speeding up, both from excitement and nerves.

You smear sparkly berry pink lipgloss onto your lips, rubbing them together to get an even coat. When you flip up the sun visor mirror, the signage on the front of the building is now visible.

CHECKMATE

MAKING THE WORLD BETTER

God, you sure hope so. After interning for A.R.G.U.S. you almost lost faith in humanity. Sasha Bordeaux was the one who reached out and asked you to work for this new startup security company.

You worked under her for a while, becoming acquaintances. She knows you aren’t very experienced, but she noticed very quickly that you share the same values as her.

That paired with the fact that they needed a receptionist who knows how to keep secrets.

So here you are, after doing mountains of onboarding paperwork and signing multiple NDA’s, it’s time for your fresh start.

Your clock reads 8:55am.

It’s time to go. You pull your keys out of the ignition, numerous glittering keychains jingling as you put your keys back into your purse. Stepping out of the car, you readjust your outfit.

The grey pinstriped pants you picked out this morning swish together as you walk, complimenting the click-clacking of your mauve pink kitten heels. The button up sweater matches the shoes perfectly. Your cherry on top is arguably too much jewelry, but you love jewelry!

You smile at your reflection in the tinted glass front doors, you feel ready. This feels like your life might finally start making some sense.

As you take a step inside, you’re met with the smell of fresh paint and gunpowder being masked with a lavender air freshener.

Sasha greets you with her sophisticated smile, shaking your hand. “Welcome, we’re so happy to have you here. This is Leota, she’ll be giving you the tour.”

You lock eyes with the other woman who you now know to be Leota, and her smile instantly calms your jitters. She greets you with a warm hug that you eagerly return. “You’re going to be so helpful around here! Come on I’ll show you around.”

“Okay! Thank you so much!” You’re a little bit nervous still, but the atmosphere of this place is already multitudes better than the cold, heartless energy at A.R.G.U.S.

“This is the main office area, we mostly just communicate with clients and write up reports here.” You look around at the row of desks, spotting a few familiar faces from your previous job.

Langston, Harcourt, and Rip. The latter two give you a nod and a small smile of acknowledgment, you didn’t know them super well but you’ve been around each other. Langston whistles at you. “Happy to see that pretty face again, Mmhmm!”

Sasha flicks a paper clip at his forehead with shockingly remarkable accuracy, glaring at him in a way that tells him not to fuck this up.

You just laugh it off, you’re used to his antics and know he means no harm. Fluery is an oddball, but at least he’s nice.

You’re introduced to a few more people, Chris Smith and John Economos. You can tell Chris wants to act the same way as Fluery, but is stopped by a look that could kill from Emilia. Instead, he shakes your hand. “I bet you’re a very kind and intelligent woman.”

“Thanks?” You reply with a confused giggle, he seems to mean well. John gives you a salute and goes back to typing away on his computer.

After the rest of the tour, you see the break room, conference room, training area, and finally your desk. It’s C-shaped, angled towards the main office area but still facing the front door.

It’s mostly empty, but you’re excited to change that. “Can I decorate?”

“Girl, you can do whatever you want to it. We’re just grateful to have someone helping us answer all these calls and keep us organized.”

Your smile widens even more. You like Leota, she even told you that you can call her Ads or Lee. She overshared about her life: dogs, ex-wife, interests, etc. You decide not to call her Lee because her ex-wife used to. Ads seems like someone you can be yourself around.

“Good because I may or may not have gone overboard buying office supplies and decorations!” You speak honestly, remembering the box of goodies in your trunk that you ultimately decided not to bring in right away.

Leota laughs with you, placing a hand on your desk and nodding. “By all means, go nuts!”

———————————————————————

By 9:30, your desk is completely decked out. You set up your pink rotary phone, which is now fully functional thanks to Economos. There’s a little bowl on your desk that you filled with candy and mints. The drawers have been stocked with sticky notes, glittery gel pens, and notebooks. You changed the background on your computer screen, set your password, and got all set up. You sit back in your chair, beaming.

A.R.G.U.S. never would’ve given you this much freedom. They were also never this welcoming. After the tour, a few of your new coworkers stopped by your desk to talk to you some more. You’re flooded with relief, you got out of a bad situation, and it’s seeming to pay off.

As you begin checking emails, your brain wanders to your other bad situation, but you know you can’t leave that one.

Before you can fall down the familiar spiral, the door slams open with an obnoxious bang, snapping you out of your thoughts.

Your heart jumps to your throat, not from being startled, but something much scarier: Seeing something you want that you can’t have.

The first thing you notice about him is that he’s adorable. Tall, sandy blonde curls, dorky wire rimmed glasses, and a long sleeved maroon polo shirt. “Hi guys! Sorry I’m late, I was getting donuts. You know in movies how there’s always a guy bringing donuts into meetings, I wanted to be that guy!”

Your eyes finally drop from his blinding smile down to the two boxes of donuts he’s holding. You can’t help but match his grin, as if this job couldn’t get more entertaining.

He’s met with a few ‘thank you’s’ and nods of acknowledgment, but also a few eye rolls.

You’re still staring at him like an idiot, your pen slipping out of your hand and clattering onto your desk.

The man turns towards you, finally noticing the brand new face at the formerly vacant desk. He’s never seen someone more beautiful in his entire life.

His excited expression gets impossibly more prominent as he walks over to you, dropping the donut boxes onto your desk, right next to your bell.

He freezes for a moment, looking down at his feet, then back to you, then his eyes dart all around your desk. He sees the bell, and looks like he just solved an equation in his head as he nods affirmatively and dings the bell with one finger.

“Is this how I can start a conversation with you? That’s fucking cool, it’s like an on button!” He’s very animated when he talks, his hands flapping and expression shifting to fit every word.

You laugh softly, and the man quickly decides it’s his new favorite sound. You shake your head and respond. “It’s mostly for decoration, but you can use it as an on button too I guess!”

“Sick! I’m Adrian by the way, I sit right there!” He’s ecstatic that you’re laughing along with him and seem happy he’s talking to you too.

You follow the line of his finger with your eyes, flicking your gaze to what you can assume is Adrian’s desk. It’s decorated too, you notice. There’s some nerdy looking action figures and a framed photo.

You had wondered who occupied the desk closest to yours, and you’re happy to find out it’s Adrian.

After telling him your name, you gesture between his desk and yours. “Yay! We’re desk buddies!”

“Yeah! Hey can I have one of these?” He points to the candy bowl.

“Sure!” You nod happily.

“Thanks, well I have to go do job stuff now, but maybe later you can quiz me on animal facts?”

You watch him pop a piece of cherry taffy into his mouth, drawing attention to his plush pink lips. His jaw flexes as he bites into the chewy candy.

You school your expression, opting for a neutral smile as you try to will your cheeks to cool down. You fiddle with the little stuffed bunny that’s slouched at the base of your computer. “Sounds good! It’s really nice to meet you, Adrian!”

He walks away from your desk, but stops halfway, turning around on his heel. “Whoops! Forgot these!”

He’s so damn cheerful, you watch him pop the lid open with that dopey grin on his face as he hands you a pink sprinkled donut. “This matches your outfit, here!”

You glance down at your sweater, he’s right. That frosting matches your attire perfectly. “Woah it totally does, thanks so much!”

He gives you a nod, he looks like he wants to say something else, but he shuffles back to his desk taking the donuts with him.

Damn, you think to yourself, when was the last time your boyfriend paid attention to the outfits you wear?

The first few hours of work went smoothly, whenever you had questions, everyone was happy to help. You spent a lot of the day answering emails and organizing files.

Your main responsibility was to answer phone calls and redirect them to the correct person in the office to talk to, or just answer general questions. Most of the conversations you had were brief.

Anytime someone raised their voice at you over the phone, you’d stay calm. Adrian, however, would tense up and stare at you, as if he wanted to reach his hand through the phone and choke out whoever was on the other line until they turned blue.

That wasn’t the only time he’d look at you. You’d notice the way he’s always swiveling back and forth in his chair. Every time his body turned even slightly in your direction, he’d shoot you a smile. You couldn’t help but smile back.

Adrian couldn’t stop stealing glances at you. He notices the way your lips seem to shimmer under the fluorescent lighting, the way the color of your sweater brings out your eyes, how sweet and patient you are to all the clients over the phone. He even thought the little stuffed bunny on your desk was cute, you sort of remind him of a bunny too.

You were a lot more subtle with your ogling, opting to peek at Adrian when you knew he wasn’t paying attention. If you craned your neck you were able to see his screen. He spent an entire hour researching bunnies for some odd reason.

In fact, you aren’t sure if he’s really doing any work at all. From the NDA’s, you already know he’s Vigilante, so you’d guess he’s more useful in the field than the office.

You stare at him and his screen as he starts writing an email. It’s impossible to make out the tiny words on the screen, but you see him type and backspace over and over again. You squint your eyes as you try to see what he’s typing-

Ding!

Right, you’re supposed to be checking emails too. Bringing your attention back to your computer, you straighten your back and open the new email notification.

From: [email protected]

Subject: Hi

Hi! 🧜‍♂️

From,

Adrian

You stifle a giggle as you read the email, the emoji is weirdly endearing to you. As your eyes flick up again, you see Adrian already grinning at you. Shaking your head, you return the smile and reply to his email.

From: [email protected]

Subject: Hi!

Hi Adrian,

You must be really bored, huh?

Best,

Your desk buddy

As you hit send you try to focus back on your tasks. It’s your first day after all, you can’t mess around too much. But, his goofy antics are making the day go by a lot quicker.

Another notification comes through. You consider ignoring it for now, but curiosity gets the best of you. How could you possibly ignore him when he’s practically wagging his tail at you right now.

You peek around the office, everyone else is either talking to each other or have their eyes glued to their computers. Nobody can tell you guy aren’t really working.

From: [email protected]

Subject: Important work stuff

Nope! Not bored anymore, I’m talking to you! Can you do prank calls on your phone?

Love,

Your desk buddy

Eyes widening when you read how he signed his email, anxiety wracks through you. Love? Maybe he’s joking around. You shouldn’t take it so serious, but still. That could get you in trouble.

Your mind drifts back to your familiar problem, your boyfriend.

He’s okay, he’s a simple choice. The type of guy that keeps you in your comfort zone. He has jealousy issues, and a lot of other issues actually. But you love him. Yeah, you love him.

Love is supposed to be hard. That’s what you’ve always been told, stick with people you love even when times get tough. You don’t want to end up alone, and you know your boyfriend is probably the best you can do.

Why does it feel so hard then?

He’s barely happy for you about your new job, he’s rarely happy period. But, he buys you things, not things you really like but whatever. Your parents like him, he’s an easy choice.

You don’t want to think about him right now, the thought of change is really scary after all of the changes you’ve already made recently. Your relationship is the only familiar thing in this new life you’re building.

Ugh, but don’t you deserve some excitement? It’s not like you’re cheating, you’re making friends with your colleagues! It’s networking.

You pick up the phone and type in the proper extension number.

Adrian perks up when he hears his phone ringing. He never gets phone calls! Maybe someone needs him for a super cool spy mission or something. He picks up the phone and forces a serious expression only his face. “Hello, you’ve reached Adrian at Checkmate.”

You’re slouching in your chair as you try to hide the fact that you’re speaking into your phone. “Is your refrigerator running?”

You hear Adrian shift around in his chair before responding. “Great question. I’m not with my fridge right now so I’m not sure. Why? Is there a new wave of fridge related crimes?”

“Then you better go catch it!” You try to change the tone of your voice so he doesn’t recognize you.

Adrian speaks very seriously on the other line. “Got it. I’ll definitely go catch this criminal. Do you have any information on them?”

You facepalm. Maybe you should’ve picked a different prank call bait and switch, because he’s taking it a bit too literally. You giggle and sit up straight, looking at him.

“Adrian it’s me, I’m trying to prank call you.”

“What?” He looks like a confused puppy, tilting his head and pressing his work phone to his ear. Scanning the room and looking for answers, he sees you.

It seems to click in his mind what you were trying to do, and he bursts into maniacal laughter. He throws his head back, which highlights his prominent Adam’s apple.

His laughs are so loud in your ear that you have to pull the phone away a bit. You hear his cackles echo through the office as well as the delayed laughing through your phone.

Everyone looks up from their desks in confusion, but not surprise as they watch Adrian lose his mind over your failed, yet successful prank.

You bite back a smile as you watch him catch his breath. You feel eyes on you too, and you turn away, trying to act like you’re on some type of business call.

Adrian finally gets a few words out through his wheezes. “Ah! That’s too good!”

Through the phone, the heavy breathing and his out of breath voice make you feel hot all over. You slam your phone back into the holder, you can’t think like that. This is just friendly stuff, right.

Lunch break came exactly at the right time, saving you from another unhealthy train of thought.

You sat in the break room with Leota, and the third seat was quickly stolen by Adrian.

Chris looked shocked to see that his best friend wasn’t sitting with him today, but after a moment he gave Adrian a not so subtle wink.

“Did you know that bunnies can live up to 50 years?” Adrian looks over the moon to be telling you this information. His green eyes are practically sparkling.

Ads starts to respond. “Adrian I don’t think that’s-“

“I didn’t know that!” You know it’s not true, but you hated the way his face dropped when Leota was about to tell him he got his facts wrong.

The smile he gives you in return makes your heart feel like it’s being squeezed.

The rest of your lunch is spent listening to Adrian spout off bunny facts. How did he know it’s your favorite animal? Some of them don’t sound true, but you like listening to him talk.

Ads listens in pure amusement and disbelief, but she laughs along anyways. She’s had enough bunny facts for the day, however. “So, how’s your first day going?”

“Great! I’m still figuring some things out, but I think it’s going to be a good fit.” You swallow and force yourself not to look at Adrian right now. You refuse to admit that you think he might be a good fit too.

Leota’s face lights up and she claps her hands together once. “Nice! How have the clients been treating you?”

“Most of them are pretty standard interactions, only a couple of Karen’s so far.”

You make a face suggesting you’ve had some sour people on the phone today.

Adrian leans across the table to speak again. “You were doing great! I heard you being all professional and shit, you’re so nice to everyone.”

“Thank you!” Is he throwing sweet compliments like that at everyone or just you? You shouldn’t care. You’re in a relationship. Still, your teeth dig into the skin of your cheek, suppressing a smile.

A team meeting was held at the end of the day, filling you in on all of the current projects that were being worked on. Everyone at this company seems so… real. There’s no cold shoulders, this feels like a family.

As you leave for the day, you see Adrian staying back to undoubtedly go patrolling with Peacemaker. You wave the two men goodbye.

Adrian Chase. What an interesting guy. What an interesting, handsome, gorgeous, funny-

You blast the radio in your car before you let yourself go down that rabbit hole.

On the way home, you feel fucking amazing. Best first day ever, that’s for sure. For the first time ever, you feel excited to go back to work tomorrow.

Definitely just because you like the job, no other reason.

Yet, as you try to drown out the confusing feelings you’re having with Britney Spears, you can’t get the image of Adrian’s pretty green eyes out of your head.

masterlist

leaving little notes on her coffee every morning because he's such a good friend... definitely not because he has a crush on her...

oh i love this. she literally found them online n she needed roommates desperately cos the girlies she was supposed to move in with bailed last minute on her :(

so now receptionist!reader knows she can’t afford to live alone because that receptionist job is pretty good but not paying her amazing money yk?? and here we have jj n john b in a similar situation, needing just one extra person to help cover the costs !

they’re not expecting their new roommate to be working at the station they work at, which leads to lifts to and from work together, the three of you becoming pretty much inseparable out of work. alot of the time you finish hourssss before they finish so you get yourself home (or wait for one of them to drop you home on their shift) and prepare dinner for them to come home to :( maybe allow them to let off a lil steam on u :((

they need it especially when they start working the real fires, having completed their training. coming home still smelling like smoke, soot smeared on their faces and undershirts just manhandling u in the kitchen :( n you can’t help but notice how big and strong they’ve been getting since working the real deal ……

STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR | JJ MAYBANK X READER | IMAGINE | 

PAIRING: Mailboy!JJ Maybank x Reader, Ex!Rafe Cameron x Reader

SYNOPSIS: You get stuck in an elevator with JJ Maybank

WORD COUNT → 76 WARNING(S): None really.

AUTHORS NOTE: Wrote this cause I'm nervous with how the first chapter of Run Baby Run came out. and needed a distraction.

JJ MAYBANK MASTERLIST | RAFE CAMERON MASTERLIST | OUTERBANKS MASTERLIST | TAG LIST |