whimsykeii

Trish makes her way through the company break room, chatting excitedly with her lunchtime companions. They hadn't taken advantage of the on-site food options and instead carried some trendy take-out food in styrofoam containers. Today Trish is flanked by Bridgette in accounting and Jones in legal, both well-known for their insider scoops on all the going-ons in this company. The three saunter over to one of the various empty tables and lay out their spreads, not letting the conversation pause for even a moment. 

Bridgette pops a bite into her mouth and bemoans, “Oh I am so not looking forward to that managers All Hands meeting today. My department's just balancing all the payments in and out, yet people rake me over the coals like I'm the sales team responsible for those shitty numbers.” She makes a face, glowering at her phone as it buzzes with an oh-so-helpful workplace notification. “Would choking on my sushi get me out of this meeting? Asking for a friend.”

Jones shakes their head aggressively, swallowing before they speak. “And end up on the big boss's shit list for playing hooky? I'd pass.” Jones looks over to Trish with a look somewhere between admiration and fear, “I don't know how you can do it, Trish. I'd end up with an ulcer if I had your job.”

“It’s really not as difficult as you might think,” Trish responds with a smile, “Deep down, Auron's just a big kitty cat.” Trish shakes the concern away with her hand and chuckles lightly. “Try giving him a tickle under his chin sometime and you'll see what I mean.”

“I prefer my hands attached to my body, so I'll pass on that,” Jones laughs, employing some (to their knowledge) hyperbole light-heartedly. “He's a great boss, don't get me wrong, but I have nightmares about getting on his bad side.”

Bridgette leans forward conspiratorially, thrilled to have an opportunity to share some of her hot tea, “Funny you say that, word around the water cooler is that your department’s newest acquisition has placed themselves firmly in that camp.” 

Jones gasps dramatically, missing the way Trish turns a bark of laughter into a coughing fit in the process. “Monroe? I find that pretty hard to believe, honestly.” Jones glances around to confirm that the cafeteria is still empty before continuing, “they're honestly so easy to get along with and their output has been solid, what could they have done for Auron to be out to get them?”

Bridgette shrugs, “No idea, but recently I passed them while on my way to see the boss and they were clearly rattled as they left his office.” Bridgette sighs, genuinely feeling sympathetic for Monroe's plight despite gossiping about it behind their back.

“Rattled?” Jones raises a disbelieving eyebrow, “How could you even tell? Monroe's got one of the best poker faces in the department.” They stab at their lunch and take another bite, “One time they tore into those clowns at Megabytes for trying to slip things into the contract without saying anything, and they just had a smile and an even voice the whole time.” Jones shakes their head, “It was almost creepy to hear if I'm being honest.”

“Oh yeah, their face didn't look upset or anything,” Bridgette agrees with a nod, “but I think I found their tell! When they passed me, I noticed that their ears and the back of their neck were bright red.”

Trish hummed, “Oh, the poor dear. Auron must have really gotten under their skin that day.” She's fighting a smile tugging at her lips, as she's the only participant of this inside joke and doesn't want to look like she's enjoying some mean-spirited glee.

Bridgette continues, “I also heard through the grapevine that someone saw Auron hovering over them in the break room with no one else around.” She makes a face, “like I guess Monroe was having a bad day and he must have just been there to… what?” She doesn't offer any options for what “what” could be, letting imaginations fill in the gap.

“Now that you mention it,” Jones taps at the table thoughtfully, “there was this time where Monroe was running behind on updating some contract language, they never told me why. Anyways, I could see across the room that Auron was just glowering behind them, and he'd lean over into their personal space to look at their screen.” Jones sighs, “I don't know what they were talking about, but he was laser-focused on them, almost like he was looking for an excuse.” 

Bridgette brightens, “You know, maybe the problem is just that the boss is feeling lonely? I have a niece around his age that I could set him up with.” She nods in agreement with her own suggestion, “Give him something positive to put all that energy into.”

“No no, Auron is very particular about not mixing his personal and professional lives,” Trish lies smoothly. “He would never let his employee set him up on a date.” That one, however, is true.

The conversation moves on from there, that particular tea thoroughly tapped out. Trish does find random smiles sneaking onto her face, the thought still amusing her greatly every time it brushes against her peripheral. Jones and Bridgette finish their meals first with Trish close behind, and they dispose of their trash and return to the world of the working. Trish takes a moment following her own cleanup to look around the room. Still empty; they had a late lunch and most everyone else was well into their workload at this point. She walks over to the pantry where the dry foods are kept for employees to snack on and leans against the wall next to the closed door. In a fluid motion, she lifts her wrist and taps at the door behind her. “Will you still be able to make your 1:00 meeting, or should I reschedule it for later?”

There's a silence that could be interpreted as sheepish before the door clicks open. Auron exits the pantry like it's the most natural place he could have been, not a single sign of self-consciousness in his presentation. He gives Trish a sideways glance, “No, I'll be available.” There's an awkward pause for a moment, before he fills it, ‘’it’s not what you think.” Auron begins making his way across the room, Trish closely behind.

“I wouldn't dare to make any presumptions about your activities, Sir,” Trish responds with a placating lilt. "By the way, your hair came undone while doing whatever it was that isn't what I think.”

Auron pauses and mutters a swear, reaching up to pull the elastic out of his hair. Better to give the office a rare look at his free locks than to be seen as someone who did something to ruin their hairstyle. He turns a sharp eye to Trish, who doesn't even give him the benefit of feigned intimidation, and then he grumbles, “For the record, if Jones goes anywhere near my chin I am holding you personally responsible.”

Trish laughs lightly, “It was a joke, Sir. Perhaps you still remember what those are?” They continue their path to leave the room before Trish pauses misstep, “Oh, before I forget.” She turns and speaks to the still ajar pantry door, “Mistrum Penn, there are some concerns among the staff that you are being unfairly targeted by the CEO. If you'd like, I can set up a meeting with HR for you to air out any grievances you may have.” Trish ignores the sputtering and glares from Auron beside her, it's not like he's in a position to actually say anything to her.

Monroe makes their way out of the pantry, their hands clutching a chip bag of plausible deniability. They smile politely at Trish, the corners of their eyes crinkling as they do, “I appreciate the offer, but feel that the rumors are unfounded.” Monroe nods their head respectfully at Auron, “I find that I thrive in environments where I am held to the highest standards, and if that expectation has given others a cause for concern then I hope they will come to me directly so I can assuage those fears.” With another nod, Monroe excuses themselves and makes their way past the two and out the door, casually opening their bag of chips and taking a bite. French onion… their favorite!