Barber Shop

Bird Song

3.

In true fashion Annalise arrived late to work. It had gotten to a point where she didn’t rush. She knew her boss expected her to be late. If she was going to be honest with herself, she would have been relived if she had been fired. But Annalise was rarely honest with herself.

She walked into the tall skylight that sat in the city of London. She walked past the security flashing her ID card before pressing the lift to go up. As the lift doors opened her boss jogged onto the lift. He didn’t notice Annalise, but Annalise noticed him.

She noticed that he was on his smart phone, reading the investment news. She found this weird as they worked in a fashion magazine, but she didn’t say anything. She noticed how his Italian Suit was structured perfectly around his body. She wondered how much it must have cost to get it tailored to such a high standard. Annalise’s own blazer was Chanel, but she had only gotten it during a sample sale. If not, she would generally wear Topshop and order from boutiques. Annalise noticed his whole outfit. She noticed how much she liked how he had slicked his hair back slightly today. To an untrained eye, and by that a man, it would have looked natural. But Annalise could see the slight remains of wax. It suited it.

It made his seem more… him really.

Annalise bit the inside of her cheeks trying not to smile.

She could imagine all of the foul things Seb would say about this situation.

Sebastian and a lot all the employees dribbled pure lost for their boss.

Annalise was included in that bunch of course, but she was one of the few that were able to hide it well.

Well, except for now when she was staring at him, but she was sure he could hardly notice. He didn’t really notice her and she was one of his personal assistants. It was only rotation though. All of the interns had to shadow one of the partners. For her boss though, this meant getting him coffee and printing out things.  She didn’t mind though. She was jealous of Seb who was working in fabrics. He would rotate with her in 6 months. Annalise was counting down the hours.

Annalise was sure that he was probably a nice person. He probably smiled. He was probably human.

The lift stopped and the doors opened dragging Annalise out of her thoughts. Her boss allowed her to leave the lift first. She walked out and locked eyes with Sebastian. He waved at her, but his grin grew when he saw the person behind her. He started to giggle like a school child and nudged the persons whose desk he sitting on and nodded towards them. She also copied Sebastian’s reaction and whispered to the person next to her. Within minutes the whole floor were grinning towards Annalise. She sat at her desk rolling her eyes, but a smile playing on her face.

“Tell us all the gossip!” Lana, the loudest gossip in the building whispered turning her chair to face Annalise.

“Does he lick the cake?” Sebastian added. Annalise laughed at their wild imaginations.

“Aren’t you meant to be in fabrics Seb?” He nodded. “Fabrics is in the basement.” Sebastian nodded again. “This is the 7th floor?” She asked again. Lana and Sebastian both nodded and laughed. Annalise just looked at them with disbelief. She decided not to say anything. Instead turning her laptop on.

“I bet they’re going to send each other flirty messages on Otext like in Bridget Jones.” Lana continued. As she was facing Annalise, she was the throwing looks at their boss. His office sat behind Annalise’s desk. It was all glass so everyone could look in. The only privacy he got was the door. The company’s policy was to leave all doors open as a sign of welcome, unless you were in a meeting. He didn’t listen to this. His door was always closed and he often drew the blinds to his office.