The Plague {One Direction AU}

2. Elise

Seattle, WA
December 10

Elise scrolled through her emails quickly, answering each as she went, her morning routine. She had read once that the key to organization is never to handle something--a bill, for example--more than once. It comes in, you open it, you pay it right away, and file it. Done. She treated all correspondence this way. And it served her very well. It kept her computer, her desk, and her mind uncluttered.

It was how she had handled her homework in high school, balancing a double schedule to finish at 15 with offers of a full scholarship to several universities. It was how she handled her coursework at Oxford, double majoring in business and computer engineering. It was how she rose to the top of this company by the age of 26.

"Are you excited for tonight?" Josh asked as he sat across from Elise.

She glanced up at him as she finished the last of her inbox. "Obviously. It's not every day that one gets an award from Angelina Jolie."

He smirked, the slightest dimple forming in his cheek. "What is it again? America's Next Top Businesswoman?"

Elise let out a laugh. "Ha-ha. You're hilarious, Josh. It's the world's next top businesswoman." Her laugh twittered into a giggle.

"Your laugh is so adorable," Josh chuckled. "I want to bottle it and sell it."

That only made Elise laugh harder. "Oh please," she rolled her eyes. Josh was her second in command, her right hand man. And he was like a little brother to her. Except, he was older.

His laugh died in a coughing fit. "Sorry. 'Scuse me." He sipped from the bottle of water he'd carried in with him. She watched him with concern. This flu was kicking the company's ass. Nearly half the workforce was out today. And she couldn't have Josh out, too. "Seriously, I could make a fortune."

"Yeah, yeah, enough. Don't you have some work to do?" He passed her a pile of papers and reviewed the team's goals for the day. Goal number one: get back online. "All right. Go get to it. Let me know if anyone needs anything." He nodded, standing to leave. "And Josh?" He turned back to her. "Take care of yourself today. I need you here with me."

"You got it, boss."

Elise spent the majority of her day drafting a plan with the Chief Financial Officer to get their stocks back up. Damn hackers. Ruined the launch of their new system, a gaming system unlike any other. Something she and the rest of the crew could really be proud of. Elise's team had worked so hard to get it out for the Black Friday rush. It was the most intense, full-on gaming experience anyone had developed, finally making good use of the Smell-Ware and Beta-Taste functions that had come into the entertainment world in the last few years. The tastes and smells were so seamlessly integrated that you almost forgot you were playing a game. Even Sony and Apple hadn't been able to achieve that with their smart tv systems. And then the fricking hackers. The tastes and smells people experienced were vomit-worthy. Not quite what Elise had in mind. The launch had been a flop, thanks to these jokesters. Losers. Get a proper job, you dicks! She wanted to scream at them.

As the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, light glinting off the gray water in amber beams that were made wavy by streaks of rain on the window, Elise's phone rang.

"Ms. Sandoval, this is Kurt with BBBS. I'm sorry but Angelina has come down with the flu. I think the entire event will have to be postponed, with so many people under the weather."

"Yes, of course. I absolutely understand. I'm so sorry to hear she's not feeling well...," Elise said, casting her eyes to the television screen. Thousands dead in flu pandemic, the cable news channel declared in bold print. The cameras scanned over crowded hospitals in New York and Los Angeles, bodies eerily slumped against one another. "Please tell Angelina I hope she gets well soon."