handprints on my soul - jaylor oneshots

this love is ours (bonus part)

9 months later

Married life was good for Taylor and Joe. A month into it and they were happy as ever, had even gotten a new kitten Taylor had named Olivia. Their jobs were steady, especially Taylor's, which was why she was so surprised when she was called to her boss's office.

"Taylor, it's good to see you," the woman with dark brown hair said, nodding as Taylor walked into the office.

"Hi, Ms. Oswald," Taylor said, trying not to let her see how nervous she was.

"Call me Joan. Have a seat, Taylor." She gestured to the chair opposite the desk, and Taylor sat down, folding her hands in her lap. "I bet you're wondering why I called you here," Ms. Oswald said, and it felt to Taylor as if she was staring her down.

"A little bit, yeah," Taylor admitted, smiling awkwardly.

"Well, Taylor, I've noticed how dedicated you are to your work, and you really do help this office a great deal. I wanted to offer you a place as the manager of floor thirteen. You'd have your own closed off office, you'd be in charge of that whole division, and of course, you'd get a substantial raise."

Taylor's jaw dropped, and she quickly shut it, blinking in suprise. This hadn't been what she was expecting at all.

"What do you say? Do you accept?" Ms. Oswald asked with a smile.

"Uh... yeah, yes. I do, yes," Taylor stuttered, still just completely shocked at the offer.

"Great! We'll do some training tomorrow, and then you'll really start on Thursday," Ms. Oswald said.

"Thank you so much," said Taylor.

"You deserve it. Now, go on to your luch break," said Ms. Oswald, and Taylor stood up and left.

She still sat alone at those lunch tables, but would usually put in earbuds and listen to a podcast or text with Joe, and it was better than listening to the gossips.

Taylor took out her lunch, leftover pizza from the night before. She cringed slightly at the smell, which seemed stronger and more repulsing than it should have been. Quickly she looked it over to make sure it hadn't gone bad, but it looked fine, and Taylor knew it had been fresh just the previous night. Deciding it must be from someone else's food, Taylor took a bite.

Wrinkling her nose, Taylor moved the food over her tongue before forcing herself to swallow it. She couldn't place it exactly, but it tasted off, and it wasn't good. So she stuffed the container back into her bag and took out an apple instead, brushing off the slight nausea in her throat.

The rest of the day continued as normal, each moment making Taylor more eager to get home so she could tell Joe all about the promotion.

When she finally walked through the door, she felt ready to burst with the news.

"Joe! You won't believe the day I had today!" she called excitedly as she locked the door and then walked to the kitchen to put down her lunch.

"What happened, my love?" Joe asked, walking to the kitchen as well and smiling in adoration at Taylor. She was rinsing out her coffee cup, and he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing soft kisses on her cheek and neck.

Finishing up with the coffee cup, Taylor dried it and set it aside. She then turned around in Joe's arms so they could talk face to face. "I got promoted," Taylor grinned, her eyes shining.

"You did? Love, that's incredible! Tell me everything!" Joe said, letting go of Taylor and instead leaning back against the opposite counter to give her space to explain.