𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒

THREE | THE WALK IN

**A/N: There's just one small detail I wanted to clarify. Belmonte Publishings is open six days out of the week (closed on Sundays), and there's a weekly rotation of who works on Saturday (so people usually only work two Saturdays out of the month).

One full week of hard work had finally passed, and by the end of it, Felicity found herself completely exhausted. She had gone straight to Belmonte Publishings from school almost every day that week.

Mr. Belmonte had kept her on her toes each and every day, cutting the young woman no slack whatsoever—especially considering that she had not only just started the job, but she was also in the final stretch of her senior year.

He kept her assignment pile stacked high, and she was never left without multiple things to do. It was a very busy week for her, and she was already dreading the week ahead. Who knew what kind of things she'd have to deal with then.

It was Friday night, and Felicity was about ready to collapse at her desk inside Belmonte Publishings. Her shift was finally over, so she began gathering up her things to take home when her boss approached her.

His face was serious, and he was carrying a folder that had various papers spilling out of it. She began to mentally prepare herself for a long and painful weekend, but once Mr. Belmonte was standing in front of her, he paused.

The girl was visibly drained.

In most cases, Mr. Belmonte would have taken that as a sign that she wasn't fit to be working at his company. But over the last week, even he couldn't deny that she hadn't been lying when she said she was a hard worker. She had done everything he had asked of her in an exemplary manner, and timely too. It was clear to him that she needed this job, and that she was willing to do anything to keep it.

He couldn't say that he expected this much out of her, and he also couldn't deny that it somewhat irritated him to be proven wrong. But he was glad to see her succeed as opposed to failing miserably and messing things up for everyone else.

Mr. Belmonte stared down at his new assistant, and noticed her tired eyes. Felicity's eyes were a beautiful shade of grey, and unlike today, they usually had a bright sparkle to them. He wasn't sure if he alone was responsible for her level of exhaustion, but he knew she needed a break.

Ever since hiring her, Mr. Belmonte had been trying very hard to give Felicity the same treatment that he gave everyone else, and for the most part, he did. But at times, he still found himself feeling guilty for it. Because she wasn't the same as everyone else.

He was unfamiliar with the feelings she evoked in him though, and he hated the way this young woman made him feel without even trying.

Though they had not spent much time getting to know one another, something about her intrigued him. He often found himself wanting to ensure that she was going to stay working for him. He never really took the time out of his day to speak to her, but he didn't object to her presence around his company either.

So instead of handing her the new assignment like he had originally planned, Mr. Belmonte sighed and simply said, "Don't forget to bring those papers back to me on Monday. We'll have a big issue if you don't."

He turned and started to walk away, but Felicity stopped him, "Wait, were you going to give me that folder to work on this weekend? I'd be happy to do it."

Mr. Belmonte stopped and rotated his body back around to face Felicity again, then stared at her for a moment before speaking, "Goodnight."

He indeed was going to give her the folder, but he had spontaneously decided not to. Why he changed his mind, he didn't know. But he didn't like that he did—it wasn't like him.