Stuck On You [Lesbian]

Chapter 16

There was an eclectic mix of people on the hustling streets of Wellington. From people in business suits, to women in hijabs, to people with tons of piercings, they all seemed to have one thing in common on this particular morning... they were all speeding off to their destinations almost shoulder to shoulder. Raine was among them, rocking her new straight-cut white jeans and a bright red toque that read, "AIN'T NO WIFEY" in bold black over a white rectangle stitched in. Sure, it was getting a little warm for toques, but they were totally in.

If the hoard of people that walked alongside her cared enough to guess, most would have assumed that the particularly plain wooden door that Raine passed through led to residential apartment buildings on the second floor. After all, there were many buildings where people lived above businesses on the western side of downtown Wellington.

Raine was quite relieved to know that her request for not having Hush's logo above the door was granted. After all, the last thing she wanted were some moral vigilantes to disrupt the staff.

The moment she opened the door, she was greeted by a long narrow staircase with both sides of the wall lined with various shades of red brick. She unzipped her dark blue hoody to reveal a white t-shirt with a pattern of faded grey wisps.

While mountains of dirt were constantly being moved by loud machinery a few intersections down, Raine could live with the tiny hum inside. This beats that old smelly building we were working out of.

Raine almost gagged when she thought of it. The last building they were in happened to have a fishmonger move in next door. When the summer had hit, the putrid smell of oxidized fish reeked into their office and literally drove people to work from home instead. When confronted by the landlord, the fishmonger gave a huge stink about exercising their tenant rights and refused to leave. Needless to say, the staff was relieved when Raine announced that Hush was moving.

Raine had only seen the place via Skype in between her last-minute cramming for quizzes at school. However, she now understood why Austin, their Chief Operating Officer, said that the staff were incredibly excited about the new space.

She liked the crimson vintage couches along the stairwell railings and its contrast with the rows of smooth rectangular white tables that lined the vast open space. At the wide tables, sat groups of fou, each with their laptops in a square-like formation. A few folks who weren't on their headsets turned their heads in mild curiosity.

Many of them looked like they could have been any one of the people she walked passed to get to the building. That's what she loved about them. They were such a weird and random mix of people coming from so many different walks of life and in Raine's eyes, that's what made their collaborative work so unique.

A woman, Teagan, at the other end of the room by a giant bay window that seemed give the room warmth waved while chatting with someone on her headset. She smiled in between words while the crow's feet that spread from the tips of her eyes made her milky brown eyes twinkle. Teagan was well respected among the staff for her quick ability to problem solve. She had gained some of those skills from being an expatriate in a former life.

"Morning Raine," a scrawny middle-age man who sat next to Teagan peered through circular silver-framed glasses.

Austin was Raine's go-to guy when it came down to all the logistics of their daily operations. In fact, she had poached him from another startup company for that reason, about a year ago when Hush started to take off. While Austin was a man of efficiency, Raine found his huge scruffy brown beard quite distasteful, but apparently that was the new fad among many cisgender guys.

"Good morning," Raine waved proudly at the team before she removed her messenger bag and pulled out her own laptop at Austin's table.

"What's up Austin, was your long weekend?" Raine yawned.