Lauren has changed. After six weeks in San Diego California, she has come back with short hair, a new tan, and a hard distancing shell that will be almost impossible to crack. She has put up her walls and may never let anyone in again.
Will Barney g...
The Goliath National Bank working environment had not improved, despite the fact that Barney and I were engaged again. I still got the wolf whistles, the creepy stares, the once overs. Also, I got asked out...a lot.
"No," Marcus, one of the accountants repeated. He was kind of a douche, not gonna lie. "Can I ask why?"
"I'm engaged, Marcus. To Barney? One of your superiors, could get you fired in a heartbeat. Ringing any bells?" He sighed, narrowing his eyes at me and stalking out of my office. I rolled my eyes, looking back to the paperwork I was working on. There was a knock at the door, and I looked up to see Marshall.
"What did Marcus want?" He asked, sitting down in one of the arm chairs opposite my desk.
"To ask me out."
"Wow, that's what, eight this week?"
"One for every day. I didn't get this much attention from men when I was single, now all of a sudden I'm engaged, to a man of power in their company no less, and now I'm fighting them off with a stick." He laughed. "You think I'm kidding. Stanley in Accounts Management still hasn't quite recovered." His smile fell.
"Barney hates it. At lunch, he just sits around, glaring at people." I chuckled.
"I don't know, maybe this job is more trouble then it's worth. I mean, it's not like I need the money."
"But you enjoy it, right?" He asked. I nodded. "Then don't quit just because a bunch of suits want what they can't have. Your happiness is more important than their interest, right?" I nodded.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." There was another knock at my door and I looked up to see my fiancé. I smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Hey, uh guys, Ted's presentation is about to start, and they want Lauren to write up a piece for the website." I nodded, standing up and closing my folder.
"Oh, right." I grabbed my notebook and pen and followed Barney out the door. He put a hand on my back, looking around skeptically at his co-workers.
"It's ok, Barney." I whispered, "You're my fiancé. You have nothing to worry about." He stopped, looking at me. I gave him a reassuring smile before pressing my lips briefly to his and entering the conference room. Ted had his sketches set up on an easel. I smiled at him, sitting down between Barney and Marshall. Ted explained hi pitch for the atrium, and I jotted down the important quotes and details.
"Wood?" Bilson asked, "Natural light? Natural light reminds the workers that there is an outside world where they have family and friends. We want to crush that!'
"Love you, babe." I whispered, causing Barney to chuckle quietly.
"You show up in the dark, you go home in the dark. You spend your whole dang day in the dark." Marshall leaned over me.
"I need to hear Lily's voice." He stood up.
"Who said you could leave?" He sat back down abruptly, and I patted his shoulder.
~~~
Once the pitch ended and Ted was gone, Bilson stood up.
"Stinson, Erikson, Carson. My office, now." We all swapped a look. Uh oh.
~~~
"We're scrapping the plan for the new GNB headquarters. This recession is killing us. We're cutting anything non-essential. And I have a lot of tough choices to make of the bi-quarterly retreat in Saint Croix. " He told us.
"Man, Ted is gonna be devastated." Marshall said.
"Not when he hears it coming from his best friend."
"I have to tell him?" Barney and Marshall asked together. I sighed.
"Oh boy."
~~~
"You should tell him, you're his best friend." Marshall argued as the three of us sat at the bar later that night.
"Am not, you're his best friend."
"Am not-"
"Quiet here he comes." Ted walked in beside some Asian guy.
"The white dude or the Asian fellow. See? I barely know the guy." Barney said.
"Guys stop. I'll tell him." I told them.
"What, really?" Barney asked. I nodded.
"Look, neither of you wanna tell him. I'm not his best friend or 'supposed' best friend so I have no reputation points to lose." I trailed off as Ted came over, leaning against the bar between them.
"Hey Ted." Barney greeted.
"Hey."
"Hey, how ya doin'?" Barney handed him a drink.
"I'm frustrated. Anything innovative I put in my designs, Bilson just hacks out with a machete."
"You're sketches are beautiful though." I pointed out.
"Thank you, Lauren. I hate having to answer to a guy like that." He knocked back his drink.
"You should drop the project." I smiled, reaching up and flicking Barney in the back of the head. He winced, glaring at me.
"You should totally drop the project. It's beneath you." I repeated my actions with Marshall.
"Are you kidding? They just laid off another architect at my firm. I mean, Bilson's a pain sure buy without this project, I'm probably out of a job." I sighed.
"Listen, Ted-"
"Have I mentioned how hot you look in that sweater? Come here." Barney grabbed me, smashing his lips against mine and pulling me away from Ted. I pulled away from him.
"Barney, come on. Stop goofing around."
"I just...just let us handle it, ok? We'll tell him, I promise." I nodded.
"Ok."
"You want a drink?" I nodded again, and he handed me his wallet, walking back over to Ted. I opened his wallet to pull out the money, when I found a picture sticking out of the flap. I pulled it out. I don't even remember taking it.
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I smiled at the vision of us together, remembering just for a second that this is my life. That is my fiancé. Barney came back over.
"Whatcha doing?" He asked, putting a hand on my arm. He looked over my shoulder at the picture in my hand.
"When was this even taken?" I asked.
"That, I believe, was two or three nights after we got back together. Lily was crying about it being a 'momentous occasion' that we would want to 'preserve'." I smiled again, leaning against him.
"Was she right?" I tore my eyes from the picture, looking up at him.
"Yeah. Yeah, she was." I smiled up at him, putting a hand on his face to turn his head towards me and kissing him.
