Heart of Steel ~ Winn Schott

Cake Day

(Previously 'I Hate Tuesdays' and 'A Birthday Party')

~~~~~~

Beep beep beep beep

Frankie rolled over, her face effectively squashed against the pillow.

"Mmph, five more minutes," she grunted to no one as she reached out and turned off her alarm. She rolled back over without even opening her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

As she lay in bed, she couldn't help wondering how people could wake up earlier than ten. She was barely able to scrape seven on a weekday. Most days, she was barely on time for work. Crawford had even told her that if she was late one more time, there would be 'consequences more severe than your eighth-grade English teacher', whatever that meant.

With all of the drama the night before, what with Alex nearly dying and all, Frankie was counting her lucky stars it was Saturday.

Saturday was the best day in her opinion because it came after Friday. You could do nothing and not feel guilty about it. She was seriously considering just staying in bed for the rest of the day, nothing to worry about. She could-

Beep beep beep beep

Frankie found it odd that her alarm was being so persistent. It wasn't like she had anywhere to be. She then realized it wasn't her alarm at all, but her ringtone. Someone was calling her. She reached over and grabbed her phone off her nightstand, checking the caller id.

The Boss Guy

Why was Crawford calling her on a Saturday at, she checked the time, 10:37 in the morning?

Wait.

Shit!

It was Tuesday.

~~~~~~

She sprinted into the building, bypassing the wait for the elevator and taking the stairs three at a time. She forced open the main door to the reception and skidded to a halt at the front desk.

"Ms Danvers. So nice to see that you've finally arrived, what, two and a half hours late. I must say, that's a new record." A young, dark-haired receptionist looked up, smirking good-naturedly.

"Shut up Lou, I'm here now."

Louise and Frankie had always gotten along well ever since they met on the first day of training. They had bonded over their common feeling of being constantly overshadowed by older siblings, and a shared love of Mexican food.

"At least you're a lawyer. Crawford still insists that I'm 'not qualified enough for the job'. But hey, this is fun too I guess." Frankie smiled at her friend and passed by, moving into the main office area.

She paused, turning to call back to Louise.

"Hey, sign me in will you, I need to get started if I want to make it for Kara's birthday tonight. And Alex wouldn't be very happy if I turned up headless."

"Oh yeah. That's today isn't it?"

Frankie nodded.

"Well, give Kara and Alex my love."

"Will do," Frankie said as she shuffled over to her desk. She eyed the paperwork that still sat on her desk from the day before.

This is it. This is how I die, she thought, pulling the stack toward her with a grimace.

She spotted a tall figure storming between the desks and quickly tried to make herself look as busy as possible before the man reached her.

"Danvers. Finally decided to show up, huh?" Crawford loomed over her, sneering.