"Are you sure you don't want me to go get you some coffee or anything?"
The crisp, stark white piece of paper crumples underneath the squeeze of your palm, the freshly printed sheet incurring the brunt of your frustration after he's asked you this same question for the just about the tenth time this morning. With a deep breath, you turn around to face your newly accumulated shadow— bright blue eyes peeking through silken strands of blonde as he smiles at you with wide eyes and rosy cheeks.
"Armin, for the last time, you don't have to get me coffee or anything else for that matter. You're a lawyer, not an errand boy," you snap, your tone carrying a great deal of bite after surrendering your very last wits end.
"Right, I'm sorry..." he pouts, pretty pink lip bitten between his teeth out of nervous habit, "I'm just not sure what to do with my time now. Obviously I haven't been assigned a case yet and Grisha's been in and out of meetings all morning so—"
"Actually, you know who loves coffee? Levi! His office is down the hall and to left, last door. I'm sure he would appreciate the help while you wait for Grisha to finish with his meetings."
"But I thought you were suppose to—"
"Yes, and I will show you around as soon as possible, promise. I just have some things to take care of right now— but don't wait up for me! Levi would be more that happy to help you out, actually. Mhm, he's a super nice guy."
You shoot him your best overly reassuring smile, hoping that he'll take the bait and get off your back for at least the rest of the afternoon. You felt bad for trying to pawn him off to Ackerman, but there's no way you can get any work done with him following you around the office like a lost puppy.
"Ah, alright then," he replies, awkwardly stroking the nape of his neck as he timidly walks down the hall and to the left, per your instructions.
Breathing a sigh of relief, you make your way back to your desk so that you can finish the rest of your paperwork and get prepared for the meeting with your client this afternoon. After closing the door to your safe haven, you set your things down onto the cluttered hardwood and circle around to take your seat, just before something tucked away into the corner of the room alerts your attention.
Quick deduction tells you that it's Armin's briefcase, which isn't anything out of the ordinary— until you spot what's poking out from underneath the front pocket of the glistening faux-leather bag. It's a book; the cover is inconspicuous enough, but knowing what you know about it's owner, you can't deny the curiosity that comes with the desire to take a tiny peek.
Plucking the book from its sleeve, you read the title: Satiate. The lettering is curled in pretty cursive, embossed against the velveteen, matte black cover.
Opening it up to the front page, you find a small note scribbled on the inside of the cover— 'I think you'll really enjoy this one,' it reads, in smoothly written black ink. The wheels of curiosity begin to turn in your head once more, wondering if maybe this was meant for you, but you quickly double back on your conclusion. After all, he certainly wouldn't have expected to run into you here. Unless...
The door to your office suddenly bursts open— you startle at the sound of the handle's harsh meeting against the wall, panicked as you quickly hide the book behind your back, subtlety nudging Armin's briefcase underneath the desk with your stiletto pointed heels.
Speaking of Armin, his face is twisted into an expression of fear, as he's not so gently shoved through the door— a rather unsettling aura emits from behind him, Levi stepping into view as he scowls at you from over the man's shoulder.
"I believe this belongs to you," Ackerman mutters, arms folded across his chest with looks that could burn straight through your miffed gaze.
"That's not mine," you respond innocently, unaware of the way that Armin's brows furrow amidst witnessing the two of you argue back and forth about him as if he isn't standing right there.
"Don't bother me again, L/n. I'm warning you."
Levi's gunmetal eyes are as chilling as ever, and you know he means business whenever he uses that particular tone. Still, you can't allow yourself to give up so easily— you may be a lot of things, but a quitter wasn't one of them— at least, not under these circumstances.
"But—"
"I said, don't bother me again."
With that, he storms off without giving you a single chance to rebut his unwillingness to accept your generous offer of a shiny new lawyer with an aim to brown-nose his co-workers.
"Wait!"
With slam of the door, your pleas fall on deaf ears; Levi is long gone and now you're stuck in the exact same situation as you were just moments ago. Armin's eagerness has died down considerably, of course, to no one's surprise. He wasn't expecting you to be so petulant— the woman he met the other day at his favorite book store seemed so much more kind and sophisticated. Where did she go?
"You know, I don't think I've ever met someone who hates coffee more than that guy," he quips with a cock of his brow, his tone laced with the bitter taste of irony as he lets you know that he's fully aware you've set him up for failure.
"Right, my mistake," you croon nervously as you grip onto the book that's still perched in your hands— the book that belongs to Armin; the book that you really shouldn't have been snooping through.
He's quick to pick up on the shift of your energy, noticing how you haven't moved from the spot you've been standing in since he was so rudely shoved back into your office. He notices the way your arms remain folded behind your back, and he definitely notices the way your awkward posture presses your chest tightly against the buttons of your silken blouse.
Averting his gaze, desperate to hide the rose-tinted blush on his cheeks, he notices the dark strap of his briefcase peeking out from underneath your desk. He definitely didn't leave that there. He smiles— a sly, yet inquisitive smile— before he takes an emboldened step forward.
"What's that behind your back?"
With a purse of your pretty glossed lips, you frown, holding the book out in-front of you. You've been caught— though it's not like there was any other outcome to this situation. You were stuck here in an incredibly cramped office with Armin, and his intensive blue eyes were watching your every move like a hawk.
"Going through my stuff?" He asks, rhetorically. "How perverse."
"Me, perverse? Says the one bringing erotica to work— on your first day, might I add."
This time he doesn't respond, instead he simply walks around to your side of the desk, grabbing his bag out from underneath it. He frowns; it's contents had messily spilt across the floor during your attempt to hide the evidence, the least you could've done is helped him— instead, you watch him from above with an indifferent expression of dissatisfaction at the way he takes his time picking up all of the pens and pieces of paper that you had knocked over.
"You're lucky it was me who found it," you continue, watching him rise to his feet in-front of you, this time a step closer— too much for comfort, so close that you can smell the aromatic cologne he wears; spiced yet sweet, with a hint of patchouli.
"If it was anyone else, especially Grisha, you would've been in trouble. He keeps a tight ship around here."
"I doubt Mr. Jaeger would stoop low enough to go through my things without my permission." He spits his sentence out abrasively, but the expression in his face is contradictory— his gaze is soft, almost teasing in the way that his eyes flit just ever so slightly towards your plush lips.
"Have you forgotten where you are? This is a law firm, full of lawyers, whose job basically consists of invading people's privacy."
He chuckles, unable to deny the fact that he's intrigued by your undaunted attitude. He's used to being the smartest person in the room, but now it seems that now he may have found someone who can present him with a bit of a challenge.
"Would it be wise to assume that you aren't very fond of me, Ms. L/n?" He asks brashly, fluttering his wispy blonde lashes as he glances at you with widened doe eyes.
He so pretty, it's almost sickening how just the other day you were hoping to see this guy again, although this definitely was not what you had in mind.You were already messing around with one colleague, adding another into the mix was far too risqué— you couldn't let anything get in the way of your aspirations. No distractions, especially in the form of a man; Zeke Jaeger included.
"Well Mr. Arlert, it would certainly be foolish of you to think otherwise," you refute. "First piece of advice I can offer, is that you absolutely shouldn't trust anyone in this industry. Any so called 'friends' you make here won't hesitate to rip the shirt off your back, whether you've offered it to them or not."
Perhaps you were being too harsh, but you figured it was better for him to find this out now, instead of holding onto any false hope.
"Noted," he responds, pulling the faux-leather strap of his briefcase over his shoulder as he leisurely walks towards the door.
With his back turned, you're unable to witness the way his cheeks flush for the second time today, or the smile on his face that speaks volumes for the excitement that he feels for his newest prospect; he wants to ruin you and that annoyingly arrogant attitude of yours, in the best ways possible. He wants you to regret making an enemy out of him today, and he indefinitely doesn't plan to rest until he's done so.
"Oh, and Armin?" You call out, sat pretentiously at your desk while freshly manicured acrylics clack away at the keyboard in-front of you.
"Yes?"
"Let's just forget about our run-in the other day. Now that we'll be working in the same environment, I think it's best if we keep ourselves at a professional distance."
"I couldn't agree more," he smirks, giving you one last reassuring glance from over his shoulder— similar to the one he gave you yesterday, but this time his eyes glimmered with a hint of something much... different; a mixture of malicious intent and a curious desire to find out more about this emboldened goddess he's been encountered with.
After all, The higher the pedestal, the harder they fall;
and he can't wait to see how pretty you look underneath him.