Olivia
After my more than embarrassing encounter with "Tommo the tech guy" I was less than excited to be at work bright and early on Monday morning.
"Hey Liv." Caileigh tapped lightly on my door, and I looked up from my computer and the article I was writing. "Yes?" I questioned and she gave me a nervous smile. "The boss wants to see you."
I rolled my eyes. Alright I'll be right there. She fiddled with her fingers, and I gave her a confused look. "He seemed really upset Liv." she said quietly. I sighed knowing good and well why he wanted to talk to me.
Lately the relationship columns I had been writing were slowly becoming bitter, it wasn't on purpose, but I clearly had been taking my ability to write them anonymously for granted.
I wrote about other things, but I took pride in those columns, I was ready to fight Harry Styles if he even tried to tell me to change them.
I left the comfort of my office, passing Caileigh's desk, and walking down the long hallway to Harry's office. I internally screamed in annoyance as I reached his door, and I longed for a golden name plate outside of my door as well.
I knocked three times, just like he had informed us at one of the staff meetings. He was slightly Obsessive compulsive, and liked everything a certain way, even the way we contact him via door knocks.
"Come in." I heard his deep raspy voice from the other side, and I turned the knob noticing my hands shaking slightly. Harry and I had a good relationship, I considered us friends, even though he was my boss.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked taking a seat in the small chair in front of his desk. He intertwined his fingers and placed his hands on his desk looking at me almost as if I had stolen a cookie out of the jar.
"Olivia, Olivia, Olivia." He repeated my name three times, and for once I was a bit afraid of him.
"Yes?" I asked suddenly feeling very small. He sighed running his hands through his curls. "You've got to lighten up." he said suddenly, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"For what?" I asked relaxed feeling more like a friend than an employee again.
He raised an eyebrow and then abruptly placed a folder in front of me. "This is why." he stated in a bored tone. I cringed at the thick folder knowing exactly what it was. Emails.
Whenever the magazine customers were upset, they emailed to complain.
Normally it isn't such a big deal, I mean people are going to complain right? I sighed taking the folder in my hands. "Reply to all of them." he said sternly, and I bit my tongue.
"Maybe everyone else needs to realize that I'm not going to please everyone with my articles." I said as respectfully as I could.
He gave me a small smile. "Liv, your columns are wonderful, you have fantastic advice, women love that stuff, but recently I've read them, my wife has read them, and where's the hope, the romance?"
I rolled my eyes. "It's there, obviously." I said stubbornly.
"Listen I know you're all about being the woman in charge, and being independent, but one of your main assignments is to right about falling in love, and staying in love. I didn't hire you to write about how men love you and leave you alright?"
I sighed. So much for using my anonymous alter ego to express things to the world. "Look you've probably had some relationship troubles, haven't we all?" he started, and I already began to tune him out.
I thought about that awful day when Zayn came back to get the last of his things, and I tried to reason with him, but he shrugged it off saying what's done is done. No sympathy, not even a little.
I snapped out of my pity party, scolding myself for one thinking about Zayn, and two distracting myself from an actual conversation.
"So just write more happy endings yeah?" he gave me a forced smile, and I gave him two extremely sarcastic thumbs up. "You got it boss."
***
"Wow these are horrible." Caileigh said flipping through the top few emails in the folder. I had been replying to the hate mail for over an hour.
"I mean usually I get a few, but never this many." I shrugged continuing to type back the robotic apology I had memorized, and sent to all the readers before this one.
"You must of struck some sort of nerve with that last one huh?" she crossed her legs as she sat on the edge of my desk. I laughed at her sarcasm knowing she read my last article.
"Look, all I said was that long distance relationships suck, and usually don't last, if you do awesome, if you don't, sorry not sorry."
She gave me a look of pure awe. "Who hurt you Liv." she said it jokingly, but I knew there was a hidden layer of seriousness, but now was not the time, I don't think it would ever be the time to say his name out loud again.
Eventually Caileigh left me alone to finish these emails, and I began to wonder if I should just tell her about Zayn, no one really knows and I avoid talking about it, maybe I'll tell her one day.
Harry had given me strict orders that under no circumstances could I leave my office until every person had a reply. I groaned loudly as I stared at the still not so small stack of emails I had yet to reply to.
As I hit the enter key, sending what had to be the thousandth email of the day, my office computer cut off, and the screen went black.
I was not a tech savvy person, so all I could do was groan out loud "why me," as I repeatedly began pressing the power button hoping it would turn back on.
I finally gave up, and picked up my office phone, dialing the short number to get someone from the IT department.
"Hello this is Louis. How may I help you?" the voice sounded eerily familiar, but I didn't have the brainpower to match a face to it.
"Yes, my computer just cut off in mid email, and I have a lot of work to do and I really need this fixed." I spit out quickly.
There was a short pause and I realized how rude I must have sounded, and so I mumbled a quick please, and thank you.
"Well it is your lucky day, I just so happen to be working past closing time." he said sarcastically, and I looked down at my watch seeing that it was indeed well past five.
"Look I'm sorry." I said resting my head on my free hand feeling a headache coming on. "What's your floor and office number?" he said sounding not the least bit phased.
"12 and 12." I stated, hoping he would hurry up. "I'll be right up." he chirped, and I hung up without a word.
Moments later I looked in the direction of my door after hearing a chorus of three taps, a habit I would assume. I suddenly became overwhelmed with annoyance. It was him, the guy from the coffee shop, Tommo the Tech guy.
"Well what do I owe the pleasure." he smiled, leaning against the door frame. I couldn't properly form a sentence to reply, probably because the only thing I can think about when I see him is me spilling coffee all over his crotch.
"Tommo" I said almost condescendingly. "Tommo?" he questioned chuckling slightly, then flashing me a smile.
"Only my friends call me that." He repeated my line,"but you can call me Louis." He winked, and the annoyance was back.
"Could you just fix my computer." I motioned to the lifeless screen, and sighed knowing I would be here late. "Sure that's what I'm here for." he walked over rolling up his sleeves.
His arms were littered with tattoos, and I found myself wondering out loud. "Don't you get in trouble with all of those?" I asked looking down at my bare arms.
"What generation do you live in?" he teased, and I raised my eyebrows at his quick wit. He walked around the computer a few times, pressed a few buttons on my keyboard, jiggled a few wires, then let out a loud hmm.
"I see what the problem is." he stated, and I stood up abruptly, glad he could fix it, so I could finish my work and go home.
"Okay and?" I pushed, and he put his hands up in fake surrender. "Woah, easy, it'll take a little bit to reboot and stuff." he shrugged pressing the power button down.
It didn't do anything, and I was growing frustrated. "Oh come on, I already did that." I said impatiently.
He turned to look at me, an ever present smirk on his face. He was extremely attractive, and he had let his facial hair grow out a bit over the long weekend. It gave him a nice rugged look.
"Yes but you did it wrong." he took a seat on the corner of my desk like Caileigh had done earlier.
I stared at the blank computer screen growing more and more frustrated. "It's not doing anything." I let out an annoyed huff.
"Patience Olivia." he had rolled his sleeves down covering his inked skin, and I found myself wondering about them.
I snapped out of it and suddenly remembered that I owed him an apology. "So listen, about the other day—" I started, but he interrupted me "Your office is so boring." he stated as he was looking around the room.
I had only been in this office a few months, and I had been working non stop. I looked around at the practically bare walls.
"Yeah I haven't really had much time to decorate." I shrugged, and he stood up walking over to the only picture I had.
"What's this for?" he pointed to the framed issue of the magazine I had hanging right by the door. "It was the first time my work was published." I answered remembering how proud I was.
"Nice." he nodded his head continuing to snoop around my office.
He made his rounds, and returned to his spot on the corner of my desk. "So what do you do here?" he asked, and I smiled. "I write, it's a magazine." I answered.
He gave me another one of his award winning smiles and I suddenly felt like he needed to leave.
"I know that, but what do you write?" he asked and I rolled my eyes. "A little bit of this, A little bit of that." I said vaguely. I liked my relationship column to remain anonymous to everyone who wasn't in my circle, or signing my paychecks.
"So you're just good at it all aren't you Olivia?" the way he said my full name would usually rub me the wrong way, but he was so incredibly cute it was almost as if I couldn't be upset.
I shrugged "Obviously." I cracked a smile, surprised that I hadn't done so in awhile.
We made small talk for the better part of twenty minutes, I didn't know anything about computers but I was sure that this was a long time. "So Tommo—"Louis" he corrected me.
"Louis" I sighed "Is my computer fixed?" he let out a small "Oh yeah." as if he had forgotten that's why he was here in the first place.
I went to press the power button, and when nothing happened I wanted to pull my hair out. "It's still not working." I whined, but cut myself short, when I saw him leaning against my desk a black power cord in his hand.
"Now Olivia, I'm going to give you a lesson in technology." he smirked, and I felt my cheeks heating in embarrassment.
"If there is no power," He took the cord, and plugged it into the back of my computer, and like magic the screen began to power on. "Then the computer will not work."
I sighed. "Thank you, you're dismissed." I refused to look at him, but I could hear him laughing.
"Anytime, it's the least I can do for the girl who poured coffee all over my favorite jeans." I gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm really sorry about that."
He held up his hand. "Don't apologize, you just owe me a cup of coffee." he clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
"I'll have Caileigh bring you one tomorrow." I began writing my emails again, relieved I could finally finish what I started.
"Or you could bring me one yourself, since it was your fault." he was guilt tripping me, and I groaned.
"Okay fine, I'll bring you a coffee tomorrow, you can go now." I was already typing away, and he had worn out his welcome.
"I'll see you tomorrow Olivia." his blue eyes sparkled with something, and I found myself unable to look away. "Get out Louis." I tried to sound stern, but I couldn't help but smile as I said it.
He gave me a quick awkward wave, and left, and I was once again alone with my emails.
As I sat and typed I felt a warmth forming in the pit of my stomach, and it was too late to convince myself otherwise when I realized it was because I would see him again tomorrow.