Ooh, a new story... Hmm...
Prologue
"Get your ass in here now, Herondale!" the blaring voice of Jace's boss sounded through the large room from the sound system in the ceiling, causing his head to jerk up sharply and his headphones to rip from his ears.
Yes. He could hear the yelling over the top of his loud music. His boss's voice was that loud.
He hastily scooted his chair back from his small desk, which was located inside of his tiny cubicle, and stood from his chair, making his way towards Mr. Starkweather's office immediately after.
He walked out of the large room that had several dozen cubical units set in its flat-lay and walked over to the elevator, pressing the 'UP' button once he was there. When the doors opened, he stepped inside and stabbed one of the numerous buttons on the wall of the elevator marked '20', leaning against the wall of the moving-metal-box when he was done.
After the elevator finally opened again, to reveal a fancily decorated secretary's desk and a small waiting-room, Jace walked over to the desk and waited for the girl who was sitting behind it to look up from her magazine. When she did, finally, her eyes widened into moons and she quickly flipped her magazine shut.
"M-may I help you, handsome?" she asked as she leant over her desk and gave him a full view of her cleavage, biting her lip 'seductively' and blinking slowly as she did. With an internal groan of irritation, Jace forced a smile at her and decided to just tough it out for the time being.
They're all the same, he thought to himself. Why can't they just leave me alone, for once? It's like every time girls see an extremely attractive male, which I am, they swarm to the innocent specimen like bees and honey. Like, god! Just leave me alone already!
"I was called up here, by Hodg-," he cut himself off and cleared his throat, before continuing, "I mean, Mr. Starkweather." He added a charming smile at the end, completely fake, to the secretary in order punctuate himself. He didn't want to come across as if he was flirting with her, but he also didn't want to be rude. He might've already been in enough shit as it was, so…
"Oh, yes! Of course. You must be Mr. Herondale." She straightened up and looked slightly nervous as she gestured to a large door on the right of the large desk. "Mr. Starkweather has been waiting for you. Just go right on in." she offered him another smile as he started towards the door, and Jace couldn't help but notice the way she seemed to fidget in her chair.
What was up with her? He didn't know, but he had other things to worry about at the moment.
Inhaling a deep breath and running a hand through his hair nervously, Jace knocked lightly on the door that was marked 'Hodge Starkweather – CEO'. He sighed heavily and bit his lip as he re-smoothed down his hair, trying to think up reasons that his boss would want to see him in his office. Especially since Jace was just an assistant; all that he did was answer phones and make coffee runs for the people upstairs. Well, he was technically a customer service handler, or something like that, but he mainly answered phones and went on coffee runs. Yep, he had the life…
"Come in." a voice called from behind the door, breaking him out of his head. He took another deep breath, cleared his throat, and then –against his better judgment- slowly opened the large door and poked his head inside of the office.
Hodge –or 'Mr. Starkweather' as he was required to call him- was sat at his overly-large, completely marble, desk. Two large, plush chairs were sat in front of the desk on the side nearest to Jace and the door and he could see several bottles of amber liquid shining in glass bottles behind the desk; most likely whiskey or scotch. His boss had his head bent over a stack of papers and was idly twirling a straw around in his coffee-mug as he squinted down at something on one of the pages. Oh, man. If Jace wasn't nervous before, he definitely was now.
Hodge –Mr. Starkweather, whatever you call him- scared the absolute shit out of every single employee he ever had. That included Jace, as hard as it was for him to admit. He remembered when he first applied for his job, when he was still living with his brother and his overly-flamboyant boyfriend…
Hodge had made him want to hide under a rock for the rest of eternity after his job-interview, and that was extremely hard; especially considering that Jace had fortresses upon fortresses built up to lock away any and all fear.
The man, with his graying hair and short stature, appeared to be nothing more than your local boss. He was always seen wearing a suit, never without one neatly folded to his body. Small glasses perched on the bridge of his nose helped tone down the stern exterior of the man, but when he talked his voice made you want to run and hide.
Hodge had a loud, demanding voice. It didn't matter if he was talking to one of his many grandchildren or if he was in a business meeting; he was always loud and stern with his words. Never speaking an unsure verb in his life, he always knew exactly what he wanted to say.
Jace rapped his knuckles on the door lightly after a moment of noticing that the man before him wasn't going to notice him anytime soon. In response, the other man's eyes flickered up quickly and seemed to brighten when they landed on Jace's half-in-half-out form in the doorway. He stood up, his small height almost laughable if it weren't for the fact that he had the capability to make any grown man cry for his mommy, and smiled brightly over at Jace as he stepped slightly further into the large office.
"Mr. Herondale! Please, come in. Come in." he exclaimed, his voice dripping with authority. Jace swallowed heavily and inhaled –what could've been his last breath, for all he knew- before fully stepping into the office.
He looked around cautiously as he slowly walked over to the chair that was sat across from Hodge, as if somebody was going to jump out at him the moment he let his guard down. Taking a sit on the edge of the plush, leather chair, Jace took a deep breath before speaking. "You asked for me, Sir?"
"Yes, yes..." the intimidating man murmured to himself, glancing down at the papers before him and nodding to himself absently. "Well, Mr. Herondale, I have quite the proposition for you. I would like to offer you a promotion." He stated, lifting his eyes up from the papers and smiling hopefully over at Jace.
Blinking several times, watching to see if the scary man was joking, Jace just sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face. "You –uh- what?"
Hodge just chuckled good-naturedly and leaned back in his large chair, arching his fingers atop his abdomen when he was comfortable. "I said that I would like to offer you a promotion. As a matter of fact, I would like to give you a real job. One where you aren't answering phones all day." Taking note of Jace's slack jaw and shocked expression, he shook his head slightly and offered the younger man a semi-genuine smile. "I started working down there in Costumer Service, you know. I know what it's like to be cramped up in a cubicle, and I also know that it's hell. Working down there, well, it isn't a real job. Up here, where you can actually stretch out your legs, it's heaven." He explained, sounding like he was spewing out a sales pitch instead of giving Jace a job offer.
"I've been watching you for a while, actually." Hodge continued. "And I think that, with the right job and opportunity, you would fit in nicely up here. Your resume was way overqualified, if I do say so myself, and Corporate has given me the go-ahead to promote you. All I need is for you to say yes, and then we'll be ready to tie up this hog and get 'em ready for the slaughterhouse!" his metaphor didn't help very much with Jace's nerves, and he couldn't help the shiver that rolled down his spine at the man's words. Vicious, vicious man.
Jace, still acting like he had some mental problems, finally snapped out of his daze and nodded to himself in thought, thinking over the offer. Not that there was actually anything to think over, but… Well, you know.
Working downstairs, answering calls all day and having to deal with people you hate for eight hours a day, it was hell. Nobody liked working the job that Jace did, but he had dealt with it for the time being. He had to pay the rent somehow, right?
This was the whole reason that Jace took the job at City of Glass. The job, answering phones and writing down customer reviews, was only temporary, the management had assured him. Almost everyone who started out working downstairs got promoted within their first year of working for the company, and they were correct, apparently. Though, Jace thought, he had been working at City of Glass for more than a year, but… this will make up for it.
Just as long as he didn't have to ever work downstairs again, he was good.
Hodge, who had been watching the younger man with hopeful eyes while he 'thought things through', smiled broadly and chuckled when Jace nodded. "Atta boy, Mr. Herondale. I assure you, that you will love it up here. And you, with those looks, will most likely fit right in, too." The older man said happily, standing from his chair and reaching across the wide desk to shake Jace's hand.
Though short and greying, Hodge had a firm handshake. Jace, still intimidated by the man that he was frightened of, but still strived to please, shook the smaller man's hand as firmly as he could. He didn't want to squeeze too hard and come off as threatening, but he highly doubted that he could even intimidate Hodge. The man was just that powerful.
"Now, if you'll come this way," Hodge started, rounding the desk and picking up a manila folder full f papers as he led Jace towards the doors on the other side of the room, "we can sign all of these papers, and then I'll introduce you to your new boss."
Jace followed after him, his legs moving quickly as he tried to maintain at Hodge's side as they made their way back through the waiting area that contained the secretary that seemed so nervous before. Was his promotion what had her so on edge, or was it something else?
The girl had been slouched in her seat when the two men walked out of Hodge's office, but she straightened up as soon as she became aware of Hodge's presence. "M-Mr. Sarkweather! May I help you?" she asked politely, smiling professionally over at the small, yet intimidating man by Jace's side.
"Yes, Maureen, you may. I need you to get Mr. Wayland on the phone, please, and alert him that Mr. Herondale accepted the job offer. We will be heading down to the office in just a short while; right after we finish filling out the paperwork." Hodge informed her, nodding his head in the direction of the doors that lead back out to where the elevators were held. He started towards them after seeing the girl nod, and Jace had no other option but to follow suit.
"Who's Mr. Wayland?" Jace asked curiously as the two men stepped onto the elevator. Hodge leaned back against one of the walls casually and watched Jace as he went to push the button for the floor that they needed to go to.
"Number sixteen," he told Jace when he glanced back at him. "Anyway, Michael is the Regional Manager for this specific location. I'm his boss, being the CEO and all, but he'll be your boss from now on. He's really a great guy, you just have to get used to his… uh… managing techniques." He said, wincing slightly and chuckling to himself at the last part.
Jace nodded to himself and bit his lip. "So, what will be doing, exactly? For this new job, I mean."
"Well, if your resume was accurate, you would be a salesman. We're short one, ever since Malachi passed, and I think that you fit the job description very well." Hodge told him, rubbing a hand along his chin in thought. "Of course, you will have to learn the 'ways of the road', if you will, so…" he shrugged. "One of the head salesmen will have to run you through the loops, teach you what you need to know. It won't be so hard, really; you're already so charming. You'll have this job down to a 'T' in no time at all." He offered Jace a smile, and Jace tried to return it, but a small grimace was all he could manage.
He was nervous. Point and blank.
The only other job that he had had was at a fast-food restaurant, and he had quit that job as soon as he had enough money to buy his car. It was just a summer job, and he had sworn to himself that he would never, ever work at another place like that ever again. The hours were long. The people were rude. And the pay was just above regulation. All in all, it was horrible.
The elevator's doors 'dinged' open, and then Jace was following after Hodge's quick steps down an unfamiliar corridor. It was bare, save for the false-ferns sat randomly at points down the long hallway. Doors were scattered along the way, but Hodge just led Jace past all of them until they reached the end of the hall.
A set of double-doors was sat in front of them, and Hodge pushed those open, allowing Jace to enter whatever the doors held before he himself walked in behind the younger man.
Jace looked around him as he walked into the large room. It was huge, a massive office-room that was littered with desks and filing cabinets in the middle of the flat-lay. There were no cubicles as there were downstairs where Jace used to work, but desks were set in groups of three and four all over the large layout of the room. Several doors dotted the walls of the room, and there were excess filing-cabinets along the walls, but the room was otherwise plain.
As Hodge walked around Jace and continued to lead him further into the room, Jace's eyes zeroed in on the large desk that was sat in front of him. It was black, had a large counter that was stacked on top of the first level of the desk, and curved in a half-circle. No one appeared to occupy the desk. It was clearly the receptionist's desk, but said receptionist was absent from the picture. People were working in their desks around the large room, answering calls or signing paperwork.
Hodge led Jace over to the large, curved desk and looked around for a minute with his eyebrows furrowed when he noticed that nobody was there. Leaning his palms on the edge of the counter of the desk, he leaned over the massive thing, almost making his feet rise clear off of the ground, and looked over the edge. "Hello?" he said curiously, craning his neck as if to see what was behind the two-tiered desk.
A 'thud' rattled the candy-dish that was set on top of the counter, causing Hodge to jump back away from the desk and Jace to step closer in curiosity. Then a flurry of crimson-red appeared from the other side of the counter.
"Ouch! That was painful." A soft voice exclaimed as a thin hand appeared in the mass of red. Jace watched with interest as another hand came up and flipped the redness back, revealing the single-handedly most beautiful face that Jace had ever seen. Bright-green eyes, resembling emeralds; the small scattering of freckles over a small nose; soft, pink lips that were pulled back into a wince.
Hodge just chuckled, while Jace stared with wide eyes like an idiot, and leaned back against the counter casually. "Ms. Morgenstern! I was wondering where you got off to, dear girl."
'Ms. Morgenstern', as Hodge called her, seemed to relax and a small smile appeared on her lips as she continued to rub at the top of her head. "Oh, Mr. Starkweather! I'm sorry, I was just trying to find my pen, and-," she hastily started to explain, a rosy blush dusting her cheeks. Hodge, however, cut her off before she could even finish her sentence.
"Don't worry, dear. We're just here to meet with Michael." He was fast to reassure her, gesturing blindly behind him at Jace.
Ms. Morgenstern didn't seem to have noticed Jace yet, but her mesmerizing eyes slid over to meet his at this, and she looked completely taken aback when green clashed with gold. "O-Oh! Yes, of course." She stammered out after her eyes held onto Jace's for much longer than would be sociably acceptable in the workplace. Brushing a stray lock of scarlet hair behind her ear, she looked down at her desk and clicked the intercom for Michael's office. "Michael, Mr. Starkweather is here to see you."
"Okie-dokie, Aritchokie," came through the small speaker, causing Hodge to chuckle and Jace to furrow his brows in confusion. 'Artichokie'? The fuck-?
Ms. Morgenstern rolled her eyes good-naturedly and leaned back in her chair, her eyes meeting Jace's a moment later. She wasn't wearing very much make-up, Jace noticed, but she really didn't need the little that she had on. Her skin was porcelain and creamy, and her eyes were all that Jace could really focus on her face, anyway. They were just so bright, the hint of intelligence shining bright in her pupils.
Jace was shaken out of his daze when her eyes drifted away from his once more and she turned to face someone. Blinking out of his state, and wondering just what the hell was wrong with him, he slowly turned his eyes toward whatever Ms. Morgenstern had turned hers towards.
A man -with smoothed back, dark-brown hair and kind, dark eyes- was standing in front of Hodge and was panting slightly. "Sorry for the delay, Hodge. I was working on my afternoon ab workout." He said, shaking hands with Hodge and smiling widely.
Jace just bit his lip and rocked back on his heels nervously. He still wasn't fully aware of what was going on; his entire morning, from when he had entered Hodge's office up to right now, was a complete and total blur. He might've been in shock, or his mind just hadn't processed his current situation yet. He would probably freak out later, when he was at his apartment, but he felt calm right now. Slightly confused about anything and everything that was going on, but calm.
"Michael, how are you? I've been meaning to come down here for a while, but things have been so busy, and-," Hodge started to explain, his tone not sounding sorry at all as he tried to come up with an excuse for not visiting. 'Michael', as Hodge had called him, just shook his head slightly and dropped his hand from Hodge's.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Hodge. I know how things get upstairs, especially now that you're the CEO." He then turned his eyes on Jace, seeming to notice that he was there for the first time. "Oh! And this is…?" he trailed off, his eyes flickering back to Hodge's in question.
Hodge jumped wright in with, "This is Mr. Jonathan Herondale, the new salesman. He agreed to take up the position in Malachi's place, so now all that we have to do is sign the paperwork."
"Of course, of course." Michael took a step forward and stretched his hand out toward Jace, giving him no other option but to take it up in his and shake it. "Michael Wayland at your service, Jonathan." He said to Jace in a mock-formal voice.
Jace winced at the sound of his birth-given name, and said, "It's Jace. I haven't been called 'Jonathan' since I still lived with my mom."
Michael nodded and stepped back away from Jace, running his eyes up and down Jace's body a couple times, as if he was sizing him up. This action made Jace extremely uncomfortable, and he cleared his throat after a moment of awkwardly shifting.
"Well, shall we get things set up and ready to go? I would like Mr. Herondale to start learning the works, and whatnot, so that he can start helping get this branch back up and running. Things just haven't been the same since Malachi passed, and he held the majority of our local sales, so…" Hodge trailed off, offering a sympathetic smile in Michael's direction at the end of his speech.
Michael, however, just shrugged in response and started towards one of the doors around the edge of the large office-space. It was slightly ajar, the sign that someone had recently come through it, most likely Michael. Said man led Jace and Hodge through the door, and into a smallish office.
It was nowhere near as grand as Hodge's office upstairs, but that was to be expected. Hodge was the CEO of a nationwide corporation, and Michael was the Regional Manager of the New York City Branch.
Big, massive difference.
A wide, black desk was set in the middle of the room, with two plastic chairs sat in front of it and a dark-leather, wheeled-one behind it. A large monitor and keyboard were set among piles and stacks of papers, and a corded-phone was set on the edge of the desk, appearing as if it were about to take a dive over it and onto the carpeted-floors.
Jace walked in cautiously, only taking a seat on one of the cheap chairs after Hodge had. Michael rounded the wide desk and planted himself down into the large chair that sat behind it, before looking up at the two men before him and raising an eyebrow.
"So, shall we get this over with? I hate doing paperwork," he said, mumbling the last part to himself.
Hodge held up the stack of papers that he had been holding in his hand since he and Jace had left his office, and he slid them across the table over to rest on top of a pile of more papers that were cluttered on the desk. Jace bit the inside of his cheek nervously as Hodge and Michael began reading over the papers and discussing just exactly what Jace would be doing from now on, but he was only aware of their lips moving. And then he was signing several places on a contract of sorts, finishing off the deal.
He had absolutely no idea what this new job had in store for him, but he was curious enough to take the risk and find out...
New Story! Yay!
So, I know that I should probably be updating my other stories right about now, and I'll get to them when I feel like it, but this story has been festering in my mind for over two months now, and I just need to let it out already! This story in particular was inspired from The Office, and I have so many ideas for this story, I just… I hope that you liked it!
Review and tell me what you think, if you feel like it. :D
Review&Follow
