OK here is chapter two, sorry bout the wait though. Hope you enjoy:)
Office Space Chapter 2
OK so he was in my house, and was probably going to being staying for quite a while. Clearing my throat I said, "Maybe we should go shopping for an air mattress later, I'm not sure you'll last very long on my couch. It's kind of a hand-me-down from Olga's college days." I sat on the edge of the couch feeling very awkward. I had no idea what to do! I wanted so bad to call Pheebs and vent, but with the object of my vent standing in my home, I couldn't exactly do that now could I? Ughh. I will kill Olga for this. She had to have known who this was. I mean come on, how many gentlemanly guys named Arnold are there in the world? "So, uh..Dinner! That's it. Lets go get some dinner. You up for eating out? I really don't wanna cook after today."
Arnold smiled. "Sure, let me just change into something cean. Should I just unpack when I get back?"
"Um, yeah, that will work." As soon as he grabbed his clothes and shut the bathroom door, I was speed dialing Phoebe hoping she would answer.
"Phoebe Johanssen."
"Pheebs, I am in deep shit!"
"Helga? Whats the matter?" I began pacing nervously.
"I only got like two minutes so I'll make this quick. Olga tricked me into letting Arnold live with me until he finds an apartment and/or a job. I'm freaking out here Pheebs! What the fuck am I supposed to do!"
"Oh my. How did she pull that off? Wouldn't you have known who he was when she said his name?"
"Thats the thing! She never said his name, just said he was a gentleman who wanted to come home, but was avoiding his old room 'cause of memories. DO you realize how much of a freaking temptation that boy is, especially now that he is living under my roof for the time being!? This is it. I'm done. I'm gonna do something stupid and make a fool of myself and he'll never want to see me again. I'll ruin any chance with the boy because he'd be so disgusted with me, Phoebe I'm Dieing! And we are going out to eat since I don't wanna cook. Shit! I gotta go, i'll text or call later, Bye!"
I placed a smile on my face just as he opened the bathroom door, wearing a simple gray v-neck shirt and khaki shorts, and brown leather flip-flops. I nearly fainted at the sight, and don't you dare judge, you'd be the same way. He cleared his throat, startling me. Criminy, I must have been staring. I couldn't help it! I haven't seen the boy in years "You ready?"
"Crap! No. Can you give me a minute?" Rummaging through my armoire I picked out a pink polo shirt, and dark blue jean shorts and my pink gladiator sandals. Since I never washed off my basic makeup (I never caked make up on, I don't really like clowns, much less looking like one) I only took about five minutes in changing and puling my hair back into a sloppy braid. Steeling myself with a huge sigh, I plastered an easy going smile on my face and approached Arnold, who was assessing his new temporary home.
"You have a nice place, ya know. It fits you." He turned around, with his hands in his front pockets. "So where do you suggest we go? I haven't been in Hillwood in years. Anything new?"
I thought for a minute, then an idea popped into my brain. "Actually yes. And I think you'll like it a lot." Grabbing my car keys of the hook by the front door, I led us out and to the parking garage under the apartments. As you can see now, I typically try to avoid driving when I can, like for work. Since I have a set schedule it's easier to just take the bus for less than it would cost in gas money to drive there myself.
My car was a simple gas efficient one, that had been a very surprising gift from Bob, and Miriam, before everything had happened, that got about thirty miles to the gallon. And no, it's not pink, that would be just ugly. Even I have a limit to how much pink I need. "Nice car."
"Thanks, it was a gift from Bob and Miriam." I unlocked the car, and finally noticed how relaxed I was feeling. Maybe I was just stressing myself out when he first arrived. I mean it can't be that bad, right?
"Really? Last I remember of them they didn't really leave a positive impression on me."
"Yeah, I know, but they tried after a while. And me and Olga are pretty close. The twit's gotten more bossy now that she's not trying to be perfect. But in all honesty I think bossiness just runs in the family."
"Yeah no kidding. I remember fourth grade all too well."
"Oh, my. I know! I was a total bitch," I laughed, totally unconcerned anymore about the fourth grade. And I was right, I really was a bitch.
"You weren't that bad, Helga. You had plenty of good moments. Like when you found my hat."
I blushed a pale shade of pink at the memory. "Well, you see...I kind of stole it in the first place." I waited, worried about what his reaction might be, but was completely surprised when he began laughing.
"See? That just proves my point." I raised an eyebrow totally confused. So I wasn't a bitch because I stole his hat? "Think about it. Anyone can just find and return my hat, but you returned it after you stole it. Even though I may not have known it at the time, you returned my hat, knowing that I wasn't me without it." No way..he was dead on!
"That is freaky. How did you even figure that out!"
He just smiled knowingly. "And you know what else I found out? The Christmas of fourth grade, I found out that you had given up your brand new Spumoni Boots to get Mr. Hyuhn his daughter back. And you never once bragged or told a soul. Maybe Phoebe but I never asked. I figured if you wanted it to be a secret, I'd keep it that way."
I stayed silent, having no idea what to say to that. That was probably the sweetest thing, anyone has ever done for me.
"You don't have to be embarrassed Helga. That was probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. And it was from you, made it all the better."
"Um, we're here." The store was owned by a couple Arnold knew very well, the Kokoshka's I had heard that they used to live in the boarding house, and that Oskar had finally grown up once he saw his new baby girl, who was now five years old.
"Is this who I think it is?" Arnold stared at the sign, wide eyed.
"Yeah, I believe so. I don't know if they work today, but I thought you'd like to know Oskar finally got his shit together. They have a daughter now. She's five.
His smile grew, gorgeous as always. "That's awesome."
We both ended up ordering a burger and fries for dinner, sitting in a corner booth.
"So Helga, do you like your job?" I frowned. That was kind of a hard question.
"Well, there's two sides to that coin. I like what I do, write articles for the local newspaper, but on the other hand my boss is an asshole and a coworker of mine finds it necessary to hit on my and smack my ass every time I pass."
"He does what now?"
"It's no big deal. I knock everything off his desk and threaten to cut off his hand." I took a bite, quite proud of myself. He raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"Why did I not expect that?"
After we finished eating, we went and got him a large air mattress and some sheets, before heading back home. After I brushed my teeth and changed into my boxer shorts and tank top, we finally said goodnight. You'd think that I wouldn't be able to sleep, what with all that's happened today. The delivery for that creep, having to deal with Johnathon and now Arnold living with me, but no, the second my head hit the pillow I was dead to the world.
…...
I rolled over with a groan, and slapped the alarm clock to shut it up. Another day of work. Awesome. Pushing the sheet aside I sat up, and stared at the kitchen, what I was actually seeing, taking minute to register. "What are you doing?" When Arnold turned around I began giggling. He was wearing my 'Keep calm and love the color pink' apron. It had been a gift from Olga. "Holding back the laughter, I grinned. "Love the Apron."
"Really? You think the color goes good with my eyes?" He batted his eyes, girlishly at me, before replying to my first question. "I'm making us breakfast. I hope you don't mind."
"Oh, no go right ahead. I haven't had a decent breakfast in ages. Do I have time to take a quick shower?"
"Yeah, I believe so." With that, I grabbed a towel from the closet and quickly hopped in the shower. It didn't register that I'd have to bring my clothes in with me, now that I had a guest living with me. So when I got out and began to dry off, I growled. Wrapping the towel around me, totally mortified that I had also managed to grab one of the shorter ones, that just barely covered my butt, and rushed to the Armoire. "Hey Helga- uhhh." I turned around, my cheeks beet red. He was staring at me, the spatula in his hand drooping just a bit. His mouth fell open and his cheeks reddened. I was so done for. Grabbing a white tank-top, and white silk blouse, and a pink pencil skirt that stopped just above my knees, and my under things, I rushed into the bathroom and quickly got dressed.
I pulled my hair back into a tight sock bun, curled a few pieces of hair framing my face, and straightened my bangs so they hung just at my eyebrows. Finally I applied pale pink lip gloss, some eyeliner and mascara to top it all off. When I finally left the bathroom, I spotted Arnold sitting at the tiny circular table that very rarely served as my dinner table. I tended to just sit on the couch and watch TV while I ate. Taking a whiff, I nearly fainted at the wonderful smell. "Why haven't you eaten yet?"
He jumped startled. "I wanted to wait for you, so we can eat together. It's about time, you had some decent meals and conversations at home. Olga told me about how you don't go out much and keep to your self, besides being with Gerald and Phoebe of course."
"Well, thanks I guess. So whats on the menu?"
"Eggs and bacon casserole, loaded with chopped potatoes, tomatoes, some peppers, and topped with shredded cheese." My mouth had begun watering before he had even finished saying peppers. I grabbed a couple bowls, served us both. We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, me moaning in delight at the amazing meal occasionally.
Finally I grabbed both empty bowls, placed them in the dishwasher and finished getting ready to go. "Hey Arnold? Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure."
"In that cabinet by the sink is a small plastic container. Can you put some of the cassarole in that and cover it? The lids are in the drawer under the cabinet." He complied with a smile and set the container aside as I slipped into my muted bronze heels. "Thanks. Oh and you should go catch up with Gerald. Well, bye. Have a good day."
"You too Helga.
…...
"I typed away at my laptop, doing some more research for today's article. Thankfully, (A/N: I don't know much about journalism so I just imagine Lois Lane from superman and the daily planet) Johnathan hasn't bugged me yet, but then again I shouldn't really keep my hopes up.
"Hey, Pataki. What have ya found out so far?" That was Chris, my occasional partner for my articles. Sometimes we'd need two people for research. Luckily, Chris was a pretty decent guy. Not dating material but still, better than that preturd Johnathan.
"Nothing much. The news has been a bit slow lately. We need to find something, I can't afford to lose this job. What about you? Find anything?"
"I think. Come over here and read this will ya? Tell me what you think."
"Kay." On his computer, he had an article pulled up on some obscure website people rarely visit. Well except us of course, those were always a good place to find news before other newspapers or TV stations found it.The article read:
Wednesday night, the bodies of Casey Phillips and Jamie Phillips were found dead in their home, shot three times each. Once in the head, once in the heart and once In the stomach. Police have yet to find the killer, but believe it to be the husband of Casey Phillips, Erik Phillips. There is no substantial evidence against this man, but it is advised to watch out and keep alert at all times, until the killer is found.
"But look at this." Chris pulled up another online article, which pretty much read the same thing except with another family. The wife and two kids dead, each shot in the head, heart and stomach. "So this has happened before? The exact same way as this recent family. That's a bit weird doncha think?"
"Yeah it is. Do you think the police have made any connections between the two?"
"No. It doesn't mention a connection at all, which I think s kind of odd. It's not exactly hidden from the world, so the connection should have been easy to see. Maybe they think it's just a coincidence? "
I sighed and straightened back up. "I sure as hell hope so. This story is good. Best one we've found all day."
"So we go with this lead?"
"Yepp, do some digging will ya?" Chris nodded and began typing away at the laptop on his desk. He was a good guy. Never complained, and was a total sleuth, finding the best stories. At my own desk, I began searching the internet for any hints or phone numbers I could use, possibly extended family I could speak to like uncles or even friends and neighbors if I could get any phone numbers. Finally a few hours later I managed to dig up some addresses and surprisingly they weren't too far away. Grabbing my car keys, thankfully I had driven today, and I knock on Mosley's office door.
"Hey, Mosley!"
"What do ya want Pataki?" I heard some shuffling papers before a loud creak from a chair and finally the door opened. "What is it?"
"I found a few leads I need to follow up on before I clock out for the day. A shooting of two families who were killed in the same fashion. I wanna see if there is any link between the two."
Mosley nodded. "Fine, but keep your Phone on." Luckily I had a separate cell for work, supplied by Mosley to all his top writers. Now I don't know if my style in research and articles is a bit odd, it's not something I pay attention to. My work gets good reviews and gets Mosley his readers and money so I never questioned how odd it was. After stopping by Phoebe's desk I cranked up the volume on my work cell and went off to the first address. The place belong to the brother of the wife Casey Phillips. I had to be careful with these things. I've had a few times when I've said the wrong thing causing the family or whoever I was talking to, to close up and not answer questions.
So on my way I grabbed a simple bouquet of daisy's. I learned that an expensive arrangement from a total stranger looked very suspicious. But if I show up with nothing I look heartless and info hungry. So I just buy something simple, like a eight dollar pink vase and ten dollars worth in daisies.
A few minutes later I pulled up to a small but cute one story house. I took a deep breath, steadying my slightly nervous heart. I always got a little nervous, not wanting to say something offending to the families I talked to. I slung my purse over my shoulder, grabbed the vase and locked the car up. Approaching the front door, I straightened my spine and gently tapped the brass knocker three times. "Just a minute!" A feminine voice called. That must be the brothers wife. The front door suddenly swung open. "Oh, Hello. Can I help you?"
OK there you have it:) chapter 2. I can see this going somewhere, and developing into quite the story, with quite a few chapters (I hope) and I really hope you do too. If you have any idea's or criticisms feel free to leave a comment or P.M me. Please R&R and tell me what you think OK? Love you guys, and thanks for following along with my story and thanks to those who have read my other stories also. So again R&R please and thanks.