hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the week-long wait. :( I was sick and couldn't really think properly, but now I'm recovering and I have a 2,000+ word chapter to prove it! And in this chapter, my innate ability to generate terrible puns has its time to shine!
btw I'm working on giving this a new cover, so if it doesn't look the same as before, it's because it updated :)
SaneLillies: I'm so glad you like it! Personally, one of the things I strive for in my stories is creativity, so I'm thrilled you think it's unique! :)
SilverJem5: Thank you for your sweet compliments! :) I'd like to think that I can portray the characters right, so it means a lot that you like how I'm writing Jem!
Midnightstone1118: I'd like to thank you for your consistent commenting and super nice reviews! :) I hope you like this chapter as well!
SilverCarstairs: Thank you for your help with the accent stuff! I'm half Canadian- half American so I have -10% knowledge on that sort of thing. I corrected myself in this chapter (as you'll see) and I'm going to go back and change it in the last chapter as well. Also, I'm so thankful that you like the story. And, don't worry, there'll be more cliffhangers. XD
Tessa looked around Jem's office again, though this time she was sitting on the small white couch in the corner, rather than standing in the doorway. After Gabriel had threatened to fire her, Jem had stepped in, quickly ushering her out of the lunchroom before she could cause too much of a stir- though Tessa feared she was passed the point of being inconspicuous. He hadn't said much to her as he'd guided her back to his office, but she couldn't help but get the sinking feeling that he was disappointed in her.
Now, he was pacing back and forth in front of her, as though deciding what to do. Silver eyes glistening with concentration, Tessa couldn't help but think he looked rather adorable whilst lost in though. Turning towards her all of a sudden, Jem smiled warmly at her- causing Tessa to blink with confusion.
"A-are you upset with me, sir?" She asked timidly, puzzled by his cheeriness even after all the trouble she'd caused.
"Upset with you? No, that was one of the most amusing things I'd seen all day! You should've seen the way Will looked- he hadn't smiled that broadly since his promotion," Although Jem seemed to be trying to explain why he wasn't upset with her- his explanation only confused her more.
"So then you aren't disappointed with me?" Tessa asked again, just to make sure she was hearing him right. She had, after all, spilled coffee on a HOD.
"Nothing of the sort, although I can't say Gabriel was as amused as Will and I were. If only Cyril had been there to see it- I heard he doesn't like his boss much." Jem was taking this better than Tessa had thought he would- despite his calm demeanor, she had expected a least a lecture. "Although, please remind me not to have you fetch me my coffee."
Tessa laughed nervously at his joke, still not believing her luck. "Do you think Gabriel will be able to fire me?" Even though Jem wasn't angry with her, Gabriel had as much power as Jem did-if not more due to Gabriel's father- and Tessa couldn't help but think it would be quite easy to fire a new assistant.
"No. I won't let him," There was a sort of protectiveness to Jem's voice, despite the fact that she had only met him today. "If he really is adamant about firing you, I'll give you the highest of praise, thus canceling out his negatives."
"You'd do that for me? Even though I only started working here today?" It almost felt surreal how nice her boss was. Her brother, Nate, had warned her that in business, bosses usually treated their assistants like crap- but then again Jem seemed to defy all the stereotypes.
Shrugging slightly, he said, "I have a hunch about you, and I got where I am today by trusting my instincts. That and never spilling coffee on my superiors."
Tessa winced slightly, "You aren't going to let that go, are you?"
"It's okay, if you want to live it down, consider the event wiped from my memory. It's Will who you'll have to worry about making coffee related jokes for the rest of the month." While Jem had ushered her from the lunchroom, Will had shot her a thumbs-up, and Tessa worried that if he constantly reminded people of the event, it would only make Gabriel dislike her more.
"Do you think I could ask him to forget about the whole thing, too?" From what she could tell, Will wasn't the type to let things go easily, especially not if they amused him, but it was worth a shot.
"You could certainly ask him, but whether he'd comply is another issue," There was a certain honesty in his voice that calmed Tessa's nerves. It wasn't like that with most people she met- people who were generally focused on their own egotistical and self-centered goals, people who wouldn't spend the time reassuring someone unless it was to their benefit; no, Jem was different, and even in the short span of time she'd known him, Tessa could tell that much.
However, her train of thought was interrupted when she heard the small ding that alerted someone when they received a text. Digging in her back pocket for her phone, she pulled it out and turned on the power only to find that she hadn't received any new messages. Placing the phone back in her pocket, she looked up to see Jem, on his own device, looking rather troubled- his eyes scanning back and forth across the screen. Not wanting to disturb him, Tessa stayed silent until Jem finally put down his own phone, and said, with a puzzled expression, "Charlotte just called another meeting..."
Tessa brightened up, glad it was nothing worse than that. "Well that isn't too terrible, is it?"
"I suppose not," Jem nodded, but he still looked perplexed. "It's just...Well, I mean we only got out of our last meeting an hour ago. It isn't like Charlotte to call unnecessary meetings, and if she's doing it so soon, it must mean she only just found out about some important information."
"Maybe it's good news, though? Maybe we'll walk in and she'll say 'you guys all get bonuses' or 'take a paid vacation'!" Since Jem did seem to be worried about the meeting, Tessa figured the least she could do was try to alleviate some his nervousness before they had to leave- even if her attempts were feeble.
Despite Tessa's lackluster comedy, Jem did crack a smile. "Maybe she'll tell us we get to go on an employees-only trip."
Suddenly Tessa heard a familiar English accent say, "Maybe she'll fire Gabriel." Turning to face who had spoken, but knowing who she'd see beforehand, she was nothing short of unsurprised when she saw Will's head poking through the doorway.
"We were naming pleasant things for Charlotte to do," Jem said, almost in a brotherly manner- with fondness, yet audible traces of sternness in his voice.
Pushing the door open fully and entering the room, Will shrugged. "My statement remains. Anyways, I was sent to fetch you two for the unexpected meeting."
"Were we really taking long enough to have someone sent out for us?" Looking down at his phone, as if to verify something, Jem continued. "The alert only came a minute ago,"
"Try fifteen. After you escorted Tess out of there, all our phones went off simultaneously. Really got Gabriel all fired up 'cause he couldn't go home and change suits before the important meeting," Glancing at Tessa, he nodded approvingly. "Good job by the way. You really had him going esppressno."
Jem laughed, "That was a terrible joke, Will."
"I won't spill the coffee beans if you don't," Will said, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. Tessa giggled softly at the sheer awfulness of the jokes, along with Jem, who also seemed thoroughly bemused by the stupidity of them.
"Are you just coming up with these on the spot?" Tessa asked, actually glad that he was making jokes about the situation- it made the direness of the fact that she had gotten on a HOD's bad side less prominent. "They're pretty awful."
"Latthey, that's pretty rude," Grinning at his own painful pun, Will raised his right eyebrow slightly when he saw Tessa laughing. Maybe she had been too quick to judge Will... "Anyways, we really ought to be getting to that meeting, don't you think?" Will looked over at the clock on Jem's desk, "We're all already seven minutes late."
"Seven minutes?!" Eyes wide, Tessa tried to make sure she didn't panic. After all, they all knew that she was new here... But still, this wasn't the first mistake she had made today.
"Yep. Eight now," Will said, glancing down at his own watch.
Springing up from her spot on the couch, Tessa headed towards the door, "I hope they don't think it's my fault-"
"They won't," Will, waving his hand as though shooing away her worries, explained. "You'll be entering with me. They'll most likely blame it on me, assuming I held you captive, and forced you to listen to terrible comedy.".
"Is that not what happened?" Jem asked, his tone mildly playful.
Hand nervously fluttering next to the door handle, Tessa's eyes flicked over to the clock, and the small red hand that counted seconds seemingly moving at an unnaturally fast pace. "Perhaps we should go now?" She suggested lightly, though she accidentally let some traces of her frantic panic slip into her words.
"Of course. Please, don't worry about the tardiness. Charlotte will understand once I explain my phone's abhorrent service," Jem went over to the door as well, his phone still in his hand.
Pulling the door open, she allowed Will and Jem to walk through it before heading out herself and closing the door behind her. "You really think so?"
"Honestly, Tess, don't worry about it. I've been late to meetings countless times," Will said, as the three began heading down an unfamiliar hallway, with Tessa walking a step or so behind Will and Jem, wanting to make sure she could follow them.
She bit her lip. "Somehow I don't find that very reassuring." Jem laughed a little at her response.
They turned another corner, revealing a brightly lit hallway that Tessa was sure she hadn't been in yet. Instead of the faux-marble floors, this one had a bright orange shag carpet, that seemed to grab slightly at Tessa's shoes. Wall-to-floor windows revealed small offices that seemed to be furnished sparsely, from what she could see. As they walked past a few more of these offices, she caught glimpses of oak desks, and rolling chairs in drab colors. She couldn't help but feel curious as to who worked in this part of the company.
"In case you were wondering," Jem said, and she seriously questioned if he could read minds. "This is the accounting section of LI, hence the rather dreary furnishings. It's numbers all day long for the workers here."
Tessa cringed slightly, "Sounds awful. I mean, I understand some people prefer math, but I could never picture myself doing it for a living." Pausing, she deliberated on what exactly she'd want to do to make a living, if she could choose. "Personally, I'm more into literature. So I guess my dream job here would be writing our press releases and such."
"You like literature?" Will asked, in a slightly surprised tone. Angling his head slightly to look at her, he said, "Who's you favorite author?"
"Dickens," She responded instantly. "He wrote my favorite book, Tale of Two Cities."
"Ah," looking rather disappointed, Will sighed. "Read it. Didn't particularly like it, though."
Nearly stopping in her tracks as they rounded yet another corner, Tessa's jaw dropped. "You didn't like it? But... I mean...How?"
"Found it rather boring. But if it's your absolute favorite, I guess I'll have another go at it. It's in my library, I think," He pressed his lips together, and looked as though he were trying to recall something.
Giving him a skeptical look, Tessa asked, "You have a library?"
Nodding, Will shot Tessa a smug little grin. "It's in my office, and it's my pride and joy." He spoke about his library the same way some of the guys Tessa had known before spoke about their cars- with an undertone of joy, and a blatant showcase of pride, as though it was their own child. "You can come visit it some time, see if there are any books that interest you."
"I might just have to take you you up on that offer, Mr. Herondale."
"Really hate to interrupt your book talks," Jem said, and he truly did sound sorry for doing so. "But... Well, we're here." Tessa looked up at a completely new door- one that was a deep charcoal, that bore smudged out gold lettering which was far past the point of unreadable- and gave Jem a quizzical look. "This is the second meeting room," He explained, acknowledging her questioning look and nodding towards the door. "There's three of them. The third one being for board meetings. This one's rarely used, though. So I'm quite confused as to why-"
Suddenly the door in front of them swung open, causing Tessa to step back. As the door fully opened, standing before them was one of the prettiest girls Tessa had seen. She had glossy blonde hair, and a cute heart-shaped face that made her lips seem to always be in a pouting state. Delicate hand on her hip, and looking thoroughly annoyed, she would be considered a traditional beauty had it not been for the terrible scowl she was wearing. "William, Jem. The meeting started ages ago, and you're late."
I'm actually really excited for the next chapter where you'll be able to finally see where the plot's going! (Yay) so stay tuned guys!
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love you lot,
dogestiel