As a foreign pair of feet walked the halls of the fourth floor of the Shinigami Dispatch (LD), the bespectacled heads of reapers poked out from their cubicles and watched in awe. Even Giana, who was clueless as to the identity of the stranger, stared in curiosity. In her three months of working at the dispatch, she had never seen this person before.
The moment the besuited figure boldly entered William's office and shut the door, the room was filled with whispers. Even more curious, Giana peeked around the wall of her cubicle to speak to Ronald, who now worked-or more often, lazed-just next to her.
"Ronald," she got his attention. "Who was that man?"
The blond shinigami turned to her slowly, his eyes still drawn to the closed office door.
"Oh man," he breathed, putting a hand to his head. "That was Sir Hugh W. Reid."
"Who's he?"
"He's one of the highest ranking officials in the Shinigami Conglomerate. When someone like him shows up, something big's gotta be happening."
"Like what?"
"Well," he began, his tone indicated that he was preparing to tell a Dispatch horror story of sorts. "The last time he came to the London division, it was because a reaper had been neglecting his soul-reaping duties, leaving souls to wander as ghosts. Apparently, this reaper had received several severe warnings concerning his misconduct as well as multiple punishments and after he received his final warning, he seemed to behave. But a month later, it was discovered that he had been stealing the soulless bodies of those he reaped and performing horrific experiments on them."
"Oh! How horrible!"
"Yeah. The Conglomerate eradicated him as soon as it was discovered. Apparently they only sent one man to deal with him, Sir Hugh Reid."
The red-haired shinigami turned large and worried eyes towards her boss' office.
"Why on earth would he be in there talking to William then? I hope nothing's wrong," she whispered in distress.
"Oh, worried about your man, hmm?" The man teased. "Maybe he let a few case files slip. Ah, finally! The big man himself is human like the rest of us!"
"Ron! This serious! He could be in trouble," she scolded, never removing her eyes from the door.
"Whoa, don't be so serious, babe. I was just kidding. I mean, this is Will Spears we're talking about, Ever-Punctual-and-Strict-William T. Spears and the 'T' stands for 'tyrant'. When have you ever known him to fall behind in his work?"
The girl bit her lip in worry, thinking of all the work William had let pile up while they had taken a break from the desk-work. Desperately, she prayed that William didn't get reprimanded because of the distraction she had been.
All the whispers in the office hushed a moment later when the door reopened and Sir Reid stepped out. With a icy glare that could've replaced anyone's death scythe, he met all of the reapers' gazes.
"Well? Don't you all have work to do?" He demanded in a resonant voice.
Everyone spun back to their desks and put their pens to their papers, including Giana. Like everyone else, she made pretense of working furiously. Then Sir Reid left and she dropped the act. Her concerned gaze flew toward William's office. She contemplated going to him, but she didn't want to seem unprofessional.
Suddenly and unbidden, Ronald's smirking, knowing face appeared from around the cubicle.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Go in and talk to him." He eyed her hesitant face with exasperation. "For death's sake, if you're not going to make a move, then your relationship isn't going to go very far, is it? I mean, it's not like William is gonna take the initiative."
Half holding back a laugh, half scowling, Giana rose from her desk. As she passed the cheeky young shinigami, she gave him a solid swat on the head with her clipboard. As she neared William's office however, the smile fled her face in favor of a more somber expression.
She knocked lightly, then entered.
"William?"
He composed himself quickly at the sound of her voice, but Giana had seen the way he had been holding his head in his hands, his back slouched dejectedly.
"Giana." His eyes and voice were soft as he looked at her.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, closing the door.
"N-no," he responded, clearing his throat.
She sat in the chair opposite him at the desk, which-up until a week ago-had been her usual place.
"You seem distressed," she insisted, her eyes gleaming with anxiety. "What is it? What did Sir Reid come here for?"
With a ragged swallow, he tore his eyes away from hers. He removed his handkerchief from his breast pocket and removed his glasses to clean them; anything to avoid her gaze. This way, he couldn't see her at all.
"I'm afraid the Conglomerate has noticed the slowed pace in my work," he admitted, still cleaning his lenses. "It is unacceptable for someone of my station to falter in my diligence. If I fail, this division fails also."
The girl gripped her hands together, feeling nauseous with bedevilment.
"What did he say?" She whispered.
Spectacles in their place, he could see once more, but kept his green eyes cast to one side.
"Something most troubling indeed," he muttered. "I must have all of my due reports finished and delivered to the Conglomerate in two days, which I'm afraid, might be quite impossible." He stood and walked towards the window, not wanting to show his distress. "If I fail to do so, I will lose my position as branch executive manager and be demoted."
The chair clamored as she stood up abruptly.
"No!" She exclaimed. "That's so unjust! It's not even your fault!"
He turned to her slowly, a confused expression on his face.
"What do you mean, Giana?" He said softly. "Of course it's my fault."
"No, it's mine!" She insisted, her eyes misting slightly. "You said yourself that I've been distracting you! I'm the one at fault!" His eyes widened and softened a bit. He opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him. "No, please don't try to make me feel better. We both know that my presence has been disruptive to your work."
"Giana, calm down," he told her. "It's not your fault. I assure you, the blame is entirely on me." Once again, his eyes seemed to speak more than his words. "I've been given a chance to redeem myself and if I fail, I must accept my discipline with dignity."
"No, you won't lose your place! You don't deserve that!"
"I deserve what my efforts have gained me, Giana, and if I've proven myself unable to maintain my position because of... A slight distraction, then I don't deserve the rank of manager."
"But you're an entirely competent manager! You have been for years! And I can't believe that the Conglomerate doesn't take that into account! I can't believe that they'd be so ungrateful that they'd ignore your perfect performance in the past. Please, share your work load with me. You don't deserve this and I want to make sure that you keep your position!"
William stared, stunned, at her for several moments. He had never seen her so adamant about anything before. It had thoroughly surprised him. There were tears in her eyes and his stomach did a flip. She truly thought that this was her fault. Nevertheless, he couldn't give in.
"I-I can't allow that, Miss Sutcliff. It would be..."
"I'll only work as your assistant, William. I won't work under anyone else."
She swore she saw a light blush leak into his face.
After a moment, his shocked expression faded and he smiled very slightly. Just for an instant, his eyes betrayed his true fondness for her.
"You're so persistent," he murmured. "In that case, you have a right to maintain your own position. Very well, you may help me with my work," he agreed finally.
The girl smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, William. I'll be sure not to let you down! I'll just finish the few things I have left, then I'll come help you!"
Then she left and the man sat down at his desk, simply staring after her. His face felt mysteriously warm and he wondered whether the air-conditioning temperature had been altered.
As he thought over what she had said, he felt a strange lightness enter his chest.
She only wishes to work for me, he mused.
But did that indicate that she had an attraction to him? Could he dare to have a little hope?