Freed hesitantly stepped into Laxus's room. Laxus could feel the uncertainty in Freed's movements as he shuffled over to the middle of the room, and Laxus stood by the door watching him. He hated how nervous Freed became when he was around, yet also loved seeing that tinder bashfulness. The whole night he had to hold himself back from touching Freed in any way until he got permission. Freed had obviously let his mind run south due to their previous conversation and probably assumed Laxus was to make a more carnal move. But Laxus had other plans, and he wanted Freed's mind to drift there for just a little bit longer.
"Close your eyes," Laxus said. Freed flinched at Laxus's sudden demand but snapped to obey. Laxus smirked and slowly walked over. He stood right in front of Freed, letting the other man feel his presence in front of him but not touching him just yet. Laxus stood there for a while, just gazing upon Freed's face. His flushed cheeks from embarrassment, his long feminine eyelashes, the small beauty mark under his left eye, and his frizzy green hair. Suddenly a surge of possessiveness washed over him. Looking down at this person standing right in front of him, Laxus's childhood flashed before his eyes. The pain, the loneliness, the heartache, everything came crashing in at one time. The hole in his chest. The pain in his feet from running. Then Mira looking down at him with fear and concern. But then they were all too ripped away from him. From Lisanna, Elfman, and Mira, they too would find their own paths and leave him as well. But he could create his own path with this man right here, this person right in front of him. Laxus felt dumb for saying it was too early for a relationship. He wanted Freed now, all to himself, so that he'd never have to see him go again. To possess this man in front of him was all Laxus wanted.
Freed knew nothing. He didn't know anything about how meaningful this was to Laxus. All Freed knew was that Laxus had a kink for something he loved to do, that Laxus would appreciate something he was obviously afraid of indulging in. All Laxus was supposed to do was help Freed, and here he was, being selfish and wanting to claim him. That was all this was supposed to be. Laxus knew that. He shouldn't use Freed like that. He couldn't. And yet, why can't he bring himself to let him go. Why can't he let go of his desire to keep Freed close? In the end, he only wanted Freed so badly because he felt that Freed would accept him. Maybe if he opened his arms wide enough for Freed, he'd do the same for him. He knew one day he would ruin Freed. But why was he okay with that?
"L-Laxus?" Freed's face twitched just a little and his nose crinkled up. "Wh-what's going on?" Laxus didn't say anything. He just stood there staring at Freed, waiting with a nervous intrigue. Freed went to open his eyes, but Laxus snapped up and clamped his hand over his eyes.
"Don't you dare open them," Laxus growled. "Not until I say so." Freed nodded.
"Uh- what's wrong?" Again Laxus said nothing.
Laxus took a deep breath and dropped his hand from Freed's face. Freed was still keeping his eyes closed despite Laxus's silence.
"Let me ask you something." Laxus finally said. Freed quirked an eyebrow up and waited for Laxus to continue. "What do you see of me?"
Freed would have blinked a few times in confusion if his eyes were open. What was Laxus talking about? See of him? "Um…" Freed tried to find the appropriate response, but the more he tried to find the words to say, the more nothing made sense. "I don't see anything."
Laxus froze.
"Um…I mean, even if I had my eyes open, I'd see nothing of you." Freed joked awkwardly. Laxus didn't move; he only stood there staring at Freed wide-eyed. Freed sucked in a deep breath and tried to order his thoughts. "You and I just started getting to know each other. I don't know much about you. I like you, and I want to know you better, but I don't necessarily have any expectations of you if that's what you're asking." Freed fidgeted with his hands. "I would find it rather unreasonable to hold you to standards when I haven't gotten to know you fully. I just want our relationship to grow organically, whatever it is."
Warmth surrounded Freed's body. His shoulders were crushed into his body's sides, and his face was buried in a thick embrace. Freed shot open his eyes to see the door behind Laxus and small tufts of his blond hair over his shoulder. "L-laxus?"
"Are your eyes open?" Freed gulped down his surprise and nodded his head. "Can I stay like this a bit more?" Another nod. Laxus took in a shaky breath, and he pulled Freed in closer. His hands melted down Freed's back, sending shivers crawling along Freed's limbs. Laxus pressed himself closer and closer to Freed, wishing he could swallow him whole. This moment they shared, with Freed finally bringing his hands up and rubbing along Laxus's back, was the moment that solidified Laxus's developing feelings for Freed.
Laxus walked Freed to his car and handed him his bag. "Thank you." Freed breathed. They stood in silence in the nighttime wintery atmosphere. Freed peered over to the only light illuminating the parking lot they were standing in. The only sound was the whirl of Laxus's truck engine.
"You get home safely," Laxus said down to Freed with a smile. Freed nodded, digging his car keys out of his pocket.
"Um…about Lucy." Laxus raised an eyebrow at that. "We're just friends. Um, I went out with her, Natsu, Gray, and Loke on Sunday. I got a bit drunk and stayed at her place until the morning. It was nothing more." Laxus hummed at this.
"I see. So it wasn't a Ménage a trois." Freed blushed heavily.
"N-no! It wasn't like that! I just fell asleep, and she walked with me to work because I didn't have my car. I didn't mean to stand you up this morning. I'm sorry."
Laxus chuckled and leaned down to press a soft kiss to Freed's temple. "Apology accepted." Then down to his ear, he whispered, "But I'm still going to punish you." Freed's blush darkened as Laxus pulled back. "Maybe not today; I'd like to end our night on a positive note. However, I will get my revenge back on you. Eventually." Before Freed could retort, Laxus was already walking off to his car. "Drive safely, Justine. I'll see you in the morning."
Gildarts was standing by the executive office hallway when Erza came in. She gave him a warm smile, and he returned one, throwing his hand up in greeting. "Yo, Scarlet. Good morning. How are you feeling today?" Erza walked over to her office, Gildarts following behind her, as she dropped her items onto her desk.
"Much better, thank you for asking." As she took a seat, Gildarts stayed where he was, eyeing her cautiously. "Something wrong?" Suddenly the CEO buffed out a chuckled and covered his mouth. Erza sighed. "What's on my face?"
"Not your face," He quickly corrected, "But your neck." It took no time for Erza to know what she was referring to. She quickly grabbed her purse and shuffled around in it, pulling out a small tube of concealer. Gildarts watched in amusement as the director quickly flipped open her comeback mirror and dabbed the makeup onto her love mark. "Had fun playing hooky?"
"This was after copious amounts of medicine." Erza quickly retorted.
"I'm not judging you, Scarlet. Especially after all the times you've covered my ass for the same thing." He gave his employee a smile before getting down to business. "You have four interviews with Aguria today. Two are virtual." Erza booted up her computer and nodded.
"Dreyar sent me a text this morning informing me." Gildarts hummed at this.
"He did? Boy, that man sure is on top of things. Kinda reminds me of Makarov." Erza chuckled. "Well, anyway, I believe the first person is already here. I had him waiting in the board room." Erza blinked at that, peering over to the digital clock above her door.
"It's hardly seven."
"Said the same thing."
"Ah well. I suppose I'll get with Aguria and meet with him there." Gildarts shoots her one last smile before tipping the door frame with his palm and leaving the room. Erza took a deep breath and opened her email, where Yukino had already sent her the applicants' resumes. She quickly printed them all before clamping them to a clipboard. With that, she heads over to Yukino's office next door. Scooping the silver-haired HR director, they left out of the executive office and over to the boardroom.
Upon entering, Erza bowed, and the man stood doing the same. Erza swept over his appearance, tall, slightly tanned, buzz cut, and dressed nicely in a casual polo and khakis. "Good morning. May I have your name," Erza said as she walked over and took a seat in front of him.
"Mest Gryder." Erza skimmed through her resumes and found his at the bottom. Ah, so this was the man Mirajane had recommended. Erza fluttered her eyes back up to him, sitting with his arms crossed atop the table. She pushed his resume over to Yukino and relaxed herself.
"My name is Erza Scarlet; I am the director of the affordable housing program. This is Ms. Yukino Aguria; she's our human resources coordinator. She'll be asking you the bulk of the questions this morning." Mest nodded at that and extended his hand out to shake Yukino's. When they were finished, Erza turned to Yukino and allowed her to take over.
As much as Freed did not want to see Laxus in the morning after his little banter, he had to because Laxus buzzed his desk at eight o'clock sharp and requested his presence. Now seated in Laxus's guest chair wishing his existence was no extant, Freed glared off o a small portable heater in the corner of the room. Laxus finally faced him with a salty grin and stood to his feet.
"Come with me," he beckoned. Freed took in a deep breath but stayed firmly planted in his seat. He had no clue what Laxus wanted with him or what the other man had planned. He'd hoped Laxus would heed to his requests from the previous night and would behave at work, but this was Laxus, and Laxus was prone to behave mischievously.
Freed didn't dare move but only shot Laxus a frown when the COO turned around and waited for him to follow. "What are you doing?"
Laxus's grin cracked wider. "I'm about to show you something." Freed narrowed his eyes as Laxus walked over to the door, opened it, and motioned for Freed to walk out. With hesitance begging him not to do it, Freed stood and brushed past him practically in a half jog. "We're going to the old utility room." They walked in silence, Freed trying to piece a particle reason as to why Laxus wanted him in the utility room. This had to have been some stupid scheme he was plotting to back Freed into a corner again and do something inappropriate at work. Freed groaned, the idea solidifying in his brain. He wanted Laxus to keep his distance... All Freed could think about since leaving Laxus's house was the lingering burning sensation on his skin in the areas Laxus had touched him. "Alright." Freed snapped out of his thoughts as Laxus unlocked the room's door and swung it open.
"I found the perfect little punishment for a fleeting and flirty secretary." Laxus sneered with a laugh as he stepped in a flicked on a light. In the middle of the room were rows of storage boxes lined neatly and stacked high enough that they were just as tall as Freed and Laxus. "You're going to label all of these boxes with whatever is inside and transport them to the storage closet in the new board room."
"What!?" Freed's eyes dashed up and down the rows. He mentally counted every box that he could see, coming to the conclusion that it was absolutely too much work for him to do alone. Not to mention the new boardroom was all the way on the other side of the executive office.
Laxus ignored Freed's obvious flustered look and continued. "If there are files in the boxes right down every name, type them up with a box number and send it to me."
"Laxus!"
"And have it done by the end of the week."
"It's Tuesday!"
"Problem?" Laxus crossed his arms and lifted a daring eyebrow. "Because I clearly told you I would punish you for standing me up yesterday morning."
"I already apologized." Freed groaned, crushing his head into his hands. "Why do you keep holding it over my head?" Laxus went to grab Freed, snatch his chin, turn him around to look at him, tease him in some way physically possible; his body yearned for it. Laxus wanted to see that face of his light up all bright and flustered again. Yet, he tucked his hand into his pocket to resist temptation. Freed asked Laxus not to do anything at work, and he would abide by that. Instead, he would let everything pile up, and on Wednesday, Laxus would release his pent-up desire.
"I hold it over your head because it pissed me off. I even had to bargain with someone who dislikes me just to get your phone number." Freed flinched at the thought of Bickslow. It's still been over two days since they'd actually last spoke. Whenever he got home, Bickslow stayed tucked away in his room.
"Can I at least get more time?" Freed grumbled.
"No. I assigned the task for you, but the due date was assigned by Erza." Laxus leaned into the door frame, trying to move his body as far away from Freed as possible. "She let everyone know this morning that the new social worker will be here Monday morning, and they need an office space for him." Freed was surprised. If Freed had remembered correctly, Laxus told him Erza was conducting interviews this morning, and it was only around eleven.
"They hired someone already? You said Sherry wasn't going for maternity leave until march." Laxus shrugged his shoulder passively.
"Apparently, he has little experience with management. Erza will pair him with Lyon and have him be trained up until Sherry leaves. So he needs his own space."
Freed looked back into the room. "All the way over here? He'd be by himself. There are no other Social workers on this hall." Laxus pushed off the door frame and started back towards his office.
"Levy's office is at the end of the hall. Yukino is around the corner. He'll be fine. You just worry your pretty little head about getting the room cleaned out for him by Friday. I'll come to check on you in a couple of hours." Freed shot Laxus one last glare before redirecting that distasted look towards the room of boxes.
Lucy found Freed grumbling in the middle of the housing hallway, trying to tug along a cart full of boxes. "Freed?" Freed turned to acknowledge Lucy with a heavy frown at the sound of his name. "Need some help?"
"Help." Freed repeated bitterly. His voice was venomous, and his eyes danced with pure rage. Lucy had to take a step back and make sure she was still looking at Freed Justine. "What I need is this dumb cart to stop swaying to the left! Why are all the carts broken!? Why can't the damn housing authority buy new means of transporting boxes? Why do we have twenty-four boxes of valentines decorations and yet never decorate the office? I need answers."
"Woah!" Lucy said, throwing her hands up in surrender as if Freed had her at gunpoint. "I've never seen you so pissed off before. You okay?" Freed drooped his body off the stack of boxes on the cart. Lucy laid a supportive hand on her friend's back and let out a sigh for him. "Rough day?"
Freed nearly snorted. "More than a rough day. I have to clean out the old utility room by Friday for the new social worker." Lucy hummed at this, gently rubbing her hand up and down the length of Freed's back. Freed should have been embarrassed by such intimate touching, especially since he was so flustered when Laxus had done the same the previous night, but with Lucy, her small palm felt immensely comforting. Freed closed his eyes and let the feeling of her tiny hand melt the tension in his body away. He didn't even care if they were standing literally in the middle of the hallway.
"I have a few clients to email, but after that, I can come help you," Lucy said. "Seems like you're a little stressed."
"As much as I'd love to be selfish and pull you from your duties, Lucy, I can't bring myself to do that. This was a task assigned to me, so I must get it done." Lucy frowned at his response and pulled her hand away, much to Freed's dismay.
"Well, if you need me, you know where my office is. If you feel overwhelmed, please come and get me, or Gray, even Natsu." Freed gave Lucy a smile as he pulled himself back up with a bit of renewed strength.
"I promise I will."
…Is what Freed said, but on her lunch break, Lucy found him struggling again on the outside, pushing the raggedy cart towards the storage closet next to the board room. She still had thirty minutes left of her lunch but watching Freed fight with the broken trolley made her heart surge. So she walked over, marching straight up to the front of the cart, and pulled at the front half, helping Freed realign it onto the sidewalk.
"L-Lucy!" Freed said in surprise. "It's okay! Really. I was almost there." Lucy rolled her eyes and ignored Freed's protests all the way to the front of the storage door. When they made it to the front, Lucy saw Freed had the door propped open, and there were only about twenty boxes in the room stacked up. Lucy knew that was only a fraction of what was in that utility room. Freed had neatly scribbled the contents of each box and numbered the ones that were files. Freed had been working hard by himself, even skipping his lunch so he could try and get as much done as possible.
"I told you if you were struggling, to come and ask for help." Lucy turned to look at him and poked her lip out sassily. "There's no way you could have finished this all by yourself by Friday." Freed went to counter back again, but Lucy beat him to it. "Let me help you, Freed."
Looking down at her attire and the tightly strapped heels at her feet, Freed cringed. "But it's a lot of walking and heavy lifting for you to do in heels." Lucy picked up a foot and looked back at it as she grabbed a box.
"I guess you're kinda right." Lucy dropped the box with a cheeky grin, bent down to her feet, and started unstrapping her heels. "They can't bother me if they're off, can they?"
"L-Lucy."
When the blonde looked up and shot Freed a look, he quickly closed his mouth. I don't care what you say. I'm going to help you, and if I have to do it barefoot, then I world." Lucy unstrapped her right heel, slid it off, and held it up for Freed to see. "Because that's what friends do!"
Friends, Freed echoed in his head. Freed's heart surged at Lucy counting him as a friend. No matter how many times she said it, he would always melt at its sound on her lips. Maybe he could be a little selfish and receive just a little help from Lucy. Just this one time.
The two didn't even notice they were being watched from the executive office corner. Laxus stood in the window watching as Freed directed Lucy on where the boxes should go and then watched them walk all the way back to the side door leading back to the utility room. Freed may have said nothing was going on between him and Lucy, but that didn't mean Lucy was developing an interest in Freed. It was evident from the way she kept asserting herself in his life. He even caught Lucy watching him from her car before getting out and helping him. It was obvious what she was after, and Laxus wouldn't allow that. He would interrupt any efforts from anyone else, threatening to take Freed away from him. He had to, or he'd have nothing.
Lucy finished up with the last of her work before letting out a sigh of relief. Her arms hurt a bit from helping Freed with the boxes earlier that afternoon. They got to a stopping point for the day at around three, with Lucy promising her friend she would help him the rest of the week.
Loke walked passed her office with a wave calling out goodnights. Lucy smiled and called back out to him before scrambling to fix up her desk. When she finished, she shut her lights off and started into the hallway. Freed was passing by just as she was closing her office door.
"Oh yeah," She said with a smile. "Did you get your car yesterday?" Freed immediately looked away from his friend with a slight blush.
"Uh-" He started, "Y-yeah. My roommate took me. When they picked me up yesterday." Lucy slowly nodded her head, eyeing the green-haired secretary with a bit of interest.
"Okay," She said, "Well, don't forget Gray and Loke are singing Friday again. I can pick you up if you need me to." Freed smiled at her, pulling his bag upon his shoulders more.
"That would be lovely." Lucy grinned and started out of the hallway.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Be careful! It's raining!." Lucy blinked, looking over to a window on the side of the switchboard. Sure enough, there was a light rain cascading down onto the sidewalks.
Lucy gave Freed a smile and reassured him she would be careful before heading out onto the front of the building. She let out a rough sigh when she pushed past the double doors. Of course, it would rain on a day she didn't bring an umbrella. She wondered how far Natsu was and if he'd be annoyed if she had him turn around and bring her home. She looked down at her phone and saw it was already five. Natsu would have already made it home by now if traffic wasn't bad. She groaned and decided she'd just have to face the rain and trot through like a champ.
Lucy pulled her bag over her head so it was hugged across her body and she could hold it hands-free. Then she pushed her phone into one of the side pockets so it wouldn't get wet and braced herself to face the cold precipitation. After a quick silent pep talk, she ducked under her arms for a little bit of coverage from the rain and burst down the front steps onto the sidewalk. She ran across the street to a small coffee truck parked in the heart of the business corner. When she made it under the small tent they had attached to the side of the truck, she sighed, wiping rain from her forehead. Lucy cringed at the sticky strands of wet hair that stuck to the sides of her face.
"Good evening!" A woman called from inside the truck. Lucy gave her a smile and walked over.
"Good evening! God, a coffee would be perfect right now since I'm all wet and cold." Lucy peered over the menu bolted up to the side of the order window. "Um, just give me a caramel latte. Hold the whip." The woman smiled and nodded before disappearing into the back to fix Lucy's drink. Lucy sighed again and walked over to the edge of the covering so she could look out onto the busy sidewalks. There was the typical Tuesday workflow; pedestrians like her running away from the rain. She felt a bit better that she wasn't the only one who'd been unprepared and hadn't brought an umbrella.
Through the mass of the crowd, Lucy caught the sight of Laxus Dreyer standing at the entrance of FHA. She watched as he unhooked the front of his bag, pulled out an umbrella, and threw it over his head. Lucy almost snorted. Of course, the hot and nearly perfect COO carried an umbrella to work. She couldn't help but stare as he walked over to the traffic light, pressed the pedestrian button, and waited for his turn to cross the street. That was odd. Lucy narrowed her eyes as Laxus crossed the street, strutting over to the part where she was. The parking garage for the housing authority was at the back of the building. She knew Laxus drove to work because she'd seen him get out of his truck the day he started. So, what was he doing?
Lucy couldn't help but eye at him cautiously as he stalked her way. He was still highly suspicious of her. Lucy's memory flashed back to Laxus, standing at Freed's desk, and then Freed abruptly leaving and headed towards the back. She remembered bumping into Freed at the apartment complex and then Natsu claiming he'd seen Laxus the night before that. She started to piece together a bigger picture of the story unfolding in front of her. All of this wasn't a coincidence. Laxus definitely had come to see Freed at the apartment complex. But why? It was the night of the company dinner; maybe he'd taken him home? But Lucy could clearly remember Cana stating she would take him home. So why? Because they were friends? But Freed had said their relationship wasn't closed like that. Their relationship greatly puzzled her. Something was definitely going on, but what?
"Ma'am," Lucy snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to the barista holding out a cup in her direction. "Your latte is ready."
"Ah! Yes." Lucy scrambled up onto her feet and jogged over. As she was about to take the cup from the woman's hands, a large hand gently stole it from her grasp. Lucy blinked in confusion and turned around, coming face to face with none other than Laxus Dreyer. "Laxus?"
Laxus gave her a smirk and brought the drink up to his lips, taking a sip. "Good evening Ms. Heartfilia." His voice rasped. Lucy faced him entirely and sent him a raised eyebrow. Laxus only chuckled. "I saw you from the other side of the street and wanted to come talk."
"And steal my drink," Lucy pointed out, looking at her delicious caramel latte on someone else's lips. Laxus gave her a grin and turned to the barista, eyeing them with a polite hesitance.
"How much was her drink?" Laxus asked her. The barista peered over to her computer screen and then back over to Laxus.
"Six eighty-two." Laxus handed Lucy the warm cup and pulled out his wallet before sliding the barista his card.
"You've got some balls handing me back my cup after drinking from it," Lucy dug at him with a poke of her hip.
"I wanted to pay, and the cup was in my way."
"It wouldn't have been in your way if you hadn't taken it, nor would you have to pay." Lucy frowned at him, tapping an annoyed foot to the ground. Laxus took his card from the barista and scribbled his signature on the receipt. To Lucy, he placed his hand on the small of her back and gently steered her in the direction of the crosswalk. Lucy eyed up at him as he took his umbrella and leveled it over their heads. "What are you doing?"
"Paying you back for your stolen coffee." Laxus quickly returned. He looked down at her with a smile and pressed a bit more firmly at her hip. "I know a better spot for a caramel cappuccino."
"It was a latte, and thanks, but I'll pass." Laxus lifted an eyebrow.
"You live on Cherry boulevard, correct?" Lucy huffed in response; Laxus leaned down closer to her to talk in her ear, "How would you get there without getting soaking wet from the rain?" Even though she didn't want to admit it, Lucy's voice hitched in her throat. She pulled away a bit from Laxus to peer up at him in the eyes.
"I can handle myself." Laxus shrugged his shoulders.
"I know you can, and my intentions weren't to question your tenability to take care of yourself. I only wanted to help one of my fellow employees." Laxus led her around the housing authority's building over to a line of cars at the back. "We'll go grab a coffee, and then I'll bring you home." Lucy watched as Laxus walked up to his truck, pulled his passenger door open, and looked over at her, standing with an umbrella in one hand and a coffee cup in the other. Though all of the mental flags in her head were pointing red, Lucy silently handed Laxus the umbrella and climbed in. She'd had no reason to decline his offer, and she wanted to dig deeper into his relationship with Freed, so she did it. She figured an hour or two with the COO wouldn't hurt. Would it?
Cana sighed as she stood from her desk and shut off her computer. How many days had it been since she'd stayed late finishing up work? She pretty much stayed late all of last week, besides Friday, because of the company dinner. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with this again this week. She groaned at the mere thought of staying late all this week. She peered over to the calendar on the wall across from her desk. It was already late November; Christmas was coming up. Usually, around mid-December, she and Sherry planned the company Christmas party, but with news of Sherry's pregnancy, they hadn't brought it up yet. Maybe she'd have to find someone else to plan with her. Freed? Cana grinned at the idea. Who better to plan a kicking Christmas party with other than her work husband. She definitely wanted Freed on her team and quickly grabbed her things to shoot him a text to ask.
As she was leaving her office, the sight of a silhouette at Freed's desk caught her eye. Freed was still here? It was almost six o'clock; he never stayed that late. Cana stalked over, but what she found wasn't her green-haired friend sitting at her desk but an unknown man reclined back and gazing out of the front door. "Excuse me?"
The man spun around in the chair, and the moment Cana's eyes caught his bright blue orbs, her cheeks lit up crimson. God, he was hot. Who the hell was this guy!?
"Sorry," His husky voice came, "I was with the CEO, getting a tour of the building. He was a bit preoccupied with an audit going on this afternoon. Don't mind me; I'm just waiting on my ride." He looked over her body and smirked. "Sorry if I disturbed you."
"Oh! No. Not really." Cana quickly said. "So you're a new employee?" He dipped his head once in response. "Which department?"
"This one." He looked around Freed's office, lingering on a picture of him, Bickslow, and Evergreen. "The housing department." Cana blinked back in confusion.
"Weird. Normally I'd know if someone new was being hired in the housing department." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Like when they hired Freed."
"Freed?"
"The secretary, whose desk you're sitting in now."
The man slowly took this in. "Ah, right." He stood then and started Cana's way, wiping his hands down the sides of his pants nervously. "Then I presume I'll be seeing you around?" Cana snorted at that.
"You'll be seeing a lot of me." The man cocked an eyebrow, and Cana quickly stuttered to cover what she had said. "Duh-well. I mean, you'll see everyone. Um… we're a pretty close-knit department. We do a lot of things together. Especially outside of work. You'll figure that out quickly."
The man grinned down at her. How cute was she? "Your name?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry that was rude. Cana."
"Ah, so you're the daughter the CEO kept bragging about." Cana immediately deflated. God damn it, Gildarts, keep your mouth shut!
With a monotone grumble, Cana replied, "Unfortunately, he's half my chromosomes." The man chuckled at that.
"Well then, Cana, I can't wait to work with you." Just then, the sound of the front doors opening cut through their conversation. Cana watched as the man strutted over to the lobby entrance. When it opened, Cana caught sight of a gorgeous silver head woman waiting for the man to join her. Was that his girlfriend? Wife? Fuck she didn't even check his hand for a wedding band. She could have been poorly flirting with a married man. "Oh yeah, my name." Before he left, the man turned back around and gave Cana a smile. "Mest Gryder."