War and Peace
Max was insufferable.
Making his way around the desk, deliberately slow. His fingers brushing against the wood, rustling papers, until he came to a stop in front of her. She made a point to finish the sentence she was writing before gracing him with her attention.
"I will sort out that boy in the cooler," he said, matter-of-factly. "You can stay here and finish the report since you've already started it."
The report he hadn't checked. Clearly, he had other priorities. Like making the children scrub the front steps with a bucket of soapy water.
"His name is Ronan," she managed to answer, teeth gritted.
"Ah, yes. That's the one." Even while he left, that pompous smirk never left his face.
Minutes later, Kim appeared, glancing around as if Rachel was not the person she was looking for. It did not go unnoticed. Rachel felt her mouth twitch, finger tapping the air above the keyboard rather than the keys. A nervous spasm.
"He isn't here."
"Oh." Kim didn't seem too disappointed. "That doesn't matter. It would be nice to have a chat, just us girls."
Rachel supposed that would be nice. Closing her laptop, she joined Kim on the sofa with two freshly-made coffees. Chatter filled the office. Disturbing the silence, the tension that had overwhelmed her sanctuary until it was unbearable. With Kim here, there was only comfort. Even if they studiously avoided a certain subject, or rather, a certain someone.
She could hardly understand how the two were attracted to each other.
I have another opening for commissions, so if you're interested, please let me know. I'll do short stories like these but I also do fully-fledged fics and multi-chapters. For Waterloo Road, I do have some examples on here; Dear Eddie and The Night Always Ends being the most recent. I also do other fandoms so let me know if you're interested in something else and either way, I'll discuss rates with you.