Derek stares at his computer screen, looking at all the information he has on the new hire starting that afternoon when his phone pings with an incoming message. With a slight shift in his seat, he slides it out of his pocket.
Unknown: hey there number neighbor!
He's tempted to ignore it. This is a challenge he's actually heard of and thinks it's utterly ridiculous. Cora tried to talk him into doing it, and he glared at her until she walked away. With his eyes narrowed at the phone screen, his fingers fly over the keys as he types out his response.
You aren't right in the head, are you?
There. That's better. Leaving his phone on his desk, Derek goes back to what he was doing before the interruption. Except. Except that his phone pings again almost immediately. A scowl darkens Derek's face as he reads the message.
Unknown: wow, rude much? And here I thought we could be friends
What the fuck? If ever there was a day that Derek should have turned off his phone, it's today. He's already irritated from having an early morning meeting go poorly, and with the addition of picking up Laura's task for the afternoon, Derek isn't in the mood. He'll probably regret this later because he's not typically an ass, but he doesn't know this person from Joe Schmoe and at the moment, just does not care. He lets his 'number neighbor' know.
We aren't friends. We aren't going to be friends. Chances are you're a child with far too much time on their hands if you're playing the newest internet challenge.
He tosses his phone away, grimacing when it hits the desk with a loud thud. The ping grates on his nerves when it sounds and Derek contemplates not looking. In fact, for two whole minutes, he manages to lose himself in his work. Curse his phone for pinging with the reminder notification of a missed message.
Unknown: Says the person who knows what this is and decided to answer anyway. You could have just ignored the message and blocked me, y'know? There's no need for name calling. But no worries, I won't bother you again.
Derek doesn't know why he's so irritated by the response. Whoever this person is, the fact that they're willfully giving up on bothering him irks him. Whether it's because they dared to call him out on his crass reply or because he's lonely from working so many hours, Derek's not sure. He just doesn't want the messages to stop.
That's how I know we could never be friends. You're giving up too soon. Maybe I have layers?
And just why in the hell did he send that? He's still staring at his phone in mortification when the next message comes through.
Unknown: what happened to 'we aren't going to be friends?'
Well, certainly not with that attitude.
His brain screams at him to put the phone down, but his limbs refuse to comply. The next messages come in quick succession.
Unknown: ha ha
Unknown: Listen. As much as I'd love to continue this conversation, I'm actually just walking into work and since it's my first day, I don't want to make a bad impression by meeting my boss with my face glued to my phone.
Unknown: My name is Stiles by the way. Maybe we can chat later?
Derek's not sure how long he sits there and stares at his phone, but eventually, the screen goes black before his brain kicks back to fully functioning. Unfortunately, there's a knock on his door before he can reply, so he sets his phone down on his desk and looks up when his assistant peeks her head in.
"Hey boss, that new intern for IT is here. Laura said you were handling his orientation since she's in meetings?"
Derek groans at the reminder then schools his features, remembering that he's at work. Laura would scold him for wearing a scowl. "Yes, thank you, Erica." He makes a mental note to apologize to this Stiles after he finishes with the new hire. "Go ahead and show him in."
He watches as she ducks back out of the office and takes a minute to look back at his computer, muttering the new hire's name under his breath. He'd had to look up how to pronounce it correctly since Laura was clueless.
The creak of the door draws his attention to Erica's arrival with—
"Mieczysław Stilinski," Derek says, as he stands and walks around his desk. He goes to extend his hand to the new hire, but it stays by his side as his mouth immediately goes dry because— Because this guy is beautiful. Derek's eyes don't know where to look because he just wants to drink in everything. The slightly unruly, chestnut hair that complements the white creamy skin tone, speckled with so many beauty marks. He really shouldn't be imagining tracing them with his tongue.
"Wow! You actually got that right. Not many people do. And by 'not many' I mean no one. No one ever gets it right. I mean, it's Polish and has the weirdest combination of consonants that just should never ever be allowed to go together. So please, please, just call me Stiles."
The name pulls Derek out of his thoughts. Stiles.
"It's you…" he breathes out once his mouth remembers how to form words.
"Uh, yes, me. Stiles?" The look of confusion is adorable and not what Derek should be thinking about at this moment.
Clearing his throat as he tries to compose himself, Derek looks at Erica. "Thank you, Erica. I have it from here."
As she leaves again, Derek gestures to the two chairs in front of his desk. "Please," he says, directing Stiles to one as he takes the other.
"So I gotta ask because seriously, no one can pronounce my name. I can barely pronounce it."
Derek stares and raises a brow when Stiles doesn't continue. "You didn't actually ask a question, Mr. Stilinski."
"Oh! Uh, um… Just…like how? Are you a polyglot? Cause I can't actually speak Polish. Minus a few curse words I may have picked up over the years."
Derek chuckles when Stiles blushes.
"Can we just forget that part? About cursing?" Derek's eyes are drawn down to Stiles's lap, where his hands fidget as he picks at his nails. "I mean, eventually down the line when I've worked here for years and we're friends, it'll be okay for me to overshare like that but it's my first day and I'd like to have some semblance of professionalism. Except for my name. Please just call me Stiles."
Nodding, Derek smiles at Stiles. "How about we try again?" he asks as he extends his hand again. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Stiles. My name is Derek Hale. CFO of Hale Enterprises. Not a polyglot." And just to keep Stiles on his toes because Derek might like the flush of pink over his cheeks, he throws in, "Also, your apparent number neighbor."
Wide eyes stare back at him and then Stiles's face breaks out blinding smile. "I guess it is me, then."
The grin Derek wears is identical to Stiles's, happy that he doesn't have to explain.
"So… boss… Number neighbors or maybe…?"
Derek chuckles. "Well, I'm not your boss. That would be Laura, but… Assuming you can accept my apologies for my initial responses to your messages, I think I can make a fair assumption that we'd be good friends."
"Assuming I accept... Just friends?"
He'd be blind to miss the heat in Stiles's eyes as the question is asked. With a smirk, Derek leans forward until their knees touch. "Only if you give up too soon."
He didn't think Stiles could look more enticing, but when he clutches his stomach and throws his head back to laugh, Derek knows he's so totally and completely gone on this man. Especially when Stiles's response is, "I'm gonna peel back all the layers, Derek Hale. All of them."