Chapter 15
Broken (Part 4): Excuses

"Just come up to the marketing floor. That's where I am."

"I'll be right up, Director Lance." Robin's phone wedged between her shoulder and ear.

"Bring the red USB stick in my top drawer too. Make haste," said Phila.

The call ended and Robin held her phone against her side with her elbow to collect the papers from the copier. As she checked to ensure that everything was right, suddenly, someone ran right into her, and in the process, spilled coffee all over the reports and her shirt.

The papers flew up into the air. Robin yanked the hot, soaked fabric of her white blouse away from her skin. Her eyes watered. "Fuck."

"Oh no, are you okay?"

Robin scowled at the young man in front of her. She glared at his ID tag. He was one of the new general interns: Ricken Magus. If she weren't so busy with blowing down her white blouse to cool the flaming skin, she would've given him the verbal lashing of a lifetime.

"We need to get you cold water! First aid! How bad is the burn? I can't apologize enough. Darn it, I need to get more coffee or they're going to kill me."

She experienced a pang of sympathy, recalling her own internship days, where it could've been more so equated to modern day slavery. Robin searched for her phone and found it on the ground. Immediately, she picked it up and checked the time.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," apologized Ricken. He was on the floor trying to collect all her things for her.

"Just leave it. I'll need to reprint them. I don't have time. And go grab your team more coffee. Don't give them an excuse to have your head on the chopping block," said Robin, and she ran out of the copy room.

She needed to prioritize. Phila was the executive director and that trumped her own team manager, Cait. Phila's assistant had been sick for the past week, and Phila had picked Robin to assist her since they were presenting her team's projects this week. Cait was supposed to let her off the hook just for this week, since Phila had authorized it, but Cait was still being hard-ass. Robin pushed away the thought of Cait giving her an even harder time for not being able to complete her simple task of printing some documents off. That would never sting as much as Cait taking credit for all her work though.

Robin arrived at Phila's glass office in the corner of the creative floor. She fished out a key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Robin went straight for her desk and dug through the top drawer of the desk. Her heart sank—there were two red USB sticks. Robin grabbed both and made her way to the marketing floor.

The moment she stepped off of the elevator onto the marketing floor, she saw that the environment and set up was completely different to her floor. Tables were organized into private groups and the perimeter of the room had several meeting rooms. Everyone was dressed for business, unlike her own floor where the employees opted for a casual style. She checked around the floor to look for the director. Searching for Phila, Robin broke into a brisk walk.

Then, she saw her.

Phila was in a glass office in the corner, similar to hers. Inside the glass box was another man. Robin slowed. He was tall and built and filled out his suit beautifully. The man slipped on his glasses and ran a hand through his brown hair before accepting the booklet from Phila.

Robin bit her lip, admiring his beige suit paired with a light pink shirt and a dark blue tie with white polka dots. He pulled off pink so well. Her stomach clenched and her heart skipped a beat.

Phila turned around and spotted Robin outside. She waved her over. Robin inhaled sharply once she realized that she had been holding her breath. Immediately, she ran over and gently knocked on the glass door.

The man looked up from the booklet he was scanning. His eyes fell down to her shirt before returning to reading. Robin flushed. She probably looked like a mess.

Phila opened the door and pulled her in. Robin opened her hand to reveal two red USB sticks.

"I don't know which one it was. There were two, so I brought them both," murmured Robin, her eyes wandering back to the man.

That jawline…

"Crap. I totally forgot that I had two. Good job, bringing both," said Phila. "What happened to your shirt?"

"Some intern spilled coffee on me," answered Robin, still watching him.

"I think I have an extra shirt downstairs. I don't think it'll match your outfit, but it's better than wearing a giant coffee stain," said Phila.

She turned her attention to her mentor and smiled. "Thank you."

"It might be a bit big for you since your boobs aren't as big as mine," speculated Phila.

"Phila, that's inappropriate," said the man.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not like you haven't seen boobs before, Frederick."

"You're being unprofessional."

"Oh, you stick in the mud. Anyway, this is my favorite one." Phila pulled Robin beside her and put an arm around her. "She's amazing. This one is going to get far here. She reminds me of us, actually. Come say hi."

Frederick put down the booklet and walked around his table to greet Robin. He extended a hand. "Frederick Knight. Executive Director of Marketing."

Robin shook it. His handshake was firm and warm. "Robin Grima. Creative Designer in Team 2."

"Stop looking at her see-through blouse, you perv," teased Phila.

He shot Phila a look. "Phila, please. Stop harassing your poor creative designer."

Her face grew hot. She wasn't looking her best today and self-consciously, Robin crossed her arms over her front and dropped her gaze to the floor.

Cait had decided to dump the rest of the work their entire team had left to do on Robin. She didn't have much of a choice since evaluations were coming up. So, Robin sat at her desk working on the final drafts of the design sketches. Her neck and back ached. She paused to stretch out her neck and back.

Her stomach grumbled. Robin pouted. She tapped her phone.

8:56 PM.

She hadn't eaten since lunch and now, she was light-headed. If she didn't eat soon, her hands would start getting shaky. Robin picked up her bag and stood up to grab some coffee and something to eat. She locked her computer and left.

In the lobby, Robin checked her phone and saw that Gaius and Cherche were also working late too. Gaius said he needed the break and would join her, but Cherche couldn't leave her post. She told Gaius he had five minutes to get his ass down into the lobby or she was leaving without him.

"How are the numbers?" asked someone behind her.

Curiously, she turned around and saw him again.

"Let me know how the market test goes. Good night."

She opened her mouth to say hello but nothing came out. Frederick tucked his phone away inside his suit jacket. He glanced over at her and Robin looked away. He stopped and walked towards her.

Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods.

"Miss Robin Grima, correct?" he asked.

She nodded. "Good evening, Director Knight."

"Phila speaks highly of you," he said. "Working late tonight?"

"I am. Are you doing a food run for your team? Why not order in?" asked Frederick.

Robin wanted to tell him that she was actually on her own cleaning up everyone else's garbage, but it would've made her look bad. "They don't deliver."

"No coffee stain today?" Frederick chuckled.

She blushed and laughed. "No, not today. Are you heading home now?"

"I am."

"Nice."

No…that wasn't the right response. Damn it. She was rusty.

"Okay. Well, I hope you have a nice evening. Good luck, Miss Grima."

"Thank you."

The next time she saw the beautiful man, it was a month later. He was in line at the office cafe. Robin was a couple people behind him but after ordering, she stood in the same general area with him.

She wasn't going to fuck this up this time.

"Director Knight, good afternoon!" Robin smiled.

"Miss Grima, hello," said Frederick.

"What did you get?" asked Robin. "You look like a black coffee kind of man."

"London fog. I'm not much of a coffee drinker."

"Oh! The cafe Risen has amazing London fogs."

"I rarely have them, but I'll remember to check them out next time I have time."

Frederick's drink came out first and he wished her a nice day.

Over the next couple months, Robin ran into him several times at the cafe and cafeteria at the company. She told herself she'd ask him out for coffee each time, but her courage wavered every time. Maybe she wasn't good enough. He was also much older than her, maybe he wanted someone more mature.

One week, (for some odd reason,) Phila invited her to an outing with a couple of the close directors. Robin politely declined, but Phila wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and told her it was work. This didn't fly well when Cait found out and her team had trouble stomaching the favoritism.

An excited Phila, an indifferent Frederick, an irritable Miriel, and a tired Raimi gathered at the table Phila had reserved at a restaurant downtown. It wasn't the fancy VIP room that made Robin uncomfortable. Robin honestly felt so out of place amongst the strangers, and once she saw Phila throwing back the shots, she knew she was here to take care of Phila. The only reason Robin could think of for why Phila selected her was that she trusted her.

But still…

"Phila, you need to stop drinking so much," Frederick said sternly, trying to pry the shot glass from her. "Your mentee is here. Behave yourself."

"Oh, let her be," Raimi slurred her words. "She deserves it. We all work like dogs for Exalt."

"Thanks, girl. You're the best," said Phila. They high-fived each other.

"You've decreased my efficiency percentage by thirty-six percent by forcing my attendance at this reminiscing social rendezvous," said Miriel.

"Come on, Miriel. We all started as interns together. And now look at us." Raimi slung an arm around Frederick and Miriel and pulled them in.

"I have advised you precisely ninety-two times to not engage in physical contact with me," said Miriel, pulling away from Raimi.

Frederick leaned over to talk to Robin. "I'm sorry you have to be here."

"What sweet nothings are you whispering in my mentee's ear?" purred Phila. She pinched Robin's cheeks and cooed, "Isn't she the most adorable things ever? Man, I miss being this young, but not all that stress and misery."

"Can you explain to me why a creative designer is present at a gathering restricted to those who were interns in our year?" asked Miriel.

"Because. Robin looked like she needed a day out. And I need someone to take me home," said Phila.

"Phila." Frederick sighed. "You could've taken a cab instead of bothering Miss Grima."

"It's okay. Director Lance has done a lot for me," said Robin.

"Besides, I wanted to treat her out to somewhere nice but this was the only time that worked. The new phone we're developing, the Falchion, Robin was the one who thought of all those phone accessories. This girl's a genius. She's going to make us a lot of money."

"My team did it together," murmured Robin.

"Nonsense. I know Cait and everyone in your team gives you a hard time and it was all your idea. This is your promotion dinner! We're giving you your own team and creative freedom to do whatever you want!" exclaimed Phila.

"Then, what purpose do we serve for being present?" asked Miriel, adjusting her glasses.

"Well, I didn't have enough free time to separate these two events. So deal with it, Miriel." Phila pointed a finger at her. "Waiter!" shouted Phila. "Five awakening shots!"

"You don't have to drink, Miss Grima," said Frederick.

"You party-pooper. Stop being an old fart. It's a tradition. All of us did did them every promotion. Even Robot Miriel," said Phila, hugging Robin close to her.

"You're hazing her," said Frederick.

"She's not a frosh in university." Phila rolled her eyes.

"Is she even legal?" asked Frederick.

"You're such an old man. She's…" Phila stared at Robin. "How old are you again?"

"Twenty-four."

"She's legal," said Phila. "Remember she got ID'ed when we ordered booze?"

He sighed, displeased with his friend's behaviour.

"You're going to drink, right?"

Robin held back her own sigh. She nodded. "It's just one shot."

"It's not," muttered Frederick.

"Atta girl. Now, you can rub it in Cait's face."

"I won't be doing that, but I'll do my best."

"I know you will."

Five flaming shots with blue liquid were set on the table. Robin expected Phila to pass around the shots to everyone, but she lined them all up in front of Robin.

"All five?" The most shots she had done was three and that was years ago.

"It's a good thing tomorrow is Saturday," said Raimi. "Congratulations, Robin."

"Yes, may your achievements and success be proportionate to your efforts," said Miriel, clearly bored.

Robin forced a smile. It was work.

She picked up the first flaming short, squeezed her eyes, and threw her head back.

Miriel left early to do something back at work. After Robin packed Phila and Raimi into a cab, she sprinted to the back alley of the restaurant. She had held up the pretense that she wasn't severely intoxicated until her boss left. Frederick followed her to find her hurling in the back.

He hated that tradition.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," Robin held up a hand behind her. "I'm okay now." She spat out a couple times.

This wasn't the first time Phila got one of her underlings this drunk. The most sober one always had to clean up the mess since they were interns. He got a bad feeling that something unpleasant was going to happen to the young woman if he didn't do escort her home.

"Do you live far from here?" he asked.

"Don't worry about me. You should head home." Robin straightened up, nearly stumbling over. Frederick reached out to catch her, but she managed to balance herself. "Fuck. I haven't done shots in years. I'm more of a red wine girl."

"I parked down the street. I can give you a ride home," said Frederick.

"No, I can't trouble you." Robin shook her head and giggled.

"Miss Grima, I insist," said Frederick.

"You're such a gentleman," slurred Robin. "But I'll be fine. I've been taking myself home for a while now. Well, ever since my boyfriend left…wait, no, he kinda stopped being around the last couple months of the relationship. Hmm…"

Her ex-boyfriend sounded like a tool

"Miss Grima—" Frederick gently grasped her arm to guide her away from her vomit puddle.

"Robin."

"Sorry?"

"Please just call me 'Robin'."

"Where do you live?"

"Unit 502 at 48 Valentia Avenue," recited Robin. She giggled again.

"I have some water in the car too," said Frederick. "Do you need a moment?" He prayed that she wouldn't barf in the car.

"I don't think there's anything left," said Robin.

"Okay, let's go."

She lived quite far from the office. It probably took her more than half an hour to an hour of public transportation to get to their workplace. Her place was within the downtown perimeter, but it wasn't the the most convenient location nor the safest. It was also in the opposite direction of his place.

Frederick glanced over at her when they were trapped in the late night Friday traffic of downtown. She had opened the window and happily hummed with the radio while enjoying the wind in her face.

She hiccuped. "You have a nice car."

"Thank you."

"Has anyone tell you that you're a good person?" she asked.

People who knew him at work told him he was hard, efficient, and professional. People who knew him personally told him he was stuffy and he needed to relax. Where did 'good' fit in there? She hardly knew him too.

"You also dress really well." Robin closed the window and turned to face him. She smiled at him. "Everyone talks about your #OOTD."

"Is that right?" Hashtags, he knew. OOTD? He had no idea. He'd have to look it up once he got home.

"Mmhmm."

The soft sound of the radio played in the background as Frederick drove through the traffic. It became so quiet, he wondered if Robin had fallen asleep. She hadn't. She was staring out the front window.

"Director Knight?"

"Yes?"

"Was it hard for you working at Exalt? Like to get to your position?"

Frederick recalled having to working harder and longer than anyone. There were many sleepless nights climbing to his position. It had been hard, but he had a fair experience. He knew that being a white man in a company like Exalt came with its privileges. Phila did even more work than he had and she had been overlooked twice for promotions for a male counterpart. He couldn't comment on Robin's personal experience.

"Is something troubling you at work?"

Robin sighed. "No."

Only the sound of the radio again.

"Oh, look. We're almost there!" exclaimed Robin. "Pity."

Frederick slowed down and pulled into the tiny parking lot of Robin's building. He parked in the guest spot. "Do you have everything?"

Robin nodded. "Thank you." She was about to open the door to climb out but paused. "Umm…"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to get coffee some time?" she asked.

His heart fluttered. He frowned. Did he hear that right?

"Oh right. You don't drink coffee. We can get you a London fog," she said.

"Miss Grima…"

"It's just one drink," she said hopefully.

"Miss Grima, there's a strict rule against employees dating. It was established last year."

"Right." She bowed her head. "No one abides by it though."

"You've also had a lot to drink and I'm far too old for you."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-two."

"You're only four years older than me."

"Eight."

"Same thing." She hiccuped and waved her hand like she was brushing off his correction.

"Miss Grima, you should get some rest."

She pouted and nodded. "Alright. But I'm not giving up. Your ass is mine."

Frederick laughed as soon as she slammed the door shut. She was cute, like Phila kept saying.

Over the course of the next three months, Robin had asked him twenty-three times to various activities: lunch, dinner, movie, coffee, tea, drinks, orchestra performances, and rock-climbing at one point. He had turned her down politely each time for the reasons of the non-intermingling rule at work and that she should date someone within her age range.

In addition, she had snuck eleven London fogs into his office by asking one of his subordinates to pass it on. Initially, he had worried that someone would figure out who was passing them on to him, but she had been clever. She wrote her number on the cup underneath the sleeve. And she was right. The London fogs from the cafe, Risen, were delicious. The first time the latte had happened, he was going to text her to thank her for the latte and that she shouldn't do so anymore, but then stopped himself when he realized that he could be leading her on. Thus, her number remained saved in his phone without a history. And he actually started to look forward to her surprise lattes.

Before he knew it, she had him intrigued, even if he couldn't see what she saw in him.

Towards the end of the summer, Ylisstol had two straight weeks of rain. Today was the worst with lightning and thunder blitzing and cracking the sky. The wind blew the rain at a sharp angle making umbrellas pointless. Frederick wondered if Robin was staying dry. Had she had adjusted well into her new position? He pushed the thought back into his subconscious. They would never work out and he wasn't going to go against rules. Rules existed for a reason. They established order in chaos.

His long day's of work came to a conclusion. Frederick was going to head home except he needed to renew his security pass. As he waited for the front desk to authorize his pass, he saw her.

Robin shivered, drenched from the rain. Silver hair clung to her cheeks and her transparent blouse. The light lilac shirt did little to hide her lacy pink bra. Her navy high-waisted shorts dripped at the hem and revealed the outline of her panties.

"Here you go, Mr. Knight," said the security secretary.

"Thank you." He took his ID and tucked it into his pocket.

Someone whistled at Robin. It rubbed Frederick the wrong way: it was degrading.

"Miss Grima," he called out to her.

Robin stopped at the security barrier. "Director Knight," she breathed.

"Do you need an umbrella? I have a spare in my car," he offered, walking over to her.

She shook her head. "It's alright and it's a little late now." Her usual optimistic aura was absent. She didn't even smile. "Achoo!"

"Are you certain?" asked Frederick.

Her stomach grumbled and her hand flew to her stomach. A blush dusted her olive cheeks. "Excuse me. I forgot to eat today."

"Are you almost done?"

"Thank the gods, yes. I need to do some last checks and then I can go home and take a nice, long bath."

"You'll need to eat."

"I'll figure it out." She yanked off her ID badge over her head.

"Let me pay you back for all the London fogs."

She stopped and stared at him. He couldn't discern whether her watery eyes were from the rain or she was at the verge of tears.

He wanted to cheer her up. She looked like she was at the verge of burning out.

Finally, she smiled weakly at him and laughed. "I thought you didn't break rules. Did I finally wear you down?"

"There's nothing wrong with two colleagues having dinner."

"Colleagues," repeated Robin.

"Yes, colleagues. I'd like to hear how you are faring in your new position."

"You're either going to have to take me to somewhere really expensive or take me out several times to pay me back for those lattes, Director Knight. I think the latter works for me since I'm not the most presentable to go to a fancy restaurant today."

The hamburger joint was rundown and hygiene was a concern to Frederick. The customers of the place were of questionable character and they both stuck out—him in his suit and Robin soaking wet. Robin grumbled about how her thick hair wasn't drying fast enough.

Ding! "Number sixty-two!"

"That's ours," said Robin, getting up from her seat before he could grab their order. "No, don't get up. I can get it."

She returned with two metal box trays with burgers and fries and set his food in front of him. He couldn't recall when he last had a hamburger. It wasn't a food option he actively pursued. His athletic training often included a restricted diet. Hamburgers and fries was rarely on that list.

Robin sat down across from him. "I come here with one of my besties. The place doesn't look pretty, but their burgers are art." She sneezed.

"Are you cold?" He had offered to take her home, so she could change, but she had declined.

"I'm fine. I'm more hungry than cold," said Robin.

She picked up her burger and dug in. Delightfully, she closed her eyes and moaned.

Frederick cleared his throat and shifted in seat.

"Gods, it's so good. I've been dying for a burger all month but was too busy to come here."

He smiled as he watched her devour her food. His past dates never would've picked a venue that involved eating with their hands. Even with his girlfriends, they had avoided finger foods until much later. Not Robin. She sat there without a care in the world eating away. She had hell of an appetite. It was rather attractive.

"Why aren't you eating?" Robin was halfway through her burger.

"Don't worry about me. Please. Enjoy yourself."

"If my family knew I was stuffing my face like this in public, they'd shame me." Robin put down her burger and wiped her hands and mouth with the napkin. She laughed to herself. "My mom would smack it out of my hand and freak out about many calories are in this."

Frederick joined her and ate his own burger. The first bite overwhelmed his palate. The juicy patty and the simple toppings of cheese and vegetables were delicious. It tasted like a memory: that 2 AM burger with his buddies after drinking all night celebrating their homecoming game win.

"Achoo!"

"Bless you."

"No need. I'm already blessed. I'm getting to have dinner with you tonight."

This time, Frederick felt his face warm.

"I needed this. I think I've had one of the worst days of my life today. Thank you, Director Knight."

"Is that so? And 'Frederick' is fine when we are outside of work."

"Yeah, I got an email from someone today…kind of reminded me of more difficult times in the past. And then my newest team member made a mistake and I had to fix it and go downtown to meet the engineer about the problem. Hence why I am soaking wet," said Robin. "But I think it was mostly the email."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Oh, Frederick! There's this new Chon'sin fusion restaurant that opened. We should check that place out too. You have my number, right? Oh, don't look so hesitant. We can go as colleagues."

"If you're okay with this not surmounting to anything," said Frederick.

"Am I annoying you?" Robin cocked her head to the side. "I know I can come off as aggressive at times."

"I just don't understand why you're still trying even though this won't work."

"Well, the only reasons you gave me were that it's against the rules and that you think you're too old for me. But it was never that you weren't interested." She grinned. "So, all I have to do is persuade you to break the rules and that a five-year difference isn't that bad."

"Eight."

"Yeah, whatever. I mean, if you hated me, you wouldn't have paid for dinner today, no?"

She had a point.

A/N: I meant to post on Tuesday, January 16, but I had it finished for a while ago so I'm posting a couple days early. I'm setting Tuesdays as the day for updating Sunflower, but we'll see how it goes. I'll see you again in two weeks. :)