Chapter Two: Rumors & Eye candy
Ch summary: Graves has an interesting day at work, an offer out to a bar with coworkers. He meets an attractive man named Jayce, and overhears a rumor regrading his frenemy.
Malcolm heard a familiar ringing noise echo through his bedroom, and the annoying dissonance became deafening with each second. His eyes were heavy from another night's lack of sleep.
Fuck. It's way too early for this. He thought groggily. I'm gonna turn this bastard off and take my damn time today.
He lazily opened his eyes, and the tender rays of sunlight from the nearby window kissed his rough skin as a lover would. He groaned in response, firmly shut off the alarm with a fist, and slowly spread his arms and legs apart. Crackled noise echoed throughout his home as he stretched his limbs, and a tiny yawn accompanied the popped joints as he slowly sat upright.
Damn. I dunno where to start today. He mused. I imagine someone else can take inventory, but what about when I get off work? Malcolm sighed, he wasn't one for social endeavors.
He lazily shifted his legs to the side of the bed, and felt the immediate gravitational pull to fall asleep again. Tempted thoughts were scattered away as he forced his feet on the frozen floors; The sudden change in temperature jolted him awake.
He let out a soft groan as he walked towards one of the piles of clean clothes, and swiftly withdrew a dark blue button up flannel and pair of khaki's from the disorganized mess. He carefully put the shirt on one arm at a time to prevent further wrinkles, and slid into the pants that were just a tad too large for him.
I reckon I can slip in exactly on time without too much trouble. He thought.
He took slow strides as he went to fidget in yesterday's clothing for his keys, wallet, and cheap hextech flip phone. He paced towards the bathroom afterwards, and scoured his cabinet mirror for some hair product. He located the gel promptly, unscrewed the slightly sticky lid, and lathered a tiny amount to spike his short hair up a bit.
He examined his reflection in the mirror, despite being sleepy, confidence blossomed throughout his face. Soft hums collided against the porcelain sink while he washed his hands clean. A once exasperated expression became more alert after he lightly ran damp hands across sleepy eyes. He was primed for the clockwork nine to midnight cycle to be shattered. He swiftly dried his hands on a nearby hand towel and headed towards the exit after slipping on a pair of white shoes.
He unlocked the door, and sunlight cascaded the dimly lit home as he stepped outside onto the cold morning's busy streets. He squinted his eyes and locked the door behind him. Gleamed golden rays licked at his skin, and he began a mellow walk to work.
The light frigid wind nipped against his exposed hands and neck, and a light overcast hung in the far away region west of him. He smiled lightly, despite the freezing breeze, he managed to dodge being drenched in the cold.
Idle chatter and the light hum of traffic filled each crevice of the busy streets. Despite feeling out of place, he still felt an unbreakable smidgen of positive energy. He retained his laid-back pace to work as he crossed several side streets, waited for many crosswalks, and dodged the occasional splash of water from an oncoming vehicle.
Alright. Time to get this out of the way. He thought.
He approached the small retail and repair center. The bright yellow building contrasted with the large colorless stores in the area. He took a shallow breath and reached for the bar to open the door.
Ding
His entrance was noted by four employees.
"Malcolm, where the hell have ya been?" A young woman with pink hair groaned behind the sales counter.
"Sorry Vi, I overslept today. Figured someone else could track inventory for a change." He replied.
Numerous displays of new products surrounded him. He navigated around them towards the fresh pot of coffee behind the counter, and carefully poured the dark liquid into a styrofoam cup. He took light sips as he glanced around the establishment. Two of the employees were setting up popular hextech chargers, adapters, and other various accessories along the wall, and the other was setting up posters that displayed the newest premium discount.
Everything showed signs of a normal work day for the older man. He appreciated some sense of order, and immediately retrieved a nearby clipboard that contained sales goals for the month. The new products sold with ease, and a shipment of extra followed when a new shipment arrived. Accessory sales were lower than last month's; however, they were still ten thousand gold above the expected standard.
Repairs were the only goal, coincidentally, that couldn't be met for the month. Too many free replacements were handed out each month to retain customer satisfaction. The overall revenue was still well above the margins thanks to the excellent salespeople, though.
He placed the clipboard on the sales counter, and turned his focus away from the mental checklist. The pink haired lady drummed her black nails on the counter and grinned at Malcolm. She looked devious, and Malcolm knew of her intent to give him hell over his late appearance. She hoisted herself on the counter and laid playful eyes on him.
Shit. He groaned to himself.
"So, what caused you to be so late, did you go out on a date old man?" She snickered with a playful tone.
Her right hand traveled from the counter top to cup her face, and her ocean blue eyes gleamed over Malcolm's brown pair for a response.
"No I stayed here until close. I'm not interested in investing time for women, and my life ain't that exciting," He huffed in reply.
She furrowed her brows in confusion, "Well, you need to get out more old man."
"You don't need to call me old. I'm 40, not 70,"
"And I'm 22, not 12. I'll call you whatever I want to," she stuck her tongue out after the reply.
A soft high pitched echo broke the conversation, and a new customer entered the establishment. Vi immediately pushed herself off the counter and mouthed several apologies to her boss. Malcolm knew the girl only meant well to tease him a bit. He focused his gaze towards the customer, and one of the sales members was instantly assisting them.
"Hi my name's Katarina. I'll be glad to help you out today, are you looking for something in particular?" The dark red headed saleswoman coaxed.
The customer offered a warm reply, "Oh no, not really. I'm just looking to upgrade my old flip phone."
He genuinely appreciated his sales team, and Katarina was one of the more valuable members. She had an unnatural charm due to a beautiful complexion clashing with a scar above her eye; however, how she got the scar was always a mastery to Malcolm. She usually offered a different response when someone would ask about it.
"Well I've got just the product for you," She gloated while walking the customer towards a recent display.
"Damn, she's slick." Vi muttered in a quiet whisper.
"Well she's a reformed assassin from Noxus. I reckon she's learned how to sweet talk people into what she wants before the kill." Malcolm joked.
Vi's eyes widened with amusement, "Malcolm you ain't sick today are ya? You usually don't joke around dude."
"Of course not. Just callin' it like I see it." He scoffed.
She grinned wildly at him, and he focused his gaze back towards Katarina. She was attempting to up-sell various chargers and connection ports to the disinterested customer, yet she refused to take no for an answer.
"I don't see the need for all of this extra junk." The customer replied to Katarina.
"You never know when you'll need a spare. Trust me, I've been in too many situations where my phones died and I need to call in late for work. What if there's an emergency? There's too many possibilities to not have a backup honey."
"I suppose you have a point. My husband would throw a fit if he wasn't able to reach me on a girl's night out," The customer admitted in defeat.
Checkmate, Malcolm thought.
Conclusion of the sale came as Katarina strutted towards the register with the customer.
"Go ahead and ring her up for the Hextech X-11 and a spare charger please," Katarina said to Vi.
A smile blossomed across the young woman's face "Ok Ma'am, your total today will be twelve hundred gold. Would you like to sign up for our newsletter? We'll send you offers occasionally so you can save on new products."
"Sounds delightful," The customer replied.
Within a few minutes the customer's new product was programmed, and the staff beamed at the first daily accomplishment. The first daily sale always flourished a positive vibe among everyone, and it kept them going through the long eight hours to come. The customer exited the establishment with her smile towards the staff. A quick wave from behind the glass ensued as she walked away to her next destination.
The day continued to be mundane, yet Malcolm still felt something invigorated in the surroundings. Several satisfied customers left the building, and the staff made sure to not allow for any window shopping. The rhythmic cycle continued throughout their scheduled breaks. Only a few dwindled hours remained, for the mid shift workers would arrive soon to take over.
Few customers entered the shop as the final hour of the shift approached, and the team members took this time to stock the products back. The once idle chatter between sales representatives and clients turned to the occasional squeak of a screen being cleaned, grunt of a table being wiped down, and rustled plastic being set back up for a line of products.
"Great job today team, go ahead and take off 30 minutes early today. I'll watch things from here-," Malcolm's sentence was cut off immediately by the door slamming against the window in a fury of rage.
"Listen here you fuckin' cheapskates," a well built blonde man shouted from the entrance.
"Can I help you sir? I'm so sorry if something's wron-"
"Shut it bitch." Katarina's attempt to help was cut off abruptly.
She was taken aback and hid a scowl by facing away from the older man.
Vi tried to interject from behind the counter with concern, "Sir, what's wrong?"
The man snarled at her, and his eyes were glazed over with an anger that didn't represent usual frustration. Malcolm stood in the background and began to step forward to deescalate the situation, yet Vi already seemed to be on top of it.
"Look, I just bought this cheap Hextech X-8 model from you guys yesterday, and the glass is so damn cheap that it cracked from a five inch drop! I want a free replacement now, or I will leave nothing but negative reviews for your company cunt," He hissed vehemently at Vi.
"Ok sir. I totally understand you're upset. Let me see your phone, I'll take it to the back and examine if any repair costs would apply up f-"
"No, you stupid bitch! I asked for one damn thing. Give me a replacement, now! If you won't do it I want your manager, now!"
Malcolm huffed a reply from behind the man, "Don't you ever talk to her like that again. That repair is your own fault without a premium warranty plan, and quite frankly, I wouldn't honor it for you anyway."
The man's eyes grew wide with fury, and he hissed in response, "This is the worst customer service I've ever received. I'll be reporting to your superiors over this."
"Do it then. You'll receive zero satisfaction from doing it, and I'll make sure you aren't compensated in anyway for being unprofessional to my staff." Graves growled in response.
Everyone's eyes opened wide in response to Malcolm's way of the customer being handled. There was a negative reverberation in the atmosphere, and the older man defended his crew from the negativity thrown at them. In most cases, Malcolm would compensate the customer with a free replacement for the sake of positive feedback, but this time Malcolm would not tolerate it. He was tired of the mundane apologies, and letting people be ran over.
A moment of silence passed between the men until Malcolm firmly asserted, "Now, for a cracked screen that's gonna be at least five hundred gold to correct. If you can't pay that now, then leave my store."
The blonde customer rolled his eyes, and took quick steps towards the exit of the shop, but all eyes were focused on Malcolm instead.
"Damn boss you handled that asshole better than I ever could've," Katarina broke the ice with a light giggle in her tone.
"I actually do care about y'all ya know. Go ahead and go home. I'll prepare the mid shift workers," Malcolm muttered back at her.
The employees exited after saying goodbye to their boss, a single ring accompanied all of them exiting. Malcolm let out an exhale as he turned back towards the register. Vi was was still there, and a light smile etched across her face.
"Yo boss, thanks for the help today. I really appreciate you sticking up for me," Her words were warm and filled with appreciation.
Malcolm's face blossomed a light cherry color while he rasped a nervous reply, "I'd do it for any of ya'll. You're like family to me, even if I didn't show it much before."
The young woman let out an innocent giggle and stretched her arms behind her head. Malcolm understood that it would take awhile for her to warm up to his newly found positive energy. Malcolm smiled softly back at her, and stepped behind the counter to finish checking inventory for the next employees.
"Since you're not staying over today, do you wanna go out? You said you're too busy for dates, but if you have nothing planned, we could get buzzed and chill over some karaoke. I have this cute person that would love to meet you too!" Her last sentence hung gleefully on her tongue, and the soft smile bloomed into a sinister one like the Cheshire cat.
An awkward ambiance filled the room again, and Malcolm let out a nervous laugh. He hadn't been on a real date once in his life, yet he couldn't turn down the offer in favor of sulking at home.
It won't kill me to try enjoying myself. It'll be like Bilgewater, but better! He thought merrily.
"Ah, what the hell. I don't see why not. I'm warning you now though, my voice ain't pretty for singing," he stuttered
Vi extended her arms in celebration, "Ok then, I'll come pick you up at 8 o'clock with Caitlyn."
"Sounds good, see ya then."
With a wave of her hand she paced from behind the counter to the exit, and Malcolm felt a giddy nervousness eat at him like a leech's desire for blood. He was akin to a caterpillar beginning the final stages of metamorphosis, for he would soon be free from the captivated memories of Bilgewater. His first day of perusing genuine happiness felt successful.
Fuck. I have nothing outside of my work clothes to wear. He pondered.
Within the next twenty minutes the next set of employees shuffled from the store's entrance and greeted Malcolm with brief welcomes. He provided them with an update on the store's current inventory status, and diligently briefed them on not staying over today for additional hours.
"Are you ill or something, boss?" A young slender black haired man questioned.
"No, I just realized I shouldn't be killing myself and overdoing it. I'll stay over occasionally when it's needed during peak hours, but I know y'all are capable of handlin' things at night."
"Alright, take care then."
The older man breathed a sigh of relief before he headed towards the door, and stepped outside into the looming dusk that approached. His steps on the concrete pavement felt more meaningful, and every stride pulled him away from the daily auto pilot he succumbed to. The gravitational pull of his traumatic betrayal was in a crevice, but occasionally, despite the distance in his mind, the floating thoughts escaped in unpredictable wisps.
This is my night to enjoy, and ain't no cheater gonna ruin it. He groaned in thought. I wonder who she's gonna try to set me up with. I've never seen 'er bring any friends around, or drive around with anyone other than her girlfriend. I'm sure she'll be cute, but that won't be enough to force my attention.
Dating was a touchy subject for Malcolm, yet he hadn't experienced one to this day. He always admired people from a distance, but never felt any special connections with people outside of his bond with Tobias. A strong friendship wasn't exactly a tool to gauge relationships with, and he didn't know what he wanted exactly in a commitment.
Relinquished thoughts leaked from him and were replaced with heavy rush hour sounds. He adjusted his tempo to a more relaxed pace, and crossed through a plethora of crosswalks before he found himself back home. He reached for the familiar brass key, swiftly unlocked the door, and let himself inside. The inviting atmosphere tugged on him to fall back into his normal habits, yet he stood his ground and wouldn't allow for it tonight.
Malcolm slammed the door shut, and darted towards his bedroom. The wooden flooring echoed under his anxious strides. He nervously sifted through the piles of clothes, and looked frantically for casual clothing.
Surely I have at least one normal shirt layin' around here somewhere. He thought.
After searching through three piles of clothes his hands found a dark blue T-shirt with a gray triangular pattern etched on the front. He nimbly replaced his work shirt with the wrinkled one from the pile, and stepped towards the pile of pants that towered a quarter of his body. A single pair of jean shorts rested in the middle of the pile. He swiftly removed them from the mound of khakis and slid into them, despite the fit being a little too tight.
I need to lose weight. He huffed in thought. I haven't worn these things but once since I stole them.
He exited his room and entered the restroom, and dug through the mirror cabinet for a dark blue colored cologne..He blitzed three sprays of the mist across his chest, a smell of hazel covered his body. His hair looked exactly the same prior to leaving for work, and confidence surged through his face. He placed the cologne back in the cabinet and darted towards his study to pass the dwindling hours that remained until Vi arrived.
The study had a different aura surrounding it compared to the disorganized bedroom. Books of various topics were organized on slim wooden shelves, and looted documents containing magical incantations laid next to his pens and other mundane supplies. He retrieved a book he reviewed a few days ago, and flipped to the bookmark he placed. It was a self defense book for beginner mages, yet he could only recall a single spell he learned successfully in the years of studying The spell was a pulse of energy that repelled incoming attacks, and Malcolm was aware this one would serve him no purpose in Piltover.
I swore I'd find him, but if I'm gonna get past this I should probably sell these off. His melancholy thoughts began to surface. Or, perhaps I could hold onto them for safekeeping.
He breathed a gentle sigh, and the dwindling hours passed in what felt like a blink. It was 5 minutes before 8 O'clock, and Malcolm heard two honks outside his door. He made sure all of his stuff was accounted for and stepped outside.
This is gonna be an interesting night. He thought