A/N: Thank you so much to: Patiku, Guest 1, larasmith, Guest 2, SweetShySecrets, Nim'14, binga, falconrukuchi and emilyhiggins2 for your fabulous reviews that make me want to write even more! And also a huge thanks to the people who favourited and followed this story. Thank you, thank you and thank you! I wish I could hug each and every one of you. Anyway, here's the chapter and I hope you enjoy it.
Sorry for the long wait but instead of keeping you guys wait even longer for the chapter, I decided to divide this chapter into 2 parts. I've been super busy and I've got tests coming up, so please, do bear with me and stick around!
I'm also thinking about adding Morgana into the mix pretty soon. I would like your opinions on the character she should be so I've placed a poll on my profile. Please do go and check it out and vote. Your opinions count!
Chapter 5: Saw Your Face - Pt. 1
After that guy, Merlin, had kindly handed her more than enough money to catch a bus home, she went on and told Tom everything that had happened, including how she managed to get the job so easily. Tom couldn't be more delighted and happy for his daughter; the girl that he had once inhabited the house was no longer just a girl, she seemed much more grown and he couldn't really tell how or why the sudden change in her happened so quickly. Nonetheless, it was good news for him and good news for her; the bills that had been left to linger in the house unpaid were finally going to get over and done with and eating small, cheap dinners in order to save food was most likely going to end. Although Tom knew she wasn't going to start earning a lot of money on her first day, it was a start, a promising one.
Gwen woke up pretty early in the morning, unable to sleep any further, though she wasn't sleepy nor tired at all. She got up and put on the shirt that Maria had handed to her. She stood before her bathroom mirror, her hand going across the stitched name Blunketts on the left of the shirt, admiring it. Below her waist, she was wearing black trousers and white flats. She looked up to analyse her visage in the mirror, her hair in a bun, though strands of her curly hair fell on both sides of her face. She applied a bit of makeup but she didn't go too heavy on it, thinking it was probably not a good idea to do so. She coloured her lips with a light-pink gloss that added a bit of shine to her lips and even applied a bit of mascara to lengthen even more her already long lashes. Why she was making such an effort, she wasn't sure; she couldn't tell if it was to make a good impression on her co-workers (some of which she had already met yesterday) or if it was to impress a certain someone. Either way, she didn't want to arrive looking like a slack, now would she?
As she was about to leave the flat, she could hear her father's snores coming from his room and she smiled meekly at the sound of it. Without further ado, she walked out of the flat, closing the door quietly so she wouldn't wake up her father, and then walked to the bus stop where she ended up catching the bus to work.
When she was finally face to face with the building, she took note on how everyone was rushing and almost running in an out of the place. It was breakfast time and most likely these people were delivering the food to the businesses around town. She confidently walked in, Maria sitting at the receptionists desk as usual, the phone glued to her ear while the other hand was typing away at the computer. Gwen leaned against the desk, smiling at her. She looked up and mouthed hold on as she continued to chat away with whoever was on the other end of the phone.
"I see, I see... Well, thank you. Goodbye," Maria said, eventually putting the phone down. "Guinevere, you're finally here! Just on time," She almost bellowed, looking down at her watch. Gwen took notice of the fact that she was wearing exactly the same clothes as yesterday. "So, Mrs. Cooper gave me a list of the businesses you shall be delivering foods to," She walked around the desk in order to stand right beside the brunette. "I'll introduce you to our lovely Percy, I'm sure he'll love to meet you."
Maria began to walk towards the back, possibly to the private car park and Gwen followed, eager to know the things she was going to do and also eager to meet this Percy guy. "So, what exactly will I be delivering?" Gwen questioned curiously.
"Mostly sandwiches and ready-made meals, many other things too," She glanced over at Gwen, a clipboard snug between her chest and arm, most likely the list that Maria was talking about just a minute ago. Maria walked with a load of confidence, her head always held high.
"And that's it?" Gwen asked as she tried to keep up with Maria. The sound of her heels clapping against the marble floor hammered into Gwen's head.
"Well, you do have to make sure you deliver the right food to the right places," Maria's eyebrows heightened a little as she said that. Gwen wondered if any previous people who had been in her position had messed up a lot, which was why Maria had hinted those words. "You have to be polite at all times. We're talking about powerful businesses and we do not want to lose any connections with them." She added, making sure she put a lot of emphasis on the words do not.
"I'll definitely do my best, I won't disappoint." She smiled, causing Maria to muster a smile too.
"I think you'll do great. Percy has been wanting to find a fellow partner. Driving around in a van by himself is quite boring. All the previous people have been, well... unsatisfactory." She giggled.
Both women eventually reached the back and Gwen was right; it was a private car park, vans of various sizes but of the same white colour parked in the spaces. Some lots were empty but she guessed that the van where a man was placing things into the back of was the one she'd be seated in for today. As they approached, Gwen noticed the heavy muscle mass this mad had all over his body and he had short, ruffled, blonde hair. She couldn't see his face yet because he was turned away but she guessed that with a body like that, his face wouldn't disappoint.
"Percy," Maria called out, making the broad man turn around briefly. His gaze landed on Maria before swiftly moving towards Gwen. "Guinevere's arrived."
"Yes, Mrs. Cooper told me she'd be here." He smiled. His piercing blue eyes stared right back at her and his face was perfectly chiseled, almost like a God or something.
"Nice to meet you, Percy." Gwen said through a grin, accepting his hand that he had held out for a handshake. His grasp was strong around her hand; the muscle mass on his body clearly wasn't just for aesthetic appeal.
"Everything in there?" Maria asked Percy, her finger pointing and curiously peering into the back of the van to find trays, boxes and carts neatly stuffed.
"Almost done." He pointed to the remaining boxes and trays sitting on the floor in front of him. He grabbed one of the trays and placed it into the back of the van.
"Well, while he finishes up, I'll give you this," Maria handed over the clipboard she had been holding tightly onto and Gwen grabbed onto it, noticing there was only one piece of paper clipped onto it, though there were numerous addresses and business names on it. Each address had a list on the side, some bigger, some smaller, of the foods that needed to delivered, including specific times and all. "All you need to do is speak to the receptionist at each one of these places," She landed her finger on a random business name, making Gwen notice she had perfectly manicured nails. Though she made sure to quickly snap out of that and concentrate on what was important at the moment. "He or she will lead you up to the floors and then you ask the people sitting at the desks what they ordered. So, lets say I asked specifically for a ham and cheese sandwich, what would you give me?" She tested.
Gwen turned around an analysed the boxes, finding one that had Ham & Cheese Sandwiches written on with a thick, black marker pen. She pointed over at it. Well, this didn't seem hard at all. "The ones in there." She said confidently, grasping tightly onto the clipboard.
"Correct. It isn't hard of a task at all," Maria smiled, her hands behind her back. "Once everything is done, you then make sure you say 'Goodbye' or 'Enjoy' in the most polite manner possible. Since you are new, many may not recognize you and it's essential you make a good impression since they'll be seeing you often from now on." She smiled.
"I can handle it, Maria. I've worked in a café before." Gwen told her, making Maria tilt her head slightly.
"Great! Then you shall not disappoint," She placed a hand on Gwen's arm reassuringly.
"Well, I'm done." Percy interrupted, dusting off his hands and placing them on both sides of his waist.
"Percy, make sure Gwen behaves." Maria said with a smile and he let out a slight laugh, nodding at the same time. For some reason, Gwen blushed at this.
"Will do." Was all he replied with.
Maria turned her attention back to Gwen and spoke once again. "Good luck." She said before eventually walking off, her high heels once again making that distinctive sound as her heels hit against the tarmac.
"So, where to first?" Percy questioned.
Gwen looked down at the list, reading the first one. "Seems like we'll be heading off to 8 Canada square, the HSBC headquarters." And as she read, her eyebrows couldn't help but lift. She knew what the building looked like; it was several stories high, completely made up of panels of glass. It towered pretty high into the skyline.
Percy closed the back doors of the van and sat at the drivers seat. Gwen took a seat beside him and noticed the fluffy, pink dice hanging from the rear-view mirror. She just hoped things wouldn't get awfully quiet between them two.
He started the engine and soon off, they were on the road, heading to the address they needed to head to. Gwen hadn't noticed how tightly she was still gripping onto the clipboard. Even her nails were leaving indentations on the paper and Percy took notice of this; he also noticed how attentive her facial expression looked. She couldn't take her eyes of the road. He had to do something, anything to calm Gwen down. Many had sat in the front seat alongside him and boy, was he fed up with lazy people who could barely manage delivering one sandwich correctly.
"I'm guessing Gwen's short for Guinevere?" Percy pierced the silence with a random question, revealing his bright, white teeth in a smile. Gwen looked over at him, his hands firmly gripped on the driving wheel. He definitely was... charming.
"Yes, how could you tell?" Gwen was taken slightly aback.
"Oh, a lucky guess. Nice name by the way," He said, though he made sure not to take his eyes off the road this time. They were now on a very busy intersection. "Any harder and you'll break your nails, Guinevere."
Gwen lowered her eyebrows, confused as to what he was going on about. That's when she looked down at her hands to take a look at her nails and noticed she really was digging quite deep into the paper beyond her own realization. How did he even notice? She had a feeling this Percy guy was going to be a rather interesting character. "Sorry about that." She pushed a curl of hair behind her ear, placing the clipboard comfortably on her lap, not daring to touch it now. She crossed her arms and just waited until they reached their destination. Gosh, why was she such a nervous wreck?
After about a fifteen minute drive, the HSBC building was now ahead. It was far bigger in reality than on TV or in any image she had seen of it before. Percy made sure to park the van in a reasonable distance from the building. he looked over at Gwen, that smile of his planted on his face and his palms clasped together. Time to face the music.
"So, what will I need to take out from the back?" He questioned.
They both got out of the seats, closing the doors behind them and heading to back of the van. People rushed everywhere, it was so busy, it was astonishing. The loudness and commotion almost stopped Gwen from thinking straight. "A box of those," Gwen looked at the clipboard then pointed at the box of Ham & Cheese sandwiches. "Those baguettes with the tuna," She pointed once again. "And the little boxes of fruit salad." And with that, Percy would remove the boxes out of the van, opened them up with a small knife, ripping the top open. He placed the silver cart on the ground, placing the sandwiches and little boxes onto it. Gwen couldn't just watch and decided to help him a little.
She grabbed a sandwich, just about the same time Percy reached for it, awkwardly touching each others hands for a moment. She looked at him for a quick second and realized he was already looking. Why is he looking at me that way? Stop smiling, Gwen, stop, stop... His eyes pierced her skin. He wasn't going to unlock the stare so Gwen decided to do it herself. She grabbed onto another sandwich and filled the tray once again. She analyzed her clipboard and nodded to herself. "Looks like that's it."
"I'll wait right here." He smiled. Gwen shyly smiled back, grabbing the silver tray and almost rushed to the entrance of the building. That was definitely strange... She walked straight to the reception desk, a huge, beautiful chandelier sitting just above the desk. The floor reflected the light, creating a bright ambiance. She looked back, the door opening and closing every second due to the people walking in and out and she managed, only just, to catch a glimpse of Percy looking back at her through the glass. He showed a pair of thumbs up and Gwen just nodded, turning her attention back to the desk that seemed to be miles away from the entrance. What was with that little moment she and Percy had just a minute ago? First Leon, now it seemed Percy was taking a liking for her. She was utterly confused.
She reached the desk and noticed the woman sitting behind it; she was a rather large woman, blonde hair, red tinted lips and huge cheeks painted with a soft, pink blush. She lit up when she noticed Gwen walking in with the tray. She was probably all too familiar with what was in the tray. "Oh, goodie! I'm hungry." She clapped her hands in a childish manner.
"Everything ordered all here." Gwen smiled confidently.
She walked over to Gwen's side, though she paid more attention to the tray. She bent over to analyze closer the food, placing her index finger just below her lips. She seemed to be completely tantalized by the view. She pushed back on her modern, black spectacles and stood up straight. "Do follow me." Gwen nodded and did as she said.
They entered the glass elevator and zoomed up, Gwen awed by the view and sheer beauty of the building. She wouldn't be surprised if a gold ceiling were to show up any minute now. They stopped on the twenty-fourth floor, probably where most of the offices were located at. The woman gestured with her hand for Gwen to continue following her. They reached a huge door and as soon as it was opened, it revealed rows and rows of desks and immediately, heads were turned, hunger painted on their faces.
"Oooh!" One professional looking woman teetered over said, rushing over to Gwen's side. Now it was time to get the list out and start distributing the sandwiches to the right people. Don't. Mess. Up.
"Who ordered a tuna baguette?" Gwen bellowed, looking down at the list.
"Me!" Many said at the same time.
She walked out of the door with the tray absolutely empty. Well, it wasn't so bad. Percy, just as promised, was still waiting outside.
"Great job, everything ran smoothly?" He asked looking rather impressed.
"You bet." Gwen announced, rather proud of herself.
"Well, where are we off to next?" He said, grabbing the tray and stuffing it into the back.
"Let me check..."
Using a pen, she checked the HSBC and looked at the second name. Oh come on. This couldn't be happening.
"What is it, Gwen?" Percy asked, noticing Gwen's face changed randomly and that her eyebrows had lowered.
"Nothing," Gwen snapped back into reality. "I guess we're off to the Pendaragon real estate."
A/N: Hope you guys liked part 1. I know, I bet you guys are desperate for Gwen to meet Arthur again and it was supposed to happen in this chapter but I decided to leave that for part 2. Don't hate me! See you guys next time. And don't forget to vote in the poll in my profile!
~Maddie