Thanks to whatido for motivation!
(Ch2)
Matt woke up to the smell of biscuits, bacon, cheese, end eggs. In his sleep haze he wondered if anyone else was in his house, but as his head cleared he remembered being the only one left at the office last night. Slowly, he made his way down the stairs and into the office. Underneath everything he could just make out the scent of Cinnamon and peppers. "Cassillie?" He asked, listening to the crinkle of paper as she ate whatever food she'd brought. "Smells good."
"Breakfast sandwich." She mutter before taking another bite.
"You're here early." Her new boss stated wearily.
"Woke up early. Couldn't go back to sleep. I figured I'd come here." He couldn't help but notice that her voice held none of the bite or hostility she'd shown the day before. Even her heartbeat was steadier, her scent even appeared to be more sugar then pepper this morning and he wasn't entirely sure what to make of it.
Matt simply nodded as he took in the situation. It didn't seem that she was eager to be at work but here she is eating breakfast at the receptionist desk as if she were home. If it hadn't been for the smell of soap and generic shampoo he would have accused her of staying over night. But surely he would have noticed if she'd returned later in the night. At the very least he would have caught her scent when he'd returned from last nights fiasco with Rhino.
"Oh. I-" She paused to swallow. "I picked up your dry cleaning. The address and phone number was on the desk so I figured I'd go ahead and do that. Kill some time." Another pause as she finished her breakfast, there was a crinkling of paper as she shoved the wrapper into a paper bag. "Strange place to be open so early. How much business do they really expect to get this early in the morning?"
"Yes, Strange…" Matt muttered, furring his brow behind his glasses. She'd been at the office long enough to call his dry cleaners and pick up his a foggy's suits, return, and eat breakfast. He was irritated with himself enough as it is to not here her enter, but to not here her enter, leave, and enter again was infuriating. The night before had been rather… eventful so it was no surprise he would fall into such a deep sleep despite his enhances senses constantly pounding at his brain but this rationalizing didn't make him feel any better about it. "How long have you been here?"
"I'unno." The fabric of her shirt rustled when she shrugged. "A while."
"Okay." Matt said softly. "How'd you get in?"
She choked on her hot chocolate as her heart jumped and sped up.
She wasn't used to working for people who asked questions. In her rush to get the hell out of her apartment before the other got up she'd forgotten that this particular job was… classier then the other's she'd gone for. "The do-" She stopped short when Matt shifted slightly, giving her the best "Don't you dare." look a blind man could give. "I…" She sighed, defeated and slumped down in her chair. "I…"
"It's okay." He said, hoping to soothe her dismay. "So far as I can tell you haven't touched anything that wasn't on the desk." He knew this to be fact since her scent was confined to the desk and the stretch of room between it and the door. "Next time, Cassillie. Knock, or ring the bell. I'll let you in."
Cassillie stared down at her hands, wringing them together as her nerves calmed now that she knew she wasn't in any trouble. "Thank you…" It was almost a whisper. Had it not been for his senses it would have been lost.
Time passed slowly for Cassillie as she counted down the days to the inevitable loss of her job. She didn't let the knowledge that something would happen, as it always did, stop her from earning her pay. Despite having lost jobs for many reasons over the years, from not taking lip from a stuck up costumer to her secret getting out, she would never let them call her a bad worker. Since her first day on the job serving up sandwiches at the local Penara bread she'd never believed in doing a half-ass job and it was no difference working for Matt and Foggy.
She tried her best to be friendly with all the potential cliental and did everything asked of her without complaint. If Matt or Foggy happened to be working on a particularly difficult case she was stay as late as possible reading over the information they had, sometimes it helped, mostly she was trying to stall going home. Everyday she'd arrive early with her bag of 6 or 7 breakfast sandwiches and stayed as late as she could before figuring she'd have to leave eventually.
Today she lay more then sat at the desk outside of the office. Her seat pushed as far away from the desk as she could get it before it could get too uncomfortable and her head down, cradled in her arms. Having not gone home last night, or the night before at that in an attempt stay away from that hell hole as long as possible, she was paying for it now and thanking all relevant deities for the extremely slow day. No one coming in with a new case and the old case just about wrapped up, giving her time to nap sleep on the job without a guilty conscience.
"Hey, Cass..." A gentle shove of her shoulders. "Cass. Wake up."
"Uh?" Her head shot up and she searched blindly around for her waker, as she wiped the drool from her cheek "Mr. Nelson?" Or that's what she intended to say. In her sleep haze it came out as a vaguely intelligible slur. After shaking her head to rid the haze she blinked up at him, figuring she was in trouble for falling asleep.
"I told you to call me Foggy." Nelson smiled awkwardly. He still wasn't completely comfortable with her yet. In truth she suspected he may be a bit afraid of her, which she was okay with. Better the some of the alternatives. "Matt and I were about to go to lunch. You want to come along this time?"
Cassillie started up at him, strongly considering it. This hadn't been the first time one of the had asked her to join them for lunch and it most likely won't be the last time she turned them down. It's not that she didn't like them, they were much nicer to her the several of her other employers, especially Marty from the bar further down town, she'd just never been one for friendly group outings. Mainly since she's never had a group, or even friends, to go on outing with. Her life had been... sheltered to say the least, her parents had seen to that. Then again... Maybe it wouldn't hurt to make some go with them. Get to know them, make the friends she'd been denied during childhood. Why make friends, though, when you're not going to be around much longer. Besides, whether she wanted to go or not, she would be the odd one out. Those two, Matt and Foggy, were friends, best friends. She was just the secretary. No thank you, that was one awkward lunch she could do without. "No. That... That's okay."
"You sure?" Foggy was a little disappointed that she's rejected their invite again. Matt was rather insistent they at least ask, despite that they knew what she would say, and in truth Foggy was curious to know more about their mysterious and ill mannered secretary.
"Yeah." Cassillie sighed. "I'll hold down the fort."
"Alright." He sighed, defeated. "We'll see you after lunch. Right?"
"Don't have anywhere else to go." Was the muttered response, as she placed her head back in her arms. "Have fun."
Several minutes later her peaceful dozing was pierced shattered by the soft call of her name. "What?" She snapped, shooting up to glare at the first person in sight and instantly regretting it. Standing in front of her desk was her second boss, one eyebrow raised above the rim of his glasses. "Murdock." Her head fell back into her arms with a sigh. "I'm sorry... I..." The thought ended with a yawn. Giving up on her poor attempt of justification Cassillie settled back into her arms and peered up at him, waiting for the lawyer to tell her what he wanted so she could go back to sleep.
"You're sure you don't want to come?" He asked, trying once again where Foggy had failed. "Last chance, we're leaving."
"I-" She stopped, hesitating. It was harder saying no to him then it was to Foggy. Maybe... just maybe... "No. I already ate." Was the excuse she chose, absently kicking the trash can that held a paper bag along with a few other miscellaneous papers and candy wrappers.
"Alright." Matt nodded and walked out, following Foggy who'd gone out the door a moment ago.
"No luck?" His partner asked, staying close to Matt's side. Even though he knew as a fact his partner could take care of himself he still sometimes couldn't help but feel like he still had to look out for him.
"Of course not. She said she'd already eaten."
"I didn't see her eat anything today."
"That's because she hasn't." The bag in the garbage she'd tried to pass off as todays lunch was actually a from breakfast two days ago and Matt knew it. It irritated him endlessly that she still thought she could pull these things over his eyes even though he'd proven countless times that he knew better. He also wasn't dumb to the duffle bag she hid under her desk. The one that smells like cloth doused in fabric freshener. He'd also noticed that yesterday, and today, she hadn't smelt like the usual sweet sugary wash she used, more like... soap. Regular restroom hand soap. Like she'd rushed into a gas station bathroom and done just enough to seem presentable.
After a moment of silence Foggy glanced at Matt. "She really did want to come, didn't she?"
"Yes she did."
"Then why not just come?"
"She must have her reasons." Matt shrugged. Although he couldn't deny that he was curious to know what those reasons were.
Cassillie suddenly jerked awake back at the office. She looked around and yawned, still tired but figuring she'd slept enough for the day and should probably stay awake and actually do her job. Only, at the moment, on such a slow day there was no job to do. So instead she pushed back her chair and crawled under the desk intending to check her previsions. Undoing the zipper she found she'd only actually packed for two days, but she did still have her fabric freashener. Maybe with enough determination she could stretch it out for another day or two. She really only needed it to last for 3 more days. Then, barring an unforseen catastrophe, it should be safe to go home. Safer then it currently is at least.
Every few month the evil neighbor down the hall invited his old roommates from college to stay over for a week. They would alternate between them selves so every few months he would leave for a week and all would be peaceful for her until he returned. She dreaded these weeks because when they all got together, got drunk, then got bored they amused themselves harassing her. Usually with dumb juvenile pranks that were... usually harmless, but they were so often and so simply frustrating that she just had to leave. That and the constant lurking fear that one day their juvenile inconveniences would turn truly malevolent.
"Cassie?"
Started the girl tried to stand, a loud thunk and a yelp sounded from under the desk when she struck her head the bottom of the desk.
"Are you okay?" Foggy's voice was closer this time.
Quickly Cassillie grabbed a pen from the pocket of a pair a jeans stuffed at the bottom of the bag and crawled from under the desk.
"What were you doing down there?"
"Pen." She said, tossing it onto the desk.
"Right." Matt approached the desk and placed a paper wrapped sandwich before her. "Here."
"You didn't have to do that..." She sighed. The last thing she'd wanted was for either of them to feel like they had to do things for her. Mainly since, it made her fell like she couldn't do things for herself. She's a perfectly capable woman who can get her own sandwich if she really wanted one. These small things would turn into more small things, which would become bigger things. Then she'd own them, and she really couldn't afford to owe anyone anything right now. "I-I already ate."
"Oh? When?"
"This..." She paused. Damn, she really needed work out her stories before she just went and said things. "Morning."
He inclined his head, giving her a look she'd grown to know all to well and simply learned to surrender to. The look the says 'Now, you really don't think I believe that. Do you?' Seeing this Cassillie sighed and began to pick at the wrapping until it fell open. Satisfied, Matt smirked and walked into the office Foggy had disappeared into while he was 'arguing' with the assistant.
How the hell. Cassillie thought, almost angrily taking a bite out of her sandwich. Can a blind man see through me like that...
Afternote/ help me: I know what that the where I want this to go but I want to have one more Cassie being difficult at them moment before moving on to the next big event and... I have no idea what the moment should be... ideas?