Chapter 7

Things had been going really well for over a month now at Walkers. Lauren was happily in the swing of things and was actually beginning to enjoy her job. She had finished her college course now so was working full time. Joey had eased her in to the company to start with, no bombarding her with hundreds of contracts, but as her work became more recognised the companies clients were starting to ask for Lauren. It meant great business for them and it meant a pay rise for her. Work on the whole was great but things with Joey were, awkward to say the least. She'd catch him on occasion watching her work or he'd be singing her praises to someone. There had been numerous awkward occasions and close encounters that one, or both of them in compromising positions.

The last week in work had been pretty hectic, it was October and the company's clients all wanted new advertisements ready for their Christmas campaigns. Lauren was sick of redesigning Rudolf and Santa so the girls were going out on the night.

"Crap" Lauren called out to her best friends who were just about to jump into a taxi "I left my bag at work" she looked at her watch and noticed that it was9.30pm, She then looked at Lucy and Whitney who were now gawping at her and realised it would be unfair if she made them late as well. She looked desperately down the street and then back at her best friends "I'm going to have to go back and get it I'm really sorry."

"Lauren!" Whitney whined as she tried to push her in the taxi "I know you said you didn't want to watch this movie, but really you don't need to lie to us"

"No really, I left my bag on my desk" Lauren reassured "I need to go back and get it if I want to watch this film, otherwise how am I going to be able to buy a ticket?"

"I'll buty you it" Lucy said as she jumped in the taxi "Come on we are going to be late"

"No you know I hate to borrow money"

Lucy interrupted "But"

"You know me, how am I going to go all weekend without my bag…or my phone, see I left my phone in there. I really need to go back."

"Can't you get it tomorrow?" Lucy asked.

"The office isn't open at weekends"

"Oh"

"Look ladies, are we going or are we staying? I haven't got the time to wait around here all day." The driver complained as he popped his head out of the window.

Lauren sighed. "Why don't I go back and get my bag right now, that way I won't be freaking out all weekend, and then I'll meet there?" She reasoned.

"are you sure?" Lucy asked, she felt a tad bit guilty for making Lauren go all the way to the office on her own, she knew she wouldn't want to do it.

Lauren nodded "Yeah, of course. I'll meet you there…anyways I may not be that late I have still got half hour."

Luckily for Lauren she'd brought herself a car from her first set of wages and a little help from Daddy. So she'd be pretty quick.

*JL*JL*JL*

"Hey Dave" Lauren smiled at the security guard of the building.

"Alright Lauren" Dave smiled back. "What you doing here?"

"Well, me being…well me, I forgot my bag. Is it okay that I go up and get it?" He nodded and opened the doors for her. She smiled appreciatively and then walked towards the stairs. She was contemplating going in the lift since that would be so much quicker but no, she decided against it, agreeing with herself the stairs were the safer option at night. Getting stuck in a lift with no one to help sounded like a horror movie story line.

She looked out across the whole floor and saw all the lights off, and for the first time since she started working there it was silent. No noise at all. It was kind of scary. There was no one around and the faint buzz of the electric system was more than creepy.

She jumped out of her skin when she heard a noise coming from her office. She started edging towards the office. She didn't know why, since she was as scared as hell right now, if she was sitting at home and watching this on the TV she would be screaming at the girl to stop, declaring that she thought she was stupid. She never got why girls in horror movies always decided to investigate the house when they heard a scary noise or why they'd explore the creepy haunted houses on their own. She always figured they were crazy …but right now it was like the office was drawing her towards it.

Lauren screamed as loud as her lungs would allow when she saw the office door being flung open with much force, a shadowed figure in front of her.

"Jesus Christ!" Joey shrieked as he too jumped out of his skin, dropping all the paper work that was in his hands. "What the hell Lauren?" He asked when he was able to gain composure and notice that a terrified Lauren was looking back at him.

"Oh. My. God." Lauren exclaimed, her heart rate slowly going back to normal. "God Joey … I am so glad it is you!" Before she could comprehend what she was thinking she flung herself in his arms, embracing him in a tight hug.

Joey had no clue on what was happening. One minute he was sitting in his office finally finishing the Proposal for a chocolate company, the one that he had spent weeks on. The next he was getting the shock of his life by opening his office door and being scared to death.

"Ermm Lauren?" He asked when she started to draw herself away from him, releasing her vice like grip.

It was at that moment when the situation seemed to

Register in Laurens mind. "oh crap" Lauren thought as she felt an increasingly warm blush form on her cheeks. "I did not just do that" She looked down at the floor and noticed the piles and piles of scattered papers everywhere. She was so fired she thought.

"Oh god! I am so sorry" she shrieked, more than embarrassed that she had behaved like that. She quickly knelt down on the floor and started to collect all the scattered pieces of paper. "This is all my fault, it's just I forgot my bag and Dave let me up …only he never told me anyone was working late so when I heard a noise in your office I started to freak out" Joey looked at her a small smile on his lips at her babbling. "So then when you opened the office door like that I…"

"Screamed" Joey finished her sentence starting to laugh at the situation "God Lauren, do you know how much you scared me?"

Lauren sat there wide eyed as she looked at him. He was hysterically laughing….

"Umm" she stammered "Sorry" She meekly whispered trying her hardest to not notice the fact that Joey was wearing glasses. Yes glasses. She hadn't seen him in glasses before. And he looked so hot in them.

When Joey was finally able to stop his laughter he knelt down on the floor to help her. "Don't worry about it" He smiled, still finding the whole situation amusing. His hand gently grazed hers sending sparks coursing through her body "I only have to re-organise all these files by tomorrow, it's no biggie" He teased, dragging out the only.

She looked different he thought, as he finally took the time to look at her. She wasn't in her work clothes which he thought always looked great on her and she wasn't in her clubbing clothes that he had the pleasure of seeing her wear just over a month ago either. No, she was wearing a simple pair of dark skinny jeans, a patterned top and a leather jacket and she looked even better than normal, if that was at all possible.

"I really am sorry Joey. I'll help sort them" she promised "I know it was really stupid of me to scare you like that, and believe me I didn't do it intentionally, but I will do anything for you not to sack me…this job is really good, like the best thing that's happened to me in a long time and if I do get fired then"

She was cut off by Joeys voice "I'm not going to fire you Lauren, Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Oh well umm, I just figured since I…you know…scared you and made you drop all the files you have worked so hard on all night…I thought you would be mad at me"

"Lauren" Joey smiled standing up from the ground and extending an arm out for her to take "Does me laughing give you the impression I want to fire you?" He asked…the most gorgeous grin on his face.

"No but"

"Look, please don't worry about it okay? It is not going to take long to go through them, and if you help, like you just so generously offered to do so, it's going to take even less time… I may even be really nice and buy you dinner…what do you say?"

That's it for tonight, enjoy guys...