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Of Corporate Scandals

Chapter 17. Rules of the Game

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Rule 1. No pet names

It's a really nice feeling to wake up in the morning perfectly warm and comfortable and buried in downy pillows. It's almost up there with the feeling of knowing you don't have to get up yet. And, since Annabeth managed to snag both of these feelings on this particular day, she had to admit it was a pretty damn good morning.

She rolled over onto her other side and came face to face with a warm, bare chest. The chest just so happened to be very attractive…and, as her eyes trailed up, was attached to a neck, which was attached to a head, and the head just so happened to have the equally (if not more) attractive face of Percy Jackson. Annabeth drank the sight in front of her, the golden light of late morning on his tan skin, his chiseled jaw, his thick, dark curls against the pillows, his expression soft in his slumber.

Annabeth buried her face in his neck, breathing in the clean, ocean scent of his soap. She felt drunk off of him.

She looked up at his sleeping face being slowly roused from slumber as his arm tightened around her. She found it quite endearing (not to mention very cute) when he dopily blinked open his eyes and grinned upon seeing her. "'Morning," he mumbled, stretching.

"You drool in your sleep."

"And what about it, Wise Girl," Percy yawned and kissed her nose.

Annabeth smiled, wrinkling her nose, "Wise Girl?"

Percy chuckled, shrugging, "Just trying it out pet names. Smart ass doesn't really work."

Annabeth ran her hand up his arm, "I think we could do without pet names. Right, Seaweed Brain?"

"Seaweed Brain?"

"See?"

"Actually, I changed my mind. Smart ass is much more fitting than Wise Girl."

"Not fair. I'm not always a smart ass."

"Your snide comments beg to differ."

"Point taken," Annabeth snuggled into his chest.

Percy stretched, "What time is it?"

Annabeth squinted at the light streaming in through the curtains, "Late."

"It's before noon so that counts as morning for me. Besides, it's Saturday," Percy squeezed her to him once more before releasing her from his grasp and sitting up.

Annabeth grabbed his arm, tugging him back down. "No," she whined, "You're so warm, stay."

Percy chuckled, laying back down on top of her, resting his head on her stomach, gazing up at her, "My t-shirt looks good on you, you know."

"Hm, really. I doubt my pants will ever look good on you."

"Sorry. Skinny jeans aren't really my thing."

"Oh well, this whole shirtless and boxers thing is working out just fine for me."

"…Smart ass."

Rule 2. Work comes first

"Annabeth, we have my 2 'o clock whenever you're ready," Percy said, stopping by the break room.

Annabeth nodded, standing up from the table she sat at with Mary-Sue and Hazel, "Be right there, Mr. Jackson."

"Mary-Sue, please cover Annabeth's phone so we're not interrupted for the next hour. This is a conference call with our partners in Europe."

"Of course, sir," Mary-Sue said, sipping her coffee.

Annabeth grabbed her notepad, following Percy into his office. She shut his frosted glass door and locked it with a click.

Percy immediately shoved her against his desk, kissing her deeply.

Annabeth raked her hands through his hair, "This call is an hour, huh?"

"I have a feeling this call is going to run over too. You've been driving me crazy all day," Percy's lips latched onto her neck.

"They're going to get suspicious," Annabeth replied, breathless, "This is the third conference call this week." She stifled a groan Percy's hands inched up her pencil skirt.

"Maybe my secretary should do a better job of scheduling my calendar."

"Hello?" Percy said, answering the buzzer from the doorman.

"Good evening, Mr. Jackson. Miss Chase is here."

"Send her up please, thank you."

A moment later, Annabeth stormed into Percy's apartment, grumbling profanities, as he held the door open for her.

"Uh oh," Percy said, locking the front door and following her to the living room, "Bad day at school?"

Annabeth angrily tossed her backpack onto the couch and stood in front of her boyfriend. "Astronomically bad," she huffed.

Percy picked up the remote, shutting off the playoff game he was watching, "What happened?"

"Well, first off, the administration at Columbia is bureaucratic piece of shit," Annabeth launched into a rant of how her school was corrupt and her professors were half-wits, pacing and gesticulating widely.

Percy tried not to grin as she ranted, keeping a semi-straight face and nodding at all the right places. She was just so cute when she was angry. He loved how her eyes got all stormy and how she was so passionate about things. He loved the way she used her hands way too much when she talked.

Annabeth angrily blew a piece of stray hair out of her face, finally crossing her arms as she stood in front of him, "Can you just believe that?"

Percy heaved himself off of the couch and stood in front of her, "Tell you what. I am going to make you feel better."

"Nothing could make me feel better, and I have a stupid exam tomorrow—"

Percy put his finger to her lips, "Shh. Trust me and sit." He put his hands on her shoulders and ushered her to sit on the couch, "Now close your eyes."

Annabeth did so, though still with her arms crossed and jaw tight.

Percy walked around towards the back of the couch and started to massage her shoulders and neck, "Relax. Your professors are stupid, but you don't have to deal with them right now."

He felt her tension slowly leave her body as her shoulders relaxed and her arms fell to her side. Percy's hands moved up her neck, massaging her scalp, "Stop clenching your jaw."

"Mm," Annabeth murmured, "This is nice. It reminds me of the time I gave you a massage in the middle of work after jogging. Remember that?"

"Yes, I do." Percy actually remembered that day very well — he remembered being in agony, thinking he'd never get to be with Annabeth.

With her eyes still close, a frown crept back onto her face, "But that also reminds me that I have a meeting with the dean tomorrow to give her a piece of my mind"

Percy sighed, dropping his hands, "Well this is clearly not working."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, "But—"

"Nope, I'm trying a different method to help you relax."

Percy strode into the kitchen, she could hear him digging around the drawers.

"What are you doing?"

He returned and dumped a pile of pamphlets on the coffee table, "Take out menus for every restaurant in a 5-block radius. We're going to eat your stress away."

Annabeth beamed up at him, planting a kiss on his cheek, "You're perfect, you know that right?"

Rule 3. Work hard, play hard

"Okay, Percy, next question," Annabeth said, motioning to the exam booklet hanging loosely in her boyfriend's hand.

Percy's living room was basically trashed. The leather couch was covered in papers and notes, the coffee table was filled with textbooks and coffee rings littered the glass, and the floor was an obstacle course snaked with Annabeth's computer chords and blueprints. She sat on the floor with her back against the couch, buried under her work as she furiously typed away.

"That was the last one,'' Percy dropped the booklet on the coffee table, "Can we take a break now?"

"No."

"I don't understand how you're doing this. How can you be studying and working at the same time? I can barely eat and watch TV at the same time."

"It's called multitasking, Seaweed Brain," She answered, flatly. The nickname had stuck.

Percy sighed, dropping down to the floor beside her.

"Next question, please."

Percy mumbled, "Yeah, in a minute." His finger traced patterns on her arm, raising goosebumps all over her skin.

Annabeth's typing faltered. "Percy."

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing," she warned.

"Oh, nothing," He mumbled next to her ear, his nose grazing the column of her neck. He smirked, watching her fingers flex on her keyboard.

"Are you really trying to seduce me right now?"

"Of course not," Percy brushed her hair away from her neck.

"Good," Annabeth said, breathless, "Because it's not working." She tilted her head towards him.

Percy brushed her lips, before abruptly pulling away. "Back to your flash cards?"

Annabeth groaned, closing her laptop, "Fine. You win." She straddled his lap, tossing her flashcards aside.

Annabeth cracked an egg in the frying pan with a sizzle. Besides waking up to Percy, her next favorite thing about staying over was getting to cook in his massive kitchen in the morning.

She'd felt strange that morning. With Percy in the shower, she finally had time to think. She often felt so caught up in him and their relationship whenever he was around. The strange feeling had actually been with her for quite a while. It was then, as she flipped the omelet, that Annabeth realized what she was feeling was the absence of anxiety.

Work was great, school was manageable, and she had the best guy in the world. Was this happiness?

Annabeth feared, though, that life was a little too cruel for this to all be real.

She heard the footsteps behind her before she felt his arms snake around her waist. Percy's wet hair tickled her cheek as he kissed her neck.

"Smells good," He said.

Annabeth turned around wrapping her arms around his neck, "Thanks."

"So I was thinking, after your night class tomorrow, we could try that new restaurant downtown that you were talking about?"

"Sounds perfect."

It was all perfect.

A/N: (Revised on 5/11/22) looking back, I should've ended this fic here LOL