A/N: Hi friends! Sorry it's been awhile but I've had lots of papers and tests the past few weeks and I've been picking up a few extra shifts at work. I'll try and go back to posting regularly!
Here's the next chapter hope you enjoy!
Chapter Eleven.
"How was your weekend?" Christina asks as I walk into the office. Which I find odd she doesn't usually have personal conversations with me.
"It was okay… I spent most of mine throwing up." I say.
"There is something going around." She says.
"Well I hope you don't catch it." I say.
She smiles halfheartedly.
"Did you do anything fun this weekend?" I ask.
"Not really, although John and I went into the city for the day."
"John that's your boyfriend, right?" I ask. I remember Gregg saying she had a boyfriend and I think that was his name.
She smiles and nods.
"Yes and we never go into the city." She smiles.
"Finnick and I don't go that much either." I say.
She clears her throat as if I've somehow offend her. She usually does this when I get more personal. She doesn't like when I talk about Finnick.
"Well there's that." She smiles and reaches for sticky pads. "Messages for you." She says.
"I just got here and I have messages already?" I don't know why I sound surprised it happens more often than not, but that usually only happens when a book is about to come out.
She shrugs.
"They said they wanted a Mrs. Odair."
I nod.
"Thanks." I say and head to my office.
I look at the messages, a couple are sales reps and others are just old clients with basic questions Christina should've been able to answer.
I can tell most of my day will be filling out paper work. I didn't feel the best on Friday so I mostly sat at my desk and made mental notes on things to do. I was going to make up for it on the weekend but then I got sick and felt sad.
I still feel sad. Although it's kind of worse because I know Finnick can tell. He can tell I'm sad because I'm not pregnant.
I sigh and go back to work. I end up leaving early because there was a small fire because all the wiring got messed up. I end up finishing my day at home.
"Hey." Finnick says and kisses me on the cheek as he walks inside.
"Hi."
"How was work?" He asks.
"Interesting their was a fire so I got to come home early." I say and Finnick nods.
"Fire?" Finnick says worried.
"It was small, it had to do with wires or something." I say.
"Well that building isn't exactly new." Finnick says with a smile.
"I know." I say and start playing with the necklace Finnick gave me that honors our daughter. "The fire department was looking over things. Gregg suggested that the office should move."
"Move? Where?" Finnick asks worried and intrigued.
"The city, but nothing was officially decided." I say.
Finnick and I might move depending on where the company goes it if it moves at all. Finnick and I have discussed this before. Finnick wanted to move when I was pregnant but I didn't want to. If the company moves, it would make more sense for Finnick and I to find a bigger apartment or even a house to live in. We shouldn't live in an apartment for the rest of our lives.
Finnick nods.
"Will you want to move then?" He asks.
"Maybe." I say. "We can figure it out later."
"Possibly. I've wanted to move for awhile." He smiles.
"I know." I say.
Finnick goes to the kitchen and picks up the pile of mail.
"Oh did you see this?" Finnick says searching through the mail.
"What?" I ask thinking he is going to pull out some listings for houses.
Finnick has always been secretive when it comes to things like this.
It isn't listings though. I smile when I see what it is.
"They finally set a date then?" I ask looking at Katniss and Peeta's wedding invitation. They've been dating on and off since college. Finnick and I knew when they got engaged. They have been for over a year.
"I have now." I say.
"Yeah in a couple of months they will be old and married like us." Finnick smiles.
I roll my eyes.
"Yes, I guess." I say.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
I answer my phone quickly.
"Hello?" I say.
"Hello, Annie did you get yours yet?" Johanna asks.
"The wedding invite?" I ask.
"I'll take that as a yes." She says
"Well was that a rhetorical question? You know Finnick is a groomsman." I say.
"I guess. I wonder if I'll walk with him down the aisle." She teases.
"If you're the maid of honor then it will probably be one of Peeta's brothers." I say.
"True. People getting married and having babies makes me feel old." She says. I can tell she is kidding. Johanna isn't the biggest believer in marriage. She never will get married, she doesn't understand why you would want to latch yourself to someone forever.
"I guess. I don't really feel old." I say.
"Yeah well you're different." She says.
"Thanks." I say sarcastically.
"You know there might not even be a wedding. Katniss keeps changing her mind." Johanna adds.
"I've heard whispers but, she loves Peeta." I say confused.
"Sometimes she's not so sure she wants to get married." Johanna says softly.
"I wonder why that is." I say.
Johanna sighs.
"I'm not convincing her." Johanna defends. "It's also the whole she doesn't want to have kids thing. Peeta wants kids. He just loves Katniss too much to say anything." Johanna says.
"Peeta loves Katniss so much that he'll do anything for her." I say.
"Well it's not the whole kid thing. Her sister did just die in a fiery car crash." She says.
I read about it in the paper. There was a three way car crash. Prim ,her sister, and another driver died. Prim's car caught fire and due to the gas it blew up. The only person who lived was a woman named Alma Coin. She was older than Prim and the other driver. Katniss was depressed and furious for so long. The accident happened last year. If Katniss does call off the wedding, a part of me doesn't blame her. She doesn't feel ready. I know that feeling.
"You can't really blame her for that." I say.
"Yeah but Peeta would probably be devastated. Especially since Katniss has broken up with him before."
I sigh.
"It wasn't like you and Finnick she's done it before." Johanna says.
"Maybe." I say.
"Speaking of you and Finnick, how are you?" She asks.
"We're fine, we are going apple picking this weekend." I say.
"Is that a married couple thing?" She asks.
"No it's a… it's a thing we do every year."
I like picking the apples and making pie or caramel apples or just eating a nice apple. Finnick and I have been doing this for as long as I can remember.
"You're both very cute and very boring at the same time." She says.
"Thanks." I say dryly.
"You sound so offended." She teases.
"Finnick and I also might be moving." I say.
"Why?" She asks. "Are you pregnant? Is that why you're getting a new place?" Johanna says. I can hear happiness in her voice.
"No. My bosses want to leave the current location because the building is older. They're also hiring more people." I say.
"Where would you move?" She asks.
"Just into the city or just right outside of it. I do want to live in a house eventually."
"You will." She says.
"I know or I hope I will." I say.
I have to go into work early today. Gregg and Conner called an early mandatory staff meeting. The last time they did one of these was when the company almost went under.
I can make an educated guess on what this is about. Gregg told me yesterday that they will be moving the location of the company. They already hired a realtor to look for the perfect and affordable place. They talked it over with me. I was fine with it. Howerver, it doesn't really matter what I think because they own the company and they get to chose what to do.
I could always find a new job but, I love the one I have now. Besides I would have to start at entry level and I've been with this company from the ground up.
I kiss Finnick's forehead before I leave. Even though he's still sleeping I want to believe he can still feel my love.
"I love you." I whisper and soon leave the apartment.
"Annie." Gregg says as I get into the office.
"I'm not late-"
"No, no we just wanted to make some decisions."
"You're not firing me are you?" I ask worried.
"No of course not Annie, you're the best." He says and I smile.
"As Conner and I said yesterday we will be moving the company. But because of certain aspects some things will be changing."
"Like?" I ask.
"The staff is growing and we may have to make some pay cuts."
"You're not firing me though." I say.
"No but almost everyone is going to be getting a small pay decrease." He says.
"That's all?" I say.
He nods.
"How little are we talking?" I ask as Conner walks into the room.
"Probably five percent. For everyone, including Gregg and myself." Conner says.
"So why are you just telling me this?" I ask.
"We're telling everyone just in different times in case they wish to make other arrangements." Conner says.
"I see." I say softly. "Well I don't plan on leaving any time soon." I say. "And I'm willing to move."
"We know you're dedicated. We just wanted to let you know everything. In case you make a big decision and find out you're going to be paid less." Conner says.
I nod.
"This is all for now until we notify the rest of the staff." Gregg says with a smile.
I nod and head to my office. The rest of the day is more of a blur. I can tell some people are going to quit. I'm starting to think the 'original' staff got a smaller pay cut than the rest. It isn't fair but, you can never make everyone happy. Gregg and Conner must have expected this as well.
I pack up my stuff to leave and I see Christina in the front office.
"Crazy day right?" She asks.
I nod.
"Yeah." I say.
"So are you going to stay?" She asks.
"Yes. I love it here." I say.
"Yeah well so do I, but I also want to be able to pay my rent."
"So you're quitting?" I ask.
"Well I could get a receptionist job anywhere but, I do like this place. I could always get a second job or a roommate." She says.
"Couldn't you live with John?" I ask.
"Living with someone you need to pay rent with is weird unless you are married. I need this job though." She says and looks at me strangely. "Do you think Finnick will be okay with it, if you move?" She asks.
"Finnick has wanted to move for awhile." I say.
"That's nice." She says and smiles strangely.
I nod
"Goodnight Christina." I say in a strange tone and leave.
There's something about that girl that is creepily familiar.
"Hello Annie." Finnick says as I walk in the house.
"Hey."
"So is the company moving?" He asks.
"Yeah. They're also giving out pay cuts." Finnick raises his eyebrows concerned. "It was only a little hit. We'll be okay." I say.
Finnick nods.
"So if we move I think we should get a house." He says. I shouldn't be surprised he is just diving right into this conversation.
"A house? Finnick-"
"We'll need a bigger place to live eventually. Especially when we have a kid." Finnick says.
I nod.
"I guess. We can talk about it later." I say softly.
"I know. I just don't want us to get a smaller place to live in when we might just need to move again."
"I know." I say.
"What's wrong? You sound weird." He says concerned.
"That's not a nice thing to say." I say.
"Ann what's wrong?"
"I think we should just wait to look for a good house that has to do with kids because we don't have one." I say.
"But we will Annie." He says and kisses my cheek.
I nod.
"I hope so." I whisper and hug him.
He kisses the top of my head.
"Is anyone leaving that you hate?" He asks changing the subject. He knows it's upsetting me.
"To soon to tell but Christina is dead set on staying even though she might need to get a second job." I say.
"Well she wants something to do with publishing right?"
"I guess but, I got a weird feeling that she was staying for another reason." I say.
"Why else would she stay?" He asks.
"I dunno. She apparently likes older men maybe she wants to go after Conner. Even though she has a boyfriend." I say.
"Who knew you could be somewhat cynical." He says with a smile.
"There's just something about her." I say.
"It's because she doesn't like you." Finnick kisses my cheek. "And most people do." He smiles.
"I don't think I have that much of an ego Finnick Odair."
He shrugs.
"It could explain it."
I roll my eyes.
"Of course it could." I say sarcastically.