Something To Fight For (Rafe Adler X Reader)

Chapter Two

That was harder than it had seemed at first glance, and you were starting to understand why he went through staff so quickly.

The first morning, you'd met him for breakfast and after a grunt of acknowledgement, he'd not spoken a word to you. You'd cleaned up and then accompanied him to his office, where he'd quickly dismissed you, and told you he'd call if he needed you. After a few hours, you figured he'd not be ringing you, so you'd decided to explore your new home.

The pool was beautiful and huge, and beside it was an outbuilding with a shiny new gym in it. You couldn't help the slight excitement at the sight. The gym had once been your friend, but your ex hadn't liked you spending time where other men could see you, so you'd not been in so long. But he's gone now, I can do as I please, you thought to yourself.

The peace of the estate was welcoming to you, and you found yourself enjoying it, even though your new boss wasn't too welcoming. You'd give him time, and even if he didn't come around to your presence, the pay was too good for you to care. You could deal with the glares and sighing. You'd worked enough waitress jobs that anything less than an ass grab was a bonus. Although, you might not object if Rafe wanted to grab your ass... Your boss or not, you couldn't deny that he was very attractive. Not that he had any interest in you. He barely even glanced at you when you were in the room together. Still, after your last shit-show of a relationship, you were happy to fly under the radar.

Dean checked in with you most days, and you'd taken up running with him in the mornings, after Rafe had his breakfast and was getting dressed, you two ran along the country roads that surrounded the estate. At first you'd been embarrassingly unfit, but almost a month in, you were beginning to hold your own, even finding a friend in Dean. You'd found a happy, if not slightly awkward routine, and you were starting to think you could do it. That was when you decided to ruin it all by opening your big mouth.

You joined Dean and Mr Adler for food one night, chatting away to Dean while your boss made a point to ignore your presence.

Eventually Dean turned to Mr Adler and began discussing where he was going on leave, off to climb a mountain somewhere. You hadn't been paying much attention until you looked up and saw Mr Adler staring down at his plate, barely saying anything.

You shared a look with Dean and he took a deep breath and continued.

"You know you're always welcome to come with me, it'll be just like the good old days," he laughed, but Mr Adler's head shot up, his eyes alight with anger.

"Oh yes, just like the good old days, except, I'll be waiting at the bottom because my chair would tip if I went over slightly uneven terrain," he snapped.

Dean shrank back in his chair, deciding to stay quiet, but you jumped in, hating the tension in the room.

"I read your doctors report you know?" All eyes in the room turned to you, but you carried on, trying not to stumble over your words. "They say that you'd be able to walk again some day if you tried... And I've seen the equipment in the gym, so why don't you-"

"Careful," he growled across the dinner table, the first words he'd bothered to speak directly to you all evening.

Closing your mouth, you sat back with a sigh, picking at your food. You could feel both of them staring at you, but you didn't raise your eyes for fear of losing your temper, and maybe your job.

The longer you stewed though, the angrier you got, so after a few tense moments, you slammed your fork down loud enough that Mr Adler jumped. His eyes slid to yours as you got to your feet, glaring back down at him. "You know what? No! No I won't be careful, and no I'm not going to be told to shut up by you anymore, merely for trying to help! I've been here over a month now, and we still haven't even had a normal conversation. So you can fire me for all I care, but right now, you're going to damn well listen to me..."