𝑶𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆

𝐓𝐰𝐨

Alycia felt irrationally nervous for work today. She found herself putting in extra effort in her appearance— perfume behind her ears and her on wrists. A few loose, seductive strands pulled from her bun. An extra button left open. Her skirt hiked up an extra few centimeters.

She felt silly for thinking it would make a difference. He probably regrets last night anyway. The only reason he was so friendly with her was the alcohol. She was sure of it.

Lucius showed up to work some minutes earlier than usual. He had placed Alycia's workload on her desk and lingered in her office space for a few moments before he sat at his own desk. He smoothed his shirt down and double checked that his hair was in place. It was.

It always was.

When Alycia appeared on time, Lucius acted casual as usual. He greeted her like it was any other day and Alycia went straight to work.

-Polish the cabinets.

-Dust flat surfaces.

-Sort through expired paper work.

-Organize my book shelf.

Organize my book shelf.

She just did that yesterday. Unless Lucius made a mess of his books in the short time he's been here this morning, there was no point.

Alycia checked anyway and much to her dismay, the books were even messier and disorganized than they were yesterday before she fixed them up.

He had to have done this on purpose, just to get her into his space. She could feel his eyes on her as she reorganized his books, but he didn't say anything.

The work day was uneventful, and Alycia couldn't help the disappointment that came with it. She didn't quite know what she expected, but she hoped they'd at least talk.

The next day was boring as well. No conversations between the two of them. Just a mere greeting at the beginning of the day and a farewell at the end.

When her payday came, Alycia noticed a sack full of money that looked to be a bit bigger than what she was used to. When she counted the amount she had, there were fifty extra galleons than what she should have gotten.

She wasn't sure whether it was a mistake or not, and was torn between not saying anything or keeping it. Fortunately, her respect for Lucius was greater than just pocketing the money without asking about it.

"Are you busy at the moment, Mr. Malfoy?" Alycia shyly asked as she noticed his nose buried inside of a book.

"A bit. Is something wrong?"

"Not quite— you gave me fifty more galleons than usual this week." She explained.

"I'm aware." Was all he said, returning his focus to his book.

She was confused about the reasoning. She hadn't worked more hours than usual or done anything special to deserve the extra pay.

"I thought maybe you had made a mistake... I don't understand why I got a higher pay this week."

"I'm very thorough with my money, Miss Delaney. I don't make mistakes. You got a pay raise because I felt you deserve it."