R-E-B-O-R-N [Sammy X Reader]

Chapter 4

--Previously--

"I appreciate the offer, but I'd like to speak to Joey myself, (Y/N)." Sammy huffed, crossed his arms. "It's not your business and I wouldn't want to be a hassle. Just let Joey know that I'd like to arrange a meeting with him soon."
After he said that, I placed the paper on the piano and looked back at him.

"Now," Sammy stood up from his chair, put on his coat and reached into his pockets, "I'm going out for a cigar."
______________________________

I listened to Sammy that night, and straight after, scheduled a meeting with him and Joey. The meeting would be held the following morning and according to both Sammy and Joey, I'd have to wait outside the office. This bewildered me since I never usually have to wait outside of meetings, despite how personal they are to Mr Drew - this was the first time I was ever asked to leave the room. How peculiar...

By now, most people had made their leave except for me, Sammy, Susie, Wally, Thomas and of course, Mr Drew. I had just about everything arranged ahead of time, this gave me more time tomorrow morning to relax since we never had any time to do that. I didn't exactly have to work tonight, but I just wanted things to be organised by tomorrow. Mr Drew was certainly impressed - he liked that quality of mine. Because of this, he even allowed me to do whatever I felt like in the morning (with the exceptions of following the rules and staying in the workplace). From Joey Drew, this was a blessing! I felt so joyous that I even left the workplace in a good mood, or at least I was going to.

Before I made my leave, I heard Wally yell 'goodbye' from behind me. I turned around and smiled politely before turning to the door once again. Still, something was holding me back; something was keeping me from opening that door. Then the thought of what Sammy had said popped back into my head from earlier:
"I bet he's kept you working all night at some point just like the rest of us."
I looked back at Wally - he's observant and oftentimes, very nosy. If there's anyone to ask about things like this, it's bound to be him. After all, Sammy never goes into detail about things while Wally overshares. I bet he even knows most of the secrets about this place!
I must've been staring at him for a while for him to look back at me, confused. To make myself not seem creepy, I spoke to him.
"Actually, Wally, mind if I ask you something?"
Wally smiled at me, followed by an eager nod.
"Do you ever work all night?"
"No, I'm only a janitor here--and sometimes a repairman. I'm not that important. But I do know a lot of people who have! Why'd ya ask?"
"I spoke to Sammy earlier, that's all."

Wally paused his sweeping to give me a little smirk. The flashing of his eyebrows told me all I needed to know.
Oh, I recognised that look...
"I have noticed you've been seeing Sammy a lot more lately~" He said, a smug grin on his face. I was entertained by this since I'd never felt that way about Sammy. I felt bad for him, yes; I wanted to be there for him, yes, but those are all qualities of a friend. So I shrugged, uninterested. It disappointed Wally quite a bit, he was always in for some drama in many departments.
"You can blame Joey for that." - It wasn't the first time I addressed the boss by his first name. In fact, everyone I knew around here did it when he wasn't there, hence why Wally didn't question it.
By now I realised we were going off topic.
"Anyway, how come I never knew about all of you basically having sleepovers here?"
"I dunno." Wally replied, scratching his head. "I mean, how couldn't you know? It's why a lot of people here are sleepin' on the job! It's one of the reasons people have quit just like Henry."
"Henry..." I tried to think of where I'd heard that name before. I do remember Joey mentioning him once or twice, speaking fondly of him actually. "Henry Stein?"
I was shocked to say the least. I had initially thought the reason he quit his job was because he simply lost interest - that's what I was told anyway. When I think about it now, it makes sense. It's out of the ordinary for people to just 'lose interest' in things right after doing them. Wally saw the intrigued look on my face, so he quieted down.
"Want me to show ya somethin'?" He asked, intentionally piquing my interest. Because of this, I nodded without hesitation. "Follow me." He winked. Putting away the rest of his equipment, he then dragged me all the way down to level P without even giving me a chance to walk properly. We were stumbling messes! 

In front of us was a barricaded entrance.

"I wasn't supposed to find this, but I did when I happened to be cleaning the place a few months back." Wally whispered, ducking under the poorly placed planks that were 'in our way' and leading me into the room. Everything in this place remained untouched, its dust-filled air and inky smell sent shivers down my spine. I don't like when places are left abandoned - I never liked the dark and quiet atmosphere! Ink was everywhere which gave off the unearthly scent, it covered all pipes in every corner. In the centre of the room was a table, an audio log placed on top. To me, this seemed to be something very old...
______________________________________

Only two weeks into this company and already it's gotten interesting. Joey is a man of ideas... And only ideas. 

When I agreed to start this whole thing with him I thought there'd be a little more give and take. Instead I give, and he takes. I haven't seen Linda for days now.

Still, someone has to make this happen. When in doubt, just keep drawing Henry.

On the plus side, I've got a new character I think people are going to love.
______________________________________

To me, this sounded like a cry for help the moment he recorded it. I could sense that Henry was itching to leave at that point, even when he'd not long started the job. I consider myself lucky for not going through what half of the employees (including Henry) go through; it's surprising considering I work by Joey's side all day long. 
What I wasn't happy about was the lies I had been told. I considered Joey an honest, truthful and charming man - I'm not so sure of that anymore. To think that what Henry had experienced: staying in this building almost all of the time, going as far as to even get homesick - was just a fraction of what this place had to offer was repulsive to me. I felt so angry that I even wanted to confront Joey about it.
I couldn't speak of it. I didn't want to do that to Wally. I trusted him like he trusted me; I believe we were quite friendly to each other. Getting him fired would forever make me feel guilty.

So like everyone else, I kept my mouth shut.
___________________________________

Word count: 1210 words

Amberzoeheart~