We Close Our Eyes

Chapter 2 - Hard at Work, Hardly Working

 Maxie slowly poured a cup of coffee in the office break room. It was the next morning, and he was incredibly tired. His daily speech was in five minutes, however, Maxie was not feeling up for it. As he slowly sulked back into his office, he made an announcement on the public announcement system:

"Good morning, everyone. The daily morning meeting is canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Please carry on with your duties as usual. Thank you."

He didn't particularly care for providing a reason, though it would be unusual to cancel the meeting. He hadn't missed a single meeting in over three years. Maxie sank back into his chair and drummed his fingers against his desk. Piles of paperwork surrounded him like a cocoon. He was very behind in his normal duties, and the pure exhaustion of last night was only hindering him further. Maxie slowly clacked away on his computer keyboard, writing up progress reports, performance reviews, and other mundane tasks. After the complications of work yesterday, he had to completely reroute Team Magma's plans, which would not be easy. With a long sigh, Maxie closed his eyes and leaned back for a stretch. What was intentionally a stretch turned into a break. Eventually, Maxie dozed off while slouched back in his chair. Moments later, a knock on his door alerted him back to consciousness.

"Maxie?"

It was Courtney, his right hand woman.

"Come in, come in..." Maxie uttered loudly, motioning towards the door.

Courtney trailed in with a look of slight concern. She analyzed Maxie's expression and clasped her hands together gently.

"Are you... okay? You... seem... off today..." She hummed in her usual demeanor.

"Err... yes, I'm fine. Just had a long night, is all. Do you need something?" Maxie replied, scratching the back of his neck in an anxious fashion.

"I just wanted... to check on you... is all! It's not like you... to cancel... the daily morning meeting."

"Well, thank you for the concern. I just need to finish signing off on these budget requests. I won't hold you here." Maxie awkwardly smiled, though Courtney could see right through him. She always did.

Courtney cocked her head to the side and stared into Maxie's eyes for a brief moment. She then smiled. "O...kay. I will... be going..."

She turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks as she reached the doorway.

"Oh, before I... forget. An Aqua member... wanted... to speak with you. He's waiting... down the hallway. Do you... want me... to let him in?"

Maxie shrugged. "I guess I don't have much of a choice if he's already here. You can tell him to come in."

"O...kay~," Courtney trailed off. The sound of clicking heels disappeared down the hallway, followed by distant chatter. A different pair of footsteps approached Maxie's office. Likely another grunt looking for a pay raise. Not today...

A rather loud knock on the door made Maxie jolt a little.

"Yes, come in..." Maxie announced.

To his surprise, it was not the ordinary Aqua grunt that Maxie was expecting. No, it was far different. Team Aqua's very own leader himself was peeking his head into the door with an awkward smile on his face.

"Hey, Max."

Maxie's eyes widened as he realized it was Archie. He stumbled to sit up in his chair and adjust his glasses. A heavy cloud of awkwardness filled the room.

"Hello, Archie."

Archie slowly trailed into the room, with one hand behind his back.

"You left so fast last night that I–"