The Advances of One, The Love of Another {Elaine Markinson / Reader}

03

As the month of March passes and the world breaks into April, the post-winter air begins to calm into a soft chill that doesn't require a multitude of layers for warmth. I enter my office, a coffee in hand, desperate to remove my coat due to the heat. It's not hot hot, but it's certainly not cold.

The morning sunlight streams through the window, causing me to squint my eyes. I consider pulling my sunglasses down off my head but don't. Placing my coffee on my desk, I remove my coat, throwing it over one of the chairs in the office. As I open my laptop, my phone rings. I answer it as I walk to the door, closing it softly.

"Hey, Rach." I say with a smile.

"Hey, what are you up to this weekend? Brock and I are thinking about changing our flight home from Toronto so we can visit you if you're free." she tells. I smile, joy flooding through me at the thought of seeing Rachael and her husband after a month apart.

"I'm free this weekend. I'd love to see you guys. I have a spare room if you need it." I reply. Rachael begins discussing with her husband and I hear him eagerly agree.

"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to intrude, though." I smile. Rachael has always been the most considerate of the friend group.

"Perfectly sure. What day are you planning on flying into Chicago?" I question, opening the calendar on my laptop.

"This Friday. We're flying into Toronto this evening and we have the game on Wednesday night, we're seeing Brock's school friends on thursday and flying out at around noon on Friday." she explains. I nod, then there's a knock at the door.

"Alright, sounds great. Do you want me to grab you guys from the airport?" I ask. The door opens and I glance up, my eyes meeting Elaine's. I smile, as does she.

"You won't have to leave work early, will you?" she asks. I chuckle.

"I will, but it'll only be like an hour early. I'm sure my bosses won't mind." I answer. Elaine tilts her head in confusion. "Hold on, Rach, I'll be back."

Elaine closes the door behind her. "Your bosses won't mind what, Miss Sinclair?" she asks, sitting in front of me. "One of my best friends is flying into Chicago on Friday at around one or two and will need collecting from the airport." I explain. Elaine nods. "Oh, sure. Go ahead." she responds. I smile, lifting my phone to my ear again.

"You'll need to flick me a text or call me when you land." I tell Rachael.

"Yeah, of course. You're amazing." she tells. I grin.

"I know. I have to go, I love you, Rach." I say. "Alright, Y/n, bye. I love you too."

I place my phone on the desk beside me and turn my attention to the woman across from me. "How was your weekend?" Elaine questions. I nod slowly. "Good. Boring. Yours?" I respond. Elaine nods. "Sounds just like mine." I smile. "I was wondering if you wanted to grab brunch with me once Richard finally arrives, just you and I. We've not gone out just us yet, and I'd like to spend time with just you." Elaine tells. I sip my coffee, and an unexpected warmth that isn't the piping hot liquid washes through me. "Oh, sure, yeah. Sounds great." I answer. She nods and stands. "Good. I'll come back once Richard arrives."

Within ten minutes, Elaine and I are in her car, on our way to grab brunch. We eat, we chat, we laugh. "How do you feel you've settled into the company?" Elaine questions, sipping her coffee. I nod. "Good, yeah. It was almost everything I expected." I answer. Her head tilts to the side. "How so?" I look away for a second before meeting her gaze again. "Richard is a friend, as you know, so naturally I felt that'd take off some of the pressure of starting somewhere new, especially with it being in a whole new city." I start. "Country, even." she chimes in. I chuckle. "Yes, a new country. With him being there it definitely helped take the pressure off, although I feel as though you being who you are helped more than he did."

She frowns slightly. "You're organized and onto it. I like that in a workplace and a boss. The structure is nice. I always know what I'm doing and when it needs to be done. There's no pissing about, excuse my language." She smiles. "Oh, please, you should hear my language at work." I smile again. "You know what you're doing and it's reassuring." I finish. She nods. "Well, I'm glad."

The remainder of the day passes at a comfortable pace, but as for the rest of the week up until Friday, it passed painfully slow.

Friday afternoon, as I'm walking back to my office with my now-full water bottle, my phone rings. I pull it from my pocket and answer it.

"Hey, Rach." I say, warmly.

"Not quite, it's Brock." he says with a chuckle. I smile.

"Oh hey. How're you?" I question, entering my office.

"Good, How're you?" he asks in return.

"Excited to see you guys. Have you landed in Chicago?"

"Yeah, we're getting our luggage." he answers. I grab my handbag from my desk and place my laptop inside.

"Alright, I'll come and get you guys."

"Awesome, see you soon."

"Yip, bye."

I push my phone into my pocket as I chug down a good fraction of my water before grabbing my bag and heading for the airport. As I reach the ground floor of the building, about to sign out, Richard and Elaine return from a meeting. "Where are you off to?" Richard questions. "To the airport." Elaine replies, on her phone. He frowns at her as if to say she's lying. "Y/n?" he asks. I look up at him as I finish clocking out. "To the airport." I answer. Elaine lifts her phone to her ear, rolling her eyes. I smile. She waves goodbye, to which I return with a wave of my own.

"Are you leaving Chicago?" Richard enquires, stopping in front of me. I shake my head. "No, I'm going to collect my best friend." I answer. He nods slowly. "I'll see you on Monday." I tell, making my way towards the door. "Are you coming back?" he calls. I turn to face him, my eyes meeting Elaine who appears to be waiting for him. "Not today, no. That's why I said I'll see you on Monday." I answer. A small smirk appears on Elaine's face as Richard checks his watch. "Right."

As I climb out of my car, I hear a familiar voice shout my name. My eyes instantly land on the owner of said voice. "Rachael!" I exclaim, my body flooding with excitement. She runs towards me, diving into my arms. Had I not still been near my car, the pair of us would've tumbled to the ground. "I've missed you so much." she says, holding me tightly. I grin, my eyes squeezed closed.

Her husband, Brock, approach us, dragging two suitcases. Rachael pulls away and I step forward, wrapping my arms around Brock. "How was the flight?" I question, pulling away. "Average." Rachael replies. "Crying babies." Brock adds. I laugh. Rach shoves me. "Hey, come on now. Who's housing you for the next two nights?" I tease. She bites her lip, smiling. "I'm actually so fucking excited to be here." she says, her voice quiet as a family walks past. Brock's eyes follow them. "Someone has baby fever." I whisper to Rachael, making my way to open the boot of my car. She slaps my arm as I pass.

The three of us climb into the car, Brock sitting in the back. "You alright back there?" Rachael asks, a grin that I'm starting to think is permanent on her face. "Perfect." Brock replies. I chuckle and start the car. 'Style' by Taylor Swift starts playing as my phone reconnects to the bluetooth stereo. "Oh my god, it's our song!" Rachael exclaims, turning up the volume. Her and I sing the whole way to my place, Brock recording us and taking photos.

Later in the evening, as the three of us are sitting in the living room, Rachael turns to me. "So, have you fallen in love with this Elaine chick yet?" she asks. My jaw drops. "What do you mean 'yet'! You were on my side of me not falling in love before." I reply. She shrugs. "Changed my mind. So, have you?" I shake my head, portraying false disappointment. "No, and I'm not going to." She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, right."

~

A.N: It's finally the school holidays, thank God. I'll try get more out xoxo