BIRDIE | NH |

ONE

Niall

I've always loved the smell of fresh cut grass.

When I was a teenager it usually meant that someone was about to hand me some cash for taking care of their lawn.

Now?

Now it reminds me of how lucky I am to spend my days at my favorite place on earth and call it work.

To call it mine.

Standing with a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, I can't help but smile as my eyes look out over the perfectly manicured rolling green hills.

"Ready for another day?"

Rory Barnes steps up next to me with his own cup of coffee. When we met years ago, neither one of us expected that one day we would get to work side by side. Hiring him as a general manager has remained one of the best business decisions that I've ever made.

"You know I'm always ready." I laugh. "Anything interesting going on today?"

Rory blows out a breath, the steam from his coffee disappearing. "Not that I know of. I've got a few final interviews so that we can hire a new marketing executive since Rhonda retired."

"Rhonda will be missed. How many people are you down to?" Turning to face him, I drain the rest of my coffee and cross my arms over my chest.

"There's four." Keeping his gaze over the vast expanse before us, he smiles. "I think I know who would be the best fit, but I wanted to give everyone the same amount of interviews to try and steal my attention like they have."

"Whoever you think is best works for me." My watch vibrates on my wrist with a reminder of a meeting in ten minutes. "I've got to get to my office, but just let me know how it goes, okay?"

Lifting his coffee cup in my direction, he smiles. "Have fun with that."

Laughter mixes between the two of us as I walk away, headed through the oversized glass doors and through the open floor plan of the clubhouse. It's been four years and every single day that I get to walk on this property it still blows my mind.

As soon as I step into my office, my eyes travel across the awards and trophies and all the way up to the framed green jacket hanging above from my desk.

My office is a highlight of the career that I once had— the one that felt like it was cut short after a few too many surgeries, but also the career that gave me everything that I have now.

Sitting down in the plush chair and reaching for the tortoise shell glasses that sit on my desk, they rest on the bridge of my nose as I pull up the reports and grab a notebook and a pen from the 'best boss' mug that one of my employees bought me.

Meetings always seem to be one of my least favorite places to be, but when you own and run a prestigious business it only comes with the territory. So I put on a smile as the screen on my computer fills with other faces, thankful that this is one meeting I don't have to travel for.

Not that I don't like to travel, but sometimes it's nice to be where you are.

It's nice to be home.

________

If there's one thing I hate, it's the grocery store.

At least after work.

Everyone rushes around trying to grab things without paying any attention to their surroundings.

It feels like an actual nightmare every single time.

Usually I make a point to come early on a Sunday morning or just have my groceries delivered, but sometimes there is something I need that just isn't already in my pantry.

Like ice cream.

That's the real reason that brought me here yet the basket hanging from my arm is full of other odds and ends.

Mostly things that I definitely don't need.

Muscle memory takes me closer to the frozen foods, specifically the ice cream I'm desperate for, only when I turn to go down the aisle my body collides with another sending the basket in my arm and theirs crashing to the ground.

In a matter of seconds, the lighter tan color of my pants seems unrecognizable as dark soda explodes at my feet and covers the fabric along with the pickle juice from a broken glass jar.

So not only do I have soda dripping down into my shoes, I now smell like I've showered in pickle juice.

"Oh my fucking god, I am so sorry!" The dark haired woman drops to her knees to start trying to pick up the pieces of glass that she can. "I can pay you for new pants— Or to have those cleaned."

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I crouch down and reach for her hand before pulling it away from the broken glass so that she doesn't cut herself, an odd sensation zipping through me at the touch. "Don't worry about it. Accidents happen."

"No, really." Rich, chocolate brown hair falls down into her face only for her to push it back behind her ear. "I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to not pay attention to where I was going because I was in a hurry."

She lists off the exact reason why I didn't want to come to the grocery store tonight, yet for whatever reason, I can't find it in me to be annoyed.

Quite the opposite actually.

"It's not the end of the world, I promise." Grabbing the things from my basket and placing them back inside, I stay crouched in front of her. "Are you alright? Hurt anywhere?"

"No, everything is fine." With a small smile, she follows my actions by placing her things in her basket minus the broken pickle jar and the soda that has soaked into my pants. "I'm not hurt. Well, besides my pride at least."

"You sure?" I ask as we both stand up. "I'd hate for you to be hurt."

Looking from her left to her right, she takes a step back from me with a tight smile on her full pink lips. "Yeah, I'm sure. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." I smile. "Besides my pants."

"Really, I can pay for—"

Waving my hand in front of my face, I give her another smile of my own. "It's not a big deal."

"Okay." Her dark chocolate gaze drops down to her basket full of snacks and a couple pints of ice cream. "Have a good night."

With that she turns on her heel and makes her way out of the aisle faster than I may have seen anyone move before, leaving me standing alone at the scene of the crime.

Alone and covered in soda.

And smelling like pickles.

__________

You know I had to update during the Niall show I'm currently standing at...

I've been working on this story since FEBRUARY!!! So I'm glad to finally put it out there.

Regular updates start in September so I hope you're ready 😘

twitter @ niallsgoldhoop

-Alex
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