Expelled and needing to transfer for his final year, Liam had known immediately where to go. It was the place that'd taken everything from him; that'd ruined him so absolutely it'd twisted his personality beyond recognition.
The place where he'd met...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Annabelle twirled a pen between her fingers, the papers spread across her desk in such a muddle of numbers and clauses that it was causing her to glitch. Her brain was blank in utter confusion. She leant over and politely knocked on the desk of her work neighbour.
ㅤ"Sorry, Charlotte. I don't understand what the hell I'm looking at."
ㅤHer desk neighbour crossed her arms as her chair creaked against her back, and she looked at what Annabelle was doing.
ㅤ"Oh, that. Right."
ㅤBefore Charlotte had a chance to explain, something else caught her gaze, and her eyes dramatically widened.
ㅤ"Holy shit." She stood suddenly, capturing the attention of the cubicle opposite.
ㅤ"Grace, he's here."
ㅤGrace's face appeared over the divider as quick as a meerkat. "No fucking way."
ㅤAnnabelle was new to the office. She'd only worked there a fortnight, and her desk neighbours often discussed matters she didn't yet understand.
ㅤ"What's going on?"
ㅤBoth Grace's and Charlotte's faces plumped with excited grins.
ㅤ"You haven't seen him before, have you, Annabelle?" Grace realised, somewhat predatory.
ㅤ"You're in for a real treat," Charlotte affirmed. "Go make some copies of this." She pushed some randomly assembled documents into Annabelle's face. "Go, quick. You'll understand soon enough."
ㅤAnnabelle hesitated, but received the papers and left her desk. She walked through the sea of employees, noticing a palpable excitement amongst the women of the office—even the men were looking up curiously, or rolling their eyes. The copier was near the director's office, and she always felt nervous walking past it.
ㅤShe'd only had a few interactions with the director, and each time she'd found him to be an oppressive presence. Although notable young for someone of his level (something that had initially pleased her to discover, believing he would be more down to earth), his eyes were cold and he'd never once smiled in meetings. He was a passionless man.
ㅤDespite this impression, no one in the office held any harsh complaints against him. He seemed respected enough in the lower rungs, even if he never joined them for drinks or coffee.
ㅤCharlotte startled, stumbling upon a police officer. The man was waiting by the director's door with a newspaper folded under one arm.
ㅤ"Can I help you?" she asked him, alert.
ㅤShe wondered if her boss had done something wrong.
ㅤThe officer smiled politely, dimples revealing themselves. She found herself becoming nervous for an entirely different reason.
ㅤ"I'm fine, thank you," he said. "Your boss knows I'm here, so there's no need to worry."
