Lonely Hours [Kier/Shane]

Twelve

Kier's work place suited his persona perfectly; mature, confident and strong. The overall structure was huge, consisting of multiple levels with numerous symmetrical walls, which were painted white to add a professional atmosphere. The pathway nearing it had several potted plants and bushes, seeming to be regularly cared for due to being stylishly cut into circular shapes. The familiar guilt returned of how alien I felt when nearing the building; everything was so clean. I was dirty. Regardless of how many times I'd washed since occupying Kier's spare room I still felt infected, like no matter how many times I cleansed until a raw rash appeared on my pasty skin the dirt would never leave; it was buried below layers as a permanent reminder of my past. 

"Welcome to Goremount Records." Kier introduced me as we wandered through the rotating doors, one arm held out to present the equally clean interior while the other fell to my waist, curving around my slim form comfortably. Attempting to ignore our contact I gazed around the reception, watching the limited number of employees hurry towards individual destinations, greeting Kier timidly as they left.
"I-It's nice," I commented quietly upon realisation that Kier was monitoring my reaction. "I-I, umm, hope you're giving your cleaners a decent wage."
Kier laughed. "I can assure you they're paid well," was his response before leading me further through the building and down a spacious corridor, the walls adorned with framed photographs of various albums and live musicians until stopping once reaching the end door. A gold plaque was drilled into the shined wood, engraving the words;

K.KEMP
Chairman & CEO. 

Although, I knew already of the man's successful career, the sight of the sign only highlighted to me further how petty and insignificant my life was in comparison. At such a young age Kier had managed to climb a wealthy career path to the point where he was well-known and respected enough to run his own company. Whereas the only achievement I could give myself was managing to feed Drew and I at least one full meal a week.

Upon opening the door to his office Kier led me inside, his hand slipping down to rest on my hip, which caused a faint blush to form on the surface of my cheeks. However, I found myself doing nothing to reject his forward actions, merely smiling timidly at the sight of him winking as he closed the door to his office behind us. Inside there were two desks, one fairly clean with multiple neat piles of paperwork and an 'in and out' tray which was empty. The other was the complete opposite; multiple half-drunk cups of cold coffee, uneven piles of scribbled notes and a laptop kept open overnight. It came of some surprise when Kier headed over to the messy desk and sat himself down, finding home behind the table immediately.
"Laurence keeps himself tidy, so I hope it won't be too difficult to find files there." Kier commented, nodding towards what I assumed was my new work space while rolling his eyes. "He has a system, you see, except only he seems to understand the system. Whenever I need something and he's not in the office it takes me hours to find it."
I allowed myself to release a small nervous chuckle, moving over to the desk and running the tips of my fingers across the smooth edges as I sat myself down on the edge of the computer chair. The feeling of Kier's eyes training on me did nothing to help settle my nerves, my body temperature increasing in embarrassment yet I didn't feel comfortable removing my blazer.
"Is everything okay?" I heard him eventually ask, causing my head to shoot in his direction. His feet were resting on top of the desk, legs crossed at the ankles as he leisurely sat back.
I felt myself nod, forcing a smile before timidly opening the laptop. My eyes fell to the device, staring down at the keys for a moment before gingerly pressing the power button. Admittedly, I had no idea what my role currently involved, having no previous experience and he was yet to give me any information.
"I'm a friend before your manager, Shane," He commented, chuckling slightly as he rocked his body from side to side within the spinning chair. "Relax. Laur and I usually just chill for a few hours then take a few hours lunch break." I hummed, yet he continued in obvious attempt to put me at ease. "Well, Laurence is usually typing away at something – god knows what – while I ramble on for attention." He laughed, and I couldn't help but feel a somewhat twang of jealousy; they were engaged. What was he doing with his arms around me? Or was I looking a little too much into things?
I forced a smile before my attention returned to the computer, being faced with the password screen. Biting down on my lower lip anxiously I turned my head to Kier, who was reaching for the telephone resting at his right. I sighed, my torso deflating slightly once understanding that it probably wasn't a good idea to interrupt him while in conversation. After hopelessly searching through various draws, post-it notes and files surrounding me I raised my fingers to the keys and began typing in random words, hoping to guess the code for myself. I tried multiple attempts of various paraphrases of his name, his interests – inwardly thanking the objects surrounding his home for ideas – and anything other information I knew about the man, which unfortunately was limited. However, with a second glance towards my manager I typed, grinning to myself as the 'Welcome' screen flashed at me.
"Working hard?" Kier interrupted me as the small sound of him returning the receiver followed. I awkwardly nodded, turning back to the screen and biting my lower lip a little harsher at the screensaver Laurence chose; predictably, it was him and Kier, dressed in unusual casual attire while grinning into the camera. They both appeared so happy. A gnawing guilt returned, causing me to immediately shut the lid of the laptop, not caring for any work involving rifling through various computer files or risking seeing any more photos of the couple.
"Umm," I began. Kier looked up instantly. "Break?"
He laughed, standing. "Now that's the kind of employee I wanted Laurence to be." He teased, and I mirrored him as he headed towards the door. Returning his hand back to my hip he tapped the side lightly, bringing a truthful smile to my lips. However, I couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for my own reaction. Regardless of how much I loved our contact, he was his fiancé's password.