Secrets

Adored By Him

 "Pretty girl with the adventurous mind
You envision so much you make me look blind
You spark his life in ways I'll never know..."

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The best parts of my months are pay days. I was lucky to have a somewhat easy and fitting job for myself on campus; not a lot of other people could say the same. I had to make a living for myself somehow--my mother's job wasn't of the caliber of which she could transfer funds into my bank account every now and then. Being a single mom of two kids, with her youngest in college and her oldest out in the world doing who-knows-what, life wasn't exactly glam and glitz. But we made do with what we had, and we were content with how we lived.

The air was crisp and chilly this morning, and sleepy students passed by on all sides, making their way to classes and dorms. I breathed in a fresh breath, feeling the coldness in my lungs. I wasn't really a morning person, but money was a huge motivator, there was no denying that. 

The Admin building finally came into view, and I quickened my pace to get inside and out of the cold. Debby, the red-headed receptionist, looked up at me and smiled in recognition. I gave her a small wave in return, coming up to her desk. 

"Hey, Debby," I greeted her. "I'm sure you know why I'm here."

She grinned at me. "Indeed I do," she replied. "Carlson is in his office. He can sign your check for you."

I nodded at her, stepping away from the desk and moving towards the office in question with a muttered thanks. Carlson was one of the directors here in charge of funding. He was a strict, closed-off person, and ex-Marine back in his day. I'd somehow managed to get on his good side, which incredibly difficult to do, according to literally everyone in the Admin building. He was a pretty cool guy to have as a friend; I didn't see the big deal about it. I was nice to him, he was nice to me. It didn't really matter, though; he signed my paychecks, and that was a nice plus to this friendship.

I knocked twice on his door; an assenting grunt sounded from inside, and I let myself in, smiling in greeting. 

Carlson was a tall guy with a very square frame; he was all straight lines and angles, no bends or curves. Squared shoulders, square jaw, straight arms and legs. All his training and discipline never really left the guy. He looked up at me, that signature stern look on his face--I lied earlier; there's only one curve on the guy. His smile. He flashed it at me as he waved me into his office.

I returned the smile, giving him a proper salute before speaking. "Morning, Carlson," I said with a grin.

"Rubio," he returned, saluting me back. "I assume you're here for your paycheck?"

I snapped my fingers and gave him finger guns. "You assume correct. I've got a decent grocery-store trip in store for myself in about an hour. I'll finally be reunited with food that isn't chips, ramen, and other shit."

Carlson chuckled, rolling his eyes. He reached into a folder on his desk, flipping through several pages before plucking my check out of it. He signed it with a calculated motion, precise and methodical as always. "Here you go. You're meager earnings of less than three hundred for the month." 

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Better than nothing. At least I have a job."

"Can't argue that," Carlson said with a shrug. "Now, get your sorry ass out of my office and go do something useful." I smiled at the teasing glint in his eyes. If I was honest, he was probably the closest thing I had to a father figure in my life. My own father had skipped out on my family after I was born, so it was always my mother, sister and me. At least, until my sister graduated and dipped, leaving us on our own too. Carlson and I weren't exactly close, but he had that fatherly-aura about him, at least where I was concerned.