The Three Of Us (Lauren/You)

| 1 | The Weird Bench Creep

Your POV

I jumped on my seat as a thick stack of folders dropped down on my table.

"Here's the expense reports from July to August. I need you to compile them all and give me a progress report paralleled to the same months last year."

Looking up from the papers, I locked eyes with my boss, James. His eyes were solely focused on mine as he stood, towering over me, in his crisp, blue suit and perfectly coiffed hair. I slowly leaned back on my seat and tucked my shaking hands on my lap.

"B—but that's the—umm—accounting's job?" I stuttered out. James' eyebrow raised as he turned to the two hell ladies snickering behind him. They straightened themselves with confidence once they saw James studying them.

It was Rose that spoke first. "Oh, but we still have those tax files to finish, right Jaz?" she said in that sickly, sweet tone she always used whenever someone of authority was around.

"Yeah, we still have that." I grit my teeth and stopped myself from rolling my eyes at Rose's yes girl.

James turned back to me just as I was about to point out that I already saw them finish it a week ago. "See?" he interrupted. "You're the only one not busy here, Y/N, so get to it. I need it in three days."

"B—but—"

"But nothing," he spat out. "You are my assistant and you will do what I say. Ca-fishy?"

I stared at him, wondering what he was talking about before realizing he meant 'capiche'. He smirked at me before making small talk with the hell ladies and going back to his office. I let out a whine at the amount of work that was left on my table. Looking at the clock, it looked like I would have to get a late lunch if I wanted to even make a dent at all these paper works.

And it wasn't helping that the hell ladies were whispering and laughing while looking at me.

One day I'm going to give them a piece of my fucking mind, those ungrateful asses. I looked up at the intimidating amount of folders in front of me and sighed.

One day...

-//-//-//-//-//-

The Miami sun was relentless as it beat down on me on a hot August day.

I didn't normally have lunch outside, opting for the convenience and peace an airconditioned office room provided me. But with the looming stack of papers already threatening to topple over and drown me, I decided it was better to get some fresh air before it drove me crazy. Plus, I was getting tired of Rose's squeaky laughter permeating my ears over and over again.

After walking a few meters down the road, I spotted a wooden bench atop a small hill, overlooking an elementary school. There was a big tree behind it that shaded it from the sun so it was the perfect place to have lunch. I quickly made my way to the bench and stretched my body once I sat down. Being cooped up in that stuffy office all day does things to your joints and sanity.

Pulling out the sandwich from the paper bag, I began eating my lunch, watching children run around the playground in front of the school.

I remembered a time when I was just like them, carefree and with no responsibilities whatsoever. But I was in such a hurry to grow up because I thought adulthood was this magical time in your life when you understand everything and get to make your own decisions. I told myself that being an adult was amazing since I could stay up all night watching TV or eat as much ice cream as I could without anyone telling me off.

Suffice to say, when I reached that magical age, instead of knowing everything and anything, I just became more confused about life in general. I couldn't even make appointments without stuttering or hanging up after one ring. The only person I was comfortable enough to talk to on the phone was the pizza guy.