Something wet. Something rough. Something unfamiliar. Usually he wakes up to his alarm clock going off. But not today. This morning Daisy is his alarm clock. Ian opens his eyes and is greeted by more good morning licks from his dog. That's what you get when you allow your dog to sleep in your bed. Usually he kicks her out when he sees her sleeping on his bed, but not today. This morning he doesn't have the heart to do it. He pets her head lovingly and she scoots a bit closer, nuzzling his face and licking his cheek softly.
"Goofy girl.", Ian says.
Courtney and Daisy. That's his family right now. He doesn't even know why that dog loves him so much. He is barely home, he only sees her in the morning and in the evening. He feeds her, goes out for a run with her and pets her occasionally. The rest of the day she is at home alone.
"Why do you even like me, Daisy?", he whispers gently and hugs her tightly, his fingers digging into the soft fur.
He peeks at the clock on his nightstand. 10:13 am. He has never slept that long. This is unlike him. What is happening to him lately? He sprawls out on his bed, stretching his tired and stiff limbs. And then he just lies there.
Why is Courtney always right? Damn it. Of course, Ryan was his friend. He still considers him to be one. A close one, actually. But after that knock-out yesterday it's going to be difficult to keep a friendly relationship. Ryan surely will not want to talk to him. Three years. Three years of laughing, joking, fooling around with Ryan. Screaming at him, raging at him, being annoyed with him. Ryan took it all, he didn't care. That's what friends are for, right? Through the good and the bad? Three years of a wonderful friendship. Gone in a heartbeat. Ian sighs. Is Ryan right? Does he really push everybody away? One special thing Ryan said yesterday appears to be very true. He is alone. He has no one except for Courtney. And Daisy. Daisy always counts. Does he want to be alone? Is he the reason why everybody leaves? Is something wrong with him? Could this be the real reason why David didn't...? No. He is not thinking about that again. Not David. Not now.
He sits up, making Daisy jump and looking at him curiously.
"Come on, girl, let's go for a run."
Anthony is at the cafeteria, eating lunch, when his phone goes off. Courtney has send him a message.
Courtney: Can you come by my desk later? It's urgent. Don't worry, nothing bad :) ty
He sighs in relief. Thank God. He would really hate it to get fired. He actually likes working here. The people are nice and the payment is great. He finishes his meal and takes the elevator to Ian's office. He enters the floor and sees Courtney running around hastily, talking on her phone. When she sees him, she smiles and waves to him.
"Yeah... sure... no problem. You'll have it by 5 pm. Thank you. See you tomorrow."
She hangs up the phone and lets out a deep sigh.
"Fuck.", she curses, before focusing on Anthony.
"Stressful day?", Anthony asks, approaching Courtney's desk.
"You have no idea. Thank God, Ian's not here to see this. He would flip."
"Is that why you texted me?"
"Yes, actually. We have a little bit of a situation." She looks around nervously. "Nobody else is available at the moment. I cannot spare anyone right now. They are all working on the new video. And frankly speaking, nobody wants to do it really. You are probably the only one who is willing to do this."
"What is it?"
"I want you to drive over to Ian's place and drop off some documents. He needs to sign them today. It completely slipped my mind yesterday with all that punching-Ryan-situation and talking to the board."
