Affliction | ✓

iv | her | 2

3 months before NY, 2016

she's running late. elio had already left an hour ago with a gentle kiss to her forehead and she was still fumbling with her pant buttons.

"he-hellloooo," she says into the phone as she pulls a jacket on and distractedly puts her dress shoes on.

"where are you?" andrea demands, the intern that she befriended on her first day at The Dell.

"well-"

"you overslept, didn't you? or were you busy playing with your cereal?" andrea says.

"ok, for someone who knows me for like 8 seconds, you seem to have a knack of getting shit about me super right." she rushes out of the door, almost slamming into her neighbour. she mouths a quick 'sorry' to them as she hastily locks her door.

andrea scoffs on the other line, "chaplin's oddly pissed today. weird considering the guy squirts sunshine out of his ass."

"that's a lovely imagery." her phone is pressed close to her ear as she jams the elevator button, she's still horrendously late.

andrea snorts. "he's basically begging for you so my best suggestion for you right now is probably to transport here in your dr.who teleporter or get a jet-speed hoverboard."

"those are super helpful suggestions, andrea, thank you so much."

"happy to help."

"how bored are you?" she asks as she rushes into the uber that was already waiting outside her apartment. she really needs to invest her money into a new car.

"on a scale of 1-10? like, 6.8 on a good day and a 9.9 on a bad day so an 8.3 on a regular day?" andrea sounds like she's questioning her entire life. "damn, I guess I don't get bored too often."

"jesus, you desperately need a mountain of work to keep that opening of yours shut."

"hm, you're mean today." andrea splutters on the phone suddenly. "you know, the dude you work with? he's ice-cold, baby but he's so fine to look at."

she rolls her eyes and refrains from cursing out. "he's gross, like certified 5-star horrible human being."

"what did he do, shit in your cornflakes? what's gotten you so worked up?" andrea questions and she can totally imagine andrea lounging in the break room instead of working.

"how long have you been an intern at The Dell?"

"like 5 months?"

"right and does he talk to anybody at all?"

"um, not particularly."

"exactly!" she slaps her knee enthusiastically. "that's cause he thinks he's better than everybody. he's a horrible, egoistic jerkoff that I have the worst misfortune to work with, ugh." she fake-gags on the line and she hears andrea laugh.

and then she hears a quick gasp, "hey, let's continue this bitching sesh later, 'kay? boss-man chaps is here. gotta blast." andrea cuts the call with the most absurd kissing noises.

intern andrea managed to snag a little part of her heart in just a few days. she shakes her head, smiling fondly.

---

she's irritated. she somehow managed to delete files that would be required for today's meeting. she has nobody to blame but herself but she'd much rather blame him.

she huffs quietly, knowing that she couldn't conjure them within a couple of hours which leaves her no option but to ask the very person she'd rather not utter a word to.