Stuck at the office

Chapter 1

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled me, making me jolt up out of my seat.

 I looked up to see my boss looking at me. I gulped and said quietly, "Sir?" 

 He rolled his eyes and tossed a stack of papers on my desk, "Rewrite these articles before the end of the night, Mr. Anderson." 

 I looked through the papers and mentally sighed. This was going to take hours. I looked back up at him and gave him a nervous grin, "Yes sir." 

 He looked at me and rolled his eyes. "I better see them completed and improved on my desk Thursday morning." Then he walked off.  

 I sighed and pulled out my phone and called my roommate. 

 "What's up Tyler? When are you getting here?" Keith said. 

 "Hey. Um, I'm not going to be able to hang with you and the guys tonight. Bakers got me packed with work. It will be hours before I get it all done." 

 "Well damn, Can't you blow it off? You're the life of the party Ty!" I could hear the disappointment in his voice.  

 "Sorry Keith. Maybe we can plan this again for this weekend. I'll see you when I get home." I said, Then I hung up.  

 I settled back in my seat and brought up a new word document. I pulled out the first paper in the stack and read over it. Ugh, so many errors. This is going to take me forever. I'll have to research these topics and then practically write a whole new article! I looked through the stack and counted how many articles there were. Eight! I sighed and pulled up Google onto my browser. I typed in "New diseases," and began my search. 

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I looked at the clock. 8:37 pm. Two hours had gone past since Mr. Baker came in. I still had more papers to go through. I decided to take a break and go to the break room and get some coffee.  

 I stumbled past Alex, another journalist on my floor, and gave him a small wave. When I entered the break room, I was pleased to know there was a freshly brewed pot of coffee sitting there calling my name. I quickly poured myself a cup and took a long sip. God that tasted amazing.  

 I took another sip before walking back to my desk. I picked up the next paper in the stack and scanned through it. Another piece of crap article. What's with people these days? I set up my computer and began researching again.  

 By the time I got to the last paper, it was already 10. I looked at the paper and instantly realized it was not an article. I read through it with sleepy eyes.  

 "Meet me in my office 20 minutes early on Thursday morning. We need to discuss some things.  

-Mr. Baker" 

 I read over the paper multiple times. Oh god, what have I done this time? I started panicking. He was going to fire me. I can't afford to lose this job. Rent is not easy to pay in Brooklyn.  

 I calmed myself down and cleaned up my desk. I put all the newly printed papers in an envelope, but left the note in my desk. Once my desk was cleaned, I grabbed my coat and headed to the elevator.  

 I went to the parking garage, found my car, and started the long drive home. 

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I walked in my apartment to find a drunk girl passed out on the couch. I sighed and walked over to her. I put my stuff on the floor, grabbed a blanket, and placed it on her. I kissed her forehead and then went to go look for Keith.  

 I found him browsing through his clothes in his closet. I took my shoes off and cleared my throat.  

 Keith threw me a quick glance and then said, "Oh hey Tyler. Did you just get home?"  

 "Yeah, hey can I talk to you for a minute?" Keith turned around and came to sit on the bed. Me and Keith have known each other since grade school. We spent almost every waking moment together. He was the first person I told that I was gay, and he was so accepting and even held me when I started crying.  

 "Sure bud. What's up?" He said looking concerned. 

 I sat down next to him and played with my fingers in my lap. "Have you found a job yet?" He looked at me for awhile and shook his head and sighed.  

 "Not yet, but I'm still looking. Don't worry about it too much. It's only the two of us, we can get by on your salary for now." He smiled. 

 I shook my head and looked down at the ground. "Keith...have you told anyone?" 

 When he didn’t answer, I looked up at him. He had confusion written all over his face. I sighed. Was he really going to make me spell it out? "About Baker, Keith." 

 He shook his head and laughed, "What about him? That he kept you overtime today?

 What happened? Did he finally teach you that lesson you've been wanting?" He said with a wink and elbowed me in the shoulder.  

 I threw my hands up exasperated. "Oh my gosh Keith stop! It's not funny! Seriously, did you tell?" 

 He laughed harder and could barely get his words out, "Of course not Ty. Why would I tell someone that you like your boss? Who would I tell in the first place??? The only person I talk to is you!" 

 I blushed and covered my face. "I'm just making sure! Keith, I'm worried. I was doing extra paper work for Baker and at the bottom of the stack was a paper from him telling me to meet him in his office 20 minutes early." 

 I could tell Keith was holding in a laugh. "So he is going to teach you that lesson then?!?!" I punched him in the shoulder. 

 "What if he found out! Keith I could get fired!!!" I started passing around the room. 

 Keith stood up, calming his laughter, and put his hands on my shoulders. "Tyler, calm down. He probably just wants to talk to you about the extra work you did. Maybe he'll give you a raise. Don't jump to conclusions Ty. It's going to be okay. There's no way he knows." He stopped and looked at me with a serious face. "Unless you were looking at pictures of him again." 

 I blushed and tried to pull away. Keith pulled me into a big hug and whispered in my ear,

 "It's okay Tyler. You're not getting fired." I hugged him back and automatically felt better. I was happy until something started irritating my nose.  

 I pulled away and looked at him, "You smell horrible." I covered my nose and laughed.  

 He laughed with me. "It's not me, its Kate! We were drinking and she drank a little too much."  

 I looked at him, "A little? She's passed out on our couch." 

 "Okay a lot. Then we started making out and things got steamy." He winked. "But as soon as it go to the good part, she threw up all over me." 

 I laughed so hard. I couldn't help it. I gave him a pat on the shoulder a started walking out of the door. "Go take a shower Keith. And burn those clothes." 

 I walked to my room still laughing to myself. I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling fan. My worry started to sink in again. What if he found out? Me and Keith would have to sell the apartment if I was fired. I sighed and decided to call it a night. I changed clothes and got in bed and instantly fell asleep.