Collision (Mature) *Completed*

Vivian

Vivian huffed as she pulled her umbrella into the door behind her, droplets of water hitting her legs as she folded it up.

"Morning, Ms. Dash! Mr. Phoenix is waiting for you." The announcement put an even bigger damper on her morning than the thunderstorm. It'd only been 4 days since the announcement of their partnership but Micheal seemed to be moving things along quickly. They'd already scheduled out rally locations and were working to book venues today.

"Thanks." She grumbled, pulling the shower cap from her hair as she walked back towards her office. It was the only thing keeping her hair smoothed down into her signature bun.

She'd chose a simple black skirt, cream sweater, and a pair of heeled boots for her outfit. It provided a cozy feeling for the dark weather while remaining in line with the dress code.

"Good morning!" Micheal hopped up from the seat by her office as she unlocked the door.

"Morning." The lackluster reply was usual for their interactions. Vivian sighed as she pulled her bag from her shoulder and set it on her chair. Peeling the black pea coat from her shoulders, she ignored the feeling of Micheal's eyes on her.

"You just gonna stare or you gonna close the door so we can get to work?" Plopping in her chair, she gestured to the seat in front of her as she stared up at him plainly.

"You mean so I can get to work." Closing the door, he took his usual position in the chair across from her. His large figure covered the small chair and he settled deeply within the material before crossing his ankle over his knee.

"Is it not your campaign?" Cocking her head, she couldn't stop herself from going back and forth with the man.

"You're right. My campaign and you're my assistant." He jabbed right back. Vivian grit her teeth at the triumph that settled in his eyes.

"I'm not your assistant. I work for Goodson and I'm simply providing you office space." Micheal uncrossed his legs to lean closer to the desk. She simply ignored his movement as she powered up her monitor. Almost immediately it chimed with messages from Goodson.

"So if I told Goodson I needed someone to call this venue, who do you think he'd get to do it? Call it what you want, Vivian, but you work for me." The calm, dominating tone fueled a rage within her she seldom felt outside of her interactions with him.

"I'm not entertaining this." Instead of snapping, she practiced the breathing techniques her therapist had taught her for challenging situations. After the death of her brother, she fell into a depressive state that was worsened by her gubernatorial campaign. The guidance of a therapist helped her through the darkness.

"You've gotten soft." Micheal's voice was darker than she'd previously heard, a tone deep within it that caused her to snap her head towards him. There was a dark look behind his eyes but, oddly, it only made her more annoyed.

"Mr. Phoenix, please attend to your work or I'll have to ask you to leave my office." The emphasis on my caused him to grit his teeth. Vivian gave herself a tally mark- the smile that threatened to pierce her lips held back by a pinch to her thigh.

Silence finally settled amongst the two before Vivian grabbed her phone to begin making calls to recent partners. It was required to recontact partners every year to assure they still wanted to support Goodson.

"Hi, this is Vivian Dash, Mayor Goodson's lead manager. I was calling to speak to... Mr. Svoski." Flipping into her spreadsheet, she made sure she pronounced the name correctly.

"Speaking. How are you, Ms. Dash?" His voice was deeper than she'd remembered.

"I'm doing well, how are you?" Turning to her computer, she pulled up her cheat sheet of information on Svoski. It was commonplace for her to keep tabs on those Goodson worked with as a means of staying one step ahead. The tactic was something she'd always used in life.
...

"Yes...yes I know we're down 5% this quarter." Vivian ran her hand over her eyebrows before clicking through her cheat sheet for the right information.

"So I'm saying I don't feel comfortable continuing the partnership, Ms. Dash." Svoski was proving to be a bigger problem than she'd expected. He usually kept the conversation short with unquestioned loyalty to Goodson. The sudden pull out was jarring but Vivian loved a good challenge.

Looking up, she found Micheal working away on his own laptop. His eyebrows pulled in concentration and his eyes darted across the screen. It all seemed to click in that moment.

"Mr. Svoski, off record, may I ask you a question?" Reaching over, she stopped the usual recording of their conversations.

"Yes?"

"Is your resignation related to certain...new additions?" She spoke lowly into the phone.

"You always were the smartest in the building, Ms. Dash. Yes, I don't want to partner with Goodson anymore due to his endorsement of Phoenix. P.U.'s are vile humans concerned with nothing more than numbers on a data sheet. I cannot support that." Vivian wished she would have put the call on speaker so Micheal could hear what people truly thought.

"I completely understand. It really shows where our own interests lie." Vivian spoke harshly just as Micheal looked up at her. Recognition shined in his eyes and he moved to close the laptop just as she finished out the call.

"Talking about me while I'm less than 6 feet away?"

"Unlike some people, I'm not a snake." Vivian spat.

Micheal chuckled as he placed a hand to his chest. "So I'm a snake?"

"A snake, a poor excuse for a human, vile, corrupt, cold, the list goes on." She smiled sarcastically while lacing her fingers together on her desk.

"Come on, Vivian. It's politics." The wave of his hand irritated her more than his words.

"Politics to the straight white man, but a threat to the rights of minorities. Be careful, your privilege is showing." Micheal rolled his eyes at her words and Vivian fought her instincts that begged to rip them from his skull. It was a privilege for him to play amongst the system with no care for anyone else.

"No one's threatening your rights. A woman as smart as you should be able to look around and see all this country's offered you."

"Offered me? I work twice as hard as my mediocre white coworkers for half the recognition. You of all people should know that first hand." She slipped up as her frustration bubbled over.

A moment of realization crossed his face that filled her with hope before it was quickly wiped away. Those moments were the times she saw the reality clicking but he often brushed it away.

"We were stupid teens, it was about who they could trust more." The weak response added another tally to her score.

"And why do you think they trusted you more despite having less experience?"
——

It may be hard to like Micheal at first but I promise it comes full circle lol.