Re: Same Job, Different Time and Place [R-18]

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred frowned slightly as he heard the icy tone in Arthur's voice and he soon glanced away. Did he say something wrong? He didn't mean to. He was just being friendly was all! In his own eyes, he wasn't being provocative in any manner, instead just very friendly. With a job like his as well as work hours like his own, he barely had the time to try getting a date. He was quite the romantic in all actuality. He was the kind of man who preferred to take girls out to dates, give them presents and all that rather than simply flirt with them and leave.

So in all honesty, Alfred had no idea what he was doing wrong.

"Ah, well okay then. Make sure you eat enough later on then!" He murmured, a kind smile on his lips. Why did Arthur come with him to the café anyways when he wasn't even that hungry? He continued looking over his boss before humming in understanding. "Well, I guess that's okay then."

It was a few minutes later that the waitress came to the table with both their coffee and tea, placing it down in front of them. Alfred didn't pay too much attention to her this time, instead thanking her softly before sipping at his coffee while he waited for his food to come. His attention was more focused on his boss, a bit nervous of whether Arthur liked the tea or not.

"How is the tea?" He asked curiously, still sipping some of the hot liquid of his coffee though he peered at Arthur from over the mug.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur knew he was being a stick in the mud. Alfred was being nice to him and all he was doing was being belligerent and, honestly, just mean. He had no reason to act this, other than for the fact that he could. Alfred was his assistant. If Arthur really wanted to be unkind to him, he could (within reason, obviously).

He nodded once, his fingers tightly gripping the fabric of his jacket, arms still folded. Arthur attempted to relax, holding his head up high, trying to keep stay calm. He had no idea where that twinge of jealousy had come from earlier, but there was no way that he was going to let it happen again. They were colleagues and it was merely unfortunate that Alfred was attractive and straight.

The silence between them was stifling and awkward – Arthur was relieved when the waitress returned with their drinks. He gave her a small but grateful nod in thanks; “Thank you.”

His fingers curled around the handle and he took a sip. At least it wasn’t cold, he supposed.

“It’s American,” Arthur drawled in response. “And certainly not Earl Grey, but it will do… and your coffee?”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred had no idea why Arthur was kind of being a stick in the mud though he decided not to question it too much. Maybe he was just in a bad mood. Maybe he didn't even want to be here with him though he only accepted his offer just out of mere politeness. He actually wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Alfred always had other co-workers to eat with though he wanted to learn more about his boss. It would be better for them, right? If Alfred as an assistant was able to know more about Arthur, they would be able to work more closely together and more efficiently.

Right?

Of course he wasn't going to get too close or anything! That would be certainly surpassing their business relationship though he could feel that temptation of doing otherwise creep up on him. Alfred had always been a social butterfly and honestly...he always felt this temptation to befriend absolutely everyone. Though this man was new and he seemed very, very business oriented. It didn't seem like he was willing to be friends with him when Alfred was simply his mere assistant.

Either way, he shouldn't think about it too much or else he would only end up sulking in the end!

Alfred had no idea about Arthur's views on him but he couldn't help but be even somewhat curious of what he just thought about him. Did his boss view him in a positive light at the moment or in a negative? He wanted to be in the best terms as possible with the Englishman!

Smiling a bit, Alfred laughed and rolled his eyes. "Well you can't expect us to be as good as you English at making tea. Especially after we threw the English tea in the harbour a few hundred years ago!" He joked a bit, smiling as he sipped more of his coffee. "And the coffee is pretty amazing!"

Alfred's eyes lit up in delight when he saw the hamburger, salad and soup come to the table, being placed down in front of him. It looked all so good!

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" He asked curiously, holding up his hamburger slightly as he brought it slightly towards Arthur as an offer.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Yes, I suppose so,” Arthur smiles slightly, but it’s gone again in a second. Whilst being patriotic, the Englishman was very aware of what his country had done in the past and didn’t feel proud of it; although he couldn’t help but feel affronted by the playful jab.

“You Americans and your coffee… I don’t think I’ll ever understand it,” he shook his head slowly. “Coffee chains everywhere, drinking on the go, coffee flavoured sweets – you’re all obsessed.”

When the Alfred’s food arrived, he tried not to gawk. How much did this boy eat in one sitting? He didn’t dare thank the waitress for putting it all down on the table, but he admired her ability to carry it all in one go. Of course, it wasn’t that much but to someone who had small portions, it was huge.

And suddenly a burger was in his face. Lovely.

Arthur raised both of his eyebrows, grimaced and then leaned away, shaking his head. “No, no thank you. I’m fine with tea.” He paused, “Are you sure you’ll be able to eat all of that before we have to get back?” he asked, tentatively.

Arthur was keen to be back on time; he’d always been punctual. It was something that he could get quite antsy about, actually. He hated to be late, and people that were late. He just couldn’t understand how someone could happily turn up late after keeping the other for (possibly) hours on end. He’d probably developed this intolerance after experiencing it himself, he thought.

“Everything is so big here,” he said, quieter, staring at the plates in front of Alfred.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred managed to catch the smile and at least seeing that was enough to make him feel at least a tinge bit happier than before. He himself was very patriotic to the United States though he knew that just like many other countries, it had its ups and downs and while he wasn't necessarily proud of some of the things that the United States did, he certainly still was a very patriotic man.

Honestly, he didn't know that he would cause any kind of offence to Arthur considering that the Boston Tea Party happened about two hundred years ago! That was way too far in the past to really be considered with any of that.

"Oh come on. Coffee is pretty good! The coffee I've been giving you hasn't been too bad. Has it?" He asked questioningly, raising an eyebrow as he leant forward in slight curiosity. "There's nothing wrong with having coffee flavoured sweets or anything like that! You English are pretty obsessed with tea yourselves." Truthfully he actually didn't really know considering that he had never been to England but he had a feeling that most of them did.

"You guys also like having weird stuff in your tea. Like milk or something. I don't know but it's pretty weird." He laughed as he shrugged and started to eat his hamburger.

"Mm, your loss then." He mumbled as he ate the food, each bite from the hamburger large and quick though he managed to keep his mouth closed as he also made certain to wipe away any crumbs that dared to get on the corners of his lips.

"And of course I can eat it all on time. This is barely anything." He chuckled, giving a small smile as he started to finish off his food. Alfred didn't want Arthur to be waiting there across the table from him for too long. That would just be awkward considering that the man only ordered tea and would just be watching him eat food. That was not appealing in the slightest bit.

"Everything is big here?" He questioned. "You think so? Then everything must be really small over there in England!"

[Mr. Kirkland]

“It’s a little bit strong for me, honestly,” Arthur scratched the back of his neck, sheepishly. He swiftly moved on, “Surprisingly, not a lot of people like tea in England. And only children and chavs have tea in their milk,” he smiled again into the rim of his mug, taking another drink.

“Hardly anything?” he echoed, jaw hanging open. “This is about an entire day’s worth of food to me, if not a day and the next morning’s breakfast.” He couldn’t help but watch Alfred eating, mainly watching the way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. He pursed his lips, letting his mind wander far beyond it should. He snapped back to attention again quickly, though.

He choked on his tea.

“What on earth are you insinuating?!” Arthur spluttered and then blushed, realising that yes, he had just said that, loudly, out loud. He coughed, raising his hands to cover his mouth (and his face, which was becoming increasingly red.

“Sorry, sorry. I was thinking about, um, something else. No, yes. Uh, everything is supersized here, including cups. Cups in England are normal sizes, and portions. That’s what I meant.”

God, he was really red now. He could even feel his ears burning. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred nodded in understanding though how could someone think that tea was strong? They were just leaves in water! Barely any taste to them at all! So how the heck could tea be strong to his boss? Either way, he decided not to question it and instead settled with a chuckle. "Really? I didn't know that. I just assumed that everyone over there liked tea or something."

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows though at the mention of Arthur saying that it was a day's worth of food. "A day's worth of food?" He questioned, a small frown on his lips. "This is barely anything! No wonder why you're so skinny! You need more than this each day to at least have a healthy meal or something!" He exclaimed, truly surprised with the discovery. Though honestly, he shouldn't be so surprised.

Alfred laughed a bit when he saw Arthur choke on his tea though he had no idea why the man did that in the first place. "What do you mean what I was insinuating? I'm insinuating a lot of things! I suppose." He grinned at the mention of everything over in New York City to be supersized.

"Well of course! Everything that is American is supersized! Though I guess these are normal proportions for us and all that."

He couldn't help but look at how red Arthur was.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Thanks for that, Jones,” Arthur said sarcastically. “Not all of us can eat monstrous proportions of food everyday, you know. He had much more important things to be doing than eating. There was always something to distract him, even when he was cooking – which was why he burnt everything. Arthur wasn’t very absent-minded, but he was a bit too clumsy for his liking. He had a feeling that this blithering idiot would point that out at some point in the next few months.

Arthur, now entirely scarlet, could only stare hopelessly at Alfred. He really had no idea, did he? Well, that should have been a good thing but he was just exasperated with the boy, that he could be so oblivious. How on earth could he be so flirtatious and then have no clue about innuendo?

What a dolt.

“Y-yes… and I guess you would know, hmm?” the Brit shakily put his mug down, trying (and failing) to hide his flushed face. “It’s quite a culture shock for me, is all.” He let his hands fall from his face, breathing out heavily as he tried to calm down.

“I feel that I should stress that… that English utensils are not small… American things are just ridiculously large.”

He really wasn’t helping himself, or his curiousity.

Arthur drunk the remainder of his tea, and shifted awkwardly in his seat. His brow was furrowed as he willed away any thought of the size of Alfred’s American, uh, appendage. He shoved his hands into his pockets, gripping the fabric inside tightly. Bloody American being so bloody attractive.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred simply grinned at that as he brushed some of his bangs out of his hair. "This is barely monstrous! Look at everyone else." He soon motioned to the other people in the café, who were eating rather similar amounts of food. While they were definitely not eating as much as him, they still had a good amount of food in front of them. "And I'm just teasing, Mr. Kirkland."

Fortunately enough, Alfred didn't know enough about his new boss to actually poke any kind of fun at him. Ah well! It would be rather weird if he tried anyways considering that they were still in a business relationship and not only that but the fact that they weren't really even friends at the moment. Nor would they probably become friends. He wouldn't be surprised if this was the closest they would ever become. Though he shouldn't really make assumptions at the moment, especially when he barely knew Arthur.

Alfred had no idea about the innuendo, finding his statement to be completely innocent. The American grinned slightly as he leant forward. "Why are you blushing?" It couldn't be too hot in here. In fact, it was still rather chilly in New York City at the moment.

"Yeah, I would probably be culture shocked with all of the small things they have in England then!" He tried to appease, smiling at his boss. "Well I hope you can adjust to everything around here soon. Do you have any idea how long you're going to be staying here?"

The assistant raised his eyebrows at the mention of English utensils not being small. "Well...I wouldn't really think that they're small or anything. I mean, it would be kinda weird if English utensils were smaller than American utensils. But of course American things are ridiculously large! We wouldn't want to have it any other way." He laughed, resting his elbow on the table as he rested his chin on his palm.

Finishing the rest of the food, he let out a satisfied sigh while patting his stomach in content. "Damn...u-uh I mean...man...that was good." He soon waved over at the waitress, signalling that he wanted their bills before waiting patiently.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Hmph,” Arthur huffed in response. He still found it ridiculous that he could eat so much in one sitting.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be any closer to Alfred than he already was; he’d been hurt by a lot of people before and didn’t want the same thing to happen again, at work no less. He had never had a relationship (romantic or not) with a colleague before, and even though the idea excited him somewhat, he knew that it was unlikely. But meeting up with Alfred at lunch breaks and maybe at the weekend to go to the pub sounded nice – he needed someone to help him get a proper footing in the city, after all. He couldn’t be a tourist when he was living there.

At the mere mention of Arthur blushing, all of his previous work to cool off evaporated. He flushed pink. It was embarrassing enough already but for Alfred to finally notice? That was really a kick in the teeth.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied.

At the question, he tilted his head, giving the American an inquisitive look. He’d quit his previous job to get this position, and moved overseas, he hoped it would be for some time. He didn’t want to have to uproot himself again just to move back room, no matter how appealing living in England again sounded.
“Well, I think that this is a permanent position. So long as I decide that I want to keep the job, that is. Yes, that means you’re stuck with me, if that’s what you were asking.”

Arthur tried to drop the other line of conversation, having already humiliated himself enough. His lips quirked up slightly at Alfred’s attempt at covering up his curse.

“You can swear, Jones. We aren’t in the office. You need not worry about impressing me. I understand that the office-chic lifestyle isn’t something you partake in everyday.”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred had no idea why Arthur found it ridiculous but he decided not to question it. To each to his own and if Arthur wanted to eat very little, then he had no right to force him to eat more than what he wanted. Though he was extremely tempted to do so.

In all honesty, he was rather confused of whether he was to get closer to Arthur or not. They would have to be closer than most of the co-workers to each other mainly because they would have to deal with each other nearly everyday! In fact, he was almost like a servant in a way though except much better paid. Maybe. He actually wasn't really certain about that. Alfred was used to having relationships with his colleagues, never a romantic one but always good friendships such as his Japanese co-worker and other people. He found that there was no problem with it but he was a bit more hesitant when it came to people who had authority.

What if Arthur actually hated him after he got to know him? That would just amount to no good especially when they were both contemplating on keeping this as a permanent job. Well actually Alfred had no idea. He wanted to do more with his life than simply be an assistant. This was just something to get him financially stable until he could actually head towards the career he wanted.

"You're getting even pinker now!" He couldn't help but frown. "Is it that hot?"

Alfred felt kind of stupid for asking whether Arthur was actually going to stay or not! Of course he was going to! He moved all the way from England just to settle here in America though he wondered if he would continue on missing England or if he would enjoy it in New York City better after a while. He simply wanted his boss to be comfortable and to easily grow accustomed to the life here in the big city. "Hey, I don't mind having you as my boss." He smiled. "As long as you aren't a tyrant or something!" He joked.

The American simply hummed at the thought and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, sir. Though why do you keep on calling me Jones? You can call me Alfred, you know." It was weird for him to be called by his last name. He was way too used to being called Alfred by everyone else, even his former boss. Englishmen must really all be polite.

The waitress finally came with the bill and Alfred looked down at it. He didn't mind paying for it considering that Arthur only ordered tea. So bring out his dollar bills, he placed a good amount of money on there, including tip before standing up. "Are you ready to head back to work, Mr. Kirkland?" He questioned, straightening his suit out even more. He really did hate suits sometimes.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“You’re imagining things, Jones,” Arthur snapped, keen to keep everything under wraps. There was no way that he was going to tell Alfred that actually, Arthur had just spent the past five minutes imagining what Alfred’s cock looked like. Even thinking about it now just… Arthur suppressed a shiver.

He did, however, make a face in response to Alfred’s not-so-tactful way of being honest. “Yes, well, I’m afraid that you would have no input if you didn’t want me as your boss anyway. I shall try not to be, as you say, a ‘tyrant’.”

Calling Alfred, Alfred? The invitation was sweet, of course it was. And Alfred seemed to be very naïve and downright innocent but calling him by his first name seemed so informal to Arthur, no matter how much more he might prefer the intimacy.
“Are you sure…?” he then cleared his throat upon the realisation that he sounded far too surprised. “Jon – Alfred… it’s very nice of you to be so friendly but, I’m afraid that I am not partial to favouritism. When we are working, I’ll still call you Jones.”

He wasn’t about to let the boy pay for his tea, though. As he stood up, he found the few dollars he needed and placed them along with the rest of the money. He grabbed his briefcase from beneath the table. At the mention of his name, Arthur looked up at Alfred. He shook his head and held out his hand to shake.

“If you’re going to let me call by your first name, you might do the same. I’m Arthur.” He realised that he hadn’t actually told his assistant his name before, so why not now when they were dealing with niceties.

“And yes, lets go.”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred raised his eyebrows when he heard Arthur snap but he decided not to question it any more. He was just wondering if it was too hot for Arthur or something though it was still rather chilly. It couldn't have been that much colder over there in England. Fortunately enough, he remained blissfully unaware about Arthur's previous thoughts.

He chuckled softly at Arthur's face, just grinning a bit as he ran a hand through his own sun-kissed hair, straightening it out. "I'm sure you won't be a tyrant or anything. I'm just joking around."

The assistant simply smiled more as Arthur said that though he nodded in understanding. He understood that the man might not want favouritism even though he really couldn't be promoted to anything. He didn't have the necessary skills for anything else in the sales department other than being an assistant (which was practically that he needed basic computer skills and know how to follow his orders really well) and that was all. There shouldn't have been a problem with Arthur showing favouritism but to each to his own.

"Alright then...um..." He murmured. It would be so weird to call his boss by his last name all the time. It wasn't like they work simply a boss and assistant at all hours of the day.

Alfred couldn't help but frown when Arthur paid for his tea though he took back the amount of money that it costed to pay for the tea and placed it back into his wallet. "Oh come on. I could have paid for your tea. I was the one who asked you out anyways." He murmured as he grabbed his own briefcase. He was surprised though when he suddenly saw Arthur's hand which was held out to shake. "Ah!"

He shook the hand back, grip firm though not too tight. "Nice to 'meet' you Arthur. I'm Alfred." He smiled before pulling his hand away, soon heading back towards their work.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur wilfully ignores Alfred’s model-worthy action of sweeping his hair from his face. Too pretty to be working in an office, was what Arthur had pretty much decided about Alfred. Far too pretty.

“No, no. I refuse to let you pay for it. After all, it was kind of you,” yes kind, he couldn’t think of a better word for it, “to invite me to lunch. No one has made the effort so far to have so much as a conversation with me.” Apart from the receptionists and his superior, that is. Other than that, he had been devoid of all human contact with anyone but Alfred in the office. He was grateful, really (not that he would ever voice that).

Arthur then allowed himself to smile fully, and it wasn’t forced. He pulled his hand away after shaking and began to follow Alfred, concerned that he would get lost if he tried to lead the way. Arthur was still just a bit too paranoid about how dangerous New York was.

The rest of the day was bound to be much better after this, Arthur thought. He had (surprisingly) enjoyed himself, being with Alfred. The boy was alright and wasn’t bad company. Hopefully they’d be able to do it again sometime soon, if Alfred could stand to be away from his usual friends, that is. As far as Arthur was aware, Alfred was quite popular in the office; he seemed to get along with everyone, which was hardly surprising.

As they entered the office again, Arthur made a beeline for the elevator rather than the stairs like they had taken last time. Although he’d had a brief energy boost from his tea, he didn’t want to wear himself out just yet. The elevator seemed to be the sensible option.

Once inside, he spoke up again, flushing slightly.

“I had a lot of fun, thank you for asking me to lunch, Alfred.”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred never really thought of himself possibly becoming a model. He had much better things to do other than pose in front of a camera and strut down a runway or something. Actually he had no idea what models really did but he wasn't that interested! He mainly cared about getting a job that he actually was passionate about! Something that he had been studying for and honestly he didn't necessarily care for his appearances (though it did seem to come naturally to him).

"Oh...well I guess you win this round." The assistant grinned teasingly. "But next lunch, I'll pay for everything!" He nodded, pleased with that in mind. He couldn't help but frowns lightly when he heard that no one had actually attempted a conversation with him.

"Well maybe since you're the new boss and all. They're probably intimidated or something but..." He smiled honestly. "You're not that bad."

Holding the door open for Arthur as they stepped out of the café, Alfred finally followed him outside and started to take the lead back to the work place. He didn't necessarily trust the Englishman in leading the way yet even though the café was not that far from their workplace. New York was a very dangerous place but they were in a safer area of the city. They wouldn't really have to worry about being mugged or anything like that in their location, especially during the middle of the day and they were quite far from the rougher areas of the city. Alfred didn't even dare to step near the dumps of New York City.

When they entered back into the building, he couldn't help but laugh slightly as he saw Arthur head towards the elevator. He personally preferred the stairs but he decided to follow him into the elevator. Glancing over at his boss as he closed the elevator doors, he soon pressed the button to their floor and chuckled.

"Of course! No problem! You don't mind coming to lunch with me tomorrow. Do you?" He offered as he leant back against the wall of the elevator, waiting for the long trek back to one of the highest floors on the building.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur was positively glowing from the compliment (if it could be called a compliment) ‘you’re not that bad’. It had been a while since someone had been so kind to him. Of course, there was always the possibility that it was false kindness so that Arthur would think of him fondly whilst working and not be too harsh to him. Whatever, that was unimportant right now.

Upon the invitation for the following day, Arthur looked even more surprised than he had done earlier when he’d originally been asked. He brushed down his suit down, trying to appear indifferent. He side glanced at Alfred.

“Well, if you’d like to,” he shrugged, trying to hide the smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t mean to keep you from your friends.” Arthur leaned back against the side of the elevator, both hands holding on to his suitcase. He quickly looked at his reflection on the wall and resisted the urge to adjust his unruly hair.

Who knew, he might end up being friends with Alfred? If he was lucky, that was. There was a team building weekend that the executive had mentioned at some point in the near future. Perhaps he’d get to show everyone he was human then.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred laughed a bit at that and he couldn't help but notice that Arthur looked rather happy. It was definitely different from his usual demeanour that he had seen thus far. Alfred's kindness was in fact very true. He always hated giving out kindness just to get on someone's good side or something that wasn't genuine. Honestly! That was nothing like him at all!

He couldn't help but be somewhat surprised when Arthur looked so...surprised? Was he really that surprised that he was asking him out for lunch again? They had a great time! Right? Of course they did.

"Of course I would like to. Don't mind about my friends." He smiled. "They're always busy eating with each other anyways. I don't mind eating my lunch with you for a second time." He offered kindly as he looked at both of their reflections on the wall.

Soon enough the elevator opened and revealed their floor, making Alfred grimace to himself. He really wanted to not work but he knew that he would very well get fired if he was just a lazy arse. So soon enough he stepped out and adjusted his suit as he headed towards Arthur's office. He actually didn't know what to think about the team building weekend. Alfred was always a very independent man and he didn't always work well with teams.

"Is there anything you want me to do, Mr. Kirkland?"

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Then we’ll eat together tomorrow.” Arthur felt himself blush, despite his attempts not to. He hurriedly left the elevator when they arrived at their floor, debating what Jones (because he was Jones again now they were in the office).

“I have to look at spreadsheets for the rest of the day, I’m afraid, Jones so I don’t have a lot for you to do. Could find out where my meeting is tomorrow, and if you can find his number, call Mr. Vargas and ask him if he is still open for discussion about branching out, and how quickly he’d be able to get designs together?”

Arthur gives Alfred one final glance before he walked ahead into his office, shutting the door quietly behind him. Sighing, he went to his desk. His workload wouldn’t get rid of his good mood (yet) – he was finding it difficult not to think about tomorrow and (although today had been something of an enjoyable nightmare for him) how he might stand a chance of settling in. He was excited and it was childish, he knew it was. But he daren’t will it away.

It was only a matter of time before he got truly stuck into his work, typing furiously. He would have to have a report done at some point in the next week and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Arthur had always been a bit of a technophobe. Most computers or electronic appliances he owned enjoy either breaking down or exploding – or Arthur would simply get angry with it and throw it out of the window. Luckily, he had never done that with office equipment.

But if this computer froze and lost all of his work, that could change rapidly. Glancing at the clock he could see that it was just after five o’clock, almost time for him to be heading home – if he got it done on time.

A little while longer and he was satisfied with his workload for the day, he pressed save and then the computer stopped. The screen went white, save for the taskbar. Anger swelled in Arthur’s gut.

“Come on, you fucker. If you don’t save this…”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred nodded in understanding as he soon went to his small cubicle and sat down as he got comfortable. He grabbed his mobile as he lounged back on the chair, even getting comfortable enough to the point where he placed his feet up on desk as he lounged back. Searching through the different messages on the mobile, he licked his lips as he finally found the note of when Arthur's meeting was.

So he soon grabbed a post it note, quickly jotting down where the meeting was tomorrow for Arthur as well as the time just to make certain before looking through his phone again to find Mr. Vargas' number. Smiling in satisfaction when he found it, he soon lounged back more in his chair.

"Hello? Mr. Vargas. Hey. This is Alfred Jones, Mr. Kirkland's assistant. I'm calling to inquire whether you still are opened for discussion about branching out. Also how quickly you can get the designs together?" He paused and thought about it before jotting down all the notes he needed on the post it.

"Thank you, Mr. Vargas! Have a good day!" He grinned before hanging up the phone. Sighing a bit to himself, he finally got off the chair and headed off towards Arthur's office, opening the door. Alfred blinked in surprised when Arthur seemed frustrated.

"Hey? Is there something the matter, Mr. Kirkland?" He questioned as he placed the post-it note on the desk which contained all the information on it.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Fucking thing!” Arthur bellowed finally at the computer, just before Alfred walked in. He adjusted his tie, pulling the knot to be slightly looser. He glanced at the post-it-note once and then returned his glower to the computer screen.

“Would it kill you to knock?” he grumbled and then sat back in his chair, pushing his hair back from his face frustratedly. He huffed, waiting for the computer to make up its mind. “The bloody computer has frozen and I’ve been working on this since we got back and if it doesn’t save it, then so help me, I will murder the blasted thing with my own hands!”

Of course, he didn’t mean a word of it but vocalizing his feelings certainly made him more inclined to actually do it. He didn’t really mean to shout, but his aggression seemed to be becoming more and more difficult to deal with internally.

“Do you know how to use this fucking machine? You’re younger, of course you’ll know. Please show me what to do!” It was a low moment for him, asking his assistant (and junior) to help him use very basic software. The programs were different here to what he was used to – and he was just impatient because he had low blood sugar.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred's eyes widened a bit at that and he flinched slightly, swallowing thickly as he felt his heart pound a bit faster against his chest. "I-I'm sorry, sir." He mumbled. "I'll...knock next time." He soon looked down at the computer and he frowned a bit.

He wasn't a man to scare easily though he was quite nerved by the fact that Arthur had scolded at him for something as small as this. Though he soon glanced over at the computer and nodded. "Ah! Of course, M-Mr. Kirkland!" He quickly knelt down on the ground as he grabbed the keyboard and mouse.

He soon started to press a few buttons on the keyboard to bring up the command prompt as he quickly type in a few lines. Alfred had always been extremely handy with technology so this was nothing for him. He frowned a bit though when the computer started to work again though the word document crashed. This didn't seem to faze him though.

After a few minutes, he opened up the word document again and grinned. "Luckily there's autosave. You might be missing a sentence or two but that should be easy to type up!" And with that, he stood up, hoping that he would be on the better side of his boss now...

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur almost felt bad for shouting, almost. His mood was what prevented him from actually being sympathetic.

When Alfred knelt beside him, he furrowed his brow. What the devil was he doing down there? He found himself looking at Alfred’s hair, finding himself strangely tempted to run his fingers through that gorgeous, golden hair. He quickly looked away, watching Alfred work on the computer. He looked so concentrated, the reflection of the monitor in his glasses.

Lord, how did he make that look sexy? It was computer glare.

“Ah, thank you…” Arthur cleared his throat. “I don’t know how you managed that.” He scratched the back of his neck, heaving another sigh. “Well, that was a challenge.” He took the mouse back from Alfred and opened the auto-save, re-saving. Sod the last couple of sentences, he would do it again tomorrow.

“I think that’s enough for today, Jones… everyone is heading off now, aren’t they?”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred had only knelt down besides the man because he didn't want to take his chair and it was easier to type and click the mouse for him when he was in this position. He ignored his boss as he worked on the computer, at the time quite determined to fix everything for his boss. There were definitely some times where he could actually be serious, contrary to popular belief.

Soon pulling away, he smiled as he stood up. "Of course. I'm sorry that I couldn't recover the last few sentences." He nodded though he was certain that the man didn't mind too much. The American soon glanced down at the time and saw that it was indeed about time to leave.

He simply chuckled and nodded in understanding, saluting his boss just a bit. "Alright then, sir! I'll see you tomorrow then" He hurried over to the door before glancing back over at Arthur, smiling more sincerely.

"Have a good night sir and I can't wait for lunch tomorrow." With that, he soon closed the door and left back to his flat.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Its fine, Alfr – I mean, Jones. It’s my fault for not saving it as I went along,” he shrugged. The salute was somewhat endearing, Arthur nearly laughed. He watched Alfred heading to the door; three guesses where his gaze was.

“You too,” the Brit gave a small, brief wave. “Have a good night, Jones.” For the few moments he could, he studied the bright smile on his assistant’s face before he closed the door and left. He looked so honest, so young, so filled with hopes and dreams. Arthur realised that he was being idiotic and halted any and all thoughts of Alfred.

After turning off the computer, he picked up his briefcase and also left the building. Instead of going home, he went to the supermarket to pick up food. His uncle had said that he would call him tonight, which was not something Arthur was looking forward to.

When he finally arrived at his flat, it was reasonably late at night and he zonked out almost instantly, falling asleep, fully dressed at the dinner table.

[Assistant Jones]

It was about a few weeks later when something finally changed the pace of the working atmosphere. Alfred knew that this time was going to come though he still had no idea what it was going to be all about but he was actually rather excited. It meant that he didn't have to spend all day doing boring work!

So that morning, Alfred couldn't help but knock on the door as he soon opened it to look at Arthur. "Good morning, Mr. Kirkland!" He peeped happily as he brought his specially made coffee for his boss and placed it on the desk.

In all honesty, he thought that his boss and himself were actually getting along quite well! Though there was still a distance between them that unsettled Alfred quite a bit. He was hoping that if he managed to choose a partner and Arthur became his partner, they would be able to trust each more after today. "So are you ready for the team building today?" He asked, a grin on his lips before he pulled away.

"Go drink your coffee quickly because we need to all meet up outside in the hall to talk about today." And with that, Alfred soon left the office so he could meet up with his other co-workers, more than willing to chat excitedly with them.

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