Rosie stood absently in the foyer for a good half hour before it clicked that her boss and Mafia King wouldn’t be coming through the company doors, and she would be all alone for a month.
She walked alone to the elevator, going through emails on her digital pad. Lake had worked hard in the past week, so for the rest of the first week, there was little to do. The other secretaries could easily handle things for the week but Rosie had no plans of slacking off.
She was responsible for FluxCorp as well as the boss’ other companies and the other tons of things that needed to be supervised. Rosie sighed and sat behind her desk, there was no one to give a report to that morning, she couldn’t even have a casual chat with Lake.
One of the landlines on her table rang, making her frown, it wasn’t the line used for company contacts, so it had something to do with the Mafia. Rosie picked tentatively, usually, she wasn’t this cautious, but that was because her job previously was to forward the calls to Lake.
"Asher said I should check up on you," Jael’s familiar voice came through the phone, the tension bleeding out of Rosie.
"I’m fine," She said a little touchily, it was just the first morning, she was a little nervous and lonely but she would be fine.
"I figured," The Beta said dryly, "But I’ve still got to come over. How do you like your coffee?"
"Sweet," Rosie eased off, "With almond milk."
She hadn’t expected Jael to go through the trouble of showing up in person, it was why she had been a bit touchy on the phone call.
But even though the most Jael would do would be to sit across from her while she worked, it would be less nerve-wracking than if she had to do it alone.
She had just gotten a new secretary to replace Sharon, and Jennie had her hands full with putting the Beta through the ropes. She also wasn’t close enough to them to just walk in and have a casual conversation so without Jael, she would have spent the entire month alone in her office.
Rosie barely spent time in the spacious office assigned to her, usually hanging around in Lake’s office, or the nearby recreation room so it made the office that more unbearable.
Jael showed up in record time with her cup of coffee, the Beta looked exhausted although it was just the start of the day, his dress shirt rumpled. He was like the direct opposite of Rosie whose outfit was neatly pressed without a crease in sight.
"Are you sure you should leave your boss to his antics?" She asked lightly as she sipped on her coffee, her perfectly manicured nails flying over the laptop on her desk.
Jael had sank into a nearby chair, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. "Asher is taking an early weekend off."
That made a lot of sense to Rosie, but she had a feeling that the Mafia King and his eccentric mate would still find ways to get up to trouble in their home. Jael showing up to FluxCorp might be more of a favor to himself that her.
"There’s a more comfortable room just down the hallway, you can watch a movie if you want to," Rosie found herself offering, although she had been looking for company.
Jael lowered his head to look at her, his dark eyes contemplating her offer. "Yeah, I’m going to take you up on that," He muttered, rising to his feet.
Rosie watched him leave with disappointment, Jael was far from lively company but it was better than sitting alone in this dreary office. She pushed her complaints down and refocused on the documents on her screen.
Jael really looked like he needed some time alone, besides, the sooner she adapted to working alone, the easier her boss’ vacation would be on her.
Jael languidly strolled down the hallway, the walls on one side were made up of windows so he could see the parking lot below. The top floor of the company was completely quiet, nothing like the constant noise of a club.
He found the room with ease, surprised to see that Rosie had actually been understating the room. It was plushly carpeted, cushions in a corner, and a bed at the other far end. There was a corner for snacks and drink, a large television placed on the wall across from the bed.
He kicked off his shoes and took off his holsters, getting comfortable on the bed. He hadn’t minded Asher asking him to come over at first, because he owed Rosie but it had turned out far better than he had hoped for.
There was really nothing for him to do, it was highly unlikely that anyone would start anything, but if they did, he would be quick to shut it down so he could enjoy this peace and quiet.
He had barely been in there for a few hours before Rosie sought him out, the coldly perfect secretary held a delivery box in her hand as she poked her copper head of hair into the recreation room.
"Hey, I wasn’t sure if you’d had breakfast yet so I got you something." She offered to him.
Jael had already begun to doze off before she showed up, pushing himself to his feet with a burst of energy. Rosie’s expression was open, nothing but genuine care in those pale eyes.
He took the paper bag, "Thanks. Do you need me to do anything?"
Rosie thought it over and shook her head, "No, I’m good."
Jael watched her retreating figure, the scent of savory food filling the room, the sound of the television in the background.
It had been a while since he thought about Lucy, it simply hurt less not to, but now she came into his thoughts unbidden, and he was struck by how uncannily Rosie was a lot like Lucy.
He wasn’t interested in her, however, and she was even less so in him. Jael had a bittersweet smile on his face as he sat down to eat and watch some television.
He couldn’t handle another strong-willed woman, he wouldn’t survive, she would break him completely.