Chapter Text
There was a crease in between Sammy Steven’s eyebrows, and it was incredibly problematic.
He scrunched up his nose and pushed his glasses up, then leaned back in his office chair. He looked displeased. Sammy seemed to stare off into the distance for a second, brow furrowed, and that little crease was even more prominent. Then he narrowed his eyes, only for them to widen a moment later as he leaned forward onto his desk to type furiously on his keyboard for several minutes.
How was Jack supposed to get any work done in this environment?
He dropped his head in his hands.
Sammy was a freelance journalist, and he had been contracted temporarily by the media company Jack worked for. Which meant that Jack would have at least four months to gaze adoringly at Sammy instead of doing his own work.
Needless to say, Jack was struggling with this.
It wasn’t even just that Sammy was a beautiful, beautiful man. It was that he was a damn fine writer, and yes, a phenomenal journalist.
Jack ignored the little voice in his head that sounded a lot like Lily calling him a turncoat and a coward.
He returned his attention to his laptop. There was still a fair amount of formatting left to do for this piece, and he promised Emily he’d help her with her with her report at lunch. If he wanted to be done with this in time, he’d need to work quickly.
He pursed his lips, and his eyes flitted back to Sammy, across the room. He was adjusting his glasses. Jack was pretty sure they weren’t prescription, because he only seemed to wear them when he was working. Reading glasses maybe?
Jack winced, realizing how stalker-y his train of thought had gotten. He was being ridiculous, he knew. This strange infatuation he had with his writing-hero-turned-coworker was getting out of hand.
With a sigh, he stood and grabbed the empty coffee mug on his desk, and walked to the kitchen.
He very purposefully DID NOT LOOK AT SAMMY. Besides, he had better things to do, like get coffee.
...except there was no more left in the pot, and whoever had finished it off had not made a new pot. Great. Some real team players in this office, that was for damn sure.
He dumped the wet, used coffee filter in the trash and grabbed a fresh one, filling it with enough coffee grinds to make ten cups. He added the water, washed the pot, and set it back in the machine. Then Jack switched the coffee maker on, and pivoted in a way that somehow managed to be both irritated and self-satisfied simultaneously-
Only to narrowly avoid barreling into Sammy, who had come up behind him with an empty mug, himself.
Jack shrieked and jerked backwards, but he lost his balance, and nearly fell over, if it weren’t for two (strong) arms wrapping around him.
Which left Jack looking up at Sammy’s beautiful face, held in his beautiful arms, with Sammy still holding his empty mug in one hand. He blinked. Sammy blinked back.
“Ahem,” said one of Jack’s coworkers, who he suddenly decided to hate ferociously. “Is there coffee?” He stood in the entrance of the kitchen and looked bored. Jack took a second to hate him even harder,
Sammy straightened up, pulling Jack with him, and disentangled himself. “Oh, it’s uh, it’s being made.” Sammy repliefd, and the coworker sighed and left, grumbling quietly.
Then Sammy turned to Jack. “You alright there?” He asked, a playful (but not unkind) grin widening on his face.
Jack nodded without really meaning to. “Y-yeah! Thanks, for that. Sorry I almost ran into you.” His cheeks were probably bright scarlet, and Jack attempted some quick mental math to figure the odds of Sammy not noticing.
He gave up on the math, but figured that odds amounted to… well, not likely.
“Oh, no, I’m sorry I scared you, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you, I was just… looking for coffee,” Sammy smiled lamely and held his coffee mug loosely from his fingers.
“Oh, it’ll be ready in a few minutes. I should probably get back to work, in the meantime. But thanks again for catching me,” Jack chuckled nervously and made a swift exit.
He speed walked back to his desk and hunched over it, his head once again in his hands.
Sammy had been wearing his glasses pushed up on his head, and the sight was almost too much to bear.
He groaned to himself. He needed Emily. Hopefully she’d know what to do.
With a sigh, he began to work on his formatting.
A few weeks back, when Jack had heard (via breakroom gossip) that his company was contracting a freelancer for a little while, Jack really did not care. And why should he? The company did things like that all the time, and it had never much mattered before. It was a bit like having temps. They weren’t there, and then they were. And then, later, they weren’t again.
But then Jack discovered who the freelancer was, and the floor dropped out from under him.
And, okay, it wasn’t like Jack had NEVER considered the possibility that they might someday meet. Sammy Stevens and Jack Wright were both journalists in the same city. There were only so many journalistic circles you could run in, here. But until then, Jack had his circles, and Sammy had others. Now, the circles were less like circles and more like Venn Diagrams, and Jack began to lose sleep over it.
It’s not that he hadn’t been excited to actually meet his hero. But he was also incredibly daunted, because he was meeting THE Sammy Stevens, who had such a powerful grasp of language that at times, reading his work made Jack feel like he was being swept away. They were informative and poignant and relatable and funny, even. But the thing Jack loved most about Sammy’s writing?
Jack loved how human it was. Sammy wrote about human experiences, and he did it in a way that was so gratifying and so personal and respectful that Jack could not help but be enamored, at least with his writing.
But then Jack saw a picture of Sammy online, which had made his writing-crush into more of a celebrity crush.
And then Jack actually met Sammy, and he was nice, and caught random falling coworkers, and now it was a Bona-fide crush-crush.
This was Problematic.
He’d spent a lot of time around Emily, during Sammy’s early days at the company. He’d start out at his desk, but then Sammy would do something like twirl a pen around in his fingers, or redo his bun, and it made Jack want to scream and punch a wall, so he’d walk to Emily’s side of the world.
By which he meant the closest thing his building had to a basement, where Emily had holed herself up digitizing the old articles from decades ago.
Emily always helped. She was so nice and reasonable, and she was probably the only person in the company who knew he was gay. Jack wasn’t actively trying to hide it, but he also had absolutely no desire to talk to his coworkers about his personal life. Well, most of them, anyway.
But Emily was different. She was genuine and unassuming, but Jack could tell that she was secretly a major badass. She wouldn’t take any shit, but she would also be a shoulder to cry on or a voice of reason if you needed it.
Jack took a moment to be thankful for her before opening the door to her office.
Well, “office” was pretty generous. It was a dingy room filled with shelves of old newspapers and records, and in one small corner, there was a desk with a computer and an indoor plant. And behind the desk was one Ms. Emily Potter.
She looked up as he entered, and smiled at him. “Lunch time already?” She asked.
Jack sighed dramatically and held up his Tupperware full of leftovers. “Seems like. What’s on the agenda today, boss?”
“Well, I told you about the report, but there’s also some… interesting articles from a few decades back, and I thought you might like to take a look.” She raised her eyebrows at him.
“Interesting how?”
“Interesting as in paranormal.” She nodded to a small pile of papers and files on a corner of her desk.
“Emily, you’re an angel. A godsend. You’re a queen amongst swine, a rose in the weeds, a...a…”
“Great friend and coworker?” She asked with a teasing grin.
He nodded emphatically. “Yes! That.” He pulled up a spare chair and sat down by pile of articles.
He was silent for a moment, but then opened his mouth. “Em?”
“What’s up?” She looked at him over her monitor. Her glasses started to slip down her nose, and she fixed them absentmindedly.
He smiled at her fondly for a moment, but then schooled his features, and stared at her solemnly. “I swear, if I was straight, I’d marry you so fast.”
Emily smiled. “Aw. Good thing you’re not, though.”
He mock-winced. “Ouch, Potter.”
“I meant it in a good way!”
“Good? That is a neutral statement at best! How is that good? You don’t wanna marry me?
“Like… I like you the way you are! And also, it’s adorable that you think we would ever work romantically.”
He quirked his head. “Fair. You and My sister, though… that could be a good match,” he said, with practiced casualty.
“Your sister who is in love with her married podcast producer?” Emily raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, I was exaggerating slightly when I said that. I think they’re just close friends and then Lily may also be harboring a crush. But if she met you, I mean… who’s to say, y’know?”
Emily laughed. “Read your ghost stories, Wright. Leave the matchmaking to me. Speaking of, how’s Sammy?” She looked at him with a smug expression.
He took it all back. Emily was a terrifying force of nature, not to be underestimated.
Jack groaned. “Fucking BEAUTIFUL. As usual. I kept staring at him instead of working. Then I got up to get coffee and also to stop staring at him for like, 0.5 seconds. Except I had to make more because whoever finished the pot did NOT replenish our stores, because I guess they were raised in a barn, or perhaps a large shed. Anyways, when I turned around, who is there in my personal space but Mister Fucking Man Bun himself, and so I screamed and windmilled backwards and nearly broke my head on the ground. But then he caught me, because he’s too fucking good to be true. Stop laughing at me, this is horrible!”
Emily valiantly tried to stifle her giggles. Eventually she calmed down enough to speak. “I’m sorry, I just- I like this for you. You haven’t dated anyone in months, I think Sammy could be good for you.”
“You’re missing a few pretty big Ifs there, Em.”
“What, because you don’t know if he likes guys yet?”
“Well, yeah, for starters, but also because I don’t know if he’d like me even if he is gay.”
“Why wouldn’t he, you’re amazing.”
“Okay, first off, stop saying nice things to me or I’m gonna start crying. Secondly, yes, but I’m also weird and obsessed with paranormal activity and I forget to take care of myself sometimes, and like, I don’t know. I guess I just feel like most people probably want to date someone who’s better at being a human being than I am.” Jack looked down at the desk, and picked at a sliver of wood with his thumbnail.
That had gotten… very personal, very quickly. It’s not that he didn’t talk about personal stuff with Emily, but when he did it was usually not over chicken curry leftovers and files of paranormal data.
He knew without even raising his gaze from the desk that Emily was looking at him with that understanding, caring look, the one that said “I love you, I get what you mean, but you’re wrong and I’m about to tell you why.” He met her eyes.
“Jack, I-“
“No, Emily, it’s okay. I’m alright, really, I just-“ he trailed off. “I just really don’t think anything could ever happen between Sammy and I— not that I ever expected anything really—but still. I should just focus on getting over this crush and doing my job.”
“Well, alright. If you’re sure,” Emily said kindly. He nodded at her.
“So, do you still need my help with that report?”
She smirked. “No, actually. It turned out to be easier than I expected. You’re free to read all the spooky tales you like.”
“Hell yes! I love you, Emily, I really do.”
The slight tension dissipated as he eagerly opened up a file. She rolled her eyes at him and they each went about their work, and the room was filled with the sounds of eating and papers flipping.
Several glorious minutes passed, but just as Jack was nearing the bottom of the stack, he got a text. His supervisor needed him back upstairs for a meeting. He sighed, and Emily quirked her eyebrow at him. “Duty calls, Potter. I have a project meeting. But thank you for the reading material, and good luck on your report.” He stood and stretched, then grabbed his empty Tupperware.
“Bye, Jack. Good luck with Sammy!” She sang. He stuck his tongue out at her and left, a fond smile gracing his features.
He made the trek back upstairs and deposited his empty container at his desk, then walked to Conference Room B. There weren’t many people there yet, so Jack got to have his pick of the seating.
He took a spot by the door and watched his coworkers file in as the clock ticked closer to the meeting time. Finally, his supervisor arrived, and started organizing her agenda as she sat.
Jack absentmindedly realized Sammy wasn’t there, which was strange. He was a part of the same team of journalists as Jack and his coworkers, so, theoretically, he would also be in the project meetings. But apparently not, Jack supposed it was different for contractors.
Then a presence slid in beside him, and Sammy, slightly breathless, glasses up on his head, asked “is it alright if I sit here?” And Jack could only nod.
His boss got started, handing out assignments and taking input, but Jack had her tuned out. He couldn’t pull his attention away from the man beside him, who appeared to be a much better listener than Jack. He looked at their supervisor with a respectful awareness, and Jack was just figuring he should do the same when she called his name.
He looked up at her.
“You and Sammy are together on this next one, alright? It’s not much research, which I know is your strong suit, but there’s some information that I need you to organize before you get started. I’m sure the two of you can work it out. Any questions?”
“No,” Sammy said.
“Nope,” Jack lied.
The supervisor moved on, and Sammy gave him a small smile, which Jack did his best to return. He was pretty sure it looked more like a wince, though.
The meeting ended shortly after, and Sammy and Jack left the conference room with the rest of the employees.
“When do you wanna get started?” Jack asked as they walked back to their desks.
Sammy frowned. “I have to finish my current piece, but I could theoretically be done with that tomorrow. Let’s say we meet up and discuss it after lunch tomorrow?”
Jack nodded, and Sammy smiled and said a small “bye” that Jack didn’t have the chance to respond to, and then Sammy went back to his desk.
Jack slumped over in his office chair. He was on a project with Sammy Stevens. Meaning he would have to work closely with Sammy Stevens. They might even need to exchange phone numbers.
He blew out a breath and bit his lip. Emily. He needed Emily.
Except he had already ventured down to the pseudo-basement once today, and going again so soon after he just went would look suspicious. His supervisors were not fond of duty-shirkers. He hunched over his keyboard and tried to look busy.
He would email her, that’s what he would do. He would use their discreet code, and hide it amidst normal work topics, and nobody would be the wiser.
He opened a draft and began to type.
Emily,
(911) I seem to have run into a somewhat (SOS) urgent (EMERGENCY!!!) snafu, and would appreciate your input. Please stop by my desk at your earliest convenience (ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!).
Best Regards,
Jack Wright
He pressed send.
Her reply came surprisingly quick.
Jack,
(wtf.) ?
Kindly,
Emily Potter
He groaned and tugged at a strand of hair. What was the issue? He could not have been clearer. He typed a response.
Emily,
As PER MY LAST EMAIL, I require your assistance. Please come see me NOW.
Thank you,
Jack Wright
He gnawed on his cheek and waited for her email. The clock ticked on the wall behind him. His coworkers clicked and typed and make other such computer noises. Jack wanted to scream.
Her reply came in.
Jack,
Why are you acting like you’re my boss? We’re in completely separate departments. Technically, the only boss I have is the CEO.
And anyways, you’re a journalist, Jack. You’re a much better writer than this. You could, theoretically, be coherent. It might speed things up. Just a thought.
Xoxo,
Emily Potter
He groaned.
Emily,
FINE. SAMMY AND I WERE PAIRED ON A PROJECT AND IM DECEASED I NEED YOUR HELP.
RED ALERT, DUDE!
xoxox,
Jack Wright
Her response was almost instantaneous.
Jack,
On my way!!!
Xoxoxo xoxo xoxo
Emily Potter
He snorted and turned around just in time to see her speed walking down the hallway. She stopped by his desk and crouched down, slightly out of breath.
“Would you like some water, Usain Bolt?” Jack said sarcastically and waved his water bottle at her.
She rolled her eyes but took the metal container and unscrewed the lid. She took a healthy swig and gave the bottle back to Jack.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” She asked finally, and he shrugged.
“I thought you’d understand my code,” he confessed.
Her eyebrows bunched up. “Code? What code?”
He gaped. “Wha- my code! With the secret messages! I was being subtle!”
Emily’s eyebrows shot up. “Jack, honey, that was not subtle. You wouldn’t know subtle if it proposed to you via flashmob.”
“Ew, dated reference.”
She shoved him and rolled her eyes. She always reminded him of Lily when she did that.
“Em, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I can totally be subtle! Stop looking at me like that!”
Emily did not stop looking at him like that, and ‘like that’ meant ‘in an extremely doubting and un-confident way’.
“Well, anyways, I get that this is a really juicy piece of information, but why is this a crisis? This is an opportunity, Jack.”
He snorted. “An opportunity to, what? Make a fool of myself?”
“Well, you could do your job for once,” she said, and shrugged.
“Okay, that’s-“ he hesitated. “Fair, admittedly. We’re meeting after lunch tomorrow.”
“Oooh!”
“To do work, Emily.”
“Still, though! That’s closer to being friendly coworkers than you were today!”
He huffed. “I guess!”
“Jack, look at me.” He turned to look at her, still crouched beside his desk. “You’ve got this. You’re a skilled journalist with a lot to offer, you’re hot as hell, and you’re fun to be around. If Sammy doesn’t end up seeing that, he can’t be as good as you think,” she told him, gently.
“Thanks, Mom,” her mumbled. She flicked him in the eyebrow.
“Get back to work, Champ.” She stood and stretched out her back.
“Eugh, get out of here, I’m flashing back to fifth grade.” Jack waved her away.
“Do I need to tell you about the birds and the bees, Jacky?”
She laughed and walked back down the hallway as he pretended to retch.
She was right, of course. He should just get to work. Focus on the job first, worry about making friends with his crush after. So he got to work, and before long it was time to clock out.
Jack left the building in a horde of other tired employees, and dialed his sister as he walked to his car.
“What’s up, Jack?” She answered.
“Hey, Lily. You busy?” He started the car and peeled out of the parking lot.
“Not particularly. Something wrong?”
“No, no, all good. I do have a bit of a personal life update, though.”
He could hear the intrigue in her tone. “Do tell, sir.”
“So, you know that journalist I like?”
“Yeah, the freelancer who’s working with you now. Steven something?”
“Sammy Stevens.”
“Right! Yeah, I remember. He’s… okay,” she said slowly.
He almost laughed. “He’s better than that, and you know it. He’s a phenomenal journalist, Lil.”
“Jack Wright, you take that back. You know I’m trying to get that copyrighted. You’re a traitor and a coward; I’m writing you out of my will.”
“Oh no, whatever will I do without inheriting my sister’s lesbian porn collection,” he remarked drily, and she scoffed at him.
“It’s not just lesbian porn, I also have a few harlequin novels. Real ‘simple farm girl meets worldly traveler masquerading as a man’ type stuff.”
“Tempting as that sounds, I think I’m good.”
“Won’t you miss me when I’m dead?”
He declined to answer. “So, anyways, Sammy and I are now partnered on a project, and tomorrow we are meeting up after lunch to discuss it.”
“Why do you sound so put out? This is great news, you can finally seduce the guy and I can stop hearing about his dreamy eyes or whatever.”
“Firstly, I never actually mentioned his eyes, I said he looked dreamy wearing glasses. Secondly, I’m not gonna seduce him, I’m not you, Lily.”
She made a pleased sound at that.
“Thirdly, this means I have to interact with him without being a gay disaster. And as we both know, that is a tall order for me. Hence, my low-level panicking.”
“Well- just… be yourself?”
“You’re worse than Emily.” He parked in his driveway and got out.
“I don’t know! I don’t know how to give advice. Just… do your best.”
“Ugh, thanks so much.” He unlocked his front door and pushed it open.
“Yeah, my pleasure, Jack.”
They were both quiet for a moment.
“Seriously, though, you’re gonna be fine, Jack. I know it’s… been a bit, since you’ve had a serious relationship. But you’re gonna be fine.”
He sighed and leaned against the wall. “I… appreciate that. Still very weird to hear coming from you, though.”
“Fair enough. I actually need to get going, I have to meet up with Pippa.”
“Tell her hi from me.”
“Will do. Bye, you nuisance.”
“Later hater,” he sang.
She groaned and hung up. Jack chuckled to himself and tossed his keys on the credenza. He busted himself with light cleaning and a nice dinner, and spent the rest of his evening researching spontaneous human combustion.
His morning came quickly, and soon he was chugging down a cup of coffee and sliding into his desk at work. The majority of his brain power after that was diverted to dreading and anxiously awaiting his rendezvous with Sammy in equal measures. The seconds ticked by, and Jack did as little work as possible until the unofficial lunch hour began.
He met up with Emily, as he usually did, but he wasn’t as talkative as he normally was. He could tell that she noticed.
“Are you nervous?”
He scoffed. “No, no. I’m a grown man, I’m not nervous. This isn’t high school.”
“That was… very convincing, Jack.” She looked at him kindly.
He deflated. “Yes? Sort of? It’ll be fine. He’s a nice dude! I guess I just feel…” he was at a loss for words.
“Star struck?” Emily offered, and he nodded.
“Yeah. Star struck.”
And then lunch was over, and Sammy was at his desk asking where he wanted to go to talk about the project.
“Um. I think conference room A is open?”
Sammy nodded, and Jack followed him in, holding his laptop in his hands. They sat, and got situated, and then Sammy got right down to business.
“So, I know the supervisor said your strong suit was research, and that there wasn’t a whole lot of that in this project, but… I was wondering if I could do the research for this one?” Sammy had an expectant look on his face.
“Sure! I don’t see why not.” Jack smiled, and shrugged.
“Great! And then- oh, did she email you the parameters?”
Jack furrowed his brow. “Let me check.” He searched his email and didn’t see anything from his boss. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Alright, I’ll forward it to you. What’s your email address?”
Jack told him, and Sammy forwarded the information.
“Oof, this data she wants organized is pretty old.”
“How old?” Sammy asked, looking sideways at Jack’s screen.
“Like, I’m pretty sure Emily hasn’t even digitized them yet. Which is fine, I can go old school. Have you met Emily?”
Sammy shook his head, and Jack grinned.
“Oh, she’s spectacular. You gotta meet her. She works mostly in the lower levels of the building, right now. She convinced the CEO to let her digitize their old articles and records that were collecting dust down in the… well, for lack of a better word ‘basement’.”
“The… CEO?” Sammy was visibly confused.
“Technically, the CEO is her only superior.”
“What? How?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never gotten her to tell me. But anyways, we can run down and grab that stuff now if you don’t mind?”
“Yeah, absolutely,” Sammy said, and stood.
They walked down to Emily, and chatted the entire way. Sammy had some interesting ideas for their project, which Jack really liked.
“Knock-Knock,” Jack said, and walked into Emily’s space without actually knocking, followed by a slightly apprehensive Sammy.
Emily looked up from her spot crouched on the floor, files both open and stacked in a circle all around her. She stood as she saw Jack. “Hey, Jack!”
“Hey, Em, this is Sammy. Sammy, meet the incredible Emily Potter.”
Emily smiled at Sammy and shook his hand, but shot a look at Jack when Sammy wasn’t watching.
“What brings you guys down here?” Emily asked them.
“Oh, I need these files, they’re not digitized yet.” He handed her a piece of paper with the information written on it, and raised an eyebrow.
“You telling me to get a move on, Wright?” She asked, her voice taking on a playful rough quality.
Jack laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I’m doing.”
“Your facetiousness is not lost on me.” She deadpanned.
“I should hope not,” he said with a grin. Emily smiled at him, and then set about gathering the files he needed.
It was not a large stack, but it did take Emily a short while to find them all. In the meantime, she made friendly small talk with Sammy.
“So, how are you liking it so far?” She asked, squatting down to look on a lower shelf.
“‘It’ being what, exactly?” Sammy asked, his hands in his pockets. He looked down at her with a friendly expression.
“Oh, you know,” she said, flipping through a folder before reshelving it efficiently. “Working here. How does it compare to your other contracted ‘gigs’?” Emily grabbed a file and held it up to them.
Sammy and Jack looked at each other, then at her. She began waving the file around, still squatting on the ground, her head down.
“A-are you- what… what is this?” Sammy asked, looking between Emily’s wildly waving arm and Jack, who felt just as confused as Sammy looked.
“Are you just gonna make me hold this file forever?” Emily still had not taken her face out of the bottom shelves, her other hand occupied with taking files out and putting them back (seemingly at random) after skimming their contents.
“Oh, sorry!” Sammy rushed forward and took the file from Emily, whose arm dropped to the floor instantly.
She murmured a muffled, sincere “thank you.”
“No… problem? But, well, to answer your question… it’s nice! I like it. Interesting work, and it’s nice to have a 9 to 5, actually.” Sammy smiled.
Emily stood and stretched for a moment, and Jack winced at the audible pops her joints made.
“Shit, Em, are you good?” Jack asked, his face tinged with something that was similar to disgusted worry.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I feel good, just noisy. The rest of the files should be in this box, let me grab it.” She hoisted down a cardboard box and lugged it over to her desk. She flipped through it in the same manner she had the other files, and pulled out a handful. “Okay, one, two, three, four, and-“ she plucked the file out of Sammy’s hands and put it on her stack. “Five. All accounted for, gents, now get out of my cave.” She said this with a smile and friendly tone, but Jack and Sammy did make to leave, even so.
“You’re a miracle, Potter!” Jack called on his way out, the stack of files held in his hands. .
“Don’t put me on a pedestal, Wright,” she replied, her eyebrow arched.
He just grinned. “Em, I think we both know I’m just about the only one who you’d let out you on a pedestal, and also one of the only ones who never would.”
“Thats- well, that’s true.” She rolled her eyes.
Jack left the room with a wink and a kiss blown in her direction.
“Sammy, it was nice to meet you, please keep Jack on task and whatever you do, do NOT let him trick you into slacking off.”
“I’ll do my best. See you later,” he replied with an amused grin, and she waved as he walked out.
Jack was waiting for Sammy at the end of the hallway. “Ready to get some real work done?”
Sammy nodded. “Hey, can I ask you a question, though?” Same asked after a moment. His brow was slightly furrowed.
Jack was intrigued, and because he felt confident in how well he was handling his crush so far, (and also because saying no would be awkward) he said yes.
“Are you and Emily, like, dating?”
Jack spluttered. “Uh. No. Assuredly not.”
Sammy raised his eyebrows at that. It didn’t take a genius to see he was surprised.
“She’s my best friend, and my favorite person who isn’t related to me. Definitely my closest work friend. But uh, no, we will never date.”
“Alright. I just.. you guys seem very close,” Sammy said, neutrally.
Jack hummed. “We are. But it’s the kind of closeness that’s just… there’s no… chemistry? Like the idea really is laughable. I’d marry her for like, tax benefits, or immigration purposes, or a bet, even. But not for love.” He shrugged as they approached their desks.
“Huh. Well, I’m glad you guys are so close, then,” Sammy replied.
“I’m with you there, Sammy. What about you? Any work friends to speak of? I know you haven’t been here too, long, but…” Jack trailed off, and looked at Sammy invitingly.
“Yeah, actually. My best friend— well, he’s my roommate, too— actually works here. He brought up my name when he heard they were looking to for an independent contractor.”
“Oh shit, nepotism?!” Jack gasped exaggeratedly, and it startled a laugh out of Sammy.
Oh. Jack would have to do that more often. Sammy had a good laugh.
“Not quite. There was still a whole process, you know how it goes. But obviously, I got the job. Ben, my friend, actually works on the floor above us.”
“Hey, that’s cool. I think-“ jack was interrupted by his cell phone dinging. He fished it out of his pocket and saw a new text from Emily.
Emily: Stop flirting and get to work.
Jack furrowed his brow and looked around.
Jack: Where are you???? How do you know what I’m doing?
Emily: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Jack: wait how’d you do that
Emily: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jack: emILY
Emily: xxoxoxoxo
(Read 12:29pm)
He looked up to see Sammy staring at him somewhat expectantly. “Oh my god, I’m so rude. I’m the rudest person ever.”
Sammy laughed again. “It’s fine. You just sort of trailed off there, you good?”
Jack nodded and apologized again. He picked up a file. “Well, shall we start?”
At Sammy’s agreement, they returned to the conference room and settled in to digitize and organize the information in the files for later use (and ease of access.)
After several hours, the work was mostly completed, and Sammy apologetically announced that he had to go, because his roommate had a dentist appointment, and they had carpooled.
Jack didn’t mind finishing on his own, though. He smiled and said goodbye to Sammy, and slumped over when he was out of sight. He packed his things and returned to his desk.
It’s not like the day hadn’t gone great, because it had. He and Sammy worked very well together. Everything was going swimmingly. But being around such an attractive person for an extended period of time took a toll, especially when they weren’t just a pretty face, like in Sammy’s case. So he had been worried about not only being obvious with his crush, but also trying to impress him as a coworker, and trying to impress him as an incredibly skilled writer who Jack admired greatly.
Therefore: exhausting.
Jack shot up as he saw Sammy come back in, his satchel bag hanging from his shoulder. He beelined for Jack’s desk.
“Hey,” he said, completely normally.
“Hey,” Jack responded slightly breathless.
“Would you be willing to get together over the long weekend and brainstorm? We could get coffee, or something,” Sammy offered. He looked at Jack expectantly.
Say something, dumbass. A hot guy is asking if you want to get coffee this weekend.
“Uh- sure! Yeah, that sounds good!” Jack winced internally at how loud his voice was, but Sammy didn’t seem to mind. He grinned, and dug his phone out from within his pocket.
“Here, put your number in,” Sammy told him, and Jack took the phone and entered in his contact information. He debated taking a contact photo, and in a split second decided on yes. He took an extremely awkward selfie while Sammy looked on, which was, admittedly, not his best move for getting a guy to like him.
Still, Sammy didn’t seem to mind. He was still smiling in amusement.
Jack set the photo as his picture and handed it back. “So you don’t forget what I look like,” he explained.
“I think there’s very little risk of that,” Sammy responded, and Jack felt his cheeks warm.
Sammy waved another quick goodbye, and Jack was free to slump on his desk in peace.
Then his phone buzzed.
[Unknown Number]:
[Unknown Number]: This is Sammy by the way.
Jack: Hi Sammy :-)
(Read 3:57pm)
Yeah, Jack thought. I am well and truly fucked.