Chapter Text
To: T, Jess <[email protected]>
From: Management <[email protected]>
Subject: data audit
Attachments: DataCleanUpReport.xls
Jess,
Please see the attached document with the results of our data audit for last month. The items noted in column G need to be corrected to the items listed in column H.
These corrections need to be input into the system by the end of the week. Please advise once complete.
Sincerely,
Management
“Really? Again? Thanks a fucking lot” Jess huffed while slouching back into her desk chair. She was sick of leadership offloading their busywork onto her. It felt like everyone else in the department was assigned to some interesting project or another, except her. Nope, Jess was left to tidy up other people’s mistakes and deal with the drudgery nobody wanted to do.
Jess could feel a snarky reply itching its way out of her. She opted to lock her computer and depart for lunch before she did any damage. It was days like today that she was glad her office was behind-the-times enough to still have cubicles, so no one could see the agitation in her movements. Every other company Jess had worked for embraced the “open office” mentality. Being elbow to elbow with your coworkers without a sliver of privacy quickly made a bad mood so much worse.
Jess yanked her bag out of her desk drawer, and grabbed her umbrella for good measure. It was always rainy this time of year in London. She finally felt her shoulders start to relax as she walked out of the building’s front doors. She stopped at a kebab shop down the street to get a doner wrap, and wolfed it down during the rest of her walk.
Her office was only a few blocks away from the famed British Museum, and Jess had taken to spending her lunch breaks there a few times a week. Doing so had several perks -
1) It was free
2) It was relaxing and educational
And, most importantly,
3) It was the last place any of her coworkers would ever go during lunch.
Jess had recently started bringing her sketchbook along to practice drawing the many sculptures, statues, or even other visitors. It helped her feel more human, being surrounded by art and artifacts while practicing an art herself. Being an office drone will wear you down if you don’t fight it somehow.
Today seemed to be a bit busier than usual. There were throngs of people crowding the information desk as Jess walked inside. She had hoped to grab a museum map to keep on hand, but didn’t feel like contending with the horde of people. Jess cut around the crowd and walked towards her usual corner of the museum. She had been working her way through the many Ancient Greece and Rome rooms for the last few weeks. Today, she felt like something different.
Jess paused at a sign listing the exhibits in this wing.
“Assyrian sculpture… Egyptian sculpture…hmm that sounds about perfect” she muttered to herself.
It was much calmer in the Egyptian sculpture exhibits. Maybe a dozen or so people were spread throughout the interconnected rooms. Jess took in the gorgeous statues as she slowly walked through, waiting for one to catch her eye as today’s sketch subject. She noticed there was a gift shop to her right. She glanced over and scanned the front of the counter, hoping to see a stack of museum maps like the information desk had.
“Oh, ah hello there! Can I help you?”
Jess turned to see the source of the, rather cheerful, query. The museum employee standing behind the counter looked up at her eagerly, dark wavy hair falling above his brow as he leaned over the register. Jess blinked, and finally realized she hadn’t responded to him yet.
“Oh um no, no thank you, just looking!” she stuttered out. “Well… actually, I was wondering if you had any of the exhibit maps here? I meant to grab one up front but there was such a big crowd. I know I can just pull it up on my phone… but, I prefer to have a physical copy, you know?”
Jess mentally kicked herself as she over-explained to this man who certainly didn’t care why she wanted a map.
“Ah, I’m afraid we don’t keep any of the maps or pamphlets back here," the man said in an apologetic tone.
"That's fine, no worries! Just wanted to check." Jess reassured him.
"Pretty stupid not to, now that you mention it eh? I should say something to my boss. Those would be more useful than half the stuff back here, like all these jelly scorpions. I mean what does that have to do with Egyptian history? Honestly I -”
The man cut himself off and shook his head, eyes closed.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to get going on a rant there” He looked at her again with an embarrassed smile.
Jess gave what she hoped was a sympathetic smile.
"Not at all, I mean I can't say I disagree with you. Though, admittedly, those hippos over there are pretty cute" she nodded to a pile of hippo plush toys and chuckled.
"Well, technically, those are the goddess Taweret.” The man said with a teasing glance, “But, yeah, I s'pose they are cute. I think she would approve of them, actually.”
He paused for a moment before looking back at Jess.
“Right! So, er, no maps unfortunately. But I’d be happy to help direct you myself! I know this museum backwards and forwards by now.”
Jess chuckled softly. “Sure, I didn’t really have anything specific in mind. I like to come here on my lunch breaks and sketch the artifacts. I’ve been through most of the Greek and Roman exhibits, so I decided to come through here today.”
The man instantly perked up with excitement at hearing this.
“That’s just lovely! Well there’s loads to see and draw here. Over there is the sculpture of King Ramses the second, and down here we have -”
As the man animatedly explained what and where seemingly every artifact in the exhibit was, Jess took a moment to properly observe him. He wore a simple gray jacket over a slightly rumpled but brightly patterned shirt. A nametag on the front jacket pocket revealed his name was Steven. He was very handsome for a gift shop worker, with striking features and an attractive build obscured by his frenetic energy and ordinary clothing. Dark circles under his warm brown eyes hinted at some unseen stress in his life, but you would never guess it otherwise. He spoke with more passion than Jess could ever remember having in her own workplace.
“- and of course you simply MUST see the Rosetta Stone down there. Although, ha, I s’pose it wouldn’t be much for drawing would it?”
He suddenly looked bashful again, glancing back at Jess.
“It's just a big old block with some writing on it, innit?” He chuckled hesitantly “But… it did allow us to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. So, er, it’s a rather useful big old block I’d say.”
He looked down at the counter and fiddled with some of the merchandise, the confidence he’d shown just moments ago seemed to evaporate.
“Well, er, I’ll let you get to it then.” He suddenly reverted to customer service mode, “Is there anything else I can help you with, miss?”
Jess flashed her best you’re-doing-great-sweetie smile at him.
“No, thank you, I really appreciate your recommendations.” She remembered less than half of what he’d told her, but his enthusiasm was incredibly charming.
He smiled back at her shyly “Always glad to help. Have a great day, miss.”
Jess started to walk away but thought better of it. Before she could think it through, she found herself turning back to the gift shop clerk.
“If you’re still here when I’m done, I can show you whatever I end up sketching. If you like…”
She surprised him as much as she did herself. He perked back up and grinned at her.
“I'd love that! I won’t be going anywhere ‘til closing tonight, so, you know where to find me -” He paused for half a beat “- right here. Yep.” He chuckled timidly.
“Great! Well, I’ll see you later - “
Jess pointedly glanced at his nametag again.
“- Steven.”
She gave him another warm smile and turned on her heel down the hall. She did not see Steven gazing after her with a flustered grin on his face.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
Steven watched her walk away and waited for his heart rate to go back to normal. It was several minutes before he realized he still had a goofy smile plastered on his face, replaying the interaction in his head.
He made a mental note to ask for her name when she came back. Then, he felt a small lurch in his stomach at his next thought.
If she comes back.
Of course, he was getting ahead of himself. She was just being kind to him. He'd spoken with hundreds, if not thousands, of museum visitors since working here. None of those interactions went beyond surface level. None of those people would remember him or think about him once they stepped away from the gift shop counter. There was no reason to expect this time would be any different, right?
No, this was just an unusually pleasant interaction with an unusually pleasant patron. Nothing more. At the very least, it had brightened his day significantly.
And… it was the closest to anything resembling flirting he had experienced in ages.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
Jess meandered through the exhibits and settled in front of a row of lion goddess statues. The plaque indicated they were representations of the goddess Sekhmet, and were likely commissioned by King Amenhotep III.
There was no bench so Jess sat on the floor. She pulled out her sketchbook and pencils, and looked up at the artifacts in front of her. She started out with a rough impression of the four statues together. Then she moved on to more detailed sketches of one statue's lion head, and then her hands resting on her lap. She captured the damaged sections as well as the skillful carvings in the stone.
Her mind wandered, not for the first time, to the sense of awe at being surrounded by works that were carved thousands of years ago. How many hands had touched these statues? How many people had played a part in their creation? Had gazed upon them where they once stood in Egypt? And then, how many had helped steal them away from their homeland to be put on display in a stuffy museum in England? Had they heard the bombs falling during the blitz? These Sekhmet statues had literally seen kingdoms, empires, rise and fall. The stories they might tell.
Jess checked the time on her phone.
Crap, better start heading back to the office.
She put a few finishing touches on her sketch and packed up to leave. Without thinking, she automatically started heading towards the museum entrance. Then she remembered her conversation with the gift shop clerk - Steven.
"Shit…" she hissed under her breath.
Why did I say I'd show him my sketches? I'm such a dork. He was probably just humoring me.
Still, she didn't want to leave him hanging. He'd seemed genuinely interested in seeing what she drew. And besides, if she was going to keep coming here she didn't want to make things awkward with any of the staff.
She walked back towards the gift shop, slightly hoping there would be a line of customers to give her an excuse to leave.
Jess rounded the corner into the gift shop area. There was Steven sitting behind the counter, not a customer in sight. Great.
Steven did an absurdly comical double take as Jess walked over. He stood up so quickly that he sent a pile of sticker packs flying across the counter.
"Oh, hey, you're back! Er, I mean, did you find everything you were looking for today?"
Jess couldn't help giggling in amusement. She had never seen someone look so weirdly cute while stumbling over themselves. She also couldn't remember the last time someone had such a reaction to her entering a room. It was a heady feeling.
"Yeah! I ended up settling on the row of Sekhmet statues around the corner there."
She tried to make eye contact with Steven as she spoke, but found herself unable to hold it for long. He gazed at her with such a rapt look on his face, hanging on her every word. Jess felt a blush creep up her neck, and made a show of digging her sketchbook out of her bag as an excuse to look away. Much to her relief, Steven quickly filled the space left by her silence.
"Lovely choice. Those Sekhmets are some of my favorites. Really interesting, Amenhotep was apparently obsessed with her. He commissioned hundreds of those statues and put them bloody everywhere, even in his tomb. I believe the ones in the museum here were originally from Thebes? Or was it Karnak?" Steven furrowed his brow and looked up towards the ceiling while searching his memory. After a beat he looked back at Jess and the sketchbook in her hands.
"D-did you find them to be good drawing subjects, then?" Steven fidgeted his hands together.
"I did, they're so beautiful. Even with the wear and damage. Um, if you wanted to see…" Jess half heartedly gestured towards her sketchbook.
"Please, absolutely!" Steven answered a little too quickly.
Jess looked down, trying to hide her growing blush. She opened to the pages she had sketched today and put the book down on the counter, rotating it to face Steven. He bent over to examine them, careful not to touch the sketches themselves.
"Brilliant, these are just brilliant, wow." Steven said in a low voice, shaking his head with a grin. "Someone here is hogging all the creative talent, - "
He looked up to lock eyes with Jess, and gestured towards her,
"- you." He chuckled self consciously.
If Jess wasn't blushing before she certainly was now.
"That's really sweet of you to say. They're just simple sketches." Jess thumbed the strap of her bag and looked at her sketchbook sitting on the counter. "I'm not a real artist or anything… it's just something I like to do in my free time. "
"No way, you're really talented! These are gorgeous. They're not just life-like but they feel… alive, like you captured a spirit hidden in the stone itself."
Jess looked up to meet Steven's gaze as he continued.
"There's something special here. I see those statues every day… but, looking at what you've drawn, it feels like I'm seeing them in a new way."
Steven paused and held Jess's gaze. Jess couldn't tell if she wanted to hug him or just burst out crying from his unexpectedly thoughtful compliment. The best she could muster was a small, quiet -
"...thank you. Really. You're… you're very kind." She gave him an embarrassed smile.
Steven beamed back at her.
"I mean, I'm no artist myself. I'm just a gift shop clerk, what do I know? But I think these are brilliant and that you're very talented."
He handed the sketchbook back to Jess. She got a glance of her watch as she put it back in her bag.
"Crap, sorry, I'm going to be late getting back to the office. I'd better get going." She looked up at him and gave a shy smile. "Thank you, again. I think I needed to hear that today."
Steven felt his heart flip over in his chest.
"O'course, I-I'm glad to have helped."
Jess started to walk away slowly and gave Steven a small wave.
"Well, have a good day, Steven. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" she said hopefully.
Steven felt his heart fly up into his throat.
"Sure! I'll be exactly right here, again. Well, unless my boss puts me on inventory, but hopefully not." He chuckled nervously and waved back to her. Then he remembered his mental note from earlier.
"Wait, ah, miss, d'you mind my asking what your name is?"
"Oh, right, not at all! It's Jess."
"Jess, lovely to meet you. I'm Steven, with a V." He pointed to his nametag.
To her continued embarrassment, Jess heard herself giggle in response.
"Lovely to meet you too, Steven with a V. See you tomorrow."
She turned and walked out of the exhibit towards the exit. It felt like there was an electric current humming through her body. She couldn't stop smiling to herself the whole walk back to the office.
Jess got back to her cubicle and settled into her desk chair with a sigh.
Steven with a V.
She was already looking forward to tomorrow’s lunch break.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
Steven watched Jess walk away and collapsed back into his chair behind the counter.
He looked at the glass encased artifact sitting opposite the gift shop.
"Tell me that really just happened, please?"
His reflection in the glass crossed its arms and laughed
Oh yeah bud, that definitely just happened.
"D’you think she'll actually come back tomorrow? Do you think she'll actually want to see me again? I mean…" Steven trailed off with a sigh.
She came back today didn't she? I think she might.
"Well, hopefully I don't make an ass of myself again." Steven sighed and sank deeper into the chair.
His reflection uncrossed his arms and took a few steps forward.
Hey, despite all odds I think you actually did pretty good back there. She seemed to like you! Try not to worry about it. If it's meant to be, it'll come naturally. And… at the very least, I think you made her day by complimenting her art. That counts for something.
Steven smiled weakly.
"Thanks, Marc."
Any time, Steven.