Work Text:
The smell of old coffee and stale air conditioning overwhelmed my senses immediately. I was currently walking towards my desk at the tax firm I would begin working at today. The man at the front desk told me my desk would be in the back, empty, and next to a man with blue hair. The bright fluorescent lights added a washed out look to everything, and the peoples faces blended together, but the blue my eyes landed on was distinct and unmistakable. I bee lined for the man, eager to set up my work station. I put my hand up in a wave when I saw his annoyed face. His hand quickly came up signaling me to give him a minute, “Madame, that isn’t possible. This paperwork will take me at least five days! …I understand. I can try- fine. I can have it done in three days.” His head dropped down for a moment and I heard a deep sigh. Suddenly he was standing up with his hand out stretched for a hand shake and a large smile on his face, “My name is Jean, it’s a pleasure to meet you Maitre! As you can see our desks are… quite close to each other. As a result, I am more than willing to help you while getting adjusted. Of course, you could always try and impress me, see how far you can get along without my help.” He held my hand in both his hands, shaking it quite vigorously almost the whole time. This greeting told me a few things about Jean that immediately captivated me. One- he is energetic, so energetic I'm honestly not sure how he stays entertained working in an office. Two- he enjoys challenging people. His last remark was most definitely a bet, he was sure I would fumble my first couple of days here without him. Finally- He’s French, like really French. His accent was thick and the words he used to address me and the woman on the phone was most definitely not English. I was captivated immediately. I, however, ignored this.
A calm smile crossed my face and my shoulders rolled back as I recovered from his brash greeting. I introduced myself and finally looked away from him and assessed my surroundings. I understood why he seemed so off put by our desk being so close. Our desks were facing each other. His desk faced the entrance of the room, mine was directly in front of his facing the back window. If it wasn’t for the divider between our desk, i’d be able to interlock legs with him sitting down. In fact, all the desks were set up like this. It felt like a high school computer lab more than an office. Brushing that thought off, I sat down, and began to place down my items. Pens and pencils in a holder, dividers placed in drawers, computer logged into, and appropriate apps and programs downloaded. Once ensuring there was nothing left to do at my desk, I began walking to my bosses office. I needed a client to start the day with.
I lightly tapped on the door announcing my presence and walked in. My boss was an older man, perhaps in his late forties, early fifties. I gave a tight smile announcing I was ready for a client. He cleared his throat and began talking with a tight rasp, he was clearly a smoker, “I have two easy clients. One is a collage student working a part time job, it’s her first time filing her taxes. Another is a single mother, 40 years old. She’s had some changes in government benefits this year, she wants us to review her forms before she submits them. These should take you two, three days max. Bring them to my desk for now so I can review your work before submitting the forms,” he took a sip of the drink he had on his desk and looked back at his computer. That was my signal to leave.
I quickly returned to my desk and got to work. Jean flashed a quick smile to me, but otherwise stayed engrossed in his work, letting out quiet hums and tapping on his desk every once in a while. This rhythm only broke once I went on my lunch break. I cleaned up my desk of any loose papers and took out my packed lunch. Jean and many other people began doing the same, the sounds of soda cans opening, light banter, and chewing filled the office. I looked over at Jean’s desk. It was messy, to say the least. Jean seemed to float through the disorder without an issue however. As I scanned the desk I noticed his name plate, identical to mine, spelling out his whole name. “Jean Loo Pissoir. Is it French?” Jean’s head snapped up, he looked confused, then- embarrassed? “Oui, yes. My parents also had an odd sense of humor…” I chuckled, looking back up at Jean. “Soooo….” he started, “you like your first day? You clearly didn’t need my help.” I smiled,” It was nice, like working in any office. You did actually help me though, your humming made the work a bit more bearable.” I saw a large smile cross his face, “You like it? I thought it was eh, okay. I'm glad to hear it was good though, I've always enjoyed making music.” My eyebrows raised in mild shock, a soft smile settling on my face, “You make music? I’d love to hear.” Suddenly I watched panic cross his face, and he sank into his chair, “oh, no uhm. I would just like to make music, I don't though! Yeah.” nervousness and slight embarrassment colored him entirely at the moment. I just nodded and dropped the topic, it was time to return to work.
This is how the rest of my week went. I would come in, get a few clients, and submit my work to the boss for review. The mundane buzz of the office was broken up by conversations and mumbled songs from Jean. Otherwise, I simply worked. It was… boring honestly. I couldn’t wait for Friday.