Chapter Text
That's not where Phil left his afghan.
It was very, very close to where he left his afghan. Phil might not have noticed, except whoever (he knew who) refolded the blanket had tucked the fringe inside so it wasn't visible - Phil always left it to dangle.
Phil finally stepped into his office. He shut the door, set down his briefcase, then unpacked his laptop, notebook, and lunch (eggplant lasagna). Ready to start his day, he sat down and connected his laptop to its dock, but he didn't turn it on.
The office was still and quiet until the AC kicked on - August was brutally hot this year. Phil hummed just a little, then stood and started methodically working his way around his tiny office space - he ran his hands along and under the edges of his furniture, moved his office plants and searched under their leaves and in their pots, took down his hanging paintings and turned them around - and when he was satisfied, he returned all of his small comforts and necessities to their current designated home. Except the ZZ plant; it was looking a little burnt, so it probably needed less direct light.
Well, that answered one question and created several more.
Placing audio or visual eavesdropping devices would have neatly explained why someone was in Phil's office when he wasn't there and didn't invite them. Of course, all of the people who were actually allowed to enter Phil's office without him present to disable the security measures (Nick, Maria, and one lovely, handpicked maintenance worker who occasionally doubled as a housekeeper) would have known better than to try placing eavesdropping devices. They also would have warned him they were entering his office uninvited. That reminded him…
Booking an extra therapy appointment this week wasn't hard - Phil's SHIELD therapist left extra space in their schedule for situations exactly like this, and they would tell him if his request couldn't be accommodated.
Appointment requested, Phil set his phone on the corner of his desk and stripped off his jacket. It always got wrinkled when he worked at a desk, and he was scheduled to terrify- teach- the new recruits later this afternoon - it wouldn't do to look disheveled in front of the rookies. He chuckled. People who had worked with Phil for long enough (those he trusted to some extent) would know a disheveled Phil was a dangerous Phil. The new recruits didn't, though, and it would only cause issues if he had to make an example of someone. Best to avoid that situation if reasonably possible.