Work Text:
A slumped figure was limped through a corridor, leaning against his cane to support himself. He clutched a stack of paperwork to his green sweater vest. His path was to the archival library, his place of work.
Sasha would be no doubt waiting for him already.
"Jonathan Sims," a firm voice called from behind him. Said man startled, stopping to look behind himself.
What he did not expect, was to see Elias Bouchard, the head of the Magnus Institute, to be walking up to him. He wore a slick dark green suit, hair smoothed back with what he would guess was layers of lotion, and jewellery on almost every visible part of him, most of it being rings. (Though one from his left ring-finger seemed to be missing. If it weren't for the fact it was quite random weather or not it would be there, he would have thought the man got a divorce.)
That said, even though he seemed put together and quite noble, his stare still bore into Jon with an intensity which unnerved him. It felt as though he could see his mind and inspect it until not a single thought remained a secret.
"Jon, do pay attention," he was snapped out of his thoughts to realize Bouchard had crossed the distance between them and was now right in front of him.
Instantly doing his best to stand straighter despite the pain in his leg, the worker stuttered out: "A- Apologies, Mr. Bouchard."
His boss smiled, but it anything but make him feel more comfortable: "It is quite alright, Jon."
Doing his best to ignore the crawling tightness in his chest, Jon questioned: "Is there- is there something needed from me?"
"Yes, Jon, there are matters we should discuss. Follow me to my office please," the higher-up placed his hand on the employee's shoulder, opting to not aknowledge the way he flinched at the contact, and beginning to lead him away from the library. If it were anyone else, he would have tried to protest, stating that he had documents to hand over, but this was the head of the institute. So he just nodded and silently followed.
---
"...What?"
He couldn't believe his ears.
Elias, sat behind his desk, didn't falter in his declamation: "Your determination and commitment to go above and beyond for work has proven to be a significant quality needed in leadership, so I believe your qualifications are perfect for this position."
Okay. Yep. He deffinitely hadn't heard it wrong.
Baffled, he leaned slightly forward, staring incredulously at his boss: "I, ah, are you sure I am the best person to take this position? I mean, I'm pretty sure Sasha is better qualified for-"
"Yes, I'm aware," Bouchard interrupted him, waving a hand around dismissively, "But you must understand I have given a lot of thought to this choice and don't see Miss James as the one to be the most efficient at it. Your ability to learn is immaculate and is not to be understated."
The still confused Jon, not having realized what he was doing just yet, argued back: "Wouldn't it be better to assign someone more experienced with archival work to being the Head Archivist?"
A sigh left his higher-up. This was proving to be more exhausting than he first thought.
"Probably, yes, like I stated before, you learn quickly, Jon, which is more useful than any other ability.
And while the to-be Archivist couldn't come up with any more arguments to counter him (mostly due to shock), he would forever regret not taking more time to think of some.