Phone Calls

"Hey, girl. How've you been? Are you alright? Has everything gone okay with the move? Please, tell me it's over. I had to deal with so many annoying people on the phone without you here to help." Jacky came in with high energy as usual, bombarding Lillian with questions as soon as she walked in through the large glass doors.

"I'm sorry, Jacky. I didn't intend to ditch you after lunch yesterday, it just kind of happened like that. The move is finally complete! My new place is pretty close to work, so I ended up getting here pretty early. And, since I got here early, I was able to get a head start on our morning tasks! So don't worry about today, I'll make up for yesterday," Lillian ended her sentence with a playful wink. She genuinely felt bad about missing so much work unexpectedly this week as Jacky was the only other person at their welcome desk during office hours. Today, she was definitely going to make it up to her by taking on a larger share of the daily work.

Jacky was so moved by Lillian's declaration, that she sprung upon her and gave her a hug to show how grateful she is. "D*mn, I can't believe I got so lucky to have an awesome coworker like you! Oh and by the way, before I forget. My boyfriend. Wait no, my fiance's band is having a show Friday night at the Neon Dragon night club. You should come by if you're free, it's gonna be super fun."

"Tomorrow night? Yeah! I think I should be able to make it. Do I have to buy a ticket in advance?"

"No. This time around, the club is offering free entry with purchase of a specialty drink. I think they're trying to promote their new cocktail menu. They'll just stop entry when it gets too full."

The two of them kept chatting until the busy part of the morning started. Everyday there was a morning rush around 10am, with many people entering the building for scheduled meetings or trying to reach someone upstairs. There were always a few spouses as well, dropping off things their significant others had accidentally left behind at home.

The phone was also especially busy that morning. It seemed like one of the product development teams had posted a competitive job posting online that went separate from the company's usual hiring practices. It was open to anyone with a 'future changing idea', where the chosen applicant would get to join the company and produce the idea with them.

Lillian and Jacky weren't notified about this and had to deal with the phone constantly ringing with potential applicants all day, transferring the phone line to the head of the product development team in question as soon as they could.

The day flew by fast because they were so busy. Mason also dropped by around his usual time. Though, Lillian was caught up in handling a difficult person on the phone, so all she could do was exchange a thankful smile when he dropped the mail off by their desk.

Exhausted from all the additional work they had to do today, Lillian plopped down on the living room sofa when she got back to the apartment.

She'd intended to go shopping before going back, but having gotten out late, she completely forgot about it.

About 20 minutes after she got home, she heard the personal elevator doors open. Feeling too relaxed to sit up and greet Andrew as he got home, she just waved a hand from the sofa and said a soft hello. She'd assumed that he would just go straight up to his office, but instead she heard the sounds of the refrigerator door opening and some liquid being poured into a glass.

A moment later Lillian turned her head to see Andrew Geldan had come and sat down on a large chair near the sofa she was currently laying on. He was drinking what appeared to be a glass of sparkling water while checking something on his phone.

"You didn't go to the store yet?" Andrew didn't bother looking her way as he continued scrolling through his phone.

Lillian quickly sat her self up and ironed out her wrinkled clothes with her hands. "Yeah. Work was busy today, so it kinda slipped my mind I guess. You know, when you just need to recharge."

He shot her a puzzled look, briefly breaking his usual stone-like expression.

Does this man not know what it means to be tired from work?

Lillian tried to understand the expression on his face, observing how the CEO looked as clean cut and put together as he normally does. In fact, just from her few encounters with him, she figured he was an all work - no life type. He was probably still doing something work related on his phone right now.

Andrew finished his glass of sparkling water, then looked up from his phone. "Let's go to the store now then. I can drive."

Huh? He wants to go to the store? Now? Wait, what if we're seen together outside. That'd be weird, right? But driving would really be helpful. There's a lot of basic stuff that's missing from his kitchen, so I'll have to get a lot of stuff. Wait a minute. He's still wearing a suit. It looks really expensive, too. We'll definitely stand out because of him if he goes dressed like that.

Lillian was lost in her thoughts when she realized he was already starting to put on his coat and grab his keys. She quickly moved to cut him off, jumping to block the elevator door.

"Um, hehe," Lillian moved so fast she needed a second to process her words. "Don't you think it'd be best to change out of our work clothes before heading to the store? It'll be more comfortable that way." She figured no one would recognize him if he went out in normal clothes.

Andrew took a moment to look down at his three piece designer suit, then he looked back at her. "I think most of the clothes in my wardrobe look like this."

"What? You don't even have a single set of casual clothes?"

"..." He just looked back at her with a blank face, blinking a few times before she continued.

"Would it be alright if I took a look in your closet? I'm sure I can find something for you to wear."

Andrew furrowed his eyebrows as if in deep thought for a moment, then nodded. He put his coat back on a kitchen stool then lead the way upstairs.