Part One of One.
Words: 3585
Genre: Sweet and bitter fluff with hints of implied smut.
“In which falling for your boss is not a good idea”
Based on “Glitch” by Taylor Swift
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His hands felt a little too rough on your hips, but you didn’t mind. You still don’t know how you end up in this situation, tangled up with a friend, scratch that, acquaintance who you happen to know from afar. Yet, here you are, gasping for air while Jaehyun kisses and bites your neck. Your fingers grip his hair, and he swats away your hand.
“Don’t mess my hair up”, he grabs your wrist and kisses it, “gotta be somewhere else in twenty minutes”.
“What are we supposed to do with only twenty minutes?” you ask.
“I can make you come under five”.
The night you met Jaehyun you were little too drunk to pretend you didn’t care about him. It was a charity event organized by the company you worked for, and the two other branches were invited as well. At first, you had considered not going and spending that winter night wrapped on a blanket and sipping on some white wine, but why would spend your own wine when you could go and drink all of theirs. You made sure your work bestie would go too and then you decided what to wear. No one really was worth impressing and you doubt the people from the other branches were worth either… yet that cute accountant from the third floor is probably going, so you decide to wear your trusted green velvet dress. Throw on your coat and go out to have a smoke whilst you wait for your uber, but right before leaving your apartment, you put on a pair of red antlers. I hope this is festive enough.
“Why did you even consider not coming to this party?” Irene hooks her arm in yours as both of you walk through the doors of the fancy restaurant. “Damn, they have money to throw this party, but not give us a raise.”
“Corporate life, sweetie” a young waiter signals you to give him your coat and -hesitantly- you do. “C’mon, I need a drink before I decide to leave”.
As you walk through the next set of doors you realize no one, not a single person is wearing anything remotely Christmassy so, before anyone sees you, you take off the antlers and desperately try to throw them into a pot. You spot one a few steps from you and you sprint towards it, accidentally bumping into someone. You feel a hand on your waist and drop the headband to the floor and, without skipping a bit, you apologize.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t see you” looking up, you meet the eyes of an incredibly hot, handsome, gorgeous man. His hair was caramel brown hair and a set of brown eyes looked at you with a hint of annoyance.
“No worries, just pay attention to your surroundings” he looks to the ground and sees the antlers “you drop that”. He removes the hand from your waist and crosses his arms in front of his chest.
Nodding with your head, you awkwardly bend down to pick them up.
“Yeah, sorry, it’s just” you shrug “No one else seems to be into the festive mood so…” using the antlers, you point at the pot and pretend to throw them at it. He frowns, but a cute dimple on his right cheek can’t help to appear. He extends his hand to yours and takes the antlers from you, putting them on his head.
“If you don’t use them, then I will” he nods and walks past you.
Irene taps your shoulder and you are quick to turn around, trying to ignore the feeling that man left on you.
“Where were you? I was dropping off my coat and you disappeared”.
“Sorry I wanted to see… something” words weren’t coming to your brain, you could only think about his dimple. God, that cheeky, annoying dimple.
“God, you need a drink” Irene says while dragging you toward the fancy bar.
An hour later, you were sitting at a table with a bunch of people from your same branch, trying not to talk about work but failing miserably.
“… Well, and we were supposed to deliver those boxes next Monday and the client was calling today, a Friday to ask why they haven’t arrived yet. Like, what the fuck? People truly are stupid” Lena, your boss, was angrily telling everyone that story about that one client you all regret taking. “We should have just surrendered that client to the Connecticut branch, Jae, oh, here he comes, he knows that bastard so he can tell you all what a pain in the ass he is” She stands up and you look down at your empty glass, wondering if this was the moment to go get another one. “Everyone, this is Jaehyun, Connecticut’s version of me, let’s get you a chair” she laughs, and you look up waiting to see an old man, but finding the handsome man with antlers from before. He is smiling at everyone while he politely bows at everyone. Your eyes meet and he raises an eyebrow before bowing, pursing his lips. His expression was hard to read, and you wondered whether he was still mad you for bumping into him or not. Tonight was not one for fooling around and making one of your bosses hate you so, grabbing your glass, you start to stand.
“He can have mine”, you say to Lena, avoiding looking at him.
“You leaving so soon? The party hasn’t even started. Do you feel okay?” She asks filled with worry.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine, just going to meet Irene” You laugh while trying to hide the nervousness filling your chest. “Nice to you meet you… Boss” you bow slightly and right before leaving, you decide to mess a little bit with him. “Nice antlers”. You turn around and hear his laugh in the background.
Everyone had fun at the charity event, but you didn’t stay long enough to properly meet Jaehyun, opting to escape -once again- thirty minutes later. You weren’t one to shy away from guys or girls, but it’s been so long since the last time anyone had piqued your interest that you felt out of training. All that, added to fact that your last boyfriend had left you scarred enough for a lifetime, so men in positions of power excited and terrified you. You know all these reservations and cages were only mental and should be treated in therapy, yet you preferred to pour yourself to and a whisky.
The next time you meet him is in a completely different setting. It’s been almost two months since the charity event and the weather was starting to get a little more bearable, still cold, but not enough to die of hypothermia. Irene and a bunch of friends had made plans to go bar hopping to celebrate Valentine's Day, obviously, you joined them. You’ve had a horrible week at work, plus the date you were supposed to have today cancelled on you last minute claiming to be “sick”. You can’t help but wonder if you are that hideous.
Irene sits on your couch and put down two shots of something on the table.
“Drink up, the uber is on its way”, says while drinking her shot. You sigh and nod, doing the same, scrunching your nose at the taste of warm vodka. “Don’t blame me, it was the only thing you had on your pantry”.
Three hours later, you are sitting at the third bar on your list and focusing your eyes had become a problem.
“It’s hard to read the menu, I’ll just get a martini!” The waitress nods at you and laughs a little. You turn to Jennie, one of Irene’s friends and sigh. “Don’t you think it’s unfair that pretty ladies like us are all single? I don’t get it, like this girl bailed on my today and I thought we were hitting it off, did I do something wrong?” She laughs a little and grabs your hand.
“Maybe asking her out on Valentine's Day?” You laugh as well and shrug. Soon after, the waitress arrives with all your drinks, and you sip some of your Martini.
“All I’m saying is I just want a nice and cute date, not get married”. Trying not to sulk, you look around the bar. It was filled with couples sharing loving glances and grabbing their hands, resting them on top the table, almost as if they were laughing at your bad luck at love. “Anyways, fuck men. And women. Fuck couples, all my homies hate couples” you down the rest of your martini and try not puke it back on the glass. Your friends laugh and clap, yet you can sense a few couples giving you dirty looks.
The next bar on the list was just a couple blocks from the one you were so, you walk there. It was safe to say all of you were drunk, but not drunk enough to not be let inside the next place. The place was filled with people and most of them seemed to be in groups, almost no couples were there. Maybe I could go home with someone, maybe. You weren’t desperate, you just wanted to get laid and move on with your life. You sat down at your table and, a few moments later, a group of people starts singing happy birthday, which soon enough incited everyone at the bar to do the same.
“Happy birthday Jaehyunie, Happy birthday to youuuuuu!” Everyone claps and you join them, only to realize you knew that name. You are quick to glance at the group and instantly recognize the guy blowing the candles, wearing a cute little pink hat. He smiles, dimples on full display and you feel your tummy turning. The very reason why you are here, trying to get laid just happens to be at the same bar you are. Too drunk and frustrated, you order a gin tonic, knowing you should drink water or -even better- coffee. If you don’t sober up soon, you are afraid to make a scene.
Your friends chatter around you, but you only seem to be focus on the glass in front of you. Going home seems to be the best scenario so, as you pull out your phone from your bag, you feel something tapping on your shoulder. Turning around, you are met with a set of pretty brown eyes and pink lips. Jaehyun, your boss, your boss, is crouched next to you.
“Hey” his voice sounds different from the one you remember “can I buy a drink?”.
“I’m leaving”, your mouth mutters those words before your brain can accept his offer and start picturing him between your legs, “maybe next time”. He sighs and stands up, forcing you to tilt your head to look at him.
“What are you running from?” He purses his lips, waiting for an answer. No words come to your lips nor your brain, your mouth gets dry, making it hard to swallow. God, he was so hot.
“Hey, is he bothering you?” Jennie shakes your arm, and you look at her. She turns to Jaehyun “I carry military grade pepper spray, so go away”. The rest of the girls turn to you, wondering whether they should beat him up or not.
“It’s okay, he is, kinda, my boss” You are quick to stand up, turn to him and, gathering all courage left inside you, you mutter the answer to his question. “I’m afraid… I might want to fuck my boss”.
It’s no surprise what happened that night.
You went home with him and, indeed, fucked your boss. Yet the morning after you are woken up by the door of you apartment being closed and the other side of your bed still warm. Your chest felt weird, but you simply turn around and continue to sleep.
Days pass and you only hear about him from Lena. To be completely honest, you aren’t that bothered by it. At some extend, you did regret sleeping with him, not because he wasn’t good. He was more than good. But your job was too important to lose it over not knowing how to control your hormones. The best way to deal with this is being an adult and pretend he doesn’t exist.
Three weeks pass and he was nothing but a memory of a good fuck. Plus, here you are, going on a date with Ryan, a guy you met at the grocery store. Perhaps, now you are desperate.
Three dates in, you know for a fact he isn’t coming home with you, and you must finish things off with him. Especially when he had the audacity to pick you up from work… and wait for you at the lobby.
A few days later you receive a text message from Ryan and decide to ignore it. Then another. And another. Blocked.
But when he shows up again at your job, a week later with a bouquet of roses, you know you had fucked up. It didn’t help that it was the end of the quarter, and the other branches were coming to the meeting as well.
Grabbing your phone, you walk out your cubicle straight to the lobby where that bastard was waiting. In the hallway you stumble upon a couple faces you’ve never seen before, so you assume they are from other branches. Great. Not only you’d have to deal with a stalker but also a one-night stand. You can see Ryan sitting on the couch in front of the receptionist, you mutter a quick sorry at her and she gives you an awkward smile. He immediately stands up as soon as he sees you and smiles. Smiles. You press your lips on a line and take a deep breath through your nose.
“What the fuck are you doing here? I told you to stop contacting me, you can’t just show up at my job, you are lucky I haven’t call the cops on you”, making sure no one else can hear, you wait for his answer.
“I miss you s-”, you are quick to shush him. He wants to make an scene and you were not going to fall for it. “Sorry, but I do, please give me another chance”. Suddenly, he places both knees on the ground and you feel mortified.
“I’m calling security”, you turn around to tell the secretary, but as you do, you see Jaehyun and five other higher ups walking through the entrance.
He notices you, of course he does. You’ve been all he could think of the past few months, ever since he saw you wearing those cute antlers. Soon he notices a kneeling guy on the floor with a bouquet of flowers. Was he proposing? Did you have a boyfriend all this time? He looks back again at your face and recognizes utmost desperation. So, no, that guy wasn’t your boyfriend, at least not anymore.
You make eye contact, and the word “security” escapes your mouth. He seems to pick it up straight away, hurriedly approaching the secretary. You can feel a hand gripping your ankle that was your last straw.
“Stand up right now and leave or I will call the cops”, apparently that did the trick because, in less than a second, he is standing up and looking around with fear. Two guards walk into the lobby and he runs away while saying sorry.
You can’t control the embarrassment that is filling your throat. Your cheeks are red from anger and sweat is pooling in your armpits.
“I am so, so sorry. I swear I didn’t know he was coming. He will never come again”, you say while pressing your hands together. You recognize one of the men and he is a member of the board, surprisingly enough he is the first one to talk.
“What worries me is you, sport. These kinds of things can happen, but you look terrified. Go have a smoke”. You sigh in relief, and he laughs before walking away. Jaehyun looks at you one last time and leaves the room with the rest of the men.
The meeting seemed to go well, or at least that’s what you heard from your desk mate. You were too much of a coward to leave your cubicle for the rest of the day.
Abashed is, somehow, not enough to describe how you feel. You had purposefully stayed 20 extra minutes after the end of your shift, just so you made sure you wouldn’t run into Jaehyun. Yet here he was, animatedly talking with your boss in the lobby of the building. Hiding behind a pilar sounded amazing, but after the shitty day you’ve had, going home was something you had to do. Clutching the box of cigarettes in your pocket, you walk to the door while looking straight ahead. You walk pass them and pretend not to see them. Of course he notices you and, for a second, you think he’s going to let you walk away. A part of you is disappointed, but a bigger part is relieved he is finally going to let you go unscathed. But oh, you were so wrong.
He turns around and gently grabs your arm, calling you by your name. Taking a breath, you turn your head around, making sure your body was still facing to the front. Such a passive way to let them know you are not going to engage with them for long.
“Do you have a ride home?” his blunt question makes you nervous. Lena was right there in front of you, of course he doesn’t care about your reputation. “I’m driving Lena home and she told me you take the metro as well. The service’s been down due to an electrical problem or something like that”. Dumbfounded, you don’t know what to say. “Are you coming with us or not?”
You have to be fast, but words were nowhere to be found inside your head, so you nod. He smiles weakly and starts walking away with Lena while you walk behind them.
They look good together, so good it hurts your chest. You were not one to be insecure, but they look like they belong to the same group while you were just someone they had invited out of pity. This is exactly why you didn’t want to get involved with anyone, you are insecure and still way too afraid to even accept you like someone. While the three of you are waiting for the elevator to the parking lot, you decide to take advantage of the situation. You take a way out.
“Sorry, I forgot I made plans with a friend, so I’ll call an uber, don’t worry”. Lena and Jaehyun stop talking and turn around to see you, both of them frowning their eyebrows. God, you were so dumb to even think you had a chance with him.
“I can drop you off wherever you have to go”, he says nonchalantly. The way he said it rubbed you the wrong way.
“Oh, c’mon, it’s not necessary, I don’t want to bother you… two”, you start taking a few steps back and he takes one towards you. “Don’t mind me, go wherever you are supposed to go”.
Lena huffs and crossed her arms.
“See, Jae? I told you it was not going to work”, she shakes her head. “I’ll take the metro, which is working, by the way”. She grabs your arm and comes close to you. “Take the hint”, says as she hurriedly walks away.
The elevator dings and you still don’t understand what had just happened. Jaehyun looks… ashamed. The tips of his ears are bright red, and his jaw is tightly clenched.
“I’m… calling an uber”, your hands desperately look for your phone in the pockets of your trench coat.
“You are so dense it’s unbelievable”, the frustration is palpable on his voice, “I don’t want anyone else taking you home”.
“And tomorrow, what? I go back to wanting dudes who give me nothing?” Your patience has run dry, and your heart was too safeguarded to accept his advances. “What about tomorrow, Jaehyun?”. You straight into his eyes, trying to find a hint of deceit.
“Tomorrow… I don’t leave until you ask me to”.
His words echoed in your head until they made no sense at all. This must be a glitch, because there was no other explanation for him to want you this much.
“And if I don’t want you to leave?”, you ask slowly approaching him.
“Then I don’t”, he murmurs a little too close to you. You can smell his cologne and that’s the last push you needed. Soon your lips meet his and your hands run through his hair. A kiss filled with hunger and uncertainty is what happens between the two of you.
The elevator dings again and you are quick to push him away.
“Listen I’m not going to lose my job over a fling”, coming to your senses you turn around to walk away.
“Oh my goodness, you are so dramatic”, Jaehyun hugs you from behind and kisses the back of your head. “Already talked about this with your boss and we are not even in the same branch, now c’mon, let me eat you out on company property”. You hit the arm around your waist but can’t help but smile. Surrender was your only option, but you gladly accept it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Welp, I haven’t posted in literal years, but GOOD NEWS! I felt like writing something. Hope you liked it!
