Interics Space Designs specializes in Corporate Office Branding & Space Design, transforming offices into immersive brand experiences. Our approach integrates design, technology, and storytelling to create environments that engage stakeholders and reflect your brand.
For more infoarmtaion about corporate office branding visit https://intericsspacedesigns.com/corporate-office-branding-space-design/
Interics Space Designs specializes in Corporate Office Branding & Space Design, creating immersive brand experiences. We integrate design, t
Corporate Office Branding India
Interics Space Designs specializes in Corporate Office Branding & Space Design, transforming offices into immersive brand experiences. Our approach integrates design, technology, and storytelling to create environments that engage stakeholders and reflect your brand & essence.
Warning: Explicit language, depression, anxiety and almost SA
The warmth from the sun made its way towards my bedroom. A thick sunbeam from the window was now pointed directly at my face, which made me wake up from my slumber. I really need to get some curtains.
Going back to bed wasn't even an option at this point, even though that was the only thing I wanted to do. My bedroom felt like a sauna and without curtains, there was no way that I could stay in that room. It wasn't even 7 o'clock yet, but the sun didn't care that it was my day off.
Might as well get some breakfast now that I'm up, I thought to myself as I got out of bed, the sweat already starting to form on my forehead.
I went to the kitchen, grabbed a Ready-to-Eat oatmeal and sat down at the small table in my tiny apartment. I actually hated oatmeal, but it was just so convenient and it kept me full until lunchtime. It wasn't because I couldn't cook. I was actually, in my own humble opinion, really good at cooking. But what was the point at spending so much time cooking for one person? Who in their right mind would voluntarily spend two hours on making a meal, just to sit by themselves to eat.
I wonder if Alexander likes to cook. My mind started to wander before I stopped myself. Why did I even care? He was 42 years old, there was a high chance that he knew how to fucking cook. It's a basic human skill.
As I finished my food, I looked around the apartment to find something to distract myself with. I usually just stayed at home on my days off, but there was something inside me this day, that wanted to actually do something productive.
As my eyes traveled through my apartment, they landed on my workout clothes. I hadn't worked out in a couple of months, the motivation just hadn't been there. Maybe a run down to the lake and back wouldn't be so bad, I told myself while my butt was still planted on the chair.
I thought about it for a good ten minutes before I walked over to put the clothes on.
The leggings were a little tight around the thighs and hips, but it still fit nonetheless. The shirt however wasn't in the best condition. How had I forgotten about the huge hole on the side? I reconsidered the idea of a run because I didn't have any other workout shirts.
I looked outside one of the windows to see the beautiful weather and other people running around. Men with no shirt and women in sports bras. It was a clear indication that it was hot outside, and that I also could just wear my sport bra. I put on the rest of my attire plus some headphones, and headed out the door.
Either I'm really out of shape or the lake is further away than I anticipated, I said breathlessly to myself as I tried to run. It didn't really help that the sun was burning my entire body while I struggled to catch my breath through the thick air.
The fact that I remembered to put on a cap was a blessing. I would always forget to put on a hat, no matter what weather I was traveling in. The only downside to wearing a cap, was that I could feel the sweat round the area where it touched my skin. Gross.
My phone started to ring and I stopped to catch my breath before answering. I looked at my phone for a moment to see who was calling, a thing I always did to avoid talking to people I didn't like. It wasn't a number that was coded into my phone, and I also hadn't seen it before. I hesitated at first, but answered it anyway. It could've been for a job interview from one of the places I had applied for.
"Hello?" I answered, trying my hardest not to sound too exhausted.
"Oh! Uhm.. Hi! It's Alexander.. From work!" A deep voice stammered from the other end of the call.
"What do you want?"
"I-I know it's your day off but-"
"It is. So why are you calling me?"
"I got my new laptop today, but I don't know how to set up my account."
"Okay? And that is my problem because?
"I wanted to ask if you could come in and help me? You probably have a better understanding about this technology than me."
"Can't you just get another person to help you?" I started to get irritated. Why did he need my help for something so basic? I wasn't the only one at the office who knew how a damn computer worked.
The line was silent for a little bit before he finally answered me.
"No one has time to help me. And you were the first person I thought of calling."
Was I really going to go to work on my day off, just so I could help him with his fucking account? I thought for a second, and then sighed loud to make sure he knew he annoyed me.
"Fine," I groaned as I hung up the phone. I hated it already because I knew that I didn't have time to run back to my apartment, take a shower, jump in my car and then go to my workplace. I had to run over there.
I finally made it to the building's entrance after I had run for what had felt like an eternity, but in reality only was for about ten minutes.
I took a deep breath before entering, preparing myself for all the eyes that were going to be looking at me.
I quickly walked towards Alexander's office, looking down and hiding my face with my cap so none of my coworkers recognized me. I was too annoyed already, so I didn't even bother knocking on the door before entering.
The door flung up and he jumped in his seat, clearly startled by the sudden loud noise in his quiet office. That's fucking karma, I snickered to myself, thinking about all the times he had scared me the day before.
It was a much cooler atmosphere at the office than it was outside.
Thank the lords for air conditioning.
We stared at each other for quite a while without either of us saying anything. I looked at his shirt, expecting another band T-shirt, but was slightly disappointed when I saw that it was just a plain green polo. My eyes traveled up to his face to see something quite unexpected. A pair of black rimmed glasses. I hadn't seen him with those on before, so I almost didn't recognize him.
He looked at my face when his gaze suddenly started to travel downwards to my sports bra. I hadn't even thought about my outfit before agreeing to help him with his computer. As he probably came to the realization of where his eyes were, he adjusted himself in his chair and looked back at my face.
"Nice glasses," I teased, trying to get out of the awkwardness that was floating around. His eyes widened and he quickly reached for his glasses and took them off. "They're for reading," he said while smiling at me.
I grabbed a chair and went over to the side of him, sat down and pulled the laptop over to be in front of me.
As I was typing, I could feel his eyes going from the computer to the side of my face, over and over again, like he couldn't decide what to look at. I chose to ignore him and just focus on setting up his work account.
"What do you want your password to be?" I asked, still not looking at him. He scooted a little closer to me to look at the screen.
"How about.." he thought long and hard before saying "How about your name?"
I took my hands off the keyboard and turned my head, cocking a brow.
"Why?" I asked confusedly. He looked up from the screen and gazed into my eyes. We were inches away from each other at this point.
"Because I like your name. And it's easy for me to remember," he muttered.
I was sucked into his eyes once again. Those damn eyes.
His stare switched between my eyes and my mouth as he leaned a little closer. I bit my lip, staring down at his, but before anything happened, I pulled away and looked back at the computer.
There was a moment of silence before I started to type on the keyboard.
"My name it is then," I said, trying to ignore the fact that my heart was almost beating out of my chest.
Alexander cleared his throat and moved a little further away from me, clearly embarrassed by my rejection.
I tried to pace through the rest of the set up as quickly as possible, wanting to escape the awkward energy that flowed through the room.
"All done!" I exclaimed, pushing the laptop back to Alexander. I got up and almost ran towards the door.
"Tha-thank you!" He stuttered and got up himself. "Wait!" I stopped before grabbing the door handle, turning my head slowly to look at him.
"I was wondering if you wanted to grab a beer tonight," he shyly asked. I was really contemplating my answer. I studied the look on his face, it was clear that he really wanted me to say yes. What was the worst thing that could happen? It was only a beer.
"Sure," I said softly, shifting my weight between my feet. His face lit up by my response and he almost couldn't contain his excitement.
"Should I pick you up?" he asked while nervously twisting his fingers.
"No I'll just meet you there. Joels Pint Parlor? Seven o'clock?" I requested. He nodded as he sat back down in his chair.
"See you there," he smiled. I smiled back at him and walked out of his office.
"Why did I agree to this?" I sighed while putting on my makeup. The sudden realization of what I was getting ready for hit me like a ton of bricks.
I wanted to look nice, but then again, why would I even bother. I had agreed to have a beer with my boss, nothing more, nothing less. I didn't need to put any effort into my appearance, because I wasn't going to try to impress him. But why did I actually want to?
I put down my makeup brush and stared at myself in the mirror. I had my eyebrows done, mascara and eyeliner on and a little bit of lipstick. Do I need more? I thought to myself while studying my own face. No, this is fine. It's only for a beer.
The clock started getting close to 6:30 pm and I started to get more nervous. I had switched between several outfits before finding one that was a little more sexy than my usual work attire. It was a pair of black shorts with a loose white shirt that had a type of V-neck and a pair of wedge sandals. Who was I kidding? I wanted to look good and a little cleavage never hurt anybody.
I grabbed my purse and car keys and headed out the door. I knew I would be there way to early, but just sitting around and waiting in my apartment was going to be torture for my nerves.
The bar wasn't as crowded as I had feared, but then again it was also a Thursday.
I walked towards the bar to find a place to sit, and low and behold there were two seats free right at the bar counter.
I sat down on one of the chairs and placed my purse on the other so no one could sit there. I looked around the room to observe the different kinds of people that were hanging around this bar.
Maybe this was a bad idea, I thought to myself as I got eye contact with some creepy looking men, sitting in one of the corners of the bar, having a conversation about something that looked like it would be gross to hear.
One of the men stood up from his seat and proceeded to walk towards me, smiling all creepily. My gut twisted and I started to shake a little. I was really scared of strangers, especially men, and especially creepy looking men. He was getting really close and I froze in my seat.
"Hey baby! What's a fine piece of ass doing at a bar all by herself?" he said with a smug on his face.
"I-I uhm.." I stuttered. I was so scared that I couldn't form a decent response.
"How about we get out of here, huh? You look like you could use a really good fucking," he said, leaning closer towards me.
"Ple-please leave m-me alone," I almost cried, tears starting to form in my eyes. His grin faded as he looked behind me.
"You heard her. Leave!" a deep voice growled behind me. I look back to see Alexander, looking a lot angrier than usual. The creepy man didn't budge, he just stared at Alexander and then back at me.
"Is this your boyfriend?" he asked irritatedly while pointing. I was still frozen, but managed to make a small nod while looking at the floor. While tsking, he leaves the bar counter and heads back to his friends.
Alexander moves my purse from the other chair and sits down, placing his hands on my shoulders.
"Are you okay?" he asks while trying to make eye contact with me. What is it with those words when they come from him? I can feel the concern in his voice that I haven't felt in others when asking me the same. I didn't answer him with words. I just looked at him and nodded.
Alexander raised his hand to catch the bartender's attention so he could order something to drink.
"Two beers please," he requested and turned back to face me again.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I jus-"
"Don't worry about it."
Our small conversation got interrupted when the bartender sat down two pints of beer in front of us. I took a huge gulp of beer to calm my nerves. Who would have thought that I left my apartment early so my nerves wouldn't get the best of me, just to have them destroyed by a creepy man because I left early.
"We agreed to seven o'clock and I just happened to be here before you. Seriously, you don't need to apologize."
Alexander took a swig of his beer and looked back at me again.
"I mean it! If I had just been here ten minuets earlier this wouldn't have happened."
"You look good tonight," he beamed. "Not that you don't normally look good! It's just.. I really like your outfit! But it's a shame it isn't very professional," he smirked, taking another sip of his beer.
I slapped his arm, making him spill a little. "I know what I said about your clothes was rude, okay?" I acknowledged while trying to hide my smile because of his joke.
"It's okay, you're right. My clothes aren't very professional and I do need to buy some proper stuff. It would be an honor to have you as my guidance tho," he said while swirling his beer.
I chose to lower my guard because I actually felt really comfortable being around him at this point. "I would love that," I said while smiling at him.
We had been at the bar for about two hours, laughing and talking about random stuff. I had found out that Alexander had been in the military when he was 22 and that he was really passionate about music. That definitely explained the band T-shirts.
"No! Queen is definitely better than David Bowie!"
"Are you out of your mind!? 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' is a fucking masterpiece of an album and beats everything that Queen has ever made!"
"Look. 'Innuendo' is literally so amazing! 'The show must go on'? What about 'I'm going slightly mad'?"
"If you want to talk about Queen albums, at least mention the best one! 'A Night At The Opera'? Don't you like 'Love of my life'?"
"I.. don't.." I turned my head to face my almost empty beer glass on the countertop. "That song reminds me of some dark times that i would rather forget."
I could feel Alexander's hand on my thigh. Normally, I would've smacked him across the head for doing that, but didn't feel like it. His hand was very warm and soft against my bare skin.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned my head to look at him.
"It used to be one of my favorite songs because of the emotions that it packed.. But then my boyfriend left me a couple years ago and suddenly, the lyrics hit too close to home. And still does."
Alexander angled his eyebrows upwards. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said, squeezing my thigh in a pitying way.
"I don't."
"Do you have any kids?" I asked, wanting to turn the conversation around.
"Do you want any?"
"And your wife is cool with that?"
"I can't have kids, and he wasn't very thrilled about that. I had told him in the beginning of our relationship and he told me then, that he didn't mind. Apparently he did." I swung back the rest of the warm beer and almost threw the glass back at the counter.
"I don't have one"
"You don't have a wife?"
"Not really."
"No. We got divorced about five years ago"
"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to be so nosy." My face was turning red. It was probably a mix between the beer and the sheer awkwardness I had created.
I looked at Alexander, and to my surprise, he didn't seem bothered about my questions.
"It's getting late and I have work tomorrow," I stated as I fumbled with my purse, trying to find some money for the beers. I placed the money on the counter and stood up from the chair. I started walking out of the bar and Alexander walked right behind me.
We both walked towards the parking lot behind the bar to get to our cars.
"Will you text me when you get home? Just so I know you made it home safe?" Alexander asked while fiddling with his car keys. I wanted to make a sarcastic comment, but I could see on his face that he was dead serious about my safety.
"I don't have your number," I said.
"It's the same number that I called from earlier today," he smiled, still playing with his keys.
I smiled back and unlocked my car. "Sure."
I got in my car and drove off. Just like the day before, Alexander didn't get into his car before I had driven off.
When I came back to my apartment, I looked through my purse for my house keys. They weren't there.
Did I forget them at the bar? I checked my purse again until it hit me. I never took my keys with me. Only my car keys. Fuck!
My apartment door was that annoying kind that didn't need a key to lock it. It locks by itself. That meant that I was locked out of my apartment, and the landlord wasn't available until tomorrow morning.
What the fuck do I do now!? My pulse started to jump and I could feel myself getting lightheaded. I didn't have any family or friends that lived near by. They all lived around three hours away.
Playces Work, Play and Rest Everywhere With rise in automation our uniquely human traits such as creative problem-solving, reasoning, negotiation and empathy, have become more important than ever. Individual work has diminished. Collaboration, and work involving more than one person, has become the dominant way of working. Today our workplace is evolving to be a wonderful combination of office, home, café, hotel and wellness center. This dynamic environment is called “Playces”. It is a place where our community gathers to work, play and rest. Playces for Work Every workplace needs a space for focused work. A space to create or work on ideas or strategies discussed. A space to introspect and plan. Focus work spaces are your self improvement spaces. Playces for Play No matter how connected an organization is digitally, the synergy of your team relies on interaction and spaces to get the job done. These spaces could be your cafeterias, conference rooms, discussion areas, social spaces etc. Playces for Rest Work and Play is not enough. We also need constructive rest. A suitable resting is able to refresh your mind and recharge your body. Going for a walk, listening music and napping are always good for works. Or you may choose to have a personal time, have a cup of coffee and read some magazines to refresh your mind.
Warning: Explicit language, depression and anxiety
"Are you okay?"
Those words didn't mean anything anymore. They all lied to me. They asked me the same question every day, but they didn't care about my answer anymore. It's okay tho. I lied too with a simple "yes."
I had felt wretched for several years, and I guess my coworkers had noticed it. Nobody tried to actually find out what was wrong with me. They only asked if I was okay, and then patted themselves on the back for being a good samaritan. I didn't blame them for not caring, I probably wouldn't have either. All I did was sit at my desk looking like I was tired of living. Which i was. I did the same thing every day. I woke up at 6 am, got to work at 7:30 am, ate lunch at 12:45 pm, got home at 5 pm, ate dinner at 6:30 pm and went to bed at 9 pm. And to spice things up, I sometimes had mental breakdowns incorporated into my routine.
About two years ago, I had my first panic attack and I couldn't stop crying. I was at a conference and stood in line for lunch. Suddenly I felt everybody staring at me. I was really insecure about my body and feeling all those eyes on me while I was getting food. No thank you. I could feel them judging me with their eyes. Judging how much food was on my plate. I hurried out of the room and went to the hall. Then it started.
My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. I couldn't stop shaking or crying. My body got all heavy and it felt like I was going to die. Since that day, my mood has been severely decreased.
Nobody helped me back then either. Except for one guy. I vaguely remembered him, but I knew he helped me.
I had trouble standing and was kind of stumbling around. He guided me over to a chair so I could sit down. I didn't really look at his face. I just stared at his hands in mine while he talked to me. I know he tried to help, but I didn't really listen to anything he said.
I did however notice a tattoo on his left hand. A very small one. I couldn't really see what it was. It was probably pretty old and faded. For some strange reason, that tattoo helped me with my breathing. I stopped thinking about my panic and started to focus on what in the world that tattoo was supposed to look like. But before I could look properly at the guy, he was called into a meeting.
I left the conference after that. There was no way in hell that I would've willingly walked back to all those people, while my eyes were red and my cheeks stained from my makeup.
"Have you heard about Sarah?" I overheard my coworker ask another. She probably didn't know I was in one of the bathroom stalls.
Sarah was my boss who had been sick on and off for the last 6 months. We had an... Okay relationship. She was the only person I liked at my job and I was one of the few she didn't hate.
"They fired her."
I could feel my heart clench. My hope for Sarah to come back to work was the only thing that kept me there. I hated my job when Sarah wasn't there. She was the only one who actually generally cared when she asked me if I was okay. I would still lie and say yes, but her concern made me.. Kind of happy.
My coworkers left the bathroom while still talking about Sarah. I didn't feel like leaving the stall yet. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks.
Throughout the 5 years I had worked at the firm, I had gone through multiple bosses. Sarah was my second boss, but got transferred to another city. Two years later, she came back and became my boss again.
That's it! I thought to myself. If Sarah isn't coming back, I'm quitting. I was sick and tired of that shitty job and being around those fake people.
I wiped my tears away and walked out of the stall. This was the time. I was going back to my desk and I was going to write my notice.
I walked out of the bathroom and headed straight to my desk, not noticing that someone was talking to me. A hand grabbed my shoulder and I froze. That grab had scared the living shit out of me, but I tried not to show it.
"Uhm.. excuse me? I didn't mean to scare you, but do you know where Sarah Holland's office is?" a deep voice asked me.
I turned around to see a man dressed in some denim jeans, a purple band T-shirt and holding a backpack in front of him. He definitely didn't know the dress code.
"She isn't here right now. She is on sick leave," I told him while still looking at his clothes. If he was trying to get a job here, he definitely chose the wrong outfit.
"Oh i know.." He mumbled quietly. "I'm her substitute." I stopped scanning him for a second and looked at his face for the first time since we started the conversation. He was older than I expected. He had an awkward smile on his face, but it was very welcoming. He also had the darkest eyes I had ever seen in my entire life.
"I'm Alexander by the way," he said and fumbled to get one of his hands away from his backpack without dropping it. I reached for his hand and shook it.
"Her office is over at the left door," I told him and pointed to Sarah's office. He thanked me and walked to the direction I had given him.
You know.. Those jeans do look good on him I thought to myself while my eyes scanned the backside of him. It's a damn shame that attire isn't suited here.
The next day came around and as always my shift started at 7:30 am.
I walked over to my desk, sat down and turned on my computer. The laptops at this firm always took forever to start up. While I was staring at my computer, waiting for it to accept my login, I heard some loud noises coming from Sarah's office.
I went over to the door and placed my ear near it so I could hear what was going on. I had only been standing there for about 10 seconds before the door flung up, making me jump back in shock.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to snoop around! I just heard-" I stopped myself from further embarrassment.
"Oh it's okay! You probably heard me dropping my laptop," Alexander answered, probably as embarrassed as myself. I stretched my neck to the side to look into the office. As I saw the broken laptop on the floor I could confirm that it was indeed that that had made the noise. Jesus Christ I thought to myself as I looked back at him with eyes wide open. I could tell that it was an expensive laptop.
"First real day at the job and I've already broken the inventory," he nervously laughed.
There was no need to make things worse, so I offered him mine. My job position didn't really need a laptop, it just made it a hell of a lot easier. He accepted the offer, took my laptop and went back into Sarah's office.
I sat back down at my desk and started to write customer orders down by hand. It took me about 30 minutes to write down 11 orders.
Why did I lend him my computer? This fucking sucks! I thought to myself as I scribbled down another order.
My hand started to cramp from writing nonstop. I wasn't really used to using a pen instead of a keyboard. Hopefully the people who were going to read this could translate that scrawl.
Lunchtime rolled around, and I had managed to write down half of the day's order and give myself arthritis.
I walked into the lunchroom, grabbed my oatmeal and sat down at the empty table. I had been so tired the day before that I didn't really feel like making a proper lunch.
"What a healthy lunch!" a deep voice suddenly exclaimed. I looked up from my food and saw Alexander standing at the other side of the table, holding a store bought sandwich.
"Do you mind if i sit here?" Words I haven't heard in a long time. No one ever wanted to sit and have lunch with me. To be fair, I wasn't really that fun to have lunch with. Other than the fact that I hated my coworkers, I didn't really have a lot in common with them to hold a proper conversation.
"Go ahead" I almost whispered. There was a good solid 10 minutes where neither of us were talking. He was probably just as awkward as me.
"Thank you for letting me borrow your laptop. That was really nice of you," he smiled as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"No problem," I quietly nodded. It was clear that neither of us was used to small talk.
The majority of my colleagues had left the room. Probably to go out to smoke or to pee. The ones that were left had their own quiet conversation by themselves.
My mind started to wander as I discreetly tried to look at Alexander without him noticing. He definitely wasn't my age. I shot him to be around 15 years older than me. He had brown curly hair that clearly didn't want to cooperate. His beard was hardly a beard. It was very patchy. My eyes trailed down to his shirt. A band T-shirt yet again, but not the same as the one from the day before. He must have noticed my confused eyes, because he suddenly stopped eating and looked down.
"Do you like my shirt?" He smiled, looking very proud of himself. My eyes glanced up to meet his. To be honest, I did. It was a yellow AC/DC shirt with a canon on it. Above the canon there was written "For those about to rock." I couldn't help but to crack a smile. His smile was so contagious.
"Yeah it's pretty cool," i smirked, letting my guard down. But it came up again pretty quickly. "But just so you know, that type of clothes isn't very professional and if you want to work here, you have to put some effort into your outfit!" I hissed.
His smile faded a bit and he looked down at his food again. It wasn't the first time i had snapped at one of my coworkers, but it was the first time i felt bad afterwards.
I looked regretful down at the table, wanting to be anywhere else but there. He started to fumble with his sandwich and my eyes followed his hands.
He had strong hands and what looked like a birthmark on the left. He had his nails painted black. Well.. the majority of the nail polish was chipped. It wasn't really a bad look in my opinion. I liked it when men didn't care about gender norms and did what they wanted to. Lucky for him, the company dress code didn't say anything about nail polish, so he could continue to wear it. He just needed it freshened up.
There was such a thick awkward silence in the lunchroom, that you could practically hear the lightbulbs.
The rest of my colleagues had left, and it was only me and Alexander that was still sitting in the room.
Why was I such an asshole to him? He had been nothing but nice to me. I wanted to apologize so bad, but I was too used to self sabotaging, that all I could do was stay quiet.
Alexander finished his sandwich. God he was a slow eater. "I don't really have anything nicer to wear," he almost mumbled. I looked up at him, trying my hardest to stop frowning.
"How come? Aren't you like 40?" Those words sounded so much meaner than I anticipated, but they had already left my lips before I noticed. He smiled at me, clearly without taking any offense to my words.
"Ah yes.. A man of my age should be able to doll oneself up," he joked. I couldn't help but to laugh. It was just so unexpected since I basically mocked his age.
His smile widened and he seemed generally happy by my response. "But in all seriousness, I haven't really been needing a suit. That's why I don't have one," he smirked. "And yes, I'm 42 years old, but I don't look older than 68." I rolled my eyes at him. That was just such a dad joke.
And speaking of dad, I wondered if he was one. To be fair, he had the age for it. Before my mind drove completely off, my phone buzzed, indicating that my lunch break was over.
When I came back to my desk, I had gained some movement back in my wrist, but each time I tried to write something, the pen felt fifty times heavier.
It didn't really help that I couldn't concentrate either. Did Alexander hate me now? It actually felt like he wanted to be friends and I was just being such a cunt to him. Would it have killed me to complement his shirt? I really liked it and it would have cost me nothing to just say that when he asked. And why did I even care about his outfit? He could do what he wanted, I wasn't his boss. On the contrary, he was mine. Well for now at least. I had already sent my notice to the headquarters, so i would be gone in two weeks anyways. Why did I even care if he hated me or not? I knew my other coworkers didn't like me, and I didn't care. But why do I care now?
"Hey! How is it going with the orders?" a baritone voice almost yelled, making me jump in my chair.
"Jesus Christ! You don't have to give me a heart attack!" I barked, looking up to see Alexander. He was smiling at me, even though I had yelled at him for what felt like the 100th time that day. He looked down at my paper to see what probably looked like hieroglyphs. He narrowed his brows and looked back at me.
"Are you okay?" he asked. My heart sank a little. I could feel the concern in his voice, even though he was only asking because of my horrendous handwriting.
I took a breath, trying hard not to be an asshole again or to lie for that matter.
"No. My wrist hurts like hell," I answered while shaking my head.
"Why didn't you just tell me? I'll go get your laptop!" He walked away so quickly, that I didn't get to say anything else.
Stop being so fucking nice to me, i thought to myself. In what felt like a split second, he had returned with my laptop.
"You idiot, now you won't have anything to use," I sighed.
"I don't want you to hurt," he said calmly.
Well that's too fucking late.
"I already ordered a new one that will be here tomorrow, so it doesn't matter if i miss 3 hours of work. I can catch up with it tomorrow."
I stared at the laptop, then back at him, then back at the laptop. I hated that he was being so nice to me.
"Well.. I better get to work then," I said as I started typing on the keyboard. He didn't leave my desk. I could almost feel his eyes burn into the side of my face.
Was he waiting for a thank you? It was my computer that he gave back to me. I didn't need to thank him. Did I?
My head turned and I looked up at him. My eyes meet his. Those eyes were like black holes. They were so dark, that you couldn't distinguish the pupils from the iris, and they sucked you in like real black holes.
He smiled at me and started to walk towards his office. "Call if you need me," he shouted as he closed the office door.
Fuck my life. I could feel my coworkers looking at me. I hated unwanted attention more than anything. Why the hell did he need to shout? The traffic warden down the street probably heard him.
I looked around the room to catch the people who were daring enough to stare at me. It didn't seem like it, but I knew some of them had definitely gawked in my direction. I hated it so much.
It was so anxiety inducing. My hands began to shake and I could feel the cold sweat starting to form. It was the event at the conference all over again.
Before my thoughts had a chance at eating me up from the inside, a sound came from my computer. It was an email.
That dumbass forgot to turn off the sound after he borrowed it. It was so freaking loud, that it almost scared me.
I tried to calm myself with some deep breaths, before opening the email. It was a link to a YouTube clip from Alexander.
He gave me back my laptop so he could sit and watch YouTube on his phone? What a boss indeed.
I kind of didn't want to watch it, but I was also really curious. I put on my headphones and started the video. It was an old video of Paul Hunt doing gymnastics while dressed as a little girl.
It was probably one of the funniest things I had ever seen. It was so hard, trying not to laugh out loud. It was almost like he knew I needed a distraction from what was going on.
I looked behind me at the door to his office. Closed. It must have been a coincidence then.
5 pm rolled around, and it was time to head back home.
After I got my laptop back, the customer orders almost wrote themselves.
My colleagues had already left the building, but I was a little bit behind schedule, so I stayed a little longer. I kind of enjoyed the silence.
I could work in peace without the usual distractions. There was always the casual gossiping, the sound of long nails clacking on a keyboard or my personal favorite, the fake ass laugh when someone tried to convince a future customer over the phone. God I hated that job.
"Are you ready to go home for the day?" I looked behind me in surprise. I had been 100% sure that I was the last one left. I guess not. A thing that I had noticed about Alexander, was that he was really good at sneaking up on me.
"Yeah, but why are you still here?" I asked curiously while packing up my stuff.
"I wanted to make sure you got to your car safe," he replied.
My car was literally parked 30 feet away from the entrance, so there was no need to worry about my safety. Sure, there had been times where my tires had been slashed and i had to call a cab, but that was probably just some teenagers thinking it was funny.
I turned off the lights and walked out of the building with Alexander right behind me.
"You don't need to walk me to my car. I'm not a child," i insisted. He looked over at my car and giggled. "Well tough luck, 'cus it's parked right beside mine."
We walked over to our cars, but he didn't get into his before I started to pull out of the booth.
What was he so worried about? And why did he even care? He is so fucking weird, I thought to myself as i drove home.
I picked up a pizza on the way home. After destroying my wrist for five hours, pizza was definitely the thing I needed.
The rest of the evening was spent on devouring a whole pizza, half a bottle of wine and some stale cookies. I had only eaten two portions of oatmeal the entire day, so it was safe to say that I was indeed starving. The wine was just a bonus.
After i was done eating i looked through YouTube to find something to fall asleep to. It had become this weird habit. Such a big habit even, that I literally couldn't fall asleep unless there was some background noise.
I looked at the recommended selection and found the perfect one. Another Paul Hunt video.
Damn, even at home he's still helping me, I chuckled for myself. I pressed play and snuggled up under my blanket.
"Paulette Huntanova is back. Dazzled the crowd at two previous.."
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