Work Text:
"Babes, can you help me out here? For some reason the computer isn't working like I need it to."
You sigh and head over to Lisandra, your boss and long-time friend. You never really understand why she always has the compulsion to call for you instead of that cute IT guy, Brandon. Until you remember that Brandon and her had a six month fling that ended up with him cheating and her throwing vases to his face and cursing him out in Spanish. Office relationships never work; that has always been your no.1 rule. Coworkers, bosses, or clients ask you out? Just tell them you're married and see how the conversation shifts. But of course, that's all been declining in the past months since your 30th birthday. Damn, you're not even that old and you feel like you belong in a crypt as you bend to view Lisandra's screen.
"Ok queen, let's see what we have here. Ahhh, I see the issue."
"What's going on?"
"The issue is that you're a moron, girl. You never saved your document and now the formatting is all wrong. Let's transfer it to a backup so that we can mess with this one and see if we can pull up the old version you had." You reply. As much as you love Lisa to death, it's incredibly easy for you to get annoyed at her. She's only a few years older than you but still can't work a computer. You try your best to keep up with the times but everything is moving so fast, even you're having trouble adapting.
Lisa sighs as she watches you work your magic. "Have I told you how much I appreciate you?"
"I only take compliments in the form of a raise." You chuckle.
She smacks your arm lightly and stretches. "If I give you a raise you'll be making more money than me!"
You shrug. "Maybe a bigger office space then?"
"In your dreams, you pinnacle of capitalistic beauty."
A few more clicks and you're all set. Lisa's work looks amazing and you, once again, saved the day. "Alright, I'm gonna go back. Do you need anything?"
"Yeah, let's go to brunch, my treat!" She says as she grabs your arm. You want to go but you've only just gotten work started and it'll be a bitch if your work flow gets interrupted now.
"I love you, but I'll have to take a rain check. How about we meet for dinner instead? If I don't get this back to Nathan he's going to take it somewhere else and I can't have that happening." She agrees and you head back over to your office.
Your office chair is the prime of luxury as you swirl to look at the New Orleans skyline. Is it as nice as the one in Miami? No, but as the sun shines high you can't help but thank God for the life you lead. 20 year-old you would have never guessed that you would be here, in Lousinanna, working for the largest company in antique trading in the nation. Sending off a quick email to Nathan you open up Spotify and look at your business for the day. There is that Rafe Adler guy that keeps on emailing you (he even left a voicemail) but you have no interest in working with him. He's always digging and so far, he's had no success. Then there's Victor Sullivan.You two went out for drinks... and maybe even a little more about three years ago but you both realized you were better off friends. Well, friends who sometimes to go salsa bars, drink, and have sex. You blush thinking about him. He's surprisingly spry for his age and you have to admit, that man is one smooth talker. Thinking about the past as you work, time goes by quickly and soon it's time to clock out. Lisa comes in to check on you, letting you know that unfortunately dinner is canceled because she forgot she was having a tinder date over. Rolling your eyes, you laugh and head home alone.
As you walk into your apartment, you can't help but breathe in a sigh of contentment. For some reason, this past year you've been feeling like you're walking on air. You're living your best life, going out on "adventures" to scope out new antiques and relics, and there's also your secret pen pal. No one knows about him, not even Lisa, but you're obsessed with him. You two exchange letters every week (like actual letters, isn't that so cool?) and so far he's incredibly knowledgeable, smooth, and mature. There is also the fact that he's currently in a jail cell in a Panamanian prison, but at least he knows Spanish. You take the time to feed your neighbors cat, who at this point is your own, and look through your mail. Smiling from ear to ear, you see that he sent you another letter.
Sweetheart,
Although I haven't been able to read that book you suggested I spoke with one of the other inmates and he told me all about it. I didn't know you were so frisky; apparently there's a sex scene that's around twenty pages. Guess you learn something new everyday, huh? I was reading up on Henry Avery (again I know) and I really think that your company could look into it. I know there's some treasure somewhere in the middle of the ocean, waiting to be found. Avery aside, I wanted to let you know I'll be getting released next month. We haven't really planned for this, but I would love to meet you. I have a brother in New Orleans so I'm not gonna ask you to let me crash at your place or anything I just want to see you. I have a feeling you're a spectacularly beautiful woman and I wanna wrap you in my arms. If you don't want to see me, though, I completely understand.
- Sam
You press the letter to your heart but inwardly, you're worried. He scratched that part out, but what if you meet in person and he sees that you're not a spectacularly beautiful woman? What if he's expecting someone younger, or with less career ambitions? And what about you? What if you meet with him and his vibes are completely off? He's in prison for a reason, what if he does something to harm you? What if he steals all the stuff from your apartment after a wonderful night of making love and then goes off to Paris and but you have a child and so you send him a postcard and he tells you to meet him but he stands you up? Something inside of you is trembling with fear but for some random reason, you trust Sam. The only thing this guy cares about is Henry Avery, pirates, and his brother. If you fell for him without even seeing his face you'll have to accept him as he comes. But hopefully he comes cute.
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It's been officially one month since you sent Sam your reply and it's been radio silence ever since. You didn't think you'd be this needy. As soon as you send your letter through the mail you opened it back up to see if he had sent you a reply. Why don't they provide Panamanian prisoners with phones? That would make the ordeal so much easier, not to mention being able to hear his voice. You stride into the building feeling confident that today was going to be the day you saw Sam. That's how it's been every day for the past year but it's no good to lose hope when you're so close.
"Hermosa, no te olvides que vas a entrevistar a unos candidatos hoy." Your lovely receptionist tells you as you strut to your office. You smile, but inside you're groaning. You've been interviewing candidates for an outreach development coordinator position for the past three weeks with no luck. Either all of your candidates are too old, too young, too inexperienced, or too cocky. Looking over the candidates names though, you gasp. It's the name you've been waiting to see this entire time.
** "Beautiful, don't forget you have to interview some candidates today."
"Sebastian, cuando applicaron estos candidatos?" You yell over the blaring AC.
** "Sebastian, when did these candidates apply?"
"Como unos dias atras, porque? Si quieres Luis se puede encargar."
** "About a couple of days ago, why? If you want Luis can take care of it."
You look over the papers. Well, shit, if this is going to happen today, at least you look fresh as fuck. "Nah, no te preocupes; me encargo yo. Gracias, corazon."
** "Nah, don't worry about it; I got it. Thanks, love."
Lunch came and went and you still hadn't seen Sam. His appointment was set for 3 pm but you couldn't wait any longer. Your lunch was coming up your throat and even Lisa had asked you if you looked ok. You prepared your documents and looked through your emails. It seems Nathan had recovered some copper but the only thing you were interested in was those antiques you heard about in Malaysia.
"Excuse me, the receptionist had told me to come into your office for the interview. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." you hear from the door.
Oh my goodness. Oh... wow. To be honest, the man at the door took your breath away.He was dressed in a sharp suit with his hair worn a bit long and a clean 5 o'clock shadow. He didn't look how you expected. There was a worn look in his eyes but you could definitely tell that he was a charmer back in the day. His smile lights up your face and he notices as you blush.
"Please, sit down. Thank you for joining me." You point to the see opposite of you. He unbuttons his jacket as he sits down and you silently fan yourself. Oh my, this man is going to be the death of you.
"Thank you for having me. Before we begin, I have to be honest with something."
You raise your eyebrows. Has he looked you up? Does he know who you are? "And what would that be Mr. -?"
"Drake, Samuel Drake. I want to let you know that there is an impressive gap in my resume. I've been in prison but I haven't really committed any crimes."
"Please, elaborate Mr. Drake." He flusters and blushes as he leans and scratches his neck. "I used to be an antiques… collector and I was admitted into a prison in Panama because there was some information about an antique."
You lean in, intrigued. This is not something he's ever spoken about but you were hanging on to every last word. "What antique were you looking for?"
"I was looking for Henry Avery's treasure. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but I've been searching as a hobby for decades and a crucial piece of information was in the prison. Unfortunately, I was mistaken as a real inmate and it's been a long time since I’ve been able to be in America."
"When were you released?" You feel your chest compress. If he says he was out for a couple of days, that means he never tried to reach you or talk to you. You didn't know if you could deal with that pain but you needed to know.
"I was released around a month ago but I've been staying with my brother until I am able to become employed and self-sufficient."
You sigh in relief. He never ended up getting your final letter. For some reason that relaxes you and the interview goes without a hitch. He speaks English and Spanish, has a history of collecting and scavenging for rarities, has wonderful reference letters as well as educational background, and he's extremely handsome. Although the latter has nothing to do with your final decision, you have to admit that it doesn't hurt.
"Well, Mr. Drake. It has been a pleasure having you in, we will be sending you an email stating our final decision once the interviews are over."
He stands and shakes your hand, electricity running through your arm giving you shivers. Smiling brightly, he buttons his jacket with his other free hand. Oh my he's good with his hands, you think before you mentally brush it off. You can't be thinking things like this about your prospective coworker.
As he goes to leave though, you call out to him. "Nunca recibiste mi carta final."
** "You never received my last letter."
He freezes on the door and slowly turns, taking the time to glance up and down at your full figure, wondering how he never noticed. He's now noticing that your hair perfectly frames your face and that your eyes shine in this shitty office lighting and he smiles.
"Debería haber sabido que eras tú. No te da risa como funciona el destino?" He finally replies as he brings you into a hug.
**"I should've known it was you. Isn't it funny how destiny works?"
Oh God. You melt into his hug like it's been forever. He faintly smells of pancakes and cigarettes but for some reason it's so addicting. You want that smell drenched all over your clothes, your apartment, and your bed sheets. How long have you dreamed of this moment? How close have your two been to something further than pure conversation through your letters and now it's finally real. You couldn't dream of anything better if you tried.
"Sweetheart, how I've thought about this moment. It's been so long. I missed you without ever seeing you, is that crazy?"
"Not at all, I've felt the same way. Sam, you have no idea how long I've waited to see you. I was hoping you'd let me know when you arrived but you never sent me a message."
You feel his muscles tense as he glances down at you. This is it. He's going to tell you that he just wants to be friends, or even worse, that he never wants to see you again. It'll be fine though; you'll survive. Hopefully you'll find another inmate as handsome as he and everything will start over like if it was nothing more than a game. He pulls from you and scratches his neck.
"To be honest doll, I didn't want to go up to your doorstep, which I never got the address to, by the way. When I came back, I looked homeless and smelled even worse. I had walked from the airport because I didn't want to bother anyone and it took me a full week of junk food to finally find my brother. I just didn't want you to look at me and see this inmate that was going to steal your stuff or hurt you. I wanted you to see me at my best and hopefully with a job and a place to live."
Your heart broke for him in that instant. He was saying all of your fears out loud with such accuracy that your words got caught in your throat. But he wanted to impress you and was trying to improve himself before he met with you. That must count for something, right? You move forward and cup his jaw with your hands. Although he's much taller than you, your stature does nothing to stop him from looking at your eyes, then your lips.
"I'm glad you're here now. And I'm so glad that we became pen pals because I don't know what I would do without you, Samuel."
"My vida, can I kiss you?" You hear him say.
Oh God, yes; you think, only realizing that you've said your secret prayer out loud. Chuckling, he moves forward and kisses you once. His lips are gentle and tentative as he explores the unspoken boundaries around you both. You feel yourself getting urgent, needing to make up for a whole year of kisses. A whole year of Christmas, and Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day gone without touching. After some much needed gasps of air, Lisandra barges into your room and you both back away as awkwardly as possible. Yep, there is no way Lisandra ntoiced anything. Couldn't have gone smoother if you tried. She looks between you two as you both stand there, messied hair and blushing.
"Hey, are you still doing interviews? I'm sorry I just barged in."
You shake your head violently and that rises a silent smile out of Sam. "No, not at all. We just finished. Lisandra, this is Samuel Drake."
She goes to shake his hand and looks at you with eyebrows raised. "Samuel Drake? Are you related to Nathan Drake by any chance?"
He looks at you nervously and nods. "Yeah, Nathan is my brother. I hear he collaborates with the company on some projects. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine." She laughs as she flutters her eyes at him. Is she flirting? With your man?
You quickly put space between the two of them as you usher Sam out. "Thank you so much for stopping by, we will be contacting you shortly."
"Of course, thank you for having me. If you need anything at all, my number is on my business card." He whispers call me as you smile and shut the door on him.
Turning to Lisa, you give her a stern look. She shrugs and laughs. Honestly, what did you expect? He's a handsome man, and in that suit you're sure he's gotten hit on at least a dozen times today.
"Is that your pen pal?" She wriggles her eyebrows as you stare in shock.
"What are you talking about?" You ask nervously.
"Oh come off it, babes, I already saw some letters months ago. It's healthy for you to date, that way you can't be married to this job."
Wow, she's so conniving. For some reason, you think she might have set this whole interview up. Damn, that's a good friend. "Well, are you going to see him again?" She asks.
Fumbling around the office, you try to look as busy as you possibly can. It buys you time at least to be able to collect your thoughts. Finally, you respond.
"Probably not." you say, but your eyes betray you.
Probably not. Ok fine, maybe. Most likely. Definitely, definitely yes.