Chapter Text
TOBIN’S POV
“Oh shit!” I say as I spring out of my bed. I'm not even sure how my alarm didn't go off. Five years. For five years I've been waking up at the same time and somehow I still have to rely on my alarm clock to do the job for me. I quickly get up and race to find my clothes that I forgot to have set up for today.
‘ Okay where's my shirt at ’ I check the cabinet and luckily I have a clean one ready to go. I put that on then a pair of pants that i had to iron the best i could. I do a full 360 in my room looking for my shoes and when I find them under my night desk I throw them on too. Keys, check. Shirt, check. Wallet, check. Okay good. I hurriedly lock my door and sprint down the stairs.
“See ya later , mark!” I shout at the guy who runs the front desk.
I squeeze my way through all the people walking on the streets and make my way to stop #1. Two minutes of jogging the best I can and I'm at the Starbucks around the corner. I literally want to scream when I see how long the line is. People swear like it's Beyoncé hand making their coffee. Now if that were the case, I would totally understand the size of the line. Sometimes I forget how crowded and crazy it is to live in New York.
“hey , Tobin! I got your usual ready.” One of the workers, Lauren , says as she places my order on the counter with a huge smile on her face. We have known each other for a while now because I come here everyday at the exact time which obviously comes in handy. And I'm not that oblivious, I know she likes me and she is cute and all but with the job I have I do not have time to be seeing people.
“Oh my gosh. Thanks Lauren, you are literally a lifesaver” I grab the coffees from her hands and in record time I'm out the door and making my way to Full Books Inc. Thankfully, it's only a street away from Starbucks or else I would be screwed.
“excuse me, sorry!” I feel bad as I push through all the people to make it to the elevators once I've entered the building. But hey, when you have a boss like mine, you're gonna be in a hurry too.
Stepping inside the elevator, i sigh in relief because I'm almost there. Just get this day over with even though it just started like 30 minutes ago.
“Hey what's the time?” I ask the man standing beside me in the filled elevator.
“7:20”
‘ Yes! Ten minutes to spare. Not bad Heath, not bad ’ I think to myself. Mentally giving myself a fist bump.
I know some people might think that I take this job way too serious, but I think since I work for probably one of the most respected women in the state, I need to be this on point with everything.
Ping! the elevator door opens and I rush out so i can have all of my files ready and organized before she gets here. Before I can even realize what is happening , Fred, the delivery guy runs into me , spilling all of my boss’s coffee on my white button up shirt.
“Dammit! Are you serious right now?” I shout. I know it's not his fault. It's actually mine and any other day I would feel bad about getting his shirt stained too, but today is definitely not one of those day.
I should not be stressing out this much and now I have to find a way to get out of this shirt because if my boss sees me in this , I am never going to hear the end of it. Why are you doing this to me, God?
Ugh I speed walk over to one of my closest friends at the office. I notice that on my way to her desk people are giving me the look that says ‘oh shit you're in trouble’ while glancing down at my ruined shirt.
“Ashlyn I need you to switch shirts” I rush out
“What? Are you serious?” she looks at me as if I should be joking.
“Yankees. Boston. this Tuesday. Two company seats for your shirt.
You have five seconds to decide.
Five , four , three, two , one.”
___________________________________
Stepping out of the bathroom with my newly dressed white button up, i wait near the special elevator made just for the boss. I think that giving her a personal elevator was a bit too much but she says that the last thing she needs is to be stuck in a elevator with people who don't know what proper hygiene is.
Speaking of the devil . The elevator door opens and there she is. Christen Press. The woman who has put so much stress on me and who has given me so many restless nights.
She stays typing furiously on her phone , not even realizing that the elevator has opened. I take this time to observe her . She is wearing a black and white business suit and her perfectly straightened hair is tied up in the best ponytail I've even seen, it almost looks painful. Her face is void of wrinkles , which is understandable because she is only 27 after all. Her skin tone always get me wondering how it's so perfectly tanned because my guess is that someone like her does not go out a lot, especially to the beach.
“Good Morning , miss Press” I say just to let her know the door has opened .
“Where's my coffee?” She asks completely ignoring my greeting. I give her the coffee and then tell her the rundown of all her missed calls. She starts her stride to her office , walking with so much confidence that if she told you that she had access to the United States confidential files, you'd probably believe her.
“You have a conference call in 30 minutes.”
“Yes, I know” she says distractingly , still typing on her phone.
“You also have a staff meeting at nine”
“Did you call...what her name? The one with the terrible sense of fashion?”
“Jessica.” I remind her
“Yes, jessica. Did you call her?”
“I did. I told her that if she
doesn't get her manuscript in on time
You won't give her a release date.”
I try to remember all the other calls I reviewed while in the elevator.
“Oh! Your immigration lawyer called.
He said it's imperative - “
“Cancel the call” she says with a definite tone.
I furrow my eyebrows and give her a curious look , even though it's pointless because she's not looking. Ignoring a call from an immigration lawyer doesn't really seem like a good thing to do. Obviously i want to keep my job though, so I don't tell her anything.
We make our way into her huge office and she sits in her recliner chair , instantly turning on her laptop and reading all of her emails. I stand there semi awkwardly because usually she tells me what to do but right now she seems kinda busy with the email she's reading. When I was gonna say something, I see a small smile appear on her face and honestly I'm kinda surprised because a smile from her is pretty rare. She puts her coffee down her clear crystal table and claps her hand In applaud for herself.
“I just got our best Writer to do an interview with Ellen”
“John?” I ask , impressed. John is kind of an older guy. He was a really good writer in his days , but he's incredibly stubborn now. He hates doing things like interviews because .. Well no one really knows why . I think that's it's because he's your average ‘ I hate you hooligans and the shenanigans you do now a days’ type of guy , but that's just my thought.
“With that being said, we're going to pay Daniel a little visit” she then finishes a message I assume she is typing in response to John. Daniel is another ‘boss’ In a way. He's just been here for a long time and has a lot of experience so he’s second behind Press. Kind of like a soon to be Editor In Chief.
While she is getting up she grabs her cup of coffee from her table and then looks at me with stern eyes.
“Who is Lauren? and why does she want me to call her?”
I feel a slight blush creep up to my face because that definitely wasn't something I want my boss to see. And now I'm going to have to explain myself.
“Oh. Well you see, that was originally my coffee.” I reply lamely.
“And why am I drinking your coffee?” She doesn't look mad just curious. So that's a good sign. She's probably still in a good mood about the Ellen thing.
“Funny story, I actually spilled yours … But it's okay! Because i happen to drink the same order as you.” Now she's judging me because she tilts her head then squints her eyes. She sighs, gets up, and then walks out , making her way to what I'm guessing is Daniel's office. I get the hint and follow closely behind.
“It seems pretty pathetic to force your daily coffee order just so you could have a backup in case you spilled my order.” She says without much emotion. As if it didn't hurt that she called my idea, which I thought was pretty smart, pathetic. I would try to explain myself but I know it's pointless.
Considering that it's right down the hall, Within seconds we're at Daniel's office and man I feel sorry for him because Press does not look too friendly right now.
“Ahh Miss Press. Please come in” he greets nicely.
“This will only take a second. Daniel, You're fired. Now I'm going to go.” She says calmly while making her way to the door we just interested 20 seconds ago. She said it as if this wasn't a big deal that she was firing him. I'm surprised because yeah I know she was pissed at him but I mean.. Firing him? Cut him some slack, right?
She walks into the hallway and I'm about to follow but daniel pushes me out of the way to get to the hallway too. Jerk .
“Pardon me?” He practically yells , creating a scene in front everybody that works on this floor. Press simply rolls her eyes and turns around as casually as ever.
“I told you to get John to do Ellen. Three months. I gave you three months to convince him, you failed. I called him yesterday and he agreed. I know you haven't even tried to convince him and I get that. If you want to be lazy, congratulations you can be lazy 24/7 now because you have no more job.”
I look at Daniel and boy does he look mad. He actually looks like he's about to say something back. Oh crap , don't do it daniel. Don't do it.
“You poisonous bitch!” I cringe when he says this because this isn't going to end well for him.
“ You can't fire me! Just because you don't have a life does not mean you can order us around like your personal slaves! You know what? I feel sorry for you. Because you know what you're going to have on your deathbed? Nothing and No one.” He sneers at her.
Damn. I mean I think everybody hates her but what he said was like taking it to whole other level. Not cool, man. That even made me feel sorry for her.
I notice that she looks really sad. But only for a second and I don't think anyone even noticed. Just as quickly as it was there, her usual ‘Don't mess with me’ face is in place.
“Listen, Daniel. You're lazy, entitled, incompetent. The list can go on. You do no work here and have no use for anyone or anything. If only you were half as good at your job as you are being a waste of time. Now I am going to go and if you say another word I will have you kicked out along with your stuff. Tobin let's go.”
With that she is walking back to her office. I quickly keep up with her pace, looking back to see Daniel's reaction. He looks red with anger and like he wants to say something. If he were smart, he wouldn't. Especially because everyone knows Miss Press takes her threats seriously.
“Now that Daniel is fired, I need help doing his assignments that are suppose to be finished this weekend”
“Oh. This weekend?” It's a stupid question, I know, because she literally just said this weekend but I kind of had things to do.
“Yes.” She says with no room for argument. And then as if remembering that I am actually a human and have a social life she looks at me and says.
“Do you have plans?”
“No… Well it's just - it's my grandma's 90th birthday. But it's okay I'll skip. You're saving me from a weekend of misery anyway.” Besides it wasn't official that I was going, I was just considering it. I haven't seen my family in almost two years and I guess it would have been nice to see them but then I think about my dad … And yeah I don't feel like going anymore.
“I didn't ask to hear your feelings.” She says.
I was going to apologize but luckily the phone starts ringing and I go to pick it up.
“Miss Press’ office. Okay, I'll let her know.” I turn to Press and she's looking at me with a raised eyebrow because usually calls aren't that short.
“That was Malloy. He want to see you in his office.”
She sighs in annoyance and get a up from the chair , straightening her shirt. While she is making her way to the door she turns and says
“Come get me in town minutes.” Then , just like that, she's out the door.
___________________________________
CHRISTEN’S POV
I push through the glass door, already rolling my eyes in annoyance when I see Malloy's cheesy smile. I can't believe this guy is my boss. Well technically he is my supervisor. Which still doesn't even make sense.
“Good Morning, Malloy.” I make sure to use my fake smile because the last thing I need is to give him a reason to talk to me more than he needs to.
“Good Morning Miss Press. Congratulations on getting John to do
Ellen.”
I feel a sense of pride go through me because I only just got John to agree not only thirty minutes ago and apparently the story is already spreading through the office.
“So I should be expecting a raise then?” I'm only being half serious though. I find it incredible that I even have to ask for a raise. Being the best and talented in this office, I would think that raises were expected.
“Miss press, I'm going to be frank. Remember that time when I warned you not to go to Germany? Even if it meant not signing the deal with that new and upcoming writer. I advised you that it was an unwise decision to make while your visa was being processed. But you went anyway. Do you remember?”
I roll my eyes because this is a waste of time. If I needed someone to remind me of what I did last month then I just would've gotten my assistant to do it.
“Yes.”
“Well I just got off the phone with your immigration attorney -”
“Great so everything is settled then.” I straighten my back and put my hand on the door handle, ready to leave.
“Christen your Visa is being declined. You're being deported.” I'm quiet for a few seconds. Staring at his old tired face trying to figure out if for some reason he is playing a joke. He is looking at me with the most serious face I've ever seen from him and that's when I know he means it.
“Deported?” I exclaim loudly. Maybe a bit too loudly because he looks surprised by my outburst.
“Cmon!” I continue , “it's not even like I'm an immigrant! I'm from Canada for Christ's sake.” There is no way this is happening.
“Look, Christen, if there was anything I could do I would , but unfortunately it's going to take a year to reapply and in that time you cannot work for an American company.” He folds his hands on the table.
“I beg you. Please, there's got to be someth-” while I'm mid beg, the door to Malloy’s office swings open and my assistant's head pops out.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
“ What?!” I whisper yell at her because I told her to come get me in ten minutes and this has definitely not been ten minutes.
“Mary from Ms. DeGeneres’ office called. I have her on hold.”
“ So?” I practically ask through gritted teeth.
“I know, I'm sorry. I told her that you were engaged in a meeting but she keeps insisting.”
Engaged. That word rings through my head and gets me thinking . Bingo. That's it! That's my solution. I turn to Tobin and mouth ‘Come over here’ motioning my head to stand next to me.
She looks absolutely confused and furrows her eyebrows together but she does as she's told and stands awkwardly next to me. I turn back to Malloy who still has his hands clasped together, and i say,
“ Malloy, I understand the predicament we're in. And there's… Well I think there is something you should know.”
Malloy leans forward because I got his attention. Tobin still looks awkward standing next to me. I turn to her and give her the best smile I can muster up. She looks even more confused if that's possible.
I ignore her confused face anyway and scoot closer to her and put my arm around her shoulder , giving her one final look. Then I turn back to Malloy.
“We're getting married.”