She had felt eyes on her all day. As she walked back and forth to the copier, to the mailroom, half-heartedly listened to coworkers discuss weekend plans around the water cooler. She knew he was watching her but Sophia didn't have the guts to seek out the stalking eyes to confirm the feeling.
Sophia Stewart had been working at KeyCypher for almost eight months now. More had changed for her in those eight month than in all her past 28 years. Could she say it was a change for the better? Honestly she wasn't sure yet. All she did know was that she was in deep enough that she wasn't sure she could ever go back to how she lived before- before she had met him.
"Sophia!" The shout of her name jarred Sophia out of her thoughts as a frazzled looking coworker rushed across the break room. Joy Morris, worked in the same department as Sophia and was one she would count as an office friend (although Sophia's shy and quiet nature made it hard for others to count her as theirs).
"Have you finished the your sections of the Mallard Report?" Joy inquired with a pained look on her face while she grabbed onto Sophia's arm. Joy was also one for office dramatics. "I just saw the email that our team needs to have it turned in to Mr. Kay by 2:00 this afternoon." Joy paused for a deep breath before continuing, "Sophia, it has to be done. The last time I turned in a team project late I thought for sure I was getting fired. This will be it for me. I can't lose this job. Oh god, what am I going to do?!" With a dramatic gasp she fell onto one of the plastic chairs surrounding the nearby tables.
When she was sure that Joy had finished her rant Sophia patted her shoulder. "My sections were all finished and uploaded Monday. Do you need help with yours?"
"Oh I couldn't ask you to do that, Sophia. I know you have other projects you are working on. I just... I just don't know how I'm going to get this all done." Joy dropped her head to the table with what could almost be described as a sob. Really, it was a good thing that the break room was empty. Joy already had a reputation and this little scene would only serve to increase the whispers behind her back.
Sophia raised her eyes to the ceiling for a moment to gather her wits, and with a light sigh, said, "Really, Joy, it's okay. Most of my other work isn't due until next week. So I've got a few hours this morning I can use to help you out." With that Joy launched herself out of the chair and into Sophia's (unexpecting) arms.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are really saving the day, Sof! You have access to all the data in our shared folders right? It really shouldn't take you that long this this morning. Just make sure it's uploaded before 2:00 so that it can be submitted. Oh god, what would this office do without you!" And just like the whirlwind cloud she whisked in on, Joy was out of the break room in a blink.
Left standing in the now quiet and empty break room, Sophia blinked, trying to process what had just happened. She had offered to help but it sounds like the competition of the project was now on her shoulders. In truth, she genuinely liked helping out with stuff like this whenever she could. Sophia had little life outside of the office, she was normally just fine with that as she loved what she did and preferred being on her own anyway. But today was Friday and she had worked hard all week to get a majority of the workload done so she could coast into the weekend... so much for that game plan.
With a final sigh, she walked out of the break room ready to undertake the task at hand. However, as soon as she was back amongst the common work area she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. He was still watching.
***************************************
Having been busy at work finishing the final sections of the report, Sophia thought little when she'd felt her phone vibrate with a message. She was in her zone and happy to stay there. Finally, after submitting all the necessary documents, she raised her hands above her head in a well deserved stretch. Bring them back down with a sigh and glance at the clock-1:55. Job done and with 5 minutes to spare, she allowed herself a small smile for a job well done.
Sophia reached for her phone, planning to send Joy a message to let her know the project was submitted and her job was safe. She didn't get around to sending that message when what she saw froze her to the bone.
1 missed message- **Closet. 1:45.**
Her heart sank.
*Shit. Shit. Shit.*
How could she let this happen? Was she really so focused on her work, work that wasn't even hers, that she didn't even think he would message for her today?
*Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.*
Standing on wobbly legs and she tried to move as quickly as possible out of the office without full on running. Heels clicked along the smooth floor in an unsteady rhythm as she made her way to a part of the building with mostly empty offices. There was a cleaning closet in the back corner. Being used only by the night staff it made for the perfect hideaway. Not even taking the usual precaution to look around for other watchful eyes, Sophia pull the door open, breath raged and body tense.
The lack of caution caused her to running smack into a wide, strong chest. Freezing as soon as her brain processed the current situation. He must have been just about to open the door to leave. Eyes drop to the floor as a deep voice washes over her.
"Well, well, well. So here you are at last. I've been waiting. For quite a while in fact." It's said in a tone that emphasizes how annoyed and wholly unimpressed by such a failure to be on time he is.
"I... I'm so sorry," her voice is quiet and shaking. Eyes still looking at the ground as she clasps her hands in front of her, squeezing them as if that will give her the strength to continue.
"I...well, you see, I was trying to help Joy with the Mallard report and I wasn't paying attention to my-"