#HR guidance

[trendynewsnow]

Navigating Employee Health Challenges in the Workplace

Disrupting the Workplace If you have questions regarding office dynamics, financial matters, career paths, or work-life balance, feel free to reach out to us at workfriend@nytimes.com. Please include your name and location, or let us know if you prefer to remain anonymous. Note that letters may be edited for clarity. You’ve posed some intriguing and complex questions regarding your employee’s…

[sword-and-lance]

WELL THEN

the sore throat has completely receded, I still do not have a temperature at all, no muscle aches, no headache

but holy fuck the boogers and the addition of endless sneezing is gonna kill me lmao

[caterjunes]

i regret to announce my work is at it again trying to force me to come into the office

[pheonix-inside]

An insomnia related anxiety hack I just thought of, treat every time you go to bed like a nap that you haven't set a timer for. It gets rid of the nerves about getting a full night's rest, which is not something I need to worry about rn when it's still summer.

Honestly even during the school year it's not a crazy concern considering my parents are pretty understanding and I have a few places I could skip class to nap or rest if need be.

[scarletanpan]

Not my manager bringing the big boss to one of my stores for the very first time when I just fucking told her that one had damaged and missing product in the 4th of July order the day before. Texting me asking why tags are missing and straws are sold out girl idgaf atp y’all can order if u want to I did my job

[spartanmemesmedical]

5 Things to Know Before an Ablation Procedure

5 Things to Know Before an Ablation Procedure

Embarking on the journey of an ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation requires careful consideration and preparation. This introduction serves as a compass, guiding you through essential aspects to know before undergoing this heart procedure. From understanding the intricacies of the ablation process to following pre-procedure guidelines and planning for post-procedure care, these insights…

[femmeboyhooters]

A certain kind of love and friendship has returned to me

[themultifanshipper]

Really, even though you were friends, the last thing Logan should be asking the Williams HR representative about, in her office, is sex.

Warnings: oral, petnames, lots of petnames

Based on true events that happened to me last week. Only difference is it was in my appartment, and I didn't actually come.

Do I use too much italics? Probably. Do I care? Not one iota.

So yeah, this was probably breaching several clauses in both your contracts.

But Logan came into your office, looking a bit sheepish, and sat down on the grey sofa in the corner without a word. You just stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but he just avoided your gaze.

"What can I do for you Logan?"

He didn't answer, just squinting at the floor, contemplative.

He came into your office quite often. Probably more than was strictly appropriate but after all, you used to be on the media team and had become friends with most of the drivers during your years at williams. Usually Logan and Alex (and occasionally others who "happened to be passing by") would come in for a chat, generally cheerful or angry or sad, depending on the kind of day they were having.

Today however, Logan was fully silent.

"Logan?"

He squinted again, this time at you, trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind.

"Lo, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong"

He took a deep breath before responding.

"So you know I'm a virgin, right?"

You, in fact, did not know that. You didn't think you were that close a friend, although you didn't exactly mind. It was just a bit sudden.

"What?!"

"Well technically I had sex once but it went really badly. And I haven't had any practice since, because I'm scared of picking up girls because I don't know what I'm doing and I'm an F1 driver so I'm supposed to be having loads of sex but imagine I'm really bad and it got out, it would be super embarrassing and I'd have to ask you, my friend, for an NDA about bad sex, which is just another level of weird and I'd hate for you to stop tal-"

"Logan!"

He stopped ranting and looked at you, obviously feeling rather vulnerable.

"Logan... have you just come into my office to tell me you're inexperienced at sex?"

He pursed his lips and frowned.

"Yes"

"Okay.... why?"

"Because I want you to teach me how to pleasure a woman"

He looked you straight in the eyes, with way too much confidence for someone who was suddenly eligible for a lawsuit.

You raised your eyebrows at him. "Logan, couldn't have waited until... oh I don't know, until we weren't in our workplace to ask me for sex?"

"Um... I guess?" He had the audacity to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I read this wrong. Do you uhh- not want to?"

You studied him for a second. What the fuck. It wasn't that the idea was unappealing, he was an attractive young driver with probably incredible stamina. Which is why you found the idea of him being inexperienced so odd. And why was he asking you for... guidance? A lesson? It was weird to think of him as anything other than your friend slash coworker Logan, who you had now known for nearly two years.

If someone had told you this morning that this is how your day was going to go, you would have told them to fuck off and gone back to sleep. You realised you must be taking too long to respond when Logan sighed and rubbed his face.

"Okay nevermind, I'm sorry I brought it up, we can just- pretend this conversation never happened"

He sounded almost sad as he got up to leave but stopped as you blurted out "No, wait!"

He stared at you questioningly.

"I'll do it" You sounded breathless "I'll teach you- how to do uhh... sex. With me."

His eyes lit up as he laughed "I hope you'll be more articulate than that "

"Oh fuck off" you hit his shoulder in retaliation "You're the one who looked like you were going to shit a brick when you walked in here!"

"Hey! That's a low blow" He pouted.

The atmosphere became more comfortable with the bickering but there was still an undercurrent of nervousness. He took a couple of steps towards you and leaned in but you stopped him with a hand on his unsurprisingly firm chest.

"You want to do this now?" You hissed "Are you fucking mental?"

He pouted again "why not, the bosses aren't here today, it's just us, and the engineers are working on the cars" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Well when you put it that way....

Fuck's sake.

You leaned in slowly, as if aiming for his mouth before swerving at the last second and pecked him on the cheek before whispering in his ear. "Lock the door for me will you, darling?"

His eyes darkened "Yes ma'am" and he turned away to lock the door.

You sat down on the sofa and spread your legs, beckoning him over and silently motioning for him to kneel between them. He did so and put his hands on your thighs, then looked up at you expectantly.

Oh, right. You were supposed to be teaching him.

"Okay so first you're gonna want to get me naked"

He giggled at your obvious statement before hooking his fingers into your waistband. "Sure thing, princess" Pulling them down and off, underwear soon following as he let out a breath, eyes and hands roaming over your newly exposed skin. "Shit, you're already so wet." He looked up at you again.

"Can I?" He asked.

So polite.

"Be my guest" you smiled at him as he lowered his body. He kissed the inside of your thighs, slowly inching towards where you needed him most. When he got there, you let out a strained half-sigh half-moan as he licked a stripe from your taint to your clit. The noise made him look up as he licked his lips, eye contact making you shiver. He then spread your thighs further and immediately buried his face between them like man starved, making a valiant effort to find your clit with his tongue.

"A bit lower- lower- a bit right. Wait no, your right"

He followed your instructions dilligently and when he found it, he sucked on your clit with fervour, which made you gasp and let out a shaky moan. "There, right there." as your right hand weaved itself into his hair.

Eyes on yours, he blinked up at you and you nodded to tell him he was doing a good job. Satisfied, he carried on, closing his eyes in concentration.

You grabbed one of his hands and started licking at his fingers, it startled him a bit and he looked back up at you, still surprisingly efficient with his mouth. The sight was absolutely sinful, blonde hair a mess, eyes blown wide, tongue out, working over your flesh. When you sucked one of his fingers into your mouth, straight down to the knuckle, he groaned, the vibrations making your hips twitch. You slid a second finger into your mouth, then a third, ensuring they were nice and wet, then pulled them out. "You can start putting them inside now".

He put the first one in, reaching so much deeper than you could manage on your own, all the while still lapping at your clit. You were so wet it didn't take long for a second one to join as he pushed them in and out gently.

"Okay now sort of hook them upwards" you showed him the movement with your own hand and he nodded, hooking his fingers and it felt so good you moaned quite loudly, hoping none of the engineers would be passing by your part of the building. He put a third finger in and the stretch was delicious as he pressed upwards again and flattened his tongue over your clit.

You could slowly feel an orgasm building and he felt you clench around his fingers, going slightly faster with both his hand and mouth.

"Oh god whatever you do, do not stop!" You panted above him as he used his other hand to hook a leg over his shoulder and he sat up a bit, changing your position slightly and making his fingers hit even deeper inside you.

"Fuck!" You clenched around his fingers as you came hard and he slowed down, helping you ride it out for a while before you had to physically push him off because he wanted to seemingly carry on forever.

"Geez Lo, give a girl a minute, yeah?" You laughed, a bit out of breath. You felt boneless as Logan started kissing his way up your body and finally sealed his mouth over yours. His face was sticky, and your hands went to his hair and pulled on it, making him groan into the kiss. You pulled his head back and he whined, his hips bucking against the sofa, searching for some relief. You lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Please" he panted. You glanced down.

"Need some help down there, soldier?"

He grinned, lopsided. "Sargeant, actually"

Oh yes, you were going to have some fun with this one.

[nullxby]

inner guidance

did i finish this in 7 hrs right before it was due? absolutely

[akutasoda]

hello, may I request jing yuan with a teen!reader who is jealous of yanqing? - they are around the same age as him, a new cloud knight who is an orphan, they try really hard to get the generals attention, even making him tea, buying presents etc. they want to be like yanqing, and are a bit jealous of the relationship with jy and yanqing, so they always try to prove themselves, even sacrificing food and sleep for their training, and are reckless during missions (bonus points if yanqing or jing yuan is present at the mission, they would literally fight until they pass out)

to prove oneself worthy

synopsis - all you ever wanted was somebody to pay attention to you and the one person that does so is already doing so to somebody else

includes - jing yuan ft yanqing - all platonic

warnings - gn!reader, orphan reader, slight angst, fluff, sacrificing food and sleep?, passing out?, jealousy, wc - 1.6k

taglist - @teddirika

you're parents weren't around. it was a simple fact, whether they had simply disappeared or died was unknown to you. all you ever knew was that you had no outstanding memories of them and that they certainly weren't atound anymore. this fact made it so you couldn't really care less for where they were or what had happened to them, they were rarely a thought that crossed your mind.

an orphan roaming around the streets of the luofu would bring attention, especially when you were resorting to any means necessary to survive and get by. petty thefts and minor acts of aggression were regular occurrences in your day to day live, cultivating a set of skills that aided in your fight for survival - including swift escapes from the cloud knights. an honest part of yourself really believed that you'd be a theif your entire life but a silver haired general thought otherwise.

jing yuan had become aware of the young one evading capture and committing very basic and mainly harmless crimes, how could he not? a part of him could sympathise with your situation, he understood that it was clearly your only mean of survival and so he didn't think that someone with their whole life ahead of them should be confined to the four walls of prison. your skills were impressive, there was a reason you hadn't been caught yet, so jing yuan thought that with the right guidance you would become a fine knight.

he would set out to find you himself, to personally extend his offer and hr wouldn't force you. if you declined then he had no choice but to arrest you himself and so he could only hope that you would see what he was trying to do and accept the offer. luckily for the both of you, you took up his offer. you understood that this would be the better way to pay for your crimes and would help you build a better future for yourself - earning back the trust of the luofu citizens you stole from.

what became pretty apparent very quickly was your unconscious growing attachment to the general. in between your training you would seek out jing yuan and if he wasn't busy you'd stick by his side. jing yuan was always incredibly busy and so you always tried to garner what spare attention he had left and demonstrate to him that his faith in you had not been misplaced - even going as far to bring him legally obtained presents.jing yuan was the only person to ever give you some kind of hope, somebody who believed you could be more than a street thief. it was evident that you would eant to thank him in some way, prove that his help would not go wasted.

jealousy was a vile emotion that made prople do horrendous things, it could break people apart and even force someone's hand to do something vile and unforgivable. you were no stranger to taking to underhanded tactics and resorting to frowned upon actions, so in any scenario you wouldn't have an issue with jealousy. this time it was different. you had been introduced to yanqing and saw him quite often, he was jing yuan's retainer afterall. there was something about him that just made you jealous.

you soon realised that it was his closeness to the general paired with his skills as a swordsman. yanqing had everything you could ever want. he had the generals attention, he had impeccable skills with a sword and he even was a capable knight without one and that made a vile anger boil inside you. but you wouldn't act on your jealousy. if you did you knew that jing yuan would be disappointed in you, he probably wouldn't want to ever look at you again and you would've proved to be a waste of his efforts. so you opted for a slow fix to your jealousy, working day in and day out to improve your skills to prove that you could be better than yanqing.

practically every minute of your day was spent with a sword in your hand, eventually coming to tell yourself that you weren't doing enough. you had managed to best every cloud knight more than once and decided that they simply weren't going to help you anymore, so you started sneaking away. in the dead of knight you'd head to mara-struck areas and defeat them - you didn't care that you lost out on your sleep. meals soon became irrelevant aswell, only ever stopping for a snack when you physically couldn't continue no more. you told yourself that it would all pay off in the end.

jing yuan noticed your absence pretty quickly, especially when even the other cloud knights would start claiming they hadn't seen you for days. a small part of him wondered if you were slipping back into your habits for stealing but he didn't want to think you would. he started piecing things together when he would see how fatigued you look and would try and question you when he was informed of how often your weary body would end up in lady bailu's care. he would ask bailu and she would tell him how your body would often not have enough nutrients to function properly and that your sleep was limited. jing yuan tried to confront you multiple times but you always weakly pushed him away and told him that you just wanted to train more.

he started sending yanqing on missions with you to keep an eye on you but you didn't take it that way, to you it was a dig in the face. to you jing yuan no longer saw you as a capable fighter and was trying to get you replaced on your missions. you wouldn't let that happen. unfortunately due to the lack of sleep and prioer nutrients in your body, your thoughts clouded over and so all your fights became clumsy attempts to wield a sword. reckless actions would be taken and eventually you'd pass out with too many unnecessary cuts, only slightly mitigated by the fact yanqing was there but you pushed him away from helping.

yanqing would soon find himself carrying your unconscious body back to luofu's infirmary's and lady bailu would have to be called in as the other healers simply couldn't fathom your injuries. jing yuan would also be contacted and would be there as soon as he could. each time you'd wake back up, wearily push everyone away and leave before any asked you anything. the next time anyone would see you would be in the same scenario - you passed out on a mission being dragged back to the infirmary.

jing yuan began to worry. each and every time you looked worse and worse but bailu always said the same things about exhaustion and lack of nutrients. jing yuan knew you were purposefully skipping meals and sleep in the name of training but he didn't understand why. he had a small inkling that it was to do with yanqing but he refused to believe you would resort to such extremes over something like this. eventually he had enough, when you woke up again from passing out on a mission he stopped you from leaving and told you dead straight that he was withdrawing you from your duties and that you were going to stay under care in the infirmary.

you were broken by the news. you had worked all day and night to get better at being a cloud knight, to beat yanqing and know all your hard work was to go waste because jing yuan didn't want you on duty anymore. you insisted that you were fine and didn't need this but it became very clear that jing yuan was not going to budge from his decision. however you simply wouldn't listen and would still sneak away from the infirmary to train out of bounds with the mara-struck.

the general had enough of your reckless behaviour. he understood that you were trying to improve as a knight but you're quest to do so had made you weaker and farther away from your personal goal. jing yuan personally pushed aside his duties to seek you out when the infirmary had told him you were missing and when he found you it wasn't a new sight. he watched with a saddened expression as you sloppily and recklessly took down the enemy, he winced when he saw your body hit the ground after you finished. you were out cold again, the general carried you back to the infirmary. this time he waited, waited until you regained conscious and made sure you wouldn't run away.

he confronted you as it pained him to see your talent go to waste and it hurt him to see how you treated yourself in the name of training. eventually he managed to weed the reasons for your behaviour out of you and due to your sheer exhaustion you couldn't help but start allowing tears to slowly escape and roll down your face. in this moment of weakness, jing yuan saw the child he found originally and offered a hug. one you gratefully took.

[teamatsumu]

seireitei HR department chronicles - pt 1

Summary: It’s your first week at your fancy new HR job. And your first ever complaint is already the most bizarre situation you had ever dealt with

Word Count: 1,140

Warnings: swearing, mentions of nudity

previous part • masterlist

The room was silent except for the periodic tick, tick, tick of the wall clock. You wished there was some sound to fill the empty space, maybe then you wouldn’t have to stew in the horror of the words that had just left Captain Hitsugaya’s mouth.

You watched the snow-haired Captain slouch in the seat before you, arms crossed and shoulders hunched. His face was twisted into a deep scowl, lips pursed. The skin of his cheeks was slightly dusky, showing that he was, in fact, embarrassed by the account he had just given you.

You cleared your throat, trying to form words with a tongue you felt was completely paralyzed. You stared at the form in front of you that you were trying to fill, the large “COMPLAINT FORM” written on top seemed almost comical considering the complaint in question was-

“I’m just going to tick the ‘personal’ box in ‘Nature of The Problem’.” You choked out. Captain Hitsugaya looked affronted.

“It’s not personal, it’s professional.” He said. “I was in my office. That’s a professional space.”

“But, um-” You felt like crying. “I don’t think Lieutenant Matsumoto accidentally flashing you is a…. professional problem.”

The Captain’s cheeks flamed even more, a petulant pout settling on his face. “An accident, my ass. How does that even happen accidentally-”

“She was sleeping.” you argued weakly.

That made him perk up, as if you just gave him a gotcha. “And why was she sleeping in my office during office hours? Actually, I want to file a separate complaint about that.”

Before you could protest, he had reached across the desk to grab the form you were filling, then reached for another one and plucked the pen right out of your hand. You watched helplessly as he scribbled in the details of his problem, secretly grateful you didn’t have to write all of that out.

Curse Captain General Yamamoto Genryuusai for making an HR Department and then putting you in charge. Your first week, and your first complaint, and it had to be the kid captain complaining about his grown Lieutenant snoring on his office couch with her chest on display.

You didn’t even know what the protocol here was.

“Has this happened before?” You asked, hoping to gain some guidance on how to deal with this.

“Too many times.” He mumbled back, focused on the paper before him which he was furiously scratching letters on. He sounded so grumpy it nearly made you laugh.

“So what did you do before this?” You continued.

He rolled his eyes. “Nothing. I would scold her and hope to god I never had to witness that again.”

You looked at the huge “Seireitei Code” that Squad 1 had delivered to you on your first day there. It was thick as a brick and contained every rule on the Gotei and what exactly to do when violation of rules occured. Granted, it was for more severe violations like murder or serious bodily harm. You could guarantee with your whole ass that there was nothing in there about flashing your captain.

How the fuck were you supposed to talk about this with Lieutenant Matsumoto?

Once Captain Hitsugaya had left, after many assurances on your part that you would personally have a sit down with his Lieutenant on the seriousness of the problem, you slumped into your chair and buried your face in your hands. This had to be a joke. This couldn't be the potential the Captain Commander saw in you. There’s no way he created this department knowing you had to solve sexual harassment cases between a literal child and a grown woman.

On second thought, maybe that's exactly why he made an HR department. You imagined the Captain Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the most powerful man in Soul Society, having to deal with squabbles like this on a near weekly basis. Jeez. No wonder the man needed a buffer to take matters off his hands.

Try as you might, you couldn't see a way out of this without physically having the Lieutenant in your office to air out her Captain’s grievances. You knew a written warning wouldn’t suffice. If you knew anything about the bubbly woman, it was that she wouldn’t take an office document seriously. There was a good chance she wouldn’t bother to read it at all.

You didn't know how exactly to confront Lieutenant Matsumoto about the predicament she had found herself in. And it almost annoyed you that you were somehow more uncomfortable with this than she was. She nearly giggled when you read through the report. You on the other hand, wanted the ground to swallow you whole.

“Do you understand where he is coming from?” Your whole face was hot after having read out the complaint Captain Hitsugaya had written out, looking anywhere but directly at the Lieutenant’s face.

“Yeah but,” she scratched the back of her head, pouting slightly. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“A rule violation is still a rule violation, Lieutenant.”

She sighed and stretched, nodding but looking unconvinced. “It’s hard to really control any part of your body when you are asleep, though.”

“Uh, about that.” You rifled through the papers on your desk to hand her the other complaint her Captain had written out. “He also reported you for sleeping excessively on the job.”

Matsumoto pouted and whined at that, looking almost offended by the piece of paper dangling before her face. “Aw, come on! Captain can get so mean sometimes. Do you know how much paperwork I have to do? I can’t even take a little nap?”

You knew for a fact that Captain Hitsugaya was carrying Squad 10 on his shoulders. He finished the work of three people every day by himself.

“Lieutenant…” The tone of your voice was so defeated it made her sigh.

“Okay, okay. Fine. I will try to not fall asleep. And I’ll keep the girls tightly wrapped up. That okay?”

“Please refrain from calling them that in a professional setting.” You corrected weakly, feeling weary to the bone. You almost missed defending Ikkaku and Yumichika when they beat up 20 people and ended up in Squad 4 with broken limbs. Surely, anything would be better than this.

“Okay! Jeez.” She sniffed, standing up. “Can I leave now?”

You nodded, watching her make her exit and slumping forward until your head hit your desk. Your forehead stung at the contact. You looked at the report in front of you, Lieutenant Matsumoto’s signature next to the acknowledgement of her poor behavior. Your lips twitched.

Giggles erupted from your throat as the hilarity of the situation finally caught up with you, bending over to grip your stomach as tears leaked from your lash line. Fucking hell.

This would be a good story to tell at parties.

let me know what you think! taglist is open

[cerastes]

Accidents Factory, Section One: Mishaps Manufacturing.

Our angriest employees, under the guidance of Manager Fiammetta, handcraft every single accident in this assembly line. As an HR initiative, we hired a musician, Arturia Giallo, to provide music for the employees. They hate every second of it (she plays Fake Waves non-stop), increasing anger and productivity.

[yourwitchmama]

Recorded tarot readings/spells/energy healing pricing and length (STATUS: open!)

1 hr tarot reading ($100) 45 minute tarot reading ($75) 30 minute tarot reading ($50) 25 minute tarot reading ($35)

Energy readings can be added to your order or they can be done by themselves. I will use tools and record your session. These will be shorter in length, which is why they are cheaper than the tarot readings.

spells/energy healing

Add protection spell ($15) Add energy healing ( $15) Add banishing/hex breaking spell ($25)

Written readings:

Click here to check out my website

Please venmo me or paypal me describing your question, and add your email (unless you’d rather DM me with details on here)

If you want a reading that goes REALLY in depth with your question, looking at any and all circumstances and energies involved, I suggest the one 45 minute to 1 hour reading. If you are looking for some guidance on a situation, the 25-30 minute tarot reading is more for you. You can ask any question you want! Your video will be sent to you via email through a youtube link (the videos are all going to be unlisted)

one free reading will be given to a random user who chooses to reblog this post! I will DM you with details in a few days!

[thezombieprostitute]

Last Christmas

A/N: Written for Vee's Holly Jolly Challenge. (@sstan-hoe).

Warnings: Attempts at coercion.

Prompts: Nick Fowler - the song Last Christmas. The lyrics included will be written in bold purple font.

Summary: You should've known better. Of course he's still in love with her.

“What the hell is this,” Nick forcefully places the paperwork on your desk. 

You look it over quickly and respond, “it’s my request for a transfer.”

“But why,” he seethes. His jaw is tight and his body is tense. He clearly feels betrayed but that just makes your own hurt feel more justified. 

“Nick,” you sigh, “you really don’t remember what happened at the Christmas party last week?”

Nick crossed his arms, “I remember you and me doing a lot of kissing in my office. Would’ve taken you home if you didn’t run out on me. I thought we were solid. We’ve only been dating a couple weeks, but we’ve been friends for a lot longer.”

“You really don’t remember,” you shake your head as you fight the urge to cry. “When we were in your office, you called me by her name.” Nick freezes at that and you continue, “I also thought we were solid. Enough so that I gave you my heart. But when you can’t let go of her, I guess I was a shoulder to cry on and nothing more. Even if you don’t want it, I need this transfer for me. To save me from tears if nothing else.”

Nick grabs the paperwork and promises to get your transfer approved as he walks out, leaving your office colder than it was before.

It’s been a few months and you’ve really settled into your work. You can definitely understand why the role of manager for the Research and Development Department has such a high turnover rate. Everyone working here requires a different management style, a different level of understanding and guidance. Most managers stick to one style for everyone, but that’s clearly not what’s needed here and you’ve really gotten the hang of what your researchers need from you. 

One thing that everyone could agree on was that they needed more space so you were able to work out a construction contract. The first day you met the foreman, Hal Carter, you were taken aback. You’d bought into the stereotypes of construction guys being on the sexist side (catcalling and whatnot) but he was polite, never talked down to you and always took your concerns seriously. He was quite the flirt, though. Pretty much every woman at the office had been winked at and complemented to no end. But no HR complaints came from it so at your weekly updates you just asked him to be careful with your employees and left it there. 

You were doing really well in your job, your new life, when the surprise inspection came. Led by Nick. One look and you knew you weren’t over him but you would keep your distance. Once bitten and twice shy you’d make sure to keep professional. Taking Nick and his team on the rounds, you were grateful for your employees helping you out. A crowded room, friends with tired eyes but they did their best to make sure you (and their funding) would continue. 

After the inspection you practically ran to your office to catch your breath. You didn’t notice Nick following you.

“Are you hiding from me,” he asks quietly. His wintry-blue eyes boring into your soul.

“I’m hiding from you and your soul of ice,” you confess. “I ask you to give me distance, to get my heart right again, and then you just waltz right in without warning. I thought you were someone to rely on.”

“During the rounds, I kept my distance, but you still catch my eye.”

“I know what a fool I’ve been, but if you kissed me now, I know you’d fool me again.”

Nick walked towards you, moving in for the kiss that you weren’t sure you really wanted, but he was interrupted by Hal coming into the office with donuts and coffee.

“Oh, sorry,” Hal faltered. He looked at you, “I’d heard you had an inspection of some kind, figured you could use a pick-me-up. Goodness knows your cookies help me and the crew when the building inspectors come around.”

You smile warmly at him, grateful that he broke Nick’s spell over you. “Thank you, Hal! It’s just what I needed. Care to join me? Nick was just on his way out.”

Nick gave you an icy glare before walking out. As soon as you saw him walk out of the building, you allowed yourself to collapse into your office chair. Hal set down the food on your desk and admitted he had been listening to your conversation.

“I was going to wait until you were done with whatever meeting you were in, but I heard a few things that made me worry about you. Given your reaction, I’m guessing I was right about you needing some help?”

You nod appreciatively, sipping at the coffee. “Thank you, Hal. I almost made a serious mistake. Again.”

“I’m happy to help,” he assures. “You’re a good person and I like helping out good people.”

You snort, “given what I’ve seen and heard you just like helping out women.”

He gives you a shy half-smile, “that’s partially true. I like helping people smile, brightening their day. You never know when someone just needs a compliment to help them keep going. Yeah, I’m a huge flirt. Yeah, it’s nice for my own ego. But, for me, it’s just a way of being nice. Oh, and don’t worry about my ego getting too big. My crew helps me with that.” That last note makes you chuckle and you’re genuinely feeling more relaxed than you thought you would.

“Well,” you grinned, “you definitely helped me smile today. Thank you for that.”

Around August the construction project was finally wrapping up. You knew several people who were going to miss Hal and his crew. Especially when they went shirtless for a minute or two in the summer heat. Even you would occasionally indulge, smiling shyly the times Hal caught you looking. Your face would heat up in embarrassment but he never judged you or made fun of you for it. You were really going to miss him and your weekly meetings. 

It was at your last meeting with him when you noticed Hal acting fidgety, almost nervous. You ask him if he’s okay and gives you a shy smile you’ve never seen before.

“Um,” he starts, “I…well, with the construction done…I was, um, would…wouldyougooutwithme?”

You blink a few times, not fully sure of what’s going on. “Hal,” you hesitated, “are you asking me out on a date?”

Hal nods, “I didn’t wanna ask while we were kinda working together. You said you’d never date a coworker again and I didn’t want to risk being that. But getting to know you, I…I’d really like to take you out some time.” He still wasn’t able to meet your eyes.

“Why are you acting so shy?”

“Because flirting is one thing. Asking out someone that I genuinely want to be with? That’s…that’s scary stuff.” He looks into your eyes and you’re taken aback. You see the face of a lover with a fire in his heart. You see someone special.

“I’d love to go out with you.”

It’s the company Christmas party and, despite the crowd, Nick has never felt more alone. He knows you’re going to be here and he keeps watching for you. You’re not hiding from him, but he doesn’t seem to see you. You’ve been doing well and coming into your own. You’ve received nothing but love and support from Hal. You’re finally getting the warmth and care you’ve needed and growing. 

Nick seems to give up and walks to his office. You follow quietly. As the door clicks shut, his eyes shoot up and you give him a gentle smile.

“Do you recognize me? Well, it’s been a year, it doesn’t surprise me.” 

“You look so beautiful,” he whispers. “More beautiful than I ever gave you credit for. Now I know what a fool I’ve been. I got you something. I wrapped it up and sent it with a note saying, “I love you”. Did you receive it?”

“Yes, Nick,” you smile sadly. “I got the necklace.”

“I want you to know, I meant it, when I wrote that.” His frosty blue eyes scan you, looking for the necklace, unsure of why you don’t look happy about the gift. 

“You never actually listened to me,” you shake your head. “If you did, you’d know I never liked gold and diamonds. That was her.” You place the gift box on his desk and stand firm, “I need you to stop sending me gifts and notes like this. Now I’ve found a real love, you’ll never fool me again.”

“But-” Nick tries to respond, you see genuine sadness and loneliness but you stop him before he can try to get you to cave.

“Last Christmas I gave you my heart,” you shake your head, putting a hand between the two of you so he can’t get closer. “You tore me apart. But I’ve healed and grown past. Maybe you should try that as well.”

With that, you turned around and left his office. A year ago you fled the room in tears. Now you’re walking out with your head held high. Last year you were left cold and shaken. Now you’re surrounded by warmth and comfort.