The boss settled her butt into the comfy office chair she had bought last week, her rear firmly planted, in control. She had to admit, the hip fillers keeping her lower terminus round and taut had been a stroke of genius by the surgeons who had saved her life all those years ago. As someone who now spent her life sitting, she rarely minded anymore.

Karen waited impatiently, the mere moments since Eva’s touch had left her slipping by, moments wasted. Her phantom limbs had long-since evaporated, but still she imagined tapping her foot. How it might echo in the—

The warm hand on her shoulder still startled her, residual neck muscles tensing instinctually to ‘look’, turning nothing but the metal collar slightly left, her lights flickering in surprise. Karen instead focused on the phone she had given him, not so much connecting as suggesting it say:

“You’re late. You were made well aware of the repercussions.”

Karen knew her intentions wouldn’t be clear to Fergus, and to a certain degree they were also a mystery to herself. Was she coy or sincere? She was undoubtedly still his supervisor, but would he be more than her employee? Their working relationship had to be renegotiated, but hopefully not here.

You’re one to talk, it’s half past ten. Also I was sitting at my desk when you rolled in.

“I was at the dentist.” Karen thought before stifling a laugh. It would only shake her chest for him and make her messages come out practically dyslexic. Another side effect.

Damn it. Your cover is better than mine.

“Let’s hear it, then. As your direct report, I have the right to know.”

I was too enamoured with my new pillow. Couldn’t get out of bed.

Karen was taken aback, but with nothing else to do she just froze in place, her breath even hitched a bit. His pillow?? Fergus’s hand on her shoulder went from warm to oppressive in an instant. She remembered his… presence in bed, his body heat emanating from somewhere to her left. The few times Fergus had tried to wrap her in his arms and cuddle her in place, she had shrugged him off and twisted and squirmed restlessly, his furnace too hot to bear, her steamy exhalations reflected back by the overhang of his head, her collar even partially blocked by his actual pillow. Fuck that.

She was ready for jokes… but not this.

“Get out.”

I don’t understand.

“You’ve already proven you don’t. Now turn on my computer, open up my emails and get out. Get me some coffee, and take your time.”

Karen sat there and waited. To her, he was already gone, but she knew he was likely feet away, fiddling with the startup, or Outlook, or something taking far too long, before she finally felt the presence of her screen reader… somewhere. She asked it to start. It was a damn pain since all the text came in at once without Fergus’s synopses.

[FILE] [EDIT] [VIEW] [HELP] [WINDOW 1] [SEND] [OPEN FIRST EMAIL] Hello Ms. Clyne, we’d like to extend an invite to join our “Limbless in Business” Luncheon scheduled for—

“RSVP Unavailable.”

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