OH CRAP! ~}I Find Myself In Need of Assistance{!

[RHYS SPRINTER]

Today was Thursday.

Normally, not a big deal. Normally not cause to be sitting in your personal assistant's office chair while you waited for her to come into work to solve all your problems because you really really made a mess of something this time. Not usually a day when one has near panic attacks and demolishes three stress balls in two hours.

However, today wasn't a usual day.

This Thursday, the one in which Rhys Sprinter was about to have a stressed-induced seizure, was the final day to turn in some super important form into the management company that owned and operated some thirty different name brands stores all across the country. Not that Rhys didn't care about said form, or the super company he was about to (hopefully) do business with, because he did. Greatly. In fact, the reason for his new mental breakdown was BECAUSE he cared so much about this business deal. And why he wanted to rip things to little itty bitty bots for losing the VERY LAST form he had to sign to complete the deal.

Candace was going to kill him.

Well, she couldn't, really, since she was short and tiny and more prone to yelling at him and worked for HIM, but still, there was no doubt she would make her displeasure known.

Rhys wished he knew what her favorite sweetmeat was. He could use all the insurance he could lay his hands on right now.

As it was, the he heard the elevator ding from his seat at her desk, and took a deep breath. He timed her footsteps, knowing that there were exactly thirty seven from the receptionist's desk to her office door, and slid his eyes closed. There were ten steps left...four...three...two... As he heard the door open, Rhys took another deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

"I find myself in need of your wonderful powers of saving -my-ass, oh Wonderful Candace of the Great Divide."

He snuck an eye open peeking to see how much wrath he had avoided.

[erikarawr]

The elevator was so annoying. People were always getting on and getting off. They were always talking to each other about trivial things. It would be the day when Candace actually heard an interesting conversation. Maybe she would like to hear what people said about her one day.

She could tell when she was being talked about. The elevator would grow silent when the doors opened to her standing there. Not that she really minded. Most of these people had been working here longer than her, and she still had the best job. Besides the bosses job, of course. But that didn’t count. None of them would become the big guy anytime soon.

After what seemed like an hour of boring, inescapable eavesdropping, the elevator dinged, and the door slid open. Without a word to the others on the elevator, Candace slipped out. Her heels clicked on the tile floor as she made her way to her office. The door creaked open to Rhys sitting at her desk. What had he done now?

“What did you do now?” she demanded, frustrated. If he had lost that form—again, she was going to kill him! Today was the last day to get it turned in. She had had to have him refill it out twice already. Next time he had paperwork, she was going to watch him fill it out, and turn it all in for him.

He obviously couldn’t handle it on his own.

Notes: Sorry it’s so…blah
Words: 244
Taged: Rhys
Outfit: www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=33059080
Credit: Erika. Don’t steal.
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[RHYS SPRINTER]

So, he was in some magazine this week for having the most woman-melting smile or some shiz, he'd seen as he drove to work this morning. A skill like that should totally be used in a life-or-death situation, right? Right. Rhys leaned forward over his clasped hands, and turned the full power of his 'I'm-adorable-even-though-you-hate-me-you-want-me-in-your-pants-don't-you' smile. To that he added his 'You-think-I'm-sexy-plus-I'm-a-baker-you-know-what-that-means-chocolate-in-bed-ain't-that-swell?' eyes, and hoped that worked.

Not that he thought it would, but it was worth a shot, in his mind.

"Erm.....you know that form you gave me, like, three weeks ago or something that I was supposed to sign and keep safe till you needed it, or something, 'cause it's like, really important...like?" Of course, he knew talking like that irritated her to the point where she practically foamed at the mouth, but he couldn't help it. That was his Nervous Speech pattern. It just happened.

And if some part of him was secretly amused at the funny colors her face made, then so be it.

"Well, yeah, I don't, like, know where it is." And because Rhys knew he'd have to get everything he wanted said out before Candace opened her mouth because then there was absolutely nothing he could do to get her to shut up till she had fixed the problem, he rushed on. "But, like, I tried. I put it in this pretty little folder that was blue and had sparkles in it, but not on it, like I couldn't feel the sparkles but I could see them, I put it in one of them, and then I put it in the top left hand drawer of my desk. But it's not there, so now I'm thinking that I maybe stuck it in the giant file cabinet in the corner of my office you told me never to touch because I always mess up the order of your files and make it hard to find stuff... but I don't remember even going in that direction these past few weeks. Not to mention I've spent most of the past two months at the downtown store, and you never ever go there, so it shouldn't be there, but now I don't know where I put it, and I'd really appreciate it if you would do what I hired you and paid you for, which is to make sure I don't have messes and when I do make messes to clean them up in a timely and efficient manner and prevent me from making future messes, you know, without yelling at me, cuz we both know that's never going to solve anything and ..."

Rhys wanted to bash his head in, because the SUREST way to get Candace to yell at him till kingdom come was to half-insinuate that the mess he made was somehow her fault, which was sort of what he had just done. Damage control. NOW.

"You look absolutely stunning today. Is this a new belt? It looks fantastic. You should go out to dinner tonight with some hot guy and just blow. his. mind. Sweetie. As a matter of fact, i should pay for it. What do you think? I think you deserve a treat for being such an awesome, incredible, little worker bee like you are..."

Yup. He was dead.

[erikarawr]

Oh God; Rhys was trying to turn on the charm. That could only mean one thing—he’d done something that was going to piss her off, big time. He had his smile turned all the way up to his ‘Let’s fuck, I know you want to,’ smile. And his eyes had the same kind of glint shining behind them. Although he was her boss, and she didn’t really have any sexual interest in him, the look almost made her change her mind. He knew how to work it, and well. But she held her composure, giving him the satisfaction of just a blank blink of her eyes.

Candace could feel her eye twitch slightly at his nervous speech. He sounded liked a freaking Valley Girl. Sometimes she really questioned his sexuality. No straight man would ever talk like that—no matter how nervous they were. It just wasn’t normal. But it was the context of the speech that really pissed Candace off. He had lost the form. She knew it. But before she could even open her mouth to speak, he went on.

As she listened to him rush out a ramble-y explanation, she couldn’t help to think ‘What the fuck?’. He used a sparkly blue folder? No wonder he lost it. Someone probably put it somewhere in her office, thinking it was hers. What kind of guy carried around a freaking sparkly blue folder. She was really questioning his sexuality now. Hardcore.

Trying, and slightly failing, at keeping her voice calm, Candace looked Rhys in the eyes, “The last place you saw it was your desk? Well. We’ll start looking around your office for it, then we’ll check mine to see if someone thought your sparkly blue folder was mine.” It was so hard for her not to add some snarky comment about how he should have used something less girly, but he was already sweating in his seat. She didn’t need him shitting himself, too. Because if she started with the one snarky comment, she just might lose her temper.

“Rhys. Sucking up to me isn’t going to help your situation. You messed up, and you’re going to help me fix it. I. Am. Not. Going. To. Look. For. Your. Damn. Folder. Alone. You got that?” Although, she did like the thought of him paying for an expensive dinner for her. She just might have to take that offer up. But first, she’d need someone to go out to dinner with her. Which wasn’t really her thing. Dinner was too date-y, and dates lead to relationships. And Candace didn’t like those.

Notes: Hope this is good enough for you. xD
Words: 433
Taged: Rhys
Outfit: WWW.POLYVORE.COM/CGI/SET?ID=33059080
Credit: Erika. Don’t steal.
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[RHYS SPRINTER]

Wait...........this wasn't how it worked.

"You want me to help you?" Rhys was confused. he sat back in her chair, hands folded over his stomach, a perplexed expression on his face. That wasn't what he came here for. Rhys didn't fix his own problems; if he did then he wouldn't need a personal assistant. He wasn't going to look for this form; he had already explained that he had looked for it, and couldn't find it. Did his Candace miss that part of his speech? "I just explained this bit. I looked for it, couldn't find it, so I came here. This is the part where you earn that $2500 bonus you see every month, where the 'executive resolution manager' part of your job description kicks in."

He stood up, secretly reveling in standing so tall over her. If Candace decided to blow her top, at least he'd be standing for it; she was much less intimidating when she came only up to his chest - in heels. "I have a meeting to get to over on forty-second in half an hour and that form needs to be delivered by two o'clock. There's this intern in Sales, met her on the stairs earlier today and she said she's a Hufflepuff, and their good at finding. I have no idea what they are or what that means, but you can use all the help you can get, right?"

Rhys inwardly gave himself a pat on the back. Here he was, worrying himself sick. he should have known Candace would have been able to handle it. After all, she was incredible. There was a reason he had hired her. after all. Those legs, short though they were, had only been a part of it.

"So I'm gonna go. You have no idea how much better I feel about this whole thing, now that you're here, you know and can handle it. You make this company, Candy."

With a final smile, Rhys pushed her chair back, and moved around her desk, planning to get out the door. He thought he'd drop in on Jamie today, since the man hadn't had the decency to return his voice-mail from a few days earlier. Honestly, it was times like these when he was glad he was a perfectly straight guy. He didn't know how he would handle men, really.

[erikarawr]

Candace’s hand flew up to her temples. He was the most irresponsible boss she had ever met. And he wanted her to find him his form, alone? Hell no. She had her own wok to do. And if she didn’t get it done, then he’d bitch at her for that, too. She didn’t give two shits if he’d already looked. He hadn’t been trying too hard; she could tell by the way he’d explained to her.

“How the hell do you expect me to get my work all done, and find your form for you?” she asked, her voice rising. Then he stood up. Mother fucker. It was hard to be scary to someone when you were shorter than them, and in heels, too! And then he did it. He really did it. “I don’t give two shits about your meeting! That form was your,” she poked his chest to emphasize what she was saying, “responsibility! You told me that you could handle it! So you are going to help me find it!”

“You leave this room,” Candace stated, stepping in front of the door, “And I quit.” She crossed her arms. This was no idle threat. If he walked out she would, too. She couldn’t keep picking up all of his slack. It make her insides burn just thinking about it. He expected her to find that paper alone in an hour and a half. There was no way.

Now he had to choose. Her or his date. And he’d better choose right, or he’d have one hell of a time finding an assistant as good as her. “Sometimes I think I should be running this damn company! If I wasn’t here to help you every goddamn time you messed up, then your business would be in the ground! I need your help this one time, and you are going to help me, or loose me. Choose.”

So put that in your juice box and suck it, Rhys.

Notes: SEE? I CAN BE MEAN AND HAPPY FROM TANGLED AT THE SAME TIME.
Words: 328
Taged: Rhys
Outfit: WWW.POLYVORE.COM/CGI/SET?ID=33059080
Credit: Erika. Don’t steal.
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[RHYS SPRINTER]

"OK, wait."

Was she serious? "Let's just forget, for a minute, that for five years I ran this company by myself, creating an empire from one tiny family store in Kissimee, Florida, starting when i was the tender age of 18. Lets forget that you've only been at this company for three years. As my personal assistant, you're supposed to do as I say, make sure i keep up to date with all this super business shiz. That's what I pay you for. Now, if you feel like your paycheck isn't as great for you as it was a few years ago, that's fine. I can keep your check and send it down to to billing or something. Barney's been bugging me for an expansion in his budget."

So she kind of pissed him off. If there was one thing that could really get under Rhys' skin, it was people thinking he couldn't run his company. Even with the towering amount of evidence to the contrary, there were some people that thought that he just couldn't do it, he was too young, he had some kind of secret business guru in his pocket, or his bed... Over the years he'd learned to tune these kinds of comments out, but that didn't mean he would allowed it to go unchallenged in his own building. And sure as hell not to his face.

"So you've got a choice: your job, or the door. I may even decide to be a bit generous; maybe you need a rather long vacation, without pay? Maybe then you'll appreciate your job more, especially after you see how well I do it."

Maybe he was being mean, but Rhys didn't really care about that. He was prepared to leave the situation in Candace's hands because he knew she could handle it. She was supposed to take it as a compliment, somehow. It made sense to him. Why did women have to be so complicated? All he wanted her to do was find a damn form and turn it in. Jeez, it wasn't rocket science. Maybe he needed to go back to his normal mode of business. When everyone was terrified he'd rip into them any second he never had to deal with these power trips. Maybe a demonstration? Yeah, later today, after he got back from checking on Jamie. Speaking of which...

"You think about all that while I make this phone call, yeah?" He stepped up to her, deliberately pulling open the door. "I'll be in my office."

'The Bear', or whatever the ridiculous illegalfighter/druggie/all-around-bad-influence called him, hadn't been out to play in a while, and if Jamie knew what was good for him, he'd do everything in his power to keep it that way.

[erikarawr]

So she’d pissed him off. Whatever. She still wasn’t going to look for his goddamn form, again. She was so sick of him losing forms! What would it take for him to fill it out and then just give it to her? But, no. He had to lay it down somewhere, move it, then make her frantically search for it so he wouldn’t miss his deadline. It was bullshit.

She wasn’t his personal slave. And she was getting tired of him treating her one. She was there to assist him, not do everything for him. And walking out the door was damn tempting. But she’d worked too damn hard to get this job to walk out the door over some stupid form. But she wasn’t going to let him know that. She had too much pride for that.

And she wasn’t going to apologize, either. That would damage her pride just as much, if not more. So what the fuck was she going to do? Half of her wanted to quit, and the other half didn’t. She was sick of hearing “I lost this…I need you to find that…What forms did I need for this?...When do I have to turn this in?...blah blah blah.” She did have her own job to do, too. And she felt like she was doing hers and half of his, too.

She didn’t budge when the door hit her back. Instead, she crossed her arms and glared. God she hated him right now. After a minute, she stepped out of his way. There wasn’t anything to think about. She was going to find his goddamn form for him. And then she was going to avoid him for the rest of the day so she could get her own fucking work down, and not have to take it home for once.

Or maybe she would just leave it for him to do. Since he thought he could deal with it. Maybe she would take the rest of the day off, and not bring any of the work home. Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? She’d just ignore him for the rest of the day. If he seriously wanted her to stay he would leave her the fuck alone, unless she had something to say to her.

Fuming, at both Rhys, and herself, she made it a point to slam the door behind him. Now where to start looking for that fucking form? A blue sparkly folder. Maybe the secretary had seen it. There was only one way to find out. Candace stormed over to her desk and paged the secretary. “Have you seen a sparkly blue folder lying around anywhere? It’s important.”

A few minutes later, the young girl came rushing into her office, folder in hand. But before the girl could get a word out, Candace snapped at her. “Take that to Rhys and explain to him why you have his folder.” She shooed the girl from her office and shut, and locked, the door.

Now she needed to deal with her own work.

Notes: Candace is pissed.
Words: 509
Taged: Rhys
Outfit: WWW.POLYVORE.COM/CGI/SET?ID=33059080
Credit: Erika. Don’t steal.
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[RHYS SPRINTER]

At his desk, Rhys had finished three Gingey's signature Hunni Buns, two bon-bons and a whole giant bearclaw (filled with pineapple filling) before someone came rushing into his office. It wasn't Candace, not that he'd expected her to come rushing after him. Nope, the girl he hired had too much pride for that, one of the things she liked about her. No, it was Jennifer, or Juniper or something with a 'J' that came rushing in, her heels clacking against the floor loudly. In her hands, was a sparkly blue folder.

"Uhm..." But he didn't get any farther.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Sprinter. I completely did not realize this folder was yours. I bought a set like these two weeks ago to help with my filing, and I came in here one day to pick up some things for Ms. Mayer, and this one was on your desk and the form inside was filled out and everything so I thought it had to be put away and I'm terribly, terribly sorry, sir. Honestly, I didn't think this was the important form you were searching for this morning." [/color]

The girl seemed about ready to wet herself, to his amusement. Maybe his employees hadn't forgotten his temper after all. Maybe Candace was the exception to the rule. She had closed her office door rather forcefully a minute ago. Speaking of which...

"In future, what's on my desk should stay on my desk, understood?" He took the folder from her, double checking to make sure it was the right form and that he hadn't left anything out. "On your way out, get Marshall from Maintenance up here with the key to the second master office. Ms. Mayer's gone and locked herself in, again."

Happy to escape his office with barely a scolding, 'J' scurried out, closing the door softly behind her. He could, however, hear her on the phone through the wall, calling up the maintenance guy. Rhys really liked Candace, really. But part of liking her was liking to piss her off. Would that somehow transfer over to Jamie? Would he turn into some masochistic -

WTF!?!?! NO, no no no no Rhys was not thinking those thoughts because whatever the hell this was between he and that old drunkard was PURELY PLATONIC, absolutely-tutely. Shit, now he sounded like that kid at Baum he wanted to behead. With a heavy sigh and a shake o fhis head, Rhys stood up from his chair, dusting the crumbs from his lap. he wasn't going anywhere. If his head could get all wonky at the very thought of the man, he sure as hell wasn't going to see Jamie today. No sir, he'd text him later or something. See what the problem was.

On the other side of his office, Rhys was about to throw himself down onto his couch, when the sound of jingling keys sounded from the hallway beyond. He smiled. No, these people hadn't forgotten his temper. It felt so nice to be appreciated.

He met Marshall at the door, and the heavyset balding man gave him a nervous smile and greeting. Rhys, simply for fun, gave the man and overly cheerful "Hullo!", led him over to Candace's office door and asked him to "shiver the timber of this terrifying cave, so that I may confront the kraken within" in his best creepy pirate voice. Sure, the man looked at him oddly from the corner of his eye, but Rhys' good mood was restored, so he could care less. After all, he paid these people.

Soon enough, the door was open, and Rhys sailed through. Marshall went back to his lair beneath the building after one nervous look into the office. Rhys [aid him no mind, swinging through the door to fling himself onto the small (and significantly less comfortable than his) couch near the wide window. He set the blue folder on his tummy, and folded his hands behind his head.

"See, this is why I like you. You get things done without even having to really do anything." He gave an exaggerated sniff. "I feel so proud, like a mama. It's a good thing I've rubbed off on you so well, eh?"

[erikarawr]

Ugh. Candace still had to finish her reports, answer all of Rhys’ emails, and finish her filing. And on top of that, her phone was ringing off the hook. Why couldn’t Rhys deal with the phone orders? It wasn’t like he did much else. But, no. Candace had to do all while he sat pretty in his office all day. It’s not like he didn’t know how to use a phone. He made personal calls all the damn time.

“Hello, Gingey’s Bakery what can I help you with today?” Candace hated playing nice on the phone when she was pissed. It just pissed her off even more. But she answered the phone, over and over again (Why the fuck did so many people want to order shit today?!), playing nice each time. And it was almost impossible for her to write out the reports and briefing papers when she was taking orders. She had to listen to what the customers said.

While she was taking what felt like the millionth order, she heard keys jingling outside of her office, and the deep sound of Rhys’ voice. Mother fucker. Why the hell couldn’t he just leave her alone when she was mad at him? He always had to come bug her. Every. Single. Time. She was going to kill him. Soon enough, he was waltzing through her door, and making himself comfortable on her couch.

Candace glared at him. Phone still at her ear, she mouthed “Get out!” and pointed at the door, “Now!”. She didn’t want him in here annoying her while she was trying to work. Unless he wanted her to stop taking orders. Because she would gladly stop answering her damn phone. She was not in the mood to deal with people.

Slamming the phone down, she turned to Rhys. “Rhys. Get out of my office. I locked the damn door for a reason. Most people would take that as a hint to, oh I don’t know, leave me alone?!” People around here knew about her temper, and it seemed like everybody but Rhys knew how to leave her alone when she was in one of her moods. Unless they wanted to get bitched at.

Why the hell had she started working here? Oh. Right. Because her twenty-one year self had thought that Rhys was hot. Why did she have to be so stupid? She should have worked for some wrinkly old man. She wouldn’t have the same issues with an old man. Maybe it wasn’t too late to switch jobs. She’d have this under her belt, and it was quite the booming business. Yeah. She’d have no trouble looking for a job.

The only problem was, when she wasn’t pissed, she loved it here.

Notes: Meh. Fail.
Words: 457
Taged: Rhys
Outfit: WWW.POLYVORE.COM/CGI/SET?ID=33059080
Credit: Erika. Don’t steal.
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[RHYS SPRINTER]

Rhys grinned. It really was too easy to piss her off. Maybe this was an unhealthy way to deal with his stress, and he could totally see a psychologist telling him off for it, but he didn't care. Candace was his one true outlet for his frustration. He wasn't going to give that up.

"You know, this sounds to me like you're telling your job to go away. because you do realize that's what I am, right?" He tucked his hands behind his head, closing his eyes. "Why do you even answer the phone, anyway? We have an entire department dedicated to taking customer orders. It's called 'Sales'." He smirked. "Honestly, I know I piss you off, but you're not allowed to go looking for other work. I hired you to work for me, not as some dinky sales associate."

Now that that was out of the way, he could get down to business, so to speak. "By the way, I need to you gather up all those copies of the proposals we got from the Gabes Company. I don't think their going to try and rip us off in the last stage of this business agreement, but it never hurts to be sure, right? And then I need to you come with me. There's this wrinkly old guy who sits in on every meeting I've had with that Mr. Comstoff, and I swear he spends the first ten minutes undressing me with his eyes. After that, I don't want to think about. I figure if I give him something better to look at, I can actually stop squirming in my seat. I'm sure Comstoff thinks I'm crazy by now."

Not that there was a creepy old guy giving rhys the creepy stare. he was just sure the idea of being bait like that would piss her off. Plus, if she squinted, she should see that in a weird, round-about way he was saying she was beautiful, and looked really nice today. Because she did, not that it was anything new. candace liked to show off with her clothes, something Rhys had realized two weeks after hiring her. He wasn't sure if she realized it, or if it was intentional, but he did knot that Candace made it a point to make heads turn when she walked into the building everyday.

And that was fine with him, really. It only made sense for her to dress her best, since she was representing the head of the company, right? And she liked to look good, that was fine. It was even better today, with her current ensemble. And though he and Adeen were on the outs (woman refused to pick up her phone) he didn't feel bad, thinking that he found another woman attractive. Because that's what guys did, right?

Yeah. Take that, Jamie.

[erikarawr]

Why did Rhys’ smile have to be so damn attractive? She was trying to be mad at him here, and he was making it hard. Hell. Why did she even care that his smile was nice?! Now she was pissed at herself for caring. Stupid, stupid Rhys.

“Well. If you’d like me to get your reports done, then you should leave. I can’t do them if you’re in here bugging me,” she snapped. “And maybe it’s because I do have to take calls from important people, and I don’t know which ones are lowly customers, and which ones are business people. I’ve been getting order calls ever since we got new numbers last week. I tried to tell you the other day, but you weren’t paying any damn attention.” How was that for staying mad?

Without a word, Candace stood up. All of the papers were organized into her filing cabinet. In one folder. With the name on it. Was it really too hard for him to read? After a few seconds of ruffling through a cabinet, she threw the folder onto his sparkly blue folder. “I’m your assistant, not some stripper to be stared at. If you want me to go to the meeting then it better be for business, not so some pervert old man can stare at me.”

She crossed her arms and stared down at Rhys. Ha. Now she was taller than him. God she loved it when she felt like she had the upper hand. Like right now. But Rhys was just staring at her. What the fuck? “Rhys. Stop staring. Did you not just hear what I said? I’m not here to be stared at.” He really enjoyed pissing her off way too much.

Hell, she was starting to wonder why she was here at all, anymore.

Notes: Erm. Sorry it’s so suckish. I just wanna get to the dramaaaa! xD
Words: 303
Taged: Rhys
Outfit: www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=33059080
Credit: Erika. Don’t steal.
[/size] [/color][/font]

[RHYS SPRINTER]

“And maybe it’s because I do have to take calls from important people, and I don’t know which ones are lowly customers, and which ones are business people. I’ve been getting order calls ever since we got new numbers last week. I tried to tell you the other day, but you weren’t paying any damn attention.”

Oh was that was that was about? He remembered the day she was talking about. Rhys had been deep in thought, looking over, no, brooding and analyzing the very first conversation he had had with Jamie, comparing it to the one he had first had with Adeen from memory. Candace had stormed in, banging his door against the wall even, and whatever she had ranted on about before she left hadn't even made it into one ear. It was sad. Was he really that terrible of a boss? But he couldn't be, not if he had someone like Candace on his team, right?

His thoughts were interrupted by a heavy folder dropping onto his stomach. It didn't hurt, but Rhys gave an exaggerated "Ow!" anyway, looking up at Candace with a pout on his lips. "You hurt my tummy, meanie."

But then she was ranting again. Rhys tried his best not to smile. “I’m your assistant, not some stripper to be stared at. If you want me to go to the meeting then it better be for business, not so some pervert old man can stare at me.”

Did she realize how adorable she was when she was pissed off? Why on earth didn't she have a boyfriend? Besides the fact that Rhys would give them hell and then up her hours so she'd never see them? What the hell was wrong with him? Was it bad to want to keep her all to himself? It wasn't even like he liked her, or anything. Right?

Deciding that this plane of thought was not condusive to his current state of mind, Rhys sat up, set the folders on the couch, and stood. Man, he really liked being taller than her. He liked being taller than everyone, really. Even Jamie came up to his shoulders. But he didn't want to think about Jamie so he forcefully shoved his mind toward the woman giving him the death glare from somewhere near his chest. Feeling mischeivous, Rhys put a finger to her lips. "Ok, I only meant that you looked really nice today, jeez. You'd think a man can't compliment his personal assistant without getting his head bitten off." He grinned, knowing he was only adding fuel to the fire. "Now, you sit here," he said, manuevering her so she sat on the edge of her desk, "and watch daddy work, alright?"

He pressed the intercom, then dialed Sales, and when someone picked up he pressed a nifty button the IT guy had put in, allowing him to speak to the whole department at once. "So, this is your boss, Sprinter. Get everyone to their desks. Now. If someone's taking a shit, tell them to tell their poop to wait. I've got some things to say." He counted to five, then decided that that was enough time for everyone to get to their places. "Alright! So, we got some new numbers last week, mostly down there in Sales, because we hired so many new people in the past few months and some of you people have been complaining. So you got your new numbers and I thought that would be the end of the massive unnessary headache you people give me. Not so. Apparently, some of you can't read. Can't recognize numbers. But I'm pretty sure all of you can hear, so I'll be sure to say this loud and clear, alright? The extension 40113 is not the extension for Gingey's catering, the place you're supposed to connect customers to for special, larger than usual orders. That number is the desk of my personal assistant, who has been taking up the slack for the idiots who don't know how to do their jobs. Let me be clear, the next time a special order comes through to Ms. Mayer's phone, I will trace the line myself, and everyone on that cubicle block will be fired. On. The. Spot. Got it? Thank you."

He hung up the phone to mass paper shuffling and hissing whispers that he was sure blew into angry shouting the minute the line went dead. Not that he cared. People should do their job. He paid well enough. But he had made it clear what he wanted, and had made sure they knew the consequences of disappointing him. Everything was good, for now.

Grinning a self-satisfied grin, Rhys spun around in the chair, resting his head on Candace's lap and spreading his arms out on either side of her along the desk. "You should pet me," he said, fully aware that she could drop him onto the floor if she wanted, but not giving a damn. "Pet me, for I am magnificent!"

[erikarawr]

Well, it was obvious that Rhys remembered what day she was talking about. She could see the memory flick across his face. God she loved throwing his mistakes back in his face. Then he had to fix them, not her. And that made things easier for her. It gave her more time at home, for one thing, because she actually got her work done at work. And more time at home at night equaled a happier Candace in the morning.

Did he really just call her a meanie? What the fuck was wrong with him? “You’ll get over it,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. Was he ever going to grow up? He was almost thirty for God’s sake. He acted like he was ten. She really needed a new boss or something. She had never planned on working for a child.

And now Rhys was staring at her again! What the fuck? Did she spill something on her clothes? Was a tag hanging out? Her bra? No. Everything seemed to be in order. So why was he staring? He’d been doing an awful lot of that lately. And it was starting to make her squirm. She liked being noticed, yes, but not obviously stared at. It was uncomfortable.

Candace really hated it when Rhys stood up. How the hell was she supposed to scare him and keep him in line if he was looking down at her? The mother fucker should have stayed on the couch. Okay. Putting his finger on her lip was crossing the line. He got quite the nasty glare as he spoke. She wasn’t a child to be sushed. Ah. So that was why he was staring. Because she looked good. At least she didn’t have something funky going on with her outfit. Wait! Why did she even care? What was wrong with her?! Since when did she care what a man thought of her? What the fuck!?

Daddy? Ugh. She acted like his mother. And since when did he refer to himself as daddy? Just as she was about to make a snarky comment, he started dialing the phone. What the hell was he going to do? Yell at an entire department, apparently. But at least he had finally fixed the problem. That was that much less time she was going to loose from doing what she was hired to do. Even though Rhys managed to bug her every day. All day.

Before she could move off of her desk, Rhys plopped his head into her lap. Pet him? Seriously? Was she working for a man or a child? “Get off of me, Rhys!” She was annoyed, and she had no problem showing it. “I’m not a pillow, damn it. What is with you today?!”

Notes: Happeh?
Words: 460
Taged: Rhys
Outfit: www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=33059080
Credit: Erika. Don’t steal.
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[RHYS SPRINTER]

Rhys grinned up at her, not planning on moving in the slightest. "What, can't I enjoy the feel of a nice pair of thighs under my head?" Because this wasn't inappropriate at all. Idly, he wondered if she realized how nice her boobs looked from this angle. He wasn't an expert on women parts, (he'd take his inexperience to the grave) but something told him candace's parts were nice. Not that he should be thinking about these things. especially not in the office.

"Me?" He shifted, getting more comfortable. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're so uptight lately. Seriously Candace, you need to chill. Should I call Sue Lin up and have her give you a massage? Do you want me to give you a massage?" He gave her his 'I'm-totally-trustworthy-and-you-know-you'd-love-to-have-my-hands-all-over-you' look. "I'll be gentle, I promise."

It was absolutely ridiculous, the thoughts running through his mind. Messing with Candace was fun. It felt good, in a guilty pleasure kind of way, to see her eyes flash with suppressed fury like they were right now. But he didn't know how far he could take it. Candace was amazing at what she did, when he let her do her job. And really, she shouldn't be so mean to him. She had had two completely Rhys-free months since he had to man the downtown store in the Squire Aftermath, she should be fine with him annoying her for a bit.

Feeling slightly hurt, Rhys wraped his arms around Candace's waist, careful not to get too close to anything sensitive, lest she damage him permanently. "You know, have you ever thought to think that I missed you? I've been out of office for weeks. I left you messages with Juniper, or whatever her name is, and then you never called me back, so I was downtown all bored, and if I hadn't connected the system to the server at my place I wouldn't have had a clue what was going on with my company." He tried to pout, but wasn't sure how it came across with his face currently being upsidedown. "At the very least you should be humoring me, since you kind of failed to do your job, which was keeping me up to date on the goings on with the company while I was away. I don't ask for much, Candace, just that you give me a little, sometimes. You're fun to be around when you're not breathing fire or something or other."

He was pretty sure this was all screwed up, but just about everything in his life was screwed up, so it pretty much fit right in. "The least you could do was tell me you missed me too, you know?"