Chapter Text
“Could you tell us, Sebastian, why you think you’d excel in this position? What strengths you feel are your biggest to bring to the table?”
No. No he fucking well couldn’t, to be honest. He had no strengths to bring to this job. He absolutely wasn’t looking for a way to ‘excel in this position’ and he didn’t have a fucking clue what to say to that.
This was all wrong. All of it. He should not be sitting in an office facing three men in suits across from him. Two of them had clipboards, and they were flanking the man who had just spoken.
He didn’t have a clipboard. He was sitting with his knees too far apart and his forearms resting on them. He had leaned in when he asked that question, like he was incredibly invested in whatever Sebastian had to say.
Sebastian shifted ever so slightly, uncomfortable in the pants he had on and the button-down shirt that was tucked into them, and was very much having trouble trying to think of anything to say.
One of the men with a clipboard coughed softly and started writing something down, which instantly made Sebastian panic, thinking he was probably recording that he was taking forever to answer. That he was perhaps obstinate or difficult or unprepared…
“I’m sorry.” Sebastian said, laughing softly and fairly evenly, though none of these men would know that he had every reason not to be perfectly at ease. “I’m a perfectionist, which I suppose is a strength I could bring to this job, and is evidenced by the fact that I’m sitting here, thinking so hard about how to answer you that I’m taking far too long.”
He tried for an easy smile, crossing his legs as he looked at the men and shook his head. “I always tend to think before I react, and perhaps in some ways that’s a fault and a weakness. But I feel that in this position, and in IT in general, it would be a strength to think before acting. To process the whole of an issue and a task before doing anything. Often IT issues need you to think about what comes next rather than just reacting and doing the first thing you think of.”
The man without a clipboard, Sebastian was pretty sure his name was Shawn, nodded slowly and with a solemn expression that was clearly fake.
But then, Shawn wasn’t supposed to be conducting this interview. The IT Manager was supposed to be doing it, but he’d been called away by a family emergency and now his manager, Shawn, was taking over the interviews and expected to hire someone that day.
Shawn, judging by his intense manspreading and fake serious expression, was an ass. But that wasn’t anything new to Sebastian. Most of the people he’d spoken to in interviews were asses. Shawn just made it very obvious.
“That’s all very true. But as this is a position that’s less in the line of actual IT work, maybe you could tell us more about how you think you’d use those strengths as Assistant to the IT Manager?”
Sebastian blinked a couple of times, having to work hard not to furrow his brow and look confused because…
Because what?
Assistant to the IT Manager?
He was sure this job was for Assistant IT Manager. He never would have come to a fucking interview that was for an assistant to position. Having to interview for IT jobs at all was a personal step down and away from what he wanted to be doing… He would never have wasted his time applying for this job if he’d realized.
Sebastian took in a breath and opened his mouth, ready to apologize for wasting their time… But then he thought about his dwindling bank account.
About rent due in two weeks.
About how he’d switched to taking the bus instead of driving six fucking months ago just to save on gas money.
And about how very few interviews he’d been called for in relation to the excessive number of applications he’d put in…
Fuck. Fuck.
At this point, a job was a job. He was insanely close to having to apply for retail work just to get by, and that was even more horrifying than working as an assistant to the IT manager. For him, anyway. Retail was amazing for plenty of people, but he didn’t think he’d fare well in that sort of position.
He closed his mouth again. And then he smiled.
He could keep looking, keep going on interviews, if he got this position. It would be shitty, and it wasn’t at all what he wanted, but it was better than nothing.
“I feel that having the same approach would be an asset. Thinking ahead for the manager of an incredibly busy department so he doesn’t have to. Always trying to be a step or two ahead of where things are so that I can sort out the menial problems before they even have to cross his desk.”
Bullshit. Utter and complete bullshit. Sebastian was talking out of his ass, drawing as much as he could from the limited corporate experience he had, and hoping like fuck that he was gauging it right.
He may have gone too far. He may have crossed into ‘too keen’ territory and come across completely fake (which he was)… But all three men were smiling. The two with clipboards were writing vigorously, and Shawn’s knees had pushed out even wider. His hands tented between them as he nodded very seriously and looked at Sebastian with deep interest.
“That’s exactly what he’s looking for. He has enough to deal with during his day. He needs someone who can be a filter, a buffer, and take care of the small issues that he doesn’t need to waste his time on.”
Shawn looked at the two men next to him who nodded and made agreeable noises as well, then he picked up Sebastian’s resume to look over again, but not long enough to really take anything in.
“You don’t have a background in IT, exactly, but it looks like you’re pretty computer savvy? Which may turn out to be an asset.”
Shawn looked over the top of Sebastian’s resume and smiled at him. “We have several more interviews to conduct today, so we’ll end here. But thank you for coming in, Sebastian.”
Shawn got to his feet, so Sebastian did as well, blinking a polite smile onto his face as he let Shawn walk just ahead of him and open the door.
“Thank you for your time and the opportunity.” Sebastian said, just as he had at the end of every interview he’d been on in the past nine months of his search.
Shawn smiled at him and nodded, then dropped his head down a bit to speak quietly. “No one we’ve met so far has your qualifications. The others we’re interviewing today don’t either. I think we’d be foolish to let you slip through our fingers, so to speak. You should hear from us today.”
That seemed incredibly unprofessional for him to say to a candidate when there were still interviews to be done… But Sebastian smiled all the same, trying to look incredibly pleased at both the prospect of the job and the fact that Shawn was confiding in him as though they knew each other.
“I look forward to it.” Sebastian said, keeping the smile on his face as he nodded to Shawn, then turned away.
The moment his back was to the door and to Shawn, his features dropped back into his normal, rather stony and neutral look. His cheeks hurt from smiling, and he was not looking forward to the prospect of that happening every day.
Which it would. If he was Assistant to the IT Manager. He was going to have to answer phones and deal with people coming to see the Manager for meetings. He was going to have to be polite and respectful and nice.
How could he have missed that ‘to the’ in the job write up? How could he have read the entire job description and not realized?
He knew how it had happened, really. He was so burnt out from job hunting that he wasn’t really taking everything in anymore. Those two small words and whatever the job description said probably blurred together, or he mixed it up with some other job offer that he had looked at, and it all mashed together in his head like a big lump.
He walked out of the building, shouldering the bag he was carrying a little higher as he quickened his steps to catch the bus that had just pulled up to the stop out front.
Once he was on and sitting, he took out his phone and sent a text to Sam, telling him that the interview had gone well and seemed like it might actually pan out.
After that he opened his email and started sorting through until he found the job listing and re-read it, only then properly taking in everything that it said and how absolutely fucking obvious it should have been to him that the position was not at all what he thought it was.
But… Given the situation he was in, beggars couldn’t be choosers. There was a good chance that he would have ended up applying to this out of desperation, anyway. His lack of reading comprehension the first time through likely just sped up the process of his getting there and interviewing.
Almost as though emphasizing the point and his need for employment as soon as fucking possible, someone got on the bus and plunked themselves down in the seat next to Sebastian when there were dozens of open and unoccupied seats everywhere. He hated the bus. He despised the bus. He wanted to use his car again, and if he wanted that, then a job was the way to do it.
Any fucking job.
Later that evening, Sebastian left his apartment to walk to a bar that was nearby. Abigail was busy that evening, but Sam had been more than happy to agree to meet for a couple of drinks. Sebastian technically shouldn’t have been wasting money on booze, but after the day and the interview and everything else, he figured he was sort of entitled to something.
On the way there his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out, assuming that it was going to be Sam, and answered it without looking at the caller ID.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Hello, is this Sebastian?”
Fuck. Not Sam. That was so stupid of him to do…
“Yes it is?”
“Hi Sebastian, it’s Shawn from Melendy Corp. How are you tonight?”
Sebastian stopped walking abruptly, his chest squeezing when he realized this was the call. The call. For a job he didn’t want, but he would absolutely take if it really was going to be offered to him, and Shawn wasn’t just calling to thank him for coming and tell him they were ‘going in another direction’. Which he had heard way too often already.
“I’m good, thank you. And yourself?”
“Great, just great. Thanks for asking. I’m sorry for calling so late. We needed some time to talk the day and all the candidates through. But, as I suspected, we all feel like you’re the best fit for the position. You have a friendly but no-nonsense sort of attitude, your resume and experience seem to complement the role well, and you have the right sense of what the position entails to be an asset to the manager and his department. So, if you’ll take it and can start on Monday morning, the job is yours.”
Shawn talked fast and without pausing for a break, which meant that Sebastian was just trying to keep up and was actually silent for a few seconds after Shawn finished as his brain caught up to the end.
To the job offer.
This really was the call.
“Yes. Absolutely.” Sebastian said, smiling faintly in spite of himself. “I can be there Monday morning, just tell me what time.”
“Great! I’m so pleased that this has worked out for all of us. I know the IT manager will be pleased with you when you can actually meet. I know it’s strange that he didn’t conduct the interview, but…”
“Emergencies happen.” Sebastian said with a shrug, even though Shawn couldn’t see him. “You all pulled together to get things done, regardless. Speaks volumes about the company ethic.”
What the actual fuck was he talking about? What a load of absolute bullshit.
But Shawn laughed in a pleased sort of way, then cleared his throat. “I’ll be sending you an email with all the information you’ll need. There are some forms to fill out online ahead of Monday, if you wouldn’t mind. Then you’ll come right in to HR on Monday morning, and they’ll get you set up and walk you to the department.”
“Sounds just fine.”
“Wonderful. Thanks for making this so simple, Sebastian. I look forward to running into you at Melendy.”
They both said goodbye and Sebastian ended the call, then stood on the sidewalk looking at nothing while his brain churned in a whirlwind.
He had a job. That was good. That was very good.
But it was as Assistant to the IT Manager. Some guy he didn’t even know and wouldn’t know until at least Monday.
Sebastian eventually stuffed his phone back into his pocket and turned to continue on his way to the bar.
At least now he didn’t need to worry quite so much about spending money on a couple of drinks. When he looked at the job listing on the bus, he also re-read what was being offered for pay, and he certainly wasn’t going to have to worry anymore. He’d have to spend a couple of months just catching up, but after that it was going to be a breeze.
“You look… I dunno… Did they choose someone else for the job?” Sam asked when Sebastian slid down into the chair across from him.
Sebastian shook his head, then thunked his elbows onto the table and ground the heels of his hands into his eyes. “No. I got the job. I start on Monday.”
“But that’s fantastic!!” Sam said, smacking his hands against his own thighs. “What are you all peeved about if you got a job? You’ve been looking for so fucking long!”
“It’s Assistant to the IT Manager.” Sebastian said, then waited for Sam to say something.
When he didn’t, Sebastian raised his head to look at his friend and couldn’t help but snort at Sam’s look of confusion. “Yeah, see, you’re trying to figure out what I’m pissed about, right?”
“Well yeah. Assistant IT Manager sounds like a really good place to start, so…”
“To the. Assistant to the IT Manager. I’m the personal assistant to the IT Manager. I’ll be answering his phone and taking notes in his meetings and Yoba knows what the hell else…”
“Oh. Oh…” Sam sucked in a hard breath once Sebastian made the distinction, then leaned forward on the table. “Why would you apply for something like that?”
“I missed the ‘to the’. Same as you. Figured it out in the middle of the interview, but… A job is a job. And even this is a million times better than working retail.”
“Hey!! I work retail part time, in case you’ve forgotten!”
Sebastian chuckled, then reached over and took both of Sam’s hands, squeezing them warmly. “And with your personality, it suits you perfectly. But imagine me trying to help customers.”
Sam closed one eye, then smirked and squeezed Sebastian’s hands in return. “Yeah, okay, I see what you mean. You’d be fucking terrible at customer service. You’re basically doing the public a favour by not taking a retail job.”
“It sounds nice when you say it like that.” Sebastian said, then sighed and leaned back in his chair. He let go of one of Sam’s hands, but kept the other where it was. “I hate this. But it’s a job…”
“Does it at least pay pretty good?” Sam asked, turning his hand in Sebastian’s to knit their fingers together, squeezing softly.
“I’ll be caught up easily within two months. The pay is excellent, so… There’s no way I’m going to turn it down. It’s just even farther from anything that I wanted to do.”
Sebastian looked up when a server came over and ordered a beer for Sam and a vodka and cola for himself before turning back again. “At least I don’t have to feel guilty about buying drinks tonight.”
“I was going to buy yours.” Sam said with a grin. “But maybe now I won’t since you’re going to be Mr. Corporate Money Bags. When do you start?”
“Monday. I haven’t even met the IT Manager. No idea who the guy is or what he’s like, he couldn’t make it to the interview because of an emergency, so… I’m just walking in totally blind.”
“Fuck.” Sam said, rubbing his thumb against the side of Sebastian’s hand. “Maybe he’ll be really nice?”
“Maybe he’ll be a giant fucking asshole.”
“Oh, definitely continue thinking so positive, Seb. That’ll take you places.”
Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh at that, shaking his head. “I know, I know… I’m Mr. Doom and Gloom. Not Mr. Corporate Money Bags.”
“Perpetually. But I like you anyway.” Sam grinned at him, giving his fingers a squeeze. “So not to change the subject on purpose, but you saying something about an emergency just made me remember… I was on the phone with my mom yesterday and she said Granny Evelyn fell down the stairs a couple days ago.”
“What? Really?” Sebastian glanced up as the server returned with their drinks, offering a small smile before he turned his attention back to Sam. “Is she okay?”
“Miraculously, nothing broken. She’ll be okay, she was just banged up and bruised. Alex went back for a few days and sorted a bunch of stuff out. She was still having to go into the basement to dolaundry,y so he apparently got a new washer and dryer and got someone to install them in the kitchen. And he moved a bunch of stuff from the second floor to the main floor so she doesn’t have any reason to use any of the stairs now.”
“That was nice of him.” Sebastian said a little shortly, raising his glass to take a healthy swallow.
“Yeah, yeah. I know Alex is super low on the list of people you tolerate. But it was good of him to rush back and do stuff to make the house safer for his grandparents.”
“Mm.” Sebastian nodded, but just made a noncommittal noise and didn’t say anything. He also didn’t meet Sam’s eyes as he took another drink from his glass, even though he was well aware he was being stupid.
It was nice that Alex had rushed back to Pelican Town to make sure Granny Evelyn was okay and to make some changes in the house. His personal feelings and history with Alex didn’t in any way change that.
But he was definitely going to avoid saying anything complimentary about him.
“So tell me about the company you’re going to work for?”
Sam had already made his way through his first beer and had ordered a second round for both of them when he roused Sebastian from his thoughts again. So Sebastian happily pushed aside the rather complicated thoughts about Alex and instead told Sam everything he knew about the company and the people he had met so far.
By the time he left the bar and had made his way home again, Sebastian honestly felt a little bit better about everything. About the job and the position he was in and the fact that it really didn’t stop him from continuing to look for something else. He could use this as a way to get back on his feet and give himself time to find something he really wanted to do rather than continue to flounder.
He spent the weekend doing laundry, filling out the forms that Shawn had sent over, getting his hair trimmed, and then doing some work on his car after it had been sitting idle for six months.
It filled the time well enough that he couldn’t dwell on Monday morning and on who his boss was going to be. This mystery guy was who he was going to suddenly be thrust in with and take over whatever it was that personal assistants did.
On Sunday evening he did some googling on what assistant positions like his entailed, and it did absolutely nothing to lower his stress about the whole thing. Mostly because it seemed like the term was used very loosely and could mean many different things. Some assistants and personal assistants just answered phones and took notes in meetings and managed schedules, which is what Sebastian had thought of.
But others talked about running errands and shopping and doing all sorts of far more personal ‘life’ stuff for their employer. Which was not in any way, shape, or form stuff that Sebastian felt capable of, or even like he really wanted to be part of.
He worried his way through the rest of the evening, deciding to remove his nail polish and redo his nails entirely so they looked perfect for his first day- and also because it gave him something to focus on. No one had said anything about dress code, and no one looked at him funny in the interview for his black nails and side cut hair, so he assumed that it was fine to just be himself. Especially as he tended towards being exceptionally neat and tidy with his looks, even if he did blur a few lines here and there. They couldn’t see the things his clothes covered anyway… So the most unprofessional parts of his appearance were well hidden.
He expected to have trouble falling asleep, but he tumbled down into a deep slumber that he wakened from with an abrupt start half an hour before his alarm was set.
Which was just as well, as he seemed to have trouble getting himself going. He showered longer than normal, took longer to do his hair and get dressed. He even dawdled over breakfast to the point that he left the house a few minutes later than he intended despite getting up half an hour earlier.
He took his car, which was the best fucking feeling ever. No buses, no random people sitting next to him. No exhaust fumes flowing in the windows people always opened. Just peace and quiet and his own music and his own thoughts.
He was well aware that the novelty would eventually wear off, and he’d revert back to hating the rest of traffic and cursing every red light he had to stop at. But for the moment he loved everything about that drive from his apartment building to downtown Zuzu where the Melendy Corp building was.
His email from Shawn had instructed him on where to park and that he should go first to the HR Department where he’d fill out the rest of his intake forms and get a keycard for the building.
From there, someone in HR would bring him upstairs and to the IT department, where they’d introduce him to the IT manager and finish the handover.
Then… Well… Then he was sort of in the hands of his new boss. Which he was trying not to think too much about because it was starting to weigh on him more and more that he hadn’t so much as heard the guy’s name. He really had no idea what expectations he’d have of him as an assistant.
He pushed the main doors of the building open, walking through and up to the security and service desk that was halfway into the large foyer. He gave them his name, and one of the security people cheerfully came out from behind the desk and walked him to the east side of the building and down the hall to HR.
Once he was in their offices, he was immediately whisked along into a flurry of activity by a woman named Rachel, who wore far too much perfume, and was so incredibly nice and eager he guessed that she had to be new as well.
“Have you worked here long?” Sebastian asked casually as he filled in his emergency contact information and other details that the company needed.
“Just a couple of months. My first job in HR… How long have you been in IT?” She asked, taking each paper from him as he finished filling them out.
“This is actually my first IT job. And it isn’t really IT, it’s a personal assistant position.” He finished the last space on the last page and handed it over to her with a smile. “Also my first.”
“We’re sort of in this together, then!” Rachel said, smiling back at Sebastian. “Since I’ve only been here a couple of months.”
“I guess we are.” Sebastian said, then took the temporary keycard she was holding out and waited while she assembled all his paperwork into a file folder.
“I’ll take you upstairs now! Your manager should be in the building, and I’ll do your handover and then you can get started properly.”
“Great.” Sebastian said with far more of a smile behind it than he really meant.
But he was going to have to do that a lot… Be cheery and nice and upbeat.
Fucking. Exhausting.
The crush of everyone arriving at the same time to start work had ended, so Sebastian and Rachel had an elevator all to themselves to take them to the twelfth floor. Although Rachel’s perfume level was sort of like a third person. Maybe a fourth as well…
As the lights illuminated one by one up above the elevator door, climbing them ever closer to whatever this job was going to entail, Sebastian’s anxiety rose as well.
“Could you tell me the name of the Manager I’ll be working for?” He asked, turning to Rachel and hoping his face didn’t look as panicked as he was feeling.
“Of course! I forgot you didn’t get to meet him. Let me see…” She rifled through the pages in the folder, reading for a few moments before she found what she was looking for. “The IT department manager is Alex Mullner. I’ve heard he’s incredibly nice…”
Wait…
Wait, what?
The elevator doors opened, and Sebastian stepped out of them on autopilot, following Rachel into the IT department while his heart pounded and he tried to tell himself it was just a fluke. It was just someone with the same name…
It couldn’t possibly be Alex from home… It’s couldn’t. It absolutely fucking could not…
“…Heard he’s been away for a few days because his grandmother took a nasty fall. Sweet of him to rush right home to help out, really…”
Rachel kept talking, but Sebastian had stopped listening.
Because he could see up the hall and into the open door of the office they were heading to.
He could see Alex Mullner, the Alex Mullner, sitting at the desk inside.
He was called away on a family emergency.
Sebastian remembered Shawn saying that. He remembered commenting about it himself. Saying that ‘emergencies happen’.
Mom said Granny Evelyn fell on the stairs a few days ago. She’ll be okay. Alex went back for a few days…
It clicked in his brain, weirdly lining up and snapping together like puzzle pieces. Not that he thought he should have realized that what Sam had told him and the fact that his new boss had been away were connected in any way, because why would they be? In what crazy situation would he have connected those dots?
But now it all aligned.
And Sebastian had maybe about 20 seconds to get himself under control and act like this was not at all a big deal before Alex saw him.
It was a big deal. It was a really fucking enormous deal.
But Sebastian valiantly stomped down on everything he was feeling. He locked it up, he smoothed it out, and he did the very best he could to keep himself calm and composed.
They walked right into Alex’s office with Rachel tapping her knuckles against the frame of the door as they did, but Alex’s head stayed turned to his computer screen as he typed rapidly.
“Be just one second.” Alex said, his mouth curving into an easy and familiar smile. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get to the interview, but I have total faith that Shawn and my team picked well. I feel like they probably know more about what I need in an assistant than I do. I haven’t even reviewed the file or anything, I’m so sorry. I don’t even know your name. I wouldn’t have left at a time like this if it hadn’t been an emergency…”
“It’s fine.” Sebastian said, surprising himself with how level and even his voice was. “How is Granny Evelyn doing?”
It was a jerk move to say that, to just drop a bomb like that, and Sebastian knew that it was… But he couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t Alex’s fault that this had happened, and yet Sebastian felt like somehow it was. Somehow this was entirely Alex’s fault, and a verbal smack was all he could actually give him right then.
Alex stopped typing abruptly and jerked his head around in surprise when he heard his seemingly brand new assistant reference his grandmother by name.
Maybe he thought that whoever Sebastian was, he had been just so keen on the position that he had already taken a deep dive into his manager’s life. Maybe that he’d learned all about his family, all about what happened with his grandmother. All about everything.
But that was definitely not the case.
“Sebastian..?”
Alex spoke his name in obvious surprise, but also like he somehow wasn’t entirely sure if it really was him standing there. Like he wasn’t sure he really recognized him despite having known him his whole fucking life.
Asshole.
“Didn’t even need to bother with reviewing my file. You know my name.”
Rachel was looking back and forth between them in obvious concern, fingering the file in her hands repeatedly and anxiously. “You know each other?” She finally ventured, her words a bit halting. “No one told me that.”
“No one knew.” Sebastian said, looking over at her. “Including us. He wasn’t able to be at the interview, and no one told me the manager’s name.”
No one said anything. Alex was still looking at him in absolute astonishment. So Sebastian just took the lead since no one else was going to.
“I’ll just see myself out. There’s no need to waste anyone’s time. I’m sure Shawn has a second choice who would do just fine.”
Rachel made a noise of distress, but Sebastian had already started to walk back out of Alex’s office door.
There was no fucking way. Absolutely no fucking way that he could work with Alex at all, let alone with him so directly. And he highly doubted that Alex would even for a second consider keeping him, anyway.
It was just easier… and safer… to remove himself entirely from this office and this company and this building and this whole fucking situation.