A Special Assignment - Part 1 (Patreon)

A caption set, commissioned by Patron Ryan. Picture credit to unknown and DaddyIWantThis. Apologies to the unknown owner! 

"Y-You wanted to see me?" Eli poked his head nervously into his boss's office, wincing despite his resolution to stay strong as the woman's eyes turned towards him. He'd been in this position - though, not quite as bad - many times, been chewed out plenty of times, but he was sure this was going to be much, much worse.

"Yes," Mrs. Avery gestured towards the chair sitting in front of her desk. "Have a seat." Eli reluctantly did as he was told, even when she said, "Close the door," which made him even wore worried. He'd been working up hundreds of excuses in his mind, yet, now that he was here, none of them seemed even close to adequate. "Do you know why you're here?"

He did, although that was just pure chance... When it had happened, he had no idea that it would wind up being so important. He'd simply been late for a meeting, and in a hurry... He'd rounded that corner and ran smack into a strange woman, though, as far as he'd known, it was nobody. He'd just started his internship here not that long ago, fresh out of college, so there were definitely people he hadn't met yet, so he'd assumed she was one of those.

While, technically, he hadn't met her, it was a little more complicated than that. He had apologized, of course, although he was the one who had dropped more things, and come closer to falling over. He wouldn't have called her a big woman, but she was tall, and he certainly wasn't. She hadn't said anything at first, just stared at him before finally chuckling and telling him it was all right.

Then, later on, Eli had been standing awkwardly by the water cooler, listening in on the conversations of some of his co-workers, since most of them looked down on his as the intern and didn't bother speaking to him directly. They were talking about the shareholder visit, how they weren't sure how it was going, how 'she' seemed so intense... After a few moments, they fell silent, as the woman from earlier passed by, pausing just long enough to give Eli a strange look. As soon as she was out of sight, the other workers started whispering to one another again, and, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, Eli realized just who he had run into.

Mrs. Avery had been more than willing to jump down his throat over far smaller infractions, and, from the way everyone else had spoken about her, he had no doubt the shareholder wasn't pleased with what had happened, even if she'd told him it was fine at the time. If it had been anyone else, they might have gotten away with a reprimand, but after everything else that had happened in just the few weeks he'd been there, he had no doubt that he was about to get fired.

What was he going to do?! He'd been lucky to find this job so quickly... All the other internship positions had almost definitely been snatched up by other recent graduates, and, even if they weren't, he doubted Mrs. Avery would be willing to act as a reference for him when he went looking... He might even have to leave the city to find a decent workplace, and he didn't really have the money to move right now... He also definitely didn't have the money to be unemployed... Maybe, if he begged, Mrs. Avery would take mercy on him, but he certainly wouldn't count on it...

"I take it you... met... Ms. Talbot today?" she said.

"Y-Yes, b-but..." he stammered, trying to sort through his variety of explanations to find the best one. 

"She told me she required some assistance at her home," Mrs. Avery cut him off, although, unlike usual, she didn't sound angry, or even annoyed. "She said she thought you would be perfect for it."

For a moment, Eli wasn't sure what to say, coming up with only, "Me?" What could she possibly want with him? "What does she need done?" he asked finally.

Mrs. Avery didn't answer, just passed him a piece of paper. "Here's her address... You can go over any time. If you'd like, you can leave now, and I'll make sure you're paid for the rest of the day."

Eli was even more confused; Mrs. Avery had never let him leave early, and certainly never offered to pay him for any time he wasn't at the office... What in the world was happening?! "B-But what...?" he tried again.

"Go on, get going," she shooed him away without an answer, though it seemed genuinely playful, not malicious or impatient. Still, it was obvious she wasn't going to tell him anything more, so Eli left, heading down to his car to stare at the address he'd been given for a few minutes before typing it into the Map app on his phone. Sure, Mrs. Avery was acting nice now, but he doubted that would continue if he didn't do as he was asked... And, as he'd realized as he was fretting about the meeting, he really didn't know what he would do without this job.

"Oh, it's you!" Ms. Talbot answered the door herself, seeming genuinely happy to see him. "That was quick! Come on in..."

"I'm really sorry about before," he apologized again as he was ushered inside, and to the living room. "I should have been more careful, and..."

"Don't worry about it," the woman smiled at him. "Hold on, I have something for you..."

"O... kay..." he frowned uncertainly, watching her leave. He had no idea what to expect when she returned, although he definitely never would have foreseen what it actually wound up being.

"Here," she said, holding out a fluffy, stuffed elephant. "I saw this at the store, and I thought of you, charging around that corner... Do you like elephants?"

"Y-Yeah, they're cool..." he replied, wondering if this was some veiled insult. "But what..?"

"Well, go on, take it, then," she chuckled, immediately letting out an, "Aww!" as he did, making him blush as he held the childish toy. "Just as I thought... You're perfect."