-Eric-

I stared at the computer in disbelief, reaching out and lightly grazing my fingers across the monitor just to make sure I wasn't imagining the large cracks that were going across the entire screen. This computer monitor had clearly seen better days... and likely a large rock or two.

"Huh," I muttered, warily glancing up at Jacqueline before clearing my throat, nervously preparing myself to convey the unfortunate news. "This monitor is old enough that you're probably better of just buying a new one. A screen replacement might cost a bit less, but it'll be more of a hassle than it's worth, quite honestly."

Jacqueline pouted, rubbing at her temple in annoyance. "Yeah, I figured."

I flashed an apologetic look, wondering how she was just as oblivious about tech as Shawn despite being closer to my age. Still, I shook my head, pointing towards the biggest crack on the monitor. "Yeah, I can't do much here. Sorry."

Jacqueline grumbled out a few expletives, but she ultimately nodded in agreement while shifting some of the clutter on her desk. I hadn't missed the stacks of papers currently littered across her workspace, which were clamoring around in earnest, taking over most of the surface area.

Then, she took out a laptop from a brown, leather bag and set it down, sighing to herself. "I really don't have time for this," she explained, concern etching into her features. "I need to get all this paperwork sorted out, but this work laptop is unbearable to use."

"Laggy?" I asked.

"Worse. A Mac."

I snorted under my breath, snickering at that. I somewhat understood the struggle. Shifting between operating systems was a bit bewildering at first, both possessing different ways of organizing and displaying files. I could see why she'd feel lost, especially if she was in a time crunch and wasn't very familiar with the device.

I caught myself just as I was opening my mouth to offer help, wincing to myself upon realizing that I didn't know what time it was. I should just leave, right? I'd clearly overstayed my welcome by quite a few hours.

This was the perfect time to remove myself. The next bus would be passing soon, most likely, so I could be home within the hour.

"Thanks for trying to help, though. I'll just call someone from IT to figure this out tomorrow," she explained, releasing a distressed huff before focusing on her work.

And of course, I made it my business.

I sighed, a deep and wearied breath that seemed to drain the literal life force out of me. "Need some help with that?" I offered, feeling the words leave my mouth before I could even stop them. "Two heads are better than one, right?"

Jaqueline's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously?"

I nodded my head, flashing a small smile. "Why not?"

She pointed towards the laptop, flashing a weak, questioning smile. I slowly nodded my head; certainly, I could figure out how it worked and help with some basic paperwork. Though, before I'd even wrapped my head around what was happening, we were already in the midst of organizing files and inputting the necessary data in a surprisingly productive silence, which was only occasionally disturbed by a question from my confused brain.

Surprisingly, we quickly fell into a comfortable rhythm, with Jacqueline doing most of the important work and relying on me for the busywork. It wasn't as tedious as I expected. And she seemed quite pleased with the development, thankfully.

-Shawn-

I narrowed my eyes, deeply concerned when I made it back to my office and spotted a splash of pink patiently waiting for me on the couch. My darling daughter just flashed a wide, unapologetic smile, while waving me closer.

And I listened, but not without concernedly darting my eyes around the room, searching for that brat. I even looked under my desk, genuinely confused when I didn't find him any trace of him. I could've easily convinced myself I'd made it all up in my head. Well, at least if it wasn't for the face-down picture frame on my desk and the weight of my wallet in my pocket.

Where the hell had that bastard gone?

"Why are you here?" I questioned Meghan, my brows knitted together in poorly-laced frustration. I'd clearly instructed her to go home straight after school, per her grounding. "And where did he go?"

"I made you lunch!" She flashed a weaker smile, clearly still weighing whether coming her was worth the risk based on my reactions. Still, she made a show of picking up the lunch box that she was cradling on her lap, lifting it up for me to take like it was something precious. Which, yes, it was, but that wasn't the point.

And sure, it was also incredibly sweet of her, but only if I willfully ignored that she'd most certainly skipped at least her last period to make this happen. I huffed under my breath while approaching the couch, wondering if the school had sent the warning voicemail regarding her absence yet.

"That's... that's great, kid," I started, unsure of whether I was meant to be upset or not in this situation. She was looking up at me rather nervously, clearly hearing the hesitation in my voice, so it was difficult to cling onto any anger. I sighed in defeat after a few awkward moments, flashing a soft, yet wavering smile. "Thanks, Meg."

Meghan beamed up at me.

"But seriously, where's the kid?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, shrugging as if she had no clue what I was referring to at all. "What do you mean, Dad?"

I didn't buy it for a second, but he'd probably just finished with the updates and fled the moment he saw her walking in, preoccupied with how I might react. All in all, that was a pretty wise choice since I didn't want to see his face ever again. Especially near Meghan.

"You didn't talk to him, right?" I asked, skeptically narrowing my eyes when she continued trying to play the fool. "No phone numbers were exchanged? No plans were made?"

Meghan pouted up at me, seemingly offended by the accusation. "Of course not."

So, surprising even myself, I let it be. I walked over to the computer and nodded in approval when I realized it was turned on and it seemed to be working properly. Everything else on the desk was also in order, thankfully. "Well, I guess that's it, then."

"Oh?" Meghan asked, her eyes lighting up with relief.

"And I better not hear that you're talking to him ever again," I reminded her, though there was no real heat behind my words. The brat was irritating, but I didn't doubt he'd be staying away moving forward. Or, at least, I sure hoped so. Otherwise, I'd have to crush him.

She nodded in agreement, pointing towards the lunch box. "Will you eat already?"

"Fine."

I furrowed my brows in amusement while inspecting the lunch box, but I ultimately caved, per usual. Upon opening it, I immediately realized it was chicken parmesan pasta, and it looked messy enough to appear homemade. That was actually the most surprising part, considering Meghan did not enjoy cooking. I just frowned at her, wondering how she'd managed to pull this off before taking a bite, nodding in approval. "Alright, yeah."

Meghan scoffed. "Really, Dad? That's the best you can do?"

"It's soooo delicious, honey," I corrected myself, chuckling under my breath. And really, it was pretty good.

It wasn't incredible enough to forget that she was still grounded and we'd have to discuss her tendency to skip that final class just because it was P.E., but it was good enough to wear a small smile and relax against my seat, pleased that today was going much better than yesterday.

Still, I couldn't help but glance out the open door, still trying to make sense of the brat's visit. Eric, was it? It was almost difficult to be too angry at the kid when he'd helped out and then dipped without expecting anything in return.

I just had to hope he'd be smart enough to stay away from now on.

-Eric-

I grinned to myself, feeling a tad bit proud; we'd cleared the final stack of papers, which meant I was finally, genuinely free. Somehow, we'd managed to finish sorting through all her backed-up paperwork in under an hour, which was seemingly fast enough that she felt the need to thank me near tearfully, clinging onto my shoulder as if I'd vanish at any moment.

"Eric, you're a lifesaver," she exclaimed again, patting my shoulder. "I couldn't have done this without you."

I winced, shrugging it off. I really hadn't done anything too complex. Really, she was the one who'd handled anything complicated, leaving me to take care of most of the busywork-like data input. Still, she seemed sincerely grateful, so I just nodded my head in agreement. Clearly the moral support meant more than I assumed... or intended.

"Glad I could help," I replied, warily eyeing the clock. It was almost four and I was still stuck in this goddamn building. Oh boy. "T-that's it, right?"

Jacqueline distractedly nodded her head, so I took that chance to slowly get up, preparing to enact my grand escape.

"Wait."

I froze, turning to glance at her worriedly. "Uh, yeah?"

Jacqueline just twirled her pen between her fingers, seemingly deep in thought before nodding her head to herself. When she glanced back up at me, there was a certain intensity to her gaze. "Yeah. You should work for me."

My eyes widened in surprise. Out of all the possible things she could've said, I had certainly not been expecting that. "I—I doubt I have the necessary experience," I excused weakly, apprehensively waving my hands, and taking a few steps back for good measure. "A-and besides, my schedule's kind of a mess right now."

Jacqueline narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. "That's fine. I can give you flexible hours. And the pay's good."

I grimaced in utter confusion. She'd known me for under an hour and all I'd done was organize a few files, yet she was offering me a job? And fucking hell, she was staring at me with such determination, like saying yes was imperative.

"I really don't think I have what it takes. I don't know much about laws," I explained, trying to let her down gently. Not to mention that I'd been hoping to intern for a tech company this year, not a law firm.

Jacqueline shrugged. "You're resourceful... and helpful. The rest, I can teach you. Plus, you're still attending university, so you could easily intern for us, right?"

I sighed, sitting back down. "Why me?"

"You literally snuck in here just to give Mr. Briggs his wallet back, even after he gave you that shiner," she replied, and all I could do was stare in disbelief; how did she even know that? "Then, you stuck around to fix that jerk's computer for the hell of it? And then you helped me out too, on top of it? C'mon, Eric. Most people wouldn't just do that."

I sighed, feeling somewhat guilty that my actions were being misconstrued as entirely selfless. In all honesty, I'd bothered to help Shawn out of a sense of responsibility, hoping that doing him some favors might help ease his rage. Or at least dissipate some of my newfound guilt. It was primarily based on self-preservation.

"It was a quick fix," I muttered, shrugging.

"You should've charged him at least," she countered, and I just grumbled under my breath. Alright, so she had seen right through me. What now?

Her deductive skills were scarily sharp, though that might explain how she was working here despite being so young. I just nodded my head slowly, unsure of how to turn down the job offer without looking ungrateful.

"I—"

"Give it a week," Jacqueline offered, flashing a small smile. "If it doesn't work out, you can always quit, right?"

I sighed. Well, I was between jobs, and the hunt hadn't necessarily been going all that well. Everyone was either unwilling to offer flexible hours or refused to go higher than minimum wage.

This could be an interesting learning opportunity, if anything.

Right?

"Ugh. How's the pay?"

---

A/N: Thank you for reading!