"Damn it!" I cursed as I hit my desk, and then buried my face in my hands. Suddenly, I heard a loud knock on my office door, making me look up.

After this warning of a sound, I saw one of my colleagues peeking in. "Shay?"

"Hey?" What was his name, again?

He walked into my office, so that I could now see his skinny presence, and then slammed the door behind him. He was, also, holding a huge pile of paper. I remembered that he was the one who was responsible for Walgreen's finances, and at the same time, he was the same guy who had been euphoric about the current figures.

"All good?" He showed his teeth and then adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "I thought you might want to see the current figures now,"

"Oh," I remembered. "I'm sorry we couldn't speak before. You know, Laylah." I had no idea about finances!

"It's alright. Time's incredibly stressful at the moment," He confessed. "As someone, who works with Miss Smith most of the time, it's difficult to get rid of somebody else than Miss Smith, especially of Laylah."

"She's a babe," I defended Laylah but then remembered the folder she had taken from Jenna's office. Right when my colleague wanted to sit down in front of me, I broke the short silence.

"Hey, do you know whether Jenna has ever borrowed anything from Laylah?"

My colleague shaped his lips to a straight line, and looked upwards as he thought about his following answer.

"No," He answered in a confident tone, lookin back at me as he pulled the chair from under the desk and then took a seat. "No, I don't know about that. Why? Did Laylah borrow something again?"

He air-quoted "borrow" and smiled at me, brightly.

"Uhm," I almost stuttered. "She has taken a folder from Jenna's office earlier," I told him the truth, or, well, at least I tried to, but I let out the part of Laylah not even letting me into Jenna's office.

My colleague tried to calm me. "Don't worry! I believe that half of Laylah's office isn't even hers, she always "borrows" something." He acted as if it was the most normal thing to happen in this world.

Suddenly, he laid a huge pile of papers on my desk, and, oh, I had to almost look over it to, actually, be able to even look at my colleague.

"So, the figures," He changed the subject quite unsuccessfully.

"Uhm, sorry," I explained, sounding almost uninterestedly. "I really don't know anything about Finances." I pointed to the pile of paper, in fear that he might have planned to explain each single sheet to me.

"Hey, it's not that complicated!"

"It is. Which is why I work as a journalist!" I smiled at him with a smile this honest, because, oh God, I just called myself a journalist without thinking about it.

I was a journalist.

A journalist.

A journalist who just published her first article today!

That, indeed, deserved a Cheers!

"I'll explain it to you," My colleague referred to this horrible amount of a pile of papers, assuring me his promise confidently, and then took out some sheet out of the pile, which was marked with various staples and colours, and was also separated in different sections with even larger sheets.

This man had an, well, incredibly weird kind of organising.

"So," He adjusted his glasses again. "Look at that!" He pushed the annoying pile of papers aside and pressed the sheet, that he had just put out, on my desk.

"This is a huge success! I do-,"

"Uhm," He, confusingly, looked at me, and realised that I couldn't really follow any of his words as I had tried to look across the table and somehow read his papers and his fonts vertically, but totally failed.

"Wait," I pushed my seat further to the side of the desk, so that I was now almost sitting right next to me colleague, now being able to lean forward to the sheet on which he was just following a line with his pointer finger.

"So," He began again, this time with a louder voice. "Do you see that? Here we can see the figures from last month."

"Mhm,"

"And here? Here, we can see how the figures from the penultimate month have changed to last month." He turned around the paper and then showed me a table with thousands of cells.

"Incredible, huh?"

I silently looked at the sheet of paper and tried to somehow understand the statistics in my head.

"What if she stole something of Jenna?"

These words came out of me before I could even build them in my head, and I abruptly bit my lip, making me shut my mouth by also placing my right hand on my lips immediately.

"Excuse me?" My colleague looked at me, rather offended, because I interrupted him during his oh so great explanation about finances.

"Why do you think that?" Now, he sat up, so that he could look at me properly, and laid the paper sheet flat on my desk.

I looked at him in the eyes, and then put away my hand from my mouth,

"No idea. She didn't want to tell me what was in Jenna's folder."

He started to air quote me, "She "stole" Jenna's folder, and she didn't want to tell you what was in there?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And this is why you think she actually robbed Jenna?" Now, that was a strong word for that, wasn't it?

I felt unbelievably stupid, and I had the feeling, that absolutely nothing, but really, absolutely nothing, made sense in any way.

I blinked many times before I decided to continue. "Yes, I mean... God, she was so nervous! Do you understand me?" I didn't know whether I was actually displaying Laylah's behaviour the way it really was, or if I just pushed my words way too far, but I wanted my colleague to believe me instantly.

"She has protected the folder as if I was not allowed to know what's in there," I added in explanation, and then shrugged my shoulders.

"But that is... that is Laylah." My colleague reminded me, as if I didn't know that already. "We're talking here about Laylah, Laylah wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"I never said she'd punch somebody?"

"Yeah," My colleague agreed. "But you're accusing her for stealing. Shay, she isn't a criminal, for God's sake!"

Suddenly, we heard somebody knocking on my door, and damn, I wanted to shoot the person behind this door.

I quickly shook those thoughts away and then paid back my attention to my colleague. Some people must have an internal clock for the wrong timings.

"But," I decided to ignore the knocking. "This can't be. Laylah said that Jenna has borrowed her folder, which is why it was in her office."

"Then it was the other way 'round," My colleague scoffed and buried his head in his hands, but then got interrupted by another knocking that he tried to ignore, as well.

"Laylah would never steal anything!"

"What if she would? What if we have thought wrongly of her the whole time?"

Another knock.

"What, if she isn't the one who we thought she was?"

My own words surprised me, and they reminded me of the one time when Jenna called me during Harry's Company's Party, telling me that he was not the one I thought he was. Was he the one he claimed he was?

God only knew what Jenna's reaction would be if I told her I'd meet him tomorrow.

My heart jumped, and I didn't want it to, but, it happened so.

"Shay, what are you saying!?"

"Tell me, do you fancy her?" I didn't know where my sudden self confidence came from, but, I loved it. "Oh my, you fancy her!"

The face of my colleague grew incredibly red, and pale at the very same time as he crossed his arms,

"Who?" I heard him swallow loudly. "Who do I fancy?"

Again, another knock.

"You should answer, Shay,"

"You fancy Laylah!"

Another knock.

"Which is why you defend her. Laylah robbed Jenna!" What was in that folder of hers?

"Hello? A package for Shayleen Taylor." A package?

"One moment!" I shouted back, looking at the door that was now separating the what I assumed to be female supplier from the colleague and me.

I tried to lower my voice and whisper. "Please, listen to me, Laylah would have told me about what was in there, and, dear God, she knew that I wouldn't just drop that, bu-,"

"But you did drop it." My colleague finished my sentence for me, causing me to stare at him in pure anger.

"Excuse me?"

"Hello!?" We heard coming from the other side of the door, again, now making the both of us look behind us.

"A brief moment," I notified the stranger in a loud voice before I paid back all of my attention to my what seemed to be confused colleague. "Listen, Jenna isn't there today. I have no idea how to reach her. And, of course, today had to be the day Laylah messes around in Jenna's office,"

"What!?"

"What what?"

"How is it relevant whether Jenna is here today or not?" My colleague questioned and folded his arms even more firmly, if that was even possible.

"Because-," I began, but then got interrupted from another knock on the door.

I angrily got up from my seat and strode to the door in speed of light, only to violently open the door and then reveal a short, petite supplier.

"Hello," The woman in front of me began as she adjusted the yellow hat on her small head, "Please sign here," She handed me her yellow pencil, and pressed her finger to an empty line that was printed on the sheet held by a yellow writing board made of plastic. "And here. And, please, here."

She moved her fingers to each line, making me sign her paper three times in addition.

She then bent down, and picked up the package which I hadn't noticed until now, and then handed it to me. I noticed how she struggled with lifting the package.

She lifted her hat, nodded to me respectfully, and then put on her hat again. "I hope you have a wonderful day,"

"You too." I mumbled and then slammed the door.

"Because Jenna's office would've been taboo for Laylah, if she was here, which means in translation, that Laylah has robbed her." I fully explained to my colleague and then put the package right next to me office door before I returned to him who was looking at me with a frowning expression.

"So you're really convinced about Laylah stealing Jenna's folder?" My colleague tried to repeat the situation more to himself than to me, somehow explaining this to himself.
"Are you really sure about it?"

I was confused about his sudden mood change and then frowned just like he did before as I fell back into my seat. "Yes, no, I don't know."

I was, of course, very aware of the fact that this somehow sounded stupid, untrue, and totally unrealistic, because, yeah, somehow my colleague was right – it was Laylah who we were talking about. Laylah? Laylah and stealing? In my mind, these words sounded like Good and Evil, like Angel and Devil, and it didn't fit in any way but also did so well together.

Laylah had not been chosen as the Deputy Boss for nothing, she had to be an incredibly strong, self-confident, but also hard working woman to lead this position, which also meant that Miss Smith saw much in her, which I liked to call "potential".

Even though Laylah wasn't really Miss Everybody's Darlin' in comparison to Jenna, she was somebody who was, somehow, loved by each and everybody, and if not, I was sure that she was envied by everybody.

Laylah, for sure, knew that, and she appreciated that, and she was a nice lady. After all, she had invited me to... damn. Right.

I slapped my hand against my forehead, making my colleague return to me weirdly.

"She had invited me to this party today," I said, ending my thoughts as I remembered.

"Who? Laylah?"

"Yeah." And she had also invited Jenna, who was, if I remembered right, willing to join us. Where was she?

"And, now, you don't want to come anymore because you believe she has "robbed" Jenna?" My colleague assumed and then let his head fall back as he started laughing out loud. "Let's be real, Shay, we both know that this doesn't sound right, does it? Laylah and stealing?"

He repeated my thoughts, making me blush immediately.

Yes, he was right. But – the people who were of much of something, were exactly the opposite. Too nice. Too pretty. Too popular. Too rich. Too honest. Too Laylah.

"You know," My colleague started. "She invited me too,"

I looked at him abruptly, "You too?"

"Is there an objection?" He looked at me playfully before he continued. "You knew that she invited many, I'm sure she's told you. Your article is such a big deal!"

He pointed his head to the gigantic pile of paper that was still lingering on my desk. "And I am really happy for you. But your behaviour is really, really childish."

My face grew red for the thousandth of times, and that especially because my nice colleague here was absolutely right. He, really, was right with what he said and also, with what he was thinking.

"I only want the best for you, all of us want that. And I know, I should shut up, but we've planned something amazing for you," He told me, smiling at me. "All of it was only Laylah's idea."

I placed my hands on my lap and looked down, not knowing how to react as I was unable to face my colleague in this very moment.

For a short moment, I thought he was about to touch my face, making me look at him, but I only noticed how he was bending forward, making me smell his full presence in the very front of me.

When I looked up, I noticed how he collected his pile of paper, which he had brought in here. "I could talk to Laylah today," He murmured, making me interrupt his actions immediately.

"What? No!" What did he want to tell her? That I mistrusted her?

Was this man in front of me absolutely insane?

"Small talk, c'mon!"

"That, surely, won't work." I, truthfully, told him as I knew that this will do nothing else but absolutely fail and mess up everything.

If I really decided to act more careful in the relationship of Laylah's and mine, there hadn't to be a third person that was about to mess up everything, 'specially not somebody like him.

He looked at me. "Trust me, hey. I... Believe me, we often go out together, Laylah doesn't tolerate much alcohol," They went out together a lot?

"As soon as she's absolutely wasted, I'll just talk to her, yes? Yes. I, erm, I'll just start some small talk about folders, and then I'll smalltalk to the name Jenna."

I laughed, making my colleague here laugh too, but I knew that he was just as insecure about this as I was. This would not work out, at all.

Also, I didn't know whether I could really trust him, or not.

While I looked at him, he leaned even further, putting one of my hair strands behind my ear. "Don't worry."

He had a firm voice as he took off his paper pile of my desk, and then quickly decided to leave my presence.

"Do I need to bring you to the door now, too?" I looked at him, and he raised one of his eyebrows.

"Gentlemen also need help!"

I noticed how he was also having issues with holding all the sheets in the both of his hands, making me question how he got here without struggling.

I got up, and then led him to the door which I kindly opened for him.

Right when he wanted to leave, he stopped at the doorway, turning his head to me.

"Oh, and Shay?"

"Yes?"

"I'm gay, by the way."