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Attention was the last thing I, May Neris, wanted, but unfortunately, Richard Grunchly seemed to want to give me all of his.

You see, I had a secret identity. My only dream was to live a normal human life after escaping the clutches of my mother, the evil queen of sirens.

But Richard was having none of that.

When somebody says 'that annoying colleague', normally, they have someone like Richard in mind- always cheerfully, obnoxious and doesn't know the definition of personal space.

But at least their life, job and freedom aren't on the line.

"Goooood morning, May!" Richard called, spinning around in his chair to face me.

"Good morning, Richard." I groaned "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can!" he smiled "I need to talk to you for a sec. Meet me in my office?"

"Um, sure." I agreed uncertainly.

I followed him over to the door and walked into his sunlit office.

"How can I help you?" I asked again.

"I know your secret."

My heart froze. There was no way he knew I was a siren, he was probably talking about something else, right?

"What secret?" I chuckled nervously.

"Don't play dumb." he sounded more serious than I'd ever heard him "You're a siren."

I sighed. So he did know.

"How did you figure it out?" I asked.

"It was easy." he shrugged "The way you flirt with all your male colleagues but your eyes have a look in them that suggest you'd rather kill them. Your inhuman beauty and outstanding voice. Not to mention your last name. Neris, May, really?"

I blushed. I had had no idea what human last names were like back when I first left the sea, so I stuck with something simple: Neris. Which was 'siren' backwards. I guess it really was obvious.

"Ok. You know. Now what?" I asked cautiously.

"I need a favor from you." Richard said.

"What makes you think I'll agree?"

"I mean... I could just let the boss know that one of his employees isn't human, but-"

"Ok, ok." I sighed "I'll help you. Sheesh, Richard, who knew you were the type to blackmail people?"

He smiled cheerfully, ignoring my last comment.

"Great! Here's what I want you to do. You know, Grace, from HR?" he started. I nodded suspiciously and he continued, "I like her. A lot. And since you have, like, love powers or something, I thought-"

"Let me stop you right there." I help up my hand "First of all, I'm in human form, so my 'love powers' don't work. Second of all, even if they did, they only work on men."

"Fine." said Richard, standing up "I guess I won't be seeing you around here much longer, May."

He started walking towards the door but I stopped him.

"Wait! Fine, I'll help. I may not have powers, but I am a woman. I can at least give you sone advice or something."

"Great!" Richard smiled and walked out.

What on earth just happened!?

וו×

I never thought I'd be instructing Richard how to impress Grace from HR, but here we are.

"Right, so you need to subtly change the subject towards flowers and ask her what her favourite type are. Then, show up to work tomorrow with a bouquet of them. Oh, and make sure to look and sound confident. Girls don't like nervous guys."

"Got it." nodded Richard.

I watched as he casually walked up to Grace and started up a conversation. He nodded towards a potted plant and said something I couldn't hear.

She laughed and said something back.

After a few minutes, he walked over to my desk, a huge smile on his face.

"I'm guessing it went well?"

"Swimmingly!" he confirmed "I even know her favourite restaurant!"

"Good job." I said, trying to sound like I cared at least a tinsy tiny bit.

"Now, how do I ask her out? Do I just be myself?"

I rolled my eyes.

"This isn't Disney Channel, Rich. You have to be perfect at first and then show her your true self after you're official. Don't worry, she'll do the same." I told him "As for asking her out, I suggest you give her the flower then tell her you're stopping by at her favourite restaurant on your way home after work. Then you invite her to come with you."

"Ok..." Richard's head seemed to swim with all this new information "Thanks, May!"

"Uh, you're welcome I guess, but I'm only doing this because you're making me..." I said.

"I know." he grinned "But thanks all the same."

He skipped off to annoy someone else, leaving to process how bizarre of a situation I'd managed to get myself into.

וו×

I couldn't help but listen in as the young grasshopper attempted to ask out Grace. She was a bundle of smiles as she accepted the bouquet of cacti Richard handed her with a hand covered in bandaids.

I mentally pace-palmed. Her favourite flower, Rich, not plant. Flower.

But at least Grace loved them. I don't think I've ever seen Richard more pleased with himself. What a bunch of weirdos.

"...So I was thinking about heading over to Chick-fil-A after work to grab some chicken nuggets and was wondering if you wanted to join me?"

"I would love to!"

I stopped listening after that and turned back to my work. I looked up after a minute and saw Richard and Grace walk past my desk together, deep in conversation and big happy grins on their faces.

I couldn't help but smile. Those two were made for eachother. And now I didn't gave to worry about Richard telling the boss I wasn't human, though I was more that a little concerned Drunk Rich would forget our deal and let something slip.

I caught Richard's eye and to my surprise, he winked at me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my work.

Another day spent hiding in plain sight complete.

«The End»

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