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Original poster
Jamie ran his hands slowly over his face, dragging his skin as if to massage his facial muscles. He was dressed as if it was a work day, even though it was still Saturday, and had spent the better part of late morning and lunch with his assistant, with whom he had a strange relationship with, but it was efficient work as always and Jamie had it in mind that so much had been set up, all that remained was to see them through.
The phone call to Military Base was a last-minute choice—it was either visit personally, or make the trip to the Plaza so he could set up a dual-team with his assistant and get more done. Or both, but that didn't happen, so it was the latter. Jamie made his calls into the Base and had his assistant mark places on a map; it was a three-way collaboration through a two-way conversation, and together they established how many peacekeepers would be best to work extra in patrols. Following that was the brief discussion of two or three peacekeepers at the ball itself, just for security's sake. The plans were smoothed out like a folded map.
It was also discussed that the peacekeepers donating their extra time would want some compensation. The ones at the ball would be on duty, but some of the boots in the field would be asked to volunteer. They had the funds, and it wasn't exactly a big drain, but still. He pushed the matter out of his mind—there were some things you just didn't dwell on, there was only moving forward and it was hardly anything to chew his nails over. Jamie couldn't help but think eventually he should start thinking about the election. He wasn't in a rush, but it would have to happen eventually. The busy man thought briefly about Mary, not for the first time and probably not for the last time today, and wondered if it was a good idea to even think about starting a relationship when elections were coming, and not to mention trading.
He started making excuses as to why he should potentially not ask Mary on a date, also not for the first time, and suddenly wondered if she was still at the church. But everytime he wondered that, he also felt anxious all over again, and it was already a feeling he hated, so as usual, he quickly changed the subject aloud to distract him from his thoughts.
"Erin, thank you for staying late," Jamie said as he stood abruptly from his desk, sufficiently done for the day. He knew his assistant on weekends compiled daily reports (as per Jamie's request) and spent only as much time as it was necessary to get the reports and deliver them. Then he, like Jamie, was free to spend the weekend however he wanted for the rest of the day. Today being the exception, of course.
"Well, I was coming in anyway." he said, sounding either subtly rude or casually sarcastic. It was always hard to tell, in fact Jamie never could, but he stopped asking a long time ago and took it at face value. Erin picked up a folder that had enough space inside to crinkle, and held it out to the Military Representative. His assistant was the first to leave, and while Jamie wasn't taking his time, he was forced to make a decision.
Try his luck at the church—where, if she was there, he was almost certain to make a fool of himself. Or... Not do anything? Go straight home? No, he promised. He didn't promise to do it today... But he felt like he was breaking it somehow by waiting. Perhaps it was because Jamie was occasionally prone to procrastinating unpleasant things in his social life, and he knew that, and he knew he should do it sooner than later, because if he let himself put it off more, he'd never do it at all.
There were two ways this could have panned out. Jamie could have decided that he promised to do it, and he would do it, just not that day, then go home and take his time to think about how to approach the situation, soothe the anxiety in his head, take the time and effort to not screw up.
Or, he could call her office, knowing full well she won't actually be there, not leave any sort of message and just ask that someone tell her to give him a call the next time she's free, and go home feeling like a job well done.
You're an idiot, some small voice berated as he picked up the phone and dialed.
The phone call to Military Base was a last-minute choice—it was either visit personally, or make the trip to the Plaza so he could set up a dual-team with his assistant and get more done. Or both, but that didn't happen, so it was the latter. Jamie made his calls into the Base and had his assistant mark places on a map; it was a three-way collaboration through a two-way conversation, and together they established how many peacekeepers would be best to work extra in patrols. Following that was the brief discussion of two or three peacekeepers at the ball itself, just for security's sake. The plans were smoothed out like a folded map.
It was also discussed that the peacekeepers donating their extra time would want some compensation. The ones at the ball would be on duty, but some of the boots in the field would be asked to volunteer. They had the funds, and it wasn't exactly a big drain, but still. He pushed the matter out of his mind—there were some things you just didn't dwell on, there was only moving forward and it was hardly anything to chew his nails over. Jamie couldn't help but think eventually he should start thinking about the election. He wasn't in a rush, but it would have to happen eventually. The busy man thought briefly about Mary, not for the first time and probably not for the last time today, and wondered if it was a good idea to even think about starting a relationship when elections were coming, and not to mention trading.
He started making excuses as to why he should potentially not ask Mary on a date, also not for the first time, and suddenly wondered if she was still at the church. But everytime he wondered that, he also felt anxious all over again, and it was already a feeling he hated, so as usual, he quickly changed the subject aloud to distract him from his thoughts.
"Erin, thank you for staying late," Jamie said as he stood abruptly from his desk, sufficiently done for the day. He knew his assistant on weekends compiled daily reports (as per Jamie's request) and spent only as much time as it was necessary to get the reports and deliver them. Then he, like Jamie, was free to spend the weekend however he wanted for the rest of the day. Today being the exception, of course.
"Well, I was coming in anyway." he said, sounding either subtly rude or casually sarcastic. It was always hard to tell, in fact Jamie never could, but he stopped asking a long time ago and took it at face value. Erin picked up a folder that had enough space inside to crinkle, and held it out to the Military Representative. His assistant was the first to leave, and while Jamie wasn't taking his time, he was forced to make a decision.
Try his luck at the church—where, if she was there, he was almost certain to make a fool of himself. Or... Not do anything? Go straight home? No, he promised. He didn't promise to do it today... But he felt like he was breaking it somehow by waiting. Perhaps it was because Jamie was occasionally prone to procrastinating unpleasant things in his social life, and he knew that, and he knew he should do it sooner than later, because if he let himself put it off more, he'd never do it at all.
There were two ways this could have panned out. Jamie could have decided that he promised to do it, and he would do it, just not that day, then go home and take his time to think about how to approach the situation, soothe the anxiety in his head, take the time and effort to not screw up.
Or, he could call her office, knowing full well she won't actually be there, not leave any sort of message and just ask that someone tell her to give him a call the next time she's free, and go home feeling like a job well done.
You're an idiot, some small voice berated as he picked up the phone and dialed.