Her throat tightened at the idea of being complicit, but part of her sanity screamed that, well, this couldn't be true. Could it? She didn't do anything ...
But you also didn't say anything
She swallowed hard, "I d-don't need nice blouses or anything like that. I just want you to be happy and to be respected as an archaeologist ... I don't ..." She couldn't vocalise that she didn't want to leave him, but also didn't feel he appreciated what she was trying to say.

"I'm only working with Mr. Elliot for a while, then I will be back working for you ..."

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Pleased with her response even if she fumbled with it, Richard let her chin go and returned his hand to the wheel. Urging the car forward and further down the street with the goal of the bank in mind. At the final light before the turn to the bank, he glanced toward her again.

"I'm sure Mr. Elliot is a pain. His assistant is a bore and no help what so ever," He decided to ignore her earlier statement, choosing inside to let it sit between them. The hint that something else was going on on her head of the relationship hadn't gone unnoticed but for Richard, it did nothing for him to play on it. At least at the current time.

Once they arrived at the bank he picked up one bundle of cash and head for the bank, leaving her in the car with the instruction to keep the bundles separately before putting them back for safekeeping.

Thankfully the bank line was short and he was in and out in a matter of minutes.

"I'll drive you home," He told her lacking any warmth in his words as he put the car back into gear and headed for the street once more, expecting her to give him prompt instructions.

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"Mr. Elliot is nice ..." She let it drop, sitting in silence as he left to go to the bank and back again. This car felt newer than the one she knew before .... but it was clearly owned before. Richard would not have abided the slight coffee stain that her leg currently covered if he had owned the car fresh from the factory.

As he told her he would take her home, she realised she had never given him instructions as to how to get there. She always rode her bicycle home, the old one with the flower basket at the front, her pride and joy. She loved to take it down to ride beside the canal on her days off, take a spot of tea at a small café and watch the world go by as she brainstormed and jotted down in her notebook ...

"What does Mr. Elliot's assistant do?"

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"The bare minimum. I'm surprised Blaize has kept him on. He sits at his little desk all day and works, doesn't offer to get me coffee or anything. He leaves just before 1 pm for his hour meal. Takes the entire time. Again, he doesn't bother to see if I want anything. Comes back and goes right back to his paperwork. Perhaps the worst I've ever had," Richard ranted while maintaining a tight grip on the steering wheel.

"I can't wait to rid myself of him," He muttered annoyed at the mere thought of Oliver.

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"... Odd, Mr. Elliot says Mr. Marks does all the paperwork, while Mr. Elliot does the exploration and brings them food" She found the difference between her relationship with Richard and Blaize and Oliver's relationship rather striking. Oliver was clearly Blaize's subordinate, yet it was like they worked two different departments, and Blaize was the one who did all the exciting stuff while Oliver simply watched and recorded.

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"Maybe Blaize knows a trick or two to make him actually do his job. I could always offer him more money but I hate getting to that habit," Richard mused, pulling the car near her house. He didn't bother to shut it off and instead idled the vehicle. "Don't pick up any bad habits from Blaize. I like to maintain a certain standard," Richard added, tone curt as he waited for her to exit his car.

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"Yes, sir ..." Her voice was soft, but she wasn't entirely happy with that statement. Though it had only been a day, she liked working with Mr. Elliot. Somewhat. The change of pace was jarring, and she felt more anxiety than normal, but he was kind, and different ways of working were a good thing, right?

Right?

"Goodnight, sir" She let herself out, making sure the rest of the money was safe in the glove box, and slid into her apartment.
Locking the door, she let out a sigh. Safe. While the halls were gloomy, the scent of talc and rosewater was comforting, and she slipped off her heels to stand on the cool floor. Time for dinner, maybe a scene or two, then sleep for work the next day.

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Richard headed home and followed his own nightly routine. Finishing with final glass of wine before turning in for the night, the radio playing as background noise to his sleep.

~~

Elsewhere Oliver Marks made his own way home. On shaky legs, once the taxi driver dropped him off. The amount of alcohol in his system was somewhat alarming but as he slipped of his shoes and found his way onto the couch it became a problem for future Oliver. On his side with his head facing the back of the couch he curled up, finding sleep with ease and forgetting to put his alarm for the next day.

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The worry continued to gnaw at her as she woke up the next morning. A light breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs with Earl Grey tea did little to quell the knots in her stomach, her hands shaking sometimes as the panic attack threatened to undo all the nerves she worked hard to put away.

No. Stop. Breathe. Relax. You are working with Mr. Elliot today. Richard will be happy for now and he won't ask you to do bad things. You don't need to worry about his errands. Only stuff for Mr. Elliot.

That cheered her slightly. The routine change had, at first, upset her in a way that was hard to explain. However, once it had time to grow on her, she liked the idea. It would be like taking lunch in a new place, or discovering a corner of the park that was nice and peaceful. She should go to the park later with her notebook and think up some new ideas ...

Making sure her hat was secure, she took her bicycle to the University, noting that Richard's car was there, but not Mr. Elliots. Was he running late?
No sooner had she parked her bicycle and wondered if she should start without him, than Blaize arrived, parking in the spot clearly marked ELLIOT and sauntering up to her without a care in the world.

"Um, good morning sir ..." Would it be polite to mention he was late? He didn't seem like the type that would blow a fuse if she did, but she was never sure.
"Morning" He didn't really look at her, but something told her that it was more being tired and not quite ready to interact with people than being mad at her, "... Wait, what time is it?"
"It is 9:30, sir" She bit her lower lip slightly, "A-are you expecting a meeting?"
"Meeting? God, no, I send Oliver to those, I have no attention span for that" He walked past her, and she hurried to catch up, "9:30 ... That's too damn early to be awake, who is awake at 9:30. I hate inventory, why do I have to be here for it"
"Because ... you're Mr. Elliot?" She was genuinely confused by the question, "You're a senior member of staff and you need to check all items in your department? Especially the ones you've authored?"
"Authored? Oliver writes everything, he just has to put my name on it as I'm the one up the side of a cliff looking at the things he writes about" Blaize rubbed his face, "Why can't Oliver just do it all for me"
"He's ... with Mr. Dexter, doing the same" Georgina was only just realising that they were split and put into different teams to make sure Blaize actually did the verification and counting he was supposed to. She almost giggled at the idea that they had to split the team to make the one with the more illustrious name pull his weight.

"Is he?"

-

The first person to wake Oliver up wasn't the University, asking where he was. It wasn't even Blaize, asking because someone asked him and wouldn't stop bugging him until he found out. It was the telephone ringing, and the voice on the other side was oh-so familiar.
"Oliver?"

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Arriving on time was Richard's first rule. He was not one to accept people late or would he be late himself. His pride clung to punctuality. If he was late it would be mean the blame on put on Georgina without hesitation. It would be her fault for not scheduling enough travel time or held them back by being too slow with helping him get ready.

Entering his office on time, he didn't bother to clear his face of that pained and annoyed look. Putting his briefcase carefully down on the desk, he withdrew a few papers. There stacked, neatly, were the papers required for the day. At least Oliver was prompt with his paperwork.

Settling into his desk, Richard glared at the empty space that was Oliver's. "Stupid half-wit probably can't tell time," He muttered to himself, eyes shifting to stare at the clock. It would be embarrassing to attend the meeting without his new assistant. Even if he much rather go alone. Everyone in the department knew that Oliver was meant to follow him. If he arrived alone it would reflect poorly on his character and skills as a leader.

Knuckles turning white as he rolled the newspaper in his hand, Richard decided he would take the slap to the face and attend the meeting and on the way, he fully intended to plan his formal firing of such an insufferable assistant.

~~~

Rolling slightly and nearly falling off the couch, Oliver barely got to his feet in time to grab the phone before the message machine caught it. Answering almost nonverbally with a sleepy 'huh' he was quickly awakened by the voice on the other line.

"Xander?" He prompted, confusion and a small sense of guilt washed over him as he waited for the answer he already knew.

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"Are ... you sure you don't have a meeting, sir?" Georgina was growing more and more concerned as they entered his barely-used office, still full of papers, "I mean ... I know you send Mr. Marks to meetings, but I have this feeling there should be a meeting"

Blaize rubbed his face as he sat in his chair, perhaps that was bit much of a question to ask him.

"I have NO idea ... maybe check with reception, ask them. IF there is one, you go, take notes, I trust you"

She blinked, she was stunned that he could do such a thing ... but if this was normal, perhaps that would be fine.
"Yes, sir ..."

-

"Hey, good morning" A soft chuckle, "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

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Richard arrived at the meeting room with a few minutes to spare. A young tech person was taking the time to set up a projector to display pictures. He had time to spare.

He heard the soft kitten heels that reminded him of Georgina and follow the sound with his eyes. Catching a glimpse of her soft features, Richard headed in her direction.

"Is that fool Marks with Elliot? I swear to God if he is I'm going to have them both fired!" Richard's voice while upset barely rose above a hissed whisper. Eyes glaring daggers at Georgina. While his anger wasn't directed at her, she remained the victim of it.

--

Oliver cleared his throat to rid himself of the sleep from his voice. "Yeah, but it's alright I forgot my alarm. So I'm sure I'll get my ass chewed by Richard today," Glancing at the clock near the lamp, he sighed. "I really should be leaving like now," He told Xander. Not wanting to be rude, he hoped it would put some urgency into whatever Xander had to say.

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Georgina almost wanted to run the moment she heard Richard coming towards her. She ddin't need to see him, she didn't even really need to hear him. Just this aura of irritated menace rumbling down her way was enough. She shrunk slightly behind the folder she was given by the secretary, who looked at Richard with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"N-no, Mr. Marks is not with Mr. Elliot ... he is not with you?"

-

"Ah, sure, of course ... well, I just wanted to say good morning, and offer a chance to go to lunch or something ..."

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