Order 73 ~DNF~

𝟛𝟟

sorry I'm late, I was reading one of roast chicken's thread fics iykyk

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𝒟𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂 𝒫𝒪𝒱

The dreary grey sky could use some snow. But I hadn't seen much snow outside of the pictures on the internet thanks to living in Florida for my whole life.

The wind flows through my hair, tousling the soft curls. A rush of warm air hits my skin as I gaze around my company's lobby. Christmas decorations glitter and glow against the windows, wreaths decorating the pristine white walls, soft festive music playing through the speakers. The center-piece, a 30 foot pine tree, was standing in the middle, twinkling with multi-colored lights. We usually let the interns operate the drones to put on the ornaments.

The lobby was eerily empty, many people usually take this week off. I climb into the elevator, shooting up to my floor. I open my office door, ready for Leia to look up and start telling me all the stuff I had to do for the day. But she isn't here either.

Instead Techno was. He's sitting in my chair, twiddling his thumbs. "Techno?"

"Hello Dream." He stands up, but I gesture for him to sit back down, taking the seat in front of him. "Sorry for surprisin' you like this." I wave it off, waiting for him to continue.

"I'll be honest, dude. You've got heart. And you're my friend, so this isn't ideal. But I've been doin' this for a long time. And I don't think it's a good idea for us to be mergin'. I've already talked to Phil. He agrees." He looks guilty, like he didn't really want to relay the information to me.

My heart runs a marathon, pounding in fear as I nod slowly.

"You okay?" He asks kindly. I squeeze my eyes shut, inhaling deeply. A short nod follows and he hums, telling me he'll send the paperwork over soon and quietly bidding me a short goodbye, before giving me some space.

As soon as he closes the door, I drop my head into my hands, holding my panic back for the time being. Nothing I do is going to change the fact that that just happened. There's no use in panicking. There's no use. No use. My phone vibrates in my pocket.

Dad.

I press the phone to my ear, mumbling a greeting.

"Your Board just met. They figured it's best to merge with Barlowe. You'll have to let go of most of your employees. They won't be much use; Barlowe's got everything you need."

"What?" I clench my jaw. "How do you know that? Why didn't they–"

"Because they called me directly. I'm not really sure what you're planning on doing son."

The tone of his voice is clear as it could be over the phone. He was exhausted. I'd put him through so much stress. And for what? I'm about to lose everything anyway. "I promise I'll fix this Dad." I mumble.

"We'll talk about it later. Come home." He cuts the call, and I stare at my phone. Fuck.

Me: where are you

George: cafe

George: I was just about to text you, can you come over here

Me: omw

All I want to do is whisk him back to our apartment and spend the whole day on the couch. My footsteps echo through the empty halls, the ding of the elevator ominous as I step inside. For some reason, the Christmas elevator music Leia got installed doesn't play. But it's not like there's anyone here to listen to it.