𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | roy kent [ON HOLD]

7 | GHOSTS

𝙁𝙊𝙊𝙏𝘽𝘼𝙇𝙇 𝙄𝙎 𝙇𝙄𝙁𝙀.

IT HAD been a difficult weekend. Michelle and Henry had returned home to Kansas. Lottie had better accepted the divorce, but Ted was still struggling and would be for a while. She was thankful that she and him worked together so she could keep an eye on him. She was worried, though she wouldn't tell him how much.

This particular morning was very hard for Lottie, as she was exhausted from the events as well as her father. Even with her morning tea, she was in a grumpy mood for the first hour of consciousness. She had managed to throw on a white tank with a sweetheart neckline and semi-thin straps and a knit skirt that reached her mid-thigh underneath Roy's leather jacket. She accessorized the look with strappy black heels and the bright yellow purse that she loved – and Rebecca not-so-subtly hated.

She was waiting in his office with Beard and Nate, staring at the time on her phone anxiously. Her father was late. He had gotten up at the same time as she had, but he had asked to walk alone to work, so Lottie and Beard had gone without him to give him space. Perhaps that had not been the best idea.

Finally, Ted appeared. "Mornin' fellas, Lottie-da," he greeted as he walked into the office. He was frazzled. "Sorry I'm late. Just needed to clear my head so I decided to, you know, walk to work." His hair was ruffled in a way that told them he had run his hands continuously through it, ruining any styling he had done. They watched as he struggled to pull down the zipper to his jacket. "Turns out that clearin' and walkin' in a town you don't know all too well can be a little tricky. Ended up gettin' lost but, you know, then I got unlost, then lost again." They watched as he then put on a sweatshirt backwards. "Well, you know, now I'm here, you know. Beard's here, Nate's here, Lottie's here, which is great because the world can be a sad, lonely place, but – hey, come on now, let's get to work, shall we?"

Nate looked to Beard and Lottie questioningly. "Michelle," Beard explained quietly, to which Nate nodded in understanding.

Ted badgered on, "You know, it's ok, 'cause it's a great time now for me to, you know, bury myself in my work here." He noticed that his sweatshirt was on backwards and proceeded to twist it correct on his body rather than simply take it off and put it back on correctly. "And so – although, I'm not crazy – I don't love the word 'bury,' you know what I mean? It's just got a negative connotation to it, don't it? What's another word I could say? Everyone loves a good bath, right? Just a nice warm bath, right? Yeah? So that's what I'll say. I'll say, 'I'm gonna bathe myself in work.' How 'bout that? That's good. That's good – Nate! You got a favorite bath bomb, buddy?"

Nate blinked, trying to comprehend whatever the heck Ted was saying – which was mainly nothing but unrelated gibberish. "No, I don't really enjoy baths, just 'cause my skin gets really wrinkly and I'm deeply worried about aging."