Firewall {One Direction a.u.}

Chapter 1

"Good morning Mr. Selley!"  I chirp as I saunter into work, placing a venti black coffee on the security desk in front of him.

He takes a deep sigh before he says, "I have three things that are wrong with this picture.  One, stop calling me Mr. Selley, it's Brian and you know that.  Two, you need to stop buying me coffee, especially this expensive coffee."  He gestures to the Starbucks in front of him.  "There is a good enough coffee maker here.  And three, you're here early."

After his quick lecture, I ask, "Is that it?  I'm surprised you didn't mention how you can obviously tell I walked here, when you specifically told me not to."  He laughs at my sassy attitude. "May I respond to your three complains?"  He nods, letting me continue.  "One, Brian seems to informal, especially while at work.  Two, I will always buy you coffee because it is so much better than that shit coffee maker here.  I mean seriously, the boss makes over a million pounds a day, yet has to buy the cheapest coffee maker ever?  I swear my Keurig at college made it taste better ."  I really don't like coffee that much, but everyone else seems annoyed by the coffee maker so I guess I'll go with it.  "And three, I had to get coffee to my favorite guy before I have to report to my office.  Plus, if I'm here early, I get to hang out with that guy as well."

I turn around, swipe my ID and the glass entrance doors open.  I then, turn around and join Brian behind his desk.

"How was dinner with your family last night?"  I ask him.  I know this because he told me yesterday.  He is such a family man and I admire him so much for that.  He is the proud father of two and grandfather of five.

He lets out a content sigh and smiles.  "It was great!  My one grandson, unfortunately did not show up until later, but everyone else was on time and we had a lovely evening.  I told you, you should have come over, you need to put down the frozen dinners for once and eat a real meal."

"You would not want me over to your family for dinner. I am such a mess and they would probably think something weird is going on between us."  I laugh at the thought and so does he.

"They would not.  They know I took you under my wing when you first moved over the pond and they honestly would love to meet you.  Especially my daughter, she loves taking care of other people.  I also think you and my one grandson would get along well."

"Mr. Selley!"  I gasp, "Are you trying to set me up with your grandson?"  I say jokingly shocked.

"I never said that," he pauses, "specifically."

I jokingly slap his arm.

"Ow, I'm just a fragile old man."  He jokes back.

"Do you really think I can't find love on my own?"  I ask him with sincerity.

He looks at me seriously, "You have been here for what, three years?  You have never mentioned a person to me and I know you would if there was one.   You don't go out to bars and you barely talk to people while you are at work.  You sit at my desk all day, talking to an old man."

I am kind of taken aback by his honesty but he is right, I don't get out of the house enough and I rarely speak to people at work, yet I complain about not having a boyfriend.  I look down at my hands.  "Uh I-I think I have to go to my office now."  I say quietly, now feeling a little down.

He grabs my arm and brings me into a hug.  "Oh Morgan, you know I never meant to offend you.  I want you to see you happy and I think some friends would help with that."  He smiles at me.  "Any man would be lucky to love you and have you love him back.  You just need to put yourself out there more.  Maybe I can set you up with my grandson?"  I smile at his words and laugh at the part about his grandson.  I can tell he was half joking about the grandson thing.  "I didn't mean to put you in a bad mood so now you'll have to laugh before you walk to your office.  Now, what computer sings the best?"

I giggle already, shrugging my shoulders.

"A Dell!"  He laughs at his own joke.  "Get it?  Because a Dell is a type of computer and Adele the singer?"  He keeps laughing and I burst out with him.  "Now, the beautiful smile is back and you can go about your day."  He kisses me on the forehead.

That interaction right there is the perfect one to show who Brian Selley really is.  He is a security guard at the same place I work.  He is a cute old man who helped me navigate life when I first started working at Styles Co.  I came in fresh out of college and New York.  I made the move here for college, got a job here and never looked back.  Truth be told, I could be doing much more than just turning on and off the router, but I get paid the big bucks to do just that, so I can't complain too much.

My first assignment of the day was to go fix the copy machine. It had a jam and God forbid anyone else is this damn place knew how to fix it.  I really need to stop complaining so much. If anyone saw my salary and knew all I really had to do was fix the copy machine and printer, they would hate me. 

"Good morning Morgan."  Liam, my direct boss, smiles at me when I get back from fixing the copier.

"Hey Mr. Payne."

He rolls his eyes, just like Brian.  "What is it with you and calling everyone by their last name?"  I can tell he's kind of annoyed.

"I respect my elders."  I state, defending myself.

He scoffs, not angrily, but some annoyance is found in his tone.  "I am not that much older than you."

"But you're still older and I respect that."  I point out.

He groans, "Okay great, I get that you respect me, now will you please call me Liam?"

I giggle at how frustrated I got him in such a small amount of time.  "Whatever you say, Liam."

He sighs in relief.  "Good, now go fix Mr. Styles' computer.  He seems to have broken it again."

I let out a groan.  "Did he throw it against the wall again?  Because I don't think I'll be able to fix that."

Liam laughs along with me.  "Not this time. He's complaining it's running too slowly."

"I mean if he deleted half the shit he has on there it would run faster.  Should I just take an external hard drive and transfer his stuff onto it?"

Liam taps his chin thinking, "Yeah, bring one just in case."  He grabs one and the USB to connect it to the computer.  "Here, if he does let you move his files, leave it with him, if not, figure something else out."

I roll my eyes, not at Liam but at the situation.  Mr. Styles is a very stubborn person. He calls for IT help but then never actually lets us do our job.  He is too secretive over his damn files but then complains when the computer is too slow.

I take a deep breath before knocking on his door. His secretary told me he was expecting an IT person so I could just knock.  I've only had a few interactions with Mr. Styles but they were mostly while Liam was present.

"Come in."  I hear his deep voice before I open the door.