If Time Stands Still

7- symptoms

I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this fic 😭

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Aylin's POV

It's a Monday in the office, so things are a bit crazy today. I've decided to work during my lunch in order to go home an hour earlier. It's a deal we're able to make with our managers, depending on who else is available or how busy we are. Since I'm working ahead of time, I'd be able to leave at 4 which is way better than 5. Monday traffic is no joke.

"Coffee?" Teagan walks up to me with a mug in hand. He's one of the directors here that I'm now convinced has an interest in me. At first, I thought that he was just really friendly, but I've heard way too many rumours about him being some sort of sugar daddy to ignore the red flags. "Don't worry, it's decaf. One sugar." He informs me ever since I lied and said I don't drink caffeine a few months back.

I smile slightly and accept it, even though I'm really in no mood for this right now. "Thank you. Just what I needed."

"I always know what you need, it seems." He smiles and I nearly dry-heave right there. He's good looking for an older guy, if you like the salt and pepper hair, stern ass boss type, but no way in hell would I ever go there. That's just... gross.

"Mhm." I take a sip.

"Why aren't you on lunch?"

"I'm leaving early. I've got most of my work done too, anyway."

He nods. "Always such a hard worker."

"That's me." I force a laugh to be polite. Everything he says disturbs me. I hate Luke for planting the sugar daddy thing in my head.

"Enjoy your lunch, Aylin. If you need anything else, just let me know." He shoots me a wink before walking off.

I shudder. Ew.

My screen lights up suddenly with two new texts, so I quickly check it before I have to get back to work.

Zayn: Hey :)

Zayn: i'm on lunch break rn but just wanted to text you real quick

Zayn: and let you know that i had fun the other night

Zayn: and I hope you did too ..

Zayn: it wasn't boring right?

With every text that pops up, I feel my smile becoming bigger. So he's a one text per sentence kinda guy. Usually it bugs me when people do that, but I find it cute when he does it.

Friday night went way better than I expected. After watching two more episodes of Bob's Burgers, pointing out our favourite characters and laughing at the dumb jokes together, I helped him clean up. He insisted that he'd just do it in the morning, but I'm more stubborn than he is.

Thereafter, we ended up talking for a while but I was the one asking most of the questions. All of which I already knew the answer to, thanks to his LinkedIn. It turns out that after high school and the humanitarian work he's been doing in the U.K, Zayn needed a change of scenery round about the same time his aunt got a divorce. She moved to Chicago once her husband got a job here in their first year of marriage, but six years later, they grew apart and instead of moving back, she stayed and continued working here as a lawyer. The way Zayn spoke about her so highly made me gain a new level of respect for him. He then went on to explain that once he heard about the divorce, he figured that she could use some company, especially since he's her self-proclaimed favourite.