Spectrum

40

Grayson's POV

"From the way things are sounding, this guy is fucking insane." Shane says in disbelief. The second I got to work, I had to tell Shane about all of this. I needed to get all of this off of my chest.

"He is. I have no idea why he's so desperate to get back to Natalia. From the way things sounded, they've been broken up for quite some time now. He apparently has been bothering her for months, but has been persistent the last few days." I explain.

"Maybe he's just jealous." Shane shrugs. "I mean, she's with you now. He clearly has no chance. He's just mad about it."

"Maybe." I sigh. "I don't know. I just feel like we're arguing every single day about something."

"Arguing?" He asks.

"Well, maybe not really arguing. Just....disagreeing." I shrug.

"That's practically an argument. What could you two possibly have to argue about? Isn't this supposed to be the honeymoon stage." He laughs.

"I wouldn't know." I reply. "All I know is that we've got a lot to figure out."

"Give me some examples."

"Well first, she's upset about Gen." I reply. "Genevieve." I say, correcting myself.

"Why would she be upset about Genevieve?" He asks.

"Apparently Genevieve said something about finding me...hot?" I say, not believing the words.

"I mean...you're not a bad looking guy. She's a younger girl. She probably just has a crush. It's nothing serious. I'm sure it's just some weird authority attraction. You know...the boss and the intern scenario. I don't know. Some girls just fantasize over shit like that." He shrugs.

"Yeah, but I don't see Genevieve that way. I don't even know the girl and Natalia got super defensive about it. I was at the office pretty late last night with Gen to work on the latest app development. She wanted to try and get all of the practice that she could get on finding the glitch solution. She ended up giving me a ride back to the apartment and...I don't know." I sigh.

"Is this something that Natalia has reason to be worried about?" He asks in an unsure tone. "Because I don't know if I can handle another intern and boss romance." He laughs.

"No." I answer immediately. "Absolutely not. No. God, No."

I have Natalia. I don't need anyone else. Natalia is all that I need.

"Okay. Then i'll take your word for it." He says, clapping his hands together. "I've got to get started, though. There's still a lot of new hire shit to get done. Come find me at lunch though, yeah?"

"Yeah." I nod, leaving his office.

"Grayson! Just the person I wanted to see." I hear a high pitched voice call beside me.

I turn to see Genevieve skipping towards me.

"Good morning." I nod.

"What's the plan for today, Boss Man?" She asks with a bright smile.

"Well for starters, i've got your new office ready." I tell her.

"My office?" She asks in a squeal.

"Yes. You get your own office. Come here, it's over by Natalia's office."

"Awesome!" She shrieks. I walk her towards the room that's only a few feet away from Nat's. It's just as big as Nat's, which is only fair. Although this may be temporary, we can't have only one intern with an office.

"It's this one right here." I say, opening the door and leading her inside.

"Oh my God." She says with a wide eyed expression. "Are you serious? This is amazing! Look at the view! This is the best view in the building!"

"This whole side of the building has a pretty great view of the city." I nod in agreement.

"I though Natalia had a great view, but look at this! You put the desk facing the window so I could look at the view. Natalia has a great view, but her desk is facing away from the window. I'm so happy, Grayson. Thank you so much! This is so amazing!" She says, walking towards the window with excitement.

I didn't even think about Natalia's desk facing away from the window when I gave her that office. Hell, I didn't really adjust any of the furniture in this place. Well, other than my own office.

"I'm glad you like it." I say with a small head gesture.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asks, turning to look at me with a concerned look.

"Yeah, of course." I say as convincingly as possible.

"You're lying." She points out.

"You're right." I sigh, raising my eye brows in annoyance at my lack how ability to hide anything.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, really. Just a frustrating night. I didn't get much sleep." I sigh.

"Last night?" She asks.

"Yeah." I nod. "But, it's fine. I might just take a half day today." I mutter.

"Is it girlfriend issues?" She asks in a knowing tone.

"I...no, no." I lie.

"Again, lying." She points out.

"It's just all very new to me." I say.

"The relationship? Or the fighting?" She asks.

"Both." I reply honestly. Why am I telling her about this? Why would I open up about anything like this to my intern? The intern who Natalia has made very clear she doesn't want me getting close to.

"Hey, that happens. It's common in all relationships. They're hard." She shrugs.

"Are they?" I ask.

"Nothing good comes easily." She reminds me.

"You're right." I nod. "I guess I just need to learn how to adjust." 

"If it's the right relationship, it won't be hard. It shouldn't feel like a chore..you know? Good things don't come easily, but it shouldn't feel like a ton of pressure either. Don't get something toxic mixed up with fighting for a good relationship." She adds.

"She's not toxic." I reply instantly. "It's me, not her. I'm hard to deal with at times." 

"Really? I wouldn't ever imagine that." She laughs. 

"I'm pretty difficult, it seems." 

"I would never imagine it." She repeats. "You seem so...organized. Calm, polite...I don't know. You seem pretty low maintenance." 

"My girlfriend is the nicest person that I know. She's passionate about the things she cares about. She's funny. She's outgoing and spontaneous. Sometimes I just think I'll be holding her back." I admit.

"If she is a nice and passionate as you're saying that she is, then your personality won't hold her back. It'll do the exact opposite, actually. She'll love it." Gen says with a smile.

"Thanks, Gen." I smile in reply. "I think I needed to hear that." 

"Want to go get some lunch today? I don't really know anyone here yet. It would be pretty nice to have a friend." She smiles.

This is a bad idea. Honestly, this is something that I know will spark an argument with Natalia. However, I know what it's like to not really have a friend here. When Shane's gone, I feel pretty lost myself. 

"Yeah, sure." I nod. "We can see if Shane and Natalia want to tag along. It might be nice for everyone to get to know each other." 

"Yeah, I can ask!" She beams at me. "Anyways, I need to go through those emails for you. I'll come and get you at lunch and we'll decide on where to go from there." 

"Will do." I say as I leave her office.