Tyrone's jaw popped as he let out a massive yawn, levering himself up out of bed. Having stayed up far later than normal- mostly because he was hoping to hear something from Oliver about how the talk went, he was exhausted... Thankfully, football season was well past.

Of course, that still left him with a full day of classes and work. Thankfully, his first class wasn't until nine, so he had at least a bit of time to wake up and get a shower. And some coffee; definitely some coffee today.

His phone suddenly ringing so early in the morning left him staring in disbelief.

Slowly picking up the phone, he glanced at who was calling. Seeing it was one of his assistant managers for the charity, he hurried to answer. “Mrs. Mary? Is something wrong? You don't usually call this early...”

“Yes, Mr. Biggs, we do seem to have a small issue.” Tyrone was surprised by the tinge of annoyance in Mrs. Mary's voice; the woman was the picture of professionalism. Always calm, polite, and incredibly hard working. For something to have annoyed her...

“While I am not one to critique my boss-” Tyrone's stomach dropped; what had he done to upset his right hand? He could only imagine how much harder it would be to get things running without her. “I believe we need to discuss how much your personal matters can affect our work. I don't fault you for hiring your friends; truthfully, those three have already shown themselves to be excellent workers. And their humor, while crude at times, seems to brighten the atmosphere a bit more. I was a bit concerned, at first, but I do not disagree with you hiring them. Especially seeing as they are not being shown any sort of preferential treatment...”

“However,” Tyrone held back a sigh; had those three idiots done something to mess things up? While they may enjoy joking and playing around a bit too much, he couldn't see them causing problems for him- or for Oliver, now that they knew... “Allowing people to sleep in your office? I'm sure you must trust them, otherwise I doubt you would allow it... But this is hardly appropriate for the work place!”

“If some of your friends are struggling, I am not against offering them jobs- assuming they show themselves to be capable. I also have contacts with several shelters if they need a place to stay while they get their feet under them. But-”

“Wait, wait! Slow down for a second, Mrs. Mary.” Tyrone interrupted, his mind, still sluggish from sleep, racing to catch up. Someone slept in his office? But the only people...

“The people that slept in my office, were there two of them?”

“Yes. The other young man that was with you yesterday, as well as the woman that joined you just before you left. At that time, I was not aware that you had left them in your office. I'm not against helping your friends; in fact, I support the idea of giving them a hand up. But there are more appropriate ways of doing so.”

Letting out a relieved sigh, Tyrone smiled brightly. The conversation must have been fairly positive if they stayed together the entire night... Though he was a bit amused that they fell asleep in his office. How long did the two of them talk?

“I understand what you are saying, Mrs. Mary, but this situation is... special... Ah, I have to ask, though... You haven't said anything to them, have you?” He asked, suddenly a bit nervous. If she had, and a conflict started between her and Oliver...

“Well, no. While I don't approve, it isn't my place. Why? And why did that question make you sound nervous?”

Tyrone chuckled softly; maybe this would be easier to handle than he had expected? After all, Oliver had said he wasn't really hiding his connection to the charity, just that he wasn't going to be the public face... And, since Mary technically worked for Oliver, she should know her boss right?

And maybe it would embarrass Oli a bit... and stop him from crashing in the office again.

“Ok, well... the short version, without going into personal details... How do I say this? The guy is Oliver Silk; he's the owner and financial backer of the charity. He and Polina were having some relationship problems and being dumb about it...”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“So, I kinda just... locked them in the office and told them to talk. I'm glad to see it worked!” Tyrone laughed a touch awkwardly; it wasn't the best plan he could come up with, but Oliver was notoriously dense at times...

“The owner! And you didn't warn me!?” Mary's scandalized tone stifled any humor he felt. “I nearly- Oh, we are going to have words about this, Mr. Biggs! I can't believe... Should I send Alice to get coffee for them? Or breakfast? I am severely under-prepared for this, and it is because you-”

“Nope, I am not going to yell at you over the phone. You are lucky I like this job and working with you! Present situation aside, that is.”

“You're right, Mrs. Mary. And I'm sorry! This is definitely not the way I intended to introduce the two of you... But... You know how eccentric millionaires can be, right? How was I suppose to know they would fall asleep there?”

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“Come on, sleepy head! We need to get up and get moving. Goodness knows how T will feel when he finds out we fell asleep here...”

Oliver's eyes opened slowly, a warm smile spreading across his face at the sight of Polina still wrapped up in his arms. Pulling her close, he closed his eyes as he hugged her. “Five more minutes...”

Bright, happy laughter escaped Poli- such a simple moment, but she had missed it. She had missed him. “I know, Oli. I feel the same... But we weren't supposed to sleep here last night! And I definitely need a shower. And some coffee. And we can easily have both at... home...”

She stumbled over the last word, uncertain if he still thought of her house as home. While they had talked for a long time the night before, and were most definitely back together... It wasn't like everything could just instantly go back to the way it was, could it?

Oliver sighed softly, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “You're right... And... Yeah, I still think of it as home. So... let's go home? Shower, coffee, and breakfast... We have a lot to do today; that is, assuming you still want to-”

“Absolutely.” She cut him off quickly.

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It only took them a few minutes to pull themselves off the couch in Tyrone's office; while not the most comfortable, it was easily the best night of sleep either had had in weeks. Clothes rumpled from having been slept in, the two quickly tidied themselves up as much as they could and headed out the office door.

Where the ran right into an attractive middle aged woman in a nice suit.

“Oh, Mr. Silk! It's nice to meet you finally!” She said, quickly shaking his hand. Turning to Polina, she held her hand out to shake again. “And you must be Mrs. Silk. Hello! I'm Mary Sue Dorn, one of the assistant managers here. It's a pleasure to meet you both!”

Oli and Poli froze at the unexpected- and enthusiastic- greeting. At Polina being referred to as 'Mrs. Silk', Oliver's eyes went even wider. “Ah... We... we aren't married... yet?” A touch of panic laced his voice as he turned to Polina for support.

Seeing the anxiety and uncertainty building in Oliver, Polina suppressed the amusement she felt at his answer- and the joy at him adding 'yet' on the end of the sentence... Knowing he was inclined towards such a long-term commitment was more than enough for her right now. Patting his arm gently, she gave him a warm smile. “That is a perfectly acceptable answer, hon. And a conversation for later.”

Turning to look at the energetic Mary, Polina happily shook her hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mary. We've heard a lot about you from Tyrone- mainly how much help you've been in getting everything set up.”

Glancing at the still stricken Oliver, Polina simply held his hand as she continued speaking. “Please do forgive Oliver for his reaction; he isn't really the most... sociable... person. And he has been dealing with a number of things lately that put a good deal of stress on him.”

Mary simply nodded in understanding. “Of course. Mr. Biggs has mentioned, several times, that Mr. Silk prefers to avoid any unnecessary attention. I apologize if my rather abrupt greeting has caused him any distress.”

“Uh... I'm... fine? Just a little... off... today. Still processing things and... Honestly, I'm not use to being 'the boss' or anything like that, so I really have no idea what to say.” Oliver paused, a thoughtful look on his face. “Actually, I guess that's why I have T... and why he hired you. So, I guess I don't really have to think about 'boss' things anyway?”

“Of course, Mr. Silk, that's what we are here for.” Mary smiled kindly. “If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to let me know. All of this is only possible because of you, after all.”

“Ok, thanks Mrs. Mary. I'll keep that in mind...”

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“You ok, Oli?” Polina asked as they made their way out to her car.

A tentative smile flashed across Oliver's face for a moment as he nodded. “Yeah. I'm just... still kinda processing everything. I'm not very good at all this... emotional... stuff... And suddenly running headfirst into meeting someone new, and that I'll have to interact at least a little with in the future... It kinda threw me for a loop.”

“But... I'm good.” Leaning into her slightly, he wrapped an arm around her waist. “Better than good...”