Chapter 8

Chapter 8 — What Kind Of Prank Is This?

Liam is barely focusing on his work before him. All he can think about is how he can get back at his boss — he is one gazillion percent convinced that his boss is the one who tampered with his desktop. There's no way the virus just popped out of nowhere; it has to has a source.

That smile was evil, Liam realises — he wasn't being paranoid.

He only snaps out of his revenge-planning when there is a knock on his table. He looks up, and is momentarily surprised.

"Jason?"

"Hey," he scratches the back of his neck, and looks everywhere around Liam but at him.

He can't even look at my face, Liam thinks sourly.

"Um, I texted you, but there was no reply? So, I was wondering if you still wanted to get lunch with me?"

"Oh," he picks up his phone and sure there are two new messages from him in addition to the ones he sent the previous night.

Liam meant to reply, he really did, but of course, unanticipated things happened and he just forgot.

"I'm sorry," he starts to apologise, but Jason waves him off.

"It's fine. I'm sure you had other things to do,"

Not really, Liam thinks to himself, but to Jason, he only gives him a tight smile and a small nod, "You want to have lunch with me?" Liam asks once again to be sure, "Even after what happened this morning?"

Jason starts laughing, "You have no idea how many times this have happened here,"

"Really,"

He nods, and then adds, "Okay, maybe not as loudly as it happened to you, but yeah. I mean, everyone watches porn, don't they?" however, the moment he says that his cheeks flare red, "Not that I– um, or you, uh–," he stutters.

Amused, Liam places his elbows on his table and leans forward, looking up at the stuttering man before him, "So, you watch porn?"

His cheeks only turn darker, "Um....,"

However, the office phone rings right then, and Liam answers it, frustrated — he finally feels something other than annoyed and pissed off for the day, and of course, his boss has to intervene. Liam doubts that dickface is probably looking at him right then, and sure enough he is — he quickly turns away when Liam looks at him though.

"Hello," he answers blandly, holding up a finger at Jason, who looks very much relieved at the interruption.

"I thought I told you that flirting with co-workers is against this company's policy," he gets straight to the point.

"And I remember Chloe telling me there is no such policy," Liam replies without missing a beat.

"Hah, so you are flirting with him,"

"So, what if I am?"

It's clear that Aaron didn't expect that for him by the way he takes a few seconds to form a response to that, "I– I–, I don't pay you to come here and–,"

Liam doesn't wait for him to complete that sentence, "I'm taking my lunch break now," and he puts the phone down, feeling very much victorious.

He doesn't have to look at the window to know that his boss is looking at him once again, fuming. He gets up from his seat.

"Shall we go?"

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Jason and Liam head to the same diner they had the day before, and place their orders.

They only start talking once the waiter leaves them.

"What was I asking you before we were interrupted so unceremoniously?" Liam asks, feigning to not remember.

Jason laughs, shaking his head, "Let's please talk about something else,"

"You sure?"

"I am,"

"But, um, before that, I just want to clarify that it's not because of me the bug was on my computer," Liam inserts — it is a rather humiliating experience, and he has to make sure that Jason knows that he absolutely had nothing to do with it.

"Yeah, okay. I believe you," Jason doesn't even tease him about it, and instantly nods, sounding the utmost genuine.

"You do?"

Another nod, "You don't seem like someone who would not admit for something that they did,"

Liam's eyebrows rise an inch. He has no idea where the man before him got the idea from, and if he is frank, that can't be further from the truth. He can lie his way out of almost anything — he considers it to be his hidden talent actually.

He doesn't tell this to Jason though. He doesn't have to know about it, at least not yet. They are still at the start of getting to know each other; if this were to develop into something more, then Jason can learn about more about him. For now, Liam will accept it — it is a compliment after all.

"Well, thank you for believing me, I guess," Liam half-shrugs, "I don't think even Chloe believes me,"

"Don't worry about it — she's pretty laidback. She won't care if you did or didn't do it. What about Aaron — what did he say?"

What can dickface have to say about this? Liam thinks to himself, immediately getting annoyed. It is him who put the bug in my system in the first place.

Liam simply shakes his head, "He definitely doesn't believe me, but it's fine I don't care what he thinks,"

I only care what I'm going to do to him next.

"You know, he's actually not as bad as he seems,"

Their food arrives right then, and Liam quickly grabs his fork and stabs it into the chicken piece on his plate using more force than necessary. Through gritted teeth, he says, "Can we please talk about something else?"

And they do change topics and start talking about themselves: where they're from, their childhood, their family. However, there still is an irritating part of Liam that just won't stop thinking about his boss.

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They return to the office about half an hour later. Technically, Liam can take an hour for his lunch break, but knowing his boss he knows he will make up a reason to state that he is wasting his time and try to get him fired. Again.

Liam thinks there may be yet another reason for him to not let go of this job.

He knows he said he is starting over and going out with someone he's working with... well, the last time he did it didn't exactly turn out great. But... Jason seems harmless enough. And it's not like they're going to commit to a relationship the next day or something; he's just having fun for now.

And God knows, he desperately needs fun in his life right now.

They part ways a little before reaching Liam's cabin as Jason's desk is located in the other direction. Liam is all smiley as he walks back and makes a mental note to text Jason later that day.

He stops short before reaching his table however, seeing there is an intruder at his place. He doesn't have to look at the face to know who it is — it is none other than dickface himself, of course. He can recognise that ass anywhere.

Wait, what?

No, he's only thinking that since his boss is bent over and he can only see his back. That's it. Nothing else.

He considers calling him out, catching him red-handed, but then thinks of something else. He can definitely use this to his gain later on. So, he takes out his phone and clicks a few pictures, showing his boss at his table, and quickly hides behind a wall when he starts to leave.

Liam waits for a couple of minutes before returning to his desk. He cautiously checks around his desk for any sort of misfunction, and taps on every surface lightly — maybe he's removed the screws in his chair, maybe he disconnected his desktop, maybe he put a rat or insects somewhere, or maybe it's the porn virus again. If it is the last one, Liam is very much ready to kill his boss and even prepared to go to jail for it.

But it's none of the above.

Liam frowns. There cannot be nothing. Then, what was he doing at his desk?

And only then, he notices it. His old sticky notes are back, along his cabin wall — that's... still suspicious. The orders of the notes are not right, of course; maybe that's the trick. Carefully, he plucks out one note, and waits. Nothing happens.

What kind of prank is this?

Liam turns towards the window but for the blinds are closed. Weird.

Shrugging to himself, and not wanting to think much about it, he rearranges the sticky notes and gets back to his work.

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Liam is lying on the sofa back at his sister's house when he hears a series of knocks on the door.

"Guys, wait," he tells the kids, getting up but it's of no use, they've run to the door and opened it, and revealing Liam's one and only best friend, Kaitlyn.

"What have I told you guys about opening doors to strangers?"

"Ouch," Katie says, entering and closing the door behind her but Liam ignores her for the moment.

"But it's only Auntie Kay," Claude exclaims, "She's not a stranger,"

"She's not, yes," he nods, "But it also could have been a stranger who could've–,"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Katie interrupts him, and waves him away, "Come on, guys. Now who wants to guess what I have inside this big handbag of mine?"

"Gifts?" Tania clasps her hands together in excitement, and both of them follow behind her like little puppies.

"You spoil them way too much, Katie," Liam calls behind her, but no bothers to listen to him, "Wonderful," he says to himself as he joins them in the living room shortly after bringing his friend a glass of 'adult juice' that he is having himself.

"Hi, Liam," Claude turns to him, a horrifying set of teeth set in his mouth that it shocks him for a second, "Jesus," he puts a hand over his chest, "That's really scary,"

The boy only laughs at him in return.

Just then, Liam feels something cold and clammy on his arm and lets out a short scream when he notices a large bug there — he realises a little too late that it's a fake one.

"What on earth have you gotten them, Kaitlyn?"

The three of them are laughing now at his frightened state.

"Ha-ha, very funny,"

"I missed these little critters. Couldn't come without buying anything for them,"

Liam shakes his head, but smiles anyway. It is so apparent the glee on Claude's and Tania's faces and that made him more than happy.

"Where's Rylee?" Katie asks, referring to Liam's sister, "Is she doing better?"

"There is improvement, I think. She went for a short walk with the kids earlier, and just went to sleep,"

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Liam nods.

A few beats later, Katie sighs, "So?"

"What?"

She gives him an are-you-serious look, and then, "What happened today? How's your boss?"

Liam lets out a short groan, "No. I don't want to think about it again,"

"Hah. We're definitely talking about it then," she stands and pulls Liam up, taking both of their glasses, heading towards the kitchen, leaving the kids to play by themselves.

Both of their glasses are filled to the brim once again, and Katie is looking at him expectantly.

"He put porn virus in my computer," even saying it fills Liam with pure humiliation and fury at his boss.

"A what now?"

"Porn virus," Liam repeats and then looks behind them to make sure that neither of the kids were within earshot, "The minute I started my computer a porn video just popped up and when I tried to close that, another popped out and then another and another. And the volume was just so loud, I'm sure the whole freaking building heard it. Stop laughing — it is not funny,"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Katie puts a hand over her mouth, but it's not long before she's in stitches again.

"That dickface. He made everyone think that I'm watching porn in the office when I'm working,"

"Do you though?" Katie sobers up enough to ask that specific question.

"No!" he yells, mortified, "What the fuck?!"

"Shh, little kids are just there. No swearing," she reminds him, and then gives him a little shrug, "I had to ask,"

"No, I don't watch porn. Anywhere,"

"Hmm, yeah," she smirks at him, definitely not buying that statement, especially the last assertion.

"Whatever," he rolls his eyes, "And most of the vids were heterosexual porn, and ugh, who even watches that shit anymore?"

"Uhmm, excuse you,"

"Oh right. Your species still exists, don't they?"

"Fuck you," she lets out a snort, and shakes her head, "So he found out that you laced his drink, huh?"

"Think so,"

"And is there a chance you're going to let this go now that you've both gotten back at each other?"

"Haha. Definitely not,"

"Figures," she lets out an exhale, "Seriously, just don't kill him,"

"I'll try not to," Liam gives her a smile, one that is too genuine to seem not evil, "Anyways, why are you asking about my stupid boss when I have something else to tell you," he changes the topic.

"What?"

"Jason!"

"Oh, the accountant guy," she nods, "Yeah, what happened with him?"

But just as Liam starts to talk about him, both Claude and Tania run into the kitchen, furiously scratching their arms and legs, calling for him, "Uncle, uncle, uncle,"

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on here?" he asks, immediately standing up.

"There was a bottle in the set Auntie Kay brought and we opened it. There was powder inside it. We touched it, and now it's itching all over,"

Liam looks pointedly at Katie, who sits innocently, sipping on her drink, and then casually says, "There might have been itching powder in there — it's a joke box!"

"Seriously, Katie?!" Liam huffs, "You go with Tania, I'll take care of Claude,"

"Okay. Come on, girlie. Let's go,"

Liam helps his nephew get into the bathtub for a warm bath. He makes a mental note to be rid of the itching powder, not wanting the kids to make a mess out of it again, and it's not like he has use of it either. Or... does he?

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a/n: don't forget to vote and comment you guys. your support means a lot.