Arvil rubbed the back of his neck. Nothing could escape his assistant, could it? Besides, Noah could keep secrets like the dead. And he was a wonderful actor—his face showed nothing. Which was why when he told death jokes, Arvil could not understand if he was truly serious, or just joking.
"All right," Noah nodded, turning to Arvil. "I will check up on you in an hour. I'd suggest you finish these till then."
An hour to finish this pil—Arvil sighed. There was no use arguing. Sometimes he felt like Noah was the boss.
"Fine," he muttered. "I'll finish this."
Satisfied with the reply, Noah bid Daisy goodbye and walked out.
"Well," Arvil leaned back into his seat, "my assistant."
Daisy simply watched the men converse about the paperwork Noah had brought in. Arvil had seemed just as shocked by what his assistant had revealed that he knew as she had. That was surprising. She may not know the man well, but she hadn’t thought he’d tell anymore. Noah saying something had confused her, but her “boyfriend’s” equally confused look just made her wonder how the assistant knew.
“He seems like a very interesting man,” she mused, still somewhat in shock.
"He is," Arvil answered with a shrug, eyes skimming over each word. "He likes to keep the company scandal-free. So whatever he does, it's to keep me from getting a bad image, and also harming the company in the process. He's good at sniffing out secrets. Oh, this idea is actually pretty good… might give it a go…"
“How does he know? How did he know about this?” Daisy wondered, not sure if even he knew. She wasn’t upset, not at all, but she was confused and slightly amused. The guy knew how to find information, that was for sure. Being a journalist, she had to know some things like that, too.
"I've given up trying to figure that out myself," Arvil admitted, flipping the document to read its back. "Noah keeps an eye on things better than anyone I know, but only on things that affect him and others around him. Or he probably heard us talking. I've long stopped trying to understand him."
Daisy hummed, nodding. “Okay, then,” she said with a soft laugh. “I guess I should head back to finish up my work. I’ll see you this weekend?”
"All right," Arvil nodded, pursing his lips. "See you this weekend. Have a good rest of your day, Daisy."
“You, too, Arvil,” Daisy said with a smile as she stood. “I’ll probably end up bringing lunch again sometime. Do you like anything specific?”
Arvil removed his eyes from his papers and instead set them on her.
"Not really," he finally responded. "I generally don't go out for lunch—there's always so much to do that I usually forget—, but sometimes Jordan orders takeout, and I just go with whatever he decides to give me."
“All right. Text me if you think of anything, then,” Daisy said as she made her way to the door.
"Drive home safely," he said, watching her leave. "And do text me of any plans that you have."
Daisy raised an eyebrow. “Will do. Let me know if anything comes up for our plans?”
"Of course," he nodded. "I'll let you know."
[TIME SKIP: THE NEXT FRIDAY]
“Lilly, seriously, you can’t keep calling me when I’m working like this,” Daisy laughed quietly as she leaned back in her chair. It was the second time this week, already. The girl must have a problem with texting, or something. “What is it this time?”
Lilly huffed. What was with that greeting? Best friends were supposed to leap with joy! Instead, she was giving her sass.
"To think you'd grateful I'm giving you my time of the day," Lilly snorted. "Some friends kill to be called, you know."
“And some friends know that the other is busy and trying to work,” Daisy chuckled, shaking her head. “Hi, Lilly. What’s up?”
"Hi, Lilly, what's up?" Lilly mimicked in a high-pitched voice, motioning slightly with her hand even though Daisy couldn't see her. "Let's go on a double date. Me, you, my handsome boyfriend, and your darling, very attractive lifesaver."
Then she paused. "Technically I'm your lifesaver."
Daisy rolled her eyes, though she knew her friend wouldn’t see it. Such a drama queen, she was.
“Yes, yes. My bothersome, always-interrupting-my-work lifesaver. How could I ever repay you?” she drawled. She was thankful, though, for what Lilly had done. Who knows where she would be if her friend hadn’t set her up with Arvil? “I’ll have to talk to Arvil about it, but I guess that could be fun. When and where?”
Lilly let out a chuckle, then pursed her lips.
"Buy me chocolates. I am already gaining weight, but screw diet. Give me chocolates," she declared, propping her feet on her desk. "Uh, Sunday, maybe at Olive Garden? I miss their pasta and you don't take me there anymore."
“Tell Jordan to take you there sometime, then,” Daisy laughed. “I’ll talk to Arvil about it and let you know what he says.”
"I don't have to tell that slug anything," she huffed. "Fine. I'll hang up now. We all know Daisy and Work is a much preferred pairing than Daisy and Lilly."
“Lilly, I don’t know about you, but I have to work for a living. The less time I waste talking during work hours, the less of a chance I have to get in trouble,” Daisy reminded her with a small chuckle. “Bye, Lilly. Love you. Tell Jordan I say ‘hi.’”
"I work, too, you know. At least I keep in contact with my friends and family anyway," Lilly said quietly, popping the bubble gum she made before sliding her feet off the table. "Anyway, cya. I'll send you all the details later. Good luck with work."
With that, the woman pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up. Then she dialed her boyfriend's number, hesitated before deleting it and opening her messages she had with Jordan.
LILLY: She agreed 4 the double date and said she'll ask Arvil too.
She hit send. A few minutes later, her phone rang. It was Jordan. A smile covered her lips instantly.
Daisy winced slightly. Lilly wasn’t wrong… She did have a tendency to work too much and not go out with friends or family. In her defense, though, her family was rather trying.
She needed to talk to Arvil. Should she call him? Or should she just go over there?
Just call him. It’ll be easier, her thoughts advised, and she nodded slowly. It wasn’t a bad idea. And it was a good thing she had his number. So she scrolled through her contacts until she found it, then clicked the call button.
Arvil had just finished up with his work when his phone rang. He blinked, picking it up without looking at the screen, and answered the call.
"Hello, this is Arvil Davis," he said into his phone. "How may I help you?"
