Shane

There he was again. That incredibly cute but serious-looking guy. She'd seen him around before, but it was only recently that she'd really begun to notice him. He was tall and fit with straight sandy brown hair and piercing light hazel eyes. On the occasions that they'd made eye contact, she'd found his intense gaze to be both creepy and attractive. She'd gotten the feeling that he was probably more aware and intelligent than what might meet the eye. The guy was quiet, though he didn't strike her as being shy. Forget it either way, she told herself. You're older and you're married. But every time he passed by the area of the magazine company she worked for, doing the various jobs that she was assigned to do, she noticed him and he seemed to notice her too, if only for a brief second. He wasn't usually alone. Oftentimes, he was with another person or two, who probably worked in one department or another. It was a big company in a big building that served many functions. It housed the magazine's editing department, a medical lab, a real estate office, and a host of other things. Every now and then, she caught snippets of conversation as he passed through the area. The guy, always casually dressed, mentioned something about lab results one time, so she assumed he worked in one of the labs. She'd only seen him around for about a month, so she assumed he was fairly new to the job. As the magazine grew and expanded, more space was needed. She often worked alone and in an old converted clubhouse of sorts. She liked it. It was peaceful. Way better than being stuck in a cubicle with all kinds of distractions surrounding her. In a small room that was off the large main room she worked in was an exercise room that several employees from various departments would sometimes use. There was a Bowflex gym, a treadmill, an elliptical machine, and a stationary bike. The guy was momentarily in the exercise room with the guy she'd seen accompany him the most. Her long pink fingernails flew over the keyboard when she was suddenly startled by a voice. She turned to look at the two guys slightly behind her and to the left. "Sorry to startle you," said the plain-looking one. "It's ok. Can I help you with something?" she asked, putting on a professional smile. "Maybe. Are you Markayla?" "Sure am. And you?" she asked, gaze shifting from Boring to Hottie. "This is Shane and I'm Willem." Markayla glanced over her fashionable eyeglass frames. "As in Willem, the Dutch version of William?" She pronounced the W with a V sound, as was the rule in Germanic languages. Both men chuckled, and Willem said, "Yes, ma'am, which pretty much answers the next question." "Which is?" "Well, you're the language lady, aren't you?" Markayla smiled and said, "Guilty." "First, what exactly is it that you do here, Markayla?" Markayla's confusion was growing as her eyes flicked from Plain to Handsome. "One of the things I do is ask who gave you my name and why you care about what it is I do here." Willem laughed as Shane smiled and momentarily glanced down at the tile floor beneath his Nike'd feet. Markayla took the moment to take in Shane. His light brown straight hair, fringed along the eyebrows, was gloriously smooth and shiny. He wore a tan polo shirt and jeans. "Your boss, Ms. Chung, gave us your name and told us you'd be here. She said you'd be the one who could probably translate this note for us that's written in Spanish." Markayla watched as the dark-haired guy unfolded a small piece of paper and held it out to her, equally dark eyes studying her as he did so. Markayla took the note. "I still don't get it. Of all the Spanish-speaking people out there and programs like Google Translate, you had to come to me?" "You were our quickest and most convenient solution at the moment," Willem explained. Markayla took a look at the note. "It's saying something about stealing money." "Can you translate it for us?" Markayla read the note back in English. "If you wait until everyone's gone, you can access the safe then. Just stay in the bathroom at closing time and hide out in there. Be sure to wear a watch or have a phone with you in which you can keep track of the time. Turn all sounds off on any cells you carry. You don't want the cleaning crew hearing you. They're the only potential problem. You have to time your trip from bathroom to office at just the right time or else they'll see you. If one of them does see you, just say an emergency came up and you had to find a way to contact someone with important information who's vacationing overseas. Remember our code words." Done reading the note, Markayla looked up at the guys, handing Willem back the note. "What's this all about?" "We're not sure. It was on my desk this morning. It's probably just some joke." "Where do you work?" asked Markayla, none the wiser on the situation. "Up in accounting in Building B. So what do you do besides interpret strange notes, Ms. Seymour?" Oh, so he knew her last name? Markayla shrugged. "This and that." "Yeah?" "Yeah, I do a little of everything, but a whole lot of nothing at the same time." Both of them laughed and Mr. Good Looking spoke up for the first time. "Sounds like a job I'd really like." "It has its moments of boredom, though I do like the quietness of working down here as opposed to the more crowded areas." "It does seem peaceful here," Willem said, turning to gaze out the glass doors. "Anyway, to answer your question in more depth, my main job is proofreading and editing, though sometimes I do other things." "Like what?" "Like goof off and blog on company time," Markayla said with a smile. "That's ok," said Willem. "We won't tell." "For him it's Facebook," said Shane, jerking a thumb toward Willem. Markayla shifted her gaze and locked eyes for a few seconds with Shane. She was both chilled and fascinated. What was it about this guy? The two then began to move toward the glass doors as Willem spoke. "Well, thanks for the translation, Markayla." "No problem." "Be advised that we may need your other services at times as well." "Other services?" Markayla asked quizzically. "Yeah, the one where you analyze online security." "Oh yeah, that," Markayla said with a laugh. "I do that too, at times." "Some people do too many things to keep track of," Willem said, hand on the door's push bar with Shane right behind him. "Yes, and I'm probably one of them." "Have a good day," Shane said, glancing back and smiling softly. "You too, guys."