Death's Love-Child: Chapter 6

Dry, productive, and civil weeks passed by, in which both Giana and William’s interactions were entirely professional, just as planned by both of them. For the assistant, all was well. There was peace and it seemed that Ronald had managed to hold his tongue for once. For the manager, all was hell. 

She distracted him to no end and she didn’t even realize it, so he couldn’t place any blame on her. Even if he could’ve, however, he wouldn’t have. It was becoming painfully obvious to him that he was beginning to favor her over other employees, though he did his best to conceal it. Each workday loomed before him, another twenty-four hours of both great private enjoyment as well as immense frustration. He savored working alongside her, but her presence often distracted him from his work so much, that he was obliged to take frequent breaks in an attempt to regain his focus. Most of the work accomplished in William’s office was done by Giana. The case files began to stack up.

Now, a month into Miss Sutcliff’s employment, William sat at his desk, his pen gripped tightly between gloved fingers. He held his dark head in his other hand and stared unseeingly at the paper before him. Though he showed no outward sign of distress, his mind was tumultuous. His thoughts were extremely scattered. It was only one-thirty in the afternoon, yet he had already completely lost concentration. The nib of his pen hadn’t touched his paper for a solid fifteen minutes, while Giana’s was across from him, scratching away. It was infuriating. Obviously, she wasn’t nearly as distracted by his presence as he was by hers. That alone irked him.

It was enraging to be so vexed and yet have no one to blame but himself. And for William, who wasn’t an expressive person to begin with, having to conceal and repress his unusually strong emotions was proving to be quite difficult. As a result, though he strove not to let it show and was quite restless. For death’s sake, just being in the same room as her was beginning to make him sweat through his suit.

He rose quickly from his chair and stripped himself of his suit jacket and loosened his tie. Normally, he would never let another employee see him looking so unprofessional. But he found, much to his surprise, that, just this once, he did not care. 

Taking his glass of water with him, he went to the window and gazed blankly beyond it. He was unaware of the concerned eyes resting upon him.

Giana’s eyes had risen from her work the moment he had risen from his chair. She regarded the handsome man leaning against the window frame with worry. Then she turned her eyes down to the papers on his side of the desk: hardly three cases finished since lunch and it had been almost an hour. 

What was troubling him? He was usually so diligent.

With caution and sympathy, she stood and approached him slightly, leaving generous room between them.

“Mr. Spears, are you alright?” She inquired softly.

There was a heavy, hard to interpret pause.

William could hardly stand it, all the… emotions he was feeling. He wished he could be the blank slate that he had once been. Obviously, however, it was far too late for that now. There was no suppressant for the illness he had.

“You may call me William,” he told her.
Quite frankly, she was surprised.

“Oh, a-alright,” she responded stupidly, as she blushed. “Then, William, are you alright?”

He turned to her. It felt good to hear his first name from her lips, but he did not smile. He didn’t even smirk. Instead, just for a moment, he allowed his eyes to look tired.

In his core, he felt the urge to tell her about the distracting feelings he was developing for her, but his reserved, non-communicative personality forbade it. He had no idea how to tell her anything he felt, he wasn’t even certain that he should. He didn’t dare call it love, but his fondness for her was beginning to get in his way as a reaper. Perhaps continuing to repress it would eventually smother it.

The brilliant green eyes became emotionless once more and turned away from her.

“I’m fine, Miss Sutcliff,” he told her, his neutral voice backing his response.

“No you’re not,” she responded gently without pausing. Stepping closer, she stood beside him at the window and she looked out across the shinigami realm. “You don’t have to tell me, but I’d like to help, if I may.”

This almost caused him to smile.

How could she possibly help being herself?

Checking himself, he thought pensively before opening his mouth. He wanted to respond to her, but he would not reveal any of his inner thoughts. However, she continued before he could speak.

“Please, William,” she said softly. “Tell me if I can do something to help. Is it the work?”

“Y-Yes,” he answered, telling the partial truth. “There’s so much of it lately, that I feel rather over-wrought.”

There was a long thoughtful moment of silence. Then a hesitant but genuine hand rested against his shoulder.

“William, when was the last time you took your time off?”

He fell silent. When had he? It had been so long. 

As branch manager, he couldn’t afford to allow himself days off. He was the glue that held his division together. If he left, no one would get anything done! How could he be expected to be so lax with a clean conscience?

“Can you even remember?” She asked.

He gazed down at his young assistant. She had left her cascades of scarlet down today and they fell halfway down her back like a river of blood. Those spectacular eyes of hers blinking up at him held so much worry. Even as unprofessional as she was being, William still found her quite attractive.

As he stood there, he repressed the urge to reach out and hold her close. He would not sacrifice his ability to function for the risk of letting his infant feelings being made known. No, he didn’t dare. She respected him currently for who he was, he loathed the thought of losing that by pressing his feelings upon her.

Lost in his own thoughts, he shook his head and answered her question.

“You shouldn’t make things so hard on yourself,” she told him. “I understand and have a deep regard for your sense of diligence, but it can be taken to an unhealthy extreme. Everyone needs a break every now and then, a chance to get out of the office can do some good too.”

Walking back to his chair, he straightened his tie and donned his coat once more. He would remain professional. He heard her words, however, and he considered them for a moment before a realization hit him. Retaining a calm, collected demeanor, he addressed her again.

“Perhaps you’re right, Miss Sutcliff,” he noted, adjusting his glasses. “Perhaps I should get out of the office, if nothing else. But that reminds me, have you been out in the field yet?”

“Reaping souls and viewing cinematic records?” She inquired. “No, not since my graduation final.”

“I see,” he hummed. “Well, we still have ample time. Would you accompany me on several cases? It’s been several months myself since I was out in the field, but as your sempai, I think it’s nigh time you should have some training.” He almost smiled as he saw the excitement wash over the girl’s face. Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner? Obviously she had been awaiting this for a long time. “Do you need any time to prepare?”

“Only a few minutes to alter my wardrobe into something a bit more functional, sir!” She stated excitedly.

“Excellent, when you’re finished, meet me by the front desk with your scythe. I will have several cases ready for us to tend to.”

“Yes, sir!” She gave him a salute in her giddiness as she left.

He quirked his mouth at this act, unsure whether to tempted to chuckle or scowl. It was obvious that she had been spending far too much time with Ronald Knox, as it was a action that the man often did himself.

Nevertheless, as she exited his office, William put away all the unfinished files with a sigh of relief. He was glad that he had thought of this. In going out onto the field with his kohai, he would both be able to work alongside her without as much distraction--or so he hoped--and she would also learn more of her role as a shinigami. He was eager to evaluate her skills at hands-on reaping. After all, she may be an excellent analyst and case worker, but the actual reaping was another set of skills entirely, which had only ever been exercised once for her final exam.

Yes, he would take particular interest on her skills as an active reaper and he felt that he could be entirely proper in taking pride to train her.