"Stop Trying To Kill My Staff"
The weekend had come and gone, flying by as usual. Rio swore she was going to finally sort out her tip of an apartment, but once again, time had escaped her. Shed spent quite a bit of time in Agatha’s office while the woman took a weekend trip to the Bahamas for “Business”, since there were about 2000 sketches she had to look through before Monday. Having finally completing the mountain of a task (and slipping in some not-so-subtle examples of her own work into the pile) Rio had around 5 hours until she was due in for her morning shift. The apartment remained a total state, and that stupid green shirt still had no hemming on the bottom.
Rio stood in front of her bathroom mirror, her toothbrush in her mouth as she forced herself to wake up. She wanted to look somewhat presentable, leaning into the mirror as she put on a bit more eyeliner than usual. She let out a groan seeing how uneven it was, rubbing it off and trying again. After about eight attempts the wings looked somewhat similar, and her upper face was tinted a slight grey from the smudges she hadn't quite gotten off. ‘Good Enough’ she thought, managing her mascara with surprisingly decent results, and applying a light layer of lip gloss. Rio couldn't help but wonder if her actions had something to do with a certain someone who’d inevitably be draped over an office chair later that day, but quickly banished the thought from her mind, pulling on a tight black crop top and a loose, oversized green flannel shirt. Hell, if Agatha could have her stupid signature purple, she could have her trademark green.
She rolled the sleeves up to her forearms, slipped into a pair of faded blue jeans, and gave herself a once over in the mirror. Satisfied that she wouldn't get too many nasty comments from her boss, she grabbed her portfolio and slung her beaten-up backpack over her shoulder.
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As she sat at her usual seat on the bus, she began messaging her best friend, Alice. They’d known each other since they were thirteen, and Rio had always loved her friends calm, caring presence and protective nature, that contrasted nicely with Rio’s internal chaos. Rio took out her phone, which currently sat at 12%, and began typing, struggling at the bus jolted her around. Fucking potholes.
“I swear, this job is gona be the end of me Ali, I’ve hardly sleept all weekend” Rio types, her prose littered with spelling mistakes.
“Don’t be so dramatic love, you’ve said that like five times this past week” Alice responds seconds later.
“Seriously though, you’re okay right? I’m sure she’ll see how amazing you are soon hon, don't stress it, kay?” She adds, knowing how frustrated Rio could get when things weren’t going her way.
“I'm not being dramatic!! My boss is a stuck up, arrogant biotch who thrives on making my life miserable... But yeah, I'm still holding out hope that I can impress her at some point, I mean, I snuck a couple of my pieces onto her desk, so fingers crossed” Rio replies, sighing to herself perhaps a little too loudly, as some of the passengers turned to glare at her
“Ali?” Rio types after watching her friends text bubble disappear
“Yeah?”
“You wanna meet up for coffee sometime soon? I know this fancy place but the barista there says I can have discount, plus she’s totally your type 😉" Rio typed slowly, reading through the message a couple times before hesitantly pressing send. She was awful at asking people to do things with her, she felt as though she was invading their space somehow by inviting them to do something. Thankfully, Alice’s response brought her back down to earth.
“Sure, but omg Rio! Stop trying to set me up with people!!”
“You deserve it. Meet me at the usual spot tomorrow afternoon, pleeeease xxx”
“Fine, Love ya x”
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When Rio finally got to work, armed with a triple shot espresso for “Her Highness” as Jen had so kindly written on the paper cup in perfect, swirling cursive, she found that Agatha’s room was surprisingly empty. There were scraps of fabric littered across the marble floor, and draws were left hanging open, exposing piles of paperwork, stationary, and other, more personal items that Rio had to force herself not to investigate. It was uncharacteristically messy; even Agatha’s desk, which was usually spotless, had papers and folders scattered across it, as well as a pack of half-eaten donuts which were sat temptingly on the edge of the surface. It felt completely chaotic, as though someone had rummaged through in a hurry.
‘God... If I've stumbled into another bloody crime scene, I swear-’ Rio begins, before hearing a rather odd sound from behind the curtains that draped the panoramic windows.
“Hello? Fuck!” She recoils as a tiny head pokes out from behind the curtain, letting out a high-pitched giggle. If she was bad at talking to adults, she was even worse with children.
The boy -who had long, brown hair, arched eyebrows and a mischievous glint in his eyes- skipped past Rio and threw himself into Agatha’s chair with a screech, spinning himself around. He couldn't have been any older than ten, and he looked seriously tiny in the oversized office chair, as he kicked his legs back and forth and hummed loudly.
“What the- uhm, hey kiddo” Rio smiled awkwardly, setting the coffee down oh Agatha’s desk and then quickly backing away. She wasn't sure why kids made her so nervous. The boy jumped up, standing on the chair now, his little trainer-clad feet denting the leather. Agatha would definitely be pissed.
“Oi!” the boy said, adopting a sort of battle stance, waving stationery at her. “Who let you in!”
“Damn, Harkness is really hiring them young...” Rio mutters under her breath with a smirk, before replying, “I work here! What are you doing here small child?”
She says as the boy wields a pencil, simply laughing at her question. Somehow, Rio found herself picking up a pen, and the pair ended up stationery-sword fighting over Agatha’s table. This was far and away from how Rio had thought her Monday morning would be going, but hell, it was way more fun that fetching coffees and cleaning toilets.
As their little battle drew to a climax, Agatha strode into the room, one perfectly manicured hand clutching a stack of folders, the other holding a purple velvet Dior handbag, her long, dark blue coat billowing behind her dramatically. Rio quickly abandoned her weapon/pen and straightened herself up. Agatha rolls her eyes and sets down her belongings in the only vacant space left on the cluttered desk.
“Nicky darling, stop trying to kill the staff” she says, her tone strangely amiable. It took Rio aback hearing her boss speak so..normally? It was weirdly maternal, and also somewhat attractive. “Oh, and you’ve made a total mess for Rhiannon and me!” Agatha adds, tutting as she picked the boy up off the chair, giving him a gentle kiss on the head and setting him down “Stop climbing things, for heaven's sake!”
“Sorry Mama” The boy, Nicky, replies, looking at the floor, before another mischievous grin crept up his small mouth. Before his mother could continue, he turned on his heel and ran down the corridor to the stock cupboards, disappearing from view.
Rio couldn't help but be surprised by his response. Mama? There is no way that the Agatha Harkness had a child; she was too evil. The thought had never even crossed her mind before hand, but now she thought about it, God. The resemblance was bordering on uncanny. The thick, dark brown hair, the sharp features, the blue eyes that could cut through her very soul...
‘Great, now the world had not one but two crazy Harnesses to deal with’ thought Rio, though couldn't help but smile as she watched the boy run off down the hall, his scrappy appearance contrasting with the luxury surrounding him. Maybe the pair did have some common ground in the sense that they seemed totally out of place amongst the likes of Agatha.
Rio hadn't realised how long she’d been zoned out for until a ball of scrunched up paper skimmed her face.
Agatha had resumed her typical position at her desk, a scowl immediately gracing her features as soon as the boy had departed. She’d taken to practising her aim on the young woman who was currently staring off into space, though she was careful not to actually hit her.
“Sorry about that Vidal. His stupid father decided to drop him of at mine a day early when he knew I was away and now I have no childcare and he’s missing school, and I’m missing my meetings-” Agatha ranted, before quickly stopping herself with a scoff, waving her hand dismissively and playing off her sudden burst of emotion.
"I can, uh, keep an eye on him while you're at that meeting, Ms Harkness” Rio says, testing the waters after her bosses’ rather uncharacteristic display of humanity, while also processing what she just said.. Father? She'd never mentioned being married.. “I'll try and get this place in a bit more order too. Oh! And I went through all of those designs you asked me to last week. The good ones are in the cabinet” Rio says with her usual awkward smile, gesturing abstractly to the filing cabinet that was practically exploding with paper
“Good.” Agatha says in what was probably the closest thing to a compliment Rio had ever heard her say. “Do keep an eye on him” she adds, standing up and heading towards the door.
“Vidal?” Agatha says, just as she goes to leave, drawing out the last syllable
“Yes Ms Harkness?”
“Your eyeliner is wonky darling” she says with a smile, leaving the room with a swish of her coat.