Private When Life Throws You Punches

It was an overcast day and Kalvin felt no better. His entire body was hurting, especially his face. Yet, he continued to rush past the morning crowd. His morning coffee would have to wait until he clocked in. In fact, he was already running late as it is. Once he reached the office building, he rushed right into the alley at the side. He looked for the emergency escape ladder that corresponded to the floor he worked in. When he found it, he took a few seconds to prepare himself before he made a big vertical leap, taking his work bag into the air with him. Once his leap reached its peak, Kal began to shift his weight steadily. Just as his momentum came to a stop at the zenith of the jump, he took a hold of the emergency ladder and pulled himself into the little landing just behind it. After that, getting into the building and clocking in for work was easy.

It was his own little way of cheating the elevator when he was late for work. He didn't do it a lot since he was rarely late. In fact, this might only be the second time he had to arrive at work late. Kal tried to be as subtle as possible as he made his way to his desk. He winced when he had to lift the bag from his shoulders. A small groan escaped cracked lips when he sat down. And while he was unsure about hat policies in the DB Holdings, Kal kept the cap firmly on his head to hide the black eye, bruised jaw, and still slightly swollen nose. He was unsure about how anybody else might react if they saw him, so he was thankful that nobody did, as far as he could tell.

@Zora

Kalvin had settled by then and was doing the typical things he did at his desk. As much as possible, he wanted to stay stuck on his desk today. It was a total contrast to his usual demeanor at work, where he loved walking around and stretching his legs. However, when Kal heard his name being called, he visibly jumped with a whispered, "Jesus Christ!" He had almost looked to the source of Rafael's voice automatically but he'd been too surprised from the sudden attention on him.

"Oh, uh, no, I'm good," he replied, turning his face to the side just enough to keep any unwanted suspicion off of him. On any other day, he really wouldn't mind grabbing tea Rafael made. Today, he really, really just wanted some Advil and an entire pot of strong coffee to himself. Also for the whole office to never notice him today, if that was possible.

"No, really. It's fine. I'm good boss," Kal said, turning right away so his back was to the small entryway into his small office. He brought his head lower and hunched his shoulders higher. Almost like he was shrinking in on himself at his desk, or the side of it rather. The cap was probably too obvious so he slipped it off and placed it down on the desk without turning to it. He

"Uh, I'll probably go and get some of the buns later. I need to... uh, finish my weekly report still," Kal said. Technically, it was true. He'd already sent last week's report and while today was a refreshing and rather slow Monday, he can still 'finish' bits of it.

"Yeah, I' sure. Thanks," Kal said, hoping as best as he could that Rafael would stop being so nice. It wasn't unwelcome, of course. It's just that his gesture was going to put Kal in a very awkward position, one that he wanted to avoid so badly. When Kalvin heard his boss's request, he nodded. "Sure, I will in a moment," he promised.

When he was sure Rafael had gone, he sighed and buried his head in his arms on the table. Honestly, what had he been thinking? Of course, people were going to notice. He should've just called in sick today. But he couldn't risk being a day absent. It would be unfair to his boss. Plus, the office was supposed to be buzzing with activity today. He must've been wrong about a few things if he had incorrectly expected the workload to shift. If so, he still needed to understand better how things worked around here.

After an hour of doing menial tasks and dreading his delivery, Kal decided to just let it all go bare. He needed to come clean to Rafael at some point. Delaying the inevitable would only make things worse for him--probably; who knows? He'd also considered sending the copies via the network but wouldn't that be suspicious when paired with the behavior he showed earlier? And so, after he took a deep breath and a painful few seconds longer to stand, Kal made his way to Rafael's office sans cap. He knocked on the door twice before he stepped in and placed the files on Rafael's desk. "Here are the copies for the new property in Peru," he said, giving the man a small smile through his injuries.

"What, no. Not at all," Kalvin said. He gave a small, nervous chuckle. Then he looked around, unable to really meet Rafael's gaze. "I, uh... I don't..." he licked his lips then just took a breath. "I'm... I'm not... Oh, man. I'm going to get fired, aren't I?"

He really didn't know what to say. He was at a loss for words. The pep talk and mental preparation he'd given himself for the past hour took a backseat the moment Rafael's gaze fell on him. In fact, his reaction was almost funny, if only it wouldn't mean dire consequences for Kalvin. "I... Can I speak to you in private?" Kal decided to ask first, pointing his thumb to the open door to Rafael's office.