Love Collector Ch. 13

Minor thing I forgot to have in 12, Oliver got 5 LP for getting Mia's number.

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Getting summoned to Tessa's office was always a nerve-racking experience for Oliver. Anyone who entered left a changed and broken man. Tessa had a way of ruining someone's day just by looking them in the eye, and that very fate had befallen him on more than one occasion. Oliver usually managed to avoid pissing her off enough that she would actually call him to her lair, but when it did, the results were never pretty.

Oliver tried to maintain an optimistic outlook while plunging straight into the dragon's den. Thanks to his new abilities, it didn't help that he knew the depths of her distaste for him. No matter how you sliced it, negative two hundred was abysmally low.

Even so, there was an opportunity here. Oliver still needed answers about how and why Tessa was registered as a heroine, and maybe he could gain a better understanding of her by playing it cool. The opposite was also true, however. He could screw up just as easily and deepen her hatred of him even further.

It sucked how that seemed like it was the most likely outcome, but Oliver knew what to expect after two years of working for Tessa Robinson.

He entered her office, instantly suffocated by the minimalist furniture and the cutting-edge modernity of it all. Tessa's taste in decor was as expensive as it was soulless, and there wasn't much that implied she had a life outside her work. The only things that stood out were a fancy business degree hanging on the wall behind her, a mini fridge in the corner, and a few framed photos on her desk that weren't visible to anyone besides Tessa herself.

Tessa was busying herself with some kind of paperwork when Oliver came in. She was no longer wearing her apron, having peeled it off to reveal the white polo she was wearing beneath it. The collar was undone to give her chest more room to breathe, but it would've needed many more buttons to undo if she wanted to air out those gargantuan burdens.

Being in Tessa's presence meant triggering her BGM, which gave the office a somber atmosphere that made him think it was much later than a little after five.

"Oliver," Tessa looked up from her work and sat her pen down. "There you are. Why don't you have a seat?"

More chilling words had never been spoken, but Oliver complied. "Sure thing. Everything going okay?"

After he did, she removed her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes. "Skip the small talk, kid. You're not in trouble."

"...I'm not?"

"Why would you be?" Tessa mused, then reached for a nearby cup of steaming hot coffee. She must've made this one with the stuff in her mini fridge because it had whipped cream and smelled much stronger than the coffee machines her employees had access to. "Have I missed something, and there's a reason you should be in trouble?"

"Not to my knowledge, no. I just don't really get called back here unless I am, so I was a little worried. What's this about, then? If you, um, don't mind me asking...?"

She maintained a blank expression and closed her eyes as if something in his statement annoyed her, but she was trying to be polite for once and not comment on it. "I saw the way you worked today, Oliver."

"Oh." A bead of sweat started trailing down his brow.

He didn't trust Tessa when she said he wasn't in trouble because this sounded an awful lot like the start of an inquisition. Mia said he'd worked like he was on meth the whole day, and his body sure as hell backed up that claim. He wondered if Tessa was going to ask for a drug test.

"Yes. If you only applied yourself like that more often, I'd never have reason to call you to my office."

Oliver thought he was starting to get what this was about, but it was so difficult to imagine that actually being the case that he was certain he had to have been mistaken. "I'm not really following along. Long day and all that... what exactly are you saying?"

"Are you dense?" Some of her restrained ire escaped as she shot him a look, but Tessa must've had a moment of self-awareness where she realized that a horse who'd only ever known the stick wouldn't recognize a carrot when one was being offered. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Don't answer. I didn't mean to say that. It just slipped... moving on, I'm saying you did a good job today."

Oliver stared at her for so long that it started to irritate Tessa, but again, she knew why he took it that way and could forgive the way he gaped like an idiot just this once.

"Are you serious?" He asked, trying and failing to hide his disbelief.

"Shockingly, yes," Tessa looked away as if it humiliated her to admit so. "I know I'm rather harsh on you, but this is the first time I've ever seen you put this much effort into your job in the two years you've had it. Far be it from me to not recognize that and give credit where it's due."

--- Tessa Gained 5 Affection! ---

Huh.

Oliver really didn't know how to feel about any of this. Choosing 'Work Hard' seemed like a choice between spending time with Mia or getting on Tessa's good side. He knew which of the two he preferred, and he had no intention of ever risking making Mia mad at him again, but it was still a valuable tidbit of information to tuck away in his pocket.

Still, it was funny to think it would only take thirty-nine more days of backbreaking labor to make Tessa's opinion of him a neutral one, and that was assuming he managed to avoid lowering her affection a single time during that stretch, which Oliver thought was outright laughable.

Another thing he could infer from her affection going up was the potential source of her distaste for him. If working hard raised her the meter, Tessa clearly considered him a slacker. Oliver didn't exactly like that notion. He would freely admit to just about any of his faults if pressed, but by no means did he consider laziness among them. If that was the only reason she didn't like him, then Oliver thought it made Tessa seem shallow and implied that she didn't care for people who didn't live up to her ridiculously high standards.

He hoped there was more to it because, as it was, this 'victory' felt hollow.

"Thanks, Tessa. It means a lot to hear you say that."

"Right, I'm sure..." Tessa grumbled. She didn't look like she was very good at this, but Oliver supposed he had to admit it meant that she was trying not to snap at him. "Look, I... damn it, don't make a big thing out of this, but I thought I'd show my appreciation in a way that actually mattered. I added a little extra to your daily pay- just this once. Not much, mind you, but hopefully enough to get the point across. It should already be in your account by now."

--- $220 Gained! ---

Alarm bells started ringing in Oliver's head, not about the extra hundred dollars, which was great, but about the other thing she'd just said.

"Wow, I... I don't really know what to say. One question, though. Daily pay? As in... I get paid daily?"

Tessa's ongoing effort to not be mean faced its greatest challenge yet, and he was met with the familiar stare that silently asked him if he was an idiot. "Did I stutter?"

Her words inspired terror, but Oliver didn't back down despite his anxious sweating. "No, not at all! I'm just making sure I understand."

"Why the hell would you need to understand the way I've been paying you for the last two years?" Her gaze picked up even more disdain from some deep reserve she had stashed away somewhere. "You're making me regret my kindness. I thought that maybe you worked your ass off today to prove something after I called you out this morning, but between the sweating, your spotty memory, and that frantic, pitiful look in your eyes that seem to suggest you don't know who you are or what you're doing here, well... all I'm saying is that you better be as clean as a whistle, boy. Give me another reason, and I'll whip out a bottle with your name on it."

Oliver was getting really tired of these accusations even though he couldn't fault Stacy, Mia, or even Tessa for thinking he was a junkie after the insanely out-of-character-day he'd just had. Or the day he just skipped, rather. That still hadn't settled in yet, and he was already being thrust into more strange discoveries about the subtle ways his life had changed compared to the previous day.

While Oliver still had no intention of lying, gaslighting, or making excuses, there was a bit more wiggle room when it came to Tessa. She was his boss, not his friend. It was in his immediate best interest to prove Tessa's suspicions were wrong, even if it meant using something against her that he otherwise wouldn't have.

There was a card he could play, a strong one that he really didn't want to pull on account of his pride, but it was an acceptable trade-off if it meant convincing her he wasn't on drugs.

"Tessa, I don't really want to have to remind you, but you were informed about my mental health history when you hired me. I'm pretty good about managing it these days, but just because you don't see me struggling doesn't mean I'm not."

Tessa suddenly got very quiet. That worried Oliver because he never spoke to her like this, but he had to bring it home.

"Which do you think is more likely? Me having a rough day where my memory is a little fuzzy, or me smoking crack?"

Her expression started to change. It softened, then harshened again, but not out of anger. It was something Oliver didn't expect to ever see on Tessa's face.

Shame.

"I'm... sorry, Oliver. You're right. I know this is a terrible excuse and that I shouldn't even be making any, but I really do forget that about you far more than I should. You seem so..." Tessa stopped herself from finishing that sentence, making things even worse for her, her near slip-up making her feel even worse.

"You can say 'normal'. I won't sue you for it.."

She let out a long sigh and shoved her face in her palm. "I'll try to be better in the future, so long as you do me a favor and forget everything I said. Watching you put in so much effort was a pleasant surprise, but I don't want you to feel pressured into working any harder than you already are. You are you and nobody else. I need to start remembering that."

"...I'm sorry?"

"If I meant for you to understand, I would've phrased it in a way you could. I was talking to myself." Tessa's eyes grew dull as she looked off to the side and drank more coffee. "You can go now. Enjoy the bonus however you like. Perhaps Mia might accompany you on a nice dinner if you asked?"

Oliver went from being confused to being embarrassed so fast that it gave him whiplash. "W-Where did that come from? Mia and I aren't, um..."

"No?" Tessa raised an eyebrow, but it didn't stay that way long. Whatever mild interest she had in the topic didn't hold. "Ah, well. That kind of thing is more hassle than it's worth, anyway. Easier to save yourself the trouble."

For the first time since he'd known her, Oliver felt pity for Tessa. He wasn't even sure where it came from. Though she was speaking casually just now, he thought he noticed something more to her words. It probably didn't help that her theme song was coloring their entire discussion, what with the whole 'we have Gymnopédie No.1 at home' impression it gave Oliver.

He didn't know what to say, so he rose from his seat and intended to take off. Something came to mind, and Tessa spoke up again, interrupting him before he could go. "Just a moment. While I've got you here, I figured I might ask when you next intended to show up."

It was a simple comment, but just like that, the alarm bells were ringing again. This time, however, Oliver experienced a flash of brilliance. He remembered how Mia said it's not like Tessa would be mad if he didn't show up. When coupled with the daily pay and his overall experience with the type of game his life now resembled, he was able to save some face by making a ridiculous assumption instead of asking for clarification again.

"Were there any days you wanted me?"

"You're free to show your face whenever your schedule allows, same as ever, but I obviously prefer you here on Tuesdays and Thursdays for truck duty if you can help it."

So he was right.

Wild.

Might as well test it, just to be sure.

"I was thinking of staying home tomorrow and coming back on Monday. Does that work for you?"

She looked at him funny, but it wasn't as mean as he was used to. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"...Just checking. Thanks for everything, Tessa. I'll see you then."

"Get some rest, Oliver. You did good today." Tessa looked as if she was trying to give him a polite smile as a send-off but hadn't done so much as grin in so long that it physically pained her to do so. It evidently did cause her discomfort as she suddenly raised her hand to comfort her upper lip. Her elbow knocked into her desk, sending one of her framed photographs tumbling off the edge.

"Shit- let me just-" Tessa scooted back in her leather chair, intending to get it herself, but Oliver beat her to it.

"It's cool, I've got... it?"

It wasn't like he specifically jumped at the chance to see what it was. Oliver was just being polite, and getting a glance at the photo was just a byproduct of his niceness. What he saw was a framed selfie of Tessa in bed with her hair down wearing pajamas. Nothing scandalous aside from the loose T-shirt revealing a lot of cleavage, but it still would've been something weird to keep on her desk if it weren't for the fifteen separate cats also present in the photograph.

Tessa wasn't smiling in it, but her eyes were. She looked like a completely different person. Hell, she looked so beautiful when she was happy that Oliver couldn't stop himself from blushing.

The Tessa that eagerly awaited him to return her picture was not happy.

Oliver gulped, meekly extending his hand while giving her an awkward smile. Saying something would make it worse, wouldn't it? But not saying something was just as weird, too...

"I... I didn't know you had any pets, Tessa."

Tessa snatched the photo away. "That's my sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

"Get out of my office, Oliver."

"Yes, ma'am."