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starsscarmyceiling · 2 years

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Hold up what’s this now?? OMFG not only is it an actual update, but we have another POVVVV, hey!!! BUT, WHAT??? It’s not a Ben POV! Go and read the new chapter (chapter 27), and find out who it is!!! 😏 😏 😏

If there was one thing her mother reminded her of way too many times ever since she got this job is that she didn’t pull herself out of the depths of Van Nuys for this shit.

She knew that being a paralegal was going to be more or less ‘bitch work,’ but she didn’t think that it would also involve being degraded on a daily basis.

Her boss, Benjamin Solo, for lack of a better term, is the biggest asshole in all of Los Angeles.

When Daniella first got this interview at this astounding law firm after graduating from college, she didn’t even care that there must have been a catch. Between a lack of funds and studying for the LSAT, she was desperate for any job, let alone one with such amazing connections and a possible future position after graduating from law school. Whatever endeavors she would have to undergo, she would do it.

She was now standing in the elevator, willing for it to somehow go faster. And certainly, her phone must have been wrong. It was 8:58.

Fuck she was almost late. There was no way this was happening. Traffic on the 10 was atrocious because there were several people clearly wanting to make her life a living hell by getting into car accidents. She tapped her foot impatiently.

“Come onnn,” she insisted to the elevator, “I don’t have time for this shit.”

Daniella was carrying hers, Marisol’s, and Mr. Solo’s coffee in a cardboard carrier. It was kind of ridiculous that she and the baristas had an inside joke about his coffee having to be the exact right temperature. They always tried to accommodate his stupid, over the top order as best they could; they were truly miracle workers.

Was this the longest elevator of all time? Ben always expected his coffee at nine o’clock on the dot. And if he didn’t? Well, at this point she didn’t want to know. Up until this point, Daniella had never been late before.

The doors rang and she let out a breath she’d been holding. Daniella sprinted into the lobby where Marisol was at the front desk.

“You betta hurry up girl!” Marisol shouted after Daniella practically threw her coffee at her.

“Shut uuuup!” Daniella shouted back.

By the time she was rounding the corner to Mr. Solo’s office, she felt like she was nearly going to pass out. She was trying not to wheeze everywhere as she tried to catch her breath and not completely crowd into her boss’ office.

“Here’s your coffee Mr—”

“I thought,” Mr. Solo’s deep voice interrupted, “you wanted to be a professional Miss Guerrero.”

Her eyes jumped to his clock on the wall. It was 9:01. Fuck.

“I do—of course I do.” She defended, placing his coffee gently on his desk.

“Then I expect,” he said, picking up the cup, “you to be on time.”

“I,” she started, her heart sinking, “I’m sorry Mr. Solo. Traffic was awful—”

“We all have to deal with traffic Daniella. This is Los Angeles after all.”

Daniella gave herself a moment to breathe in and out. Ben had barely even bothered to look up at her anyway.

But before she could say anything, he continued, “I need you to understand how important punctuality is. Now it may be one minute, but next it will be five, and then it will be fifteen.”

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Mr. Solo began drinking his coffee, and from the grimace on his face, it was probably two degrees too cold or something stupidly high maintenance like that.

“I can heat it up if you want.” She offered.

“It’s fine.” He said curtly.

“Okay,” she responded before exhaling, feeling like her heart was now in her shoes, “I promise it won’t happen again Mr. Solo.”

“See that it doesn’t,” he concluded. She nodded at him and turned to leave.

“Make sure you finish looking over that Burton deposition.” Mr. Solo said behind her.

Daniella briefly turned back and nodded again, “I’ll have it to you at the end of the day.”

“It will have to be sooner than that,” he admitted, “we just picked up two more cases.”

Now her heart sank all the way down to the first floor. Daniella was going to ask if she could leave early today, and for her, leaving early was actually leaving on time when everyone else did. There was no way she was going to be able to do that now.

“Of course Mr. Solo,” she said, “I will get started on those right away.”

All he did in response was make some sort of grunting noise. She thought she at least deserved the respect of at least a full word, but she wasn’t going to complain about getting out of his office as soon as possible.

When she finally crossed into her own office that she shared with the other paralegals at the firm, she was thankful to find it was empty.

Now she had to call her brother Luis, who hopefully was up to go to class now. It was their abuela’s birthday, and she was definitely going to be late.

Daniella closed the door and pulled out her phone. The phone rang a few times before he picked up.

“Why the fuck are you calling me so early?” Her brother’s voice lamented on the other end.

“Good morning to you too,” she greeted, “don’t you have to be up for class anyway?”

Luis grunted, “Yes, but that wasn’t for another ten minutes.”

“So sorry princesa.”

Daniella supposed that she could have waited until later in the day to call him, but she felt like she needed to hear a friendly voice, even if it was her cranky younger brother.

“What do you want?” He asked.

She sighed, hoping this wouldn’t be too much of a blow, “I need you to tell mom I’m going to be late today.”

He was in the middle of a yawn that turned into another grunt, “Are you serious Dani? You can’t be late! Mom will kill you!”

“I know, I know, but we just picked up two other cases—”

“Don’t tell me that this has to do with fucking Ass Hole, Esquire here.”

Even at the mention of the little nickname that she, Luis, Marisol, practically everyone called him, Daniella checked out of the blinds of her office just to make sure he wouldn’t catch her making a personal call.

“Yes, Asshole at Law has struck again.” She alleged sardonically.

Luis sighed heavily, “Look I know that guy rides you, but you cannot be late to abuelita’s birthday! You already missed Sophie’s entire birthday last month.”

Missing their little sister’s birthday was something she was never, ever going to live down, and Daniella will never forget the look on Sophia’s face when she showed up after the cake was already gone.

“I know okay—”

“I think you need to stand up for yourself alright. You can’t just let him treat you like you don’t matter—”

“I know Luis! You really don’t have to remind me, okay?! I already got my ass chewed out for being one minute late with coffee that was two degrees cold so I don’t need it from you too!”

It was a few moments before Luis responded.

“Damn, this gingo’s really got you wildin’ don’t he?”

“Luis, don’t do this. You know what this job means to me.”

“No, but really Dani! This guy has got you running around Los Angeles like some kind of lowly errand girl as if you don’t even have a college degree at all.” Luis argued.

“What do you want me to do about it huh? Quit?”

“Well, yeah.”

Daniella sighed, collapsing into her chair, “You know I can’t do that. The connections here alone—”

“Yes, yes I’ve heard it a million times.”

Neither of them said anything for a couple of seconds and Daniella felt like crawling under her desk for the rest of the day.

“You know it’s just because we all want better for you Dani.” Luis offered.

“I know,” Daniella sighed, “I know.”

“I’m sorry…I do know how much this job means to you.”

Daniella started picking at a hangnail in this low moment, but she couldn’t deny how validating it felt to hear Luis say something like that, “Thank you.”

Luis sighed, “Alright, look. I gotta get ready for class, but don’t worry about mom.”

If Luis were in this room right now for some reason, she would crush him with a hug, “Thank you so much Luis. I really owe you one.”

“Yeah you do,” he agreed, “ma’s gonna kick my ass just for telling her.”

“And that’s why I love youuuu!”

She would make it up to her grandma. She’d go over to her house this weekend or something.

“Alright, alright. Love you too pendeja.”

They exchanged goodbyes and hung up. Daniella then booted up her computer and felt like maybe she could face the rest of this day.

And the rest of it went by in a blur as she frantically ate a protein bar at her desk instead of taking her lunch. To her complete shock after all of the emails and regular mail she had to get out, she finished only a little after five.

At this moment, she could be a pushover and just keep working, getting started on tomorrow’s work, or she could actually think of herself for once.

She was walking to Mr. Solo’s office in a stride before she could stop herself.

When she arrived at his open doorway, she knocked at the frame and hoped he was in a more forgiving disposition than he was this morning.

He was sitting at his desk, grasping at his phone in what looked like deep contemplation and didn’t appear to have noticed her presence, so she unfortunately had to clear her throat.

His eyes darted up to her, “What is it?”

“Um,” she began horribly and unprofessionally as she shifted her stance, “well Mr. Solo I was wondering since I finished all of my work for the day if I could leave a little earlier than usual…it’s my grandma’s birthday you see and—”

“Yes, fine.” He interrupted, his fierce gaze back on his screen.

Daniella wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it for certain wasn’t what she set out to achieve still for some reason. She blinked a couple of times before she could even comprehend that he just dismissed her like that so easily.

“Oh well, thank you Mr. Solo, I really appreciate it. I—will see you tomorrow…at nine o clock of course.” She rambled, internally cringing at herself.

All he did was grunt in some sort of confirmation, but she wasn’t going to question it and hightailed it out of there, ecstatic that she was able to call Luis with the news that she wasn’t going to be nearly as late as she thought she was going to be.

...

Daniella felt like she had been staring at her computer screen for hours. She checked the time, and it was well past time for dinner.

Of all days, she supposed today wasn’t so bad when compared to others. Mr. Solo didn’t seem like he was in that bad of a mood; she overheard him in the hallway tell another lawyer that she was doing satisfactory work, so she was going to take that as a compliment coming from him.

Most of the time, and this was kind of a trend over the last few weeks, it just seemed like he wanted to be left alone, which was absolutely fine with her.

Marisol and everyone else had already left the firm hours ago, and Daniella felt her stomach rumble. When was the last time she even ate? Did she even eat today? Normally she and Marisol ate together but she didn’t even have any memories of it. She pulled out her phone and saw that the receptionist had texted her and asked her if she wanted to go out for drinks with her. Daniella responded but she was ashamed that she was still at the office.

Marisol: Girl don’t tell me you’re still at the office. It’s Friday night!

Great. She’d already been caught.

Daniella: You know Ass Hole, Esq. loves to imprison me here.

Marisol: Maybe he has a thing for you.

Daniella felt herself practically gagging.

The sad part was, at the surface, Benjamin Solo was a pretty attractive man. If she ever saw him on the street, she would probably mistake him for a bodybuilder or something and never would think he would defend people in court for a living, but Daniella could never find the opportunity to really think about it too much because he was just such a horrible person to her.

Daniella: Omg you just made me gag. Don’t joke about that.

Marisol: Heyyy, a little office romance with the boss? Maybe that way he’d go easier on you.

Marisol: …or not

Daniella actually shivered at that, but not in a good way. Because of this job, she honestly didn’t have time to date and now she didn’t even remember the last time she got any action.

Was that sad? Yeah that was sad.

Daniella: I am never speaking to you again.

Marisol: Aw, don’t be like that!

Marisol: Okay look, I am going to check on you in couple of hours and if you’re STILL there, I am going to march my ass over there and drag you out to the bar, got it?

Daniella laughed at her friend’s sentiment. Thank god for Marisol because without her, Daniella would have lost her mind so long ago.

Daniella: Okay deal.

Marisol: Don’t let Mr. Solo ride you too hard!

Daniella: Would you stop??

She rolled her eyes and got back to the follow up emails she was sending to their clients. Daniella had come so close to quitting again yesterday when she’d been yelled at for using the wrong font.

When her stomach grumbled again in the next half an hour, she relented to her hunger and decided that they were going to have to order dinner.

That wasn’t an all too uncommon happenstance, and whenever she would ask Mr. Solo if he wanted anything, he often grunted that he had leftovers or said he didn’t care what she decided upon.

Guess he wasn’t too picky with his food.

She readied herself and stood up, making her way across the office to see if Ben wanted to be included. On the way, she started looking up places on her phone, feeling like Tai sounded good to her at the moment, not realizing that she was already at his door, which was open.

It sounded like he was on the phone with someone. He was speaking in a tone she’d heard too many times herself, so she could tell he was frustrated.

“Because I told you this already. I just don’t want to fight with you about this anymore Bazine!”

As his words began rising more and more in both irritation and volume, Daniella all at once felt like her feet were glued to the floor.

“Are you—are you fucking kidding me—that has nothing to do with—”

The blinds of his walled window were open, and through it, she could see his back facing her as he ran a hand through his hair. His jacket was off and it looked like his whole body was tense.

“I about to be very done with this conversation—would you just,” Mr. Solo yelled before he continued a few seconds later, “fine!”

As he let out a frustrated grunt, he ripped the phone away from his ear and pressed at the screen to presumably end the call. He then threw the device on his desk.

The clash brought her back to reality, and she realized that this was probably the last place she should be. As gently as she could, she began to move in the other direction, but Mr. Solo unfortunately took that moment to turn around and meet her right in the eyes.

His stare was fierce, which again, she knew well, but this one felt…different somehow. There was something else in it that she couldn’t place.

Daniella was already on the defense as she braced herself for his wrath, but to her utter shock, the anticipated shrieking and aggression towards her to vacate the premises in what was supposed to be this private moment—even if he was the one to leave his door open and shouting at a decibel loud enough for the entire building to be in on the spat.

As the seconds ticked by, Daniella felt like her eyeballs might just fall out of her head because neither of them was looking away.

Oh my god she should say something, shouldn’t she? She no doubt needed to apologize because he was probably thinking of a myriad of ways that he could fire her, and she could not let that happen.

“I—” she started, already finding that she wanted to perish because of this interaction, “I am so sorry Mr. Solo. I was coming by to see if you wanted me to order something for dinner and I—”

Daniella had…nothing else to say she horrendously apprehended, and she didn’t even know what she could say besides ‘Please don’t fire me take mercy on me scary lawyer man!’

And in some alternate universe, all Mr. Solo did was sigh before he walked over and sat on the couch that was in his office. He hung his head low with his eyes resolutely on the ground.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” He said quietly.

His cadence was unlike anything Daniella had ever heard from him. And she finally understood what it was that was in his stare that she couldn’t place.

It was defeat.

Before her was a man that was at the end of some kind of rope and was entirely defeated and…she had no idea what she should do.

“Oh—it’s okay Mr. Solo. I am sorry for infringing upon your privacy like this. I will—I guess I’ll just—”

“Have you ever been with someone who is utterly incapable of understanding you?” Mr. Solo asked, completely cutting off her anxiety ridden apology.

Daniella blinked a couple of times, not knowing what universe she apparently had stumbled into because there was absolutely no way Benjamin Solo had just asked her that question.

“Um—uh,” she began unthinkingly, recalling her last actual relationship that had ended well over a year ago, “I mean, yeah. My ex—he and I broke up for basically that exact reason.”

Ben looked up at her, “Really?”

What the fuck was happening here?

“Yeah…he sort of wanted to stay in the same place, and he didn’t understand that I wanted more with my life when I was graduating college.” Daniella explained.

“Oh well,” Mr. Solo responded, “that sounds like it worked out for the best then. You deserve to be with someone with similar aspirations.”

I’m sorry what?

“T-thank you Mr. Solo,” she stammered. It was a few moments before she could even fathom to ask her next question, “Are you…with someone like that now?”

Mr. Solo let out a humorless chuckle, “You could say that. She and I…don’t see eye to eye on anything. I feel like all we do is argue.”

Daniella bit at her lip and shifted her weight on her other foot, “Then why are you with her?”

His gaze was downwards again, and his words sounded even more defeated than they were before, “I…don’t know anymore.”

How in the world was she actually feeling bad for Ass Hole, Esquire?

“I uh—I was going to order some Tai for dinner…did you want me to get some for you too?”

Mr. Solo’s distressed brown eyes were on her again, and he nodded.

“Yeah, okay. That sounds nice.”

And that is how Daniella somehow found herself here, in the breakroom eating pad thai and talking to Benjamin Solo about his relationship problems.

Also nothing in her life made any sense anymore.

Starting out the meal felt unsurprisingly awkward when she called him from his office to let him know that the food had arrived. For a few moments, Daniella thought Mr. Solo was just going to get his food and leave like he normally did, but then he just sat down at the table and stared at his food with that same expression of defeat.

And Daniella very well could have taken her food to her own office, but she knew her little caring bitch heart was wrenching at the sight of such a normally put together man looking so—well, honestly so sad and pathetic.

Up until now Daniella wasn’t even sure he had any feelings beyond anger, irritation, and disappointment because even when she did a satisfactory job, it went completely ignored. She knew when he heard from him that there was something wrong like… ‘Oh Miss Guerrero, this shade of post-it note you used is downright offensive! Didn’t you know I was having a vendetta against the world, you, and lime green today?’

And she thought, what possessed her to sit down and join him was for once seeing another side of him. Like, he actually could be a human being.

The conversation was slow as she told him how she was finishing up her tasks, to which he would just respond with a hum or a short sentence, but Daniella obviously didn’t want to talk about work when there was a much more pressing issue at hand.

“You know Mr. Solo, I hope I’m not overstepping my place, but…you can talk to me about it if you want,” she said boldly. She’d always been a sort of straight forward person like that, and she was going to seize this opportunity for all it was worth.

Mr. Solo’s response was a bit unexpected because he could have totally burst out at her and told her how unprofessional she was being—this was after all the same man that berated her for being one minute late a few weeks ago—but then she just felt like she may have been seeing things as his mouth upturned into the slightest smile.

He had the capability? Who knew.

“I suppose I wouldn’t normally condone such an interaction with my employee, but seeing as I already broke that professionalism tonight by arguing over the phone with the door wide open, and…” he trailed off, his eyes glued to his beef and broccoli, which he was barely picking at before he sighed, “I’m just—I—”

He didn’t say anything again, and after a few silent instances, Daniella almost felt like telling him not to worry about it.

But then he was putting down his chopsticks and rubbing a hand over his face while he sat back in his seat, “I’m so tired.”

And his words felt so heavy that they were even weighing her down. It felt like he was referring to so much more than what a taxing relationship he might have been dealing with, but Daniella thought with such amazing progress that this had to be baby steps.

“How long have you guys been together?” She asked gently before she took a bite of her noodles.

“Uh…” he began, sitting up in his chair once more, and Daniella realized that she hadn’t even seen him slouch before, “well, we dated before while we were in law school together. And then we sort of rekindled things a few months ago after we saw each other again in professional circles.”

“I see,” Daniella concluded, feeling like that made complete sense as he’s been such a douche in that timeline, “could you say anything positive about her? I guess I’m just trying to understand what you’re clinging onto it if you haven’t been together all that long.”

Mr. Solo’s eyebrow’s furrowed as he finally took a bite of his food, clearly needing to chew on his thoughts as well, “I always liked her determination. She’s very intelligent, and she is an excellent lawyer.”

Daniella tried not to snort at his response, but a small one came out, and his sudden stare at her still had her paranoid that this conversation was going to go south at any moment.

“I’m sorry,” she spat out, “I didn’t mean to seem snotty, and that’s all great, but…I guess I just didn’t realize you were talking about an esteemed coworker instead of a girlfriend.”

Ben opened his mouth to say something, but it must have died on his throat because then he grunted, “Fuck, that’s exactly what I’m doing isn’t it? That’s how I’m treating this relationship aren’t I?”

Daniella let out a sigh of relief, “From what little you’ve told me, that’s certainly what it sounds like,” she concluded, hoping her next statement wasn’t going too far, “I mean what sorts of things do you even like to do together?”

And she was under the assumption that he must have had other hobbies than being an asshole and an excellent lawyer himself.

His eyes were on his food again, and he seemed lost in his head again before he shrugged his shoulders, “Fuck I can’t think of a single goddamned thing.”

His tone didn’t actually sound so defeated this time, however.

“Okay yeah that doesn’t really bode well,” Daniella concluded, “you gotta be able to at least do that with your significant other. Like…uh…I don’t know going to the movies, cooking with each other, playing sports, or fuck I don’t know—white people shit like horseback riding or something.”

Ben had a dry chuckle at that and shook his head.

“Being silly together, you know? That’s the important shit right there.” Daniella added.

Silence enveloped them for a few moments, and she didn’t know whether or not she should keep blathering on or not until he started speaking.

“Having coffee in the morning, playing video games together, or working out, or…binging shows together.”

Daniella blinked, still with her guard up, but having such astoundment towards the man across the table from her, “Yeah, exactly…you—get to really be yourself.”

Ben nodded, picking around at his food again and sighed, “Right.”

Daniella bit at her lip and she didn’t know if she should be disappointed in herself because she was certain that she did feel bad for Benjamin Solo, Mr. Ass Hole, Esq himself.

“You can’t really be yourself with her, can you?”

No words came out as she shook his head in seeming shame towards the ground.

Daniella knew what she wanted to say, and perhaps she would—and hopefully could feel more comfortable one day to say ‘well dump that beez because maybe that will put you in a better mood and that will be better for all of us,’ but she was still feeling out her limits with this whole entirely foreign and unexpected interaction.

“Then that’s something to think about, isn’t it Mr. Solo?”

Ben sighed, nodding his head and finally looked up at her again, “I suppose it is.”

Before Daniella could think of a response that was still on the more respectful side, her phone lit up on the table with a phone call. Both their eyes gravitated towards it to find that it was Marisol, checking on her as promised.

“Oh, sorry,” Daniella grabbed the phone, “that’s Mari…she’s just—she wanted to check on me.”

As soon as she said it, Daniella realized that she did not need to divulge this information whatsoever, but this whole conversation was sending her still and she wasn’t exactly in her rightest of minds.

“It’s fine,” Ben said, sitting up straighter again, “go ahead and take it.”

Daniella nodded, about to stand and do just that, not knowing how she was going to explain any of this while she was still in the office, but then Ben spoke again.

“In fact, it’s late. You could probably get going. Sounds like you were almost done anyway, so I can finish up things here,” Ben offered.

Alright having some sort of relationship talk with her boss was one thing, but this?

“R-really? Thank you Mr. Solo! Are you sure?” Daniella asked praying this wasn’t some sort of trick.

Ben nodded, “Yeah, go ahead.”

“Alright, well…I guess I’ll see you Monday then. Have a—good rest of your night.” She said as she stood up and walked towards the door.

She was almost over the threshold when he called out to her again.

“Daniella.” He said, and she turned, breathing in as a precaution still and bracing herself for the worst.

“Thank you—for listening. This is a—bit of a low moment for me, so I…appreciate it.” Ben stated.

“Oh,” Daniella started out of surprise yet again, “of course, Mr. Solo. I—you’re welcome.”

They nodded to one another one more time, and by the time Daniella was out of the office and officially in that damned elevator, Marisol was calling her again. She answered this time.

“Girl, brace yourself because I have no idea how to even start with this one.”

...

“And then he had the nerve to tell me that I am out of touch?” Payam complained, “As if grinding your own coffee beans makes you the expert on everything.”

“Psh, whatever you don’t need that fool!” Marisol exclaimed, forking into her salad.

Payam scoffed, “I know. Just see if I answer the next time he calls at two in the morning.”

Daniella raised an eyebrow at him as she chewed her wrap, “You’re gonna, aren’t you?”

Shrugging a shoulder, Payam also gave her a dubious expression, “I mean who’s to say Dani?”

Before she could respond with some other sort of quip, Ben slammed through the door of the breakroom with an air of moroseness that always seemed to follow him. He slumped himself in the chair across the table from Daniella. It was a few seconds before anyone said anything.

“Is there something you want to share with the class Benjamin?” Marisol asked.

In response, Ben grunted and slammed his elbows on the table as he threw his hands in his face. A long groan emitted from him.

“Geez, what happened? You get back together with Bazine or something?” Marisol asked as she forked some greens from her salad.

His face erupted from his hands, befuddlement all over his features, “What? I—no. Absolutely not.”

Marisol chuckled a bit before she took another bite, “Chill there Mr. S. It was a joke…mostly. I think the three of us would have to dangle you over the side of the building by your ankles until you came to your senses if you did.”

Payam snorted, “Like the three of us could come even close to lifting the densest lawyer of all time.”

The receptionist defended herself, claiming that she’d been working out her arms, and Daniella noticed how Ben seemed to tune them out and sink into his chair even more.

“Okay, we are getting off topic,” she intervened, hoping Ben would look back up at her, “what’s really wrong Ben?”

Slowly, he worked himself back up into his chair and sighed, eyes meeting with the table, “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“From the beginning, duh.” Marisol quipped, and Daniella gave her a slightly pointed expression.

Marisol shook her head, “Sorry, I mean—wherever you feel comfortable.”

It seemed like Ben was at extreme war with himself, adjusting in his seat and opening and closing his mouth a few times.

“Oh, this is totally still about a lady, isn’t it?” Payam asked, “I know that look of anxiety.”

Ben grunted out in response again and placed his head on the table.

“Aww, come on Ben,” Daniella insisted, “you can tell us about your lady problems. It’s not like you haven’t before.”

For a few instances, Ben just stayed still, but then, eventually he sighed and sat up, speaking very softly, “I know, I know, but…this lady…she’s different.”

“They always are,” Marisol stated, “what’s so special about her?”

Ben started to trace his finger over the tabletop in imaginary shapes and he grinned slightly, “She’s…she is unbelievably chaotic, but she is determined and hardworking, and I don’t think she’s ever really cooked a proper meal for herself,” Ben explained, which gave Daniella the sneaking suspicion that he probably really wanted to cook for her, and that was sweet.

Before she could ask more about her, Ben continued in a more somber tone, “And she’s—she’s so many things that I’m not…and she’s been there for me when I didn’t even know how to ask for help.”

Daniella didn’t realize that this was going to get so serious so quickly, so she gave Ben a few moments to adjust and approached the topic gently, “So who is she?”

For some reason, Ben appeared to be surprised to be asked this question, even though it seemed like typical protocol, “Oh, well…she’s my neighbor.”

“Okay, well isn’t that perfect! Just go over to her and tell her you think she’s got it goin’ on.” Marisol encouraged.

Daniella almost wanted to laugh, thinking that is a compliment that Ben would never dole out, but her friend had a point, “Yeah, she’s like, right there isn’t she?”

Now it looked as if Ben was going to be sick, or he was extremely flustered, “Yeah, so…that’s kind of the thing.”

“What’s the thing?” Marisol asked after a couple of seconds.

“I uh, well…” Ben started, still not meeting any of their eyes, “I haven’t really…spoken to her before. Or—I kind of just did, but I—I think I just messed it all up.”

And a few impossibly baffling moments passed before Payam spoke up, “Okay Benjamin, the tea. You need to spill it.”

If someone were to tell Daniella a couple of months ago that not only was her boss—Esquire Ass Hole himself—was not only going to become a human being right before her very eyes, but then he was going to proceed to engage in one of the most insane emotionally charged interactions with a woman he’s never actually even had a conversation with, she would positively tell that person that they needed to have the biggest reality check of all time.

At first, it was a bit funny, hearing about how this woman lived across the street from him and they had all of these interests in common and they clearly wanted to bang, but then…it started to hit different, and it seemed to align with when Ben’s life started to fall apart a little bit with the break up and his dog getting run over.

Was he for real? Who does something like this? This was literally insane.

“Wait wait wait wait—” Daniella interjected, “she brought you cupcakes and you just say nothing to her?”

Ben looked like he wanted to vibrate out of his skin, “I might have frozen up in the moment.”

“And…her blinds are still closed?” Payam inquired.

“As of this morning they were, yeah.”

“Benjamin! What are you doing you need to get your ass over there now!” Marisol insisted.

It dawned on Daniella that Ben really did seem like he needed to at least find the humor in this situation because it truly was ridiculous, and maybe that way he could feel better about it.

“Because Mari, can’t you tell? He’s too nervous to go over to his obviously mutual crush and tell her he likes her.” Daniella teased, still in a bit of disbelief that she even just uttered that sentence about Ben Solo.

“Oh, this is so fun it’s like we’re in elementary school,” Payam added, and then his eyes widened, “oh! The three of us could do it, would you like that?”

She was thankful Payam was picking up what she was putting down, and she did not doubt that Marisol would add to their repartee as well.

And Ben seemed perplexed in his answer, but Marisol did end up interjecting over it.

“Yeah!” She exclaimed, adjusting in her seat, “Can you imagine? We just like saunter over there and be like ‘Yo girl, forget the cupcakes and go get yo mans from across the street!’”

“I’m sorry, is any of this supposed to be helpful?” Ben asked in betwixt their reactions.

“Do you think she’s like, going over to his place now to drop off even more cupcakes, and leaves them with a note like ‘Lol whoops.’” Payam joked.

Daniella and Marisol both laughed, and Daniella had to stop herself before she could keep talking, “Oh my god what if they go their whole relationship only communicating through various baked goods?”

Marisol pointed to her and nodded with a huge grin, “It’s gonna get a little awkward when they out here having to sext with like an éclair and a donut.”

All three of them lost it and started in hysterics again. Daniella thankfully noticed that even Ben joined in over their antics a bit.

“They for sure are going to have to have these cupcakes at their wedding.” Payam added amid their amusement.

“Totally, and I would have to give a speech like I was there when Ben didn’t have the cojones to go talk to her and just left a phallic maple bar as a come on at her doorstep.” Marisol insisted.

“Okay, okay guys, Jesus,” Ben expressed, but with a lightness to his voice he did not have before, “let’s take one thing at a time here.”

“See, going to talk to her doesn’t seem so bad in comparison to a strawberry and red velvet flavored proposal, now does it?” Marisol quipped.

“No,” Ben said with a sly smile, “no it doesn’t.”

Soon enough, however, that morose expression was back and he learned on his hand, “I just really really don’t want to mess this up.”

When Daniella was honest with herself, all jokes aside, she was fully aware that she was absolutely no relationship expert, so she didn’t even know if she was in any position to be giving advice.

“You’re not gonna mess it up more than you already have, let’s be honest here,” Payam expertly pointed out, “so what do you really have to lose?”

“Well, a semi functioning neighborly relationship, and…her,” Ben explained, sounding more and more downtrodden with every word, “I know it sounds almost silly, ridiculous even, but I just—I—”

He stopped himself. It looked like he wanted legitimately needed to be held by his ankles over the building.

“Awww, honey…I honestly think you’re going to be fine,” Marisol offered, “you want the rest of my salad?”

Ben didn’t say anything for a few moments.

“What kind of salad?”

When he seemed approving of her fancy sounding goat cheese concoction, Daniella also wanted to be encouraging, “The set up of all of this is just too crazy for it not to work out.”

“Yeah, this is highkey like the beginning of a rom com or something.” Payam added.

Ben chewed at his gifted salad, “You guys really think so?”

All of them looked at each other incredulously before answering at the same time, “Yes!”

There wasn’t much left of their lunch break left, so the conversation briefly shifted to what else needed to get done that day, and before Daniella knew it, they were all standing up to proceed with their allotted responsibilities.

“Oh and…thank you guys, for cheering me up and all that.” Ben said to them.

Daniella briefly chuckled, “We all knew there had to be a big softie in there somewhere.”

...

A/N: Weren’t expecting THAT now were you?? Teehee I had so much fun writing this, so I hope you guys enjoyed.

Lol I realized this and I have no idea why but between this and my other fic I have a lot of pastry based humor and as a means of sexual tension. Like???? Who has a pattern like that idk maybe I should have become a baker. What a sexually charged bakery that would be. I mean be on the look out for a sexy bakery in good old La La Land you never know. Also get a load of this asshole esq over here, jeeez.

aaifuawiufawo I love you guys so much, thank you endlessly and eternally for reading!

#who is she #honestly i am just proud of myself for finally getting this done #i just love writing just a straight up other chapter to go along with the new chapter #what can i say #happy reading!#pov challenge #fanfic #my fanfic #ktbo #ktbo pov

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Friday, July 9, 2021

Climate crisis ‘may put 8bn at risk of malaria and dengue’ (Guardian) More than 8 billion people could be at risk of malaria and dengue fever by 2080 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise unabated, a new study says. Malaria and dengue fever will spread to reach billions of people, according to new projections. Researchers predict that up to 4.7 billion more people could be threatened by the world’s two most prominent mosquito-borne diseases, compared with 1970-99 figures. The figures are based on projections of a population growth of about 4.5 billion over the same period, and a temperature rise of about 3.7C by 2100. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal, found that if emission levels continue to rise at current rates, the effect on global temperatures could lengthen transmission seasons by more than a month for malaria and four months for dengue over the next 50 years.

Slow trickle of rental aid heightens concern about eviction crisis (Washington Post) The White House, along with state and local governments, is under growing pressure to significantly ramp up the amount of emergency rental relief reaching tenants and landlords, as some economists and housing advocates say the Biden administration’s attention to the eviction crisis is coming too late. Weeks before an eviction moratorium put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expires on July 31, much of the federal aid meant to help tenants and landlords has not reached them. Many are not even aware that the assistance is available, or they continue to struggle with onerous and complicated application rules. Some programs run by state and local governments took months to get up and running. All told, Congress has appropriated roughly $46 billion for emergency rental aid. Of the $25 billion appropriated in December, only $1.5 billion had been spent on rent, utilities and arrears between January and the end of May, according to figures released Friday by the Treasury Department.

In Atlanta, a glimpse of why ‘defund the police’ has faltered (CSM) Social justice activist Kelsea Bond spends a lot of time canvassing Atlanta’s highest-crime neighborhoods. Her mission: Convince residents that, if core social and economic inequities were resolved, crime would abate and the city wouldn’t need a police department. Less than a year ago, amid massive social justice protests across the United States, the idea of fundamentally reducing the role of police rose from nonstarter to distinct possibility. Atlanta came within one city council vote of cutting $72 million from its police department. Today, however, that momentum has almost completely reversed. Ms. Bond says there has been “a doubling down on policing, increasing surveillance, and building a massive training center, which is in such stark contrast to the conversation we were trying to begin over the summer. What happened? What changed?” The simple answer is crime. Like other cities, Atlanta has witnessed a new crime wave—bad enough that one affluent part of the city is considering secession. Yet in talking to residents across Atlanta, even those sympathetic to the defund movement now say it overreached. The way forward, many say, is not in getting rid of the police, but helping them do a better job. “‘Defund the police’ was a slogan that really backfired ... because across the country—not only in Atlanta—people living in those neighborhoods who aren’t necessarily activists don’t want the police gone, especially with crime spiking,” says Ron Bayor, a historian at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “What people do want is police reform.”

Tears, prayers mark end to search for Miami condo survivors (AP) A somber moment of silence marked the end of the two-week search for survivors of a Florida condominium collapse, as rescue workers stood at solemn attention and clergy members hugged a line of local officials while many of them sobbed. The painstaking search for survivors shifted to a recovery effort at midnight Wednesday after authorities said they had come to the agonizing conclusion that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside. “We have all asked God for a miracle, so the decision to transition from rescue to recovery is an extremely difficult one,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference. The death toll stood at 54 late Wednesday. Officials said 86 people were unaccounted for, although detectives were still working to verify that each of those listed as missing was actually in the building when it collapsed.

The office is back, but it might never be the same (Washington Post) Across the country, the leaders of corporate America have begun opening their doors again at companies such as Facebook, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, bringing the country’s white-collar workforce back to the skyscrapers, office parks and campuses that were long assumed to be the only way to corral them. But a lot has changed in the past year and a half, and offices have, too. The Washington Post spoke with a wide range of workers and companies that have begun bringing people back into their offices. Most workers described a strange office environment bearing little resemblance to the one they left behind—a world of complicated social interactions, lingering anxieties about masks and vaccinations, and simmering frustrations about inflexible work policies. Companies spoke about the challenge of getting a workforce that has grown accustomed to working from home fired up again about office culture. Only about one-third of workers—32 percent—are back in large office buildings, according to data from building security company Kastle Systems, although the numbers have been increasing in recent weeks.

World Food Programme starts distributing food in crisis-hit Venezuela (Reuters) The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday it had begun distributing school meals to children in Venezuela, where some 7 million people require humanitarian assistance after years of economic collapse in the once-prosperous OPEC nation. The WFP’s first take-home rations were distributed for children under 6 years old at some 277 schools and preschools, as well as school staff, in 25 municipalities in northwestern Falcon state, WFP said in a statement. Since Venezuela’s schools are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, parents or teachers picked up the monthly rations—which consist of 6 kg (13 pounds) of rice, 4 kg (9 pounds) of lentils, 454 grams (1 pound) of salt and one liter (2 pints) of vegetable oil—on their behalf, according to Susana Rico, the WFP’s Venezuela representative.

Japan PM Suga declares state of COVID-19 emergency in Tokyo (Reuters/Washington Post) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga formally declared on Thursday a state of emergency in Tokyo, putting restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus infections in place through August 22. Japan will bar spectators from all Olympic events held in and around Tokyo, organizers announced, as the state of emergency will cover the capital during the Games. Olympic organizers, working closely with the government, had announced two weeks ago that they would allow some domestic spectators to attend events. They capped attendance at 10,000, or 50 percent of a venue’s capacity, but warned at the time that they might change course if infections rose again.

Millions of Syrian civilians at grave risk if U.S., Russia fail to strike deal on U.N. aid deliveries (Washington Post) Parts of northern Syria will quickly face a massive and deadly humanitarian crisis if the U.N. Security Council fails this week to extend a resolution allowing the United Nations to deliver aid across the Turkish-Syrian border, according to relief workers, Syrian civilians and the Biden administration. The resolution, which allows the United Nations to coordinate aid shipments to Syria through only one border crossing, is set to expire Saturday. Millions of Syrians dependent on the U.N.-led relief effort would immediately be put at risk if it lapses, aid workers say. Russia has promised for nearly a year to veto any resolution allowing cross-border aid to continue, viewing its distribution to areas held by opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Moscow, as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty. The Biden administration favors expanding cross-border aid to Syria, and the debate over the resolution has emerged as a high-profile test of whether the United States and Russia, at a moment of escalating tensions, can identify issues on which to forge common ground.

Gaza reconstruction (Foreign Policy) The longer-term effects of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in May were made clearer in a joint report from the European Union, United Nations, and World Bank released on Wednesday. The report estimated overall damages of between $290-$380 million while economic losses totaled between $105-$190 million—roughly 6 percent of Gaza’s GDP. The authors estimated that Gaza’s unemployment rate would reach 50 percent in 2021—its highest since the early 1990s—and that its economy would shrink by 0.3 percent.

Fiery explosion erupts on ship at major global port in Dubai (AP) A fiery explosion erupted on a container ship anchored in Dubai at one of the world’s largest ports late Wednesday, authorities said, sending tremors across the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates. The blaze sent up giant orange flames from a vessel at the Jebel Ali Port, the busiest in the Middle East. Jebel Ali sits on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula and is also the busiest port of call for American warships outside the U.S. The combustion unleashed a shock wave through the city of Dubai, causing walls and windows to shake in neighborhoods as far as 25 kilometers (15 miles) away from the port. Residents filmed from their high-rises as a fiery ball illuminated the night sky. The blast was powerful enough to be seen from space by satellite. The extent of damage to the sprawling port and surrounding cargo was not immediately clear. Footage shared on social media of the aftermath showed charred containers, ashes and littered debris. Dubai authorities told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that the crew had evacuated in time and that the fire appeared to have started in one of the containers holding flammable material, without elaborating. The Jebel Ali Port at the northern end of Dubai is the largest man-made deep-water harbor in the world and serves cargo from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Asia. The port is not only a critical global cargo hub, but a lifeline for Dubai and surrounding emirates.

#headlines #news

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