#email notification using ms flow | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

katytheinspiredworkaholic · 4 years ago

Text

Correspondence, Chapter 04

Pairing: HotchReid

Summary: An AU where Reid never joined the FBI, but got roped into consulting for the LA field office while working and teaching at Caltech. Hotch gets his email referred from a fellow agent, and they start to work on cases together -- until they start talking on a regular basis. Regular becomes frequent, frequent becomes constant. They know nothing about each other, but they don't really mind.

Rating: Mature/Explicit (eventually)

Chapter CW/notes: Action-y in that there is offscreen violence and peril, injuries, talk of surgery and symptoms/effects of medical grade narcotics (morphine), more on that big ol’ age difference. Side notes: Agent Anderson of the L.A. field office has no relation to Agent Anderson of Quantico, VA, because Agent Anderson of the BAU is a national treasure. (I’m considering going back and renaming the OC, but as of right now this is the last we hear of him for a while). And I know no one really pays attention to them, but the time stamps on the texts match the time zone of the scene setting. Set in season 6, self beta’d.

Word Count: 8893

Masterpost Link

Ao3 Link

Chapter 04

Late September 2010

Spencer Reid wakes up to the early grey morning two weeks later, a perpetual haze shrouding his room long before his alarm was supposed to rouse him. He reaches blindly, blearing eyed and checks his phone for what feels like the hundredth time, only to find no messages waiting for him. A terrible, horrid feeling has been clawing at his chest and throat the longer it gets -- the more time that passes -- and he still hasn’t heard from Hotch.

They’ve been messaging each other near constantly for months now, and it only seemed to get more intense after that fateful talk at the beginning of September. Where Hotch finally revealed he’d thought Spencer was much older than him, and not the other way around. Spencer had set him straight, as much as he could, and even that had been nerve-wracking to say the least. The two men were crossing into a territory neither really wanted to put a label on, and Spencer was both afraid of it and excited by it. Of what it could mean, and how long it could last, but he’d thought he’d had time to figure out a solution to his inadvertent secrecy.

Then, Hotch began working a case in Delaware two days ago.

It seemed like a textbook unsub; maybe a little aggressive with anti-establishment overtones, but nothing they couldn’t handle. Nothing the BAU hasn’t seen before. They’d been closing in on the suspect, no location yet but some prospects that needed checking out, and the last Spencer had heard from Hotch…

It had been lunchtime for him, and midafternoon for the older man. The exchange hadn’t been anything of consequence, just their usual, easy correspondence. Hotch was going to check out that lead they’d spoken of, Spencer had a budget meeting as soon as he was done eating in the middle of his office hours, and they had a plan to play chess online that night. Hotch is still terrible at it, but he keeps coming back no matter how thoroughly Spencer wipes the floor with him. Now, sometimes they just forget about the game entirely after the first few minutes. It makes him smile each and every time, soft and fond and lighting a warmth inside him Spencer has… never felt before.

Then Hotch hadn’t messaged him the rest of the night.

Hadn’t shown up online to play chess.

Hadn’t texted him goodnight, or even sent him an update on the case.

Nothing in their conversations warranted such ostracization, and although Spencer has been ‘ghosted’ before (as his doctoral students would say) he knows Hotch would never do that. Not after everything, the history they’ve built the past months -- leaving nothing but the dread to sink in and spread like a stain.

All night, he imagines the worst.

By morning, he all but expects it.

[]9/22, 18:59[] Are you alright? Did something happen with the case?

[]9/22, 19:10[] If you were that scared of losing at chess, I can also beat you at online poker instead.

[]9/22, 19:30[] I’d suggest scrabble but that’s honestly not fair to you.

[]9/22, 21:55[] Hotch?

[]9/22, 22:30[] I’m assuming that lead panned out, and you caught your unsub and are neck deep in interrogation.

[]9/22, 22:36[] I don’t want to imagine anything else, so that’s what I will picture.

[]9/23, 00:06[] Hotch please answer me.

[]9/23, 05:32[] Please be okay.

Spencer arrives at Caltech looking a little more of a mess than usual. More than most are used to seeing him, at least, and it causes a few second glances from students he passes and other faculty -- but he really can’t find it in himself to care, this morning. His unruly curls, getting longer again, falling into his face and over his ears, are frizzy in their unkemptness. Bags under his eyes, normal, but he’s settled for glasses instead of his contacts. He has a spare pair in his desk, he’ll have to change them before class. His glasses somehow always make him look even younger. A mystery that boggles the mind, because once he had grown into his face a few years ago (around 26 or 27, close enough he had worried he would forever be cursed with a ‘baby face’) Spencer had thought he would finally be getting away from that.

And yet, square jaw and ‘grandpa’ glasses and thin frame towering just over six feet did nothing in the slightest to aid him. Certainly not stopping a man outside the campus coffee shop from shouting “Watch where you’re going, kid!” as he near barrels over him on the sidewalk. Not his sweater vest or half suits, attire straight out of a 1940’s noir film (he’d even sported a vintage inspired undercut with his waves combed over for a while there, too. Way too much upkeep, as nice as it looked). Nothing makes him any more grown up in the eyes of the unsuspecting world, than he’d been without his five doctorates and board of director’s seat. No matter what he tried, it seems.

This has been a subliminal thing for years, something Spencer always said didn’t bother him in the slightest. And for a long time he didn’t care one way or the other, he just kept getting more degrees. All his life Spencer has been ‘too young’, always been ‘kid’ or ‘sport’ or ‘tiger’, even when running quantum physics equations in his head. And it didn’t matter. Not with his credentials and accomplishments and everything he now has to his name.

Until Hotch.

Now, Spencer cares.

Notices, even through his haze of worry and sleeplessness, how on the street it’s “Watch it, kid!” and fifteen yards later it’s “Good morning, Dr. Reid” as he steps into the Physics building where everyone knows him on sight. Knows him, and what he’s capable of.

What if when Hotch met him all he saw was… another kid?

If they ever met.

“Whoa, rough night Dr. Reid?”

“Yes, you could say that,” he mumbles out as he signs in and scans his ID card, taking the stack of mail that the desk attendant hands him. But stops before he gets too far from the desk, backtracking. “Hey, have you watched the news this morning? Did anything show up about New England or Delaware?”

“Not that I saw, Dr. Reid,” she says in confusion, looking up from where she had been texting on her phone. “Just a whole lot of coverage on the shitshow at capital hill, as usual. Oh, and more depressing reports about the earthquake clean-up in New Zealand.”

Of course, why would there be a news story about a killer in Delaware here in California. He’d have to look up everything online himself.

“Thanks anyway, Carla.”

“No problem, Dr. Reid.”

Spencer spends way too long online that morning, searching for anything about the case Hotch and his team are working. He usually prefers paper copies of news media, at first barely knowing where to begin, but he falls into a wormhole of news outlets and local Delaware station websites, reading the thousands of webpages faster than he can scroll and click through them. But he can’t find anything pointing to a disturbance related to the case. There's nothing about a raid, or a shooting, or even an arrest -- which could all just be a part of the ongoing media blackout -- but it also does nothing to stop him from panicking. Spencer gives up after an hour, and diverts to other resources. Ones with a direct line to Hotch.

With a drafted email pulled up to Ms. Penelope Garcia, the BAU's personal tech analyst, he ponders how to... even word this without it sounding too personal. Too much like he and Hotch have more than just a working relationship.

Because they do. They have... something.

Something that gives him fluttering sensations in his stomach, makes him check his phone constantly, and react to even the slightest chime similar to his text tone. Makes him smile when he sees Hotch's name on his notifications, in his email inbox, makes him message the man in the middle of the day at the most random thoughts. Just because he wants to make him laugh.

[]8/21, 15:36[] You're going to get me in trouble.

[]8/21, 15:38[] You didn’t laugh in front of your team, did you? The scandal.

[]8/21, 15:42[] I'm at a crime scene. There's a dead body in front of me.

[]8/21, 15:43[] Then why are you checking your phone?

[]8/21, 15:45[] You know why.

But that’s not something that is shared with the rest of the team, he’s sure. So he should be careful how he words his email, lest Ms. Garcia realize that Spencer isn’t asking purely as a colleague.

Surely they know he has friends, though?

Chewing his lip, Spencer types out a brief email asking if Agent Hotchner is feeling well since he missed an appointment the night before and hasn’t been returning his calls. It’s a phrase he’s used often, so it comes naturally to Spencer as he types it out, and he realizes… he hasn’t called. He’s sent a dozen text messages, but not a phone call. Never a phone call. That was against the rules, the unspoken ones that always kept this friendship easy and free-flowing and evolving into something more.

But this feels like the closest to an emergency they’ve ever encountered before.

He looks to his phone beside him on his desk, and tries to fight back the dueling forms of panic clawing at his chest. Listed in bullet points behind his eyes. Panic that Hotch might not answer, panic what that means for the man he’s been… becoming more and more inclined to than any other person he’s met in so long. Panic if he does answer, breaking that barrier of written words to spoken, and the opportunity to hear Hotch’s voice. But he would also hear Spencer’s, and then there would be no hiding just how… how young he really is. He still didn’t have a plan for that, wracking his overworked brain day and night for a way to incorporate the information into a conversation that wouldn’t stop everything in its tracks.

But his phone is in his hand before he can stop himself, Hotch’s contact pulled up and his thumb hovering over the phone number with baited breath.

Was he really going to do this?

He presses the touch screen and can hear the line connecting, the dial tone ring even before he gets the phone up to his ear and waits. It rings, and rings, and rings a fourth time -- before clicking over to voicemail. And Spencer’s hyper-fast thought processes fail him as he realizes far too late that he’s going to hear Hotch’s voice for the first time, anyway. Frozen in a panic, unsure if he wants to or if that had been something he wanted them to do together that the seconds slip by like water through his fingers and suddenly it’s too late.

“You’ve reached the voicemail box of -- (703)-567-8790 -- this caller is not available. Please leave a message after the tone--”

It’s an automated, female voice that rattles off the numbers and generic call back message, and Spencer hangs up before it can begin recording him. Exhaling a shaky breath, relief a flash flood on his nerves that nothing had been ruined between him and Hotch thanks to an ill-timed phone call.

He keeps the momentum going without much thought, and adjusts his email to Ms. Garcia before sending it.

It feels so understated, and yet over dramatic the more he thinks about it. The more he reads it.

Please let me know of his well-being.

God, no wonder Hotch thought he was in his 60’s.

But Spencer has to keep the façade up, for now, not give away anything he doesn’t want to just because the emotional part of his brain is running rampant over the rational one. There are… many explanations as to why Hotch isn’t answering him. His gut feeling aside, he doesn’t need to be panicking like this. The world is still turning, he still has work to do, so Spencer tries to gather himself into some semblance of order and preps to talk to his doctoral students within the hour.

His morning routine progresses as usual, as if nothing at all is wrong with the world. Dr. Reid has his mandatory round up with his doctoral candidates going over thesis and dissertation parameters, class lecture schedules, updates, the works. Like morning announcements, but he requires them all to be there and to listen, and they all show up. Everyone knows of Spencer’s eidetic memory. He will certainly not forget a single date or schedule change, and he expects his students to not forget as well.

But this morning Spencer is fully distracted, his mind elsewhere, somewhere in the state of Delaware with an agent who may or may not be in danger. Because Spencer cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong. It almost seems more like a fact than a feeling. The juxtaposition of his daily routine and this unfounded worry throws him entirely off kilter, and all of his students seem to know right away.

Then, his distraction reaches its peak when his email pings, right in the middle of his department announcements. A response from Ms. Garcia of Quantico, VA flashing across his laptop screen. Spencer’s eyes skim the preview sentence in the pop-up box, and his voice trails off as his mind… whirls.

Dr. Reid, I’m sorry to tell you I don’t know when Hotch will be available again. There was an incident, and he’s still in surg-

Surgery.

That vice-like grip of worry that has taken hold of him since last night tightens further, to the point Spencer can’t breathe. Hotch is in surgery, Hotch is hurt, and if he hasn’t been answering his phone since last night -- or even late yesterday afternoon -- it was not a minor thing.

Hotch is hurt.

She doesn’t know when he will be--

If he will be --

“Dr. Reid? Are you okay?”

“I--” he’s still looking at the email pop-up box, and is clicking on it before he can stop himself. Immediately disconnecting his laptop from the projector as his email loads there. It takes him a fraction of a second to read the email. “I’m sorry, an emergency just came up. Kimmy, finish reading off the schedule for me?” He doesn’t even wait until she answers him, just picks up his laptop and retreats to his office as fast as his long legs will carry him.

--surgery and we’re still waiting on word. I know you 2 talk on the reg so I’ll keep you posted.

Fret not, genius professor, our fearless leader has been through much worse than this.

She’s using informal speech patterns, which she has never done before. It bleeds her nervousness, and worries Spencer even more. Teetering on the edge of panic. Ms. Garcia also revealed she knows he and Hotch talk, but surprisingly that doesn’t have the effect he thought it would on his already rattled nerves. Instead, any and all reservations fall away as he types out a response much in the same way he and Hotch had started their friendship all those months ago.

Please, is there anything you are allowed to tell me about the case or his condition? We --

Spencer pauses, bites his lip as he considers crossing this boundary into the uncomfortable unknown, and then thinks about Hotch on a hospital operating table three thousand miles away.

“Screw it,” he mutters and continues to type.

--We’ve become good friends and I’m very worried.

The reply is almost immediate.

That makes 2 of us, boy wonder, but I’m already hacked into the hospital records database and Prentiss is in the waiting room for any immediate actions.

I’m sending you the case files and the incident report from last night. Maybe you can see some shiz we can’t b/c the bossman is tough but he’s been in surgery a long time.

Of course, whatever he can do to help. Spencer’s heavy heart-beat triples in his chest as pulls up the files and immediately prints them out so he can read through them faster. Utilizing anything and everything he can do to aid the BAU team, and whatever Hotch has gotten himself into. But then, his mind sticks on something from the email. Boy Wonder. It stalls his hands mid-movement.

Ms. Garcia knows how young he is.

She must have done a background check on him, that would make sense since he’s been consulting so much lately. But why would Garcia know his age, and not Hotch? Wouldn’t she send the files to him directly? Had Hotch really known, all along?

Or did she do it on her own, and not tell him? Assuming her boss already knew everything about him. It’s too many questions and possibilities and they are interfering with what’s most important right now. Best to get it out of the way, no time to be indirect about it.

Ms. Garcia, did you update my dossier with the bureau after you ran my background check?

If you’re referring to why Hotch seems to think you’re rocking the senior discount at restaurants and not still getting carded for beer, then no I didn’t update it. I’m very anti-gov files having every detail of our lives in them, that’s what I’m for, and I figured there was a reason he didn’t know. Your secret is safe with me, sugar bean.

Spencer hadn’t meant for it to be a secret at all, it just happened that way.

The real reason is Agent Anderson of the LA field office is a dick, with a bully streak he never outgrew after high school, and didn’t bother filling out a full file on him the first time Spencer consulted for the FBI. Then, he couldn’t be bothered to update it when his consultations became more than a one time thing.

But that was all in the past now, and Spencer can’t even be upset about it. Because now he has Hotch.

Thank you, Ms. Garcia. I’ll let you know my findings soon.

He skims the file quickly, pulling information out at lightning speed. It appears a very straight-forward case. As straight-forward as a murderous sociopath can be, anyway. Very anti-establishment, like he and Hotch had discussed the previous day, aiming for specified targets that devolved to anyone in a uniform. Anyone who appears too official, or labels as official.

It’s easy to see, now, why the unsub attacked Hotch instead of running from him. He practically served himself up on a silver platter. But there’s something about the kills that’s bothering Spencer. The knife wounds, bludgeoning, even the gunshots during the first murders when the unsub still hesitated -- it’s all overkill. Rage. Every single target has died from massive internal bleeding, M.E. reports all label the knife wounds and beatings as the cause. But the amount of blood left over, measured during autopsy, doesn’t add up. They bled too much. No wounds indicating intentional bleeding occurred, and the tox screens are all clean.

Except, every victim’s hospital records show elevated potassium rates. Spencer’s hands, skimming down each and every page quick as they can, stop on a dime as his gaze zero in on the information.

“Oh, God,” Spencer whispers, quiet and horrified. “--Hotch.”

There’s no time for email.

He picks up his phone, goes to an older email that has full contact details in the footer, and dials Ms. Garcia’s direct line in Quantico.

“Speak, and behold greatness.”

“Ms. Garcia, it’s Dr. Reid,” Spencer says, and his tone and quickened speech patterns gives way to his panic.

“Dr-- Dr. Reid?”

“Yes, quick there’s no time. Do you have Hotch’s hospital records in front of you still?”

“Yes,” Garcia says, her voice a musical thing even in it’s breathless reaction to his heightened state of haste. “Updated every two minutes.”

“Is his potassium elevated?”

Some quick typing of keys that move faster than even he could ever hope to type. “...Yes.”

God. “Okay, okay I need you to call the hospital right now,” Spencer says in a spiel that all sounds like one word. “Whatever you have to do, he needs Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate as soon as possible, to counteract the chemical imbalance or he’s going to go into kidney failure and bleed out.”

There’s more typing going on and Ms. Garcia’s breathing has gone a little labored.

“Alright, alright I’m getting patched through. What else can you tell me?”

“I think he’s been dosed with something called an XG Compound, either Eastman or Zhao I have to look up the specific components and chemist. But they are a series of banned, experimental military-grade drugs that suffer effects of thinning the blood, that’s why they can’t stop the bleeding around his stab wounds and old scar tissue.” Hotch’s old wounds from Foyet would only exacerbate the condition, once it reached the kidney failure stage, but up until then the intrusions of hardened tissue is the only reason his abdominal cavity hasn’t been flooded with blood and drowned out his other organs.

“Okay, okay I’m through, I’m keeping you on the line. Stand by-- ” then she clicks over and he’s left with a pulsating silence. Nothing remaining but continuing his work, and hoping he’d called in time. Hoping that Hotch will be alright.

Spencer is digging through his floor to ceiling bookshelves for the biology book on airborne pathogens given to him by a visiting Professor two years ago and he is hating himself for never cracking it in that moment. It’s nearly the last book he gets a hand on, because of course it is, and he makes it a third of the way through the book before Garcia is back on the line. The phone on the floor beside him and just barely within reach.

“You literal genius, I could kiss you,” Garcia tells him in what can only be overstated relief, and Spencer snatches up his phone with a very undignified scramble. “They’ve had to do two transfusions on him and are prepping a third, but you were right he’s been dosed with that XG compound.”

“He’s going to be okay?” Spencer asks, still cross-legged on his office floor surrounded by books and holding his phone to his ear like a lifeline.

“Yes, yes my dear he’s going to be alright. They think. He’s not out of the woods yet and the surgery is still going on, but he -- he would have died within the next hour if you hadn’t found out what was wrong.”

Spencer’s heart is in his throat, her words doing the exact opposite of reassuring him. Hotch had been that close to dying, to being forever out of reach, because Spencer had been too scared to pick up the phone.

“I should have called sooner,” he says, so quiet even someone in the room wouldn’t have heard him correctly. “I knew something was wrong.”

“Oh no, sugar don’t think like that. You just saved his life,” she pauses, like she wants to say something else, but diverts to an adjacent topic. “How did you know?”

“Autopsy reports. There wasn’t enough blood left in the bodies, they bled out too quickly. Then I saw the elevated Potassium,” he murmurs it all, rattled off without really thinking about it.

“And you just… knew all of that, without looking anything up?”

“That’s basically what I do. The only reason anyone calls me,” Spencer laughs but it holds no humor. “I know too much, make connections, and drink too much coffee.”

“You drink and know things, oh God I hope you get that reference because you’re getting a coffee mug.”

Spencer laughs a little, despite the situation, and feels… lighter, somehow, even with the worry still plaguing him. Caught up in his chest like a bad cold.

“I’m reading this textbook on airborne pathogens, I have a hunch, and I’ll send you anything I find that can help with the case,” Spencer continues, his voice not so heavy for a moment. “Just… tell me when he’s out of surgery? Keep me posted?”

“Of course, honey, you’ll be my first message,” Ms. Garcia assures him, but then she pauses again -- and he almost hangs up because it feels too anticipatory. “You should tell him, B.T.Dubs.”

Spencer hesitates more than is probably necessary.

“... I don’t know what good that will do,” he admits, quiet and unsure. “I’m not -- I’m not ready for this to be over.”

“You’re not that young, honey. Does he know you like him?”

“Mmhmm,” Spencer makes a nervous, affirmative sound. “And… he likes me, or who he thinks I am.”

“Don’t write him off just yet, Doc, let him speak for himself when he wakes up,” Ms. Garcia all but scolds him, in as gentle a way as possible and Spencer appreciates that, at least.

“--I’ll think about it.”

Not long after Spencer finds what he’s looking for: military grade poisons that were banned for causing adverse effects, listed and categorized by chemist and agency. It is the Eastman compound, originated during the first invasion of Afghanistan. Their unsub has prolonged exposure, Spencer is sure, and that will narrow down the suspect pool immensely.

After he sends the information to Ms. Garcia, Spencer looks to his phone once more, where there is a block of text all from him himself in his correspondence with Hotch. Begging him to be alright, to answer him, and now that he knows that the man has a fighting chance -- or as much of one as he will be able to have, with where advanced medicine resides in the current conjecture of time -- there really isn’t much he can do now. But hope. And wait. And pray.

Except Spencer doesn’t believe in prayer, or God, or anything that might hear him. The only thing he really believes in is science, and facts, and none of that is very helpful to him right now. Except maybe the coincidental balance of the universe, in a theoretical physics sense, and unexplained phenomenon that have an equal and spatial balance to it. Anything with the descriptor ‘unexplained’ always draws him in like a moth to flame, and he knows he can typically find a semblance of comfort in the way his brain constantly connects dots and far off specks of information that not everyone can see at first glance. Constellations in the sky. But only when he has someone to tell it to, that even pretends to listen for a moment, and for a long while now… Hotch has been that someone. Hotch always listens to him.

Before he knows it, he’s typing into the text box once more --

[]9/23, 11:10[] You’re in surgery still, but Ms. Garcia has confirmed the treatments are working and they are able to actually repair the damage instead of treading water like they have been the past ten hours. I’ve had her personally in contact with the doctors and surgical staff, and all they’ve been able to tell us is to let them work and just pray for you.

[]9/23, 11:13[] Which is such an odd thing; men of science telling people to pray like the outcome of a surgery isn’t in their hands, but some theoretical astronomical entity. I know it’s probably just a ‘bedside-manner’ tactic, but it doesn’t help me in the slightest so it just irks me instead.

[]9/23, 11:15[] I don’t believe in prayer -- a shock, I’m sure -- but I do believe in the phenomenon of universal affirmation. It’s an interesting trend in history and spans cultures where if someone has something awaiting them, to live for, even if they are unaware of it… they will fight harder to cling to life.

[]9/23, 11:18[] But I also know you will fight tooth and nail for Jack, and for your team that you treat like family, and maybe even me. I’d like to hope I’m included in that, and no amount of books or IQ points can make me think of something to contribute to help you keep fighting.

[]9/23, 11:19[] Just please keep fighting. Come back. And if I come up with something to entice you… I’ll let you know.

It eases a lot of the tension in his chest, talking to Hotch like this -- even if he’s just talking at him, in a place where he might never know what Spencer has had to say. But he can hope. Hope that Hotch will wake up and have thirty missed messages and see they are all from Spencer and it will make him smile.

Spencer would give anything to see him smile, and he allows himself to hope that one day... he might get to.

He might as well, while he’s sitting there hopelessly hoping for things beyond his control.

Come back to me.

Spencer almost types it out, can see it in the text window though he hasn’t pressed a single letter, and closes his phone before he can. Pressing it to his mouth and closing his eyes and just…

Hoping.

The hours roll over into the afternoon, and there’s still no word.

Spencer has spent the majority of the day messaging Ms. Garcia, who has had no information beyond trivial updates here and there and Spencer has read more about surgical procedures and practices than he has in his entire life. Even raided the biology department’s library, surrounding himself with the comfort of books and files and filled his head with the soothing monotony of medical terms and safety protocols.

But once noon has come and gone he finds himself staring into the bookshelves across from where he sits on the floor, among stacks of textbooks, with an epiphany trying to make itself known to him. Despite his every attempt to ignore it.

His phone is back in his hand, there’s an email correspondence from Ms. Garcia that only briefly says Still nothing. And that makes up Spencer’s mind.

[]9/23, 12:49[] I’ve thought of something.

What he types next makes it hard to breathe, his heart lodged in his throat, and it all comes flowing out of him much like before. His fingers keep moving, his emotional part of his brain steam-rolls over the rational one, and then he’s done and he’s tacked on six extra messages and Spencer has to put his phone away before he rereads it beyond what is deemed healthy or sane.

Because he’s done what he could, and all he can do is believe that will be enough to… subliminally keep Hotch fighting. The day is only half over, and Spencer feels like he hasn’t slept in a week.

It would be hours before he got the message that would send relief through his spine like a shot of Novocain. Just three words from Ms. Garcia, sent in haste in a text instead of an email.

{}9/23, 14:58{} He’s in recovery.

Hotch wakes up just barely the first time, the room spinning and hit with that familiar smell of anesthesia he can always taste as it fills his senses, before he slips back under.

The second time is to a small pencil light being flashed in his eyes, staccato movements meant to test his pupil reactions, and an older woman in nurse’s scrubs saying his name and calling to him. He hums an affirmative, even though he isn’t fully returned to a working state of mind. Instinct, more than clarity.

“Welcome back, Agent Hotchner.”

“About damn time,” he hears Prentiss say from somewhere across the room. Probably leaning the wall, if that faux drone is anything to go by. The nurse gives her a look but his agent isn’t even fazed by it, as far as Hotch can see. It takes him a moment for his eyes to adjust that far. But he knows the look well enough he doesn’t actually have to see it.

“Where is everyone? Is anyone else hurt?” Hotch can feel the words form on his tongue, droned out in a haze, his mind slowly coming back to him.

“Good to see you, too, boss,” Prentiss says in mild exacerbation, coming up to the side of his bed but not taking a seat. She must have been waiting a long time, her whole stance jittery just like after long flights on cases. “Everyone is fine, you’re the only one that got into a knife fight with an unsub who’s into biological warfare.” Hotch blinks at her, trying to make her words make sense without asking it of her. He remembers going to a warehouse to follow a lead, but not much else after that. It’s coming back too slowly to keep up with her. Prentiss just sighs, and repeats herself. “Everyone is fine.”

She regales him with a play by play, his own memories appearing like raindrops on a windshield to accompany her commentary. Slowly beginning to form a picture of what had happened. He’d been stabbed before, more than he cares to think about, and he’s been dosed with military-grade drugs before as well -- but never both at the same time. No wonder he feels like he’s been hit by a truck.

“You’re lucky to be alive, honestly,” she points out, hip resting against the plastic side panels of his hospital bed.

“Yeah, I’m gathering that.”

“And your phone has been blowing up like crazy.”

Hotch is finally able to sit up enough and see straight without his vision swimming, to find that his agent does indeed have his cell phone in her hands.

“What?”

“Yeah, eight missed calls and three voicemails, and--” she squints at the screen before looking at him in astonished confusion, “eighty-seven missed text messages, from a whole bunch of people. I’m not reading through all of them. I didn’t know you were that popular.”

“I’m the Unit Chief, popularity has nothing to do with it,” Hotch deadpans, more himself. Wanting to reach for his phone but his arms are still dealing with pins and needles sensations, sluggish to lift and his fingers uncooperative. “Who called me eight times?”

“Let’s see,” she unlocks his phone -- somehow, god damn it Prentiss -- and scrolls through his notifications. “Two calls from Jessica, one from me, three from Strauss (Jesus), one from Dr. Reid, and one from Garcia. It doesn’t say who the voicemails are from.”

Hotch suddenly feels much more alert, his heart rate monitor picking up but he does his best not to draw attention to it, instead looking up at Prentiss as carefully guarded as he ever is.

“Dr. Reid called?” he tries to keep his voice even, and unaffected, but the aftereffects of the drugs in his system leave a little more hitch in his voice than he would have liked.

“Yeah, he’s been talking to Garcia,” Prentiss says without much comment, still scrolling through his phone and making Hotch a little more than nervous. “Busted the case wide open, and saved your life while he was at it. We never would have known you were dosed with something if he hadn’t figured it out. Think you owe that old man a fruit basket.”

“Can I have my phone back?”

“Don’t think you’re supposed to have it,” she says without looking up, still scrolling through his notifications. “Lots of junk e-mail…”

“One of those voicemails is probably Jack, I should call and let them know I’m alright,” Hotch tries to reason with her.

“He and Jess are already on their way up, they’ll land in an hour,” Prentiss tells him, but looks over her shoulder for that nurse as she makes to hand Hotch his phone anyway. Still hesitant despite her predilections to breaking every rule she can get away with.

“I still want it back,” Hotch insists, regretting saying it as soon as he does.

It catches Prentiss’ attention a little too sharply. “...why?” But at Hotch’s steady stare and solid silence, unwavering like he hadn’t just been in surgery for hours on end, she finally relents and hands it over, still giving him a suspicious look.

“It’s important,” he finally admits, when she doesn’t stop staring for a good couple of minutes. Those perfectly shaped eyebrows raise near to her hairline, the profiler in her connecting more dots than should be humanly possible.

A small smile teases her lips, though not fully forming there. “Now I wish I’d read them.”

Hotch just gives her a reprimanding look of his own, but it’s short lived.

“Thank you, for staying.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Prentiss assures him, her smile going softer. “I’ll leave you to your mystery woman.” A beat, another raised eyebrow. “Person.” A knowing look, but then she exits and Hotch is able to look at his phone at his own discretion.

Hotch goes through the text messages with a brief glance; there’s so many of them. Other agents and agencies, his team in a group chat Garcia had started, Jessica left fifteen before someone got a hold of her, and Jack’s school sending reminders about soccer and parent teacher conferences.

But 39 are from Spencer, and his heart constricts in his chest at the worry he must have caused the man. Aches next to the scars on his chest and the blood that doesn’t belong to him in his veins. And somewhere in the recesses of his mind, it’s coupled with a torturous feeling of longing. Even subtle jealousy, because even half drugged out of his mind Hotch hadn’t missed the precise word choices Prentiss used. Garcia has been talking to Spencer -- talking.

Garcia got to hear him.

She talked to Spencer, when he still hadn’t, because of some unspoken rule Hotch isn’t even sure when they decided upon. He still knew so little about the man, and Spencer’s voice could tell him so much with just a few words. He could fill volumes with what he would learn from just a single message --

Without much further thought, Hotch pulls up his voice mail. Listens to the automated voices and the three messages there. None are from Spencer, although his heart had beat a little harder in anticipation -- enough his heart monitor beeped audibly next to him. Embarrassing as that was, like a lovestruck teenager. He’d glared at it and centered his breathing until his heart rate slowed back down, not wanting to alert the nurses station. Two of the voicemails are from Jessica’s phone, one of her worried out of her mind, and the other of Jack telling him they are coming to see him and he hopes he feels better soon. Just listening to his son speak more strongly than his aunt had or anyone else should in his situation, telling his daddy he loves him while the sounds of a commercial airline filter through the background, makes Hotch want to smile and sob all at once.

The last voicemail is from Garcia, telling him a similar story to what Prentiss had earlier, but with a bit more detail on her end. How ‘Dr. Reid’ called her out of the blue, because there had been no time for his usual emails, and gave them the information that saved his life. He’d been working the case diligently, ever since, and was checking up on him a lot. More than a lot. ‘Let him know you’re okay, when you wake up and get this. The poor guy is worried sick, and my updates only give him so much comfort.’

Spencer had actually called Garcia, when he hasn’t physically spoken to anyone in Quantico the entire time he’s consulted for them, just to save a few precious seconds to relay what he’d found. He’d even broken their rule, probably before hand, and called Hotch -- just to make sure he was okay. Hadn’t stopped working to help, the moment he found out he wasn’t.

It’s a strange thought, that if not for Spencer -- Hotch would be dead. That Jack would be flying up here for a very different reason.

Hotch switches over to the text messages with a lump in his throat. Not at all prepared, emotionally, but needing to know.

The 39 messages start from the night before, when they were supposed to have had their usual online chess date. They range from playful banter, teasing edged in worry, and escalate to panic as the night wears on. Anxious worry bleeding through the single sentences, building and building until that lump in his throat feels like it might block off all air soon.

Please be okay.

God, that alone starts to set a tone -- and reveals something Hotch hadn’t expected to find. Those three words give way to his speech pathology training, and all indicate that Spencer is… very likely younger than he’d originally thought. Some of Hotch’s assumptions might be close, even the teasing ones he’d only said because he’d been sure they were wrong. The other man is obviously beyond worried about him, as well. Petrified, despite knowing the risks of his job. They had become so close the past few months, were most definitely past the flirting stage and into something so tentative and wonderful Hotch can barely believe it some days. But they had never talked about this, about the possibility that Hotch might walk into a situation one day and not walk back out of it.

Spencer’s messages soon give way to him just… talking at Hotch. Relaying what was happening, philosophical rants meant to ease his own mind and Hotch finds himself smiling softly at the man’s constant stream of thought, lectures at genius levels that he still feels so compelled to share with Hotch. Because they are that close. They really, truly, are -- and it brightens the fluttering feeling in his chest all the more. How Spencer is trying, subliminally, to draw Hotch back to the light. Three thousand miles away.

Please come back.

Hotch hears it loud and clear, the come back to me. Even unwritten. And it makes his heart skip a beat, aching as it does.

Then…

[]9/23, 15:49[] I’ve thought of something.

[]9/23, 15:52[] I’m 29.

Hotch doesn’t understand, at first. But then it hits him.

Years.

29 years.

Spencer is 29 years old. Proven, further, by the following messages sent after that.

[]9/23, 15:56[] I’m a certified child prodigy, on a registry and everything. I graduated high school at just twelve years old, and had my first Ph.D. by 15. Youngest in CalTech history.

29.

Jesus Christ, no wonder he hadn’t wanted to tell Hotch his age. 29 is… far younger than he expected.

When Spencer was born, Hotch was getting his driver’s license. 16 years difference in age…

He keeps reading, despite the numb aftermath of a bomb going off inside his head, trying to process it and also hear the younger man out.

Younger. Spencer is 16 years younger than Hotch, and he finds himself scrubbing at his face to try and wake himself up further as he reads what Spencer sent.

[]9/23, 15:57[] I turn 30 at the end of October, and I was trying to wait until then to tell you.

[]9/23, 16:00[] I’ve noticed a prominent dynamic shift in perception, between listing my age as in my 20’s and ‘almost 30’. It’s a numerical allusion our brains can’t help. You hear 29, you think 21. It happens with decades, too, once someone is outside the familial range of 10 years. +/- either side.

[]9/23, 16:02[] An age gap doesn’t sound as bad when I’m 30. That’s why I wanted to wait, just a little while longer, but if that universal affirmation phenomenon actually works for us -- I don’t mind dealing with the consequences.

[]9/23, 16:03[] Just please come back.

[]9/23, 16:07[] Please be okay.

[]9/23, 16:10[] I miss you.

His heart is about to be ripped to shreds.

Hotch feels terrible, because Spencer is right. 29 sounds so young, and it keeps repeating in his head over and over. But 29 isn’t the same as 21, he isn’t some college student still stumbling around trying to figure out his life. He has five Ph.D.’s, runs three departments at one of the best universities in the country, is consulted by the FBI and Homeland Security and very obviously has a reputation he upholds to the highest regard. Hotch had guessed Spencer was 32 not so long ago, what was the big difference between that and his actual age? From what little Spencer just shared of his life story, he’s never gotten to be a kid, so who was Hotch to consider him one? What gave him the right to be floored by this, did it actually change what he thought of Spencer? How he felt about him only moments prior to reading that?

I miss you. Come back. Please be okay.

I’m 29.

It could be the recent flirtation with death, the anesthesia or the morphine, even the gratitude that Hotch will get to see his son again and not leave him without both his parents -- there’s so many reasons for him to take pause as he considers the messages in front of him.

But it feels a lot like the months of talking, and the countless late nights spent together, that pile up and up in his chest. A rising pressure that reminds Hotch that he and Spencer have something, and it’s not a normal, regular situation for either of them. Something that precedent, and everything Hotch has ever been told to hold to standard, doesn’t seem to fit. He and Spencer don’t seem to fit, when looked at afar or even on paper -- but they do. They really do. It was never supposed to be something that could be this easy, or normal in any capacity.

But what about their lives ever was?

[]9/23, 18:26[] I’m so sorry I worried you.

[]9/23, 18:26[] I miss you, too.

[]9/23, 18:27[] If I stop answering you, the nurse took my phone away. I hate hospitals.

[]9/23, 18:29[] Hotch, you scared me to death.

[]9/23, 18:30[] I know, I’m sorry.

[]9/23, 18:31[] From what I heard, you saved my life.

[]9/23, 18:33[] I don’t even know how to begin thanking you for that.

[]9/23, 18:36[] Just get better.

[]9/23, 18:38[] Which means resting, don’t glare at your nurses too much. They’re there to help you.

There’s a long stretch of a pause in their correspondence, which picks up so smooth and easy it’s as if they had never stopped. Like the last few days hadn’t happened at all. But they had, they were both looking at the messages to prove that. He does take pause, maybe more than he should, and Hotch knows miles away Spencer is just as nervous. Staring at his phone.

Hotch isn’t wrong. Spencer let out such an exclamation of relief at Hotch’s name on his notifications he about sobbed with it. He never cries, hasn’t in years -- but his eyes sting with relief and worry and… an emotion he doesn’t want to name.

[]9/23, 18:44[] What day is your birthday?

[]9/23, 18:45[] October 28th.

[]9/23, 18:45[] Same week as mine. November 2nd.

Hotch pauses, again, considers his next response… and 3,000 miles away Spencer can barely blink as he stares at his phone with mounting dread.

[]9/23, 18:49[] I understand why you didn’t want to tell me. It’s alright.

[]9/23, 18:51[] Am I correct in assuming you’ve never been in a relationship with this much of an age gap?

It takes Hotch a moment to even gather the courage to type that out and send it. Knows it sounds almost too formal, for them, but Hotch also knows that he and Spencer are balanced on the edge of a knife, here, and… no matter what the outcome, everything is about to change between them.

Spencer licks his lips in nervousness, reading the line over and over although he has no need to. It feels like a tipping point, and he’s still… terrified this will be his last conversation with Hotch outside of case work. Ever.

[]9/23, 18:55[] Never.

[]9/23, 18:57[] I haven’t had many relationships at all. My peer groups have always been older than me, and people my own age never understood me enough to be interested. So it’s just something I was used to, going without.

[]9/23, 18:59[] This has been… the closest thing to what I’ve been told is normal that I’ve ever experienced. I’ve never had the chance to have something like this with someone, or connect in this way. I gave up, for a long while there.

[]9/23, 19:01[] I’ve been in a similar situation before, on an intellectual spectrum.

[]9/23, 19:03[] I’ve never--

Hotch pauses, again, putting his thoughts in order. Weighing it all, before taking that final leap. Spencer waiting with baited breath, all the more.

But Hotch doesn’t regret what he sends. Not one bit.

[]9/23, 19:03[] I’ve never dated anyone younger than me like this, before, so we’ll both be on a learning curve.

[]9/23, 19:03[] But we will figure it out. Together.

Spencer’s breath catches, and he can’t seem to release it again. He can’t believe what he’s reading. What Hotch has sent him.

He said ‘dated’.

He thought they were dating. Spencer isn’t quite sure he can trust his own eyes, despite the words being there in stark black and white on his phone screen.

[]9/23, 19:06[] Dating?

Hotch smiles, because he just knows -- from that single word text -- that Spencer has sent it not in admonishment or anything negative of the sort. But in hope. Confident that he recognizes the nuance in Spencer's voice even without ever having heard it, Hotch just knows, and it makes warmth blossom anew in his chest. Sends his heart rate monitor skittering across the machine all over again.

[]9/23, 19:08[] Hate to be the one to tell you, but all of those late nights where we talked for hours instead of playing chess? Those were dates.

Spencer has his hand over his mouth, still in disbelief that he hadn’t… fucked this up beyond repair. That his age hadn’t been the deal breaker he’d feared so vehemently for months now. That everything is still as it was, age difference and life-threatening situation, aside.

They were dating. All this time.

[]9/23, 19:10[] I should have worn nicer clothes.

Hotch laughs at his phone at the same time Spencer laughs at his own, having reread what he’d sent.

3,000 miles away, and their quiet laughter coincides perfectly.

[]9/23, 19:11[] Our next one I’m sure I’ll be in a hospital gown, so I think you’re in the clear.

[]9/23, 19:12[] Sounds like you’re making plans, already.

[]9/23, 19:12[] You still need rest.

[]9/23, 19:14[] Well, I have to thank you somehow. And, I saw something about poker instead of chess? I’m actually not bad at poker.

[]9/23, 19:15[] … you remember I’m from Vegas, right?

[]9/23, 19:16[] We’ll play for fake money.

[]9/23, 19:18[] No such thing.

[]9/23, 19:19[] I do play for favors, though.

[]9/23, 19:19[] Oh?

Hotch feels a wild, youthful thing unfurl in his chest as he types away. Mischievous, almost, in a way he only gets when he and Spencer are hours deep into conversations in the middle of the night. But it’s broad daylight, and he has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling too wide. Getting lost in the thrill of it all. In the officiality of it, now, and another curtain unveiled between them.

[]9/23, 19:20[] Did you have something in mind?

Spencer has to be blushing seven shades of red, right about now, and he hides his face from his phone for a moment before he realizes how ridiculous that is -- Hotch can’t see him. He can stop messaging the man any time he wants to.

Except he doesn’t want to.

[]9/23, 19:24[] I’ll get back to you.

Hotch can’t help it as he grins at his phone. A wry, suggestive thing, but he manages to school it before a passing nurse can see him -- how his eyes are alight with possibility. With elation, just from talking to the younger man that had seemed to capture a part of him he thought wasn’t available to anyone any more, and types out one last -- slightly more flirtatious subtext to put a cap on their conversation. To indicate he’s awaiting more, always wanting a little more of Dr. Spencer Reid.

He can blame it on the morphine, later.

[]9/23, 19:25[] Looking forward to it.

(tbc...)

Tagged List: @spencehotchner @ssa-sarahsunshine @gothamapologist @reidology @marsjareau @dragon-snaps-fandom @emmyraebird @just-an-emo-rat @aaron-hotchner187 @dk18077 @more-heid-pls @fakin-it-til-i-make-it @merpancake

#I legit added like 1500 words while editing this afternoon so I'm hella worried it's convoluted but HERE IT IS #Getting this show on the ROAD #cross your fingers and pray I have this damn tumblr formatting thing figured out #hope you enjoy everyone I love ALL OF YOU #super duper long chapter #Correspondence #HotchReid #Heid #Updates on Saturdays hit me up if you want in on the tag list #katyswriting

53 notes · View notes

comfy-whumpee · 5 years ago

Text

Dinner And A Show

Part of the Ellis AU. @lonesome--hunter, @iaminamoodymoodtoday, @wildfaewhump, @ishouldblogmore, @lektricwhump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi.

He was wearing an emerald-green silk shirt and black slacks. His shoes were polished and his hair was brushed and tied back. The ponytail was a little off centre, so that it lay over one shoulder and made a striking contrast with the shirt. He looked amazing – and the button-up sleeves hid all of his scars.

“You’re going to ace it,” Nic said as they fastened his cufflinks. “Just be confident, and don’t hesitate. Remember, this is work, not a real date. You just have to seem genuine.”

“Not a problem,” Ellis said. He briefly flashed a look of wide-eyed, guileless innocence, and Nic laughed. They laughed even as they remembered just how Ellis had come to possess that skill.

“Yeah, like that. You’ll be in control the whole time, honey.”

Ellis nodded, consulting his file one last time before setting it down on the floor. Alistair knelt there, hands holding the chain in his lap, head bent. He would be reading the file, Ellis’s strategy guide, the whole way through the outing, providing Ellis with the ability to check any detail he’d forgotten. No information would escape him. No surprises. He would be in control.

Nic kissed his cheek, and smiled. “Perfect. Go on, taxi’s waiting.”

They watched him go with a wistful smile. His back was straight and his head held high as he descended the stairs to leave. He’d never used to walk like that. He’d never been comfortable as the centre of attention. But then, they were starting to understand. The person he was day to day...wasn’t really him. He only came back to them in those private moments alone.

They hated what he was doing. They hated why he was doing it even more. He’d come out of it, one day.

For Ellis’s part, he was too busy thinking about the meeting. When he arrived, he was still thinking through information he could use. When he greeted her, he made sure his handshake was one she liked.

Handshake: Like she’s trying to crush your fingers and she wants you to do it back.

“Mr Engels,” she said, seeming impressed. “In the flesh.”

Ellis smiled sweetly. “That’s me. Pleasure, Ms Farringdon.”

She allowed him to lead her into the restaurant, and didn’t speak until they were seated. Only once the waiters were at a distance did she say, “I have heard rumours about you. You are... Different to the image I had.”

Ellis smiled a little less warmly now. He knew what the rumours about him were. Some of them, he had planted. “Let me guess. A terrifying crime lord, or Alistair’s sugar baby.”

“The latter,” she acknowledged. “They said you were... Pretty.”

He smiled again. Self-effacing, a touch embarrassed. “I’m glad you think so. But back to the pertinent topic. Why did you agree to meet me? I know you’re not on best terms with the original Engels.”

She looked to the side, prefacing her avoidance of the question. “I don’t recall any significant animosity between us.” Then her eyes returned to him and she smiled. “I was curious, of course. Alistair has worked alone for so long.”

“He has,” Ellis agreed neutrally. He looked down at the menu, considering.

Food: Hates seafood of all kinds. Hates hot food. Subtle flavours.

“I recommend the risotto,” he offered, as he selected the vegetarian ravioli for himself. “Mild flavour, delicate seasoning.”

She raised a sardonic eyebrow. “No starter?”

“Oh, naturally,” he said smoothly. “But the main course should be accounted for, when ordering the first.”

She hummed a brief chuckle. One slip, navigated successfully. He returned to looking at the drinks, until she spoke again.

“Why didn’t he come himself?”

Her tone was hardened around the edges, marked by her suspicion. There were rumours about him, yes, but she didn’t know that this was the person she’d expected to meet. He could have sent a decoy. He could be the decoy, for Alistair.

“Indisposed,” he said simply. None of her doubt was being expressed aloud, and he didn’t need to address it yet. “He sends his regards.”

She rolled her eyes. “Unlikely. He doesn’t like me.”

Alistair: ‘She’s a ruthless egomaniac who would kill her own mother for a tactical advantage.’

“He respects you,” he replied, setting his menu aside for the sake of signalling to their waiter that they were ready. “He did not think you should be subjected to dinner with him. Colleagues you may be, but friends, you are not.”

She considered that for a moment. He sat still under her blue eyes, reading his expression as best she could. He made sure to look simple, pleasant and honest, and while she wouldn’t truly believe that, the plausible deniability was useful.

She looked all the way to his shirt cuffs before looking back up. “Nice cufflinks.”

The formality was eroding. Ellis smiled, touching one. “Thank you. I hope you find dinner with me tolerable, if not pleasant.”

She propped her elbow on the table, chin resting across the back of her hand as she regarded him more intensely. Under his shirt the scars hid, and itched, and she kept looking.

Farringdon shook her head. “You don’t have to try so hard, cherub. Your partner and I have worked together enough in the past that you have some goodwill. Let’s just try to have fun.”

Ellis smiled properly, eyes bright with perfectly practised sincerity. “Let’s.”

Ellis closes his eyes with his hands poised over the keyboard.

Absolute silence in his home. Alistair is by the desk, waiting for an order. Nic is outside in the garden, reading under the porch. It’s raining, but Ellis had the office soundproofed a while ago. No sound in. No sound out.

He reaches for her.

Vision. Hearing. He connects himself up to her, taking in everything that she does. His hands start to move on the keyboard.

Computer, OS, email client, email address, every one that he can read down the side of her screen. Subject titles, as fast as he can type them, before she clicks off.

Email drafting. He transcribes in synchronicity with her, a second behind the movements of her body. He follows her pauses, her typos, her corrections, her edits. He is exactly as focused as she is, her words flowing onto her page and onto his without pause.

Email sent. Closed. More subject titles for what’s in her inbox. More in her sent items.

A video of horses. Even professional murderers have hobbies.

Then she checks it. Finally, she opens her phone and checks it, and he sees clearly the little GPS tracker she put on his bag when she thought he wasn’t looking - and he wasn’t, not with his own eyes, he practically handed her the opportunity. The bag is on a bus right now, and she closes the app, returning her attention to the computer.

A file. Title, date, last modified, author, and the content as fast as he can type it, which is faster than she can read it. Some distant thought recognises that the file is about him. He doesn’t pause. He will have her knowledge, all of her knowledge, and then he will know exactly what she thinks of him.

A notification on her phone pings and she looks down at it. Payment confirmation. He catches the banking app, the mobile network, the amount. She checks the GPS again, and sees its location.

She looks back at the profile of him and he types out the details of his own weekly routine without stopping to think about what it might mean until she gets up, and picks up a pre-packed bag, and takes one last look at her file and his photo and he watches her read the line about where he will be at this time of day, which he isn’t, because he’s watching her, and she heads out of the house.

She gets into her car, license plate noted, make, model, colour, landmarks around where she is driving from, street names, he can work out where she’s based later, and then she drives to his gym.

Before she gets out of the car, she checks her bag. He’s not surprised to see what’s inside.

In the pause as she looks, he writes a note to himself. Cancel gym membership.

He watches her move through the rooms in search of him. He watches her circle the property. He takes notes on how she enters and exits, how she avoids notice, the way she glances for cameras and speaks to those she passes as though she were a normal patron. He will learn from her, as he has learned from everyone in his life.

She leaves after half an hour of looking for him, bag still slung over her shoulder. She gets back into her car and pulls out a different phone. Dials a contact, and Ellis’s fingers fly to record the number.

“Hello.”

Ellis’s fingers stop.

“He wasn’t there.”

“Well, keep trying. You only have to find him once. I’m a patient man.”

The line disconnects.

Ellis opens his eyes. At the bottom of his garbled, rushed, typo-ridden document, there is a single word spelt with precision.

Harvey.

He takes a deep breath, and rests his wrists on the desk as the assassin drives home.

Harvey is trying to kill him.

#psychological whump #ellis: a whumper #my fic #whump #paranoia fuel #telepathy #failed assassination #manipulation #manipulative whumper #ellis #harvey #farringdon #nic

21 notes · View notes

peachyteabuck · 6 years ago

Text

ceo chronicles, pt i. ~ peggy carter

series summary: a set of fics based off of the main au of sugar baby/mommy or daddy dynamics and ceo aus. each fic involves a separate universe wherein each charcter is the ceo of a different company and you’re their sugar baby. sexy times ensue.

fic summary: anyone as busy and important as peggy carter needs a good stress coping mechanism. ms. carter has tried everything from yoga to stress balls to acupuncture to cross stitch. none of them worked, until she found you.

pairing: sugar baby!reader x ceo!peggy carter. takes place in modern times.

words: 2,020

trigger warnings: harold, they’re lesbians. oral (f receiving), vaginal fingering, dirty talk, d/s dynamics, anal, dirty talk, degradation, overstimulation

notes/other: there is not enough peggy carter smut on the internet, and i have taken upon myself to fill that gap. enjoy!

ask box / masterlist / commission info / ko-fi

The minute you step into the impeccably decorated office with its modern décor and light blue walls, you silently walk behind Peggy’s grand black desk and fall to your knees on the small plot of carpeting to her right. You know exactly where to go, you’ve been hers for so long there are even two indents for where your knees go in the plush, light grey material.

One of Peggy’s famous “mmm”s catches your attention, your spine straightening and shoulders pushing back. “Are you wearing the collar?” she asks, foregoing looking at you to write something on the large desk calendar that she’s fucked you on at least four times this quarter. While doesn’t so much as gaze at you, your eyes are trained directly on her - just as she likes it.

“Yes, Mistress,” you tell her. As you speak your throat bumps against the collar secured loosely around the base of your neck. The high neckline on the fluffy, white pink sweater you’re wearing hides it well to strangers and Peggy’s staff, but the diamond-encrusted leather is still very well known to you and the other woman in the room. The weight of it is enough to make you remember it’s there, but Peggy always likes readjusting it herself when she snaps the matching leash into place. All you want to do is run your fingers over the block letters as your heart races, it’s always calming; a reminder that you’re hers. It’s a nervous habit, to rub at where it rests under your strategically-chosen clothes. Somehow it makes you feel safe, untouchable. You never slip your finger into the silver O-ring, though, that’s Peggy’s only stipulation. Only she can attach leashes or chole you with it. Still, you pull down the top enough to reveal the small piece of metal, so your fingers can twitch as they trace its outer edges.

“Good, Pet,” she murmurs, still not looking your way. She sounds distracted, moment later typing out (what you assume is) an email at her average lightning speed. It doesn’t take long for the familiar two-tone notification that signals replies to sound, and within seconds of opening it she tsks at her screen. You can’t tell whether it’s at you or whoever she’s replying to, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that Mistress is disappointed, and it is her Pet’s job to make her forget her troubles and feel better.

“What is wrong, Mistress?” you ask, taking special care not to touch her as you scoot closer to her.

Peggy shrugs, rolling her eyes. “An asshole from the Barnes corporation, you know the one whose CEO wants a merger?” You nod, but her eyes remain locked on the screen. “Keeps readjusting the meeting times to discuss some of the NDAs his boss wants me to sign. It’s really pissing me off.”

“I’m sorry, Mistress.”

“Oh,” she sighs, finally turning to you. Her famous red lips curl up into a genuine smile as she caresses your jaw with a soft hand. “It’s not your fault.”

You squirm, unsatisfied. “Is there anything I can do make you feel better, Mistress?”

Peggy’s grin, though sweet, also borders on sinister. Not one that you fear, necessarily, but one that still sends shivers down your spine. Without looking back, she calls for her assistant, who immediately appears.

“Yes, Ms. Carter?” He asks. His name is Steve, you’re told, and he’s a scrappy, hard-working kid who mostly got a job for the health insurance.

Now you capture her unwavering attention, her mischievous squint and devious smirk only focused on you. “Clear my schedule for the next hour.”

“Yes Ms. Carter,” Steve recites the usual response. “I’ll do that now.

Peggy bites her lip as she watches you squeeze your thighs together, the material of your leggings doing nothing to hide your arousal. “Actually…make it two.”

The next few beats are silent, the both of you unsure of the next move. Peggy waiting to make sure you’re as desperate as she likes (which is very, very desperate), you to see what she wants from you this time. If she’s planning on something rough, she likes to ease into it. Today she seems just tired, stressed, looking for an outlet to release her frustrations on. Per usual, that outlet is you.

“Strip,” she commands, voice taunt. You do as you’re told, carefully taking off each item of clothing before folding and placing them on one of the chairs on the other side of the office before returning to your spot on the floor. “Good pet,” she praises, running her blood-red nails over your lips before pushing her thumb onto your tongue. You suck on it, swirling your tongue around the rough pad of her finger and the smooth, polished nail. As she lifts her hand you move with her, following her lead as she moves you between her legs.

You know what to do, know that she likes her shoes off and skirt pulled off to prevent the expensive item from wrinkling. Peggy obviously planned for this day to be long, as she’s just wearing a sweater that’s now creased from when it was tucked into her skirt. It’s her own version of “casual,” her own vision for a lazy day. The soft knit sometimes slips down her stomach and rubs against your forehead as you kiss over her black lace panties and push them aside to sink a finger into her heat.

“Such a good little kitten,” she sighs happily. Her eyes are closed, bottom lip between teeth. Each soft kiss you leave across her lips causes a small, gaspy moan to slip from her mouth. “God, you’re so good at this, aren’t you? Love being Mistress’ little slut, huh?”

You nod, tongue dipping in and out of her wetness. It’s easy to get her worked up, even when she’s as stressed as she is now. But that’s your job, isn’t it? To make sure Peggy’s able to be focused on her job and her company and her meetings and her business partners and making sure nobody tries to take her down because every fucking man in this world thinks she’s not tough or smart or good enough to be as powerful as she is combined with everything else she has to worry about that is always trying to make her work-pleasure scale out of balance. It’s your job to see that she’s always able to focus on the tasks in front and ahead of her.

You can tell she’s about to come when her thighs start squeezing around your head and her hand starts grabbing at the nape of your neck to push your forward. Peggy needs to stay quiet; the walls are thick, but her screams are famous for leaking through any material the world sets before her. Even as she bites down on her sleeve and digs her heels into the base of her spine, loud moans bounce off the walls. The small “Oh, fuck baby”s and “right there, pet”s keep you going, even when you’re trapped and become light-headed from the lack of oxygen. She reaches her orgasm with three fingers stuffed inside of her and your mouth latched to her clit, her legs tensing around you before melting at your sides. You don’t stop, though, as she grips at your hair and falls back in her chair. You won’t stop until Mistress tells you to.

Peggy ends up pushing you away with her foot, leaning over to grab a key that’s hidden in a secret compartment below her overflowing pen cup. Her hands shake from pleasure as she unlocks the drawer closest to the floor. From it she pulls a matte black strap on attached to a matching leather harness. Easily, she manhandles you into position, tugging the toy on with one and rubbing at your dripping folds with the other.

“So wet and ready for me, huh kitten?” She purrs as two fingers drip inside of you. You mewl, your own fingers gripping at the edge of the desk. “Always such well-behaved little slut.”

Peggy pulls your fingers out and positions herself at your entrance, giving you a fraction of a second to recognize her next move before she begins plowing into you with long, steady strokes. Within moments she’s got one foot on the table and one hand in your hair for a better angle, the slant of her body finding that special spot inside of you that makes you cry out in pleasure every time her hips press into your ass. Soon, almost too soon, you start begging to come, desperate for release. The sounds that leave your throat aren’t cute and high-pitched like before, they’re closer to deep, guttural sobs that surprise even Peggy as she bends down to coo in your ear.

“Such a greedy slut for Mistress’ cock, aren’t ya?” Her distinctive accent becomes thicker with every word, each met with an unmelodic squeak from you. “C’mon, tell Mistress how much you love her cock.”

You’re close, she knows this. She knows if you shift any of the brain power that’s going to not coming to speaking you won’t be able to walk by the time she’s done with you. Still, disobeying might be the worst outcome of all the others. At first the words are small and strangled, but soon enough they begin to flow from your mouth like water from a drain during a rainstorm. “Oh, god yes Mistress, yes I love your cock. I love the way you fuck me and use me, love the way you use me like the fuck doll I am, love the way I take all your stress away. Love being the plaything you call in when every man at work pisses you off, love knowing that when you want to fire all of them. Love knowing every Wednesday when you get paid means you get to spoil me and fuck me until I can’t walk or speak or- oh!”

Peggy’s slipped out of you, pressing a larger toy – a vibrator, you soon become aware – into your pussy. You’re about to asks why she stopped, if you can come, if she’s going to continue, but then you’re slack-jawed as she slips two lube-covered fingers into your tight asshole. “Figured you’d like that, huh baby girl?”

All you can is gulp as gasp, her thigh leveled to keep the thick toy in your cunt and her fingers slowly working you open. You don’t protest as she pushes you to the floor, can’t object to her stopping to move you into another position – this time on your back – as she slips the strap onto into your ass. You feel so stuffed; both your holes being fucked at once and Peggy rubbing at your clit. “C-can I cum, Mistress?” you beg, tears welling up in the corners of your eyes before falling down your cheeks. You’re sure the mascara Peggy bought you is running now, smeared just like your lip glosses and eyebrows.

She leaves a light kiss at your temple before whispering into your ear. “Cum all you want, kitten.”

Your orgasms come quickly, your body still convulsing from the pulses of the last when the next one hits. By the end you’re crying fat tears onto the wooden floor as your limbs shake and shudder involuntarily. Somewhere in the back of your mind you try to count how many orgasms you had, but you quickly lose count at six.

The air around you suddenly cools as Peggy pulls away, redressing herself before wrapping you in quilts that smell like her and dragging you onto the couch to sleep. Sometimes if the play was light she’d send you home, but with how tired and dehydrated and deep into substance you are she doesn’t want to leave you alone. She quickly texts to switch all her appointments to remote so she can keep an eye on you as you rest, wrapped in thick quilts as you fall asleep.

Everything okay? Steve texts back.

Peggy smiles at your sleeping form as she types her reply.

Yeah, everything’s perfect.

#peggy carter x reader #peggy carter x reader lemons #lukis writes stuff #peggy carter #peggy carter imagines #peggy carter imagine #peggy carter x you #sugar mama carter #dom peggy

444 notes · View notes

prometix · 5 years ago

Text

Power Platform – what’s in it for your organisation

Microsoft technology specially the Office 365 had a speedy growth and rapid innovations.

One of the biggest new areas from Microsoft that you will read a lot about is the Power Platform.

The ‘Power Platform’ is a collective term for three Microsoft products: Power BI, PowerApps and Power Automate (formerly known as MS Flow). They provide the means to help people easily manipulate, surface, automate and analyse data and can be used with Office 365 and Dynamics 365 (as well as other third-party apps and other Microsoft services).

The Power Platform is possible thanks to the Common Data Service (or CDS), which is essentially the underlying data platform that provides a unified and simplified data schema so that applications and services can inter-operate.

Why this platform in important?

In this digital age, we are extremely reliant on data – and the amount of data companies are creating is continually increasing. While all this data is inevitable, it is useless unless companies gain insights and meaning from it - to gain tangible value.

Historically, data analysis, app creation or automation would be achieved by IT/Development teams. This would require staff to outline their requirements and aims, submit these requests to their IT department (or even an external partner) and then see whether it was approved and subsequently, wait for it to be built. This would be time-consuming and would use valuable resources internally or be costly if fulfilled externally. What're more, those requesting the solution would tend to have an immediate need and waiting for weeks could cause internal delays. Get Microsoft Office 365 Consultant Sydney

This is why the Power Platform is so exciting. The Power Platform enables data democratisation – the ability for digital information to be accessible to the typical (non-technical) end user. It provides three technologies that allow staff to do more with their data themselves without coding knowledge. While it doesn’t allow the intricacies and flexibility of custom coding, it does provide a simple method for most users to be able to create, automate or analyse their data in ways which have never been possible for the average worker.

PowerApps is a low-code approach to custom app development, allowing users to quickly create apps with a ‘point and click’ approach. It allows you to:

· Build mobile-friendly apps quickly and without development knowledge and reducing pressure on busy IT teams

· Connect to and surface data from your business applications, such as Dynamics 365 and Office 365 (and also third-party apps)

· Surface key data into a user-friendly app to help data entry – meaning users only see the information they need to fulfil a particular task

Power Automate allows you to create automated workflows between your Microsoft services or other third-party applications, which allows staff to avoid carrying out repetitive tasks and save valuable time. It allows you to:

· Use pre-built automation templates for common automations (within the Gallery)

· Create you own automations by connecting various applications, such as Outlook, SharePoint Dynamics 365 or non-Microsoft apps like Twitter, Asana, Gmail, MailChimp etc.

· Set up triggers, alerts, automated emails, push notifications and much more – with no coding and in minutes

· Overall it allows you to save time, reduce human error and streamline your processes

Power BI is a business analytics tool which allows you to easily connect to data sources, create visuals and gain business intelligence quickly. It allows you to:

· Click and connect with Microsoft and third-party cloud services, as well as on-premise data sources

· Easily manipulate data and create visuals, such as charts, dashboards, maps and many more – so you can present your data in an easy-to-digest format

· Use natural language to query data and get results (i.e. “show me our sales pipeline for 2018 by month, by sales person”)

· Overall, allowing you to easily analyse and make sense of complex data to enable continual improvement

As a Microsoft Gold certified partner, we have extensive experience in delivering Power Platform based solutions. For more information, please contact us from [email protected]

#Microsoft Gold certified partner

1 note · View note

chickennoodlesoupfortae · 6 years ago

Text

Backstage Love P2

A/N- hey guys it’s part two and this chapter is really just a filler/bridge to make the story flow but the next part will be out in the soon future. I hope you enjoy this sort of slice of life.

Summary-You get invited to see BTS at their concert in your city by a friend. In a turn of events, you end up being rushed backstage mistaken for a crew member that is where you meet Taehyung. You now must figure out how to deal with the miscommunication.

Word count-1.2k

Warning- a little boring sorry the . next chapter will have more fluff and tae. this is necessary to the plot. :(

part one

There was a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach when the show finished. It was a mix of anxiety, butterflies, and guilt. “I don’t know (y/b/f/n), I don’t think I can go backstage again it was already so stressful the first time…” you start rambling “Come on sis, I know you can’t be serious.” she pulled you closer to her “I’m gonna stay back because you’re supposed to be an intern. Go and kill em tiger” she pushed you away You found your way through the crowd and to the end of the barricades. “Ma’am the concert is over the exit is that way.” the guard pointed in the other direction. “Ohh sorry.” you turned around cursing yourself for even thinking of doing all of that again. “(Y/n) what the hell are you doing? Get back here we need you to help manage the pack up.” You groaned in your head it was your boss, wait no she wasn’t your boss. ‘I’m just gonna tell her’ you thought to yourself. “I’m coming.” you hurried over. “I need you to hold this and follow me as I help get this show going, write down everything I tell you and everything I don’t. Ok? Sounds good.” You stopped her before she could start walking ahead “Ma’am you have me mistaken for someone else I believe, this is all just a big misunderstanding but I’m not your intern and I would like to remove myself from this situation before it goes any further than either of us want.” You looked at your shoes handing back the clipboard “I don’t understand are you like a sasaeng or something?” she looked at the clipboard as if looking for the answers there. “No, oh gosh no. I was lead here by security and then I got lost and mistaken for someone. I just wasn’t able to get my voice in all the commotion.” you were now looking at her. “I don’t know what to do, I can’t have you going and spreading this around that would look bad on my part.” she looked up from the clipboard and then scoping out your surrounding area. “Listen here what’s gonna happen.” she looked around the two of you again and then pulled you into a small crook in the hallway. “I’m gonna give you an opportunity no one has ever gotten this easily.” she lowered her voice into a whisper. “You can stay here and I’ll give you the job.” she widened her eyes as if asking you to nod, you nodded saying you understood. “But only if we never speak of this again and you sign a non-disclosure.” you didn’t respond not knowing what to say. “Or the other option is that I call the police for you impersonating a staff member and intruding on the staff’s privacy.” You knew what she was doing using fear tactics and manipulating you into doing what was best for her, but in this case what was best for her also gave you an amazing opportunity. “Of course Ms Miller we have to get on with our tasks” you grabbed the clipboard and pointed at the first bullet. “See here we have to go check on the managers of the venue and pay the final fees in the office on level three.” you used a business tone. “Right this was Ma’am” you started walking her to the elevators. “I’m so glad you decided to stay with us my (y/l/n)” The night was extraordinarily long not allowing you anytime to even call your friend and ask her if she got home safe. You walked to curb and sat down ordering yourself an uber trying to figure out how you were going to explain this to your family. You were eighteen but it was the summer before college so you hadn’t moved yet, at least this would give you some money to get you on your feet. You suddenly felt a hand on your shoulder. You let out a yelp and hit the person behind you. “Shesh (y/n) sorry” you looked back to see Tae shaking his wrist from where you had hit him. You stood up “Oh my lord I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it would be you or else.” you started turning red. “Well, I wouldn’t have hit you.” He started laughing, you just looked down feeling yourself get hot from embarrassment. “I just didn’t see you backstage and I wanted to ask you more about what you’re doing with the company,” he explained. Now sitting beside you. “I’m going to be an intern or more like a personal assistant ‘Ma’am’ basically just helping out with anything and everything. I’m pretty sure I’ll be here for the rest of the tour.” you smiled trying to leave the details as vague as possible in case you were wrong. Thankfully the uber pulled up. “Oh, here’s my ride. I’ll see you tomorrow.” you closed the door to the car letting out a sigh of relief. There was a tap on the window before the car could leave. You rolled down the window. “Where are you going? All staff usually stay at hotels with the group,” he asked eyes wide with curiosity. ‘Fuck what do I say now?’ “I have family in town and I wanted to get in a hello before we leave,” you said quickly “Well remember to be back before five so we don’t leave you behind.” he gave you his boxy smile and waved goodbye. As the car drove back into the city you realized what had just happened. You rushed into your house. “Hi,” you said going straight to a closet to pull out luggage “Where have you been (y/n) honey we were all so worried about you” your mom was sitting on the couch “I don’t have time to explain right now” you were carrying a luggage and duffel bag into your room. Immediately you started throwing in all your nice clothes barely organizing. It looked like you were fleeing the country or something at the pace you were going. “(y/n) where are you going?” your mom asked at the frame of your door. You groaned in response while opening your cabinets looking for your small makeup pouch. She walked over grabbing your hand. “Honey tell me what’s going on,” she asked now a little irritated “Oh my gosh ok.” you threw yourself on your bed looking at the ceiling. “I got offered a job to go on tour with the band I went to see tonight.” you stood back up and started closing the suitcase. You looked at the time “Fuck. No. it’s already three.” “You can’t just leave like this.” your mom yelled “I can and I am” you grabbed both bags and began to look around your room for anything else you might need. You grabbed a couple of loose ends and your polaroid. “Why do I need this,” you asked out loud while stuffing it into your tote bag. “I don’t it’s just stress” you opened your phone to see twenty email notifications. You ordered an uber back to the arena. For the first time that night you let yourself breath hugging your mom. “(y/n) you have to call me tomorrow as soon as this is over and explain yourself or else I will fly out to wherever you are and bring you back.” you laughed nodding into her shoulder “Okay, mom. I promise I will I just don’t have time right now.” you heard a honk outside. Your eyes started to water. “Bye mom I love you, tell everyone I love them and I’ll call them.” you walked out of your house and into the unknown, again.

#bts imagines #bts fanfic #bts taehyung #taehyung fic #fluff #backstage love #bts fluff #fanfic #taehyung fluff #Bts v

16 notes · View notes

otheroutlandertales · 7 years ago

Photo

The second part of the Ian and Rachel Modern AU!

Chapter 1

Wine and Whisky - Chapter 2

by @whiskynottea

“This seems like a lot of water to drink for someone who went to a bar just for an interview.” Denny eyed the bottle in Rachel’s hand and took a bite of his french toast.

“I don’t remember asking you to check on my water consumption, Denzell, but thank you anyway.” Too many words. She’d try to be more laconic next time.

This headache was killing her.

“I was just observing that you’ve drank almost a liter of water in the last thirty minutes. How did the interview go?” Denny looked at her, serious for a moment, before he chuckled to himself. “I hope you didn’t get salty with the poor guy just because he made the mistake to have his business in Edinburgh.”

“I’m not salty,” Rachel stated, sinking deeper into the soft sofa. She could still feel the new fabric straining, not used to holding people just yet. It had been less than a week since Denny brought it home. She had been mad at him for not consulting her first, but he insisted that it was half price and he had to hurry.

“Yeah, sure, you’re not,” her brother’s voice brought her out of her reverie. “You’re the sunshine Scotland’s missed all the past years.”

Rachel heard his ironic smile between the words, and all she could come up with as a response was to toss a throw-pillow at his head. If only she had the strength. That was why people call it a throw-pillow, right?

“You didn’t answer my question,” Denny insisted. “You did go to the interview, right? The whisky distillery?”

“Mmm.” Even humming made her headache worse. “Went… good.”

Did it, though?

Her gaze traveled from the glass of water to her phone, silent, on the coffee table.

She had only dreamed it. He’d never asked for her number. He hadn’t texted her, hadn’t asked if she’d arrived home safe.

“What’s wrong with me?” she murmured, reaching for the acetaminophen next to the offending device.

She had dreamed of Ian. If she had drunk wine, instead of whisky, she would have never dreamt of a guy she’d talked to for less than twenty minutes. She knew wine and it knew her, too. It didn’t play dangerous games with her. But no, she’d had a lot of whisky, instead. A treacherous spirit, that one.

“You’re bored, that’s what’s wrong with you,” she heard her brother again from the doorway as he put his light jacket on, almost ready to go. “I assume you’re drinking for science? Comparing the Californian wine to the Scottish one?”

“There is no Scottish wine. And you’re still here. Aren’t you late for work already?” She asked, rolling her eyes. Her intolerable brother.

“I love you, too, sis,” he said, closing the door behind him.

“I love you, too, ass,” Rachel murmured and leaned her head back, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Finally, alone.

She was extremely thirsty, Denny had been right about that. Last night she had lost count of her drinks after the third one. William was kind and eager to show her everything, and she’d assumed this was a good thing. His smile was warm and his voice carried softly in the bar’s air, filled with thick Scottish accents.

Now, sober in her apartment, she realized how unprofessional it was to stay and drink with him after the interview. He had somehow convinced her at the beginning that it was a part of the procedure.

Meet the Frasers, meet their whisky.

At the beginning, she was extremely careful when he arrived with the first drinks. She took her time analyzing them. But the more she drank, the less attention she paid to Willie. Her gaze kept traveling back to the bar, to Ian, with the rebel looks and the gentle eyes.

Ian, who hadn’t asked for her number.

And why would he?

Rachel ran her hands over her face and stood up. She walked across the living room to the simple white desk - two weeks in their new house now - and turned her laptop on. Not that she’d have a follow up email already - it was too early.

If there would be an email after all. William had said they would call her.

Would they?

Before checking on her cover letter for two other applications she’d prepared together with the Fraser Distillery position, Rachel walked to the kitchen, chose the biggest mug available and poured coffee, filling it to the rim.

Three cups of coffee later, the first application was sent. To the Scottish Salmon Company.

Who would have imagined that. Smelling fish all day long. Not that she hated fish, but having them around her every day... that was far from ideal - half a planet away far.

Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Priorities. First of all, find a job.

She missed the vineyards. She wanted to check her Facebook timeline for new pictures from the colleagues - ex-colleagues - when she noticed the email notification. Gulping, she pressed her thumb on her phone’s screen, a bit more forcefully than usual.

Dear Ms Hunter,

She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. The next lines held an answer, patiently waiting for her to read. Expectations rose inside her, battling with doubts and her eyes ran to the words in their own volition.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us about the assistant distiller position. We enjoyed getting to know you, and we’d like to invite you for a second interview at our corporate office.

Your interview will be with Mr James Fraser, distillery manager and owner of the Lallybroch distillery, and will last approximately forty-five minutes.

Would you be available on Tuesday, at 11am? Please let me know if another date or time would work best for you.

Looking forward to meeting you again,

Kind regards,

Glenna FitzGibbons

Rachel read and re-read the email. She had a second interview. With James Fraser - the owner.

Maybe William did like her after all.

With a bouncing leg and a smiling lip caught between her teeth, she replied.

Rachel looked at herself in the mirror one last time before leaving the elevator. Light blue shirt, black pants, black pumps. She took a deep breath. Checked her mascara. Took another breath. The doors opened and she walked mechanically to the hallway, standing in front of Fraser’s office one moment too long.

“Can’t stay in here forever…” she mumbled, a firm hand pushing the door.

“Good morning,” she said to the lady sitting behind the desk at the reception.

“Good morning, dear,” the lady returned with a smile, glasses low on her nose. “How can I help you?”

“My name is Rachel Hunter.” Her heart beat loudly in her chest. “I’m here to meet Mr James Fraser, for the position -”

“Yes, yes, of course,” the lady interrupted her before she had time to finish. “We’ve been waiting for ye. I’m Glenna, Glenna FitzGibbons.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms FitzGibbons.” Rachel’s hand was gripping the handles of her bag as if holding on for dear life and it took her a moment to open her palm to shake the lady’s extended hand.

“Mr Fraser will see ye in a minute,” she said, and disappeared down the hallway behind her.

Rachel stood in place, her eyes wandering around, taking in the reception area. It was simple, with pictures adorning the white walls. Pictures of people with huge smiles. Every picture was hung in a similar dark frame, a date handwritten on each on of them. Rachel moved closer, curious to discover the stories they had to tell.

A black and white picture with people sitting on whisky casks, dated 1961.

A man with dark hair, holding a bottle of whisky, dated 1968.

A woman wearing high waist bell bottom jeans standing in a warehouse and smiling to the camera, with three children making faces next to her, dated 1974.

Two teens, a redheaded boy sitting on a cask and a black haired girl leaning on him with hands crossed in front of her chest, dated 1980.

The teens of the previous picture, older now, with a curly haired woman and -

“Ms Hunter?”

Rachel jerked at the voice, abruptly turning to see Mrs FitzGibbons smiling at her. She had gotten lost in the pictures, in the story of this family that lived next to malt, changing with the years, like the whisky in the casks.

“Right this way, lass.”

Forty-five minutes; it was written in the email.

When Rachel left Fraser’s office, a glance at the large clock at the end of the hall revealed she'd been in there over an hour. It felt like it had been less than twenty minutes. He was impressive, with an imposing stature and clever blue eyes but he didn’t make her feel uneasy. He reminded her of William, somehow, but there was something different between the two men, something she couldn’t point at, but felt it was there.

Their conversation had a flow that made her feel like it wasn’t an interview. He asked about her studies and her experience with wine. His questions held an interest that rang true. He didn’t ask her the same old boring questions about herself and her advantages, about her free time and hobbies. Instead, he asked her why she had chosen them, why whisky.

“When I was working on wine, I thought I could never find anything more complex, more intriguing. But I can now say that I was wrong,” she said and meant it. “Whisky is another world for me, Mr Fraser, and I’m eager to get lost in it and discover its secrets.”

He seemed pleased with her answer, a soft smiling curving up one corner of his lip.

William and Ian did that too.

He talked to her then, about whisky. His second greatest love, he called it. “My father started the distillery, and now it’s my sister and myself who run it. Scots drink a lot of whisky, Ms Hunter, as you will soon find out.”

So William hadn’t told him that she’d already found out just how much. “I’ve had some of your whisky, to be honest. William was kind enough to go through a tasting with me.”

Jamie Fraser raised his eyebrows for mere seconds before schooling his face again. “And what did ye think of our products, then?”

“I loved how each of them was special. Different. I could tell if it was the same series with increased maturation or a different whisky all together,” Rachel said with a smile. “That was what made me fall in love with wine - how even the year could make such a difference, each harvest offering something new to us to work with.”

Jamie Fraser smiled contently at that, and Rachel took a breath, feeling sure of herself. She hadn’t lied or said anything exaggerated. Tasting the vintages with William had made something inside her click, a missing piece that fit perfectly in the emptiness she’d felt since she left California. The butterscotch aroma she tried to bring to her Chardonnay using toasted oak barrels. The almond notes she’d found in that Valpolicella Classico Superiore of 1998, but more intense, filling her senses. There was something in whisky, something she’d always pursued in wine. A strength, a declaration of passion.

Jamie Fraser went on to tell her about the business expansion and her duties as an assistant manager. “My son, William, does the same in our first distillery, at Lallybroch. That was where everything started.”

His proud smile turned to a wistful one. Personal reasons, he said, made him pursue the expansion in Edinburgh. There would be different whiskies produced at each location, and while he would stay in Edinburgh, training her himself, William would return to Lallybroch to operate the distillery there, with his sister’s family.

Rachel felt engrossed in Jamie Fraser’s world, in his dreams and aspirations. He had a way with words, rolling them in his thick accent, transforming ideas into vivid images. A born storyteller, he could have easily become a writer in a parallel universe. He gave the words colors and scents - sweet and buttery, woody and gingery - as if he was making his whisky just in front of her.

Rachel listened to the details about the new distillery as if it was the only thing that mattered to her. And somehow it was. She had found her purpose.

Fraser’s shake was firm and warm before he bid her au revoir.

Au revoir - that was a good thing. Rachel left his office with her heart calm and a soft smile on her face.

She was walking towards the elevator, Mrs FitzGibbons’ wishes to have a wonderful day still hanging in the air, when she saw its door opening.

William entered, wearing a grey T-shirt and jeans - much more casually dressed than when she last saw him at the interview. He was murmuring the words of the song he was listening to, but removed the earplugs the moment he saw her.

“Rachel.” He smiled at her, bending in a way, reminding her of a bow.

“Hello, William.” Rachel’s smile turned to a grin when she noticed the empty bottle of whisky in his hand.

William’s eyes followed her gaze and he shrugged, rolling his eyes. “It was empty! My father asked for it, to check some marketing details!”

“Are you sure?” Rachel teased him. “You seemed to finish up some of these at the bar…”

“Not alone,” he winked at her. “You didn’t pass by the bar again. We had live music last night, and we stayed till late. There is another performance on Friday, if you’d like to...”

“That sounds fun!” She interrupted him before he could go on, suddenly afraid of what he’d say. She paused for a moment, before adding in a more serious voice, “Thank you for the referral to Mr Fraser, William.”

“You’re welcome. Talk to you soon?”

“Well, I hope so!”

She entered the elevator, staring at the mirror until she hit the ground floor, unable to stop the grin from spreading over her face.

She might have gotten the job.

Leaving the building, Rachel walked towards the old city, ignoring the drizzle falling from the grey sky. It was still early, and the day was warm. She would walk around, buy herself a coffee and then something to eat.

A man with a tattoo passed by her when she crossed the North Bridge, making her heart stop.

It wasn’t him.

But if she got the job, she would see Ian again.

Continue to Chapter 3.

#outlander fanfiction #otheroutlandertales #mod whisky #pair: Young Ian x Rachel #ch: Rachel #ch: Young Ian #ch: Jamie #ch: Denny #ch: Mrs Fitz #ch: William #modern AU #catergory: mf #Wine and Whisky #oot #*

82 notes · View notes

rajeshkuofficial · 3 years ago

Link

#Invoice #InvoiceGenerator #ZipBooks #InvoiceOwl

0 notes

bloggingrepublicindia · 3 years ago

Link

0 notes

bestrenew728 · 4 years ago

Text

Best Personal Finance Software For Mac 2017, Software

The best personal finance software is easy to use and helps you improve your money management. But with so many options out there, no single app or website is best for everyone. As a result, it’s important for you to research these and other options and pick one that best serves your needs. When it comes to finding a Top Rated Personal Accounting Software comparing quotes is the key to getting the best product for the lowest price. We’ve gathered information on the top personal bookkeeping solutions, user reviews, buying tips, and made it easy to get the best price.

Best Personal Finance Software For Mac 2017 Software Update

Personal Finance For Mac

Personal budget software apps can't help much with the self-deprivation, because your income is what it is and it's up to you to work within it or change it. But these best software choices can take the tedium and the challenge out of the budgeting process. CountAbout® is an easy-to-use online personal finance application that imports data from Quicken and Mint and automatically downloads data from banking, credit card, and retirement accounts. With no software to install, we’re anywhere you have an Internet connection.

Personal finance software can help you to manage your money flow in a better way. Money management is the most critical task in both personal and business life. For helping the business owners and personal finance management, there are many finance software is available for Mac.

Best Accounting Software for Mac: Xero Mac users often grapple with the issue of software that is stripped down or is less intuitive than its Windows counterpart. Banktivity 7, the leading Mac personal finance app. Banktivity connects all of your bank accounts in one place so you can make smarter financial decisions. A great personal finance app can help you save more money and give you an instant snapshot of your financial situation in seconds. A lot of the problems we face when dealing A roundup of the best in class for money management, budgeting (free and premium), investing, and microsaving apps for 2018.

The budgeting apps are smart enough to send notifications to any unusual bank and credit card activity in real time. In addition to this, these finance managing software tools can notify you of any interest charged on credit cards and bank accounts. There are free personal finance software apps and premium budget software for finance management. Free budgeting software is also good enough to record and summarize your cash flow and help to manage your personal or business budget in every month.

Here is a list of best personal finance software for Mac to get the centralization and overview of spending habits.

Banktivity 5

Banktivity formerly known as iBank 5, is one of the best personal finance software for mac in Apple Store. YBanktivity finance management software is the best choice for those who want to track transactions and manage the personal finance, that is better than simple accounting software.

This Mac budget software can connect more banks and credit card accounts than other free software. The Banktivity Mac app can get enhanced investment support for bonds and offers dismissal of similar transactions from the bank data downloads. You can acknowledge your mistakes by comparing the past, current or projected projects.

Related: These iPhone Apps will Earn Money back While You Shopping.

Through Banktivity cloud sync, you can sync your banktivity files on more than one device for free to get access to them whenever you want to. The app effortless manages your transactions, allowing control over the budgets, stock portfolios, etc.

Download: Mac $64.99 | iPad $19.99

2. MoneyWiz 2 – Personal Finance

MoneyWiz 2 allows you to efficiently control all your financial transactions, making this budget software a top choice among all the personal finance software for Mac. This finance software allows you to import the data from other apps and ensures a smooth run due to its sleek and sturdy interface.

MoneyWiz automatically monitors your financial transactions and assigns them in the needed budgets and build custom reports based what you acknowledge regarding your money. MoneyWiz 2 budget software is there to assist in online banking, downloading all your transactions and you can use any file on it from CSV, QIF, OFX, QFX to MT940 file.

Related: A Complete Guide to Transfer Money Online with Email for Free

Make your transaction entry to be fast with the software. The finance software is helpful in budget tracking and protects your data with a PIN which can be set for a particular time period. The PIN will auto-erase on 10 wrong attempts for maximum security and comfort.

Download: Mac $24.99 | iPad $4.99

3. Debit & Credit – Personal Finance Manager

Looking for a personal finance software, that offers convenience and at the same time has the needed features, then Debit & Credit software is the right choice for you. With this budget software, you can easily reconcile your accounts with the bank statements for eliminating any disparities and getting the extra help to keep the accounts in shape.

Create a new transaction in a matter of seconds and save the locations of the places where you go often, helping you to record the expenses easily. Get clean and crisp reports along with Split categories, pending transactions, transaction export, file attachments (with sync), transaction tags. Debit & Credit Mac software comes in eight color themes available for selection in the settings of the software allowing you to customize your experience.

Related: 3 Free Smartphone Budgeting Apps to Monitor Finance Transactions & Alert

Download: Mac Free | iPad Free

4. Moneydance 2015

Moneydance is one of the best personal finance software for Mac handling multiple currencies and doing any financial task virtually with ease. This Mac Budget Software has more reporting options than the majority of other software inherits; giving you centralized access to all the data related to your financial transactions.

Follow your investments and focus more on your portfolio through the software. Never miss a payment by scheduling for single or recurring transactions. Send online payments quickly and attach images, PDFs, and other such files to transactions. It learns how to categorize the downloaded transactions automatically. Create and control your budget like a breeze also ensures the inflow as well as the outflow of money through Moneydance.

So, if you are looking for a Photoshop alternative that’s easier to use or a free Photoshop alternative for your Windows PC, Mac, Linux machine or even your Android. To help you select the best software, we tested six popular photo-editing programs, all either free or under $100: Apple Photos, Corel PaintShop Pro, GIMP, Google Photos, Adobe Photoshop Elements. Best photoshop software for windows 10. The Mac is still the best device for serious photo editing, so you need some serious photo editing apps to make an impact. The built-in Photos app on Mac offers several useful photo editing tools. You can crop, adjust lighting and color, set the white balance, add filters, remove unwanted blemishes, and a.

Download: Mac $49.99

Affinity Photo is the next best software tool for photo editing on Mac OS. It is not connected to Photoshop and other Adobe products in any way, but it may look a bit similar. It is not connected to Photoshop and other Adobe products in any way, but it may look a bit similar. 11 rows As far as Mac photo editing software goes, you should be able to find a basic editing. The Mac is still the best device for serious photo editing, so you need some serious photo editing apps to make an impact. The built-in Photos app on Mac offers several useful photo editing tools. You can crop, adjust lighting and color, set the white balance, add filters, remove unwanted blemishes, and a. Finding the Best Photo Editing App for You The key decision behind using any imaging application lies with what the requirements are for the task at hand. You need to closely research the product and get really clear on both the product's strengths and its weaknesses. https://bestrenew728.tumblr.com/post/653978337133346816/best-photo-editing-tools-for-mac. How can the answer be improved?

5. Ms Finance

Standing out from the crowd, Ms Finance is there to solve all the troubles encountered with the previous personal finance software. The app makes the tracking and paying off bills convenient by bringing them at a single place.

It handles multiple accounts with the support for the transfers between same currency accounts. Create custom reports to show any financial data virtually through the report assistant. Forecast your financial requirements for the future through Ms Finance. Get accurate statements regarding the balances of your account to get the needed help. The developers of the software have tried to make the design and user interface to be intrusive and simple as possible to allow the user to access the features easily.

Download: Mac $14.99

6. Quicken 2

Best mac laptop for coding. Quicken is well known for financial management and offer iPad and Mac software. This Finance Management Software can import all your bank transactions safely & automatically. This excellent software can automatically categorize your spending. The additional features like portfolio performance, make informed buy/sell decisions and find funds that fit your goals are nice features to make this one of the best finance software.

Quicken automatically generates bill reminders and pay your bills with Quicken Bill Pay and offer investment tracking, offline use & enhanced search

Download: Mac $74.99 | iPad Free

7. iFinance 4

iFinance is a personal finance software inheriting some great features, making it worth a try. You can easily compare your investments to the rest of the market. It is a good program that can easily handle the transactions of varying forms.

The Mac finance software analyzes your finances and maintains its records through Cloud Sync or Wi-Fi. It gives the users easy to customize charts as well as reports; iFinance 4 clearly arranges the transaction lists of all your financial resources, group different types of expenses.

Best Personal Finance Software For Mac 2017 Software Update

Download: Mac $29.99

Know how the assets perform with the reports made by the tool. iFinance offers the user a broad range of easy to customize charts and reports giving you the precise reports on the source of money and the spending without any trouble.

Best financial software must have the capability to securely connect all your bank accounts and credit cards in one place. This software can track your income and expense in real-time and advice to manage the budget and invest the money in diverse ways in the coming future. In addition to this, these financial software tools summarize all your monthly expenses and automatically set budget for each category to limit your spending.

Related: This is How You Can Convert Your TV to Smart TV Under $99 Budget

Personal Finance For Mac

Through with these personal finance software for Mac, you can track your expenses and the balances of your account for the best management of money and credit cards. With efficient management of money, you can get early warnings regarding the upcoming financial fines, interest payments, and bills.

0 notes

concettolabs · 4 years ago

Text

Microsoft Rebrands Flow Service to Power Automate in Ignite 2019

In this digital era, you will find several cloud services or applications to do just about everything. But what’s the actual point, if we can’t couple it together and work?

Disconnected applications and services are much like a cell phone device that has no internet accessibility. In this state, you cannot make any progress. But, Microsoft Power Automate allows your apps, services, and employees to work together seamlessly. If technology and your team are coupled together and started working together, then you can work smarter, work less, and do more.

What is Microsoft Power Automate?

Microsoft Power Automate, formerly known as Microsoft Flow or MS Flow. It is Microsoft Power Platform’s one of the newest services. With Power Automate, you can streamline time-consuming tasks and paperless processes. Automate is a workflow automation engine that focuses on Business Process Management (BPM). It aims to optimize, enhance, and automate your business processes.

Why Did Microsoft Rebrands Flow?

At the Ignite 2019, Microsoft announced the rebranding of Microsoft Rebrands Flow as Power Automate, the latest additions, and features to its Power Platform family. It brings in line with the rest of the platforms.

As a part of Power Platform alongside Power BI and PowerApps, the rebranding aligns with those other services. Moreover, Microsoft is adding support for RPA – Robotic Process Automation. With the integration of RAP, the app can support UI flows and become an end-to-end automation solution. It allows you to do both API-based automation and UI-based automation.

In the case of what Power Automate offers there are a few changes from the overall Microsoft Rebrands Flow experience. With this service, users can create automated workflows across applications. It’s known as an enterprise-oriented IFTTT competitor. Users can gather data collected, file synchronization, and notifications using automated chains.

With the help of AI and bots, RPA automates business processes, repetitive tasks, and freeing up staff to be more productive. You can easily create UI flows in Power Automate, which requires minimal coding knowledge. This means anyone from your organization can be a developer now.

Power Automate vs Flow

Microsoft Rebrands Flow always had limitations such as starting a second flow as a continuation of the primary one, not capable of reordering the steps in each flow, the complexity of new flow recreation, or reconnecting it to new lists, approved email formation, and so on.

Now, Microsoft has eliminated these limitations and added new features that empower business through its new capabilities – Power Automate Platform.

Before we proceed further, let us tell you a quick note on rebranding. Microsoft has to rebrand one of its products every quarter or it’s not allowed to call itself Microsoft. Microsoft Flow launched out of preview in October 2016. The competitor, IFTTT was always more about automation than workflows – it just took Microsoft three years to realize it.

Other Features by MicrosoftPower Automate goes RPA (Robotic Process Automation)

Having said earlier, Microsoft revealed a new feature RAP in Power Automate, which is known as UI flows. UI flows are now available in public preview.

The RPA eliminates the manual processes involved in automated workflows that record and playback human-driven interaction with software systems that don’t support API automation. Since Power Automate comes up with pre-built connectors for more than 275 apps and services that do support API automation, Microsoft claims it now has an end-to-end automation platform that can reinvent business processes for workload across industries.

Power Virtual Agents and AI Builder

If the requirement of needing some coding experience for UI flows concerns you, you will be relieved to hear about the Power Virtual Agents. It’s now available in public preview.

Power Virtual Agents allow the different functions in your company such as customer service, sales, marketing, finance, HR, and so on, to create bots with a guided, no-code graphical interface. Think of it as democratizing bot creation. There is no need for any data scientists, developers, coding, or AI expertise. Because Power Virtual Agents are part of the Power Platform. You can easily use the pre-built connectors to allow your bot to communicate with your backend or other systems or call and API.

As a matter of fact, Microsoft has revealed more no-code options in the form of AI Builder on Power Platform. Additionally, the Power Platform also has new prebuilt models in public preview:

Key Phrase Extraction – analyzes the main talking points from your text.

Language Detection – analyzes the predominant language from your text.

Text recognition – extracts embedded printed and handwritten text from images into machine-readable character streams.

Sentiment Analysis – detects positive, negative, neutral, or mixed sentiment in social media, customer reviews, or any text data.

With AI Builder, organizations can tailor AI scenarios for their specific business.

Security Improvements and Teams Integration

As per the above statement, Power BI is getting more security features with the following new capabilities.

Able to analyze and secure user activity on sensitive data in real-time with alerts, session monitoring, and risk remediation through Microsoft Cloud App security.

Allow security administrators who are using data protection reports and security investigation capabilities to leverage Microsoft Cloud App Security to enhance organizational oversight.

Moreover, with Power Platform, Microsoft is trying to collaborate its workplace tools and Microsoft Teams. Now, Power Platform dashboards, app & Power automation are available within Teams. And bots can be accessed through conversations. Additionally, PowerApps developers can also publish their apps directly into their company’s app library within Teams. New Power Automate triggers and actions are now available for common team and personal tasks.

Impact of Power Automate on Your Business

Using Power Automate in your business will surely take it to the next level. It will change the way you interact with your business.

Let’s go through some of the advantages of how your business can benefit from Power Platform.

Enhances Productivity

Your team members can create time-saving workflows for everything while using hundreds of pre-built connectors. This workflow includes individual tasks to scalable systems You can save time, improve your organization, and work more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks.

Streamline Repetitive Tasks

Power Automate notifies you if you receive any high-prioritized email or tweet or message from the receiver. It also sends a template to those you don’t need to review. This ensures that you never miss any single update and stay in touch with your clients while you are engaged in your personal life.

Easy and Quick Data Sharing

By connecting apps and creating flows to copy data from one folder to another, you can easily share files. Even, if you integrate Power Automate with Common Data Services, it will help you store and manage data used by business applications.

How Can You Reap the Benefits?

If you are implementing Power Automate, there are endless possibilities for your business. To reap the benefits, you must create the necessary workflows that keep the track of email attachments, get action items approved quickly, stay on top of relevant emails, and monitor brand-related posts and events on social media.

So, if you are also planning to transform your business with the help of Microsoft Power Platforms such as Power BI, PowerApps, and Flow, then hire PowerApps developers from us. Contact us and will discuss your specific business needs.

#hire PowerApps developers #Microsoft Power Automate

0 notes

chargemonk-subscription-software · 5 years ago

Text

Recurring Payment Solutions for Subscription Businesses

In India more and more businesses are adopting recurring payments and subscription-based business models. The advantages of a subscription model include predictable growth, steady cash flow, and reduced cost of acquiring customers, reduced retention costs, and inventory management.

The idea of the recurring payments is not something new and was not invented by the sensational brands like Spotify, or Netflix, or by the SAAS brands like Zendesk, Slack, etc. However recurring payment and subscriptions based business models is an extremely effective mode of conducting business with the generation that is preferring subscribing increasingly to a product rather than buying the product. Because of the introduction of Indian consumer-centric brands like Apple Music, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others, the subscription economy is experiencing a major push in India.

On the B2B front, subscription system is not that new to India, with the brands such as Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft is offering a subscription system already to acquire tools and platforms such as email clients, web servers, word processors and others that are an essential part of the business operations.

Whereas recurring payments have been available for offline transactions through NACH and ECS mandates, the recurring payment system for the online transactions has not picked up the pace in its early days because of the additional restriction of 2-factor verification, made compulsory by the Reserve Bank of India. However, that all changed since the rollout of the RBI notification and emanates on recurring payments.

With such new technology and policies affecting a lot of companies in India will be able to collect the recurring payments now, which is a win-win for the customers as well as for the business.

Industries Getting Benefitted from Recurring Payments the Most

Subscriptions or Recurring payments can be advantageous for a lot of industrial niches:

Entertainment and Content Providers

The extensive exposures consumers have had towards the recurring payment system (subscription-based services) have been in the entertainment and content segments. Most of us would be familiar with the business system that Amazon Prime, Netflix, Medium, Apple Music, and Spotify run on already. They charge you anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 1000, for monthly or an annual charge and you can access all the available content on their services without any extra charges.

In India, even the content-based services such as HOOQ, Hotstar, Zee5, offer subscription systems through credit cards, or digital wallets, lacking vital payment methods like UPI, net banking, and debit cards.

SAAS and Tech Businesses

Saas companies are another niche that could benefit potentially a lot from subscription-based systems. This has been obvious with the enormous growth of brands such as Freshdesk, Slack, Salesforce, Intercom, and others. The system has shown promise that even the brands that used to create revenue from one-of the sales of their software revolved to a recurring-payment system for the same. The main examples of such switch have been Adobe and Microsoft (MS Office).

Financial and Healthcare Services

Healthcare and Financial services have been the prime examples of the recurring payment-based system. The general insurance, loan-repayments, car insurance, SIP, and mutual fund investments and more models have covered the way for other niches to make their strategy.

Utility Billing

Utilities like water, electricity, membership, gym, and such are not considered traditionally as the recurring billing, as the amount is energetic for the most of the utilities when considered the billing frequency, these expenses have to be paid at the given date or you risk policy fines and lapse.

Retail and e-Commerce

Recurring payments and Subscriptions are making inroads into the eCommerce and retail sector rapidly. Brands including Dollar Shave Club and Birchbox displayed how the subscription-based service can be used to build a billion-dollar empire. Such stories have proved as a catalyst for other brands to launch their subscription systems.

#recurring payments subscription

0 notes

biotechtimes · 5 years ago

Text

Sun Pharma Recruitment 2020: MSc Biochem & Biotech R&D Jobs

New Post has been published on https://biotechtimes.org/2020/07/15/sun-pharma-recruitment-2020-msc-biochem-msc-biotech-rd-jobs/

Sun Pharma Recruitment 2020: MSc Biochem & Biotech R&D Jobs

Sun Pharma Recruitment 2020

Sun Pharma Recruitment 2020 – MSc Biochem & Biotech R&D Jobs. Sun Pharmaceutical Inds Limited, Baroda is inviting biotech and biochem candidates for R&D Biotechnology Jobs. Sun Pharma will conduct virtual interviews for Biotech R&D Jobs. Interested candidates may check out this wonderful opportunity below:

Sun Pharma R&D Biotechnology Jobs

Virtual Walk-In interview on 19th July 2020 | Time: 1.00 pm – 6.00 pm

Mode of interview: Video / Telecon

Sun Pharma invites applications for virtual interviews to be held on 19th July 2020 for the below-mentioned positions. Please send in your resumes on email: [email protected]. The details of the call/link will be shared on 19th July 2020 to the candidates. The interviews will be conducted basis the selection of profiles suiting the requirements.

Downstream Processing Job

A) Positions Vacant: Executive / Sr Executive / Mgr – R&D Biotechnology (Downstream Processing)

Experience Required: 3 – 9 years

Qualification: M.Sc / M.Tech / MS Pharm in Biotechnology / Biochemistry

Job Description:

Well versed with Downstream Process and development purification by different methodologies.

Good knowledge of Operation of Akta systems and TFF- tangential flow filtration system for purification

Strong experience working with biologics products

Handling and usage of different types of resins, filters and cassette.

Experience in GMP documentation for manufacturing of purification process for recombinant antibody manufacturing will have added advantage.

Planning and management of resources related to DSP equipment’s spares, maintenance, consumables, and other inventory.

Ability to work towards deadlines and adhere to time schedules.

Ability to work effectively to solve problems in a multidisciplinary team environment.

Upstream Processing Job

B) Positions Vacant: Executive / Sr Executive / Manager – R&D Biotechnology (Upstream Processing)

Experience: 3 – 10 years

Qualification: M.Sc / M.Tech / MS Pharm in Biotechnology / Biochemistry

Job Description:

Hands-on experience in Mammalian cell culture, Shake flask studies, Microbial fermentation, process development, Process scale down, Process characterization and technology transfer.

Experience in experimental execution, Data analysis, Troubleshooting for Upstream Process development for biotherapeutics.

Sound knowledge of cGMP, Global Regulatory submissions, DOE and QBD implementation

Ability to work as a team member in a highly demanding scientific work culture.

Protein Characterization Job

C) Positions Vacant: Executive / Sr Executive / Manager- R&D Biotechnology (Protein Characterization)

Experience: 2 – 9 years

Qualification: M.Sc / M.Tech / Ph.D. in Biotechnology / Biochemistry

Job Description:

Analytical method development for recombinant proteins characterization.

Validating test methods used in product characterization & bio-similarity assessment.

Independently design and perform analysis, including but not limited to, HPLC/UPLC, CE, Mass Spectrometry, ELISA, cell-based assay and others. Interpret results and write report with sound rational.

Development of quality target profile (QTP) using reference drug sourced from US, EU & IND.

Writing/reviewing of SOPs, STP, qualification protocol & qualification report.

Preparing quality dossier for regulatory submission.

Routine IPQC sample analysis and report preparation.

Analytical Method transfer to the production unit

View Notification

#Biochemistry #Biotechnology #Jobs

0 notes

suzanneshannon · 5 years ago

Text

Love in a time of Corona Virus - Tips, Tricks and Best Practices for Working Remotely

In this time of the Corona Virus and COVID-19, Microsoft has taken the unprecedented move of shutting down their Seattle campus. No one goes in to work until March 25th. That means they're all remote workers! Like me! For 13 years!

Do note that I am deeply sympathetic for the situation we all find ourselves in and I'm deeply aware of the privilege we have as tech/desk workers to be able to do our jobs remotely. I am also (dare I say) looking forward to what I believe will be a dramatic increase in Remote Worker Empathy on the part of the in office folks.

Check out my previous posts on being remote and explore the Remote Work category if you like.

Good, Better, Best creating the ultimate remote worker webcam setup on a budget

Tragedies of the Remote Worker: "Looks like you're the only one on the call"

30 Tips for Successful Communication as a Remote Worker

Virtual Camaraderie - A Persistent Video "Portal" for the Remote Worker

I also want to showcase some of the great tips and suggestion for remote work that are being shared. Here's tips from our own Adrian Murphy who has shared them internally at the company and has given me permission to share them externally. You can follow Adrian on Twitter and thank him his team for sharing all this information and for their kindness!

These tips are written in the context of using Microsoft Teams (which has an extraordinary free plan, BTW) but you can replace those references with Zoom/Skype/Whatever and the tips are the same.

Tips, Tricks and Best Practices for Working Remotely

Working remote can be quite a shift from being in the office, and sometimes the things you take for granted in person suddenly become massive inconveniences when working remotely. Whether this is your first time being remote or you're a remote superstar from the Antarctica office, this collection of tips and best practices may help you get settled.

Communication

Be mindful of time zones. Your middle of the day may be someone’s 3:00 am, so when scheduling calls or pinging via Teams, don’t forget to take into account the time zone differences for all involved.

Turn on your video when on a call with your team (there’s a bunch of communication which is non-verbal). Occasionally show off your pets on said video. It’s the little things that make it all feel more human.

Some might have reduced bandwidth. Consider turning on video at the beginning during intro and turning it off during important parts if you experience hiccups.

During calls, make sure to wait a few extra seconds when asking if folks online have any comments. It can take time for folks to un-mute themselves, and sometimes things can chug or hiccup. It’s not as instant as it is face to face, so you don’t want to move on before folks can even get a word out on a call.

Some headsets have a hardware mute button and different conference software has hotkeys for mute/unmute. That can make it faster to unmute yourself.

If you are in a room full of people with a conference mic, speak loudly and clearly regardless of where you are sitting. While folks in the room may be able to hear you fine from 6-10 feet away, the conference room mic registers barely a whisper for those dialing in.

Mute your mic in big meetings, in small meetings it’s up to you—an unmuted mic will also give some of the incidental non-verbal (but vocal) indicators of what you’re thinking/feeling.

If you plan to present, prepare for meetings ahead of time by pre-loading web pages, powerpoints, or other presentation materials. During larger calls Teams can sometimes get bogged down, esp with many video sources at once, and this will cause the rest of your software to run slower. Having a room of 15+ people watch a web page load for 30 seconds is a great way to lose friends.

Summarize action items or conclusions in the call for everyone when one has been reached. Finalizing a conversation by summarizing the key take away is a great way to make sure the information is correct, and allows the folks on the call have a chance to hear it and respond if need be before the meeting moves on.

If you are leading/proctoring a meeting, be prepared to play switchboard operator if multiple people speak up at once. In person we use social cues and body language to naturally reach a speaking order, in a remote call someone is going to have to make sure only one person is speaking at a time, but also that everyone gets heard eventually. It can be as simple as “why don’t we have person A speak first, then person B” and let the conversation flow from there.

If someone has something to say but is waiting their turn, and the conversation veers in a different direction for a few mins, make sure to check back with the person who was waiting. It’s possible their comment was addressed during the course of that conversation, but don’t assume so. Offer them the chance to speak before the meeting moves on.

If you are presenting from your machine remotely, ZOOM IN. What looks fine to you on a home monitor may be microscopic on a projected screen in a room of 20 people. You can use the free ZoomIt tool from SysInternals and draw on the screen if you like.

If possible/acceptable, record meetings in Teams. This allows folks who weren’t able to attend, or may have otherwise missed a moment in the meeting due to a bandwidth hiccup, to catch up after the fact. Add the video link to your meeting notes when sending out (Teams will usually finish processing a recorded video within 10-15 mins of capturing it, and sends a notification to you in outlook that it’s ready).

Keep on top of your mails and Teams inboxes. If people can’t walk up to tap you on the shoulder, this is your only interface with your colleagues. Consider enabling pop up notifications or flashing task bar indicators for when you have unread messages.

Likewise, be aware that Teams chat is async by nature, just like e-mail. Expect more delay than when you walk to someone’s desk to ask them a question.

Never forget that there’s a real person behind every email address, Teams message, and DevOps Tickets.

You may have to “read the room” more as a remote worker. You may not be able to see someone’s body language to know whether or not they are joking, smiling, or upset about something.

It’s okay to take calls in casual clothes if you're comfortable and able. Don’t wear anything that’s offensive, explicit, etc - use your best judgment - but don’t feel like you have to get super dressed and be uncomfortable all day. Enjoy being home and wear your sweatpants!

It’s okay to eat on calls if it’s your dinner or lunch time, we do it all the time in the Boston office! Just mute your mic, chewing sounds are gross!!!!

Equipment

Make sure that you machine is properly enrolled in Intune and has VPN access before attempting to work from home

Make sure you have at least one of your comm tools (email, teams, slack) on your phone in addition to your laptop, so that you can let people know whats up if you lose power/internet at your home.

Keep your laptop batteries charged.

Get mobile with unlimited data if possible.

Stock up on necessary dongles, adapters, cords, and wires. Lack of necessary connectors can decrease your productivity.

Consider a headset for calls, specially ones with an easy to access mute button and fold down mic. It really can improve the quality of your audio. Webcams, specially those not at keyboard level (pointing up your nose) are also important.

Lifestyle

Take a little time to make your work environment pleasant. If you’re working in a mop closet with no windows, or the spare-room-equivalent thereof, you probably won’t be that productive. We’re complex beings. Put a plant on your desk, get some music going, clean.

You may wish to have a conversation with your kids that goes something like this: “Now, when I’m at my desk this week, it means I’m working. I can be interrupted a little bit sometimes, but most of the time I’ll need to be able to concentrate.”

You may wish to choose a work place in your house with a door to make this more explicit for children. “When this door is shut I am at work and you need to find your other parent”

EAT. You’ll forget to eat when you’re not surrounded by huge cafeterias or a team of people asking you what you want to do for lunch.

Working remotely can be lonely sometimes. Find a way to reproduce the feeling of that office chatter, or the casual hallway/water-cooler conversation. Music, podcast, background TV noise (when appropriate), etc.

Get some fresh air from time to time. Normally when you’re at the office you’re walking to/from the office and from your building to the cafeteria for coffee or lunch so you get outside quite a bit, but when working from home and the kitchen is just downstairs, you can very easily go a few days without actually leaving the house. It doesn’t need to be far, and with COVID19 around it probably shouldn’t be, but maybe sit on your porch while you drink your coffee, it helps clear the lungs and the head.

Good light is important. Having good lighting closer to natural light wavelengths makes the environment much more pleasant.

Build a routine of specific cues to help you switch into “work mode”. For example, you may still get dressed as you would if you were heading into the office to put you into the right mindset for the day.

Get interesting drinks and snacks!!! If you drink 12 cans of seltzer a day, make sure you have seltzer in your fridge. If you like getting peanut M&Ms from the team room at 2pm, grab some for your home! You’d be surprised how boring your regular drinks are when you’re used to fridges filled with flavorful things and a huge tea selection etc.

Things to avoid

If you are in a meeting room with other folks, try to keep side conversations and noises to a minimum. Imagine you are sitting in the center of the table and hear the things closes to the mic the loudest, because that’s how it is for anyone calling in.

Don’t sit right next to the microphone if you are going to be taking notes on a loud keyboard. It will drown out every voice in the room.

Don’t disclose sensitive information if there are others in your home office when you’re in a meeting. Generally speaking, it’s better to be using headphones if others are around.

Don’t direct a question to more than one individual at a time. This can be mildly awkward in person, but over a call it becomes nearly impossible to figure out who will speak first without any of the visual/bodily cues we normally rely on to resolve speaking order conflicts.

Don’t use whiteboards unless they are clearly visible to the room camera (and even then it can be tricky to see). Digital mediums present in Teams are always going to be superior for folks who are calling in.

What are your tips?

Sponsor: This week's sponsor is...me! This blog and my podcast has been a labor of love for over 18 years. Your sponsorship pays my hosting bills for both AND allows me to buy gadgets to review AND the occasional taco. Join me!

Love in a time of Corona Virus - Tips, Tricks and Best Practices for Working Remotely published first on https://deskbysnafu.tumblr.com/

0 notes