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The first few weeks of any new job was always a little unnerving for Reid, who was still trying to adjust to his new position in Argent Industries. Getting into the habit of things, learning his role, figuring out what needed to be done and the expectations put on him... it was a lot of pressure for a young man who was just out there, trying to make enough to scrape by in life, so he didn't go out of his way to get to know many of his coworkers on his journey to feeling more comfortable at his new place of work.

Granted, he never really went out of his way to talk to any coworkers in any of his jobs but this was proving to be nothing different than his past occupations. Most of the techies yammered with themselves anyways, so he ran around and did the gofer job expected of him, kept his head down and his nose clean and... well, no would ever say that Reid Covey didn't put his job first and foremost when he was at the office.

Having forgone his lunch yet again for running extra errands, he made a pit stop to the staff break room after clocking out. While his lunch wasn't anything worth taking home, per say, every little bit of nutrition that he'd spent his hard-earned money on wasn't going to be put to waste - or stolen by hungry coworkers, no less.

So the plastic grocery bag with the simple granola bar and sandwich was yanked roughly from the bottom drawer of the shared fridge, the young man tying the twists up as he prepared for his departure from the building.

The tie was made to his plastic bag at just about the same time a loud voice announced her presence as a familiar looking girl made her way into the break room. She was very vocal and clearly thought a lot of herself to be going on about spouting off gibberish like everyone and anyone would care that...

Wait.

What had she said?

He stilled as his brain replayed her announcement. He wasn't sure what the hell a PSA was (probably some techie-geek acronym) but he definitely knew what a stalker was and the idea that some b*****d had the audacity to sneak around and try to follow some of the women from the office made Reid's blood boil. God forbid what else this wacko wanted to do if he got a chance at them.

"Pretty sure? So you've seen him?"

The girl seemed pretty indifferent about the whole ordeal, kicking back with her soda just as relaxed as she was the day of the Halloween office party. For someone insinuating that there was a nefarious character afoot, she was... certainly abnormally calm about it.

An internal, protective need to protect was quick to swell up inside of his chest. It didn't matter how calm or collected any woman was about it -- if she was being followed, that put her in the direct line of danger and he'd be damned if anyone he knew (regardless of their level of annoyance) was going to get hurt if he had a chance to prevent it.

"How are you getting home? Do you need an escort to your car?"

The plastic bag fell to the man's side, blue eyes looking intently on the loud lounger in question.

Eyes fell on the discarded can, pointedly not in the trash, then back to the girl who seemed to give no concern for the fact she'd just littered in her own place of work. Slowly, he made his way over towards the trash bin and leaned over, plucking up the semi-empty can (because he could still hear the trickles of juice of whatever sort of gasoline she was drinking inside of it) and silently slipped it into the container's opening, a loud thunk echoing in the break room as the aluminum hit its fellow cans at the bottom below.

Reid had never used an Uber before but that was mostly because he thought it a waste of money when public transportation (or his own sneakers) were inexpensive alternatives to having to pay someone to take a private ride in their personal vehicle. He also failed to have a car but didn't feel it necessary to comment on -- it was nothing this outgoing, chatty, naive girl needed to know.

"Do you at least have something to protect yourself, in case he tries to "waste" you?" Blue eyes looked at her skeptically; stalkers didn't simply get bored. Most of the stories he'd heard from various articles or news reports led him to believe that folks who stalked were in it for the long haul - no one did it just to kill time, there was always some nefarious purpose behind their intent. "Y'know, mace? Knife? That sort of thing?"

The girl was laughing, the sound grating on the older boy's nerves as he stared her down. He hadn't said anything funny - so why was she finding it humorous? Reid had been talking about life or death matters, not telling some sort of joke for a coworker to enjoy.

Jokes were meant as tools for socializing and as far as Reid Covey was concerned, he received enough socializing when he received requests and orders from his superiors - nothing more.

Brown hair bobbed as he shook his head, dumbfounded by her comeback about not having any money to steal. Was she being serious?

"You do realize that guys are after chicks for more than their money, right?"

Cheeks blossomed a light pink color as he realized the topic he was broaching was not appropriate to address in company (much less in work company). He avoided mentioning the specifics and hopefully wouldn't have to, if this peculiar girl managed to draw her attention away from her phone long enough to actually notice that he was offering sound advice.

"Y'know. For their... assets."

But she was laughing again, ignoring him like she probably ignored the stalker who had devious intentions towards the distract-able girl. God only knew what sort of trouble she was going to find herself in if she continued being this oblivious to the obvious dangers surrounding her.

"Of course I have a name, everyone has a name." Esteemed Office Peer... what? "I'm Reid Covey."

Reid stared at the girl, confused by what she was gesturing at. Yes, he knew she had breasts, yes, she also had a v****a. Both features that stalkers had the potential of going after, should they prove to want more than money or... or whatever else they typically stole from innocent civilians.

She didn't clarify any of his confusion by further talking about some stretchy... person who apparently shared his name. She spoke so casually that he wasn't sure if she was just saying something for the sake of saying it or if she was trying to crack a joke.

Either way, Reid's expression remained neutral.

"I don't even know your name, I'm not about to just give my number out - I've got limited text messages and I don't knife people."

The latter comment seemed more emphasized, as if he was offended by the implication that he went around stabbing people whenever he felt like it. True, he did have a pocket knife... but he was pretty sure the flimsy swiss thing couldn't do much more damage than a paper cut's worth.

"Where are you walking to? Home? The bus stop?"

Despite the fact this strange girl grated on his nerves, he wasn't about to let her walk out blindly into the night undefended. No one deserved to be taken advantage of, even if they were asking for trouble with their flippant attitude about it all.

No, Reid Covey would make sure this crazy chick made it home safely, at least for tonight.

Blue eyes stared at her as if she'd suddenly started speaking French at him. She may as well have been, tossing foreign words left and right that Reid didn't understand.

Insta?

Twitch?

He knew what Facebook was - a "mom" platform, however, was unknown terminology. Reid himself didn't bother using Facebook; he had no need to snoop around at other people and what they were doing with their lives. That would imply that he liked anyone enough to add them to his profile, allowing them to have a glance into his life. No sir, he preferred to keep things as private as possible.

"Campus?"

Oh. She was a student on top of working at AI.

The young man couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy. Furthering his education would no doubt put him in a better spot in life than gofer for some hotshot media workers but education cost money - money that he didn't have to pay for tuition.

"There's no such things as bus chaperones," he grunted, frowning at the implication. Didn't she understand that he was trying to offer his help? "My place is just beyond the bus stop - I'll walk with you, just to make sure you get on without a stalker following."

There. He couldn't possibly get more blunt than that.

Sure, it was a complete lie but she didn't have to know the bus stop was in the opposite direction of his apartment building. All this Ella girl needed to know was that her creepy follower wasn't going to get her tonight and that should be reassurance enough.

"Come on, or you'll be late for class."

His bag rustled as he motioned for her to follow him out of the break room, Reid not one to wait around and dawdle on a task. "I need to get home soon anyhow."

Save getting murdered for another day?

Mom?

It was definitely the most ungrateful way anyone had ever shown him appreciation but Reid was already resolved to see the task through, so abandoning the green haired minx was still out of the question, no matter how tempting it was to see if her sass could save her from whatever lurked in the shadows after her.

He opened his mouth to attempt to make a clever comment back but she was already working to slip earbuds in. It was probably for the best, since he really didn't have comeback to return with other than Mom, really?.

Reid missed the fact she'd kept one ear free for him, the young man heeding his mother's grooming by making sure to hold doors and elevators for the young woman, even though she didn't act like any young lady his mother told her he'd encounter as an adult.

As they made their way out into the cold, night air, he kept his blue eyes peeled and his ears on high alert for any potential suspicious activity... though for the entire duration of the trip to the bus stop, Ella the Coworker seemed just as uncaring of her predicament outside as she was inside.

Sigh.

Would this girl ever learn?