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 Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 10:54 am
The tune Ever was whistling, as he came in through the door, was probably meant to be "King of Spain." It was a clear, friendly sound, might have been appealing -- except for the somewhat well-known, indisputable fact that Ever was entirely tone deaf. His whistling was strong, but it skirted around the melody, only vaguely resembled the original song.
At the very least, though, it seemed happy. Ever was a relatively easy man to please.
He dropped his bag -- heavy with books, at this point, enough that they weighted down his shoulder -- over the arm of the coat rack. Fingers scraped through his hair as he turned to greet Tony, woefully oblivious and unconcerned about impending serious conversation. He looked completely unapologetic in every way for his little abuses of power.
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 7:36 pm
Tony looked at his watch, surprised that Ever had shown up to work on time for once. An effort to make up for what he had done to his poor friend? And the rules he had broken in doing it. Tony wasn't sure he was mentally prepared to talk to Ever about the prank itself, but the library rules?
He could definitely talk about those.
"Ever," he said, as sternly as he could. It wasn't very stern at all, "I need to speak with you for a moment, if you don't mind. Here at my desk."
In usual work situations, being called to the 'boss's' desk would be cause for alarm or at least some small modicum of concern on the part of the worker. A blip of doubt, wondering what they had done to get them in trouble, and not having any answers leap out at them. Or having so many hit them they felt panicked and stressed even before the conversation began.
A little trick of the mind, for those kinds of bosses and those kinds of work situations, but this one was not exactly the same. For one, Tony's desk wasn't in an office or tucked away some place that might be intimidating. It was two feet behind the main counter, and he was always at it while they were going about their usual work day. He called Ever over all the time.
But this time, he had stern voice.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 8:20 am
Ever hadn't held enough jobs to be fully aware of the stereotypes. He'd neve been in a position where the boss was a big scary thing: there had been a very brief lawn mowing enterprise when he was younger, fueled and fed by his father, but that had hardly counted. He'd worked four or five church bake fairs, mostly just because they could trust him with the money, were certain that he would tally everything up correctly. He'd even tried a very, very brief stint as a tutor shortly after losing his funding for Sovereign Heights.
He did, however, recognize the stern tone of voice as something to be wary of. It made him pause for a good twenty seconds before his good mood brought the grin back up to his face. It wasn't like Tony was going to fire him.
He eased over anyway, sinking down to perch on the edge of Tony's desk in a comfortable, careless sort of way. Informal. When was he ever formal? Right now he was barely work-appropriate -- when he tipped his head just so it put a rather inexpert hickey against the side of his neck on display.
"Hi Tony." Didn't even try to play innocent. He looked helplessly pleased and self-satisfied.
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Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 1:49 pm
Tony looked up at Ever. He sighed, tilting his head as the younger man sat on his desk. They were friends, that was very true. Tony definitely didn't mind the laid back attitude at work on most days. It made things nicer, time going by in conversation and with a friendly vibe rather than a tense, awkward deal.
But at a moment like this, he kind of wished he had a bit more weight as a boss, and less as a friend. He was trying to be stern and teach a lesson here, after all.
"Look," he said, trying his stern voice again and having it come out smoother this time. A boost of confidence, he fixed Ever with a 'disappointed parent' look. "You know what you did to Zac. Checking out those books on his account. I don't mind pranks, as long as they're on other people and don't get the library sued. Actually, I like them best when they're don't happen in or around the library at all. But..."
He frowned, shaking his head emphatically.
"You should not be using your access to patron's accounts to play pranks. I trust you with those computers and that information, and I need to know that wasn't a mistake. I know you think it's in good fun, but I can't have you doing things like that."
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 7:44 am
Tony was looking to worry Ever, obviously, and maybe hi did -- just a little bit. He got a surprised sort of blink and then pale eyebrows creeping upward as Tony spoke to him, still perched on the edge of the desk. Still casual, instead of official, but with his eyes wandering because he didn't really want to look at the older man as he went through the whole slow lecture...
But at the end, he really didn't look chastened. Just considering, his leg swinging absently and fingers shifting around the edge of the desk. When his eyes resettled on Tony, his expression had gone back to its easy self-comfort. He was obviously not worried.
"Why?" It was an important question. Tony had given a lot of 'what's and a lot of 'don't's, but not a single why, and -- well, Ever no longer blindly accepted authority's right to tell him what to do. Oops.
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 8:20 am
Tony watched Ever for a moment, trying to decide if he had been successful in his attempt to warn him against using the computer for his personal fun. There were many records on there, and information that most people who came to the library didn't want being shared or looked at or glanced over in the pursuit of a prank.
Tony needed to establish that any use of the computer, for any reason other than checking books in and out or looking up fines, was not acceptable.
And it didn't look like he did that.
Resisting the urge to plant his face against his desk, mostly because he didn't want to give himself a nosebleed by slamming into the keyboard waiting ominously below, he shook his head furiously. That was not the response he was supposed to get. He was expecting a simple 'yes Tony', and the day would proceed as normal.
"Because those are the rules and you need to follow them," Tony countered. He rarely lost his patience but he was doing so now, in his slightly vexed, could probably do with loosening his tie way, "messing with anyone's accounts is enough to get you fired if you worked for anyone but me, and I'm only giving you one more chance. That's not one more chance to mess with them again, and not get caught this time. Use the computers for what they're meant to be used for, or you might get us both in trouble."
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 11:00 am
No, still not that click in his expression, still no apology, still not even an attempt to pretend he cared. Ever was Ever. He'd spent his youth blindly accepting 'because I said so' as a reason not to do things, and when the flood gates had broken they had really broken.
Instead he stared at Tony for a moment, an eyebrow raised, no longer a child but an adult who was in many ways the librarian's peer -- or, at least, thought he was. He leaned back a little where he sat, considering, and then shrugged again.
"But why?" Simple question, but difficult, perhaps.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 12:24 pm
Tony watched Ever helplessly, hoping that the lecture might have prompted him to understand that the computer wasn't a toy. Tony had laid it out fairly simply, or he thought so, and he was hoping an innate sense of right and wrong might come into play here.
Apparently not. Ever still looked like he was ready to do it again.
At the question Tony let out a long sigh. He tried to think up a good reason, but he could not explain himself any better than he felt he had. So, in addition to all that, he shook his head and leaned toward Ever, to emphasize his point.
And also not say it too loud, for anyone else to hear.
"Because if you play with patron's accounts it can get you fired," he said, "It would get me in trouble, and I would have to fire you. And also, because those are the rules. I don't ask too much of you, as far as rules go, but this one I can't budge on. No more checking out books on anyone's account but your own. No changing records at all."
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 8:45 am
"...uh huh." In other words, Tony didn't have a reason -- Tony had probably never asked for the why of not messing with peoples' records or accounts. He'd just accepted that it was wrong. And, really, that wasn't unreasonable, it was just that Ever couldn't take it at face value.
He could, though, take 'I'll fire you' at face value. So his reply was still disbelieving but at least agreeing enough. If that was the case, he'd make a point that Tony never found out if he messed with accounts, or played pranks, or maybe cleared out a stray fine here or there. What Tony didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Ever eased off the desk with a shrug and not another word to go hunting for his book cart.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:49 am
Tony stared at him.
It was true, he knew that Ever wasn't exactly the ideal employee even when he first offered to give him the job. It had been an offer to help, and then they had become friends and Tony really didn't mind having Ever around. It was a nice change from the usual workers, that was for sure. He liked that they could just talk and not be too bothered by the usual 'worker/boss' relationship drag.
But there were some times that it was necessary. Like right now, with Tony trying to tell him not to do something again, and not succeeding. He sighed again, standing as Ever slid off the desk. Something told him the younger man didn't exactly care about the order.
"I mean it, Ever. Don't do it again. This library has a responsibility to its patron, and a reputation to be trusted. More than that, I'm trusting you to listen to me when I ask you to do or not to do something. You know I don't ask for much. But don't break that trust now."
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 1:24 pm
"I'm not going to get you in trouble, Tony." At least he was prickly, this time, as he looked up at Tony -- his posture tight, and his jaw not-quite-clenched but...well. he didn't really like being poked about this. And he didn't like Tony as an authority figure, either.
Or, at least, not in this sense. As attractive as a taking-charge Tony could be..
Ever tried not to bite, but. Well. He was terrible at not biting, and thus far he'd been remarkably good around Tony. Polite, or at least polite for himself, closing his mouth a shocking amount, and that couldn't last forever. "You can pass that on."
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 1:59 pm
Tony watched him, seeing the marks of annoyance in Ever's posture. He knew the younger man wasn't much for authority, but in this Tony couldn't back down. There were just some rules that he felt were too important to smudge or even ignore, as anyone who had done a job for a long time might do. He was lenient with his workers, but patron accounts were the no-nos.
"Ever, that's not just what I mean. I'm not just looking out for myself, but your job as well. Even if I don't get in trouble for it, you very well might, and that's a problem I'd like to avoid."
He sighed, shaking his head.
"It's not too hard, right? I mean, you had your fun, and the joke wouldn't work again on him anyway, right? So we can just put it behind us, agree not to do it again, and avoid any trouble in the future. Just don't repeat it, and there's no problem."
Despite himself, he almost felt bad for telling Ever no. Dogby got this a lot, whenever she hopped on something she wasn't supposed to be playing with, and Tony told her no. She pouted at him, or scooted away, and he felt bad. Apparently Ever getting grumpy and looking upset with him had the same effect.
But he tried not to be a push over. Settle things once and for all, and move on. Hopefully easy.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 7:04 am
"I agreed twice Tony." This was like pulling teeth, Ever trying not to clench his jaw too tight and not even slowing down, this time. He'd been in such an excellent mood, when he came in, and now it had crumbled into frosty, sharp annoyance. More temper tantrum than anything else, but he saw it as self-righteous fury.
People throwing temper tantrums usually did.
One hand raised to wave Tony off, but instead of being properly flippant or distracted, it came out jerky, staccato. Ever was upset and it showed, even if he'd deny it later...
He gave the cart a push, out from behind the desk before he shot a frustrated look backwards. "So lay off, you don't have to keep beating that horse."
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 7:14 pm
Tony felt very much the same way, like pulling teeth, because he was sure he hadn't actually gotten through to Ever. Saying okay was never enough. Nathan did it all the time, and he was just a grumpy teenager who just said okay to get his dad to stop harping at him.
Tony did not want to treat Ever like his unruly son, but he just wanted to be sure the younger man understood. Rules were rules, and all that. Authority figures might be a bummer, but there was something to appeasing them.
Like not getting fired.
He knew he had bothered Ever, though, with the lecture. The way he moved, the look in his eyes. He was angry. Tony sighed, not sure how to diffuse the situation. Maybe it was better that he let Ever sulk about it, if only for him to dwindle on the conversation rather than shrug it off with Tony being nice too soon after.
He would undermine himself.
"Alright, I'll lay off," he said, watching Ever get the cart. "I just want you to understand. And agree. Not just placate me."
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 6:09 pm
Ever was leaving, shaking his head at Tony, tense through the shoulders and his mouth pressed into a line. Maybe he had been placating, but, well. He felt the way he felt, and he couldn't agree if he didn't agree. On, at least, not any more than he already had.
Instead he was just going to retreat, do his work, and avoid Tony, their easy camaraderie and then tentative peace broken again.
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