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It was a day of rest for the lawyers as their clients sat on the offer they had settled with. Well, rest was a relative term. Olivia was on pins and needles the moment she woke up. Granted, she slept like a log through the morning and only woke up at eleven. Everything was quiet in the suite so she figured Teddy was out.
She took a long hot shower and emerged from the shared bathroom with a relaxed smile on her face. She felt a lot better than she did an hour ago.
Crossing the hall to get to a water bottle from the mini fridge, she turned to make sure she hadn't trekked water and found Teddy standing by her door. "Oh jeez." Olivia jumped a little, instinctively wrapping her hand around her towel, pulling it closer to her body as she realised she was half naked in front of her boss.
Safe to say, she had never been in this situation with her previous employers before.
Sleeping in had never been in Teddy's repertoire. Even on a day when she didn't have to do anything, it was hard to just sit and settle in that thought for a full twenty-four hours. She was up with the sun just after seven, and when she heard nothing from her counterpart on this trip, she thought it best to leave her. She'd been out to run the park, then to get coffee. It felt like half the day was done before she even saw Olivia.
When she did see her, she saw a lot more than she expected. She didn't need to look down for instinctive eyes to look at everything, but she did anyway for a split second. A knee-jerk reaction, surely. Not one to leave someone in awkward silence where she could help it, Teddy kept her eyes on the set that often looked away from her. It was a safe point.
And she couldn't help the smile she wore in the minimal break. One of clear cut humour. She tried her best not to laugh, and instead she took a deep breath in; "You're fine. It's not going anywhere." She reassured her, well aware her hand was practically clinging to that towel for dear life.
"I wouldn't wear it out, though." Teddy added then. She had to test the waters with this; there was a lot more she could say but a lot that could get her into trouble if a single statement was taken the wrong way.
She could feel her entire body heating up at that remark and she chuckled nervously. She should have changed first before grabbing the water. Why didn't she change first?
"Sorry. I...was thirsty." She opened the fridge and grabbed the bottle of water and shook it in Teddy's direction. She could feel Teddy's eyes on her like fire.
Walking over to her room, she turned to apologise to Teddy and gave her a little grimace. "Sorry, I should have changed first." She didn't know why she was trying to explain herself. It wasn't like Teddy was the one with a crush on her.
Disappearing into her room, she took some time taking deep breaths before changing and actually drinking from her bottle. She didn't realise how parched she was until then.
And then she figured, instead of wallowing in whatever it is she was feeling, she might as well take advantage of the facilities in the hotel. She changed into her one piece swimming suit and threw a t-shirt and jeans over it before coming out to ask whether Teddy would be interested in joining her. She had to make the situation less awkward for both of them.
"Hey, Teddy? D'you wanna go for a swim? I'm getting a little cabin fever, to be quite honest." She chuckled lightly.
Teddy's arsenal of decent comments built up in passing seconds and it took a lot of willpower to suppress it all. It was easy to forget the very real and very obvious factor of difference between them, and now wasn't the time to ignore being her boss for the sake of being funny. Awkward tension built the more she tried to explain herself, like she needed to explain herself.
And she was gone before Teddy had a chance to open her mouth and explain that she didn't need to apologise.
Far be it for her to linger in the spot she'd been caught in. She rocked back on a step and retreated back to the safety of the book she was planning on catching up on. When she reemerged, Teddy did her best not to look up from her seat straight away.
"Oh no, I'm fine. You go ahead, if you like." She answered easily, finally glancing back up again. Clothes. A betting person might have thought she looked disappointed. "Also, I can't say this is a better look, but it's definitely going to make leaving a lot more comfortable for you."
A progression of thoughts caught up with her quickly, then, as she kept her eyes on her. "Where are you from, by the way?" Teddy then asked her, though not randomly. She could deftly guess it wasn't the city they were in now.
Olivia felt a mix of disappointment and relief when Teddy turned down her offer and hid it behind a smile and a nod. She looked down when Teddy mentioned her clothes and for a brief moment, she frowned and looked down at her choice before it dawned on her that Teddy was making a joke. She snorted and gave her boss a smile.
She hid her glee at the probably wrong notion that Teddy had preferred her in her towel.
The question gave Olivia pause before she responded. "Ah, um...St. Helena? California." She wondered whether she should stay and ask her companion the same question. It seemed like Teddy was vying for a conversation, which Olivia was never one to turn down. She stepped closer and leaned against the arm of one of the chairs. "Why do you ask?"
Teddy's unresponsive expression must have told her she had no idea where St. Helena was. California, however, she could easily wrap her foreign mind around. Her understanding of the American states was better than most, and she could at least dictate that here, she was a very far way from home.
Still, she made the mental note to indulge her curiosity later and at least look the place up. Even if it meant nothing, it clearly meant something to her.
"I asked to make sure you weren't magically from here." She had sort of figured that out already, but it seemed more polite to ask. And it was an easy way to get information. "And I was just thinking that a day off in such a notorious city seems wasted on two people who know nothing about it." She mused aloud. It wasn't hard for her to miss the rather extensive parklands she'd wandered about this morning, but that was about it.
"Ah," Olivia responded and chuckled lightly. The idea of going around New York without a proper guide did seem a little wasted. She had been given the opportunity to call up her client's sister should she want to walk around but she didn't think it was appropriate.
"Yeah, and I honestly didn't think we'd have time to do anything besides work so I didn't pencil in sightseeing." She chuckled. "Maybe the hotel provides a service? Do you...want to?" Olivia asked.
With the thought settling between them, Teddy all but let it go, especially when she mentioned she hadn't considered downtime to be something they would even have. True, it was odd for Teddy to have a whole day without the distraction of work to keep her occupied. Her phone went off at least once an hour it seemed, but she'd been pretty active in ignoring it today.
She went to look at it now that the thought had entered her mind when Olivia continued on. Bright eyes glanced up from the device that threatened to steal her from any kind of settled, calm day. Suddenly she offered such a simple, viable solution.
"Do you want to?" Teddy asked her with a smile. Sure, a large portion of why they did anything seemed to revolve around the boss in this situation, but this day was different.
When the question was turned back to her, Olivia smiled and shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt. The last time I was on an airplane was to go to Oregon." She chuckled. She stood up and went over to the landline to call the front desk.
As she made arrangements, she tried not to look at Teddy, even though she wanted to know how she was feeling about all this. But there was no use, Teddy was her boss. She had a girlfriend. This was a work trip. Bla bla bla. Olivia had to remind herself that this all meant nothing personal for Teddy.
But it didn't really deter her from her excitement. She was going to be a tourist the whole day and nobody was going to stop her.
"Okay, so there's a guide to the Statue of Liberty at three which will include a few stops at some of the more famous eateries around here. And the front desk recommended one particular food truck for dinner. She says it's authentically New York so I'm going to go for a swim first and I'll see you at the lobby about five to three?" Olivia asked, not even trying to contain her excitement.
Teddy caught the smile offered to her and how it worked against the way she shrugged. At least she seemed enthusiastic; it meant Teddy didn't have to waste her breath pointing out that she didn't need to spend time with her if she didn't actually want to. But Olivia was off doing what it was she did so well; organising Teddy's life to a defined point.
And it was proven when she came back to her with the plan for the rest of their day.
She looked excited when she spoke. Teddy to hear the way it filtered through every word she gave. As she listened, it was easy to find her so incredibly endearing. She found herself staring, and then she found herself grateful that this woman was so wrapped up in their immediate future that she didn't look like she noticed.
Snapping from her daze, Teddy glanced at the pages of her book, unable to focus and find her place amongst the lines. "I'll be there. I promise." She said. Exhaling on a small laugh, she chanced a glance back up again. This time, her smile grew a little wider; "Go enjoy yourself."
Olivia gave Teddy two thumbs up and went to the bathroom to grab a fresh towel before heading out to the indoor pool a few levels down. She took her time with her laps around the pool, thankful that the hotel had the decency to heat up the place.
The walk back, however, proved to be a bad idea as she shivered all the way up to the suite. She washed herself down and then used the hair dryer a lot longer than was necessary before bundling up in a grey long-sleeved t-shirt, jeans, a cardigan and a knee-length dark blue peacoat.
She drove a comb through her messy curls but ultimately let a beanie cover most of the mess. She looked at the gloves in the drawer that she had placed them in, wondering if it would be overkill and in the end, she snatched it and slipped it into her coat pockets.
Double checking that she had everything on her, she grabbed the keycard to the suite and went downstairs to meet up with Teddy.
Checking at the front desk for their tour guide, she was pointed to a small group of people already by the door. After thanking the front desk, she looked around for her boss.
In the time she spent on her own, Teddy responded to the complete list of texts she'd been ignoring. More than half of them were from Emmett, and all of those managed to put her at ease and drag a smile to her lips. She was a perfect distraction from the book she wasn't really trying to read, until she was back at work, and then it did wonders to ease the time between here and her later plans.
Cool weather had never really bothered her; it was similar to where she was from. Given the threat of more snow, she opted to forgo the myriad of dresses she'd brought for. At least she was sensible enough to pack something better for wandering around the city, though everything from her shoes to her long, tailored jacket was black. A quick glance at the time told her she was very nearly late. Her timing was now completely up to the elevator Gods.
Minutes to three and she emerged from the elevator. A quick scan of the crowd and she caught the back of her head almost immediately. When she was close enough, she pressed a hand against the small of her back to indicate her arrival before she spoke. "I told you I'd make it." And when had Teddy ever been known for letting Olivia down?
She checked her watch and frowned lightly. It wasn't like Teddy to be late. Olivia gave the other woman a few more minutes before taking her phone out. No sooner had she switched her phone on, she felt the hand on her back and she turned.
A beam carved its way on to her face and she nodded. "Didn't doubt you for a second." She said with a chuckle before pocketing her phone.
When the tour guide called out to the few people gathered, Olivia carelessly took Teddy's hand and tugged her forward so they could hear what the guide was saying. She handed out guide books and Olivia took hers and pored through it hungrily as they walked towards the bus. It was only when she was boarding the bus that she realised she was still holding on to Teddy's hand and she dropped it. "Sorry!" She apologised sheepishly before climbing on to the bus and taking her seat.
In her excitement to peruse through the guide book, she didn't even get the nervous tic she usually had with Teddy being so close to her. She kept pointing out fun facts in the book like Teddy didn't have her own.
Optimism shone through in a way that had to surprise Teddy. Of course, she predominantly knew this woman from a work perspective. Even when she'd seen her outside of that, she couldn't remember a time where she'd seen her like this. It was a bright happiness, it it felt practically contagious.
Her hand was taken and she didn't fight it. It didn't seem like such a big deal to her, and it seemed like she didn't even notice until minutes had passed. Teddy had to laugh at her sharp, abrupt apology as she fell into the seat beside her, shoulder to shoulder.
Perhaps it was a kindness to sit and listen to her. For Teddy, the kindness was actually seeing this person open up, regardless of if she meant to or not.
"And here I thought you were just humouring me by coming along to this." She said lightly.
When Teddy spoke, Olivia looked to her companion and laughed lightly. "I'm being a dork, aren't I?" She said with ease. She'd long since accepted her lot in life when it came to knowledge. She was pretty sure if she were to find something new when she turns sixty, this would be exactly the reaction she would have.
Add to the fact that she was with someone she was surprisingly comfortable with, it was honestly a deadly combo.
For the people surrounding her, anyway.
"I haven't really done much traveling. Most of the firms I worked for were local and small, family-owned businesses." She smiled, reminiscing affectionately of her previous workplaces. "I'm grateful, don't get me wrong. I'm just excited to be living what I thought was a pipe dream." She chuckled, realising that she really was just a big dork.
