A Day At The Office With Jessica

A Day At The Office With Jessica Part 1

10A.M. November 22nd

Emboldened by her discussion with Yan Sun, Leah stepped into the break room and watched Jessica, who had recently arrived looking for Vasquez, from afar.

"Never judge a book by its cover, Leah." she quietly reminded herself.

Leah had heard enough stories by this point to know that Jessica was... less than pleasant to interact with. But Yan Sun seemed to be under the impression that people just hadn't given her a chance. And if there was one thing Leah prided herself on, it was seeing the best in people.

A loud thump sounded out as Jessica slammed the palm of her hand against the coffee machine.

"Make coffee!" Jessica growled loudly.

"Hey!" Leah chimed in, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she crossed the room to join the scarred woman. "It's a little stubborn sometimes. You just have to-..." Leah scrunched up her nose as she leaned in and turned the coffee machine off and then on before hitting the brew button. The coffee machine buzzed to life with a soft hum and a big bright smile crossed Leah's face as she looked back to Jessica. "There! All fixed. I'm Leah, by the way. I know we haven't really been properly introduced." she greeted cheerfully, thrusting an open hand towards Jessica.

Jessica cocked an eyebrow, her lip curling into something of a snarl as her gaze slowly scanned downward to Leah's hand, poised for a handshake. Jessica sighed deeply and reached into her pocket, digging around for some unknown item. When she removed her hand, her middle finger was fully extended and she brought it up to Leah's face. "Fuck off, beauty queen." she said before stomping off towards the door.

Leah blinked a few times, smile slowly disappearing into her features as she watched the other woman exit the room. "Right. Soooo that went well. It was almost a compliment" she sighed to herself with a nod, "Yep. Her own brand of awesome. Really nailed that one, Yan Sun..."

A Day At The Office With Jessica Part 2

11:30 A.M. November 22nd

Steve was sitting at the break room table stuffing a sandwich into his mouth when Jessica entered and gave a quick scan around to ensure Leah was nowhere to be found. He had been using the gym for some of the rehabilitation exercises detailed by Halisi and figured he might as well eat on Redrock's credit. His gaze followed Jessica as she crossed the room to finally collect her coffee.

Neither said a word to the other. Steve simply continued to stare as he wolfed down his lunch. Jessica sniffed at the cup of coffee and looked to be instantly offput but she braved forward, tentatively taking a sip. Without warning she spit the coffee right onto the counter and wiped at her lips with the back of her hand before dumping the rest of the cup into the sink as a string of disgusted sound effects escaped her. She licked at the roof of her mouth, eager to rid herself of the horrid taste as she pulled open the fridge and searched for something to wash it away with. Beer. Perfect.

Not wanting to waste time searching for a bottle opener, Jessica pressed the cap against the edge of the counter and slammed her fist down on it, popping the cap off and leaving a small gash in the countertop. She began slugging back the bottle of beer as Steve slowly chewed his food as he watched with great disinterest.

"So what happened to your face?" he asked, his tone entirely neutral.

Jessica continued to chug at the beer until she was damn sure the coffee had been washed away. She wiped at her mouth with her forearm and set down the bottle as she stared across the room at Steve.

"What happened to yours? Mmm?" she asked.

Steve remained silent for a number of seconds as he considered the question. "Fair enough." he finally said before returning his attention back to his lunch. The two proceeded to exist in an absolute silence that would probably unsettle most people. Neither seemed to notice

A Day At The Office With Jessica Part 3

Noon. November 22nd

Jattic, having finished filing his reports, decided to stop by the break room for a drink before heading off. As fate would have it, Jessica was just on her way out from the break room. Had Jattic entered a moment later, the two may have crashed into each other.

Both stopped dead in their tracks, narrowing their eyes on one another. But Jattic came far better equipped for a staring contest. He bared his teeth as he browbeat her into the ground.

"You lack respect and honor!" he growled in his native tongue.

"I reserve my respect for those deserving of it. Not insignificant pyjak humpers such as yourself." she spat back in his own language.

The eye narrowing only deepened.

"I have been in the company of varren that were more enjoyable to interact with!" Jattic roared.

"You are certain this varren you speak of was not simply the one who birthed you?" Jessica retorted. A good old fashioned batarian mom burn.

Jattic's eyes narrowed to little more than tiny slits in which light could barely penetrate.

"This is not over." he muttered, slowly circling around Jessica.

"Far from it." she responded, circling the opposite direction until they had switched positions. She slowly backed out of the room, maintaining eye contact the entire way.

A Day At The Office With Jessica Part 4

1 P.M. November 22nd

The day was dragging on and Vasquez still wasn't around, so Jessica returned to the break room in search of food. Jattic, thankfully, had long since vacated the building. Instead, she was greeted by Jason leaning over the table making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Oh, great. The manchild..." she muttered aloud to accompany the roll of her good eye.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Jason asked, tearing his attention away from his food as he looked to the new arrival.

"Is simple. You are a man who is dumb like a child." she explained as she stomped back towards the fridge.

"I'm not-...." Jason began, but cut himself off with a loud, frustrated groan.

"Mmm? What is the matter?" Jessica asked as she began to dig through the fridge, her tone implying that she doesn't actually give a damn.

Jason remained quiet before finally admitting, as if defeated, "...I got peanut butter on my shirt."

Jessica bursted into laughter as she found her opinion reinforced and she spun around to face him. Her laughter only grew louder as she spotted the large streak of peanut butter across the chest of his white shirt.

"...Some children are pretty fucking smart, okay!?" Jason shouted as if it was a reasonable defense, but it only caused Jessica to double over and grab her stomach from her laughing fit.

Still, for all of her irritating behavior, Jason had been around her enough to know she wasn't all bad. She had her good days and she had her bad days. Her bad days just happened to outweigh her good days far more than the average person.

"You done?" he asked, entirely unamused.

Jessica was still doubled over, but she managed to control the laughter. Eye watering from laughing, she nodded her head a few times. "Mmm." she hummed.

"Great. You want a fucking sandwich or not?" he asked, butter knife in-hand as he glanced down at the jar of peanut butter.

"Mmm." she repeated. "But when is your stupid wife going to be here. I am tired of waiting."

"You're a real joy to be around. You know that, right?" Jason asked, unable to suppress the lopsided smirk tugging at his lips.