Worker’s Woes

Morgan awoke to the sound of shuffling and rose from her new bed. She saw David, tentatively putting on another white dress shirt with grey pants. It was a very similar outfit to what he had worn when they had first met.

“Where are you going, dear?”

David looked up as he slipped on a pair of dress shoes. “Oh. I’m just getting ready for work.”

She gave a soft pout. “Ohhh, work? Must you go? Can you not call in sick and stay here? There is still so much planning that we have to do.”

“U-Uhhh, yeah,” He gulped nervously. “I have a lot of work coming up for the next project we have to work on. If we don’t start soon, we may have to be on crunch time again.”

She shook her head in disappointment. “I still cannot believe it. Even in Hell, those who work to torment the souls of the damned receive some form of rest.”

“Do the souls themselves get a break?”

“Oh, by Hell’s gate, no. Why would we do that? It is our job to torment them as penance for their many sins.”

“Exactly.”

She blinked and stared at her fiancé. “I feel as if I walked into something that I should not have.”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s just kind of the way things go with me. People get used to it.”

Huffing, she sat up and hugged her legs. “May I at least accompany you to your place of work?”

“Sorry, the boss doesn’t like when we bring nonemployees into the workspace, even to the property line. Says that people could easily spy on us.”

“Well, what am I to do without you by my side??” She threw her hands up as a display of exasperation, an action which David couldn’t help but find mildly humorous coming from such a powerful being.

“Well, why not look around my house? There are books all over the place, equipment to mess with, and you could watch TV if you’re so inclined. We just got something that lets me access all sorts of channels and streaming services. You could binge a couple shows.”

“Binge…? As in… Consume the shows? How does one consume a performance in their bodies?”

“No, no. Like… Just watch it all in one go. We do it a lot up here.”

“Interesting…” She rubbed her chin, her voice lowering to a whisper. “So that’s how the Sloth Ring has gotten so powerful…”

“What was that?”

“Oh nothing. Just some work politics of my own.”

“Uhuh…” He nodded his head, grabbing his keys. “Speaking of which, what about your work? Shouldn’t you be focused on doing your job, you know, ruling Hell and all that?”

This earned him a chuckle as she tossed her hair. “Oh, my love… A Morningstar such as myself is about to rule without actually being on the throne.”

“That sounds wildly dangerous.”

“Nonsense! The only thing dangerous about it is anyone attempting to take from a Morningstar.” She held her hand out, her blackened claws growing and becoming sharper. Just the thought of being stabbed by one made David shake in fear.

“F-Fair enough… A-Anyways, I should get to work. The remote on the coffee table…” He paused, remembering the events of yesterday. “Or at least it should be, with hopes your redecoration hadn’t changed that.” He continued in his normal tone of voice. “The small one is for sound, the big one is for channels. If you need anything, you can call me. Hopefully, my boss can at least show me a little bit of mercy on that front.”

With a nod and a smile, Morgan blew a kiss to him. “Good luck, my beloved! I will be awaiting your return!”

~~~

David never thought he’d find the day that he would be grateful to be at work. The smothering affection was something so alien to him that he felt the only course of action was to flee. The dust flying into the bus and pelting him in the face, the putrid smell emanating through the trollies, even the sight of the grey interior of his office felt like true security. The tune of the awful elevator muzak smothered the thoughts of marriage away.

“MORENO!!”

David sighed in relief as he turned to see none other than his boss. Mr. Garrett had the looks and the attitude of a shitty boss. Balding head, booming voice, and the seeming sense that he knew more than everyone else around him. There was even his liberal use of crunch time and taking on overwhelming projects that he would never work on. There was no doubt about it. He fit the bill of an awful, terrible boss.

“Yes, Boss!”

David nodded to the shorter man, who scowled in return. Mr. Garrett unleashed another shout. “What’s with that stupid smile on your face?!? You got some kind of problem?!?”

“No, Boss! I’m just happy to be back again!”

His coworkers looked at him like he was insane. If only they had known what he had to deal with at home.

His boss’s scowl grew as he pointed right in David’s face. “I don’t like that look! If you’re trying to pull something on me, it won’t work! I’ve had every prank pulled on me, and it hasn’t broken me yet!” He pointed to an empty cubicle. “Now get to work!”

“Yes, Boss!”

He ran to his station with a desperate need to work. Cracking his joints and turning on his computer, he began looking through the code that had already been laid out before him.

His coworker, a blonde by the name of Jacob Wells, peeked from the cubicle and down at David. “Dude, are you alright?”

“Hmmm? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Alright,” He shrugged. “Can I ask why you’re so eager to work after the shitshow that happened last week?”

David shook his head. “I just have a lot on my mind right now, and I need some work to destress. No need to make a big deal out of it.”

“Hey, last time I saw you, you were bitching about how you hated working here and you wanted to do a flip in an empty pool.”

“And now, I want to work. What’s the issue?”

Jacob sighed, shaking his head. “You’ve changed, man. I don’t know what changed, but I don’t like it.”

Yeah man, David thought as he took a slow, deep breath. I’m not the biggest fan of it myself.

~~~

The time Morgan spent watching television had given her a few revelations. The first was that her style of speaking was very much out of date. Her speech patterns were stiff and filled with older, more royal inflections. It worked for her business appointments, but normal mortals didn’t speak like this.

Her second was how amazing these programs called ‘soap operas’ had been. It was never something she had indulged in, as she was more focused on achieving the throne rather than petty entertainment. Now she saw just how much she potentially missed and cursed herself for not doing so.

Third and last of all, she was amazed at how human cooking had become. Food and drink were normally her cousin’s realm of expertise, someone who she had spied on up to the trails to ensure victory. Originally, she saw her as an extremely creative and original chef. Now she saw the inspiration that she had taken.

During her cooking show binge, she considered if she would indulge herself in the culinary arts. Even if she was the queen of Hell, she still would like to treat her soon-to-be with something made from her own hands. It felt like something nice that she could do.

So she soon began preparing, putting on an apron and following the instructions of the TV to the best of her abilities. Needless to say, she was grateful that David wasn’t there. Despite making a mess and suffering a few failed attempts, she eventually managed to make a soup, which she set to boil.

As she waited for the correct temperature, her eyes caught sight of an ad for a company she happened to own, Synoware. It was simply talking about their latest software and how they were looking for new recruits. That was when she spotted one of the employees that were being filmed.

The tanned skin, the emerald eyes, the short, curved hair. There was no mistaking it. That was her David. She was absolutely shocked by the revelation and tried recalling if he actually told her. However, her mind turned to that memory of him being overworked and her face became grim. She tossed the apron aside and walked off, completely ignoring the pot on the stove.

~~~

What was a day of torture for the other employees developing software for clients they didn’t care about was a brief respite in heaven. No worries of marriage or Armageddon, just simple work that he enjoyed.

Soon, rumors began circulating about the lead investor coming soon. David knew this was going to put Mr. Garrett in an agitated mood, and the shouts demanding greater output confirmed it.

Moreno picked up the slack of a few of the more lagging members in order for them to have something under their belts, even if there wasn’t anything they could actually compile.

The boss clapped his hands, capturing the attention of the crew. “Alright, as you may have heard, we have an investor coming. There’s no need to panic, but also that doesn’t mean any of you get to slack off. Keep working, and hopefully, she doesn’t ask for an alpha build of it.”

Everyone muttered nervously. They were not prepared for something to be presented, but David ignored them. He continued to pump out code, his fingers dashing against the keyboard at top speeds. Code was quickly being filled into the empty space. He would not let them down.

The doors swung open as the sound of heels could be heard. David could tell that whoever it was, it was definitely a woman. No time to think about that, he thought to himself as he worked faster. I need to keep moving faster. I have to finish this. I have to-

“Ah, Ms. Mathers, it’s so nice of you to come by for a visit. We’re still working on the latest-”

“Spare me the pleasantries, Boris. I’m simply here to inspect your working conditions.”

There was a stillness in the air as everyone knew what that meant. Someone had squealed and broken their NDA. That could only mean that heads were gonna roll.

However, David’s silence was far different from the other’s. This was a voice that he was getting used to since the weekend began, and it was still giving him anxiety attacks. He didn’t dare look behind him for who he knew was behind the cubicle walls.

“W-Working conditions, huh? Why would you need to look into that?”

“I ask because my fiancé informed me of his plights at his place of work, which just happened to be here.”

Mr. Garrett’s eyes widened. “Your… Your fiancé! That, uhhh, that’s certainly a new development.”

“Indeed it is, and now, if you’ll excuse me…” The footsteps traced through the cubicle hallways like the sounds of a killer hunting for their next victim. Every so often, they’d get close, then fade away. Sweat dripped from his brow. She was so close. The footsteps were right behind him. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from his monitor.

“Hello, darling~”

David flinched and slowly turned to see his wife-to-be looming over him, her lovestruck expression radiating out. He slowly gave an awkward smile in return. “H-Hey there, Morgan…” He rubbed the back of his head. “I didn’t realize you could just… Walk in here.”

“Well of course!” Morgan said as she adjusted a pair of glasses that he was positive she didn’t need. “I am the majority shareholder~”

Her voice emanated a sense of pride for having such a title, which David was not so easily disarmed by. He simply took a deep breath and sat back. “W-Well, listen. We don’t need to have anything happen here. I’m fine with working.”

“Nonsense! No husband of mine will be subjected to such a fate!” She turned to Boris. “Garrett, I shall cut you a deal. I will not inform anyone of your conditions, provided you do me a favor.”

“Of course, anything you need!”

Oh no, David thought.

“I request paid time off for David, and we shall see after the wedding if he wishes to stay.”

“Yeah, that’s a wonderful idea! You have my full support on this!”

David quickly intervened. “Hey, wait a minute! I don’t want any paid time off! Come on, I can handle a workload while we plan for the-!”

He was quickly dragged off to another room before he could even finish that statement. Seeing this time that it was Jacob alongside his boss.

“Dude, what are you doing??” His coworker said with a shocked expression. “You’re gonna give up on money for nothing??”

“Listen, I just want to-”

Mr. Garrett shoved a finger in front of David’s face. “No, you listen to me, Moreno. This is an amazing opportunity for you. You are about to marry one of the most powerful women in the business world. She has connections all over the world, and not only can you help yourself by not needing to work, but you could also help our company ascend to new heights!”

Seeing David’s reaction of conflict plastered on his face, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Listen. You broke the rules. Honestly, I should be punishing you or even firing you. Instead, I’m telling you to take this opportunity.”

Jacob nodded with his arms crossed. “He’s got a point, Davey. Plus, if you take it, you don’t gotta work with Garrett.”

“Shut up, Wells.”

“Yes sir.”

Garrett turned to David with a hopeful look in his eyes. “So what do you say, Moreno? Help us all out?”

Say no, his brain yelled at him. Come on, you can do it! Say it! Say no, say no, say no!!

“... Alright, fine. But I’m not happy about it.”

As they returned to the workspace and gave the approval, all David could think was how his last haven was gone. His shoulders slumped as he looked at a cup of coffee on Jacob’s desk and took it, chugging the bitter brew down before leaving with Morgan.

~~~

While waiting outside, David held his hands together and placed them on his lips. With a deep breath, he brought the hands down. “Morgan, that was a tad unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary??” Morgan gasped. “They were working you to death! No husband of mine is going to be yeeted into the afterlife unless I say so!”

Barring the comment of Morgan saying she could have him sent to the afterlife, he raised an eyebrow. “Yeeted?”

“Indeed! I have decided that I will learn the language of the youth to appear more up to date!” She held her nose up in pride.

David couldn’t help but chuckle, walking forward. “Well, if you wanted to do that, you could have just told me. I can give you lessons at home. But anyway, let’s get to the trolley. I want to lie down.”

“Oh, no need for that, my love! Allow me to take us there!”

Before David could ask what she meant, she stretched her arms out and breathed in deeply. As she released the breath, a pair of greyed, soot-covered wings sprouted from her back. Needless to say, David was immediately looking around in a panic.

“U-Uhhh Morgan, maybe we shouldn’t be spreading those out in public!”

“No worries, dear! No one can see them! Another bit of magic~”

She grabbed hold of David and looked upwards, shooting up at high speeds. Once she was at a sufficient height well beyond the death zone, she flew out towards their home with David’s only thoughts being, Oh, but no one is going to notice this??

When they arrived at the house, the first thing that David noticed was a plume of smoke coming from one of the windows. He pointed to it as he looked up at Morgan. Her only response was “The soup!” before bolting into the house.

He entered the house and immediately noticed the smoke filling the kitchen and some of the living room. The house reeked of burning corn and meat, making him sputter and cough. The fire alarm was going off, and he could hear Morgan whimpering out, “No no no no…”

As he walked in, he noticed Morgan holding a pot filled with burnt vegetables and charred beef. She sniffled dramatically, looking up at him. “I-I’m sorry, David… I didn’t… I thought I could leave it… P-Please don’t be mad…”

Seeing her in such a state, he couldn’t help but remember his first attempts at cooking, and the subsequent yelling that followed. Letting out a tired sigh, he squatted down and gently patted her on the head.

“I’m not mad… Just tired. I think that if you want to cook, I can teach you that too.”

He gave her a small, but genuine smile, a rare sight since they met. Her mind cherished this moment and smiled back, pulling him into a kiss which he returned by allowing it to happen. Pots would need to be cleaned and houses needed to be fumigated, but David couldn’t help but see a bit of that connection he saw when he was drunk.