Work Text:
Last year, two months after Tadej’s hire
“So how’s it going, Tadej?” Jasper asked from behind, startling the newbie. Tadej switched tabs as quickly as he could, opening the last Word file lying around. “Easing into the role?”
“Yeah, I’m, getting pretty confident with hires for Slovenia.”
It wouldn’t have looked embarrassing if he didn’t switch tabs that fast. Maybe it didn’t look embarrassing. Checking IDs was part of the job, even if it wasn’t necessarily the passport photos — one passport photo in particular — that he should have been staring at for long seconds.
“Ooh, who was that?”
“Just a new hire for September,” Tadej said, with tips of ears redder than the logo of PowerPoint.
“For which team?”
Did it matter? Tadej wouldn’t be seeing him ever again.
“Let me check. I forgot.” He opened one of his files and scrolled down a bit. Oh . “Employee Services. Northern Europe.”
Okay, maybe he would see him sometimes, but they’d never talk; advisors of Northern Europe and Eastern Europe in two different teams hardly ever chit-chatted with each other.
“Hm, you know the ES Team, right? They sit on the other side, in that big area.”
“Yeah.” Tadej appreciated his helpful intent. Jasper wasn’t a person he had to work closely with, nor a person who went to the office often, so Jasper didn’t know much about Tadej, but his hospitality made Tadej feel welcome in the team early on. “Thank you though.”
“Let me know if you need help with anything!”
Maybe they’d meet in the small kitchen. Or in the big kitchen. Or in some other kitchen on some other floor.
Or maybe this guy would simply reject the company’s offer last minute, annihilating Tadej’s by-then weeks-long work, and Tadej could hate him for it for a day or two.
*
This year, ten months after Tadej’s hire
“I’ve got news,” Mathieu announces loudly, then pauses for effect. “I’ve got our new Northern Europe Specialist.”
Wout and Jasper look up from their monitors at the same time.
“Who is it?”
“I want their resume,” Jasper demands.
“No need for that. You know him very well,” Mathieu grins. “I just got his transfer ticket.”
“Say it already then?”
“Yeah, come on.”
“Okay, okay. Drumroll please.” Mathieu clears his throat. “Welcome the Shield of the Beehive, Conqueror of Reports, Protector of Policies! Our beloved Nordics hero from our sister team, Jonas Vingegaard, first of his name!”
Surprised cheer fills their designated Beehive area, but before Tadej could fully realize what Jonas's transfer actually means, he sees Primož's head snapping towards his direction with eyes smirking.
*
This year, a month before Jonas’s transfer
Wout silently leans back in his chair. It’s his signature move that signals accepting defeat and Tadej sympathizes with him on a spiritual level.
“‘Sup?”
“It’s the Terminator again.”
“What does he want? To ask you out finally?” Mathieu yawns.
“Ha-ha, very funny. Guess.”
“Five-hundred contract modifications? What’s your guess, Tadej?”
“A nonexistent policy?”
“Close. A termination. Date unconfirmed, termination agreement unsent, legal costs to be reimbursed once they have the invoices. They don’t have the invoices, nobody has anything. I have a headache.”
“Ah. Should have known. I have Aspirin?”
“Will take one, thank you.”
Mathieu fishes out a small paper box from his backpack, and throws the medication over their two monitors standing back to back.
“The Terminator doesn’t stand a chance against the four, er, soon to be four norsemen of the apocalypse,” he smiles reassuringly. “Fuck him.”
“Fuck him,” Wout agrees.
“Wouldn’t you, though?” Jasper asks, bored of casually listening in on their conversation. Tadej watches Wout roll his eyes as he clicks on the Reply button.
RE: NED Termination, October
Dear Remco,
I hope all is well
, Wout types.
*
One day after Jonas’s transfer
“Hello, Subhuman Resources, Jasper speaking.”
Tadej wants to say hi but only manages to cough, right after his mic connects.
“Hey, uh. Sorry.”
“Lovesick much today?”
A second later Tadej receives the ugliest, most glittering get-well-soon GIF he’s ever seen.
“It’s his first week with our team, and I can’t be in the office,” Tadej sighs.
“I’ll make sure to let him know you send your warmest regards. Hottest regards?”
*
One month after Jonas’s transfer
“Catch this, Rogla. A Denmark-UAE international transfer. Why would anyone want to move from Denmark to the UAE?”
“Ask Jonas. Why would anyone move from Denmark to Slovenia?”
“That’s… a very good question, actually.”
“Maybe he likes Slavic guys,” Primož winks. “Hey Jonas! Tadej wants to ask you something.”
“Hm, yes?” Jonas raises his head curiously, having no idea about the conversation between the two Slovenians.
Tadej shoots Primož a murderous look before he realizes he shouldn’t waste time on that. Nothing , he wants to exclaim but he has to say something, having disrupted Jonas — quiet, focused, cute Jonas — already.
“Erm, Jonas, so I’m just curious, what brought you here?”
“To the company?”
“Yeah. Or, I mean, to, Slovenia?”
“Oh.” Jonas takes out his other earbud, ready to engage in further conversation. “Research.”
“Research? What do you mean?”
“I’m doing my PhD.”
“Your PhD ?”
“Yep. In geology. You have cool caves here.”
*
“The Terminator just added me on Strava?” Wout frowns. “The hell.”
“You should have accepted his friend request on LinkedIn and be done with it while you had the chance.”
Tadej wants to ask Jonas if he uses Strava. If he likes caves, maybe he also likes rock climbing or something? The dream would be Jonas being into mountain rides, though.
“Staalkeeer, better report him to HR,” says Jasper. Nobody replies with the overused we are HR phrase, so he blows his nose to muffle the silence.
“The Curse of the Air Conditioner is settling in early this spring,” Attila remarks. All advisors fear the Curse of the Air Conditioner, so no one replies to his comment in hopes of it subsiding.
“Are you going to accept his request?”
Wout flinches.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve sent him three chaser mails in the past two days, and instead of replying, he adds me on Strava?”
“Let me see.” Mathieu reaches out with his hand and Wout tosses him his phone. Jasper rolls up next to them in his chair, intrigued.
“He has some nice rides in there, can't deny that.”
“It’s all flats,” Mathieu shrugs.
“Because it’s all flats back home, Mr. Worldwide.” Jasper raises a brow. “Tadej, how long is it do you think before Mathieu’s job title can be changed to Honorary Slovenian?”
“Remco’s only luck is that I don’t live back home,” Wout mutters. “I would chase him in person.”
*
It’s been weeks since Jonas has joined the team, yet his cheerful resolve still makes Tadej feel like office hours pass like seconds (and Tadej wishes he wasn't working from home today). He has that very same brightest spark in his eyes, and it’s still his straw blond hair that Tadej’s dreams are woven of; he’s glowingly beautiful, the kind of person poems sing about.
The sad thing is that Tadej is no poet. The best he could write him would be a love letter.
A love email.
A something email.
Dear Jonas,
I hope you are doing
me
well!
I’m writing to you regarding this DEN/UAE case I’ve meant to follow up on days ago
but I didn’t because I’m still super shy around you
.
I have
a
very comfortable couch we could cuddle on
ticket that made me feel kind of lost
as lost as I get in your dark blue eyes.
I’d like to know how
you feel about me
to proceed, could you please advise on the process?
I also think you have
a really cute face and very kissable lips
some details confirmed that I don’t, could we please
grab a coffee sometime
discuss it over a call?
Also you like rocks that’s cute and I could so be rock hard for you
Warmest
Kind regards,
Tadej
Tadej Pogačar
TDF Slovenia | HR Administration Specialist
*
“I have the Activate Windows . Again,” Matej grunts. The Administrate HR Team is no stranger to the contagious Curse of Windows, which, strangely enough, usually surfaces right after the Curse of the Air Conditioner appears in the office.
“I just had it fixed a week ago, I don’t want it,” Mathieu whines. “Down with propaganda, passivate Windows!”
“We can visit the Tech Team together if you’d like, I also got it,” Jonas offers with a pained expression.
Tadej has never wished to have an Activate Windows more on his own screen.
*
Hey Jonas, would you fancy a coffee sometime?, Tadej rehearses it in his head. No, they can get a coffee anytime in the office, as they have, a couple of times.
It has to be implied that he means it outside of work. Hey Jonas, would you fancy a coffee after work? That's what Tadej will say.
Or. Hey Jonas, would you fancy a coffee ride after work? Better.
“Hey Jonas,” Tadej greets him on the corridor with a heart rate in the skies as they wait for the meeting room to empty.
“Yes?”
His brain freezes.
“Do you have Strava?”
“Strava? No,” Jonas answers. “But if we went on a coffee ride together, we could record it on yours, would you like that?”
*