Love Addict's RPG Vol. 2 Ch. 69 (Patreon)

Sorry this one took me a while. It's a mix of poor moods and it just being a difficult chapter to write. I didn't want to overplay my hand or imply too much, so I scrutinized it very heavily as I went along. Hopefully the next one goes smoother.

***

Despite his initial annoyance at Bradley pushing him into this, Oliver was glad he did. The bonus was welcome, but the chance to impress Tessa was even better. He needed it now that she'd be watching him and his girlfriend like a hawk.

There goes all my sexy workplace fantasies, Oliver laughed to himself.

While bummed he'd be having no secret make-out sessions, Tessa was more polite about this than he'd expected. She could've just shuffled them off to different partners, but no. She was giving them a chance, which made him not want to blow it.

Unfortunately, Oliver wasn't off to a great start.

Skills notwithstanding, he wasn't good with his hands. Assembling furniture was outside his narrow expertise, and the instruction books weren't helping. He could barely follow along, convincing him that the designer got off on making things purposefully unintuitive.

It might've also been that Oliver was just dim, but what can you do?

Buy a magical skill, that's what.

Oliver really didn't want to waste any more of his LP. He'd already burned through a whopping two hundred points today, and he had no idea how fast he'd regain that sum. Botching such a simple task would probably earn Tessa's ire, though, which wasn't a risk he wanted to take when he was already on thin ice.

He caved and settled on making one last purchase for the day.

Oliver sifted through his available skills quickly, unsure how long he had until Tessa's return. His initial thoughts were something along the lines of woodworking, but that was more focused on assembling things from scratch. Might be helpful if he ever wanted to impress Mia's dad or show up the twins again, though.

He eventually landed on a skill that more accurately fit the bill.

[House Husbandry Lv. 1 | * | Smarts | Learn the Way of the Dad and gain expertise in household tasks that are traditionally expected of men. Grants beginner proficiency in various fields such as lawn mowing, unclogging toilets, killing spiders, minor home repairs, assembling store-bought furniture, and more. Does not increase pun or cooking proficiency, save for barbecue. +1 to Smarts.]

At least this one gives me a lot of bang for the buck, Oliver sighed as he did the deed.

[Skill Purchased! House Husbandry Lv. 1 -25LP]

[Gained +1 Smarts]

Immediately upon doing so, what could only be described as a massive influx of Dadergy permeated throughout him. His soul yearned to invite his neighbors over for a barbecue, watch football, and play poker with the boys while they all made sexist jokes about their wives- the ever-present fear of divorce hanging like the sword of Damocles above his head.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck...!!" Oliver gasped repeatedly as the skill installation was completed. The introverted weeb shivered like a naked man in freezing rain, his brief exposure to the lifestyle of your average, run-of-the-mill, middle-aged American male shaking him to his core. "That was the worst one yet, Jesus Christ. I hope it was worth it..."

It was. The instruction manuals made sense now, so Oliver got to work. He worked swiftly, practically on autopilot. Thankfully, it didn't seem like he'd need level two. The last thing he wanted was to drop more points on another injection of... that.

Oliver noticed his mind felt a little 'lighter' as he built. It was hard to explain. He wondered if his new stat increase was the cause. Smarts might not have made him directly made him more intelligent, but he did feel somewhat... sharper, maybe?

On second thought, probably not. If I can't even describe the feeling, then I can't exactly claim I'm feeling more clever... Oliver shrugged. Whatever it was, progress was progress, and he was happy to observe the phenomenon until it eventually passed.

Oliver got through both bookshelves and was halfway through the desk when the door opened. The mind-numbing Payless Foods BGM swapped over to a familiar melancholic piano number so dreary that it ratcheted his energy levels down a notch or two.

"How's everything coming along, Oliver?" Tessa asked. Lacking her apron, she wore a fashionable brown jacket to protect her from the mild sixty-degree temperature outside while carrying a paper drink holder with two cups.

"Not too bad, I think. Feel free to check if the bookshelves came out all right, though. If not, I'll see if I can't tighten the screws a little more."

Tessa placed the coffee on her old desk, which had been conveniently cleared off before Oliver arrived. She grabbed both sides of the first new bookshelf and applied pressure to see if it wobbled. It didn't, and neither did the second one.

"No need. It seems you've done a fine job thus far. Thank you."

"Just trying to put my best foot forward," Oliver nervously gave Tessa one of his newly powered-up smiles, hoping it helped.

"Admirable," she hummed, looking away. "Though I'm assuming you're feeling pressured to get on my good side after our little talk this morning..."

Those new juices in Oliver's brain got pumping, inspiring him to fire off with, "What, I need a reason to suck up to you?"

"I suppose not, but you've never 'sucked up' to me before,"

"And you've never bought me coffee before, either. Guess there's a first time for everything?"

Tessa glared at him, her steely eyes stoking fear in Oliver's heart the same as ever. This time, however, he found the mental resilience to maintain a poker face.

"Funny. I don't recall ever saying that second coffee was for you."

"You didn't, but you usually come in through the back,"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you passed the lounge on your way here and didn't stop to stash it in the fridge for later. Instead, you brought both cups back to your office."

Tessa glared at him a little harder. His mask almost slipped, but it lasted long enough to see her crack an odd smirk that looked halfway between annoyed and amused.

"Take the coffee, you little shit," Tessa said, handing it to him.

[Tessa has Gained +1 Affection! +1 Smooth Talker]

Oliver was surprised to learn that he could get away with a bit of cheekiness, and even more so, Tessa actually enjoyed it. He almost couldn't hide how dumbfounded he was, so he quickly took a sip to cover it up. The brew's quality impressed him. It didn't come from any of the shitty coffee shops on this street, that's for sure.

"...Damn. Thanks, Boss. This is really good."

"You're welcome. I was already irritated this morning even before our chat, so I decided to treat myself to something a cut above the nearby swill. While there, I figured I'd be... nice, I suppose."

"I feel like you've been trying to do that more often lately,"

"And I feel like you've grown more of a spine lately," Tessa shrugged. "Your point being?"

Oliver was taken aback out of habit but quickly recovered. Then, still feeling daring post-affection boost, he prodded her a tiny bit. "I wasn't trying to make a point, but now I have to ask. Would I get fired for pointing out how badly you suck at this?"

The world went silent save for Tessa's atmospheric theme song. Oliver panicked, immediately believing he'd flown too close to the sun. His firing was imminent; he could feel it in the air.

"Case in point," her expression softened ever-so-slightly. "No, Oliver. I'm not so small as to lash out upon hearing the truth. Indeed, I'm awful at showing kindness, and it's been a long, long while since I've even made a token effort..."

Oliver hadn't expected such an honest admission. He decided to keep himself from expecting the worst and try engaging Tessa calmly to see what he could get from this conversation.

"What changed?"

"You reminded me of your personal struggles," Tessa sighed. "And I went home that night feeling like an even bigger sack of shit than usual.”

“…Oh,”

“I’m not going to make excuses for myself. I treated you and many of my other employees harshly, and I’m ashamed that it took what it did to pull me out of my downward spiral long enough for me to realize I was behaving unacceptably.”

“Can I ask a question, Tessa?”

“If you want to know why I was rough on you specifically, then I’m sorry to say there’s no easy answer,”

“But there is a complicated one?”

She started giving him her evil-eyed glare before realizing she was doing it and stopping herself short, her cheeks red from irritation.

“It’s a mix of things…”

“Name one or two?”

Tessa’s frustration boiled over, causing her to growl, “Fucking- ugh, fine. Look. Men piss me off, all right? I’m not proud of it, and it’s unprofessional as all hell, but it’s the honest-to-goodness truth. I have a short fuse, and men burn through it faster than women.”

“…Wow,” Oliver stared at his boss, feeling like he saw her for the first time. “I can’t believe you just outright admitted that. I always thought you went easy on Stacy and some of the others, but-”

“I’m lenient with Stacy because she attracts potential HR disasters like moths to a flame and then snuffs them out before they become a problem. That, and she’s a good employee. No, I try not to let my issues affect how I run my business.”

“Keyword being ‘try’?”

“It’s like I already told you, the longer you have a bias, the more it colors the world around you until you no longer notice it’s there. Mine has blinded me for a long while now, and I’m trying to do something about it.”

“Okay, I get that, but… is sexism seriously the only reason you’d always get on my ass whenever I was running a few minutes late or working a little slower than you’d like? Because I don’t know what to say if that’s really the case.”

“You could say the truth,” Tessa suggested. “That it reflects poorly on me. That I’m a shitty boss and an even shittier person. I wouldn’t disagree.”

Oliver gave her a conflicted smile. “I’m good, thanks. Just because you’re owning up to it doesn’t mean I’m gonna risk shoving my hand into an open flame.” 

“Good call,” Tessa laughed dryly. “Though I’d honestly prefer it if you did. If you haven’t noticed, I lose sight of myself more often than I’d care to admit. The thing is, I want to improve. I really, truly do. It's just…”

Oliver watched as his employer’s expression darkened. Her grip on her coffee grew tighter and tighter, causing some to spill out of the lid and splash onto her hand. It clearly burned, but she didn’t react beyond minor trembling.

“…Tessa?”

“It’s so fucking hard to give a shit about anything anymore,” she sighed, setting her cup aside to rub her wound.

Though still upset that her harsh treatment came from where it did, Oliver was more empathetic than other people in his shoes might've been. He recognized a mental health crisis when he saw one, especially one so similar to his own. He'd been there before, sexism and all.

It made him want to reach out, or at least try.

"It's not all bad, is it? There's always your sister's cats."

Another sigh. "They're my fucking cats, Oliver. I don't have a sister."

"Still. You give a shit about them, don't you?"

"I do, yes, but they're just about all I'm capable of caring about these days..."

"What about your store?"

"This old place?" Tessa laughed and looked around her. "Never wanted it, but I'm not about to trust anyone else with it, either. All it's ever been as a burden, but it's my burden."

Oliver wasn't making any headway. Whatever was going on with Tessa ran deep. Real deep. He was out of his depth, and although it risked offending her, he played the last move he had at his disposal.

"Have you ever considered therapy, boss?"

"...What?"

"I know this is none of my business, but it might do you some good. I could give you my old therapist's number. They got me through some hard times, and-"

"No. No, I've... already been through four and don't see any point in hedging my bets on lucky number five. It was kind of you to offer, however. Perhaps kinder than I deserve." Feeling awkward, Tessa chugged her coffee and slammed it on her old desk. "Forgive me, Oliver. I'm unsure how I ended up unloading my emotional baggage onto you, but I didn't mean to put you through that."

"You shouldn't feel sorry for venting. Keeping all those nasty thoughts bottled up inside clearly hasn't done you any good. I'm happy to help you air them all out."

"...Why, though? I don't understand why you'd act as if you care."

"I'm guessing you need a reminder since it's been a while, but people don't generally have easily explainable reasons for caring about the things they do. They just... do. As for me, I guess you could say I'm paying things forward. People showed me much more patience than I deserved when I was at my worst, so I feel it's the least I can do. I probably wouldn't care if it didn't sound like you actually wanted to change, though. But you do, right?"

"...Yes," Tessa confessed. "I just don't know if it's even possible at this point..."

"I didn't think I'd ever get any better, either, but here I am. The first step is always the hardest, and you’ve already made it past that. Nothing to do from here on out but to keep trying your best.”

Tessa closed her eyes, wondering how she ended up getting a lecture on mental health by an employee twelve years younger. She’d misjudged Oliver, though she supposed she already knew that much. It was more the extent of her wrongness that surprised her.

Her preconceptions always made Tessa think of him as something of a slacker. Maybe a little dim, too. The truth was, in fact, the opposite. Oliver was wiser than his years, and she stood something to gain from his heeding his advice.

“...Right. I suppose that’s exactly what I’ll do, then. I’ll try my best to treat you and everyone else more fairly while endeavoring to rediscover how to go about giving a shit again.” Tessa showed her resolve by clenching her fist and taking a deep breath, her self-reflection prompting a shocking notification.

[Tessa has Gained +30 Affection!]

Oliver was stunned. He’d never seen a heroine’s affection go up so much in a single tick before, which said a lot about Tessa’s convictions. It didn’t result in his typical dopamine rush from seeing the numbers increase. He was mostly just happy for her. Genuinely happy.

“Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do to help,” he said. “I know it probably doesn’t mean much coming from me, but-”

“It means more than you’d think. Thank you, Oliver. That said, I’d prefer this conversation didn’t leave the confines of my office.”

“No, of course not,”

“I’m asking for you not to tell Mia. Just in case that wasn’t clear.”

“Oh. Sure.” He thought that was fair enough, though he wasn’t planning to gossip about Tessa’s secrets.

“Good, good,” Tessa finished her coffee, nodding. Oliver was starting work on the desk again, and although she probably should’ve left him to it, bringing Mia up made Tessa suddenly curious. “Speaking of, did you have anything to do with her absence yesterday?”

“Uh, I’m assuming she won’t be in trouble if I answer honestly?”

“You assume correctly,”

“Then sort of, yeah,” since the conversation’s heaviness had significantly lowered, Oliver began assembling the desk as he spoke. “We had a weird week and didn’t get to hang out until yesterday. It’s a long story, but her older brothers were giving us shit and I…”

Not immune to intrigue, Tessa raised a brow. “You what?”

“Nothing, this is just gonna sound really stupid…”

“Try me,”

“I… sort of had to beat them in a boxing match to get their approval...”

Well, he wasn’t kidding. It did sound pretty stupid. Tessa held back laughter at the thought, wanting to be polite and not immediately rude right after she’d resolved to be better.

Her restraint failed. Tessa chuckled, but it sounded polite enough.

“Come on, now. I wasn’t fucking born yesterday. That sounds like a plotline out of some poorly-written romantic comedy.”

“I know, but it really happened," Oliver sighed. "Stacy and Bradley were there, too. Ask them if you don’t believe me.”

“You... aren't kidding, are you?" Tessa paused, her expression growing distant. "How did it go, then?”

“I spent yesterday with Mia, didn’t I?” He said, unable to hold back a small smile.

“Huh,” Tessa imagined the unlikely scenario. She felt odd as she did, her guard slipping a little lower. “You really are just full of surprises lately, aren’t you? Talk about romantic..."

[Tessa has Gained +1 Affection!]

Wait, what? Where the heck did that just come from?

Oliver looked at his boss, finding a strange look on her face. She seemed deep in thought, though the somber piano melody following her around everywhere amplified that vibe. This felt like a valuable topic worth pursuing, but pulling it off in a natural way would be tricky.

He didn’t want to outright ask if she liked romantic guys, but… maybe if he prompted her to talk about her own experiences?

Yeah, that oughta do it…

“It wasn’t that big of a deal; I only did what I had to. I’m sure you’ve seen way more romantic junk in your time.”

“Hardly,” she laughed. “I can’t imagine any of the men I’ve known stepping up to the plate like that… rotten bastards, the lot of them…”

“That’s rough,” Oliver said. It also explained a lot, but he kept that to himself. “Maybe you just haven’t gotten to know the right kind of guy?”

“More like the ones worth getting to know are in such short supply they might as well be nonexistent. Mia should count herself lucky.”

Olive blushed a little and smiled obnoxiously. “I personally think I’m the lucky one, but that’s just me,”

“You’re only proving my point, kid…" Tessa sighed. "Anyways, are you about done yet?”

“Yeah, just gotta get this last screw in, and the new desk should be good to go. Wait a sec, and then you can check it out.”

Tessa performed her inspection after Oliver finished his job. She didn’t find anything wrong and was quite pleased with his results.

“Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but you did better than I expected. Excellent work, Oliver.”

[Tessa has gained +5 Affection!]

Oliver was happy to see his skill investment pay off so well. Five affection was a bigger deal coming from Tessa than Mia, meaning it felt even nicer than usual.

“As thanks, I’ll be sure to tack on an extra fifty to your wages today, minus the cost of your coffee,” Tessa said flatly. So flatly that Oliver couldn’t tell if it was a joke or not. He thought it was, but she’d never joked around with him before now, and it hadn't landed.

There was an awkward pause.

“I was kidding,” Tessa mumbled, her brows furrowed and her cheeks red. “Coffee is the least you deserve for putting up with my bullshit…”

“No problem, Tessa. Again, I’m glad I could help.” Oliver gave his boss a pity laugh. Then, he suddenly had an idea that might earn him an additional bonus. It was a very low-risk gambit, so he went for it.

“I’ll go ahead and take out the old furniture after I’ve transferred the books between shelves, but first, would you mind giving me a hand? My leg’s asleep.”

It wasn’t, but the lie was innocent and not hard to sell. Tessa still didn’t immediately go for it, though.

“Bold of you to assume I don’t have back problems,” she stated with an amused scoff.

“Come on,” Oliver smiled up at her and extended his hand. “You’re not that old.”

“You say that like age is the only reason I’d have back problems…”

“…Oh,”

Tessa rolled her eyes at the dumb boy and subtly smiled back. She took his hand, helping to hoist him onto his feet.

“Thanks, boss…”

“Of course. You can let go of my hand now.”

“Huh?”

The smile went away.

“The hand you’re holding…?”

A few more seconds. Just to make sure it counts…

“Oh, duh,” Oliver laughed at himself, playing it up. “Silly me. Blanked out for a second.”

“Well, hurry up and let go, already! I’m trying to be polite, but… you’re really testing my patience here!”

Shit. Didn’t think she’d react that badly.

“Sorry, sorry!” Oliver let go, hoping he hadn’t just undone any of his progress with Tessa.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed something weird. He’d thought her reddened face meant she was angry at him, but that wasn’t the case.

“You’re fine, just… be more careful next time…”

Tessa was flustered. She rubbed her hand and stared at it awkwardly as Oliver pondered what he was looking at. Thankfully, his notifications spelled things out in a way he couldn’t misinterpret.

[Milestone Achieved! Held Tessa’s Hand +10LP]

[Tessa has gained +1 Affection!]

“I’m going to check the floor,” Tessa grumbled as she stomped away. A bit of her old frustration was cropping up, but she turned around at her door and forced herself to tone it back. “Feel free to ask someone else for help if you can’t carry them out on your own, and again, thanks for the help…”

She left in a hurry before, leaving him in utter confusion. There was really only one conclusion he could draw.

“That affection boost just now… Tessa liked holding my hand, didn’t she…?”

It was a big discovery. He should’ve felt happy about it, but he didn’t. Oliver’s first reaction was to feel sorry for his boss. His gut instinct told him Tessa was less happy that he’d held her hand and more that someone had at all.

Was she really so starved for physical contact?

The thought made him frown.

I’ll still try to get LP whenever I see a chance, but I definitely need to take things slow with Tessa. She’s been hurt enough.

Oliver didn’t want to add to her pain. He didn’t know what he wanted from her, really. The idea of romantically pursuing Tessa was still pretty far-fetched, though he found himself more open to the possibility now that he saw her as an actual person and not his boss.

It got him curious about what else he’d find if he took the time to get to know her. He wondered what Tessa used to be like before life chewed her up and spat her out, but he stopped himself from going off the rails. If he didn’t, he’d end with stupid, silly thoughts like ‘I can fix her’…

The sound of a ticking clock on Tessa’s wall was barely audible over Oliver’s monotonous mind music. He listened as a single second passed, followed by another.

But… maybe I-

Oliver shoved his face into his palms with a heavy sigh, remaining nothing if not predictable. He forced himself to start moving the books, putting Tessa out of his mind to focus on his girlfriend and the fun weekend he had ahead of him.

One thing at a time, Oliver. One thing at a time.

***

Stat Changes

Oliver Chase | Strength 9 | Style 5 | Spark 1 | Smarts 3
Cash: $920 | LP: 110

Tessa Robinson | Status: Boss | -159/100 | ♡♡♡♡♡