xp_logs | Warren and Adrienne -- The truth comes out

Warren and Adrienne both find out something about the other in a surprising way.

With the final cardboard box folded up, Warren looked around the office with a pleased look on his face. Due to the confidential material in those files, there was no way he could delegate setting the office up. It had been slow going, using whatever free time he had when he didn't feel like driving to the Mansion, but it was good.

Course, it was even better when Jessica came to help, but then not much work got done. He grinned as he wiped down one of the desks, thinking to himself how lucky he was that furniture didn't talk. Especially when Jessica had been tasked with specifically making sure that Warren didn't break Rule #1. Was it really his fault that she was physically irresistable? And only physically, but he really couldn't remember a single thing they ever said to each other ....at least, nothing that wasn't 'oh god' 'faster' 'right there'. The important words.

Just as he was finishing up, he heard the door open behind him. Turning around, he gave a wide smile. "See, Adrienne, the place is still standing and it's organized. Also, no pets." Warren tossed the rag at her, wondering if she'd catch it or not. "I think you owe me a public apology."

Eyes widening slightly as the rag came hurtling at her, Adrienne sidestepped it and watched it fall to the floor. "Eew," she muttered, then looked at Warren. "Good job. Though I wonder how much of that is your doing, and how much is the responsibility of your coworkers," she smirked. She looked at the rag again, contemplating leaving it there or picking it up, knowing that if she did so she risked Reading the floor it rested on thanks to her newest powers malfunction of Reading objects through other objects. Whatever. He'd put it there, he could pick it up, and she'd just look like a bitch rather than someone nervous about possibly Reading the floor. "But after I interview them, if they inform me that they didn't need to physically restrain you from setting the building on fire, having sex, or buying any exotic animals, then you might get your apology."

Warren simply shook his head. "Oh Adrienne. What did I ever to do inspire such little confidence? I'll have you know that I'm a model employee, and an even better boss." He waved a hand in the direction of the office. "Do you see how amazing this all looks? And I did that without an assistant even." He shook his head sadly. "I tried to order Lorna and Jess around but they just laugh at me. I think we should fire them."

In response to this, Adrienne had no choice but to laugh at him. "Yeah. Right. I'll get right on that. Who would you suggest we hire to replace them?"

"Supermodels," Warren answered without hesitation. "It'd really help our walk-in traffic. We'd have so much work, it'd be unbelievable."

"I owe myself ten bucks," she responded, having guessed he'd give some answer related to pretty girls. It was either going to be supermodels or a women's netball team, she'd been sure of it. "But no. Even though I could supply you with a limitless number of models from my own company, no. What's up with all the boxes?" she asked, still standing in the middle of the office.

He gave her a curious look. "How else would I get all the files and paperwork from the Mansion here? I would assume we don't want it all there, but since you left no clear instructions, if this is all wrong, it's technically your fault." It just wasn't efficient to have two offices when it was apparent they were to be working out of this one. Plus, he still found it strange that everyone was bundled into the Mansion. Sure, they were all working for the same person, but they were still separate entities. This made much more sense.

Adrienne's eyes widened. "Wow. You did that?" Then the implications of what he'd said sunk in and she frowned at him. "Hey! I didn't leave instructions because I didn't really want you guys to deal with it without me." She had trust issues. Whatever. If he didn't know that by now, she was sure he'd figure it out soon. "But if it's been done properly, I won't flip my shit." She sauntered into the office she'd claimed as her own and set her handbag down on the desk, where her malfunctioning powers kicked in and she unintentionally Read her desk through the bag that she was still touching.

Letting out a horrified shriek, she bounded back into the main bullpen area of the office. "What the fuck, Worthington?!" she shouted angrily at him.

Warren had gone back to tidying up, when he heard her shriek. Startled, he looked towards her and mentally went through a list of why she could possibly be mad at him. He gave up when he realized there were entirely too many things on that list. "In the interest of saving time," Warren said cautiously, "how about you tell me why you're mad at me, and I'll tell you why you shouldn't be. Because to be honest, Adrienne, I have no clue why you look horrified but let me add that you look wonderful in red. Really. That shade is perfect for you."

Adrienne responded in her characteristic fashion- blazing loud, accusatory anger, the kind that was so tempting to deal back at her in the form of physical violence. "You had sex on my fucking desk?! Are you fucking kidding me?! My desk?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Are you some sort of fucking sex addict?! Never mind the fact you were fucking Jess, who is our employee, when you're supposed to be dating Jean Fucking Grey!"

There were many things Warren could say back, but wisely, he chose none of them. Instead, he leaned on his desk, arms crossed in front of him as he calmly replied with: "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, you fucking frat boy!" Adrienne screeched. "You and Jess had sex on my fucking desk!"

Had they? Warren had to stop and think about that before he could answer her. "If we did, I'm sure it wasn't intentional," he responded, really trying to remember what she was talking about. They'd had sex in the office, that much he remembered but did they do it on her desk? Snapping a finger, he laughed. "Oh wait, yes, it's coming back to me now. We started on my desk and then I think there was something on the wall....oh and the ceiling. She can fly, you know? Anyways, you really shouldn't have put her in charge of Rule #1. Technically, I think you're the one to blame. If you don't want to know what was going on while you're gone, you shouldn't have security cameras." Because obviously, how else would she know about it? Warren made a mental note to try to figure out that system.

Adrienne screeched again, wishing she was a violent person who wouldn't feel bad later about wringing Warren's stupid oblivious neck. "I'm the one to blame?! Me?! Are you fucking kidding me?! And I don't have security cameras in here, you moron! I saw with my-wait." She clamped her mouth shut suddenly, remembering that he didn't yet know she was a mutant. "Hang on." She held up a finger and dashed back into her office, opening a drawer of her desk and pulling out a folder. From it, she pulled out a piece of paper. Grabbing a pen, she brought it back to Warren. "Sign this," she ordered, still stormy faced. She slapped the non-disclosure agreement onto his desk.

He looked curiously at the paperwork, leaving the agreement on the desk. "Non-disclosure?" A grin crossed his face. "If I sign this, does it mean you'll tell me about the time you had sex on my desk? Because otherwise, I'm not entirely sure why I have to sign it."

"Yes, that's why I want you to sign it," she responded through gritted teeth. false smile on her face.

"And my word isn't good enough?"

"Nope. I have trust issues. Deal with it," she shrugged. "We're both businesspeople. Signing an NDA can't be that strange to you."

Looking at the paper again, Warren picked it up and glanced through it. "No, it's not strange, but I have to admit, I've never had one tossed at me in the middle of an argument." It looked standard enough, and he didn't see any clauses he'd regret. Picking up a pen, he signed his name with a flourish. "There. Now please, proceed to berate me. You do it so well."

Biting back the urge to strangle him, Adrienne snatched up the document and folded it, putting it in her back pocket. "I'm a psychometrist, Frat Boy. And my fucking powers aren't working properly right now. So don't have sex on my fucking desk or anything I'm going to touch. Got it?"

"I wiped it down," he said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "And I'm sorry that you're psycho, but truly, it's not surprising. Are there meds for that?"

"Psycho?! It's not surprising I'm PSYCHO?! Did you just say that to me?!" It was getting really, really difficult not to fling herself at him and tear him apart, but she kept her hands clenched at her sides, nails digging into the flesh. "I didn't say psycho, you drooling moron, I said psychometrist. I get psychic visions of the history of anything I touch. Psychometrist."

The high pitch of her shriek was starting to give him a headache. Rubbing at his temple, he took a moment to understand what she was saying. Psychic visions.......touch history.......psychic..... His head shot up, an almost angry look to his face, completely counter to how he normally looked. "You're a mutant," he stated bluntly. He hated looking like a fool, but more importantly, he hated lying. As much as his morals were question at best, he answered every question with a measure of honesty. He was actually hoping Jean would ask him about Jessica, just so he could tell her. "You lied to me in the gym then." Warren straightened up, and glared. "Do you even have a ward? Is there anything else you lied about?"

"Of course I have a ward!" Adrienne responded, exasperated. "She was presumed dead. But now she's back. And yeah, of course I lied about being a mutant. Is this like, your first day? It's not exactly a fucking picnic for us out there. I have a company to run. I can't have it getting out that I'm a mutant aga-" she cleared her throat suddenly, trying to make her near-slip of mentioning having been outed as a mutant in the old universe seem like she was choking. "Getting out that I'm a mutant," she repeated when she had finished fake-coughing.

Still annoyed, he shrugged. "You knew about me. And no one knows about me. Just the people at the mansion." There was nothing Warren hated more than being lied to. "Anyways. I should go. Sorry for defiling your desk. I'll make sure not to touch anything that belongs to you in the future."

"Oh, don't be such a fucking baby," Adrienne retorted, rolling her eyes. "You sound like you're in kindergarten. I knew about you because you had fucking wings the first time I saw you at the mansion. We weren't doing quid pro quo. You're really going to get all butthurt that I didn't tell a complete stranger one of my biggest secrets? Even though you claimed to know about me when we met at the gym, which would imply you knew you were talking to someone with the reputation for being one of the most secretive and reclusive businesswomen in New York? Yet you're surprised she didn't spill her guts to you the first time she met you? You think I just go around airing my dirty laundry to everyone I meet? Go around telling people I'm a mutant, that my husband used to beat me, that I foresaw my own death at his hands? That my daddy used to sneak into my room at night? Huh? Don't you dare make me feel like shit for lying to you about this when I met you." Because now she did feel a little guilty. Fuck.

That was a lot of truths in one sentence. The fact that those things had happened to her, and yet she was still standing tall, that was impressive. It wasn't something he was used to discussing or even hearing though, so he simply gave her a nod as acknowledgement of what she had said. "You have a good point and I apologize for what I said. You have the right to your privacy as much as anyone else does, and it was not appropriate for me to have implied otherwise. I appreciate honesty more than anything else, and endeavour to be as transparent and honest as possible. That being said, I do understand the need to be vague at times." Such as the fact that he was sleeping with someone else while dating Jean. But they'd already established that. "And I do truly need to go. It wasn't just a statement. I hadn't anticipated being here for as long as I have but I wanted this office to have some semblance of order before you came back. I hope you had a good trip, Adrienne."

"Okay. Thanks." Adrienne felt like a balloon that was deflating very fast. "Yeah. And I'm... I'm sorry I flew off the handle. And... if it counts for anything, I don't feel like I have to lie to you anymore, which is kinda weird for me. So I hope that means something to you. See you later?"