Stress Test Anon Part 10

>Your eyes feel heavy as they open to the familiar droning of an alarm clock, and your side throbs as your hand smashes down on top of it to shut the damn thing up.
>You grope blindly in the early morning darkness searching for the cane you've been using to keep weight off of your bad side, feeling all the more like a doddering old man as you do.
>Groaning through clenched teeth, you drag yourself up to a standing position before beginning the troublesome task of getting dressed.
>Despite the fact you feel like shit and want to die due to your refusal to take the pain killers given to you the face staring back at you from the mirror looks relatively healthy, more likely than not thanks to the excellent care Lulu and Sammy had been giving you.
>You touch at the dark circles under your eyes, which have gotten significantly worse thanks to the pain from your side keeping you up at night more aggressively than even your most frequent night terrors.
>You sigh, and consider the still full bottle of pills on your bedside table, before shaking your head in the hopes of dislodging the idea of swallowing your pride and the pills to deal with this damn pain.
>"Lulu, Sammy, I'm up" you call as you open your bedroom door, and begin hobbling your way to the dinning room.
>Lulu is almost instantly at your side, you give her a gentle smile that she returns and instantly feel a little lighter.
>"Sammy will have the table set momentarily, Sir" Lulu informs softly "Congratulations on your improved time dressing yourself, though I wish you'd let us help you" she gently chides.
>"I know, I know" you mutter, though not unkindly "But I feel like an invalid if I can't dress myself" you complain.
>"Except for your Tie, Sir?" Lulu asks, giggling as you chuckle at her playful jab at you.
>"You're the only one who can do it the way I like" you willingly concede.
>By the time you reach the table it's fully set, with a full English breakfast sat in front of your seat.
>"It looks lovey, girls" you compliment as you gingerly sit down and prepare to tuck in, enjoying the aroma of the food placed before you
>"The mail has been sorted by priority, nothing you have to look at before work!" Sammy reported chipperly before pulling out a piece of pink stationary and looking it over "Though Maryanne has sent you a letter informing you that if you don't come visit her soon she'll assault you outside of your workplace" Sammy says unsurely "Don't know if she means that as a joke or not so we should probably visit her soon"
>You sigh resignedly, "Better safe than sorry, We'll drop by tomorrow and pay her a visit, she probably wants to chew me out for getting shot"
>You make quick work of the meal before you looked at the clock and resisted the urge to groan.
>"Well girls, I'm off to work, breakfast was a delight as always" you say with all the enthusiasm you can muster "We'll watch some Our Sleepless City when I get home, okay?"
>Sammy nods enthusiastically and approaches with Lulu as she comes in to give your tie a double check.
>You pat Sammy on the head and kiss Lulu's forehead before you make your way out the door.
>Work is it's usual soul sucking slog, and with your aching side it seems to drag even longer, but eventually you're getting ready to clock out when a unfamiliar voice calls your name.
>"Glad I could catch you Mr. Anonymous!" a gangly young man with coke bottle glasses says as he approaches you "Mr. Sinclair wanted to see you before you left for the day!"
>"Ah, thank you..." you say, hoping that the man will pick up that you don't know his name.
>Luckily he seems to realize that you don't know him and sheepishly rubs the back of his head "Ah, I'm Tibbs by the way, Mr. Rudolph's apprentice!" he introduces as he reaches out for a handshake
>"Ah, this year's Trainee course is already done then? how time flies" you comment as you shake Tibbs' hand. "Well, I better go see what Mr. Sinclair wants" you say before heading towards the man's office.
>You're there in minutes, but before you can knock on the door a man who looks like a fish who'd just taken a bite of a particularly sour lemon opens the door, turning up his nose at the sight of you before storming off in a huff.
>"Ah, Anon, just the man I was hoping to see! come in and have a seat" Sinclair says in his usual jovial tone.
>"Now, as I'm sure meeting Mr. Tibbs has made you realize, the Trainee course for this year has wrapped up and the trainees are being sorted to Stress Testers as apprentices" the man said with a casual wave of his hand "And I was hoping that you'd be willing to take one on this year, especially in light of your injury"
>You try to turn him down, stubborn pride rearing it's ugly head at the thought of needing help, but Sinclair sees it a mile away and raises a hand to preemptively silence any protests.
>"Alongside that, the man you had the misfortune of running into was a member of upper management looking for an axe to grind in search of a promotion, and right now your axe is looking pretty chipped, Anon" Sinclair says seriously "But if you had a Trainee under your proverbial wing, his attentions would shift elsewhere"
>This information strangles your protests, it wasn't often that a member of upper management would purge employees in the hopes of increasing productivity hoping to gain a promotion but you had seen it happen, and with your side as a cause of needing to slow your work down you realize that your head could be on the proverbial chopping block.
>"I'd love to take on an apprentice" you say after much consideration, though your voice is mostly neutral.
>"Then I'll just give you the paperwork and you can hand it into me next time you come into work, I'm sure your Apprentice will be thrilled to work with you, I bet she'll be jumping with joy" He says as he hands you a folder full of papers, and it's only once you're already half way home that his final words sink into your head.
>"She?" you mutter out loud, suddenly feeling a sense of dread.