//------------------------------//
// Putting it My Way 
// Story: Lovey Dovey and the Uncertain Stallion 
// by Crystal Wishes 
//------------------------------//

"Knock, knock," Rare Chance said as he pushed open the door to Magnate's office.  "Have a moment?"

Magnate quickly rose to his hooves.  "Of course, sir."

Rare Chance chuckled, waving a hoof as he walked inside, the door shutting behind him.  "Sit, sit.  I'm your boss, not a princess."

Magnate responded with a polite laugh before sitting back down.  Laugh for the boss.  It was right there in his job description between 'Put together reports' and 'Give presentations on reports'.  He had just neglected to see it when he accepted the position.

"I just came to let you know that the yearly reviews are coming up.  You know what that means."  Rare Chance tapped a forehoof on the desk.  "This year might be your year."

His year.  Magnate's chest swelled with pride.  He had been working toward that promotion for so long, and it sounded like this year was finally the one.

"Thank you, sir."  Magnate smiled.  "I look forward to my review."

Rare Chance opened his mouth to speak further, but paused.  His gaze drifted away from Magnate's, and Magnate tried to follow its direction.

And that was when he saw it.

Taped to the side of his stapler was a red paper heart, and on it were the words, "You can do it!"

"What's this?" Rare Chance asked, his brow raising.

Magnate had never felt his face so hot as his magic ripped the note off the stapler, crumpled it up, and tossed it in the bin.  "Nothing!  A joke.  Just a prank.  It's nothing.  Nothing at all."

Rare Chance's brow remained up before he chuckled.  "Pranks!  It's good to see you're finally getting along with your coworkers.  Keep it up!"  He tapped the desk again.  "Keep it up."

Though he was certain his face was still red, Magnate tried to smile with utmost professionalism.  "Yes, sir.  Thank you, sir."

Waiting until his boss had left and he was alone again, Magnate raised his hooves to his burning face.  Lovey!  How did she even get that there?  When had she broken into his office?  Why?

No, he didn't have time to think about this.  He had to get the presentation ready for the end of the week.  He'd just have a talk with Lovey after he got home.  She'd probably be in his apartment waiting for him, anyway.  Probably with dinner ready.

Unbidden, a smile had spread across his face.  He realized that when he saw a few of his coworkers pressed up against the glass that separated him from them.

"What?" he mouthed, and his ears flattened back when they all responded with exaggerated smiles.  "Get back to work!"  He waggled his hooves.  "Slackers!"

This was ridiculous!  Yes, he would definitely have to talk to her.  For now, however, work needed his focus.  His magic pulled the calculator closer, only to reveal a pink paper heart had been hiding underneath it.

"You're the best!" the note said.

"Lovey," Magnate grumbled.  He started to toss it in the trash bin with the first, but hesitation gripped him.  Instead, he levitated the red heart out, the crumpling undoing itself as it joined the pink one in hovering in front of him.

"You can do it!" Lovey's voice said in his mind as he read her hoofwriting over again.  "You're the best!"

The smile started to return.  It was completely unprofessional, but it was a nice gesture on her part.  She meant well, after all.  He pulled open a drawer and went to drop the notes in it instead of the bin and froze when he found yet another heart.

"I love you!" the note exclaimed.

Magnate rose from his seat and glanced about his office.  All right, now this was becoming less sweet and bordering on ridiculous.  Just how many of these hearts had she hidden?

It turned out she had hidden thirty-seven.  Or, rather, he could only find thirty-seven.  It was such an odd number that he feared for how many he was still missing.  "Don't give up!" had been hiding inside a folder.  "Hi Handsome!" was inside the lampshade.  "Don't work too hard!" fell out of a book.  The list went on and on!

"Magnate?" a voice asked from the door.  Magnate jolted upright from where had been crawling under his desk, narrowly avoiding hitting his head against the underside, and saw one of his coworkers standing there.

Who was it?  Sealed Deal?  Magnate frowned.  "Yes?"

"Are you all right?"  Sealed Deal tried to smile.  "You've been tearing your office apart for the past hour.  Did you lose something?"

"The past hour?!"  Magnate jumped out from under the desk.  He stared at the clock in shock.  "Why didn't you stop me sooner?!"

Sealed Deal's attempt at a smile failed and fell.  "Because you always say to never interrupt you unless it's important."

"Losing an hour of work is important!"  Magnate hurried around to sit down and pulled his reports toward him.  "An hour!"  He scowled.  "What a waste!"

Oh, he was going to give her a piece of his mind.  He needed work to be strictly about work!  He had put far too much time and effort into this promotion to blow it by searching for pointless little notes.  Quickly, his magic pulled a drawer open, stuffed the hearts in it, and, as he pushed it shut, he shoved the thought of them from his mind.

Magnate's gaze darted about the various papers in front of him.  Bits... bonds... stocks... expense ratios... index funds...  All of the information stared back at him in disorganized chaos.

"Knock, knock!" a much-too-cheerful voice chimed.

"What now?!"  Magnate jerked his head up, then blinked.

Lovey stood in the doorway to his office, a little basket balanced on her back.  "What now?"  She giggled.  "It's lunch now, silly!"

Magnate waved a hoof to gesture her in, glaring at the ponies who leaned out of their cubicles to look.  "I pay for a pony to deliver my lunch.  You know that."

"I don't know that!"  Lovey reached up, grabbed the basket, and set it on his desk.

"Yes...  Yes, you did.  When we first met."  He eyed the basket.  A bunch of grapes poked out beside what looked like a wrapped sandwich.

Lovey giggled and shook her head.  "That wasn't when we first met!"

"Okay, all right.  But you still knew that."  Curiously, his magic lifted the sandwich to see what was underneath it.  A sugar cookie in a clear wrapping with a lopsided smiley face drawn on it in yellow icing.

"Oh, yes, I knew that!"  She placed her forehooves on the desk and fluttered her wings.  "But I don't know that."

He glanced up at her.  "What?  You just said you knew that, so of course you know that."

She shook her head, her silky pink tresses bouncing freely.  "Nope!"

After a moment of waiting for her to explain—and, of course, she didn't—Magnate pressed, "Okay.  So how did you knew that but not know that?"

"Because I cancelled the delivery service for you!"  She beamed.  "I can bring you lunches now, which means we can spend a little time together while you have your lunch break!  So I knew you had it, but now I don't know it, because you don't!"

"You... cancelled..."  He gave a long, drawn-out sigh as he tried to work through it all.  She meant well.  He just had to keep repeating that.  She meant well.  "I don't take a lunch break.  I just eat while I work.  That's why I have a sandwich delivered."

Lovey made a small 'o' with her lips, then nodded and dropped her rump down to sit on the floor.  "That's okay!"  She rested her chin on the edge of his desk.  "I don't mind if you work."

His ears flicked back.  She meant well.  She just wanted to be with him.  He could eat and work with her there and they'd both be happy.  This could work.  Giving her a smile, he bobbed his head.  "Okay."

Just as his magic unwrapped the sandwich, Lovey asked, "So, what are you working on?"

This wouldn't work.  He glanced between her and his calculator.  "I'm trying to focus."

"Oh, right!  Of course."  She wiggled some to settle into a different position, keeping her head above the desk.  Her mouth opened, but she quickly snapped it shut.  She shifted again.  Her mouth opened and closed.

He had to give her credit.  For Lovey, she was doing really well.  Unfortunately, every time she moved, he glanced at her.  He couldn't help it.  His productivity was dropping dramatically with her there.

"Lovey," he finally said, sighing and straightening up.

She perked straight up, much like an affection-starved dog.  "Yes?" 

"Why don't you go home?"  He offered a smile.  "We can have dinner at my place and I'll tell you all about my day.  How does that sound?"

"Oh, okay!"  Lovey jumped to her hooves.  A few rapid, excited flaps of her wings lifted her off the ground.  "That sounds great!  I'll be waiting for you, then, darling!"  Before he had a chance to react, she flew over his desk, kissed him, then zipped out of his office.

That uncomfortable heat crawled back into his cheeks and he ducked his head when he saw eyes staring at him through the glass.  Ponyfeathers.  How could she be so casual about everything?  He shifted in his seat and ran a hoof through his mane to smooth it out.  They were going to have to have a talk, but for now, he needed to work... once he stopped blushing.

His ear flicked at the sound of laughter.  That was abnormal.  He looked up and gawked at the most unfortunate sight out in the main room.

Lovey was surrounded by all of his coworkers.  She was talking to them.  They were talking to her!  Oh, Celestia, what kind of things was she saying?  Some of them were laughing!  His hooves couldn't move fast enough to get him around his desk and to the door.

"Lovey!" he shouted, unfortunately bringing all the attention to him.  "Go home!"

"Aww," a few of the ponies around her said as Lovey squealed and fluttered over to the elevator.  For the most part, the crowd dispersed, but that one stallion who was always talking to Magnate approached.

"Lovey, huh?"  Deal... Striker?  Deal Whoever grinned.  "She's a real cutie, Magnate!  Congrats!  What's her name?"

Magnate's ears flattened to the side.  "Her name is Lovey Dovey.  Don't you have work to do?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then perhaps you should get back to it if you want to get anywhere in your career," Magnate snapped as he turned to retreat back into his office.  These laze-abouts were too complacent.  They were happy with their meager paychecks and content to underachieve.  Well, not Magnate, he—

Just barely loud enough for Magnate to hear, Deal grumbled in a low and bitter voice, "What does a pony like her see in him?"

The door swung shut, leaving Magnate alone in his office.  He stood there, blinking a few times.  Why did his chest hurt from a few simple words?  He'd heard worse said about him before.  Slowly, his gaze fell to one of the heart-shaped pieces of paper that hadn't made it into his drawer.

In silly, curly hoofwriting, the little pink heart tried to assure him, "You're the best!"

But was he really?