The New Boss

Chapter 1

'Morning, Owen!' Ianto Jones called to his friend and colleague as they met in the lift to their office on Monday morning.

'Hiya, Ianto! How was your weekend?' Owen Harper answered.

'Ok, thanks, Saturday was good, went to the gym and then we had dinner with Gwen and Rhys, but then, on Sunday me and Lisa went to my parents, and it started off well enough, but then they started bickering at each other as usual, and I spent the rest of the day trying to assure her they don't hate her…'

'Wow, doesn't exactly sound like a good weekend! But mate, really you're not happy with her, why do you stay?'

'I don't know, Owen, but now's not the moment to talk about it… The new boss will be here tomorrow… So we really should do some work… And anyway, how was your weekend?'

"Like they always are' Owen answered with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes, 'drunken and spent with a new bird…'

The two friends smiled at each other and sat down at their desks. They really did have to get ready for the arrival of their new boss. The previous head of Torchwood Inc, Yvonne Hartman, had died about three weeks earlier in a car accident, and the head-office had now appointed someone from London to replace her. All they knew was that his name was Jack Harkness and that he had been with the company for a couple of years. The both men weren't terribly sad at the loss of Yvonne, since she had always acted superior and not been a very nice person, easily obsessed with projects, and were excited to meet this Harkness.

Ianto and Owen went about their day, and before heading off for the day, they looked into the office where Harkness would be working and saw to it that it looked welcoming. The Cardiff-branch of Torchwood was a small one and there were only six of them working there. Apart from Ianto and Owen, there was also Gwen Cooper, Suzy Costello, Andy Davidson and Lois Habiba. In such a small office it was important to get along, and they were all a bit nervous at the arrival of their new boss. Ianto and Owen were the ones who were going to work the closest to Harkness and wanted him to like what he saw when he came the following day, which was the reason they had cleared his office of all traces of Yvonne, and asked the cleaner to be extra-thorough when he cleaned it the previous day. They put everything in order in the rest of the office, and were the last to leave, as they headed off to the pub to relax a bit before going home.

'Hello?' Lisa?' Ianto called as the came through the door of their flat.

'I'm in the bath, Ianto,' she answered him, and he made his way to the bathroom.

'Hello sweetheart,' he said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

'How was your day?' she asked as he sat down on the toilet-lid, to be able to spend a moment with her, as they mostly seemed to just pass each other.

'Ok, just a lot to do, the new boss is coming tomorrow…'

'Yeah, right… You feel up to meeting him? And how is Owen taking it, does he mind not being in charge anymore?'

Ianto chuckled, she knew him so well.

'I think Owen's relieved he doesn't have to replace Yvonne permanently… He's more concerned with trying to get over Katie than moving up in the world. And as for me, I'm a bit nervous, we'll be working really close… Want to make a good impression…'

'Ianto, you always make a good impression! Don't worry, it'll be great!'

'So, what are we doing tonight? Any ideas on what to have for dinner?'

'Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart, but I'm going out… I said I'd go se Tina at the pub…'

They didn't even check with each other when they made plans anymore, it was more like they lived in the same flat, than living together… Neither of them was happy about this, but at the same time, they didn't know what to do either. Ianto and Lisa had become a couple at University, and had now been together for five years, but the last year they had lost more and more of what made them be so great together in the beginning. They were still good friends, but they weren't in love anymore. As they started to realize this, they had tried to make it work, by having date-nights and making special time to see each other, but soon that project had died down. They were good friends and lived together, but they were no longer a couple, but neither of them wanted to say the words. It made Ianto sad when he thought about it, but then again he couldn't be bothered to do anything about it.

'Ok, you have a nice time,' he smiled and went to the bedroom where he changed into training-clothes.

'I'll go for a run in the park, see you tonight!' He called as he went out the door.

'Bye' she answered and went back to soaking before her night out.