A snowstorm, how cliche!

It'd been your first Thursday back. It was the beginning of December, in fact. You had been working late and were under the impression that you were the only one there. Then, you heard a knock on your door. It was soft; almost scared?

You nearly jumped from your chair! You didn't believe in ghosts, but for a split second there... "Uh, hello?" You asked.

"It's, uh, it's Dillon. I need to work late and I don't really like being in my office by myself when no one's in the office. I saw your light on and, well, I brought my laptop. Do you mind if I sit in there with you while we work? I'll be quiet." Her voice was quiet and shy, almost like she was embarrassed?

"S-sure." You replied, not expecting that at all.

She opened the door, her eyes avoiding contact with yours. She was embarrassed!

"It's not because I'm scared of the dark... It's just scary being a woman alone in the office is all," she shuffled in and took a seat on one of the lounge chairs.

"Well, no need to worry. I'll protect you from anything that tries to get to you," you said with a reassuring smile and an over exaggerated bravado. Her face lit up a bit, eased by your words.

"I'll hold you to that," she smiled and then got back to work. The both of you did. For quite some time, neither of you talked. Then, there was a loud 'pop' and the power went out. Dillon let out a startling scream, in turn making you scream. She had run over to you and was clinging to you with her eyes closed.

You took a moment to let your mind play catch up while also slowing your increased heart rate. "Dillon?" You asked, patting her back. "It's okay. It was just a transformer blowing out. The back-up power should switch on in a few minutes."

She kept her eyes squeezed closed, clinging to you even tighter... if possible. "L-let me know when the lights come back on!" Maybe she really was scared of the dark?

It did take a couple of minutes, but the power did finally switch back on. "I'll call the power company in the morning if they're not already out there to fix it. I'm sure they'll be on it, though." Dillon let go of you, albeit a bit hesitantly, before straightening herself out.

"S-sorry," she said, hanging her head and going to sit back down.

Another few minutes passed when you got an email. At... 11:36PM? From Aubrey? It was a notice.

Staff,
Due to the inclement weather And raging snowstorm, we will be working from home tomorrow. The roads are already closed, so make sure you stay nice and warm. If anyone needs anything, please reach out to myself or John and we'll do our best to bring it to you. We're a team, after all, so we need to take care of each other.
~Aubrey Black

You got up and left the office, Aubrey in tow to avoid the risk of being alone, and made for the front door only to see snow piled high. There was no way you were getting out. "A-are we trapped?" Dillon piped up. You weren't used to her being so quiet.

"Yea. I'll let everyone know. For now, let's grab some blankets, any throw pillows, snacks, and waters. We can use my office for now." You said, trying to stay calm. Your office was plenty big. You had a few couches, rows and rows of bookshelves, and, of course, your desk setup. Even if you needed to, you could move stuff from other offices or even just use Aubrey's office. Yea, you'd be fine. Right?