#I was talking to a coworker who was like yeah... i guess I miss sculpting sometimes. But now I run marathons

[red-hot-moon]

God I feel so sorry for adults whose only hobby is exercise

[babybluebex]

the proposal [tom holland x reader]

➽ pairing: ceo!tom holland x fem!reader (y/n) ➽ word count: 3.9k ➽ summary:your pushy boss forces you, his assitant, to marry him in order to keep his visa status and avoid deportation.  ➽ warnings: forced marriage?? except not really?? ➽ a/n: this is loosely based off the sandra bullock movie of the same name which i recommend you watch bc it’s good classic rom com, but i just see tom being a dickhead and bodying this

I gasped as hot coffee spilled down my front, and I looked at the mail cart that had run into me. “Sorry,” the person steering the cart shrugged, and he continued on his way, totally unaware that he had just ruined my day. I gritted my teeth and looked down at my black-coffee stained shirt, knowing that my boss would be out of his morning coffee, had I not ordered a second. I always ordered a second coffee in case a disaster like this occurred. Mr. Holland could be just awful sometimes, and I only made the mistake of forgetting his coffee once. 

The door to the office opened, and I looked to see my boss striding in. Mr. Thomas Holland was one of the foremost editor-in-chiefs in the world, and he was deserving of it. While he was a great editor-in-chief, he was the meanest man I had ever met. He expected everything to be just his way and, if they weren’t, he would work to make it that way. Past assistants had been fired for less than forgetting a coffee. 

I followed him into his office for his morning briefing, and a single sculpted eyebrow lifted at the stain on my shirt. “Rough morning, Y/N?” he asked with a laugh. I kept my comments to myself and handed him his coffee, and he sat down at his desk.

“You could say that, sir,” I mumbled. “You have a meeting at eleven, and Penguin needs that manuscript by tomorrow--” 

“Who is Jake?” Mr. Holland asked suddenly. “And why does he want me to call him?”

I stopped talking and noticed my boss staring at the coffee that was at first mine, and my face went pale. Written on my cup was the name of the barista that made my coffee every morning, along with his phone number. Mr. Holland looked at me, expecting an answer, and the look in his blue eyes made me want to puke. “Oh,” I stuttered. “That is-- He’s--”

“Do I want to know?” Tom asked. 

“No, it’s better if you don’t,” I replied. “Um, also, you got a call from Immigration Services last night. They need you to come in and do some paperwork.” 

“I sent it in last week,” Tom said cooly, taking a sip of coffee. 

“Not according to them,” I said. “Umm… Can I ask a question, sir?”

“You just did,” Tom said. His dark eyes stared deep into me, and I held down my shiver. 

I sighed. “You know what I mean,” I said. “I thought you were a citizen?”

“Nope,” Tom replied, popping his lips. “I’m in America on a work visa. What time do they want me to come in?” 

“They said ‘at your earliest convenience’,” I told him. 

Tom sighed. “Let’s go get this over with,” he mumbled. “Umm… You might want a change of clothes.” 

I looked down at my stained shirt and huffed out a frustrated grunt, and Tom scoffed. “Alright, then,” he chuckled plaintively, his London accent rolling off of his tongue. I wasn’t blind, I knew that my boss was attractive— a strong jaw that was always clean shaven, brown eyes that shifted golden in the right light, and dark hair, usually styled down with just the ends showing their true curly nature. He was tall and built like a Greek god, and his wonderful accented voice would have been appealing if the words he said with it didn’t cut right through me. Some would say Mr. Thomas Holland was mean; others would say he was blunt. I would say he’s just a dick. “Don’t have to get so worked up.” 

“I—“ I began and sighed. “I don’t have a change of clothes.” 

Tom cocked his head thoughtfully. “Have you ever seen The Bodyguard?” he asked. When I didn’t respond, he said, “It’s a show on the BBC, I should have known you wouldn’t have seen it.” With that, he pulled off his jacket and draped it against his desk chair, and he loosened his tie around his neck. 

“Mr. Holland, what are you doing?” I asked quickly, jerking forward to stop him. 

He looked at me with those honey eyes as he set his tie on his desk. “I am giving you the shirt off of my back,” he said. “Like the kind soul I am.”

I nearly protested, but I knew that he had a spare; I had brought it from the dry cleaners two days ago. I searched for something to say to him as he disrobed, and the sight of his bare chest made me say “Thank you. It is very kind.” 

“Most would say uncharacteristic,” Tom said, handing his shirt. The hand clutching his shirt had a shining watch on the wrist, and, while the sight was enticing, it only served to remind me of how late we were going to be. The shirt was still warm from him having worn it, and he crossed the room to retrieve his spare from the storage closet. 

“Most would,” I agreed. I pulled my blazer off and began to undo my shirt, but I felt as if Tom was staring at me. I looked over my shoulder to him, already doing up the buttons on his shirt, and his eyes lifted to mine. 

“Do you need help, Y/N?” Tom asked, a snide bite to his words. 

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Can you��” I started. “Ya know, turn around?” 

Tom scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Americans are so prudish,” he said. “I undressed in front of you, didn’t I?” 

“Yes, but it’s different,” I said. “Just close your eyes, something, please.” 

Tom laughed lightly, and he made a show of covering his eyes with his hands. “Is that better?” 

I rolled my eyes. It would have to be good enough. I pulled my shirt off and exchanged it for his and, once I was fully dressed again, I said, “Alright. Thank you.” 

“Great,” Tom said and uncovered his eyes. “Are you ready to go now?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Sure.”

Once we arrived at the Immigration office, Tom was brought in almost immediately, and he had me come in to take notes. A secretary’s job is never done, I guess. I stood by the door as he sat before the officer, and I watched the scene unfold before me. 

“Mr. Holland, you’re here on a work visa,” the officer began. “Which means you’re not allowed to leave the country.”

“Yes,” Tom said, and he raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And you went to an international book fair…” the officer began as he shuffled some papers around. “In Germany, last month.”

Tom scoffed and flipped his tie in annoyance. “It was for my job,” he said. “Can’t I go to work functions?” 

“Not when it violates the rules of your visa,” the officer said. “Because you violated those rules, you have to leave the country and go back to your home country for one year.”

Tom straightened in his seat suddenly and gave a laugh. “I can’t do that,” he said seriously. “I can’t work from a different country for a full year. I’d lose my job.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Holland, but it’s federal law,” the officer said. “The only way you can stay in the country is if you get married by the end of this month, and--”

I had worked for Thomas Holland for a long time. I knew him well. I knew what shampoo he used, what pants size he wore, and, most importantly, I knew what he looked like when he got an idea. His chin went up, his shoulders went back, and he smiled. He rarely smiled, at least where I was concerned. “Um, yeah, w-what if I am getting married?” Tom asked. “What-What then?”

“Well, it would have to be filed appropriately and the service would need to be witnessed,” the officer said. “But, if everything was legal, you would be allowed to stay in the country.”

Tom turned around to look at me and he gestured for me to step closer. “C’mere, darling,” he said, and his honey eyes widened at me. “Don’t be shy, c’mon.” He turned back to the officer and gave a smile to him. “She’s so shy, it’s adorable.”

I stepped closer to him, and Tom stood up and wrapped his arm around my waist. I was confused as hell about what he was doing, but it clicked when he captured my chin between his forefinger and thumb and planted a quick kiss to my mouth. Oh fuck. If he was fired, I would be out of a job too. I needed Tom to stay in the country, which meant that he had to get married. And who better to marry than somebody who already knows everything about you? Fuck. That’s me. “You two?” the immigration officer asked. “Is she not your secretary?”

“She is, yes,” Tom said, and he laughed nervously. “But it wouldn’t be the first time that someone fell for their secretary, would it?” He then gave a deep laugh, and I quickly giggled to ease the tension. “Yes, no, but… Y/N and I are getting married. We were planning on a spring wedding-- you know how girls and spring weddings are-- but we could fast-track it, if it keeps me here… With her.” 

The immigration officer raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he said. “Where is your ring?”

I looked down at my hands, certainly missing an engagement ring. “Oh, umm…” I began. “Well, you see, we don’t want our coworkers to know yet. Seeing as I’m being promoted to editor, we thought it would be inappropriate for our relationship to be… Known to the office. I have a ring, but I don’t wear it.”

“Yes, editor…” Tom began and looked at me, a flash of annoyance crossing his face for just a moment. “Sure, yeah. Yeah, of course.”

“Alright, Ms. Y/L/N,” the immigration officer began. “You do understand that, if you are caught in a lie, it’s five years in a federal prison?”

I nodded and gave a tight smile. “Good thing we’re not lying.”

I watched Tom as we left the building and, once we were outside, I stopped walking. “Wanna explain that?” I called. 

Tom stopped and turned on his heel, his phone already pressed to his ear. “What is it?” He asked. “I’m on a call.”

I huffed and pulled his phone away. “Mr. Holland has business to attend to,” I said. “He’ll call back.” I hung up and shoved the phone into my pocket, and I crossed my arms. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Tom asked, and I gestured back to the building with a huff. “Oh. It’s the only way for me to stay in the country and keep my job. We’ll get a legal marriage by the end of the month, then, when the appropriate amount of time passes, I’ll set up a quickie divorce and you can forget that this funny little thing ever happened.”

“What if I don’t want to get married?” I asked. “What about my boyfriend?”

Tom scoffed. “As if you have a boyfriend.” 

“Hey!” I cried. “You don’t know that!”

“You wake up at four in the morning, every morning, in order to get ready and get my breakfast,” Tom rattled off. “You work from eight to four every day, most times until five. You are on call at all times; your phone never rings twice before you answer it, especially if I am calling you. You bring me food at one in the morning if I need it. No boyfriend would be okay with a work schedule like that. So, Y/N, unless you have any other unfounded issues with this, I suggest we start to learn things about each other that an engaged couple would know.” 

“No.” 

“No?” Tom repeated. 

I smiled sweetly. “Ask me nicely.”

“Ask you what?” Tom asked with a grimace. 

“Ask me nicely to marry you,” I said. 

Tom gave me a look of boredom, and he rolled his eyes before he took my hand. “Will you please marry me?” He asked, his voice full of sarcasm. 

“No, no,” I said. “Down on one knee. You’re an Englishman, Mr. Holland, have some manners, for God’s sake.” 

“Y/N--” Tom began. 

“I wonder what airfare is like to London,” I began. “And moving all your stuff over there, it’ll take forever.” 

Tom sighed heavily, and he looked around us at the busy New York street corner. “Damn it, Y/N,” he mumbled, and he worked himself down to kneel on one knee. “Y/N, my love, my sun, my moon, my stars, my darling girl. Provider of late-night sushi and witty comebacks. Will you please marry me, with cherries on top?” 

I chuckled lightly. “I don’t appreciate the sarcasm, but yes,” I said. “I will marry you… Tom.” 

“Well, thank God you’re on time.” 

“I know, it’s shocking,” I chirped. “It’s almost as if I haven’t been reminding you of appointments for the past few years.”

Tom gave a shallow laugh and welcomed me into his apartment. I had been a few times-- he didn’t call me ‘provider of late-night sushi’ in his proposal for nothing-- but never long enough to take in the place. It was nice, a lot nicer than the apartment I lived in. In my apartment, I could extend my arms all the way and touch either side of my living space. 

“We have a lot of work to do,” Tom said. He wore mostly the same outfit from the day, sans the jacket and tie and the first two buttons on his shirt. It yawned open to expose his chest, dusted with thin, light hair, and, under normal circumstances, I would have liked the sight. Absolutely nothing about this was normal, though. “We have to learn enough about each other to pass the questionnaire that the immigration department is giving us.”

“Won’t be hard for me to do,” I said. “It might be difficult for you, Tom.”

“Nothing is difficult for me, Y/N,” Tom laughed. “Right, we can start right there: what’s my legal name?”

“Thomas Stanley Holland,” I replied. “Son of Dominic and Nicola.”

Tom blinked in surprise a few times, and nodded slowly. “How did you know that?” He asked.

“I had to fill out paperwork for you to make an appearance at a book signing about three years ago,” I said. “One of the forms asked for a middle name, so I asked you, and you told me that exactly.”

Tom nodded. “Umm… My birthday?”

“June 1,” I said. “You’re a Gemini, even though you think astrology is fake.”

“How do you--”

“For the past couple of years, you always sneer at the horoscope section of any magazine,” I told him. “It’s not hard to figure out what you think of it.” 

“You’re right,” Tom said slowly. He looked over to a pad of paper with his scribbled writing on it, and he picked it up and scanned the list. “I found this list online… A list of questions similar to what they’ll ask us. Alright, there’s no way you know this: my childhood nickname?”

“Which one, Dutchy or Billy?” 

“How in the fuck do you--”

“On your last birthday, you got a letter in the mail from your mom,” I began. “It was addressed to Dutchy. That was easy; Holland, Dutch, Dutchy. Kinda cute, actually.”

“And Billy?” Tom winced. “How did you find out about that?”

“One of your old uni friends works for a publishing company in Glasgow,” I said. “You sent him a letter to catch up-- but really to get him to do something for you-- and you signed it Billy.”

“Do you know why I was called that?” Tom asked. His honey eyes were unwavering as he watched me, and he seemed to deflate when I shook my head. 

“I have no idea,” I said. “If it’s anything like my college nickname, it came from a night of drinking and something unfortunate happened.” 

“What was your college nickname?” Tom asked, suddenly amused. 

“Oh, right, you don’t know everything about me,” I laughed. “Well… It was DongNose. My senior year, me and some friends decided to go to a-a… Ha, a male strip club. Things happened and… I ended up getting hit, on the nose, with… Yeah. It fractured my nose and my face bruised up really bad.” 

“Oh, shit,” Tom chuckled. The corner of his mouth twitched, and I rolled my eyes.

“It’s alright, you can laugh,” I said. “It’s a funny story.”

“No, I’m not laughing at you,” Tom said. “Just… Thinking about you in uni. Would we have been friends, do you think?”

“I doubt it,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “You would have been playing rugby or whatever Brits do at uni. I was a TA for a long time, so I hardly left my office at all.”

“Oh, that’s a question,” Tom said, looking at the list. “Where did I go to uni? Or, I guess, college, as you Yanks call it.” 

“Umm, your first semester was at the BRIT School,” I began. “You still get mail from them, asking for donations. But you transferred to Cambridge and graduated from there.”

“Well, Y/N, you’re wrong,” Tom said. “I went to Oxford, not Cambridge. My little brother goes to Cambridge. I don’t usually like to tell people that, it feels too uppity to me.” 

“You say as we sit in your New York City apartment,” I scoffed. 

“See, that’s different,” Tom began pointedly. “I didn’t grow up with much. Me and my mum and dad and brothers lived in this little town outside of London. It was a sort-of poverty area, so we only had what we could get by with. I was young when I told myself that I was going to work to get myself out of that. And…” He gestured to the apartment. “I did. And I was able to get my parents out of that as well.” 

“Oh,” I said softly. “What was the name Billy all about? You never said.”

For the first time since I knew him, I watched color rise in Tom’s cheeks. Was he embarrassed? Ashamed? “Umm…” He began. He looked to the coffee table and to the shelf underneath it, and he quickly pulled out a leather-bound scrapbook. “Mum made this for me before I moved to the States. Just some pictures of home and all. But…” He opened the book and spread it out next to us on the couch, forcing me just a few inches closer to him. There were pictures of him and his family in the gray background of London, most of them stamped with the date and time. A picture from when he was in secondary school appeared on a page, taken beautifully and professionally. A black blazer and striped tie adorned his frame, an insignia for his school on the right breast of his jacket. His hair was short and done in the spiked look that was oh-so popular with young boys several years back, and he gave the camera a closed-mouth smile, probably to hide a set of braces. 

“I was about twelve here,” Tom began. “This was around the time the nickname came around. I did dance all growing up-- Mum said I was too energetic and chucked me there to tire me out, but I ended up loving it. I ended up auditioning for Billy Elliot, and I got the part. I was on the fuckin’ West End when I was twelve, doing ballet every single day. It was great, but… I went to a Catholic school then, and the other boys in my class didn’t think it was all that cool.” Tom chuckled, but I could see the hurt in his eyes. “But then the nickname came around. People at school called me Billy, even after the show closed. I was tormented with it for years. It carried into college, and then uni. And, even though I’ve long since quit dancing, I still have people from uni that call me Billy.”

“Why did you quit?” I asked. 

“I just lost interest.” Tom mumbled with a shrug. “I was being bullied so much that I quit enjoying it. I sometimes wish I never stopped, but what’s done is done.”

The silence was tense between us, and I lightly cleared my throat to diffuse the tension. “Billy Elliot,” I said softly. “Really?”

Tom’s flush came back, but a smile came with it. “C’mon, I was twelve! And I looked like that! What d’ya want from me, Swan Lake?” 

“No, I didn’t mean it like that!” I exclaimed. “Besides, it isn’t any worse than what I did in high school.”

“What did you do?” Tom asked.

“You’re deflecting my question, Tommy,” I pointed out. 

“Answer my question, Y/N,” Tom rebutted instantly. 

“Alright, alright!” I grinned. “When I was fifteen, I played Juliet in my school’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Which would have been great, but my director was so inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s movie that he made it set in the 1950s, but had us keep the dialogue. It was… Not good.”

“Say a line, won’t you?” Tom asked. “Just a few words of Juliet.” 

I sighed, and tried in vain to recall even a single line from the play. “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet.”

“Shall I hear more?” Tom mused, looking down at his lap. “Or shall I speak at this? I take thee at thy word: call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo.”

A smile slowly filled my lips. “You know Shakespeare?” I asked. 

“My darling, I’m British,” Tom laughed. “I would have my citizenship revoked if I didn’t.”

I nearly didn’t catch how he called me that name. My darling. A slip of the tongue, a thought from Romeo’s mind? Or more? “I guess we’re more alike than we first thought, huh?” I chuckled. “Anyway, I don’t think Billy Elliot is anything to be ashamed of. It’s a beautiful story.”

Tom sighed. “I hope this works,” he mumbled. “I need this job. I’m sure you do too. We both get something out of it. Which, I was meaning to talk to you about that. Editor?”

“Tommy, if I get caught doing this, I could go to jail,” I said firmly. “I’m not going to commit a federal offense if I’m not going to get some benefits afterwards. You get me?”

Tom nodded slowly. “You are a lovely girl,” he said softly. “Any man would be thrilled to call you his.” 

“You do,” I said. “At least, for the next few months, you do.” 

Tom looked at me with those warm honey eyes. “Have you ever been kissed, Y/N?” he asked suddenly. 

“Um, yeah,” I sputtered out. “Of course.”

“Who was your first kiss?” Tom asked. 

“Who was yours?” I said quickly. 

“Zendaya Coleman, one of my best mates from college,” Tom said quickly. “Answer my question. What was his name?” 

I hesitated as I tried to come up with the name of any boy I went to high school with for me to lie about, but my hesitation was answer enough. A slow smile crept up on Tom’s pink lips, and he bit his bottom lip in amusement. “You’ve never been kissed, have you?” he chuckled. “Earlier today, when I kissed you at the office, that was your first, wasn’t it?”

“Jesus, you say that like it’s a bad thing,” I scoffed. 

“It’s not,” Tom said. “It’s just hard to believe. You are smart and witty, beautiful, with a sense of humor… I can’t imagine that boys weren’t falling over themselves to catch you.” 

“Well, nobody’s caught me yet,” I laughed softly. 

“Thank God,” Tom said with a smile. “Or our plan wouldn’t work.”

[nazario-sayeed]

Afterglow (Ethan x F!MC)

A/N: This is probably the most challenging fic I've written to be honest, mostly because I had to write a character that doesn't exist and that's hard. I'm satisfied with the result though. I got the idea after the open heart team said something about new characters we're meeting in book 2. As the name implies, it was heavily inspired by the song Afterglow by Taylor Swift. I had a whole ass playlist for this fic but that song was my main inspiration. English is not my first language. Tag list is under the cut. 

WC: 4950 (sorry about that) 

Rating/ warnings: Angst, alcohol abuse, mention of sex (nothing explicit), jealously uhhh i think that's it 

Masterlist

"Sienna, thank god I found you! I've been looking all over for you"

"Are you okay? What happened?" Sienna was confused to see Lexie almost running into the locker room, out of breath.

"I'm fine, but... something weird happened." she paused. "You know Dr. Marino, right?"

Dr. Leonardo Marino was invited by Dr. Banerji to spend one week working with the diagnosis team in Edenbrook. He was brilliant, charismatic... and incredibly handsome. A significant amount of the hospital staff had spent the whole week making heart eyes at him. They weren't to blame, though: he had a bronze skin, dark eyes, a perfectly cut hair, an undeniable gorgeous face that looked like it was sculpted by Aphrodite herself and an italian accent that made most people melt.  

"Yeah, of course. What about him?"  

"Uh, he kinda asked me out?" Lexie said, not sure it had really happened. Sure, they had been working together all week and got along pretty well. She noticed he was specially friendly to her- but she thought it was just his personality.

"Oh my god, Lexie!" Sienna screamed and grabbed Lexie's arms, beaming. A few curious heads turned to them, and Sienna giggled. She continued in a quieter tone. "What did you say?"

"I said yes" Lexie said with a smirk.

"Really? Oh Lexie I'm so happy for you!" Sienna hugged her roommate, before stepping back back and biting her lip with hesitation.

"What is it? Why did you make that face?"

"I really am happy for you, don't get me wrong, but I thought you weren't over… you know" she didn't say his name nor she had to. Lexie knew who she was talking about, of course. Ethan freaking Ramsey. Lexie sighed.

"I'm not over him. You know that. But I can't let it keep holding me back, can I? Besides, Dr. Marino is leaving town in a couple of days. It's just casual." She said, leaning back against a locker. They both knew Lexie was hurting more than she let on. Sienna decided not to say anything.

"I hope you have a great time. He's a catch, Lexie! Tell me everything when you get home, okay?" They hugged and Sienna went home, leaving Lexie to get ready for her date.

It had been a while since Ethan and Lexie had decided they couldn't keep seeing each other. It wasn't much of a decision, honestly. After both of them went back to Edenbrook, Ethan simply pretended nothing had happened between them, so she had no choice but to follow his lead.

That didn't mean it was easy for her, or that she didn't miss him. Because she did. But she couldn't do anything about it and Ethan kept pretending everything was fine. If it wasn't for a few pained looks she sometimes caught him giving her, she would've thought he was indeed fine.

So she kept trying to move on, even if all she wanted was to run to him and tell how she truly felt. Getting ready for her date and pretending to be excited for it was just one of her ways of pretending she had moved on.

Lexie and Leonardo had agreed on meeting at Donahue's after work, so it wasn't like there was too much Lexie could do to get ready. She was wearing the clothes she had worn when she left her apartment that morning and just a bit of makeup to at least seem like she had made an effort. As she crossed the door to the bar, she realized she was feeling really numb about it. She wasn't nervous or excited at all.

Leonardo was already waiting for her in a booth. He smiled when he saw her, and got up to greet her.

"Hi, Lexie. You look beautiful" he leaned over and kissed her on both cheeks, and she blushed even if she didn't mean to. She wasn't used to his warmth.

"Oh, thank you Dr. Marino." she sincerely doubt she looked beautiful after a 12 hour shift, but she wasn't going to argue with him.

"We're outside the hospital, you can call me Leo." he said with a smirk.

"Right. Sorry, Leo" she smiled and they sat down, facing each other.

As he ordered them drinks, she realized she was nervous after all. But only because she had no idea of how the date was gonna go. She didn't know what were his expectations or if she could meet them.

Things went really smooth, to her surprise. The conversation didn't feel forced, and he was a very nice and smart man. But that was it. No butterflies on her stomach, no accidental touches that made her heart jump out of her chest. No chemistry. She knew a lot of men and women who would love to be in her place, but she wasn't feeling anything at all. Leonardo was being respectful but flirty, smiling at her, trying to make her laugh and even gently touching her hand once or twice. One of the most handsome men she had ever met was trying his best to please her and there was only one thing on her mind: He is great, but he is not Ethan.

After a couple of hours of talking and a few drinks, she excused herself and went to back of the room where the bathrooms were. She wanted to splash some water on her face or text Sienna- just an excuse to leave the table for a few minutes.

She leaned against the sink and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

'its not going great tbh. hes fine but im not feeling it'

'im sorry :( does that mean you are coming home soon? we can open a bottle of wine and talk about it'

'sounds tempting. i'll hang here for a while but i think i might leave soon. gtg now, bye'

'good luck!! :)'

Hanging with Sienna sounded more fun that staying at the bar. She should make up some excuse and just leave.

Lexie rubbed her hands on face and closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh.

"What is wrong, Anderson? The date isn't going well?" she heard his voice and froze. When she opened her eyes, Ethan was standing by one of the men's stalls.

"Dr. Ramsey? I didn't know you were here at the bar, I...I didn't see you." She said, feeling her heart beat faster than it had all night. Pathetic.

"I was at the back when you arrived to your date" He couldn't hide the bitterness on his voice when he said the word date. He looked… off.

"Um, are you okay?"

"I'm fantastic." when he moved closer to wash his hands on the sink she could smell the alcohol on his breath. It all made sense.

"Dr. Ramsey, you're drunk!" she blurted out and it sounded more like an accusation than she intended to. He simply snickered.

"I did drink a lot of scotch. I guess I am." he said with fake amusement, drying his hands on his pants.

Lexie bit her lip, nervous and not sure of what she should do. Ethan being drunk on a Thursday night on a bar where most of his coworkers liked to hang was a bad idea to say the very least. It could damage his reputation- he wasn't a young, careless intern anymore and he shouldn't act like one. But he is not my problem, she thought to herself.

"You should go home, Dr. Ramsey" she said, trying to not stand too close. Even with all the scotch, if she got too close she could still smell something that was so uniquely him. Sometimes, she would walk by him at the hospital and smell his cologne- then all she could think about was his smell on her sheets after their last night together. It was hard to focus on anything else when that happened.

"I can't. Reggie took my keys after my third glass."

"Then grab a taxi or an uber" she nervously glanced at her watch. She should really get back to Leo, but she shouldn't leave Ethan like this. She couldn't.

"Go, Anderson. You don't want to worry your date. And you certainly don't have to worry about me." she could hear the hostility on his voice and it hurt her more than she thought it would. Apparently drunk Ethan was more of an idiot than regular Ethan.

He walked away and she could see him stumbling on his feet. She mentally cursed him and walked back to her table, where Leonardo was sitting with a new drink and a concerned face. He certainly had seen Lexie and Ethan leaving the bathroom basically together. He noticed the hesitant look on her face.

"Is everything okay?"

"Not exactly. Dr. Ramsey is drunk and I… I can't leave him like this. I need to drive him home, I'm so sorry." she tried to look guilty. The disappointment on his face was clear, although he tried to hide it.

"Oh. I understand. I'm sorry too." he smiled sadly.

She squeezed his hand softly, not sure what to do, then simply turned back and walked to where Ethan was sitting at the bar- with another glass of scotch on his hands. Lexie took it out of his hands. He turned to her, looking angry.

"What are you doing?" he tried to reach his glass but his reflexes were too slow, so she easily dodged him.

"Reggie, can I have his keys? I'm taking him home." the bartender looked grateful as he handed her the keys and took the glass from her hand.

"I don't need a babysitter, Anderson. Go back to your date and leave me alone" Ethan said, sounding exactly like a stubborn baby.

"Well, you're certainly acting like a child. Let's go, Dr. Ramsey" she was getting annoyed at his behavior. He reluctantly got up and headed for the door, not even looking back. She sighed and followed him. As she stepped outside, the cold Boston wind hit her and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to create some heat.

Lexie looked around for Ethan and found him already walking- no, stumbling to the hospital. She had no option but to follow him.

They walked in silence to his car on Edenbrook's parking lot and quickly got inside the car, turning the heat on as she drove away to his house. The silence was far from comfortable, so she decided to just say what was on her mind knowing she might regret it in the morning.

"What the hell was that, Ethan? Are you trying to ruin your reputation?" she was almost yelling at him. She had her eyes on the road, but he could see her face turning red.

"I'm off the clock, Anderson. I don't own explanations to anyone about what I do outside the hospital, much less to you"

"Well, the next time you decided to act like a drunk asshole, you should at least do it at a bar that isn't literally 5 minutes away from where you work! Are you really that blind that you can't see how much this could hurt your image? Or are you just that stubborn?" there was no hiding the frustration on her voice now. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the steering wheel.

"I don't need your advice on how to manage my image or my career, Anderson" He spit back at her.

"Fine. You do whatever you want. Why should I give a shit, right? You know what you're doing." she laughed bitterly. Lexie could feel angry tears threatening to form in her eyes and didn't even know why. She bit her lips trying to hold it back- she didn't want to make it all worse by crying. He crossed his arms and didn't say anything else.

The few minutes that it took her to drive to his apartment felt like hours.

As they got out of the car, he was a little less drunk- just enough to feel slightly guilty, but not enough to walk straight. Lexie was still feeling mad, but as she took in the shape he was in, she decided she would let herself feel angry tomorrow. Tonight, she needed to help him.

"Come on, let's get you home" she surprised herself and him with her gentle voice.

"I can get to my apartment just fine, you should go." he tried to argue but his slow voice betrayed him, and he found himself leaning against her shoulder for support.

"I'll go as soon as you're asleep on your bed with a bottle of water and some aspirin on your nightstand" she said, which made him chuckle.

Lexie had to almost drag him to the elevador. She was trying not to think too hard about where his body was touching hers, or that she could so clearly smell his cologne. Her heart skipped a few beats. To feel him so close to her was the best and worst kind of torture at the same time. She couldn't help but remember what had happened when she was at his apartment a few months ago.

Jenner bounced on them as soon as they went through his apartment door- it was almost enough to knock Ethan off his feet. He calmed the dog down and went straight to his bar, grabbing a bottle of scotch.

"Ethan, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked in shock.

"Just one more glass. Will you join me?" he didn't even bother using a glass and took a big gulp straight from the bottle.

"Ethan, please, just go to sleep." Lexie was almost begging him. She just wanted to get away from there, get way from him. It was too much.

She tried to reach the bottle but he dodged her. His eyes were kinda red and his hair was a mess- but he kept drinking.

“Why are acting like such an idiot today?!” she yelled in frustration, covering her face with her hands.

“Because seeing you on a date with someone else drove me fucking insane, okay?” he yelled back, feeling as shocked with his own words as she looked. She just froze.

“What?” her voice broke.

“You want to know why I’m being such an idiot? Because I can’t stand to see you on a date with someone that isn’t me. That’s why. I wanted to punch his face every time he touched your hand, or when he said something that made you laugh. But I couldn’t do it, so I just drank” his voice was a mix of anger and hurt, and every single word felt like a slap to her face. But her surprise soon was replaced by rage.

“You don’t have the right to get mad over who I go out with! You were the one who chose to act like nothing had happened between us for months, you were the one who didn’t even give us a chance! You think you have the right to feel anything when you see me with another man? Because let me tell you something: you don’t! It was your choice to walk away, it was your choice not to fight for us, it was your choice to leave me.” her voice broke and she had to stop and take a breath, trying to hold back the tears. Before he could say something, she continued “You don’t get to drink your ass off and act like a jerk when I’m doing what I can to try and get over you. I only went on date with him because you chose not to be there for me, Ethan.”

When she finally stopped yelling, the tears had found a way to spill from her eyes even if she had tried to fight them. It felt so good to get it all out of her chest, but it also hurt so fucking much. She tried to stop the tears from falling even more but she didn’t seem able to, so she simply turned back and grabbed his kitchen counter as support. She felt pathetic and weak as she literally sobbed on his kitchen.

Ethan stood frozen in place for a few seconds, letting the truth of what she had said wash over him.

"You think I don't know that? You think I haven't been missing you ever since I went back to Edenbrook?" his voice broke the momentarily silence between them. He sounded so vulnerable. "Lexie, I don't regret most decisions I've made, but I do regret letting you go."

She quickly wiped her tears and sniffed once more before turning back to look at him. Those ocean blue eyes would be the death of her. When she spoke, her voice was merely a whisper.

"So why did you?" Of course she knew why. She had gone over the reasons why on her head over and over again. He was her boss, it was complicated and unethical, blah blah blah. She knew that. But she also believed that if he really wanted to be with her like she wanted to be with him, they would find a way.

"I don't know." his mind was still foggy. At that moment, he couldn't believe he had ever let her walk away. All the reasons seemed so stupid.

"Ethan, I think I should go, I…" the tears were threatening to come back and she didn't want him to see her crying because of him again.

"Christ, this isn't a conversation I wanted to have drunk." he said more to himself than to her. He rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath, looking at her again. "Look, Lexie, I don't know why I let you go. I was too stubborn, I was focusing on the wrong things… I thought it was the right move when in fact it was nothing but a mistake. But you know that I never make the same mistake twice." he walked slowly to where she was- partly because he didn't want to scare her off, partly because he didn't trust his drunk legs. She was standing frozen and he gently caressed her cheek with one of his hands. "Don't leave me again. I'm sorry, Lexie. Please stay."

Her face betrayed her surprise and pain. It was all she had wanted to hear for the past months and yet she felt her heart break into a million piece. Even though everything in her mind told her to turn back and leave, she couldn't. It was a treacherous situation, but she knew she would do anything he asked her. Instead of leaving, she leaned into his touch.

He moved his head towards hers but instead of kissing her, he touched his forehead to hers, She gently removed his hand from his face and brought it to her lips, placing a soft kiss to the back of it.

"We don't have to make any promises today, okay?" she whispered and he simply nodded. She smiled and stepped back, clutching his hand on hers. She was afraid that if she let it go, he might not come back.

"Come here." She led him to his suite and as they crossed his room to go to the bathroom she tried not to think too hard about the things they had done on that bed, even if she hadn't been thinking about anything else for months.

She sat him down at his toilet turned the shower on. She stood in front of him and slowly helped him out of his clothes, letting her fingers softly graze his body as she undressed him. It wasn't a sensual touch or anything- she just needed to feel his skin under her fingertips to make sure he was real, to make sure the whole thing wasn't some kind of twisted dream.

She stood up and looked down at him: drunk out of his mind, naked, looking more vulnerable than she ever remembered seeing him, and looking up at her with those ocean blue eyes full of… something she couldn't quite place, but she knew it was a good something. She smiled down at him and reached out to run her fingers through his hair. He leaned into her touch.

"Lexie... I'm sorry I was such an ass today. I'm sorry you have to see me like this." his voice was broken. All at once, she forgot any anger she had felt that night. She only wanted to be there for him, she wanted that moment to last forever- both of them letting their feelings for each other show, standing vulnerable in his bathroom with the steam from the hot water surrounding them, making everything look almost ethereal.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Let me take care of you now, okay?" her voice was so soft she didn't even recognize it. Ethan closed his eyes and simply nodded.She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, trying to let some of her affection for him translate into that touch. His breath caught in his throat.

She helped him get inside the shower but as she was trying to leave him- she wasn't sure of where they stood at that point, but she didn't want to push him too far- he grabbed her hand.

"Can you stay, please? Just… stay." he pleaded. Anything, she thought, I will do anything you ask me to.

"Of course. Just give me a minute okay?" she smiled at him and he nodded, sitting down on the bench on his shower wall and letting the water pour over him. She stepped out and peeled off her clothes, taking a moment to fathom the whole situation. Was it really happening?

She stepped back into the shower and smiled shyly at him. The weirdest thing was that there was no sexual energy in the air. She couldn't quite describe what was happening at that moment, but it felt almost pure. They were both vulnerable, and open, and just there. Letting go.  

They stood there in silence- he sitting on the bench, and she taking care of him- but it wasn't uncomfortable like inside the car. It was peaceful. Lexie helped him wash his hair, his body, wash away the alcohol and the regret. Suddenly, one word came to her mind: intimacy. That was what she was feeling at that moment, it was the energy surrounding them. He had literally been inside of her, but in that moment she felt closer and more connected to him than ever before. For the first time that night everything felt so simple. They could almost forget all the complications attached to their relationship. In that moment, none of that mattered.

He finally stood in the shower, facing her. She looked up at him and felt her heart skip a beat as he brushed one hand over her cheek.

"Thank you, Lexie" he whispered, then leaned down to press his forehead to hers. She knew where this was going.

"Ethan, we shouldn't..." she whispered back, her throat closing. She couldn't go through this again, she couldn't. She had said to him they didn't need to make any promises that night- but if they kissed, there was no going back for her. She didn't know what she would do if he leaned in but she also didn't know what she would do if he pulled back.

He moved his face lower and pressed a kiss to where her neck met her shoulders, making her hold back a small moan.

"I'm so sorry, Lexie. I'm sorry I pushed you away. I'm sorry I was an ass today. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm just sorry" he said, his voice cracking. She couldn't tell if the drops she felt on her shoulder were from the shower or his eyes.

"It's okay. I'm here" she said softly, wrapping her arms around him. His lips moved up again and slowly found hers in the most perfect kiss she could imagine. It was slow, soft, vulnerable and intimate. It wasn't a kiss like the ones they shared before. It was a quiet answer to all of their doubts.

God, she had missed those lips, those hands on her body, his taste- even if she could only taste the scotch. She had missed him.

Eventually, they broke apart. She was smiling despite of herself, but he looked serious. With their hands still around one another, she asked:

"Is everything alright?" she didn't want to admit that she was afraid of the answer. She couldn't have her heart broken by him again.

"Lexie, what is this for you?" he asked with a serious tone.

"What do you mean?"  

"This. Us."

Oh. She wasn't expecting that question right away. She searched his eyes and found that he didn't look drunk at all anymore.

"It's… I don't know, Ethan. It's not casual, that much I know. It's something I've been wanting even before we first kissed and haven't stopped wanting ever since." she admitted. She couldn't put into words exactly what they were for her, but her answer was as close as it could get. He seemed relieved.

"That's good to hear. You know me, you know these things aren't easy to me. I know this is too much to ask this soon, but I just needed to know if we are on the same page." he smiled and kissed her cheek. She was naked in the shower with him- the same man she had sex with twice- but that kiss on the cheek was what made her blush.

They took their time finish their shower; washing each other and getting lost in gentle kisses. The kind of closeness they experienced in that moment had nothing to do with sex; it felt somehow even more deep and intimate.

After Lexie dried herself and put on one of his bath robes, she went searching for her phone and found it under her clothes on Ethan's bathroom floor. There were multiple texts from Sienna; it was only then that she realized how long it had been since she told her roommate she was leaving the bar- and she never made it home. She discreetly closed the bathroom door and dialed her number. Sienna picked up after a couple of rings.

"Lexie, where the hell are you?" she sounded so concerned, which made Lexie feel guilty.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot to call you. Tonight was eventful, Sienna. But I'm fine."

"What do you mean with that? Where are you?  Why are you whispering?"

"I'm whispering because I'm in Ethan's bathroom, wearing his robe and I don't want him to hear me" she whispered furiously. There was a long silence on the other side of the call.

"Oh. Are you spending the night?" Sienna asked; Lexie could almost hear the grin on her voice.

"I think so. Yes. I'm not sure what's going on right now, but I'm fine and I have to go. I just needed to let you know that I'm alive, okay? I'll tell you all about it when I get the chance"

"Okay, sure. I'm just glad you're okay. Have fun and stay safe" Sienna said with a giggle and Lexie rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to ignore that. Bye, Sienna, I'll talk to you later" Lexie ended the call with a silly smile on her face, then returned to Ethan's room where he was waiting for her sitting on his bed, also wearing a robe.

"Who was that on the phone?" he asked with a smirk.

"You heard that, huh?" Lexie walked to the bed and laid down, propping her head on an elbow and looking at him.

"The walls are thin, and your whispers aren't as quiet as you think"

"It was Sienna. She was worried about me."

It was his time to lay down, mirroring her position and looking at her as well.

"And what did you say?"

"I told her the truth." Lexie reached between them and laced his fingers with hers. "That I'm fine and that I'm here. Is that okay?"

He gently stroked his thumb on her hand, smiling softly.

"I assumed you would have to have a conversation with Dr. Trinh and Dr. Greene after they caught me sneaking out of your room."

"Elijah pretended it didn't happen, but I did talk to Sienna. She's been there for me those months we've been apart. She knows exactly how hard it was for me when we had to end things, how hard it had been for me to even try to move on." She mentioned it casually, but his eyes filled with sorrow.

"Lexie, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I pushed you away when I should've fought for us, I'm sorry I distanced myself from you these past months. I'm mostly sorry that I hurt you." he moved his hands to her face, pushing the hair on her face behind her ear. "It kills me to hear you say how hard it's been for you and know it was my fault. But I want to fix that, okay? I’m here now.”

“Ethan, I understand why you did it. We can’t act like this isn’t complicated, because it is. But we can try to make it better, and we can try to make it work. Together.”

She closed the distance between them with a kiss that felt like a promise.

That night, they fell asleep together, naked, side by side, with a million different challenges and promises hanging between them. But, for that night, they chose to ignore everything else and just focus on the feeling of being in each other's arms once again.

---

tagging: @bryceslahelas @lahelalove @donutsgirl36 @queenkaneko @msjpuddleduck @niaellariious @flyawayboo @brightpinkpeppercorn @jlpplays1 @desiree---1986 @embarrassingsmartphonegame @mfackenthal @cerisesayeed-ramsey @chasingrobbie @a-i-n-a-a-s-h @akacalliope  @perriewinklenerdie​ @lastfirstcupcake​ @sparklinglilac @sofreakingdonewiththeworld​ @makingbadchoices​ @isabella-choices​ (let me know if you want to be added/removed from my tag list)

[shestolemyheart-draft]

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The year is about to come to an end and Lola still has a lot of things to do before the deadline of this project she has been working on, and the one that has been giving her headaches.

She never thought that studying computer science could be so stressing until she started her second semester at college. But it wasn’t until she started to work for this company at NY that she realized it could also be amazing.

Over the curse of the years, she saw how many of her coworkers broke relationships because they loved their career more than anything. I don’t judge them, because programming can make your mind busy so you won’t think about things you shouldn’t be.

Thanks to programming, Lola found a way to have therapy because she suffers from anxiety and some panic attacks so programming helps her, even though is a job with lots of difficult and stressing tasks, she at least can control it.

 It was September 12th, Lola had to wake up early to leave Audrey on school. She could heard her little steps from her room.

Audrey was only four years old, she is the daughter of Lusiana and Lola, they had it when they had a couple of years married and thanks to a donor. Lusiana got pregnant almost really quick, when they started the treatment, suffering from lots of symptoms from her pregnancy. But for Lola, Lusiana was the most beautiful and braver woman on Earth, even if Lusiana’s hormones didn’t think the same.

Well, time flies and Audrey sometimes makes a lot of questions. Questions that Lola don’t really like to hear because it makes her have many flashbacks from memories she doesn’t want.

 Audrey opened the door from Lola’s bedroom, a big king size in the middle, a master bathroom just for her, and a walk in closet with variety of clothes Lola didn’t even think was from her since she never thought herself as a fashion consumer but since she was living at NY, she had to take care of her personal image.

Lola pretended to be asleep but in reality she had been awake for hours, sitting in that White chair near to her bed, looking at the window, watching the city that never sleeps, just like her, checking her phone to know when Audrey was going to wake up and then play pretend.

-Mom, it’s time!- Audrey said while playing with Mrs. bugs on Lola’s back. Mrs. bugs was Audrey’s first stuffed animal Lusiana bought to her when wasn’t even born, I remember the day she knew she was pregnant, she got crazy and went to the baby store, but the first thing her eyes caught was some stuffed animal. A small and beautiful white bunny with large ears and rosy cheeks, Lusiana fell in love and bought it just along with white baby clothes, she used to love the color white.

After many years, Audrey had it and liked to sleep with it every single night. She always slept hugging it… to be honest, I wish Lola could just throw it away but she could never.

-Hmm… - she mumbled.

-Wake up!- the little girl almost yelled, jumping on her back so Lola decided it was enough and turned around to start tickling Audrey.

It was a normal morning for the small Mitchell Cervantes family, a morning like the others where Lola had to think about what she could wear for the next twenty minutes to then decide between a raincoat or a parka since NY was cold to then decide between a pair of brown moccasins or some black chelsea boots. Audrey just had to wear a uniform that consisted in a grey skirt, white high socks, a dark denim jacket she though it could combined and her black jellies.

Before going out, Lola prepared a quick lunch for Audrey, a green apple (because Audrey hated red ones), turkey ham in rolls, a portion of fresh berries, greek yogurt and some baby carrots, her favorites.

When they finally arrived to school, Lola waved a goodbye to Audrey, who was really excited to start a new day at school. Lola always thought that that must have been Lusiana’s genes because who was excited to go to school on Monday mornings?

Twenty-eight minutes ago, Lola was on an elevator, going to the twenty-one floor, her office. Yes, Lola had her own office because after some years she wasn’t only a programmer, she specialized in web and graphic design, getting involved into programming stuff when required.

 -Good morning- she said to her co-workers, some responding, others don’t because maybe they had their headphones on, others because were distracted or because they didn’t like Monday mornings!

Crossing the room, flooded by the technology information team from left and right, some desktops were empty because the owners were late or because no one was working there but something was sure, they had to hire more people in the next few months thanks to the workflow.

Once she was in her office, she put her raincoat on the rack she bought exclusively to her office, then she switch her computer on, put her bag on her table where she was always carrying the laptop, a hard disk, some paperwork she had to read to then start checking the outstanding issues for the day and things she had to finish. A week full of work, as always.

It was better for her, I guess.

 -Good morning- Aisha said breaking into the office. You could’ve seen the bags under hear eyes, darker than a black hole. Still can’t understand why she can’t rest over the weekend.

-Good morning, what’s the honor?- Lola asked while opening check lists and programs and since it was unusual to have her there so early.

Aisha wasn’t from the IT apartment, she was specialized in finances but was working in the Human Resources field. She could never sleep, I think she was like a vampire, getting her blood from her victims, I mean some members of the company.

-Just came here to talk about a new addition we made to your team, I know you don’t like sudden changes but these are orders from the owners or whatever- she said while sitting in front of Lola with her iPad on her arms and having fun looking at Lola. She knew how much Lola hated sudden changes… part of her anxiety. But it was her job, she couldn’t do much.

-Alright…- she took some air –can I at least see her curriculum?-

Aisha passed her a beige folder with the company’s logos over the desktop and when she opened it, she read the name of the new member of the awesome IT section, stereotyped by society and probably from God too.

-Amelia Santos Carvalho… 27…. marketing… ok, she knows a lot about design… hmm… - she keep reading with a lower voice until something caught her attention, a red flag –she worked on MAC Cosmetics as the chief in advertising?- she look at Aisha confused, Aisha was trying not to laugh.

-you can say it now, come on- Lola said, meaning one thing. Lola was sure that Aisha was going to confirm there was a big red flag.

Aisha laughed for a moment to then take some air and put her ideas in order.

-They fired her when she tried to reveal their products were still being tested on animals at China even though there are selling everything under the term of “cruelty free”, it was a big scandal inside the company, especially because you can’t just be 27 and the chief in advertising to then fuck things up like that- she said smiling while looking at Lola’s face. It was such an entertaining morning for Aisha, can’t say the same for Lola who’s face had written “confusion” all over her forehead.

-I’m not a nanny- she concluded –not even Audrey would do something like that- she smiled thinking about it. I think she could.

-Me neither but, for what I know, she’s relative to someone from upstairs so… she is already warned though, but if you could just check her anyway, what if she tries to set the cafeteria on fire if she notices we still use plastic straws- she said checking some things in her iPad to then look at Lola waiting for an answer.

-Let the charming… - Lola made a paused reading the name of the new member on the folder- … the charming Amelia-.

-I think she is late- Aisha said looking at the clock in her iPad –She needed to be here ten minutes ago… - she left her iPad on the desktop to then cross her legs and getting a little more comfortable in her sit –I need to tell you something- she whispered as if anybody could hear them.

-Did you see her again?- Lola said a little louder so Aisha kicked her under the table-Shhh… nobody here knows and I want it to stay that way for now… also… well, yeah, we spent the weekend together- said Aisha getting closer to the table. There it was, the reason why her bags are getting darker.

-Explains the bags under your eyes- Lola said smiling.

-Idiot, this could be you if you could just try once a year- Aisha said jokingly to then regretting it –I’m sorry, I shouldn’t….-

-Don’t worry- Lola shook her head in a no. Lola thought that she had to bed used to this type of comments but she wasn’t. It still hurt and the pain was almost touchable every time they talk about it

-No, seriously, I’m sorry Grace- said Aisha using Lola’s second name.

-There’s no problem also, I have been thinking about it- Lola said playing nervously with a pen on her right hand and with the other on the curriculum of the new girl.

-Are you being serious?- Aisha’s face was priceless, it made Lola almost bursting into laugher.

-Of course! But I don’t know how… I’ve been thinking about a night club maybe?-

-I fucking hate you- said Aisha knowing Lola was just playing with her, but just when she was about to keep the joke, someone knocked at the door.

A grey blazer with a black shirt with long sleeves in a cew neck, black glasses, a pair of slim-flit jeans and black converse. Her hair above the shoulders with some waves and her bangs covering the forehead. A nose almost sculpted by the Gods. A beautiful woman standing by the door.

-Good morning, I’m looking for Miss Aisha, they said she was here- she said still holding the door with her left hand while the other was adjusting the (of course) black backpack on her shoulder.

-It’s twenty-six past eight, I was waiting for you more than sixteen minutes ago- Aisha said in a cold voice. Pretty sure those are genes from her dad, you know, parents from Middle East can be strict. But right now, that attitude was to show who was in command.

She was sweet and compressive but also strong and cold when needed. Almost six years working there, starting as a voluntary in social media and decided it was the perfect company for her. She was now torturing people there but for people like Lola, she was an unconditional support and almost like a rock.

-Is not going to happen again- the girl replied back with a tense posture. It looked like they weren’t going to get along.

-That’s what I want, my name is Aisha Ahmed, and this is your boss, the engineer Grace Mitchells Cervantes- they greeted each other with a “nice to meet you” even when it didn’t feel like that.

-Come in and sit down so we can chat a little- said Lola while she was looking at the computer once again and Aisha was standing up to finally going out but before leaving giving Amelia some instructions.

-Alright...- Lola sighed for the tenth time in the day while looking for the “small” tasks folder in her computer.

 -I think we can start with something small, I know you might be used to do more complicated tasks but I would like you to start from scratch- she found the folder and sent it directly to the printer.

The new girl was just nodding with her head, I think she was little nervous. Who wouldn’t be with that kind of curriculum but well… shit happens I guess.

While Lola was waiting for the printer to finish, she looked at Amelia and noticed a mall above her upper lips, she thought Amelia was attractive after all.

-Here there are- Lola handled the tasks to Amelia –you’re going to have fun with them for the rest of the week- Amelia smiled just a little while looking at the papers while standing up from her sit.

-We don’t have space for a new member out there so you’re going to work here meanwhile- said Lola while looking at a diagram from the workspace out there, they had empty desktops but those weren’t ready to be occupied for technical stuff. She then stood up and crossed the office to the other desktop with some paperwork on it.

It was a beautiful office if you ask. Years ago was renovated and since it was an old building, they decided to let the red bricks exposed, healing them to then paint them with some dark chocolate color. The designers also exposed the gas, water, air, etc. pipes, looking old but modern, a perfect combination.

-Thank you- said Amelia while sitting on the chair and Lola cleaned some of the things that were there, putting all on a small cabinet. The desktop had never been used, it was actually just a crazy desire of Lola. But it had the best views on the floor, you could see people walking out on the street, being busy with those big coats, traffic and some neurotics thanks to the caffeine.