Clara Oswald looked at the clock on her computer and noticed that it was lunch time. She glanced around the office to see if her boss, Donna Noble, was around to tell her she was going to pop out for a bit, but couldn't see the redheaded woman anywhere. Clara had been lucky to land a job at Noble Paradox, an ad agency, after she finished uni. She was even luckier to have met Donna, a slightly older woman in her mid to late forties, whom was a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Clara was happy to have such a strong independent woman as a boss and mentor and not a day went by that she didn't learn something from her.

"Hey Sherrie, have you seen Donna?" Clara asked her officemate.

"I think she's still at her meeting," Sherrie answered.

"If she comes back, can you tell her I went out for lunch," Clara asked as she grabbed her bag.

"Sure thing," Sherrie replied.

Clara walked towards the lifts and pulled out her mobile while she waited for it to arrive and quickly fired off a text.

Running late. Be there in 5.

The lift arrived and she stepped in, hearing a ding she looked down to see a text.

Okay. See you soon.

She put her phone back in her bag and stared at the numbers as they counted down, listening to the horrible lift music. Finally, the doors opened on the ground floor and she came face to face with the woman she had been looking for.

"Going for lunch?" Donna asked as Clara stepped off.

"Yeah, I'll be back in an hour."

"Great, we have a new client coming at 3 and I want you in on the meeting."

"Absolutely," Clara replied. "See you in a bit."

She continued on her short walk down to the café and waved when she spotted her lunch companion.

"Sorry about that," she said as she sat down.

"No need to apologise. You're a busy career woman now," Bill replied, causing Clara to laugh.

"Not as busy as trying to start your own business," Clara added. "How's that going?"

"Hard, but I do enjoy not having a boss. What about you?"

"Really, really well," Clara couldn't help but smile thinking about how much she loved her job.

The two uni friends chatted over lunch, catching up on all the gossip of their friend Jack, who had taken a PR job with a company called Torchwood. He had been a great source of entertainment for both Bill and Clara last year and they both missed getting to see him so much.

"I think this guy might be the one," Bill said, talking about Jack's latest conquest.

"Get out!" Clara exclaimed.

"I'm serious. He can't stop talking about him. Ianto this, Ianto that. Of course he won't admit it, but he speaks very differently about him than all the other men he's been with."

"Well good for him," Clara was sincerely happy for him. "What about you? Still with Heather?"

"I am," Bill said with a smile. "She's really great and very supportive of me and my dreams."

"That's great, Bill." Clara replied. "How is she?"

"Good. She's busy with her last year of uni and can't wait to finish. Oh that reminds me, she has the Doctor as a lecturer this year."

Oh the Doctor! John Allan Smith. It was in his class that she met Bill and Jack last year. It was also his class that caused her so much heart break. Well, not so much the class, more him.

"Oh, good for her." Clara answered, trying to hide any feelings she might have for the man. However, Bill was a clever girl and looked at her intently.

"Okay, I have to ask," she said. "What the hell was the deal with you and the Doctor?"

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Clara asked, trying to pretend as if she didn't know what the other girl was implying.

"Jack may have been oblivious to the looks you two would give each other, but I wasn't."

Clara wondered if she could tell Bill the truth. What would be the harm? She wasn't a student any more, nor was she.

"Come on, Clara. I saw the way the two of you were at the Royal Blood concert. He was practically undressing you with his eyes!"

"It's complicated." Clara finally answered.

Bill's face lit up at finally getting some kind of acknowledgement that she was right. "I knew it! Did you shag him?"

"Maybe."

"That's a yes. When? Where?" Bill said excitedly. "Spill it Clara!"

"Look, I'm not going to go into details and this absolutely stays with you! You cannot, and I mean this, you cannot tell Heather or Jack. You swear?"

"I swear. You have my word, I promise."

"I met him in a pub before I decided to go back to uni and had a one-night stand with him."

"Oh my god!" Bill yelled and Clara gave her a harsh look to quiet her down. "Sorry, just, I didn't see that coming. I thought the two of you had gotten together after, not before our class even started."

"No. I was just as shocked as he was when we saw each other again. And nothing happened between us until after that concert."

"Wow! I don't know what to say. Are you two still together?"

"That's the complicated bit, but the short answer is no."

Complicated didn't begin to describe her relationship with the Doctor. She didn't want to get into it with Bill and felt like that story was better told with a bottle of wine, not lunch.

"Oh Clara, you've got to tell me what happened."

"Why don't you come for dinner on Friday night and I promise I will tell you everything. I need to get back to the office and I don't feel like getting into it now."

"Sounds good. Heather has to work that night, so it's perfect," Bill answered.

"Great, I'll text you closer to the end of the week to make a plan."

The girls finished their lunch and Clara made her way back to the office. Since Bill had brought it up, she couldn't stop thinking about the Doctor and thought back to the last time she had seen him.

"Please, just let me take you for coffee. Just one coffee and nothing more, I promise." He gave her the saddest eyes.

"I really don't know."

"Please." He begged, and she could hear the desperate yearning in his voice, which suddenly made her feel very satisfied. He wanted this way more than she did, almost to the point of need and she had the power to give it to him or not.

She shook her head, finally coming to a decision, "I can't."

At that moment she saw the hope escape his eyes and his body slump at the rejection. She should have felt good about it, but she didn't. Not entirely, because the truth was, she really did miss him and seeing him again was starting to evoke all kinds of emotions.

"But maybe some other time," she added.

"Really?"

"Why don't you give me your number and when I'm ready for coffee, I'll call you." This way the ball was in her court and she had the control to see him or not.

She pulled her mobile out of her pocket and he gave her his number, which she thought was kind of odd that they had slept together and not once did they ever exchange numbers.

"I don't know when I'll call, or even if I will, but I know I just can't do it now."

"That's fair," he answered.

That had been three months ago and she still hadn't called him. Sure, it had almost happened a couple of times, but she would always end up stopping herself once she remembered the pain she had felt at finding out he was a cheater. A pain that she thought she was over but would occasionally seep back in.

She got back to the office and shook her mind of the Doctor, which was always difficult because once he was in there it was hard to get him out. She put her bag down and went to see Donna in her office to get some information about the client they were meeting with.

"Clara, good," Donna said as she looked up from her computer when Clara knocked on her door frame. "Have a seat."

"So who's the client we're meeting with?" She asked as she sat down.

"An ice cream company that began in New York, thirty years ago. The owner is originally from Scotland and he built the company up to a multi-million dollar business there. Now he's looking to return to the UK and open up a chain of shops and ice cream trucks."

"Okay, and what would you like me to do?"

"I want you to take the lead on this."

"Seriously?" Clara questioned. She hadn't done that yet and wasn't sure if she felt confident enough to do it.

"Yes, seriously." Donna answered. "I've been very impressed with you over the last couple of months and I think you're ready for this."

"Wow, thank you," she answered, flattered that her boss had the confidence in her. "I look forward to the challenge."

"Great. Now take this and read up on the business before he gets here." Donna said as she handed her a file.

Clara took it and went back to her desk to read it over. She had worked on a few campaigns as part of her training as a junior account manager and was told that when the time was right, she would be given her own account to work on, but she never imagined it would be this soon. After reading through everything as thoroughly as she could, she jotted down some notes and questions she wanted to ask the owner, when he came in. She felt a tad nervous at being given this responsibility, but knew that she could do it. She also knew that it wasn't a major account, which is why Donna was giving it to her, but she still wanted to create a successful campaign.

Her desk phone rang and it was Donna telling her it was time for the meeting. She made her way back to her boss' office and when she walked in, she noticed a slender man, with short grey hair sitting across from Donna's desk.

"Clara, great. I'd like you to meet the owner of Mondasian Ice Cream," Donna said.

The man stood up and turned around to greet Clara, who stood stunned, seeing the Doctor standing before her.