"Ms. Berry? Can you come in here for a moment please?"
Rachel groans, her head hitting the desk as the sound of her boss's voice comes from the speaker of her intercom. She's only been working here a week and already her boss is driving her up the wall. He calls her into his office no less than twenty times a day, always for some ridiculous reason like grabbing him another cup of coffee or picking up his dry cleaning on her lunch break.
She's his secretary, not his servant.
"Right away, Mr. Puckerman," she says through gritted teeth as she pushes her chair out from her desk. Under her breath she mumbles, "Right away, Mr. Puckerman. How about some coffee, Mr. Puckerman? Or hell, even my soul, Mr. Puckerman."
She stops dead in her tracks when she hears a snicker from her right. Tina Cohen-Chang, secretary to Mr. Puckerman's business partner Sam Evans, is shaking her head as she types a text into her cell phone.
"This is why I'm lucky to have Sam as a boss," Tina says as she set her phone down on her desk. "He never asks me to do anything."
Rachel wasn't jealous of many people but in that moment she would have killed to be Tina Cohen-Chang. Sam, as he preferred to be called, was a laid back boss of the highest degree. He showed up to work most days in slacks and a button down, his blond hair falling around his eyes like he just stepped off of a beach in California. He was attractive but it was in that goofy kind of way, like the kids she knew in high school that liked to play fantasy card games involving wizards and dragons.
Mr. Noah Puckerman, on the other hand, was attractive in the way that he knew exactly how attractive he was. Tall, with dark hair and olive skin, he exuded confidence like no man Rachel had ever seen. He was also not a laid back boss. He came in every morning at exactly seven-thirty, always dressed to the nines in a expensive suit and tie. His accessories were lavish, leather shoes from Italy and a shiny new Rolex on his wrist. He drove a brand new Lexus while Sam drove around in a three year old SUV.
They were as different as night and day.
Bitter about her luck and throwing a look at Tina's snickering face, Rachel makes her way across the office and to Mr. Puckerman's door. She raps three times quickly on the large oak door and waits until she hears him call to come in. He's on the phone with someone and she tries not to listen as he holds up one finger before motioning for her to sit down.
"Baby, I can't tonight I told you," she hears him say and she's surprised when he moves the phone away and mouths "I'm sorry." She just nods and sits dumbfounded as he continues this obviously personal conversation right in front of her. "Lana, I said I can't come tonight. What do you want me to do?"
He catches Rachel's eye and she motions towards the door as if to ask if he wants her to leave but he shakes his head.
"Look, I can't do this with you right now. So either you deal with it or you don't. I'll talk to you later." He sighs as he taps the screen of his phone before placing it down on the desk next to him. "Sorry about that," he says with an easy smile as he looks up at Rachel.
Laid back boss, no. Gorgeous boss that could probably melt her panties off with one look? Put a check in the yes column.
"It's okay," Rachel says, all of her previous anger towards him dissipating as she watches his eyes soften as he fixes his gaze upon her. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. "What did you need me for?"
Something flashes across his face and she feels herself heating up as his hazel eyes darken a shade. "Um…" Did he just say um? Cool, calm and collected Mr. Puckerman? He shakes his head as if he has some thought rolling around in there that he wants to get rid of. "I need the Johnson files," he says quickly, obviously still distracted by whatever just happened with his girlfriend and Rachel notices that he's barely looking at her now.
"The Johnson files," she repeats slowly, wondering why in the world he'd ask her to get them when the file room was literally one room over. In her time here she's noticed both Mr. Puckerman and Sam in that room countless times, pulling files from the long file cabinets that line each wall. She's only stepped in there once and that was the day she started when Tina gave her the office tour. "Okay…"
She goes to leave and before she can reach the door he's saying her name again.
"And Ms. Berry?" She glances back at him. "Please don't repeat anything you hear in here to anyone else." He's looking at his phone now, an expression she can't quite pinpoint on his face.
She definitely doesn't want to get fired for being a gossip so she nods quickly, one hand resting on the door knob. "Of course not," she says seriously and he gives her a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll bring the Johnson files right in."
He's still staring at his phone when she brings the folder in and drops it onto his desk.
"So did you hear?"
Tina is bubbly when she slides into her seat the next morning, her Tiffany engagement ring practically blinding Rachel as it shines from the morning sunlight coming in through the floor to ceiling windows. Rachel has never met Tina's fiancé Mike but she knows that he's a pretty big deal in the choreography world. He's gotta be talented to put a rock like that on Tina's finger and Rachel wonders in amusement if she could ice skate on it like she does in Central Park every Christmas.
"Did I hear what?" She's not one for interoffice gossip, especially after the warning from Mr. Puckerman the day before but Tina looks like she's ready to burst.
"Puck and his girlfriend broke up!" Tina is just looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for Rachel to have some big reaction to this news but the only thing going through her mind is: Who in the hell is Puck?
Puck? Is that…?
"Wait? Puck? As in, Mr. Puckerman?"
Tina rolls her eyes. "Yes! That's what Sam calls him, it's what everyone outside of the office calls him. I mean, I call him that behind his back because I've never actually seen him outside of the office…"
Rachel lets Tina ramble on a little, still reeling from the fact that not only does Mr. Puckerman have a social life, something she'd never really thought of before, but he was relaxed enough outside of the office to have an absurd nickname like Puck?
"Rachel…are you even listening?"
"Huh? What? Yes," Rachel says unconvincingly and Tina chuckles as she sits back in her seat. "So they broke up? Why is that such a big deal?"
"Well…" Tina starts but she's interrupted by the main door to the office opening and shutting. "That's why it's such a big deal…," she murmurs under her breath and Rachel watches as Mr. Puckerman walks quickly into his office, pulling the door closed loudly behind him. Tina waits before she's sure he's not listening before she glances back at Rachel. "He's been with Lana for over a year. Sam told me that it's his longest relationship ever. I can only imagine what a nightmare he's going to be to work with now."
"Oh," Rachel says because she obviously hasn't been here long enough to know the stories behind either of her bosses. She knows that Sam was married to his high school sweetheart for years and that he's been divorced for over a year but that's about as much as she knows about his personal life.
Rachel's just barely booted up her work computer when the intercom buzzes in front of her and she grimaces when she hears Mr. Puckerman's voice coming through the speaker.
"Ms. Berry, a word?"
Tina shoots her an apologetic look as Rachel sighs and stands up, running her hands down her pencil skirt to smooth imaginary wrinkles. Anything to lengthen the time it takes to get from her desk to his office door.
"Come in," he says gruffly when she knocks quietly and she shuts the door behind her when he asks her too. "Have a seat," he says, motioning towards the two leather chairs that sit on the opposite side of his huge oak desk.
She lowers herself into one of them and he's just watching her thoughtfully, his hands resting on the desk in front of him and she honestly at the point has no idea what to expect out of his mouth.
"Do you like working here, Rachel?"
That certainly wasn't what she was expecting.
For one, she's never once heard him use her full name. She's also never heard him sound anything but a little rough around the edges. Right now, he sounds almost vulnerable.
"Umm…" She sees him raise an eyebrow and a hint of a smile crosses his lips. "Yes, of course."
He nods, like it's what he wanted to hear, and she still has no clue why she's sitting here right now. He didn't really just call her into his office because he wanted to see if she was happy. Did he?
"That's good," he says absently as he drums his fingers on the table. "I'm glad. I was worried that our office wouldn't quite live up to your standards." She gives him a shocked look and he raises his hands in defense. "No, I'm sorry! That came out wrong. What I mean is…" He's looking around awkwardly and for a split second Rachel thinks he looks almost endearing. "I know that you moved to the city to perform. I saw your resume, you know."
She blushes when he sends her a wink, knowing that her resume was mostly acting jobs that she'd had over the years. Nothing big but it's the only job she's ever really had besides this one and she only got this one because her friend Blaine read about it online and she needed the money because she was in between jobs.
Six months in between jobs.
"I really do like it here though," she says because she feels like it's something he needs to know. "I'm not looking at this like something to waste my time until I find something else."
He nods again and she watches as he twists the class ring that sits on his finger with his thumb over and over. It's almost so mesmerizing that she barely hears when he speaks again.
"I've been hard on you," he says quietly and she looks up sharply. "There was some shit in my personal life that I had to deal with but…that won't be an issue anymore. I just wanted to apologize for that."
She's not sure what to be more surprised about, the fact that he's being a real person with her right now or the fact that he's apologizing when she thought he was going to be in the worst mood of his life.
"It's really okay, Mr. Puckerman," she starts to say but he lets out a low chuckle and holds up his hand.
"Noah," he says with a hint of a smile and she's sure that she looks ridiculous with her eyes as wide as she thinks they must be. "Mr. Puckerman is way too formal. It's time for things to change around here."
Tina is watching her expectantly when she makes her way back to her desk a few minutes later.
"So what happened?" Tina asks her the second she sits down and Rachel feels like she's in a daze when she looks over at her.
"He asked me to call him Noah."
Things change pretty quickly around the office after Noah's breakup to the surprise of everyone.
And yeah, that's what she's been calling him the last few weeks, per his request. He's still annoyingly on time every morning (so is she but that's beside the point) and he still dresses like he just stepped out of the pages of GQ.
But he talks more, not just to her but to Tina too, and while it was a surprise to see him out of his office before now she doesn't question it when he sits on the corner of her desk, coffee mug in hand, as he asks her about her weekend.
"It was okay," she says as she gathers the messages she took down while he was on his lunch break.
Noah laughs as he takes the little stack of papers and thanks her. "Just okay?"
She spent the weekend in her pajamas with a bottle of wine and a reality TV show marathon. Not exactly living the high life in Manhattan.
Instead of saying that though she just laughs quietly and shrugs.
Noah looks like he wants to say more but it's then that Sam strolls into the office and Rachel looks down at her watch and grins at the blonde, who's now pouring himself coffee from the pot in the corner.
"Thirty minutes late coming back from lunch," Noah laughs when he glances down at his own watch. "How do you expect us to run a respectable business when the co-owner doesn't even show up on time?"
Sam just rolls his eyes as he walks into the waiting area and back out again, pulling a chair behind him. He parks it between her desk and Tina's and crosses his legs at the ankles.
"So what's the haps?" His eyes are wide when all three of them laugh and he shrugs. "What? Is that not what the kids are saying these days?"
"Oh lord no," Tina says as she moves her fingers quickly over her keyboard. "And Sam, you do remember that you have a meeting in twenty minutes, right?"
Rachel giggles when Sam jumps quickly and heads to his office, earning a dramatic sigh from Noah in return.
"I swear without you two this place would be in shambles," Noah says with a wink in her direction as he stands up from his place on Rachel's desk.
Tina shoots back with a "Duh," but Rachel is blushing too hard to form any sort of response.
Noah places his hand on her shoulder and gives her a little squeeze as he tells them both to have a good rest of the day and then he's in his office before she can respond at all.
She's shocked when Noah stops by her desk on a Friday afternoon to ask her to come to his place that weekend.
Okay, that sounds bad when she puts it that way. He's having a party on Sunday and he tells her and Tina that they are both more than welcome to come. Tina tells him that she has to taste test wedding cakes that day and Noah looks at Rachel with his eyebrow raised.
She shouldn't find that as sexy as she does.
"What do you say, Ms. Berry?" He calls her that sometimes, like it's a joke now between them, and she doesn't hate the way his voice sound when he says it.
"What time on Sunday?" She asks just because she doesn't want to seem too eager to see his place. Or him outside of work.
"Around one," he says, his body angled towards hers as he leans against her desk with one hip. One seems a little early for a party but she's not the type of person that would say something like that out loud.
"Okay, sure." She says and he beams at her. He jots down his address on a post it note and tells her he'll see her then. "Wait!" She calls right before he reaches his office and he turns around. "What should I wear?"
He laughs and shrugs. "I don't know. Whatever you'd normally wear to a party, I guess."
She spends the next day and a half wondering what exactly that is. It's not that she's anti social or anything she just doesn't really get out all that much. Her friends consist of Blaine and his boyfriend Kurt and recently Tina, who she's hung out with a few times outside of work. She talks to a few girls that she went to high school with but they all live in her home state of Ohio and she only visits there once in a blue moon.
She calls up Kurt, claiming that she's having something like a fashion emergency, and he's at her door not even two hours later.
"Kurt Hummel, at your service," he says when he walks into her apartment and she's eyeing the shopping bags that are currently weighing down his arms. "What? I stopped and got you a few things on my way here."
"Kurt, you didn't have to do that." She can't lie and say that she doesn't love that he did though. She's been through her closet front to back at least five times since Friday afternoon and not a single thing popped out at her to wear.
"So a party at your hot boss's house, hmm?" Kurt asks as he starts pulling things from the shopping bags now piled on Rachel's bed.
"What makes you think he's hot?" Rachel asks, her eyes falling on a gorgeous teal and white wraparound dress that is now resting against her pillows. Thank god for Kurt and his amazing shopping prowess.
"Well, if he wasn't hot I don't think you'd care this much about what you're going to wear to his party. Now try this on." He holds the dress out to her and she loves the way the fabric feels in her hands. She gets an image of Noah putting his hands on her waist and feeling how soft it is for himself.
She lies when Kurt asks her if she's okay, says she's just feeling a little warm, and steps into the bathroom to change.
His building is on the Upper East Side (not that she's surprised) and she's more nervous now that she's stepping out of a cab in front of his place than she was when she left her apartment.
There's a doorman, naturally, and he checks a list before walking her to a large bank of elevators.
"Nineteenth floor," he says as he presses the button and she thanks him, forgetting only after the doors close that she has no idea where to find him on the nineteenth floor.
It ends up not mattering because there is only a small hallway and one door, so she takes a deep breath before stepping out of the elevator.
A loud noise and then a laugh from inside Noah's apartment startles her and she's rubbing the fabric at the bottom of her dress (of course she went with the wraparound, how could she not?) between her thumb and forefinger as she knocks on the door.
Noah isn't even looking at her when he opens the front door and it's probably a good thing because she's fairly sure that she left her jaw somewhere on the floor.
He's in jeans. Nice jeans, from what she can tell, but they are still jeans. She's never seen him in anything but suits. They are a dark blue denim that fits him in all the right places and she's shocked to see that he's paired it with a grey t shirt and a plaid button down. He's also wearing socks, but no shoes.
What kind of party is this?
"Hey, Rach," he says when he finally notices who's at the door.
Oh. He's never called her that before.
"Umm…hi," she says and he moves out of the way so she can step inside.
"You look good," he says with a smile and she knows that her blush travels all the way down into the deep v of her dress. "Glad you could make it."
There are more shouts and laughs coming from the other room and Rachel looks around, confused.
"I thought you were having a party?" She asks, noticing for the first time how nice Noah's apartment is. She doesn't know what she expected but it certainly wasn't this. There are windows everywhere, looking out over the city and she can't even imagine how gorgeous that view must be at night. There is a kitchen off to the right and she can't see the living room but she knows from the sounds of the voices she hears that it's close.
"I am," he says with a laugh as he motions for her to follow him into the other room.
There are men everywhere. A few women too, but from what Rachel can tell they are mostly wives and girlfriends of the men that are huddled around the massive widescreen television hanging on one wall of Noah's living room.
A Super Bowl party.
Of course, she thinks, it all makes sense now. The early party time. Noah telling her to wear whatever she would normally wear to a party. His insistence when he told her she didn't need to bring anything when she asked him at the end of the day on Friday. The fact that it's Sunday.
"Hey guys," he calls when they step foot into the living room and Rachel knows the only reason they all turn around is because it's on a commercial. "This is Rachel Berry." He introduces his friends one by one, the only one she knows being Sam who just sends her a wave from where he's sitting. When she's met all the guys he introduces her to Quinn, Sam's current girlfriend and Santana, a friend of his from college, plus the couple of other women that are there as half of a couple.
"Can I get you something to drink?" He asks and she follows him into his kitchen. "I have beer, wine, soda…"
"Wine would be lovely," she says as she parks herself onto one of the bar stools in front of his counter. "I'm massively overdressed," she says mostly to herself as she looks at Santana in her low rise jeans and tight Patriots t shirt. Noah chuckles as he pours her a glass of wine from an expensive looking bottle.
"I think you look gorgeous," he says with a wink and she really wishes that she could stop blushing around him. "I'm glad you came."
He's just staring at her, leaning with his forearms on the counter and Rachel licks her lips after she takes a small sip from her glass.
"Me too."
They are just looking at each other when they hears a string of swear words coming from the other room and Rachel laughs quietly as Noah pushes himself away from the counter.
"Sounds like the Pats are up." He holds out the crook of his elbow and Rachel laughs as she puts her arm through it. "Let's go see if steam is coming out of Sam's ears."
She likes him like this (and a lot of other ways) and she finds herself watching him more often than she watches the game. It's not that she doesn't like football, she actually dated the quarterback of her high school football team for most of her senior year, but watching Noah is much more enjoyable.
The way his eyes light up when the team he's rooting for scores (he told her that normally New Yorkers hate the Patriots but because they are the only east coast team playing they are making an exception) and the way his jaw clenches when the other team does.
That jaw line is doing serious damage to her ability to function.
He watches her sometimes too, she can see him from the corner of her eye, but she doesn't know what it means. Sure, he told her she looks gorgeous and that he was glad she came but he was probably just being polite.
It's nearing seven by the time the game is over and everyone is ready to head home despite Noah's insistence that they all stay for drinks. Rachel knows that Sam wants to stay but she can see Quinn yawning and speaking quietly in Sam's ear so she's positive that they will be going home. Santana announces loudly that she's got a date with "the hottest chick she's ever seen" at nine so she smacks Noah's ass on the way out and tells him thanks for the booze over her shoulder.
Rachel likes her.
She's in the kitchen placing beer bottles in his recycle bin when he finishes walking the last person out.
"Hey, you don't have to do that," he says seriously as he walks up next to her. She can feel the heat from his body immediately and she sucks in a breath when he leans against the counter so he's facing her.
"I don't mind," she says quietly, looking up at him from under her lashes. His eyes drop from her eyes to her lips and then back again.
"I'm really glad you came today," he says, his face only inches from hers and she smiles.
"You said that already."
His tongue darts out to wet his bottom lip. "That's because I mean it."
Her eyes flutter close when he places his hand on the side of her neck, his fingertips drawing nonsensical patters on the skin behind her ears.
She knows he's going to kiss her before his lips actually touch hers but she lets out a tiny squeak when he makes contact just the same. He has impossibly soft lips, the kind that she feels like she could kiss forever, and he's backing her up against the counter, one hand fixed into her hair and the other resting tightly on her hip.
"I've been wanting to do that for weeks," he says when he pulls away, his hand still gripping her hip and she's breathing heavily when she looks up at him.
"Really?" She asks because it's surprises her and he just chuckles softly as he bends his head to kiss her again.
"Why do you think I'm suddenly single after a year?"
"Wait…" she says as she straightens herself out, her hand on his chest to push him back a little. "What does that mean?"
Noah shrugs as he backs off a bit but his hand never moves from her waist. "When I broke up with Lana it wasn't because it wasn't working out. I mean, it wasn't working out but it's because the second you stepped foot into my office I couldn't stop thinking about how fucking gorgeous you were."
"That's not why you hired me is it?" She asks, narrowing her eyes a little as she steps out of his grasp and he shakes his head quickly.
"What? No! Of course not," he says and when she looks into his eyes she doesn't know how but knows that he's telling her the truth. "I just couldn't stop thinking about you. Seriously, it was becoming a problem. Sam has been giving me shit for days."
"Sam knows?" Rachel feels her face heat up, for a totally different reason than Noah's hands or lips. She doesn't want Sam, or Tina for that matter, thinking that she's some sleazy secretary trying to sleep her way to the top.
"Yeah, but who cares? It's just Sam."
Rachel rolls her eyes. "Noah, technically I work for him too. Don't you think this could get a little awkward?"
He's just shaking his head as he walks closer to her again and she sucks in a breath when she's pinned between his hips and the counter. "I just want you," he says and it's so sincere that she gasps a little as she grabs onto his button down at his sides. "We'll figure everything else out later."
It's hard to argue with that when he's lifting her up by her thighs and carrying her into his bedroom.
"Ms. Berry? A word in my office please?"
Rachel blushes when Tina shoots her a knowing look, Noah's voice coming loud and clear through the intercom on Rachel's desk. She can tell by his tone that he's grinning, probably sitting in his chair with his hands behind his head and his feet up on his desk.
"You two are disgusting," Tina says with a laugh as she slides a metal file back and forth along her thumbnail.
Rachel is still blushing when she knocks on Noah's door once quickly and he's got her backed up against it before she's barely inside and his hands are under her sweater at her sides.
"Noah…"
"Baby…"
She's gone from Ms. Berry to Rachel to Rach to Baby. She doesn't hate it. Not even a little bit.
"This is wildly inappropriate to do at work," she says even though she's kissing him back and he's laughing as he guides her towards his desk.
"What can I say?" He asks, a lewd grin crossing his face. "I've always had a secretary on my desk fantasy. And now that I have one as a girlfriend, I just thought…"
"You're disgusting," she says, even as she's pushing off his suit jacket and unbuckling his belt, and he's grinning when she pushes him back in his desk chair. Noah's use of the word girlfriend might have a lot to do with the incredibly crude question that comes out of her mouth before she can stop it. He seems to bring that out in her.
"What about a secretary under your desk fantasy?"
The groan he lets out when she drops to her knees tells her everything she needs to know.