Rey felt the day looming on her with ominous significance, as it was the first day that she was to begin her new job. She couldn't afford to sleep all day, though she was sure she might have preferred that. Her alarm buzzed loudly and it's tinny, irritating sound was enough to sink into her dreams and rip her from the place of sleep. She groaned, reaching out to slam the dismiss button. She wanted to snooze, and she did, until her roommate Rose busted in and started yelling at her about getting out of bed. Rose had been up for hours, and she had promised to help Rey get up so that she wasn't late. She groaned again in response before rolling out of bed.

She was wearing underwear, and she pulled a robe over her bare shoulders before she fully opened her eyes. Rose had gone back into the kitchen where Rey could smell the coffee brewing and the bacon burning. Rose hadn't gotten any better at cooking, despite her varied attempts and her refusal to give it up. Rose worked from home, so she unfortunately had time to try and develop her hobby. Rey flopped down at the kitchen table, glad to have a mug of hot coffee placed in front of her. She put her face into it, inhaling the smell of it before she took a sip. The first sip of coffee in the morning was always the best.

Rose set a plate in front of her that had rubbery scrambled eggs on it and bacon that had been cooked for just a moment too long. Rey crunched into it, finding that she was tired enough to avoid actually thinking about the food. Food was food.

"Thanks Rose," She said, shoving a bit of scrambled egg into her mouth. "It's...uh, good,"

"You're a bad liar," Rose said, eating a piece of bacon. "But thanks for trying,"

"Any time,"

Rose looked at her electronic wrist band and pointed to the bathroom.

"You better get going or you're gonna be late for school,"

Rey hopped up with as much energy as she could, moving back into her bedroom and finding her way to the bathroom. They had to share, so they carried around shower caddies to keep out of each other's way as much as possible, but Rey often found bottles of Rose's stuff sitting around. It didn't bother her, really. She took a quick shower and slid back into her bedroom. She dressed in ripped jeans and over sized hoodie that said "garbage fire" that Rose had gotten her down at one of the street fairs they'd visited one weekend.

She tied her hair back into a high pony tail and began shoving stuff she needed into her backpack, trying to choose out which books she needed and trying to figure out which notebooks were which. She really should be more organized with this, but it was tough when every free minute you got you spent trying to catch up on sleep.

She had two classes and a lot of time to kill in between, but because of her full class load she couldn't just sleep it off in the student commons in one of the "comfortable" chairs where she was sure more than a few students had slept it off before. She sat in an empty, uncomfortable chair underneath an air conditioning vet (though it seemed they were all under AC vents). She pulled out her beaten up laptop and a few textbooks, beginning the arduous process of finishing up what she hadn't gotten done the previous night. Students came in and out around here, sometimes she had someone sitting next to her and sometimes she didn't, but she didn't notice much of a difference.

When it was getting closer to the time to get to class, she started gathering up all of her belongings and shoving them into her already overloaded backpack. She really needed to clean it out, and felt the punishment of it every time she swung it onto her shoulders. Text books weren't any less heavy the more expensive they got...though she thought they might have found a way to do that with all the money that was sunk into them each and every year.

She made her way to class, which was a few hours long, pulling out her laptop and sitting in one of her favored seats. It was a lecture hall, and it was freezing, and she was thankful for Rose's gift. She pulled her hood over her head and dove her hands into the kangaroo patch, watching the two boys who had sat in the row ahead of her. Poe and Finn always sat together, and were always laughing about something. Finn looked back at her and waved, and she smiled and waved in return at both of them.

"Finish the homework?" He asked.

"Just barely," She said, unable to hold back a yawn.

"Yeah, me too," Poe laughed, pushing a dark curl out of his face. He had the sort of handsome looks that made everyone stop and take a second glance at him, but he seemed to have eyes only for Finn...who she wasn't sure had noticed yet.

"I'm Rey," She said, holding out her hand. He shook it and then so did Finn.

"Nice to meet'cha, Rey," Finn said, though they were diverted from their conversation as the professor made himself apparent.

The class was boring, and by the end of it the professor had filled up the white board with a bunch of scrabbled dry erase notes. She had kept up as best she could, but she was glad when time was up and she was able to shut her laptop. She put it away beneath her textbooks and waved goodbye to Finn and Poe. She had to get home and get ready for her shift at her new job.

She thought it was weird that they had an overnight position open for an assistant, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The shift started at 9:00 pm and lasted until 5:00 am, and it was part time. She didn't know when she would sleep, but she had enough time to catch a few hours of sleep before she would have to get to class. She needed something, she was already behind on her loans and though she knew Rose didn't care, but she felt bad that her roommate had to pick up everything all of the time.

She took her bike home, almost getting nicked by a pissed off tourist who was angry about the time he had to spent waiting in the traffic, though despite being irritated after the interaction, she got home just fine. She dragged her bike up the steps, her arms burning a bit with the activity before busting into the apartment and setting it against the wall where it left black smudge marks. Rose turned away from her computer screen, her head set askew on her head.

"Hey Rey," She said. "Nice entrance. Long day?"

"Some asshole almost hit me," She said, thunking her book bag down onto the table noisily.

"Did you throw rocks at his car?"

"Nope, wish I would have thought to carry rocks around with me," She smirked, shaking her head.

"Always next time then," Rose got a call and un-muted her headset, turning to answer the phone with her standard greeting.

Rey quieted down and went into her bedroom, undressing and taking a quick shower. She pulled out the outfit she'd chosen for her first day. They hadn't insisted on business professional, but they had hinted that it might be a good idea in order to do well at the job. She had bought an entire new outfit that she couldn't afford, and it consisted of a pencil skirt, a bright red shirt that had ruffles at the breast and a blazer. She had never in her life owned a blazer, but she thought it was a good idea. She dressed and pulled out a pair of patent leather heels that were black in color. She never wore them, and they were still in pretty good shape. She put them on just to get a look at herself in the mirror before she put on a light layering of makeup and lipstick. She was out the door in minutes, Rose waving after her.

She took her bike with her, but ended up walking it the short length between the apartment and the office. She put on her work shoes and stuffed her flats into her backpack before entering the office. It was a bit of a ghost town. She could tell that most everyone had gone home for the night, except for a few people who had either stayed late or had late hours. She stopped at the front desk, finding a tall, willowy purple haired woman sitting there, flipping through a magazine.

"Oh thank god," She muttered. "You're here," She shut her magazine and tossed it aside, standing up and grabbing her purse. "He's already here, so you'll have to answer his calls and forward them if necessary,"

The girl briefly explained what she was to do. Answer the phone, take messages, answer emails and help with inquiries about the company. Open the elevators for people who wanted to go up. Check in with the security guard at these specific times. She had to make sure that the front desk ran smoothly, even if it was going to be a slow night. The purple haired woman said it was always slow, but there were nights when Ren was in a bad mood and would dump a whole load of work at her desk. She clapped her shoulders awkwardly and wished her good luck before rushing out of the office. Rey wasn't sure, but she got the feeling that her new boss made the day secretary highly uncomfortable.

Rey watched her run out into the night, hailing a cab and disappearing (presumably) to head home. Rey wondered at it for a moment before her thoughts were distracted by the ringing of the phone. She rushed around the desk and answered it, taking note before scribbling down the message on an old post it pad that was laid near the computer.

She didn't expect to see much of her boss, and after she'd forwarded the message through to his email, she watched the box for a few moments to see if he would reply. He didn't, not surprisingly. The phone was silent then, and she was able to finally settle in and look at the place.

It had the look of a high cost building that took itself too seriously. It was decked out with a lot of shining marble and black obsidian. She wondered how much it cost to keep the floor that shiny. It had to be a great deal of wax. There was no carpet, and the company's logo loomed large behind her, a graphic that had been designed by someone and then put up; SOLO TECH. She hoped one day to do that, but for now, she had to settle with being a secretary.

The computer had a huge monitor, and it was crystal clear. She messed around on the internet for awhile, seeing that those that had come before her had done the same thing. She watched a few videos before the phone rang again. She answered it; "Solo Tech, this is Rey," and heard nothing on the other end. She didn't even hear breathing. She tried again, but after a few minutes, she disconnected by pressing her finger on the receiver slowly before setting the slender phone piece down.

She didn't receive any other calls for almost an hour, and she realized she might just be here to babysit the desk in the event that there was a call. Her "lunch" was at 1am, and she would get a half hour to get up and make coffee, but it was still two hours away. The time crawled by without much to do, and she was so drowsy that she couldn't keep her eyes open. Eventually, she fell asleep slumped over the desk.

She didn't hear the phone ringing, or at least it wasn't loud enough to wake her up, instead resembling a quiet sort of purr rather than a ring. It presented itself in her dreams, but it wasn't enough to make her aware of the fact that she was sleeping until a deep, booming voice shook her awake.

"Miss Beckett!" He said, loudly.

She started up, almost falling out of her chair. One of her shoes had fallen off and she had the imprint of the note pad on her cheek. Blearily, she looked at the owner of the voice. He stood there, tall and imposing. He had a full head of dark hair that was vaguely wavy and nearly reached his shoulders. He was wearing what she was sure the most expensive suit she had ever seen, tailored expertly to his exact specifications. She thought about how she could pay off a huge chunk of her student loans by selling that suit. When her eyes finally reached his face, he looked irritated and expectant in receiving some sort of excuse from her. This was him, then, her boss. Before she got a chance to look at his eyes, where she was sure she saw just a vague pinprick of red, he looked down and she couldn't see it. When he looked back up, his eyes seemed normal.

"Oops," She said, her face resembling that of a kid who had just had it's milk spilled.

"Oops?" He repeated. His voice was so deep that she was surprised at it. "Oops," He repeated again, before he leaned in to get a good look at her. Whatever he was looking for, he seemed to find it. "I'm sure you think that this job is an easy job, working here at night and getting paid far too much money to babysit a desk," He spoke as if she were three years old. "That phone rang twenty times before it rang back to me," He said, through his teeth in a motion of barely contained rage. She flinched, though she realized she probably shouldn't show weakness. "You are here to answer the phone," He said, spitting out his words like venom. "And if you don't have enough to do, I will be glad to ensure that you do,"

Rey stood there with her hands behind her back, trying not to flinch again. She was realizing why this job had such a good pay rate, and why they'd been looking to fill the position almost immediately. It had been too good to be true, but Rey had spent months looking for something that would even think to accommodate her schedule and paid well enough to at least put a dent into her loans.

"I'm sorr-"

"Don't apologize," He said bluntly, holding up a large hand with perfectly trimmed nails. "I don't care to hear it and I'm sure you don't mean it,"

She clamped her mouth shut, trying not to wince at the ire in his tone.

The moment was broken when the alarm went off on her phone. It played 'Iron Moon' by Chelsea Wolfe, and the heavy guitars and wail of her voice would have been enough to wake anyone up. He glanced at it, and then at her, waiting for her to grab it and shut it off. She did so in a hurry, watching it slip from her hands like butter and sail across the desk onto the shiny flood below. It spun out, and Rey stood there like an idiot with her hands out and her mouth open before she realized he was not going to pick it up for her.

She quietly and carefully came out from behind the desk, retrieving her phone. She was disappointed to see that the screen had shattered with the impact, and the disappointment must have registered on her face. Quietly, she turned the alarm off and stood there without saying a word.

Kylo Ren looked at his expensive designer watch before he looked back at her. He took a few steps towards her, like a predator rounding it's prey. She noted the confidence in his walk. He was not classically handsome, but he was big enough and imposing enough to make up for it. He had the sort of confidence that probably made people want to look twice at him, and though she was fighting hard to keep her eyes on her feet, she raised her gaze to meet his own. There were those strange, red pinpricks.

"Half an hour for lunch. If you're late, I'll know," His voice was quiet, and dangerous.

She let out a sigh of relief once he disappeared behind his office doors, or at least into the hallway that lead to them, his hands in his pockets as if he were just taking a casual stroll around the office. She watched the back of him for as long as she could before the doors swung shut behind him.

"Shit," She muttered, looking again at her phone with a frown creasing out her features. "Great," She had about a year and a half on the contract and she had dumbly opted for no insurance.

She set her phone back in her backpack, making sure it was muted. She grabbed her debit card and headed towards the break room, finding it was dark, outside of a few feral glowing vending machines. The break room was equipped with one of those coffee makers that used pods, and she picked one out before setting it into the machine and putting a paper cup underneath where it would spew out. She stood in front of the vending machines for a long time, realizing that this was more expensive than snack food should ever be. She sighed, picking out a health bar that she hoped would keep her awake for the remaining hours of her shift.

She was regretting her decision to take this job, but now felt stuck. It was what she had been searching for, wasn't it? Why shouldn't she try and stick it out?

She hurried back to her desk early, glad to find he wasn't standing there and waiting for her. He scared her, his strange eyes and his voice that crept up underneath her skin and caused her to get goosebumps all over. She shivered, trying to shake the encounter off. She looked at the clock, sad to find it was only 1:30AM even though she already knew that it was.

He didn't give her much time to recover, as she heard him beep in over the intra-connected intercom. She answered the phone quickly, though she didn't get time to even greet him before he started speaking.

"Come to my office," He said, before slamming the phone down so hard that it hurt her ear. Did he do it on purpose?

Quietly, she made her way past the doors, badging in with her name badge before she found his office. It was austere, like the rest of the building, but lined with a large collection of what looked to be first edition books. She would have liked to have had time to look at them, but she wasn't allowed to.

Without looking at her, he handed her a bunch of thick files filled to the brim with papers and numbers.

"Take these and put the figures into and excel sheet," He said, before handing her more of the folders. There were so many that she was having a hard time keeping them from falling to the ground. She supposed she shouldn't have lied on her resume about having experience with excel.

"Yes, sir," She muttered, blandly. He glanced up at her, arching his brow as if inquiring why she was still there. When she turned to go, he spoke her name again.

"Bring me some coffee," He demanded. "Light sugar, light cream,"

"Yes, sir," She repeated, leaning forward to catch herself from dropping the files.

The rest of the night was spent in much of the same manner, the first hour or so being filled with her running back and forth to the break room with some new coffee order. The first time she had used too much sugar and cream. The next time, not enough. Then, there had been a good amount, but the coffee was too hot. Then, too cold. Each time she got back into his presence, she became more determined to show him up, and to prove to him that she could do this job no matter how he tortured her. Eventually, when it seemed she had made a good cup of coffee, he dumped it into the drain. His office had it's own personal kitchen, and a place where she thought he might sleep.

She stared at him, in disbelief, after watching him do it.

"I don't like coffee," It was all he said, before handing her another large stack of papers.

Each time she got back to her desk and tried to settle in to doing what he'd told her to do, ie busy work, she heard his voice over the intercom calling her back into his office for some asinine reason. Before long, she was tasked with picking up his dry cleaning before coming into work the next day, and making a whole series of calls for him. She was sure there had to be a rule against calling out this late, but when she tried to question it he looked at her in such a way that sent chills up and down her spine. If looks could kill.

By the time her shift was nearing it's end, her shoes had given her blisters on the back of her heel, both of which had popped and bled. She was too fearful of asking if there was a first aid kit, and she was forced to put on her flats to try and spare her ailing feet. She was exhausted, the kind of emotional exhausted that settled in deep and would not let go until she was able to get a fifteen hour nap. She was so thankful when the morning secretary came back in, she was sure it showed on her face.

"Wow," The purple haired woman said. "Rough night?"

"Yeah," Rey said, blandly.

"He give you all that?" She motioned towards the files.

"Yeah, but I never got a chance to finish it,"

"Don't worry, I'll finish them for you," The woman whispered, conspiratorially. "He likes to torture us, but I've gotten good at excel," She smiled. "I'm Hilda," She offered up her hand.

"Rey," She said, shaking the woman's hand.

"You better get going, you look like you could use some rest,"

Rey nodded, thankful to be set free from this place. She picked up her backpack, her plans of finishing homework having gone completely out of the window, and went outside. She unlocked her bike and sailed home, doing her best to ensure that she didn't fall asleep upright. She couldn't fathom carrying it upstairs, so she locked it in the bike locks in the lobby and took the elevator.

When she slogged herself into the apartment, she saw Rose standing in the kitchen making coffee. She turned, spotting the dark bags under Rey's eyes and her overall exhausted stance. She looked concerned, but remained quiet for the moment as she watched Rey set her backpack down and slide into the kitchen chair. She placed her chin in her hand and closed her eyes, so tired that she felt this must be what it was like to be brain dead.

"How was the new boss?"

Rey opened her eyes, looking at Rose with a look that could only be described as hateful.

"He's an asshole."

new au! try to keep your pants on.