A/N: Hello faithful readers! This is going to be a long author's note so feel free to skip to the story! I've been working on this story for a while now and have waivered between completing it and posting a chapter a week or posting as I write and I decided I'd post as I write. For those of you following my other stories please understand those were some of my first stories and I'm not very happy with them. I will either be deleting them or giving them a make over. For right now they're on INDEFINITE hiatus because this is the story I would like to focus on. This story will build slow so please don't expect smut in the first couple chapters. Your response to this first chapter is rather influential on whether or not I'll continue writing what I have. I save your flames to keep me warm in the upcoming fall, don't waste the time writing them.
Much love y'all
MissesHermioneMalfoy 3
It was a dark and dreary day in London. Draco Malfoy's dragon hide oxford's made a kind of slapping sound on the wet pavement. Spring was his least favorite season he positively detested the rain and the way it made London smell like a sewer. He was currently en route to his favorite pub in Knockturn Alley, The Sepent's Mouth. Draco was meeting Theo Nott, Blaise Zabini and Marcus Flint for drinks; he was fashionably late as usual for him. He came along a dilapated looking building and entered. The outside was a good cover for what the pub really was, an elite pureblood bar; you needed to be known amongst certain circles to get in the door. Draco pushed open the door and was greeted the din of his friends and fellow young purebloods drinking and talking jovially.
Blaise had grown into his own; he was six foot, two inches tall and the owner of a wine company in Italy. Blaise was still the skirt-chasing maniac from school but he'd let go of his snobby attitude towards Draco a few years after the war. Blaise was fitted in an expensive suit jacket and dark blue jeans. He was wearing those damn dragon hide boots again. Draco had suggested them when Blaise decided to join their weekly club and he kept showing up in business clothes. Draco had claimed he was the only one that could pull off office clothes after eight at night.
Marcus Flint was in rare form Draco supposed he was oh, four or five drinks in? Marcus Flint was the oldest of them all and the self-appointed drunk of the group. He always got flooed home with Theo so he wouldn't splinch himself. Marcus was dressed in a black button up with a silver and green tie; he too was dressed in dark blue jeans. Marcus had taken up his own broom company since the war and had done well for himself. Despite being a particularly nasty team captain when Draco was younger Marcus was alright.
Theo Nott was most dissimilar of them all. He never dressed in a suit and tie, he always dressed in black robes and black dragon hide boots. Theo wore his prejudices on his sleeve. The rest of them had taken to keeping their thoughts on blood purity a behind closed doors issue but not Theo. Theo made public donations with his inheritance to high society pureblood clubs and spent like an heir with money to burn. Theo was also the most ruthless of them all, beside Draco.
When Draco made his presence known they all welcomed him over to the bar stool they'd been saving for him. Zabini ordered a round of large firewhiskeys for the group. Draco and Blaise clinked glasses and downed their firewhiskey in one go.
"How was Rome, Blaise?" Draco inquired.
"Delightful as always. None of this terrible dreariness, how's that acquisition proceeding?" Blaise asked knowing the answer to the question already.
Draco rolled his eyes and replied, "It's a fucking nightmare. Parkinson wants to flirt more than talk business. I think the next time she asks where I'm going after work I might have to throw an ink pot on one of those Prada dresses of hers." Draco shook his head and ordered another firewhiskey. Pansy was the CEO of Twilfitt and Tattings Bridal shop. Her work was well known all over the world and she'd made a fortune in designing gowns for brides with all budgets (mostly she only hand sketched the designs for high-profile clients though).
The night proceeded, as had so many other nights, the four men carried on drinking and talking business and women into the wee hours of the morning. Last call came and went and the four exited the pub. For once Marcus was upright and slightly coherent. It was still bloody raining. All four of them had townhouses in Mayfair, they each apparated to point near Draco's townhouse as this was usually where they carried on their less superficial talks.
Draco unlocked and unwarded his home and walked in; the rest of them following. He'd had the house elves prepare the sitting room for them tonight. Theo and Blaise were likely to fall asleep after a few more drinks. Marcus on the other hand would proudly refuse to not stay and floo himself to the wrong grate. That was Marcus. They all poured themselves some gin and dispersed about the sitting room. Draco was the first to bring up anything of real importance.
"Have you heard about Potter's appointment to Head Auror? Bloody hell I knew it was coming but he's proposing raids and whatnot. If father and I have any authority within the Ministry at all we'll squash that bug before he lays eggs. The last thing we all need is another tax on our inheritances." Draco said moodily.
Blaise chimed in and said, "Potter'll burn out just you watch. He's already married to that crazy woman, Weasley and she's got a kid on the way, no doubt conceived before they were married too."
Draco just made a noise that sounded like "bastard" and carried on drinking his gin. As per usual Theo added, "He's a half-blood what's the ministry doing promoting filth like that to Head Auror?" Theo looked disgusted.
"Potter will do his best to outshine everyone at the ministry including you Theo." Draco deadpanned. Draco had things on his mind that he really only cared to share with Blaise. Out of the four of them Blaise was the only one who could really keep a secret and not tell a soul. He supposed it came from having a black widow as a mother but Draco didn't dwell on it.
Besides Potter's appointment to Head Auror, Blaise kept up a light banter between himself and Theo about muggle-born rights.
"Can you believe they're being allowed money from the Ministry for 'years of mistreatment' that money comes straight out of my inheiritance!" Theo said taking a great gulp of his gin. Theo had a bit of soapbox about muggle-borns and how they were always digging into his pockets. Theo hadn't really suffered for it though. The tax was ten thousand galleons a year. Theo could spend that in a night romancing a witch.
Blaise snickered and said, "I'm just happy all profits from Zabini Wines are excluded from the tax," he high fived Draco, "Thanks to Draco the Ministry will never see a penny of my income. My inheritance, yes, but Zabini Wines is completely off limits to the Ministry." Blaise gave Theo a mocking smirk.
"Not all of us have the protection of hiding our assets in Swiss bank accounts, Zabini." Theo said curtly.
"Alright girls. I'm throwing the lot of you out tonight. I don't want to wake up to the sight of you piled on my couch for just one Saturday morning." Draco said over their conversation.
They all finished their glasses of gin and headed to the floo. One by one they said their goodbyes except for Blaise. Blaise stayed firmly rooted in his armchair sipping at his gin. Before Marcus left he asked, "You leaving before he tosses you out?" Marcus stepped into the fireplace and waited for a reply.
"He'll kick you lot out before he kicks me out," Blaise said casting a Draco a knowing look, "I'll see you next week, same time." With Blaise's last words Marcus nodded and flooed home, hopefully to the right grate.
It was just Draco and Blaise now. Blaise started the conversation by refilling his friends drink and topping off his own. "Let's hear it then, who is she?"
Draco rolled his eyes at his mate's bluntness but it was true, there was someone in his life or rather trying to get into his life, that was annoying the piss out of him.
"It's Granger. She's applied for the post of CFO for the third time now. She's extremely over qualified and I know she'd be good at it but I can't put aside our differences. It's been three months since Davis left the company and I haven't had many applicants. Tracey left big shoes to fill." Draco sighed and gave Blaise a long-suffering look.
"Tracy wasn't just your CFO she was your girlfriend. You haven't hired Granger because you don't like the idea of replacing Tracy. I'm not sure why Granger would want to work for you, you snarky git, but you should take her for a spin." Blaise received a glare from Draco and amended his statement. "I mean professionally of course," Blaise said with a chuckle, "You'll find fault in her work and fire her or she'll quit because you have no sexual harassment policy and no policy on discrimination in the workplace. Trust me, she'll either buck up and deal with it and earn her salary or quit; either way you win." Blaise said simply.
"I need a CFO and Granger is unfortunately my best option. I just… ugh a mudblood in my workplace? The thought is repulsive. Do you think she's in dire straights or something? 'War heroine in trouble after many years of dutiful service to the Ministry' type of thing?" Draco puzzled.
Blaise cast him a doubtful look, "She's plenty successful, she made a large purchase from my company last month, bought enough wine for a lifetime."
"Bad breakup?" Draco questioned.
"Not a clue, I don't concern myself with the Daily Prophet or the inner workings of a mudblood's life. The point is she has gold. She's applied for this job for a reason and you might have to hire her to find out the reason." Blaise had grown wise in all of his twenty-four years of life he was nothing if not perceptive. It's not that Draco wasn't, he just had issues seeing what was right in front of him at times; the subliminal things were never a mystery to Draco but the obvious could be dangled in front of him and he had a hard time seeing past his own, well chiseled nose.
Draco heaved a sigh. "So hire the little swot then?" Draco's brows were furrowed in concentration and he was rubbing his temples he felt like he needed to be drunk all the time to have Granger on his senior staff.
Draco drained his glass and waved his hand at Blaise, "Another." Blaise obliged, he was used to Draco's high and mighty ways by now and took no offence to them. He took a bit of pride in being the only one out of their group that Draco truly confided in.
"So hire her for a month, see how it goes and if at the end of the month she doesn't measure up or she won't shut up fire her." Blaise stated simply. If Granger had applied to be his CFO and he'd been without one for three months he'd gladly hire her if only to have a bit of fun in teasing her and mocking her heritage.
Draco cast his friend a sidelong glance, "I need her to do real work and straighten out this acquisition. What if she doesn't measure up? Then I've wasted hundreds of thousands of galleons on a good merger, her training and her salary which isn't insubstantial." Draco was beyond tired at this point but wasn't ready to send Blaise home yet.
Blaise chuckled at his friend he was really over analyzing the whole thing. "Hire her. Show her the office and have her sign the contract. She'll start work on your acquisition before you can bat an eyelash." Blaise rolled his eyes and said, "Mind if I spend the night I don't fancy stepping into the wrong grate unlike Marcus."
Draco scoffed, "Twenty-four and you still can't apparate yourself home drunk? Would've thought better of you Blaise." None-the-less he got off the couch and pulled a blanket from the foyer closet and set it on the sofa.
"If I don't go to bed soon I might fall over right here from exhaustion. 'Night Blaise. Don't puke in your sleep."
Blaise chuckled Draco was such a arse for a friend. "Night mate. I'll make pancakes in the morning. I owe you."
"Indeed you do." Draco responded before climbing up the stairs to his bedroom. He loved his bedroom. It was all black and silver and green. He'd had a professional interior designer do it she said it was dreary but it suited him perfectly.
Draco stepped into the ensuite and washed up for the night. He came out and undressed down to his boxers he climbed into bed and was thankful the house elves had set a fire in his hearth. It was a cold night. He thought about Monday what it would bring if he followed Blaise's advice. Blaise was nearly never wrong in his advice and Draco, for the most part, followed his advice.
As he settled into his down pillows he thought of Granger and all the things she stood for: righteousness, selflessness, courage. He possessed none of those qualities. He was selfish, arrogant and played favorites just like his father before him. While Draco was a bit more modern in his position on women in the workplace and the idea of some pureblood traditions (arranged marriages were his least favorite of all pureblood traditions) he couldn't wrap his head around having a mudblood in the office. All his employees were purebloods and maybe, just maybe, the janitors were half bloods. She would not be welcomed into the fold.
Draco fell asleep thinking of everything that had happened in the past six months. The acquisition, Granger, his office and the way Tracy used to bring him her messages personally, the day Tracy quit, the day after when she broke up with him. Draco remembered her exact words, 'I can't work for you because I can't love you anymore. Maybe you'll find someone who will put up with you at home and in the office but I can't bring myself to do it anymore." It was true, Draco loved his job and he supposed he was a bit married to his work. He didn't think overruling her judgment on a major merger was reason for her to stop loving him but there had been that night…
-X-
Tracy had been in good mood and had happily accompanied Draco back to his flat around ten after dinner. They were set for the night and Tracy was just climbing into bed. "Honey when do you what to get married?"
Draco had been expecting her to say some sexy one-liner about his cock and he got 'when do you want to get married?' Draco tried to not be an arse and look disgusted by her question. He was twenty-four! Even his parents were trying to marry him off. That's why he liked Tracy because he hadn't expected anything from her and she likewise.
"G-get married?" Draco stammered.
"Yeah, we're both old enough we should be considering who we want to spend the rest of our lives with." Tracy said with a smile.
"Tracy, I have no intention of marrying for a while." Draco said and a stagnant pause followed. Tracy settled into bed and turned off her light without another word.
The next day they had blow up fight in the office about his decision to undermine her in a conference. She threw every name in the book at him and he fired back with equal fervor. It had been a tricky business move merging a large apothacary with Malfoy Inc. and Tracy had wanted to err on the side of caution. Draco threw up roadblocks the whole meeting; Tracy was complacent during the meeting out of respect for her boss. After the meeting was a different story. Tracy took her anger out on Draco for his lack of commitment and concluded he was a lousy boss and an equally lousy boyfriend.
Tracy was a truly fantastic CFO and Malfoy Inc. had felt her loss.
-X-
The following Monday
Draco apparated to his office at eight in the morning sharp, his staff was already there and there was a cup of coffee, piping hot, with a blueberry scone on his desk. His secretary, Daphne Greengrass, was very good about having everything ready for him in the morning. He called her into his office and greeted her, "Good morning Miss Greengrass, please have an owl dispatched to Miss Granger immediately. She is to be sent notification that her application as Chief Financial Officer of Malfoy Incorporated has been accepted and she is to report to my office in exactly one hour." Draco said in a no nonsense tone. Daphne was a good secretary but she tended to flirt with him a bit much for his taste.
"Yes sir, anything else?" Daphne replied with a sickenly sweet smile.
"No, that will be all. I'll take my lunch at twelve thirty as usual." Draco sat down in his chair and set to work on the current merger. Daphne's heels clicked against the marble floor as she exited his office.
Meanwhile on the other side of London
Hermione was dressed and ready for her day. She was looking through the help wanted section of the Daily Prophet and had circled several possibilities in red ink. Hermione drank her morning tea and hummed to herself. Most of the wizarding world was wondering why she'd mysteriously quit her job at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement about two months ago. Hermione had released a statement that she'd needed a change in pace and that working for the Ministry wasn't as fulfilling as she'd hoped it would be. That was as far from the truth as it could have gotten.
The politics at the Ministry had remained relatively the same after the war, however. Influential families could still bribe their way out of crime and the laws favored purebloods over muggleborns. There had been changes in Auror office of course and with Kingsley Shacklebolt as Minister of Magic some legislation had been pushed through to tax pureblood families and give out reparations to muggleborns and their families that were affected by the war. Hermione didn't think it was enough though.
Just then there was an insistent tapping at her window and she could see a large eagle owl berating the window to her study. She opened the window, took the package and fed the giant bird a treat. As the bird few off she read the note that was written in a tidy scrawl. When she'd finished reading it a broad smile graced her lips. She'd gotten the job!
Working with Malfoy wasn't her dream job but the money was good and she was sure it would be challenging enough. She still disliked him from school and knew it would be difficult to work with him on a day-to-day basis. She went upstairs and changed into a sophisticated pinstripe pencil skirt and suit and made sure her hair was manageable looking. The letter had stated to be there in exactly one hour, the office was in Mayfair and she lived in Surrey she couldn't drive it would take too long. She made sure she had a copy of her resume and had a cup of tea before apparating to Mayfair.
She walked around Mayfair trying to find her way to Malfoy Incorporated. The letter had said it was disguised as a muggle café in the front and the public entrance to the offices was through the "Staff Only" door in the back. She could stop and get a cappuccino and find the office. She came across a café named "Mochalisa's" it was just as it had been described in the letter, a small café with a red door and a brick front. Hermione was still early so she placed an order for a cappuccino and sat down with her drink thinking of how things could be at her new job.
Malfoy had done a lot, publicly, to remove the stain on the family name after the war. He'd made charitable donations to St. Mungo's new wing and had been the least outspoken about the tax levied on old pureblood families. Hermione supposed that was because he had enough gold to bury himself alive in but she tried not to think too hard on it. Working with Malfoy would be a challenge but that's why she'd accepted the job she needed a challenge.
Hermione was very good with numbers and had been for many years. She went to a University for witches and wizards and studied accounting in the wizarding world. She'd had a job a Gringott's for about a year before working at the Ministry. She hadn't really enjoyed her work at Gringott's and had thought that working for the Ministry would be more 'fun' because she'd be working with her peers.
Malfoy Incorporated had suffered very little from the war other than being shut down for a few months in Draco's fifth year and being investigated after the war. She knew all about the investigation because she'd been the lead investigator on the case. They couldn't find a thing wrong with their books, nothing was out of line, it made Hermione furious. After a talk with Harry he convinced her that the Auror's could raid the place but she'd declined. The offer made her feel better but there was nothing to go on; Malfoy Incorporated had been running clean since Draco took it over when he was eighteen.
Hermione finished her cappuccino and headed towards the back of the café. She found the "Staff Only" sign with relative ease and opened the door to find a grand marble staircase leading ever upwards. Hermione praised her good sense for only wearing kitten heels after appraising the many flights of stairs. As she climbed she went past various different doors for companies that were obviously magical in nature. "Flint's Brooms: Executive Office" was one of the more suspicious offices. She remembered reading somewhere that the former Slytherin had made his way into the business world with his broom company.
Hermione climbed and climbed. Finally she reached the top and opened a door that said "Malfoy Inc."
Hermione came face-to-face with Daphne Greengrass and said, "Miss Hermione Granger here to see Mr. Malfoy. I received an owl." Hermione couldn't believe the grandness of the office the floors were black and white marble and Greengrass' desk was solid Mahogany. She had her work cut out for her if she was going to make an impression on her new boss.
"Mr. Malfoy is expecting you please go through." Daphne said in a bored tone of voice. She eyed Hermione's shoes with distaste and picked up her quill and got back to her work.
Hermione pushed open an ornately carved door with the letter M engraved on it she walked into a room that was about as large as her living room and on the far side sat Draco sodding Malfoy. He was dressed in a muggle suit to her surprise and hadn't looked up from laptop. He was typing away, fingers crashing down on the keys at an alarming rate. She suddenly felt rather unnerved. Draco Malfoy was using a laptop and not shouting insults at her as soon as she walked in the door. Were pigs flying?
Hermione cleared her throat rather loudly and said, "Hello Malfoy." His typing slowed and he looked up from his laptop, his blonde locks falling into his face, his lips turned up into that infamous smirk and he clicked a few buttons on his laptop and said "Granger, have a seat we have paper work to go over."
Hermione walked forward and sat in one of the chairs in front of Malfoy's grand desk. It was slightly uncomfortable and she supposed that was to keep people from staying in his office for too long. Malfoy pulled out a drawer from his desk and took out two pieces of parchment. He put the first in front of her and explained, "This is your employment contract, it explains your duties and general office policies, as CFO you'll be required to attend all board meetings and report to me personally on at least a weekly basis. In addition you will oversee all major financial ventures Malfoy Incorporated pursues. You will also have a staff of twenty to oversee, there is a secrecy clause in the contract. All financial dealings of Malfoy Inc. are not to be discussed outside these walls, is that clear?" Malfoy said in a clinical voice.
Hermione held the parchment in her hands and read quickly. Everything he had mentioned was in the contract but there was no policy on sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace. "Yes that's fine but don't you have a discrimination policy Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione said warily.
Malfoy eyed her like she had three heads, "The contract was drawn up by the company's chairman and he saw fit to leave that out so, no we don't." A sadistic smile crept up on Malfoy's lips and Hermione internally cringed. There was only one person who could be the company's chairman, Lucius Malfoy, so much for her rights. Malfoy pushed a quill and inkpot toward her and she signed her name.
He took it and set it to the side he placed the second piece of parchment in front of her and started, "This is your contract for your salary. You will earn one hundred thousand galleons a year for the first five years you are employed here and after that you are eligible for a ten percent raise every three years depending on performance. There are no sick days at Malfoy Inc. you come to work everyday, if you have Dragon Pox then so be it. You will be given a week's vacation after your first year here. The only company holidays are Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years Day." Hermione nodded and signed her name.
She just had to say something, this was such a load of horse shite she knew she was getting the shit end of the stick because she wasn't pureblood, "So how many days do you take off Malfoy?" She said trying to get a rise out of him
"I take June, July and August off. My CFO usually picks up the slack when I'm gone so you'll have that to look forward to." He said smugly.
Hermione shook her head and said, "I won't do your work for you Malfoy." Where was her head when she sent this git her resume?
"It's Mr. Malfoy to you. I'm your boss as of," he looked at his Rolex watch, "three minutes and forty-five seconds ago. Drop the attitude Granger." He took the signed piece of paper and stood up. He held out his hand and said, "Welcome to Malfoy Incorporated. Let me show you to your office." Hermione stood as well and be grudgingly shook his hand, the prick.