NOTE: Thank you Tamara for sending me the most tempting pictures of Gary Cole and reminding me that I'm a true "ass obsessed" Brazilian. And special thanks to mikisto26 for her kind BETA work this time around.


Ten years. She has been working in that same office, that same address, for ten years.

It felt like yesterday when Will, Stern and she found the perfect address and the perfect space for their start up.

She had indeed worked at another address for a short while, one of Chicago's dodgiest areas, but it was for a good cause. Who would have thought that one day she would leave that prestigious address for a start up with Cary and Alicia. The idea had excited her more than she would like to admit at first. After all, she had always been a dreamer, a romantic soul, as David once mentioned.

The truth was the office needed serious renovations. Over the years, there had been minor things here and there that needed to be fixed. Now, those minor things were getting bigger and bigger. Walls needed to be painted, chairs and tables needed to be replaced, doors needed to be fixed.

And, of course, there was the kitchen. She didn't even want to think about the kitchen.

Diane sighed as she jotted down the never-ending list of renovations. That morning meeting was supposed to be about the new staff evaluation, but it took another direction.

It was hiring season. There had been so many new faces at the firm in the past 6 months that looked like she was working at another firm. New lawyers for litigation, for family law, new secretaries, new cleaning staff... And now, David, Cary, Howard and she were discussing renovations. It seemed the only thing that was old at L/A/L was the office itself and the senior partners. Oh, the irony.

She had to admit, however, that David was right. A decent working place was incredibly important for morale as well as to the image of L/A/L.

She was nominated the head of the renovation committee. Nice. Just because she enjoyed decoration and good taste didn't mean that she had time and willingness to lead such a project.

There were so many notes on her notepad that she decided to stay behind and organize everything. Bathrooms, meeting room, kitchen, reception's couch, reception's chairs...

Voices. Diane stopped writing for a moment and raised her head. What was going on? She could actually hear people talk.

She narrowed her eyes and tried to concentrate. The source of the sound was clearly coming from above. She looked up and there it was- a small hole at the meeting room's ceiling.

The fact that nobody had noticed that before didn't surprise her. The meeting room was always filled with people and loud people, most of the times. Now that she was alone and everything was quiet, she could actually hear the sound coming from the reception.

The ceiling needed to be fixed immediately, with a special attention to the soundproof. There were too many important cases going on there and the last thing she needed was essential information being spread out to the entire firm. She could only remember the problems another tiny hole had caused Lockhart/Gardner 4 years ago.

She heard the voices of two women talking. Yet, those voices were closer than the noise that was coming from the ceiling.

"Everybody had already left, why is she still there?" One of the girls said.

"She is making a few notes I guess."

"Hey, don't speak too loud, she might hear us."

"The meeting room is soundproof, Mr. Lee told me. She can't hear us."

She couldn't figure it out who the girls were, but they were clearly talking about her. She guessed they were standing near the reception, close to the kitchen. That would explain the fact that the voices were louder.

"Do you have any idea what this meeting was about?"

She chuckled. It always amazed her how stupid and uninteresting those small talks could be.

"I think they were discussing the Christmas party. Mr. Agos told me it's a big thing and they always plan it in advance."

Oh, God, the Christmas party. How could she forget? Not only the party but also the Christmas decoration, as it had been the exact same one for the last three years. One more thing to the ever-growing list.

She also added a special note about the New Year's Workshop. She had finally found the perfect theme: 'How to make your free time productive'. She needed to talk to human resources about that one immediately.

"Who is that?"

Diane was starting to figure out the voices. The girl sounded like Penny, the new receptionist.

She still could not believe that Martha had left after 6 years. Then again, she had good reasons. Her husband's new job was going to improve their lives immensely. And, to be honest, life in Miami sounded much more fun than in Chicago. She was just upset she had to see another competent employee move on.

"Who?"

"The guy at the reception wearing a plaid shirt."

The other girl was definitely David Lee's new assistant, Tracy. Another assistant. God only knew why the man needed three assistants.

"Oh, that is the ballistics expert for the Williams case. He was here on Monday. He is probably waiting for Ms. Lockhart to finish her meeting. I think he has the results for the test he ran."

Were they talking about Kurt? He had sent her a message earlier that morning saying he had finally had the test results and there were good news. He also told her that he was bringing the results personally.

She was looking forward to have lunch with him. The renovation talk had put her in such a terrible mood that she needed her husband to lift her spirits.

But then again, it looked like today was one of those days. Kurt had told her over the phone that he wouldn't be able have lunch with her as he had a meeting later that afternoon. She sighed heavily for the second time that morning. She had to finish that list as soon as possible so she could spend at least a few minutes with him.

"He has a nice ass," Tracy said.

Diane lifted her head, eyes wide opened. Excuse me?

"Doesn't he? He looks like a cowboy. A very charming one. He is very polite too. And that voice..."

Ok, that was too much information. She wasn't prepared to hear two young girls talk about her husband like that and started to second guess her decision. Hearing any conversation unnoticed was not a good idea. She really should not do this. It was very unprofessional of her.

"He is hot," Tracy mentioned, "What is his name again?"

"I don't remember really. It's Mc something."

Diane opened her mouth slightly and chuckled. She didn't like the girls talking about Kurt, but they were right. Her husband was indeed something.

"Terrible clothes though."

"We could always take him shopping and suit him up."

Like that was easy. If they only knew how frustrating it was for her to convince him to buy other kind of shirts other than the same plaid blue, brown and green ones.

She did hate his style, but she had always found it sexy as hell. It was a really tough decision.

"Can you imagine him wearing a tuxedo?" Penny mentioned.

"I think I have a new favorite James Bond."

Diane lowered her head, muffling her laughter. He did have the Bond charm, she had to admit. Diane dropped the pen on the table and propped her head up in one hand, remembering the first time she saw him wearing a tuxedo.

It was their first year anniversary and he had bought them tickets for the operetta Die Fledermouse, her absolute favorite. She knew he hated operas, musicals, theater or anything that involved dressing up and being in public with more than 50 people around.

Her incredibly sweet husband surprised her with flowers and tickets that morning. And when she saw him all dressed up, she couldn't resist. They arrived five minutes before the show started, both tired, but happy.

"Hey, what happened to the coffee machine?"

Diane shook her head in disbelief. Another one? Those girls had too much time on their hands. She really did need to talk to human resources.

"Andrew had a bad day in court and decided to let off his steam on the poor machine."

"And what are we talking about?"

That sounded like her assistant Lisa. What the hell was she doing at the reception? She was supposed to be organizing her schedule for the week!

"The ballistics expert, the cowboy look alike over there," Penny said, "Gorgeous isn't he?"

Lisa laughed out loud. Now it was starting to get interesting. Diane smiled, took off her glasses, put them on the table and crossed her arms over her chest. She would pay a few thousand dollars to see those girls' faces when Lisa dropped the bomb.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Penny asked.

Tracy ignored Lisa's reaction and mentioned again "God, he does have a nice ass."

"Shhhhh, shut up!" Lisa whispered, "If I were you guys, I would be more careful," she actually sounded serious this time, "He is taken."

"Oh, come on, sure he is!" Penny chuckled, "I would be surprised if he wasn't."

"No, I mean…" Lisa lowered her voice and continued "That's Kurt McVeigh, Ms. Lockhart's husband."

And then, there was silence. A very long silence. Diane could only imagine the two girls with their jaw dropped. Her smile grew. She was actually enjoying this.

"Well, of course," Penny said bluntly.

Lisa chuckled at her friend's reaction "What do you mean?"

"It figures. The woman has everything. She is one of the top litigators in Chicago, owns one of the best firms in town, dresses like a million bucks… Her hair is perfect, her nails are perfect, her clothes, her shoes… Everything just... Perfect."

Diane grinned and sat back on her chair. That conversation was actually doing wonders for her ego.

"Don't forget the jewelry," Tracy added.

"Yeah, that too. Of course her husband would be a hot cowboy! I mean, why am I even surprised?"

"She is my idol. I want to be her when I grow up," Lisa sighed.

"Me too," the other girls said at the same time.

Diane smiled, sincerely surprised and moved. She had fans after all, who knew?

"She is probably the luckiest woman I know," Tracy mentioned.

She laughed at the comment. They had no idea how hard it was to finally get there. And how especially hard it was for her and Kurt to finally admit their feelings and stop running away from each other.

Diane glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was close to lunchtime. The list on her notepad looked long, but complete. She was sure she hadn't forgotten a single detail. She read it through once again, underlined the words 'workshop' and 'Christmas decoration', and stood up. It was finally time to greet her husband.

"Damn, she is standing up."

She heard one of the girls say and grinned. Time to panic.

"I better go back. Mr McVeigh will probably want to wait for her inside her office."

"Wait, I'm going with you. Mr. Lee has not arrived yet. I have to see them together," Tracy said, giggling.

"I'm coming too."

Diane left the room and headed for her office. Lisa was properly seated at her table, obviously pretending to talk over the phone. Penny was on the side of the table, holding an open file, while Tracy pointed at the text, whispering something to Penny. The perfect crime scene. The three suspects acting innocent for the great detective's amusement.

As soon as she entered the room, the three of them smiled at her. She returned the same smile, politely.

"Ms. Lockhart," Lisa said, after hanging up her fake phone call, "Mr. McVeigh is waiting for you."

"Thank you, Lisa," she said, with her head held high "Oh, and please hold all phone calls for the next 30 minutes."

Lisa cleared her throat and nodded "Sure, Ms. Lockhart."

Diane walked inside her office and closed the door, dropping the notepad and pen carelessly on the top of the small side table. She knew the girls were watching her and Kurt closely from her office's reception.

Her husband did look special that morning. Perhaps the main reason was the fact that he had three top buttons of his shirt opened instead of the regular two. Maybe the fact that she could actually see a bit of his chest hair. No, it had to be the jeans and the boots. Or the hair. Yes, it was definitely the wavy silver hair.

That were probably the reasons why he was driving every female in a 2-miles-perimeter crazy.

He was gorgeous, charming and sexy. But he was hers.

"Hey," Kurt smiled at her, admiration written on his face "You look beautiful," she could tell that he was enjoying the view by the look in his eyes. They always shined.

She loved to dress up, she always had. However, since they have been together, she started to dress up for him as well. She loved to see that look on his face when he saw her for the first time every morning.

Today was another rushed morning, as it had been for the past week. Truth was, he was up and ready for work before she could even open her eyes properly. He kissed her goodbye and promised to make up for her during the weekend.

"I can't stay long. I have thirty minutes max," he was leaning on her table, with one hand inside his pocket and the other holding a brown file. She could never get tired of his handsome face.

"I know," she said flirtatiously. She tilted her head slightly to the side and started to walk slowly towards him.

"I brought the results," he dropped the file on her table and stood up to greet her properly "Jason Williams didn't do it. The gun is from a defected series that slows down the bullet. It couldn't be-"

Diane leaned into him, with one hand curled around his neck, and pulled his lips hard against hers.

For a moment, Kurt didn't know how to react. His hands grazed her back lightly, before retreating. Like our first date, she thought. Finally, he let his hands rest on her waist and kissed her back, deeply. When her tongue met his, a little gasp of need escaped his throat.

God, he was wonderful. She could lose herself kissing him, one of his many talents. They were putting up a show and she didn't even care. After all, she could never let her fans down.

"You know, I shouldn't let you out during the day," she whispered, kissing the upturned corners of his mouth, "Too many twenty-year-olds with uncontrollable hormones out there," she chuckled when she saw the lipstick mark on his lips. She didn't care to clean it. Not this time.

He had an awe look, the one he always has when he wonders if she is playing with him or if she is just plain crazy. It was really adorable.

She kissed him again, slowly this time. She ran her hand down his back and grabbed his ass with her right hand.

"Diane, it's a glass office," he broke the kiss and whispered, looking over her shoulder. "There are people watching, you now."

"You are leaning against the table, Kurt. Nobody is going to see it," she said, trailing kisses down his neck, "Besides, the office is made of glass, but the bathroom isn't."

He narrowed his eyes at her, his jaw dropping slightly. She smiled back at him.

"How long did you say you had?" She whispered again, biting her lower lip. She knew that always drives him mad.

"Thirty minutes," he told her, grinning.

"Thirty, really? Not forty-five?" She whispered against his ear, running her tongue lightly against it, "I'm wearing that black lingerie you like," Diane smiled to herself when she felt him shiver.

"The lacy one?" He murmured, his voice low.

She raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"I guess I can make an exception for you," he whispered back, moving his hands from her waist down to her hips, pulling her closer. He was reacting exactly as she expected him to. He never disappointed her.

She ran her hand down his chest and reached for his, squeezing it gently. "It's always a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. McVeigh," she whispered, leading him towards the bathroom.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Lockhart," he replied, following her.

Tracy was right. She was the luckiest woman she knew.

THE END


P.S.: Reviews are welcome :)