Ginny Weasley was completely oblivious to how depressing her life had become.
After the Second War that ended the same time as her seventh year, she realized she was going to continually be smothered by her family until she moved out. She swore if she had to deal with another one of her mums dramatic wails or her brothers even more insane over-protectiveness, she was going to rip her own hair out.
The day after graduation she had immediately applied anywhere and everywhere for a job –any job – and eventually got hired working as a secretary at a small law office. After saving up for months, she finally moved into her own flat.
It was tiny, really only four rooms, and a four floor walk-up, and not exactly in the up-scale part of town, but it was perfect for her. The knitted blankets and the well-loved and well-used furniture seemed right at home here. Best of all, it was quiet, and completely opposite of the Burrow which was constantly bustling with loud, over-bearing parents, brothers, sisters-in-laws, and nieces and nephews.
Ginny loved her family, and would gladly take a Cruico for each and every one of them, but it was just too much.
Almost a year after her graduation the law firm she had been working with, Blingy and Fingly, went under. The wizarding world was still repairing itself from the damage of the previous war and money was tight everywhere. About two months of unemployment passed before Ginny, in complete desperation after almost getting evicted from her beloved flat, Ginny finally hired on at the only company that was hiring: Malfoy Inc.
M.I. seemed completely unaffected by the slight drop there had been in the economy, most likely due to the fact the Malfoys came from old old old money. In fact, the company seemed to be thriving under the new head of the company Draco Malfoy. The company itself consisted of several different departments, ranging from advertisement department, to legal relations, to development of new products, to creating small businesses. It seemed to grow bigger and expand every year.
Ronald had been galled at the idea of her working for Malfoy, who had been an adversary to the Trio while at Hogwarts, but Ginny thought nothing of it. She herself had had very little interaction with Draco Malfoy in all the six years they had gone to the same school. Maybe he was a royal prick, if the stories were to be believed, but that was no reason to turn down a perfectly good job. It's not like she would be working with him anyways. As a lowly historian for the legal department, she probably wouldn't see him more than twice a year, right?
It turns out she was wrong… It was less than twice a year. She worked all alone in a tiny basement two floors underground, doing research. It wasn't exactly a miserable existence. She got paid well to shuffle through books and records, gathering information on whatever court case they assigned her. Whatever she eventually found, she would send to her supervisor, who gave it to his supervisor, who gave it to the lawyers who were working on the case. There was never a reason for her to go up to the 17th floor where Malfoys personal office was located, and there was never a reason for him to come down.
It seemed odd to her though that after four years of working in Malfoy's company, she had never once come into contact with the man. Not that she cared that she didn't see him, but it was a thought that crossed her mind once or twice.
And so what if the air conditioning was broken leaving the room perpetually at the frigid temperature of 50 degrees year-round, and that her "office" was tiny and cramped, even for just one person. It was a steady job, and it was something that was relatively easy and she was good at. And it was quiet.
Monday through Friday she would show up right on time, do her research in solitude, and return home. At home she would make herself a frozen dinner, watch a movie or curl up with a book, before heading to bed. Repeat.
It was a peaceful, uncomplicated existence, but Ginny didn't really mind. She was a peaceful, uncomplicated person.
Ginny never realized when she stopped dating, it just sort of… happened. She had given up on Harry years ago, and wasn't crushed in the least. Her best friend, Luna, had moved to Switzerland two years before to study Snizzle-blogs (whatever those were!) so she didn't go out with friends very much, and she worked in solitude for the most part, so she never met new people. New people just didn't fit into the pattern of her life, and that was that.
So Ginny Weasley was completely oblivious to how depressing her life had become until that one chance meeting changed her whole life.
It was a Wednesday, just like any other Wednesday, when her supervisor Bob Pattison burst into her little haven, panicking.
"Miss Weasley, oh thank goodness you are here!" He cried dramatically, flailing his arms about wildly.
Ginny, who was used to her bosses antics, mentally rolled her eyes. Where else would I be? "What's wrong? Did the Turner case fall through?"
"Huh? Oh, well no. I don't believe so. Why! Did you hear anything?" She could see Bob working himself even more into a frenzy and was quick to reassure him.
"No, of course not. What can I help you with?" She tried to sound soothing, but she had no idea if it came off that way. She really needed to do more social interaction…
"It's just terrible! Terrible!" He was flailing again, and in the cramped space she had to duck to avoid one of his limbs. "It's Winky, she—Is it cold in here?" He changed topics so suddenly it took her a few moments to catch up.
"Err, yes. Remember I've put in several work orders asking to get the heater fixed?"
"Oh, right, of course. I'll look into it for you." He'd been saying that for three years now. So much for getting around to it. "But as I was saying, Winky, our messenger Elf, quit yesterday!"
The House elves had been freed, thanks to Hermione's revolution, and now many of them took up positions working as messengers, cooks, or housekeepers at homes, banks, the Ministry, and businesses. Winky had been working as the elf that would bring all relevant documents to meetings, and had apparently just quit.
"Umm.. Okay?" Ginny spread her hands, showing she missed how this was a life-altering event. Her boss threw her an exasperated look.
"The meeting for the Johnson case has been moved up to today! It's the biggest case the company has been involved in this year, and we don't have an elf to bring them the necessary documents! Our replacement Elf doesn't arrive until tomorrow."
"Okay, calm down, Mr. Pattison!" Ginny made patting gestures with her hands, trying to make sure his brain didn't explode, which looked like quite a possibility at that moment. "How about I just run up the documents now? The meeting shouldn't begin for another thirty minutes; I'll just leave them stacked on the desk. Okay?"
"Oh! Oh Ginny, would you? I would go myself but I can't leave here and I'm under so much stress…" Nodding her way out the door, she walked to her supervisor's office. Looking at the stack of documents she would need to relocate was daunting enough, trying to pick them all up was worse. All the related papers had to be present, which, when dealing with a multi-million galleon legal case, turned out to be a lot of papers. Finally getting a rather precarious hold on the huge stack, she began shuffling to the elevator.
After reaching the fourteenth floor, the conference floor, she had to go through a quick but thorough expectation before slowly making her way to the right room. Opening the door proved to be a challenge, and she nearly dropped her whole load twice. Finally, some gracious passing stranger who was blocked by her view by the papers reached an arm in front of her and held the door open.
"Heh. Th— thank you so much." Carefully placing her burden down on the marble table she turned around to head back to the elevator, but she had misjudged the distance and her speed. She whirled around and slammed face first into the kind stranger who she hadn't realized was still behind her.
It seemed he – and it was definitely a "he" – had also been carrying a hot coffee in one hand.
"Oh bloody Merlin!"
At those three words, Ginny realized her life was going to change. Because those three words had come out of the mouth of her boss. No, not Mr. Pattison, but the boss of the boss of the boss of the boss of the boss. Draco Malfoy.
Ginny cringed as a coffee-covered Malfoy looked in dismay at his suit. The trousers had been lucky enough to survive, but the shirt and jacket were definitely stained. It alone was the cost of her rent for a year. "I'm so, SO sorry! I wasn't looking and – and I just bumped into you, and I didn't know you had coffee!" She was rambling. She sounded ridiculous. But, oh Merlin, she had poured burning coffee on her boss. She'd probably be fired before lunch.
Malfoy had yet to speak to her, though. He held up a finger to indicate silence in her direction, before he picked up the nearby phone and dialed a few quick numbers. "Hello Marcy, I need a new suit in the B1 conference room a.s.a.p." "Marcy" said something here, making Malfoy look at Ginny for the first time with his lips quirked in a tiny smile. "Don't ask." He was making fun of her. Ginny felt tears stinging her eyes. Tears of embarrassment and panic. She was going to be fired, and no one else would hire her, and she'd lose her flat, and then she'd have to move back into the Burrow!
As soon as he set the phone down words burst out of her mouth. "Please don't fire me! I'll pay you back to the suit. Well I'll try. I may have to make a down payment or something, but it was an accident and-!" And then she stopped just as suddenly as she had started.
Because he started stripping. His nimble fingers easily pulled the buttons of his stained, wet shirt free and then tossed the garment on the nearby table.
"What—What are you doing?" Her voice sounded much more high-pitched then a few seconds ago. But her boss was now half-naked in front of her, showing off his chest. And what a nice chest it was. He would never be muscular, but he was toned and lean and… and Ginny tore her eyes away from the free show in front of her even as she blushed red. It had been too long since she'd seen a half-naked man, and the sight of Draco Malfoy was much more appealing then the last man she'd seen.
"I'm sorry, but did you just offer to make a down payment on my suit?" Ginny snapped out of her reverie to find Draco Malfoy a foot away from her and his eyes laughing at her. She looked at the ground, feeling pathetic. She waited for the poor jokes to start, or maybe he would laugh about her clumsiness.
"So Weasley, what are you doing here?" Her embarrassment was temporarily forgotten as her head snapped up to look up at the man in front of her.
"You know who I am?" If she'd been thinking clearly, she would've winced at the surprise she heard in her own voice. There was no way he should've known who she was.
His lips quirked up. "It wasn't exactly hard to guess." He waved a hand, indicating her hair.
"Oh." She bit her lip, feeling disappointed for some reason. "I work here."
"Well, yes, I assumed as much. I meant what are you doing here, on the conference floor."
"Our—our Elf quit yesterday and your meeting was moved up so…" She waved a hand at the general directions of the research documents.
"Hmm."
Ginny twiddled her thumbs nervously for a few moments, trying to think of a way out of this bizarre situation. She had spilt coffee on Draco Malfoy and instead of getting angry and firing her, he was being civil. And he was giving her a mini-strip show, which she also wasn't complaining about.
Glancing at him beneath her lashes she observed him. He really was a wonderful specimen of manliness. His face was amazing by itself, with his silver eyes, blonde hair that had just now fallen into his eyes, and the chiseled look around the cheekbones. Then you add the strong arms, and the defined muscles and you have Draco Malfoy.
"Please don't drool on my shoes; I don't think I have another pair in my office." Her wide eyes snapped to his as her cheeks flooded red again, clashing with her hair. She was mortified being caught ogling him, but then she noticed the teasing glint in his eyes.
He was teasing her.
"I'm sorry to stare I was just, um…" She mumbled before trailing off, and his smiled widened.
"Yes?" He prodded, looking pleased. When she continued to stammer, he let out a charming laugh. "It's alright, Weasley, I'll take it was a compliment."
Ginny cleared her throat, attempting to reign in her embarrassment. "Well, if anything I can do to replace your suit, let me know, my boss, Mr. Pattison, can give you my extension. I really should—"
"Who?"
"Uhh, well he's the supervisor of the level two legal historians on floor B2."
"Your office is underground?" He sounded incredulous and Ginny felt she was back in her second year defending her hovel, feeling her temper spark.
"Yes, I don't need windows to do my job correctly."
His eyes blinked at her tone and was about to respond when a whirlwind of a woman entered the conference room. Ginny got a brief impression of blonde hair and long legs before it swept right past her.
"Mr. Malfoy, I received a page informing me that the opposing lawyers from Jotton and Jesson have just stepped on property. The only shirt in your office is this blue one so you can't afford to be picky, but we do have two tie options. I personally like the one with the silver strips. Which one would you like?"
The woman was pretty in a flashy sort of way and even though "Marcy" had yet to look at her, Ginny felt insignificant. This woman in her tight skirt and blouse, with her tiny glasses resting on the edge of her nose, is exactly what Ginny would have pictured for a CEO's assistant. Ginny tugged awkwardly on her bright blue cable knit sweater and had the oddest desire to run out of the room.
At least she did until Draco Malfoy took the two ties, turned to face her and held them up, smiling a perfect smile just for her. "Which one would look best do you think, Weaslette?"
Marcy finally seemed to realize there was another human in the room and her head snapped in Ginny's direction so fast Ginny was sure she almost snapped her neck. The woman took one second to take in Ginnys sweater, skirt, and scuffed shoes, before the critical judgment became obvious in the woman's eyes. It would have hurt more had the blatant surprise and almost hidden envy been missing.
Ginny smiled at Draco Malfoy and pointed to the off-white tie he held. Sending a wink her way, he turned giving her a nice view of his broad shoulders and back before beginning to dress again.
"And just what happened to the other shirt Mr. Malfoy?" Marcy's voice seemed less chipper then it had been a moment ago and a quick glance revealed that she still had her eye trained on Ginny, lips pursed.
"Coffee spill." He handed the now ruined shirt to his assistant and finished buttoning his new shirt.
There was silence as Draco went about tying his new tie, and Ginny could see Marcy hesitating. "If you don't need anything else…"
"Hmm? Oh, no I'm fine, thank you." With one last odd look at Ginny, Marcy turned to leave before Draocs voice rang out, "Oh, please contact Mr. Paterson—"
"—Pattison—" Ginny interjected quietly.
"—and let him know Ginny's been detained to help me with the files during the meeting."
"Of course." And she was gone, tight skirt, bitter tone and all.
….
"You… needed help?" She shifted back and forth as he turned to face her.
"Yes, I'm afraid I'm hopeless with paperwork and my legal director who is most familiar with this case stayed home sick. If you could stick around and bring up the relevant documents pertaining to this case, I'd appreciate it."
Ginny blinked twice. "Sure. Let me just see if it's in the same order I had it in last month."
The conference went as well as could be expected. Both sides smiling and polite while disclaiming responsibility, hidden accusations made, proof brought forth and finally several requests made. After a little dancing around with words that left Ginny dizzy, both sides reach a conclusion for the time being.
Ginny was amazed to watch Draco Malfoy work his magic. He'd always used his words as a weapon at Hogwarts, but here they'd been blunted and smoothed, but just as effective. He deftly handled the opposition and seemed completely comfortable with his position, despite his lack of familiarity with the case.
Ginny struggled not to stare openly at him.
How did that boy at Hogwarts turn into this confident, successful, powerful –chiseled— man? How could come people have everything and can be everything?
Ginny watched as everyone file out of the conference room, but remained sitting because Draco remained sitting. He continued writing on an official looking document, seeming completely engrossed in his task, until the second the door shut. Before the click sounded his pen was on the table and he had slumped back. Well, as much as a Malfoy could slump.
"Well that was fun." He sounded sarcastic, and Ginny knew she should NOT contradict her boss's boss's boss's boss, but…
"Well I actually did find it interesting." Her voice sounded prim even to her own ears. He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, though it didn't seem unkind. She folded her nervous hands, though that probably only added to the image she was making. "I spent weeks gathering information about that case, so seeing how the information gets used first hand was interesting from my stand point."
"Hmm." Draco continued to observe her and didn't elaborate on his non-descript reply. Unsure of how to respond to that, Ginny shifted in her overstuffed recliner chair. If she stole this chair for her office and replaced it with the hard wooden one she had been given, how long would it be before someone noticed? Not long, though it could take years before anyone would be able to locate it in her little out of the way office. Interesting idea…
Of course timid little Ginny would never attempt such a prank; however the thought made her smile.
"What are you thinking about?"
Ginny let her smile widen and leaned back slowly in the chair, shooting a self-satisfied glance in his direction. "How to steal this chair for my office."
He was still laughing when the phone rang two minutes later.
A/N: I've been reading through my old documents trying to get someone of my stories going again and ran into this one I've never posted. THIS IS NOT THE END. I had intended to make it a long one-shot but have decided to get this up now. I kind of just feel in love with Draco in this. I just want to get this up and posted, and more will hopefully come soon, depending on how busy I get. Let me know what you think!