A/N: So I decided that I wanted to try my hand at modern AU Anna and Mr. Bates. I ended up putting them in publishing because that's what I actually work in and some jargon will likely slip in, please excuse it. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: If I owned DA, all you'd ever see was a smiling Mr. Bates. I also don't have any vested interest in any of the brands that I mention. I just picked them for texture.

Anna Smith was running late. Her clock hadn't gone off and then her water heater refused to give her anything but very tepid water. She had just gotten out of the shower when she heard her mobile chirp. Knowing only Gwen from work would text her at this hour, she ran into her bedroom and read the text message.

Her ladyship is on a tear. Hope you're on your way in.

Anna sighed and typed back: Still at home, cover if you can. It was mornings like this when she wished that she could pull on any old skirt, blouse, and pair of flats before running off to catch the tube. But, Anna was a junior associate editor for La Belle Epoque, the flagship fashion magazine published by Grantham House. Needing to look runway ready was practically a job requirement for everyone at the magazine, even the girl in the mailroom and Anna absolutely hated it. She rooted around in her closet looking for something approprite to wear and found a sample sale Burberry dress that she hadn't worn in the past several months. She scrambled into it and then steeled herself as she put on her Prada knockoff stilettos. 'One of these days,' she thought, 'these shoes will be the death of me.' Her mobile chirped again.

I'll try, but RC has walked by your office twice.

'Crap!" She decided that she'd just have to do her makeup on her way to work and scooped up half of her make-up shelf. Throwing on her Chloe coat, she grabbed her laptop case and ran off to the nearest tube station.

After settling into the least crowded car and swiftly applying the make-up bare essentials, she opened up her work email on her mobile. The pit in her stomach dropped when she saw that the top three messages were from her boss, Mary Crawley, and all of the had subject lines like "Your future at La Belle Epoque." She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. 'I can't change anything. I just have to go in and pretend like I haven't seen a single email.' She closed her email and opened up her e-reader app.

Far too soon, she reached the station near work and started walking to the office. 'It's okay. Don't panic. Those messages could mean anything. Mary liked that last story that you worked on. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay.' She had just set her stuff down at her desk when Ethel popped her head in and said, "Robert and Mary are waiting for you in Mary's office. They said to come in right now."

Anna sighed. Why was Ethel always the person coming to deliver "bad" news? She didn't hate her, but she wished that the junior associate editor for Grantham's home décor magazine would just mind her own business. She slipped out of her coat and picked up a pen and pad of paper. Walking towards Mary's office, she weakly waved at Gwen and took a deep breath before opening the door.

She was a bit surprised when she was greeted by Mary, Robert, and a man that she didn't know. She smiled weakly at all of them. "Sorry everyone, my alarm clock didn't go off." She immediately regretted the lame-sounding excuse.

"That's quite alright Anna," Robert said with a smile.

"Anna, I'm sure that you're on tenterhooks right now," Mary said quickly, "I know that La Belle Epoque wasn't the book that you wanted to work on…"

Anna opened her mouth to protest.

"It's ok. You wouldn't be the first person to work on a book that didn't particularly fit," Mary said, "as you may know, we're about to launch a new brand, which will be run by Sybil and focusing more on arts and culture, much more your style. We'd like to move you over to this brand and you'd be working especially on a column with John Bates which will be about the cultural scene in major cities." Mary gestured to the third man.

"Moved over to a different book?" Anna gasped out.

"Yes, you'll still be working on Belle Epoque for the next couple of months, but you'll also be helping John with his first couple of columns. Are you ok with this?"

"Sure," Anna replied, "it sounds like quite the opportunity." She looked over at John and gave him a quick smile.

"Fabulous," Mary said and then she started to lay out the plans for Anna's transition.

An hour later, Anna found herself outside of Mary's office in an absolute daze with John Bates standing next to her. "Well that was unexpected," she whispered.

"Not from what Robert has told me about your editorial skills," John replied.

Anna looked at him and asked, "Would you like to get some lunch with me Mr. Bates?"

"Yes, I'd like that and please, call me John."