A/N: This is part II of my one office fanfic, which I'm posting them separate. I don't know why, just doing it that way. I really hope you like this. It took me forever to get finished
Maureen was currently going on her fourth month at the law firm as her lover's secretary. In the short time, she found out exactly why her girlfriend was constantly staying at the office late, why she was always tired and exactly what went on at the firm. She had an all access pass into the part of Joanne's life she never thought she would be apart of. A small part of her was extremely guilty for always putting the lawyer through hell with their relationship, the other part of her still wanted Joanne to relax and take a breather or two.
She had gotten used to Joanne's hectic schedules, the dress code, at least that's what she referred to it as. The only thing she had a hard time getting used was not being unable to call the lawyer by her pet name, pookie. Behind closed doors, they would share a small kiss or embrace but that was it. She wouldn't dare admit it allowed but she beginning to get scared that she was loosing Joanne in someway and the drama queen would be damned if that happened.
The drama queen enjoyed the salary she got, anything was better then nothing, at least to her but she was wondering if it was worth loosing her love life. She set her girlfriend's appointments up to where they could at least have a bit of time together but never failed, it was pushed aside. No matter what, she was pushed aside for Joanne's work and she was apart of it. She sat at her desk, thinking over what was going to happen between them.
Joanne was constantly busy and sometimes hated it. She made sure to keep an eye on Maureen, taking note of how well she was doing and of course, how well she was behaving. Some of the lawyer's, like Steve, knew they were dating. The lawyer was very proud of Maureen figuring this wasn't exactly easy for her and knew she hadn't been a very good girlfriend to her.
She vowed she would make it up to her, one of these days. She was currently on her way back to the office after having been in court most of the morning, Steve and her talking quietly amongst themselves something they usually did.
"What's the problem, Joanne?" Steve asked, looking over at his fellow lawyer following her gaze to Maureen. "Scratch that question, is everything okay between you two?" He questioned.
"Yeah, I guess so." She replied, biting her lip as she looked at him.
"What?" He asked. "You're hiding something, spill." He stated.
Sighing, she looked at him. "I love having her work here but our relationship is now suffering a bit, I can feel it and just have been a little afraid to talk to her about it because I don't know if she feels the same way." She replied.
"Maybe you should talk to her." He said, walking away from Joanne. The younger lawyer looked after him and sighed a bit, heading towards the diva's desk.
The diva heard the phone on her desk ring and she answered being polite as possible. Her gazed focused on Joanne. "Would you like to leave a message?" She asked, taking down the message from the client. "I will make sure she gets this. Have a nice day." She said, hanging up the phone as she collected messages and handed them to Joanne.
"Thanks…" Joanne said, taking them from her girlfriend, biting at her bottom lip a moment before heading into her office, shutting the door before walking over to her desk. She was completely nervous to bring up anything dealing with their relationship seeing as how they were at work.
Maureen looked towards the closed door before getting up and heading into the bathroom. She didn't think anyone was in there as she walked into a stall and sank on to the toilet, feeling tears slide down her cheeks. She was actually pissed off to thing her working here would ever work. She slammed her hand into the stall, doubling over.
Mrs. Jefferson was currently in the restroom as well, hearing cries. She washed her hands and went over to the stall, pushing the door open. "Maureen, what's wrong dear?" She asked, seeing the diva distraught.
Looking up, she grabbed some toilet paper and wiped at her eyes attempting to mask that she had just been crying. "Oh, um, nothing Mrs. Jefferson." She replied, biting her bottom lip.
"If nothing was wrong then you wouldn't be sitting there crying." Mrs. Jefferson stated, moving to kneel in front of her. "I know we haven't been exactly nice to each other but all that aside, something's troubling you." She added.
Taking a deep breath, Maureen sighed, giving a small nod. "It's Joanne and I." She replied, seeing a curious expression come across the lawyer's face. "Ever since I took this job, our relationship has started to suffer. It was before but it's only worse now." She explained, running her fingers through her hair. "I'm loosing Joanne. I thought taking this job would be good for us, it would bring us closer but it's doing the opposite." She mumbled, feeling more tears spill down her cheeks.
Mrs. Jefferson had never spoken nicely of Maureen or accepted her daughter's relationship but at this moment she could see that the Drama Queen really did love Joanne. "Oh honey, you aren't loosing her." She said, softly, embracing her. "Just talk to her. Tell her how you feel. It will work out. You two love each other. Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She added, standing up before leading Maureen over to the mirror.
Maureen followed and washed her face off before drying it. She hated to walk around with no make up. She looked in the mirror afterwards, sighing at her reflection. "Thanks Mrs. Jefferson." She said quietly, giving the woman a hug before exiting the bathroom with her.
The drama queen walked to her girlfriend's office and knocked on the door. She entered upon hearing her lover's voice. Closing the door, she took notice that the lawyer was staring out the window. "Baby, can we talk a minute?" She asked, curiously, biting at her bottom lip a moment.
"Yes, of course." Joanne said, turning to face the diva, motioning her to sit. "What happened to your make up?" She asked, looking at her with a curious expression.
Instead of placing herself in one of the chairs, she sat down in Joanne's lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. "I washed it off after your mother caught me crying in the restroom." She replied, not giving Joanne a chance to ask why, she continued. "And the reason we need to talk is because I'm loosing you. I've been loosing you for a while and it's freaking me out. Something has to change and I know what. I can't do this job anymore. It's either I'm your girlfriend or your co-worker. I can't be both." She stated, knowing it wasn't fair to make anyone chose but she figured this was where an exception would come in.
The lawyer was quiet as Maureen spoke, taking in all she had to say, not really expecting it. "Um, wow." She whispered, biting at her lip as she thought about what the best thing would be to say. "Well, I want you as my girlfriend, Maureen. I love you." She replied, meeting the diva's green eyes.
Maureen heard exactly what she wanted and couldn't help but smile a little. "I love you too, Joanne. I really do but you have to change a bit. I realize now how hard you work but there has to be some time for me, for us." She stated. "These late nights aren't going to cut it anymore. Honeybear needs her pookie." The diva pouted, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Joanne's lips.
The lawyer smirked as their lips met knowing Maureen was right but she wasn't going to admit that outloud, yet. She slowly broke away and pulled her closer. "Things will change.I can't make promises but I'll try my hardest." She replied, leaning into kiss her again but stopped. "How about we get out of here?" She asked, curiously, smirking.
"Sounds like a plan! Let me clean out my desk." Maureen said, kissing her on the lips before getting up and leaving the office to clean out her desk. When Joanne joined her, she took her hand and walked over to the elevator, a smile on her face that was sure not to disappear for awhile. True, she had just quite her job but at this moment, she didn't care, she had her lover back.