WARNING: not suitable for Rose shippers, as this is a definite Doctor/Donna romance.
Summary: in a twisted AU, Donna Noble needed to get away from her abusive ex-fiancé, fast, so when a job cropped that offered a placement with a reclusive writer, she quickly applied for it. It all seemed so simple at first. Do your job, pretend you're gay and fend off the unwanted attention of women. And then it suddenly got complicated because of a pair of warm brown eyes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing here beyond an old typewriter and a few fantasies.
A/N: I thought I'd better start posting this even though I'm nowhere near finished writing it for RainGirl9 yet.
Part 1
.
Donna Noble was happily enjoying a well-deserved pint of cold lager with her latest co-workers. They'd had a busy week sorting out some tricky invoice payments, and now they could all sit back in the exclusive wine bar known as "Harry's Pad" and relax for the evening.
One woman made a joke about them being singled out for attention from a good-looking bloke, and they had all tried to crane their necks to see who it was. Watching them was a tall handsome man in a crisp suit. As they all laughed together, Donna felt her blood run cold.
It was him! She hastily ducked down and pretended to search for something in her handbag. Had he seen her? Hopefully not.
"You alright, Donna?" the nearest person asked.
"Yeah. Thanks Debbie," she replied, not wanting to draw attention to herself. "Just need a bit of fresh air for a minute. Won't be long."
Walking as quickly as she could, she made her way around the periphery of the bar and headed straight to the ladies' toilets. Once there, she hastily stuck her hands under a running tap before wiping her cold fingers across her brow. It was ridiculous to be affected by him after all this time, but he had surprised her by suddenly appearing out of the blue like that. If he was still out there she would have to escape. With that in mind, she pulled out her phone and dialled a familiar number. "Hello, Mum. Are you busy? No, I'm not phoning for a chat; I might need help. I've just seen him. Yes, it was definitely him. Outside in the bar. Can you come and pick me up? I'll wait here in the toilets for a few minutes and then I'll meet you outside. Thanks, Mum. Love you. Please hurry."
She shut her phone off and stood there anxiously, contemplating what her best plan of action would be. It would help if she knew where exactly he was, she realised. Creeping over to the door, she cautiously opened it with one finger and peeped out.
There was no sign of him, so she breathed a sigh of relief. At that precise second, one of her friends walked in.
"You don't look at all well," she commented. "Got a jippy tum?"
"Something like that," Donna answered. "I'm going to head for home. Sorry. I've called Mum to come and get me. Sarah, would you tell the others where I've gone?"
"Sure."
"And while I think to ask, that bloke who was watching us, did you see him on the way in here?"
"Why? Want to grab his number?" Sarah laughed at her own joke.
"Yeah," Donna lied. "If Wendy doesn't grab him first."
"I bet she already has!" Sarah commented with glee. "See you later, and take care of yourself."
"Will do. See you tomorrow," Donna replied and stepped out of the safety of the restroom.
Now what was she supposed to do?
Looking around, she spied the main entrance and calculated that it would take her approximately fifteen seconds to fight her way through the throng to get there. Maybe ten if she wasn't hindered by anyone. Taking one step forward, a hand shot out from behind her and roughly grasped her wrist. She turned to accost her unwanted delayer and found herself staring straight into his dark eyes.
"Hello Donna," he smoothly greeted her. "Enjoying your evening with your new friends?"
"Oh! Hello Lance. Didn't expect to see you here." Feigning ignorance would have to do for now, she decided on a gulp. "I was just about to go home."
"No you don't," he growled, but she had already pulled herself away from his grasp and was heading determinedly to the door.
"I have to go," she insisted as she moved. "See you again some time."
"Donna," he threatened, catching her by the arm once she was out on the pavement. "You can't escape me forever."
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not interested, Lance," she seethed. "Now get your filthy mitts off me and leave me alone."
He would have said and done more but he spotted the familiar sight of Sylvia Noble's little blue Peugeot bombing along the road towards them. "You'll come back to me; I know you will. Just you see," he threw at her as he walked back into the bar.
"In your dreams!" she hissed, and then opened the passenger door of her mum's car.
"Was that him?" Sylvia queried. "Get in. I'm taking you to the police."
"No, Mum. Don't," she begged. "Just let me go home. Please."
"Alright," Sylvia reluctantly agreed. "This time I'll let it lie."
It was in that moment that Donna knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she would have to find a whole different way of dealing with this situation. Find something to do and somewhere to go while she gained the mental strength to fight this. It was then that she thought about the job she had seen advertised in the Metro. A secretarial job that might save her bacon, in all sorts of ways. Absently rubbing the forming bruise on her wrist, she was determined to get that job if it was the last thing she did.
./-\.
As temp jobs go, the one at Vitex Industries wasn't going too badly, Donna Noble thought. That is, she did, until the office manager suddenly approached her in order to whisper, "Can we see you in my boss' office right away, please? It's a job matter."
Bugger! Was she being let off early from this contract? And just when she was getting in her stride too...
Trying to contain a huff of exasperation, Donna got up from her seat and obediently followed the office manager passed several booths before entering the main corridor that led to glass-walled rooms. Eventually they stopped outside one of them, and Donna was ushered inside.
"Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw two suited people who looked up from the expensive glass topped desk and gave her a well-trained smile.
"Good morning, Ms Noble," the woman of the two greeted her, smiling broadly. "I'm Rose Tyler and this is my PA, Graham." Pleasantries were exchanged, and then Rose continued, "Please take a seat. Sorry for the secrecy but this is a delicate matter. I understand that you previously met with Joanna Kirk at our Piccadilly offices for the job you applied for in the Metro recently. Hopefully she discussed wages and all that. We have called you in here today to give you a second interview and a bit more information. The position is with my boyfriend, Dr John Smith, who has asked us to act on his behalf. I understand from your notes that you have a great deal of experience as a personal assistant."
"I do indeed," Donna confidently confirmed, her mood brightening at this news. Thank goodness she had chosen to wear her dark pin-striped skirt suit today with a contrasting burgundy vest top. At least she looked the part.
Rose picked up the piece of paper in front of her that held Donna's C.V. along with an attached letter of introduction. "According to this you have worked at a number of places. Can you tell us why you've changed positions so much?"
This was a question she had long been anticipating. Didn't her own mother often confront her with it, after all? "I've been working for a temping agency for quite a while now. It suits me, acting like an emergency service, righting wrongs as I learn or adapt new technical skills. It certainly makes you ready to face practically anything or anybody. And I've easily maintained my 100-wpm ability. Whatever the situation, I can cope."
There was pleased nodding. "This position we are offering might require you to live in for a while. Would that create problems for you with your life partner?" Rose wondered.
Her what…? "Oh, I haven't got one of those," Donna admitted, "I've totally given up on men. There's been nothing beyond a casual fling so there'd be no problem at all." She then frowned. "Live in, you say? I don't do domestic duties like housekeeping." It'd be just her luck if this position was as a glorified au pair.
"No, you misunderstand me," Rose assured her. "My boyfriend sometimes has to travel extensively during his research for his books, so you would probably have to go with him. He is often engrossed in his work."
Donna still had no idea who 'he' was; probably some academic by the sound of it, but this sounded promising. "Oh, I see. Sorry. I got the wrong end of the stick then. Travelling shouldn't be a problem. I love travelling to new places and testing out languages. That sounds right up my street."
"Good." Rose nodded in satisfaction.
A sudden thought struck her. "If you don't mind me asking, what sort of books does Dr Smith write?" Donna queried. "You know, to forewarn myself if they are mucky books rather than something serious."
"Oh no," Rose laughed with joy. "He has his fun moments, but he's not into anything dodgy like that. Not even remotely. He writes fantasy novels full of alien creatures and heroic humans."
Still meant they could be full of erotic images, written or drawn, Donna noted to herself, but she kept her mouth shut on that aspect. It was best that she looked him up in the local library first. Or perhaps a quick trip down to Hounslow Library and kill two birds with one stone by visiting a few old faces she knew there. "That's a relief."
Rose smiled in response. 'Relief' covered how she felt too. This woman before her had credentials that were impressive. She was amenable, highly skilled, and best of all, she was available; as well as unavailable, in all the right ways. "I think we're almost through here. Yes?" She looked at the man beside her, who readily nodded in agreement. "In that case, if you would wait for me outside in my assistant's office, I'll be out to speak to you in a moment."
Well, Donna couldn't fault the younger woman's confidence. She seemed to have it in bucket loads. "Okay," she acknowledged, and headed towards the outer office to wait.
She hadn't been out there more than two minutes when Rose suddenly appeared before her.
"Congratulations, Donna. Welcome to your new position," Rose declared, offering a hand to shake. "Strictly speaking you won't be an employee of Vitex, but since we are hiring a number of people today, you may as well come and meet them. Especially as you might be dealing with a couple of them on a daily basis. Follow me. We can celebrate together in the Conference Room."
"How come you were doing the interviewing for Dr Smith?" Donna wondered.
"He trusts me," Rose answered as they walked along the sleekly modern corridor lined with doors and large windows peeping into offices. "And the Doctor can easily get distracted from what he should be doing."
Seemed a bit formal to call him that, Donna considered; especially if they were an item, but you never know with some blokes. Or it might be an arranged relationship. "Is that what you call him?"
"Yes, he prefers it," Rose commented as she opened the door that led into a large open space. "This is the Conference Room. The others will be along in a moment, but Graham will bring your papers in a minute. Before we sign contracts," she leaned conspiratorially near to whisper, "there is one small matter we need to touch on. This is not a general policy of this company but between you and me, since it has more to do with your new working environment."
"Oh?"
"It concerns any future girlfriend you might want to entertain," Rose coyly admitted.
"Er… pardon," Donna spluttered. "Did you say 'girlfriend'?"
But Rose ignored her hesitation and forged on with her request. "Yes, Donna. Seeing as you will be working from my home, we think it best that you do not to bring your sexual activities onto my property. Private means private in this respect, since you know how much men can turn that sort of thing into a fetish. It could cause all sorts of nonsense."
"Of course," Donna agreed while her mind desperately whirred as it sought out a way to admit she wasn't in fact a lesbian without causing any offence or losing this plum job. "And what would happen should I hypothetically find myself in a slightly more heterosexual relationship?"
Rose turned her stern gaze fair and squarely onto Donna. "Then you would be out on your ear before I dragged you through the courts for misrepresentation. Nobody dances with the Doctor behind my back." Rose took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Stepping sideways to place her hand on the back of a seat, she added, "Kidding! Not that it should come to that because I do not take anyone being interested in my boyfriend lightly. You mess with him and you mess with me; big time."
Donna gulped. Shit! This was serious. The woman could go psycho at any second and she had pots of money to buy her way out of it. Just what you needed to be threatened with on a dull Monday morning. "Then it's a good job I won't be interested in him in the slightest," she confidently stated.
"It is," Rose approved.
"Tell you what, I'll even make sure no other woman gets anywhere near him. How does that sound?" Donna offered. It was the least she felt she could do in the circumstances.
"Marvellous!" Rose exclaimed, and moved towards the door to denote their private meeting had ended. "In that case, welcome to Vitex Industries, Donna. I'm sure we will have a very happy working relationship."
All it took was a handshake to seal the deal, and Donna was in seventh heaven.
A job; a decently paid job, doing what she loved, with the added option of travel. What could be finer? All she had to do was meet the boyfriend and actually start work. Should be a breeze.
./-\.
