Disclaimer: All recognizable The Bold Type characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Freeform. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fan fiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's note: Two things: 1) Each chapter of this story will be loosely inspired or framed to fit a particular song. I'll leave the name of the song at the end of each chapter. It's not necessary you know the song or even listen to it. Just wanted you to know where I'm getting my ideas for this. 2) I don't generally give trigger warnings, but there will be one in a future chapter. It won't prevent you from enjoying the rest of the chapters, I assure you. Additionally, if you have an issue with adultery, this won't be for you. -dkc
Easier Said Than Done
"Should we assign an app to each writer and assistant?" the tall, blonde editor stood with her hand on her hip.
The writing and social media teams were having their first meeting for the latest edition of Scarlet magazine. Conducting the meeting from her usual spot at the head of the table, Jacqueline Carlyle seemed pleased by the edition's theme—dating apps.
"Do we have enough people? And should be consider relationship status? There's also the matter of—"
"Sexuality and kinks," Alex cut off Sage earning him a dagger.
"You guys will have to give me the rundown of the most popular apps for your generation. We did things the old-fashioned way when I was dating,"
Jacqueline's eyes met Jane's and there was a mischievous twitch at the corner of the older woman's mouth. Jane quickly looked down at her notes. She wasn't accustomed to the feelings she was experiencing when her boss so much as looked at her.
"The obvious ones: Tinder, Grindr, Bumble. The pay-to-play apps eHarmony, Match, OKCupid, Plenty of Fish," Sage rattled off.
"Let's eliminate those last four right off the bat—too many folks looking for long-term relationships and marriage. We're talking about casual dating and sex."
Jane found herself wondering what Jacqueline knew about hookup apps and casual sex. She had been married for the last twenty years. Surely she had never used the apps. Now the thought of Jacqueline and casual sex wouldn't go away. It was tormenting Jane.
"What about the more specialized apps?" the tone utilized by the editor-in-chief caused Jane to shift in her seat. She had never before been uncomfortable talking about dating or hookup apps. Jacqueline seemed to cause this anytime the two of them were in a room and sex was the topic.
"Scruff," Andrew contributed and all eyes were immediately on the assistant who never said a word in these meetings as he waited to follow Jacqueline to wherever she was needed next. The response made him snippy. "What?"
"Others?" Andrew's boss tried to help him out by changing the focus.
"Growlr," Sage said with a naughty smirk.
"Raya, LGBTCutie, Lulu, Coffee Meets Bagel, Happn, Datch." Lauren added.
"Datch is now HER," Jane contributed, earning her a blue-eyed stare.
"That's a fairly good list though I'm not sure how some of them fit into our narrative, but—"
Jane cut Jacqueline off and rendered the blonde speechless.
"Scissr."
Doing everything to avoid eye contact with the woman adjacent to her, Jane looked to the back wall and saw Kat with a shit-eating grin on her face. Jane shook her head and rolled her eyes. Many a drunken conversation had been had with Kat about Jane's interest in women. After hot sex with Ryan and true companionship with Ben, the world had been tipped on its axis for Jane. A certain app and a few nights out with Kat introduced her to pleasures she had no idea existed. She was pulled back to the situation when Jacqueline spoke, her voice exhibiting a slight tremor.
"Let's go with Tinder, Grindr, Bumble, Growlr, Scissr, Scruff and…" she cleared her throat. "HER."
There was a futile battle for the writer who didn't think she should dare look at the tall drink of water that was her boss.
"Now, I need to give you a short speech for the sake of legal. None of you are under any obligation to reveal your sexual orientation for the purpose of this magazine. You do not have to participate and no reason need be given if you opt out. If you choose to participate and end up having an experience you do not want to share, that's okay, too. I am not asking you to kiss and tell and I'm certainly not telling you to have casual sex, though I believe you all know where I stand on that."
There it was again. Jane's mind was right back to thinking about Jacqueline and casual sex. She was feeling so anxious that she was nauseous.
"I'll take Tinder. I'm an aficionado," Alex volunteered, adjusting his tie as if to prove his handsomeness.
Mumbling almost inaudibly, Andrew said he would take Scruff if they needed him to. Of everyone in the room he was the one person who could get out of participating at all. He wasn't a part of either team. But nobody argued.
"I could possibly take HER." Jane's halting speech and the implication of her pick caused the boss to get a tongue-tied.
"I didn't realize you were…single, Jane," Jacqueline's voice, opposite of Jane's, was high and inquiring. And 'single' wasn't the word she was actually thinking.
Knowing she did not have to reveal anything to her boss or colleagues, Jane shrugged.
"I will give Grindr a try," one of Kat's social media assistants said. Jane hadn't seen that Kat had elbowed the assistant to bail her friend out. Jacqueline welcomed the distraction as terribly ill advised thoughts of Jane's relationship status and sexual interests were floating around in her head.
Considering which apps remained and accepting a few volunteers, Jacqueline looked to the back of the room and found Kat shaking her head adamantly.
"Scissr, Kat?"
Kat momentarily panicked wondering if everyone in the room knew her sexual orientation and that she had broken up with Adena. Kat could be awfully bashful. She finally nodded. She needed to get back on the horse.
Dammit, Jacqueline thought. She hadn't thought through what asking Kat might reveal. She prayed she hadn't outed her to anyone in the room.
Jane looked to the back of the conference room. She smiled at Kat who playfully glared at her.
"Alright, best of luck out there in the dating world. Note the various issues you have with the apps. If you'd like to report on the date itself you are welcome to, but what happens on Tinder stays on Tinder. Your privacy should not be compromised for Scarlet. It goes without saying to be careful. Practice safe sex if it gets there. Now that I've sounded like your mother, I will be sitting in my office mortified," Jacqueline made the room laugh.
Gathering her things, the blonde glanced beside her and she saw an alarmed expression on Jane's face. Boy, she had questions, but Jane's personal life, however intriguing, was none of Jacqueline's business. This fact would need shoring up throughout the week.
The editor-in-chief proceeded to her office. She wished it were later in the day and she could have a stiff drink.
…
Realizing how late it was and that most of her coworkers had gone home, Jane began gathering her things and started to shut down her desktop. Jacqueline's light was on, but there was no sign of her. Probably for the better, Jane thought.
"Jane, there you are! I looked for you earlier. Can I get an outline?" Jacqueline approached the brunette's desk out of nowhere, leaning on the edge, crossing her arms as she often did.
"An outline?" Jane stuttered.
"Yes, your piece for the magazine you write for?" Jacqueline's caustic sarcasm was one of her greatest weapons.
"Well, I'm not sure if it should be one date or two. I mean, a stand-alone piece for each date would need additional print space. Comparing the dates would be a bit hard, but unique. I mean I wouldn't be saying which date was better and I wouldn't be comparing hetero sex to gay sex or you know which I—"
Jacqueline mercifully cut Jane off. The blonde had an uncanny knack for causing the girl to become scattered. And when scattered, Jane got herself in trouble with her mouth.
"What would you prefer? Which would be effortless?" Jacqueline asked.
Oh. My. God. Please tell me she isn't asking me if I prefer hetero sex or gay sex? How did I walk right into this? Jane continued to spin out in her head.
The writer turned a deep shade of red and it was then that the editor-in-chief realized that her question had been misunderstood. She strictly wanted to know if Jane preferred a stand-alone piece for each date. She wasn't asking Jane to compare sexual encounters.
"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?"
Jane took a breath.
"You are not obligated to go on two dates. It is creative, though. Either writing one piece about each date or comparing the dates utilizing the same app is an acceptable route. Two shorter pieces with an individual focus on each umm…person or," she badly wanted to say women, but she thought that might be presumptuous and could potentially open a can of worms, "we'll find space for a longer piece."
Jane appreciated that Jacqueline was always gentle in her approach to sensitive topics. She also needed someone to tell her to shut up from time to time.
"Will do," Jane looked ahead at her monitor hoping they were done. Jacqueline didn't take the hint.
"Have you lined up any dates?" Jacqueline wondered aloud.
"I…" the young woman was flummoxed. "There are a couple of…yes. Possibly tonight."
The editor-in-chief had been caught flat-footed. She hadn't considered how she might respond to this information. It was Jane who was adorable when panicked; Jacqueline felt foolish when she panicked.
"Ah, okay, I hope they yield fruitful results for the purposes of your article."
Was Jacqueline smirking? Jane's mind was full of questions. All Jane could do was nod. She had been rendered mute.
"Oh, Jane?" she said before walking away. "Enjoy yourself."
Was Jacqueline biting her lip? Jane thought, her heart racing. Smirking and biting her lip? Was the boss taking an active interest in her sex life?
"Wait!" her legs were moving before her brain could catch up. She got to Jacqueline just as the blonde had reached her office door.
"What if it's too weird for me to, you know?" she looked at Jacqueline and then at the floor.
"Too weird to go on a date with a woman? You didn't have to choose the app you did, Jane."
Jane dragged her eyes all the way up her editor's body. If that act in and of itself didn't render her attraction to women indisputable, nothing would. It was when she reached familiar blue eyes that she cobbled together what she wanted to say.
"No, not that. What if it is too weird to go out with a woman or, you know, hook up with her and then have to write about it for you?" she said.
"You write for me all the time; that's kind of how this works," Jacqueline furrowed her brow and looked for any explanation that might manifest itself on Jane's face.
"I don't write for you about my experiences with…women," Jane croaked.
Comprehension was beginning for the older woman and her ears were buzzing. Jane was uncomfortable with her experiences with women being for Jacqueline's consumption. There was a distinction being made between Jane's previous stories about her exes and the men she was dating or hooking up with and encounters of the same-sex variety.
"Oh," Jacqueline gulped.
"Yeah," the brunette fidgeted with her hands.
"Would you be more comfortable writing about it if sex were off the table?" Jacqueline's face had softened. She didn't want to contribute to Jane's distress.
"I—" Jane rolled her eyes. "This is absurd."
"It's not absurd to be uncomfortable writing about sex, Jane. However, we do a lot of writing about sex at Scarlet."
"That's not what I meant."
"And what did you mean?"
"I meant it's absurd that I'm squeamish about you reading about my having sex with another woman."
"Another woman?" the trademark Jacqueline Carlyle look was doing its damage.
"God, I'm an idiot…"
"Jane." Jacqueline grasped the brunette's bicep. "If its any consolation, I'm not sure how comfortable I am reading about you having sex with a woman, or a man, but definitely a woman."
Jane's stomach rose to her throat. She was trying desperately to not read between the lines of what was being said, but between the lines were flashing neon signs.
"What's the solution?" her desire for the older woman had arrived at the worst time.
"What if we took me out of the equation entirely?" Jacqueline felt a loss as she said it, but she knew she was doing the professional thing. "Lauren can edit it and approve it for publication. It will never cross my desk."
"Until you read it in print," Jane blurted out.
The writer didn't panic despite feeling the shift of energy. The thought of Jacqueline reading Jane's piece in private didn't cause panic. She didn't even panic when she sensed them leaning closer. Jacqueline licked her upper lip; Jane did everything she could to not make a sound. No, she was not panicking. She wanted this.
"Here are the layouts, Jacqueline, darling," Oliver's voice ripped Jane right out of the moment. Where the hell did he come from? she fumed. She felt her own sense of loss as she noticed the way Jacqueline retracted her hand and took a step away,
"Come on in, Oliver," she opened the door.
Jane looked at the floor, smiled at Oliver as he walked by her and turned toward her desk.
"Goodnight, Jane," the tone in that beautifully controlled voice made her feel things she had no idea what to do with.
…
"This girl seriously just said 'my heart is a hungry animal'!" Jane groaned and banged her head down on the table.
She opted for spending time in a noisy bar with Sutton and Kat when she left the office instead of meeting up with either of the women she had been in contact with since the dating app assignment that morning.
"Wow, lesbians are on a different plane, aren't they? Guys send a dick pic and assume that's enough foreplay," Sutton said.
Kat rolled her eyes. She hadn't touched an app since the morning meeting and had remained entirely against the idea. She missed Adena. She missed sex with Adena. The women she had hooked up with while they were in their open relationship phase meant nothing and the entire ordeal was weird. She'd had one hookup since the breakup, but swore off doing that again until she had given herself time to get over Adena.
"I'm kind of jealous I didn't get to participate in this assignment. I can swipe right with the best of them," Sutton wiggled her eyebrows.
"You are ridiculous," Kat kissed Sutton on the cheek after she'd said it.
"This whole thing is convoluted," Jane whined. "It's like Jacqueline wants to know about our sex lives. And no matter how this falls out, our names are on the bylines."
"Honey, you wrote about your first orgasm for Jacqueline, I think you can handle this."
Jane's face went red at the reminder. Since she had started having these inexplicable feelings about her boss, she had felt humiliated about that piece.
"I don't know what it is…" Jane said and that sent up flares that both friends read immediately to mean something was definitely up.
"What what is?" Sutton was prepared to pry the information out of Jane.
And that's when Jane spilled. Everything that had happened at the office before she left was replayed in torturous detail.
"Are you out of your mind?" Kat's voice nearly rose above the hubbub in the bar.
"Don't mess with me," she tried to break the tension, but she saw the look on Sutton's face and realized that Kat wasn't joking. "Are you serious?"
"You've acted impulsively before, but this is in another league."
Sipping her drink through the stirring straw, Jane fought back a cacophony of feelings.
"She is our boss, Jane," Kat was going to state her piece. "She is our married boss."
"And straight," Sutton unhelpfully added.
"What's your plan? Are you going to sneak around making out in the fashion closet? Go behind her husband's back? While she plays ice queen in the presence of others?" Kat regretted the final sentence the second it was out of her mouth.
"That's not fair!" Jane slammed her glass on the table.
"She relived her trauma on the page for you, she became the #metoo story of the month, you guys won an award," Kat pointed out.
"I know that, Kat. I know how hard that was. But the attention has died down." Jane signaled for another drink before looking again at Kat. "She would never take advantage of me and I would never move unless I knew for certain that what I am interpreting is interest."
"You don't get it, Jane. It doesn't matter how long it has been since she garnered attention for telling her story. She is still your superior. She will be viewed like all those men who get involved with a much younger employee. Word will get around. Don't think just because you are women it changes the calculus. Not to mention what would happen to her marriage."
"It does, though! You are totally overreacting."
"Hey, girls, come on," Sutton put out a hand to each of them to no avail. "Let's not ruin our night."
"It's not an overreaction to want you to stop this silliness before it backfires in your face. Jacqueline Carlyle eats people of your standing for breakfast."
Abruptly standing, Jane grabbed her scarf and walked out of the bar.
"Come on," Kat put a finger to each temple and squeezed her eyes shut. "She couldn't possibly have thought we would be happy about this, right?"
Sutton decided against saying what she was thinking.
"You could have done without the ice queen bit."
To be continued…
[Inspiration is "Swipe" by Miracles of Modern Science feat. Kristin Slipp]