A/N: I wanted to get this posted before the finale, but Irma had other plans. I have not yet watched the finale, I was busy finishing writing. This story went on a bit longer than I thought it would. I'll be watching the finale tomorrow!

She stood outside his door, gripping a sheet of paper in her hands. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she exhaled. Opening her eyes, she straightened her spine and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Charles called from inside his office.

Liza opened the door and strode straight to his desk, where he sat looking over some papers. She handed him her letter and stepped back.

He glanced down at the page, "What's this?"

"My letter of resignation," she swallowed, "I took Jay up on his offer."

He looked up at her, eyes wide, then down at the letter, scanning it's contents with a furrowed brow.

She turned toward the door, stopping with her hand on the knob, "I can't watch you with her." She blinked back her tears and left the room.

She held them off until she made it to the ladies' room. Locking herself in a stall, she closed the toilet lid and sat down. Tears streaming down her cheeks, her shoulders shook as she fought to hold in her sobbing.

She allowed herself ten minutes, then she pulled herself together and wiped her eyes. She stood and straightened her clothes, then unlocked the stall.

She examined her make up as she washed her hands, wiping away stray mascara with wet fingers. She dried her hands and took a final look at her reflection and left the room.

Grabbing an empty box from the copy room, she walked to her desk and started clearing her things.

She was thankful that most people were out at lunch, she wasn't sure she could handle conversation right now. Especially with Kelsey or Diana. Her eyes started welling up again just thinking of them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No more crying at the office.

She filled the box and left.

When she opened the door to the apartment, Maggie was working. "You're home early," she called from behind a canvas.

Liza set her box on the island, "I quit," she replied quietly.

"What?" Maggie looked up from her canvas. Seeing Liza's tear streaked face, she set down her brush and walked toward her. "Oh, honey, what happened?" She asked, putting an arm around her and pulling her toward the couch.

When they were settled on the couch, Liza laid her head on Maggie's shoulder, finding comfort in her friend. "I love him Maggie," she whispered.

"I know," Maggie said, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"Last night at the awards party, Pauline was there. We were celebrating the book launch too. But she was holding his hand and I...I couldn't stop looking at their hands...I..." she trailed off, closing her eyes as hot tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Shh," Maggie soothed, rubbing her arm, "Did he hold her hand?"

Liza sniffled, "What?"

"Charles. Did he hold her hand?"

"No. Pauline's was on top of his," she paused, "but he didn't pull away," she finished softly.

"Well, it was in public, maybe he didn't want to make a scene."

"Maybe. But when we left, they left together and Pauline thanked me. She thanked me! She said she's staying there, at the house. In the guest room, but she thinks they're going to get back together."

"What did Charles say?"

"Nothing. He was getting the car. He doesn't know she told me."

"I'm sorry sweetie," Maggie said, resting her head against Liza's.

"Jay figured it out. I couldn't hide it. After what Pauline said. He hugged me and I lost it. When I calmed down a little, he told me his job offer was still on the table. So I took it. I gave Charles my letter this morning. I told him I couldn't watch him with her," she choked out a sob, "It just hurts too much."

Maggie hugged her as she broke down, rubbing her back gently. She held her until her sobs had subsided, when she quieted, she pulled back and looked at her friend.

"You should go take a relaxing bath and then try and get some sleep. You've had a stressful few weeks."

Liza nodded, "You're right. That sounds great right now."

She slept for several hours, until Maggie shook her awake for dinner. She ate without really tasting the food and crawled back in bed. She slept soundly until her phone rang, piercing the silence. She sat up, blinking in the dark. The clock read a little after five am, who could be calling this early? she wondered.

"Caitlin?" She answered without looking at the caller ID.

She slept soundly until her alarm pealed through the silence. She woke up feeling physically rested, though groggy with sleep, but still emotionally raw. As she made her way to the kitchen for coffee, she thought about everything she needed to do to prepare for her new job. As much as she would miss her friends, she was thankful for the distraction.

She arrived at the office a few minutes early, checked in with the front desk and Jay came out to meet her.

"Liza, good morning," he said, "I'm glad you finally took me up on my offer. I'm sorry it's under such circumstances. How are you feeling?"

"Good morning," she said with a small smile, "I'm ok. Glad to have something to do."

"Ok, then, let me show you around," he said gesturing down the hall.

He showed her the copy room and the break room, introducing her to people as they came across them. He talked about the company and her job as they walked. She would be working on a project similar to Millennial with a few other people. He showed her the main conference room that they would use and lastly he showed her the space she would share with the others, walking her to her desk.

"I'll leave you here to get settled. All the information you'll need for logging onto your computer is in the folder there," he said, pointing to a manila folder on her desk, "and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me. My number is programmed on your speed dial. I look forward to working with you."

"Thank you. For everything," she said, fighting back tears.

"Anything for a friend," he said with a smile as he turned and left.

Liza took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked around the space she now shared with two other people. She was the only one there so far, so she wandered around the room, familiarizing herself with her surroundings. There wasn't much to see, her desk was at the back of the room, in the corner. The one redeeming quality was that it was close to the window; it was obscured by a bookshelf, but she could see over it when standing and it still shone a friendly light onto her desk. The other two desks faced each other on opposite walls. Both were covered in stacks of paper, but appeared to be mostly organized. It looked as if both occupants were still settling in as well, personal items were apparent, but minimal. She set down her purse and decided to get coffee before setting up her computer.

She was busy looking through submissions for possible publication, when her office mates declared it was lunch time. Startled, she looked at the clock, surprised to see it read twelve thirty.

"You two go ahead, I'm going to finish this chapter, I've only got a couple pages left," She said looking up from the pages. They shrugged and left.

As she was finishing up the last page of the submission, her desk phone rang. She jumped at the sound and it rang again.

"Liza Miller," she answered.

"Oh, good, you're still here," the receptionist said, "You have a visitor."

"Oh, ok, I'll be right there. Thank you," confusion straining her voice. She grabbed her purse and walked out.

She was still in the hallway when she saw him. His profile made her heart stop, his hands in his pockets as he stared at the painting on the wall. Her steps wavered. She made it to the reception desk before he turned and saw her.

"Liza," he paused, looking at her, eyes pleading, "I was hoping I could take you to lunch," he finished, brows raised hopefully.

Her head was screaming at her to say no, to turn around and go back to her desk, but her heart spoke for her as she whispered, "Yes."

His face relaxed into a smile, "Great," he said, stepping back so she could pass him. Falling in step with her, he opened the door for her, then followed her out.

Her mind raced as they walked. What was she doing? She should not be having lunch with him. Her heart ached just looking at him. She had just worked up the courage to tell him that she couldn't have lunch with him when he stopped. Confused, she stopped and looked around, she hadn't been paying attention to where they were going. She looked at the shop in front of them and recognized it immediately.

"Best coffee around," she whispered. She hadn't been to the shop since the last time they had run into each other there.

"I keep coming here, hoping I'll see you again, but you seem to have moved on," he said quietly.

Sensing the double meaning in his words, she turned to him, "Charles, I-"

He held up a hand, "Please," he reached for the door, "inside," he didn't want to discuss personal matters in the middle of the sidewalk. She nodded and walked into the shop.

She found an open table at the back and sat down. He joined her and a server appeared to take their order. After they had ordered, Liza tried to collect her thoughts. She decided she needed to tell him the truth, no matter the outcome, he deserved to know.

"Charles, I need to tell you something. I only hope that you'll understand," she paused, gathering her courage and looking at him closely to gauge his reaction. "I'm not twenty-seven. I'm forty-one. I lied on my application. There were so many times that I wanted to tell you. I even tried to quit once, but-"

"But I came and found you," he finished, "I seem to have a habit of doing that," he looked away.

"Why lie?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I was desperate for a job. No one wanted to hire a forty year old assistant. I hadn't had a job since I was in my twenties, so I couldn't do anything higher than entry level."

His brow was still furrowed in confusion, so she continued, "I had just left my husband and needed to pay my daughter's tuition. I quit working when I had her."

His eyes widened, and he nodded in understanding, "So that's why you connected with Pauline's book."

"Except that my husband had an affair and then spent our daughter's college fund on a boat," she replied in an upbeat voice dripping with scorn.

There was a short awkward silence as their food arrived. As soon as the server left, Charles looked at her: head down, poking at her food.

"Liza," he said, waiting for her to look at him. When she finally looked up, he continued, "I am sorry that happened. That is an awful thing to go through. I applaud you for your strength and determination to provide for your daughter."

"Really?" She asked, a hesitant smile playing across her lips.

"Yes. You left to better provide for your daughter, not to be selfish. And the lie was a necessary part of that. We all do things we wouldn't normally do to make sure our children are happy."

Noticing Liza's confused look, he continued, "Pauline is staying in the guest room. The girls missed her and I want them to spend as much time as possible with her before she disappears again."

"She thinks you're getting back together. She told me at the award party."

"No," he said, shaking his head, "I loved her and I was devastated when she left, but I'm not that person any more. I threw myself into my work when she left, closed myself off to everyone. Then I met you. You brought me back, reminded me of parts of myself I had forgotten about. Even with Pauline. You gave me a new way to look at things, at the world. I will be forever grateful to you for that."

She blushed and looked down at her plate again, not sure how to respond.

"Liza," he said, calling her eyes back up to his, "my feelings for you haven't changed."

She searched his eyes, finding nothing but honesty and kindness, with a trace of want held carefully in check. She was taken aback with the intensity of it. She swallowed as butterflies fluttered around her stomach. "Neither have mine," she breathed.

He smiled and leaned over the table, his voice dropped to a husky whisper, "Then we should have dinner later."

Not trusting her voice, Liza nodded, her heart racing.

He walked her back to her office, stopping outside the door of the building. He turned to face her, eyes dark with want, she gasped and her stomach flipped. He pulled her to him, bending down to brush his lips against hers, softly at first, asking permission. She moaned and grabbed his tie, pulling him down closer to her. He pulled her tight against him, crushing her mouth with his. He nipped at her bottom lip with a low growl, she gasped as tendrils of pleasure spread through her. She instinctively pulled on his tie, desperately needing him closer. As he brushed his tongue along hers, her knees felt weak and she moaned into his mouth, digging her nails into his chest. He moaned and squeezed her hips, pulling her tighter against him.

A car horn blared down the street, bringing them back to reality. Charles broke the kiss and rested his chin on her head, catching his breath. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his racing heart. After a few minutes, he pulled back far enough to look down at her. Her lips kiss swollen, eyes still slightly dazed. He smiled, "So, dinner?" He asked.

"Yes. Definitely," she said.

He pulled away from her and fixed his tie, "Good," he said and leaned down for another quick kiss, "now go before I get you fired," he whispered in her ear.

She laughed and turned to go, looking back at him from the door. He had fixed his clothes, but she could still see the want in his eyes, sending a shiver down her spine. She hadn't eaten her lunch, but she didn't think she'd be eating dinner either. With a little wave, she walked into the building.