A/N: Thank you to everyone who left reviews on the last chapter! We're really grateful that you're giving our story a chance and we had so many positive reviews so thank you for that! We hope you enjoy this next chapter :)

I tried to keep my cool as much as possible as I said goodbye to the people working outside of my office. There was no doubt that internally I was extremely worried about what this Alex woman was planning on attempting to do to my company, but I couldn't let anyone who didn't absolutely need to know become aware of the situation. The very last thing I wanted right now was to cause panic among my employees and have people doing things that were unnecessary or potentially dangerous to the company. People did stupid things when they were scared. That was something I definitely understood.

After the elevator reached the ground floor, I stepped out and walked out of the back door to the car park. My bag took its place on the smooth leather seat to my right and put my head down on the wheel. I let out a deep sigh of tension and placed my hands on my cheeks. My job had just gotten a whole lot more complicated and I had absolutely no idea what the fuck to expect from this situation.

I spent the following days consulting with Lorna and planning for various scenarios that could take place. It wasn't clear what Alex would do so we did our best to cover the majority of potential threats that she could pose, including buying more stocks from our suppliers leaving us with less to sell and taking away clients by offering them cheaper goods.

My mind would often wander back to the encounter we had in my office when we first met in person. To my slight worry and surprise, I kept thinking about how attractive the woman was and the way she had presented herself. Alex Vause was an extremely attractive woman and there was no doubt about it. She had been wearing a suit that was tight in all the right places and loose in all the others, accentuating her waist and hips. Piper what the fuck are you thinking? I would think suddenly. Alex was attractive but that changed nothing. She was a threat and needed to be disposed of, nothing more and nothing less.

I spent very little time on my social life whilst all of this was going on. My routine consisted strictly of work and the small window of the day I spent at home. I wasn't surprised to receive a call from Polly one Saturday telling her that we needed to meet ASAP.

"Hey Pol, how's it going?" I relaxed back in my seat.

"Piper get over here, I'm fucking stressed out and I'm working on a Saturday. I have some crazy news to tell you and I haven't seen you in ages." She ranted down the phone.

I chuckled, relaxed by Polly's usual frantic and eccentric behaviour. Being around Polly meant I could mostly just listen and not have to say much, a position I often liked to be in. "Sure thing, I'll be right over."

My mood dampened a little at the thought of having to put on proper clothes but it would be worth it to see Polly. I got up off my sofa and walked into my bedroom, frowning slightly at the appearance I was met with in the mirror. My hair was messy and I wore a large grey hoodie and a pair of comfortable underwear. This wasn't exactly the ideal aesthetic I was aiming to pull off so I changed into some smart clothes; a plain black dress that ended just above the knee and a pair of black heels that reflected the light. I spent a few minutes tidying up my shoulder length blonde hair so it fell dead straight and applied some mascara and lipstick. Most people wouldn't go to so much effort just to see a close friend but I never left the house if I wasn't 100% satisfied with how I looked – I had to keep up appearances.

Polly's shop was easy to spot. It was along one of the main roads but stood out from all the others because of its bright pink sign that read 'Poppy's Artisanal Soaps'. I smiled slightly as I pulled into a parking space and stepped out of my car.

Entering the shop was like being slapped in the face by a bouquet of flowers. There were a few people browsing, pausing to pick up bars of soap or bottles of lotion and smelling them. The store was small but decorated beautifully, following a pastel colour scheme. Shelves were lined around the walls of the store that presented organised rows of bottles and boxes that were grouped together depending on their ingredients. A table in the middle showed off a huge collection of bath bombs and other products that were without a doubt, stunning.

Polly sat behind a small wooden counter with a till and piles of paperwork covering the surface. Despite her rushed tone of the phone, she looked quite content sitting there doing some filing. She looked up and her expression brightened when she spotted me, her mouth spreading into a wide smile.

"Piper why do you always have to dress like that? You should put some colour on for once." She embraced me in an affectionate hug which I gladly returned.

"You never know you'll run into, Pol. For me that's a risk I'm not prepared to take."

Polly rolled her eyes and proceeded to go into some elaborate story about someone she met at the bar another night. I tried my best to listen to her but my mind kept drifting to other things, one in particular. I pictured the tall dark-haired woman walking over to the desk in my office, her piercing green eyes full of anger and distress, but also some anxiety. This meant a lot to her. I could potentially use that to my advantage, as her fear could lead her to doing impulsive things that could turn things around in my favour. I smirked at this thought but made sure to clear it off my face quickly so I wouldn't evoke suspicion from Polly.

We carried on talking for a few hours and it began to settle into the late evening.

"Wow it's almost 5pm." Polly exclaimed checking her watch, "I should start closing up."

"Need a hand?"

"Not with closing the store, no," she got a mischievous look on her face, "but you could come with me to the bar tonight."

"Oh, Pol, I don't know…"

"Come on, Piper, even you need to let your hair down once in a while. It'll be fun."

I considered Polly's offer, and decided to accept on the basis that there would be alcohol available.

"Okay sure, but don't you dare try to set me up with anyone. You know I don't have room in my life for that bullshit."

Polly chuckled and shook her head.

I stood out on the sidewalk while Polly pulled down the shutters over the front of the store. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange veil over the tall buildings that loomed over the streets. There was a crisp breeze in the air that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and caused me to pull my jacket tighter around my body.

"If I spot a cute guy, you need to really talk me up okay?" Polly started, "And I mean a properly cute guy, if he's ugly just tell him I have chlamydia or something."

I snickered at Polly's joke and realised how much I'd missed spending time with her. Maybe she was right – I had been spending almost all of my time at the office and Alex hadn't actually shown her face since that day. She might have even just been bluffing, making empty threats. Either way, I deserved a night of fun with my best friend.

We reached the entrance to the bar and stepped into the dim lit, musky smelling building. It was reasonably busy but not too overcrowded. Polly and I made our way over to the bar stools and sat near the end of the counter. I ordered myself a margarita whilst Polly got herself a beer. "You're even too classy for a beer?" Polly joked.

"You know I'm a sucker for a good margarita."

"Don't I just." She said, clinking her bottle with my glass.

I turned to the rest of the room, scanning the other people who were in there with us. There were groups of friends and some people obviously drinking their troubles away alone. Polly was also assessing the room, obviously keeping an eye out for a guy to pursue. As I reached the end of the room, my eyes caught someone in particular. She had the biggest, dirty blonde hair I had seen. It looked almost like a lion's mane. She was talking to a friend but looked up and caught me staring at her. Before I could look away, she gave me a wink and a smile. I blushed slightly but looked away, showing my lack of interest.

After a pause, I looked back at the big-haired woman and then to the woman she was sitting with. Dark hair fell down her broad shoulders and ended above the centre of her back. She looked to the right, and I immediately realised who I was looking at. "Shit." I hissed.

/

Piper fucking Chapman. She was much more dedicated than I had originally expected. I was hoping that my confrontation of her at her office would have been enough to at least dampen her spirits a little, but clearly I had been mistaken. I would have to stay true to my word and find a way to really make sure she knew I meant business. Action needed to be taken before things got out of hand and I started losing money. I wouldn't let anything threaten my company.

This would not be something I shared with my employees. I dealt with most of my workers on a need-to-know basis to prevent rumours and panic from ever affecting the workforce. Situations like this only caused disruptions among everyone, just like the last time I decided to trust someone with the position of being my personal assistant.

Nicky Nichols was my most trusted assistant and employee. Everything I knew she knew, and she had never made me regret my decision to confide in her. Before she had come along, I had had another assistant who I trusted pretty much to the same level as I now trusted Nicky, however my previous employee had managed to steal a shitload of money behind my back and got away with it for a few months before the finance department started noticing that numbers weren't adding up. After some investigation, we found that the culprit had been my assistant. She was caught on security cameras changing the details of deals that had been made with clients to make it seem like they had bought less from us than they actually had, and she took the money that made the difference.

It had taken a while for me to find a new assistant to take her place and even when I did hire Nicky, I had been unable to trust her for quite some time. Since then however, she had proven herself as loyal and trustworthy and now I was certain that I would trust her with my life. She wasn't just my colleague, she was my best friend and the situation that was arising now would definitely be one that would be shared with her.

Thinking back to the problem at hand, my thoughts went back to my blonde rival and the harsh and unapologetic feelings of hate I had towards her. She was beautiful, rich and privileged and it was no surprise that she had been able to come so far in the business and in her career so quickly. It was likely that she had grown up in a large house with happily married parents and a pet dog. A beautiful, perfect American family. Her parents were probably able to send her to some fancy college and she hadn't really had to work for anything herself. She had no idea what it was like to build up a company from absolutely nothing with your bare hands. I sat back my office chair and started rubbing my temples, letting out a sigh as I did so. Even to this day I had issues with trusting people and preferred to take matters into my own hands.

I had spent the last few days working intensely, spending little time at home and no time with any friends. My work was my only focus right now and I wanted to think of my first strategies against Piper Chapman. I woke up early in the morning, came to work and left late at night. Some nights I had even slept in my office so I could skip the time that I wasted on my commute in the morning and in the evening. My sleeping schedule was all over the damn place as I wasn't sleeping enough and was suffering from some mild insomnia. I had no time for anything outside the workplace, including any kind of self-care. Eventually Nicky got worried about my wellbeing and decided to confront me in my office one night.

"Hey Vause, why don't you and I go out tonight? I made that sound like a request but it's really not, you have to come." she asked, a cheesy grin spread from ear to ear.

"You know I don't have the time for that right now Nicky, there's too much going on. I have so much to do and these documents aren't going to file themselves." I sighed.

"Alex you need to get out and let your hair down. Come on, we'll find you a nice girl, you can take her home and no one needs to know anything. Just stop going overboard with all of this and spend one night relaxing."

"Seriously, it's not a good idea for me. Besides I'm not exactly in the mood for that right now. By all means, go and find a hot chick to hook up with but I'm not going. I'm sorry."

"If you don't stop this unhealthy shit you're going to lose your mind. One night and you can go back to your mad work ethic."

This was an extremely bad idea but I knew Nicky wouldn't stop persisting. The only way to get her to shut up would be to just go with her plan.

"Alright fine, we'll go. Don't try and set me up with anyone though, I'm really not up for it."

"Okay, okay, fine. Pack your shit up and I'll call a cab. Just leave your car here tonight."

I switched off my laptop and put paperwork back in its folder. Picking up my bag, I switched the light off and locked the door behind me. Nicky was already waiting outside for me, a cigarette smoking away in her hand. "Alrighty Vause, let's get this show on the road."

The bar was reasonably quiet with dark mahogany furniture and the smell of alcohol and cheap perfume wafting through the room. In the corner of the room, a few people were dancing, including some pretty attractive girls. I wouldn't let myself talk to any of them though, there was no room for romance in my life.

"Let's get the booth in the corner." I said to Nicky over the classic rock music playing quietly in the background. We made our way over to the table and sat down. Nicky started eating the peanuts that were sat in a plastic bowl in the centre of the table while I sat back in my chair, still deep in thought about work and Piper Chapman.

"Hey Alex, some hot blonde chick just walked in with a real sexy friend. Think they'd be up for a threesome…?" Nicky's voice was drowned out by my approaching daydream, my thoughts spinning around Piper and work and all sorts of things I needed to sort out. Nicky was talking about something but I was paying no attention and it was almost as if her mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. My mind became even more frantic and crazy.

I felt my heart beat increasing and my breathing becoming more rapid. The room was too hot and I was starting to freak out. I needed to go and calm myself down somewhere.

"Hey Nicky I'll be right back, I just need to go to the bathroom real quick okay?" I stood up quickly and left to the back of the room before she could say anything.

My paces were quick as I rushed over to the bathroom door next to the dancefloor. As I got closer, I saw a flash of blonde hair whisk past me and I felt an impact on my shoulder. My eyes were met with hers and we both hesitated. My heart stopped and my breath hitched as she said a short, "Sorry." and left.

I barged into the bathroom and locked the door behind me, panting heavily and leaning on the wall. Tears were streaming down my face and my heart was racing. I clutched my chest and began wiping my face. Surely I had imagined her in my panicked state. It was a hallucination. It must have been. There was no way I had just happened to come to the same bar as her on the same night in the whole of New York City. The mirror in the bathroom showed a complete mess to me. My hair was messed up and my eyes were red and puffy. I grabbed some toilet paper and wiped away the rivers that were shining on my cheeks and took some deep breaths. If I was going to go back out there, I had to show no sign of weakness. She couldn't know that I had just come in here to recover from a panic attack.

After doing my best to get my shit together, I took a deep breath and left the bathroom.

/

Piper and Alex were both feeling extremely uncomfortable after their brief encounter. Neither of them had expected to see each other out of a work environment and started paying close attention to their surroundings. Alex returned to her seat with Nicky and began scanning the room for Piper, searching for that infamous shoulder length blonde hair she possessed. Eventually she spotted her, sitting at the bar with her friend. She seemed to be having a good time and the surprise contact that they had made seemed to have not bothered her at all. It took Alex a moment to realise that that was who Nicky had pointed out just before she left to go to the bathroom.

Alex couldn't keep her eyes off Piper, watching her every move. She was so casual and didn't look in Alex's direction once as if Alex was just another random person at the bar that night. Piper kept up conversation with Polly, fully aware of Alex's gaze on her. There was no way she would let Alex know that she too was feeling threatened. She made sure to appear completely laid-back and chilled out just to rub it in Alex's face. Nicky began to notice Alex's distraction and tried to ask her about it.

"What's on your mind, Vause?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That blonde girl." Alex began.

"Oh yeah you noticed her too? I might try and chat her up in a bit. Maybe that brunette too, I'm always up for a threesome. Or maybe we can both go up, I'll have the blonde and you can have the brunette. I know blondes are your type but I can't let you take that one away from me tonight."

"You can't." Alex hissed, then she realised her unintentionally harsh tone and said softly, "That's Piper Chapman and some friend she's brought along. We bumped into each other when I left for the bathroom and now she's trying to wind me up."

Nicky said nothing to this, clearly shocked that Alex hadn't mentioned this earlier. Alex couldn't break her gaze from Piper as much as she tried, both mesmerised and infuriated by her laissez-faire attitude. She had a margarita in one hand and there were several empty glasses lined up on the bar next to her; clearly she'd been drinking quite a bit that night. Alex's anger was growing quickly. How dare this woman be able to have such a nice evening whilst Alex was having panic attacks at the mere thought of work? She was trying relentlessly to resist going and saying something to the blonde but her patience was wearing thin. Alex needed to remind Piper of her presence and attempt to make her uncomfortable in the same way she was. "Do you want another one?" Alex asked, gesturing towards Nicky's empty glass.

With all the confidence she could muster, Alex stood up and calmly walked to the bar. She made her way around the tables, only to see Piper stand up and stretch her arms. Her friend stood up as well and took Piper's hand – they were laughing about something and this just made Alex even more furious – and they both made their way over to the dancefloor. They were coming in Alex's direction and of course Piper's friend had absolutely no idea who Alex was but Piper didn't even look at her. Alex tried to get Piper's attention by looking at her more intensely but to no avail.

What made Alex's blood boil even more was that the blonde bumped into her again, but this time she didn't acknowledge it at all. How can she be so fucking rude? Alex thought to herself in spite. Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself down and not confront the blonde again. Any more verbal contact between them would cause a scene and that was the last thing Alex wanted. She ordered drinks at the bar and took them back to Nicky who had seen the interaction between the two.

"What the hell happened there?" she asked Alex, taking the drink from her.

"That bitch just shoved into me." Alex spat in response. "Now she's dancing with her friend just to piss me off. Let's see how much she tries to wind me up.

Alex watched Piper from her seat whilst Piper and Polly danced together to the slow, mellow rock music that surrounded the bar. Alex paid little attention to Polly, focusing mainly on the tall, slim, blonde woman who was swaying her body perfectly in time with the music. Alex's mouth began to go dry so she took a sip of her drink, not taking her eyes away from Piper even for a second. The dress that Piper was wearing was still business-like and smart, but had a hint of sexuality behind it as it hugged her waist and hips. It ended mid-thigh, so her toned legs were on full show for everyone to see, much to Alex's frustration and confusion. The heels that Piper was wearing made her look taller and more dominant. She shouldn't have been checking out Piper like this, but she couldn't seem to resist.

Piper carried on her performance, feeling Alex's eyes burning holes in her back. She knew that this would wind Alex up and that just made her want to continue even more. This evening may just be advantageous for me. She thought, smiling to herself and passing it off as a smile at Polly, who was occasionally looking over at some guy. She knew that this was inappropriate and she should be more professional than this, but she couldn't help but feel a hint of satisfaction at Alex's reaction to the evening. Piper was the master of keeping up appearances and her experience had come extremely useful for this night out.

Polly had started dancing with the guy she'd been practically eye-fucking all night, so Piper carried on dancing by herself, revelling in the reaction she was getting out of Alex. This was Piper's opportunity to really piss off Alex and it was working well, because Piper could clearly see the rage and frustration on her face as she turned to look at her.

Alex's eyes widened slightly as Piper continued dancing, their eyes not breaking away from each other. You fucking asshole. Alex thought, as if hoping for some kind of telepathic connection. Piper noticed Nicky looking at her too but didn't let this distract her from hatefully staring at Alex as if the two were having a mental argument.

Alex's stomach churned as Piper stretched her arms above her and swayed her hips rhythmically. She was captivated by Piper's movements and that undeniable feeling of lust that Alex had been working so hard to suppress began to reveal itself once again. Stop it Alex, this is ridiculous. She thought, mentally slapping herself on the wrist, but Piper's performance drowned this thought out and Alex found herself biting her lip. As soon as she realised what she was doing she stopped, and she hoped Piper hadn't noticed the unconscious action.

"She's really something Alex. The fact that I have to stay away from her is like torture. Just look at those hips, damn it." Nicky said behind her. Alex turned to find that her friend was also watching Piper's show and was completely enticed just like she had been. Nicky's pupils had dilated and she was bouncing her leg, clear signs of the attraction she was experiencing. Alex couldn't blame her at all, but she knew that she couldn't let Nicky try and pick up Piper or the situation could be disastrous.

"Keep it in your pants tonight, Nichols. We don't fuck the enemy." Alex said with a slight smirk.

Piper had noticed Alex's reaction to her and there was no doubt that it did excite her a little. She couldn't help but allow a wave of arousal sweep over her, causing her to close her eyes and take a deep breath. It surged through her and made her shiver a little, goosebumps prickling over her arms and making the room a little warmer. Piper quickly realised her mistake and brought herself back from the sensation. Piper no, don't let her control you like that. You're the one who's calling the shots here. Piper ordered herself. She didn't stop dancing, but she refused to let herself have that kind of reaction to Alex's gaze. It was unacceptable.

Polly turned back to face Piper, her facial expression a little dark. "What's up Pol?" Piper asked.

"That dude's a douchebag, he just started dancing with some other girl. Fucking bitch." She replied with a sigh.

Piper felt a little bad for Polly, but realised she could use this to her advantage. Alex's friend had been eyeing up them both and so Piper decided she would put on a little show for them.

"That's okay, you can dance with me. I'm probably better at it anyway." Piper winked.

"It's so nice to see you letting your hair down Piper." Polly smiled. She was under the impression that Piper was just acting out and that there was no hidden agenda behind it whatsoever.

They started dancing together and Piper made sure that it was provocative and sensual, just to wind Alex up even more. She put her arms around Polly's neck and swayed with her, making Polly laugh with both embarrassment and glee. Piper giggled slightly too but knew that this was just to show off for Alex and there was no real joke behind this. Polly thought that this was just a joke between two best friends who were acting just a little gay together for the fun of it, but Piper was extremely pleased by the thought of how this sight would make Alex feel.

"Fuck those two are killing me Alex." Nicky hissed. Alex ignored her, as Nicky's commentary on the attractiveness of Piper and Polly was not helping her fight off the temptation she was experiencing. If Piper wasn't the CEO of the company that was threatening to ruin Alex's career, she would have been someone that Alex definitely would have tried to hook up with.

Alex felt exactly what Piper wanted her to feel: anger, lust, frustration and temptation all at once. Nicky was delighted at what was going on despite her complaints that she couldn't fuck either of them, but Alex's emotions were all over the place. She was so sick of this control that Piper had over her at that moment. She decided it might just be best for her to leave, but not without saying something. The urge to confront her was so strong but Alex knew she needed to keep her cool, despite how she'd been acting all evening. It was a good idea for her to leave before the situation escalated any further.

"Hey Nicky? I think I'm gonna head home. This is just getting too irritating for me and if I don't leave now I might end up doing something I'll regret." Alex said, standing up from her chair and straightening her jacket.

"Okay sure, it's getting late anyway. Looks like I won't be getting lucky tonight. PornHub is calling my name once again." Nicky pulled out her phone to call a taxi and headed out of the door. Alex waited for her to leave before she made her way over to the dancefloor and up to Piper. Their eyes met for a second, making both of the women's hearts skip a beat but Alex broke the contact, bringing her gaze to Piper's lips. Polly stood behind Piper, not quite realising who Alex was. Piper crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, making Alex's stomach flutter.

"It's a small world." Alex said, and with a quick glance at Polly, she turned away and left the bar. The cool evening air caressed her flushed, hot cheeks as she went to stand next to Nicky, taking the cigarette that her crazy-haired friend offered her.

Faves, follows and reviews are appreciated x