Disclaimer: I don't own the Infernal Devices series or the characters that are referenced in this story. All rights belong to Cassandra Clare.

Chapter 2


Tessa knew she couldn't mess up this job. Sophie, her roommate/best friend, had pulled multiple strings with her boyfriend, Gideon Lightwood. She was so nervous that everything was in disarray that morning.

"Tessa, calm down! That's the third plate I've had to replace this week." Sophie sighed exasperatedly. "You're gonna do alright. You excelled at your last job and it was because of that woman that cost you your job."

"I know, but what if there are people like that here? Or my boss is a dirtbag? I'm so screwed!" Tessa then found her keys and rushed to the door. "Oh shoot, I'm gonna be late!" Rushing out the door, she almost tripped on the steps and ran to the bus station

"Good luck!" Sophie yelled out.

After getting off the bus, Tessa needed a pick-me-up, so she headed to the nearest Starbucks and ordered her usual. Feeling marginally happier, she sipped her hot coffee and started walking to the building. Until disaster struck and she tripped yet again, splashing her coffee her the man next to her. The man yelled in pain as the hot liquid stained on his clothes.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Let me clean that up for you." Tessa hurridly got up and grabbed a napkin trying to clean up the stain on his clothes.

The man gave her a dirty look as he shook off her hands and walked away. Feeling horrible, Tessa mentally cursed, thinking how horrible this day was.


When Tessa said those words, she was so nervous that her fists were clenched very tightly. There was her boss, Will Herondale, and a woman she had never seen before. The woman turned around and walked into the office.

Will looked at her, eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" he spoke as he assessed her with his eyes.

"Tessa Gray, here to be your new PA. I assume that HR notified you of the change after your last PA had quit." Tessa could feel Will's eyes on her. She looked into his face and gaped. He had one of the most beautiful faces she had ever seen with chiseled cheeks and very deep blue eyes. She knew of his reputation, but never seen him before, until now.

"So, Ms. Gray, are you qualified?"

Tessa snapped out of her daze. "Yes sir, my last employer had no problem with my work ethic. I can do everything that you require of me and I work very hard."

Will's gaze snapped from her to the PA's desk. "Excellent, then. Your desk is over there and you may get started right away." He then briskly walked back into the office and shut the door.

Tessa could feel every eye on her and she hurriedly began to unpack everything. She then logged into the computer and got to work. Sorting reports and scheduling appointments was boring, but Tessa was good at this. Hours passed and she was almost finished with the tasks that Will had given her, but then she heard a commotion down the hall. Frowning, she rose up from her seat and looked. A woman was yelling at the office workers and how they were 'commoners'. Tessa returned back to her desk and started finishing the last report, but heard a sound and looked up. The woman was there.

"So, darling got himself a new PA. Hm, do I have to rely on this to get to him? His standards have gotten lower since that public scene," the woman exclaimed haughtily

"Beg your pardon? Do you have an appointment with Will?" Tessa asked surprised.

The woman laughed. "Honey, I don't need an appointment to see Will. I'm Tatiana Lightwood. Have you not heard of me?" She then clicked a nail onto the desk. "Alright, now please ring him up."

Tessa frowned but complied. She picked up the phone and called Will directly.

"Hello?" Will spoke.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Herondale, but there's a woman named Tatiana Lightwood that says she would like to see you. Should I allow her in?" Tessa could hear cursing in the background after she said this.

"Say no more, I'll be right out," Will said angrily. Tessa could hear footsteps from his office and Will burst out, eyes blazing.

Tatiana squealed with excitement. "Darling, I've missed you! You haven't contacted me since that misfortunate public outburst. How about you leave work and treat me to dinner?"

"Tatiana, what are you doing here? I told you to stay away. Now you've come here harassing my employees? I am this close to calling security to escort you out. Now, you have ten seconds to get out of this building and never come back." Will replied angrily.

Tatiana looked unruffled. "Darling, no need to make a scene here." She opened her mouth to get out another sentence, but Will cut her off.

"A scene? You've already made one. Five seconds now."

They stood apart, glaring at each other. After what felt like an eternity, Tatiana huffed and turned around, leaving.

Tessa watched as Will groaned and put his face in his hand. She then got back to work rather quickly and after finishing the report, packed up her stuff hurridly. She could hear him walk back to his office. After leaving the office building, she thought about the day as she got on the bus back home.

"It could have been worse," she thought, "I could have embarrassed myself more." Thinking about Tatiana, she rushed back home, eager to tell Sophie about her new job.


Will yawned as he finished his final report and looked at the time. 11:05 P.M. Frowning, he thought about Tatiana coming today. He was supposed to be done an hour ago, but Tatiana distracted him and he made a few errors that took time to fix. Grabbing his suitcase, he turned off the light to his office and looked outside. Everyone had left by now and he should have done the same. Locking the door to the building, he walked to the car and unlocked it. Closing the door, he started the five-minute drive back to the apartment and was ready for a shortened rest. He was too tired to eat and instead went to directly shower. Finished showering, he hopped right into bed and thought about the annual party that was coming up. Closing the light, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


Tessa was awoken by the alarm and quickly looked at the clock. 9:30 A.M?! She was late! Tessa quickly rushed out of her room and started getting ready as quickly as she could. Why didn't Sophie wake her up? Rushing into the kitchen, she found a note written on the fridge.

"I'll be out until night! Have a good day! Sophie." Tessa groaned and ran back to her room, where she probably set the world record for getting ready the fastest. She rushed to the bus station, brushing and pushing people out the way and spitting out hurried apologies. After she got off the bus, she had no time to get a coffee, so she quickly ran to the building. Hoping that no way noticed that she was late, she walked in the office but was disappointed.

"Where have you been? It's been an hour since you were supposed to be here! Can you not be trusted as a PA?" Will yelled at her, his blue eyes alight with anger.

"I'm so sorry, sir. My last job started later and I forgot-"

"I don't care," Will interrupted her. "You should have anticipated this. I thought you said you were competent? Clearly not."

Tessa felt her face burn. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll be on time tomorrow."

"You'd better be. This is your first warning. Next time you're late, they'll be consequences," Will snapped. Turning around, he walked back to his office while shaking his head.

Tessa set down her things and started working. She hated attention and all of it was on her. Tomorrow, she would be on time and give no reason to disappoint.