After picking up her wallet and leaving her office, Arizona walked towards the building's cafeteria. She really didn't like coffee, but she felt like her stomach was eating itself.
—Hi. Would you please give me an empanada and some orange juice, please? –the blonde woman said, smiling politely while handing the cashier 50 dollars.
Shen turned around, waiting for her food when she spotted Callie as the elevator's doors opened and vaguely followed her with her eyes.
"Damn, she's kinda hot" the CEO thought to herself.
The boy gave her what she had ordered and then a voice brought her to reality.
—What are you doing here? I thought you were with Callie…
—No, I told her tha… Wait, you didn't give her the money?
—What? –Mark asked confused.
—I told her to ask you to give her the money for today.
—Well, she didn't… –Arizona rolled her eyes and gave her brother the food she hadn't even tasted.
—Take this, I'll be right back.
Arizona Robbins headed to the park lot, running with her -really high- high heels. She saw Callie as she was opening the door to her old Ford Thunderbird car.
—Calliope! You didn't take your money for today's work.
—Yeah… –said the Latina, looking amused at Arizona–. I did not.
—But I told you to.
—Well, I don't like to take any money if I haven't started working for you yet –Callie said confident–.
—Oh, no. No, you, Calliope, don't want to mess with your boss.
The Latina snorted and shook her head softly.
—You're not my boss yet, until I do my job.
—Here, take this –said the blonde, picking up four or five 100-dollar bills from her wallet and handling them to the Latina.
—No. I will not accept this. I'm sure Mark or Derek already told you about me needing money, but I will tell you this once: the last thing I need is you feeling sorry for me –the Latina got inside her car and turned on the engine, leaving her future boss with her mouth wide open.
—You better be here tomorrow at 6am if you want this one-week job –Arizona demanded, and Callie nodded and softly waved at her.
—Leah, did Calliope asked you to call Mark? –Arizona questioned before biting her empanada.
—Calliope? –the dirty blonde asked, confused.
—Callie Torres, the new financial analyst –said Mark.
—No. She got out of your office some minutes after you left and then she left too, that was it.
The two siblings shared a knowing look and got inside Arizona's office.
—I can't believe you already made her freak out, Robbins.
—I didn't! I already told you what she said. It was only that she hadn't done her job. And she is also a little too bossy, huh? –Arizona said exasperatedly.
—Yeah, just like you… And whatever you say, sis. You should call her, I'll send you her number later. I have a meeting in five, see you.
Before Arizona went back to her big black chair, to finish the report she had started last night, she saw something new on it.
Lingerie. Well-folded black lingerie. She unfolded it and looked at it. She had to stop herself from smelling it. She was sure it would smell like the Latina.
A crooked smiled appeared on the corner of her lips. Of course, it was Callie's lingerie. If Arizona had to make a top ten things she loved the most in the world, lingerie would definitely be there
Sadly, now was not the time to relieve the tension she had started to feel when she first saw the Latina standing at her office's door, due to the report she hadn't presented to the board yet. She needed to focus. Arizona folded the lingerie again and put it on the lowest part of her hanging bookshelf, so she wouldn't get distracted by it now, but she would remember it soon and ask Callie to wear it in front of her.
Anyway, the new AZRo's car, Sloa-N 711, had to be launched in 13 days and they hadn't completed some important details about costs and other similar stuff, so that's what she kept on doing from 10:50am till 6:36pm when she heard someone knocking at her door.
—Come in!
—Miss Robbins, hi. I have to go now, I just wanted to let you know –said Leah Murphy as she stepped on Arizona's office.
The older blonde took her eyes off of her computer and rubbed them, tiredly.
—Did you finish what I asked you? If so, you can go.
—Yes, I finished it, boss–Leah closed the door behind her and walked closer to her boss, speaking after some seconds–. You seem a little stressed, Ari…
—I am more than a little stressed –replied Arizona, as she turned off her MAC.
—I can see that.
The dirty blonde got even closer and stood behind her boss' big chair.
—Maybe I can help –she said while giving Arizona little massages on her shoulders–. You know, I've been working here since you started being the CEO and… I've noticed some things. Things like… Callie Torres not being a financial analyst. And how you've been stressed out lately –she bent down a little and then whispered in Arizona's ear–, and I think I can really help.
A soft groan left the older blonde's lips. Then another pair of lips kissed her neck.
—Leah, I don't think this is a good idea.
Arizona was getting uncomfortable fast but somehow, she couldn't manage to get up and free herself from the woman's hands and lips. Images of her new escort wearing the lingerie she had left on that same chair she was sitting in flashed through her mind.
—You don't want me to stop –whispered Leah before biting softly Arizona's ear.
And that was everything Robbins needed to come back to earth, remembering that it was not the new escort she hired who was massaging her shoulders right now. So, she breathed still with difficulty and took the girl's hands, stopping them from going somewhere else and stood up.
—I do. And you better leave before I fire you –she said, looking at turquoise eyes.
Later that night, Arizona opened her house's door and sighed for the millionth time in that day.
When she was teenager, she always dreamed of having her own house, her own car, her own life and "being free." She wanted to be away from her parents (not that she didn't love them), but since she was a little girl they were always telling her what to do and how to do it. She wanted, for once in her life, to be the one deciding what she needed.
But that night, that specific night, she didn't feel free. She was everything but free.
She worked every single day of her life, including weekends, because she didn't have anything else to do. She didn't have friends -other than the ones working with her- to go with to grab a beer or just dance, she didn't have family close to her… or a girlfriend to cuddle when wanting to sleep. And she knew, that she was not enjoying what was left of her best years. In just eight years she was turning forty.
Arizona walked into the kitchen and poured herself the third glass of wine of the day, then she headed to her bedroom and took all her clothes off before preparing her bathtub with some hot water and ؘ–childish but amazing– bubbles. After all, when Callie left her standing on that park lot, the headache had come back and the little incident with Leah made it worse, and now all she wanted to do was sleep it away.
Once she finished drinking the white wine and found herself surrounded by rose-scented water, she tried to relax her body and breathe properly. Today had been a very long day for her.
After some minutes, she felt like falling sleep, so she forced herself to get out of the bathtub, dry her hair and call it a night. After drying her body, she found herself in front of the broken mirror in her bathroom. She had broken it almost six months ago, during a breakdown. The scars garnishing part of her back and rib cage, plus the little voice, telling her that she was fat, since she was a little girl, made her feel insecure. In the blink of an eye, her fist was aimed again at the big mirror once again, and the blood running down was making her panic.
In that precise moment, her phone rung and she just put the towel around her in her knuckles.
—Hello?
—Hi, blondie. Just sent you Callie's number.
—Fine! Thanks, Mark –she said, hanging up quickly and running to her the sink to wash away the blood.
Some minutes later, Arizona was already sitting on her bed. After the blood had stopped, she put some sterile gauze to cover her injured knuckles. With her other hand, she saved Callie's number.
