Wow, it has been a while since I last updated and I'd like to thank you guys for being so patient. Putting this up on Christmas wasn't intentional, just kind of happened. Wishing all of you the best! Happy Holidays :)

Hope this was worth the long wait!


Emily's POV

Walking into Vine Industries, I expected a boring meeting and for that to be the end of my encounter with the company until I came back as an official employee but was surprised with dinner out with my unofficial boss. It was a pleasant surprise to be meeting with Alison but she made it clear to think nothing of it. Yet, the feeling of excitement brewing deep within was uncontrollable. My fears had been pushed aside simply because I got to see the human side of her, a side that probably didn't make an appearance very often. My phone vibrated on the granite countertop and it stopped me in the middle of brushing my teeth to check who it was. Hanna's name and her picture lit up on my screen smiling awkwardly with the toothbrush still in my mouth. I spit the minty foam out and rinsed with the water running from the faucet before shutting it off.

Hoping to catch the call before it went to voicemail, I grabbed the small towel on the countertop drying my hands off quickly and tossing it aside. The vibrating continued and luckily was able to accept it before it went to voicemail. "Hey Han," I was happy to note that she had called me and was almost sure she was over me not calling her two nights ago, "what's going on?"

Hanna groaned, "Emilyyy, when are you coming back?" The week wasn't even halfway over and already she was growing whiny, missing me more than expected.

"Miss me already?" I teased.

"Yes! But that's not the point. Your fiancée will not leave me alone. It's like she latched onto me just to get me to spill where you are. I swear, if she tries to sleepover I'm stuffing her ass into a box and shipping her out to you."

"Hanna, could you please just deal with her? I would do something about it but I'm kind of busy." She was somewhat grumpy about the whole deal but it instantly dropped, her voice taking on a different tone. "Oh. Busy? With little miss Ice Queen over there?"

I sighed trying to not get irritated with her, "Hanna…"

"Alright, I'm sorry…but are you? I mean you don't know anyone else out there so it has to be her." That wasn't entirely true, some of my friends from college were still out here in LA but contact was very brief and not enough to make me want to meet with them. I took one last glance in the mirror before switching off the light and making my way over to the arm chairs located by the fireplace.

"Yes Han, I'm going out to dinner with Alison and before you even go there, it's just business."

She snorted, "Right because she couldn't just meet you in her office." There was truth to the statement and instead of making me uneasy, it made me feel special. Sure, this was about work but Alison wanted to meet outside of the office. Maybe if other people noticed this, I wasn't the only one who thought about something more. The truth was, even though we had a rocky past, I wanted to fix things with Alison. Friendship was the least I could hope for.

I rolled my eyes at her comment, making it seem like it really wasn't a big deal even though Hanna couldn't see my actions. She was purposely trying to add interest into a dull situation. "We've been through this before, she has a significant other and I'm engaged."

"Sooo…." it was drawn out longer than necessary, "what exactly are you going to tell Maya? Hey, my new boss is my ex-girlfriend that broke my heart nearly ten years ago."

The thought of telling Maya hadn't crossed my mind, or if I would tell her at all. If anything, she really didn't need to know that I was working for Alison. It would just earn me the third degree and possibly an argument that I didn't really want to sit through. "She doesn't need to know everything," and for a second I was quiet before adding, "and Alison was never my girlfriend…we were just...just friends."

There was a moment of silence on the line and for a second I thought she hung up on me. "Right, because my tongue has gotten to know the inside of my friends' mouth too. Emily, do you really think it's a good idea to keep this from her? Secrets have a way of coming out."

As much as I hated to admit it, she was right in more ways than one. Secrets are toxic but for once I wasn't worried about that. There was absolutely no way Maya would find about Alison so there was no need to worry.

"Don't worry about it. There's no possible way she can figure out who I'm working for. There's no information on their website and these people have so much security you would think the president works there."

"But why not just tell her?" Hanna's solution seemed so simple but it was more complicated than secrecy.

"Did you completely forget what happened yesterday when you found out? Go tell Travis that Caleb is working as your assistant and tell me how that works out for you." Again, I was met with silence and realized I might have just crossed a line. Forgiving Hanna for her outburst was easy but it didn't mean that it wasn't fresh in my mind and that it hurt any less.

"Point taken and I am sorry about that you know." Her voice had dropped and there was a hint of sadness laced in her tone.

"It's okay; I forgave you the second after it happened." Overcoming rough patches in our friendship like this was what made it stronger. I was being genuine when I said that all was forgiven. There really was no need to dwell on the subject any longer.

"Hey Em, would you consider not taking the job? You know, it would avoid conflict with Maya and you wouldn't have to leave."

I sighed knowing this would come up eventually, or at least part of it would have. "Hanna, I already agreed to the job and-"

"Well can't you just tell them you got a better offer back home?" I shook my head, tired of hearing why this wasn't good for me. I had made up my mind and there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

"No, I'm taking the job here. I have a feeling that I'll really like it here and it'd be nice to put myself first for once. Maya is just going to have to deal with that."

"Emily, it's not just –" a knock on the door pulled my attention away from the conversation.

"Hold on a sec, there's someone at the door." I walked over from the arm chair that I had planted myself in and opened the door. Waiting out there was a man in a black suit and he was wearing a cliché chauffer's hat. The phone that had been pressed up against my ear was now covered by my left hand.

"Emily Fields?" this had to be Nick, the driver Alison informed me about. In heels I was just slightly taller than him. Unlike Will, he wasn't smiling and his stance gave off a frigid air. He had piercing blue eyes that made me feel like a lab subject being analyzed under a microscope.

"How can I help you?" He took off the hat to reveal a jet black hair that only made his intense blue eyes pop, "I'm Nick, I have instructions from Ms. Dilaurentis to pick up an Emily Fields from this address."

I nodded feeling oddly intimidated by his presence, "Just a moment please."

"Of course, I'll be waiting in the car." With that he put the hat back on and walked back into the night. I didn't bother shutting the door; everything I needed was already laid out on the bed. "Hey Han, I've to go. The driver is here to take me to dinner."

"But we need to…" I felt bad just interrupting her but there wasn't anything I could do about it. She could wait until morning or after dinner, "Listen, I really have to go. Love you, Han!"

I ended the call before she could get another word out, if she had kept trying to grab my attention then I would get nowhere with the rest of the evening. Even at night the temperature in LA was warm enough for just a short sleeve shirt and shorts. Considering we were going to be indoors for this dinner and they would probably have the air conditioning on, I decided it would be best to grab a blazer just in case. Worst case scenario, it would hang off the back of my chair all night. I grabbed the keys to my room, the white Michael Kors purse that matched my dress and took one last glance in the mirror, making sure there wasn't a hair out of place. I was wearing a white long sleeved dressed that had gold buttons at least two inches apart from each other. They ran from the bottom of my right thigh to my collar bone. It was a few inches above my knees but nothing was exposed that would make in considered inappropriate.

Prior to my phone call, I had spent more time than I would like to admit doing my hair and makeup. After much debate I ended up using just a touch of eyeliner. Simple is good, right?

The warm evening breeze wrapped around me as I stepped outside. I took the time to make sure the door was locked, something that I was programmed to do, checking it once and even twice to reassure myself. I had never had my home robbed in the past and now was not the time to start.

Nick was up and out of the driver's side, holding the backseat door open for me. The model of the car was identical to the one Will drove expect this one was completely white. No signs of dirt or rubble anywhere on the car looking like it had just been driven off the lot.

Nick was quiet the entire drive to the restaurant. There was nothing by the sound of the radio playing in the car and soft hum of the engine. I could have easily continued my conversation with Hanna but this was Alison's driver. What guarantee was there that he wouldn't say anything about my conversation to her? He sure didn't look like the type to gossip but there was no being too careful. My phone signaled an incoming text.

One incoming text from Maya lit up on the screen. My screensaver was a picture of us but she was just Maya as a contact name. No smiley face or heart next to her name like most couples did with their significant other. There was nothing about it that suggests there was something between us. I opened the text out of pure curiosity, with no intention of responding. It read: We need to talk.

That was it; the message was simple but held a thousand different feelings behind it. I was definitely hoping for something more from her. There were times that I spent weeks waiting for so much as a single text when she was away on business. I understood that at times it was just impossible but that didn't stop the hurt feelings and a sense of bitterness. Maya always put work before me; it never failed to come before us. What did I have to feel guilty about? There was the option of contacting me as soon as she got home instead of doing that she tried to pry information out of the one person who would never rat me out.

I took one last look at the text; my mind was set on ignoring it. Setting it on vibrate before slipping it back into my purse to keep it from distracting me. Right now, my relationship problems would be taking a back seat to my future. Traffic was lighter than I had expected it to be. Still, compared to the amount of cars in Rosewood, the difference was significant. Going to school here at one point gave me some background knowledge of what things were like around here but it had been a while. Just as everything else with time there was change and even in a city like Los Angeles, they were noticeable. Perhaps not to a tourist but a frequent visitor would have. I was content with sitting in the car, listening to the radio and staring at my window. Taking in the new sights and comparing them to what had been familiar to me once.

With my mind preoccupied, the time flew by. I had noticed when we had gotten to the highway but didn't quiet react by being buried so deep into my own thoughts. Before I knew it, we had arrived at the parking lot meant for the pier. Apparently I had been so lost in my own thoughts not even realizing where we were until the door was being held open for me. I made sure to grab my purse and blazer before stepping out. Nick gave me specific instructions as to how to get up to the restaurant where Alison would be waiting.

He shut the door behind me, "Ms. Fields, would you please inform Ms. Dilaurentis that I'll be in the area on foot but can be reached by cellphone at any time. I may be back before you get out of dinner but one can never be too careful."

"I'll make sure to pass along the message." He tipped his cap to me before locking the door and walking in the opposite direction. He disappeared in seconds and I turned to walk to the lit up pier. There was a set of stairs at the end of the parking lot that would lead me up to the huge, glowing arch over the entrance. There was some additional walking to do down the road that was styled like a boardwalk, wood replacing what would have been asphalt.

Sweet nostalgia washed over me as my thoughts trailed back to the one time I had been here. My dad, Wayne, shortly before his passing had come out to visit me while I was still studying. We spent the entire day at the pier and the beach just talking and goofing around. It only made me miss him more. But now was not the time to be thinking about this, it would lead to tears and that would just ruin my eyeliner. There was no time to cry and then fix it all before meeting Alison.

Alison was outside waiting for me once I reached the official beginning of the pier. She was wearing the same thing as this morning minus the white cardigan. Still looking stunning but just a little worn out probably due to the work day. If she was still in the same attire then she probably hadn't even been home yet. Upon arriving the choice of restaurant caught me by surprise. Maybe I had been expected something of higher standards but this was nice. It felt less formal and cramped, like I didn't have to worry about every little thing tonight. Bubba Gump was a seafood restaurant located on the Santa Monica Pier, a twenty five minute drive with no traffic on the freeway. Nothing very fancy, interesting choice. Taking a look around the other costumers I felt just a little overdressed. People around us were dressed in t-shirts and jeans but that didn't seem to bother Alison the slightest bit.

She approached the host stand while I stood by watching the encounter. It took seconds to get a table, the woman in front immediately calling over one of the blonde waitresses and passing off two menus. The waitress walked us over to a small table right by the window with it came a gorgeous view of the beach and the full moon now high in the sky. Now I knew why she chose this place. It may not have been five stars, no one was walking around in suits and the décor was laidback. But there was just no taking away from the easy going atmosphere and the cheery nature of the servers. All of them were smiling and laughing with their customers.

Before sitting, I hung my blazer off the back of my chair and put my bag on the other one beside me. I noticed Alison looked ten times more relaxed when she took a seat but she looked exhausted. Our server went through the standard greeting and explained the sign on the table. The blue had Run Forrest Run printed on it in block letters and the red behind it had Stop Forrest Stop. This was their way of communicating with the costumers if they need further assistance, red was to get the servers attention. The waitress, Janet, was far too happy for someone who probably worked long hours at minimum wage. She asked if she could get us anything to drink and without even glancing at the menu Alison replied with, "CoronaRita". I wasn't familiar with the place or drinks so I settled for just water. Before she walked off, she flipped the sign over to the blue side and instructed us to flip it over to the red when we were ready to order.

Alison rolled her eyes, she probably had been here before and the rundown of the basics before so this was just a waste of time. She grabbed her menu and flipped it open, not having said a word yet I didn't know how to approach the situation. I tried to not let it bother me as I scanned my own menu; this place was all seafood and catered from something classier to completely greasy. Greasy was never a good combo with a white dress. There was no being extra careful when wearing white, it was always a risk. I settled for something that would require me to use a fork instead of my hands. I went with the Shrimp New Orleans; it was an authentic spicy recipe from the staff in the French quarter. The shrimp was lined up around a bed of jasmine rice and the sauce was found at the base of all of this. That was one thing that worried me about the dish, the rice and shrimp could easily be handled. Alison looked up from her menu, "Ready to order?"

I nodded and she flipped the sign. "You can order a drink. No judgment on my part."

As tempting as her offer was, I would pass. For some odd reason, I wasn't in the mood even for a casual drink, probably because I was so nervous. Around us there was chattering and the clattering of utensils against plates. It was rather loud with neither us saying a word. She sighed, "This doesn't have to be awkward you know."

It shouldn't have been, we settled to leave the past in the past but it was strange. Strange to sit the presence of someone you thought you knew but then everything just changes. I liked this version of Alison; it would just take some time to get used to.

"Alison, I don't want this to be awkward. Believe me when I say that I'm looking forward to starting fresh."

"Alright, here's to starting fresh then." she stuck her hand out and I was slightly confused but played along, taking her hand in mind. "I'm Alison Dilaurentis, your new boss and you are?"

This was an odd approach but who was I to question her method. "Emily Fields." She smiled at me and released my hand, "Welcome Emily. We hope that you enjoy your experience on our team."

The mood surrounding us seemed to change in that moment, she was smiling and it was contagious, "That had to be the strangest way of dealing with a situation I've ever seen."

"Don't question the method if it works", Alison as usual had a way of solving everything; no matter what she encountered she had a way around it. In school they taught a handful of ways to go about dealing with a situation and while they were helpful but it took true skill to just come up with something automatically.

Janet came back with my water in one hand and Alison's strange looking drinking in the other. It was a regular glass filled with a washed out yellow liquid and at the top of all of it was a tiny corona bottle flipped upside that was held up by some kind of blue clip. "Ladies, if you'll just flip that sign over for me I'd really appreciate it. Can I get you anything to start? Or are we diving right in to the main course?"

I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing, whether her pun was intentional or not it was dorky and cute. Alison on the other hand looked over it, like she had heard better jokes from a five year old. The waitress looked to me first but tore her gaze away when Alison spoke up, "For a starter the Cajun Shrimp, you can bring out two smaller plates for that. For my entrée I'll have the Baja Fish Tacos, grilled."

Janet finished scribbling the order on the small notepad and just like that her smile was gone, "And for you miss?"

I folded my menu up and looked up at her, flashing a small smile hoping to bring her mood back up, "Shrimp New Orleans and a CoronaRita." With the shift in mood at the table I was oddly comfortable with the idea of drinking.

Janet grabbed the menus off of the table, "If you need anything else, you know what to do. The wait shouldn't be more than thirty minutes for the main entrée and ten minutes for your appetizer. I'll bring out your drink with the appetizer. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Alison grabbed the straw next to the wrapped up utensils and tore off the paper, sticking it into her glass. She took a long sip of the liquid and leaned back into her chair, "Shrimp New Orleans is a nice choice. It's the right amount of spicy and the flavors mix together rather than one overpowering the other."

"Come here often?" I fiddled with my own set of utensils.

She stirred the straw in her drink and watched the liquid spin around, answering without looking up "They have good food, fast service and not all of them are annoying. I like coming here sometimes to have dinner after I've had a particularly stressful day at work."

Maybe I shouldn't have asked but it was just an instinct, "And was today one of those stressful days?"

She stopped stirring her straw and sighed, "Things usually are so under control and what happened in that meeting was first for me. I took the fall for it later on and my boss, Ms. Ambrose, was not happy."

So maybe Alison had all the right in the world to be upset with Julia and I had misjudged her. Had I known that she was going to take the fall for it, the situation would have looked 110% different. "Why did you take the fall for it when you weren't at fault?"

My own boss made me feel like a small child when she smirked and just shook her head, "Emily, you have a lot to learn. Had Noelle known that Julia tried to handle the situation on her own, I would be looking for a new property manager. This way Julia gets to keep her job and I'm aware of what to look out for now."

During the meeting Garrett had been taking notes on Noelle's laptop the entire time, he must have at one point put down that it was Julia's fault. It only seemed logical but then it wouldn't match up with the information Alison was currently sharing. I was dying to know how she got by.

"Alison, how did you pull that off? Wouldn't Garrett have noted that Julia was trying to handle the situation on her own?" It amazed me how quickly she could come up with a response, almost instantaneously.

"Here's the thing about Garrett, he like shortcuts. He'll note the minimum, in that situation he probably just said something along the lines of: 'situation addressed, cleaning staff can be replaced if necessary. Gym will be inspected regularly.' Noelle likes it short, sweet and to the point." She took a sip of her drink and continued, "Besides, this serves as a lesson. She's a good employee but needs get her head out of the clouds; Julia isn't some magician who can solve every problem."

Alison even in high school was highly intelligent for her age, intelligence that equaled or maybe even exceeded the great Spencer Hastings. It really shined through at moments but most people just saw her for the beautiful, popular girl that she put out which was fair. That was hard to miss but only a handful of people really tried to get to know her. Again, I might have been one of the few privileged enough to see that and I only knew because she tutored me at one point when we were still friends.

For some odd reason it bothered me how she could be so nonchalant about all of it. Granted, it was not Noelle's place to fire Alison from Vine Industries but she could probably request her to be relocated. Alison snapped her fingers in front of me, "Emily, if you think any harder you'll burn yourself out. What's on your mind?"

While part of me was bitter about how things ended between Alison and I, that wasn't my main issue today. What was really frustrating is that while I liked to think there was something about her that I knew, my memories were just memories. She was different but to her, reading me was so easy. But there was no reason to tell her that, "Just thinking about the stress the next few weeks are going to bring me."

She dismissed the idea with the wave of her hand, "Here's something to think about. You have a job now at one of the most successful real estate companies in the world while people struggle to get an opening position at our company as a secretary. Should you be stressed? I don't think so."

Was I irritated? Maybe but the irritation stemmed from her being right, which was wrong in every sort of way. As much as anyone could argue she had a point. Before I could say anything else Janet returned with our appetizers, two smaller plates and my drink. The appetizer she placed in the middle of the plate, one plate in front of us both and my drink to the right of my plate. It was small appetizer served in a red bowl, two pieces of garlic bread hung on either side and it was topped with shrimp.

Alison unwrapped her utensils and grabbed the fork while I did the same. Before either of us made any advances to the appetizers, she gave me a fair warning about what to expect. "Careful with the shrimp, it's a super spicy dish. The garlic bread can be messy because it's really buttery. I'd hate to see you ruin your dress."

I watched her grab the small plate in front her and transfer some of the shrimp onto it. The garlic bread remained untouched. For a second, I thought about skipping out on the appetizer but then remembered the last few hours were spent freaking out about looking perfect. Clearly in that amount of time there wasn't a moment to spare even for a snack.

"You should probably eat some before it gets cold, it won't be good after that" she said as she speared one of the shrimp with her fork. It came off in a snarky kind of way but with the smile on her face and that softness in her blue eyes, I knew it wasn't intentional. I grabbed a piece of the garlic bread and put it on the small plate. Alison smirked when she saw that I intended on using my utensils to eat the garlic bread. It was probably just as ridiculous to her as watching people eat pizza with a fork and knife.

"Emily, it's a flavored piece of bread. You can just pick it up and eat it by hand." I hated that she was so amused by all of this. I could have just eaten it by hand but I didn't want to get my hands greasy. Why white out of everything? Hanna had packed enough clothes for two weeks and any of them would have been appropriate for dinner. Saving myself from further comments, I abandoned the use of my fork and knife to eat and ate it by hand careful to hover over the plate with each bite.

While it was quiet at the table as we both ate, the tension had eased up and it wasn't as uncomfortable anymore. I would have preferred some kind of interaction but we would get there eventually. At least that's what I hoped for.

I wouldn't have known what to say. Luckily for me, I didn't have to think about it for much longer as she broke the silence. "In case I forget, remind me that Nick has a drawn out map of our office and building layout in the compartment."

"I'll try to remember that. You should know, Nick took off and said he could be reached by phone in case we're done here before he gets back." Thankfully she brought up Nick otherwise I would have forgotten to pass along his own message.

She set aside her plate after finishing up the shrimp and grabbed her drink. "You should try some of the shrimp. Bread will fill you up quickly."

"Thank you but I'll pass. I think I'll have enough of shrimp by the end of the night." Alison nodded and I felt a bit irritated because of the silent breaks between moments of passing sentences. Safe ground was discussion on office work which was what I would focus on. She had gone off into her own world, just like she had during the meeting, staring out the window instead of focusing on what was going on around us.

"Alison?" Her attention snapped back into reality, suddenly I didn't care about anything else but what she had been thinking about. She looked so dazed when I pulled her back. Focus Emily, it's not any of your business I had to tell myself.

"Julia talked to me about my other responsibilities but what about the fitness center?" I asked, watching as she slipped into a rigid stance.

She cleared her throat before answering, "I'm glad you asked. Every morning, before you turn on your computer or even settle in, you'll be taking a trip down to the 11th floor. You'll just be doing a quick check if everything is clean, pay close attention to the locker room. I won't have you going into the men's room; we'll get one of the male security guards to do that every morning and report back to me. In the evening, you'll be checking each machine individually making sure all the options on it works. Also, pay close attention to if the locker rooms and the machines are clean."

"Okay and if they're not? What if something's wrong?" I had to ask since she hadn't even touched base on it.

"I'll take you down there on your first day, show you around and the quick fixes when a machine isn't working. If those don't work, there's a phone you'll use to call Becky at the front desk. Only if it's a problem with a machine or an electrical issue overall, like if one of the televisions are out. If it's a sanitary issue, just inform Becky and she'll take care of it." The instructions were simple and I was sure that I could remember it.

"That's it?" I asked and she laughed lightly in return. "Yes, that's it. You'll find that your job won't be that difficult…" She was cut off when Janet had returned with our food in one hand and my drink in her other. Her smile was forced; it was easy to tell when comparing it to how cheerful she was in the beginning.

After setting down our plates, she stood there awkwardly for a moment before asking, "Are you ladies finished with your appetizer?"

Alison sighed audibly and I understood why she had been so awkward about asking. I suspect she knew the react she was going to get.

"Yes, we're done." Her response was curt. I couldn't decipher what triggered this kind of response from my boss. Seconds ago she was completely different, smiling and laughing but now in front of me was the woman I had bumped into the day before.

Janet cleared the table of the two smaller plates and the unfinished appetizer. I could have sworn I saw her tremble even. Then she was gone in seconds, glad to be out of the situation no doubt.

Alison just sat there, not moving for a moment and it started to worry me a little. I was just about to say something before she cut in, "You probably think I'm a bitch right about now for the way I've been acting." I definitely wasn't going to argue with her about that, she wasn't being the nicest person tonight.

She sighed and continued, "I'm aware of my behavior tonight, it's unfortunate that I can't take it back. I apologize that you had to witness that."

"Then why act that way? She didn't deserve it." It was crossing a line that much I knew but I couldn't stop myself.

She ran a hand through her golden locks, "You think I don't know that? It's been a stressful day. Please, can we move on?" I nodded, fine to move on to a different topic seeing as how much this frustrated her.

This time around I had to use a fork and knife to eat my entrée and Alison would be the one to abandon her eating utensils. She didn't start with eating the tacos; she first picked up the one of three small tins placed on her plate. One of them contained salsa, the second I wasn't too sure about and the third looked like sour cream. The plate in front of me looked a lot more put together. No use in waiting, I took a bite of the shrimp and was invaded with a range of spices. Alison was right, the flavors mixed well together and it wasn't overpowering.

For the most part we ate dinner in silence. I got over the fact that this would happen more often than not. At least we were able to talk about something without the past interfering; neither of us brought it up in fact.

After some time I started to think back to the meeting, "Alison, why did the last guy leave?"

She finished chewing and set the taco down before answering, "Like I told you, it's not a hard job but the guy cracked under pressure. Sometimes its late nights and early mornings in the office when we're working on a huge project, he couldn't keep up. He messed up my entire schedule for a week a month into working with me; it was such a hassle to fix it after."

That awoke a new fear in me, what if I was to mess up? Would I be able to handle of the responsibilities? Working in an office prior gave me experience and to some extent I knew what was coming my way. I started to twirl the fork in my right hand, thinking way too hard about all of this. And apparently, it was very apparent how deep in thought I was.

"Earth to Emily, is anyone in there?" she joked. I shook my head, as if it would clear the thoughts, "Yeah, sorry just got caught up in my thoughts."

"You're easy to read. Stop worrying so much about a job you haven't started yet. I think you're going to do great, take my word for it." I felt somewhat relieved at that. If my own boss thought I was capable of doing job, then I shouldn't worry about it as much. I wanted to continue the conversation and just blurted the first thing that came to my mind.

"So, when did the system of having drivers start up?" Naturally I felt the need to ask questions about the company since that was the purpose of dinner. Alison took a second to finish chewing her last bite of her fish taco.

"Approximately four years ago when Mason was still in office, he was the one that started it all. I would like to keep that going." Never having to wait for a cab or pay for gas had its perks. Especially in a city like Los Angeles, it was just easier to have constant access to a car. Knowing that this had been going on for four years I assumed she hadn't been behind the wheel of a car in that time.

"So, you haven't driven since then?" Alison shook her head in response, "Nope. No reason to and it's nice to not have to pay for gas."

I was inclined to agree with her on the matter, gas wasn't cheap but driving sometimes helped me clear my mind. I couldn't imagine just giving it up one day. "So you don't miss driving at all?"

She shook her head at me again, "You won't have to drive either."

I put my utensils down on either side of my plate. As much as I appreciated what this company was extending out to me, there just was no way I was going to stop driving. "I'll have to pass on that beyond work purposes. I enjoy riding too much to not do it."

Curiosity was swimming in her deep blue eyes, "Riding?"

I nodded, "Motorcycle, my pride and joy." I took a sip of my water letting the cool liquid slid down my throat. I felt myself burning up with her intense gaze, so full of curiosity.

"I didn't know that about you or that even something like that interested you." She wouldn't have known something like that about me. It was some time after high school that I have developed a certain interest in motorcycles and sports bikes. Hanna guessed it was out of rebellion and how my mother absolutely lost it anytime the topic was brought up. At the time, pissing my mother off and taking control of my life was something I found myself constantly doing.

"I wasn't interested until about my sophomore year of college, it just kind of stuck with me." I hadn't expected to develop a love for the machine but there was just something that captured me. Being able to pay for a brand new bike, on my own, while keeping up with bills at the time was huge. It worked out perfectly, by the time my sophomore year had come to an end I was the proud owner of a brand new sports bike. Just recently an upgrade was due and now the current model under my care was a 2014 Yamaha R1, brand new. Some people liked to name their vehicles and objects, that wasn't true for me because it seemed really pointless. Maya on the other hand liked the idea of naming the Yamaha, it was now known as Selena.

Why Selena? No fucking clue but it proved to be comical in certain situations. Maya loved to say little things like, "Why don't you go take your frustration out on Selena?" It earned us very curious gazes out in public, at first it was cute even but got annoying quickly. Even Hanna got tired of it so now she just ignores it.

Alison was a lot more interested in my bike than I would have ever imagined, "What kind of bike do you have?"

"Yamaha R1 in red and it's a 2014 model." In truth, it wasn't the safest model to own. A small twist to the grip went a long way and there was a quick throttle response. It was definitely not for someone who was starting out or didn't know how to control themselves. I was finishing up my own dish; Alison was already done even though she had spent more time talking during dinner.

By the looks of it, we were going to be here for a while as the questions now flowed freely from her. "Weren't you scared the first time?"

I thought about the first time I had been on a bike. It was a hell of a lot different than a car and the experience wasn't something to be compared to anything else. Before answering, I allowed myself to finish the last bit of food on my plate. She was patient and the look of curiosity never left her features.

"That's a tough question. There's some kind of fear to trying something completely new but knowing what to expect helped. Classes prepared me so while the first time was kind of scary it could have been a whole lot worse." Alison seemed to accept the answer with a simply nod of her head and now my own curiosity had ignited.

"Would you ever get on one?" Alcohol content of CoronaRita? Unknown. Was it possible that it created a buzz and allowed for such a question to slip past my lips? Likely. The look on her face, well it was one that couldn't be put into words. Best way to describe it was somewhere in between horrified and amused. Apparently it was possible to portray the two in one look. While it should have been hilarious and normally caused a fit of laughter, I was oddly stuck in this strange acquaintanceship.

Her response was mildly surprising when thinking back to her initial look of horror, "Sure but I'm not sure the driver would appreciate my death grip."

"Would you ever let me take you somewhere for a ride?" The question came out before I could my mouth caught up with my brain. Horrified with I had just asked, there was an incredible need to hide. Questions like this were just a train wreck waiting to happen. How does anyone manage to fuck up this bad in front of their boss? "Alison, I'm so sorry. That came out before I could even think about it and I'm just…"

She laughed, she was actually laughing and I could feel myself burning from the embarrassment. That wasn't supposed to happen, why was my boss laughing at my obvious discomfort? Her hand reached for mine across the table and patted the back of my hand sympathetically. The alcohol was taking effect on both of us that I was sure of. "It's cute when you get all flustered but relax a little Emily. For what it's worth, I wouldn't mind taking a ride sometime."

If that was her way of calming me down, it wasn't working at all. It made things worse. I was left a stuttering and nervous mess, "You…um, you-you wouldn't think it's weird? Not that I think it's weird but you are my boss and it just seems like crossing a boundary and…"

"Emily, you're doing it again. No, I don't think it's weird because part of me thinks that we can become friends. I promise I'm not a dragon all the time." She smiled and it eased some of my nervousness. There was finally some common ground between us as I realized that we wanted the same thing, a friendship outside of a work relationship.

Her hand still lingered on mine and I flipped my hand so her palm rested in mine. For a moment it felt like time stood still, transporting back to a time where this was normal. Feeling so familiar but so new. Alison was the same person but yet this felt different. To my surprise, she didn't pull away. I was the first to pull away, much to my surprise her hand remained in the same spot for a moment but then it was like nothing ever happened. She retracted her hand and flipped the sign to signal Janet back around. Since we were both done there was no use hanging around for much longer.

I could hear my phone vibrate in my purse and was set on ignoring it, knowing that it was probably Maya trying to get through. Alison apparently heard it too, "Aren't you going to answer that?"

If I said no, she would probably ask why and I didn't want to get into that. I dug my phone out my purse and excused myself from the table. This was a conversation not meant for prying ears. I took the call just before it went to voicemail and was immediately greeted with anger, "Emily, we need to talk."

"Nice to hear from you too, Maya. I ignored your text for a reason and was hoping you could respect that."

"Respect that? My wife to be is missing and I have no clue of her whereabouts. I'm supposed to let this just happen?" I didn't expect this to be a pleasant conversation but it turned sour a lot sooner than I anticipated. Her anger and irritation only fed mine.

"Your wife, is that all I am? That's all you've been treating me like. And what, you don't trust me to come back home?" If not for the people still hanging around the pier, I wouldn't hesitate to shout. I tried to keep as calm as possible not wanting to draw attention to myself.

"Of course I trust you. Why else would I have asked you to marry me?" Maya made it sound like it was a chore to be getting married to me. It was completely reasonable to say that I took it out of context but logic wasn't going to get through to me.

"This isn't a conversation to have on the phone. We'll talk when I get back home." I was done trying to talk about this; it would just be walking around the same point.

"No, we're going to talk about this now." That pushed it for me. The only person that was allowed to boss me around is my actual boss. Without saying another word, I hung up. For just a second the thought of tossing my phone over the pier came to my mind. It would grant me peace for some time.

There was a top on my shoulder and I spun around to find Alison standing there with my bag and blazer in her hands. I took them from her, "Thank you."

"I called Nick while you were out here. We have some time to kill before he gets back. Would you like to take a walk on the beach while we wait?" I nodded and followed her down the steps that led to the sandy beach below.

I shed my heels at the bottom of the steps, feeling the water soaked sand underneath my feet comforted me. We decided to walk closer to the water. The roaring of the waves in the distance was deafening with the silence between us.

"Emily? Is everything okay?" I didn't know why she asked but shrugged it off.

"I'm fine." I muttered my response, not expecting anything of it. Either she was reading me again or she had overheard part of my conversation. Neither one of them bothered me because a numb feeling had taken over my body. Things had been rocky with Maya lately and I was used to it. Used to coming home to an empty bed, going days without a text and constantly feeling abandoned. It wasn't supposed to be this way, marriage was supposed to be a happy feeling but instead it was just magnifying the problems of my relationship that I had tried to ignore.

I could hear Alison's teeth chattering beside me, rubbing her hands together to generate some kind of heat. She had been out of Rosewood too long and adjusted to the temperature of Los Angeles. Temperatures that dipped down to seventy and just slightly below would probably be enough to send most in Los Angeles into a sweater and thick sweatpants. I was used to the cold; my white wool dress was enough to keep me warm and maybe even a little too warm for the evening.

"Cold?" I asked her even though I knew she was. She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, "Is it that obvious?"

It was my turn to laugh at her. Alison probably thought I wasn't paying attention and wouldn't catch any movement. There was something fascinating about getting to know her all over again. So even in the moments that I was thinking about something else or I was off in my own world, I was observing her. Studying and analyzing her to try to at least figure her out. The observations were small puzzle pieces that I was collecting; at the end it was about piecing them together to get the full image.

I draped my blazer around her shoulders and felt her shudder underneath my fingertips. We were too close, closer than we had been the entire night. Every light touch tempted for something more. I was starved of touch, deprived of a loving look and deaf to sweet nothings. Alison provided it once and that was the memory that stuck with me, which is why I had to push myself back. Keep myself from doing something stupid.

"Thank you, Emily. We should get back to the car; Nick should be there by now." I truly wished the time had dragged out much longer; I enjoyed her company when she wasn't being a bitch but it was getting late. Alison without a doubt would be working tomorrow and could use the rest. I needed time to myself to think things through about what I was going to happen after my return to Rosewood. It wasn't going to be pretty or easy, every step was going to be like trying to dig my way out quicksand. Every movement and action was going to make me sink. I needed to stop thinking about all of this while I was out of the house. It was becoming a distraction to everyday life.

"Ali, wait. Thank you for tonight. Maybe one day we'll move past the excessive moments of silence." She smiled timidly, "Yeah maybe. Now come, it's getting late."

I really hoped the ride back wasn't going to be awkward with the two of them.


I'm not going to make any promises about when the next update rolls out. Just know I won't drop this story and you can expect the next chapter in the near future.