I'm back! And a lot more quickly than last time, as promised. I am working on a couple other drabbles right now, so I should update again at some point this upcoming week.

Prompt from Michelle (ao3) (I'm finally getting around to this one): Interoffice romance AU, with Steve as the boss and Natasha as his secretary.

Enjoy!

-:-

Natasha was running so late.

She had an interview that morning so, naturally, the universe decided to fuck her over and everything that could go wrong, did. First, her alarm hadn't gone off, so she'd had to hurry around her apartment and still try to look presentable and make sure she had everything. She'd nearly forgotten her resume walking out the door into the chill of the winter air. Then her car had taken forever to start, and then she had to wait for it to warm up, but she was still freezing by the time it did, so she stopped for coffee. The line was as long as it could possibly get, but she was cold and desperate for the caffeine so she waited it out. Luckily they didn't screw up her order. A silver lining, she supposed.

Now she was rushing through the lobby of the huge office building, owned by prestigious businessman Tony Stark himself, for an interview with one of his top men. Frantically checking her watch for the hundredth time that morning, she wasn't paying attention as she walked quickly towards the bank of elevators along the right wall. Her luck just got worse as she slammed into someone else also heading for the elevators from the direction. The remainder of her coffee spilled all over the person, who she realized was a guy as she looked up at him, absolutely horrified.

"I am so sorry!" she said, not knowing to do with her hands.

The man looked down at his now coffee-stained white button-down, his expression startled for a moment longer, before he glanced up at her. Seeing his face fully, Natasha noted that he was, well, he was pretty damn attractive. Tall, insanely broad shoulders with a trim waist to match, dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, easy smile as he took her in…yeah, he was good looking.

She shook her head, focusing, "I am really, really sorry. I wasn't paying attention and I…I completely ruined your shirt. I am so sorry."

The man gave her half a smile and a little shrug. "It's ok, really. It happens."

He didn't really look mad, Natasha noticed, and she allowed herself to relax, despite the fact that she was going to be really late for her interview now.

"Oh, here," Natasha dug around in her purse as they moved close enough to the elevators for the man to press the button. She pulled out some napkins she'd grabbed at the coffee shop and handed them to him as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. "Again, I'm really sorry about your shirt."

He chuckled, gratefully taking the napkins and dabbing at the fabric as the elevator went up. "Really, it's no big deal. Truth be told, I kind of hated this shirt anyway."

Natasha laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm Natasha, by the way."

"Steve," he replied, sticking out a hand, which she reached out and shook. Natasha thought the name sounded familiar, that maybe even he was someone she recognized, but she pushed those thoughts out of way as the elevator came to a stop on the top floor.

"Ladies first," Steve said with a grin as the doors opened.

"Thanks." She thumbed the strap of her purse, waiting for Steve as he, too, exited the elevator.

"Well, Natasha, it was very nice to meet you, spilled coffee and all," Steve said, smiling as she laughed. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

"Maybe you will," she replied.

He gave her one last parting grin before heading off to the right, towards a line of larger offices along the back wall. Natasha watched him go until he was out of sight. Then, despite already being incredibly late for her interview, rushed off the women's bathroom. She threw her now-empty coffee cup in the trash and then went over the sink to wash her hands. Then she checked her shirt, buttoning up her cardigan when she noticed a few flecks of coffee against the pale blue of her blouse. With a deep breath, she hoisted the strap of her purse higher onto her shoulder and then walked out of the bathroom. Double-checking the office number for Mr. Rogers, the man interviewing her, she headed towards the offices in the back.

Figuring that it wasn't going to be a real great impression to be late given that she was going for a secretarial position, she squared her shoulders and tried to remain confident. She had an impressive resume and she'd prepared for this interview for a week, so she wasn't going to let a stream of bad luck deter her.

She should've known better, though, and maybe taken more notice of the name on the sign of the door. But she didn't, and she only made the connections she should've before when an assistant let her into the office of Steve Rogers for her interview, the very same Steve who'd had enough time to change his shirt, given that she spilled coffee all over the first one.

They looked at each other for a moment, before Steve gave a shy little smile and said, "Well, at least we got our awkward first meeting out of the way."

And just like that, all her horror and surprise and nervousness vanished. She gave him a dazzling smile and seated herself in the chair in front of his desk. "Guess so," she agreed. "Still, maybe we should start over. I'm Natasha Romanoff. Pleasure to meet you."

Steve only smiled bigger, and she already realized she would never get tired of that smile. "Steve Rogers. Very nice to meet you, Ms. Romanoff. Shall we?"

-:-

She ended up getting the job, so Natasha supposed her luck couldn't have been that bad. She, briefly, wondered if it had been a pity hire, but seeming to sense her thoughts, Mr. Rogers had assured her that she'd had the most impressive resume, and despite a bad morning, she was the most qualified for the job of being his secretary.

Despite her initial attraction to him, she decided to push any personal feelings aside. She was a professional, after all. But that didn't keep her and Steve from becoming close. They were good friends. But after spending a lot of late nights at the office, filing and sorting papers, going over paperwork, the morning coffee runs, and the lunches spent in his office, it was hard not to get close to him. So, despite taking her job seriously and being the professional woman that she was, well, she was still just a woman, and Steve was a seriously attractive man (in both looks and personality) and every once in a while she found herself looking, admiring him from behind (because damn, that ass should be downright illegal). And, sometimes, she would day dream about a coffee run that was actually a date, but she had to remind herself that he was her boss, and they could get in serious trouble.

One rainy night, six months after getting hired, Natasha was walking out to her car, one of the last ones left in the parking garage. She'd wanted to wait for Steve to leave, too, but he didn't know how much longer he'd be so he told her to go on ahead without him. Climbing into her crap car, Natasha was only half-surprised when it wouldn't start. She tried turning the key again. Still nothing. A couple more times but the engine still wouldn't turn over.

"Perfect," she sighed.

Apparently the universe didn't hate her as much as she sometimes thought because when she looked out her window, she saw Steve walking to his car, just a little ways down from hers. Asking him for a ride wasn't unprofessional, right? I mean they were friends, it would be fine. It was either that or wait god knew how long for a tow truck to pick up her car and then get a taxi for herself. Swallowing her pride and any doubts she had, Natasha grabbed anything of value and stepped out of her car, being sure to lock it anyway.

"Steve," she called out. He stopped and turned, waiting for her to catch up. Given the late hour, the only noises were the rain falling on the roof of the parking garage and her heels clicking against the cement floor.

"Hey, what's up?" Steve said when she reached him.

"My car crapped out on me," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder at her decrepit vehicle, "Don't suppose you'd mind giving me a ride would you? I don't live too far from here, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Of course not," Steve said, walking her to his car.

They chat easily as he drives to her place, and Natasha can't help but think about how much more…intimate it feels being in his car with him. They spend practically all day together, every day of the week, have been in close proximities before, so this wasn't really anything new. But something about the rain pounding down against the car, the steady beat of the windshield wipers as they attempted to keep up with the torrent, the radio just barely audible, it made the inside of his (much nicer) car seem all the more comfortable and inviting.

Those thoughts quickly disappeared as Steve idled in front of her building. "Here we are,"

"Thank you, again," Natasha told him earnestly.

He shook his head. "It's really no trouble."

She smiled. "Well, I appreciate it all the same."

"Any time, really," Steve promised. "Speaking of, what time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow morning?"

"Wha—? Oh, no, you don't have to do that, Steve," she said quickly.

"I really don't mind, Natasha," Steve replied, giving her that warm, charming smile that made it nearly impossible to argue with him.

"Really, I can just call a cab or get a ride with Maria or something."

"Come on. We can even stop for coffee and you can buy me a muffin or something if you really want to, but it's really no big deal."

Natasha exhaled, knowing that he would insist, because he was just that much of a gentleman. "Okay," she relented, and Steve beamed. "How about 7:15, if we're going to stop for coffee and all?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll see you in the morning then."

Natasha stepped out of the car, and right before she shut the door, he leaned over and met her eyes. "Good night, Natasha."

She couldn't help the smile that formed across her face. "Good night, Steve."

-:-

As Natasha was heading out the following night, Steve stopped her.

"Here," he said, handing her a business card. "I figured your car might still need a looking at, and my friend Bucky owns an auto-shop. This is his number. He'll give you a far better deal than any of the chains around the city."

Natasha looked at the card, then back up at Steve. "Thanks." She smiled in gratitude. "You have a friend named Bucky?"

Steve chuckled. "That's just a nickname, but yeah. We've been friends since we were kids. Served in the army together. He's a good guy, you'll like him."

"You trying to set me up or something, Rogers?" she teased.

"Well, if I was, he would be a very lucky guy."

Natasha tried not to read too much into that as they parted ways and she went to go meet Maria, who was giving her a ride home.

-:-

Things just got even flirtier between them over the next six months. But that's all it amounted to—flirting. Teasing remarks, a touch on the arm here and there, smirks and smiles, all of it just adding to Natasha's frustration. She couldn't get a read on Steve. She knew part of it was just part of his charming personality, but the other half, she had no clue if he was doing it on purpose or what. But she supposed it didn't matter anyway because he was still her boss.

Natasha was puzzling over it one morning when Steve called her into his office, which wasn't abnormal in itself. She was in his office all the time; that was her job. But his tone of voice worried her. But she took a deep breath and followed him, shutting the door behind her.

"What's up?" Natasha asked, taking a seat in front of his desk.

Steve bit his lip, took a deep breath, and finally looked up at her. "Natasha, you working for me this past year has been wonderful—"

"Are you firing me?" she blurted, unable to help herself.

Steve stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded, before quickly shaking his head. "No! No, of course not. Well…kind of."

"You're kind of firing me?"

"Promoting you, actually," Steve said, a little shyly.

Natasha blinked. Now she was the dumbfounded one. "You're…promoting me?"

Steve smiled. "Yes. To a manager."

"Manager," she echoed in disbelief.

"You've talked about moving up in the ranks before, and you've shown tremendous development and leadership skills the last six months, so I recommended you for a promotion. A friend and close colleague of mine, Sam Wilson, I think you've met him before, he works downstairs, and a manger positon just opened up on his floor. I gave him your resume and he was thoroughly impressed. The job is yours, if you want it."

Natasha sat processing for a moment longer before breaking out into a smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes. Yes, of course. I—thank you, so much. I hate to leave you without a secretary, but,"

"It's completely okay, Natasha." Steve smiled. "I can get a new secretary. I wouldn't have recommended you if I didn't think you were perfect for the position."

"I really don't know what to say. I can't say thank you enough, for everything."

"Pleasure has been all mine, Natasha. Besides, we'll still see each other around. I'll let Sam know that you can start tomorrow."

"Of course," she said, getting up to go.

"Oh, Natasha, one more thing," Steve said, and she turned back to him. "Would you like to go get coffee some time?"

She gave him a little smirk. "We get coffee all the time."

Steve grinned. "I know. But since I'm no longer your boss and all, I thought we could make a date of it this time."

So maybe it hadn't all been in her head after all.

"I would like that very much."

-:-

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to send in any prompts you guys have!

-DaughterOfPoseidon333