AN: Thank you to my regular reviewers who review every chapter (BenoightLangson, Oc7ober, SPCLjmm and my guest reviewers) as well as my new reviewers who've just found the story - I love reading your comments and they give me a lot of motivation! Also thank you to the guest reviewer who said my story was better than Marriage Vacation - I haven't read it but that's a big compliment and made me smile :)

So we're moving onto Charles and Liza being back at Empirical after the holidays now and all the complications, hilarities and fun times that could ensue! Hope you enjoy :)

LIZA

7 days – 7 days was how long it had been since she'd seen Charles. Since they'd met Liza didn't think she'd gone more than 4 days without seeing him, and that was before anything had happened between them. After what they'd shared on Christmas Eve, 7 days felt like 7 years. Maggie had taken great delight in teasing her about her grouchiness over the past week, and she had no doubt that she'd been a nightmare to live with. She felt for Charles and the girls, she really did - she knew how tough and confusing divorce could be on the whole family. She just wanted to know that he was okay. She missed talking to him, she missed being near to him – she just missed him, plain and simple. She'd never felt like this before – her relationship with David was never this intense, even with Josh she could go days without seeing him and it wouldn't bother her. In hindsight she probably always knew it was never going to work long-term with him, so she hadn't fully emotionally invested in him. But with Charles it was different – he was her first and last waking thought, every day. With him, unlike with Josh, there was a real possibility of a future together as well.

Empirical was reopening today after the holidays and Liza had never felt quite so eager to get to work. She was showered, dressed and ready to go by 6:30 AM. When Maggie strolled out of her bedroom, still in her nightgown, she smirked as she took in Liza's appearance. "Early start?"

"I've been out for a week - I just thought I'd get in early to get a jumpstart on my backlog of emails." That sounded lame even to her own ears - nobody sane goes in early after Christmas break to answer emails!

Maggie clearly didn't believe her either. "Denial, healthy way to start your day" she teased.

Liza glared at her. "Okay fine – I want to see Charles. It's been over a week since I've seen him and it's driving me crazy!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed"

Liza glared at her again. "You're supposed to be being supportive!"

Maggie sat down next to her at the breakfast bar and squeezed her arm. "Okay – I'm sorry. I'm totally supportive."

"Urgh - I'm pathetic!"

"You're not pathetic. You guys have been dancing around each other for over a year, you finally did it and let out all those secret feelings - it's natural for you to miss him. Plus, if the sex was as hot as you said it was, it's no wonder you're having withdrawal symptoms! Just march into his office and scratch that itch – you'll feel much better for it!"

"Thanks" Liza said dryly.

"You're welcome" Maggie smirked.

"I'll see you later."

Liza picked up her things and headed for the door. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh when Maggie called after her. "Just remember to lock the door this time – you don't want the janitor interrupting you again!"

Liza arrived at work by 7 AM, and unsurprisingly found herself to be the only one there. She knocked on Charles's door, and peered around it when no one answered, only to be disappointed to find that he wasn't in yet either. She didn't actually know for certain that he would be in today, she'd just presumed. With a sigh she sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. She figured she may as well make herself useful and make good on the lie she'd told Maggie about why she wanted to come in early and actually answer some emails. So caught up what she in her mundane task that she jumped when Diana screeched her name, demanding coffee. She was surprised when she saw the office had filled up and that it was 8:30 AM already.

She hurriedly prepared Diana's coffee, just as she liked it, and brought it into her office. She set it down on the desk as Diana reeled off a list of tasks. "Got it!". Before she had chance to turn to leave, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she knew who had just walked in the door.

"Diana, good morning. Liza." His voice softened on her name, unnoticeable to most, but she heard it.

Liza turned around and did a double take when she saw him. She had only ever seen him clean-shaven before, not even a bit of stubble, but now he had a full on beard. From the looks of it he hadn't shaved since Liza had last seen him. Charles must have realised she was staring as he blushed.

"Charles, how are you? How was your Christmas?" Diana greeted him.

"I'm good thank you Diana." He glanced at Liza, a small smile on his face as he continued. "And I had a wonderful Christmas - it surpassed my expectations. How was yours?"

Liza smiled at Charles's description, and wasn't listening as Diana said something about not being big on holidays. When Charles excused himself, Liza was lost in her thoughts of him and his new beard. She regained some of her ability to concentrate and focused back on Diana who was regarding her curiously. "Did you hear a word I just said?"

Nope. "erm yes, yes I did." Liza frantically searched her memory for any recollection of what Diana had just been talking about. Diana raised her eyebrows in an 'I don't believe you, but please continue' manner. "erm you were saying that we have a very busy day and I should get on with my list." That was vague enough to be believable, right?

Diana rolled her eyes. "No. I was actually saying that I need Charles's signature on this artwork." She tapped impatiently on an envelope on her desk. "Now."

"Right, yes – of course. I'll get right on that." Liza hurriedly picked up the envelope and stumbled out of Diana's office, before she could encounter her wrath.

Liza took a deep breath before knocking on Charles's office door, then entered when he said "come in".

Charles stood when he saw it was her, and came around in front of his desk to meet her. "Liza, hi" he breathed.

Liza was so overwhelmed by having him so close after what felt like so long, that all that came out of her mouth was "nice beard".

Charles laughed at her unorthodox greeting. "Yeah I didn't bother shaving whilst I was away with the girls."

"It's nice, I like it – makes you look rugged."

Charles snorted, "and also homeless" he deadpanned. "I think I'll be getting rid of it tonight."

A comfortable silence settled over them as they just stood there looking at each other, shy smiles on their faces, until Liza remembered the reason she'd been sent here in the first place. "Oh, Diana wants your signature on these". She held up the envelope in her hand then placed it on his desk.

Charles looked over at the envelope and nodded, then looked back at her. A thousand emotions were displayed on his face as he said, "I missed you". The rawness and tenderness in his voice made her heart clench.

Liza smiled as she replied softly, "I missed you too". "How are the girls?"

"They're good - they're doing much better. They seem happier - I think the break was good for all of us."

"I'm glad, I know divorce can be tough on kids. But those girls are strong - they'll bounce back, and they adore you."

"I hope so. I just don't want to be responsible for causing them any more anguish."

"You're a great father Charles - nobody can dispute that. And if you ever need to talk, you know where I am."

Charles smiled warmly at her. "Thank you Liza, I appreciate that."

"So...how do we..." Liza gestured with her hands, trying to conjure up the words..

Charles seem to understand what she was trying to ask. "How do we handle this at work?" he finished for her, gesturing between the two of them.

"Yeah" Having had a week to herself with plenty of time to think, she'd been wondering this a lot.

Charles ran his hand through his hair. "Well, I hate pretending, but with people still being in the dark about your age and with the Moore scandal still being up in the air, I think we should keep it between us for the time being. Just until things are a bit more settled. What do you think?"

"I think you're right. I don't want us to hide, like we're doing something wrong. But I get that now's not the best time to go public." Liza had had her fill of lies by this point, but she knew it was sort of necessary with everything that was going on at the moment.

"So, we're professional in the office...and we're us outside of work?"

'Us' - she liked the sound of that. Liza nodded, "it might be nice to have something that's just ours for a while."

Charles smiled, "yeah".

"Are you going to the media shoot later?"

"I am. That book could be a godsend for Empirical."

Liza beamed. Diana was taking her to the cover shoot for Empirical's latest acquisition this afternoon. Presales had spiked beyond all expectation, mainly due to Diana's marketing campaign. Knowing that Charles would be there too now made her day look a whole lot better. "I'll see you there then."

"You will."

They shared one last smile before Liza exited to get on with her work, but the smile stayed on her face all morning.

Liza was enjoying the shoot - her heart was definitely in editorial, but she'd always found marketing interesting. A good marketing campaign could make or break a book, and she enjoyed seeing that come to life. She was also enjoying being away from the office with Charles, and the fact that whenever she would look over at him he would already be looking at her and they'd share one of their secret smiles.

Liza was snapped out of her eye flirting by Diana barking at her. "Liza! Run down to Birch and get me some coffee. The swill they serve here is undrinkable!"

"erm okay – be right back." She grabbed her purse and blushed as she headed for the stairwell, feeling like a teenager who'd been caught making out with her boyfriend by her parents.

She'd almost reached the bottom of the stairs when she heard her name being called, and looked up to see Charles following her down. "Hey" she smiled, "did you want some coffee too?"

"No". His voice was husky, the look in his eyes carnal, and before she knew what was happening he was kissing her with unbridled passion, her back against the wall as his body pressed into hers. She moaned into his mouth as his tongue mated with hers and she grabbed a fistful of his jacket, partly to pull him even closer and partly to steady herself as the intensity of his kiss was making her knees weak. When his hand made contact with the bare skin on her back she almost lost it - she'd been craving his touch for over a week and the sensations were overwhelming. She didn't know how long they'd been in the stairwell – all semblance of time was forgotten. They only pulled apart when the need for oxygen became too much. They stayed pressed against one another, panting breathlessly and smiling goofily as Charles brushed a stray tendril of hair from her face.

"I think we've failed at the being professional in the office plan" Liza joked, although she was definitely not complaining.

Charles laughed, "yeah I think we did. Although technically we're not in the office." He had a mischievous look on his face and Liza loved seeing this playful side of him.

"That's a valid point."

Charles cupped her face with his hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I just...needed to be near you."

The intensity in his voice and the look on his face made her heart beat faster. She had no idea how she'd managed to resist him for so long. "I know the feeling." She leaned up and kissed him once more, this time softer and less hurried, but with a promise of more to come. She sighed, "I'd better go and get Diana's coffe before she gets caffeine withdrawals."

"Okay". Charles smiled and stepped back to let her past and Liza immediately missed his body heat. With one last glance at him over her shoulder, she left before she had chance to get lost in him again. If their working days had little stolen moments together like this then she was going to love her job even more than she already did.

Liza had checked herself in the mirror before she came back to make sure her lips didn't look too kiss swollen - they were redder than usual but they didn't look too bad. Diana gave her a curious look when Liza handed over her coffee, perhaps due to the smile on her face as she'd caught Charles's eye on the way in. He'd had to leave earlier than them as he had a meeting so Liza was able to concentrate a little better on what Diana was saying.

When her and Diana walked back into Empirical's building after finally finishing, Liza's stomach dropped when she saw who was waiting for them - this couldn't be good.

"Pauline, what a pleasant surprise."