So this is kind of another transitional chapter (and you know how I feel about those...) and this is kind of choppy, but I had this movie-montage image stuck in my mind and I just went with it. Hope you like?

Disclaimer: I don't own GG

Strictly professional.

Logan hated how his relationship (okay, yeah, so he was back to calling it a relationship, whatever) was marked by silly rules. Treat like sister, be a mentor, keep your distance, don't get involved.

And here he was staring at the back of her head in some corporate cafeteria more fucking involved than ever.

MONDAY

Frustrated because of the analyzing, Logan switched back to the mode he knew the best: work to be distracted. By the time the other team members returned from their lunch breaks, Logan had positioned the tables in their room in the shape of a U.

Rory knew that in London this was Logan's brainstorm/discussion group set up, but she didn't dare ask him here in New York. Instead, she took a seat next to Aubrey.

"What's all this?" Ian, one of the IT-guys asked and Logan turned to him, lips pursed, eyes hard. "I figured we'd do a structured discussion group, unless you had a better idea?"

Aubrey leaned in to whisper in Rory's ear, "Ouch", and Rory nodded in agreement.

Fortunately, she'd never been on the receiving end of Logan's classroom glare, but she'd seen in used plenty of times on Nicholas.

"That's what I thought," Logan said with a curt nod, "so a discussion group it is. Our mission is to create something new and innovative to keep HPG's leadership position in media. Basically, Mitchum is asking us to think ahead of the trend."

"But that sounds a bit vague," Ian interjected, subjecting himself to another one of Logan's looks. "You think?"

Ian raised his hands defensively, "I'm just saying that orders from above are usually more specific."

Logan mumbled something of agreement and he hated that there was this doubt among his peers; it did nothing to soothe his inkling that this project group was something more than what Mitchum made it out to be.

"Well," Rory's soft voice cut through the budding tension, "I guess we could start looking at current trends and maybe take it from there?"

Logan's head spun around and his eyes landed on her. "You guess?" he asked unimpressed.

Rory kept her gaze on him – watching his expression harden even further – but she couldn't not look at him.

"I do," she said without wavering. "I've never done this before, so I'm just suggesting something and hoping for the best."

"Hoping and guessing?" he scoffed at the subtext ("something" was about "them", right?) "Look, we've only got eight weeks to answer Mitchum's question and guessing and hoping really doesn't do us any good…" he crossed his arms over his chest and briefly looked around the room, as if he was challenging each of his group members, before he settled on her again. "Let's agree to stop guessing and start knowing. Rory, next time you make a suggestion know what you want to do."

Her jaw clenched and her eyes revealed her sudden anger, reminding him that she didn't want to be here anymore than he did. Before either one could speak, Aubrey piped up.

"Oh Logan," she drawled sweetly, "we all know Rory knows what she's talking about, why get so technical about the wording? I, for one, think it's a marvelous idea."

Finn turned to Aubrey and smiled. "Marvelous indeed…and did you know that news via social media is the biggest trend right now…"

And with that, the group had dove into a conversation about Facebook and Twitter and the brainstorm ball started rolling.

Rory's eyes met his one last time that day – a split-second – confusion and anger in his; hers reserved disappointment and both contained a sadness that neither could (would) acknowledge.

TUESDAY

Logan knew Monday's approach to keeping it professional had failed horribly. He'd managed the rest of the afternoon with a broody stance and he hated it.

Logan Huntzberger did not brood – he acted up, he got drunk, he drained hotel pools and turned them into skate rinks, but this, this angry, emotional guy wasn't him.

He spotted her early Tuesday morning, arms resting over the bannister, same green coat, same regal mannerism about her and he handed her a cappuccino.

She took it, the right corner of her mouth pulling upwards in a smile as she warmed her hands around the cup, before popping the lid and slurping up some milk foam.

"Good coffee?"

She nodded, deeply and appreciatively as she knew that this was some sort of peace offering. "Yeah."

"Good," he said with one short nod and he dug his hands in his coat pockets. "I'm going to…" he cocked his head towards the class room.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded again, as if she was granting him permission to leave. Even though he did not need it. Or wanted.

Honestly, Rory had no clue what he wanted. Or, for that matter, what she wanted. But she was pretty sure neither of them wanted to be stuck in a cycle of short, awkward conversations compiled of nods, yeahs, and sighs.

The group had another morning of heated discussions, though Logan and Rory were both unusually silent. Nevertheless, they joined the group in a heavy sigh as Marci told them they could break for lunch.

As if they'd known each other forever, Rory and Aubrey gathered their empty coffee cups and notes and headed towards the door for lunch.

"Ladies, may I accompany you to our lovely cafeteria?" Finn asked, making sure to direct his question more to Aubrey than Rory.

Aubrey smiled as she tugged at a loose curl. "Rory?"

"By all means," Rory smirked as Finn breathed a dramatic sigh of relief, before turning to Logan.

"You coming to lunch, mate?"

Aubrey gave Rory a sideways glance, but Rory's face was emotionless.

Coffee-peace-offerings and brainstorm sessions were one thing, having a cordial, professional lunch was entirely different.

"You know what?" Logan sighed, "I've got a couple of phone calls to make...to, uh, London, you know? So, I'll just go grab a sandwich…"

He brushed past the three of them, a half-apologetic /half-relieved smile on his face.

Finn looked at Rory and he raised his left eyebrow suspiciously, "So that's how you're keeping it professional?"

"He's got phone calls to make," Rory replied flatly, carefully looking over her shoulder to Aubrey for support but she just frowned. "That's what I would guess, but I know better."

WEDNESDAY

Logan was glad he had managed to skip out on yesterdays lunch. He thought he was pretty clever for using "phone calls to London" as an excuse. No one questioned his motives, at least not openly. Maybe he could use "follow-up calls" as a cover for avoiding today's lunch.

Since his peace-offering, there hadn't been any conference room tension between them. Thankfully, the group was chatty and lots of ideas flowed freely. He barely had to talk and Rory really did not push herself to the foreground too much.

She wasn't competitive like she was in FTF, she didn't need to let everyone know she had the right answer all the time. It appeared as if she'd really changed.

Occasionally, as his thoughts drifted to Mitchum and figuring out what he was plotting, his gaze voluntarily went to Rory. He was never quite sure how long he'd be looking at her, but suddenly an uncomfortable sensation would come over him, as if he was being watched, and then he realized that she was looking at him, too.

In his mind, he glossed over these awkward moments and thought his otherwise-ignoring-her approach was working out okay; sustainable for the next 7 weeks and 2 days.

THURDSAY

By now it was obvious that Logan ditching them during lunchtime was part of some twisted code of conduct Logan had established.

"Phone calls again, Logan?" Aubrey asked in a voice that was accusatory, but sweet at the same time. Finn suppressed a laugh and Rory was impressed that this girl called him out on his bizarre behavior. She'd been dying to ask him why he was looking at her all the time and if he could stop looking, please, because really, him looking at her with those eyes (why always those eyes?) was just too much.

He laughed politely. "Errands, actually," Logan excused himself and headed for the elevator.

"Let's get some lunch, love," Finn gently put his arm around her and tried to steer towards the cafeteria, but Rory stopped him.

"You guys go ahead," she said distractedly, "I'll catch up."

The elevator doors were about to close just as she slid in and Logan cursed under his breath.

"So, errands?" she asked; it was meant jokingly but it came out sounding hurt.

"Dry-cleaners, the bank, post-office, you know…" he listed dully, but she saw right through him

Rory took a step closer to him and her voice dropped to a whisper. "I know you and I are the type of people that employ people to do that kind of thing."

"Touché," he said and he couldn't help the smirk that temporarily captured his face. He'd hoped that she'd laugh too, at least a little, considering their bizarre situation, but she didn't.

"Look," he said finally, "I figure taking myself out of the lunch equation makes things easier."

"How so?"

"If I joined you for lunch, Finn and Aubrey would become a sub-group. He's practically planning the wedding as we speak, you know how he is…"

It sounded vaguely nice, as if he was protecting them from further potential awkwardness, but Rory took it as an insult.

"So, having to eat lunch with me is that horrible to you? So much so, that you'd rather avoid the whole situation."

Logan scoffed, shaking his head. "I'd rather have Finn avoid another disastrous love affair."

Rory's mouth dropped open in offence, "Aubrey is a total sweetheart…"

"…which is code for total bitch," Logan reminded her in a mocking tone.

"I mean it," Rory stressed, "she's lovely."

Still, Logan wasn't impressed. "Just like Gemma?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Fed up, not wanting to go down that bumpy road again, she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Logan. Finn is just optimistic about love and maybe Aubrey is the real deal."

He snorted at her serious expression. "I'm not going to touch that one with a ten foot pole."

A brief moment of tense silent passed between them, but Rory couldn't take it. "So you're going to pretend to pick up your dry-cleaning? Real mature."

Logan leaned back against the bannister, casual, as if this whole thing left him unaffected (somehow he felt better knowing that she was the one affected by his lunchtime absence.) "I'd prefer professional. And, while we're on the subject, what are you doing here? Arguing in the elevator with me, I mean?"

"I'm not arguing," she spat back, too heated, too quickly for someone who wasn't arguing. "I just wanted…I'm getting some iced tea at Jake-and-Jacques' across the street."

"Jake-and-Jacques' caters the lunches, you know," he patronized her, "the iced tea upstairs is exactly the same as the kind you'd get across the street. I thought you knew, considering how their meat-to-vegetable ratio is off and all."

His words sounded so bitter, but somewhere, deep-down, she couldn't deny that she liked the fact that he remembered her feelings regarding Jake-and-Jacques' sandwiches.

And she immediately hated herself for making something so insignificant so important

"I wanted it fresh," Rory said, hoping that it sounded sincere and thankfully Logan didn't pry – he was too busy gloating that he'd won this round (apparently, counting points had made a grand return in his mind, too).

FRIDAY

"Rory! Rory! Rory!"

If it hadn't been for the Southern drawl, Rory would've ignored the multiple calls. This morning, she was in no mood for people. This week had been pretty bad and it looked like her weekend wasn't going to be much better.

"Oh, Aubrey, hi!"

"You know, for a girl who says she doesn't run you manage to walk very fast, especially on…" Aubrey bent her knees and dropped her head to examine Rory's shoes, "…velvet Dior wedge boots. I approve!"

Rory smiled a little, "You sure look happy this morning."

"If I do, it's because I am," she smiled brightly. Before Rory could make a quip about Finn, Aubrey shoved a big cream envelope in Rory's hand.

"Oh please tell me you received on too? You just have to, because, well, you are the belle of the ball here, aren't you?"

Rory sighed, wearily handing the envelope to Aubrey. "Yeah, I got one."

"But you aren't happy?" Aubrey was genuinely confused, "The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Fundraiser kicks off Events Season."

"Which means 10 weeks of envelopes, Aubrey," Rory said glumly. "It's the same people, the same food, the same drinks, just different venues."

Aubrey examined the envelope again, but didn't see the same evil Rory saw. She pulled it close to her chest and hugged it. "It's my first invitation to a North East charity event! It's exciting, it's cosmopolitan, it's special, it's why my Daddy sent me here!"

Rory rolled her eyes at Aubrey's childlike enthusiasm. Maybe events in the South were different, but she had absolutely no desire to attend the Met's event. Especially because she knew that a certain boy would be there; his attendance absolutely required as the Huntzberger's were big on charity.

She'd been so looking forward to having a Logan-free day, but now she'd have to spend her Saturday getting dolled up and he'd be there. Ugh.

For a brief moment, she wondered if this event was orchestrated by Mitchum, but she knew that these things were planned out months in advance.

"So, what are you wearing?" Aubrey asked innocently.

"Clothes," Rory answered dully and felt a little bad as Aubrey's face fell. "A dress, a black one probably. Versace, I think."

"Hm." Aubrey nodded, but she really wasn't convinced. "We should go shopping for dresses. Tomorrow morning. What are you doing tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Well, we'll have to plan. You can't just wear a black Versace dress, Rory. We've got to coordinate our shopping route, dresses, shoes, bags, make-up, hair. Although, we could get my hair and make-up team to fly up. Or do you use someone here?"

Rory was having a hard time following what Aubrey was driving at. Did she really want to hang out tonight and then spend the whole day together tomorrow? She never did that – at least someone who wasn't her mother or Finn – even her friendship with Lane didn't cover pre-party planning. Not these days, anyway.

"I, um, Grandma usually calls someone," Rory offered , "Pierre? I think?"

"How can you not know your hair guy's name?" Aubrey asked, concern lacing her tone. "I mean, you're hair is fantastic."

"Thanks, I think," Rory frowned a little bit, "I just don't like these things, Aubrey. Kind of hate them, actually."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Aubrey waved all of Rory's concerns away, "It's fun. The women in dresses and the men in suits. Finn will wear a suit, right?"

"I'm sure he will…"

"Oh, isn't that nice?" Aubrey sighed, before she shook her red curls and the image of Finn in a tus away and regained focus on more important things. "So, come over for a girly sleepover at my place tonight. I'm staying at the Waldorf Astoria in the penthouse. I'll order Chinese food! You like Chinese food, right?"

"I do…but…"

"No buts, Miss Gilmore. I'm going to get you to like charity events. You are getting the Aubrey Andrews treatment."

And with that, the girl linked arms with Rory and the two of them walked the rest of the block to the Huntzberger Office.

The cream envelope mocked Logan from the kitchen counter. With it's perfect square shape and shiny gold letters. He hated it.

And he hated that he had forgotten Events Season and this eight week program of torture would overlap.

"Well played, Mitch, well played," Logan shook his head in disgust.

"Oh mate," Finn said as he stuffed a piece of Nutella toast in his mouth. "It won't be that bad. There will be a million people there, you won't even have to see you-know-who."

Logan let out an annoyed huff. "You can say Rory, Finn. And she'll be there and I'll see her. I always see her."

Finn hummed in agreement, Rory Gilmore was quite the unavoidable type, "Do you think Aubrey got an invite?"

"I'm sure Mitchum saw to that, yeah."

"Good, good," Finn nodded deep in thought, ignoring the chance to confess what he knew about Mitchum's involvement in this whole mess. "I wonder if I should take her dress shopping. You know, prepare her for a New York City party."

"She's been to events before," Logan vetoed the idea, "her dad builds country clubs for a living, the girl knows the look for the event."

"Right…" Finn trailed off, trying to mask his disappointment, before remembering that he was here to support Logan. "Mate, don't worry about the party. We'll have a pizza and a few beers before we go, and remember it's open bar!"

"Thank God for small favors."

Finn laughed and patted him on the back, "That's the spirit, mate!"

Logan faked a smile and couldn't wait until Sunday. A day of rest.

It makes me sad to see how depressed Rory and Logan are. This constant dancing around each other, going from "maybe it'll be ok" to "oh, crap, he's still mad? And now she is too?" is tiring and annoying and frustrating, but things happened - big things - and he can't just buy her a coffee cart and make up for it, you know? And she just can't send him a case of rum and expect it to be ok.

However, I promise that the charity event will be an excellent opportunity for them to let out some of that pent up anger and I'm thinking we'll get to know a little more about sweet Miss Aubrey.

Hopefully I'll be able to update soon, but I update my profile reguarly so if you're wondering check there or PM me :) Much love!