Inspired by the show The Bold Type. Check it out if you haven't already! It''s really great!
AU: Natasha works for a women's magazine and gets the assignment to try out the New Yorker bar scene to find out where to find men without using Tinder. She meets a great guy and spends the night with him only to find out the next day that he's the new art director for the magazine.
Natasha paid for her cab and walked into the building where the office of the magazine she worked for was. She was in a good mood today, she got a free danish with her coffee, the sun was shining and there had been no traffic on her way to work. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror of the elevator. She looked good today in her outfit. She still couldn't believe she found these Louboutins on sale. She made good money at Scarlett and had a trust fund that made it possible for her to live in a two bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Life was good. She had a great job as a writer for the most successful magazine in the country and had even greater friends. The only thing that maybe wasn't so perfect was her love life. It had been months since her and Matt broke up and she still hadn't see a man that peaked her interest but that wasn't important right now. She didn't need a man to fulfill life.
The elevator doors opened on the 29th floor and she was greeted by her co-workers and friends Wanda and Maria. Maria had started around the same time she did and Wanda joined the magazine two years ago and the three of them just clicked. She knew she could be glad that she had actual friends at her work place.
"Morning, Nat." Wanda gave her a soft smile. She worked as a stylist at Scarlett and was really good at her job. Maria recently got promoted and was now head of the social media department. She remembered how shocked Maria had been when she confessed that she wasn't on Tinder. That's the only way to meet men!
"Hey, you two." She smiled at her friends and followed them into the conference room for the daily pitch meeting with their editor in chief Pepper Potts who was both mentor and friend to her employees. Pepper was already there and greeted them with a smile. The rest of the team showed up shortly after and they started the meeting.
"So, I have a pitch for our love column. I know that most people today find their hookups or serious partners online but my generation-" Pepper chuckled lightly. "We found love in real life. So I want one of you to go to bars and actually flirt with guys. Go out there and meet men. Actual eye contact and shy little touches. Natasha?"
She looked up from her notebook. "Yeah?"
"You're currently single, right?"
"Yeah..." Oh, she didn't like where this was going.
Pepper smiled. "Perfect. Story is yours. Go out there and hit on hot men. Okay, that's all. Get to work."
Fuck, she didn't want to meet men. She was terrible at it. She had the worst luck and only assholes hit on her. She was still amazed that she had met Matt but then he broke up with her because of his complicated history with his ex.
Maria linked her arm with her when they walked out of the conference room. "I can't believe you get paid to meet men. Consider me jealous."
"You know I have the worst luck when it comes to men!" She groaned, already wondering what kind of assholes she would meet tonight. She wanted to do it today so she got over with it as soon as possible.
Her friend gave her a sympathetic look. "I know and that's why you'll go bar hopping in Brooklyn! I hear it's full of great men!" Maria grinned. "My friend Jane met a beefcake named Thor at a Norwegian restaurant. She's totally smitten with him and claims that all the great men live in Brooklyn."
"Okay..." She thought about going to Brooklyn for her assignment. The chance that she would run into someone she knew was pretty slim and that way she could research her piece without blowing her cover. There was no way she would tell the men that she was going to write an article about them. She spent the day editing another article for the political column and left in the afternoon to get ready for her night out. She'd rather stay at home watching Netflix or have some drinks with her girls but she didn't want to disappoint Pepper. She got home, took a long shower, went through a long beauty routine and chose leather pants that made her ass look good and a top that showed off her boobs in a classy way. She had to look good to attract some guys or she could forget the article.
She took a cab to Brooklyn and went to the first bar and walked right back out when she saw the people. It was full of business men who looked like they were auditioning for American Psycho. What the fuck were they doing in Brooklyn? She thought those guys never set a foot on the bridge. She looked through the windows of the next bar and decided that it was worth a try. The bar looked nice and she didn't think it was the kinda place for future serial killers to hang out. She stepped inside and the people here looked like normal people enjoying their night.
A few attractive men were here and her stomach twisted in knots when she thought that she would have to flirt with them. She went straight to the bar and ordered a gin tonic. From experience she knew that it wouldn't take long until a guy would hit on her. Hopefully he wasn't an asshole. She took her drink with a thanks and looked around. A few groups were here and two men at a table were looking over to her. Well, one man was. He was really good looking. He seemed tall with dark hair and if she had to guess she'd say that he had blue or grey eyes. He smiled at her and raised his glass. She nodded and raised hers as well. The guy was saying something to his friend and he looked over to her. Holy fuck! He wasn't just handsome, he was beautiful! He had longer blond hair to his ears, a look she usually didn't like but this man pulled it of really well and he had a beard that gave him a rough and sexy look. His eyes appeared to be blue and as far as she could tell he was very muscular under that black leather jacket. Holy shit, why did no one ever tell her before that men like that were running around Brooklyn? But a man that attractive had to be an ass. What did her mother always say? Beautiful men are always jerks because they never had to be nice.
She sighed to herself, if her mother was right than that man was a major asshole. He truly had to be the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. He was still looking at her and gave her a shy smile. She was so enamored by it that she gave him a bright one in return. Please, don't let him be another asshole! His friend got up and walked over to her. Damn, she had set her eyes on Mister Gorgeous.
"Hi." He gave her a charming smile. "I'm James and the guy over there who's probably blushing by now is my best friend Steve. Do you want to join us?"
So his name was Steve? All the Steves she knew were over fifty and married with 2.5 children and wearing socks in sandals. "Yes, I'd love to. I'm Natasha, by the way." She offered him her hand and James shook it. He was really handsome and definitely her type but Steve...He was a completely different league. God had a really good day when he made Steve. She took her drink and followed James to their table. Steve stood up and pulled the chair out for her. Oh, he had manners. That was already a good sign.
"I'm Steve. Nice to meet you." Oh boy, his voice sounded incredible. She had a thing for deep male voices. He seemed a bit embarrassed about the whole thing and she got the feeling that he wasn't very confident when it came to women. Weird, with that face and body, the women had to be lining up for him.
"Hey. I'm Natasha. Nice to meet you, too." She smiled at him and thanked him for helping her into her chair. They did small talk and she didn't even notice that James left the table because she was so focused on her conversation with Steve. They talked about God and the world and he seemed like a really decent guy with a dry humor that turned her more on than it should and she thought it was safe to say that they were flirting. They were laughing together and leaning towards each other, touching the other one from time to time. They really hit it off. She was not only attracted to his looks but to his personality as well. He was the whole package and she wanted him. The finger brushing and knees touching set her body on fire and she was turned on beyond belief which surprised her. It usually took her some time until she was sexual attracted to someone but Steve...She wanted to climb that man like a tree.
"Do you want to get out of here?" She whispered and placed her hand on his thigh to show her intentions.
His eyes widen for a second but his pupils were dilated and she knew he wanted her too. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "Yes, 100 percent."
He smiled and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "Great. I'll just tell Bucky we're leaving." He blushed a little. "I've never done something like this before."
That made her relieved and she didn't think he was lying about that. "Me neither."
He nodded and got up to say goodbye to his friend. James was grinning at her and she rolled her eyes grabbing her clutch. Steve came back to her and took her hand leading her out of the bar. They walked a few meters and then he stopped and cupped her face with his big hands. Even in heels he was so much taller than her.
"Can I kiss you, Natasha?"
She nodded smiling and he pressed his lips softly against hers. The kiss grew deeper and hotter by the second until someone yelled that they should get a room. They both laughed and walked hand in hand to his apartment that wasn't that far away from the bar. He asked her again if she was sure when they reached his building. She liked that about him, he really was a sweet guy. She kissed him as her answer and led him by his hand to the door. They pretty much started making out as soon as the elevator doors closed and then stumbled through the hallway to his apartment. She couldn't remember a time where she wanted someone more than she wanted Steve right now. She really hit the jackpot with him, Steve was a gentle yet rough lover and she could honestly say that night was the best sex of her life. He really knew how to treat a lady and had no problem to bury his face between her legs.
She woke up the next morning very early watching Steve with a grin on her face, then collected her clothes that were scattered around his place (when did he threw her bra on the ceiling lamp?) and left her phone number and a kiss in red lipstick on his bathroom mirror. She really hoped that he would call her. She would have loved to stay longer, maybe for breakfast and/or morning sex but she had to head back to Manhattan to get ready for work.
Maria was already in the elevator when she came to work. The doors closed and she leaned over to her and seemed to sniff her. What the fuck? "Did you just sniff me?"
"You had sex last night!"
"What are you, a sex bloodhound?" How did Maria know? She had been pretty sweaty after last night because boy they've had a lot of sex (she didn't think she had that much sex in one night before) but she took a shower when she had gotten home so there was no way that she was still smelling like sex.
"So you did have sex last night." Maria grinned and pointed at her chest. "No, I'm not a sex bloodhound but your button popped open and I can see a hickey on your right breast. Nice bra by the way, La Perla?"
She looked down and quickly buttoned her blouse up. Jesus, how many people did she show her cleavage on her way to work? Maria was still grinning and Natasha decided to ignore her.
"I take it thatyour night out in Brooklyn was a success?"
She rolled her eyes and got her phone out of her bag and her heart started hammering against her rib cage when she saw that she had a text from an unknown number.
I would have loved to wake up with you. Last night was...amazing. I really wanna see you again, take you on a date. What do you say? -Steve.
She smiled to herself and saved his number in her contacts.
I'll definitely say yes to that! I really enjoyed last night as well. It was great. You were great...:)
"That your hookup?"
"Shut up!" She smirked at Maria and followed her out of the elevator into the conference room for the daily meeting. Huh, Pepper wasn't here yet. She was usually always the first one here to make the other ones look bad. She was looking at her phone at the table waiting for Steve's text when Maria suddenly gasped.
"Fuck me!" She muttered under her breath and Natasha looked up to see what made Maria behave like that. Her eyes were almost falling out of their sockets because besides Pepper someone else was walking into the room. Steve! What the fuck was he doing here?
"Morning, everyone. I'm very pleased to introduce you to our new art director Steve Rogers. I hope you'll give him a warm welcome!"
Fuck me, indeed. She had sex with a co-worker last night! Steve's eyes met hers and he looked equally shocked. Oh God, what was she supposed to do now?! She had known that the new art director was named Rogers but how earth should she have known that it was the Steve Rogers she had mind blowing sex with last night.
"Are you okay?" Maria leaned closer and whispered to her. "God, that man is very woman's wet dream. He's like sex personalized."
"Just got a hangover." She lied and Wanda was also giving her a funny look. Steve introduced himself quickly and said that he looked forward to working with them. They were dismissed and she practically ran to her desk trying to calm herself. God, why did the one great guy she met have to work with her? Starting something with a co-worker who was also above her was so unprofessional and she already knew that people would gossip about her if they knew. They would say that she got special treatment because Steve was banging her. She had worked so hard to get this job, a job that let her write light and funny pieces but also write articles with important messages. She loved her job, she loved working at Scarlett...She couldn't start anything with Steve, even though he was funny and smart and the best sex she'd ever had.
Her phone buzzed with a text. From Steve.
Can we talk somewhere in private? During lunch? My treat?
She sighed and typed a reply.
I don't think this is a good idea. Both the lunch and this thing between us. We should keep it professional.
She could see that Steve was typing for quite some time but then his answer was only one word.
Okay.
She started to work on her article about meeting men in real life but got distracted because she always looked up from her screen to see if Steve was close by but he wasn't. And it didn't help that every time she closed her eyes memories of last night were flashing through her mind. She shook her head and focused back on her open document. Great she misspelled four different words, she corrected them and Maria was suddenly standing behind her. "Fashion closet now!"
She got up thinking that her friend had some kind of emergency and needed her help. Wanda was already in the closet waiting for them.
"Okay, how hot is the new guy?" Maria asked with a grin and Wanda nodded in agreement. Seriously, that's what this was about?
"He's very handsome." Wanda added. "Do you think he has a girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Guys like him are never single."
Natasha bit her lip to not tell them that Steve hadn't had a relationship in over two years. Wanda and Maria continued to gush over Steve wondering how he would look without his clothes and if everything was big on him and she stared at the clothes in the closet. She had answers to all those questions. He looked incredible naked like a sculpture made by Michelangelo himself and yes his junk had been very impressive.
"Hey, Nat, you okay? You've been all weird since the meeting." Maria looked at Wanda. "Our girl had an one-night stand last night."
Well, she hadn't want it to be an one-night stand but now it had to be an one time thing. Wanda smiled at her. "That's great. Good for you that you're putting yourself out there."
Should she tell Wanda and Maria that it was Steve who she'd had sex with last night? No, it was probably for the best if no one knew about it. She told her friends that she wasn't feeling so well and that she would work from home today. She grabbed her laptop and bag and left the office to get home.
Fortuna was kind to her and she didn't see Steve in the next days and he seemed to respect her request not to continue this thing between them because he stopped texting her. She was sad about it because she was convinced that something great could have happened between them but it was better this way. He was topic no.1 in the office and pretty much everyone was lusting after him, a few women had hit on him and she was very pleased when she heard that he turned them down. Apparently not everyone at Scarlett was worried about their professional reputation.
She was the last one in the office and it was late at night but she liked it when she was alone here and could work on her article in peace. She wanted to print it so she could edit it but the printer ran out of ink. She groaned and walked to the supply closet to get new ink. She was halfway in a storage box looking for pink ink when the door opened and someone came it. With the print cartridge in her hand she crawled out of the box and turned around only to see Steve behind her.
"Um, hi."
"Hi." She hadn't seen him since his first day and boy did he look good today with his sleeves rolled up and his hair a bit tousled.
"I thought I was the only left here." He mumbled out and held a box of pencils up. "I needed new ones."
"Yeah..." She was busy starring into his blue eyes. He really had the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen. He met her gaze and licked his lips. Why was is so hot in here? Didn't the AC work? She didn't know who went first for the kiss, maybe he did or maybe she did but they both tossed their things aside and crashed their lips together. The kiss made her knees weak and it was good that Steve lifted her up and pushed her against the wall next to her. They were both drowning in each other and in no time her skirt was pushed up and his pants pulled down and they had sex in the supply closet. At least they didn't do it on the copier.
She panted into his neck after she came down from her high and Steve kissed her temple softly and let her carefully down after he slipped out of her and cleaned her up with one of the stocked paper rolls.
"Do you want to get dinner? I'm sure a few places are still open." He smiled at her sweetly and she wanted to say yes so badly.
"I...I don't think that's a good idea, Steve." His smile vanished and she felt like an asshole. "We're co-workers. I don't wanna be the office slut."
"What? I've never...I would never call you that! I want to spend time with you. I want to get to know everything about you. There is something between us, don't you agree?"
"It doesn't matter. We work together, we can't start something." No matter how much she wanted it, she worked so hard for her career and reputation. "It's different for women. I'm sorry, Steve." She kissed his cheek. "That doesn't mean I don't like you. I really do." She picked the print cartridge from the floor up and left the supply closet ignoring how he was calling after her. She couldn't just risk everything for a guy she just met. And how could she have been so stupid to have sex with him again at her fucking workplace! She was just glad that there were no security cams in the supply closet.
She was proud of herself that she managed to avoid Steve in the next to weeks completely and didn't answer her phone the two times he called her. She knew she was acting like a child but she apparently couldn't trust herself around him and more sex would lead to more heartbreak. She was already mad enough at herself that she couldn't stop thinking about Steve.
Scarlett threw a rooftop party for its employees and everyone including Steve was there. They all sat along a giant table to enjoy a terrific dinner and every time she looked into his direction he was already looking at her.
"Did you notice that Rogers is gazing at you longingly?" Wanda whispered to her over desert. "He's been looking at you all evening. Did something happen between you two?"
"No." She shoved a spoon full or tiramisu into her mouth. Wanda raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything. Natasha spent the rest of the party watching countless women hitting on Steve. It didn't help her ego that real models were here and really interested in him. He talked to them but she didn't know if he was flirting with them. She gritted her teeth and swallowed her jealousy down, she had no reason to be jealous. She was the one who turned him down, he could do what- and whoever he wanted. As soon as it was an acceptable time to leave she said goodbye to her friends and left the rooftop. She didn't need to keep watching how women were flocking around Steve.
She just hailed a cab when someone was tipping on her shoulder. It was Steve. "You okay?"
A cab stopped and she dragged Steve into it. She gave the driver her address and Steve watched her with big eyes but made no sign that he wanted to leave and the cab drove off. She paid the driver before Steve could and he followed her up to her apartment.
"What am I doing here?" He broke the silence when they were in her hallway.
"I...I don't know. I didn't want anymore women hitting on you." She admitted with a blush. "Sorry, that I kidnapped you."
Steve grinned. "I think I'm a bit too old to get kidnapped. So you were jealous, huh?"
"Maybe."
"Look, I did some research. As long as we go to HR and sign a few papers, we can date."
"I know that."
"You do?"
"I know that Scarlett lets co-workers date but I don't want my personal life to interfere with my private life."
"Aren't you friends with Hill and Maximoff?"
"I'm not sleeping with them." She sighed and leaned against the wall. "Look, people always have a certain opinion of me because of how I look. They're surprised when I tell them that I went to an Ivy League college or that I have actually opinions about things. They will always think that I'll get preferences because of you. Because you're my superior and I'm sleeping with you. It's different for women. You'll get a clap on the shoulder and I will be called a slut."
"I didn't think about it like that. Fuck, I really wanna be with you...Do you wanna keep it a secret? I mean it's not like we're actually working together so-"
"I don't know...I hate secrets."
"Me, too." He ran a hand over his face. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No, even though you probably should. Do you want a drink?"
He nodded and followed her into her living room. They spent the whole night talking to each other about anything except work and she realized with a shock after he left the next morning that she was about to fall in love with him. What was more important? Her reputation or her happiness? He once again made it clear that he wanted to be with her before he left but he also said that he understood her hesitation. Fuck, what was she supposed to do?
She spent the whole day thinking about her job, life and Steve and a made pro and con list for or against a relationship with him. She ripped the paper apart and took the subway to Brooklyn. Sometimes a list wasn't what one needed to make a decision. He opened the door after her second knock.
"Do you want to go to HR with me on Monday?"
Steve smiled. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." She nodded and placed her hands on his chest. "I am. I want this. I want you. I want you and me to be an us."
His smile grew wider and he leaned down to kiss softly her. "I want that, too." He whispered against her lips and let her into his apartment.
