A/N: Hi! Thanks for coming back. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 7 – Rule Number 7: Don't Mess With Your Boss

The following week went smoothly for Hermione, as smoothly as it could be, that was, when she wasn't stuck with Amanda in an empty lift or Amanda wasn't sorting through the files in her office, and Hermione didn't have to make conversation with her. She drank her coffee in peace while throwing glimpses at the young woman with her strawberry-blonde hair, which she kept tossing over her shoulder now and again. The same woman she was having an illicit sham-affair with only to delude a married man who kept bothering her incessantly.

Hermione received an Owl that Thursday afternoon. The handwriting looked familiar; she tore the envelope open and read its content.

Dear Hermione,

We haven't spoken in a while. How are you? I hope you are doing well. Draco's solicitor, Blaise Zabini, and fortunately my friend as well, advised me to get in touch with you. I was hoping we could meet in the next few days while I'm still on leave. Draco is travelling again and I cannot tell whether it's due to his work or other personal issues. I'm not implying anything, it's just I have a bad feeling about this. I know that he's seen you in the last few days; he told me. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Astoria Malfoy

Dropping her head on the desk, Hermione groaned and clutched the letter in her hand. He told his wife that he met me? Why the heck would he do that?

"Miss Granger, is everything alright? Erm…here's something for you," a man's voice from the door said. Hermione looked up and saw Timmy, the bald short man, in the doorway. "Here's the file you requested. Amanda asked me to give it to you." He walked to her desk and put the folder there, eyeing Hermione suspiciously.

"Where is Amanda?" Hermione asked, frowning as she took the folder from Timmy's hand. "Isn't this supposed to be her job?" She regretted her tone immediately, and sighed, "I'm sorry about that."

"She's in Mr. Burton's office," Timmy said calmly as though he was used to her temper. "I think he's discussing an upcoming meeting with her."

Looking at Timmy, she wondered for the first time how old he was. He seemed to be in his early thirties, maybe mid-thirties, she wasn't sure. His eyes were dark brown and his pleated shirt and dark-grey slacks made him look even older than he probably was. Did he have kids? She never asked him nor had he ever mentioned that he was married or had children. But then again, she never actually bothered to know. Not that she didn't care but her work had mainly consumed most of her attention. Even Amanda Watson, the 'rumoured beauty' as Zabini put it, Hermione had never noticed until recently, even though Amanda had been working for her for nearly over a half year now.

"Thank you, Timmy," Hermione said. Trying a casual approach, she added, "and…how is your wife?" Well, perhaps getting on the good sides with the staff and some colleagues might be a good idea, people who didn't see her as a bossy bitch-zilla with zero social life, before her sham-affair with her own secretary transpired. She flashed him a sweet smile she hoped wasn't too forced. Timmy blushed, loosening his collar.

"Well, ex-wife actually," he said, pleased that Hermione was taking an interest in his life. "She lives with the kids in Wandsworth. Jordon and Emily visited me last weekend and I took them out to the Watersports Centre here in London. They had fun," he told her, his eyes gleaming. "I haven't seen them since last Christmas."

"Oh, I didn't know you have children," Hermione said honestly.

"Sadly, they aren't mine," Timmy said, "They're my wife's children from her first marriage. But I love them like my own. Jordon is fifteen and Emily is eight."

"I see," Hermione said, tucking a curl behind her ear.

Timmy shifted uncomfortably on his spot, looking like a teenager who was intimidated by his crush. He even blushed when Hermione smiled at him again. She didn't realise that she had the power to mesmerise people with just a simple look, even if it was just Timmy, the short, bald, and divorced man with two kids. But then again, even Amanda, for some reason, was spellbound by her charms.

Thinking about it, why didn't she choose Timmy over Amanda to scare off Draco Malfoy? Maybe then he'd be repulsed by the thought and leave her alone. But instead it seemed to have rekindled his interest in her even more, and made Hermione more desirable in Draco's eyes—because, let's face it, what is hotter than two women he can't have?

Clearing her throat, she signed the files and handed it back to Timmy. He wobbled quickly outside her office.

"God, that was awkward," Hermione said to herself, but couldn't help but feel flattered.

During her late lunch, she met up with Ginny, as usual, in the cafeteria downstairs in the lobby. She told Ginny everything that had happened in the past few days and especially about the awkward 'meeting' with Draco and Amanda in her flat a week ago, but chose to withhold the part where she and Amanda had kissed in her bathroom.

Then she mentioned that Amanda might be a Legilimens. It made Hermione slightly paranoid around her secretary because she, herself, never mastered Occlumency to guard her thoughts, but she omitted the detail that those thoughts revolved around Amanda and her sexy bum. Ginny disregarded the idea with a wave of her hand and assured her that if Amanda had applied magic to read her mind, Hermione would have noticed. Amanda was just adept at reading body language and facial expressions, acquired through her daily experience of dealing and handling with clients. Maybe that was all that Amanda did with Hermione, Ginny had explained, and Hermione nodded and admitted defeat.

"So, he came to your flat just like that only to talk?" Ginny asked flabbergasted, shoving a forkful of potato and peas in her mouth. "What a prick! Did he say he wants you back or…or wants to have sex for the last time?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at her. "No. He can't have me back. He's going to be a father." She sipped at her juice and looked around the half-crowded cafeteria. "Plus, he's married. And his wife wants to see me."

"And what does she want? You comforting him like in the good ol' days?"

"She somehow knows that Draco's been obsessively stalking me, though she didn't call it that, 'stalking'," Hermione mumbled in her glass. "What should I do, Ginny? Tell me. You know everything."

"I know everything? You're the freakish know-it-all. Besides, I thought he knows that you're batting for the opposition now?" Ginny said nonchalantly, cutting her steak in small pieces.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, irritated.

"Come on, The Game of Flats?"

"What?"

"Etre aux femmes? Still too vague, eh?"

"Ginny, I swear…"

Ginny groaned and rolled her eyes. "What about 'Sapphistry'? Too poetic?"

Hermione almost choked on her juice. "Why don't you just say it? You mean my relationship with…her?" she hissed, lowering her voice.

"Yes. How's it been? Gone all the way already?"

"Will you please lower your voice a little? I believe the deaf woman on the other side of the city didn't hear you," Hermione snapped.

"Relax, as if they know what we're talking about," Ginny muffled, chewing leisurely on her steak. "I thought it's working out great between the two of you."

"Shh! No one's supposed to know about that."

"What? No one's listening, Hermione," Ginny said in a low voice. You never know, they were just in the damn cafeteria where most of Hermione's damn colleagues had their damn lunch. Then Ginny lifted her head and smiled behind Hermione, waving someone over. "Hi, you want to join us?"

Oh, no, no, no. Déjà vu.

Hermione turned her head slowly and saw Amanda approaching. Perfect.

Taking the chair beside Ginny and opposite to Hermione, Amanda placed her tray on the table, rather absent-minded and slightly angry about something. She tucked her wallet and what seemed like a Muggle device, which Hermione assumed was an iPod, in her small purse, and then removed the earplugs from her ears. She was frowning when she took the fork in one hand and started picking on her salad, mumbling something that sounded like a 'Good afternoon'.

Ginny exchanged a questioning look with Hermione. "So, how's your day so far, Amanda?" she asked.

"Mr. Burton's an arse-face," Amanda muttered, shoving the chicken dices, tomato, and corn around her plate.

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"He said he wants to borrow me for a meeting," Amanda cried. "Do I look like people can borrow me like a piece of underwear on a sleepover party?"

Ginny giggled and pulled a face. "I've never borrowed underwear before."

"Ginny," Hermione said reproachfully. Admittedly, it was never boring with Ginny and she did lift the tension in a room, but heavens forbid she'd act her age once in a while. "For which meeting is it?" Hermione inquired, looking on Amanda's assorted salad as she started eating the lettuce only.

"The conference in Brent with the Campbells, you know, the Collaborative Divorce?" Amanda said grumpily, referring to the couple who had agreed from the beginning not to resolve their differences in court. It would be a long procedure. There would be a series of meetings with both party's solicitors, third parties, and other experts to achieve the best outcome for the entire family. Amanda didn't seem enthusiastic, even though she'd always wanted to see other cities outside London. "Mr. Burton's the representative for Mr. Campbell and apparently Mrs Campbell has excellent solicitors. He wants to use me to get them distracted and all I have to do is just, well, look pretty. Duh? I was so close to tell him to fuck off. Oh sorry, Miss Granger," she amended quickly, covering her mouth.

"That fucking bastard!" Ginny chipped in.

"Did he really say that?" Hermione asked, incredulous.

"What else would he want from me? He has his own secretary to take down his notes and pass him the files," Amanda said angrily. "I can't imagine that I work more proficiently than Timmy or Sue, seeing that Sue has been his secretary for over twenty years, God, even since long before I was born. And judging her age, she's probably the first person to use the first typewriter back in the 19th century," she vented. Ginny stifled a giggle. She knew a typewriter from her father's Muggle collection. And she knew Sue, too, even before Amanda started her job there. "Sue's been giving me death glares since I left his office," Amanda finished, whimpering.

"Poor you—must be quite a burden being so extremely gorgeous," Ginny said in sympathy, "I know how you feel." Hermione raised an eyebrow at her.

Amanda looked at her and smiled miserably, oblivious that Ginny was only teasing her, though Ginny meant it to cheer her up. "Cheer up, Amanda, your boss is a douche and just doesn't know how to appreciate your true skills. So, you're coming with him to this conference?"

"I've no other choice, have I?"

"But shouldn't you check it with Hermione first if she's fine with this?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Why should she be asking me?" Hermione said, giving her another warning look, which Ginny just ignored.

"Well, Amanda's your secretary, isn't she? Even though this Mr. Douche is the company owner, you're still her boss."

Amanda looked at Hermione for the first time that day, her eyes full of hopes.

"Th-There's nothing I can do about this," Hermione said quickly. "If he wants you than you're free to go. It's not like I own you."

"Miss Granger, you can tell him that you need me and that you don't want me to leave," Amanda said with a plea in her blue eyes. "I'm begging you. You can tell him that. Tell him, tell him—" she paused briefly, then flashed Hermione one of her brilliant smiles, "—that I'm yours. Besides, you don't want me to leave, do you? Who knows how long I'll be away."

Hermione blushed and looked on her half finished plate, not knowing what to respond to this.

"Yes, Hermione, Amanda is yours, isn't she?" Ginny said, hiding her grin behind her glass. Hermione kicked her under the table for whatever she was insinuating. Ginny didn't even flinch, but Amanda did.

"Ouch, that was my leg," Amanda said, grimacing, and then rubbed her shin.

"Oh sorry." Hermione, looking daggers at Ginny, blamed her friend for making her act immaturely every time Amanda was around. She'd so kill Ginny after this! "I—I'll see what I can do, though I can't promise anything."

"Thank you…Hermione," Amanda said, her cheeks crimson when she went on finishing her salad.

~.~.~

There was a tap against Hermione's office window when she came back from lunch. Walking towards it to let the owl in, she unfastened the letter from its leg and gave the owl a treat.

Hermione,

I'm sorry if I just wrote you now. I've been really busy in the past few days, investigating a case to which the Ministry assigned me and I won't probably be back until next week. Italy is a great city; you must see it for yourself someday, I'm certain you'd like it here. How's work doing? I hope you are not upset with me anymore. Did my wife write to you yet? I know you won't write me back anyway, so I'll see you next time.

Regards,

D. Malfoy

"Seriously, Malfoy?" Hermione huffed in annoyance at the letter as if speaking directly to Draco, "I must have missed the fact that we're friends now."

She didn't know why he still had the power over her and made her all wound-up even though he was miles away from her. She didn't know why she was so angry with Draco and his stupid blond hair that hung in his grey eyes every time he looked at her. She didn't know why she feared that she might make the second big mistake in her life if he came back and looked at her with those mesmerising eyes again.

She didn't know why she hated him so much more now even though he'd completely changed and was less the prat he used to be at Hogwarts back then.

If only he wasn't married.

If only he wasn't married to Astoria, who had been Hermione's friend since her last year in Hogwarts. She wasn't as close to Astoria as she was to Ginny, but still, she cared as much for her. And Astoria was having his spawn.

She threw the letter away and stormed outside her office. Amanda was talking to an old lady with grey hair and glasses, wearing a polka-dot pink dress. She was twice Amanda's age perhaps, and Amanda looked slightly frightened by her sight. The lady was Sue, Mr. Burton's secretary for twenty years Amanda was talking about earlier.

Amanda had control over men with just a crook of one finger, yet her charms were ineffective when it came to old hags where her physical appearance didn't work, mainly because they resented her youth with every bone in their body. It was almost pitiable having to watch Amanda cower away whenever Sue or one of the other older women scolded her.

When Hermione passed them, she heard bits of their conversation as she knocked against Mr. Burton's office door and barged inside.

"You can't take her with you," Hermione said to the greasy old Mr. Burton sitting at his desk, two clients in front of him, looking startled at Hermione's entrance.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Burton said.

"I said, you can't take Amanda with you to the conference in Brent," Hermione said tersely, frowning at her boss. Where her courage came from, she had no sodding idea. "I need her here and I don't see any reason why you can't take Sue."

"Miss Granger, I'm in a middle of a meeting. Can't this wait until—"

"No, this can't wait. You can't take Amanda. Period." And then she left his office and walked back to where Sue stood looking at her in shock and Amanda in astonishment. She rounded on the polka-dotted hag, glaring at her. "And what's the matter this time, Sue?" she asked through her teeth, keeping her voice low. "Do you have any complaints again about Amanda's possibly inefficient job performance that I know nothing about? If you have, then I kindly ask you to report your complaints to me and I will tell her off if I deem it necessary."

Yes, Hermione was aware that she was anything but 'kind'. Yes, she knew that she was being bitch-zilla again. And yes, she knew that this had awful consequences.

She heard Amanda gulp behind her.

"N-No, ma'am, it's about the report she didn't turn in this m-morning," Sue whimpered, clutching a folder in her hands.

"Oh, didn't she? Well, I asked her to submit an urgent report this morning, which I asked her to prioritise, and she did. I'm satisfied," Hermione said bossily, earning curious looks from bystanders. "Who are you to tell her off how she does her work, Sue?"

"I apologise, ma'am," Sue said, throwing Amanda a disgusted look. She looked on the brink of tears and Hermione instantly felt sorry for her unprofessional bitch-mode behaviour. She'd surely have to deal with Mr. Burton later, but that was something she didn't worry about now. "If you excuse me, I'll be finishing this report before Mr. Burton returns from his meeting." She dashed off and sat down at her desk in front of her boss' office, looking sour.

Hermione then turned to face Amanda, whose face was glowing, sweat on her forehead.

"There. Was that so hard? Can't you, just for once, stand up for yourself?" she said angrily, projecting her frustration at Draco Malfoy for unknowingly resurfacing buried feelings for him at her helpless looking secretary. And then she stormed off to her own meeting, and left Amanda there rooted on her spot.

~.~.~

Hermione sat by the fireplace, going through her speech for her next case. She didn't really understood why she always got the cases like for instance, the alcoholic husband who'd been in jail and reported for domestic violence, filing for custody for his children, ended up being in her charge. These were the common instances where she had to disregard personal opinions or feelings, no matter what she thought of her clients.

A knock on her door startled her. Looking at her clock, Hermione pulled her duvet over her shoulders tighter, got up and walked towards the door. When she looked through the peephole, she was surprised to see Astoria Greengrass standing in front of her front door.

"Oh," she said in greeting. "Astoria!"

Astoria flung her arms around her, clearly delighted to see her. True, they had been friends before, but they had somehow drifted apart, especially since Draco's unexpected marriage to her. They had even hardly spoken a word to each other after that. It was mainly due to the guilty feelings Hermione felt towards the other woman because she had slept with Draco once two years ago. At the funeral of his mother. How immorally awful was that?

"You look fantastic, Hermione," Astoria said, looking Hermione up and down. "How have you been?"

"Fine, I guess," Hermione replied airily, gesturing Astoria inside. She closed the door behind her. "How'd you know I live here? I mean, you've never been here before." The last time Astoria had visited her was in her previous flat in Diagon Alley, and before she became Mrs Draco Malfoy.

"Draco gave me your address," Astoria said, shrugging off her robe. "I hope you don't mind the sudden imposition."

"No, it's fine," Hermione said.

"Did you get my Owl?"

"Yes, I did. Just this morning." Walking to the kitchen, Hermione got a bottle of gillywater and a glass, and walked back to the living room, where Astoria sat on the leather couch, making herself comfortable.

"Thanks," she said when she took the drink from Hermione. "It's a nice place you got yourself here. Fantastic view, too."

"Astoria, I don't think you came here just to marvel at my fantastic view, do you?"

"No, but I wanted to see you," Astoria said merrily.

"Well, I'm glad to see you, too," Hermione said uncomfortably. "How's the baby?" She threw a fleeting glance at Astoria's belly and immediately regretted it.

Astoria, smiling and stroking her still flat belly, replied casually, "Thanks, it's all right. I went for a check-up last week. Did Blaise tell you?" Hermione nodded.

"I found out about five weeks ago," Astoria told her, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. "I guess I'm lucky that I found out before my husband turned in the divorce petition." There were tears in her emerald-green eyes as she said this, blinking them away. "I don't blame him. I'm fine with it, actually."

"How can you be fine with it?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "Did you talk with him about it?"

"About the pregnancy?"

"Yes…No, I mean, about the divorce issue."

"When he's not travelling then he's staying at his parents'. I don't see him much around. But I'm fine with it, really," Astoria said as if merely discussing the change of weather. "So, how's everything with your life? Doing great?"

"Astoria, can we drop this for a moment, please? It's not about me right now. Your husband wants to divorce you, and you're pregnant, and you're 'fine with it'?"

"He's been talking about divorcing me for over a year now," Astoria said curtly, looking around the room, "I didn't expect he'd actually do it."

"But…why? Did he tell you the reason?"

"He didn't have to. I know why." She looked Hermione in the eye, her expression cold. "I was just wondering if you were planning to sleep with him again like you did two years ago, on his mother's funeral. He let it slip during an argument, so don't give me that look as if you don't know what I'm talking about."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "That sodding son-of-a—" then she closed her mouth, biting her bottom lip. "I'm so sorry, Astoria, I really am. I know what you must be thinking of me. I don't know what happened that night. I'm such a—"

"—a lying goddamn bitch, who had a one-one stand with your friend's husband?" Astoria filled in, her eyes swimming in tears. But she waved it off. "It's all water under the bridge, right? It's not like it wasn't his fault, too."

Hermione briefly questioned Astoria's sanity, because if it were her husband who had cheated on her and then filed for divorce two years later while she was pregnant, Hermione would make sure that Draco got his treasured manhood ripped out and fed to a giant hippogriff.

Yet, Astoria just sat there, and, despite the angry tears in her eyes that could as well only have been triggered by her hormones, she didn't seem too upset at all. As if she had already accepted the fact that her husband was a lying cheat and an arsehole and she could do nothing about it.

"Why are you really here, Astoria?" Hermione asked softly, leaning back in her seat.

"I don't know," Astoria answered, staring outside the window. It was already dark outside and the lights of the London Bridge were shining like stars. "My sister suggested talking to a divorce solicitor. Well, I didn't see a problem talking to you then, even though you're the one he cheated on me with."

"I'll work this out for you," was all Hermione could say, "we'll file a counter-petition and I guarantee you alimony and child support from him, and he won't get a knut from you. But you have to tell him about the pregnancy."

"I'm not even sure if I want to keep the baby," Astoria whispered, looking on the ground. "How can I raise a child on my own, in this messed up life, with a father who doesn't even want it?"

"You don't know that. Tell him about it."

"I'm so angry, Hermione, at him and…at you, but it doesn't change anything anyway, does it?" Astoria drank from her glass and refilled it, her hands were shaking. "I know he still loves you, and he always wanted to be with you."

"That's not true!" Hermione exclaimed. She leaned forward and squeezed her hand.

Astoria snorted, shaking her off. "I better leave. I'll make an appointment with you for next week, if that's okay." Hermione nodded, saying nothing.

There was another knock on the door. Astoria was throwing her robe over and opened it.

"Oops," said the voice outside. It was Amanda. "Oh, hi!"

"Hello," Astoria said in greeting. Then she turned to Hermione, her eyebrows raised as if she knew something. "I'll see you next week then."

"I didn't mean to—" Amanda said quickly as she looked after Astoria taking the lift, "—intrude. Who was that?" she asked Hermione curiously.

"That was Astoria Malfoy," Hermione said, ushering Amanda inside.

"Wow, she's striking. And that Malfoy-arse wants to divorce her?" Amanda said, astounded. "Something's definitely wrong with him. Though, on the other hand—" she looked at Hermione, her eyes gleaming, "—he wants you, so maybe—"

"Amanda, what do you want?" Hermione cut her off.

"I'm sorry for imposing on you at this late hour." She took a deep breath, then continued, "I just didn't like the way you left earlier, after you humiliated me in front of everybody."

"I humiliated you?"

"Yeah, now bloody Sue's gonna make my life a living nightmare," Amanda cried, "I can deal with her myself, you know. I didn't ask you to step in for me; all I asked was to talk to Mr. Burton that he shouldn't go 'round, displaying me like a sex object to brag to his little friends. What you did was humi—"

Hermione didn't know what possessed her, but she cut Amanda off with a kiss, pinning her against the door. Amanda was as surprised and shocked as Hermione was, but she was kissing her back.

After Hermione drew back, she asked breathily, "You're staying here tonight, aren't you?"

Amanda only nodded and whimpered.

"Good, because there's something I have to talk with you about," Hermione said.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. Please, if you're enjoying it so far and want me to finish it, leave a comment below or PM me. It's hard getting inspired if I know that no one's reading this anyway. :)

About the story: I'm a Draco/Hermione shipper, so there'll be subtle love scenes with this pairing in future chapters (if I decide not to abandon this story). But it remains mainly femmeslash. Amanda has a big secret she's keeping from Hermione, so does Hermione and Draco together; it's the very reason Hermione hates him so much. Thanks for reading. Feel free to check out my other stories if you're into femmeslash or Dramione. c",)