Chapter 2

"Liza, you're going to make yourself late if you keep changing outfits, for fuck's sake. Oh shit! Shoot, I mean. This is going to take some getting used to."

Liza laughed at Maggie from her bedroom, turning to glance at her reflection one last time. The bedroom looked like a suitcase had exploded, shoes and blazers and dresses flung across the furniture. Today was her first day at her new job, and she wanted to look good. For all her outfit changes, she'd settled on a simple black pencil skirt, a pale blue blouse and modest black flats. She had a blazer tucked into her bag, just in case Diana let her sit in on a meeting. She figured that an assistant should fade into the background instead of standing out. Liza brushed her hair back into a ponytail, thinking wryly that she had plenty of training in being invisible. David had sure thought she was.

She grabbed her bag and phone and stepped out into the living room, doing a little spin for Maggie and Caitlin, who was packed and ready to go for daycare, her Dora the Explorer backpack hanging haphazardly off her shoulder as she munched on a banana.

"You look perfect, as always" Maggie smiled at her, a touch of nostalgia flickering in her eyes. She had, after all, been there with Anna, Liza's mom, as Liza had run out the door on her first day of school. Seeing the young woman before her, the daughter she never had, tugged on her heartstrings just a little bit. "Here." She thrust a brown bag into Liza's hands. "I made you lunch. Caitlin's is in her bag."

"Aww, Mags, thank you!" Liza tucked the bag into her tote carefully, next to her dog-eared copy of Look Homeward Angel. She held out her hand to Caitlin and grinned back at Maggie as she tugged her daughter towards the door. "Thank you, Maggie," she repeated earnestly. When she got her first paycheck, she was going to get Maggie a thank you gift, although she knew she could never truly repay her for all she had done.

"Go, go, get. You can't be late on your first day. Me, on the other hand, I'm going back to bed and waking up at a reasonable hour."

Liza flashed her a final smile, and set off on the first day of the rest of her life.

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"You're late."

Liza jumped at the sound of Diana's sharp voice right behind her, the tone of her voice stern, and impatient. Liza spun around in the chair that she had sat down in approximately 10 seconds ago and looked up at Diana, glancing quickly at the clock on the wall behind her. 9:15 A.M. She'd arrived at the office at 7:45, been greeted at the front desk by a stern looking women named Linda from HR, who had given Liza the briefest of office tours, taken her to get her ID made, and sat boredly playing candy crush on her phone as Liza had filled out what seemed to be an endless amount of forms in the HR office.

"I was in HR, squaring away all my paperwork. I'm here now, and I'm ready to work." Liza squared her shoulders and stood, towering slightly above Diana. She was naturally tall and thin, and her mother had desperately wanted her to become a dancer. Ballet lessons for Liza lasted exactly two hours before it became abundantly apparent that she was lacking in the grace department.

"Here," Diana thrust a messy manilla folder, two manuscripts and some haphazardly scribbled notes into Liza's arms. "Those manuscripts need to be returned to Editorial. Make sure they end up on Aaron's desk, not Nora's, or I'll never hear the end of it. Type up my notes and that report for the staff meeting today at 1:30. And read through my notes on the Jane Austin republish. I need you to on top of that. Start a Twitter account for Jane Austen, make sure it's up and running for the meeting later, and get some fun content up on there, ASAP." She looked Liza up and down slowly, and Liza was suddenly conscious of the inexpensive outfit she was wearing. She'd noticed that everyone seemed to be wearing hip, cool, and expensive clothing. Except Linda from HR.

"You can do witty, right? Your English degree didn't get sucked out of you when you popped out a child, did it?"

Liza leveled a look at Diana. "It did not. And her name is Caitlin. She's 3."

"Mmmhmm," Diana responded, clearly distracted by something behind Liza. Liza turned and glanced over her shoulder, following Diana's line of sight. A man was crossing the room, headed towards a corner office, followed by a handful of staff members all rattling off information to him. He was incredibly tall, towering over most of the people in the room. He had brown hair, a touch of stubble, and was wearing a stunning blue suit. He oozed authority and confidence, and Liza had to blink a few times to recenter her focus.

"That's…." Liza started, but Diana cut her off.

"Charles." She said breathlessly. "Charles Brooks."

"The editor-in-chief, right?"

"Yes. Empirical was his father's company." A slightly flushed Diana turned and walked back into her office, Liza on her heels. "He's 41, has two kids, married, but that's on the rocks from what I hear. His wife left him 4 months ago. Disappeared off somewhere to 'find herself'" Diana scoffed.

Liza appraised her new boss, a slight smile playing across her lips. "You like him."

Diana flushed a bit more and rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. What's not to like? He's tall, rich, gorgeous, smart. I'm 45 Liza, not 85."

Sensing that age and dating were borderline sensitive subjects for Diana, Liza took that as her cue to leave.

"I'll get right to work on all of this. Anything you'd like me to prioritize?"

Diana thrust out an empty coffee mug. "Black, two sugars. Make sure it's hot."

Liza took the mug and exited Diana's office, dumping the stack of documents and notes on her desk before scanning the room to locate the break area again. She made her way over to the coffee bar, only to be greeted by a ridiculously complex espresso machine, covered with knobs and levers. She took pause, glancing around to see if there was any sort of instruction sheet nearby.

"Need some help?" Liza turned around to see a short, very pretty blonde girl smiling up at her. Liza thought they may be around the same age, but the girl in front of her exuded cool, collected confidence.

"Yes, please," She whispered, handing the coffee mug over. "It's my first day. I'm Liza, Liza Miller."

"Ahh, you're Diana's newest victim, right? Hopefully you last longer than the last few. If you make it a week I think you'll have set a record. I'm Kelsey, by the way. Kelsey Peters."

"Nice to meet you." Liza pegged her as an assistant, and hoped she was making her first new friend in the city. "What department do you work in?"

"I'm a junior editor in editorial. Youngest ever, actually."

Liza gaped at her, totally surprised. "You're a junior editor? How long have you been here?"

"4 years. 5, if you count the internship I did when I was at NYU. I'm 26. I got a job here right after graduation interning for Charles. Got promoted six months ago."

"That's amazing."

Kelsey pressed a button on the machine and it came alive, sputtering and brewing out dark black coffee. What about you? What's your story?"

"I, um, I actually worked at Random house for a little bit. I went to Dartmouth. I actually was working in editorial there, but I left when I had my daughter. Life happened, you know, and 4 years later I find myself here. Newly divorced, single mom, starting over. This is the only job I could find."

Kelsey pulled the steaming mug out of the machine, passing it to Liza with two sugar packets. "Good for you. I can't imagine having to start over in this business, let alone with a toddler and no husband. More power to you. Listen, you should get that back to Diana because if it's anything less than scalding hot you'll have to come back and make it again. But I'll catch up with you – maybe we can do lunch tomorrow?"

Liza nodded and smiled down at Kelsey. Her first work friend. "I'd like that. And thank you," she gestured towards the coffee machine, which was hissing out steam.

"Of course! As Taylor Swift said, there's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."

"I think that was Madeline Albright."

Kelsey furrowed her brow and tilted her head. "Who?"

Liza choked back a laugh, and smiled. "Never mind. Thank you again, Kelsey. I really appreciate it."

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Charles

Charles leaned back in his desk chair, closing his laptop with a sigh and a yawn. He was in desperate need of some coffee. He hadn't been in the office for a few days, having had to stay at home with Nicole, who was getting over the flu. He'd come in early this morning, been in endless meetings, and was whipped. It was just past noon, and he still had the all-staff meeting to get through.

He stood and stretched his legs, pulling open his office door. He had some paperwork to go over, but he needed to hit up the coffee machine if he had any hopes of getting through the day. It was quarter after 12, and the bullpen was mostly deserted. Diana and a few senior editors had gone out to lunch, and she'd popped her head into his office to invite him. He appreciated the gesture, but Diana's motives were humorously transparent. She was a friend and a trusted employee, but he knew she would never be anything more than that. She was a lot.

Charles headed towards the coffee bar at the opposite end of the room, and a flash of movement caught his eye. The bullpen wasn't empty. In fact, there was someone sitting at the desk designated for Diana's assistant. Last he knew, her last assistant had fled the building in tears.

This girl didn't seem to notice him. She sat at her desk, eating a brown bag lunch with a book propped up on a stack of manuscripts. He squinted at the book cover. Look Homeward, Angel. The book was worn and dog-eared, clearly a favorite. The girl, women, he mentally corrected, was tall and thin, with long, warm brown hair that hung over her shoulder in loose waves. She seemed oblivious to his presence, to the world around her in general, and something about her made him smile.

He glanced at her a few more times as his coffee brewed, and only when he walked back past her, closer to her desk this time, that she looked up. She was very pretty, with warm brown eyes. She smiled at him politely, and he nodded to her, wanting to stop but unable to think of what to say. There was something about her, and he wanted to know more.

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A few hours later, Liza sat in the back of the conference room, her blood boiling as she glared at the back of Diana's head. She really wanted to like Diana, but the woman was making it impossible.

Liza had floated an idea to Diana earlier and had been quickly shut down. Except moments ago, Diana had presented Liza's idea at the all staff meeting, to much excitement and praise. Diana had practically levitated out of her chair when Charles, the very handsome CEO, lauded her suggestion. Liza wanted to throw her notebook at her boss's overinflated head, but held back, taking deep, steadying breaths. Kelsey was sitting a few seats away, and shot her a puzzled look. Liza slipped out her phone, and pulled up Kelsey's newly added contact.

That idea was mine. Two hours ago she told me it was a terrible idea. So mad.

Liza could see Kelsey slip her phone out of her pocket and a few moments later, a new message popped up.

Honestly, not surprised. Def isn't the first time.

Liza rolled her eyes as she slid her phone back into her pocket and tuned back into the meeting, which was finally wrapping up. She took a few moments to observe Charles. She hadn't actually been introduced to him yet, and didn't expect to be. She was just a lowly assistant. But it was clear from the way Diana spoke about him that she had a raging crush on the man, and Liza could see why. He was incredibly well spoken and clearly very smart. His employees clearly respected and admired him, and more than one woman in the room couldn't keep her eyes off of him. He was tall, with broad shoulders, piercing blue eyes and a shadow of stubble. His smiles seemed genuine, but Liza observed a tiredness in his eyes that she saw every time she looked in the mirror. From the gossip that Diana had been spewing, Charles was a newly single dad of two young kids, his wife having taken off for parts unknown without explanation. David had his faults, for sure, but Liza always knew where to find him, and he would never take off on Caitlin. His singular redeeming quality.

People began pushing back from their chairs and filing out of the room, so Liza stood and stepped over to Kelsey. The blonde glanced up from her phone and smiled.

"Want to do drinks tonight? You can meet my bestie, Lauren. You'll love her."

Liza started to open her mouth, then shut it. Kelsey had no reason to believe that Liza wasn't just another 28 year old single millennial, slave to the grind, no obligations to keep her from staying out drinking all night.

"I, I can't. I'm sorry." Liza pushed open the glass door and stepped back out into the bull pen. "It's a long story."

"Is everything alright?" Kelsey paused, touching Liza's arm. "Please don't tell me you have one of those crazy possessive boyfriends that makes you get permission to go out with your girls."

Liza smiled down at Kelsey. "No, definitely not. I, uh, I have a daughter. She's three."

"You're married?"

"Not anymore, thank god. We just finalized the divorce. I've got custody of Caitlin, so as much as I would love to hang out with you tonight, I need to go home. My roommate is picking her up from daycare, but I've got to get home."

"Wow." She and Kelsey walked in silence for a moment. "How old are you?"

"28"

"That's heavy. More power to you." They had made their way to Liza's desk, the quiet turning slightly awkward. Liza set her phone and notepad down on her desk.

"You don't have many friends with kids, do you?"

Kelsey flushed and straightened. "Honestly, I think you're the first. It's cool, you just caught me off guard."

"I get it. No offense taken. I do really want to hang out with you, but my daughter comes first, always. So post work drinks aren't really in the cards for me most nights."

"Totally understandable. We'll figure it out!" Kelsey leaned in and gave Liza a quick hug. "I think we're going to be good friends, Liza. I can feel it in my bones." Kelsey started to walk away, then spun around. "You do know that there's a child care center a few floors down, right? For all the corporate babies who have parents that work in this building. Pretty sure working here gets you a discounted rate. I'm surprised Diana didn't tell you."

Liza exhaled and rolled her eyes. "I'm not."

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The next day….

Liza carefully balanced the bag of takeout in one hand and the wobbly drink tray in the other as the elevator door dinged and opened onto Empirical's main floor. She could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket, but couldn't risk trying to answer it without spilling overpriced fish onto the floor. Pausing at her desk to shrug her purse off her shoulder, she hustled to Diana's door, quietly pushing it open.

Diana was having a working lunch meeting with Charles, and had ordered Liza to go out and fetch them lunch. Liza herself hadn't had anything besides a 7am granola bar and a bite of Cait's Uncrustable, and her stomach was grumbling.

"Finally!" Diana exclaimed, leaning back in the black leather chair. Charles, who was leaning back on the matching couch, jumped up to pull the door open for her. Liza smiled graciously at them and stepped inside, veering for a flat surface to set things down on. She began unpacking the food, handing Diana her cardboard container of fish as she and Charles returned to their conversation. They were discussing the repackaging of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart trilogy, one of Liza's favorites.

"Things Fall Apart is one of my favorite books. I actually think it's required reading now in high school."

"It is." The words were out of Liza's mouth before she could stop herself, and Diana tossed her an irritated glance. Apparently assistants were to be seen and not heard. Charles however, turned to look at her.

"Have you read it?" Personally, he couldn't imagine most twenty somethings to have the patience to read the series, but this girl's interest in the books seemed genuine.

"Yeah, I read the entire trilogy. I couldn't put it down."

Diana snatched the drink Liza was handing her and interjected, clearly trying to regain Charles' attention. "Yes, the trilogy is groundbreaking."

"Oh, so you have read it. What's your favorite."

"Of the trilogy? Oh, well, um…"

Charles watched Diana struggle for a moment, a small smile teasing the corner of his mouth. He was certain Diana hadn't read the series, and couldn't help toying with her.

"Probably the second book."

Liza noticed her boss struggling. "No Longer at Ease."

Diana flung another annoyed glance at her. "Then put the box down."

"Is a great title for the second book, don't you think? All about a man caught between two worlds. Adiche's Americanah comes close to capturing that experience, but nothing measures up to Achebe."

Charles smiled at the girl, impressed with her knowledge. Most of Diana's recent hires had been nice enough, but lacked the substance needed to make it in publishing. This one was different, however, and Charles was intrigued.

Diana noisily exhaled and shoved her food back at Liza. "You know what I'm not impressed with, is the state of this cod. It's freezing." Diana balled up her dirty napkin and tossed it on top of the box Liza was holding. "Take that on your way out."

Liza could tell that Diana was seething, and with a polite smile at both, she backed out of the office. Charles called out a belated thanks, and she smiled gratefully at him as she hurried back to her desk. She'd really stepped in it this time. Maybe she wouldn't last longer than the last assistant. She flung herself down into her desk chair, picking up her phone to check the time. She had a photo message from Cait's daycare, and smiled at the picture of her daughter giggling away on the swings. A well-timed reminder of why she needed to stick it out in this job, no matter how frustrating her boss was. Liza was determined to become invaluable and therefore indispensable to Diana, even if the woman made her want to rip her hair out.

Her phone buzzed again, this time with an incoming call from Kelsey.

"Hey Kel….."

"Liza, I need your help. Right now." Kelsey sounded pained, almost in tears.

"Where are you?"

"Bathroom. Please, Liza, I need your help."

Oh boy, Liza thought. This couldn't be good. "I'm on the way."

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20 minutes later, Liza exited the bathroom, wiping her damp hands on her skirt. She'd stood at the sink for a good five minutes after Kelsey had dashed out, her face red with humiliation. She swore Liza to secrecy about what she had needed Liza to do, but Liza didn't plan on telling a soul. Well, maybe Maggie. She'd get a kick out of it. One thing was for certain, her friendship with Kelsey was certainly cemented. Pulling a menstrual cup out of a relative stranger's hooha would do that to you.

Liza pushed open the door to the bathroom, letting it swing shut behind her. Almost immediately, she ran into something solid. Looking up, she realized it was someone, not something. Charles Brooks glanced down at her, his hands reaching out to steady her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Brooks. I didn't see you there."

He smiled at her, and Liza noticed the piercing blue color of his eyes, and the slight wrinkles around his eyes when he smiled at her. He certainly was handsome, even more so up close.

"No apologies necessary, ah, uh, I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"I just started earlier this week. I'm Liza, Liza Miller."

"Liza." He repeated, moving his hand to grasp hers, shaking it. "I won't forget that. And you can call me Charles. Mr. Brooks was my father."

"Of course."

He released her hand, rocking back and forth on his heels for a moment. "I wanted to tell you that I appreciated your thoughts about Achebe, even if Dianna didn't. You're working in marketing, but you're well read." He observed.

"I studied literature at Dartmouth. I, uh, I took the job working for Dianna to get my foot in the door. Marketing is fascinating, but my heart is in editorial."

"Mine as well. I don't get to do nearly enough of it now, though." He paused for a moment and tilted his head back towards his office and her desk. "Walk with me." He took a step down the hallway, nodding at employees they passed. "I want to apologize for Diana's behavior earlier. She can be, well, a lot to handle. She's brilliant, absolutely, but she'll give you a run for your money."

Liza nodded and smiled politely as they reached her desk. "Thank you."

Charles stepped back, nodding at her. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Liza. I look forward to working with you. I think, uh, I think you'll do well here."

"You hardly know me."

Charles smirked, slipping his hands in his pockets and stepping backwards. "I just have a feeling. Time will tell." He nodded and turned, heading back to his office. Liza watched him go, a feeling she couldn't quite place settling into her body. The winds were shifting, and she can't wait to see what the future holds.