She was sitting at her desk, reading over an article, completely immersed in thought and picked up the phone absent-minded when she couldn't ignore the ringing anymore.

"We have a breaking story in the boss's office! Mr. Huntzberger actually passed out from lack of blood flow to his brain due to a massive erection caused by thinking about last night's activities."

Rory rolled her eyes as she identified the voice.

"You really are two years old, you know."

"That's not what you said last night"

"Stop" she lowered her voice and looked around nervously as if someone might hear.

"If I remember correctly..." he went on, amusement in his voice.

"Seriously stop" she was whispering by now.

"...it was something along the lines of..." he stopped for a dramatic pause and continued in a seductive voice "fuck me now, please"

Rory was covering her eyes now, blushing.

"Okay, you remind me one more time, and you'll never hear anything of the like" she said taking a deep breath "and now if you'll excuse me, I have a paper to edit"

"No wait, hold on, I actually had something to talk about" he said changing his tone completely.

She was surprised just how easily he could switch from one gear to another.

"Who's this Charles Hay kid?"

Rory stopped for a second, processing his words. She already knew this was going to be uncomfortable.

"He's ... he's this new kid, just graduated from Yale, he started working here last year"

"Yeah, well he sucks" Logan stated matter of factly "get rid of him. I read through his stuff that he's done since last year and I don't see any progress"

"Logan, let's just give him a bit more time, okay? He's totally new at this"

"Ace, this isn't a charity program here, he either delivers, or we let him go, he hasn't been delivering and your paper is not in the position to employ people just because they're very fond of ..." he trailed of as he was holding the kid's work in his hands, "cheese... Seriously a complete report on the cheese fair?"

Rory rolled her eyes again and sighed.

"Okay, listen, that was a slow week and the cheese fair is actually a pretty big deal" she argued but gave up seeing it was useless "okay, I didn't want to give him a more important topic, okay? The kid sucks. But he is a graduate of Yale, god he has gotta be able to do something readable. How am I gonna fire someone who just graduated? That is just mean."

"Rory" he started, but she cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say.

"Hey, look, he is working on something good now, so let's just wait for him to hand that in and let's get back to this in a couple of days, okay?"

She heard him sigh at the other end of the line.

"You get three days. And you're coming to the Founders' Ball with me tomorrow"

"Wait, what, hold on!" she jabbered rerunning his words in her head "What are you talking about?"

"Founders' Ball at the Museum of Modern Art, tomorrow, 7 o'clock. I need a date"

"Well, I can't, I will probably still be at work and ..." she said looking for reasons to give him.

"Ace. I'm your boss. You're coming. It's PR stuff, gotta charm the money people."

"I take it I actually have to wear a dress to this thing?" she asked annoyed.

"Yeah, this you have to wear a dress to. Anything else you do with me, you can do naked"

She rolled her eyes one more time and hung up the phone sighing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Logan stood in her bedroom in his tux and was examining her room, looking at pictures on the wall, reading the titles of books stashed on her shelves. He stopped to look at one particular picture with Rory, looking young and innocent with a woman who had the exact same eyes Rory did.

"Is this your mom?"

"What?" he heard her from the bathroom.

"Is this your mom?" he repeated holding out the picture for her to see as she poked her head out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, uhm, yeah... I'm just gonna be a minute, I am sorry"

"Need any help?" he asked with a smirk.

"Nooooo" she protested "I think you've helped enough already which is the reason we are running late right now"

"Oh c'mon Ace, I don't know what you're talking about" he said innocently, thinking of the incredible sex the two just had in between the hall and her bedroom. Seeing her in her tight black strapless dress, stilettos and her hair up in loose curls made him go absolutely wild, he just had to have her right away.

Rory was now in the bathroom trying to fix the damage done to her hair and makeup.

He moved onto her desk examining the objects and looked at her laptop that was opened.

"Okay I am done" she said, hurrying out of the bathroom and getting her coat off her bed.

"What's this?" he asked seriously, not taking his eyes off of the screen.

Rory looked up and saw what he was looking at. Without thinking twice about it, she stepped over to the desk and closed the laptop.

"Come on, let's go, we're late as it is"

"You're rewriting his story" he said looking at her now.

"Logan, can we not have this conversation right now?"

"No." he was determined, looking at her with eyes sparkling.

"You are rewriting that kid's story so I won't fire him" he stated, not even bothering to make it a question.

She looked at him, not saying anything, as if accepting a verdict.

"Rory, that's plagiarism" he said seriously.

She took a deep breath and headed out into her living room as she talked:

"I really thought you'd know the definition of plagiarism Logan, being in journalism and all. It can't be plagiarism if it's with my consent" she said annoyed, trying to avoid the argument.

He was walking after her, determined to not to let this slip.

"Don't divert the attention, Rory, you are writing the article so I won't fire him"

"I am lending him a hand, okay?" she blurted out turning to face him "just so I can buy him a little time"

"What the hell for?" he asked raising his voice "he's magically going to turn into a good writer if you buy him another couple of weeks? How long were you gonna do this? You think I wouldn't notice?"

She sighed and put her coat on while she listened to him go on. She took her purse and started out the front door. He stopped her as she opened the door.

"Why are you doing this?" he said, his voice more quiet again, looking at her intently.

"I am trying to help a kid who's starting out, why is that such a crime?"

"It's a crime because you are doing something that's not good for the paper and you are putting an extra load on yourself"

"I can handle it" she said and stepped outside. He followed her and shut the door. She was already down the stairs trying to wave down a cab. Clearly she was avoiding going into this further. He studied her for a second.

"Being an editor isn't sacrificing yourself for your coworkers, Rory. Them liking you isn't going to make you better at your job" he said, his voice more quiet. She could hear him though. She turned around.

"Oh, so you think I am not good at my job?" she asked indignant.

"I am saying you go out of your way to protect people when you should be more worried about what's good for the paper"

She stood there without being able to say anything with a look of hurt and sadness in her eyes. He stepped closer to her.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

She looked up confused, not understanding.

"Why are you doing this job?" he specified. She just stared at him, her breathing shallow.

He stepped even closer, so all he had to do was whisper for her to hear.

"You don't like this. This is not what you wanted to do, right?" he paused "You don't like the politics of this, or the handholding or tackling practical questions. You like the writing, you never wanted to do editing. You just sort of was expected to do it, right?"

She stood there staring into nothing, and he swore he could see tears forming in her eyes for a second. But she took a breath and looked at him.

"I have to do this, because it's my job. I accepted it and I promised to do my best. And that's what I am going to do. If I manage to find time to help people who need help and that doesn't interfere with my work, then you can't have a problem with that" her voice was steady, but it still felt like she was pleading with herself more than with him.

"It's important to me, because this paper is important to me. For you it might just be a business venture. For me it's a group of people, something that I gave my heart and soul into for the past six years, something that's worth fighting for."

She looked up at him, her blue eyes shining and sparkling. The sound of her voice sent shivers down his spine.

"Okay" he said, almost just mouthing the word and he wrapped his arms around her. She melted into his arms like it was a shelter and suddenly, he didn't care about everything but making her feel safe and warm.

She looked up and kissed him passionately making him forget everything.

She moved in close, pressing her body against his and resting her head on his shoulder. She slid her hands under his coat and rested them on his ass, pulling him even closer. He groaned at the contact.

He knew she was trying her best to change the subject, make him forget about this whole topic. He didn't like to be manipulated, but he had to admit, she had talent at diverting his thoughts. It amazed him how fast she could turn him on, he already felt his arousal growing.
He heard her giggling in his ear as she noticed his arousal.

"You cannot be serious" she joked "we had sex, what, 20 minutes ago?"

"It's all your fault, I have nothing to do with it" he smiled, happy but that uneasy feeling in his stomach still.

He made a mental note to figure this out. He kissed the top of her head and raised his hand to wave off a cab still holding onto her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well this is an utter bore, she thought to herself standing next to the bar looking over the herds of people dressed in their fancy gowns and jewelry.

Logan seemed to move through the crowd effortlessly, making small talk and greeting every important person. It amused her to watch him. She could tell he's had practice.

Of course she knew all the rules too, having been introduced to society by her grandparents, but she didn't have to bother about all that since she's started working. It was made clear that her goal in life wasn't to attend functions and chat with ladies, but to work for her dreams. She tried her best nevertheless, smiling politely and conversing with people Logan introduced her to.

They had been there for a couple of hours now and she stopped counting the number of times she danced with "important" people and was introduced to even more important society ladies.

She was sipping a drink thanking the heavens that at least there was an open bar.

"Getting drunk again?" his voice startled her. She turned around to face him.

"I am not carrying you home again, you know" he said snickering as he reached for a glass of wine.

"Really? Does this mean I have to pick up someone else to do that for me tonight?" she said not missing a beat and looking around examining the room "Mr. Gifford seemed more than eager to"

"Are you serious? That old bastard" Logan turned around trying to locate the gentleman.

He turned back to her.

"How you holding up?" he said, his voice affectionate.

"Oh please, this is nothing Emily Gilmore did not prep me for" she said with a scoff taking another sip from her drink.

"Emily?"

"My grandmother. Big hair, Channel costume, crazy for a good charity function"

"You've just described half of the room here" he smiled.

"Logan! Logan my darling!" they heard someone shrieking through the room. Rory saw an old lady making her way through the room towards them.

"Jesus" Rory exclaimed seeing the determination in the old lady's eyes.

"Oh good lord, Mrs. Hayworth" he sighed under his breath forcing a smile on his face "I say you make a run for it" he said to her under his breath. Rory looked at him thankfully and she turned to make her way towards the restrooms.

She sighed as she closed the door behind her. She walked into one of the stalls and closing the lid sat down to take a breather. She couldn't believe how exhausting wearing a fake smile for hours was.

She enjoyed the silence of the restroom, but her refuge wasn't long lived. She heard a couple of people coming through the door chattering casually.

"Can you believe the dress Dana is wearing? Oh my god, it must be three sizes too small"

Rory rolled her eyes hearing the annoying voice and decided to leave, she froze when she heard the next comment.

"And who's that girl Logan Huntzberger showed up with? I've never seen her"

"Oh, she is an editor" the girl said, putting an emphasis on the word 'editor'. Rory's eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"Ohhhhhhh, an editor. God, he sure likes them"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, remember when he dated that editor in Chicago?"

"For like two weeks"

"Yeah, well that's a world record for Logan"

"How long were you dating him?"

"Three days, four nights" the girl said suggestively, then they all laughed.

"Anyways. He doesn't look that into this new one. I give her a week."

"Oh please, he just probably didn't have anything better to do with his free time, I doubt it will last a week"

Rory listened stunned as the girls exited the restroom.

Her heart seemed to swell in her chest.

She was rerunning scenes in her head now.

How did this whole thing happen in the first place? And what was she thinking? Logan seemed like someone who'd do this all the time, someone who probably did do this all the time. But her? This was so unlike her. She didn't just jump into relationships that were undefined, she didn't do things without thinking. She made lists for god's sake!

She suddenly felt silly and childish. God, what was she thinking.

But then he seemed so honest and so passionate and eager. Was he just playing a role?

God, you gotta stop obsessing about this, she told herself as she got up and walked out of the stall.

She looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey. I've been looking everywhere for you. I was worried Mrs. Hayworth got to you" he said smirking, but his smile became unsure as he saw her awkward smile.

"Is everything okay?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just tired" she said trying to seem unaffected.

"Well, let's go then"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I think we've had enough boredom and chitchat for the evening" he said and lowered his voice "we should go have some fun"

Rory looked at him, her blue eyes clouded. She was staring as though she was trying to decipher his words, find a hidden meaning. He noticed.

"What is it?"

"What are we doing?" she suddenly asked, her voice determined.

"I beg your pardon?"

"What are we doing?" she repeated, slower as if she were talking to a child.

He started to feel uneasy. Once again, her mood changed suddenly. He wished he could understand or see the reasons behind it. But he was clueless.

"What are you worried about exactly?" he asked sighing, his voice more quiet and serious.

"Logan, we met, what? 5 days ago and it's been a whirlwind and I just don't see where this is going or what we're doing right now" she was jabbering, looking at the floor, her eyes moving from one spot to another.

He was painfully aware of their surroundings.

"Jesus" he whispered under his breath and took her by the hand as he walked towards the exit.

They got their coats in silence and Rory could see the troubled expression he had on. For a moment she cursed herself for saying anything, for bringing it up at all, but she didn't have time to ponder because he already lead her out into the street and they were walking on the sidewalk. He didn't stop but started talking in a low voice all the while guiding her with his hand behind her back.

"I don't know where this all came from Rory, and I certainly don't know what you want me to say. Did I do anything?"

She stopped and looked at him, regretting her outburst.

"No, it's just that..." she didn't have a chance to finish because he cut her off.

"What? Look, I don't know what this is, I haven't planned it, and I know that might be irresponsible, but I am sorry. I was drawn to you and I can't think straight when you are around, god help me, I wish I could, because you drive me fucking crazy. I feel like I have to fight you every ten minutes just because you have a mood swing and I don't follow, I'm sorry. If you're uncertain, undecided, I understand, so am I, but god, must you take it all out on me? I don't know what we are doing, I really don't, I don't know what to tell you, but I am sick of you blaming me for the things you're feeling"

She stood there listening to him, seeing the passion in his eyes and sensing the hurt in his voice. She wanted to let him know she was sorry, to let him know it's all okay, but he seemed so upset, she didn't know how to respond. This last thing he said really hit home. She stood there acknowledging everything, not knowing what to say.

"Let me get you a cab" his voice was distant, irrevocable and she could do nothing else but follow him as he waved off a cab.

He guided her in in silence.

"I'll talk to you later" he said, not even looking at her and already turning to walk away.

She felt a lump in her throat and watched him walk away as the cab sped off.