Hermione stood amongst the other employees of the company, anticipating the arrival of the new owners of the company. She bit her lip, her stomach jumping with nerves while Pansy stood on her toes, peering at the entrance.

"How do you think the new boss will look? Will he be super young or as old as Mr Flimby?" Hermione hadn't paid too much attention to her friend's question; her mind had been too preoccupied with fretting, anxiety gnawing at her brain.

What if the new CEO saw her position as redundant and fired her? Then what? She couldn't be a housewife. She—

Her thoughts were broken up by a sharp gasp from Pansy. "Merlin, Hermione, you've got to see this!" Pansy wasn't the only person who was shocked, it seemed. Flabbergasted gasps and chatter resonated amongst the crowd, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts and bringing her back to the present.

"Pansy, why is everyone so shocked?" Hermione asked.

The raven-haired female pointed at the entrance. It took quite a bit of effort to see what she was referring to, what with the amount of people standing in front of her, obstructing her vision. But when she finally got to see what everyone got so hyped about, boy oh boy ,she almost fell on her bottom with shock.

Platinum blonde hair. Tall aristocratic stature. Scowling face. Pricey Italian robes.

Draco fucking Malfoy.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." She muttered under her breath.

"Oh, don't tell mehebought the company!" Pansy exclaimed, looking quite scandalized. "Hey if he did, wouldn't that mean he would become your boss?"

Hermione hoped that that wasn't the case.

Maybe he's just an investor.

Maybe he's looking for work?

Maybe he's working for an architecture company that'll remodel the building.

Her head swam with wild possibilities that grew more and more unlikely with every step he and several other men in suits took into the building.

And then he stood, right in front of every shocked employee.

And he began to talk, immediately shattering all those wild possibilities.

"Greetings to you all, I'm sure that my face is quite familiar to most of you in the crowd." Hermione felt him stare at her. "And as many of you know I'm quite a controversial figure in the wizarding world. Yes, I am a former Death Eater, in fact the mark still mars the skin on my left forearm. And there's the ludicrous rumours about me engaging in criminal activity that still follow me around. I would like you to disregard my previous transgressions for the sake of this corporation's success. I want the environment here to be one of comfort to every employee and if we want to achieve that we need to alleviate any scepticism or doubt about me being your boss.

Look, I'm not going to take anymore of your time with my speech. Just continue to do your work. Thank you." There was that short span of silence that stretched on whereby people were unsure whether they should applaud or not, which was quickly broken by thunderous clapping from the otherwise reluctant employees. Everyone but Hermione clapped.

Draco and the other men in suits left, taking the elevator. That was everyone's cue to resume their usual activities. Hermione however remained rooted to the spot.

"Well, that was a pleasant surprise."

Hermione turned to Pansy. "Hey Pans?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Do you still have that flask of bourbon on you?"

Hermione's coffee break had been disrupted by the obtrusive presence of the small paper plane that flew into her forehead, the sharp edge poking her. She winced, rubbing her forehead as the note unfolded before her. She almost instantly recognised Draco's neat scrawl. His name at the bottom just confirmed her knowledge.

Granger,

Come to my office immediately.

D. Malfoy

Hermione frowned at the direct command. The idea of having him as a boss was something she hadn't and wouldn't be able to come to terms with for a very long time. With a sigh, she got to her feet, wondering whether it was worth it to keep her job.

"My, my, my. If it isn't the Hermione Granger." He drawled as Hermione walked into the large, cozy office that once accommodated Mr Flimby. Now it was home to the cold, unpleasant presence of Draco Malfoy."

"It's Mrs. McLaggen to you." She corrected pointedly.

"Ah, yes I forgot, you're Cormac's bint." He said crudely, as he got up to pour himself a drink. "I want some of the stuff that you're using Granger."

"I'm sorry what?"

"The stuff that makes you see Cormac as worthy of your affections, because Merlin knows you must have been high when you married him."

Hermione gritted her teeth, her annoyance at the man growing. "I wasn't high."

He took a sip of his firewhiskey, his eyes perusing her face with an amused look. "Ah, then it must have been the money."

Annoyed by his rude remarks, Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, her lips pulled into a frown on her face. "Don't waste any more of my time, Draco. There's work I need to complete."

"Oh, don't take offence to my comments Granger," he said, avoiding the use of her marital name. "I just find it hard to believe that someone of your status and your…" he trailed off, eyeing her with cold, sharp eyes. "...looks could go for someone like Cormac McLaggen."

Hermione flushed, taken aback by the compliment before her indignation boomeranged. "Oh, shut it Malfoy."

"It's Mr. Malfoy to you Granger, ah ,sorry. Mrs.McLaggen." He took a seat in the suede armchair by his desk.

"Now, what would you like me to do for you, Mr. Malfoy?"Hermione asked through gritted teeth.

Draco smirked. "I called you here so that we could bury the hatchet, and make some things apparent."

Bury the hatchet? Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Did the Draco Malfoy, the man that had tormented her through her adolescence, want to reconcile with her? This seemed too good to be true; she must've been dreaming.

"What would you like to make apparent?" Hermione questioned, ignoring the former portion of his words.

"First thing every morning before you do anything else, I need you to report to my office with a hot, steamy mug of coffee in your hands. And please, no milk, I like my coffee like I like my women; with dark auras." He winked at Hermione, an action that sent a chill down her spine.

"Secondly, when I give you orders, I need you to follow them to a T. No mistakes, or that might resort to punishment, Granger, and trust me you don't want to be on my bad side." Hermione found herself gulping.

"Lastly, I don't want any animosity to exist between us. I'm not that immature, entitled teenager that used to provoke you back at Hogwarts. I've changed, well, at least I've tried to change." Hermione would have to be convinced of his 'change'.

"Is that all, Malfoy?"

"Mr, Malfoy." He corrected.

"Is it all or not?"

Draco chuckled. "Why didn't I get along with you sooner, Granger?"

The work day passed quietly with nothing happening other than the revelation that Draco was the new owner of the business and their little talk. But just these two events were enough to exhaust Hermione for the entire day.

She slid her handbag over her shoulder as she made her way to the floo network, taken aback when she saw who was standing by the green flames:Cormac himself, still in his work attire.

He had a bouquet of chrysanthemums in his hand, their pleasant scent wafting into Hermione's nose. The bouquet would have been lovely coming from anyone but Cormac.

"C-Cormac! Why are you here?"

He shrugged, that ridiculously smug look plastered on his face. She tried her best not to scowl.

"I thought I'd treat my darling to a meal."

"That's sweet Cormac, and thank you for the bouquet, it's really lovely." Cormac linked his arm with Hermione and led her out of the automatically opening doors.

Unbeknownst to the pair, a certain blonde-haired grey-eyed man watched them with a surly look on his pale face.