Chapter Two:

"Oh, this is comedy gold!" wheezed Quinn, almost falling off her bar stool as her petite frame convulsed with laughter.

Santana groaned into her martini. "It's not funny Q! This is my career we're talking about. That bitch has only been here a day and I already want to throw myself off the Brooklyn Bridge."

After their painfully awkward reunion, Santana and Brittany had spent the rest of the morning discussing the Sylvester case with Will in his office.

By the time they'd finished up, the Latina had calmed down enough to think logically. She had to admit that Brittany had some good ideas. The pair would be working together for a few weeks minimum, potentially months if Sylvester went for their pitch. It would make life a whole lot easier if they could at least be civil with one another.

At lunchtime, Santana had spotted the blonde standing alone at the water cooler and decided to bite the bullet.

"Brittany, look, I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot but –'

"Listen Santana" Brittany had interjected "I get the feeling you don't like me very much and I have to say that I'm not your biggest fan either. But I'm here to work, not to be your best friend, so let's just do our jobs and keep things professional."

With that, her new colleague had turned on her $800 heels and left Santana gaping like a bewildered goldfish.

The pair hadn't spoken for the remainder of the day, with Brittany spending the afternoon doing orientation and catching up on emails.

"I was speaking to the guys earlier and Artie said she seemed really sweet." Chimed Tina, cutting through the Latina's thoughts.

Santana shot her friend a look that had her cowering back in her chair. "Yeah well, Abrams would. I'm surprised he didn't have a fucking orgasm on the spot. You should have seen the way all the guys were drooling over her."

"What, like you were this morning?" goaded Quinn.

"Quit it Fabray" Santana snapped.

Truthfully, what pissed the brunette off the most was that Brittany had been so damn nice to everyone else. She'd been charming to Will and was laughing and joking all afternoon with the guys in the department. Santana had started to think that maybe she was one of those bitches who just hated other women but when Sugar had complimented her lip gloss, the blonde had pulled a pink Chanel tube from her purse and tossed it to the secretary with a wink, saying "Keep it".

"What's wrong with me?" whined Santana as she felt the alcohol start to invade her senses. "Am I really that bad?"

"Well, you did ruin her expensive shirt and then proceed to call her a bitch. She could be forgiven for doubting your unwavering charm." Teased Kurt playfully.

Santana groaned

"Listen S" comforted Mercedes as she rubbed the Latina's arm soothingly. "You can be pretty hard to warm up to at first, I'm speaking from experience. But you are very good at your job, and underneath all that sass you have a heart of gold. I'm sure that Brittany will find that out soon enough. And if she doesn't, screw her. Remember, you're Santana freaking Lopez."

For the first time that day, Santana felt a genuine smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Thanks, 'Cedes."

All of a sudden, the lights dimmed, and a hush fell over the bar as a diminutive brunette took to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen" the brunette began "I'm Rachel Berry and I'll be singing 'On My Own' from the seminal Broadway classic Les Mis."

"I'm going to fucking kill you Fabray." Santana growled as Rachel took to the mic.

The next day, Santana woke up early with Mercedes' words ringing in her ears. She was Santana freaking Lopez and she was not going to let some stuck-up Barbie doll get in the way of her big promotion.

On the subway, the Latina's mind whirred with new ideas for the Sylvester case. She planned to go straight to see Will to discuss incorporating them into the pitch.

However, as she reached for his office door handle, she found herself clutching at thin air and she lurched forward as she jolted into something-or rather someone-hard.

"We've got to stop meeting like this Lopez." Smirked Brittany, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Santana looked up into the blondes exquisitely pretty face and for a second felt her breath catch in her throat as mocha brown eyes collided with cobalt blue.

"Ah Santana" Will's voice startled her back into reality. "Brittany has just been telling me about some brilliant ideas she's devised for the pitch. I'll let her fill you in."

The brunette wanted to slap the smug grin off of Brittany's face, but instead she smiled serenely and headed towards her desk. "Perfect."

Their conversation for the rest of the morning was strictly work-related. Aside from the occasional snarky comment, both women stayed true to their earlier pact to keep things professional and Santana began to wonder if maybe they could work well together after all.

Just as they were about to head out for lunch – separately of course- the pair were interrupted by the arrival of Michael Schuester, who was deep in conversation with his son as they stepped out of the elevator.

Michael was a tall, commanding man and, in truth, Santana had always been a little intimidated by him. He stopped by the office every other month or so but the Latina couldn't help but feel uneasy after her conversation with Will the previous day.

She took a deep breath as the two Schuesters headed for her and Brittany.

"Miss Pierce, it's good to finally meet you. I can't believe our paths have never crossed in Boston" Boomed Michael, extending his hand to the blonde.

"Pleasure to meet you sir." Brittany smiled warmly as she shook the older man's hand.

"William tells me you've brought some impressive ideas to the table for the Sylvester case."

Brittany dipped her head coyly. "I just want to help the team as best I can Sir."

"Please, call me Michael." He purred. "You keep going like this and you might give Lopez here some competition for the promotion."

Brittany gave a modest laugh as Santana plastered on her fakest smile. The two men said their goodbyes and made for Will's office, leaving the blonde smirking victoriously as Santana glowered.

"Don't worry Santana." Brittany winked as she shrugged on her coat "I'm sure he was just joking."

Joking or not, Santana knew she had to do something. She'd worked too hard for too long to let this promotion go.

Somehow, the Latina had to get the blonde out of the picture. Mercedes was right. She was Santana freaking Lopez, and Brittany Pierce wasn't going to know what hit her.