You & I

Seven

ELIZA'S POV

Another hour and I'm out of here.

Pushing the papers around my desk, I've been entranced for the last couple of hours, trying desperately to complete the work I'm behind on. I mean, I'm not really behind, but it's Thursday and if I want the weekend to myself, I have to finish up here. I'm out of the office early tomorrow since Arizona and Suzanna have that freaking gala, and even though I'm trying to not think about it, it's not that simple. I've seen her once this week at home, but it's not enough. It's also not enough having her at times, while Suzanna gets her the rest of the week.

I know there's nothing between them, but I want her attention on me. Fully. Not only when she's available. Not sneaking off to get ten minutes together on a different floor, or locked away in here. Suzanna already hates me since she kinda caught us on Monday, but Arizona tells me everything will be okay. I'm not convinced, and I'm fully expecting her to go batshit crazy at some point, but I'm focusing my mind on the good in my life. I'm focusing on my job, and the sweetest woman I've ever met.

Glancing up, I find a presence in my doorway. A hostile presence. "Suzanna, is everything okay?"

"Sure." She steps inside, closing the door. "You seem to be on track here…"

"Yeah, almost finished for the day." I smile, removing my glasses. "Did you need something?"

"Yes." She nods. "I need the last five years worth of financial reports…"

"Oh, uh…now?" I furrow my brow. "It will take me all night to get them to you."

"Then you'd better get cracking." She gives me a sarcastic smile. "No time like the present, right?"

"But I have plans." My forehead creases. "You can't just drop that on me and expect it here and now."

"Cancel your plans." She shrugs as she backs up. "You work me for me now, Eliza. I don't know who you answered to at your last position, but I don't take shit. When I want something, I get it."

"Right, yeah." I sigh. "Should I bring them by when I have it all together?"

"Just leave them on my desk. I'm headed home."

"So, you don't actually need them?" I roll my eyes. "You just want me at the office later?"

"Whatever keeps your hands off my wife…" Disappearing, my mouth hangs open. I can't believe this woman. I'm not a bad person and I'd certainly never do anything to step on anyone's toes, but they're not together. The sooner she realizes that the sooner she can take the stick out of her ass.

Taking my cell from the desk beside me, I pull up a new message thread, my anger beginning to get the better of me.

E: Have to work late. See you Saturday.

A: Work late? For what?

E: No idea.

Locking my cell, I decide to leave the work I was doing and tackle the work Suzanna wants. I know she has no use for it and I know it's only going to be trashed or shredded, but if it keeps her happy and out of my hair, I'll do it. It means I won't see Arizona, but I know this is how it's going to be. Suzanna and her games. Suzanna and what she wants. The freaking world…it revolves around that fucking woman.

"Hey!" Arizona pulls me from my thoughts, breathless. "What's going on?"

"Just doing as I'm asked." I give her a sad smile. "Why are you out of breath?"

"I ran here…" She shrugs.

"In those heels?" I arch an eyebrow. "Jesus…"

"Never mind the heels." Arizona closes the door behind her. "Why are you working late?"

"Because Suzanna asked me to…"

"No." She laughs, shaking her head. "Not happening."

"Arizona, just leave it." I sigh, settling back in my seat. "It's no big deal."

"No, this is what she does." Arizona scoffs. "There is no way she's getting away with this." Motioning for me to stand, I do as she asks and approach Arizona. "Come with me…"

"Where to?"

"Just…come with me, please?" She pleads. "I had plans for us tonight and I really need that to still happen…"

"Arizona." I breathe out as she takes my hand, guiding me out of my office. "This is only going to antagonize her."

Rounding the corner, the long corridor which leads to Suzanna's office comes into view. I understand that Arizona and her wife are forever fighting, but I don't want to be a part of it. If I have to work late to shut the boss up, then I will. Shrugging my hand out of Arizona's when we come into full view of the rest of the office, I clear my throat and give her a sad smile. "People will see…"

"I don't give a fuck." She shrugs, pushing her wife's office door open.

"Arizona, hi." Suzanna slips her jacket over her shoulders. "What can I do for you?"

"Eliza has to work late?"

"Oh, yeah." Her wife nods. "I figured since she's busy, you and I could head out to dinner. Fix this mess you seem to have gotten us into…"

"Fix what mess?" Arizona asks.

"You want a divorce, no?"

"Oh, I want a divorce." She agrees. "That won't change."

"Then we will discuss it over dinner tonight…"

"Nope." Arizona shakes her head, disagreeing. "I have plans tonight. I'm not dropping everything for you. Rearrange!"

"Will you keep your fucking voice down!" Suzanna scowls. "Whatever you're trying to do…just stop, Arizona."

"Do you or do you not need Eliza to work tonight?"

"I do," Suzanna says, grabbing her purse. "She knows what I need…"

"Bullshit!" Arizona steps back out of Suzanna's office, bumping into me as she does. "Hey, Beth!" She yells over the other side of the room, Suzanna's assistant now standing. "Take my wife off my hands…she needs some fucking stress relief!"

"ARIZONA!" Suzanna whispers. "Stop!"

"Scared they'll all know?" Arizona smirks, stepping closer to her wife. "Worried about your perfect little life?"

"Just stop."

"Just fuck off!" Gripping my hand, Arizona drags me back down the corridor we came from and releases me when I reach my office. "Grab your stuff, we're out of here."

"Arizona, what the hell did you just do?"

"Take my life back." She says, leaving no room for discussion. "That's exactly what I just did."

"She's going to hit the fucking roof." I laugh, nervously. Turning my back, I take my purse from the floor and pull my jacket from the back of my seat. "All hell is about to break loose…"

"Will I have you at the end of it?" Arizona's hand settles on the small of my back as I turn to face her. "Will you be mine when this is all over?"

"God, I hope so…"

"Then she can go as crazy as she wants. I'm not here for it." Pulling me into her body, Arizona kisses me hard, moaning into my mouth. "I only care about you and I, Eliza. Don't ever forget that."

Sitting on Arizona's couch, I have a bad feeling about what's just happened at the office. I know she's tired of living the life she does, but I'd like to have a job at the end of this. If she continues to piss her wife off at every given opportunity, I'm not likely to have one come Monday morning. Suzanna strikes me as the type of woman who does as she pleases, so I know my job isn't safe. I know she will fire me the moment I look at her the wrong way.

"You doing okay?" Arizona leans down behind me, pressing a kiss below my ear. "I know you didn't want that to happen before, but I'm tired of her…"

"I get that." I nod. "But I don't have the option of being fired, Arizona."

"You won't be fired." She says, certainty in her voice. "I wouldn't let that happen."

"Honestly, I'm not sure your words mean anything to your wife…"

"Please, stop calling her my wife." She sighs, climbing over the back of the couch, dropping down beside me. "She hasn't been my wife in a long time…"

"She kinda is, though."

"I know, but not through choice."

"You always have a choice, Arizona." I run my fingers through my hair. "Why didn't you ever force the divorce through?"

"It was easier to just separate." She shrugs, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I mean, I'd never been in a position where I needed the divorce, so I just let it lie."

"So, what's changed?"

"You." She gives me one of her full, dimpled smiles. "You came into my life and turned it upside down."

"And you're that confident about us?" I ask, my eyebrow raised. "You believe I'm the one for you?"

"For sure." She takes my hand. "You know how I feel about you, Eliza."

"I know, but I want you to know what you're doing. I don't want you to make a mistake with all this."

"You're not a mistake." Arizona squeezes my hand. "You're exactly what I've been waiting for…"

"I just think you need to really think this through, Arizona." Of course, I want nothing more than for her to choose me, but I'm not sure it's that easy. If I thought it was, I'd jump at the opportunity to be with her, but she has a life here. A life, a wife, a business. I don't want to come in and ruin it all for her, no matter how quickly I can feel myself falling.

"Hey…" She shifts, straddling my legs. "I want you, Eliza."

"I know but it's not that simple." My voice breaks. "I mean, can you imagine how she will react when she finds out about my past?" I laugh. "She will have a ton of fun with that…"

"Why would she find out about your past?" Arizona's forehead creases. "And even if she did, it isn't her business. Just like it's not mine…"

"Oh, come on." I roll my eyes. "She's going to love this."

"What?"

"Me…my body." I laugh again. "She's already superior to me. She's going to have a world of fun when she realizes you've downgraded to someone like me. I don't want to put you through that."

"Don't ever say that again." Arizona leans in, her lips pressing against mine. "Don't ever see yourself as less than her. You…god, you're so much more than she could ever be."

"That's sweet…" I smile as Arizona pulls back. "But it's also not true."

"Eliza…"

"Don't, Arizona." I hold up my hand between us. "Don't try to defend me or what I'm not."

"Huh?"

"I know what I am. I know I could never compare to the women of New York City. I know, but I'm okay with it. I always have been and I always will be…"

"That's complete lies." Her hand settles on the side of my face. "You know, given half the chance…I'd leave this city behind and run away with you."

"Yeah?" I lean into her touch.

"Without any hesitation." She whispers, her lips inching closer. "You've totally stolen me, Eliza. Nothing Suzanna says or does could ever change that. Nothing could ever pull me away from you."

"I wish that were true…"

"If she threatened to take the business from me…I'd give it to her. I'd hand it over in a heartbeat."

"ARIZONA!" A pounding on the door startling us both, Arizona rolls her eyes and climbs from my lap. "Open the fucking door!"

"Fucking relax!" She yells, pulling the door open. "The next time you come here hammering on my door, I'm actually going to strangle you, Suzanna."

"What the hell was that back at the office?" She pushes past Arizona and the door slams shut. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm the woman who's tired of your shit. I'm the woman who was once foolish enough to become your wife…but I'm now done."

"This is you, isn't it!" She points my way. "Why can't you leave well enough alone?"

"Huh?" I switch my gaze between them both.

"She was quite happy living how she was." Suzanna scoffs. "Then you come on in here, flaunting yourself and making her salivate."

"Um, that isn't what happened." I shake my head. "I met her out of town. I had no idea she was married."

"Well now you do, so why don't you back off?"

"B-Because Arizona doesn't want that." I furrow my brow. "S-She isn't your wife anymore."

"Don't dare tell me what she is!" Suzanna approaches me and I stand from the couch. "You may be fucking her all over the office, but she's legally my wife."

"Mm, but she's not fucking you anymore is she?"

A sudden sharp slap across my face shocking me back into the room, I've totally overstepped, I know I have. I knew this was all going to go horribly wrong and it just did. Suzanna has just made it perfectly clear how low I am in her business.

"Touch her again and I swear to god." Arizona steps between Suzanna and I.

"Sorry, I-I'll go." Feeling my emotions get the better of me, I pick my purse up and step past Arizona. "Sorry, just…I'm sorry."

"Eliza, don't dare leave." Arizona grips my wrist, pulling me back against her. "Get out!" She spits, her attention now fixed on her wife. "Get the fuck out of my home."

"You're ridiculous." Suzanna laughs. "You're willing to fuck up our arrangement so you can play happy couples with her?" She looks at me with disgust. "I mean, you could've chosen someone who was all woman, Arizona."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Pushing her wife through her home, her body connects with the door. "Huh?"

"Maybe you could pay for her reconstructive surgery." She laughs. "Maybe that's why she's here. Don't you see the dollar signs in her eyes?"

My mouth falling open, I can't believe what I'm hearing. I knew she was a bitch but for another woman to say that to me, to insinuate that I'm here for Arizona's money, her wealth, it's sickening.

"I need to leave." My voice barely audible, I feel like I'm underwater. Nothing seems real but I know I need to leave. That's a no-brainer. "Goodbye, Arizona."

"Eliza…"

"I, uh…thanks for the opportunity at the office but I can no longer fill the position." Holding out my hand, Suzanna takes it in her own and shakes. "Good luck with the future of your business."

"You're leaving?" My boss stares at me.

"Don't leave." Arizona closes the distance between us but I back away.

"I think it would be best." I nod, switching my eyes to Suzanna. "You may be under the impression that I'm here to get a new pair of tits, but I'm really not." I shake my head. "I've been through enough to last me a lifetime and I can't work with you. Not when you have a nasty attitude and a bland personality to match."

"Calm down, Eliza." Suzanna rolls her eyes. "Don't be so sensitive."

"Arizona, I hope this all works out for you." I give her a genuine smile, unshed tears in both of our eyes. "Don't let her control you forever. You deserve more than that."

Stepping out into the corridor, I release a deep breath. I don't like what's just happened in Arizona's apartment but this is the right thing to do. Getting out of a potentially toxic relationship will always be the right thing to do. I can't be with Arizona while Suzanna is around. No matter how little she cares for her wife, I can't be a part of it. It was only a matter of time before she said those things to me, and now that I've confirmed just what kind of woman Suzanna is, I can walk away with the knowledge that I'll never have to see her again.

Arizona, though…I'll miss her.

Thanks for reading, guys. Reviews are welcome and appreciated as always.