A/N: Wow! Thank you for all the favourites and follows, guys and girls! And to my special reviewers, you guys are awesome!
I had this pretty much ready to go, so yay! Another chapter!
Stuff & Nonsense - Chapter Three
Sif was starting to get suspicious. At least, according to Jane she was. Darcy propped her hip up on the Boss Lady's desk and set herself the task of reassuring her.
"Jane. Look at me." She did. Which was gratifying. "Sif couldn't care less about what us grunts do." Then she remembered her boss' position as Co-Head of Research and Development. Maybe not much of a grunt. "Even if some of us are less grunty than others."
Jane couldn't help but snicker, "Less grunty?"
"Real word. Don't knock it."
"Maybe I asked one too many questions about Jotunn in front of her-"
"Don't sweat it, honestly! We've been totally discrete." Darcy leaned over and pinned Jane with her stare. "Speaking of discrete, you did not tell me that Thor's brother was sex on legs."
Jane turned a becoming shade of puce and looked around, as if someone else could sneak into their office and just happen to overhear. "Darcy! Oh my gosh!"
"Well, he is! My freakin' ovaries exploded when he did his stridey-prowl thing towards me on the day of the interview!"
"Darcy!" Jane moaned into her hands. "What the heck did you do?"
"Nothing! Honest! My hands went nowhere near his delicious ass."
Her boss laughed a little hysterically. "And you're starting there next Monday. Please, please refrain from mentioning that you know what he looks like in front of Thor. Loki's refused to see him ever since the split and he knows you've never met him before. Frigga's the only one who talks to him now." Thor's mom was kick-ass. All elegance, but with the ability to have the three men in her life grovel on knees before her if she so much as raised an eyebrow.
"Will do, Boss Lady. So, have you come up with a reason why I'm not going to be around?"
"You're going on leave. I've been working you too hard and now that our projects have slowed down somewhat, I'm letting you go visit family for a while." Jane grinned sneakily, "And while you're there, if we need more time, a family emergency will come up."
"Oo, Janie, you are a sly one!" Darcy leaned over and gave the other woman a gentle shove. "Who knew, under all that prim and properness was the heart of a trickster!"
"Shut up," Jane happily mumbled, blushing furiously.
"Such an awesome idea," Darcy said firmly, nodding. Then she felt her face twist into an evil smile herself. "This, dear Jane, is going to be fun."
"Not too much fun though, right, Darce?" Jane pulled out her mom card and started waving it about. "We have to find out who the leak is."
"I'll be all over it like a rash. Trust me!"
She loved her office. It was official. If it were legal, she'd marry it. Well, just move in with it maybe. She wasn't old enough for that kind of commitment. Darcy pulled her eyes away from the gorgeous view the huge windows offered (so much natural light!) and looked back around the office she shared with the seven other members of the Jotunn PR team. The high roof and lack of walls made the room seem even bigger and the furniture was spread organically around the space. She felt a twinge of guilt at her deception, but buried it deep, compromising with herself that she would work damn hard at her job, however long it lasts. And play secret agent. Best of both worlds, see?
The Manager of Media and Public Relations was a gorgeous young woman about Jane's age called Shauna. Right now she was sitting on one side of the 'Solution Space', a shared round table, dark ringlets bouncing as she agreed with something her second in charge, the Assistant Manager, Tracy, was saying.
Darcy turned back to her own desk with a quick smile at her desk buddy Owen, who was also her 'Initiation into Jotunn' buddy. She moved her mouse over the screen, flicking back and forth over staff lists while also familiarising herself with the PR team's latest projects. The staff lists were to give her a feel on who may want to sabotage Asgard's projects. This was harder than she thought. There were a number of staff members who used to work for Asgard, and even a collection who left under a storm of controversy, as things happen to work when a new company floods the market.
Maybe she needed to start at the top. Would Loki be directly involved with the leaks?
If she were a leak, where would she hide?
"Good morning, sir," Tracy stood suddenly. Darcy nearly swallowed her tongue as her pulse kicked up a notch. Hide in plain sight, obviously, she thought as she leapt off her own chair.
"Morning, morning!" Loki Laufeyson strolled into the PR Department like he owned the place. Which, he kind of did. He wore a killer smile and a killer suit, which hugged all the lines and angles of his delicious lines and angles. His shirt, tieless, with the top few buttons undone, was the exact colour of his eyes.
Darcy's eyes glazed over. How the heck did anyone get any work done around here with That walking around?
"Dana Lawson, correct?"
"Hah-yuh." Shit. When did he get that close? She's got to stop zoning out around him. "I mean, yeah. Hi there. Sir." Smooth, Darce.
He reached forward with a long-fingered hand and clasped her fingers. Firm and warm. Mmm, firm. Focus! "I just came to see how our new employee was going. First week is always the worst."
Shauna approached with a smile. "She's fitting in nicely, Mr Laufeyson. Someone with a fresh perspective on things."
"Aww thanks, Shauna," Darcy responded, grinning back at her new boss lady.
"That's good to hear," Loki's eyes sparkled as he tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Any concerns, Dana, you can come to Shauna. Or to me."
"Thanks, Mr Laufeyson." Darcy couldn't help the flirty note that flavoured her reply. "I'll be sure to do that."
Shauna nodded and moved away. Loki leaned close suddenly, his warm breath tickling her ear. "And I thought I told you to call me Loki," he whispered huskily. The entirety of the right side of her body broke out in goosebumps. Oh, help.
He pulled back and winked at her. Darcy felt a disbelieving smile stretch across her face. That bastard! Fine. He wants to play?
Then it's game on.
The forth time the Dana bit into her apple, Loki's eye began to twitch.
He slanted his eyes toward her, taking advantage of their almost private corner of the fortieth floor staff lunchroom to openly appraise her. Loki liked to make sure he was approachable to his staff, so his appearance in the main staff lunchroom on the exclusive staff level wasn't a complete surprise, but it had been some time since he could last make it, in between client lunches, days out of the office and skipping lunch altogether. His reason for being in the staff room today, though, was filled with highly questionable intentions. He wanted to see Dana.
She moaned slightly again as she continued to chew her obviously tasty snack.
This was not going exactly to plan.
He entered the lunchroom twenty minutes ago with the intention of cornering the illusive woman, who he hadn't seen since his 'random' meet and greet in the PR Department over a week ago. She was surrounded by people and obviously genuinely liked, judging by the level of laughter coming from the table they were seated around. They all greeted him with a warm formality, but Loki couldn't just plonk himself at the table, so was relegated to a corner couch and a quiet conversation with two of the other managers. Slowly staff began to filter out, until, finally, it was just the two of them in the corner.
Then she pulled out that damn apple. He'd never seen someone enjoy an apple as much as she was right now, and it was doing no favours to the cut of his very expensive suit pants.
Was she trying to drive him mad? Loki couldn't decide whether he wanted to throw the rest of his coffee at her, or himself on her.
"I have another." Her husky voice made him jump.
"What?" He replied, all sophistication.
She looked over her shoulder and gave him the most sultry smile he'd seen outside a movie screen. "Another apple. They're really good."
Ah, so the performance was for his benefit. Minx. She turned away and reached into her lunch bag, her slender fingers tipped with black lacquered nails, and pulled out another shiny red apple. Levelling her gaze back on him she held up the fruit, Eve tempting Adam all over again.
Fine. Two can play at that game. And Loki could never back down from a chance at mischief. He returned her smile with a slow one of his own. "I think I'd rather watch you finish yours."
She blinked in reply, as if she hadn't been challenged in such a way before. Loki snorted inwardly, thinking that it was very possible that this was the case. Most men in her vicinity would at this point would be reduced to "boobies".
Dana blinked her big blue eyes again and obviously decided that she liked his rejoinder, and the smile grew. Holding up her apple again she bit into the flesh with even white teeth and closed her blood red lips, drawing the bite away from the fruit. A small piece of apple fell from those mesmerising lips and bounced off her generous cleavage.
Loki swallowed as a sweat broke out across his forehead.
Boobies.