Chapter 5- Manhattan

Stretching her neck to the side, Fiona tried to relieve the pain that stemmed as a consequence from sleeping in an awkward form on the couch. Truth was, she had woken up about an hour after first dozing off, but didn't have the heart to wake Imogen for the second time that night in order to readjust her own position. Wishing and hoping that the next day wouldn't bring any repercussions, she remained sitting upright against the cushions until she was able to return to her slumber. Unfortunately, sometimes wishing and hoping just isn't enough.

Tipping the driver, she exited the cab and felt the rush of cold weather blow through her heavy coat. Though freezing and ached, the thing mostly consuming her thoughts was the promise she had made to Imogen that night. Fiona was determined to use this day to make progress in finally ending the always time-consuming workload.

Sitting very neatly in the very center of her giant desk was the stack of tasks she had left with her assistant—each one completed, and each one flawless. Not very far away from the tall stack of papers was a penned note:

Hope there are no mistakes. I double-checked everything, and I couldn't find any. Call me if you have any questions. I will be back in the office around 8:30 in the morning. Expect to see a VERY caffeinated Eliza today :)

Smiling, the fashionista placed the note aside and began filing all of the assignments in her desk drawer. As she sat down, she pulled out her phone to begin a very thankful text message:

7:24 A.M: Just got to the office—you are amazing! Everything looks perfect, and I seriously cannot thank you enough. Hope this doesn't wake you up. Don't worry about coming in at 8:30, just sleep as long as you need and come in when you're ready.

With a quick tap of her screen she sent the message. Immediately after, she powered on her computer and began reading the employee productivity reports from human resources. Enough was enough, and the incompetence had gone on for far too long. Overpaid slackers wouldn't fix her problems—but more Elizas just might.

At exactly 8:29, the tall blonde appeared with a tiny knock on the glass door, and two coffees in hand. "Good morning!" she announced, all too perky for someone that had only gotten at most three hours of sleep. "Picked you up a coffee on my way over. Almond milk latte, your fave," her hand outstretched the cup towards her boss.

"You are a godsend," Fiona praised, quickly snatching up the drink. "Why are you here so early, didn't you get my text saying you could come in later?"

"Oh please, sleep is for the unemployed and uninspired! I'm here to work, what do you need from me?"

Always impressed by the young woman, the socialite simply could not believe her luck in finding such an efficient and driven associate, and certainly wasn't going to convince the insanely motivated girl not to work. She'd take any help she could get at this point, especially if it could result in more time with her wife. "Well all right then…I actually have an easy job for you," the curly brunette passed off a large stack of resumes that she pulled from a nearby cabinet. "Read through all of these and then call and schedule an interview with the person that most resembles you."

Eliza's face twisted into a confused expression. "Wait…" she paused nervously, "You're not trying to…replace me, are you?"

"God, no!" The older girl laughed. "Quite the opposite—I'm trying to duplicate you. If we had more of you around here, this place would be so much more efficient. I'm going through the productivity reports now to find out who I need to fire in order to make room in the budget for another Eliza."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Teasingly insulted, Eliza held her hands up. "You think talent like mine is just so easy to come by? Like I just grow on trees, or something? Let me tell you this, I am one in a million. Most people can only dream of the kind of assistance I offer!"

Surprised by the girl's sudden tenacity, Fiona remained in her chair completely amused. "Oh mon dieu, you were not lying about being very caffeinated today, were you? Think that sleep deprivation might finally be catching up with you," she joked. "Now get out there and go find me another you. Those resumes are not going to read themselves!"

"Okay, okay, I will do my best. But let me tell you this, Mrs. Coyne, it is slim pickings out there. Hogwarts does not have a surplus of Harry Potters, and the fashion industry is not overflowing with Eliza Mills."

Letting out a sigh, Fiona shook her head from side to side. "Please spare me the Harry Potter references, I get enough of those from my wife to last me a lifetime."

"Well it sounds like you obviously have fantastic taste in women," Eliza quipped.

The corner of the socialite's mouth lifted in a grin as she glanced over at that picture sitting in the corner of her desk. "The best," she admitted truthfully.

"And assistants?"

"Aaaand assistants," Fiona appeased, very eager to get back to work at this point. Though incredibly entertaining, this hyper-Eliza was a large distraction from the many tasks that required the boss's attention.

Nodding her head in the satisfaction of victory, the blonde woman spun around and dropped her already empty coffee cup into the trashcan. "Good. I just wanted to hear you say it." With that, she was out of the door and on the way to her own desk to finally get started on her day's job.

Confident that the new addition to the office would help tremendously with the workload, Fiona was eager to tell Imogen that soon their lives would be returning to some form of normalcy—soon their troubles would be far behind them and they would have all the time in the world to spend together. She was absolutely positive that their little family was sure to be nothing short of perfect.

Already craving her wife's company, she picked up the phone and selected the number at the top of her Favorites list. "I miss you already…have time to meet me for lunch today?"

"Absolutely!" Imogen's voice beamed, "As soon as I finish with the contractors meeting, I'll be free. Where did you want to go?"

"Anywhere your heart desires, Immy."

"Hmm..." the quirky young woman pondered, "How does cheesecake sound? And then after if you have a little time, we can go to that place next door to browse cribs?" Her voice was slightly apprehensive as she wondered if maybe she was asking for too much of the busy fashionista's time.

"Sounds like a fab idea to me. Let me know when your meeting is done and I will meet you there. I love you so much." After a moment of no response, Fiona grew mildly anxious. "Im?"

"Are you sure you have the time, Fiona? If this is because of what I said last night, I'm sorry. I know I probably overreacted, and I know that you're trying the best you can to get all of your work done," Imogen was racing to get all of her words out. "Listen, I understand your crazy schedule, honest, and we can figure something out to make it work. I'll stay up until three in the mornings if I have to so that we can spend time together until your workload slows down. You do so much for me, Fiones, and I don't want to make you choose between me or doing what you love. I want to-"

"Imogen!" Fiona interrupted, incredibly overwhelmed. The pain in her neck had become even more evident than earlier. "Slow down. Breathe," she instructed. "First of all, I do have the time. That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about at lunch. I'm looking into getting a second assistant that will be able to take a lot of the stress off of things here. Secondly, you are what I love. I'd choose you any time, any day, against anything."

"Oh…" the younger girl's voice had calmed immediately as the words played through her ears. "Well in that case can we please forget my mini-meltdown?"

Laughing to herself, the socialite agreed that it was definitely something they could do. "So, see you at lunch?"

"Counting down the seconds."

Once they had both hung up, Fiona spun her chair around to look out at the Manhattan skyline through her office's large windows. It really was a beautiful view that she rarely took the time to fully appreciate. As she gazed outside, her thoughts lingered on just how far she and Imogen had come since high school—how many obstacles they had to go through to get to the point they were at now. Finally, it seemed as though everything was falling into place—they each had reached success in their careers; they still loved each other more than anything else in the world, as soul mates rightfully should; and now they were preparing to share that love with a child. Even Fiona's view of the Manhattan skyline was not nearly as breathtaking as her view of her own life. Putting aside work for just a few more minutes, she sat there in her cushioned chair wishing and hoping that all of their biggest troubles were forever behind them, and that they would never again take for granted just how extraordinarily lucky they were to find each other.

…Unfortunately, however, sometimes wishing and hoping just isn't enough.

.

.

A/N: Enjoy! All reviews are encouraged and appreciated. This story is just getting started, many chapters still to come...