I'm sorry this is dragging out for longer than I intended considering this is a oneshot collection and this assistant thing should probably just be its own story but I like it in a freestyle format where I can pick it up at any given point and be able to write and rewrite alternative endings to the AU!
But people seem to like it, and so here's the next installment in the Assistant AU. (Thanks to those who read and reviewed, please keep doing so, your kind words/interest keep me going!)
Also, this will be updated more frequently since I've set a word goal for myself for the month!
Cindy jumped as she heard footsteps in the hallway. She slammed the planner shut even though she wasn't doing anything wrong—she had just been checking up on his morning appointments. She shoved it across the table until it was far away from her.
"Did you start the notes on the generator?" His voice sounded across the lab as he brushed past her without even looking at her. Her heart sunk. She nodded her head no.
"Well?" He shook his head. "I don't pay you to stand around, Vortex."
She grabbed the clipboard on the counter and ran over to the containment zone, feeling smarted by his unfair jab. She never stalled her work—she was always diligent and helpful. She let out an angry huff as she pulled on her gloves. If he was going to be that way, fine. Two could play at that game.
Jimmy threw a cursory glance at Cindy working conscientiously on her notes. He instantly felt bad for his vindictive comment. But then he remembered her thoroughly improper behavior in the lab yesterday night. What had she been thinking?
Although, if he had to be honest, he hadn't exactly pushed her away at first—he'd responded to her advances with equal eagerness until he'd realized how wrong it was. Oh, blast it all!
He hated to admit it to himself but he was troublingly infatuated with her. Her sparkling emerald eyes and long blonde hair constantly mesmerized him. Her work ethic was admirable as was the depth of her aptitude in the sciences. She challenged him endlessly-questioning his methods and results, criticizing his analyses and his postulates, annoying him to no end in the process—but there was no doubt that she was irreplaceable. Even his greatest rivals didn't dare to face off with the formidable force that was Cindy Vortex. She could hold her own quite efficiently, and he found it an endearing trait.
And of course he'd spent all last night thinking about all of this—after he'd cancelled his date with Alicia.
Alicia had sounded quite disappointed and he'd felt bad, but he knew if he had gone on the date, he would have spent all the time pretending like he was listening to Alicia when he really was thinking of Cindy. And furthermore, it felt wrong…to share such an intimate moment with Cindy and then go on a date with another girl on the same night. He hadn't been sure if he would have been able to shake the memory of her body pressed up against his, the distinct softness of her lips and the willowy curve of her waist—
Suddenly, he seemed to notice that he hadn't begun his work at all. She was such a distraction. It was good that they were working opposite sides of the lab today.
After an unusually quiet morning, Cindy broke the silence as she interrupted his fervent typing. "You have a meeting with the mayor in thirty minutes."
"Cancel it, I need to finish this—"
"You are not skipping a meeting with the mayor—"
"I'm in the middle of something—" He didn't even look up at her.
"I pressed your damn suit and found your notes so you better go to this. You can't blow off the mayor, Neutron. He funds your—"
"For the love of Tesla Vortex, lay off me, you're not my wife—"
Cindy's lips curled into an angry frown. She threw down the newly pressed suit draped on her arm onto the table.
"You know what? Go, don't go, I don't care anymore, Neutron." She threw up her hands in defeat, turning to leave. "And you can't even bloody look at me." She added.
He finally averted his gaze from his keypad. "I'm looking at you, are you happy?"
"I don't know. Should I be? I mean, clearly I'm not paid for you to stand around and look at me." She mocked.
"Cindy—" Regret filled his throat.
"I make one mistake and you have to crucify me for it." Emotion filled her voice although she tried her level best to maintain her façade of coolness. "Of course any good work I do is instantly discredited by the fact that I made a mistake and followed my damn heart and acted on impulse—"
"I cancelled my date with Alicia, Vortex." He pointed out, bitterly.
"You think I'm supposed to feel good about you throwing that in my face?" She spat.
"I'm not throwing anything in your face, I'm stating a simple fact—"
"Right, in case you didn't notice, absolutely nothing about this—" She motioned between them, "is even remotely simple."
Her eyes travelled instinctively to the clock. "And if you plan on receiving your grant, you better get yourself over to town hall within the next ten minutes. I'm not driving you." She cast him a dirty look before throwing his notes on top of the blue suit and walking out angrily.
He stared after her, awestruck.
The next day, she came in on the dot—not a minute earlier or later than strictly necessary. She walked up to him fearlessly and pointed to the shoddy letter he was working on. "Neutron, I already mailed the mayor a thank you basket and a letter on your behalf because you aren't exactly the most adept at acts of gratitude." Before he could protest or say anything snarky in response, she put up a hand. "I'm not done yet. Hear me out."
He looked at her, taken aback by the cold tone of her voice.
"I made a mistake and crossed the line and I'm sorry. But what you chose to do or choose to do with or without Alicia in the future is none of my concern. I propose that we go back to working on amicable terms but on an entirely professional level."
He could already feel a strange tinge of regret forming in his heart…
"Just to clarify, that means no late night pizza, no movies, no out of work favors. We will work together during and only during the frame of hours we agreed on in my employment contract."
He found himself nodding, but knew that even as he was agreeing to this oddly upsetting arrangement, it was the way it was meant to be originally. He hadn't been looking for a girlfriend after all…he'd been looking for an assistant…and she was certainly a competent one. He ignored the impulsive thought to disagree to her terms, but he felt himself slipping into submissive passivity. Surely it was better for both of them to draw boundaries? After all…they'd never have worked. And they were probably more productive as just a scientist and a lab assistant respectively…he sighed.
"Okay." He acquiesced to the terms in utter surrender. "Let's get to work then."