Thank you for your kind words. Updates won't always be this quick but I thought I best try and get a real chapter out. Hope you enjoy. All feedback is welcome.

By the time Emily had made it back to the apartment Mr DiLaurentis' assistant had already sent over all the details and documents. This ranged from salary, Caleb wasn't kidding when he said it would pay well, down to a pretty thick non-disclosure agreement. The latter had Emily face timing Spencer Hastings, one of her other high school best friends who had stayed a constant in her life. Spencer was a lawyer, everyone in her family was, and she was pretty damn good at it. After a serious study of the document Spencer gave Emily the go ahead to sign it. The hours would be long, ranging anywhere from 10 hour days onwards. Although some hours of the day she would not be required and other days she would not be needed at all. She had to be on call 24/7 but the benefits were pretty good. Emily figured she could stick it out for 6 months and be financially stable enough to get a pretty good apartment of her own and move on to other things. It wasn't that she didn't think she would like the job itself, and she was more than used to long unsociable hours. It was the thought of being at some stuck up, air head, bitch's beck and call that made her decide this was probably not going to be a long term thing. Life was too short to surround yourself with arseholes.

Emily found herself outside the large building she had her interview in at 9am the next morning. Wearing jeans, a white top and a leather jacket, the information pack told her to dress casual. Apparently Miss DiLaurentis didn't want the attention that suited bodyguards drew. 'People pay less attention to average looking people' the pack said 'you must blend unless stated otherwise'. She had arrived and been introduced to Miss DiLaurentis' driver, Carter. He was about as chatty as the suit in the elevator. Emily wondered if Mr DiLaurentis purposely hired unsociable mutes. It was while pondering that thought that Alison DiLaurentis made her appearance. She came strutting out of the building flanked by two suits, nose in the air. Now Emily had seen pictures of her before and there was no denying that she was a beautiful woman, but she had never seen her in person and those pictures did not do her justice. Yes she might be a stuck up bitch but she was a completely breathtaking one. All of a sudden she could understand why the world, with its obsession with beauty and looks, was obsessed with the woman walking toward her.

"You must be Fields" she stated coldly waving the two suits away.

"I am, it's a pleasure to meet you." Emily smiled politely and held out her hand.

"Of course it is" Alison replied not even looking at her and climbed inside the car as Carter closed the door after her.

"Maybe 3 months" Emily thought to herself, getting in round the other side, 6 was looking more difficult by the second.

The car ride was silent except for Alison's tapping on her phone that she hadn't taken her eyes off since she got in. They were going to some studio to do an interview and photo shoot for a magazine. Emily figured it would be an easy enough day, not necessarily pleasant, but easy. They finally arrived and Emily got out of the car coming round to Alison's side just as Carter was opening the door for her. She noticed that thank you didn't seem to be part of Alison's vocabulary, it bothered her. Raised by conservative parents with good values Emily had it drilled into her from an early age that manners cost nothing. Carter didn't seem to mind though, she assumed he was used to it.

"Shit!" Alison exclaimed as her phone dropped from her hand, hurtling down toward the hard pavement. Emily's reactions came quickly as she swooped and grabbed it out of the air before it could hit the tarmac. Straightening up she handed it back to Alison.

"Well that would have been inconvenient" Alison said as she took it off her.

"I think you mean thank you" Emily replied without thinking, quickly biting her tongue.

"Excuse me?" Alison looked at her for the first time that day since they had met outside the car. Her eyebrows raised and a cold look in her eyes.

"I errm…" Emily struggled

"It's your job" Alison scoffed "You get paid to do it don't you? You don't get thanks for doing your job" Putting a large pair of sunglasses on she turned from Emily and headed toward the studio.

Emily quickly followed cursing herself, maybe she wouldn't even be here for 3 months after all. She imagined Alison didn't take kindly to criticism and would probably be telling her that her services were no longer required by the end of the day. There were several paparazzi around but the security of the studio were keeping them at safe distance. Emily soon realised Alison's large sunglasses were to stop her being blinded by the many flashes constantly going off. Alison suddenly stopped to talk to a couple of "fans". Young girls that probably idolised the socialite. Emily kept her eye on the situation from a slight distance. The Alison that she had just been chastised by seemed to have disappeared and been replaced with a charming version. She spoke briefly with the girls. Giving them just enough to make them feel special and cementing their adoration, but not enough that they felt they were on her level. Emily smirked, she was good at this. No wonder she had everyone under her spell. She let them get a picture and then carried on into the studio.

They had been in the studio for 3 hours now. Alison had been through hair and makeup and had just finished up the photo shoot. She was a natural in front of the camera and other than a couple of comments reminding a low level assistant of their place when they arrived with a drink that wasn't what she'd asked for, she'd been quite pleasant. Emily was getting bored, nursing her second coffee of the day. There wasn't anything for her to do, she didn't think she could leave Alison and certainly didn't want to ask if that would be OK. She could only imagine the response. So she just sat and watched the spectacle in front of her. This was definitely not her world. Hanna would be in her element, she smiled to herself.

"Just the interview and we're done" A redheaded woman declared walking toward Alison "Please come and take a seat"

The questions seemed mundane to Emily, what's the beauty product you can't live without? What's your top fashion tip? What are your thoughts on bold lip colours? Emily wondered if they ever actually asked her about anything that mattered. She had a platform to do so much more than tell people how to get that perfect selfie. As she was wondering she suddenly saw a twinkle in the interviewers eye. It didn't look friendly.

"So are you seeing anyone?"

Alison just smiled politely "Oh you know I don't comment on that aspect of my life Liz"

"How are you coping after the drama you had with Elliot Rollins? I bet you're just a mess aren't you? It's understandable, what happened? Have you spoken to him since the trial?"

"I'm not here to talk about that" Emily heard the venom in her voice but she also saw something in Alison's eyes. Vulnerability? Fear?

"Come on it's just us girls, the readers are dying to know the details. The world is"

Emily saw the slight tremor in Alison's body and heard her voice catch in her throat as she started to speak again. Tears threatened the blonde beauty's eyes and Emily actually felt bad for her. She was there to protect Alison, that was her job. Providing security wasn't always about manhandling somebody so she did the only thing she could think off.

"What the fuck!" The redhead yelled as luke warm black coffee soaked into her white blouse.

"I am so sorry, I'm so clumsy sometimes, I tripped. You're probably going to need to get another shirt right? I just hope you got everything you needed for your article. I'm really sorry, send me the bill" Emily tried to sound sincere.

"I can't believe you just did that! You stupid bitch"

"Hey!" Alison's voice echoed through the room "You do not speak to my staff like that! We're done here" Rising from her chair she signalled Emily "we're going"

Emily followed her out, a little shocked at Alison's outburst. Apparently she was the only one that could speak to her staff like crap. They battled through the assembled photographers, the number had grown since they arrived, and toward the car where Carter was standing diligently with the door open.

The ride was silent once again. Alison kept clearing her throat and looking as though she was going to speak but then she would stare out the window or down at her hands. Emily decided to break the silence. Assuming that Alison was angry with her embarrassing the blonde with her "clumsiness".

"I'm sorry" Emily turned to Alison "It was an accident I…"

"Thank you" Alison said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Emily questioned.

"It wasn't an accident, you're not clumsy" She held up her phone as though it was a piece of evidence "Thank you"

"I was just doing my job" Emily dead panned and she swore she saw Alison smile and roll her eyes as she went to look back out the window.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, a shopping trip, adoring fans, a dinner with some other upper class snobs. Emily felt that Alison was less cold toward her. She wouldn't say she was being friendly by any means. She didn't talk to her, but she also didn't feel like she wouldn't have a job in the morning. They were heading back to Alison's place and then Emily was done for the day. It was around 8pm when they pulled up outside Alison's large townhouse. Not the longest day Emily had ever worked, definitely not the hardest.

"Carter will drop you home" Alison threw over her shoulder as she climbed out of the car.

"No it's fine, you get yourself home Carter. I only live a couple of blocks from here, I can walk it." Emily smiled at Carter who looked grateful. Judging from the ring on his left hand he had someone waiting for him.

"Suit yourself" Alison said as she headed toward the steps up to her door. Carter gunned the car down the road and Emily laughed to herself, happy the quiet man had someone he was that eager to get home to.

"Oh for fucks sake" Emily heard Alison snap.

"What's wrong?"

"The workmen have left all the goddam paint cans outside the door" She said throwing her hands up in the air.

"Do you want me to help you bring them in?" Emily questioned from the street.

"Yes" Alison said before letting herself into the house. Well it wasn't a please but she had got thank you earlier so baby steps she thought to herself as she climbed the steps to take the cans inside. It turned out Alison's version of "help" was Emily doing it all herself. She couldn't even say she was surprised.

"Right that's the last of them" Emily said bringing the final can in.

"Good" Alison replied reaching out for they can off Emily who handed it over. Alison evidently did not have a good grip of it though. As Emily let go Alison also seemed to let go, the can tipping toward Emily and the lid sliding off as Emily's white shirt suddenly became 'misty morning gray' according to the can.

"Shit!" Alison exclaimed and then stared wide eyed at Emily who was laughing uncontrollably while removing her jacket so it didn't get ruined.

Emily's laughter couldn't help but get a smile out of Alison who started laughing too "what's so funny?" She giggled.

"Just every time I meet a member of this family I end up covered in paint" Emily laughed trying to catch her breath "Just let me know if we're meeting up with your mum so I can put overalls on first yeah?"

Alison laughed hard "Yeah my father mentioned how you ended up with the job"

Emily couldn't help but notice how much softer and younger Alison looked when she laughed. She had a lovely laugh, lyrical and sweet.

"Let me get you another shirt" She turned and headed into the house leaving Emily who took the opportunity to look at her surroundings. It was a building site, she moved around the downstairs. No room was finished. Dust sheets covered every surface, she guessed it was a large piano in the corner of the living room from the shape under the sheet. It seemed strange to her, the woman who had everything or could at least get it, living like this. Alison arrived back with another shirt.

"Thank you" Emily said and she took the shirt "do you play?" She asked nodding over to the piano.

"Sometimes" Alison answered noncommittally "bathroom is down the hall"

When Emily came back Alison was in the half finished kitchen, Emily glanced around.

"Why don't you stay in one of the hotels?" She asked hoping she wasn't overstepping. Alison had been laughing with her moments ago but she was well aware that could change in seconds with the girls volatile temperament.

"I hate hotels" She answered simply "I spent my entire childhood in them, I have a home, I want to live in my home"

Feeling bolder Emily asked another question that had been on her mind since that morning, "do you enjoy doing those interviews and photo shoots? Answering question after question about your hair?"

"Would you?" Alison questioned back

"No"

Alison just shrugged as if to say, 'well there's your answer'

"So why do you do them?"

"People are going to write about me anyway, this way I get to choose the narrative" She almost looked sad "Well maybe today's wasn't a great example of that" she muttered reaching for a wine bottle and a glass. "Drink?" She asked, then clearly mistook Emily's shock for refusal.

"You best get yourself home, your boyfriend is probably wondering where you've got to"

Emily cocked her head "What makes you think I have a boyfriend?"

"Well no ring, you're not married or engaged but you seem the type to have someone"

"No boyfriend"

"Oh, I'm not often wrong about people. Must be having a bad day. Well I'm sure you'll find one before long"

"I really doubt that" Emily chuckled

"Why's that?"

"I'm gay"

"Oh" Alison looked at Emily. Emily always found people would react one of two ways when she told them her sexuality. Either just say ok and move on or they would start acting weird around her like they could catch it. She had an idea of which Alison would be which is why it surprised her when she said

"Well apparently I'm having a really bad day then. So do you want a glass or do you have a girlfriend waiting for you?"

"I'll take a glass"

"How did my fathers guys miss that one? The whole point of having a woman was that they wouldn't seduce me"

"Well I'm not in the closet. I've only had a couple of relationships but I guess I'm not on any social media so there's no evidence of them there. I just assumed he knew. He knew everything else. I certainly wasn't hiding it. Also for the record I have no plans to seduce you. Straight girls aren't my thing" Emily joked.

"You aren't on any social media at all?"

"Nope. I talk to the people I know and that's it. They're the only people's opinion that matters to me. Why do I care if some random person from some far flung part of the world that I will never meet likes my picture?" Emily replied, happy that Alison seemed more concerned about her internet habits than her dating ones. Alison didn't reply to that she just looked thoughtfully into the distance.

They sat in comfortable silence in the kitchen sipping their drinks. There was still a question Emily wanted to ask but she knew it was a step too far. The wine must have loosened Alison up somewhat though and she turned to Emily and said

"He was my fiancé"

"Pardon?"

"Rollins, the question you've wanted to ask me all night. I'm guessing you don't read magazines and gossip columns either"

"What happened?" Emily asked cautiously

"We met, he was older, worldly, came from a good family in England. So he had me believe, I suppose alarm bells should have started ringing when he wanted to keep us secret from my family. I mean I was all for a private relationship. I shouldn't have to share that part of my life with anyone else. Anyway he proposed a few months in, I said yes. That's when I decided I had to tell my father. By the time his guys had done their digging and we realised he was a con man he had already emptied my accounts. They caught up to him and he's where he belongs, that was a year ago, but people just love bringing him up" Finally a single tear broke the barrier and started its path down her face.

Emily didn't know what the hell possessed her to do it. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the vulnerable girl opening up to her. For a moment she didn't seem so scary and otherworldly and Emily leaned over and gently wiped the tear away with her thumb. This seemed to bring Alison back to reality as she pulled herself quickly away from Emily's touch.

"You should go, it's unprofessional for the staff to be drinking with me" She said coldly "I don't know what I was thinking" She rose from her seat leaving Emily startled.

"You know where the door is, see yourself out" With that she was gone.

Emily started the walk back to Hanna and Caleb's. For just a brief moment she had seen a different Alison. The question was, which was the real one? Just like Alison she didn't think she was wrong about people often either and she had an idea of the answer. Or was she just hoping?

Thoughts? Opinions? Good? Average? Stop writing at once? Whatever your outlook on this story I hope you've had a great day : )