When it started to dawn, Abby got dressed for work and left her apartment in a hurry. She still had plenty of time but she couldn't stand being at home where her dreams kept haunting her.
She took her time, wandering through the streets, and when she finally got to the hotel she still had one whole hour before she had to start working.
Abby felt herself getting more relaxed, the dreams about her boss seemed far away, and she crossed the parking lot of the hotel and proceeded to the rear entrance.
Then, suddenly her heart started to pound loudly when a car turned into the lot, parked in a free spot a few feet away from her, and Sam climbed out.
What was he doing there this early? She couldn't meet her boss today, not after fantasizing about him the entire night. It was too awkward.
She prayed he wouldn't notice her but she wasn't lucky. Sam had already spotted her and was walking towards her with a friendly smile on his face.
Abby took a deep breath to calm herself and turned to face him, smiling back.
"Good morning, Mr Winchester. " She greeted nonchalantly, in her usual professional way.
"Morning Abigail." Sam greeted back and stopped in front of her. That woman was hard to get and it was almost driving him insane.
She wasn't going to let her walls come down and meet him on a more personal level. If she wasn't willing to be even friends with him, how was he supposed to convince her that they belonged together?
Sam suppressed a sigh and kept smiling at her.
"Didn't I tell you to call me Sam?" He said provokingly, trying to draw her out.
"You're my boss, that's not acceptable." She replied sternly but couldn't help looking amused.
"Well, it's an order then. You have to call me by my first name."
"I guess, I can accept that. " She finally said after a pause and Sam grinned happily. "Why are you already here?" He added and Abby almost flinched at his words. She had hoped he wasn't going to ask her about her showing up early.
"I..." She started and decided to tell him the truth. "I've been suffering from insomnia lately. I've barely slept for weeks now, I feel like I'm becoming a vampire." She said with a laugh but then turned serious immediately when she noticed a severe expression spread across his face.
Maybe she shouldn't joke with her boss, she had no idea what's gotten into her anyway. She's never been so frisky with any of her bosses.
Then, Sam turned his head to look at her, their eyes met, and she couldn't look away. Abby felt as if she was about to pass out, he was staring right into her soul, she was sure of it. She felt exposed and powerless.
When Sam started to speak however, that feeling disappeared.
"Try to get some sleep, I can't risk you getting sick." He said friendly, but reserved at the same time.
"I'll try, but if I fall over in the middle of the hotel, please make sure I won't hit the floor." Abby said, surprising herself. She was joking with him again, what the hell?
Thankfully, Sam simply laughed and opened the door to the back entrance. They walked inside and quickly disappeared into different directions.
Until noon, both Sam and Abby were trying to avoid each other, but it turned out to be far more complicated than they had thought.
Sam had the feeling that wherever he went, he ran into her. They flashed each other a polite smile before Abby quickly disappeared again.
Sam couldn't shake the feeling that she couldn't stand being with him in one room and he was shocked to find out how hurt he was. But he figured it was because of her lack of sleep.
That poor girl had hardly slept for the past few weeks; Sam saw the dark circles under her eyes and started to worry. But then, he remembered what Carmen had told him; Abby was probably having dreams about him and couldn't sleep because of it. Wasn't that proof enough?
It had to be true, then. She was his mate, indeed.
That would also explain why she was avoiding him. She was too embarrassed.
Sam sighed in relief that he had found a plausible explanation for Abby's behaviour. She was attracted to him if she was having the dreams, so he had to make his move already.
He decided to talk to her during her lunch break and waited nervously for her arrival in his office.
Finally, he heard her knock on the door and step inside. She looked pale and tired and Sam felt his heart clench in his chest at the sight of her.
He wished he would've already gotten the right to care about her but he had to wait for a little while longer.
"Is there a problem?" She asked, her voice trembling a little bit. Sam smiled at her and gestured for her to take a seat.
She sat down in an upholstered chair in front of his desk and looked nervously at him. Sam took his own seat, behind his desk.
There was silence for a minute before he spoke up. "I really don't know how to say this..." He said with a nervous laugh.
"I know, you'll probably call me crazy...but.." he broke off and looked up at her.
She waited attentively for him to continue.
"Abby, I...want to see you again. But in a more intimate atmosphere." Sam said quietly, cursing himself inwardly for his choice of words.
That had sounded awful and totally wrong.
Since when was he at such loss for words? Now, he was able to relate to Dean's behaviour when he met Carmen for the first time.
Abby froze at his words. She couldn't believe it, it was happening again. Why did she always seem to have bad luck with her bosses.
And the worst thing was that she had figured Sam was one of the good guys.
But this proved that he was no better than all those sleezy employers she had worked for before.
Abby quickly thought it over. Now, if she turned her boss down, he would fire her. She was definitely at a disadvantage.
But she knew she couldn't go out with him. It was wrong to start something with your boss, even if he was as sexy as Sam Winchester.
Against her will Abby started to imagine all the rumors that would start to spread among the employees of the hotel and she shivered with horror.
"Listen..." She spoke up and hesitated for a second before continuing. "Sam, I'm flattered but...you're my boss and..."
She was about to turn him down and he couldn't let it go that far. He interrupted her before she could say anything.
"Abby, I..." He started, trying to redeem himself. "I'm usually not that forward and not so clumsy asking a woman out." He smiled shyly at her.
"It's just...you make me nervous and I'm pretty insecure now. I don't hit on my employees, believe me."
Abby nodded, seeing he was telling her the truth. She knew Sam had to be a good guy, he was nothing like her last employer.
"All I'm asking you for is to at least consider it, okay? Please, don't turn me down right away. Think about it and then tell me." He said. He spoke quickly, trying to get the words out as fast as he could.
Abby couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. The way Sam was looking at her nervously and stuttering, had really won her over.
He was so adorable. She figured, she could do him the favor.
"Fine. I'll think about it." She said, relxing a little. Sam smiled at her in relief, thanking God silently, she hadn't said no right away.
Later that day, Sam finished some work, getting ready to leave since Abby had, as always, everything under control. He was interrupted by the phone on his desk and picked it up, hearing Abby's voice come through the line.
"Sam, we've got a little problem with an employee. Can I run this by you quickly?"
Sam was pleasantly surprised. She had called him by his first name again, like he'd told her to. It was a start.
The reason why she called wasn't as pleasant, however. He sighed annoyed and leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair.
"I was about to leave. Can't you fix this on your own?" Sam realized too late how bitchy he had sounded. Thing was, he hated incompetent employees and he didn't have the nerve to waste his time on them. He was a businessman after all, he had plenty of other things to do.
Plus, he was still pretty agitated because of Abby. Was she going to turn him down or not? The uncertainty was killing him.
But he shouldn't have talked to her like that. She was one of the best manager he's ever had and she didn't deserve to be treated that way.
There was a silence on the other line and Sam feared the worst. Great, now she was going to quit and he would lose her forever.
"Abby, I'm sorry. I've been under a lot of pressure lately. I'll be at the reception in a minute." He quickly said and hung up.
Abby stared at the receiver in her hand, hearing the free line signal through the speaker after Sam had hung up. She frowned, a puzzled look appeared on her face, and tried to understand what had just happened.
That nice guy from before was gone. Sam had sounded absolutely cold and businesslike. He'd been a dick over the phone.
Was he giving her a hard time because she didn't jump his bones right away? No, that couldn't be the reason. Sam didn't seem to be that kinda guy...but still.
What if he was?
Abby shook her head, forcing herself to get rid of those thoughts. Just because her former boss used to mix business with pleasure all the time didn't mean everyone else was like him. She had to stop thinking she could get fired unexpectedly. She had to stop being afraid of everything and everyone and get over her horrific experience already.
Finally, she put the phone down and saw Sam approaching the reception. Contrary to the way he had sounded on the phone, he looked as friendly as ever. A smile spread across his face by the time he had reached her. Before she got the chance to say something, he started speaking.
"Again, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I guess I've had a couple of rough weeks." He said with a sigh.
Abby kept silent for a moment. "Well, this won't take long. You're right, I can take care of it by myself but you should be informed about it."
"Okay, what's the matter?" Sam asked and stepped behind her to look over her shoulder. Abby showed him her notes and explained what was going on.
"There have been a few complaints from guests during the past few weeks. Apparently, certain items were missing from the rooms, like towels, soap, bathrobes." She paused, thinking before continuing. Abby made sure to speak softly, so that the other employees and guests who were nearby couldn't overhear their conversation.
"At first, I'd thought it wasn't anything serious. Stealing guests, that's a given in hotels. I've been working long enough in this line of business to know it."
Sam nodded, agreeing with her. "So, what made you change your mind?" He asked.
"Because all this stuff went missing after the rooms have been cleaned. And I check myself everytime that the rooms are flawless before new guests arrive."
Abby looked up at him, waiting for Sam's reaction. Sam sighed, realizing what Abby was trying to tell him.
"So, it has to be on of my employees, hasn't it?" He said eventually and Abby nodded.
"Great." Sam said annoyed. "I'd made sure to get the best people before opening this hotel and still..."
Sam was already working on a plan how to deal with the problem when his thoughts were interrupted by a very familiar person.
Dean walked through the entrance of the hotel, grinning widely and waving at him.
"What's he doing here?" Sam asked aloud, a little amused.
"Do you know that man?" Abby asked curiously.
"That's my brother." Sam said fondly and then it him. Of course, Dean was there to check Abby out. Crap!
"Excuse me." Sam said to Abby and hurried over to Dean. He had to keep his brother away from her. At least for a while, while things were still unsettled between them.
"Hey, where is she?" Dean asked loudly, glancing around the room.
"Dean, for Christ's sake, shut up!" Sam barked at him and quickly glanced back, seeing Abby talking to a guest. Thank God, she wasn't paying attention to them.
"That's Abby?" Dean asked, following his gaze. "Holy crap! Man, she's way out of your league." He said , grinning like a cheshire cat.
"Thank you for your support." Sam said sarcastically. "I could say the same thing about Carmen." He added and Dean grimaced. "Okay, I deserved that. So, have you asked her out yet?"
"I'm working on it." Sam replied nervously and Dean noticed. "Hey, I'm here to help." He started towards the reception and Sam pulled him back by the collar.
"What's your problem?" Dean asked, suprised. "I just wanna talk to her."
"I'm doing this my way." Sam said determined and sighed. "God, I can't believe this. Why is Carmen doing this to me?"
Dean watched in confusion how Sam pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
Sam was a little pissed at Carmen. She had promised to keep Dean away for as long as necessary. When Sam had Abby won over, he would introduce her to them.
At least, that was the plan. So, why was she backstabbing him all of a sudden?
"Hi, Carmen. Do you know where Dean is?" He asked as soon as he heard her voice.
Dean's eyes widened in fear and he slowly started to go backwards. "Listen, I really gotta go. Important business meeting tonight and I still got a lot of work to do." He whispered and disappeared out the doors. If Carmen found out where he was, she would kill him. He had promised to stay out of Sam's business.
Sam smiled amused at his brother as he listened to Carmen. Dean had told her he was going to be at the office all day and didn't want to be bothered.
So, Carmen was clueless. Sam contemplated for a second whether to tell her the truth but then decided against it.
So far, Dean hadn't really interfered, so it wouldn't have been fair if he had ratted his brother out.
He said his goodbyes, telling her he would try to call Dean later and hung up the phone with a smile.
Suddenly, Sam felt a lot better. They would solve the problem at the hotel and Abby would give in eventually.
She was going to be his whether she wanted to or not. Everything was going to turn out his way, he was sure of it.
A/N: I'm not really happy with this chapter. Things between Sam and Abby are coming along pretty slow and I'm getting impatient lol. I hope you still liked the moments between them. BIG thanks to who's still reading and also BIG thanks to cold kagome, sam and dean crazy ass wench and Dean's Dirty Little Secret for reviewing the last chapter.