Chloe really wanted to become a professional dancer and she has big dreams when she came to New York. But it hasn't been going very well for her so she has to take other jobs while waiting for her break so she could pay her bills.
The job that she was stuck in currently was being a second personal assistant to a successful business owner of an Online Clothing Shop. The business started two years ago but it gained a lot of good reputation since then so it quickly rise up from the ranks in the fashion industry.
Her boss, Aubrey Posen is kind of a strict yet fair kind of leader. She can do anything across her business, even the smallest one like folding the paper on their delivery box. Chloe liked working for her because she's professional and a very passionate kind of boss, she sets a good example to her employees. Though some thinks that she's too stiff and cold, all of her employees respects her, Chloe included.
Lately, she also became her part time driver, that one is a long story and Chloe liked it anyway. The first assistant, Emily is the name, is the one that does all the paper work in the office and Chloe's kind of the outside assistant, more on the escorting the boss type of assistant. Chloe preferred that rather than staying at the office.
Aubrey is a very private person and she always separates her personal life from her work life. By now, they have already established a routine that works for them. It was going well for Chloe, she enjoys her job and she's able to pay her bills and save money for dance school.
One morning, she was suppose to pick her boss up, her usual routine when she saw the blonde sitting at her porch with head bowed and tucked between her legs, in her robes. She parked in front of her gorgeous townhouse as always and contemplated if she will go down or just wait for her boss. She opted for the first one and took a deep breath before going down from the car.
She walks towards Aubrey, climbed up the few stairs and silently sat beside her. She can hear sniffling and she can see her shoulders rising up and down, Aubrey is definitely crying. She cleared her throat and that's only when Aubrey recognize her presence because she suddenly looked up and Chloe saw her tear stained face and swollen eyes.
"Hey, uhm, what happened?"
"Matt, left me. He left us", Chloe flinched at how quickly Aubrey answered her. Matt is Aubrey's husband and they have a daughter named Elizabeth, but they call her Lizzy. Chloe knew, from phone calls and conversations that Aubrey's having when they're at the car, that she and Matt are on a shaky ground.
Chloe don't know him personally but every time she would see him, he would greet her politely. He looked like a good guy but who is Chloe to judge. She focused her attention back at the crying blonde in front of her, she has to admit that even if Aubrey is a mess she still looked beautiful. Her wavy blonde hair is down, her face even if stained with tears still looked gorgeous, and her emerald eyes that Chloe likes best about her features are still the most beautiful thing she has ever seen.
Yes, she might be a little infatuated with her boss, but who wouldn't? She's successful yet humble, she's very intelligent and knows how to run her company and she's a woman how has dreams and knows how to get them. She realized she's staring for too long at Aubrey's face that the blonde might have been weirded out.
Chloe cleared her throat, "I'm so sorry to hear that Aubrey" Yes, she allows her employees to call her by her name but that doesn't lessen the respect that her employees has for her. Chloe is usually a hugger but this is her boss that she's contemplating to hug, she's kind of afraid to cross the line but she looked like she kind of needs the hug.
Chloe shut her mind off and just pulled Aubrey for a hug and rubbed her back as the blonde went back to crying again. This is the first time that she saw Aubrey so open and vulnerable and it makes her feel sad that she has to go through this kind of pain.
"Let's go inside and get you warmed up", she helped her stood and ushered her boss inside the house. Aubrey didn't protest and did as she told. Chloe looked around if anybody is home and thought that maybe Lizzy has went to school.
Aubrey sat at the nearest sofa and continued crying while Chloe went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. When she came back, Aubrey already stopped crying but kind of in a stoic position and her eyes were just fixed on something in front of her.
"Hey, drink this." Chloe sat right in front of Aubrey and it made the blonde look up to her. Green meets blue and it took all of Chloe's strength to stabilize her insides because of the way Aubrey looked.
"Am I ugly, Chloe?" Her question shocked the redhead. She blinked a few times to compose herself and answered her boss.
"No, of course not, Aubrey." She shook her head.
"Then why did he left me for another woman?" There's bitterness in Aubrey's voice like Chloe can practically feel how angry the blonde is. Her pained expression didn't help either. Usually, she's calm and collected at the office but this time Aubrey looked like she can't contain herself anymore. She knows it's a rhetorical question yet she felt compelled to answer it.
"I, I-, I don't know", she stammered. She's lost for words, but her desire to soothe the blonde's pain became more urgent. "All I know is you're a beautiful kind hearted woman that has big dreams and very passionate about those dreams. You're a great mother who wants the best for Lizzy and the best boss the your company needs." She caught Aubrey's eyes and never let it waver as she says those words.
"And he's a big idiot for leaving you, he will realize that when the moment that he wakes up next morning and it's not your beautiful emerald eyes that he will first see. He will see how big of an idiot he is when it is not your arms that he goes home to later at night." Aubrey's face soften and it made Chloe smile that she got into the blonde's walls.
She felt a little bolder and reached out and wipe Aubrey's tears away. Aubrey closed her eyes as Chloe's palms caress her face. The redhead's heart skipped a beat as she realize what she's doing but she doesn't have the heart to stop it. It looked like Aubrey needed it and who is she to deny this woman what she needs.
Aubrey opened her eyes again and the intensity it held make Chloe's inside twist in a very delicious way. She mentally smacked her head as she remembers what Aubrey is going through at the moment. But to be honest, she has never seen that look on her ever since she started working for her. She swallowed thickly, not taking her eyes off of Aubrey.
It was a solid two minutes that they stayed in that position, looking at each other's eyes and not moving. Chloe's staggered breath brought her out of the trance first and gently removed her hand then Aubrey cleared her throat and averted her eyes.
"I'll wait for you at he car?" She asked subtly wanting to know if Aubrey would still go to work. The blonde just nodded at the redhead before politely walking away from her boss. Once outside, she took few cleansing breaths to clear her mind.
After an hour, Aubrey walks out of the front door looking fresh and ready but Chloe can see in her eyes that she's really not. Her shoulders are a little limp than usual and her posture is not as rigid as usual. She looked tired but Chloe thinks that in the eyes of others, she looked okay.
They didn't talk all throughout the travel but she kept catching Aubrey looking at her from the rear view mirrors that at one point they've seen eye to eye. Chloe just shrugged but deep inside she kind of freaking out because what she did earlier was very unprofessional, she touched her boss and she liked it.
They reached the office and Aubrey quietly slipped out of the car and Chloe followed her lead. She's walking behind her boss so she observed how Aubrey squared her shoulders and took a deep breath before the elevator dinged at their floor.
Her day was uneventful after that, she stayed at her desk checking some emails, Aubrey didn't went out for that day. She thought that's how her day will end when her boss called her in her office. She got nervous all of a sudden, she thought that maybe this is it, she's gonna fire her for being inappropriate and she will end up jobless.
She knocked before entering and Aubrey was working on her desk, typing something and Chloe has to clear her throat to get the blonde's attention. "Aubrey?" She stood before her table and tries not to fidget because her boss don't like people who do that.
"Hey, uhm, can you pick up Lizzy from school today and accompany her until I get home? I already called the School and told them that you would pick her up." Aubrey explained. Chloe can't help but notice that her boss is barely holding it together yet she still looked more collected than Chloe will ever be.
"Yeah, no problem but how will you go home?" Chloe asked.
"I'll just have Emily find me a ride home." Aubrey answered and she went back to typing something to her laptop and Chloe knew that they're done there. She nodded even if Aubrey can't see her and went back to her table to get her things.
Elizabeth "Lizzy" Posen is a great kid, she's polite and very smart for a four year old. Lizzy knows Chloe by now because some times they would drop Lizzy off at her school. She has a lot of questions about anything but what gets to the redhead is on why her Mommy is crying earlier that day.
Chloe froze on her seat, looking at her rearview mirror to the little girl that is seating at the carseat. She's on her tablet but Chloe knows she's waiting for an answer, she's like the carbon copy of her mother. Aubrey always does that when they're at the car, she always multitasks.
"Is she crying earlier? I didn't know." She tried her best to look innocent so that Lizzy would believe her. She saw the girl looked up then released a loud sigh before telling Chloe what she saw that day.
Chloe was surprised at how detailed Lizzy's story is and kind of feels guilty that she's knowing personal stuff of her boss. When they arrived home, Chloe started to divert their conversation so that she won't hear anymore. It's just that she don't want to look guilty when she meets Aubrey again, Chloe is not a very good liar she can't look like she don't know anything if she does know something.
Luckily, the four year old tells her stories at what happened at her school. She prepared some snacks for the kid then helped her in her assignments, then fix some dinner and played with her until both of them are exhausted. Lizzy looked happy as Chloe watches her sleep peacefully at the couch, that's where she passed out.
She checked the time and it's already ten in the evening. She checked her phone if there's anything from Aubrey. When she saw nothing she started to get nervous as to where her boss is, she checked with Emily as to what time did Aubrey left the office.
She just got Lizzy secured in her arms so that she could transfer her to her room when Chloe heard the front door opened. She walks towards the noises and saw Aubrey having a hard time standing on her feet. Is her boss drunk?
She quickly tucked Lizzy in her bed but before she goes, the kid tugged her hand down and gave a quick kiss and hug and went back to sleep. Chloe smiled fondly at the kid, she's really a sweet kid.
The noises downstairs brought her back to the present and rushes to the bigger blonde who is definitely drunk. She found her at the kitchen, pouring a glass of wine. That's not good, Chloe thought to herself.
"Aubrey? What are you doing?" Chloe walks towards the blonde who's leaning at the kitchen counter, with a glass of wine on hand.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Chloe tried not to flinch at her words, she reminds herself that she's going through a lot at the moment.
"But I think you already had enough drink" Chloe reason out and tried to get the glass out of her hand but the blonde quickly get it out of her reach. That's when Aubrey looked at her with a sharp look on her face. Chloe stumbled back at the intensity of Aubrey's stare.
Chloe saw how Aubrey eyed her from head to toe that made her very conscious of the way she looked at the moment. "I just found out that my husband left me for another woman who he's been fucking for months now behind my back! I think I deserve to have this drink!" She never hears the blonde swear, because Aubrey knows how to use her words even if she's very mad at the office.
But this side of the blonde she has never seen; Her blonde hair was tousled and her clothes are wrinkled. Her voice is louder than the usual and Chloe's afraid that she might wake Lizzy up. "Aubrey, calm down, Lizzy is already asleep upstairs." She calms the blonde down and the mention of Aubrey's daughter sobered the blonde up.
"How is she?" Her voice is softer now and she put her glass down, looking guilty.
"To be honest, she picked up on you crying earlier and she asked me why, I think you have to tell her what's happening, Aubrey." Chloe was able to stand beside the blonde, also leaning on the counter with her arms crossed in front of her.
She heard Aubrey heaved a heavy sigh beside her. She looked so lost and doesn't know what to do and Chloe's heart ache as she hears Aubrey started to sob. She quickly reached out and pulled Aubrey in a side hug and held her as she started crying again.
"Shh, it's going to be okay Aubrey. If Matt doesn't see how amazing person you are, then it's his loss." She tries to comfort the blonde.
"I'm afraid Chloe, I don't even know how to tell Lizzy that her father already left us. I don't know how to tell my parents and oh god, what would other people say if they knew what happened to my marriage." Aubrey started crying again and Chloe can't help but hold her closer as she breaks down.
After a few seconds, she removed Aubrey from her arms so she could look at her in the eyes as she says her next words. "First of all, the only thing you should be concern about is you and Lizzy. Your parents will surely understand and it's not like you're the one who cheated. Lastly, fuck what other people would say, right?"
She's staring so intently at Aubrey's eyes that Chloe's very sure that she can get lost in those green orbs of her. Aubrey released a small laugh at her language, she probably knows that Chloe never swears in her life. Aubrey sniffled but she already stopped shedding tears.
Aubrey looked so small at that moment, gone is the woman who always looked like she's walking at a fashion runway with her squared shoulders and head held high. The woman in front of Chloe looked so fragile and vulnerable that makes her think that this is what Aubrey Posen really looked like. It's the human part of her boss that can rarely be seen by other people.
"I'm scared, Chloe." She whispered but loud enough for Chloe to hear. She pulled the blonde again in her arms so she could hold her tighter and at least make her feel that she's not alone.
"I know but it's going to be okay, I'm right here, you don't have to do this alone." She rubs Aubrey's back that earned her a small appreciative moan.
Aubrey looked up again at her and for a moment Chloe thought she's going to kiss her with how intense she's staring back at her blue eyes and how close their faces are. Chloe can't read the expression on Aubrey's face, but she kind of feels the butterflies in her stomach as she stares back at the blonde. The silence was deafening but not unwelcome. Chloe felt like no words could truly comfort the blonde but it wouldn't hurt if she let Aubrey feel and know that she's not alone.
The moment was ruined when Aubrey clasped her arms around her stomach and run towards the sink. Chloe followed her and saw how she wretched over the sink.
"I'm sorry you have to see that" Aubrey apologized as she wipes her lips with the back of her hand. Chloe just smiled at her then handed her a glass of water that she got while Aubrey's over the sink. "I'm such a mess" she said in disbelief.
"You're still the most gorgeous mess I've ever seen Aubrey." Chloe said and smiled at her genuinely. A flush of pink graced the blonde's cheeks and Chloe realized she said out loud her admiration of the blonde's beauty. But Chloe owned up to it because it's the truth and one thing Aubrey needs at the moment is the truth.
"Thank you Chloe. Thank you for today. You're really a good-"
"Assistant?" Chloe finished her sentence, thinking that's what she is to the blonde.
"I was gonna say Assistant slash friend. Nobody has ever done for me what you have done today. So thank you so much" Aubrey flashed her a grateful smile. There's a twinge in her heart as she hears the word friend from Aubrey's lips but she knows it's not the right time.
It's not the right time for Aubrey to know Chloe's hidden feelings for the blonde; That the simple admiration that she have for Aubrey has turned into something deeper that Chloe knew she has no control. But for now, she's content to be her friend and maybe when the time is right, they could be more.