Author's Note: I've been wanting to write a PLL fic for some time now and recently rewatched The Devil Wears Prada which made an interesting launching point. This is my first time writing a fic in the third person so hopefully you are able to look past any errors and enjoy the story.

Emily stirred on the couch, the sound of her alarm growing louder as she shielded her eyes from the morning light beaming harshly through the living room window. She stretched her back as she reached for her phone to silence it. How long has it been since she slept in a bed? She thought as she looked around the quiet apartment. Emily stood and stretched out her limbs, a neon post-it note on the refrigerator grabbed her attention. It wasn't there last night so Toby must have left her a note before he went to work. She walked the short distance from the living room to the kitchen letting out a yawn.

Don't screw it up, Good Luck! Toby had scribbled.

Emily let out a heavy sigh, it was a sweet gesture and she was going to need all the luck she could get. Assistant to the Editor in Chief? She was surprised she even got the interview knowing nothing of publishing. Emily pulled the door of the fridge open and grabbed a few of the plastic containers of fruit inside to make a smoothie. She made the same high protein smoothie every day for herself, and sometimes for Toby so her hands went into autopilot as her mind drifted elsewhere.

Almost 6 months. That's how long she'd been sleeping on Toby's couch. Meaning it was almost 8 months ago that Maya, her first and only love, vanished. As much as Emily wished it was, It wasn't an exaggeration. While Emily was out picking up their dinner one night, Maya disappeared from their apartment leaving all her belongings behind, her clothes, her cell phone, everything. She left a goodbye letter for Emily on the bed they shared. Things spiraled after that, Emily lost the part-time job she was working at a café when she couldn't get herself out of bed to make the few shifts she was scheduled. Then, when she was unable to pay the rent, she lost the room she and Maya had been living in. When Toby called asking if she was free for dinner she almost told him no but he said it was his treat and she hadn't eaten or slept in 2 days. She'd just been roaming around the city trying to keep moving because every time she stopped she was forced to think about where and how things went so wrong.

Emily shook the feelings off as best she could as she drank the smoothie. Today was the first step in putting her life back together. She'd spent too much time hiding in Toby's apartment, it was time to face the world again. With renewed determination, she finished off her morning smoothie, cleaned up after herself, and headed to the bathroom to get herself ready for her interview at Harmony magazine. She decided it would be a good idea to do a bit of research so after her shower, as she brushed her teeth and did her hair she did a quick search on Harmony and its publishing house, DiLaurentis McCullers Drake. There was more on the internet about the drama that always seemed to be buzzing around the three families than on the publishing house itself. Harmony was a reputable magazine, and Jessica DiLaurentis had been Editor in Chief for the past 18 years.

Standing in the mirror Emily felt both excited and terrified as she gave herself a once-over. What if she didn't get the job? How long could she keep sleeping on Toby's couch? He told her countless times he didn't care how long she stayed but she knew she couldn't share the one-bedroom apartment with him forever. She didn't want to. If she wanted Maya to come home she had to have a home for her to come back to, right?

Emily held that thought closely and it kept the nerves away during the subway ride to the DiLaurentis McCullers Drake offices where she was greeted by a sleek and modern lobby and a busy receptionist. Seeing the receptionist was on a call, Emily waited at the desk while he finished. Taking a quick glance at her phone she could see it was a full 10 minutes before her interview time.

"Thank you, Good Bye." He ended the call and turned his attention to Emily. She could see now he was wearing a name tag, Lucas. "Good morning," he said with a polite smile. "Welcome to DiLaurentis McCullers Drake."

"Hey Lucas, I'm uh..I'm Emily." the words stumbled out. "I have an interview at 9:30." she shifted nervously.

"Do you have a last name, Emily?" Lucas looked down at the computer in front of him and started typing.

"Oh, Of course! Fields. My name is Emily Fields." She mentally kicked herself. If the interview went anything like this she was doomed.

Lucas looked up from the computer, "Emily Fields, huh?" He said studying her face.

"Yeah,"

Emily's eyes darted toward a whirring noise and she saw a sticker being printed, Lucas grabbed it and handed it over. It was a guest name badge.

"Have any tips for me?" Emily said as she peeled the sticker from its backing and placed it on her blazer.

"If you're nervous or scared, don't let it show. The interview will be over before you can hand her your resume." Lucas advised, and the phone began ringing. "10th floor, walk straight when you get off the elevator and take the first left." He rushed the directions out before answering the phone. "Thank you for calling the offices of DiLaurentis McCullers Drake, how can I help you this morning?" He mouthed 'Good Luck' at Emily and pointed to the security turnstile closest to the desk.

Emily said a quick thanks and before going through the turnstile took a deep breath, pushing down whatever anxiety she was feeling at the moment. She followed Lucas's instructions and came face to face with a woman in her mid-30s with a headset on. She wasn't wearing a name tag.

"Good morning, My name is Emily Fields I have an interview for the assistant to the Editor in Chief position at 9:30." Emily smiled a little bigger than she would have normally, proud that the words came out so easily.

The smile dropped when she saw the look of horror that flashed across the woman's face. Did she say something wrong? Emily felt her eyes widen.

"Y-you what?" The woman said, still looking at Emily like she had just threatened to wipe out her entire family.

Emily opened her mouth but closed it, unsure of what to say. Did she repeat herself? She wasn't sure that was a good idea. Luckily she didn't have to say anything to the woman, the door to the office behind her opened just then.

"Emily Fields?"

Emily nodded enthusiastically taking a few steps closer. She recognized the woman in the office doorway from the little bit of research she did, Jessica DiLaurentis.

"Thank you for being on time, come in," Mrs DiLaurentis waved her inside the office, closing the door behind them. "Have a seat." She instructed, and Emily sat in one of the empty chairs in front of a large desk, it was light grey with brass hardware. Emily took a second to look around as Mrs DiLaurentis poured herself a glass of water before sitting. Everything in the office seemed to coordinate with the desk, it was a big space, kind of intimidating but feminine too.

"I'd like to say thank you for the opportunity to interview with you, no matter which way it goes I appreciate your time. I brought my resume and a list of references, I know I don't have much expe-" Emily was removing a copy of her resume from her folder when Mrs DiLaurentis put up a hand to stop her.

"I don't care about your experience or your references." Mrs DiLaurentis gave Emily a pointed look. "Can you follow directions?" She asked.

It was a straightforward question but it took Emily aback. "Uh, yeah. I mean yes." Dammit, she was beginning to fumble again. "Yes, I can follow directions."

"How's your attention to detail?"

"It's exceptional," Emily said quickly, swallowing hard. Maya had left and she didn't expect a thing, she didn't know it was coming, she didn't notice anything was wrong. Not very exceptional. "I use to be an athlete, attention to detail, organization, time management, they're all what I would consider my strengths."

Mrs DiLaurentis smiled thinly, "What would you consider your weakness?"

"Well…I'm sure you'll see a lot of applicants today with more experience, in publishing, or in fashion, probably both. I don't have that, but you said you don't care about that. What do you care about? Anyone can follow directions." Emily spoke, Mrs DiLaurentis seemed like a straight shooter, and if Emily could match that maybe she would stand out amongst the rest of the applicants.

"You're right, I have seen a lot of applicants. A lot of them have backgrounds in creative writing, office management, fashion, journalism, and they also come with a lot of impressive references and accolades." Mrs DiLaurentis took a sip of her water, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. "What they don't have is backbone and professionalism, and that's what this job requires most. They either scare away too easily or they-" She abandoned her sentence, pursing her lips.

The sudden stop didn't worry Emily, she didn't care why the previous assistants flamed out, she was just glad they did. New York was expensive and she needed a job, ASAP.

"I can assure you that once I start something I see it through, and I've never had an issue maintaining professionalism. I'd like to show up, do my job, and do it well." She assured the older woman.

"Glad to hear it, the rest you can learn. Hopefully quickly." Mrs DiLaurentis stood from her desk and Emily stood too. "Martha, my assistant, if you didn't scare her to death will put you in contact with HR, you'll complete your onboarding today so I hope you brought the necessary documents. You'll start tomorrow, 8 am."

Emily was confused, if Martha was Mrs DiLaurentis' assistant, "So I'll be your second assistant then?" she asked.

"Oh, absolutely not." Mrs DiLaurentis almost looked offended at the question, but didn't say anything else.

Hoping for some clarity Emily replied, "My mistake, I thought the position listing said assistant to the Editor in Chief." She was sure that's what the job posting had said.

"You're not mistaken, but 12 DiLaurentis McCullers Drake publications operate out of this office building. 7 of which are magazines, each with its own Editor in Chief." Mrs DiLaurentis paused briefly to make sure Emily was following before rounding her desk toward the door. Emily nodded. "You'll be working with my daughter, Alison, Editor in Chief of GLOW. It's DiLaurentis McCullers Drake's exclusively digital magazine." Mrs DiLaurentis held the door open and Emily stepped through.

It was a lot of information to process but Emily did it quickly. GLOW had come up in her research briefly, something about them leading the charge for magazines going fully digital amongst other things. Alison had appeared several times in her web search, socialite, player, and pioneer were some of the words Emily remembered seeing in association with her name but she had scrolled past those headlines.

"I would suggest you go upstairs and introduce yourself but Alison's not in her office today, she's on set at a photoshoot." Another thin smile played on Mrs DiLautentis' lips. It gave Emily a strange feeling. "It was nice to meet you, Emily. Congratulations."

It took a second for Emily to realize she was being dismissed. The interview was over, she did it, she got the job. She let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Mrs DiLaurentis. Thank you so much."

Mrs DiLaurentis turned to Martha who was visibly shaking behind her desk. "Martha, please connect Emily with HR, I'd like her fully onboarded today, let's see if we can squeeze in some basic training as well. I want her ready to start as Alison's new assistant tomorrow when she returns to the office." she then turned her attention to Emily. "You will of course be compensated for however late you stay today. I suggest you use Martha, and ask questions she's been with me about 8 years now."

Before Martha or Emily could respond, Mrs DiLaurentis had closed the door. The look of relief on Martha's face was unlike anything Emily had seen before, and it clicked that she must have misunderstood just like Emily had, that the interview was to be Mrs DiLaurentis' assistant. But was it really a misunderstanding? Emily thought as she looked at Martha who had stopped shaking and was now rubbing her temples. Why was Mrs DiLaurentis interviewing assistants for her daughter? And why do it when she was out of the office for the day? Emily shook off the questions as Martha began to speak. It was going to be a long day, but that didn't matter. At the end of it, she would be employed.

… …

Emily tried to be as quiet as possible when she returned to Toby's apartment, it was nearing 10 o'clock and she knew he would be asleep, but to her surprise when she pushed the door open she saw him standing in the kitchen making himself a sandwich.

"Did you wait up for me?" Emily asked with a smile, kicking off her shoes and dropping her bag at the door.

Toby shrugged nonchalantly, "I was hungry…Do you want one?" He pointed to his plate.

Emily nodded, she hadn't had anything since her morning smoothie. Toby got to work building her sandwich just the way she liked it. After her interview the day moved quickly, she filled out all the necessary paperwork, gave HR all the information they asked for, she received a company cellphone, an employee badge, an email address, and a system login, all of which were working by the time she left the building. Mrs DiLaurentis was not kidding when she said she wanted her ready to work tomorrow. Martha taught her how to answer the phones and look up contacts, she gave her a brief overview of the system used to manage appointments and bookings, and a few other tips she thought relevant that she could cram into the short amount of time they had together. She was actually really helpful after she knew her job was safe.

"So, are you going to make me ask?" Toby slid a plate in front of her along with a bottled water.

Emily looked down at the plate, forcing the corners of her mouth into a frown as she took a bite of the sandwich, but she couldn't pretend to be sad for long and laughed, covering her full mouth.

"I got the job!" She told Toby excitedly.

They ate sandwiches a lot so Emily wasn't sure if it was her good mood or because she was starving but it tasted divine. She took another bite.

Toby nudged her shoulder, letting out a breath he had been holding in. "Congratulations! I knew you had it. I could feel it." He said proudly, and it made Emily feel good to know that someone had faith in her, believed in her.

"I start tomorrow, 8 am."

"Tomorrow? Wow, that's fast." Toby said tossing some chips in his mouth. He couldn't eat a sandwich without them and he'd gotten Emily into the habit too.

Emily nodded drinking some of her water, "Yeah, that's why I was there so late. I did all my paperwork and I had a crash course training session so I can jump right in tomorrow."

"What is it again? DiLa..what"

"DiLaurentis McCullers Drake, it's a publishing house. I'll be working at GLOW magazine on the 12th floor." Emily continued working on her sandwich.

"DiLaurentis McCluck-Cull," Toby shook his head and gaves up. "That's a mouthful but GLOW I can remember. What kinda magazine is it?"

Emily pulled out her phone, she was planning on doing a bit more research later but since Toby asked, GLOW magazine + Alison DiLaurentis, she typed in the search bar.

"Who's Alison?" Toby asked as Emily set the phone down on the table so they could both see.

"My new boss." Emily scrolled through the results and found that GLOW had a full page dedicated to its Editor in Chief.

It turns out Alison wasn't just the EIC, she was the founder. She created GLOW to specifically target women 17-29, meeting them where they already were, online. Though Alison's passion is fashion and beauty, she didn't want to create another CosmoGIRL, so she enlisted some of the best up-and-coming women in journalism across different niches to round it out. Turning GLOW into the best-performing magazine for its demographic, reaching 12 million digital readers and climbing. She's also made it to two Forbes lists, Top Creators and 30 under 30.

"Impressive," Toby said finishing off his sandwich and chips. "She looks really familiar."

Emily returned to Google, Alison DiLaurentis + recent news, she pressed enter, and headline after headline appeared.

Out Magazine Names Alison DiLaurentis New York's Most Eligible Bachelorette

Alison DiLaurentis spotted leaving Nobu with Victoria's Secret model Eva Pierce

SPOTTED: Alison DiLaurentis sneaking out of Broadway Star's hotel room

Emily looked at the date on the articles, they were all from within the last 5 days. "Busy girl," Emily said before eating a few more chips.

"Work hard, play hard." Toby shrugged, rinsing his plate and putting it in the dishwasher. "I should get some sleep. I'll be gone before you're up tomorrow so have a good first day and congratulations again." He pulled Emily into a side hug.

"Thank you," She rested her head on his shoulder briefly. "For everything."

Toby nodded and gave her a squeeze before heading to his bedroom.

Emily skimmed a few articles while she finished her late dinner. A lot of the articles focused on Alison's social life which Emily wasn't interested in. The few articles she found pertaining to her work at GLOW described her as pushy, condescending, and abrasive but they also made sure to mention she was brilliant.