Chapter 2: Miss Pierce

Brittany's POV

*Tuesday 25th June 2019*

Ms Lopez only made me the head of Accounting and Finance yesterday but I hate it already. Ideally it would be a great way to further my career but I feel it's just too soon for such a big step. I'm still getting to grips with my job in general at SL Designs so adding on the work of a head of department is really stressful. Ms Lopez doesn't seem to really care though that I'm not handling things well. She basically dismissed me yesterday after our discussion and she hasn't had time for me this morning to listen to me. I wanted some sort of coaching for the new role but Ms Lopez said I'll be fine and I'll figure it out. I do like a challenge but this is just not appropriate when I've never done a job like this before.

"Pierce, over here" Ms Lopez shouts as she enters the department.

"Thank goodness you're here because I need to talk to you" I say as I hurriedly make my way over to her where she is standing near the desks of the other members of the department.

"No time for chit-chat Pierce, I've got stuff to do so I'm going to make this quick" Ms Lopez states.

"I need to talk you about something important" I reply annoyed.

"I don't care Pierce. I am far too busy today so it'll need to wait until tomorrow" Ms Lopez glares at me. "Now, will you be quiet so I can get on with this" she tells me before turning around to look at the others.

"Fine" I huff.

"Everyone, I have appointed Pierce the new head of Accounting and Finance so from now on you go to her regarding any issues within the department and you now take orders from her as well" Ms Lopez tells the others.

"Sweet" Jack smiles at me.

"No, not sweet. Take this seriously Jack" Ms Lopez glares at my colleague. Jack and I get on really well so I get why he might be happy about this.

"I am" Jack assures Ms Lopez. "I just think Brittany will make a pretty cool boss" he shrugs.

"Excuse me, I'm the boss" Ms Lopez points out seriously.

"I meant…" Jack tries to explain but Ms Lopez rudely cuts him off as usual.

"I don't care" Ms Lopez tells Jack. "Anyway, Pierce is now the head of department so can I trust you all to behave appropriately towards her?" she asks the others.

"No, you can't because we might all start making out" I joke.

"Button it Pierce because I'm so not in the mood" Ms Lopez tells me while giving me a deathly stare.

"When are you ever in the mood" I mutter.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that because I don't have the time today to be giving out written warnings. I'm far too busy" Ms Lopez states.

"I didn't realise you were busy today, my mistake for joking around" I smirk at her. I find it really amusing the number of times she needs to tell us she's busy. As if I didn't catch on the first time she told me today.

"Oh, and before I go, you will all now refer to Pierce as Miss Pierce" Ms Lopez states.

"Honestly folks, Brittany is fine" I smile at the others.

"No. I am the overall boss here so if I say you need to be referred to as Miss Pierce then you need to be referred to as Miss Pierce. There is to be no talk of 'Brittany', are we clear?" she tells me.

"Crystal" I say while rolling my eyes at my boss.

"Good. Now back to work everyone" Ms Lopez says before dashing off around the corner.

"Hey guys, when Ms Lopez isn't here, just call me Brittany" I tell my team.

"Oh, is that so?" Ms Lopez questions as she comes from around the corner. Fuck I really thought she had left and went back to her office.

"I thought you had left" I say while laughing nervously.

"I know you did" Ms Lopez smirks at me. "I was waiting though because I knew you would say or do something about what I had just said. I could sense you would go against me to your team" she adds.

"I'm not going against you Ms Lopez. I just think it's unnecessary to call me Miss Pierce when I'm one of the team. I don't see myself as someone superior" I point out.

"Well you better start seeing yourself as someone superior because you're a department head now" Ms Lopez states.

"Don't remind me" I mutter.

"I know this was sprung on you quite quickly but I wouldn't ask you if you weren't capable of doing it so start believing you can do it because I won't take the role away from you now" Ms Lopez tells me.

"Ok" I nod. There was some sort of compliment in there so I guess it has lifted my spirits a little and made me see that maybe I can do this after all.

"Anyway, get your asses back to work everyone" Ms Lopez states before walking away again.

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*Tuesday 9th July 2019*

I've been the head of the Accounting and Finance department for two weeks now but I can't say I'm finding things any easier at the moment. I think I've now got a handle on how things are run and the different tasks the head does compared to the regular staff but it's now a time issue for me. I know what I'm doing and how to do it but I just can't seem to get it done as quickly as I would like. Ms Lopez has been far from helpful so I'm basically making up my own rules and taking each day as it comes.

I'm currently just working on a report about our finances for this month. Ms Lopez likes to know the incomes and outcomes of finances at the end of the month so she knows how we're doing. She doesn't take much to do with the business side of things but she does like an overall picture on how the company is doing. I should have actually already sent her the report but I've just been so busy that I haven't had a chance to finish it yet. Who knows if I'll get it done by tonight because it's already late as it is but I'm going to try.

"What are you doing here Pierce?" Ms Lopez asks, startling me. I'm all alone in the department right now which is why I got such a fright.

"I work for you remember, Ms Lopez" I smile at my employer.

"Don't get smart with me. I am not in the mood after the day I had today" she tells me with a sigh. "I am asking you why you are still here at this time of night."

"Technically I could ask you the same question because you were here before I even got here this morning" I point out. I've been here for well over 12 hours now so I dread to think how long Ms Lopez has been here.

"Did I or did I not just ask you to not get smart with me?" she glares at me.

"I'm still here because I'm overloaded with work" I answer. I know exactly what I'm doing and what needs to be done but I just don't have the same time anymore to do it because Ms Lopez has made me head of the department so all those duties on top of my own work is really tearing me apart.

"You need to learn the importance of delegation then" Ms Lopez tells me.

"I know and no disrespect to your other employees but they don't get the tasks done quick enough for me so I need to do them myself" I sigh.

"You're their boss so tell them to pick up the pace or you'll report them to me or fire them" Ms Lopez shrugs.

"I don't have the power to fire them" I state.

"Yes, you do. I'm giving it to you now" Ms Lopez smiles.

"I really want to help you Ms Lopez but I don't think I can be the head of the department anymore" I say honestly. I am flattered she trusts me to do this but this is all too much for me. I like a challenge but this is way more than that. It's putting so much pressure on me that I don't think I like my job anymore.

"Well I don't think you're the employee I wanted to hire anymore" Ms Lopez shrugs.

"You're firing me?" I ask shocked. Surely that cannot happen. I haven't done anything wrong other than say I couldn't handle my workload, which I don't think is wrong to say.

"I didn't say that" Ms Lopez shakes her head. "I hired you for a reason and you telling me that you can't handle this makes me think I've made a big mistake. I hired you for what you said on your application but right now you're saying something different" she states.

"I am?" I ask confused. Everything I said on my application is true so I don't know what she means.

"You said you were driven. You said you liked a challenge. You said you wanted something that suited your degree but at the same time allowed you to progress in your career path" she says listing off the things I mentioned in my application.

"That's correct" I nod.

"Turning down this job role is telling me that's incorrect" she shrugs. "This will challenge you and it allows you to further your career."

"It's too much too soon Ms Lopez" I sigh.

"I don't tell people this a lot because it usually never happens but I like you Brittany…"

"Thanks" I smile.

"You interrupted me. I wasn't finished" she tells me sternly.

"Ok" I nod.

"There was a but coming Brittany" she says. "As I was saying. I like you Brittany but right now I do not. There is one thing in life that I detest the most and that's whining and right now you're whining" she adds.

"Wow, thanks" I say sarcastically. Generally, I am a confident person so I don't often say when things are getting on top of me but I had to say something about this. It really is just too much for me to cope with right now since I've only been here a few weeks.

"There's no denying you're a good employee Brittany so just quit the whining, go home and I'll see you tomorrow where you'll remain as my head of Accounting and Finance" Ms Lopez states with a shrug.

"Can you not hear me or something?" I ask annoyed. I am telling my boss I am struggling and she doesn't care.

"My hearing is impeccable thank you very much" she assures me. "Delegation Brittany" she adds.

"It's not that simple when I'm the last person to come into the department. They don't see me as their boss so they don't really listen to me" I point out. I was last to join the team so they've all been here a while so they don't see me as a boss but more as the newcomer.

"Make them see you as that. I have already said this Brittany. Tell them what they need to do and if they don't do it tell them off yourself or wimp out and come to me. Either way they'll get a telling off from someone and you will remain as my head of department" Ms Lopez replies.

"I'm not a wimp" I say defensively.

"Show me that then" she smirks at me. "Now go away. I don't want you here in the building anymore tonight" she states before walking away.

"I'm right in the middle of something so I don't…"

"Go away Pierce" Ms Lopez says interrupting me. "I wasn't asking you I was telling you so get out of here" she adds.

"Do you know, I think you're the politest person I have ever worked for" I say sarcastically.

"You've been here long enough today so go home and get some rest" Ms Lopez says softly. I think this must be one of the very few kind things she's said to me. She obviously cares about my wellbeing which I think is very sweet.

"You care about your staff" I point out as I smile at her.

"I wouldn't go that far" Ms Lopez shakes her head at me. "I just need you out of here because security needs to close up and you'll be useless tomorrow to me if you don't get some sleep tonight" she shrugs.

"I still think you care" I keep smiling at my boss.

"Just go away Pierce" she states before walking away and leaving for the night.

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*Thursday 11th July 2019*

I'm getting the hang of things at work now so things are settling down quite well. I've decided today that me and my team need some time to bond so that's what we're doing. There's plenty of time to get on with work so for this morning we're doing some team bonding. We're just easing into things gently so I've sat everyone down in a circle and we're going around telling each other a little bit about ourselves and what our favourite hobby is. Jack is just telling us about his love of soccer when Ms Lopez walks into the department and comes storming over to us in a rage.

"What the fuck is going on here?" she asks as she walks into the accounting department and finds no one at their desks and everyone sitting on the floor in a circle.

"Team bonding" I shrug at Ms Lopez.

"I think not" she states. "Get the fuck back to your desks and start working and doing the things I pay you for" she tells us annoyed.

"What things might that be, Ms Lopez?" I challenge. I'm quite curious if she actually knows what we do around here. She knows we do accounts and look after the finances but I'm curious to know if she knows what a balance sheet is or what a cash budget is.

"Making sure I have turned a profit" she smartly replies.

"Trust you to know that" I say while laughing. Out of all the accounting terms there is, of course my boss is going to know what a profit means.

"Look, just get back to work everyone" Ms Lopez says sternly.

"Can I speak to you for a second" I say while gently pulling Ms Lopez to the side by the arm. She doesn't look the least bit impressed by my actions but I don't care. "We are having a bonding session and I'm laying down some ground rules so I'd be grateful if you could just go away. They won't take me seriously with you here" I tell my boss.

"Who in the actual fuck do you think you're talking too?" she questions unamused.

"Someone who knows fuck all about accounts" I state. If she can swear at me then I can swear right back at her.

"That's not true. I know all kinds of stuff about accounting" Ms Lopez assures me. "And right now, I know that nothing with regards accounting and finance is getting done with you all having chit-chats about unimportant things so get yourselves back to work."

"We'll get back to work once I'm satisfied that my task has worked" I reply.

"That's not good enough for me" Ms Lopez points out unamused.

"Well it's good enough for me" I smirk. "I am the manager of the department so I rule the roost around here so we'll get back to work when I say we will" I add.

"I could easily fire you right now you know" Ms Lopez tells me.

"You could but then who would run your company for you?" I ask.

"I would do it. I already do it" she tells me seriously.

"Your department then?" I say rephrasing my question.

"I guess I could ask Jack to do it" she shrugs. I just look at her and she bursts out laughing because we both know as much as Jack is good at what he does, there is no way he could run things around here. "Seriously though Pierce, get everyone back to work because I don't have time to mess around at the moment with the new design I'm in the middle of."

"In five minutes. Let me just wrap things up here and then I'll get us all back to work" I say honestly. We probably should get back to focusing on what we should be doing.

"Good" Ms Lopez nods before walking away. Just as I'm about to go back to the group, Ms Lopez returns again. "I meant to say Pierce, I need to see you again in my office at the end of the day" she adds and then walks away again.

XXX

"A word Brittany" Ms Lopez states as she approaches my desk. I was supposed to go and see her at the end of the day but I guess things just couldn't wait anymore.

"No problem" I nod. My colleagues seem to think I might be in trouble which they find very amusing.

"If you all don't get back to work this instant, I'll be decreasing your wages this month" Ms Lopez tells the other workers.

"You can't do that" Rebecca, a fellow colleague, protests.

"Watch me" Ms Lopez snaps. "Now back to work" she states. Everyone hurriedly gets back to work and I follow Ms Lopez to her office.

"Take a seat" my boss tells me so I walk around the desk and sit on Ms Lopez's chair.

"Not there, obviously" Ms Lopez says while rolling her eyes at me.

"I don't see how it is obvious since all you said was to take a seat but anyway" I shrug while walking to the other side of the desk and sitting down.

"There seems to be a mix up with my schedule next weekend" Ms Lopez sighs.

"Ok" I reply.

"I'm going to need your help" she tells me.

"Ok" I nod. She doesn't reply right away so I speak up again. "If that's all you needed me here for then I'll see you later" I say while standing up.

"You don't even know how I want you to help me yet" Ms Lopez points out.

"That's because I'm not going to help you" I shrug. "You told me you needed help but I didn't say I would help you. I have enough to do so I don't have time to help you figure out how to cancel one of your little nights out" I tell her.

"It's not a night out. It's an important meeting I'm having with someone while also having dinner" she points out.

"A night out then" I state. "What kind of businesswoman has an important meeting on a Saturday night which also includes dinner?"

"I need to kind of butter up this person because I want them to showcase my clothing range in their store" Ms Lopez replies. "Also though, I'm supposed to be having a meeting late Saturday afternoon with my sales team but I don't think I'll be finished on time so I need you to take the meeting with the sales team so I can make the dinner" she adds.

"Ms Lopez, I work in finances. I don't know much about sales apart from how much we sell if that makes sense" I say seriously. I wouldn't know the first thing about how to increase the sales and market the brand. I know how to reduce costs and things like that but I don't know how to push sales so I can hardly hold a meeting on that.

"You are the only person I can ask to do this because my sales manager is off sick at the moment so it's all a bit up in the air. They don't know how to manage a team obviously but you do so take this meeting for me" Ms Lopez states.

"I don't know about this" I say unsure. Yes, I can lead a team but I wouldn't want to take them down the wrong path and end up decreasing the sales or something.

"Please" Ms Lopez pleads.

"This is the first time I've seen you beg and seem so desperate" I smirk. I'm really amused by this because I've never seen Ms Lopez like this before. She's always so confident and has her way.

"This is not a time for joking around. I need you to step up for me so can you do that?" she asks me.

"Ok, fine. I will try" I say with a sigh. "Just don't blame me if this all goes pear shaped and I've messed up your sales or something" I add.

"I'll brief you before I go on Saturday so you'll be prepared" Ms Lopez assures me.

"I just don't understand why you need to butter people up and bow down to them like you're going to do on Saturday" I point out.

"I need stores to sell my clothes otherwise I can't maximise my sales. How else apart from online can I get people to buy my things" Ms Lopez replies.

"Open your own store" I shrug. She has the money I would imagine so why does she need to beg uptight little clothing store owners when she could easily open her own store and handle the whole thing herself. Plus, she would get all the profits and wouldn't need to give store owners a percentage.

"No, I can't do…wait a minute" she says pondering the thought. "Why am I begging these people when I could do all of this myself" she sighs.

"With the right marketing and advertising, you could do this. The finances are good so with careful planning in that aspect then you could make this work" I state.

"We" she tells me with a smile.

"Huh?" I ask confused.

"We can make this work. This was your idea Pierce so you can help me do this" Ms Lopez replies excitedly. "This could be something really good" she smiles.

"I'm sorry but no" I shake my head. "I don't want any part in that but you should still do it" I tell her. I have way too much going on at the moment in the jobs that I already do so I don't have the time or energy to work on another project. I want to see this business be a success but I can't devote anymore time to it than I already do.

"We'll work it out but anyway, I have a meeting to cancel and a dinner reservation to pull out of" Ms Lopez smiles at me. I don't like how she said 'we' when I just told her I can't do this.

"Can I go back to work now?" I say. I'm still a little pissed but at the same time I have work to do so I'll deal with the rest of this mess later.

"You never need to ask me that" Ms Lopez states. I nod and then head back to work.


Santana's POV

*Saturday 13th July 2019*

It's been a hard few weeks at work so I'm grateful for a weekend off this week. I've just launched a new design so things have been so busy but most of the work is all done now so I can relax this weekend. Tonight, I am currently out with Quinn, having a bit of a girl's night out. We're just getting things kicked off by having some drinks at a bar right now.

"Why does that woman look familiar?" Quinn asks me as she sits her wine on the table after taking a sip.

"What woman?" I ask as I look around the bar.

"Over there" she says while pointing over at a blonde woman sitting at the bar.

"This is just great" I mutter sarcastically as soon as I see the person.

"What's wrong? Who is it? She looks familiar but I can't place her" Quinn states.

"She works for me. That's Pierce" I sigh.

"I knew she was familiar but I couldn't think how I knew her. I've never met her but I recognise her from her social media accounts when I was looking up who she was" Quinn points out.

"Maybe we should just go" I state while standing up.

"Shouldn't we say hello?" Quinn questions.

"No, we shouldn't. She works for me so I don't socialise with my employees, that would just be weird" I say.

"She's all alone though. Maybe we should just see if she's ok" she replies.

"No, I don't want to" I sigh. My employees can hang out together if they want outside of work but that's a totally different thing from hanging out with your boss. It just wouldn't feel right for me to hang out with an employee.

"Santana, come on. There's no need to be mean" Quinn shakes her head at me.

"I know I can be mean sometimes but this isn't one of those times. This is me being professional outside of work" I point out.

"Brittany!" Quinn yells over to the bar. If I'm not rolling my eyes for real right now then I certainly am in my head. I really wish she hadn't done that.

"What the fuck Quinn" I say annoyed while sitting back down. It doesn't look like we're about to leave any time soon so I might as well sit back down.

"Be nice" Quinn tells me as Brittany turns around and Quinn gestures her to come over.

"Uh…hi" Brittany says confused as she walks towards us.

"I'm Quinn" Quinn smiles while holding out her hand. "This one's best friend" she adds as she points at me which I might just say is really rather rude. I was always told it was rude to point and I actually have to agree because no one wants a finger waving in front of their face.

"Nice to meet you" Brittany replies while shaking Quinn's hand. "Hey" she says while turning to look at me.

"Pierce" I say with a courtesy nod.

"Are you the best friend that got Ms Lopez to give me coffee?" Brittany asks curiously. Quinn looks at her confused though so she elaborates. "The other week, Ms Lopez brought me coffee as a peace offering because her friend thought she upset me by saying my designs were rubbish."

"Yeah, I told her to do something but I didn't realise it was coffee she brought you" Quinn nods.

"Well thank you for the coffee" Brittany smiles at Quinn. I don't know what she's fucking thanking her for because it was me who made the coffee.

"You're welcome" Quinn smiles back. Fucking bitch, lapping up all the praise when it was me who made the coffee and thought of the idea not her.

"So, what are you and Ms Lopez up to?" Brittany asks but before I can even answer, Quinn replies.

"We're just having some drinks and then see where the night takes us. I managed to persuade Santana to take the day off tomorrow so we're having a well-deserved night out" Quinn replies.

"Sounds like fun" Brittany smiles.

"Yeah, so we should get back to it" I state.

"Of course" Brittany nods. "I won't take up any more of your time. It was nice to meet you Quinn and I'll see you Monday Ms Lopez" she adds.

"Yeah. Goodbye" I say before turning around and taking a sip of my drink.

"Why don't you join us Brittany?" Quinn suggests. I really want to punch her right now.

"No, I don't think Ms Lopez would like that but thank you for offering" Brittany smiles at Quinn.

"Please use Santana, not Ms Lopez" Quinn tells Brittany.

"No, don't bother" I say quickly. "I am Ms Lopez and that's the way its stays for as long as you work for me" I add.

"Don't worry, I'll call you Ms Lopez" Brittany assures me.

"I bet you're thinking of something a lot stronger than Ms Lopez that you want to call her" Quinn smirks at my employee.

"Maybe" Brittany chuckles.

"Look, at least have a drink with us right now instead of sitting on your own" Quinn tells Brittany.

"I guess I could squeeze in one drink" Brittany shrugs. This is just perfect right now. This was supposed to be a night with just Quinn and I hanging out where we didn't need to talk about work or reminded of how stressful it was.

"Excellent. I'll grab you a drink" Quinn says while standing up. "What are you drinking Brittany?" she asks.

"Red wine tonight" Brittany replies.

"Lovely choice. I am on red wine myself tonight" Quinn smiles at Brittany. "Lopez, another cocktail?" she asks me. For a minute I didn't think she remembered I was here.

"Might as well" I sigh. "If Pierce is joining us then I'm going to need another cocktail I think" I add.

"I'll be right back" Quinn says before making her way over to the bar. She looks back at me and mouths something to me that I can't make out. I can only imagine it's something along the lines of 'be nice' or 'talk to her' but who knows.

"So…" Brittany says looking at me.

"So is a conjunction Brittany, you shouldn't start a sentence with a conjunction. Those are joining words so they need to be joined to other parts of a sentence" I state.

"Quinn seems so nice. How on earth is she friends with you?" Brittany asks confused.

"Quinn and I have a unique friendship. Something that you'll never understand between the two of us" I shrug.

"I'm not a bad person and maybe if you got to know me then you and I could be somewhat friends" she tells me.

"It's not going to happen no matter how nice you are. We work together so I don't mix business and pleasure therefore none of my friends will ever work for me" I state.

"If I move to another job then could we be friends?" Brittany wonders.

"You better not be leaving my company and you most certainly better not be telling me you're leaving like this. I expect a written resignation Pierce and at least some sort of notice for me to be able to replace your ass" I say annoyed. I don't like being messed around like this.

"I'm not leaving, jeez" Brittany says laughing. "No need to have a meltdown right now" she adds.

"I wasn't. I was just…"

"Relax, I'm not going anywhere" she assures me. I can't say I like her interrupting me though. That's just plain rude and I don't stand for it. Just as I'm about to tell her off for being rude, Quinn joins us and hands out the drinks.

"You didn't say what kind of red wine you like so I just got the same as I'm drinking. I hope you don't mind" Quinn tells Brittany.

"Honestly, any kind of alcohol is good with me" Brittany smiles at Quinn.

"I don't suppose you get much time to go out and have a drink. It sounds like you're just as busy as Santana sometimes at work" Quinn says to Brittany.

"It feels like I'm barely at home at the moment, never mind getting a minute to go out with friends and such like" Brittany chuckles. If she's not happy at work then why the fuck is she still working with me. Jesus.

"I can imagine" Quinn nods.

"So, what do you do for work Quinn?" Brittany asks curiously. I really don't like all this chatting between them. I'm right here and they're not talking to me.

"I work in real estate actually" Quinn nods. "I work mostly through the week but I do weekend work from time to time too" she adds.

"I should take your number then because I've been meaning to find my own place" Brittany replies.

"You don't have your own place?" I ask surprised.

"I currently rent an apartment" Brittany shrugs. "Plus, I'm only 23 so mostly any money I have has been spent on college fees and things like that. I've not really been in a financial position to buy my own place yet. I've been working fulltime for the last year and a bit now so I'm starting to have some savings build up" she adds.

"We can't all be as successful as you Santana and make our first profit after only a few weeks" Quinn tells me. "I was in a similar situation to you Brittany" she says while turning to my employee to talk once again. Honestly this is meant to be my night with Quinn and she's spending it with Brittany which isn't nice.

"Cool" Brittany smiles at Quinn.

"I'm actually in a relationship now so that's a lot easier on the finances when you want to buy a house. You have two incomes to put together" Quinn points out.

"Yeah I don't think I'll be buying a house anytime soon since I'm on my own but I do want to at least have somewhere that I can say is definitely mine and I can do what I want to do with it" Brittany replies. I see where she's coming from because when you rent somewhere you can't do exactly what you want to do with it and you're tied to someone else as well.

"I'll definitely give you my number and we can see what we can do" Quinn smiles at Brittany.

"So, were you meant to be meeting someone tonight?" I ask Brittany.

"Yeah but it doesn't look like they're coming" Brittany says sadly.

"Been stood up tonight, have you?" I ask amused.

"Yes, and stop taking so much delight in that. You can say what you want to me at work but picking on someone because of their personal life is below the belt" Brittany points out.

"Pierce, I wasn't picking on you" I assure her. I'm a bitch but not that much of a bitch that I would laugh at someone's personal issues.

"Ok" Brittany nods, presumably believing me now.

"Men really suck sometimes, don't they" Quinn states with a sigh.

"It wasn't actually a man" Brittany replies nervously. I have got to say my interest in their discussion has certainly picked up somewhat. I didn't realise Pierce was into women. Although, why should I know that because she's my employee so I don't see her as anything but that.

"Wait…so you're into girls?" Quinn asks delightedly.

"Uh…yeah" Brittany replies, shocked that Quinn looks so happy right now. "Why is that so exciting for you?" she asks.

"Because I know someone else who likes ladies" Quinn says while throwing a smirk my way.

"That's nice" Brittany replies, not seeing where Quinn is going with this.

"She means me but I don't know what that has to do with anything" I state.

"So, it's true then, you are a lesbian?" Brittany asks me. "There has been a lot of rumours floating around but I wasn't sure if they were true or not" she shrugs.

"I don't label myself Pierce because I'm attracted to all kinds of people. All kinds of people do include women so does that answer your question?" I ask. I don't talk about personal things at work so I wouldn't necessarily tell employees this but we're out of work right now and she's talking to Quinn so I can't really deny things.

"Yeah, I suppose so" Brittany nods.

"Do you like men Brittany?" Quinn asks curiously.

"I like them but I'm not attracted to them" Brittany shrugs.

"Interesting" Quinn nods. I can almost see her brain working ten times as hard as if she's plotting something right now. I don't know what it is but I know for sure I'm not going to like it.

"Is it?" Brittany asks laughing.

"If you're thinking of setting Pierce up with someone then don't bother Quinn. Just leave her alone to sort out her own romances because it's not your business" I tell my best friend.

"I know someone single who happens to like other women in that way so what's the harm in setting them up. You don't know if you don't try" Quinn shrugs.

"I appreciate that but I don't need set up. Judging by tonight and how I got stood up, I doubt anyone is in a rush to date me" Brittany sighs. I don't know where to put myself right now because I can't handle people being down like that. I don't deal with emotions well in the first place so I most certainly don't deal with romantic problems of others well either.

"I'm going to set you up sometime and she will like you. I know she will because she's a great person" Quinn replies. Phew, I really thought she was going to try and set me up there but as soon as she said great person, I knew it wasn't me.


Brittany's POV

*Tuesday 16th July 2019*

Oh my goodness, what a dreadful morning I have just had. Firstly, Ms Lopez had all the department managers at a meeting this morning to discuss the business obviously so that took up a lot of my time. I should have been focusing on my team and doing what we need to do but I couldn't when I had the meeting to go to. I wouldn't have minded much if it meant something but basically Ms Lopez talked for the full hour about herself and what she expects to happen in the next few weeks. We could barely get a word in or address any of our concerns. I can't say any of the managers, myself included, feel any further forward on anything so we're still in the same predicament as this morning. The only thing we have to show for the last-minute meeting is an increase of work and a decrease of time. We wasted an hour of good working time listening to Ms Lopez this morning and it's pissed us all off.

After the managers meeting, Ms Lopez then wanted a meeting with my department and all my staff. She wanted to address a few issues of hers but of course we couldn't address any of our issues with her. Once again, she talked on and on about herself and what she wants from us. It's like we don't know what we're meant to do when we know exactly how to fulfil our job role. She even tried to tell me how to do things around here. I mean fair enough she is my boss so she has the overall say about everything but trying to tell someone how to perform in their job when she knows nothing about it doesn't work. We've established before that she's not too hot on the accounting side of things so for her to tell me what to change makes me rather pissed off.

"I want those changes to be implemented immediately Pierce so get to it" Ms Lopez tells me.

"Fine. Ok" I say while rolling my eyes.

"I'll be back later to make sure you've got it sorted" she tells me before marching off.

"She is unbelievable this morning" I groan to the rest of my team.

"She is the boss though so we have to do this" Rebecca tells me.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about though. She has zero knowledge in anything we do around here so who does she think she is making decisions like that" I sigh.

"Like Rebecca said, she's the boss" Jack shrugs at me.

"I'm not doing it and as I am the manager of you all then I'll take this decision all on me so if she asks why you haven't done it then tell her I told you not to" I state. "We are carrying on with work as we usually do and Lopez can just suck it up. No one tells me how to do something when they don't know how to do it themselves" I say angrily.

"Brittany…" Jack says quietly but I've already started my rant so I'll continue.

"No. I am not standing for this anymore. Lopez can go fuck me before she gets what she wants from this department. I run this place and it'll stay like that" I tell everyone angrily. "I know she is the boss and creator of this whole thing but honestly, who the fuck does Lopez think she really is? Does she think she's some phenomenon? She might be successful but she's arrogant, she says some horrible things and she treats…"

"Uh…Brittany" Jack says nervously while pointing behind me. I immediately stop talking and turn around to find my boss standing looking at me.

"Ms Lopez, hi" I smile at Ms Lopez.

"Do you have a problem with the way I handled the meeting this morning?" Ms Lopez asks me. A smile not even close to taking over her face.

"Yes, I do actually" I say confidentially. I've been here long enough so I won't bite my tongue any longer.

"Uh-oh" Jack mumbles.

"No, not uh-oh" I state. "I'm not going to stand here and pretend that today's meeting was handled well. I am the head of the Accounts and Finance department now so I'm going to say my peace."

"I think we should talk in my office" Ms Lopez tells me while turning around and walking away.

"No" I say loudly.

"My office now, Pierce!" Ms Lopez says firmly.

"This is my department so I'm not leaving it right now. I have work to do" I reply while walking towards my desk. I don't have an official office yet so my desk is still next to everyone else who works in this department.

"Oh really, you're going to disobey my orders right now?" Ms Lopez questions me. Everyone around us is now staring at us.

"I think someone might lose their job" Jack quietly mumbles.

"If anyone loses their job it'll be one of you if you don't get back to work so get back to work" Ms Lopez states seriously to the others. "As for you Pierce, we are doing this in private so if my office is a no then we'll use the closet right here" she states while walking towards the janitor's closet.

"I'm not having a meeting in a janitor's closet" I state. She can fire me all she wants but I need to put my foot down here. She put me in charge so I'm being in charge right now.

"Fine, we'll talk here" Ms Lopez sighs. "Everyone take a break and clear out right now" she states.

"No, everyone get back to work" I tell my team. "Ms Lopez is the boss around here but as of right now you all work under me so I'm telling you to get back to work."

"I need to address this Pierce" Ms Lopez tells me.

"Fine. Take a seat then" I say while pointing to my desk chair. She sits down and I get another chair from across the room before sitting down myself.

"If you have a problem with something at the meeting, you tell me" she states.

"Come on, Ms Lopez. You have done nothing but talk all morning at both meetings so there was never any chance for me to talk or anyone else for that matter" I point out.

"If you think you have a better idea of how to do things then I'd like to hear it. I'm giving you the chance now so how should we approach this?" Ms Lopez asks me. I then go on to tell her my ideas and how things can be made better. "Ok, fair enough" she nods.

"Ok as in fine but no thank you or ok as in, let's do it my way?" I ask confused.

"Let's do it your way" she tells me.

"Wow" I say surprised. I didn't think she would give in so easily.

"This better work though, Pierce" she states seriously.

"I'll do my very best to make sure it does" I assure her.

"No, I don't want your best. I want you to assure me that it'll work out" Ms Lopez replies.

"Fine" I sigh. I can't say for sure it'll work because we'll never know until we do it but I'll tell her anyway that it'll work so it gets her off my back.

"Good" Ms Lopez nods.

"Am I getting fired?" I ask bluntly as a silence fills the air between us.

"No" Ms Lopez states. Weirdly enough, I think I can almost see a hint of a smile right now.

"Enjoy the rest of your day then" I say while getting up from my seat. I have things to do so I'm not wasting my time anymore talking to Ms Lopez.

"We're not done talking" she tells me.

"I'm done so if you want to continue talking then by all means do so but I won't be talking back so feel free to have a conversation with the walls or even yourself" I state before going over to Jack's desk.

"I'll speak to you later Pierce" Ms Lopez states while walking away from my desk.

"Not if I leave first you won't" I smartly reply. It is Ms Lopez's company and she is my boss but she put me in charge and I have a job to do so I'm doing it. I'm not scared of her like the rest of the team so I'll take my chances. She said I wouldn't be fired so I'm taking it as true.

XXX

I was just about to wrap up for the day and make my way home when unfortunately, Ms Lopez came looking for me. I really wasn't in the mood to continue our discussion from earlier but somehow, she managed to persuade me to go back to her office. Everyone else has left so I don't suppose it can be that bad and it is still early enough so hopefully she won't keep me too long.

"As far as I'm concerned, we finished our discussion earlier" I say as I take a seat on Ms Lopez's desk. She looks at me like looks could kill as she gestures me to get off of her desk. I don't see why I can't sit here when she sat on my desk a couple of weeks ago.

"I don't appreciate being talked to like that in front of other members of staff" Ms Lopez points out.

"Ok" I shrug.

"Don't you want to apologise to me about that?" she asks while taking my hand and pulling me off the desk. I didn't want to be completely rebellious so I cooperated with her and got up.

"The right thing would be to apologise because I didn't mean to disrespect you in front of the team but I was told we don't do apologies around here so no, I won't apologise" I smile.

"Fair point" Ms Lopez nods. "However, I like what you did today. No one else would stand up to me like that and tell me how we can make things better. I need someone in my team like that so well done today Pierce" she says sincerely.

"Wow, getting compliments from the boss. I did not see that happening" I say genuinely surprised. I am proud of how I handled myself but at the same time, the possibility of unemployment was in the back of my mind because I didn't know how Ms Lopez would take things.

"Don't let it go to your head though. You're still not as good or as successful as me" she points out.

"Yet" I mutter.

"Pardon?" she asks.

"I said yet. I'm not as good or as successful as you yet but it'll happen" I smile.

"I have no doubt you're going to be very talented but accountants are never going to have the same public success as fashion designers. Fashion designers are known all over the world but accountants are not. I mean how many famous accountants do you know?" she asks me.

"One" I reply.

"Ok, name?" she asks curiously.

"Brittany Pierce aka the person who keeps Santana Lopez's business afloat. If it's not for me honey then your finances would be shocking. I keep this business afloat therefore keep you in the public" I smile.

"I do like the confidence Pierce but keep it professional. I'm not your honey" Ms Lopez points out.

"Ok" I nod. Perhaps I did go a little too far by calling her honey because she is my boss not my best friend or loved one. "I would say sorry but my boss has disallowed that word in the work place" I smile.

"Have a good night Pierce, see you tomorrow" Ms Lopez tells me.


Let me know what you think. Things will get more interesting between them next chapter, I just wanted to set the scene properly.