Chapter 12: L-O-V-E

Santana's POV

*Saturday 23rd May 2020*

Brittany stayed the whole night last night and it was amazing just having her lying next to me the whole time. I've never felt this content before with someone. We don't even need to do anything for me to feel content, just lying next to each other and waking up together feels amazing. Usually I only feel content in bed after I've had sex but I like this new feeling. I like that even the simplest of things feels so good. Even just hearing Brittany's alarm ring on her phones makes me happy. I hate the sound of the alarm in the morning but hearing Brittany's this morning was quite nice because it reminded me, I wasn't wakening up alone.

"Morning beautiful" Brittany smiles at me as she walks into the bedroom in a pair of my pyjamas. We hadn't really planned on the sleepover early enough last night so she was here without a change of clothes or some pyjamas.

"Morning" I smile back.

"What have we got planned for today? Are we working?" she asks as she climbs onto the bed and crawls towards me.

"No work today" I say as I pull her down on me so I can kiss her. "Mmm minty" I smirk at her causing her to laugh. She obviously brushed her teeth before she came back into the bedroom. I had a spare toothbrush so I gave her it last night so she's going to keep it here for when she stays over.

"What are we going to get up to then?" Brittany asks me curiously.

"I thought we could just spend the day together, just you and me" I smile. "We can just relax and hang out here or we could go out somewhere" I suggest. I'll be happy to do anything with Brittany as long as I'm with her and we don't need to be apart.

"How about we start with breakfast, I'll make something nice for the two of us" she tells me.

"Good luck with that" I laugh. "I barely have a thing in my fridge and if I do, it'll be out of date" I point out. I'm used to living alone and eating alone so I don't really have much in the house in the way of food.

"I'm sure I'll figure something out" she shrugs at me. She then kisses me quickly before getting off the bed and making her way downstairs to the kitchen. I stay in bed for ten minutes more before realising there really is no appeal to staying in bed when Brittany isn't in it with me. I mean what am I meant to do when I'm already wide awake?

"Hey" I say as I walk into the kitchen.

"Hi" Brittany smiles at me before going back to cooking. "You really weren't kidding when you said you had nothing in your fridge. I hope you like scrambled eggs" she adds.

"I do" I nod.

"I was hoping to make something more appetising but like you said, most of the things you had were out of date. I threw them in the trash, is that ok?" she replies.

"It's more than ok" I say while walking towards her.

Once Brittany finishes making breakfast, we sit down together at the table and eat. We spend most of the time just talking to each other so the food does go cold very quickly. We weren't really talking about anything in particular, we were just enjoying being away from work and getting to talk about non work-related things. I then made us both some coffee before we tidied up together and put all of the breakfast dishes away.

"I think I might go for a shower now. What are you going to do?" I ask Brittany, looking over at her as she rearranges my items in my kitchen pantry. I'm extremely organised at work but at home I'm really not. I just throw everything in a cupboard and leave it at that.

"I want to keep doing this" she smiles at me. "I love that feeling of being in control and organising things. You might have noticed that from my desk at work" she shrugs.

"I have" I smile at her. It's very endearing at work because everything has a place and there's a place for everything apparently. My stapler stopped working the other day so I took hers from her desk and she had a major freak out for about an hour until she realised, I had it and she didn't misplace it.

"Am I being too much?" she asks me concerned. "I know this is your house and nothing to do with me so if you would rather, I didn't do this then just let me know" she adds.

"You can do whatever you want, I don't mind" I smile. "Anyway, I'm going for a shower. I won't be too long" I say before walking over to her where we kiss quickly.

"Ok" she smiles back at me as I pull away. I then head upstairs to my bathroom and Brittany continues what she's doing. It takes me about 25 minutes in the bathroom by the time I shower and then brush my teeth. I then go into my bedroom and get dressed before heading downstairs to the kitchen. Brittany is still in there tidying up and rearranging things.

"My shower was nice but I'd have liked you in it with me" I tell Brittany as I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. I lean my chin on her shoulder and just hold her tightly.

"I know but I'm not due my weekly shower until Wednesday" she says as she turns around in my arms and shrugs at me.

"Seriously?" I question. I don't want to judge Brittany but surely that's not right. Surely you need to have more than one shower a week.

"No" she laughs at me. "It's just a joke" she adds.

"Ok" I nod.

"I'll have a shower a little later once I've worked out and stuff" she shrugs.

"Cool" I smile. We fall into a comfortable silence for a moment as we just enjoy the peace and quiet as we stand in each other's arms.

"Can I tell you something?" Brittany says nervously. I don't verbally reply; I just nod my head. "Promise not to freak out?" she tells me.

"I'll do my best" I smile. It sounds serious so I wonder what it is.

"I love you" she tells me.

"What?" I ask shocked.

"I've fallen in love with you" she mutters. I don't respond for a moment. I just want to digest the information and replay those words over and over in my head. "Are you freaked out?" she asks me worriedly.

"I love you too" I say before pulling her into a searing kiss.

"Really?" she asks happily.

"Yes, really" I smile. "I wanted to tell you last night actually but I bottled it because I was scared I'd freak you out or something. I also couldn't bear the thought of being more into this than you so I didn't want to say it and you didn't feel the same way" I admit.

"I do feel the same way because I really do love you. We've not been together long at all but we've known each other for more than a year now and I think this has been building up for a while" Brittany tells me.

"I agree" I nod. Like Brittany said we really haven't been together long so it is weird to be this far into something already but at the same time, I feel like this is right. We started our friends with benefits thing at least 6 months ago and before then we did start getting to know each other so in a way this is a natural progression. We already work together so have established a relationship of sorts so I think this is a natural next step for us both.

"Surely now I'm allowed the title of girlfriend?" she asks me.

"Of course" I smile. "You can also have the privilege of calling me your girlfriend too" I tell her.

"Good" she smiles back before leaning in to kiss me. "So, what now?" she asks me.

"We can do whatever you want to do right now. We have the full day free of work and with each other so whatever you want to do we'll do" I smile.

"I did plan on working out at some point today but I don't want to waste our time off together by going to the gym" she tells me.

"We can work out if you want. You could come to the gym I go to and we can work out together" I shrug. I like working out so I don't mind doing that today and I get to do it with Brittany anyway so anything we do together makes me happy.

"That's settled then" she smiles.

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*Wednesday 27th May 2020*

Brittany isn't working today so my work day is a little weird without her. I wouldn't say I'm lost without her because I'm a grown ass woman but it is really peculiar with her not being here and I am. Even though she's my girlfriend now, I'm still expected as an employer to give her the appropriate time off so that's why she's not working today. I would have taken today off if I could but I've got things I need to do today that can't wait.

I'm currently just taking a quick break at the moment before I start back work again. I've been at work since 6am this morning and even though it's only 10am, I feel like I need a 10-minute break already. I am overloaded with work at the moment and I have no assistant so things are quite hectic. I've got meetings all afternoon so now is my only chance to get some coffee and refuel. Since I'm on a break right now then I figured I might as well text my girlfriend. Also, speaking to Brittany helps me calm down so that's another reason to talk to her.

To Brittany: hey, what you wearing?

From Brittany: uh…nothing ; )

To Brittany: really?

From Brittany: I swear. I literally stepped out of the shower as you texted me

To Brittany: prove it

From Brittany: fine ; ) give me two seconds and I'll take a picture

To Brittany: ok

I wait a few seconds but nothing seems to come through the phone so I guess she doesn't literally mean two seconds. I'm waiting about 5 minutes before I get another text message. I quickly open it up and to my surprise, it is actually a picture of Brittany naked with wet hair. I'm not going to lie; it's got me feeling some things maybe I shouldn't be feeling at work. I must be staring at the picture too long because Brittany texts me again before I get a chance to even text her in response to the picture.

From Brittany: did you get the pic?

To Brittany: I did. I was staring at it that much that I didn't even realise how many minutes had went by

From Brittany: so, you like it then?

To Brittany: I love it. I might make it my screensaver or desktop background

From Brittany: screensaver where?

To Brittany: my phone

I will put a picture of Brittany as my screensaver on my computer at work but it has to be an appropriate one. My employees can see my computer from time to time during presentations and such like so I need to have an appropriate screensaver. I most certainly will put a picture of Brittany on my phone though because no one but me is allowed to touch my phone. I probably will also make Brittany my laptop screensaver on my personal computer.

From Brittany: I'm going to put a picture of you as all of my screensavers and desktop backgrounds

To Brittany: good to know.

From Brittany: So how is work?

To Brittany: it's ok but weird without you

From Brittany: shall I come in today and help?

To Brittany: absolutely not. You deserve a day off so take some time to relax and enjoy yourself

From Brittany: I can't enjoy myself when I know you're getting stressed out

To Brittany: honestly, it's fine

From Brittany: ok. Do you want to come to my place when you finish, I'll cook for us?

To Brittany: sorry I've got dinner plans with my family tonight. I haven't seen them all recently so my mom has insisted on a family meal.

From Brittany: that's ok, don't worry about it

To Brittany: I would invite you but I haven't told my parents about us yet so I want to do that first

It's not like I don't want to tell people about Brittany being my girlfriend because it's quite the opposite. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I just can't invite her to dinner before they know. I need to find the right time to tell my parents before they start interrogating Brittany. They'll want to know everything about her and probably make her uncomfortable so it's better to tell them we're together and then have a different dinner to have a proper first meeting as my girlfriend. I also don't want my siblings winding Brittany up so I'll arrange a 'meet the parents' dinner when my brother and sister aren't there.

From Brittany: honestly, it's ok. We can all have dinner together another night

To Brittany: sounds good

From Brittany: I'll make sure I arrange a nice dinner with you and my family too

We have both met each other's families many times before but we've never done it when we've been girlfriends. It'll be interesting to know how differently they react to us. My family like Brittany as my work colleague and friend but they'll likely be more protective of me when they realise, I'm with Brittany. I think Brittany's parent's will be the same with me. I can't see them being as nice to me when they find out I'm dating their baby girl. Brittany is the youngest so she's always been seen as the young one in the family so all of her family protect her the most.

To Brittany: I like talking to you babe but I should get back to work now

From Brittany: that's cute, you called me babe. You've never done that before

To Brittany: I'm sure I have but anyway, I should get back to work

From Brittany: can you at least come back to mine after your dinner tonight?

To Brittany: just try and stop me ; )

From Brittany: ok, see you tonight

As soon as I finish texting Brittany, I quickly finish my coffee and get back to work. Once I finally finish with work, I hurriedly make my way home. I quickly change before going to my parent's house. Me being the workaholic that I am means I am the last one to turn up to dinner and I'm late at that. My family isn't too thrilled about me turning up late but they understand and there really wasn't anything I could have done to get there quicker. I basically get through the door and say hi to everyone before we all sit down to eat right away.

"So how was work sweetheart?" my mom asks me.

"Hectic as usual so maybe we can refrain from talking about it tonight. I need a break from it" I say.

"Ok" my mom smiles at me.

"What can we talk about? Relationships maybe?" my sister teases me.

"You can all talk about your relationships all you want" I shrug. I honestly don't care about my brother's girlfriend or sister's boyfriend. Well, I don't mean it as harshly as that but what I mean is that it makes no difference to me if they talk about them or not, I'm just going to concentrate on my dinner because I am so hungry.

"What about your relationship?" my brother smirks at me.

"Marco, leave her alone" my dad says seriously to my brother. "You can joke around if you want but you don't bring up personal things like that" he states. All my family know about what's been going on recently with regards to my abortion and stuff so my parents know it's a sensitive area for me.

"We're just taking an interest in our sister's life" my sister states but she doesn't convince me. I don't think she's genuine at all.

"No, you're both trying to wind her up so stop it" my mom says while glaring at my two siblings. "You think because you both are very open about your partners that Santana needs to be too but she doesn't" she adds.

"Thanks mom" I smile at my mom. She always knows how to make situations better for me. There is an element of truth in things though because my siblings have always had normal relationships and stuff and I've always been the single one who focuses on her career more than a relationship.

"In all seriousness we do want you to be happy Santana so if you are with someone we'd like to know" my sister says honestly. I can tell she is genuine this time by the way she's looking at me. I've grown up with her obviously so I know the difference between her teasing me and her being honest.

"Ok" I nod. We sit in silence for another 10 minutes as we all eat our food. It's not until I look up to reach for a condiment when I see both my parents and both my siblings all staring at me. "What?" I ask confused while rolling my eyes at the rudeness of them just staring at me.

"Well?" my brother says as if he wants me to elaborate on something.

"Well…I need to get something to flavour this food, it's very bland" I say with a shrug. Are they waiting on me saying something?

"We're not talking about food and don't be so rude to your mom. She spent most of the day preparing this meal for the family so don't say it's bland" my dad states.

"I was brought up not to lie dad so I can't say it's not bland" I shrug.

"You are so rude sometimes" my sister says disbelievingly. I have no idea why she is shocked though because I have been like this my whole adult life and she knows that and so does everyone else that knows me.

"Look, let's get back on track" my mom sighs. "We were trying to tell you and reassure you that we care about you and want you to be happy so we'd like to know if there is someone in your life" she adds.

"I know that, I heard you" I state annoyed. "I said 'ok' to acknowledge I heard what you were all trying to say so where is the confusion?" I shrug again.

"You didn't tell us if there was or wasn't someone" my brother points out.

"I know I didn't. Just because you say I can open up about Brittany doesn't mean I need to do it" I reply. Seriously, why are they all so nosy about my private life right now.

"Brittany, huh?" my sister smirks at me.

"Does this mean you and Brittany might be a thing?" my mom asks hopefully.

"Shit" I curse aloud. I didn't even realise what I just said. I've just said my girlfriend's name not realising that by doing so I was basically telling them we're together. They wouldn't know I was with Brittany had I not said her name.

"Are you and Brittany together?" my dad wonders.

"Yes, we are" I sigh. I hadn't really planned on just blurting her name out like that because I wanted to tell everyone properly but it's out now.

"Properly or is this like the friends with benefits thing you two used to have where you pretended it worked when we all know it really didn't" my sister replies.

"It's properly this time and I really love Brittany so please don't ridicule me or make light of the situation. She is the best thing that's ever happened to me" I say honestly.

"Better than creating SL Designs?" my brother teases.

"So, mom, are you happy?" I ask, completely ignoring my brother. My mom always had a soft spot for Brittany and wanted me to go for it with her.

"I'm happy if you're happy" my mom smiles at me. "I would like you to invite her to dinner one night though so I can meet her properly as your girlfriend and not colleague" she tells me.

"I'll make it happen" I smile. "Those two are not coming though" I add while pointing to my siblings.

"That's not fair. You were here when my girlfriend came over for the first meet the parent's dinner and you were here when Carly introduced her boyfriend to everyone" my brother points out.

"Yes, but I didn't want to be here" I laugh. "Do you really think I wanted to sit through two awkward dinners where you two tried to make mom and dad like your partners?" I ask.

"Santana, we do like their partners so don't wind up your brother and sister" my dad states.

"All I'm saying is that when Brittany comes to dinner then it'll just be the two of us and you and mom. No siblings allowed" I state.

After a long dinner with my family, I'm finally able to get into my car and speed off in the direction of Brittany's apartment. I park haphazardly next to the curb and lock my car behind me as I run into the apartment building. I rush up the stairs and knock on the door as I try to regain my breath back. Dinner really took so long so I don't want to waste anymore time without seeing Brittany so I'm rushing around like some mad person.

"Hi" Brittany smiles at me as she opens the door.

"Hi" I say breathlessly as I wrap my arms around her neck and hug her as I place my head on her shoulder.

"God, I've not even got you in bed yet and you're breathless already" she teases me.

"Dinner took forever so I didn't know when I'd see you tonight so when I finally got to leave, I rushed over here" I admit. "Anyway, hi again" I say while pecking her lips.

"Hi again to you too" she laughs as we walk inside and close the door behind us.

"It's too late and there's not enough time for small talk so let's go straight to your room" I say with a smirk as I lead Brittany to her bedroom.


Brittany's POV

*Friday 29th May 2020*

I'm currently hard at work right now and it wouldn't be a normal working day if it wasn't stressful so it is indeed a normal day. I've been busy doing my own work for most of the morning but Santana has been back and forth to my desk within that time looking for help so I've not been as productive as one would hope. I love my girlfriend clearly but it's not ideal trying to manage a department and have to do other things out with my role. To be fair though, Santana is stressed too so it isn't just me so I do want to help her. I've just walked over to Jack's desk.

"Can you take care of things for me today. I have some business to attend to with Santana. She wants me to go through a few things with her" I say to Jack.

"Yeah, no problem" he smiles at me.

"I did want to hold a team meeting this afternoon but I doubt that'll happen because Santana has other things planned for me to do today" I say.

"Is that a euphemism?" he asks me with a smirk.

"Definitely not" I shake my head. I wish it was but it's not because we have bigger fish to fry today. It's always a tough day at work like I say so today is no exception.

"Ok" he nods.

"It's not professional to be talking like that even if I wish that was happening" I say with a laugh. "I also don't want everyone to find out right now" I state.

"I get that but I know you're together now and stuff so if you really want to keep it a secret from everyone else then remind our boss to close her blinds in her office when she wants to kiss you. It was as clear as day what happened this morning" Jack tells me.

"Ok" I laugh. Santana and I spent the night separate last night so when we first saw one another this morning, we did have quite a passionate kiss. It's not like we made a definite decision one way or another last night to spend the night apart, we just had a lot of stuff going on with work and individually so nothing really was planned.

"Anyway, I will look after the team today so you go and do what you need to do" he smiles at me.

"Thanks Jack" I smile. I grab the things that I need to take with me and then head to Santana's office. When I walk inside, she is animatedly talking on the phone so I don't disturb her, I just take a seat and wait. She clearly sees me after a minute or so as she turns around in her chair and waves at me.

"Sorry, I just couldn't get off the phone" she sighs as she hangs up the phone before standing up and walking around the desk. She leans down and kisses me before sliding onto the desk in front of me.

"You looked like you were in a deep conversation with someone" I point out.

"I was but let's not talk about that issue right now, we have other stuff to do" she states.

"Issue, is there an issue with whoever was on the phone?" I question.

"One of the stores that sells my clothes want to terminate the contract. Apparently, they're branching into catering for everyone so are going with a different brand that makes kids and adults clothing" she shrugs.

"Santana, you make both too" I say outraged. What the actual fuck is going on? "Why would anyone want to stop selling your clothes babe?" I ask confused.

"Maybe because I wore them too much so they're all old and washed out" she jokes. I don't know how she can see the funny side of this. I'm fuming and they're not even my designs.

"I'm serious honey. Why aren't you more upset or pissed?" I enquire.

"It's just business. Like I say all the time, you win some and you lose some. Also, if you don't laugh, you'll cry so I'd rather see the funnier side than worry about another thing. I've got too much to stress out about at the moment" she tells me.

"Ok, fair enough" I nod. "So, first on my list to talk about is expenses last week" I state.

"No, I don't want to talk about that right now" Santana shakes her head at me.

"We need to talk about it at some point because they were higher than they've ever been and I can't pinpoint why" I say. "I know I'm your girlfriend now so maybe you don't want me to see certain things at this stage in our relationship but if you take money from the business then I need to know" I add. I get it might be a little much having your new girlfriend look through all your finances but if Santana takes money from the business for personal use then as her accountant, I need to know why.

"It's nothing like that" she shakes her head at me. "I'd rather just get some other issues ironed out first and then we can talk expenses. Although, I think the increase in expenses is probably due to the new coffee machine" she shrugs.

"Babe" I sigh. I'm sorry, but what use is a new coffee machine to a fashion company. Santana is so stressed at work right now so can't we eliminate some of that stress by making more of a profit therefore not spending money on things like coffee machines.

"What?" she questions, not seeing why I'm not too happy.

"As a professional working here, I don't think a new coffee machine is necessary" I point out.

"Why not?" she asks me offended. I hate it when things like this happen. She gets so sensitive sometimes when I question business things.

"For one, the machine that was already there was working well and for two, how does a coffee machine positively impact a fashion company. You don't make onesies for kids with coffee beans or manufacture a dress using the coffee filter" I say.

"Don't speak to me like that Brittany" Santana sighs while giving me an unamused look. "I don't have time for smartass comments so keep them to yourself" she adds.

"Maybe we should discuss this later because it's too early in the day for me to be arguing" I say.

"You started it with your questioning of my decisions. If I want to buy myself a new coffee machine then I will do just that" she states.

"Fine, ok" I say. I'm giving up on this situation right now because we do have a lot to get through today so arguing over a fucking coffee machine is a waste of time.

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*Wednesday 10th June 2020*

Santana and I have been together properly for well over a month now and it's been interesting. Everything started off great and we spent most of our days together whether that was at work or at home. Things are starting to change a little bit now though. I wouldn't exactly say the honeymoon period is over but we definitely don't get as much time together. I do appreciate how important Santana's company is to her so I know we can't be together all the time but it's not really what I had envisioned when I started a new relationship.

I'm currently just working at my desk right now when Santana walks over to me. She smiles at me before sliding onto my desk and placing a coffee cup down in front of me. Honestly, as much as I say it all of the time, whenever Santana smiles at me I just melt inside. The way she looks at me is just so cute and I can see the love in her eyes when she smiles.

"Hey" I smile.

"Hey" she smiles back.

"Thanks for the coffee" I say as I take a sip of the coffee before quickly spitting it out. Santana starts laughing at me because what I failed to notice when I picked up the beverage was her waving her hands in the air to tell me it's too hot right now.

"Did you actually burn yourself?" she asks me concerned.

"Yeah" I nod. "I burned my fucking tongue" I say annoyed at myself. Anything I eat or drink for the rest of the day is going to taste so weird now.

"Come here" Santana says while guiding me closer to her before she kisses me. She keeps kissing me before slowly slipping her tongue into my mouth.

"Babe" I say surprised. We are at work and literally in the middle of the room with desks surrounding us.

"Is it any better?" she asks with a shrug.

"My tongue isn't but my mood has definitely picked up" I smile. She leans in and kisses me once more.

"People can see us" I point out. I'm not going to lie, there is quite a mixed reaction from our colleagues right now. The one's that know are thinking 'come on, just stop'; the ones that don't know look so shocked they might faint and the ones who don't give a fuck either way would rather we all just got on with work.

"I literally don't give a fuck Brittany" Santana shrugs at me. "Anyway, I need to get back to work before we come together and discuss a few things. Oh, and don't even joke because I mean come together work wise" she says with a smirk. She's so right though, I was going to make a dirty joke.

"Ok" I nod.

"I'll see you in my office in an hour or so, is that cool?" she asks as she gets off the desk.

"Yeah" I smile.

"See you later then" she says before beginning to walk away.

"Oh Santana" I say to get her attention before she leaves.

"Yeah?" she asks.

"Dinner tonight at mine when we finish?" I suggest.

"If by dinner you mean staying here and going through last month's accounts with a sandwich as we work then sure" she replies.

"I thought we could have had a proper dinner together tonight because we've both been really busy recently so we haven't worked together or saw each other all that much in the last 2 weeks" I say.

"It does sound good Brittany but I can't. I need to look at last month's accounts and then decide what kind of changes I need to make" she tells me.

"Ok, fine" I say sadly. I get it but I really miss my girlfriend these days. I just wish we could find a better way to deal with everything because I don't like all this stress at work because it impacts our personal life too.

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*Thursday 18th June 2020*

Santana stayed the night last night so I thought it would be nice if I made breakfast for us both before we need to head off to work. I woke up first so I left Santana to remain sleeping and I made my way to the kitchen. I'm not making anything super complicated or fancy, just something we can sit down and eat together. I've just finished putting everything on the table, including pancakes in the shape of a heart with our initials inside, when Santana walks into the room fully dressed and ready for work.

"Breakfast is served" I smile while gesturing over to the table with my hand.

"Sorry, I don't have time" Santana replies. I can see she feels bad about how much effort I've went to this morning.

"Surely you have time for coffee?" I state while handing her a mug of coffee.

"No, I'm sorry. I will take it with me though" she says while grabbing one of my reusable coffee cups and pouring the coffee into it from the mug.

"Ok but you do need to eat something babe. You can't go to work and be able to function without something to eat" I point out. "At least have a pancake or something" I shrug.

"Ok" she says before picking up a pancake and taking a bite. I don't even think she realised that they were heart shaped or had our initials on them. She quickly finished the pancake and then walks over to me. "I need to go now but remember the meeting I'm having this morning with all my managers" Santana says while kissing me.

"Ok" I nod.

"It's very important so don't be late, ok?" she states.

"I won't be Santana" I say with a sigh. When am I ever late?

"Good. I'll see you soon" she says and then leaves. I've barely had five minutes with her this morning and she's back to boss mode already. I like that she's super talented and dedicated to her work but sometimes I just want 5 minutes with her. It's so hard to separate work and our personal life right now so it offends me when she says things like 'don't be late' because as a professional I never am and as her girlfriend, I find it offensive.

After Santana rushed off to work, I sat down at the table and ate my breakfast. I went to the trouble of making it and I had free time so it made sense to sit down and just eat it. I then got showered and dressed before locking up my apartment and going down to my car. I then made my way into work and got started on a few things. I'm now just heading to the conference room for the managers meeting to start. When I walk in, it's reasonably empty so I'm on time which I knew I would be.

"Pierce, over here" Santana shouts over at me as I walk into the room. I mean, Pierce? Since when did we revert back to that name. It's usually Brittany these days.

"Yes, Ms Lopez?" I ask as I walk towards my girlfriend.

"I need you to sort out this fucking machine for me" she sighs.

"That fucking machine is called a projector screen so what seems to be the issue?" I ask.

"If I knew the issue then I would have sorted it out, don't you think?" she responds.

"I meant, what is the issue you're having as in will it not turn on or not connect to the laptop. It's a very broad statement that you made" I point out, not taking kindly to her tone with me.

"I just don't see what I want to see on the screen. I've connected everything but the presentation on my laptop is not showing on the screen. The laptop seems to be working so it's not it" she sighs.

"Honey, it helps if you switch it on at the socket" I say as I notice no lights flashing on the apparatus meaning it must not be plugged in or switched on. When I do press the switch, the presentation displays in no time at all.

"Smartass" Santana mutters.

"I believe the correct term you're looking for is 'thank you' but never mind" I laugh.

"Ok, everyone, can you all please take a seat and we can get started" Santana says to everyone, ignoring what I've just said. Sometimes business Santana is sexy and sometimes, she's a little rude.

The managers meeting is just finishing now and everyone is getting back to work. Santana is just clearing up her things to take back to her office when I walk over to her. I finish helping her disconnect her laptop before switching off the projector. I wait until everyone has left before I lean in and kiss my girlfriend. She stops what she's going and drops the folder she has in her hands before placing them on my hips as we deepen the kiss. I'm actually a little surprised at her actions because I thought she was too busy for me.

"Are you free for lunch?" I ask as we pull away.

"Not today Brittany" Santana shakes her head. "I'm interviewing for a couple of positions in 10 minutes so it'll likely last all day" she states. She still hasn't managed to find a replacement for the two members of staff that left a few weeks ago.

"Ok" I sigh.

"Actually, I should be getting back to my office right now" she says as she checks her watch for the time.

"I'll talk to you later then" I say and then she heads for the door.

"Actually, I meant to ask you if you could interview with me" she says turning around to look at me.

"I can if you want" I shrug. "I do have work to be getting on with though but I could ask Jack to take over for me" I state.

"Yeah, get Jack to cover for you and you come and interview with me" she says. "The first interview is in 20 minutes so be at my office within the next 15 minutes so we can prepare" she adds before walking away. This really isn't giving me much time to get organised but never mind, I'll just need to power through. After 10 or so minutes, I make my way to Santana's office.

"Hey" I say as I walk into the office and close the door behind me.

"Ok, first up we have Jade who is interviewing for the assistant position. She has just graduated from college with a business management degree" Santana tells me.

"She sounds smart" I point out.

"She does which could be a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. It would be great to have someone like that as my assistant but I also have that feeling that she might leave after 6 months to do something better" Santana states. It is just an assistant position so I could understand why she might want something a little better once she's had the experience of working in an organisation like this.

"I know what you mean" I nod. We talk for another couple of minutes before we're told that the interviewee is here so we make our way to outside of the office.

"Hi, I'm Santana Lopez and this is Brittany Pierce" Santana says while reaching out to shake the woman's hand.

"Hi" I smile at the woman before taking my turn to shake her hand. "Come on in" I say and we all walk into the office. Santana and I sit behind the desk and the woman sits across from us.

"Firstly, congratulations on being successful to interview today. I take my workforce very seriously so it's a privilege for you to be this far" Santana says.

"I really appreciate this opportunity to interview for your company" Jade says seriously. "I researched a lot about your company and it seems like such a great place to work" she adds.

"It really is a wonderful place" I say honestly. Santana just smiles at me, acknowledging the compliment.

"Ok, let's talk a little bit about you" Santana says. "So, you've just graduated from college, correct?" she asks.

"I have" Jade nods.

"What did you do when you were studying at college? Did you have a part time job?" Santana asks curiously.

"I'm actually a waitress in a café. I do like it but it's obviously not the job I want to do or where I can fully use my skills from my degree" Jade replies.

"I get that" I smile. "I used to work in a grocery store when I was at college before working for an accounting firm for a year before I came here" I add.

"Anyway, this isn't about you Brittany" Santana says looking at me. Perhaps I was taking the conversation somewhere it didn't need to go. Santana does have a lot of other interviews to do today so I don't suppose me talking about my life helps.

"Sorry" I apologise.

"Ok Jade, I did say in the job advert that experience isn't essential and it's not because I will train you in everything you need to know but I am just curious what kind of skills you do have from previous jobs" Santana says. There's a slight error with the sentence though because it'll likely be me who trains the new employees not Santana.

"I don't actually have any fashion experience but…"

"You don't need to have fashion experience to work here if you're not on my design team. I mean take Brittany for example, she is the head of accounting and finance but is absolutely clueless with fashion. I mean look at the outfit choice today" Santana says, interrupting the interviewee.

"Ouch" I say while shooting a glare to Santana. There's times and places for saying something like that and now isn't the correct time or place. Even if it's true, I don't like being belittled like that in front of prospective new employees. Yes, it is Santana's company but I do a lot more for this business than your average accountant would.

"You know it's true" Santana tells me with a shrug. "Anyway, do continue" she says while looking at the interviewee. She then goes into detail about all the relevant skills she has gained throughout life, work and college.

Once the interview was finished, Santana and I had a break for 15 minutes before we needed to start the next one. I'm just using the time just now to have something to eat and Santana is at the bathroom and changing her shirt. She was getting uncomfortable in the one she was wearing so didn't want to wear it during any more of the interviews. I'm just pouring us some coffee from the pot that Jack brought to Santana's office for me when Santana walks back in and closes the door behind her.

"Does this shirt look ok on me?" Santana asks me as she turns around to give me a full view of the shirt and what it looks like with the pants.

"I wouldn't know, I'm clueless with fashion" I shrug.

"Brittany…" Santana sighs while shaking her head at me.

"I know it's true but you didn't need to point it out today in the way you did. I do a lot for this company so a little more respect wouldn't go amiss" I state.

"I'm sorry, I genuinely was just trying to make a point because my business is bigger than just fashion. There are a lot of people like yourself that work for me so I was trying to tell her that you didn't need to know about fashion to have a good career here" she explains.

"Ok, fine" I nod. I know she is my boss but she's also my girlfriend so I do get a little hurt when she says things like that. I know I shouldn't when we're at work but I can't help it.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

*Friday 19th June 2020*

Santana has had meetings outside of the building all day and she said she would be back about now so I want to go to her office and surprise her. I've just got there just now and closed the door behind me. I've been thinking all morning of how to do it and I think I've come up with a way. I'm going to hide under her desk and then sneak out and give her a fright when she goes to sit down. Almost always the first thing she does is sit down at her desk so this should be funny. I can't wait to see her face when I give her a fright. I'm waiting for about 15 minutes before I hear some movement at the door.

"Oh man, what a day" I hear Santana groan as she walks into her office and slams her door closed. I hear some shuffling for a second before a bra comes flying towards me on the floor. "So much better" she says in relief. Santana could honestly not get any cuter right now.

I need to pick my moment to scare her properly so I wait a few minutes. All I can hear is the familiar click of her heels as she walks across the office floor. I honestly thought she would go to her desk first. I'm almost ready to give up and just come out from under the table when I see her feet walk towards the desk. I wait a second and as soon as she pulls out her chair to sit down, I scream at her.

"FUCK!" Santana screams in surprise.

"Hi" I smirk. "Sorry, did I give you a fright?" I apologise but it doesn't sound sincere since I'm laughing so hard.

"How fucking long have you been in here?" she asks unamused as she clutches her heart and tries to relax her breathing after the fright.

"About close to 20 minutes" I shrug. "By the way, can I keep this?" I ask as I hold up the bra in the air.

"If you want" she mutters embarrassed.

"Why are you embarrassed?" I ask curiously.

"Because I had no idea you were in here and I just come in and take my bra off. It's embarrassing because it's at work and in the middle of the day so it shouldn't be off" she tells me. "It's not professional for you to see your boss throw her bra around" she smirks.

"Why did you do it then" I ask.

"It's been digging into me all morning so now that I know I don't have any more meetings then I can take it off and stop it from hurting me anymore" Santana states.

"You look a little cold now" I smirk at the way her nipples are now evident through her shirt.

"Shut up" she whines while folding her arms over her chest to cover up.

"Honey, it's cute" I smile while putting my hands on her hips. "I like how perky they look right now" I add.

"I have work to do, don't you?" Santana asks me as she quickly kisses me before moving out of my hold.

"I'm all done" I shrug.

"Well I'm not so we can't get into anything right now as much as I would like to" she tells me.

"Would you actually like to or is that just an excuse?" I ask nervously. I don't know if I'm nervous because I might not like the answer or because I might have just started an argument here.

"Excuse me?" she asks unimpressed with my question. Like I say, I knew she wouldn't take to it too kindly.

"I get you're a very busy woman Santana but sometimes I feel like our relationship is non-existent" I sigh. "Those rare times where it is obvious we're together, aren't actually that loving either. I mean no offence but the other night you came home at 10pm, we had sex then we went to sleep and then I wake up in the morning and you're not even there" I add. I hate to say it but I do feel a little used sometimes because it's not a great feeling thinking all you're good for is sex and nothing else when your girlfriend doesn't seem to put in the same sort of effort.

"I'm just under a lot of stress right now" Santana replies with a sigh.

"I know that but what you need to realise is that I'm here to help. You don't have to struggle on yourself because I'm here for you for whatever you need. Our relationship doesn't need to be about sex all the time so if you want to talk about a bad day then let's do that" I say honestly.

"I do love you Brittany but this company also means a lot to me so I can't drop everything all the time" she tells me.

"I'm not asking you to drop everything because I get how hard this is. I work for this company too so I know the stresses" I state. "All I want though is at least 10 minutes with you. We don't need to do anything spectacular, just have some time together" I shrug.

"I hear you Brittany but it doesn't always work like that. When I have something to do then I need to do it. It cannot wait" Santana replies.

"At least include me in what you need to do then and that way we can at least see one another and be in the same room" I say. Just being near Santana would make me feel so much better than not seeing her for a full day even though we work together.

"Ok" Santana nods. "You are very important to me Brittany so I'm sorry if it doesn't seem that way. I really do love you" she smiles.

"Deep down I know that but I just miss you sometimes" I say. "I do understand though so I don't want you to think I'm being unreasonable. I'm just trying to find a way to work through this" I state. I really don't want to sound childish and needy but we've been through a lot to get to a place where we can admit how we feel so I don't want this to be over before we fully begin.

"How about this, you stay at my place this whole weekend. Come home with me tonight and we'll end the day together and wake up tomorrow together. Then the same tomorrow, stay at my place again and we can just do normal couples' stuff but still be able to work" she suggests.

"Sounds cool" I smile. While Santana is working right now then I might head home and get a few bits and pieces that I need for my stay because I'll need fresh clothes for tomorrow etc.


Santana's POV

*Friday 3rd July 2020*

It's my cousins wedding this weekend so the whole family have been busy the last couple of days. I have barely seen my girlfriend because work has been no picnic either so I've been splitting my time between work and my family. I had to cancel on Brittany and I going to the beach last weekend because my cousin insisted on one last dress fitting for everyone so I was stuck with her all weekend. Brittany said she understood but I really hated having to cancel on our plans. I'm trying to be better at separating work and personal things so I have a balance between the two but it isn't exactly working out when I need to do wedding things. It's even more frustrating because it's not even my wedding and I'm working harder on it than everyone else.

Brittany and I are currently on the flight right now to the wedding destination. Apparently, weddings can't be at home anymore so we need to go to some other location. It's really not ideal for anyone involved. We're all having to take more than a day away from work and spend hours on a flight that we could have avoided had the wedding been at home. Half of my weekend away will not be enjoyable because I'll spend hours on a plane like I say and then spend the other half at the actual wedding. There is no way Brittany and I will be able to enjoy the weekend together properly because we'll be travelling and I'll be doing wedding stuff. To me a weekend away is where you can spend the whole weekend with who you're going with but that's just not going to happen. Also, what's worse is that this isn't just a normal plane ride with my girlfriend. My whole family are on this flight with us and they can be so annoying sometimes. It's especially worse as I get older because I don't live with my parents anymore so I get too used to doing things my way and not their way.

"Santana, you will cheer up a little at this wedding, won't you?" my mom asks me.

"I'll see how I feel" I reply childishly.

"This is your cousin's wedding and you're one of her bridesmaids so please don't ruin things for her by walking around glaring at people and sighing loudly. It's a happy occasion" my mom states.

"I can do what I want, I'm an adult now" I shrug.

"You're not acting like an adult" my dad tells me.

"Whatever" I say waving them off before turning around to my girlfriend.

"I so wanted to jump in and tell them to leave you alone but I didn't want to be rude. Everything has been great since we all had dinner together when I first met them as your girlfriend and they seem to like me so I didn't want them to dislike me" Brittany whispers to me. We've both met the parents properly now so everything is all good in that respect. My parents like Brittany more than me I think and her parents seem to like me too.

"I think it might have been quite sexy if you did defend me" I smirk.

"Ok but let me defend you against someone else because like I say, I'm dating their daughter so I don't want to give them a reason to not like me" she tells me.

"Ok" I nod.

"I can still kiss you though to make you feel better" she says before leaning in to kiss me.

"It has cheered me up a little" I shrug. "I could do without this weekend though because it's not like we can fully enjoy ourselves or treat it like a vacation" I say.

"Speaking of vacations, I was thinking, maybe you and I should take a proper trip together. Not like this where we have a weekend away together but like a proper vacation. Go somewhere away from here and spend at least a week together" she tells me.

"A week?" I ask surprised.

"Yes, a week" Brittany nods her head. "Don't you want to spend a week together. Just the two of us enjoying our days together relaxing by a pool or something."

"That's a really long time to be away from SL Designs" I say honestly. If I'm not there and Brittany isn't there then who is going to look after my business for me. I've said it many times but my company is like my baby to me so it means everything.

"It's also a really long time where it can be just you and I" she says smiling, trying to think of the positives of this.

"I do want to babe, I promise. I just don't know how it'll work being away from work for that long time at such a stressful time in the business" I point out.

"Maybe it's time everyone has a break then so we close for a week. That way everyone can rest and relax and come back with motivation and be less stressed" she replies. "And before you say anything, yes you can financially do this for a week" she adds.

"I guess with no one working then I would be more comfortable than with someone else taking charge of my business" I say while thinking about it. Brittany does have a point because closing the whole company for a week would obviously reduce expenses and things like that too. I mean it's not like I had any deadlines coming up so one week off wouldn't hurt. As long as I pay my staff then I'm sure they would all welcome a little time off.

"I mean no pressure but maybe just think about it" she shrugs while leaning in to give me a quick peck on the lips. It really is so annoying with my parents just a few seats away because I would have liked a more intimate kiss than that.

"Where would I take us?" I ask curiously. I would imagine it would be somewhere romantic and relaxing where we wouldn't really need to be around other people or have many distractions.

"I would pay" Brittany points out. "I would like to treat you to a little romantic vacation because you deserve something great" she says.

"Honey, I pay your wages so therefore it's really me paying one way or another" I tease.

"I work hard for those wages so I rightfully earn them" she smirks at me.

"You also work hard outside of work. I mean last night you really gave it your all. I'm actually a little sore to be quite honest with you" I smirk back at her. We did finally get a rare night last night to spend the night together so of course we did get intimate.

"When we get to this hotel, I'll work even harder" she tells me. "We are sharing a room, aren't we?" she asks worriedly.

"If we're not then I'm going home" I say seriously. If my family think they can pull some bridesmaids shit on me like all of us have to stay together or something then I will seriously leave. If there is to be anything good about this weekend then it'll be being able to share a room with the woman I love.