Alison sat in the passenger seat, one arm resting at her waist, while the fingers of her other hand absentmindedly traced patterns on her lip, she'd been in the contemplative state for a while.

"Do you think she'll resign?" Alison asked, continuing to stare out of the window, watching the passing cityscape.

Spencer, focused on navigating New York City traffic, hesitated before responding, "I thought you didn't want to talk about Emily."

Alison had given a synopsis of the balcony events to Spencer on their way to the car but was adamant from when they got in that she did not want to talk about it. Since Spencer made no effort to talk about anything else the ride from the Garden Party to Alison's home was turning out to be a silent one. Alison's mind churned in the quiet car, she wanted to know what the odds were that she went into the office Monday to see Emily's desk cleared out.

"I think she should quit," Spencer voiced, and Alison threw her sister a glare but it didn't work, Spencer continued, "She should quit and tell every blog, newspaper, and talk show host that GLOW Magazine's founder and Editor in Chief is a tyrant," frustration laced the words.

"That's not what I asked,"

"But I don't think she will," Spencer spoke at the same time, her voice raising over Alison's, finally answering the question. "What were you thinking?" Spencer's voice softened, concern and exasperation evident.

Alison didn't have an answer, not a good one anyways. In truth, she wasn't thinking, she was reacting. If she had stopped and thought about it she would have never followed Emily onto the balcony. She would have never reached out and touched the exposed skin of her back, which had turned out to be extremely soft. It was stupid and reckless, two things she never was. Alison was sure she'd felt Emily lean into the touch before she turned her around, and even if she thought it was CeCe at first, she hadn't pulled away once she saw it wasn't.

Alison wasn't expecting an answer to her question of whose eyes the assistant preferred, between her and CeCe, she'd only asked to fluster Emily. Alison liked seeing the brunette flustered, she liked it even more when Emily had wrapped an arm around her neck, it felt easy pulling her assistant closer until there was no more space between them. She could smell the Louis Vuitton Spell On You fragrance on her skin, something she was sure Hanna suggested.

"She was being…" Vexing? No, Emily had vexed Alison many times during the week and it didn't elicit that reaction. Petulant? No. "A brat," Alison decided, thinking about the sarcastic tone Emily used on her when she confronted her about defending Paige. It was Pigskin who started that fight, and Alison was only going to finish it but didn't get the chance because of some misplaced valiancy on Emily's part.

"I'm sure Gwen in HR would love that," Spencer laughed dryly, "My assistant was being a brat so I dug my nails into her." she mocked, emphasizing the absurdity of it.

Alison didn't need to be chastised. She knew how absurd and impulsive it was, but it was also measured. Alison knew she didn't do any real harm to Emily, the spot would sting for a few days at most and she'd soothed it with her palm right after she did it, she'd looked into Emily's eyes and made sure she was fine. It was almost…intimate, but Alison didn't do intimate.

"You've made your point, Spence." Alison huffed, she knew her sister was only worried about all the ways things could go wrong. She also knew even though Spencer did a good job pretending to be indifferent, it was clear she liked Emily, just like everyone else seemed to take a liking to her assistant. It didn't matter, whatever happened between her and Emily on the balcony had to be a fluke. She couldn't afford to have her judgment clouded, to let her guard down. "It won't happen again," Alison told her sister, but it was also a promise to herself. She and Emily had a fleeting moment, it meant nothing and wasn't worth thinking about any further.

"...Ok." Spencer didn't seem like she was expecting that answer but she digressed, "We need to talk about Paige. You have to stop picking at her, the bickering between you two needs to stop."

"I don't bicker," Alison retorted, pulling her phone from her bag, intending to answer some work emails.

"She told her father that GLOW would benefit from an Accounting Liaison," Spencer danced around the point, she didn't do it often but it annoyed Alison nevertheless. "She volunteered herself."

GLOW was the most profitable magazine at DiLaurentis McCullers Drake since its inception. Furthermore, Alison made it a point to get a BS in Accounting alongside her Masters in Communication, she never wanted to be dependent on someone relaying numbers to her. She knew the numbers, better than anyone on that musty accounting floor. There was no need for an Accounting Liason, no need for Paige. Alison continued shooting off emails.

"You remember Mark Young? the accounting director. He left last year and the position has been vacant ever since, this is Paige making a play for the position. She's been a Budget Analyst since she started with the company, I guess she thinks if she can show her father she can handle the increase in responsibility he'll consider her."

Alison couldn't care less about Mark Young, Paige, or Nick McCullers, "Get to the point, Spencer. What does that mean for GLOW?"

"I don't know, Ali. She used you blowing off those budget meetings to make her case, it's official starting Monday and I didn't want you to be surprised," Spencer pulled over in front of Alison's townhouse, and turned off the engine. "We'll just have to wait and see,"

"Wait and see? I am not playing defense with Pigskin!" Alison shouted across the car to her sister as they got out. "I can't just do nothing, I need to know what she's up to,"

"Now who's being a brat,"

"Shut up," Alison tossed over her shoulder as went up the steps to the townhouse door.

Spencer followed behind, engaging in the childish back and forth "You shut up,"

Before Alison could pull out her keys, her front door opened, "Both of you shut up!" CeCe stood in the doorway. "I can hear you from the living room, and I'm trying to watch Love Island."

"You're watching it without us?" Spencer asked, and though Alison would be annoyed if CeCe watched ahead of them, she had more pressing concerns.

"What are you doing here?" Alison questioned, considering taking back the key she'd given CeCe for emergencies. "And how did you get here so fast?"

CeCe closed the door behind them, "You two first, why are you yelling at each other like Mary and Jessica? You were chummy enough when the two of you ditched me at the party." Alison and Spencer kicked off their heels in the entryway, silently glaring at each other. "One of you start talking,"

"Pigskin is trying to muscle her way into GLOW and Spencer thinks we should just sit back and let her,"

"That is not true, Ali" Spencer moved from the entryway to the kitchen, rummaging through Alison's pantry. "Starting Monday Paige is GLOW's new Accounting Liason, it's a new position but with her already being a Budget Analyst she could make things difficult if that's her intention. I told Alison because I didn't want her to be surprised, but the both of you need to be nicer to Paige. Don't fan the flames." Spencer got CeCe up to speed while she pulled two bags of popcorn, M&Ms, and mini peanut butter cups from the pantry.

CeCe looked disgusted, "We might have to take orders from Pigskin?"

"We?" Alison turned to her sister, puzzled. CeCe didn't work at GLOW. Alison wasn't quite sure what role she played at the company, she was just around…all the time.

"No one is taking orders from Pigskin!" Spencer snapped, and when CeCe and Alison laughed she realized her slip-up. "I mean Paige," She said as she put the first bag of popcorn in the microwave.

CeCe grabbed the snack bowls from the top cabinet and held them out for Alison to take but she refused, she wasn't ready to help just yet. Not until this conversation was over. Her sisters stood across the island from her and she thought about how much it took for the three of them to get to this place, where they could argue in the middle of her kitchen and despite the outcome, they would still end up on the couch watching trash television and eating snacks.

Spencer continued, "This is just Paige thinking she's smarter than everyone else, she's trying to get a promotion and get under your skin at the same time, don't let her."

Trust didn't come easily for Alison but Spencer had earned hers. She could always count on her to tell her what she needed to hear and not what she wanted to hear, today was no exception. Waiting didn't seem like much of a plan, but there was a reason law firms all over the country were constantly trying to poach Spencer she was smart, resourceful, and when necessary her ruthless streak rivaled Alison's. So if she said waiting was the right call, Alison would wait.

"Fine." Alison conceded.

… …

Mary and Jessica couldn't make it through a dinner together let alone 6 episodes of Love Island. Alison and her sisters were nothing like their parents. The popcorn was long gone, so were the other snacks, and the three of them occupied their own spots on Alison's living room sectional.

"Hey Ali," CeCe sang from her side of the couch, "Do you know if Americano is single?" She scrolled on her phone, the screen illuminating her face in the dim lighting.

Americano…such a stupid nickname, "Leave my assistant alone, CeCe" Alison said plainly. CeCe was a flirt and the last thing she needed was to have her constantly dropping by the office distracting Emily.

"Are you calling dibs?" CeCe taunted.

Spencer started the next episode, seemingly ignoring the conversation, Alison wondered if she was genuinely disinterested or just blocking her and CeCe out for deniability. "We're not in school anymore CeCe, I'm not calling dibs on anyone," Alison remembered watching her sister and Emily together at the party, despite everything else going on Emily seemed to enjoy the overt flirting from CeCe. "She has someone, she says it's complicated." Alison wasn't sure why she said it, she didn't even believe it, she'd told Emily as much.

"Maybe I can help her uncomplicate it," CeCe winked and Spencer pretended to gag. Hm, so she was paying attention.

Alison kept her resolve, "Do whatever you want, just keep it out of my office,"

"Yeah, yeah…If Pigskin hasn't already beaten me to it. She asked her on a date at the party,"

Had Emily gotten any work done her first week or did she spend the entire time fielding offers from the office? The only thing Alison wanted less than to see her sister trampling through her office and chatting up her assistant was Paige hanging around her desk talking about…who knows what. Alison cringed, "Why are you even asking about Emily?"

CeCe tapped a few buttons on her phone, and scrolled for a bit, "Your social media team started posting the videos from the party," She tossed the phone to Alison.

"My name is Emily Fields, and I'm assistant to the Editor in Chief of GLOW Magazine", Emily's voice came through the phone.

"She looks so fucking good," CeCe gushed.

"My name is Emily Fields, and I'm assistant to the Editor in Chief of GLOW Magazine", the video replayed automatically, and Alison watched it twice more.

She swallowed before speaking, "Hanna is an excellent Stylist, but clothes are just clothes without confidence, and…" There was a quiet nagging voice in the back of Alison's mind that wanted to compliment Emily. "She doesn't have it." Alison shut it down. She handed the phone back to CeCe and ignored the look Spencer was giving her.

"One of those troll pages made a new DiLaurentis Drake Hastings family tree," CeCe scrolled on her phone again.

Grateful for the change of subject, but also aware that Spencer still carried insecurities around their family drama, Alison treaded lightly, "Why do they care so much?"

As far as she was concerned, Spencer was her sister, regardless of their technical familial relation, they'd grown up as sisters. The media made it more of a spectacle than it was and it only got worse as they got older.

"Stop looking at that stuff, they're just trying to turn us against each other like they did Mary and Jessica," Spencer chimed in. "Speaking of which, we had dinner with Mary last month so this month it's Jessica's turn."

… …

The townhouse offered ample space for CeCe and Spencer to sleep over, and Alison ensured that their respective guest rooms were well maintained by the weekly housekeeper she employed. She found herself awake before the others, unable to sleep. Lying in bed, she lazily scrolled through her contacts, looking to find some company to spend the weekend with after her sisters left.

The house would be empty then and Alison couldn't stand that. When it was empty, the house felt too big, too quiet, too lonely and Alison was not lonely. She could easily name a dozen women who'd drop whatever they were doing to spend the weekend with her. It would be a passion-filled two days and at the end, they'd go their separate ways. The casual flings were routine, comfortable, they allowed Alison to focus on what mattered, GLOW.

GLOW was Alison's first and only real love, and she was a dedicated, faithful partner that poured her heart and soul into making it the success that it was. She'd seen her sister's attempts at love, it always ended in heartbreak and a level of devastation that seemed crippling. Alison wanted no part of that, it was….scary, she admitted to herself, to give someone that much control over her. Then there were her parents…and that's what really terrified Alison. The idea that if she opened herself up to it she could be loved so deeply by someone one day, only to have them grow to despise her so much they'd move across the Atlantic to get away.

Alison's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door, "Come in," she called out.

Spencer and CeCe burst through the door, still in their pajamas they flanked Alison on the bed. They paid no mind to squishing her, the same as they did when the three of them were kids.

And just like when they were kids, an argument commenced, "CeCe is insisting on Le Moulin for breakfast, even though we ordered from them the last 3 times,"

"Spencer is exaggerating, she wants to order from Shuka instead,"

"You are the deciding vote, French or Mediterranean?"

Alison looked at her sisters, the argument was both ridiculous and endearing, though she'd never admit it. She realized she didn't have to worry about being alone…at least not for the next few hours.

"We can order both."

... ...

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that has been leaving reviews on the chapters as the story progresses. I love hearing your thoughts on the developments. After the events of the Garden Party it seemed like a great time to get Alison's POV, and get a glimpse of why she is the way she is.