Emily tossed and turned restlessly on the couch, unable to get settled. Considering the events of the past 36 hours or so, she should have been exhausted. Instead, she found herself unusually wired, listening to the heavy rain beat against the living room window. After a loud crack of thunder she gave up on trying to get any sleep and decided to channel all the energy she had into something productive, the New York Liberty's thank you gift for attending the GLOW Garden Party. It was a task Alison had assigned her earlier in the week before her work day was abruptly cut short. She didn't notice it before because she was so consumed with will they won't they scenarios surrounding the blonde, but Alison said she was leaving the details of the gift up to Emily.

She came up with a few suitable ideas after doing some research on the team, both collectively and individually. They were all good ideas, at least to her, but none of them felt right. Knowing the basketball team's current position on the feature would help in her gift selection, did they need a big gesture or a slight push? With that realization in mind, Emily grabbed her phone and sent a text to Hanna.

Hey Hanna, I'm working on coming up with a thank you gift for the NYL attending the Garden Party but it would help to know how close they are to agreeing to the feature. Any insights?

A few minutes passed before she received a response.

It's 3 in the morning, Em.

But if it means you're coming back to work, yes, I do have an update.

Emily had texted without a thought for the time. Now that she wasn't so anxious about Alison and GLOW, her mind was racing with other thoughts and ideas unrelated to her boss. It was the reassurance she needed that even though she wasn't thinking completely straight at the time, her idea to throw herself at the EIC and get whatever tension was brewing between them out of her system, was working. There were instances during the night when Emily was unexpectedly reminded of the velvety texture of Alison's lips or that her boss was just as demanding underneath her as she was at the office, but they were fleeting. She was sure the memories would fade and that over time she'd stop thinking about them completely.

Sorry, I can't sleep and I just grabbed my phone without thinking about the time. I'll be in the office today we can talk later.

Emily apologized for the intrusion while also confirming that she would be back at GLOW.

Don't worry about it, Alison woke me up a half hour ago with questions about an article.

The Liberty is on the fence, they have concerns about our commitment. Inviting them to the party was a good first step but they want to know our interest in them is genuine.

As Emily read the incoming texts two things stood out to her. One, the New York Liberty had cold feet. Emily could understand that, during her time competing both solo and on a team she'd encountered thousands of companies and brands who wanted something from her, very few actually cared about her or the sport. Two, and why it mattered to Emily she had no idea, but Alison was awake.

… …

At 8:30 exactly Alison was pushing through the glass doors of the office. Emily sat at her desk, taking a call, wondering how the blonde was able to time her entrance so precisely every morning. Alison looked like she'd gotten a full eight hours of luxurious sleep, despite Emily knowing she hadn't, she looked impeccable.

"Don't get too comfortable," she told Alison before she could get to her desk. "I have Hunter Schafer's booking agent on line 1, she had a meeting fall through nearby and is willing to meet with you here in 20 minutes," Emily muted the call.

Alison appeared skeptical, which was understandable given the suddenness, but she nodded affirmatively and leaned against her desk, crossing her arms.

"It looks like Ms DiLaurentis will be able to fit you in," Emily unmuted the phone, and as she was wrapping up the call she could see Avery walking into the office.

"Good morning," Avery greeted them both once she saw Emily return the phone to its cradle.

"G'morning," Emily returned the greeting with a smile as she updated Alison's schedule. A few things would need to be pushed back.

Alison as usual skipped the pleasantries, "My morning just became very busy, Avery. Whether it is good or bad is undecided."

"I just need 10 minutes," Avery pulled out her phone.

Emily stood from her desk chair, "You have 5," she told Avery. Alison would need as much time as possible to prepare for her impromptu meeting. "I'll go prep the conference room," She turned to Alison.

"5 minutes, got it, but I actually need both of you." Avery looked between the assistant and EIC, and Emily stopped her advancement toward the door.

What could she need with both of them? This early in the morning with no scheduled meeting, it couldn't be anything good. Emily tried to read into it, Avery probably just wanted to ask something about the short-form content they were supposed to be rolling out. Or maybe she needed the socials phone back, It could have been any number of things. Alison held her usual stoic expression, which was oddly comforting since Emily was trying her best not to catastrophize.

"You…," Avery turned her attention to Emily, "Are going a bit viral..have you noticed?" Avery handed her phone to Emily, which she took, it was opened to the short video of her introducing herself at the GLOW party. "The video has 6 million views and is still climbing, so of course we uploaded the photos you posed for and those are also trending well, very well."

Emily swallowed hard, a sudden defensiveness took her by surprise, "Without asking me? Without saying anything?" She knew there was a good chance the photos and videos would be posted but seeing the overwhelming amount of people engaging with it was unexpected and felt strange.

Avery's response was snappish, "We don't have to ask you anything. You sign a waiver when you're hired that allows us to photograph and record you as we please and post at our discretion."

Emily's eyes widened and she looked at Alison, who responded with a subtle nod that Avery was correct.

"I tried giving you a heads up, I came by the office looking for you." Avery's voice was softer when she spoke again.

"If the posts were simply doing well you wouldn't be in my office so early. What is the problem?" Alison asked, urging Avery to get to the point.

"Not a problem per se," Avery began, "Whenever a piece of content on social media goes viral it leaves the targeted demographic, which is good, more eyes that wouldn't normally be fed our posts. The drawback is we obviously can't control who the content gets served to…"

Avery continued but that was all Emily needed to hear to jump straight into the comments under the original video. Her heart was pounding and there was a churning feeling in her stomach.

"I want to spit in her mouth," Emily read a comment out loud, causing Alison's head to snap toward her. She continued, "Is she still a dyke?" Emily paused reading, looking up at Avery with ire. "I had a poster of her on my wall way back when, but she's old enough to be fap material now," that comment caused Emily to cringe but the next struck her on a different level, "Imagine being knocked down from Olympian to someone's assistant, I'd kill mys-"

"That's enough," Alison's voice cut in, loud and forceful, before Emily could finish reading the comment aloud. Emily had never heard Alison raise her voice before, and by the look on Avery's face neither had she. Alison took the phone from Emily's hands and gave it back to Avery, "Why are these comments not being filtered?" her voice returned to its usual pitch, steady and composed.

"They are, but it can only be done so quickly. We had no idea the post would go viral, and no idea people would recognize Emily." Avery explained. "I had no idea you were an Olympian," she turned to Emily.

Emily averted her gaze, fixing her eyes on a spot on her desk. She understood that directing her anger at Avery wasn't fair, but it was difficult not to.

"I had no idea is not an acceptable answer." Alison's tone was chilling. "Emily is not 'content' she's a person and you served her up to incels and trolls online. That's not how we do things. Fix it, now."

"Everyone in this building is content, I was just doing my job. The comments will be filtered continuously until the unwanted attention passes but most of the attention is good," Avery countered. "Most people just think you're gorgeous and are curious about how you came to GLOW," Avery said softly turning her attention to Emily.

"Your job is to grow and maintain GLOW's presence on social media. if you can't do that without taking shortcuts at the expense of your coworkers, please let me know." Alison responded bringing Avery's attention back to her.

Emily continued to stare at the spot on her desk, "Your 5 minutes are up."

Avery nodded, "I understand. We'll continue working to filter the comments and as soon as it's done I'll update you both." she excused herself from the office.

Emily excused herself right after, "I'll be preparing the conference room." she slipped through the glass doors before they closed, she needed a minute to herself.

Once the room was ready Emily found herself on the socials phone reading through more of the comments under the video and images of her on GLOW's account. Nameless, faceless people called her a failure and a burnout, a waste of talent. Men, or who she assumed to be men flooded the comments in a competition to see who could be the most vile in their descriptions of what they'd do to her if given the chance. They weren't all bad, there were a lot of compliments on the maintenance of her figure despite not competing anymore. A lot of fawning over how good she looked and how well her outfit was put together. The comments that actually got Emily to smile, just a little, were the ones where people admitted to missing her when she withdrew from the Olympics and seemingly disappeared. People were glad to see her resurface in some way. There were even comments boasting her ability to be multifaceted and try something new, wishing her the best at GLOW.

The meeting between Alison and Hunter Schafer was closed doors. So after she and her booking agent reviewed and signed NDAs, the actress and Alison were left in the privacy of the conference room. Emily showed the booking agent to a GLOW work pod where he could make phone calls and anything else he needed to without being disturbed. She ran into Aria on her way back to Alison's office.

"I hear someone's going viral," Aria fell into step alongside her. "How are you handling it? Avery said some of the comments are a bit…nasty."

"Nasty is one way to describe it, but it's not just that," Emily sighed heavily, "I feel…ambushed. I don't know, it's weird reading people's opinions about you, especially by the thousands."

Emily remembered Alison's reaction to seeing the compilation TikToks and comments under those videos, maybe she was onto something about not reading them, not caring.

"Thousands, huh?" Aria said playfully trying to infuse lightness into the conversation, Emily appreciated it. "Well, the good news is people will be onto talking about something or someone else by the end of the week."

Emily tilted her head unconvinced.

"What is it?" Aria nudged her.

"Some of the comments..they uh..say i'm a failure..a waste of talent."

Aria drew her head back in understanding, "Do you think you're wasting your talent at GLOW?"

Memories of her mother shouting similar sentiments at her hit Emily suddenly. Then she remembered her early morning planning to assure the New York Liberty that GLOW was interested in more than using them for a feature.

"No, I think I'm discovering new ones," Emily answered, continuing to walk with Aria as they fell into conversation about revenge spending, which Emily learned was a term used to describe increased spending after a period of restraint or challenges. Aria was in the early stages of an article, and they workshopped it until Alison's meeting finished up.

… …

Guillermo called when the preparations for the day's shoot were wrapping up, it was the third and final day of the Levi's Campaign shoot, and having missed the second day, Emily was excited. Alison wanted to be present before any photographing began so she and Emily were on their way. Sitting in the Audi, the very same car she had kissed Alison in the previous night, felt a bit surreal, but it didn't throw Emily off her game. She was finding her stride and intended to keep it up. The shoot would be taking place at NYU, Guillermo and Hanna had chosen the library and campus quad as primary locations, both perfect for targeting the intended demographic, young adults and college students who would easily be able to see themselves in the advertisement.

"When you said you swam competitively, you never mentioned the Olympics," Alison's voice pierced the quiet.

Emily anticipated the conversation would come up, she just wasn't expecting it to be when they were en route to a pivotal photoshoot."You never asked," Emily made a poor attempt to evade the conversation.

Alison was anything but amused turning her head from the window to face Emily. Her silence beckoned a more substantial answer.

"It's not something I talk about much, most people always want to know why I quit." Emily could hear the uneasiness in her own voice at having to revisit the past.

"You quit because you thought it would make her stay," Alison surmised, referring to Maya. She was spot on, as usual.

Emily sucked in a breath, "I did..but you were right, she left me. Twice." Emily confirmed Alison's previous assumptions. "How did you know? That I quit swimming for her," Emily was curious about how Alison was able to piece the two things together.

"Love makes people do stupid things," Alison's tone carried an air of disinterest, "Like withdrawing from the Olympics when they're poised to win their third gold medal."

A chuckle escaped Emily's lips at the bluntness of Alison's words, "Yeah I guess it does," but then a realization dawned on her. "Wait, did you google me?" Piecing together that Emily quit swimming for Maya was within the realm of Alison's freaky mind tricks but knowing how many medals she had…not so much.

"I wasn't sure if I would get any answers from you after the way you fled the office behind Avery."

Emily quickly processed what her boss had just admitted. Alison had a small window of 15 minutes to prepare for her sudden morning meeting, and she'd chosen to use some of that time to Google her swimming career. The gesture made Emily smile, and subconsciously she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. It was hard putting her feelings about being a former athlete into words but Emily felt compelled to try…for Alison.

"I was one of the best swimmers in the world, top 15 among women. But after I withdrew from the Olympics, stopped competing, and stopped winning medals, I fell out of the top 100. Eventually, I wasn't even in the conversation of elite athletes anymore." Medals and recognition weren't something Emily talked about with anyone, she knew it would seem vain to most people, but if anyone could understand, it would be Alison. "Now, whenever someone recognizes me or asks about my career, every time I think about getting in a pool, it's a reminder that I traded being one of the best athletes in the world for a woman who left without even telling me why. I just came home and she was gone, I wasn't worth an explanation."

Alison's expression was indecipherable but Emily noted how her body had tensed, feeling like she'd overshared and made Alison uncomfortable, Emily quickly turned away. Maybe Alison didn't understand and just thought she was pathetic for having thrown away her career for a flaky girlfriend. Emily wrung her hands nervously before forcing them apart and placing one on the rear console and tucking the other under her thigh, it was a conscious effort not to look weak. She continued to gaze out of her window, trying to shift her thoughts to the rest of the day ahead until she felt the back of Alison's hand brushing against hers as the Editor rested her hand on the rear console. It remained there for the duration of their ride to NYU. Emily didn't know what the meaning behind the slight physical contact was but it was comforting.

… …

Emily realized quickly that the third day of the Levi's shoot would not be the same choreographed precision she'd seen on day one at the DiLaurentis McCullers Drake studio. The lighting equipment was malfunctioning, one of the models twisted her ankle, the university had failed to honor their agreement to shut down the library as planned, and adding to the already mounting chaos, a flash flood warning had been issued for New York. Emily was handling it well, she thought, working through the issues simultaneously until they were all resolved and the shoot was back on track. She checked and rechecked details knowing Alison and Hanna would be checking them right behind her and she wanted them to be able to focus on the creative side of things, not putting out fires.

The only problem Emily couldn't figure out was Paige. Emily didn't find it strange that she was at the shoot until a few other GLOW employees mentioned it, she was still fairly new, and as far as she was concerned Paige's name was on everyone's checks and that meant she could go wherever she wanted. What Emily did find strange was the looks Paige kept throwing her way.

Spencer was also on set, though she was staying far out of the way and seemed more interested in Paige than the actual shoot. Whatever was going on, it was above Emily's pay grade, and they were about to begin shooting in the campus quad.

"Guillermo and Peter say they're ready," Emily walked into one of the tents where Alison and Hanna were working on last-minute changes.

"And what do you say?" Alison asked, not turning around.

The memory of Alison's words to Guillermo about mistakes flashed through Emily's mind as she threw a final glance at the setup, "They're all set."

Alison didn't respond.

"We'll be out in 2 minutes," Hanna answered.

There wasn't much for Emily to do once things were underway but watch Alison, Guillermo, and Hanna work. Alison spoke sparingly, leaving the other two to lead and direct. When she did speak the changes were implemented quickly and without question. Halfway through the quad shoot rain started to pour down in torrents. Sending everyone to take cover in the nearest tents. Every phone in the vicinity blared a weather warning tone minutes later, too little too late.

"Hey," Paige slinked toward Emily shyly.

"Hey Paige," Emily greeted her with a big smile, hoping to make Paige more comfortable. It worked and Paige's shy expression was replaced with a wide smile that reminded Emily how nice her teeth were, "I haven't seen you since the Garden Party. How are you?"

"I'm good," Paige responded, "Thank you for the save by the way, at the party. I didn't need it, I can handle Alison myself but the fact that you didn't just stand there like the rest of them says a lot about you."

Paige's use of 'the rest of them' bristled Emily, the way she remembered it Aria and Spencer had attempted to help diffuse the tension between Paige and Alison but Paige continued instigating until Emily redirected Alison's temper completely.

"No problem," Emily managed.

Paige seemed nervous again, shoving her hands into her pockets, "Did I overstep? Sometimes I can do that. So if that's the case you can tell me."

Emily wasn't planning on saying anything about it but if Paige really wanted to know, "I wouldn't say you overstepped. I just don't think it's fair to lump everyone together that way, Aria and Spencer tried to help you."

Paige took a moment to seemingly collect her thoughts. "You're right. Alison and I have a…history, and sometimes I let my feelings about her spill out onto other people. I'm sorry."

It was a concise and mature apology, Emily nodded, impressed with Paige's willingness to look at her own behavior.

"But that isn't what I was talking about," Paige shook her head, "I meant the roses."

"What roses?"

"Wow, ok, so you didn't get them, that explains a lot," Paige chuckled awkwardly. "I knew that I wasn't my best self at the party, but I really do want to get to know you, maybe over lunch like I was trying to ask you before," She slowly found her footing and Emily followed along, a quizzical expression on her face. "I thought the flowers could be like a reset. I brought them to your desk Monday, but you weren't there so I left them, there was a note."

Emily's eyes scanned the tents as she told Paige she'd gone home early Monday. She omitted the details of Alison kicking her out of the car in Midtown Manhattan. "I'm sure I would have loved them...if I had the chance to see them," she told Paige as her eyes finally found what they'd been searching for, Alison. Who was looking right back at her, no doubt observing her interactions with Paige, their eyes locked, confirming what she already knew.

… …

"Maya St. Germain."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Spencer folded her arms across her body.

"No, but I want you to find her," Alison looked out at the successful photoshoot that was wrapping up, they were getting what would be the last shots of the day.

The down pouring of rain had slowed the shoot down but it didn't stop it. Weather changes were something to be prepared for when shooting outdoors, if not it could cause hours of work to be completely useless.

"Is she missing?" Spencer asked, standing at her side. She'd come to keep an eye on Paige and Alison was grateful. It meant she didn't have to split her attention between an important campaign and PigSkin.

"She…disappeared."

"Then call the police."

Alison turned to give Spencer her best glare of annoyance but Spencer fired back one of her own and they stayed locked in the standstill for a few seconds before Alison broke it to retrieve her phone from her bag. She'd pulled up an old Sports Illustrated article, an exclusive interview with Emily Fields who at the time had just won her second gold medal. In it, the interviewer asked what kept Emily grounded and she replied, her family and her girlfriend Maya. From there Alison was able to find said girlfriend's full name in an even older interview from when Emily graduated high school, there was even a photo of the two of them. She sent the link to her sister.

Spencer uncrossed her arms to check her phone when it pinged with a new text message. "Aw, high school sweethearts," she said a few moments later, in an exaggerated swooning tone.

If she'd had any time to dwell, it probably would have irked Alison but her attention quickly shifted to the lousy budget analyst coming toward them. She hadn't seen her Monday or Tuesday, so Alison knew she'd approach at some point.

"Alison, Spencer," Paige nodded toward them, an insincere smile plastered to her face.

"Pig…Paige," Alison almost slipped but remembered the assurance she gave to Spencer about not fanning the flames and waiting for Paige to show her hand.

"Hello, Paige," Spencer flashed her own fake smile.

Pointless greetings out of the way, Spencer turned her attention to her phone and Alison looked beyond Paige at the lightning equipment being broken down and packed away. Neither of them paid PigSkin any attention and Alison knew that would annoy her more than anything she could say.

Paige sidestepped a bit, standing directly in front of Alison so she couldn't look past her anymore, "I just had a very interesting conversation with Emily."

Alison had seen the two of them conversing under a tent when the rain started, she tried not to but she watched them, Emily mostly. She'd wondered what they were talking about but she wasn't going to give Paige the satisfaction.

"We were talking about the roses I left on her desk earlier this week. It turns out she never got them. That's so crazy, right?" Paige scratched her head, feigning ignorance. "I mean I don't think anyone would have just walked into your office and snatched them off the desk, do you?"

Paige talked animatedly, her hands illustrating a scene where someone stole the bouquet from the desk. She looked like an idiot.

"No. I don't think anyone would do that," Alison played along keeping her expression perfectly indifferent.

As she expected, Paige continued to press the issue, "And I don't think maintenance would have thrown away a bouquet of freshly cut flowers. Do you think they would do that?"

"I don't believe they would be so incompetent," Alison answered.

It was in moments like this that Alison recognized how accurate people were in their comparisons between her and ice. Standing there listening to Paige, she felt a chill envelop her, it was prickling, tempting, but she knew she couldn't give in. She'd give Spencer's not-much-of-a-plan plan some time to work.

"Neither do I," Paige's eyes narrowed as she dropped the act, "What do you think happened to them?"

Alison refused to answer even when Paige stepped into her personal space. Resisting the urge to tell Paige how she methodically pushed the vase over the edge of Emily's desk and watched it shatter.

"I owe you a thank you," Paige said, pleased with herself. "Emily is completely out of my league and you just pushed her right toward me. Whatever you did with the flowers, Thanks."

Spencer intervened, "Paige you can't just throw around accusations. Do you have any actual evidence Alison did anything with these supposed roses? How do you know she even saw them?"

"Relax, Spencer, we're not in front of a judge." Paige turned her head, "God, the two of you may not actually be sisters but you are one and the same, those tempers." She tsked and laughed smugly, "This was fun. I'll see the two of you at the GLOW meeting next week. I think it'll be a great chance for me to properly introduce myself to everyone." Paige turned and went the same way she came.

When she was out of earshot Spencer spoke, "You can breathe now, Ali."

Alison didn't want to breathe. She wanted to see the smug look wiped off Paige's face. She wanted to watch her pack a cardboard box and be escorted from the office building. She wanted to find out what the analyst loved most in the world and destroy it. It wouldn't happen today but it would happen.

"She's overly confident, figure out what it is she's up to. I held my tongue today, and only today." Alison made herself clear to her sister.

"I'll handle it,"

"And find Maya St. Germain." Alison tacked on, she'd allowed Paige to accuse her, even though it was something she had done, and she didn't fight back. Spencer was going to give her something in exchange.

Spencer's eyes fluttered in annoyance, "I'll handle it."

... ...

Author's Note:

So much happens upon Emily's return to the office. Another word out of her and I think Avery would've lost her job. Aria and Hanna are great friends as usual. Paige is well...Paige. I adore Spencer and Alison's relationship and hopefully you do too. What could Alison possibly want with Maya? I hope you all enjoy the update, Happy Monday! Looking forward to reading your reviews.