AH/AU Just something short and fun.

It was a fun game we played despite nobody else knowing about the game. Aside from the partners. They knew who I was the minute I interviewed here. I knew that people whispered and watched us, and that so many of them would make lewd comments behind my back. I knew that some of the women were jealous and that they thought I was cheap.

If only they knew what was really happening.

I rested my hands on my hips as I watched him read the papers, waiting for his signature. I knew that he was proofreading everything even though I checked it myself. He was a little anal about spelling and sometimes I liked to tease him, but there were too many people in here for me to effectively do that and not cause talk.

"How is it you always get wave and waive backwards?" Dimitri Belikov asked, taking his green pen and crossing out the words and putting the right ones in. He knew I had an aversion to red pens, so used green ones for corrections instead.

"I always get them confused, even if I know which one I'm supposed to be using. It's like my brain decides it like the other spelling better," I retorted with a grin. Dimitri rolled his eyes and handed it back to me.

"Make the corrections and then put it in my tray. I'll probably be in my meeting by then," he said.

"Yes, sir," I retorted sarcastically with a wink and headed back to my desk. I left his door open, not closing it behind me. I knew that if he looked up from his desk, he'd get a good eye of my ass and I wore the black dress pants he liked so much. Plus, I knew that it was also erk him because I didn't close it.

I sat back at my desk, one leg curled under me while I leaned in the chair. I knew that the office manager hated it when I sat like this, claiming I was going to warp the chair, but in all honesty it was just more comfortable. She wasn't privy to our game and didn't realize that complaining about how I sat to Dimitri wasn't going to do a whole lot.

"What did you do now?" my best friend, Lissa, asked, the only person who knew the truth about the game. She had been my best friend since we were children.

"Wave and waive," I chuckled as I made the changes and printed the page again, setting it on my desk with a yawn.

"Long night?" Lissa teased.

"No. We were both asleep by nine o'clock. I swear, there is something seriously wrong with me. I never sleep this early," I said as I spun lightly in my chair, "I think I need to get my B12 checked again. I'm practically narcoleptic."

Lissa smirked at me as she took a sip of her latte. Sometimes I wished I picked an easier field, like wills, but instead, I was doing real estate and felt like I was running a marathon all the time.

"It's possible. You have been a little pale recently. Maybe your vitamin D is low. It is winter," she said as she set her cup back on the desk, groaning quietly as the office manager came towards our desk. I tried my best not to laugh as Lissa sang the song from The Wizard of Oz when the witch was riding her bike towards Dorothy's house.

"Hathaway," Kirova snapped.

"Yes, Kirova," I said tiredly.

"How many times have I told you about your attire?"

I looked down at my outfit. It was more than standard for the office; black dress pants, a blue button-up blouse and flats.

"What about it?"

"It's entirely too distracting," Kirova said with a wave of her hand and I glanced at Lissa.

"How? I am wearing something very similar to what Lissa is wearing, just blue," I said.

"Either way, it's been brought to my attention by one of the partners that your clothing is distracting."

"Who?"

"Mr. Belikov," she returned. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest.

"If Mr. Belikov has an issue with my attire, he can consult the other partners and they may speak to me. Otherwise, my attire is perfectly fine," I returned and turned back to my computer. I knew I was an attractive woman. I had a small waist that connected full hips and an even fuller chest. But I knew how to be professional. I wasn't going to walk around with my boobs hanging out at the office. I wore a tank top underneath my blouse every day.

Kirova scoffed and walked away, muttering under her breath as she did. I rolled my eyes and opened a few emails that came in, sending one to a client asking for some information about the house that they were selling.

After a few minutes, I heard the sound of the boardroom door click and looked up, smiling kindly at the clients who were leaving their meeting with Dimitri. He came by my desk with the clients, asking for one of his business cards. I handed one to him and drummed my fingers on the desk as he led them back to the reception area.

Dimitri came back and I handed him the file for the next file. He raised a brow at me.

"What?" he asked.

"Kirova needs to stop implying I'm a slut before I stab her with my scissors," I said bluntly. Dimitri grunted a laugh as he opened the file, glancing at the funds breakdown before looking at me.

"What did she say?"

"That you complained that my attire was inappropriate for the office," I said as I chewed on the cap of my pen, "I'm all for this being our secret, but I'm really getting annoyed with her."

Dimitri sighed and set the file on the top of my desk, bracing his hands on it as he looked down at me.

"I promise, just a little longer," he whispered, "The other partners know."

"Yeah, but none of the staff aside from Lissa do. They all make comments. I can handle their comments, but the office manager needs to be a little more professional."

Dimitri licked his lips and frowned at me. "I will speak to Kirova," he said softly before he stood up, taking the file with him back to his office.

The Christmas dinner was something that was highly talked about for weeks. I mean, I was excited too. Who would want to go to a country club and have a nice dinner on someone else's dime?

I was twisting the steam of my wine glass as I listened to everyone talk. Everyone was dressed nicely for the dinner, it was almost like everyone was dressed for a black-tie event. I mingled around before sitting in one of the lounge chairs near Dimitri. I smiled at him softly and ran my fingers over the inside of his wrist. I didn't realize I did it until I had done it.

"I thought you mentioned that your wife was coming," Kirova said to Dimitri, throwing some side eyes in my direction. The bitter tone in her voice drew the attention of the others sitting near us.

"She is," Dimitri said kindly.

"Well, where is she?" Kirova asked with a slight shake of her head, "And does she know that one of your staff members paws at you?

"Right beside you," I retorted, taking a long sip of my wine.

Kirova blinked at me, a few other people gapping at us. Lissa was not far off, chuckling into her whiskey glass while her husband Christian smirked.

"What?"

"Dimitri and I have been married for three years. I just switched to this firm because the man I worked for retired unexpectedly. I took the position as a clerk instead of a paralegal because the office needed a clerk. And if I'm correct, you ran that clerk off," I said crossed my legs and got more comfortable in the chair.

A few people seemed to mull it over before smirks crossed their faces.

"That makes so much sense," Mia said after a moment, "Especially how he got the flu the day after you did, and how you always tell him to stop chewing so loud. That's definitely something only a married person would say to another."

"It's also how I knew that you were targeting me. Dimitri would never let me come into work if my clothing was inappropriate," I said with a slight tilt of my head.

Kirova gapped at us, her face turning red. If this were a cartoon, there would be smoke coming out of her ears and a whistle blowing. One of the senior partners caught the tail end of my statement and I licked my lips, taking a sip of my wine.

"They're ready for us," he said, gesturing to the dinner room. Dimitri stood up and gripped my hand and helped me stand, kissing my cheek softly.

After dinner we exchanged the secret Santa gifts among the staff members. I drew the name for Drew. He was our articling student. He was quiet but was a sponge for knowledge. He was looking into going into family law or child advocacy. He was young enough to connect well with kids, but old enough to have perspective.

I knew that Lissa got Kirova. She was a better woman than I was. If I got Kirova, I would have given her a paper bag with shit in it. I handed Drew the gift and smiled at him, waiting in anticipation for him to open his gift. One gift was a one-off. I bought him a package of fun socks. He never wore a normal pair of black socks, instead, tried to find the most outrageous and creative one he could.

The second gift was more of a gift than the first. A watch.

"This definitely didn't fall under the budget," he said as he looked it over.

"I promise it did," I said with a smile, "Turn it over."

He flipped the watch over and read the engraving on the back, his brows coming together.

"Congratulations?"

I grinned at him and leaned towards him in my chair.

"I'm not supposed to know. But congratulations," I said with a wink. I had a friend who worked with the agency that graded the bar exams, and she indirectly let me know that he passed. He had been stressing about it for weeks, and the results weren't going to be released until after Christmas.

He smiled and I could see the weight come off his chest at the news. He knew not to let anyone know that we knew, but I was happy to see the smile on his face.

Dimitri extended a gift to me and I raised my brows.

"You drew me?"

"Yes," he chuckled and leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.

I opened it and smiled at him, pulling the bracelet out of the box. Dimitri helped me put it on and I rested my head on his shoulder as I watched everyone else open their gifts.

Next Christmas Season

I rocked my chair slowly back and forth as I read the mortgage instructions, chewing on the pretzels slowly. My desk looked like a party table, snacks around the stand of my computer, and there were three different glasses on my desk. One for water, one for caffeine, one for fun and sugar.

"Rose? Have you had a chance to finish up the Fisher file?"

I didn't look up from the instructions as I handed Dimitri the file. He took it with a quiet thank you, scanning the documents before closing it again.

"Have you been eating those all afternoon?" he asked with a laugh. The bag of pretzels was resting on my stomach and I picked up the now almost empty bag.

"Peanut wanted pretzels," I said with a shrug.

"And did Peanut almost want the slushie?" he laughed as he pointed to the very large cup on my desk.

"Yes," I said, "Kirova brought it for me."

That caused Dimitri's brows to rise.

"Did she?"

I nodded. "She overheard me talking to a client about how I craved them, and she brought me one back from lunch. Now I'm in my happy place," I said with a grin.

Dimitri smiled. "I'm glad to see that you two aren't at each other's necks."

"I think she likes me better when I'm a babymaker. You know, fulfilling my biological role in life," I joked, finally looking away from my screen.

Dimitri rolled his eyes at me and looked at his watch.

"Are you feeling up to going to the dinner tonight? You look exhausted."

I snorted a laugh. "I am going even if I fall asleep at the table. And I found a dress that it nice enough, but also is comfy. I'm going to wear it," I teased, pushing back from my desk and gripping the armrests as I pushed myself to my feet.

Dimitri's eyes lit up as he looked at me. He was big as a house and ready to pop, but he loved every minute of it. I loved almost every minute of it.

"Good. Cause there is a surprise for you tonight at the dinner," he said.