The following days passed in a blur. Brittany never realized how much she'd liked working for Mr. Perkins, or how much she'd actually cared for his well-being, until he was gone. She felt herself holding back tears when she picked out flowers to send to his family, and at the end of his funeral, she found herself holding a wet bundle of tissues in which she'd finally shed her tears. Watching his family's faces as they lowered his casket was one of the most heartbreaking things she'd ever seen. She left quickly after that.

That night, as she set her alarm to return to work—now 15 minutes later since she wouldn't be picking up coffee—she realized she was a bit nervous. She had no idea what this Santana Lopez was like, and it put her on edge. She tried to think optimistically, though. If she'd just graduated from law school a few years ago, they were probably around the same age. Maybe that would allow them to connect more easily. Then again, Mr. Taylor had called her fierce, and that was a little worrying. By the time she lay down to go to sleep, she'd given herself a headache thinking of this new stranger and resolved to just let everything unfold in the morning.

At 7:55 the following morning, she was hitting the elevator button for the 17th, not 16th, floor. A tiny stab of sadness shot through her, but she suppressed it; the time for grieving was past. She made her way through, nodding at the different receptionists, and finally found her familiar desk outside what used to be an empty office. The door had been left open, and the light was on, but no one was inside. Standing at the door frame, she looked around the office. Neat piles of folders and paperwork were stacked on the desk, and a large array of books filled the bookcases on either side of the room. Behind the desk, the blinds had been drawn closed, blocking the view of the city. Brittany thought it was odd that anyone would ever intentionally block out such a spectacular view, but she shrugged to herself and turned around to sit down at her desk. She was mildly shocked when she found that her way was blocked and ended up stumbling back a step or two, letting out a small gasp as she did.

The woman standing in front of her was breathtaking; she probably would have gasped even if she hadn't accidentally bumped into her. She was a couple inches shorter than Brittany, with dark features that made Brittany's heart thud funnily. Her midnight black hair fell in thick curls around her face. Her eyes, also dark, stared into Brittany's with an intensity she'd never felt before. Her lips were incredibly full, and she wore a red lipstick that looked so good on her. Her skin, a rich caramel color, was perfectly smooth. Letting her eyes fall from the beautiful woman's face, she took in the rest of her body. She was wearing a black woman's pantsuit with a black jacket over a white collared shirt. The only color came from her bright peacock blue pumps. After taking all this in, Brittany's eyes traveled back up to meet the woman's, and she said the first and only thing that came to mind.

"Holy shit." She sounded a little breathless.

"A very nice way to introduce yourself to your new boss, I'm sure," said the woman, rolling her eyes and pushing past Brittany to enter her office.

Attempting to redeem herself, Brittany stood up a little straighter and turned around to face the woman again.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lopez...you startled me. I'm Brittany Pierce, your assistant."

"Funnily enough, I'd worked that out for myself. What were you doing creeping outside my office?" She looked up from her desk to give Brittany that piercing stare again.

Brittany was not about to tell this woman that she'd been looking at her stuff.

She stumbled a little over her words as she tried to lie her way out of this.

"I...well, I was coming to introduce myself. I saw the light on and the door open, so I assumed you were inside."

"Right." Santana Lopez sounded as if she didn't believe that for a second. "Well, now that we're properly introduced," she said in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "I need you to add these into your computer's contact list." She grabbed one of the folders off her desk and handed it to Brittany. "These are all the people I've represented in the past. Keep them electronically for faster reference."

"Yes, ma'am. What should I do with the hard copies once I've finished?"

"Give them back to me. Also, don't call me ma'am."

"Right. Okay."

Brittany clutched the folder to her chest and backed out of the office as Santana sat down and began going through the remaining stacks of papers in front of her. When Brittany reached out to shut the door behind her, Santana stopped her before her hand even touched it.

"You can leave it open."

Brittany's eyes snapped back to Santana's. She hadn't even noticed she was being watched. She nodded and let her hand fall to her side.

Sitting down at her desk again, she began inputting the contact information Santana had given her. She was slightly impressed with the number of clients she had already gathered and knew it would take a good portion of her morning to add it all in. Every few minutes, she would sneak a glance at Santana, who was sitting directly opposite her in her office. Each time, she was either taking notes or talking quietly on her office phone. Brittany's phone, on the other hand, stayed quiet all morning. She supposed it might take a while before Santana got loads of calls to her receptionist and wondered what on earth she'd do with her time now.

When she finished adding the contact information, it was nearly lunch time. She stood up and knocked quietly on the open office door. Santana didn't even look up at the sound.

"Er...I finished adding your contacts, Ms. Lopez."

Santana stood up from her desk and walked with her hand out towards Brittany, indicating she wanted the folder back. Brittany held it out, and when Santana got close enough to take it, their fingers grazed each other in passing. Santana's skin was warm and soft, unlike her personality, which to Brittany seemed cold and hardened.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Brittany asked, looking into unreadable eyes.

"Not at the moment. You can go take your lunch now if you want," Santana said as she turned away again. She'd taken off her black suit jacket to reveal more of her white button-down underneath. The sleeves were rolled up neatly to the elbow, revealing more of her tan skin. It was tucked in to her trousers, and Brittany quickly cast her gaze over the woman's backside. Brittany noticed her heart beating strangely again and pulled her eyes back up. Santana had placed the folder on one of her bookcases and turned around to face Brittany, one perfectly-sculpted eyebrow raised in question.

"Are you going to lunch or not?"

Brittany snapped herself out of her weird staring mode and took a few steps back quickly.

"Right. Yes, I am. Can I bring anything back for you?"

Santana cocked her head to the side, seemingly considering Brittany's offer. Finally, she looked down again and sat back down behind her desk.

"No. I'm fine for now."

Brittany left the office once again, and for some strange reason, she really wished Santana had said yes.