Chapter 7: Jealousy

Santana's POV

*Friday 14th February 2020*

When I walk into my office, I see a large bouquet of red roses sitting on my desk. I don't remember ordering flowers so they must be from someone else. I walk over and check them to see if there's a card to go along with them. There does seem to be a card so I take it out of the envelope and open it up to see what it says inside.

Happy Valentine's Day!

From your secret admirer

X

I can't really think I would have many secret admirers at the moment because all of my employees hate me and I haven't given anyone else the impression I'm available or even into them so there's only a handful of people this could be. It's either my family trying to be funny; or Quinn doing it to make me feel better as she feels sorry for me since I'm single; or it's Brittany. I have a strong feeling that it's the very last option so I'm going to need to speak to her about it. I make my way to her desk and luckily, she is there.

"Brittany, can you come to my office please" I say.

"Uh…ok" she looks at me confused but follows me anyway.

"Are these from you?" I ask Brittany, pointing over at the flowers, as I close my office door.

"No" she replies but I can see she's smirking so I don't believe her.

"Brittany…" I say before pausing while trying to think about how to put this delicately without offending her. "You and I aren't…"

"I know we aren't anything and we're just messing around" she points out.

"So why have you given me flowers?" I ask.

"Because I couldn't see you getting any from anyone else so I didn't want you to get upset and feel alone on Valentine's Day" she says smirking at me again.

"That would be amusing if it were true" I state unamused. "Tell me the truth" I say.

"I just thought you might like them. It's really no big deal. You don't ever have flowers in here so I thought it might be nice to give you some" she shrugs.

"Brittany…I don't want you to get confused because you and I are just messing around and having fun so do you see why I don't think this was a good idea?" I ask.

"They're just some flowers Santana. I'll take them back to my desk if it bothers you so much" she sighs while walking over to pick up the flowers. "I like flowers so I don't see why giving you a bunch can't be classed as fun. I didn't write 'I love you' or something on them. I know all we are is fun and I thought you did too."

"I do know it's just fun" I tell her. Of course, I fucking know she didn't write 'I love you' on the note.

"Quit being so uptight then and stop reading into things. Just go with the flow" she states. I guess she does have a fair point because maybe I am looking into it too deeply.

"Ok" I nod.

"Also, don't feel the need to repay me and get me a Valentine's Day gift" she smiles.

"Do you know, it didn't even cross my mind to do that" I shrug. None of my exes got a Valentine's gift when we were together so why would I give one to a random girl I'm messing around with.

"It's cool anyway. I mean like I say, I don't give to receive" she smiles again while shrugging.

"That's good to know. I will remember that the next time we're hooking up" I smirk.

"Ok that's different. It can't all be one sided" she points out.

"Ok" I smile. "Anyway, we should get back to work now. You're free to leave" I say while sitting down at my desk.

"Ok" she shrugs before walking towards the door.

"Come and find me once you finish and we can go to my place" I say as she opens the door.

"I can't tonight" she tells me.

"Brittany, I'm not playing games. I've got a tough day ahead of me workwise so I want a relaxing night tonight and the only way to relax me properly is to have sex" I state.

"I'm not playing games. I'm actually busy" she tells me. "It's my dad's birthday tonight and we're going out for dinner as a family" she adds.

"Ok" I say with a sigh. "Come and find me anyway when you finish so I know you're leaving" I say.

"Ok" Brittany nods and then leaves.

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*Saturday 15th February 2020*

Last night turned out a little better than expected because Brittany surprisingly showed up to my place. When she said she had plans then I didn't think she would make it to mine but she came over straight from dinner with her family. It really was a stressful day yesterday so I was glad of the little surprise. I love working for myself and having my own company but sometimes it is lonely and any mistakes there are, are all mine so if I don't make money then I don't have any money.

"Morning, how are you?" I say as I walk into work and past Brittany's desk.

"How am I? really?" she questions amused.

"I have no idea why I said that" I laugh. What the fuck is wrong with me today? Since when do I ever ask any of my employees how they are.

"Since you asked though, I'm good" she smiles.

"Ok" I shrug. "I've got conference calls all morning in my office so don't disturb me and if anyone needs me, they'll come to you. I'm sending out an email to all staff to tell them I'm unavailable and you are available for all questions they have should they need to come to someone" I state.

"Oh…uh…I don't think I can do that this morning" Brittany says nervously.

"Why the fuck not?" I ask annoyed. "You're my employee so when I tell you I need you to do something then I need you to do it" I point out.

"I've just got a really busy workload myself this morning so I don't think I have time for everyone coming to me with stupid little problems. I kinda need to be working uninterrupted myself this morning and get things done. I mean no disrespect to my colleagues but I don't think asking me things like why isn't the coffee machine working or why the sound system isn't playing motivational music is appropriate" Brittany replies.

"Wait, they ask you things like that?" I ask shocked. I meant I need Brittany to deal with important business issues when I'm not available, I didn't mean shit like that that doesn't matter to my company.

"Yeah" Brittany nods. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to help with important issues but I seem to get more issues thrown my way than you do when I'm the one they need to talk to. You'll get the business issues and I get the business issues and the coffee machine breaking down. Like I'm not part of the maintenance team so I don't care about the coffee machine breaking down because it's not affecting our work. I just don't have time for silly things like that today when I need to focus. As I say, the business issues are fine but I don't want a full line of complaints at my desk because someone can't get fucking coffee. It's not productive for anyone when that happens" she tells me.

"You're scaring me Brittany. Is my coffee machine working or not today?" I ask seriously.

"That's what you took from that?" she asks me outraged.

"Do I need to call one of my maintenance people and get my coffee machine fixed?" I ask seriously again.

"I'm trying to explain that I have a heavy workload myself today so I could do without interruptions like that so I'd rather not be in charge today. I can take genuine complaints but I really have no time for handling silly things when I can use the time to work and avoid getting behind on accounts" Brittany replies.

"I'm not joking around. I could do without a crisis today like no coffee so tell me, am I getting coffee today or not?" I ask.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Brittany says frustratedly. "I have work to do Santana and you're just like my colleagues right now obsessing over coffee. How many times do I need to tell you I need to work and not handle everyone's issues that quite frankly mean nothing to SL Designs?" she states.

"Look, in the email I will make it clear that everyone can only go to you with genuine issues today and anyone who complains about anything other than that will lose half a day's pay" I say. I get that it's not helpful when people take advantage of you because you're nicer than the boss so I will make sure Brittany gets to work properly and not be constantly distracted.

"Thank you" she smiles.

"Let's just jog back to the previous topic though, is my coffee machine broken?" I ask seriously. I can't function without my coffee throughout the day.

"No, it's not fucking broken" Brittany sighs.

"Who do you think you're swearing at?" I ask.

"I'm sorry but that is the kind of time wasting I'm talking about. I'm here to help lead a team, not discuss coffee machine malfunctions and peoples outside of work issues" she tells me.

"Just don't swear at me again, ok?" I state.

"Yes, boss" Brittany nods before getting up from her chair.

"Uh, where do you think you're going?" I ask confused. I just told her she is sort of in charge today so why am I seeing her walking away from her desk when that's where I need her the most today?

"You've got emails to send out to everyone so I'm going to get you coffee while you do that and also prove the coffee machine is fully functioning this morning" she says looking back at me and shrugging.

"My assistant will send out the emails to all the staff for me" I state. She can do that and let everyone know Brittany is their go to person this morning.

"Since she's doing that, do you want to get your own…"

"Bring my coffee to my office when it's ready" I say before marching off to my office. She offered to make me coffee so why would I suddenly want to make it myself?

"Ok" I hear her say while laughing as I leave. Five minutes later, I'm getting things set up for my conference calls when Brittany walks into my office.

"Coffee for one sexy lady" she smiles at me as she places the coffee down in front of me.

"I so need a cup of coffee right now" I say while taking a sip of it. I know it's boiling hot since it's just made but I can handle that.

"You're welcome by the way" Brittany tells me.

"Sorry, thank you" I say while rolling my eyes at Brittany.

"That was really hard for you to say, wasn't it?" she smartly asks.

"Of course, it was because you know 'sorry' and 'thank you' aren't exactly in my everyday vocabulary" I state.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to get back to work" she says while turning around and walking towards the door. "Is there a particular time you think the calls will be over?" she asks curiously as she holds onto the door handle.

"Not before 1pm for sure but apart from that, I have no idea how long they'll take. Please don't leave and head home before coming to my office though. I need to know when you finish working today" I state. I don't want interrupted today but at the same time, I don't want her finishing work and not at least checking in with me before she leaves.

"Somehow I don't think I'll be able to stay away from you for that long" she smirks at me before winking and then leaving the office.

XXX

"We need to get back to work now" I tell Brittany as I start buttoning up my shirt. I sent her a text when I finished my conference calls and like a shot, she was in my office within seconds. She wanted to speak to me about a few things but as usual things got a little heated.

"It was a nice break though" Brittany smiles at me.

"It passes the time" I shrug.

"You can say you liked it. I won't tell anyone" she says with a smirk. "We've been doing this enough times now so there's no way you don't like it or just do it because you're bored" she points out.

"Yes, it was a nice break" I smile at Brittany. She does have a valid point there. However, what we're doing doesn't mean anything to me. I'm not looking for a relationship right now and I most certainly do not do feelings and all that crap.

"You do understand that I'm not trying to sleep to the top right?" Brittany asks me worriedly.

"I do know that" I smile. I know I can trust Brittany and this isn't what this is. "Plus, you'd never get to the top anyway because I run this company and I'll never lose it" I shrug.

"Ok" she laughs.

"We both know this is still strictly fun between us so it's all good" I say.

"Cool" she nods. "As soon as I get a girlfriend though, we're done" she smirks at me.

"Fine by me. You would end up boring me anyway in time" I shrug at Brittany.

"Ok, whatever you say" she shrugs back at me.

"So, did you get all of your work done before you came here?" I ask.

"Not exactly" she sighs. "Jack was having a few issues so I was helping him most of the time so now I'll probably need to work late tonight to finish what I had to do" she adds.

"What was wrong with Jack now?" I groan. Man, that boy really pisses me off sometimes. "Do I need to let him go?" I ask.

"No, please don't fire him" Brittany pleads. "He's my best worker. He was just having some issues getting the figures to match up. It really wasn't his fault" she states.

"Fine" I nod. "Look, if it helps you can work in my office for the rest of the day and that way you can get some peace and quiet" I suggest.

"That would be helpful to get away from distractions but where are you going to work?" she asks me curiously.

"There's enough room for two in here" I frown at her.

"I don't think you'll be able to keep your hands off me if we're in the room for much longer together" she points out.

"I can restrain myself don't you worry" I say seriously. "It was fun while it lasted but we need to work now and work is more important than having sex" I state.

"You can't deny it though; the sex is good between us" she smiles at me.

"It's…interesting" I say for a lack of a better term.

"Fine, pretend you don't feel as good about it as I do. Lets just get back to work and yes I will take you up on the offer to share your office for the rest of the day" Brittany replies.

"Ok" I nod. We both then get sorted and get started on work, doing our independent roles.

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*Wednesday 19th February 2020*

I've got a few family things going on today so I'm not going to make it into work. My cousin is getting married soon and I'm a bridesmaid so we've got a lot of wedding stuff to do today. It wasn't supposed to be happening today but something came up on the planned day for her so this was the next best day that suited the majority of people. I was in the minority that it didn't exactly suit since I planned to work but saying that, I don't have any meetings today so missing work isn't too crucial. I'm going to text Brittany right now and ask her to keep an eye on things at work today since I can't be there. I'm most certainly not promoting her but I'm hoping she'll at least keep things in working order for me.

To Brittany: some family stuff has come up so I won't be at work today. You're in charge today

From Brittany: no problem. See you tomorrow ; )

That little wink she has put at the end of the text unsettles me. My business is not a joke to me so I'd really rather she didn't think of being in charge so amusingly. I want to trust her with my business because I do need someone in charge when I'm not there but she's making me regret asking her now even though I have no one else.

To Brittany: don't mess up my business Pierce

From Brittany: I would never do that

To Brittany: why did you put that at the end of the text then?

From Brittany: I'm just trying to flirt with you…jeez. Like I say, I'll see you tomorrow.

To Brittany: no, you won't. My place at 7pm tonight!

From Brittany: not tonight, sorry ; )

To Brittany: MY. PLACE. 7PM. TONIGHT!

From Brittany: ok lol. I'll see you tonight

To Brittany: good. Back to work then!

From Brittany: I haven't actually started yet. I'm still at home eating my cereal.

Oh, this girl is really getting on my last nerve today. I can't be at work today and I need reassurance that my business is going to be ok in my absence. What I don't need is someone clowning around when I've asked them to take it seriously and look after my business. I would really like Brittany to get to work ASAP instead of leisurely eating breakfast and strolling into work at whatever time suits since the boss isn't there.

To Brittany: eat quicker and get to work. I need someone there of authority since I'm not there right now

From Brittany: do you think of me as one of the superior members of staff? That's cute

To Brittany: seriously Brittany. I am going to fall out with you today. I really can't be at work so will you please take things seriously and get there before the others set the place on fire or something

From Brittany: of course. I've got it all under control

To Brittany: all under control? Yeah for once in your life

From Brittany: stop being sarcastic. I told you I would handle it so just let me do that

To Brittany: fine.

From Brittany: see you tomorrow boss. Enjoy your time away from work

To Brittany: fuck you! You better be at my place tonight

How many times does she need to wind me up and say she isn't coming to my place tonight? She is really getting on my last nerve today and I don't like it all. I don't like her annoying ways at the best of times but I don't like it today especially since I'm putting her in charge and I can't be there.

From Brittany: I will, see you later

Ok, finally she has said something sensible. I put my phone away and get ready before meeting the rest of my family.

XXX

I was getting so worked up about not being at work today that I just had to call Brittany at lunch time and find out how things were doing. I obviously take days off work every week but today was different because this was a weekday which I don't usually take off and all of my employees were working today so I didn't like the thought of them all there and I'm not. It's ok at weekends because the whole team doesn't all work on the same weekend so not too much can go wrong but everything can go wrong when everyone is at work at the one time. Everything Brittany told me, I didn't believe so she said we could Facetime and I could see for myself that things were going well.

"As you can see, the place is not on fire and everyone is working hard" she tells me as she spins the phone around the room.

"Do it slower for fuck's sake. All I can see is blurriness" I sigh.

"Perhaps put your glasses on then" she tells me with a smirk as she looks into the phone.

"I don't wear glasses because I don't need them" I point out.

"I've seen you wear them occasionally when you're reading or something" she smirks at me. I just roll my eyes at her. "It's sexy, don't worry" she states.

"Keep your voice down at work. The staff could hear you say that and know it's me on the other end of the phone" I scold.

"Honey, if they knew it was you I was Facetiming, they'd be hiding under the desks in fear" she smirks at me.

"Honey? Don't call me honey" I state. "I'm not your honey and for the record, that's not appropriate for the workplace. I've been kind enough for you to use Santana and not Ms Lopez these days so don't abuse that privilege" I tell her.

"You didn't seem to mind me calling you honey the other night in bed" she smirks at me.

"To be honest with you Brittany, I don't listen to anything you say in bed. I just make sure you're doing it how I like and zone out whenever you open your mouth to speak" I shrug.

"If you don't like the sound of my voice then I'll just go and end the call" she shrugs back at me.

"Don't you dare end the call Pierce" I warn. "You haven't taken the phone to the sales department so I can see if they're working or not" I state.

"Ok" she says laughing.

"What is so funny?" I ask unamused. My business is like my baby. It means the world to me and it would literally kill me if someone fucked it all up for me.

"You're just very cute when you get all worked up and tense" she smiles into the phone.

"Don't call your boss cute, it's not appropriate" I state.

"It's also not appropriate to sleep with an employee but hey, you do it" Brittany shrugs at me.

"Just take me to the sales department" I say while rolling my eyes. I asked her a minute ago and she still hasn't moved anywhere yet.

"Fine, ok" she shrugs at me again before making her way to the sales department. She holds the phone up and once again, spins it around so fast that I get dizzy.

"Slower Pierce, for fucks sake" I sigh.

"You sound like that girl I had sex with the other night" Brittany smirks at me.

"It's not my fault you misunderstood the situation and thought we were to go at it like rabbits" I point out. She was going so hard I had to tell her to slow it down a bit. I mean hard and fast is fine but that was on another level.

"I can think of many things to call you Santana but a rabbit doesn't spring to mind" she smiles.

"Look, Brittany. I might not be working today but you still are so please take it fucking seriously because my business means everything to me and I hate not being there" I say honestly.

"I would be able to take it a little more seriously if I didn't have constant texts and phone calls from my boss. I think she thinks I don't have anything to do when I have plenty of work I need to get on with myself" she replies.

"Ok, I'll let you go now. Please just make sure everything runs smoothly for the rest of the day and any issues, please tell me" I say.

"Stop worrying, I won't let you down. I'll see you at your place when I'm done" she tells me.

"Ok" I nod. "See you later."

"Goodbye, boss" she smirks at me and then we end the call.

After a long and torturous day, I'm finally home. I don't know if I was just having a bad day because I was worried about work or because I was extremely bored with the wedding stuff. It just wasn't a pleasant afternoon and I'm so glad I can get back to normal tomorrow and do what I do best. I'm also really thankful I'm not getting married any time soon because weddings are stressful. It just seems really pointless to have all of that hassle for one big party that will probably empty your bank account and cause a divorce. It'll also probably cause you to end up with a couple of brats that will have destroyed your figure forever.

"Hey, it's me" I hear Brittany say faintly before the door closes shut.

"Why don't you just come right in" I tell her.

"The door was open Santana and you knew I was coming over" she shrugs.

"I'm just teasing you" I say. I deliberately left the door unlocked for her to come in.

"Ok well it's hard to read you sometimes. You say things with such a stoic expression on your face that it's hard to tell if you've just had exciting news, an orgasm or someone has died" she tells me.

"I wouldn't say that's exactly true because I show emotion and how I'm feeling from time to time" I say.

"Yes, but I didn't know if you were being sarcastic or teasing me. You say it was the latter but your face didn't say anything so I didn't know" Brittany replies.

"Well I was just teasing but anyway, enough of that. Let's go to the kitchen" I say. Brittany then follows me to the kitchen and I get some glasses out.

"So, how are you?" Brittany asks as she sits down. I don't think she really cares actually but is just making conversation as we've fell into a silence.

"I'm fine" I shrug while picking out what to drink.

"Good" Brittany nods.

"Was everything seriously ok today?" I ask as I pour us both a glass of red wine.

"Yes Santana, relax" she tells me. "I've been working for you for a good number of months now so I know how to handle things. Also, I think your strict attitude kinda rubs off on me because I found myself raising my voice at a number of employees today" she shrugs.

"Was Perry one of them you had to shout at?" I ask curiously as I sit next to her at the table and place our wine glasses down in front of us.

"I don't know who Perry is so I'm going to assume you mean Penny and yes it was Penny" she tells me.

"Yeah, whatever" I say waving it off. Penny or Perry, does it really matter?

"Like I say, everything was absolutely fine today and there were no problems so stop stressing" she smiles at me.

"Ok" I nod. Brittany has never let me down workwise before so I guess I do believe what she is saying and that everything was ok. "By the way Brittany, don't ever get married" I say as I move and take a seat on her lap.

"Why not?" she asks with a chuckle as she puts her arms around me.

"I was so stressed out today and I was just a bridesmaid" I state. "I haven't really thought about it much before but I don't think I ever want to get married now" I add.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind when you find the right person" she shrugs.

"I still want to settle down and stuff, I just don't think I want to get married anymore" I shrug back. "I honestly don't think the hassle is worth it" I say as I stand up and remove my sweater.

"Maybe we should forget about work and marriage right now" Brittany suggests as she looks over at me before walking towards me. "I have been dying to do this all day" she says while wrapping her arms around me, pulling me closer, before kissing me.

"Ew, is that gum?" I ask disgustedly as I pull away from her.

"Shit, sorry" she says while holding out her hand for me to spit the gum out onto. "I forgot I was even chewing gum and it was in my mouth" she chuckles.

"It's not funny, it's gross" I say frowning.

"You've had more than just my gum in your mouth so relax" she says, rolling her eyes at me. She then disposes of the gum in the trash and walks back over to me. She puts her arms around me before spinning me around and dipping me back and kissing me.

"Show off" I mutter as she pulls me back up and kisses me once more.


Brittany's POV

*Monday 24th February 2020*

I'm not in the best of moods today. I had a rather unpleasant night last night so it's put me in a horrible mood. After having a fun night having dinner with my friends, I ran into someone from my past and it just brought back a lot of bad memories and we didn't have the most uplifting talk either. We ended up in an argument like we always do and I went home as pissed off as I've ever been. I just can't seem to shake last night's events from my head so I'm still pissed off. I do need to go into work today though so it's going to make it hard for me to concentrate on what I need to do. The day has already started badly due to my bad mood because I've already got into some road rage on my drive into work. Some bitch cut lanes in front of me and I had to swerve the car so quickly. Normally I would just toot my horn or give her the finger but because I was already in a horrible mood so I was about to lose my mind, I was ready to jump out of the car and fight her.

Just as I get into work and I'm making my way towards my desk, I see Santana sitting on my desk chair. She has her legs crossed as her feet are rested on my desk and she's casually filing her nails with a nail file. It is a rather sexy sight if I think about it but after the night I've had, I'm not exactly in that mindset.

"You're sitting on my seat" I say as I approach my boss.

"Brittany. Lovely to see you finally at work this morning" she says sarcastically as she swings her legs off my desk and stands up.

"Whatever" I say while rolling my eyes.

"You're late" she tells me as she walks towards me.

"I did know that boss. I kinda learned how to tell time when I was young" I shrug.

"Are you seriously talking back to me this morning?" she asks while raising an eyebrow at me.

"Sorry" I apologise. "It's been a rough morning so far" I sigh.

"I don't care. This is my time now and you're on my time so you'll behave the way I need you to" she states. "Also, if you behave appropriately then I'll reward you later at my place" she smirks at me as she stands super close to me.

"We should get to work now" I sigh while moving past her and sitting down at my desk.

"Do you know, playing hard to get doesn't wash with me. It's not sexy at all Brittany so I won't chase you around today. If you don't want to hook up today then fine, we won't" she says shrugging her shoulders at me.

"I'm not playing hard to get" I shake my head. "I just could not be less interested in hooking up with people today" I sigh.

"Do you know, I love a party Brittany but I certainly don't love a pity party so I won't be attending this one. Come and find me if you snap out of your little funk" Santana says before walking off, towards her office no doubt. I know I'm in a weird mood today but it's not something I can just snap out of.

As soon as I get started work, I know the day is just going to get worse. I'm not concentrating like I thought would happen and I don't know how many mistakes I've made because I lost count about half an hour ago. My mind is really not on work today but judging by Santana's reaction earlier, I doubt she'll let me take the afternoon off. I just can't stop thinking about last night and how miserable my life used to be. I mean I remember one time…

"BRITTANY, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH YOU!" Santana shouts loudly as she walks towards my desk. Everyone goes silent and looks at me to see why I'm in trouble. "Are you high or something today?" she questions as she stands in front of me.

"Of course I'm not" I glare at her. Why would I go into work high on drugs? That's not me at all.

"There is something going on with you because you've fucked up my accounts" she tells me annoyed. "I mean that is saying something because you know I'm not well versed on that aspect of my business so for me to know you've fucked up means you've really fucked up" she adds.

"Uh-oh" one of my colleagues mumbles.

"Button it mumbles" Santana snaps, turning around to glare at the member of staff.

"It looks like the teacher's pet is no longer a favourite" Jack jokes.

"I beg your pardon" Santana snaps again, this time at Jack.

"Well…I mean…it's just Brittany…you know…you treat her differently from us, right?" Jack says nervously.

"What the fuck are you talking about James?" Santana asks. "I treat you all the same which is why Brittany is getting a telling off right now just the same way I gave you a piece of my mind yesterday James" she adds.

"It's Jack" I mumble.

"What?" Santana looks at me like she has no idea what I'm saying.

"His name is Jack, not James" I tell her. She knows his name is Jack because we were talking about him quite recently.

"That's not relevant right now. What is relevant is you explaining what the fuck is going on so my office, now!" Santana says harshly.

"Fine" I sigh. I then follow my boss to her office like some child being in trouble and going to the principal's office.

"Sit down and explain right now" she tells me in no mood to have small talk right now.

"It's kinda personal actually but I am sorry for not being on my game today" I sigh.

"You have drawn up a balance sheet that says it's out by 60,000 dollars. Thank goodness I looked it over and realised it was out by 60 cents which is a lot less trivial than 60,000 dollars" she tells me.

"Sorry" I apologise. "I must have put the figure in the wrong column or something" I say honestly.

"Serious, I don't do feelings and I'm uncomfortable listening to other's as you very well know but I have to ask, what is going on with you?" Santana replies.

"It's nothing" I sigh.

"It clearly is when my best worker is making a lot of mistakes that could eventually cost me some serious bucks. This is not you Pierce so whatever is troubling you has to be stopped because I need my employee back with less mistakes" she tells me. "What is going on in that head of yours today?" she asks.

"I ran into my ex last night and it was just awful" I sigh. "It has totally knocked me off my game and I can't think properly today" I add.

"I don't want to particularly talk about it but if you want to, we can because I need it out of your system so you can go back to working for me properly without distractions" she says.

"We just didn't leave things in the best way and then last night we ended up bringing up the past and once again argued like we always did. It's just put me in a horrible mood and I can't stop thinking about everything" I say.

"Do you still have feelings for her? Is that why you can't stop thinking about it?" Santana asks curiously.

"No. I'm just so frustrated with everything and why she doesn't understand my opinion. We broke up for a reason and she just doesn't want to listen to what I have to say. I'm just tired of fighting her and going over the same things. I just want to move on but running into her last night brought everything back to me" I say honestly.

"I'll help you get her off your mind" Santana says while sitting forward before slowly caressing my thigh. "I'm really good with my hands as you well know" she whispers in my ear.

"I don't know if I can get in the mood right now" I sigh.

"You don't have to do anything to me. Just sit there and I'll make you come like you've never came before" she whispers again. I can feel her hot breath on my ear as she gets closer to me.

"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood" I sigh while removing her hand from my thigh.

"I don't play Brittany so I won't chase you" Santana shrugs at me.

"I know and I'm not playing games. I just can't get into that mindset right now because I'm too preoccupied but maybe you could come over to my apartment tonight" I suggest.

"Ok but if you want to talk about your ex-girlfriend tonight then I'll go home. I've given you the opportunity to get it out of your system right now so I'm not talking about it later" Santana tells me.

"That's completely fair. I'll see you tonight" I say before leaving Santana's office.

XXX

Santana and I are hanging out at my apartment. Santana didn't get finished work until later than we expected so she picked up dinner for the two of us on her way over here. I was warned though that eating together doesn't mean anything but a chance to refuel before an energetic night. I can't say I thought of it as anything other than that because I know for sure we're not really friends and we most certainly don't date.

"Are you still thinking about the ex?" Santana asks me curiously as she looks up from her plate.

"Maybe a little bit but don't worry, I won't go into detail tonight" I assure her.

"I don't know why she broke up with you because look at your body" she says shaking her head.

"It was more than that and what makes you think she did the breaking up. I broke up with her" I state. She was awful to me so I wasn't going to hang around anymore so I ended things, not her.

"Sure you did" she smiles at me.

"No seriously, I broke up with her" I state. It maybe wasn't the best decision I ever made because I was alone for months after that but it's in the past now.

"Ok, I believe you" Santana smiles. She then puts down her plate and stands up with her glass of wine before having a look around my apartment. She doesn't come here as much as I go to her place so I get why she is being nosy.

"Good, because I don't want you thinking I'm such a tragic little soul that can't defend herself or know what's good enough for her" I say.

"Is she your ex?" Santana asks curiously as she picks up a picture of Megan and I on my side table next to my couch.

"Yeah" I nod.

"She's hot" Santana points out.

"Do you want her number?" I ask laughing.

"No, I don't want it" she shakes her head. "There's obviously something wrong with her if you two are no longer together so I won't risk it" she shrugs.

"Good idea" I nod. "I know what you're thinking though, how did I pull a girl as hot as that" I say.

"You're hotter than her so I can see why you were together" she shrugs.

"Ok" I smile.

"I would quite like to know though, why do you still have a picture of her lying around if you want to move on from the past and not be reminded of her?" she asks curiously.

"Because it's a rather beautiful picture. I mean just look at the view from the mountains we're on and not to toot my own horn but I think I look pretty good in it" I shrug.

"You do look hot but surely you can't really appreciate that when you have someone you no longer love with their arms around you. Especially someone that looks rather possessive. I mean could she hold you any tighter? You don't look like you can breathe" Santana states.

"You're one to talk. Greg used to have his hands all over you" I point out.

"Yeah that repulses me every time I think about it. He was too much and it's certainly not a relationship I look back on with proudness" she tells me.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

*Thursday 27th February 2020*

Santana is holding a meeting today to discuss our next steps in the business. We have launched a lot of new lines recently so we're all discussing where we go from here and how we can make sure we keep maximising sales and keep her brand in the public eye. She is very talented so I see no reason as to why her products wouldn't be popular but we want to make sure they're still current and are people's first choice in children's clothing. I mean if I had kids, I would certainly dress them in SL Designs clothing because it is so cute. Also, the adult lines she has launched are very hot too.

"Uh…did I get the wrong time or something?" I ask as I walk into the empty conference room with only Santana inside. I'm either extremely late or really early.

"No. I just wanted you here early" Santana shrugs.

"Why?" I ask.

"Uh…because I need to talk to you about some of the finances" she tells me. I can see straight through her though so I know she's lying.

"Nice try" I say while leaning over to kiss her before taking a seat next to her. "You just wanted me here early so we could flirt and kiss."

"I actually didn't" she shrugs at me.

"According to the accounts, sales were fantastic last week" I tell Santana as I discreetly place my hand on her leg.

"That's what I like to hear" she smiles at me.

"Does it turn you on when I talk about sales figures and get all smart?" I ask before leaning in and kissing Santana's neck.

"Not really" she shakes her head at me. "I'm not that easy" she adds.

"I thought you would love it when I talked numbers and told you how successful you are because you make those numbers babe" I say as I continue kissing her neck.

"Not here" she sighs but still tilts her head back to allow me a larger area to kiss.

"We've got ages yet before the others arrive" I shrug.

"Not that long" she says as she finally pulls away from me moments later. "Also, I caught the 'babe' comment so let's not do that again" she shrugs.

"Ok" I shrug. I don't see how babe is so offensive but if she doesn't like it then I won't use it again on her. We talk for a little while before mostly everyone starts filling up the room and taking a seat.

"Ok, I see some empty chairs so clearly not everyone could be bothered to attend the meeting on time so I'm just going to start" Santana states. "First things first, Pierce will give you all a quick summary of the figures recently" she says.

"I will?" I ask shocked. One thing I hate a lot is not being prepared and I didn't know I was supposed to speak this afternoon so I'm not prepared.

"Yes, you will" she tells me.

"Uh…ok. I guess sales…I mean sales recently have been great. I don't know the exact figures offhand…actually maybe I do have…no actually I don't. Uh…I guess we could…"

"Fucking hell Piece, use your words properly and make some proper sentences, please" Santana sighs at me. I was really put on the spot right now so I'm nervous and I don't want to give my colleagues any false information or I'll look like an idiot. It's especially embarrassing as the accounts manager because I could be spouting out nonsense and they're all laughing at me thinking what kind of professional is this.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't prepare anything to speak today so I don't know the correct figures" I sigh. This is twice now recently that Santana has called me out on something and everyone else is sitting laughing at me making a fool out of myself.

"Just forget about it and I'll start the meeting" Santana states.

"Good idea" I nod. We all then go on to discuss the business and everyone gets a chance to give their opinion on different matters and ask any questions they need to.

"That is it for the meeting today so you can all go back to your desks and wrap up your work before heading home" Santana says. Everyone then gathers their things and prepares to leave the meeting. "Oh, not you Pierce" she says walking over to me.

"Uh…ok" I say confused.

"Brittany, I need you to stay late tonight, everyone else can go home like I say" Santana tells everyone.

"Ok" I nod. Everyone then eventually leaves and I walk over to my boss to help her gather all her paperwork together and tidy up a little. "Are we working?" I ask.

"I've been here since 6am this morning so what do you think?" she asks with a smirk.

"Do you want to come to my apartment for a change?" I ask. We're almost always at her house so it might be nice to go to mine for a change.

"Sure" Santana shrugs.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

*Friday 28th February 2020*

It's another hard day at work but what do you expect when I work for the talented Santana Lopez. Speaking of Santana, I haven't seen her all day but I'm assuming she's stuck in her office hard at work like the rest of us. I'm currently just taking a short break because I've worked hard all morning and I was starting to get really hungry. I've just finished my sandwich so now Jack and I are sitting at my desk together, just chatting about the weekend and if we have any plans. We're both just taking 5 minutes to hang out before we need to get back to work.

"Jack, how tall are you?" I ask him curiously as we both sit on our chairs with our feet up on my desk.

"Uh…6 foot" he shrugs at me.

"No, you're not" I say laughing. "I'm 5ft 8 and there's no way you're that much taller than me" I point out. With the way we're sitting then there's no way his legs look that much longer than mine.

"Ok, I'm 5ft 9" Jack mumbles.

"Why did you lie?" I ask curiously.

"Because it's not very tall for a male I would say so it's a little embarrassing. Plus, it doesn't help that an ex-girlfriend broke up with me for being shorter than her so my height is a bit of a sore point" he tells me honestly.

"I wouldn't worry about her" I say while comfortingly placing my hand on top of his. "You'll find the perfect girl for you soon enough who doesn't give a shit about your height" I assure him.

"I hope so" he sighs.

"You will because you're a good-looking guy if you don't mind me saying" I smirk. I'm not like into him but I can see a handsome man when there's one there. "Any straight girl would be lucky to have you so don't get too down about it. Like I say, you're not that small in height at all" I smile while squeezing his hand.

"Thanks Brittany, you're a good person and so kind" he smiles while gently bumping shoulders with me.

"Just have confidence because height is really nothing to be concerned about and as I say, you're a handsome young man so any girl is lucky to have you" I say honestly.

"You'll find you're lucky someone too I'm sure" Jack says, smiling at me.

"Hopefully" I smile back. "Hopefully soon at that as well" I add with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I doubt you'll be single for too much longer because you're not too bad looking either" he smirks at me.

"You better not be flirting with your boss" I tease. Of course, I know he isn't.

"I thought you couldn't be known as my boss because Santana is the overall…"

"Pierce! My office, right now!" Santana shouts causing Jack and I to both jump in fright. I have no fucking idea where she came from but boy, I nearly shit myself.

"Uh…ok" I say while quickly following her along the corridor to her office. She sounds kinda mad right now but I don't know why.

"Close the fucking door behind you" she states while throwing herself to her chair.

"Is everything ok?" I ask in concern.

"What's with you and Jack?" she asks me, in no mood to mess around.

"We were just taking a short break because we've been working all morning but I promise we were just about to go back to work" I say. I guess she's mad we were talking and not working.

"Are you sleeping with him?" she asks me.

"Pardon?" I say in surprise as I chuckle slightly at the absurdity of the question. Ok she's not mad about us taking a break but is mad about us being close.

"You heard" she states unamused.

"Santana, Jack is straight therefore he isn't going to be into me when I'm not your normal girl" I say while referencing my situation. "There's more chance of him being into you than there is being into me" I state. I'm not being insecure right now; I'm just saying he's not into penis.

"You two were all over each other and that's not appropriate at work" she tells me.

"Jack is single from what I hear but we're definitely not hooking up" I say while pulling up a chair and sitting next to Santana.

"I really don't care about your personal life and it's not that I want you all to myself, I just need to know who else you're fucking. From a safe point of view, I can't sleep with someone who is also sleeping with other people. It's gross and not appropriate because they could pass on STIs or STDs to you and therefore you infect me" she states.

"Just you" I say while kissing her.

"Ok, good" she smiles.

"Also, what could I possibly get with someone else when you give me everything already" I shrug.

"Back to work please" she tells me embarrassed.

"Is someone almost blushing?" I tease.

"Ethnic people don't blush" she states.

"Ok" I shrug. "Seriously though, we're not anything but fun as we keep saying but I won't be wandering off to someone else when you and I still have fun."

"Ok" she nods.

"You're looking particularly hot today. I haven't seen you at all today so for the first time seeing you, you've really took my breath away" I point out.

"I always look hot, not just today" Santana tells me confidently as she straddles my lap.

"Were you a little jealous of Jack moments ago?" I ask with a smirk.

"No, I really wasn't" she shrugs.

"I'm not going to lie. I sometimes get jealous when people flirt with you" I admit.

"Oh really" she asks, her interest suddenly peaking at this point.

"Yeah but seriously I know we keep saying it's just fun between us but when we do meet other people then we have to be respectful and not do anything until you and I are done. I like having fun with you but eventually I want to settle down so I'll tell you when I meet someone because I won't sleep with two people at the one time" I say honestly.

"Yeah, same" Santana nods. "Don't think I'm committed to you right now or something because if I meet someone tomorrow then you and I are over tomorrow" she tells me.

"Santana and committed are not two words I associate together" I smirk.

"That's not fair" she says seriously. "I'm a committed person when I need to be especially with my business so don't say I'm…"

"I'm just teasing, relax" I smile. "You have to know when I say things like that then I'm just messing because when have I ever been intentionally rude to you?" I ask.

"A couple of times when you started the job you were quite rude" she shrugs.

"Ok, in the heat of the moment I was quite rude at the beginning but now I'm not. Surely you can see how much I admire you for how successful you are" I say.

"This is getting way too deep for my liking. Can we just kiss and move on please?" she replies.

"With pleasure" I smile before leaning up to kiss her.

XXX

I was meeting Tina and Mercedes for drinks tonight but what they didn't tell me was that they invited Quinn along who then invited Santana. I knew Santana was hanging out with Quinn tonight but I don't think Quinn told her they wouldn't be alone so neither of us knew we would see each other again tonight.

"I'm just going to the bathroom. That wine has gone right through me" I say, standing up from the table.

"TMI Brittany" Santana frowns at me.

"I'm surprised you're actually listening to what I'm saying because you've been looking preoccupied all night since you and Quinn got here" I point out.

"Yeah, I agree because I saw you checking out the blonde at the bar" Quinn adds.

"I wasn't checking her out. I was checking what she was wearing. I mean I'm into my fashion and clearly, she is not. Did you see the dress she had paired with those shoes? Talk about mismatched" Santana says, clearly judging this poor innocent woman.

"Whatever you say" Quinn says, waving off the explanation because she doesn't believe Santana.

"Anyway ladies, I'm going to the bathroom" I say before heading off. I've just finished up and I'm washing my hands when Santana appears out of nowhere.

"Were you getting a little jealous out there of the ugly blonde with no fashion sense?" Santana asks with a smirk. Clearly, she is amused at the prospect of me being jealous of her wandering eye.

"I'm not jealous. There's nothing to be jealous about because you and I are nothing but fun. Your eye can wander to anyone you like and I won't care because we're just fun. Fun means nothing really so I'm not jealous because I just want fun" I reply.

"You are jealous" Santana says amused as she walks closer to me.

"I'm not" I state.

"Stop trying to sell me on the idea that we're just fun then. I know we're just fun so you're trying to assure yourself that's all we are by constantly saying the word fun" she tells me.

"Not true" I shrug.

"Speaking of fun, let's have fun and ditch the bores" she says as she wraps her arms around me.

"We can't just walk out of here and ditch our friends to go back to your place" I state.

"I know but we can be late back to the table and make out a little in here" she shrugs before pulling me even closer and kissing me. Just as I kiss back and the kiss intensifies, we hear a loud clearing of someone's throat. We stop kissing and turn around to find our 3 friends standing there.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Quinn asks shocked.

"Uh…nothing" I say while quickly pulling away from Santana.

"You two were just making out, weren't you?" Mercedes asks us.

"You need your eyes testing Mercedes because that's not what we were doing at all" I lie as we all make our way back to the table.

"We're not stupid" Tina states.

"Well, maybe you are a little bit" Santana shrugs and Tina glares back at her.

"Seriously, what is going on?" Quinn asks with a sigh.

"Nothing really. We just hook up from time to time and have fun. It really means nothing" I shrug.

"Exactly" Santana smiles at me.

"Are you two really that stupid" Quinn asks while looking between Santana and I.

"I'm smarter than you Quinn so no, I'm not stupid" Santana glares at her best friend.

"I meant with hooking up. It is so messed up because it can never be fun because someone always ends up with feelings" Quinn replies.

"I have to agree" Mercedes nods.

"It's wonderful you can all agree on something but we don't care what you have to say. We're just having fun" I state.

"What happens when one of you finds someone else?" Tina asks.

"Then we stop what we're doing and be with this someone else" I shrug and Santana nods in agreement.

"So, you're not going to see Santana with someone else and think, why can't that be me?" Mercedes asks me.

"Not at all" I state. "I know Santana would never want to be with me properly in a million years so I've always got that in the back of my mind so it doesn't allow me to look at this as anything but fun" I shrug.

"But you would be with her if you could?" Tina asks curiously.

"That's not what I meant Tina" I sigh. They're all twisting my words but at the end of the day, Santana and I will never be anything more than work colleagues and friends who hooked up before they settled down with other people.

"I'm not ready for a relationship yet and even if I were, it wouldn't be with Brittany" Santana shrugs.

"Oh thanks" I mutter sarcastically. That does sting a little bit because even though I don't want us to be together, it's still not nice hearing someone doesn't think you're good enough.

"I meant because we work together. It's not because you're not good enough because you are" she smiles at me.

"No, Santana" Quinn shakes her head at her best friend. "Just you saying that to Brittany makes me see that this won't end well. You don't usually say nice things like that to people so something is different between the two of you" she adds.

"Got off your high horse Quinn and leave us alone" Santana says annoyed. "Brittany and I are just having fun together because we are unlucky in love so don't act like you know better."

"What happens at work once one of you have developed feelings?" Mercedes asks. "You're going to see each other every day all day knowing you can't be together but you want to be" she points out.

"It won't happen because we won't develop feelings" I shrug.

"We know this is your decision ladies but you are being very nonchalant about this and we honestly don't think it will end well at all. Even if you don't think anything bad will happen, please take a step back and see what you're doing" Quinn says.

"We're saying this because we care, not because we're interfering. We want you both to be happy and not get hurt in any of this" Tina says honestly.

"It's none of your business so stay out of it. All of you" I say to the 3 of them.

"Come on Brittany, we're going to my place" Santana says while taking my hand as she pulls me off my chair. "We're not staying here with those 3 rude friends. We can have a drink at my place and have our own fun" she says while smirking at the others.

"Later, guys" I smirk and then leave with Santana.


A little bit of jealousy from both sides? Drama to come next chapter.