Secret Money

by Lokis_dark_queen

Summary:

Hannah Rei is broke Los Angeles college student, barely living from paycheck to paycheck. On one fateful, drunken night, she crosses paths with none other than Loki Laufeyson, one of the richest and most successful businessmen in the world. Lucky for her, he seems to have a soft spot for the girl and offers her a job at his company. What will happen when she realizes that Loki is about to cause her a world of pain, lust, and confusion?

Chapter 1: Fate is a Sadist

Summary:

Hannah and Loki are living out their separate lives, completely unaware of each other’s existence. That is until fate rudely throws her in front of his car, and Loki’s interest is immediately piqued.

Notes:

As of 4/19/2023 I rewrote and edited this first chapter so that the writing style would fit the story better. I feel so much better about it now, I was really cringy back in 2020 I’m sorry.

Hannah holds the pieces of mail between her fingers. Bills, and they are very overdue.

“I just don’t know if I can pay rent this month.” Hannah tried to explain to her roommate, “This tuition shit is killing me.”

“You’ll be fine girl, I can add some on to my rent.” Her roommate Hazel sympathized with her.

After getting accepted to her dream college in Los Angeles three years ago, Hannah foolishly thought that her life would be clearer. As if a road would be paved with her bright future ahead. That road turned out to have many cracks and potholes, hell, it probably wasn’t even paved.

“Are you sure? You did that last month.”

“It’s fine Hannah, trust me.”

Hannah slumped in her seat, she didn’t feel right having her best friend, who was also a student, help pay for her.

Growing up in the rundown suburbs of San Francisco, overdue bills and sleepless nights were her childhood. Her parents always wanted to get her out, but they were unable to do so financially. Thankfully, financial aid and small scholarships aided her in her academic career, she made sure to keep her grades high, knowing she would not be able to fully pay her way through. But that given money eventually ran out, and student loans piled high, taking every dollar she had.

Sometimes she would daydream about being rich. Fancy, tasteful meals, a beautiful house, and no worries. It was an impossible dream of course, she had to intention of being famous despite where she lives, surrounded by Hollywood stars and dreamers who wished to be so. Not to mention she also despised the upper class, most of which were unappreciative of their riches. They do say that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can ease a few worries.

The ringing of a bell woke her up from her blissful daydream.

“All right class, make sure to finish the assignment by Monday, it’ll be a big influence on your final grade for the year. Have a good weekend.”

Standing up from her seat, Hannah collected her books and headed for the door.

“Any plans tonight girls?” Her friend Anna came up to her and Hazel, the curly redhead wrapped her arms around the two girls. Making Hannah slightly squirm away, her friends knew that she didn’t enjoy being touched, some ignored that, however.

“I don’t have the cash for a fun Friday night, sorry.” Hannah said, rolling her eyes at the question and trying to get out of the situation.

“Well what if I told you it was free?” Anna raised her eyebrow in an attempt to convince her cautious friend.

“Do you have something in mind?” Hazel questioned.

“Maybe,” She winked, “I’ll tell you in the car.” she giggled and quickly left the lecture hall.

“I wonder what goes on in her head sometimes.” Hazel pondered.

“I guess we’ll find out in the car.”

 

“The suit is a custom tailored Versace piece with velvet lining.”

“Sounds a bit hot don’t you think? Especially with all of the lights and everything?”

“Well the ladies will certainly think you are smoking hot sir.” His stylist, Michael winked at him.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Loki sighed.

Being one of the richest and most successful men in the world, Loki Laufeyson caught plenty of attention on his own, without a luxury suit. Michael insisted however, claiming that he must look good for the tabloids and websites that would be singing his praises tomorrow, or praying for his downfall.

“You have been on the list for most eligible bachelors in the world for the past four years. Don’t you think it might be time to think about settling down?”

“All of the women who want me just want my name or my money, I have to be careful that whatever girl I bring home won’t poison my drink and take my wealth.”

“The perfect lady will come along soon sir, and she won’t poison your wine. Now, would you like the black tie or the green tie?”

“I don’t need relationship advice from my stylist; and green.”

“Good choice.”

“Do I really have to go to this meaningless gala? I donate enough to charity, I don’t need to go to a party for them to tell me to donate more.”

“It'll make you look good to the public eye, and you need to get out of the house for something other than work.”

“I need to finish things.” Loki tried to argue.

“Listen, just go there, get your picture taken, make a speech, and then leave”

“It’s not that easy, I’m afraid.”

“It never is, is it?”

 

“So what is the plan you have for tonight?” Hannah asked her giddy friend.

“Well, there is a gala thing tonight for all those rich people who claim they donate to charity. It’s on Sunset Boulevard and some big names are gonna be there.”

“What about it? It’s not like we can get in or anything.” Hannah states, wondering what Anna had in mind.

“That’s why we will sneak in, then we can interview some of the celebs and get a good final grade for our assignment.”

“Do you have any idea how many people try to sneak into those things? It’s impossible!” Hannah exclaimed, “Why can’t we just interview a local store owner or someone like that for our assignment?”

“C’mon Hannah, this is our final assignment for the year, then it’s summer break! Don’t you want it to be good?” She pressures Hannah.

“Yes, but we don’t have to sneak into a heavily secured event to get a good grade!”

“Don’t be such a bummer!”

“Hey!” Hazel interrupted the girls’ bantering, attempting to be the voice of reason, “If she doesn’t want to do it she doesn’t have to, this whole situation is a bit risky anyway.”

“But it’ll be fun! And it will make a good story either way.” Anna gives Hannah a playful slap on the shoulder, irking the irritated girl even more.

“Fine” Hannah reluctantly agreed, clenching her jaw in regret of what she just said.

The ride to the gala was long due to the infamous traffic. Hannah was quiet most of the ride, staring out of the window, looking at the flamboyant city outside. Every once in a while she would glance at her friends in the front seat while questioning her life choices.

On the way to the gala the girls made a stop at Hannah and Hazel’s shared apartment to pick up some nicer clothes for the gala. Their intention was to blend in as interviewers, all the girls decided to go for their little black dresses in the closet. None of them owned anything close to professional, or nice for that matter. Hannah only had an old pair of flats for her dress shoes, hoping nobody would notice the seams beginning to tear at the heel.

“We’re here!” Anna said excitedly as she shut off the car.

“The gala is four blocks up the street!” Hannah pointed out.

“Oh, I’m sorry we couldn’t find a perfect parking spot in downtown LA on a Friday while a huge event is going on, princess.” Anna mocks her while fixing her mascara in the rear view mirror, rolling her eyes at Hannah as she did so.

“We’re wearing our clubbing dresses! We don’t fit in anyway!”

“We’re already late! Let’s go” Hazel yelled to interrupt the argument that was about to take place. The girls quickly rushed out of the car and made their way up to the venue.

 

Loki’s limousine slowly drove up to the red carpet where he will be making his entrance. He leaned back in the plush leather seat, one leg draped over the other with his arm resting on the back of the seat. The flash of the paparazzi cameras were bright, even with the heavily tinted windows separating them. Loki sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“You don’t seem too happy about all of this,” his assistant Brain noticed as he sat across from him in the limo.

“This is all so unnecessary, I give my money to these people and they blow it on a lavish party? I’d rather be elsewhere using my time for something important.”

“This is important. The fact that you are here will improve your image in the media.” Brian attempted to reason with his boss.

“Who cares above what they think of me?” Loki says as he straightens his emerald green tie that he chose earlier.

“I do-“

“We have arrived,” the driver announced.

“Time to shine.” Brian said as he exited the luxury car and opened the door for his boss.

As soon as Loki stepped out he was immediately met with the flashing cameras and reporters with microphones in his face.

“Mr. Laufeyson, how does it feel to be here tonight representing your company?” A reporter asked as she put a microphone to his mouth.

Slightly annoyed at her unmannerly actions he answered her question nevertheless, “It feels great to be here representing Laufeyson industries and all who work with me. We take our charity work very seriously.”

‘You were just bitching about being here in the car.’ Brian kept himself from rolling his eyes as he recalled their conversation from only a minute ago.

 

“Ugh! I told you we were late!” Anna exclaimed while jogging towards the event, notebook and small camera in hand.

The girls followed her to the crowd of people outside trying to get a glimpse of the gala. Spotlights shone up at the sky to announce the presence of wealth and power as those beneath them waited outside, hoping to get a taste of the good life.

“There is no way we can get in there.” Hannah expressed her doubt as she tried to see over the crowd on her tiptoes, her shoe slipping off of her heel as she did so.

“I didn’t know that there would be so many people here!” Anna attempts to make a poorly executed excuse.

“It’s a celebrity event in Hollywood, of course there is a crowd waiting outside!” Hannah raises her voice in slight anger and speaks over the voices around her.

While darting their eyes around to find a possible way of entry, Hannah spots a news crew setting up their equipment outside of the side door of the venue.

“Maybe we could try to sneak in with them.” She subtly points to the crew over her shoulder.

“Well, that is certainly an idea.” Hazel states sarcastically with sarcasm and doubt.

“And it's the only one we have right now so let’s go!” Anna immediately makes her way over to them as Hazel and Hannah follow closely behind.

There were a lot of people with the news crew, about 20 including reporters, camera men, and tech people. The girls blended in with them posing as interviewers, seemingly going unnoticed by those around them. Everyone was too focused on whatever task they were currently doing to notice.

The group walked over to the back entrance of the building and almost made it in until one of the reporters finally noticed them. It was only a matter of time before one did so anyway.

“Excuse me, are you girls with us?” She asks, eyes scanning the three girls in front of her intensely.

Shit.

“Yes!” Anna, who was clearly nervous, spoke up, “Were journalists from the local college here for an assignment.”

“No one told me we would have students with us, where are your badges?” She questioned as she showed her badge attached to the lanyard around her neck.

“Um, we forgot them.” She stumbled over her poor excuse.

“Nice try, now get out!” She said as security escorted the disappointed girls to the front of the crowd.

“Don’t bother trying to come back, or else you girls will be leaving in handcuffs.” The large security man warned.

“Sorry Anna, maybe next time.” Hazel said with a sigh as she patted her disappointed friend on the back.

“Ugh this is so stupid! Imagine the grade we could get if we had gotten in there!” She stomped her heel onto the cement in a childish manner. Her immaturity caused Hannah to roll her eyes.

“It’s fine Anna, let's go interview the lady at the nail salon.” Hannah suggested as she attempted to pull her upset friend away from the crowd, knowing she would most likely be making a scene soon.

Anna pulled away and yelled, “Fuck you! You caviar eating sons of bitches!”

“Anna!”

The crowd laughed at her as she ranted about the upper class and chanted phrases such as “eat the rich” and “down with the patriarchy.” Some of the crowd even joined her, embarrassingly enough for Hannah, who facepalmed with annoyance. Anna always had to be the center of attention, even around celebrities.

Hazel joined the chant, nudging Hannah along to do so as well. Hannah ignored her as she looked up at the event infront of her. She could recognise some of the faces there, she didn’t care much for them however, not even the raven haired man in the dark suit who was looking over the shoulder of the reporter he was currently speaking with, staring at the worked up crowd.

Loki smirked in amusement at their chants, he thought they were entertaining.

“Is it bad that I agree with them?” We whispered to his assistant standing next to him.

“Oh stop it!” Brian snapped back, hoping the reporter didn’t hear his boss’ remark.

The crowd wasn’t too far from the event, they were held back by barricades and security, but they could still be seen by Loki. Among the rowdy crowd he spotted a woman who was up front, examining the situation around her; it seemed like she wasn’t too interested in being there either. She wore a short, black dress that had obviously seen a few drunken nights with the almost tattered condition it was in. She looked at her friend before looking back at the venue, unintentionally making eye contact with Loki as she did so.

“Quite the crowd outside.” The interviewer pointed out.

“Yes, quite.” Loki’s eyes linger on the girl for a little longer, even after the short lived eye contact was over.

Eventually Hannah and her friends were kicked off the premises. She was just happy to finally be out of there, away from the loud and sweaty crowd. The girls decided to head to one of the many bars in the city.

“I can’t believe how much they charge for drinks here!” Hannah exclaimed as she looked at the drink menu above the bar.

“It’s all on me girls,” Anna said as she gave the bartender her card and he made three shots of tequila for the girls, “drink up!”

One shot became two, then three, then she forgot why she was drinking in the first place. Anna was once again dancing around in a desperate attempt to gain attention from the men around her, which she was unfortunately succeeding at. Hazel was in the bathroom, the tequila most likely coming back to haunt her.

Hannah stumbled outside to try to get some fresh air on the crowded sidewalk outside of the bar. She stumbled down the sidewalk, obviously intoxicated to everyone around her. She has no idea what overcame her, she normally would never leave her friends while she was in such a state. But they didn’t seem to care too much right now.

She stopped and tried to steady herself on a light pole, the ground spun beneath her as she poorly attempted to walk straight. After a few seconds she felt collected enough and decided to go back to the bar and borrow Hazel’s phone to get a ride home. Just as she turned around, she accidentally stumbled into a man, causing her to accidentally fall against him.

“Watch it!” He said pushing her off of him and into oncoming traffic on the street next to her. Hannah didn’t even have time to process what was happening before headlights blinded her. She saw white before everything went dark.

The car that was heading towards her thankfully stopped but she still passed out from the alcohol, mixed with fear.

 

Hannah didn’t wake up until morning, her vision was blurry as she sat up from the bed, shielding her eyes from the sliver of light that came through the curtains.

The more she came to, the more she realized that she was not in her apartment. She looked down and saw that she was still in her dress from last night, her shoes were placed neatly by the bed. Her hands splayed out on the smooth, warm sheets beneath her, she looked down to investigate.

“Is this silk?”

Notes:

A little cliffhanger there for you guys. I can’t wait for you all to witness this journey that is about to take place. And it’s gonna burn nice and slow to keep y’all on the edge.

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 2: New Places and Famous Faces

Summary:

Hannah wakes up and finds herself surrounded by unfamiliar luxury. Just who helped her last night?

Notes:

I re-edited this chapter in April of 2023 because it was an absolute mess and I apologize.

Hannah inspected the room closely as she sat up in the soft bed. Long curtains covered what seemed to be floor to ceiling windows made the room dark. The more she turned her head, the more her headache became prominent. She mentally cursed Anna and her offer for free drinks. But, at the same time, Hannah knew she had no self control.

Her weary eyes landed on a chair that sat in the corner of the room, her purse placed neatly on the seat. Heart racing, she stumbled over to see if her belongings were still in there.

‘I doubt they’d take anything with the way this bedroom looks’, she thought to herself.

Sure enough, her possessions remained. That didn’t stop her from being afraid, however. She had no idea who picked her up, was it a good samaritan? Or someone with darker intentions? She didn’t feel weird, like she had been drugged or anything, just very hungover and sore from her embarrassing tumble.

Looking around the room again, she noticed two doors. When she opened the one that was only a few feet away from the bed she found a spotless bathroom that looked as if it was rarely used. She stepped in, glancing at herself in the mirror. She had small scrapes on her knees and the elbow that she fell on, which was starting to hurt like a bitch. One small cut flawed her forehead, it stung when she attempted to touch it.

‘How did this even happen? Why did I leave the bar? Where am I?’ Were some of the many questions that were floating in her head at the moment.

She splashed some cold water on her face, trying her best to freshen up before facing her savior. Whoever they may be. By the look of the room that she resided in, they were obviously well off.

When she left the bathroom she approached the other door in the room. The exit, her hand shook as it reached for the handle. On the other side of the door she found an open hallway with floor to ceiling windows. Looking around there are paintings on the walls by the different doors of the rooms. She looked down the windows on her left and saw a small courtyard, it was laid with stone and had a singular tree in the middle with a couple of benches surrounding it. Outside there were more palm trees than she could count, some were large and towered over the fancy house. There were also giant hedges to ensure privacy.

After walking some more she found a staircase leading downstairs. On one side of the stairs there was a slab of black marble wall, on the other was the cozy courtyard.

Walking downstairs she found an open living room. There were couches that could accompany more people than Hannah even knew. Across from the seating there was a large fireplace with a flatscreen TV above it.

She then drew her attention outside and,

‘Holy shit! Is that the pool?’ She stood in awe, looking at the backyard. The pool had little fountains pouring water into it and a waterfall wall that ran behind it. It also included a swim up bar and a large hot tub.

“Impressive isn’t it?” Hannah jumped as she heard a female voice.

“Sorry dear, I didn't mean to startle you.” a woman in the kitchen said.

“Is this your place?” Hannah questioned the older woman.

“If only,” She scoffed, “Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Jenny, the maid. I just keep the place clean and pretty. May I ask who you are?”

“I’m Hannah, Hannah Rei.” She introduced herself, fidgeting with the neckline of her dress as she spoke, clearly still uneasy.

“It’s nice to meet you Hannah. The boss isn’t the type to bring girls home, but I guess this situation is a bit different” She winked.

Hannah’s face contorted in confusion and slight disgust at her words, “Who is your boss? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Go down that way past the bookshelf” Jenny pointed to the other side of the house, “And the black double doors to the right lead to his office, knock before you enter and meet him yourself. He’s very worried about you.” She grinned.

“Okay, thank you” Hannah smiled at the maid.

Listening to her directions Hannah ended up in front of the black doors. She took a deep breath and knocked, unbeknownst to who was on the other side of the door.

 

“Why the hell did you leave early?” Brian asked his boss in frustration.

“Because, I didn’t want to be there any longer than I had to” Loki gave his reason as he looked out the window of the limousine. “I made my speech, then I made my exit.”

“This won’t look good to the press.” Brian worried.

“They don’t know my life, maybe I had something at home that I had to get back to.”

“But you didn’t! You only left because, like a whining child, you complained about being there.”

“Don’t call me a child Brian, remember who gives you your paychecks.”

“I know, but,” The assistant paused, taking a deep breath, “It is my job to keep you in check. If I didn’t at least try to do my job there would be no point in paying me.”

“I guess that’s true.” Loki mumbled, not in the mood for an argument.

The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds before it was broken by the screeching of brakes and the two men being thrown forward in their seats.

“Hey! What the hell happened?” Brian yelled at the driver.

“Sorry sir, but a woman fell in front of the vehicle.” The driver said before exiting the limo.

Loki was about to get out as well. until Brian stopped him.

“Mr. Laufeyson, you should stay here.” He tried to tell his boss.

“Some poor woman could be hurt and you’re making me stay in the car?” Loki didn’t even listen to his assistant and got out of the expensive car.

Both of the men went around to the front of the limousine to find the woman on the asphalt, the driver trying to wake her up with no success.

After a good look at her, Loki recognized her hair and outfit.

‘The woman from the crowd.’ He thought to himself as he came to the realization

Cars drove around the scene, honking in anger.

“Damn people don’t care about anyone but themselves!” Brian exclaimed.

“Should we call 9-1-1 or drive her to the hospital?” The driver asked as he pulled out his phone.

“We can take her back to my house.” The words came out of Loki’s mouth before he could even think about what he was saying.

“Wait, what?” Brian was surprised by his boss’s offer. “What if she’s faking it? You know, pretending to be hit by a limo is a great way to get money out of someone.”

“From what little I saw she was accidentally pushed into the road by someone on the sidewalk, she was clearly intoxicated.” The driver spoke up.

“She’s not injured, maybe some small scrapes and a bruise but not bad enough to head to the hospital. All they would do is have her sober up and overcharge her for nothing, you know how our stupid healthcare system is” Loki made his reason clear and then he and Brian helped carry the girl to the limo.

“Jenny will take good care of her.”

 

With a deep breath, Hannah knocked twice on the door. After a few seconds of silence, she heard a voice.

“Come in.”

The voice belonged to a man, clearly British by the sound of his accent. The voice, deep and mysterious, sent a small shiver up Hannah’s spine.

After some hesitation she opened the door and saw him.

“You... you’re-“ she stood in shock at the man in front of her.

“I’m Loki Laufeyson, it seems you know me” He said with a smirk on his face, rising out of his office chair to greet her.

Hannah stood at the door, frozen in place. She recalled the few fleeting seconds of eye contact from last night. He didn’t remember her, did he?

“Are you alright dear? You took quite the fall in front of my car last night. Do you need any medical attention?” Loki asks in concern with his hand over his heart.

“Um... no I don’t think so.” She hesitates, hungover and confused.

“Well, that’s good.” He smiles, “May I ask your name dear?”

“Hannah.”

“It’s nice to meet you Hannah.” Loki took the shocked girl’s hand and kissed it lightly. “Here, take a seat” He said while leading her to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Hannah’s face flushed at his actions. But, she calmed down as he had her take a seat.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You look a bit shaken up.” He showed his concern, sitting down on his chair on the opposite side.

Hannah took a deep breath and answered his question “I’m fine, it’s just…” She paused and looked around the room, “all so much.”

“I didn’t mean to startle you dear, I just wanted to make sure that you would be ok.”

“Thank you very much for your hospitality, Mr. Laufeyson.” She gave her best attempt at a genuine smile in the situation.

“You can call me Loki.”

“Thank you… Loki.”

“It’s no problem, Hannah.” He said with a sweet and somewhat cocky smile.

Hannah still had trouble looking him in the eye, he was Loki Laufeyson, one of the most successful businessmen in the world after all. She was in his house, alone with him in his office. Raw power seemed to surround his tall frame as he sat opposite of her.

She fidgeted with the hem of her dress and looked out the window, where she could see his front yard and the gates to the property. However, the sunlight outside reminded her of the splitting headache she still had. She winced from the pain and covered her eyes from the light.

“Hangover huh?” He asked with a smile and Hannah nodded “I think I have something for that.” He said as he reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out a bottle of pain relievers. She let out a happy sigh as he did so.

He then stood and walked over to the water cooler in the other corner of the office.

‘Ugh, it’s like he glides with those long legs of his.’ She rolled her eyes at her thought.

“Here you go.” He set a cup of water next to the pills in front of her.

He then sat down and went through some things on his computer.

Hannah never really liked the rich, envying them and their lifestyle from a young age. She always thought it wasn’t fair that some people had everything while others had nothing. She did understand that some of these wealthy people worked hard for what they have though, some even would spend time away from their families to make as much as they can. Hannah just didn’t appreciate those who are famous and rich for no reason or had it passed down from earlier generations.

She knows that Mr. Laufeyson is a self made man, she didn’t know a lot about his life but she did know that he started his business from the ground up and built it into the empire that it is today. However, she has heard that he is stubborn and likes to get his way. According to those who have been around him, being against him is one of the worst positions a person could be in.

But here he was, offering up his beautiful house to her, checking on her and making sure she was ok.

“I don’t mean to be a burden, I should be on my way.” She said, standing up from the surprisingly comfortable chair.

“Trust me dear, you aren’t being a burden. But if you must be on your way I won’t stop you.” He said, getting up from his seat as well.

“Yea, I have to work later so I need to get back home.” She states, subtly trying to prolong the conversation.

Hannah didn’t really want to leave, but could you blame her? She was in a multi-million dollar mansion and she would have to return to her one bedroom apartment that she shared with her roommate and the occasional roaches.

“Alright then, I will see you to the car, then my assistant will drive you home.”

“Oh, ok.” She sounded slightly disappointed as he opened the office door for her before stepping out together.

She had no idea what she was disappointed about. She was grateful to Loki, as well as slightly suspicious. He was certainly nicer than all the journalists and articles made him out to be. Who was lying here? Was Loki being fake? Or did no one truly know him?

Loki walked with her to the car out front, she waved bye to Jenny before she exited the house, thanking her for her hospitality as she did so.

“Hannah, this is my assistant Brian.” He introduced Hannah to the man standing by the obviously expensive car.

“Hi, nice to finally meet you while you’re conscious.” Brian shook her hand.

“Brian!” Loki didn’t find his joke very funny as he scolded Brian with a dirty look.

Hannah, thankfully, found humor in his joke. “It’s nice to meet you too.” She said with a giggle.

“Well, you should be off.” Loki said, opening the car door for her.

“Thanks again for your kindness, this was much better than a hospital.” She started to loosen up to the powerful man.

“Anytime dear.” He stopped her before she got in the car, “And one more thing!” He pulled a business card out of his pocket. “If you need anything, and I mean anything, this is my business number, my personal number, and I put Brian’s number on there as well. Just call.” His dexterous fingers slipped her the card as he gave her a wink, she barely had any time to be taken back by his slightly flirtatious action before he closed the door for her.

Brian started the car and pulled out of the driveway. Hannah stared out the window, admiring the other mansions in Loki’s neighborhood. This all felt like a dream, she never suspected she would be anywhere near these places yesterday. She felt a slight dread, like she may never see it again.

“So, how are you doing?” Brian asked, breaking the silence.

“Much better. Thank you for asking.” She responds with shyness in her voice.

“I’m glad, we were very worried.”

“Well it’s a bit embarrassing, I’m not normally like that but my friend offered to pay for the drinks and I guess I got a bit carried away.” She recalled the fuzzy memories of last night with a wince.

“It’s alright, you should be living your life and having fun at your age.”

“Yea, I guess.” Hannah sighs before staring back out the window. The city came into view as they left the gated neighborhood behind.

‘I would love to live my life and have fun if it wasn’t for student debt, rent, and the constant uncertainty that I might end up living on the streets.’ Hannah thought to herself as the familiar dreadful feeling crawled under her skin.

Brian asked for her address as they waited to turn onto the highway. When she gave it to him he raised his eyebrow in slight shock and concern.

“That’s a sketchy part of the city, do you really live there?” He asks.

“Well yea, it was the cheapest apartment building that was close to my college.” She states nonchalantly.

“Okay then.” He said before turning onto the highway and heading in her suggested direction.
The rest of the car ride was silent, Hannah knew he was judging her and looking down on her. But what was she supposed to do? It was either here or a run down house in San Francisco with her parents. Either way she would be struggling, her childhood home became somewhat of a familiar and nostalgic hell to her.

Brian eventually found his way to the parking lot of the apartment building. Hannah opened the car door, about to leave this whole strange situation behind, or so she thought. After she got out Brian spoke up once more.

“Mr. Laufeyson was serious when he said to call us if you need anything.” He reminded her.

“I would call but,” she paused and looked at him, “I don’t have a phone, sorry. Thank you though.” She closed the door to the car and walked away. The sound of tires on pavement rang in her ears as she listened to him drive away with her back turned.

‘It is best to just leave it all behind, to leave him behind.’ The solemn thought gave her a slight pain. The slight taste of a better life was gone, now it was time to jump back into reality.

Opening up the door to her apartment, she was greeted by her worried roommate who came running straight for her.

“Oh my god! Where have you been? We were worried sick about you!” She yelled with tears forming in her eyes as she pulled Hannah into a bone crushing hug.

“It’s ok, I’m alright, can you let me go please.” She panted as Hazel still held on tight to her.

“Oh sorry, where were you?”

‘Just hanging out at a multi-millionaire’s house, no big deal.’ She sarcastically thought to herself.

“Um… I stayed with a girl from school.” She lied.

“Who?” Hazel interrogated.

“I don’t know her that well, she just recognized me and brought me to her place and I slept on her couch.” Hannah prayed that her concerned roommate wouldn’t ask anymore questions.

“Alright, at least I know you’re safe now.”

“Oh my god! I have to get ready for work.” Hannah realized in a panic when she saw the time.

After a quick, cold, shower Hannah put on her waitress uniform and headed out with Hazel driving her.

Hannah waited tables at a 50’s themed diner downtown, it wasn’t the best pay but they were the only place that took her immediately that wasn’t a strip club or Hooters.

Her shifts were tiring, it wouldn’t be so bad if her boss wasn’t he dick that he is.

“You’re late!” He fumed at her as she walked into the break room and put her stuff down.

“By like a minute. Calm down!” She tried to tell him.

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! Pull this bullshit again and you’re fired!” He threatened with a drunken slur.

“Fine. I won’t be late again.”

‘Maybe Hooters wasn’t so bad after all.’ She thought to herself, rolling her eyes when her boss left the room.

After a long night of getting yelled at by her boss and having to deal with ignorant customers, Hannah cleaned up and got ready to go home. As she was going to put her tips in her wallet she noticed two things. The first was that half of her tips had gone missing and the second was that her wallet was gone as well.

She was going to ask her boss until she found him counting money, her money, at his desk.

“Hey! Those are my tips!” She yelled.

“Boo-hoo babe. I own the building, I get half of the money.” He said while lighting a cigarette.

“That’s not how it works! Those are my tips! I need them to pay my rent this month!” She tried to gain some nonexistent sympathy.

“Too bad, babe.” His words made her blood boil.

“Don’t call me babe! Now give me my money and I quit!”

“Finders keepers, nice knowing ya, and I’m sure I’ll see you dancing on a pole on Sunset.” He winked perversely.

Hannah had enough at this point and grabbed his bottle of beer before pouring it on him. She landed a hard kick to his groin, grabbed her money and ran out the door. The bus was thankfully at the nearest bus stop and she hopped on before it closed its doors.

"Great, now I don’t have a job, I also don’t have a wallet," She thought to herself, throwing her head back in annoyance.

Her tips were in her jar, she looked through her bag and saw that everything was untouched. Did she even have the wallet at work? After a few fleeting seconds of panic, she came to a realization.

‘Shit! I left my wallet at Loki’s place!’

Notes:

Fun fact! I actually looked at a real house in Beverly Hills online to inspire Loki’s mansion.

2023 Update: I am going to look through the next few chapters for mistakes. I really hope I got better after this one *cries*.

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 3: We Meet Again

Summary:

Hannah goes back to Loki to get her wallet and he gives her an interesting offer

After a long bus ride, Hannah got off at her stop and sulked towards her apartment building.

‘Well fuck, I’m out of a job and a wallet’ she sighed, unlocking her door.

She entered her room and quickly changed out of her diner uniform that she would no longer be needing. She was clueless to if she should call the cops on her now former boss, would they believe her or even show up in the first place?

As for her wallet, she would have to contact Loki to get it back.

‘How do I ask a billionaire for my $5 wallet back?’ She asked herself, ‘I don’t even have a phone to call him’

She pulled the business card that he gave her out of her purse.

‘I’ll just have to borrow Hazel’s phone and call him in the morning I guess’.

————

“I can’t believe you kept it” Brian exclaimed as he watched his boss inspect Hanna’s wallet.

“Just look at it! It has Velcro! And it’s falling apart!”

“But it’s her’s, it has her stuff in it!”

“As yes two pennies and an expired Baskin Robins coupon, not even a driver’s license! Does this woman even have a dollar to her name?” Loki proclaimed.

“Well she does live in the lower end of town. She’s a college student after all, they normally aren’t rich. But that’s besides the point why did you steal her wallet?”

“Because, Brian. She will notice that it’s gone and she’ll have to contact us to get it back, and I didn’t steal it I just forgot to tell her that it fell out of her bag.”

“Whatever you say, just make sure that it is returned to her as soon as possible”

“Actually” Loki pondered and put the wallet aside on his desk. “I’m feeling rather generous, I’ll give her back the few things that are In her wallet, but give her a new wallet instead”

“Why can’t you just give back the damn wallet?” Brian sighed.

“It’s the least I can do for her”

“Other than taking her back to your mansion in Beverly Hills after she almost got hit by your limo?”

“Yes”
———-

After a restless night of little sleep, Hannah arose from her bed to ask her roommate for a favor.

“Morning Hazel” Hannah greeted as she treaded to the cramped kitchen.

“Good Morning Hannah! Is everything alright?”

“I don’t know. Shit kind of hit the fan last night. Can I borrow your phone?”

“Sure, do you need to call your parents again?” Hazel asked.

“Well, no” Hannah responded.

She didn’t want to tell Hazel that she was calling a multi-millionaire to ask for her wallet back but she didn’t want to lie either.

“I just need to take care of something” Hannah made up an excuse.

“Oh, ok. Just don’t set up a drug deal or anything, ok?”

“Bold of you to assume I have money for drugs”

Hazel giggled as she handed Hannah her phone. Hannah excused herself and stepped out into the hall.

After taking Mr. Laufeyson’s card out of her back pocket she pondered if she should call his work or personal number.

‘It is a personal matter, but I also don’t want to bother him if he’s busy’ she thought to herself.

She decided to call his office number.

‘So much goes on in his life I doubt he remembers me anyway’

After dialing the number on the front of the card, a familiar voice was heard on the other line.

“Laufeyson Enterprises, this is Brian”

“Oh um, hi Brian this is Hannah Rei, you may not remember me but I kinda stayed over a couple nights ago and I was just wondering if my wallet was still at the house?”

“Yes, hold on” Was all Hannah heard before she was being transferred to another line.

‘Who the hell is he transferring me to? Doesn’t he report straight to his boss?’

Hannah question was quickly answered when a smooth voice came through on the other side.

“Hello?”

‘Loki!’ Hannah thought to herself as she panicked.

“Oh hello Mr. Laufeyson, this is Hannah Rei and I was wondering if my wallet is at your place?”

“I thought I gave you my personal number?”

“Well yes but I didn’t want to bother you in case if you were busy”

“Trust me dear, I’m never as busy as my assistant”

“Oh ok. So about the wallet?”

“Yes it’s here, why don’t you come and get it”

“I would but I don’t have a car, or a license for that matter”

“That’s fine I’ll have Brian pick you up later”

“Can’t he just bring the wallet with him?”

“He is at the office, it would be no problem at all for him to swing by and pick you up, he’ll be there around 3:00”

“But-“

“See you then Ms. Rei”

Then just like that he hung up the phone.

Hannah entered the apartment after the strange phone call.

“So what was all that about?” Hazel questioned her.

“Oh nothing, I gotta be somewhere later so I’ll be leaving at three”

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing!”

“Well whatever it is, it better have to do with the interview assignment that is due tomorrow”

‘Shit’ “Um yea maybe”

“Good! Any idea on who you’re interviewing?”

“Well...”

‘Could I interview Mr. Laufeyson?’ Hannah thought to herself. ‘Would he mind? I have no one else.’

“Just someone. Don’t worry the assignment will be done and then we get to be done with school for the summer!”

“I know right!” Hazel exclaimed, “We should totally make some plans!”

“Well I can’t”

“Why?”

“I need to find another job, and I’ll probably have to work two jobs”

“Hannah”, her friend paused, “what happened last night?”

“I got fired from the diner, the asshole owner tried to steal my tips”

“Oh my god! That’s terrible! are you alright? Let’s go sit down.” Hazel led Hannah to the couch.

Hannah eyes began to water, as much as she didn’t want to cry, she could feel the floodgates begin to open.

“I just don’t know how much longer I can make it here. I really don’t want to have to move back in with my parents but I may not have a choice if I can’t find a job in the next two weeks.” Tears began to run down Hannah’s flushed cheeks.

“Hey it’s ok” Hazel comforted her, “I can help you out. I don’t want you to leave either”

“No Hazel it wouldn’t be right, you’re just a working student as well. I don’t want to put any stress on you”

“It’s ok i-“

“But it’s just not right!”

“Whatever you think is best” Hazel muttered.

“I’m sorry” Hannah wiped her eyes.

“It’s not your fault”

The two girls gave each other a quick hug before Hannah got a glimpse of the clock.

“I need to get ready to go” She said as she stood up from the couch.

“Okay, be safe.”

“I will, thank you Hazie” Hannah winked before she left for the bathroom to straighten herself up.

After wiping off her smeared mascara and applying a fresh layer of makeup, Hannah made her way towards the door exactly at 3:00pm.

When she stepped outside she saw a luxury car sitting in the parking lot, a man with short blonde hair and sunglasses standing by the drivers side door.

“Hello again Ms. Rei.” Brian smiled at her.

“Hi. And you can call me Hannah by the way” Hannah gripped her purse tighter.

“No need. Shall we?” He asked as he opened the door for her.

“Yes”

The ride to the Laufeyson mansion was a quiet one. Hannah made herself comfortable in the car’s leather seats. The entire car smelled of leather and wealth.

The car pulled through the large iron gates of Mr. Laufeyson’s driveway and pulled up next to the path that led to the front door.

Brain opened the door far Hannah. The girl stepped out and examined the house, taking in the fact that she was here again.

Brain also opened the front door for Hannah, she thanked him and walked in.

Seeing the inside of the grand house for a second time Hannah noticed more things, accents on the wall, patterns on the floor. Being there was like a dream for her. And it was certainly a dream that she was going to savor.

“He’s in his office, as usual” Brain walked passed her and she followed him to the office.

Brian knocked twice on the door. Hannah heard a faint “Come in” before Brian opened the door for her.

“Go ahead”

Hannah walked in and was greeted by Mr. Laufeyson who was looking out the window.

“I saw you pull up” He spoke with his back to her “Take a seat”

‘All this for a wallet’ Hannah thought as she sat down In front of his desk.

“How have you been?” Mr. Laufeyson asked as he walked to the desk, stopping to pour her a glass of water.

“Good. Thank you” She answered and took the water that he offered her.

“I heard you were looking for something”

“Yes my wallet”

“Hm, yes”

Mr. Laufeyson never sat in his chair, he just gripped the back of it as he slightly leaned down to speak to her. Hannah felt inferior in his presence, as if he were speaking down to her like a king on his throne to the lowly peasant below.

He opened one of his desk drawers and brought out a black designer wallet and placed it in front of her.

“Um this isn’t mine sir” Hannah took one look at the wallet and knew that she did not own that.

“Is it not? it has your things in it.”

Hannah opened the wallet and saw that her belongings were in there, along with some cash. She immediately dropped the wallet on the desk.

“Sir I can’t-“

“Don’t worry about it dear” he pushed the wallet back in her direction.

“It’s just, why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you giving me a new wallet with cash in it? I don’t understand”

“Well for starters.” He paused and sat in his leather bound office chair. “Your other wallet was atrocious dear it clearly needed to be replaced. And as for the cash, I’d just thought I’d throw some in there. I heard you were a college student so I thought that you would need it”

“But-“ Hannah tried to speak but was quickly cut off by Mr. Laufeyson.

“Listen, you’re not going to change my mind on this so just take it”

“Ok. Thank you!” Hannah tried not to seem to excited when in reality she was over the moon with glee.

“Of course dear. Anything else you need?”

“Well yes actually” Hannah remembered her assignment.

“And what would that be?”

“Well” Hannah paused for a second to think. “I’m in college for journalism and I need to do an interview with someone who has made some type of living for themselves. So I hope it wouldn’t be too much trouble if I were to ask you a few questions”

“Not at all dear. Ask away”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me” Hannah began to gain her confidence as she grabbed her notepad from her bag.

“And who will this be shared with?”

“Just my professor. It’s our big end of year assignment.” Hannah explained.

“Alright then”

“Ok first question, what is one of the biggest influences that you had to start your business?”

“Well, I’ve known that I want to be my own boss at a young age, I’ve always been independent. So I would say that my own ambition is my biggest influence. If that is an acceptable answer.”

“Yep! It’s awesome”

The business gave a slight chuckle to the girl’s peppiness.

“Ok, next. What was one of the hardest challenges that you had to face when starting?”

“Well, this whole business, Hollywood, everything is pretty much one big social ladder. Some people fall on their way up, others are carried to the top with their advantages. Climbing the ladder by yourself is tiring, especially when others are trying to push you off. Gaining the respect of those who are more accomplished than you are is important, they could be your ticket to the top or the cause of your downfall. And some will fancy you while others will hate your guts. It’s just how it is.”

“And what about the ones that hate your guts, how do you deal with them?”

“Treat them as you would anyone else. Then they really have no true reason to hate you. Besides, if all goes well, you could be their boss one day”

“I really like how you put that Mr. Laufeyson.” Hannah smiled.

“Loki”

“Ok then Loki” Hannah’s voice was soft when she uttered his name. “One more question”

“Well that was short”

“Well we’re not done just yet. What are you proudest of? It doesn’t have to be something in the company. Just something in your life that brings you pride.”

Loki had answered the other questions so quickly and confidently, this one however, made him think. It took a few long seconds before he began to speak. The mood in the room dropped.

“Well... um.”

What was Loki proud of? His company? His social status? His money? He honestly didn’t know. Was he even happy where he is?

“My... employees”

He wasn’t technically lying. He liked those who worked for him. They carried his company to where it is now. But it didn’t really give him a feeling of pride.

“Well that’s good, that you appreciate them that much”

Loki quickly wanted to change the subject.

“You wouldn’t mind if I asked you some questions would you?”

“Um no, go ahead”

“What made you want to go to school for journalism?”

“Well I just wanted to know how other people think. And to try to always give people the truth”

“And how will you find the truth?”

“Research”

“How will you do that research?”

Hannah definitely didn’t do as well with her questions as Loki did. She knew what she wanted to say but had a hard time finding the correct words to use.

“Don’t ask the same type of people, you know?, I want to hear both sides of the argument and who has more facts to back up their statements. And to experience and see the problems firsthand.”

“That was a good answer”

“Thank you”

“Where do you plan on going after college?”

“I was thinking of going to some smaller newspaper company and working my way up. The social ladder you mentioned applies to this kind of stuff too”

“It does indeed” Loki clicked the pen he had picked up sometime during the conversation. “And where are you working now to support yourself?”

Hannah began to become nervous, ‘nowhere I got fired, god does he know or something?’

“Well... it’s complicated”

“Is it?”

“Not really, I just lost my job last night”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that dear. Are you thinking of applying anywhere else?”

“Yea but I don’t have a lot of qualifications. I have a hard time communicating with others. And I also don’t have a phone where they can contact me. Or a car to drive to get there”

“So that’s your situation”

“Yes”

“No need to be ashamed, everyone goes through those times. Like you feel stuck In life and don’t know where to go except backwards”

“That’s exactly how it is”

“Well, I have an offer for you”

“What?” The desperate girl perked up at his words.

“Here’s the deal, poor Brian has his hands full with everything. I don’t like to have a big group surrounding me, helping me with every move. But I’ve noticed that I could use an extra hand, around the house and the office. It wouldn’t be anything big. You’d run and get my coffee, staple papers, file paperwork, simple things like that.”

“I don’t know sounds like a lot” Hannah joked, “I mean I could definitely try my best”

“So you’re taking the offer?”

“Yes! Thank you, I really needed this.”

“Perfect, I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’ll have the car pick you up at 7:45am”

Hannah stood up and shook Loki’s hand. For the first time in awhile Hannah felt hope that she wouldn’t have to worry about paying rent and serving people at a dirty old diner with a shitty boss. But now Loki Laufeyson was her boss and he seemed pretty cool so far.

Loki walked with Hannah out to the car. The two of them were greeted by Brian.

“Well Brian I have decided to hire some extra help for you” Loki motioned to Hannah who was next to him.

“About time!”

For the first time in the short time that she knew these men she saw Brian actually happy.

“It’s great to have you aboard Ms. Rei, I look forward to working with you”

“Thanks!”

“You will be picking her up at 7:45 tomorrow morning, then you can show her how everything goes” Loki told his assistant.

“Sounds good, I’ll get you back home now” Brain said as he opened the door for Hannah.

“See you tomorrow” Loki said goodbye to Hannah. What really threw her off was when he lightly grasped her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a light kiss on her knuckles.

Hannah’s face became flushed and words failed to form in her head. She was never treated like this by guys she knew, or anyone for that matter.

Hannah stepped into the car and inspected her hand.

‘I hope he’ll always be this nice’

Notes:

Sorry this one took awhile to get out. Life has been a little crazy. I’ll get the next ones out way quicker. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated ❤️

Chapter 4: First day

Summary:

Hannah Rei has her first day working at Laufeyson Enterprises.

When Hannah got back to her apartment she bursted through the door with excitement.

“Hazel! I have the best news” Hannah declared to her roommate who was startled from her entrance.

“What happened?” She matched her giddy roommate’s excitement.

“I got a job!”

“That’s great! Where are you working?”

“Well...”, Hannah didn’t want to tell Hazel exactly where she was working because of the way they spoke of people like Loki. “At an office building”

“Really? How did you do that?” Hazel became curious.

“Well I’m just an assistant.”

“Ok then. What company is it?”

Hannah didn’t need to lie about where she worked, she just didn’t want to tell Hazel who she worked directly under.

“Laufeyson Enterprises” She replied.

“Seriously Hannah? They are super corporate! I hear that the guy who is the founder and CEO is a total asshole. What’s his name again?”

“Loki”

“Yea him! Are you sure about this Hannah?” Hazel questioned her best friend.

“Yes! I know we don’t like these types of businesses but they were really nice and hired me on the spot. Besides it’s not like it’s permanent or anything”

“Fine, whatever makes you happy” Hazel smiled. “Have you even met Loki? He’s kind of a big deal. I think he was at the gala too.”

“I saw him walk by, he’s not that threatening” Hannah lied.

Hannah didn’t see him as threatening, that part was true. But she has interacted with him way more than just seeing him walk by. She has been to his house twice now.

“We’ll be careful, I hear he’s a dangerous one”, Hazel winked.

“Oh please, how bad could he be?”

————

“Are you sure about this girl? You barely know her, then you go and hire her on the spot for a job she didn’t even apply for.”

“She needed the job Brian. I was just helping her out. If it doesn’t work out than she can leave.”

Loki and Brain sat in the living room of the mansion, having a chat over a cup of tea.

“What is with this soft spot for this girl, I know you’re a flirt and all but, you trouble yourself with her too much” Brain pointed out to Loki.

“The only one who seems troubled with her is you” Loki stated.

“Just don’t let her distract you, I’ve known you long enough to know what happens to pretty girls you have your eye on.”

Loki gave a low chuckle to his assistant, “So, you think she’s pretty, do you?”

“Good night, Loki” Brian stood up and headed for the front door.

“Good night” Loki responded.
————-

Bright light came through the blinds, awaking Hannah from her slumber.

Looking over at her clock she saw that she had 20 minutes to get ready. Not as much time as she wished but she forgot to set her alarm clock the night before.

She wore a button up shirt and a pencil skirt, along with a pair of pumps, and her hair was thrown into a bun.

This was the only professional looking outfit she owned, she would need to go shopping to avoid wearing the same thing every day.

Hannah waved goodbye to Hazel, who wished her good luck on her way out the door.

When she went outside she had a few minutes to spare, she got ready faster than she thought she would.

At 7:45 sharp the car pulled up for her.

“Good morning Ms. Rei, hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long”, Brian greeted.

“Not at all, I just got out here” Hannah replied.

The first part of the drive was silent, until Brian started a conversation.

“Excited for your first day?”, He questioned.

“Yea, a bit nervous as well” Hannah answered, her voice a bit shaky.

“No need to be, I’ll show you the ropes, which reminds me. We need to make a quick stop at Mr. Laufeyson’s favorite café.”

Brain turned into the small parking lot of the little café.

“This is where I get Mr. Laufeyson’s order each morning, they know us well and usually have it ready when we walk through the door.” He told Hannah.

“Well that makes things quick” Hannah noted.

“It does indeed, and keep this in mind” Brain turned to the girl and his voice deepened, “Never, and I mean never, keep Mr. Laufeyson waiting.”

Hannah felt a bit uneasy with Brian’s change of demeanor, but she knew better than to ask why. “I’ll remember that”

“Good” He flashed her a smile and went to the counter to pick up the order. “Would you like anything?” He asked her.

“Oh, no thank you” She denied.

“Are you sure? The company pays for this, I get myself something each morning”

“I’ll just have a latte then, please” Hannah nodded to the barista.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it” Brian said to her as he took the order.

Brian handed the order to Hannah as he opened the café door for her. She also held it on the now short drive to the Laufeyson office building.

“As you can see the café is right by the office, I normally walk there but I thought this would be more convenient this morning.”

“Well I guess I gave you a bit of a break then?” Hannah giggled.

“I actually don’t mind the walk, it feels nice to get up and move around when you mostly sit all day”

“I understand”

“Good, because once you get the hang of things here the daily coffee run will more than likely be your job, if that’s alright.”

“Yea that’s fine! I’ll make sure to appreciate the walk.” Hannah smiled.

Brain gave out a chuckle as he parked the car, “We’re here.”

When Hannah got out of the car she couldn’t help but look up at the building in front of her. It was covered with floor to ceiling windows that reflected the sunlight.

“Quite the feat isn’t it?” Brain noticed the girl staring up at the tall building.

“Yea, I’ve passed this building so many times and I never really payed attention to who it belonged to”

“This is just one of many locations we have around the world” Brain commented as he opened the large glass door for Hannah and walked with her to the elevator.

“I never knew Laufeyson Enterprises was international. Where are some of the other locations?” Hannah asked.

“For right now it’s just London, Tokyo, and a location in Singapore. We just went international last year.” Brain explained as the two walked out of the elevator.

“I’m sure Lo- I mean Mr. Laufeyson is pretty happy about that.”

Brian laughed at Hannah’s slip up, “You can call him Loki in private, just make sure to address him properly in front of others.”

“Okay”

“And yes, he is very pleased with the way business is going currently, I don’t know if I’d say happy. He isn’t one to display emotion”

“I can tell” Hannah admitted as they approached his office.

Brian opened the door and Hannah was surprised that Loki wasn’t there.

“He doesn’t arrive until nine, I leave his drink on his desk and open the blinds”

Brian took the drinks and placed Loki’s on his desk. Brian then proceeded to open the blinds, revealing an amazing view of Los Angeles.

“What floor are we on?” Hannah asked, staring out the window.

“The fifteenth floor, highest one in the building”

Hannah also got a good look around Loki’s office it was big with a large oak desk in the middle, accompanied by an office chair and two chairs facing the desk on the opposite side.

“Come on” She was snapped out of her trance by Brian, “I’ll show you where we’ll be”

“Ok then” Hannah followed Brian.

Just right outside the door of Loki’s office there were two desks on either side of the door.

“You’ll be taking the one on the right, I’ll be across from you, oh and here is your badge, you’ll need to scan it to get around the building.” He said handing her the badge.

“Oh thanks”

After another half hour of getting settled Loki came through the doors.

“Good morning Mr. Laufeyson” Brian stood and greeted his boss.

“Good morning” Loki paid little attention to Brain. “And good morning to you Ms. Rei” Loki smirked and turned towards the girl. “I do hope Brian has treated you well, has he shown you the ropes?”

“Yes sir, he has been a great teacher.” Hannah answered.

“That’s good to hear, I would love to hear more at the end of the day, but I have business to attend to now, continue as you were Brian.” Loki said before he walked into his office and closed the door.

“Of course. Now Ms. Rei let’s get you into the system”

The rest of the day was mostly learning the technical part of everything, setting up meetings, schedules, and phone calls for Loki over the computer.

The day eventually went by and Hannah got ready to leave, just as she clocked out on her computer Loki opened his door and called her into his office.

“Ms. Rei, can I see you for a minute?” Loki demanded.

“Yes sir” Hannah responded.

“Just make it quick, I still need to drive her home you know.” Brian reminded his boss.

“I will take as long as I need” Loki glared at his assistant.

Hannah followed Loki and sat in one of the leather chairs as Loki settled in his office chair.

“How was your first day?” He asked.

“It was good. I still have a lot to learn though”

“Learning is good, even if it’s something you don’t want to learn about. Don’t be afraid to ask questions either. Brian will most likely know the answer.”

“Okay I’ll do that.”

“Good now there is something I need to give you, the company paid for it and it will be required for your work so don’t think that it’s personal” Loki stated.

He opened a drawer in his desk and handed Hannah a new phone.

“It is already set up with mine and Brian’s personal and work phone numbers, it also has an app where you can keep track of all the meetings and events that I have as well as a schedule for you to follow that will be updated daily.” Loki explained, “It may also be used for personal needs, don’t worry we won’t track your location and your personal things on it”

“Oh, thank you Mr. Laufeyson.”

“No problem, be careful with it. If you break too many phones we won’t give you anymore”

“Yes sir, I’ll be very careful” Hannah giggled.

“Well, you must be on your way, Brian isn’t all that patient,” Loki said as he led Hannah to his office doors. She followed closely behind.

Loki placed his hand on the door handle and paused, his stunning blue eyes piercing hers.

“Is everything alright sir?” Hannah asked, suddenly feeling threatened by his presence.

“I just wanted to let you know something before you leave for the day,” He lowered his gaze, looking down upon Hannah, “This job is no joke, I hired you because I know you needed it and I couldn’t bear to see a girl like you living on the streets. But just remember this Hannah Rei, if you so much as disrespect me, my company, or my work, If you gossip about me with your friends, or say things that you know you shouldn’t. I will not hesitate to have you terminated from your position. In the end you are just a drunk girl I almost hit with my car. I pity you more than anything else.”

‘There it was’ Hannah thought as rage boiled in her. There is the rude, strict, and arrogant Loki that she had always heard about. Hannah wanted to say something to him, something that would put him in his place. But she needed this job more than anything right now.

“Yes sir” Hannah uttered, that burning feeling came up in the back of her throat. The one everyone feels before they cry. But Hannah needed to keep her feelings under control.

“Good” Loki’s entire demeanor changed as he opened the door for her, “See you tomorrow”

The walk to the car with Brian was quiet, Brian broke that silence as soon as he started the car.

“Alright, what did he say to you in there?” He questioned her.

“Nothing just some things I should know about the job.” Hannah responded.

“Well I know it was more than that but you don’t have to talk about it. Did he give you the phone?”

“Oh yes” Hannah took the new phone out of her pocket cautiously remembering Loki’s words.

“Good you will definitely need it next week to keep in touch with us.”

“Why next week specifically?” Hannah asked.

“Mr. Laufeyson and I will be taking a business trip to London for five days for a project planning event. You will stay here and keep things in order for when we get back. Don’t worry it won’t be as pressuring as you think. I’m sure you’ll have things down by then. And I wouldn’t put you up to it if I didn’t think you could do it.”

“Alright then” Was all Hannah could say.

What a hell of a first day.

Notes:

Sorry I haven’t updated in awhile, stuff happens but I’ll try to be more consistent. Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated ;)

Chapter 5: Getting Settled

Summary:

Hannah’s been at Laufeyson Enterprises for a week now, let’s see how it’s going.

So it’s already been a week huh?

So far the job has gone fairly well for Hannah and she’s picked up on it rather quickly, even impressing Loki himself once or twice, though he would never admit it.

She now goes on the daily coffee runs that once used to be Brian’s responsibility. Mostly everything she does were once simple tasks that Brian needed to attend to. Now that they were Hannah’s responsibility he had more time for bigger things and even some spare time in his personal life.

“I have to admit sir, hiring Ms. Rei has to be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. Now I will admit I was skeptical at first but from what I’ve seen this past week she seems to be a hard worker and a quick learner.” Brian explained to his boss.

“See Brian, you should put faith into my decisions more often.” Loki chuckled as he took a sip of his tea. “But are you sure she’ll be okay here by herself for five days? Quick learner or not I’m concerned if something goes wrong she will feel terrible.”

“I’ve checked everything over, she will just continue doing her simple tasks, not even as many since we will not be here.”

“Well if you believe in her so much why don’t you just have her take your job?” Loki said sarcastically.

“Well it has only been a week, but if she proves herself she could take on some more complicated tasks, but let’s keep it easy for now, we don’t want to scare her away now do we?”

“I suppose not, she is doing rather well for being a girl we quite literally picked up on the road. I guess we just got lucky with this one.”

“Well she’s still a girl and I need you to treat her kindly, when I drove her home on her first day after she talked to you she seemed upset. So may I ask what you said to her?”

“I just told her to take her job seriously. I needed to warn her about what would happen if she were to misbehave.” Loki explained.

“You could have been a bit nicer about it. I’m just saying next time you talk to her be more considerate. I don’t need you scaring her off.”

“Fine,” Loki rolled his eyes, “I’ll play the nice guy again.”

Their conversation was cut short by a knock on the office door.

“Mr. Laufeyson I have your dry cleaning.” Hannah’s voice was heard on the opposite side of the door.

“Bring it in Ms. Rei” Loki replied.

When Hannah walked into the room both of the men’s eyes were on her.

“Sorry if I interrupted anything.” She murmured.

“Not at all, just place it on the hook behind the door.” Loki instructed.

Hannah did as he said, closing the door just enough to access the hook, she had to stand on her toes to reach it.

Loki watched her with a steady gaze as she hung the bag of clothes. Brian noticed this and glared at his boss when he realized that he was staring at her ass.

“What?” Loki grumbled to his scowling assistant.

“If everything alright?” Hannah asked as she turned around.

“Everything’s fine, go look over the schedule I sent you” Brian demanded. “And close the door on your way out.”

“Okay then.” Hannah smiled and left the room, shutting the door behind her as she was told.

“Don’t you dare stare at her like that. And definitely don’t flirt with her either!” Brian exclaimed to Loki.

“It just a bit of fun, don’t get your panties in a wad Brian.” Loki chuckled. “Besides she seems rather perceptive to me. She is my assistant after all, I’m sure she’ll do whatever I say.”

“This is why no women work for you. You’re a player and a flirt.”

“And look where that got me.”

Brian rolled his eyes and got up to leave. Before he opened the door he turned to Loki.

“The day you sleep with her is the day I quit.” Brian warned as he left.

Brian slumped back to his desk and sighed, looking over at Hannah who was on her computer.

“Are you ready for next week?” He asked.

“Yes. Don’t worry about me I’ll be ok” She smirked.

“I know.” Brian paused and looked up to the ceiling, mind wandering. “We need to stop at the house today before I bring you back home.”

“That’s fine, but I do have plans tonight for dinner at eight.” She told him.

“That’s fine, I’ll have you back far before then.”

It didn’t take long for the rest of the day to go by. Hannah knew they were finished whenever Loki walked out of his office.

When Loki exited his office he stopped at Hannah’s desk.

“You are coming by my house after work, yes?” He questioned.

“Yes sir.” She answered.

“Good.” Loki noted as he went to leave.

“I guess we should get going” Brian suggested and gathered his things.

When Brian and Hannah finally walked outside they saw Loki’s Jaguar speed out of the parking lot.

“Now you see why I don’t ride with him”

“I guess they just let anyone drive, huh?” Hannah laughed.

After a the drive, that took longer than needed because of traffic, Brian and Hannah arrived at the Laufeyson mansion.

“Never gets old does it?” Brian asked.

“Definitely not” Hannah responded, looking in awe of the house in front of her.

Loki had arrived before them, doing some last minute packing in his room.

Hannah needed to come by and drop some things off from his office, including the dry cleaning she had picked up earlier.

Loki came down the stairs, the suit he was wearing for the day lacking the tie and blazer that he wore earlier. His white dress shirt was slightly unbuttoned, showing little wisps of fine black chest hair that was once hidden. His shirt was untucked and his shoes were long gone. His raven black hair, once greased back, was now slightly messy, some strands fell in front of his face.

Hannah could say terrible things about Loki all day but she couldn’t deny how attractive he truly was.

Loki’s long legs led him to Hannah, who felt slightly inferior in his presence. Towering over her, his hand found hers and gave her a pair of keys.

“You’ll be needing a car since Brian can’t chauffeur you around while we’re away.”

“Thank you but,” Hannah looked at the keys in her palm, “I don’t have a drivers license.”

Silence filled the room for a couple of seconds, Hannah could hear the beat of her heart.

“Well, you’re just a little inconvenience aren’t you?” Loki scoffed.

It’s almost like she felt a sword pierce her chest.

“Loki!” Brian reprimanded his boss.

“No it’s me I’m sorry” Hannah apologized. “It’s not like I’ve never had one, I got one when I was 16 but when it expired two years later I never renewed it.” She explained.

“It’s not your fault Hannah. He just doesn’t think before he speaks.” Brian glared at Loki.

“You better get that drivers license before we get back or else you’re done. Meanwhile how will you get to and from work?” Loki wondered.

“I can take the bus.”

“No employee of mine is taking public transportation.”

“Than I’ll use a ride share app like Uber or something.” She suggested.

“I don’t want you getting into strangers cars.” He argued.

“Then what will I do?” She murmured.

Loki sighed and pushed his hair back, “Listen I’ll hire a private driver for the week. They’ll take you anywhere you need.”

“That will do just fine. Now you have packing to do and I need to bring her home. Are we settled?” Brian interrupted.

“Yes.” Loki confirmed.

“Okay we’ll be leaving” Brian led Hannah to the front door.

“And one more thing Hannah.” Loki spoke before she left.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Don’t fuck this up.”

Brian was about to speak up before he was interrupted by the girl next to him.

“Trust me Mr. Laufeyson,” Hannah smirked, “I won’t.”

Loki and Brian were surprised by the confidence in her voice.

Loki didn’t say anything he just winked at her and turned to go back upstairs.

“Way to stick up for yourself Hannah” Brian stated.

“Well if I’m working for him I can’t let him get to me like that.”

Brian laughed, “Let’s get you home.”

Hannah didn’t like going back to her apartment. Along the way she would gaze out the window and watch the houses turn from glamorous mansions to run down townhouses and apartment buildings. She honestly didn’t feel like she deserved to work for Loki, go to his house, or ride in his cars. He was better than her and she knew it.

“We’re here” Brian announced, putting the car in park.

“Thanks again for driving me around everywhere.”

“It’s really no problem, I enjoy your company Ms. Rei.”

“If you say so,” Hannah chuckled, “I guess I won’t be seeing you two until you get back?”

“I’m afraid not, but just know that I have faith that you’ll do just fine without us.”

“Well in that case, have a good trip and stay safe.”

“We will, thank you.”

“See you later then” Hannah got out of the car and waved goodbye.

“Goodbye Ms. Rei.”

Hannah watched the car leave the parking lot, she was going to miss having them around, but it was only for five days.

“Hazie I’m home.” Hannah spoke as she walked through the door.

“Hey girly, how was work?” Hazel greeted.

“Oh you know, the usual. Pretty good kinda boring.”

“Is everyone treating you okay?”

‘Other than being called an inconvenience by my boss?’ Hannah thought to herself, “Yes, everything’s fine.”

“Well that’s good. You should get ready, we’ll be leaving in an hour for dinner.” Hazel noted, glancing at the clock.

“Yea just let me change and freshen up really quick.”

Hannah went to her shared room and picked out an outfit. Other than paying her rent, she used her money to get some nicer outfits. They were mostly for work but she treated herself with some cute going out clothes. Tonight she decided on a simple black dress that landed on the middle of her thighs and had a plunging neckline, not too deep however, she didn’t feel comfortable in dresses like that.

After a quick change in the the bathroom Hannah put her shoes on and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Wow look at you!” Hazel exclaimed, “It’s nice to see you dressed up a bit. Planning on meeting anyone special tonight?” Her roommate winked.

“No. I just felt like wearing this.” Hannah suddenly felt embarrassed.

“Well it looks good. Are you ready to go?”

“Pretty much. You don’t look too bad yourself Hazie.”

Hazel wore a simple satin shirt with a blue mini skirt, she wasn’t one for dressing up either.

“Thanks honey. Now let’s go, I don’t want to keep Anna waiting. You know how she is.”

“Yea no kidding.” Hannah laughed.

Hazel thankfully has a car and the girls take a drive to their favorite bar downtown.

“You know Hannah, I could drive you to work whenever you need.” Hazel offered as they drove.

“No!” Hannah said a bit too hastily, earning a strange look from Hazel. “I mean, you don’t need to I have a ride with my coworker.”

“I haven’t met this coworker. Who is it?”

“He’s another assistant but he’s definitely higher up than me. I mean he has been working there for awhile I think.”

“How many assistants does this place need?” Hazel jokingly asked.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re here!” Hannah avoided her question.

Hazel parked the car and the girls headed for the bar entrance. The girls met up with Anna who had already claimed a table for the three of them.

After some drinks and lighthearted jokes, the conversations began to get personal.

“So Hannah I heard you got a job. What are you doing?” Anna asked, taking a sip of her cosmo.

“Oh yea. I’m just an assistant at an office building.” Hannah attempted to be as vague as she could.

“An office building, Hannah, you’re working at Laufeyson Enterprises! That’s not just any office building!” Hazel elaborated.

“Laufeyson Enterprises! You work for that douchebag Loki?” Anna nearly spit out her drink.

“Well it’s not all that bad.” Hannah explained.

“Who do you even work under?” Hazel became curious.

“Just somebody.”

Hannah did not want to tell them that she worked directly under Loki. She didn’t even want them to know that she has met him at all. Thankfully the questions were cut short by Hazel’s phone ringing.

“Sorry guys I gotta get this.” She excused herself.

“No problem” Hannah dismissed her.

“So what’s your boss’s name?”

‘Fuck, think of something Hannah!’ She internally scolded herself. “Brian.”

“You call your boss by his first name?”

“Yea he’s casual like that.”

Hannah was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder, when she looked up she saw Hazel standing near her.

“Sorry but it’s Professer Howard, he wants to ask you some questions about your assignment you turned in.”

“Okay” Hannah took the phone and went outside.

“Hello Professor.” Hannah began.

“Good evening Ms. Rei, I’m sorry if I interrupted anything but I had a question about your assignment.”

“No you didn’t interrupt anything sir, what is it you wanted to ask?”

“Well, for starters, how the hell did you interview Loki Laufeyson of all people!”

Oh, that’s the question.

Notes:

Thanks for reading! I’m trying to keep up the best I can for you guys.

Chapter 6: Long day, boring week

Summary:

Hannah is left alone for the week while Mr. Laufeyson and Brian are in London.

Notes:

Hello, I’ve been insanely busy in my personal life so I haven’t had much time to write. I just went through a big move and I’m getting settled in a new place so once everything calms down I’ll be posting more.

Hannah really did dread meeting with her professor. She didn’t want to explain to anyone about her standing with Loki Laufeyson.

Hazel drove Hannah to the very campus she wanted to avoid all summer.

“Did you really mess up that bad?” Hazel jokingly asked her distressed friend.

“I don’t know, just wait here.”

The walk to professor Howard’s office was dreadfully long, she pondered turning around but she knew her grade was on the line here.

“Come in.” Hannah heard her professor say after she knocked on the door.

“Hello Mr. Howard.” Hannah greeted.

“Hello Ms. Rei, been busy?”

“Well I got a summer job so, yea.” She answered.

“Where? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Laufeyson Enterprises.” Hannah didn’t sound as confident as she intended.

“That seems to fit in perfectly with our topic of discussion today.”

God, even when he wasn’t teaching a class he still sounds like a professor.

“Which is?” Hannah tried to play dumb.

“Your ‘interview’ with Loki Laufeyson.” He deadpanned.

“Oh that? It was just a lucky chance.”

“Well I don’t mean to be rude but I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t?”

“Listen, when I assigned this project I expected my students to interview local business owners, I didn’t even care if two or more students interviewed the same person.”

“How is mine any different? I did the assignment, isn’t that all that matters?” Hannah became slightly agitated.

“I care when one of my pupils has claimed to interview a famous billionaire, and now you say that you work at his building? I would like an honest explanation.” He sat back and awaited her response.

“I met Mr. Laufeyson by chance at a job interview, I saw an opportunity and I asked him some questions.”

“You actually met, and talked to Loki Laufeyson?” He still didn’t believe her.

“Yes! We live in Los Angeles, I’m pretty sure everyone who lives here has come across at least one celebrity.”

“And you were at a job interview for Laufeyson Enterprises?”

“Sort of.”

“What do you mean ‘sort of?’”

“I Interviewed Mr. Laufeyson after I just happened to run into him and I also ended up getting a job in his building. Do you think I’m a liar, Mr. Howard?” Hannah was rather angry with her professor at this point.

“No, no I don’t I’m sorry Ms. Rei.” He apologized.

“Good, then you will accept my assignment?”

“Yes.”

“That’s all I need.”

Hannah and her professor sat in silence while he typed away at his computer.

“Alright your grade for the assignment is an A. It was a well written paper and I am very impressed with who it’s about.”

Hannah’s face lit up, “Thank you Mr. Howard, it means a lot to me.”

“No problem, thanks for coming here. And congratulations on your new job.”

“Thank you, see you in the Fall.” Hannah smiled as she said goodbye.

“See you then.”

Hannah felt so much better after the conversation, especially knowing that her average grade for the year would be pretty high.

“So how did it go?” Hazel asked as Hannah got in the car.

“Great! Now I just need to get my driver’s license this week and get through work. I’m on my own this week.”

“Oh wow, they must have a lot of faith in you, leaving you alone in your second week.”

“Oh I’ll barely be working, all I have to do is go in there for a few hours, do schedule stuff and pick up his packages at the front desk and bring them to his office.”

“Who’s office?” Hazel asked.

Hannah went stiff, she wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying.

“My boss.” Hannah said, hoping Hazel wouldn’t question her any further.

“Oh, okay!”

On Monday morning Hannah got a phone call.

“Hello?” She answered, still laying in bed.

“Hello Ms. Rei, I just wanted to check in.” Brian said on the other side.

“Well it is early, I just got up so I haven’t started yet.” Hannah stretched before getting out of bed.

“I didn’t wake you did I? I’m sorry if I did.”

“No you’re fine, I was already awake.” She yawned.

“Well I called to tell you that the driver that we hired will be here the same time I come to pick you up. The work days this week will be very short, 3 hours at most. But Mr. Laufeyson insisted that we pay you for six hours.”

“Oh he doesn’t need to do that.” Hannah was shocked at what Brian just told her.

“Like I said, he insisted and you won’t be changing his mind. Anyway, your schedule for the day has been sent to your phone. And don’t forget to get your drivers license this week, he was serious about dropping you if you don’t.”

“I’m going later today, you sound worried Brian, is everything alright?” She asked.

“Yes, it’s just you’re there alone and it’s only your second week with us.” Brian began to ramble on.

“Brian, I have everything under control. Don’t worry.”

“Your confidence puts me at ease Ms. Rei. We’re counting on you.”

“I know.” Hannah sighed.

“Well I don’t want to hold you up any longer, have a good day.”

“Bye.” Hannah hung up.

After quickly getting ready Hannah headed outside and saw a sleek black sedan with an older man dressed in a suit standing by it.

“Um, Hi are you my driver?” She asked.

“If you are Ms. Rei, yes.” He answered.

“That’s me.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, you may call me Mr. Maury.” He introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you.” Hannah shook his hand.

Being driven around by Mr. Maury was completely different than driving with Brian. Whenever she was with Brian they would have interesting conversations and gossip about Loki. Now she just sat in the back seat and kept quiet.

The car pulled up to the office building right at eight.

“I’ll be back at noon to take you home.” Mr. Maury announced as Hannah got out of the car.

“Actually I need to go by the dmv later if that’s alright?” Hannah asked.

“Of course, I am your chauffeur for the week after all, Mr. Laufeyson requested that I take you anywhere you need.”

“Thank you. See you later.”

Hannah scanned her badge at the front door, she went up to the front desk and greeted the security guard.

“Hello, are there any packages for Mr. Laufeyson?”

“Just these two.” The woman at the desk pushed to large envelopes full of papers towards her.

“Thank you.” Hannah took the surprisingly heavy envelopes and headed for the elevator.

The feeling of an empty office was a strange one. All the lights are off and the windows were closed. Hannah placed the envelopes on Loki’s desk and opened the windows to let in some sunlight before she sat down at her desk.

All she had to do today was update schedules and print out some papers for Loki to see when he comes back, she also had to send digital copies of those documents to his computer.

It only took her a few hours to finish everything, just as Brian had predicted. She organized the papers, putting a sticky note on the pile that said ‘Monday’, closed the windows and went to leave.

When Hannah left the building, the car and Mr. Maury were waiting outside for her.

“Hello Ms. Rei, are we still going to the DMV?” He asked.

“Yes, Mr. Laufeyson said I needed to get my drivers license or he’d fire me.” Hannah rolled her eyes as she got in the car.

When they arrived Hannah could see the line inside of the building from the car.

‘This is going to take forever!’

“Hey Mr. Maury, it seems that the line is kind of long so you can just go home for the day, I’ll have a friend pick me up when I’m done.”

“Are you sure? Mr. Laufeyson said that I am to be on call for you all day and night.”

“I’ll be fine, thanks for driving me around today, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She waved goodbye.

The wait was nearly two hours long, the hard chair that she was sitting in began to hurt her lower back and her ass had become completely numb.

“Rei” The lady at the desk called out her name.

‘Finally.’

After all her paperwork was done she finally got her license, right after she texted Hazel to come pick her up she got a call from Brian.

“Hello Brian.” Hannah answered the call.

“Hey! How did today go?”

“It was good, I was only at the office for a few hours like you said. The longest part was waiting at the dmv for my drivers license.”

“Did you get it?”

“Yea, I just got it. I’m standing outside right now.”

“Is Maury going to drive you home?” He asked.

“No, I said he could go home for the day. My friend, Hazel, just got off of work and she’s gonna come by and pick me up.”

“Hannah we hired a driver for you so you would be safe and now you’re standing outside by yourself?”

“Don’t worry about it. There is a good crowd of people inside and outside the building I’m not completely alone. Hey, isn’t it like really early in the morning over there?” Hannah changed the subject.

“Well I couldn’t sleep unless I called to make sure you’re alright.”

“I’m okay, you don’t need to worry about me, actually I can see my friend’s car just pulled into the parking lot. You should get some sleep, we can talk tomorrow.”

“Alright then, it sounds like you have everything under control. Talk to later.”

“Bye.” Hannah hung up as Hazel pulled up.

“I saw you talking on your new fancy phone, who was that?” She asked as Hannah got in the car.

“Just my boss, I told him I finally got my drivers license. He needed me to get it.”

“Why? It’s not like you have a car.”

“I don’t know, can we go home? My back hurts from those damn chairs.”

This was certainly going to be one long, boring week.

Notes:

I know that chapter was kind of boring but don’t worry we’ll be getting more Loki in the next chapter. It’s called slow burn for a reason ;)

Thanks for reading, Comments and Kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 7: The Hunt for the Green Folder

Summary:

After a night out with her friends Hannah gets a phone call from Brian. He says she needs to go to the Laufeyson mansion and pick up a folder. Where that folder is? Nobody knows, Loki’s drunken directions aren’t helping either.

The rest of the week went by rather slowly, Hannah was stuck in the routine of get up, get driven to work, stay there for only a few hours, then go back home.

On Thursday Hannah wanted to take a break from her routine, so she and her friends went out to the city.

“So how’s the job going?” Anna asked as the girls sat at the bar.

“Good, this week was really slow.”

“Hannah is all by herself this week, doing paperwork and stuff.” Hazel pointed out.

“Really? Where is your boss?”

“He’s on a business trip, he’s coming back tomorrow actually.”

“Where did he go?”

“London.” Hannah answered their questions.

“That job sounds so boring though, just sitting around at a desk all day.” Anna rolled her eyes.

“It’s not that bad.” Hannah yawned, nearly unable to finish her sentence.

“Are you tired?” Hazel asked, “We can head back home if you want.”

“Yea, I don’t mean to be a bummer or anything I’m just kinda sleepy.” She paid for her drink and got ready to leave.

“Alright then, see you guys later.” Anna said goodbye.

After the drive home Hannah crashed onto her bed, the feeling of tiredness washed over and she was ready to finally sleep.

That was until her phone rang.

“Damn it!” She groaned, irritated.

She put on a bubbly attitude when she answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Good evening Ms. Rei.”

“Oh, hey Brian.”

“Are you busy?” He asked.

“No not at all, do you need anything?”

“Well, Mr. Laufeyson left a folder at the house that needs to be delivered to the office first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Then I’ll wake up early tomorrow and get it on my way there.” Hannah suggested.

“That’s the thing.” He paused, “He demands that you pick it up tonight and bring it with you tomorrow morning.”

“Seriously? It’s like Ten at night here!”

“I know, I know, but you need to do this if you want to keep this position. And it would be nice if you didn’t get fired.”

“Fine, call the driver or whatever.” Hannah got out of bed.

“Will do. My apologies Ms. Rei, I understand what’s it’s like to be in your position.” He sympathized.

“It’s fine, it’s not you anyway, it’s him.” She growled.

“I contacted Mr. Maury, he’ll be there shortly.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you, text me when you get there. By the way, it’s a green folder with Laufeyson written on the front. Don’t hesitate to move things around while you’re looking.”

“Alright, goodbye.” Hannah hung up.

Reluctantly, she slipped out of her soft pajamas to put on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, she went to leave but Hazel stopped her at the front door.

“And where are you going?” She questioned her exhausted roommate.

“I need to do something really quick for work, I’ll be back soon.”

“It really late, they better not make this a constant thing.”

“They won’t, I need to go.” Hannah left without another word.

She pulled her hoodie up over her head, it was late at night and her building wasn’t exactly full of nice people. She made sure to walk to the front door quickly and be fully aware of her surroundings.

She made it outside safely just as Mr. Maury pulled up.

“I’m sorry about this.” Hannah sighed, “I know it’s late.”

“It’s fine, Mr. Laufeyson said I must be available for you both day and night.” He told her.

“Thank you.”

Hannah stared at the lights of the city as the car drove to Loki’s mansion, her sight was slightly blurry from her exhaustion.

“We have arrived.” Maury announced.

“Just wait out here, I shouldn’t take too long.” Hannah told the driver before walking up to the house.

Just as she was about to text Brian she received another phone call, she answered assuming it would be Brian.

“Hey, I’m here.”

“Good girl, Miss Rei.” A dark voice come through the other end.

“Mr. Laufeyson!” Hannah nearly jumped.

“I need.” He paused, she could barely make out what he was saying, “I need folder.”

“Mr. Laufeyson are you okay?”

“I’m beautiful Miss darling.” He slurred.

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“Shush girl, you in the house yet?”

“No.”

Hannah felt highly uncomfortable talking to Loki while he was in this state, she was about to hang up on him.

“Key is under the rock.”

Hannah looked down and saw an obvious fake rock by the front door.

‘A literal billionaire keeps his house key in the most obvious place.’ Hannah thought to herself as she picked up the key and unlocked the door.

“Okay I’m in now. It’s really dark in here where is the light switch?”

“Left.” He gave a vague answer.

Hannah had to feel around on the wall before finally finding the switch.

“Do you remember where you left the folder Mr. Laufeyson?”

“No need for formal um- formalities, call me by my name darling.”

“Where did you leave the folder, Loki?”

“On the table.”

Hannah walked over to the living room table.

“Can you specify which table?”

“No.”

“You know what, you should get some sleep, I’m just gonna call Brian.” Hannah was about to hang up on him.

“No no no, I remember.”

“Then where is it?”

“Dining room table, kitchen.”

Hannah went over by the kitchen, she looked on the counters and by the bar area. She saw the dining room to her left and she looked there as well but didn’t find anything. Loki was giving terrible directions.

“It’s not here either, are you sure you remember?” She was getting annoyed with him.

“On a table.” He muttered, sounding absolutely terrible.

“I’ll check your office.”

“Smart girl.”

Hannah rolled her eyes, grateful that he couldn’t see her right now. She walked into his office and turned on the light. After searching for a few minutes she still came up empty handed.

“It’s not here either.”

“Upstairs.”

“You think it’s upstairs?” Hannah tried to get an answer out of him.

“Have I ever told you-.” He stopped mid sentence.

“Told me what?” Hannah made her way upstairs.

“How pretty you are.”

Hannah blushed and told herself that was just the alcohol talking.

“Where is the damn folder Loki?”

“So feisty, check bedroom.”

“Which one?”

“Mine.”

“And where is that?” Hannah grew impatient.

“Left of stairs, don’t worry you’ll get to know it rather well.” He said in a suggestive voice.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Hannah opened the door to her left and was greeted with the sight of her boss’s large, dark bedroom. After fumbling around while looking for the light switch she headed further into the room.

“Find it yet?” Loki teased over the phone.

“I’m looking!”

Hannah scanned around the room, though it was large it was decorated with a minimalistic style, lots of black with little hints of green and gold accented the room.

She looked around his king sized bed, made perfectly with smooth silk sheets, it’s almost looked like no one lives here. It was more like a staged bedroom from a magazine. She inspected the two end tables on opposite sides of the bed only to find nothing. She looked out the large window and saw the glowing lights of the city, when she walked closer her leg hit the corner of a small table in front of the window.

“Shit!” She held her leg in pain, completely forgetting that she was still on the phone with Loki.

“What was that dear?”

“Oh, you’re still there. I thought you hung up or something.”

Hannah looked down at the table that she just bumped into and found a green folder. The exact one she was looking for.

“Loki I found it!”

“Good girl.” He groaned, “Perhaps I should reward you when I come back.”

Hannah’s cheeks lit up red, Loki was saying so many strange things tonight.

“Why don’t you get some sleep, okay?” She spoke to her boss.

“If that’s what my little pet suggests.” He slurred once more before hanging up the phone, leaving Hannah dumbfounded.

“Pet?” She muttered out loud to herself.

She headed downstairs with the folder in hand, making sure she left everything as she found it. She texted Brian that she found the folder as she exited the house, making sure to lock up.

She sat in the car and thought about her conversation, if you could call it that, with Loki. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became and she swore to herself that she would never speak of it, especially with Brian.

Notes:

I’m going to be insanely busy next week so I’m not sure if I can update, but I’ll try my best to get these chapters out to all you amazing readers!

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 8: Sudden Phone Calls and Surprises

Summary:

Hannah gets a phone call from someone demands to see her as soon as possible.

Notes:

Hello, first off i just want to say I am so sorry that i haven't updated in so long. I had to take a hiatus for work and my mental health but now Im back to writing and i've got some things planned for this story! Thank you to everyone who commented and showed their support, you all inspire me to write more!

Ringing

All she can hear is ringing.

Perhaps it was a part of her dreams that she couldn’t recall for the most part, except for the tall man in the dark suit.

When Hannah woke up her phone was still ringing, she leaned over to see who it was.

“Shit”

Fifteen missed calls.

Her hangover came to bite her in the ass as her head throbbed.

She looked around her room and saw that the bed across the room was empty.

Hannah dragged herself out of her comfortable state and stumbled to the living room where she saw some of her friends passed out on the couch and carpet of her shared apartment, when she looked over to her small dining table she saw Hazel slouching over a tall glass of water.

“Think we went too hard last night?” Hazel groaned.

“Well, I don’t remember most of it so I can only assume we had a good time.”

“Your damn phone woke me up, who was calling you so much?”

“Oh, that was just my boss.” Hannah sighed.

“Seriously why is he calling you so much on a Saturday morning?”

“I’m not sure, I’ll go check the messages.” Hannah went to walk back to her room to retrieve her phone.

“Hannah, wait.”

“What?”

“This job of yours, I don’t like it.” She admitted.

“What! Why?”

“Because it takes up a crazy amount of your time, is it not obvious to you that they are using you? They call you in all the time, I never see you anymore, not unless you’re taking a break for partying or drinking.”

“It’s a job Hazel, you have one too. Mine is just different.” She rolled her eyes.

“Don’t give me that bullshit!” Hazel stood from her chair, startling Hannah slightly, “Who do you work for? Exactly, you never told me.”

“I work at Laufeyson Enterprises, so I technically work for Loki Laufeyson, who cares?”

“I do! This is the very thing that we hate and you just gave into it!”

“They hired me on the spot, I’m an assistant!” Hannah grew impatient with her roommate.

“Who is your boss? What is his name?”

“I already told you, it’s Brian!”

“Why the fuck do you call your boss by his first name? Something here doesn’t sit right with me Hannah, what are you not telling me?”

Hannah paused, “Why do you need to know?”

“Because I care about you, this job is gonna become your whole life. You’re gonna waste your summer on this?”

“I almost had to move in with my parents, this job gave me a new hope. I can actually pay rent and feed myself.”

“Fine, I don’t feel like arguing with you.” Hazel sat back down. “But don’t come crying to me when you find out I’m right.”

“Whatever.” Hannah stomped back to her room to retrieve her phone.

She put her phone up to her ear to listen to one of Loki’s messages.

“I know it’s the weekend and everything but I need you to get back to me this is urgent. We need to talk about your performance over this past week. Call me back when you get the chance.”

Hannah stepped outside of her apartment and into the hallway so Hazel couldn’t hear her. She went to her contacts and tapped on Loki’s name.

He picked up almost immediately.

“Where have you been? Do you have any idea what time it is? Are you alright?” Loki flooded her with questions, making his concern very obvious.

“I’m okay I’m just at home, I slept in.”

“Until two in the afternoon? Are you sick?”

“No sir, I just had some fun with my friends last night.”

“Oh,” she heard only silence over the speaker for a few seconds. “Well I need you at the house as soon as possible.”

“You said you needed to discuss my performance with me, did I do something wrong?” Hannah asked, slightly scared.

“No.” He paused again, “I’m coming to get you be ready in fifteen minutes.”

“What?”

“You heard me, see you soon.”

Loki hung up on the confused girl, who was left stunned in the hallway. She wondered why Loki was in such a hurry to talk to her in person.

Hannah went back into her apartment and got dressed, ignoring Hazel’s constant questions, as well as some from her friends who were now awake.

Hannah left the building to wait outside in the California heat, luckily Loki got there quickly. She could tell it was him by the jet black Jaguar coupe that he drove.

She opened the door and got in since Loki made no effort to get out and open the door for her. Loki didn’t bother to greet her, he just put the car in drive and left the parking lot.

Hannah didn’t know what to say, the ride was completely silent besides the sounds of the car and the blowing of the ac. She looked over at Loki who would never dress casual, he wore a crisp, white button down shirt and a pair of black slacks, it seemed to be the only clothing items in his closet.

Both remained silent, even after they arrived to his manor.

He parked the car out front, Hannah and Loki both exited the car and made their way to the front door, Hannah was taken by surprise when Loki opened it for her.

“Would you like anything to drink?” Loki finally broke the silence.

“Some water please.”

Loki poured her, and himself, a glass of water. He handed one of the glasses to her, his eyes seemed to bore into her and Hannah could feel her heartbeat quicken.

Instead of leading her to his office, like she thought he would, he went to the large, black leather couch in his living room and sat down. Hannah went to the opposite end of the couch to take a seat.

“You think I’m a fool, don’t you?” He started.

“What? Of course not, why would you even think that?” Hannah was beyond confused.

“Last Thursday, when I called you, I was very obviously wasted and you did nothing about it.”

“What was I supposed to do? You made it very obvious that you didn’t want me to hang up.”

“I don’t remember the conversation that well, and I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just if I ever do that again, promise me that you will hang up on me.” He looked up at his assistant from the other end of the large sofa.

“Maybe just don’t call people when you’re drunk and you won’t have this problem.” Hannah rolled her eyes.

She expected anger and backlash from her boss, but instead he just gave a light chuckle and looked down at his glass.

“I know, I shouldn’t drag people into the mess that is my life. I just need to be assured that you are on my side, and being on my side is calling me out on my bullshit and holding me responsible for any pain or inconvenience I cause you.”

Hannah stood up and walked to his end of the couch and sat next to him. Loki looked into her eyes, surprised by how close she sat to him.

“Loki, why would you ever cause me any pain? You have been nothing but amazing to me this past month. And I am very grateful for all that you have given me. You don’t cause me pain or inconvenience, you have given me new hope for a life that I was prepared to give up on. I just have never had the opportunity to tell you how grateful I am but I just wanted to say, thank you.”

Loki was shocked by his assistant’s confession, he never realized that what he did, the chance that he gave her, meant so much to her. He saw her in a new light, a glowing light that seemed to shine on her now as she looked up at him from her spot on his couch. She had such admiration and innocence in her eyes, her rosy lips curled up into a slight smile.

She was beautiful.

Oh shit, he was attracted to her, his own assistant.

“You’re welcome, Hannah.” Was all he could say.

She stood from the couch and looked around, her eyes landed outside, specifically the large pool in his backyard.

“Do you ever use that pool?” She asked.

How? How could she completely change the subject of the conversation just like that? This girl was truly a wonder to the dark haired man.

“Occasionally, yes.” He answered.

“Only occasionally? If I had a pool like that I would use it every day.” She giggled.

“Well,” Loki stood from the couch and walked up next to her, “If you wish you could use it at anytime.” He offered.

“Seriously? Don’t you think that’s kind of strange for your assistant to use your pool.”

“No, just make sure Brian isn’t here, he would surely throw a fit.”

Hannah giggled and looked up to her boss, “Well then, I just might take you up on that offer one day.”

The two stood in silence for a few moments. Loki took a deep breath and began to speak.

“I apologize if I worried you with my urgency to talk to you, I still wish to talk to you about your performance this past week.” Loki walked over to the long bar in front of the kitchen, he sat on one of the tall chairs and glanced at the seat next to him in a silent invitation to her.

Hannah joined him, still slowly sipping on her glass of water.

“Allow me to start this off by saying thank you for your hard work. You kept things very organized and well prepared for when Brian and I returned. I wish to see that kind of work in person next time.”

“Thanks, it wasn’t too much really. I actually enjoyed it.”

“I’m going on another trip to New York in a month, keep up this work and I will allow you to accompany me on this trip.” Loki offered.

“Wow! New York? Are you sure about that sir?” Hannah questioned her boss while trying to hold in her excitement.

“Of course, though it’ll be for work, not a fun little vacation.”

“Yes sir, I understand.”

Loki loved hearing her call him sir, he could listen to her say that all day. Loki was determined at this point, he wanted to be the person that she looked up to and relied on. He wanted to spoil her and give her everything he had.

“Come with me.” He stood from his seat and walked down one of the few hallways in his mansion.

Hannah followed closely behind her boss, eager to see where he was taking her. She admired the art that decorated the walls as she walked.

Loki led her to his rather large underground garage. He had so many cars, all of which cost more than the young girl’s college tuition.

“You have your drivers license now, yes?” Loki asked.

“Yeah, I got it while you were gone.” Hannah answered.

“Good.” He reached into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out a key fob. “This is yours, it’s so poor Brian won’t have to drive thirty minutes out of the way to come get you.”

Hannah inspected the key closely, it didn’t take long for her to figure out that it belonged to the white Mercedes Benz that she was in front of.

“Thank you so much!” She paused and looked at the car, “But-“

“You aren’t allowed to say no.” Loki cut her off.

“I was just gonna say that this won’t fit in with the other cars at my apartment building.” Hannah giggled.

Loki smirked, enjoying the sound of her laughter. “Promise me that nothing will happen to this car, or you for that matter.”

“I promise.” She smiled.

“Good.”

The two stood in silence for a few seconds. Hannah was overwhelmed with joy, she still kept her distance from her stern boss, even though she wanted to wrap her arms around his tall frame.

"You should be on your way." Loki pressed a button on the wall, opening the garage door. "Drive safely please."

"I will, thank you again, so much." She flashed a smile at him as she got in her new car.

Loki watched her dive off very cautiously, the image of her kind features replaying in his mind like a broken record.

'This is either going to turn out really good or really bad'

Notes:

I promise i'll actually update in reasonable time now.

Thanks for Reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 9: Forgetting

Summary:

Brian gets upset that Loki invited Hannah to his house alone. He then suggests that Loki’s distracts himself from Hannah in any way possible.

‘How do I hide a car?’

Hannah walked up to her new car that Loki gave her over the weekend, it stuck out like a sore thumb among the other cars and she was just hoping that no one would try to break into it.

However, it was nice to have her own ride to work, not having to rely on anyone or feel bad that someone else was driving her around. She felt like less of a burden to Brian and Loki, although part of her knows that she shouldn’t think that way.

She picked up everyone’s coffee as usual and walked into the building, scanning her badge as she walked through doors.

When she arrived to the top floor where Loki and Brian were she was greeted by a scowling Brian who gave her a worried look.

“Hey Brian! I got your drinks-“, Before she could say anything else she was cut off by Loki’s assistant.

“I’ll shall give Mr. Laufeyson his drink, go into the east conference room immediately. I’ll meet you there shortly.” He took the drink tray from her hands.

“Did something happen?” She asked.

“Just go.”

Hannah sulked over to the conference room, wondering why Brian was in such a sour mood. When she walked into the room she was met with darkness, making it clear that no one else was going to be in here.

She turned on the light and sat at the rectangular meeting table, she swayed side to side in the office chair she sat in, paranoid about why Brian wanted to speak with her privately.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Brian entering the room, she sat up straight and looked in his direction as he sat in the seat next to her, which was spaced out appropriately.

“I just want to start off by saying your not in trouble, okay? This is more about Loki’s behavior.”

“Oh, what’s wrong with him?”

“He invited you to his house the other day right?”

“Yes, he wanted to talk to me.”

“About what?” Brian questioned.

Hannah had to keep out the part about the drunken phone call with their boss, she didn’t want to embarrass Loki like that. Especially since some of the things he said weren’t exactly work appropriate.

“About my performance over the week that you were gone, and about giving me a car so that you wouldn’t have to drive me.”

Brian sighed and sat back in his seat, “We were supposed to have a meeting with you today about your performance but he just had to intervene.” Brian was clearly frustrated, “But I understand the part with the car, even though I can’t believe he gave you one of his personal cars.”

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, he has a lot of cars.”

“He trusts you though, enough for you to drive one of his cars with his insurance.”

“I guess he does, is there a problem, Brian?” Hannah became more confident knowing that she wasn’t getting fired now.

“Did he say anything to you? Anything unprofessional?”

‘Well he did offer for me to swim in his pool when you aren’t around’ Hannah thought to herself.

“No, he was just being my boss.” Hannah assured the worried assistant.

“We’ll that’s good to know, sorry if i worried you. You can go back to work now.”

“It’s no problem.” Hannah smiled and left the room.

Brian followed a few seconds later and went into Loki’s office, closing and locking the large office door behind him. When he turned around he saw Loki sitting behind his grand desk in his chair.

“What the hell are you doing Brian? I have a meeting in ten minutes.” Loki griped.

“I need to talk to you, it won’t take long.”

“Is it about the fact that you brought me my drink instead of Hannah? She is paid to do that you know.” Loki smirked.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop. How dare you think of her like that! I warned you before but you just don’t listen!” Brian spoke up.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Don’t be a smartass, it’s Hannah, you are totally in to her, you invite her over to your house, privately no less, and give her a car. She’s your assistant! Not your little sugar baby that you spoil!”

“I was just doing what I thought was best, did you really want to go all the way over to that disgusting part of town to pick her up every day? You should be thanking me.”

“I don’t care about the car, it’s about what you said to me on the trip.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t! You were drunk as fuck talking about your pretty little assistant and how good she is for you and that you’d ruin her in a second.” Brian huffed.

“I was drunk, okay? I had a stressful week and I needed to relax, whatever I said means nothing now.”

“You know what they say, drunk words are sober thoughts.”

“You know nothing of what I think of her.”

“Listen, you need to get her off of your mind in that way, I don’t care how you do it but you need something to distract you from her.”

“I thought I was the boss? Why don’t you just run the company if you’re so concerned with who I want to fuck!” Loki stood from his chair and slammed his hand on his desk.

“Just remember what I said, the day you sleep with her is the day I quit.” Brian scolded.

“I’m honored that you have such confidence in me, speak to me like that again and you won’t have a chance to quit.” Loki’s eyes went dark.

Hannah watched Brian leave Loki’s office in a huff, plopping down in his office chair that gave a quiet squeak of resistance.

“Is everything alright? I think I heard some yelling in there?” Hannah showed concern.

“Did you hear what we were saying?”

“No, it was too muffled.”

“Then don’t worry about it.” Brian sat back up to work at his computer.

Hannah was caught off guard by Brian’s rude demeanor, he was normally so nice, even after a disagreement with Loki.

The day eventually ended and Hannah drove home, she didn’t play any music, she just sat in the leather seat, contemplating, worrying. She just couldn’t shake this gut feeling that they were talking- no, arguing about her. She didn’t know what she would’ve done wrong, then she remembered what Brian said when he pulled her aside earlier.

‘This is more about Loki’s behavior.’

Sure, Loki acted different around her but she wasn’t uncomfortable around him, she actually enjoyed being around him, going to his house and talking to him. Hannah wouldn’t be lying if she said she had a small crush on her boss, but that’s all it is, just a childish crush, he was her boss and she was the assistant, this wasn’t a cheesy romance novel where they get together at the end, this is real life. A relationship like that wouldn’t look good for either of them, it was best if everything remained professional. And when she quits for school or another job, she’ll just leave him in the past, with all of those feelings.

The week went by rather quickly and it was finally Friday, Hannah was excited for her weekend off, she already had plans with her friends and she wasn’t going to let anything put her down, she was never in a good mood like this so she wanted to take advantage.

However all good things must come to an end.

Hannah was sitting at her desk when a woman came up, pulling Hannah’s eyes away from the monitor screen.

This woman was beautiful, she had styled blonde hair that went slightly past her shoulder, though it was obviously damaged from years of bleach and styling. She wore a floral print bodycon dress that was low cut in the front, showing off her breasts, they were almost too perfect, most likely fake but Hannah wasn’t judging. She finished her look off with some red stilettos that clashed horribly with her dress.

“Hello, how can-“

“I need to see Mr. Laufeyson.” She cut Hannah off, which just so happened to be a pet peeve of hers.

“He doesn’t have any meetings lined up today.” She sternly said.

Before this mystery woman could say anything Loki opened his office door.

“Amber, right on time, come on in.” He smirked.

This woman, who was apparently named Amber walked into his office, he placed a hand on her lower back as she walked past him.

Although she didn’t like the woman, Hannah was just glad she didn’t have to deal with her anymore.

It was when the woman exited Loki’s office half an hour later that Hannah’s whole day came crashing down.

She was a mess, her hair was out of the previous style she had it in. It looked like someone’s hands were tangled in it, his hands. The zipper of her dress wasn’t up all way like it was when she walked in. It was so painfully obvious what had happened, Amber knew that she knew, throwing the assistant a cruel smirk over her shoulder.

Hannah didn’t understand why she felt like this, she felt sick and hot but yet cold and numb at the same time. Why should she care that Loki had obviously had sex with this woman, it’s not her business, she doesn’t even like him that much. It was just a crush, just a little crush. So why does her eyes burn and her throat feel dry?

Hannah turned and made eye contact with Brian across the room, she looked back down at her keyboard almost immediately. She didn’t want to feel like this anymore, she just wanted to be drunk and numb again.

Loki came out of his office and looked down at the girl over her desk, “You can go home early.”

Hannah gathered her things and clocked out without even a glance in her boss’s direction, she just couldn’t look him in the eye right now, not after that.

When she sat in her car she took a deep breath and held everything back, she refused to cry over him, she didn’t know how he had this grip on her but she wanted to shake it off as soon as she could.

The following night was full of drinks and laughter with friends, but it wasn’t enough she still thought about it, about him. So she did the only thing she thought would work, she went home with a guy from the bar, hoping that he would numb the pain.

When Hannah woke up the next morning, her disappointing one night stand sleeping next to her, she felt perfectly numb again. She vowed to herself from that day on that she would never let her feelings go out of her control like that again.

Notes:

I’m gonna be more consistent with my updates from now on. The chapters might be a little bit shorter though.

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Follow me on Tumblr @lokis-dark-queen

Chapter 10: Let’s Talk

Summary:

Loki has grown tired of his ‘distraction’ and has a hear to heart talk with Hannah.

It’s been more than a month since Loki brought in his new ‘friend’.

Hannah had gotten over it by then, but she did despise having to deal with her weekly, sometimes even daily.

If she was lucky the woman would just completely ignore her as she walked into Loki’s office, but sometimes she just had to open her mouth.

“You’re just the receptionist.”

“You sure do work a lot.”

“You dress so boring.”

That was just a few examples of the things she had to say.

Hannah now would dread going to work if it wasn’t for Brian, he was always so kind to her, more so since Amber started showing up. It was almost strange, like he felt sorry for her.

Hannah had barely spoken with Loki during this time, if it wasn’t about work then she would prefer that she didn’t talk to him at all. Although recently both he and Brian had been in a sour mood because their business trip to New York had been delayed indefinitely. And it was about to be delayed even more because Loki was hosting a formal party for his investors, one that Hannah has been spending almost all of her time putting together.

“How’s everything coming along?” Loki asked Hannah, leaning on her desk.

“I have everything all ready for your party sir. Catering, theme, time, place and more.” She smiled.

“Good girl, you could get a raise at this point.” He winked.

Hannah let out a breathy laugh, “Thank you sir.”

“Excuse me.” A voice interrupted their conversation.

Loki turned around and saw Amber behind him with her arms crossed.

Although Hannah didn’t care much for her, nor did she care about her relationship with Loki, she had noticed that he had been rather annoyed with the blonde woman these past few days.

“We need to talk Mr. Laufeyson.” She huffed.

Loki gave her a dirty look, even Hannah knew that he didn’t like being bossed around. “Well, you don’t give the orders around here do you?”

Loki turned his back to her, placing his attention on Hannah once again, he leaned over her desk slightly and placed his hand over hers. She felt like she nearly jumped out of her skin after feeling his hand on hers.

“Sorry dear, this will only take a minute.” He smirked mischievously before leading Amber to his office before closing the door.

That was strange to say the least. Hannah had barely spoken to him before today and now he was treating her like she was some close friend of his, perhaps even more. What was he trying to do? Hannah immediately became suspicious of her boss as she turned back to her computer. Her cheeks grew flushed when he called her dear, she had hoped he didn’t notice but he was just so close to her. Almost like she could feel his breath on her face. Hannah also noticed Brian looking aver at her with a concerned look on his face. She flashed him a sheepish smile and went back to putting together invitations for Loki’s party.

Meanwhile in Loki’s office he had to deal with Amber, who he’d grown rather annoyed with in this past month. All she was supposed to be was a distraction, just one night to get his mind off of his darling assistant. Then his sick mind came up with a twisted idea, to use Amber to get Hannah jealous. He put up with Amber for a whole month and he just couldn’t take it anymore, he tried to sit through her stories and ‘ideas’ for his business.

He had barely endured the sex, it was so good at first but her voice started to annoy him. He would just imagine it was Hannah, something he would shame himself for every morning. However the words that she spoke to him today were the end of the line.

“You should fire her.”

Loki turned his back to the blonde, he feared that if he looked at her any longer he wouldn’t be able to control his temper.

“Get out, we’re done.”

“What the fuck do you mean? You can’t leave me! We had something!”

“I refuse to be taken advantage of by some bimbo with no money or self confidence, you were just a distraction. Now get out before I call security.” Loki remained calm, somehow.

There was a moment of silence between the two.

“Why do you only fuck me in your office?” She asked him.

“Because you’re not worth being fucked in my bed.”

She paused, Loki had his back turned to her still but he could tell that she was about to go off like ticking bomb.

“I HATE YOU LAUFEYSON! I HOPE YOU GET WHATS COMING FOR YOU ASSHOLE!” She screamed at the top of her lungs before storming out of his office.

Brian and Hannah watched as she left, obviously having just heard what went down. They both looked back at the office door that their boss was behind.

“What do you think that was about?” Hannah asked curiously.

“I don’t want to know, just don’t talk about it, ever.” Brian gave Hannah a serious look.

Both assistants went back to their work for a few long minutes before Loki’s door opened. He leaned on the frame and his blue-green eyes landed on Hannah.

“Could I see you in my office Ms. Rei?”

“Yes sir.” Hannah stood up quickly to go to Loki’s office, despite Brian’s protesting look.

Hannah walked past him, the smell of expensive cologne and whiskey dripping from his body.

She sat down in one of the plush leather chairs in front of his desk, she saw it immediately, the bottle of brown liquor on his desk, and the small glass that he had filled more than any bar would allow. There was no ice to water the bitter drink down.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Loki’s hand grabbing the glass and sitting down in his chair.

“Drink?” He offered.

“No thank you.” She was offended and concerned for her boss, “You shouldn’t be drinking at your job.”

Loki let out a small chuckle, “You won’t tell on me right? Brian is such a tight ass about stuff like this.” He took a sip.

“Well he has a reason to be. This isn’t really acceptable work behavior.”

Loki just rolled his eyes and looked at his cluttered desk, Hannah took note that it used to be so nice and organized when she first started. Loki had been acting so different, along with Brian. She just assumed it was because their business trip got delayed.

“You know, journalists are known for calling people out. Are you gonna tell everyone about me, when you leave me?”

“Leave you? What do you mean?”

Fuck, Loki didn’t mean to let that last part slip out.

“I mean when you go back to school, at the end of August. It’s July, I understand if you’ll be leaving then.”

“Oh that.” Hannah paused and looked down at her hands in her lap, her fingernails picked at her skin.

Hannah had been having doubts with her major recently, well, longer than she’d like to admit. Hannah enjoyed writing and art but her father would always say that those things that she loved would never get her anywhere in life, he just didn’t want his daughter to be like him. Poor with no motivation in life, working at some dead end job with shitty pay.

Hannah wanted to go to art school and become an artist as well as a writer. She wanted to make beautiful pieces that complimented what she wrote. But she had so come to terms with reality when she graduated three years ago. Now she was twenty-one, doubting the path that she had taken in life.

“What’s wrong?” Loki’s voice pulled her out of her daze.

“Nothing just, I didn’t realize it was that close.”

“Time goes by when you’re having fun, or working hard.” He winked at the girl on the opposite side of his desk.

Hannah’s cheeks grew slightly flushed at her boss’s flirty behavior, she didn’t want to leave. She liked the job, it paid very well after all. Not to mention the free phone and car. She didn’t want to stop pursuing her education but she also didn’t want to stop working here right now. Sure Loki was an asshole most of the time but he was still a good boss, she liked having Brian around as well, especially when they would gossip about Loki.

“I don’t want to leave.”

“Has the job grown on you?”

‘Just you mostly.’ Hannah thought to herself. “Yeah, it’s nice. If I quit and go back to school then I won’t have a steady income anymore. I could get another job but they don’t pay very well, or work around my class schedule.”

Loki had to keep himself from saying what he was thinking, he would be completely willing to give her all the money that she needs to live her life and go to school. She didn’t even need to work for him.

“We’ll I’m sure we could find a way to work around your schedule when school starts, I’m sure Brian would like it if you stuck around for awhile.”

“Really? That would be great!”

Loki smiled when her face lit up, having her with him made him completely forget about the glass of alcohol right in front of him. The same glass that Hannah’s eyes had wandered back to.

“Loki, are you okay?” She looked into his eyes and expressed her concern.

Hannah knew that she was making a mistake being concerned with his personal life but she couldn’t keep herself from caring about him, it’s like all those feelings for him that she tried to get rid of a month ago came rushing back.

“Yeah.” He sat back in his chair and pushed his raven hair back from his face, “It’s just the cancellation of my trip and the party, it’s a lot, but I trust that you and Brian have it all under control.” He smiled.

“Then why do you seem so stressed?”

‘Because I want to fuck you until the only name you remember is mine’ He thought to himself.

“Being a CEO is stressful darling, that’s just how it is.”

“Maybe you need a break.” She suggested.

“Maybe I do, but for now I’ll just look forward to the party. You will be attending.” He smirked.

“What? I thought it was just for your investors?”

“And my close friends, besides I can’t get anywhere without my two assistants with me.”

“It’s a lovely event I just don’t have a closet for something ike this.” Hannah protested.

“I have a stylist, I’ll make an appointment with him for you.”

“You don’t have to-“ She was cut off.

“No no, I insist. Though I’m sure you could wear anything to the party and make it look like it belongs on a runway.”

Hannah blushed at his comment, part of her was excited while another part was absolutely terrified. Hannah had never been to a fancy party like this before, she was afraid that she’d make Loki look bad.

“I have work to get done, I’ll text you the time when he’ll meet you, his name is Michael by the way.” Loki stood up and Hannah followed him.

“Thank you.” Hannah smiled at him.

“For what?”

“Everything I guess.”

Loki gave out a deep chuckle once again, “Well then, you’re welcome for everything darling.” He leaned down slightly to look her in the eye, his warmth enveloped the girl.

He opened the door for her, closing it immediately after she was out.

Hannah was met by Brian with a look a worried mother would her child after it got hurt.

“Are you okay? What did he say?”

“It’s nothing he just wanted to talk.” Hannah smiled and placed her hands on the worried mans shoulders, “Everything is okay Brian, I promise.”

“Whatever you say.” He went back to his
desk.

Brian kept an eye on Hannah as she worked, she didn’t seem sad or in a bad mood. It was quite the opposite actually, she was smiling, just a little, but enough for Brian to take notice. Although he was relieved that Loki had managed to make her smile instead of cry, he couldn’t help but wonder what he said to her.

Brian had known Loki for years, he knew what had been happening between him and Amber, it wasn’t the first time something like that had happened. Every time Loki would grow tired of a girl he would ‘talk’ to her in his office and the girl would always leave screaming and crying.

Loki wasn’t good with relationships, mostly because he didn’t want one. But Brian just wanted to make sure that Hannah wasn’t the next girl that he played with and threw out like a toy. Brian saw Hannah as an innocent girl in his eyes, almost like a child. Part of him believes that she shouldn’t be working here, wasting her young adult years behind a desk. Loki was manipulative, of course, that’s how he got everything he wanted. But Brian was gonna make damn sure that he didn’t get her.

Loki, however, had other plans.

Notes:

This was a bit of a filler chapter but things will be picking up soon. It’s kind of a slow burn but I don’t want it to be boring for you guys. This was supposed to be uploaded last Friday but I partied too hard on thanksgiving and didn’t get around to it. Also, there won’t be a chapter next week because I’m working on a one shot that I’m trying to get out to you guys soon.

Thanks for Reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Follow me on Tumblr @lokis-dark-queen

Chapter 11: Dress Up

Summary:

Hannah goes to Loki’s mansion to try on some dresses and meet his stylist. Loki doesn’t exactly remain on his best behavior.

Hannah clutched her bag as she stood in front of Loki’s door.

She was mentally fighting with herself if it was really normal for her older boss to invite her to his house to try on fancy dresses for his upcoming party. She tried to convince herself it was because she was his assistant, obviously she would accompany him to the gala, it was part of the job after all.

But another part of her was hesitant, Loki was a flirt and she didn’t want to be just another girl he took advantage of. Brian knew that, which was why Loki told her to keep this ‘meeting’ a secret. Perhaps what she was doing was wrong but she was curious, too curious for her own good. She decided that, for now, she would play along with his games.

A few seconds after she rang the doorbell, Loki opened the door for her. She was taken back by his lack of formal clothing, he wore a pair of black sweatpants and a green jumper. Her cheeks grew slightly red at the sight of him.

“Good morning, are you ready?” He smirked.

His voice pulled her out of her trance, “Yea.” She nervously breathed out.

Loki stepped aside, inviting her in, she hesitantly walked past him.

Her eyes looked around his mansion, every time she was there it felt like it was the first time, though part of her knew that she shouldn’t be here at all.

“Coffee?” Loki offered as he walked past her and into his kitchen.

“No thanks.” She declined, her heart was beating fast enough, she certainly didn’t need caffeine.

“Is she here yet?” Hannah heard a voice at the other end of the house, she saw a tall man enter the living room. He had short blond hair and wore very expensive clothing. His eyes almost seemed to light up when he saw Hannah.

“Yes, Hannah, this is Michael, my stylist.” Loki came over and introduced the man.

Hannah reached out her hand to Michael as he took it ecstatically. “It's so nice to finally meet you Miss Rei, Loki has told me so much about you!”

Loki’s body stiffened at his words as Hannah raised her eyebrows, “Has he now?” She giggled.

“We have all the time to talk about him as we try on some lovely dresses that I have for you.”

“Talk about me?” Loki questioned.

“Don’t worry about it boss, we’ll be right back, don’t even think about trying to take a peek.” Michael gently held Hannah’s shoulders as he ushered her to a private room.

Loki just rolled his eyes and went the opposite direction.

Hannah felt slightly overwhelmed walking into the room, multiple designer dresses surrounded her, she knew those dresses cost more than her life. She felt a pit in her stomach, her anxiety was causing her heart to feel as if it would beat right out of her chest.

‘I shouldn’t be here’, she thought to herself.

“Are you ready dear?” Michael asked.

“I guess.”

“Alright, the theme for the gala will be black tie so we will be dressing you in a floor length gown, not a ballgown of course but something more form fitting to accentuate that lovely figure of yours.” He stated as he sorted through the multiple dresses hanging in the middle of the room.

Hannah became slightly flustered at Michael’s comment, “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Mr. Laufeyson specifically requested that I help you with this”, He picked some dresses and laid them on the chaise lounge in the middle of the room, “You know, you are the only girl that Loki has ever had me work with.”

“Really?” She was surprised at his comment. “I took him for someone who has a new girl on his arm at every party he goes to.”

Michael laughed at her assumption, “His reputation precedes him, but he is more of the type to find a girl at the party instead of bringing one with him.”

“Is that so?” She smirked.

“Maybe, however, he did say only the best for you,” He smiled while handing her an armful of dresses. “And I intend on doing my job thoroughly.”

“Of course.” Hannah took the dresses and dipped into the attached bathroom off of the suite to change into the first one. The dress was a champagne color with sparkles decorating the fabric, it had spaghetti straps with a plunging neckline. The dress was out of Hannah’s comfort zone, never had she worn something so expensive. A knock at the door jolted her out of her thoughts.

“Are you okay in there? Need any help?” Michael asked on the other side.

“No, I’m coming out.”

Hannah exited the room and stepped in front of the mirror.

“So, what are you thinking?” He asked.

“It’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong but, it just isn’t me.”

“Of course, I understand. May I ask why though?”

“I’ve never worn anything like this before, it doesn’t feel right.”

Michael paused and looked at the dress, “You’re right, it's trying too hard. We need something more subtle for your debut.” He turned and picked two dresses from the rack, “Try on these, they might be more your style.”

“Thank you”

Hannah went back into the bathroom. She quickly slipped out of the previous dress and began to put on the new one when she heard faint voices outside of the room. One was obviously Michael, the other was deeper and had more of a growl to it, Loki.

“I asked you to stop sneaking around.” She heard Michael say.

“It’s my house, I can do what I want.” Loki retorted. “How’s it coming along?”

“Fine.”

“Fine? What does that mean? Does she not like any of them?”

“She just doesn’t know how to react to all this, you just pick her up and put her into your little world. With your big mansion and your fancy office building. It’s out of her comfort zone.”

Hannah was shocked. Was it that obvious? She couldn’t believe Michael had just read her like a book. Part of her felt somewhat ashamed.

“Did she tell you that?” Loki growled in annoyance.

“She didn’t need to.”

There was a pause, even on the other side of the door she felt a stillness in the air.

“I want her in the best damn dress you have, I need her to look good in front of everyone at the gala.”

“Are you insisting, sir, that she doesn’t always look good?” Michael retorted.

All she heard from the other side of the door was a scoff from Loki before fading footsteps.

“Are you ready Hannah?” Michael’s voice broke her from her trance.

“Yea, just a second.”

Hannah stepped out in a long black dress, it had a neckline with a slight v shape and spaghetti straps with a low back. It was form fitting at the waist with the fabric falling straight down like a waterfall at her hips.

Michael’s face lit up at the sight of her, “Wow! What do you think of it?” He asked gleefully.

“It’s my favorite for sure! I think I’ll wear it for the gala.”

“Are you sure? We have tons of dresses here, you could try on some more just for fun?”

“No thanks, I have to be somewhere later.”

“Oh okay, well I’ll get the dress all ready for you to wear to the gala.”

Hannah quickly changed out of the dress, slightly sad that she had to take it off, and went to leave.

“Thank you for everything Michael, the dress is perfect.”

“You’re welcome dear, you’ll look excellent!” He winked before saying goodbye.

Just when Hannah was about to leave she was startled by a voice in the kitchen. She quickly turned around to face the source and found Loki leaning against the counter while holding a glass of bourbon in his large hands.

“How did it go?” He asked.

“Great, thanks for setting this up.” She smiled.

“Are you happy with the choice you made?”

She paused before answering, he was talking about the dress, right? “Yea.”

“Come here.” He demanded.

She hesitated, cautiously trying to figure out what he was thinking. Was he about to ridicule her? Praise her? Maybe he…

No. She can’t think of him like that, her boss, the person who gave her everything she needed. Yet when she looked at him her heart skipped a beat, her cheeks would flush red, and her cunt would ache with need. Did she seriously want to fuck her boss? Nevertheless, she obeyed his words, walking towards him like a well trained dog.

“Yes?”

Loki placed his glass on the counter, the sound of it hitting the marble made her jump slightly. He approached her, slowly, placing a hand on her arm, the other pushed her hair behind her shoulder. She froze in place, entranced by him, she could smell the liquor on his breath. It mixed nicely with the cologne on his skin, she wanted to touch him, feel him.

He smiled softly at her, “You’ll look beautiful.” His blue eyes pierced hers, then they fell lower, staring at her soft lips. “Stay for dinner?” He asked.

Hannah was tempted, she wanted to, so bad. But she had made a promise to Hazel.

“Sorry, I'm meeting with a friend for dinner.”

Loki paused, his eyes widened, he was apparently surprised that she had turned him down.

“Very well then, perhaps another time.” He took his hand off her shoulder and walked her to the door and opened it for her.

Her heart was beating so fast, her hands shook. Was it fear? Or maybe excitement?

“Thank you.” She muttered before walking out the door. But he stopped her before she could get too far.

“One more thing.” He stated before grabbing her hand, “What were you thinking back there? In the kitchen, when I was close to you?”

“W-What?”

“Your cheeks were red, and I could hear your heart beating. I just want to know, what were you thinking about? Was it me? What were you wishing would happen?”

Words failed to escape her mouth, what was she supposed to say?

“I don’t-”

“You shouldn’t think those things about me. Not unless you actually want them to happen.”

She froze, he couldn’t be serious, could he? He let go of her and walked back inside. Hannah got in her car and sat for a bit, her mind was trying to process what just happened. Was he joking? She couldn’t believe that he said that.

‘I guess that there was a reason that Brian wasn’t supposed to know about this meeting.’

Notes:

Hey everyone! A literal year has gone by since I last updated this fic, this past year has been absolutely crazy for me and I have had no inspiration to write. I thought about just scrapping the whole thing but I still had ideas for the story and I admittedly do love writing Loki’s character in this. So now that I have a better setup for writing I will be updating more. And I’m serious this time, sorry I left you all waiting for so long. Thank you for all your support!

Chapter 12: Money Can Buy Happiness

Summary:

After telling Hazel she wants to take a break from school for a semester, Hannah shows up to work stressed and tired. She then receives a call from Loki, who gives her an opportunity to treat herself.

“What do you mean take a break?”

Hannah had just vocalized her idea of taking a break from college to her confused roommate. She knew that Hazel would be reluctant to her suggestion, but she didn’t expect her to get this upset about it. It was just one semester, that’s all.

“I just want to focus on my job right now.” Hannah reasoned.

“You’ll put yourself behind for a full semester! We won't be graduating together. What about being a journalist?”

“Maybe I don’t want to be a journalist!” She accidentally yelled. Hazel looked at her with shock, Hannah didn’t mean to raise her voice like that, especially not to her best friend. But with everything going on in her life right now she had some bottled up emotions she needed to let out. But Hazel couldn’t know everything, not yet.

“What?”

“I’ve had some doubts about my major, I don’t think pursuing journalism will make me happy.”

“Happy? Hannah, we graduate next year, you want to change your major this late?”

“Well that's the thing, I still want to write, I love writing. It's just journalism isn’t for me, lets be honest whatever job I land I’ll just be writing tabloids on dumb celebrity drama, celebrities are exhausting assholes. I don’t want to spend my life interviewing and talking about them.”

Hazel looked at her with wide eyes, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What made you think this way?”

Hannah paused, “I just came to a realization, that's all.”

“How? Did something happen, was it at work?”

Hannah decided to be partially honest with Hazel. “I met Loki.”

Hazel nearly launched out of her seat, “Are you kidding me? What is he like? He didn’t say anything bad to you did he?”

“No, he was just disappointing. And an asshole, to everybody.”

“I'm not surprised, he wasn’t mean to you was he?”

“No, he was nice to me actually” She tried to defend him. He did give her a job out of whatever small amount of kindness was left in his heart. He also shamelessly flirted with her, that wasn’t worth defending, she didn’t hate it though. “I don’t think he really cared, I'm just an assistant.”

“Why don’t you just quit if he took away your inspiration.” She rolled her eyes.

“He didn’t take away my inspiration, he just opened my eyes.”

She took a deep breath before speaking, “Fine, if you want to take a break, then take your break.” Hazel went to her room and shut the door.

‘Fuck, now she’s mad.’ Hannah thought to herself as she buried her face in her hands.

Her conversation with Hazel stuck with her when she went to work the next morning, she quietly left Loki and Brian’s coffee on their desks and went to do her work, hoping that they would ignore her. Well, she wanted Loki to ignore her, she was indirectly mad at him right now. Brian was innocent from her wrath.

“No coffee for yourself this morning?” Brian came over to her desk.

“Not in the mood.” She didn’t make any eye contact with him as she typed frivolously at her keyboard.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m okay, when is Loki coming in?” She tried to dodge the question.

“He’s not. He’ll be staying home to prepare for tomorrow.”

Thank God, she was happy that Loki wouldn’t be here today. She really didn’t want to play his games right now.

“Good.”

“What did he do?” Brain asked with an irritated tone

“Nothing, I'm just nervous for tomorrow, I've never been to an event like that and Loki doesn’t exactly make me less nervous. There is a lot of pressure on me. I know he wants me to look good in front of his stupid rich friends.”

“Hannah, I’m going to be honest with you. Those people are not Loki’s friends, he can’t stand most of them. He does this to look good for the press, to make people think that he cares about them. But he doesn’t care about anyone, just himself.”

Hannah felt like that last part was aimed toward her, Brian was looking out for her, she knew that. He must have had a suspicion that Loki was being his flirty self with her, and he was. She knew it was bad that she liked it, and she had no intention on stopping anytime soon. One thing did stay in the back of her mind however, what was the line and how would she know when she crossed it? She would never get involved with him physically, would she?

“I know, but if I ruin his image he will fire me.” Hannah worried.

“Listen if you feel uncomfortable at any point during the party tomorrow, just come find me and I’ll take you home. Does that sound good to you?”

“Yea, thank you Brian.”

After Brian went back to his desk she had a few hours to focus on her work before her phone rang, she saw that it was Loki and looked over at Brian’s desk, seeing that he was absent she cautiously answered. “Hello?”

“Hello Hannah, how’s work?”

“Fine, do you need something?” She asked, still annoyed.

“Feisty today aren't we? Go into my office and check the first drawer on the left on my desk.”

Hannah stood up heading to where she was told, “May I ask what I'm looking for?”

“It’ll be on top of a stack of papers.”

Hannah opened the drawer and saw a black credit card sitting on top of the papers he was talking about.

“Do you want me to bring this over to you?” She asked, picking up the card and inspecting it.

“No, quite the opposite actually. I want you to use it, buy yourself some accessories for tomorrow.”

“You can’t be serious.” She answered in a monotone voice.

“Dead serious darling, buy yourself something that will make you happy.” He stated before hanging up. She paused for a second, something that would make her happy? Did he somehow hear her conversation with Hazel? No, that's absurd, but it was still a little scary. She put the card in her pocket and walked back to her desk. When she sat down she saw Brian back at his desk.

“What were you in there for?” He asked.
“Loki asked me to check if he had a certain file in his office.”

“Oh, was it there?”

“Yes, I don’t know what it was though. I just made sure the file envelope was there.”

“Oh that's fine, it was probably part of the quarterly financial report.” He stated before looking back at his monitor.

Hannah sighed in relief, thankful he didn’t ask any more questions. After an hour of silence and work between them Brian looked up at the clock and told Hannah she could go home early.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s fine, I’m just gonna sit on my ass for the next hour. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said goodbye.

Hannah went back to her car and thought for a moment, pulling the black card out of her pocket. Should she? She almost felt like Loki would be upset if she didn't. She turned on the car and headed to the mall, her heart beating with excitement.

When she walked into the first store, a jewelry store, she had no idea what she was looking for. Nothing flashy, she didn’t want too much attention. Something dainty would work just fine.

“Can I help you with something?” The lady at the counter asked.

“Yea, I guess. I’m looking for something small that won't attract too much attention, maybe a necklace.”

“Of course, would you like a gold or silver chain?” She asked.

“Gold.” Hannah smiled.

After showing her a few options, the woman brought out one that finally caught Hannah’s eye. A thin gold chain that held a small emerald with even smaller diamonds surrounding it.

“Wow, it's beautiful. How much?”

“Nine-hundred.”

Nine hundred dollars? That's insane! Just for a necklace. Sure, Loki did want her to buy something nice, but was this too much? Hannah thought about it for a few seconds. Loki literally gave her his credit card and told her to spend his money. And she was kind of mad at him right now, and he was a millionaire. Or was he a billionaire? She wasn’t sure, but either way he was rich, nine hundred dollars wouldn’t be that big of a deal, right?
Hannah smiled mischievously, “I’ll take it.”

Paying for the necklace with Loki’s money was such a freeing feeling. She walked out of the jewelry store with a pep in her step and a bag on her arm. What next? Shoes! She needs a pair of heels to go with the dress. Her face lit up when she came across the luxury shoe store, she didn’t intend on splurging however, she promised herself this would be her last stop.

She walked in and scanned the shelves, just a simple black pair would be nice. Maybe with straps, she found a pair that fit the image in her head. When she picked them up she realized just how expensive they were. Red bottoms, Christian Louboutin heels. They were her size, they were also eight hundred dollars. The necklace was one thing, but expensive shoes that would put her total at almost two thousand dollars? Surely he would notice that, then again maybe he wanted to. Maybe he wanted to see her spend his money, did it give him an ego boost or something? He wasn’t her sugar daddy, but he did offer her his money, it wouldn’t be the first time. The wallet and the cash in it was just a start. Then it was the phone, the car, the dress, and now this. She couldn’t even guarantee that this would be the last time. But maybe buying these shoes would make her just a little bit less angry at him.

With shoes and necklace in hand, Hannah walked back to her car and drove home. When she arrived at her apartment building she put her purchases in the trunk, she would be driving to Loki’s house tomorrow to change into her dress anyway. She did have the option to bring the dress home with her, but she didn’t want Hazel to see it.

The nervous feeling in her stomach came back when she laid down to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Notes:

This one was a little short and a bit of a filler before the big gala chapter coming up next. Also I meant to post this last week but I went a little too hard last Friday and forgot oops.
Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 13: Loki’s Party

Summary:

It’s finally time for the big gala that Hannah has been planning for the past month. Although she is nervous at first after some inspiring words from Brian and a couple drinks, she finally has the confidence to play a little flirting game with Loki.

Hannah woke up with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her dreams last night were basically nightmares about everything that could go wrong tonight at the party. When she woke up from her uncomfortable night of sleep she stayed in bed and stared at the ceiling. Getting out of bed just didn’t feel like an option right now, but she had to, so many people were relying on her. She finally dragged herself out of bed and went into the bathroom to do her hair and make-up for tonight. She wanted to keep things simple, loose curls in her hair and natural make-up, except for the obviously unnatural red lip. She didn’t have a reason to make her lips more enticing, not at all. She was doing it to add a pop of color to contrast her black dress, and definitely not to attract the attention of anyone specific. Especially not her boss who was the main character of her nightmares last night. She didn’t want anything to happen between them, that would actually be terrible. She just wanted to tease him, give him a taste of his own medicine. When Hannah was finished she headed out to the kitchen to get some coffee.

“Wow! Look at you! Where are you off to all dolled up like that?” Hazel asked as Hannah walked into the kitchen

“I have a work party tonight. I told you this like three nights ago.”

“Sorry I forgot, you’re not the only person who has to work around here.” She rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, I’ll be home late tonight so don’t worry about me if I’m not here.” Hannah stated, filling up her mug with warm brown liquid and stirring in the cream and sugar.

“Too late, already worried. Is Loki gonna be there?” She asked.

“Of course, it's his party. Don’t be so concerned, he’s not intimidating. He won’t even notice I’m there.”

Hazel looked Hannah up and down, “Hannah, everyone is going to notice you. No pressure of course, but you’re beautiful. And Loki would be an idiot to not notice you.” She smiled.

Hannah was taken off guard by her words, her and Hazel have been fighting so much recently that she was so relieved to hear her roommate, no, her best friend say those words. She couldn’t believe that she almost let her job drive a wedge in their friendship. “Thank you Hazie, but it would be for the best if he didn’t.” Yet Hannah still lied to her, Loki was slowly turning her into a monster.

“Yeah, you’re right. But maybe you’ll meet some hot, rich entrepreneur at that party. And if you do, please ask if he has a friend, for both of our sakes.” Hazel winked.

“Sure thing.” Hannah smiled before looking at the clock, “I gotta go pick up my dress. I'm getting changed at my coworker’s house. Then I’ll be heading over to the venue.”

“Thank you for telling me, I’ll make sure to keep an eye on you, very closely.” She giggled.

“Please don’t.” Hannah laughed uncomfortably before grabbing her bag and heading toward the door.

“Bye, don’t drink too much.” She heard Hazel shout before closing the apartment door.

Hannah got in her car and threw her bag in the passenger seat, she was shaking. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go, she just was deathly terrified of Loki. What would he think of her dress? Her hair and make-up? She didn’t understand this feeling that she had for him. She was scared of him, yet she wanted to fuck him so bad it wasn’t even funny anymore. The drive to Loki’s house was filled with contemplation. When she came back into reality she saw that she was at the gate of Loki’s mansion, which opened promptly at her arrival. When she got out of the car and went to the front door she was greeted with Michael’s white smile.

“Hello darling! Your hair is amazing!”

“Thank you, I did it myself.” Hannah walked in and saw Brian standing in the living room wearing a suit while on the phone with somebody, he gave a nod to Hannah before returning to his call. Michael led Hannah to the bedroom at the end of the hall, the same one where she tried on dresses days earlier. She saw the dress draped on the bed.

“I’ll let you get dressed, just yell if you need anything.” Michael waved before closing the door.

Hannah quickly changed out of her fitted t-shirt and jeans and into the gorgeous dress. She accessorized with her necklace and shoes that she bought with Loki’s credit card yesterday. When she looked in the mirror she nearly didn’t recognise herself. She looked so regal, so expensive. She guessed it wouldn’t kill her to have some fun tonight, pretend to be rich and flirt back with Loki, just for fun.

Michael nearly had to keep himself from screaming when Hannah exited the room.

“You look amazing! Just wait until Loki sees.” Michael held her gently by her upper arms, guiding her back to the living room where she saw Brian waiting for her on the couch. His face lit up with amazement when he saw Hannah.

“Wow, you look incredible. You should have no worries about tonight.” He attempted to reassure her.

“Are you sure? I don't want to attract too much attention as Loki’s new assistant.”

“Attention in this situation is a good thing, trust me.” He smiled before looking over to Michael, “You’ve outdone yourself once again, maybe Loki will give you a raise for your hard work.” Brian gave him a wink.

“Maybe Miss Rei could talk him into it, he seems rather partial to her.” Michael smiled at Brian, who gave him a dirty look, before turning to Hannah. “Isn’t that right Hannah?”

“I don’t know about that, he just likes to impress people.”

“Well, you could say that again. Speaking of impressions we should get going, Loki is already at the venue meeting with guests.” Brian stated before offering his arm out to Hannah who gladly took it as they turned to the front door.

“Will you be meeting us there Michael?” Hannah turned to ask the blonde man.

“Unfortunately not, Mr. Laufeyson normally doesn’t invite me to these things.”

“What! Why?” Hannah asked.

“Not sure, maybe he just doesn’t like me.” Michael giggled before patting Brian on the shoulder, “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you, I have better things to do than kiss up to snobby rich people all night.”

After saying their goodbyes to the stylist, Hannah and Brian walked out to the car and headed to the gala. Hannah picked at the skin around her fingers with anxiety, there were already people at this party, Loki was already at the party, the party that she planned and put together. She was worried that he wouldn’t like it, that everyone else wouldn’t like it. She hated that she had to overthink everything, that she felt the need to impress Loki.

“Hey, you alright?” Brian asked the nervous girl next to him, her fidgeting must've been more obvious than she thought.

“Yeah, I'm just nervous.”

“Hannah, you look amazing, I can tell you're overthinking things. There is no need to, trust me.” Brian did his best to reassure her. “Loki tries his best to be intimidating but just don’t let him get to you, don’t be afraid to fight back either.”

“Fight back? What the hell does that mean?”

“Don’t put up with his bullshit, you’re a journalist. Fight back with words.”

Hannah wanted to interrupt him and tell her that she wasn’t a journalist, not really at least. But then she took his words into account. Loki was a flirt, a shameless one at that. Flirting with his assistant was a problem, and tonight, she is going to give him a taste of his own medicine.

“I will.”

All of Hannah’s worries about the party faded away when she walked in and saw everyone enjoying themselves. The venue was gorgeous with dazzling chandeliers and a beautiful sounding live band. There was an open bar stocked fully with every drink she could imagine and more, the floor was polished as if it were a lake beneath the partygoers who swayed in rhythm with the music. It was perfect, Hannah couldn’t believe that she put all of this together. If Loki wasn’t impressed with this, then he was blind. Speaking of the devil, Hannah’s eyes immediately darted around the room to find her tall, raven haired boss.

“You really outdid yourself Hannah this is amazing!” Brian exclaimed as he scanned the large hall.

“I’m gonna get a drink.” Hannah left Brian’s side and strutted to the bar. There were eyes on her, there was no doubt about that. But she wasn’t here for them, she was here for him. “Gin and tonic please.” She ordered, the bartender nodded and went to make her drink. Just as the bartender went to hand the glass of liquor to her, another hand seemingly came out of nowhere and took the glass from right in front of her.

“I’m impressed, couldn’t have thrown a better party myself, and this is my party after all.”

Hannah turned to find Loki himself, her drink in his hand and a playful smirk on his face. It felt like everyone was looking at her now that Loki was giving her his full attention. Loki had her full attention as well, her eyes scanned him up and down. He wore a suit, black as the night, even his shirt and tie underneath were the same shade of black. His inky hair flowed off his shoulders and blended in with his blazer. Her heart began to beat faster, she almost lost every bit of confidence that she had walked in there with when Loki’s teal eyes met hers. Loki had already begun his game, and she was not about to fall victim to it again.

“You like gin and tonics?” She asks, her eyes never leaving his.

“Not primarily, just those who drink them,” He handed her back her drink and finally broke eye contact with her. His eyes wandered down to her chest, landing on the emerald pendant around her neck. “I see someone had fun spending my money.”

“Well you were so kind to offer and I haven’t treated myself in awhile so I thought I’d have some fun with it.” She took a sip of her drink, “I hope that’s not a problem, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Not at all, just remember that I am the one who is treating you. Is it just the necklace or did you have me treat you to anything else?” His eyes scanned down the rest of her body.

“I got some shoes.” Hannah lifted up her dress slightly to show off to him. “Do you approve? Being that it was your money I just wanted to make sure that you approve of them.” She looked up at the man who was towering over her through her lashes.

“Red bottoms, I’m aware of how expensive those are, you know?”

“Oh I was relying on it, you see this party I put together for you? I gotta fit in with all you Hollywood snobs if I’m going to be a good assistant.” She smiled at him sweetly.

Loki gave a scoff before flagging down the bartender, “Scotch on the rocks please.” He reached past Hannah, slightly brushing past her waist in the process. “Thank you.” He said to the bartender as he retrieved his drink.

“Scotch? That seems like more of a sitting in your office and being an asshole drink.” Hannah smirked, the look that fell across Loki’s face made it all worth it. He was shocked, Hannah wasn’t just ready to play his game, she was ready to win it. Just as Loki was about to say something, Brian came up behind them.

“There you guys are, didn’t Hannah do an amazing job putting all of this together?” He directed his attention to his boss.

“Of course, I expected no less from her. I wouldn’t have assigned such a job to her if I thought she couldn’t handle it.” Loki turned his eyes back to the woman in front of him, in that long, tempting black dress that fit her body so perfectly. He knew what she was getting at, and he knew that if Brian were to witness their flirty remarks he would never hear the end of it. “Now if you excuse me, I have guests to greet.” He nodded to his assistants and made his way across the room to mingle with the partygoers.

“Are you alright?” Brian asked.

“I’m great actually.” Hannah smiled and took a sip of her drink, “You’re right, I may overthink things just a little bit.”

“A little? I’m surprised that the skin around your fingernails isn’t bleeding right now.”

“Hey! All that matters is that I'm better now and I’m enjoying the party.”

“He didn’t say anything to you, right? Anything he shouldn’t?”

“Mr. Laufeyson has been on his best behavior, so far.” She smiled, finishing her drink before asking for another, “I’m gonna go enjoy the party that I made happen.” She smiled before walking away from the bar, leaving Brian behind.

Hannah felt surprisingly comfortable greeting the guests of the party, maybe it was the alcohol making her more social, or the need to impress Loki who was basically stalking her from across the room, which she was very aware of. Sometimes she would make eye contact and give him a little smile as she would shake someone’s hand. Eventually she found herself chatting with a brunette man around her age back at the bar, she was guessing that he was some rich entrepreneur trying to impress her with his constant bragging about his nice cars and Rolex watch that he wore. When she looked across the room, hoping to find Loki glaring at them, she didn’t see him. Just as she was about to look around for him she felt a strong hand rest on the small of her back.

“Ben, how is your startup going?” Loki asked the man Hannah was just talking to, interrupting their conversation in the process.

“It’s great, I just picked this one up earlier this week.” The young man, whose name was apparently Ben, pulled back his sleeve slightly to reveal a brand new rolex watch. The same one that he was showing Hannah earlier in a desperate attempt to impress her. Loki himself was obviously not impressed.

“Very nice, It’s not just about watches you know.”

“No it’s not, sometimes it’s about finding the prettiest girl in the room and making her yours.” Ben winked at Hannah, she scowled at his embarrassing attempt at flirting.

“And you decided to do such with my assistant?” Loki asked. Ben’s face dropped at Loki’s words and fear filled his eyes.

“She’s your assistant? She didn’t say anything about that.” Ben began to back away from the two of them.

“She doesn’t have to. Now, if you excuse us, my assistant and I are going to dance.” Loki said as he took Hannah’s hand and led her to the dancefloor.

Hannah was praying that Brian wasn’t witnessing this right now as Loki had one hand wrapped around hers and the other resting softly on her lower back, leading her to the polished dance floor where everyone was swaying to the instrumental music with their partner. When they reached their destination Loki gently turned Hannah to face him as they began to dance. Hannah wasn’t sure what to say to make conversation in this situation with Loki so close to her, the drinks from earlier flushed her cheeks and warmed her body. The scent of Loki’s cologne made her head spin, adding to the effects of the alcohol.

“How have you been?” He asked Hannah, pulling her out of her lustful trance.

“Okay, since the party planning is over I’ll have more time to handle things at the off-” Hannah began before Loki cut her off.

“I don’t want to hear about work, I want to hear about you.”

Hannah stared at him for maybe just a few seconds too long before speaking, “I haven’t really been doing much outside of work recently, I go out with my friends every once in a while but work has been my main focus right now. I was even thinking about taking a semester off to make some more money.”

“Hannah, your schooling should come first, this is your future in your own hands. Money will come in due time.”

“Well, I’ve had some doubts about my major recently, I thought maybe some more time off of school would help clear my mind and make a decision.” She told him as they slowly swayed to the music.

“And what decision is that?”

“I’m not sure.”

Hannah had never felt more lost than right now, but at the same time she felt safe in Loki’s arms. All she wanted to do was dance with him all night and forget about her worries. He looked at her with such concern on his face, he actually seemed like he cared.

“What can I do to make you happy, Hannah?” He asked her with sincerity.

Hannah was shocked at his question. Did he actually care about her? Or was this all a trick? Either way Hannah answered him honestly. “You’ve done so much, what will make me happy right now is just you being here with me.”

She swore she saw Loki blush before he spoke, “How about we go outside and get some fresh air?”

The warm California breeze washed over Hannah’s skin as they walked out onto the balcony. Hannah leaned over the balcony and looked at the city lights beneath them, Loki’s hands reached to hold her waist causing a chill to run up her spine. “Be careful.” His smooth voice filled her ears.

“I’m not gonna fall, don’t worry.” She turned back around, now leaning back against the railing and facing Loki, who never took his eyes off of her. He moved closer to her, now wrapping his arm around her waist. She could smell the scotch off his breath, her hands gripped the lapels of his jacket as he leaned closer. Loki held Hannah closely as they took in the toxicating feeling of being together

“Oh but it seems like you already have.” He leaned closer to her and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Just as he was about to lean in and kiss her she looked by Loki’s arm and saw Brian walking out to them, Hannah’s eyes went wide as she pushed Loki aside. He stumbled in confusion, about to ask Hannah what the hell was going on, when he saw Brian approaching the doorway to the balcony he backed away even more to put space between them.

“There you are.” He said to Hannah, seemingly ignoring his boss next to them. “Are you okay?” He asked Hannah, worry spread across his face.

“I’m great! Loki just took me outside to get some fresh air and discuss business.” Hannah told him.

Brian looked over to Loki, “Is that true?”

Loki rolled his eyes in annoyance and answered his assistant, “Of course, we were discussing her raise.”

Hannah’s head snapped in Loki’s direction upon hearing his words, was he serious?

“Oh! Congratulations Hannah. It’s well deserved after all the work you put in for tonight. I came out here to tell you that the party is winding down but some of us will be heading to the bar afterwards if you want to join us.” He invited Hannah.

“I think i’ll just head home, thank you though.”

“All good, would you like me to bring you home?” Brian asked.

“Don’t you want to go out with everyone else? I don’t want to keep you for too long.”

“It’s alright, I’ll just go afterwards, I don't mind the driving.”

“Are you sur-'' Hannah was cut off by Loki before she could finish her question.

“I’ll bring Ms. Rei home. Enjoy the rest of your night, Brian.” Loki said before turning to Hannah, “I’ll have the valet bring the car around front, meet me at the entrance when you’re done here.” Loki then made his way back inside.

Brian turned to Hannah, almost like he was panicking, “Are you sure about this? Is he making you do this?”

“I am, Loki is fine and he kindly offered to take me home so you can go out. Just relax and enjoy yourself, you deserve it.” Hannah went to follow where Loki went before turning back to Brian. “Goodnight Brian, thanks for everything.” She smiled before walking back into the hall and slowly fading from his view.

“Loki, don’t do what I think you’re going to do.” Brian said to himself before sighing. This whole situation was stressing him out way more than he would like to admit.

When Hannah walked out front she found Loki waiting by his car, when he saw her walking towards him he opened the passenger side door for her.

“I need to go by your house and get my clothes, I need to keep the dress there as well so Michael can take it.” She told him before getting in the car.

“No problem, I was about to take you there anyway.” He said before closing the door for her.

What did that mean? Hannah began to worry if this was about to go too far. But at the same time, she wanted it to.

Notes:

This one took a while to write sorry I’m a bit behind but I’m also posting this chapter after a ten hour shift so I’m a little busy ngl. But I want to finish this story some time this year because I have an outline written out for another story that I want to get started on.
Thanks for reading :)

Chapter 14: Alone With Loki

Summary:

After a silent drive back to Loki’s mansion, Hannah tries to decide just how far she wants to push her professional relationship with Loki.

Notes:

No “official” smut in this chapter but there is a short male masturbation scene.

The air was stiff in the car on the ride back to Loki’s mansion. Hannah was second guessing everything she has done, mostly flirting back with Loki at the gala. She had played his game perhaps too well and now Loki was trying to rush them back to his house in the hills through the Los Angeles traffic. Hannah couldn’t bring herself to look over in Loki’s direction, she picked at her hands and fidgeted in the luxury leather seats of Loki’s sports car, the sound of the engine roared in the darkness of the summer night. When Loki was rudely stopped by a red light she finally built up the courage to look at him. His eyes were fixed on the red light that was illuminating his pale features just slightly. His hand was gripping the leather wrapped steering wheel tightly, causing his veins to be more prominent underneath his pale skin, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. When her eyes landed on his face once again she found that his jaw was clenched in anticipation and impatience. Thankfully, he didn’t make eye contact with her as she stared at him in awe, if he did she felt like she would die from embarrassment on the spot.

When they finally arrived at Loki's place he pulled the car up to the walkway leading to the front door and turned the key, not even bothering to park it in his gigantic underground garage. He stepped out of the car quickly and headed straight for the front door with his key in hand. Hannah exited the car and closely followed behind him, trying to keep up with his long strides. Loki opened the door for her, inviting her inside ahead of him. Loki shut the door, the sound of it closing nearly made her heart jump out of her chest. There was an uncomfortable silence between them in the dark house. Hannah keeps her distance from Loki, unknowing of what would happen next. All Hannah knew was that she wanted out of this dress and the high heels that she wore. After a few more moments she finally spoke up.

“My clothes are in the room down the hall. Can I change?”

“Don’t let me stop you.” He responds, turning on the lights as he did so. She immediately turned around and walked away so that she wouldn’t have to face Loki yet.

Hannah changed back to her casual clothes, just a simple black v neck tee with some cutoff denim shorts, she didn’t put her shoes on yet, not knowing how long she would be staying. The slight plunge in the neckline of the shirt showed off the necklace that she wore, deciding to keep it on for now. When she picked out the outfit she had no intentions of Loki seeing her in it. With the remaining alcohol in her body she walked out to the living room with as much confidence she could muster. She eventually found Loki in the kitchen with a pitcher of water and two glasses. He had long abandoned his suit jacket, leaving him in only the pitch black shirt and his black slacks, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his toned forearms.

“You aren’t gonna offer me a real drink?” She asks, teasingly.

“I believe we both had enough for tonight. Here, drink some water, you need to stay hydrated when you drink alcohol.” He poured her a glass and handed it to her.

“I’m a college student, we ignore any rules of drinking.” She giggled and accepted the glass and took a sip. Loki let out a breathy laugh in response, his eyes focused solely on her standing on the other side of the counter. Not wanting to look him in the eyes, she scanned the room and her eyes finally landed on the large pool outside. The water reflected on the window in waves. “It’s nice outside tonight.” She spoke up.

“Is that your way of asking me to go outside Miss Rei?” Loki teases, reminding Hannah that he was just as much of an asshole as when she met him. She didn't say anything in return and took another sip of water, still avoiding eye contact. Loki went to open the sliding glass door leading outside. “Are you coming?”

Hannah left the kitchen and followed Loki outside, the warm summer air embraced her skin. She looked up at the sky, hoping to see the stars. She saw only a few, however, due to the light pollution of the city.

“I wish I could see more stars.”

“My house in Aspen has the most beautiful view of the night sky, I could take you there.” He offers.

“What? Like right now?”

“Just say the word and it's done.” He smiles, stepping closer to his assistant. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before running his fingers under her jaw to her chin, he lifts her head slightly to see her features better. She was beautifully illuminated in the subtle pool lights. Her eyes were wide, with what however? Lust? Shock? Fear.

“If I may ask, what is it that you fear?” He asks.

“You.” She answers.

Loki pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist just as he did earlier at the party. “Fear is purely a business tactic, I am human, just as you. Therefore, I am flawed immensely, you fear me because of the words of those who only know my business tactics. My opponents, my employees, those who see me on television and in magazines, they see me for my business, my money, and my power. To them I am not human and their words make me feel like even less of one. I never wanted you to fear me, and I apologize if I ever made you feel fear in my presence. I wish to change that.” He leans in closer but Hannah interrupts him before his face gets too close to hers.

“Does Brian only know you for business tactics?”

Loki stops to look at her, his eyes wide now. “What did he say to you about me?”

“That he doesn’t trust you around me, he thinks you can’t control yourself.”

Loki steps back, her skin grew needy at the loss of his touch, “He’s right.” He sits on the end of the nearby lounge chairs, “I can’t control myself around you, Brian knows me better than anyone else. He’s looking out for you, as he should be.” He looks up at her from his sitting position, “I’ll call a car to take you home, you shouldn’t be driving right now. You can get your car later.” He pulled out his phone before Hannah went up to him and stopped him.

“No, I want to stay. I’m scared but I like being around you. It’s so hard to explain and I don’t understand it, but I think I like it.”

Loki stands up before pulling her close once again, “So you aren’t afraid of me?”

“I’m afraid of the consequences, what would Brian do if he found out that I wanted you too.”

“Good thing he won’t find out then.” He smiles before closing the gap between them.

Hannah melted into Loki’s warm kiss, her arms wrapped around his neck. All the anxiety, all the doubts that she once had faded away, she could taste the expensive scotch on his lips as it mixed deliciously with the gin she had earlier. Hannah pulled away, reluctantly, and looked into Loki’s eyes.

“This is a bad idea.” She spoke in a flirty tone to Loki.

“Well, no going back now.” Loki leaned in to kiss her once again, he was now completely addicted to her and he had no intentions on quitting. When they pull away for oxygen once again, Loki cups her flushed cheeks and runs his thumb over her lip. “Stay here tonight, please.”

“Loki I’m not ready for that yet I-” Hannah tried explaining to Loki.

Loki shushed her quietly and comforted her, “I understand darling, don’t worry. We will only move as fast as you wish to. I have five guest bedrooms you can pick from.”

Hannah rolled her eyes, he just had to brag, didn’t he? “But I don't have any clothes to sleep in.”

“Not a problem.”

Loki headed up to his bedroom, Hannah following closely behind. When Loki stepped into his bedroom Hannah hesitated before stepping past the doorway. Upon entering his room the smell of his cologne became stronger. Even though this encounter wasn’t sexual, not at the moment at least, it still felt strange and wrong to be in his room with him. Loki pulls out a shirt with the company logo on it along with a pair of boxers. Hannah gives him a weird look before he says something.

“What? They’re very clean I can guarantee you. And don’t bother giving the shirt back, I have tons of them.”

“And do you need the boxers back?” She smirks.

“Preferably, however, I suppose you could keep them if you really wanted to. Have you decided which room you wish to stay in?”

“I think I want the room I stayed in on my first night here, for old times sake.” She giggled.

Loki leads her to the room, he opens the door and turns on the light, revealing a perfectly made bed that hadn’t been touched since she slept there. It feels like so long ago now.

“My room is down the hall if you need anything, or if you get lonely.” Loki smirks seductively

Hannah lets out a breathy laugh, “Thank you.” She sets the clothes that Loki gave her on the bed. Loki never entered the room with her, he just leaned on the doorframe and observed her. She turned back to him and stood right in front of his towering frame. “For everything. I mean it.” She finishes.

“I know you do, sleep well darling.” He says before pulling her into his embrace and kissing her once again, this time more passionate. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she arched into the kiss. Loki’s hands ran to her hips and grasped at her skin underneath those damn shorts that have been driving him insane since he first saw her in them. When they broke apart Hannah looked up at him through her lashes, Loki had to practice every bit of self control that he had when she looked at him like that with those gorgeous bedroom eyes. “Are you sure you want to sleep in here tonight? Alone?.” His breathing became heavier.

“I’m sure, the time will come soon enough, you’ll just have to be patient.” She gave him one more peck on the lips before stepping back. “Goodnight Loki.”

“Good night.”

Loki slumped back to his master bedroom, he fell backwards onto the bed and sighed. He was ashamed of himself, the short makeout session with Hannah had made him harder than he’d like to admit. He grasped at himself through his formal slacks he still wore from the party. Was he really about to touch himself while she was sleeping down the hall? He respected her wishes but he was craving her body right now. Feeling her pressed up against him gave him a sense of euphoria he had never felt before with any other partner. Her scent was intoxicating and he craved every inch of her. He thought about her, in his bed, underneath him. His hand undid his belt and zipper, taking himself out from the expensive slacks he wore. Loki began to stroke his dick slowly to the thought of her. He just couldn’t control himself, and getting off to the thought of her was the only thing that was going to satisfy him right now. He thought of her soft skin underneath his fingers, running them down her body to wet cunt. He thought of what she would look like as she came at his will, what would she sound like screaming his name. Loki’s breathing quickened as he could feel himself on the edge, precum dripped from the head of his cock and onto his black dress shirt that was now a wrinkled mess. His hand covered his mouth as he came all over his fist and his, now ruined, shirt.

The regret came in almost instantly, Loki wouldn’t admit it, but this wasn’t the first time he had masturbated to the thought of Hannah. She filled his mind constantly and infected his life. But she was his now, and Brian be damned, he was going to keep it that way.

Notes:

I’m keeping up the best I can with my busy life but I am determined to finish this story dammit!

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 15: Good Morning

Summary:

Hannah wakes up at Loki’s mansion after their night together. More suggestive actions transpire between them as they discover their feelings and passion for each other.

Hannah stirred underneath the soft linens as a thin ray of sunshine kissed her face. When she awoke she found that she was not in her room, a feeling of deja vu fell over her when she sat up in the bed. She could still remember when she woke up in this very room for the first time, violently confused and hungover. Now a feeling of warmth ran over her skin, memories of what happened last night with Loki flooded her mind. Her lips tingled as she recalled their multiple kisses that they shared, and the heated makeout session that left her weak in the knees as she got into bed last night. A slight feeling of regret washed over her, was it the alcohol that fueled his passion, would he still feel the same when she walked downstairs to see him?

Hannah hesitated for a while before eventually climbing out of the soft bed and heading to the attached bathroom to clean herself up. Small black shadows sat underneath her eyes as she remembered that she forgot to take her makeup off last night, her lipstick didn’t hold up well with the drinks and kisses, as most of it was faded from her lips. She turned on the faucet, her fingers ran under the cold water as she cupped her hands to splash some on her face. When she dried her face off with one of the soft white towels that were provided she finally got a good look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, the once soft, buoyant curls that laid off her shoulders were now a tangled mess from tossing and turning in her sleep. She knew that there was most likely no hairbrush in the bathroom as she searched the empty vanity drawers in a panic. Loki definitely wouldn’t feel the same if he saw her like this.

She managed to find a hair tie in her small clutch that she carried with her at the party, she tied her hair back in hopes of hiding the messy state that it was in. Just as she was about to exit the room she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Loki’s shirt hung off her body, the hem fell to the top of her thighs, Loki was significantly taller than her after all. She felt slightly embarrassed wearing his boxers, it felt wrong for sure, but she couldn’t help but take pride in her current state of dress. In her mind, she had won his game for now, the powerful and prideful Loki Laufeyson had offered his clothes to someone he once saw as less significant than him. Now he couldn’t keep his hands and lips off of her, she knew that he wanted her in his bed last night, but she kept herself together and turned down the offer to sleep with him. She knew that it drove him insane, he had most likely never been turned down by a woman that he wanted, she had him right where she wanted him. But it wasn’t good enough, no. She wanted him to beg her to be with him.

She practically skipped downstairs to find Loki making them breakfast in the kitchen. He donned a tight, black tee that hugged his arms and torso perfectly, he paired it with a pair of black sweatpants that showed off his toned ass so finely, part of her felt like he did this on purpose to tease her, the other part was trying to convince herself it was just his pajamas.

“I thought you paid people to cook for you?” She spoke up behind him as she sat on one of the barstools at the island of his open kitchen.

“Good morning to you as well, and no, my private chef has the weekends off.” He responded before turning to her with a smile, “Coffee?”

“Yes please.”

Loki kept the smile on his face even after he turned his back to her, he had never felt this type of happiness before. Just being around her made him feel good, all the worries of his business and life seemed to fade away when he was in her presence. He felt the need to be around her, to talk to her, to touch her.

He turned back around to place the hot cup infront of her, he walked around the counter and stood next to her as she sat on the stool and touched her shoulder, his hand trailed up the side of her neck and to her ear, where he tucked a stray piece of hair that escaped the ponytail.

“How did you sleep last night?” He asked, taking in the beautiful features of her face.

“Good, that bed is way more comfortable than mine.” She giggled as Loki played with her tangled strands as she took a sip from her mug, she put it back on the counter when she was done, her fingers trailed along the rim, “How did you sleep?”

“Alright, my bed was rather cold though.” He smirked.

“Isn't that a good thing? It's the middle of summer.” She acted clueless to his remark.

Loki rolled his eyes before speaking, “You know what I mean.” He leaned in closer to her, his nose brushing against her ear made her jump. “I missed you.” His lips ghosted her neck and she couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

“Loki!” She gasped, losing her composure at his touch.

“Yes, pretty girl? What is it? I want to hear you make more of those pretty sounds for me.” He put his finger under her chin and turned her head towards him, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He repeated this loving action until it turned into another full blown make out session between them.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as he effortlessly lifted her off the stool and placed her on the counter he grasped the bare part of her thighs that were not covered by his boxers and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her hands ran through his tangled inky locks, she knew that the kiss was starting to become too much as she became high on it. She had yet another internal battle in her head as she tried to decide if she should just go all the way with him right now, but she knew what she had to do to keep him needy for her.

She broke the kiss and leaned away from him, accidentally causing her hips to crash with his, she could feel what the kiss had done to him. Loki leaned closer in a failed attempt to feel her soft lips again.

“Loki you're-” She put her hand against his toned chest, trying her best to keep his lustful body back.

“Yes darling, you feel what you do to me? I crave you.”

“No, not that! You’re gonna burn it!” She turned to the stove that was starting to burn the bacon that he was cooking for them.

Loki bolted back to the stove in a flustered panic as he successfully salvaged their breakfast that was once forgotten for a few seconds. Loki took the bacon and eggs off the stove and retrieved the toast from the toaster, he gathered the food onto two plates for them and handed Hannah’s to her.

“I’m sorry about that.” He apologized after taking a deep breath, the tent in his lounge pants still very prevalent.

“It's okay, you managed to save it.” Hannah giggled before picking up her fork to dig in.

“Not the food, I was forceful, I didn’t mean to be.” He picked at the food on his plate, unable to look the confused girl in the eye. “I'd never hurt you, or force myself upon you for that matter, I care about you.”

Hannah looked at him with wide eyes before taking a deep breath, “You didn't force yourself Loki, I liked it.” Loki looked back at her with relief before she spoke up again, “But, I’m not ready to have sex with you, you’re still my boss, and I need time to process all of this.” She confessed, looking him straight in the eyes as she did so.

“Of course, take all the time you need.”

The rest of breakfast was spent in silence, Hannah could tell Loki was slightly uncomfortable, most likely due to him still being very much aroused from their moment of passion only minutes ago. He stood on the other side of the marble island to hide it, even though she was well aware of it.

After they were finished Hannah retrieved her belongings, changed her clothes, and prepared to say goodbye to Loki before he tried to stop her.

“Leaving so soon? I didn’t scare you, did I?” He worried.

“Of course not, my roommate is probably worried sick about me and I have a bunch of stuff to do before the work week. I’ll see you tomorrow though.” She smiled, stepping closer to caress his soft cheek.

Loki felt as if he was melting at her touch, she was heavenly. What did he do to deserve such soft, caring treatment?

“Yes, tomorrow.” His hand reached up to meet hers as he kissed her palm before dropping her hand from his face to gently pull her closer and meet her lips in a soft kiss.

Hannah kissed him back sweetly before pulling away, her eyes met his before looking past his shoulder to the large glass windows at the opposite end of the room that gave a panoramic view of his luxurious pool.

“I’ll have to come by and try out your pool soon.” She smirked before turning around and leaving through the front door, Loki stood there dumbfounded, imagining her in a bikini. He practically drooled at the thought before he went back up to his bedroom to relieve his arousal for the second time in twenty-four hours.

Hannah walked down the pathway to her car, swinging her keys around her finger in confidence. She was nervous for a second that she had scared him away, she didn’t think he would be so careful and gentle when it came to that. So she knew that she would have to leave him with a little tease of her in a swimsuit, she wanted him desperate, and desperate he was.

Hannah couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she drove back to her apartment. Loki acted so differently around her, he seemed happy. She giggled to herself as she recalled him racing to the stove, flustered and aroused, trying to save breakfast. It was a side of him that almost no one saw, she had no idea why he favored her so much. In her eyes she was nothing special when it came to beauty, or having a perfect body. But Loki looked at her like she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes upon. Yet, a part of her was still hesitant. Did Loki mean all his affection towards her, or was he just using her? Hannah would never tell him but that was the exact reason why she wouldn’t sleep with him yet. She would have to grow to trust him more, and be assured that he wouldn’t throw her away after spending one night with her. She thought that maybe eventually he would grow bored with the chase and go to a woman who would sleep with him in the blink of an eye. She would rather just have him as a boss than lose him all together.

As Hannah predicted, Hazel nearly threw a fit when she walked through the door.

“Do you have any idea what time it is? I was worried sick! I was starting to think you were dead or something!”

 

Hannah just giggled as she walked past her worried roommate. “Well clearly I am alive, if that eases your worries.”

“Where were you all night? Your hair is a mess and your mascara is-” She stopped for a second processing her appearance, “Hannah did you spend the night with someone?”

“Well yea, I had to stay somewhere.”

“That’s not what I mean. I meant to say, did you spend the night with a guy?” She reworded.

“If you need to know so bad, then yes, kind of.” Hannah went back to her room and threw her purse on the bed, Hazel followed closely behind.

“Kind of? What the hell does that mean?” She questioned.

“It means that I spent the night at a guy’s house. I did not have sex with him, in fact, I slept in another room entirely.”

“You’re kidding me right? Was he that ugly?”

“What? No, he's respectful. I said no, and he was okay with it.” Hannah explained, sitting on her bed with a sigh.

Hazel sat next to her, “Oh, well, I'm just happy you're okay.” She admitted.

“Thank you.”

The two girls sat in silence for a few seconds before it was broken by Hazel, “Was he rich?”

Hannah laughed and looked at her roommate with a smile, “Very.”

“Oh I see, you’re leaving him desperate for more, you want a call back. I only wish I thought on your level.” Hazel laughed before getting up and exiting the room, “I gotta go to work, see you tonight.”

“See ya.” Hannah said goodbye before laying back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

‘If only she knew’, Hannah thought to herself. She would never tell Hazel about Loki, but she could talk about a random mystery guy. Though, she didn’t want to talk about this unnamed man too much, then Hazel would get suspicious. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything.

What Hannah didn’t know was right now, Loki was pacing around his whole house. He just couldn’t sit still while thinking about the events that transpired between them last night and this morning. The thought of her, her smell, her touch, it all flooded Loki’s mind. And he wasn’t sure how much longer his hand could bring him relief. He could call one of the girls he had for his special frustrations, he thought about it a bit actually, but he couldn’t do that to her. Even if he slept with another woman, it just wouldn’t be her. Then he would soon be right back in the position he was in right now. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand, his shirt long forgotten.

He had seen her when she was at her most vulnerable, the very first night he ever laid eyes on her, drunkenly passed out. Even in such a state she was gorgeous, he intended on sleeping with her way earlier. Ideally, when she first started at Laufeyson Enterprises, she seemed so naïve to him, he thought it would be easy. He would keep her around if she wished to stay afterwards, he fantasized about bending over his desk and taking her with no care about who outside would hear. However, Brian protected her, most likely knowing Loki’s original intentions. It was through this time that he learned more about her. She was a hard worker, she had friends, she was getting an education, she was smart, and most importantly she was human. Loki just couldn’t see her as a possible fuck anymore, he found himself liking everything about her, aside from her looks and body. She had an adorable laugh, she picked at the skin around her fingernails when she was nervous, and she was just too damn good at ignoring him. When Loki started bringing Amber into his office he fully intended to piss Hannah off and make her jealous. But no, she ignored him and Loki was the one who ended up suffering and having to deal with that annoying woman. He was enraged when she insulted Hannah, at least Hannah had a job instead of sleeping around with rich guys all day, at least he hoped she didn’t do that.

Loki finally sat down on the couch, running his hand down his face, then bringing it back up to brush his hair out of his face.

“She’s going to be the death of me.”

Notes:

This has been sitting completed in my drafts for a few weeks and I totally forgot oops. Anyway I’ve been trying to keep up with this the best that I can.

Thanks for Reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 16: Making Plans

Summary:

A few days after the party we find Hannah back at work with Loki and Brian, helping them plan for their upcoming New York trip. Then all the sudden everyone wants to make plans with her at once, leaving the poor girl confused and stressed.

It had been three days since Hannah woke up at Loki’s place after the glamorous party that took place the previous night. Smack in the middle of the workweek, Hannah and Loki had been busy with the next big event that would be taking place, that being the business trip to New York that was previously delayed. Loki hadn’t mentioned anything recently about Hannah joining them, besides mentioning it in passing about a month ago. She still needed to decide if she was going to go back to school this semester, despite still being summer break she felt burned out from school. Part of her was afraid that it would lead to a dead end job (with an unattractive boss) that she would end up despising. She wanted to write, but did she still want to do journalism? She felt lost in life at the moment, not to mention the student loans that were piling up every semester that were about to bite her in the ass once she did graduate. She was so close to the end though, why stop now? The passing thought of art school also bounced around in her head.

Oddly enough, this whole situation with Loki was the only thing that made any type of sense to her. It was something that she felt like she had control in, even if it was just a little bit. Loki had done everything she asked since their conversation over the weekend, he treated her like an employee, nothing more, nothing less. No one was the wiser that they were just making out a few days ago, especially not Brian, and they were determined to keep it that way. Hannah was surprised that he didn’t bombard her with questions when she came in on Monday about Loki’s ‘behavior’.

She currently sat at her desk, swaying in the leather office chair. Whatever she was doing on the computer had been long forgotten as she was lost in her own head. Lunch break was soon anyway, no one was eager to work right now. The thought of Loki flooded her mind more than she would like to admit. But she had to play it off to keep the illusion that she had the upper hand, because if she believed it, then Loki would believe it. Their ‘situation’ was miles away from being any type of relationship, especially a healthy one. Loki was sweet enough, respectful as well. However, she was still cautious, she knows what he is capable of and the person that he could really be if he chose to do so. Keeping all this under wraps was all that mattered right now when it came to them, god forbid if this information were to get out she would be ruined, Loki as well. She previously didn’t care for people like him, rich, privileged men who had an unreasonable amount of power, and for the most part she still didn’t. Loki felt like the only exception, sure he owned a fancy house, multiple actually, he owned nice cars and wore designer clothes, but he didn’t feel like he had to compensate for something, not to her at least. It just felt natural to his character, like he was meant to be this way.

Brian’s voice broke her train of thought, “I'm going out for lunch, see you in an hour.” He had his work bag slung over his shoulder as he ran his plan by her.

“You never go out for lunch. Do you have a hot date or something?” She sarcastically teased her co-worker.

Brian gave out a forced laugh, “Funny.”

“I know, thank you. I’ll take mine when you come back.”

“Sounds good.” He said before slipping out the door, seemingly in a rush. Maybe he did have a hot date.

Almost as if he was eavesdropping and waiting for Brian to leave, Loki opened his office door as soon as he was gone. “Miss Rei, can I see you for a moment?”

“Yes sir.” She stood from her chair and walked past Loki and into his office.

“Have a seat, please.” He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk.

Hannah did as she was told and Loki went to sit in his office chair on the opposite side of his desk. They sat in somewhat of an awkward silence for a few seconds before she finally broke it.

“What did you want to say to me, Mr. Laufeyson?” She kept her professional persona, even behind the thick, wooden door of his office.

Loki fidgeted for a bit, like he was searching for the words he wanted to say, “I never asked if you enjoyed the party.” He says, desperate to make some type of conversation with her.

Loki has had this strange feeling for the past few days. At first he thought it was some bad food that he ate, or maybe a lack of sleep. He was restless, like he had a constant pit in his stomach and a pressure on his chest. Then he realized that the feeling seemed to lift whenever he was around her, when he was with her he had to keep himself from smiling too much. His heart would beat faster and his cheeks would become slightly flushed. After a drunken revelation last night he realized that he, a powerful billionaire who had multiple people under his thumb and falling at his feet, had a crush on his assistant. Sure, he found her attractive and he had been sexually interested in her since he first laid eyes on her. But he found himself becoming more interested in her personal life and wellbeing. He felt like a teenager again, it was the most alive he had felt in years.

“I loved the party, thank you for trusting me with putting it together.” She smiled, “It feels nice to know that all your hard work paid off.” She noticed that his eyes were laser focused on her with such intensity. He still wanted her. “Is there any other reason you called me in here?”

“I just wanted to talk to you, we’ve been so busy these past couple days with the upcoming trip and you…” He trailed off, rethinking whatever he was about to say. Hannah cocked her head to the side and picked at the skin around her fingers as the tension in the room rose rapidly. “I just like talking to you.” He noted nervously, clearly wanting to say something else.

Hannah giggled and raised her eyebrow, “That's it? You just like talking to me. Why?” She pushed, irking Loki. Of course she had to be in a teasing mood today.

“Because no one else has any interest in sitting down and holding a conversation with me that isn’t about work or prying questions about my personal life.” He confesses.

She is taken back at his words for a second before coming up with a witty response, “Well, I guess I’ll hold off on all the prying questions I was about to ask you about your personal life. I guess that isn’t an appropriate time anyway.” She went to sit up, assuming the conversion was coming to a close.

“Wait!” Loki shot up out of his chair to stop her from exiting his office. She turns to him as he stands right in front of her. He gently places a hand on her upper arm, his thumb fidgeting with the material of her blouse. “Dinner, we should have dinner together sometime.”

“Yea, no offense but I really don’t want to be seen in public with you, alone. For both of our sakes.”

“No, we don’t have to be in public. We’ll eat at my house.”

“I hope you won’t be cooking. Not that you’re bad of course, but you get distracted too easily.” She jokes.

Loki rolls his eyes, recalling their morning where he did almost burn breakfast because he couldn’t keep his hands off her. “I will have my chef cook.”

“If that’s the case, then I’d love to accompany you.”

“Seven o’clock, Friday night?” He suggests.

“It’s a date.” She reaches to fix the collar of his shirt that popped up when he jumped from his desk earlier. Just the action alone made him freeze up, such affection that no one else had bothered to show him. “I gotta get back to it, see ya.” She ran her thumb along his jaw briefly before giving him a wink and walking out of his office.

He took a deep breath when he heard the familiar thump of the door closing behind her.

‘What the fuck are you doing to me?’ He thinks to himself, still frozen in the same place where she stood in front of him seconds ago.

Hannah sauntered back to her seat and slowly sat down, sighing as she did so. The document on her computer stared back at her, she forgot what it was for, and right now she didn’t really care. It’s not like she would be able to focus anyway, Loki was the only thing on her mind. And now he was clearly making an effort to be alone with her more often. She feared for the future, knowing better than to think that any type of relationship with a man like Loki would be long term, and at the moment, she didn’t want it to be. She just wanted to live out her fantasy.

The unmistakable hasty foot steps of Brian’s return pulled Hannah out of her haze.

“Did you have a nice lunch?” She asks.

“Yes.” He answered, almost emotionlessly as he got settled at his desk to get lost in his work until it was time to go home. “You’re good to go if you want.”

Hannah stood and retrieved her bag from underneath her desk, stopping by Brian’s desk before she made her temporary leave.

“Are you okay?” She shows her co-worker concern.

Brian stared at her for a second with wide eyes, glancing at Loki’s door and then back to her. “I think…” he paused, her look of concern grew as he was unable to make eye contact, “you should go.”

Brian had been acting so differently since the party. To be fair, Hannah knew next to nothing about his personal life. She knew he wasn’t married as he never wore a wedding band, he seems too busy to pursue a relationship anyway. She knew nothing about his interests, hobbies, or family, only that he had been working with Loki for a long time. She had no idea what he could be going through at the moment, but she wanted him to know that he could talk to her if he wanted to. Brian was a great friend, and a good assistant to Loki. He wouldn’t be where he is today without Brian, and he knew that.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” She made her way to the exit before pausing and looking back at him, “But I’m here if you ever need to talk about something, anything. I’m a good listener.” She gave him an attempt at a comforting smile.

The slight, warm grin that he returned assured her that her efforts weren’t in vain. “Thank you, Hannah.”

Her brief lunch break felt like a release from the insanity that surrounded her. She still didn’t know how to feel about Loki’s sexual attraction to her. She just hoped that maybe he saw her for more than a possible fuck.

When she came back there were a few hours of silence between her and Brian. Loki remained in his office doing God knows what as his two assistants worked frivolously outside. Maybe it was online meetings or responding to emails, even though he was the CEO, she didn’t really understand what he did outside being the face of the company.

When the clock read five, Hannah stood and went to make her way out the door for the last time today. She was surprised when Brian stopped her.

“Are you busy on Friday, after work?”

Hannah pauses for a few seconds, did he know? How could he know? There is no possible way he could've figured it out.

“Yea, I am actually.” She answers, hoping he doesn’t pry too much.

“Oh, how about Saturday then?” He suggests.

Hannah gave a sigh of relief, thankfully he really didn’t seem to care what she was doing Friday night. “Saturday is good, why?”

“I just thought we could catch up over dinner, or maybe lunch?”

Hannah raised her eyebrow at his suggestion, “That sounds great, what restaurant were you thinking of?” She asks, under the impression that he wanted to go out and eat.

“Actually, I was thinking that you could come over to my place. I could cook us something.” He walks closer to whisper something without prying ears that may be listening from his office, “I also need a private environment to discuss matters about you know who.” He gestures to Loki’s office door.

Oh…Fuck

“Yea, that's fine.” She mutters

“Good, Saturday at noon then?”

“Saturday at noon.” She repeats in conformation.

“Wonderful, I’ll send you directions to my house tomorrow. You’re good to go now, sorry to hold you up.”

“It’s okay, see you tomorrow.” She waves goodbye and exits the room.

Her drive home was filled with contemplation, even the radio was silent. All she heard was the slight rumble of the engine and the gust of cool air coming out of the vents in an attempt to combat the California heat. Loki’s invitation to dinner was an obvious one, Brian’s invite threw her for a loop, however. She knew that without a doubt she would be hearing multiple earfuls about Loki and to avoid his advances, the usual. But he was going to be more serious this time, and she knew that she would be conflicted, especially after having dinner with Loki the night before.

When Hannah finally arrived home and entered her apartment she found Hazel lounging on the couch, scrolling on her phone.

“How was work?” She asks, not bothering to look away from her phone screen.

“Long, boring, corporate bullshit. How was your day?”

“Well I was talking to our friends, if you remember them. We're all going out Friday night and they want you to come.” She finally puts her phone down and sits up, facing Hannah.

‘Why does everyone want to do something on Friday night?’ Hannah thinks to herself before speaking, “I can’t, I’m busy.”

Hazel let out a dramatic sigh as she stood from the couch, “Doing what? Another ‘work’ event?” She made quotations with her fingers.

“No, I have a life outside of work, you know?”

“Yea, and I know all about that life, I’m a part of it.” She paused before cocking her head in amusement at her roomate, “It’s a guy, isn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Hannah mumbles, trying to slowly walk away from the conversation before Hazel steps in front of her.

“No no no, you are not walking away from this. Is it the rich guy that you met at the party?”

Hannah knew that she should’ve kept her mouth shut about that when she had the chance. “Yes.”

Hazel’s eyes lit up as she nearly jumped through the roof with excitement, “Oh my god! You landed a rich guy, I can’t believe it! Where is he taking you? Is it one of those rich celebrity restaurants?” She accents her last sentence with a snobby tone.

“No, I’m eating at his house.”

Hazel gave her a strange look, “His house? Why?”

“That’s what he suggested and I’ve already been there, so I said yes.” Hannah answers.

She knew that she was one wrong answer away from alerting Hazel that something was up. Hannah was too deep in this lie to come clean now, afraid that she wouldn’t have a place to live if she did.

“What’s his name? Is he like ‘under the radar’ rich or is he famous?”

Lying straight to her roommate's face felt like the only option right now. Maybe she could make up a name, but Hazel would most likely figure out that lie faster than anything else. So maybe now wasn’t too late to keep her mouth shut in hopes of eventually burying this complex lie beneath them.

“You know, it’s just so early in this ‘thing’ that we have right now and I don't want you to get your hopes up just in case it doesn’t work out. So is it cool if he just remains as the ‘mystery rich guy’ right now, please.” Hannah became uncomfortably nervous as she studied Hazel’s face.

She went silent for a few seconds and Hannah prayed that this wouldn’t end in an argument.

“You’re keeping this from me for a reason, I don’t know why, but I’m sure it troubles you. You’d probably just be happier if I didn’t ask you any questions about work or the guy that you met, but you are my best friend and I am worried about you. You’ve been acting so differently recently, you have a new phone, nice clothes, and I know that you drive that fancy car that sits outside, sticking out like a sore thumb. I feel like I don’t know you anymore. And…” she pauses, taking a deep breath to hold back her tears, “And I’m so scared that I’m gonna lose you.”

A tear of her own ran down Hannah’s cheek, this was ruining her. She was too selfish to think about the way that everyone around her was seeing her, those who have known her for a long time noticing her changes. However, if she told them the truth, she feared that they would all hate her.

“I’m not going anywhere, I’m just changing, it’s normal for people to change. But I’m not gonna leave you.” She assures her now crying friend, wrapping her in a soft hug.

“Promise?” Hazel chokes.

Hannah stays silent for a second, there was no world where this situation was going to end well, and she knows that. But for now, her delusions overcame her and she made herself believe, even if it was only for a fleeting moment, that everything was going to be okay.

“I promise.”

Notes:

I hope I didn’t cram too much into this one but big things are about to happen and I’m just trying to set it up. Also I have no excuse for this coming out so late other than I get distracted too easily.

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 17: Dinner and Delusions

Summary:

Hannah had anticipated this dinner with Loki ever since he suggested it. And Loki is under the pressure to impress his assistant. Will this further their relationship? Or will someone make a mistake?

Notes:

In the words of Thanos, I’m sorry little one. (You’ll understand later)

Hannah’s fingers ran along the different materials of the expensive dresses, making the sway slightly on the hangers. The scent of expensive perfume filled her nose from the booths in the upscale department store as she recalled Loki’s text earlier.

‘I know you still have the card, buy yourself a nice dress for dinner tomorrow.’

With that statement, Loki has begun to tread dangerously close to sugar daddy territory. She began to think that he probably gets off on her spending his money.

Nevertheless, after work she went out to do exactly as he told her, her obedience becoming a weakness. She’s looking for a cocktail type dress, wanting to keep it classy, simple, and elegant. Something that isn’t terribly revealing, wanting to tone down the sexiness level for dinner. She didn’t want to look like she was begging to be fucked as soon as she walks through the door, even though Loki would be happy to do so either way. But, she still had no intention, as of right now, to sleep with him. Especially since she was having lunch with Brian the next day and she was sure Loki would be the main topic.

Sighing as her eyes run over the different colors and textures of the dresses, eventually landing on some green silk that shone in the fluorescent lighting. She ran her hands over the material, feeling the smoothness of it caress her skin. She takes the dress off the rack to inspect it closer. It had spaghetti straps, the lack of skin shown with the neckline was made up by the open back. It also had a slit that would end at the middle of her thigh when she put it on.

‘Perfect’

The next day at the office she notices that Loki hadn’t bothered to come in. She wasn’t overly concerned, she would be seeing him tonight after all. Brian seems to be rather relieved that his boss abandoned ship today.

“It’s nice to go a day without a headache, if you know what I mean.” He says, leaning back in his desk chair a few feet away.

“I know what you mean.” She giggled.

Even with the lack of Loki’s presence, she was still stressed out about tonight. She had a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach, like a schoolgirl seeing her crush for the first time. She fidgeted in her seat in anticipation, the caffeine from her morning coffee wasn’t helping her case either.

“Y’know,” Brian said, “He barely came into the office before you came along.”

“Really?”

“Yea.”

She would be lying if she said the air wasn’t at least a little bit hostile right now. She was aware of the subtle point he was trying to make, ignoring it like all the other ones he made.

‘Well, he’ll be seeing me tonight so I guess he found no reason to come in today.’ She rolled her eyes as she thought to herself.

Hannah was relieved whenever she was able to get her jitters out by leaving her desk to go take care of miscellaneous tasks like making copies or delivering papers to another floor. She would glance at the clock more often than she would like to admit, it was like when she was in a long college lecture and although the hands of the clock moved, time ceased to go by.

When the clock eventually did hit five, she jumped out of her chair and retrieved her belongings from her desk, shoving them into her bag.

“Big plans?” Brian asks, getting ready to leave himself.

“Oh, just a night out with friends, are we still on for lunch tomorrow?”

“Absolutely, you got the address, right?”

“Yep! See you then.” She said goodbye and hastily made her way out.

Brian was thrown off by her energy level, Hannah was normally more of a laid back girl. She had hung out with friends after work before, why was this time any concern for excitement? But who was he to be concerned about her personal life?

Hannah lets out a sigh when she enters her apartment, seeing that Hazel had already left to pregame with their friends. She didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty for choosing a guy over her friends, not thinking about the fact that Hazel was mouthing off to everyone about this rich, mystery man.

She threw on her new dress, making sure to take off the tags first, choosing not to wash it in fear of damaging the silken material. Her hair was left the way it was, she just brushed it out, liking the slightly unkempt look. After adding the necklace and shoes from the gala, figuring that he might as well get his money's worth, and spritzing herself with some expensive perfume that she splurged on with her last paycheck, she was ready to go.

She was cutting it close when it came to time, forgetting to account for the LA traffic despite living there for almost four years. She looked at her phone when she got into the car, realizing that she would most likely be late.

‘It’s okay if I'm a little late, it’ll make him nervous.’

Little did she know that Loki had already been a nervous mess all day while preparing for their night together. He bought an unnecessary amount of candles to light to add atmosphere. Along with stressing to the maid, Jenny, that the house had to be extra spotless tonight.

“Special girl?” She asks.

“Something like that, I don’t want to see a spot of dust, do you understand?”

Loki also stressed to his private chef that if she had just a slight problem with the food that he would be terminated on the spot, demanding a simple two course meal of dinner and dessert. He didn’t want them to be too full for possible later ‘activities’.

To put it simply, in Loki’s twisted mind, he was getting laid tonight. He wanted her to feel comfortable, maybe he would even show her some vulnerability to soften her up. He figured that if he finally got his frustrations out by fucking her, those annoying feelings would go away and he could get back to his life. He had no intention of leaving her in the dust however, she was doing good work after all at the office and he liked having her around. He also liked her laugh, her smile and-

There were the feelings that he needed to get rid of. He needed her, and if she wanted it to become a frequent thing, he wouldn’t say no. There was one thing that bothered him though, she was a journalist and he was famous, not to mention a bit of an asshole as well. He worried about the future, what if she wanted to she could write something about him, even though he has basically been nothing but nice to her, in his eyes at least. He had been betrayed in the past, he wasn’t going to let it happen again. Thankfully, he had a solution that he would bring up later.

After lighting the candles and picking the perfect bottle of wine from his cellar, he looked at the time.

Five minutes after seven, she was late.

It was fine, just a few minutes, she would be here soon. Loki couldn’t help but worry, however, she was normally very punctual, he couldn’t recall a time when she was late for work. He paced in front of the door, checking his watch every few seconds.

‘God, this woman has me fucked up.’

Finally, twenty minutes after seven he heard a knock at the door. He collected himself, not wanting to seem too eager. He was greeted with her gorgeous face and a wave of apologies.

“I’m so sorry, I should have made more time for traffic. I hope I didn't leave you waiting too long.”

“It’s fine darling, you look beautiful.” He placed a kiss on her cheek as she muttered a thank you.
“Alright Mr. Laufeyson, I’m heading home have a nice da-” Jenny says, walking around the corner. She didn’t expect to see Hannah standing next to him.

“I thought you had left already, my mistake. Have a nice weekend.” Loki tries to bid her to leave.

Hannah gave Jenny a polite, innocent wave, unknowing that the maid was currently cursing her boss in her head.

“I thought Mr. Laufeyson hired you as an assistant?”

Just before Hannah can say anything, he butts in, “It’s fine, go home Jenny.” Loki places his hand on Hannah’s lower back, leading them to the kitchen while leaving the confused maid behind.

They pass Loki’s chef in the kitchen, who is working frivolously in fear of losing his job thanks to Loki’s ‘pep talk’ earlier.

“That was kind of rude, you know.” She pointed out.

“In my defense, she was here long past her designated time.” He said while opening the bottle of red wine on the table with a pop, “Wine?”

She didn’t have time to protest as Loki handed her a glass, appropriately filled with the alcoholic liquid. Her eyes ran over the fabric of his crisp, white dress shirt. It was perfectly ironed with no wrinkles, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms. It hugged his torso so deliciously, his shoulders, his waist, he almost looked slutty in a way.

Hannah looked around, examining the room. “I like the candles. They make a nice atmosphere.” She pointed out somewhat awkwardly, clearly Loki wanted them to be noticed.

Loki pulled a chair out, inviting her to sit down. “I thought I'd make an effort to impress when it came to decorations.”

She sits down in the chair, looking back at Loki as she did. “Well, consider me impressed.”

Loki’s jaw clenches as he rounds that table, watching her take a sip of wine, leaving a faded lipstick stain on the glass. He settles in his seat across the table from her as dinner is being served.

The chef places the plates on the table, clearing his throat before speaking, “This is a seared filet mignon steak with sea salt. Topped with a specialty sauce and thyme. It is paired with a kale and spinach side salad which is topped with cranberries, walnuts, and goat cheese and has a balsamic champagne dressing to finish it off.”

Hannah was impressed by everything in front of her, not even noticing the small nod of approval Loki gave to the chef, who let out a deep sigh of relief as he went back to the kitchen. She wasted no time digging into her meal. Loki smiled fondly as he watched her enjoy the meal.

“Just out of curiosity, why is the steak so small?” She asks.

“It’s a rich meat, a little goes a long way. It’s more filling than it looks.”

Hannah saw an opportunity with his words, “Are you saying that something small can be just as satisfying as something big? I hope that's not a metaphor. She smirks, causing Loki to pause his movements just as his fork was about to meet his mouth, leaving him dumbfounded.

Clenching his jaw in slight annoyance as he put his fork down, “I can assure you, Miss Rei,” He speaks her name with poison dripping from his lips, “It’s not.”

Hannah smiled at her plate as she cut off another piece from the small steak, feeling like she just won a small victory. Loki gives her a subtle glare from across the table. Sure, she can insult his attitude and personality all she wants, even he would admit that he is a bit of an asshole. However, suggestive comments on his manhood being less than satisfactory was just a step too far for him and his sensitive ego. He had let her push his buttons for too long, he needed to remind her who she worked for, whose house she was currently enjoying a gracious meal in. All the giddy butterfly feelings that represented his small crush on the girl had disappeared. Now, his loins were on fire, and she was the water that was going to put it out.

After they finished dinner, the chef brought out dessert for them. Chocolate cheesecake, Hannah’s eyes lit up at the sweet treat in front of her.

“This has all been so amazing Loki, thank you.” She thanked her boss across the table before she indulged in the decadent dessert. “And you were right about the steak, it was very filling.” She smirks, giving him all the wrong ideas.

“Of course,” He raises his wine glass, “Only the best for you.”

His thumb and index finger fidgeted with the stem of the glass as his other hand beneath the table twitched against his thigh in anticipation. He needed to feel her again, kiss her, touch her, fuck her.

After dessert is finished and the chef takes his leave, the couple makes their way to the living room, decorated with more candles as some slow, romantic music is played for ambience.

‘He is definitely trying too hard.’ She thinks to herself as she examines the room.

They both place their glasses, still filled with the semi sweet red wine, on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Just as Hannah finishes doing so she feels Loki’s large hands gently touch her waist, causing her to turn around and face him.

“Come here.” He mutters softly, pulling her closer so he can take her soft lips with his. Her hands move up the soft, white cotton covering his arms and up to his shoulders where they rested as she became lost in his lips.

After he pulled away she stayed close, “Why weren’t you at the office today?” She asks curiously.

Almost instinctively, they begin to sway to the music playing in the background. One of her hands is placed neatly on his chest as he takes her other hand into his, his free hand falling to the small of her back, thumb resting against the exposed skin that sat above the silky fabric of her dress. Flashbacks of the gala ran through her mind, except this time it was private and intimate.

“Well, that's the thing about being the CEO, I chose when and if I come in. Why? Did you miss me?”

“Maybe. I think Brian had a nice break from you though.”

Loki rolled his eyes at the mention of his other assistant, “I guess you could tend to grow tired of someone after working for them for ten years.”

“Ten years?” She repeats in a questioning tone, “How old are you again?” She asks, questioning her moral compass.

“Thirty-four, darling.” He answers in his smooth tone.

Hannah pauses for a bit, she will be twenty-two soon. How bad is a thirteen year age gap, exactly?

“I don’t know, you might be too old for me.” She giggles.

“With age comes experience, darling. Tell me, have you ever been with someone older before?” He asks, prying a little too much for her taste.

“That is none of your business Laufeyson, you wouldn’t want me asking about all the girls that you have brought home in your past, would you?”

“I suppose not, best to leave those types of things in the past. Water under the bridge per se.” His eyes wander down her frame where he finds the same necklace that she wore to the gala, along with the brand new green silk dress that accentuated her figure perfectly. “Good choice on the dress. How did you know green was my favorite?” He asks jokingly.

Hannah looked around sarcastically at the multiple types of emerald green decor that surrounds them, “I don’t know.”

Loki laughs and pulls her into another kiss, enjoying her warmth.

“I want you to keep my credit card.” He suddenly mumbles against her lips.

Hannah leans back slightly so she can look him in the eye better, “Loki, you need to stop throwing your money at me like this. It’s going to give everyone the wrong idea. I don’t want to be seen like that.” She attempts to reason with him.

“You wouldn’t like what I'm thinking then.” He says, wanting to sweeten the pot and take her by surprise so that he could secure her place in his bed tonight.

“What?” She asks, cautiously.

“I want to pay for your schooling. I don’t want you to worry about your student debts anymore.” He states, causing her to break away from his grasp and fall back on the couch behind her in shock.

“No I can’t- I can’t accept that. It’s insane.” She looks at him with wide eyes as he kneels down next to her on the floor, taking her hand in his.

“I can disguise it as a scholarship, given to you through work. A charity act, so to say.”

Her look of shock turns into a hostile glare, “Don’t tell me you’re doing this to make your public image look better. Brian told me how high you like to hold yourself.”

“What? No! I’m doing this because you deserve it. You work so hard and you deserve to graduate and find a job without having to worry about the debts of your past. I’ll even hand it out to one of my employees in school every year in your honor.”

She was crying at this point, despite her best efforts not to, “You promise that this won’t raise any questions from the public? I’m a young girl, your assistant, I spend time with you and…” She takes a deep breath to calm herself, “I don’t want people to think you favor me, I don’t want my friends to know.”

Loki raises an eyebrow at her last few words, “Your friends don’t know about me? That you work for me?”

“I try to keep it vague, they know I work at your building. I told them that I worked for Brian instead of you.”

Loki felt slightly offended at her last statement, “Hannah, darling, why won’t you tell them?”

“I’m too deep in this lie now. You have no idea how much I hate people like you. We used to talk shit about you all the time and now I'm in your house, I'm driving your car, I'm carrying your credit card. They will think I have become the very thing we despise. And they will blame you. But they don’t understand that…” she collected herself and looked into Loki’s soft, cerulean eyes, “I was so wrong about you.”

Loki wastes no time taking her into his arms, wrapping her into a comforting hug. He was having yet another internal battle with himself, she’s so vulnerable, so fragile. How could he go one minute seeing her only as a potential fuck to relieve his tension to caring so much about her happiness and life the next? Loki didn’t understand this, and it scared him.

His hand cradled the back of her head as he kissed the top of it, such a caring and intimate gesture that he was a complete stranger to, “It’s okay, you wanna know something though?” His question raises a muffled ‘what?’ from the girl who currently had her face buried in his chest, “I can’t stand those people either, I’ve been around them my entire life and they absolutely infuriate me.”

She pulls back, “Thank you for trying to relate, but you have no idea what my life has been like up to this point.”

“I know,” He sighs, “But I would like to get to know you better.” He wipes a stray tear from her cheek before placing his hand underneath her chin to lift her head up. Her glossy eyes looked into his like she was searching for something. What she was looking for however, she had no idea. His gaze was so soft, so caring, she had never seen him in this state before, and she didn’t know how to feel about it. She still felt cautious when it came to him, but right now, he was all she wanted.

Loki leaned in, claiming her lips in another sweet kiss, she just couldn’t get enough of them. She slowly lets herself fall back so that eventually she is laying on the couch with Loki above her. His tall frame envelops her small one as the kiss becomes more heated, his tongue finding its way in her warm mouth. She tasted like chocolate and wine, a perfect combination that tasted even better now. She pulls at the collar of his alabaster dress shirt before moving to hold the nape of his neck, underneath the long, inky locks that hung on either side of his head. She spreads her legs underneath him as an invitation for him to settle between them.

‘Fuck my morals, just take me.’

Loki is the one to stop this time, however. He looks down at the desperate woman beneath him, ‘a journalist’ he reminds himself. He contemplates for a second, if he really wants to go through with what he was thinking.

‘I have to, just in case.’ He decides.

“What’s wrong?” Her lust filled voice pulls him out of his trance, “Isn’t this how you wanted the night to end? I’m giving you permission.”

“I know, I want you, but, there's something that we need to figure out first.” He lifts himself off of her flushed body. Now she was the one who was horny and confused.

“What is it? I’m on the pill if that’s the problem.”

“No, that's not it.” He takes a piece of paper that had been sitting face down on the table along with a pen, “I need you to sign this.” He hands it to her.

An NDA, this motherfucker.

She looks up at him from her now seated position on the couch, “You don’t trust me.”

“It’s a formality, don’t think too much about it.”

Hannah stands up in shock and silence. He never changed.

“Don’t think too much about it? How dare you! I open up to you, I offer you my body and this is how you respond?” She yells.

“Hannah-” he reaches out in a failed attempt to calm her down, she smacks his hands away and shoves the paper in his face.

“Is this what you wanted? To fuck me for one night and then pay me off by paying for school? To secure my silence so I don’t write about how you were an ignorant asshole who took advantage of me?” She pushes him in the chest, not doing much against the tall man.

“Of course not! You need to see this from my perspective Hannah! You are my employee, a girl that I picked up from the street! What? Did you think I was going to roll over for you, put my livelihood in danger to be with you? I have already offered and given you more than any other woman that had walked into my life, and I haven’t even slept with you! This is fucked! Our whole ‘relationship’ is fucked up! And one day when you’re gone and you want to write a big article that will get you all the fame, glory, and respect, you’re gonna write about how fucked up Loki Laufeyson is and how you witnessed it first hand! But you agreed to this, you flirted and teased me back! You-” his argument was cut off by a splash of liquid in his face.

It all happened so fast that he didn’t realize it was the glass of wine from their romantic dinner that had since been long forgotten. It stained his once white shirt and dripped from his hair. He was in too much shock from her action that his anger dissipated and shame took its place.

“Fuck you.” She stabbed him vocally before grabbing her bag to make her leave. She goes to open the door but she can’t help pausing to ask Loki a question, “Why? Why did you lead me on like this?” She seeked closure.

Loki never moved, nor did he make an attempt to wipe his face, “I didn’t. I like you, Hannah. I just don’t understand this feeling. I am incapable of trust, and I can’t be trusted.”

She looked back at him, his eyes cautiously met hers. She had a look of pity, with a good bit of rage buried underneath.

“Goodnight.” She says emotionlessly before walking out the door.

Loki remained idle until he heard her engine start, his engine technically.

He plops down on the couch, ripping the wine soaked NDA in half. The spot next to him was still warm from where her body laid only minutes ago. He ran his hand over where she once was and laid down, trying to take in the last of her warmth, his favorite thing, now gone. And for the first time in years, Loki cried.

Notes:

I haven’t written angst in forever and now I forget how fun (painful) it is. There is plenty more where that came from hehe. Also this could’ve been called, “Loki cockblocks himself with a piece of paper” but I didn’t want to spoil it lmao.

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 18: Lunch and Lessons Learned

Summary:

After last night’s mess, Hannah goes to have lunch with Brian, who reveals some events of Loki’s past.

Hannah laid face down on her bed, the dress from the previous night still wrapped around her body. She didn’t want to lift her head, surely knowing the headache that would ensue if she did. Last night when she came home all she remembers was grabbing a bottle of liquor and heading straight to her side of the empty bedroom. The bottle was now empty and thrown to the side of the bed and her pillow was stained with mascara.

Loki…

How could he do this? To be honest, she didn’t know what else she expected. She heard the rumors, read the tabloids, hell, he’s had his fair share of asshole moments to her face. It was her fault to foolishly ignore all of that in some delusional fantasy that she had him wrapped around her finger. He played along so well, little did she know that he was just pretending. He was just acting sweet, giving her these nice things, his credit card, a fancy dinner, just to convince her to sleep with him and keep her silence. If he never put that NDA in front of her she would have done it too. She almost let him.

She turned her head slightly to retrieve her phone from the nightstand.

‘Ten o’clock, I should get ready to head to Brian’s house.’ She thought to herself, slowly dragging herself off the soft embrace of the mattress.

She noticed that she was no longer alone in the room now, however. Hazel was fast asleep in her own bed across the room. Hannah didn’t even want to think what she thought when she came into the room. Hopefully she was just as drunk and passed out immediately.

Hannah quietly left the room and made her way to the bathroom so she could try to wash away her regrets. She couldn’t cry anymore if she tried, she just felt numb, like nothing mattered. She recalled his words, how he said he couldn’t trust or be trusted.

‘I wish he said that earlier.’ She rolled her eyes.

By the time she stepped out of the shower and got dressed, Hazel was awake, and Hannah did not want to hear her questions.

“Where are you off to?” Hazel groans as she sits up on her bed.

“Lunch.” Hannah answers, trying to leave the apartment as soon as she could.

“With who?”

Hannah let out an annoyed sigh, “Why do you care?”

“Hey! Watch the attitude. What’s your deal? Mr. Perfect didn’t turn out well?”

Hannah turns quickly to her roommate, “Stop! Just shut up! I don’t want to talk about it.” She snapped before grabbing her bag and heading for the front door.

Hazel just sat there in shock, she didn’t expect the date to go that bad.

Hannah rushed down to her car, not even processing that she just snapped at her best friend. She just wanted to leave the situation, and this lunch with Brian would be the perfect distraction.

After following his directions, she found herself parked in front of a cute spanish style home, walking distance from the beach. The house looked older, certainly renovated.

When she walked up to the door and knocked she was greeted by Brian’s smiling face. She took in a deep breath and sucked up the pain to match his happy energy.

“Hannah! How are you? Did you find the place okay?”

“I'm good. And yea it was no trouble at all.” She greets her co-worker and leads her inside.

She admired the beautifully decorated house around her. Plants and paintings decorated the walls, arched doorways complemented the decor. It certainly had more character than Loki’s mansion.

“I thought we would just have some finger foods, light stuff like these little sandwiches. Oh, and I made this delicious cheese board with locally sourced ch-” His voice faded away as Hannah zoned out and admired the ocean that was visible from his large back windows. The waves hypnotically pulled her into a trance like state, forgetting where she was for a few seconds. “Hannah!” A distracting snap from Brian brought her back, he certainly had more of a sass to him when he was not at work.

“Sorry, I’m just tired, it’s all so great. Thank you so much for inviting me over. Your house is beautiful by the way.” She smiles.

“Thank you, I did all the decorating myself. I wanted to embrace the original features of the house when I bought it instead of turning it into a bland modern nightmare.”

“Well, You matched the aesthetic perfectly.” She complemented.

Both of them sat at the square table that had a perfect view of the ocean that was practically in his backyard. There was a neat spread of food for her to choose from, Brian clearly put a lot of effort into it, much more than Loki, or so she thought.

There was a bit of an awkward silence between them as they ate. Hanging out with a co-worker outside of work could tend to be that way sometimes. Especially when the main reason that Brian invited her over was to talk about Loki in a private setting. And right now, that was all she wanted to do, it was like a strange obsession despite the fact that she hated him right now.

“So…” Brian broke the silence, “School should be starting back up soon. End of August?”

“Early September.” She answers.

“Well, you have done great work with us. We’ll both miss you immensely when you leave.”

“Leave?” She looks at him across the table.

“You seriously aren’t thinking of juggling the job with school are you?” He questions.

“Loki said he would drop me to part time if I wanted, if I go back.”

“What do you mean if?” He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Hannah sighed, taking a sip of her drink before she sat back in her chair. “I’m just having doubts, I’m so close to being done too. I just don’t know if journalism is for me anymore. I still want to write though so I guess my degree won’t be a complete waste. And I have no idea what career path I want to pursue afterwards, I just feel stuck, I don’t know.” She nervously takes a bite of her food.

Brian sits there for a second, processing everything she just said, making sure he picks the correct words to comfort her. “You’re probably just burned out, I mean you’ve been there for three years, almost four? The same thing happened to me when I went to school. And with this job that you got, it’s taking all your focus. But Hannah, you are so close. So close to living whatever life you want, you should put your education first.” He advises.

She lets out a breath, almost a laugh, before responding. “That’s what Loki said too.” His name tastes sour on her tongue.

It was Brian’s turn to sigh, “I guess we should stop bullshitting and talk about the real reason you’re here.” He didn’t even have to say his name.

“Maybe we should.” She clenches her jaw.

“Oh, Loki, where do I even begin with him? He was the black sheep of his family, adopted actually.”

“Wow! Really? I had no idea, even though he’s like mega famous.”

“He tries to keep it under wraps, he hasn’t contacted them in years. They live in England, in case you can’t tell by the accent. He even went as far as changing his last name back to his birth name.”

“Why? Is he embarrassed of them or something?” She questions.

“I don’t know much, I think his father wasn’t that good to him. He loves his mother though.”

Hannah can’t help but let out a little smile, Loki did seem like a mommy’s boy. If only Hannah could tell her about his treatment towards her, she would probably smack him right upside the head. “If only she could see him now.”

“Maybe she needs to talk some sense into him. She would probably be the only person he would listen to.”

“If he’s such a momma’s boy then why does he have his ‘reputation’ with women?” She makes air quotes with her fingers.

“Well, that's another story. You see, when Laufeyson enterprises was just starting off, Loki was with this woman for about eight months. Nothing that was long term, but they did seem to like each other, alot.” A twinge of unforeseen jealousy ran up her spine, “However, when the money started coming in, she wanted a cut, a big one. She kept pressuring Loki into proposing so that she would have access to it in marriage. But Loki, obviously, wasn’t ready for that, so he just tried breaking up with her. She went insane, going as far to hurt herself and claim that it was Loki. Say what you want about him, but he would never lay his hand on a woman in such a way. Like I said, he’s a momma's boy.”

Hannah quickly recalled their argument last night. Loki yelled, but he never even tried to attempt to get violent. “Yeah, he’s not violent at all, surprisingly. Not that I thought he would be, but you know, powerful men give off a certain energy.” She points out.

“Not Loki, he thankfully does know better. Anyway, she takes him to court but her story is inconsistent and Loki has an alibi on the night that she claims it happened. It didn’t take people long to realize what she was after and Loki won the case, he didn’t take a dollar from her either, he just wanted her gone.”

“Did she leave?” Hannah asks, now very invested in the story.

“She did. But, not without a bang. A few nights after the trial ended she broke into his house while he was sleeping and…” Brian trails off, taking a deep breath and shaking his head, “She actually tried to kill him.”

Hannah’s eyes went wide in shock, ‘That explains everything, why he can’t trust me or anybody. He was with her for eight months and she did this? He’s only known me for barely three months.’ She thinks, now feeling sorry for her boss. Then she recalls the way he yelled at her. She pitied him, but she didn’t forgive him, not yet at least.

“She didn’t hurt him, did she?” Hannah asks in a slightly shaky tone.

“No, He woke up as soon as she got on top of him in an attempt to stab him with a knife from the kitchen.” Brian explains.

Hannah is silent for a few seconds, taking in all the new information that painted Loki in a different light. “I can’t imagine what that was like, he probably couldn’t sleep for months.” She sympathizes.

“He hired a team of bodyguards that stuck around for a while, maybe three months after the incident. After that he slowly got back to his normal routine. But I'm sure it still bothers him to this day, nine years later.”

“Did they arrest her?”

“Unfortunately not, she got away. We have no idea where she is, or if she’s even alive, but it’s still a scary thing to think about, that she’s still out there.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” She questions with a puzzled look on her face.

Brian takes his napkin, balling it up in his fist, “Loki has not pursued a relationship since. As you can imagine, His sense of trust has been completely ruined. He is a no strings attached type of man now, I’ve heard that he makes every hookup sign an NDA.” He scoffs.

Hannah clenches her jaw, trying to keep herself from rolling her eyes. She had no intention of confirming the supposed rumor that he just brought up. Though she felt as if she understood Loki just a little bit more, his cold gaze and mysterious nature was no longer a mystery now that his past had been revealed.

“I see the way he looks at you.” Brian speaks up, his eyes trained on his lap to avoid looking at her confused expression, “He always gets what he wants, don’t let him get you, not this time. Take this as a warning with no offense but, you are not different, not to him. You cannot fix him Hannah, I don’t think anyone can at this point.”

She did her best to absorb his words as they left a slight sting in her chest. Brian was right, she knows that. However, as soon as Loki starts talking sweetly to her, she just can’t resist. That dark, velvet voice that beckoned her to partake in sin plagued her mind. Sometimes she could hear him talking in her head when he wasn’t around, as if she was going insane.

Zoning out once again, she stared at the ocean. The blue waves triggered flashbacks of Loki's eyes. She had seen them filled with rage, lust, and longing, somehow they always brought her comfort.

“I know, he’s just-” She paused, rehearsing her words in her head before they spilled out her mouth to make sure she didn’t make her attraction to her boss obvious. “He acts so differently around me, I don’t understand it. He switches up so quickly too, like one minute he’s caring and the next he acts like it’s nothing. But for those few seconds that he seems like he genuinely cares, it’s the most comfort that I have ever felt from a man in my life.”

Brian’s eyes are wide with concern, “Hannah, don’t think that way. You are on thin ice right now with him. I mean, do you even realize how wrong this is?”

“Yes, I realize. But I’m gonna be honest with you Brian…” She leans forward in her seat, not bothering to process her words anymore, Loki had ruined her mind. “I just don’t know how to bring myself to care.”

His eyes flashed with anger and a twinge of fear, “I really don’t mean to get personal like this, trust me I don’t want to but…” He stumbles over his words as his upcoming question makes him feel sick, “Have you two? I mean-”

“Slept together?” She finishes for him, “To ease your poor mind, no, I haven’t. I turned him down actually.” She picked up her champagne flute that was halfway full of the orange alcoholic drink and twirled the liquid with confidence.

Her co-worker's jaw is practically on the floor at her words, “H-how? You just turned him down? He didn’t throw a fit?”

“Nope.” Her mouth makes a slight pop sound as she enunciates the word, “I’ve turned him down on a few occasions now, he just sucked it up and continued being a little sweetheart. That was until last time.”

“What happened last time?” Brian asks as if it was hot gossip that he was dying to hear.

“I spilled a glass of wine on him and basically told him to fuck off.” She said before sipping her mimosa.

Brian was speechless, he had told her to fight back on the night of the gala. He didn’t think she would take it so seriously, she wasn’t here to fight however, she was here to win.

They sat in silence and ate the rest of their food. Brian was processing everything she said, no longer seeming innocent in his eyes. There was no woman that Brian knew of that treated Loki in such a way before. And here she was, getting away with it as well. Not to mention the fact that Loki kept coming back to her, trying to win her over again every time. Maybe Hannah was different, she probably couldn’t fix Loki, but maybe she could humble him.

After they finished eating, Brian gave her a tour of his house since he noticed her admiring it. When Hannah walked past the refrigerator she saw the magnets that adorned it, some were decorative, some held up grocery lists. Then one caught her eye, it held up a polaroid picture of Brian with someone else. It was a selfie at the beach, Hannah stared for a few seconds before recognizing the person he was with.

‘Michael?’

Brian currently had his back to her, talking about his custom tile backsplash with pride. Hannah just quietly smirked to herself, surely Loki didn’t know.

Soon she noticed that it was late in the afternoon, deciding to excuse herself from their long lunch.

“It’s getting late, I think I'm gonna head back home.” She threw her bag over her shoulder as Brian walked her to the front door, “Thank you for having me, lunch was delicious and the conversation was much needed.” She smirked.

“Yeah.” Brian scoffed and rolled his eyes sarcastically, “You’re not who I thought you were. And I mean that in the best way possible.” He flashes her a warm smile.

Hannah cocked her head in confusion for a few seconds, “Okay, whatever that means.” She goes to head out the front door before he has one more thing to say, stopping her in the doorway.

“Hannah.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t put up with his bullshit, please.”

She gives her coworker a cocky smirk, “Have I ever?”

Notes:

I’m going to be taking a short break from uploading new chapters to edit the first two chapters because my writing style and quality has changed DRASTICALLY since this fic started. I’m not changing any major plot points, just cleaning things up and attempting to make the story a better read. It shouldn’t take me too long.

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Chapter 19: Thin Ice

Summary:

Loki was absent for a good part of a week. He has some words to share with Brian upon his return. When Brian tells him about what he told Hannah, Loki has no choice but to face her.

It was already Friday and Loki hasn’t made an appearance in the office all week. The first few days were bliss, Hannah and Brian were relieved at the lack of their boss. Their days were spent gossiping while getting their work done. However, when Loki missed an important meeting on Wednesday, they became concerned. Loki didn’t always show up to the office, but he took his position as CEO too seriously to miss important meetings and events.

“He’s an ass, don’t get me wrong, but I’m starting to get concerned.” Brian stated as they observed their boss’ empty office.

Hannah felt a twinge of guilt run through her veins. She never thought Loki would make such a big deal out of their confrontation. He was so professional, she had just expected him to suck it up and continue on with his life. Hannah also feared that when he did eventually return, her job would be at stake. For all she knew, she might as well kiss it goodbye.

“Me too.” She agrees with her coworker.

“Maybe we should go to his house and check on him after work.” Brian suggests.

To be honest, that was the last thing that Hannah wanted to do. Last time she was in his house their night of bliss was interrupted by Loki’s own ego. The thought still made her blood boil, however, after her conversation with Brian, she at least understood where he was coming from.

As they returned to their individual work desks they heard the door open. Both of their heads snapped in the direction of the noise. They were shocked to find their once absent boss walking through the door as if nothing happened.

“Where the hell have you been?” Brian pries as he stands from his desk. Hannah just slumped in her seat, not wanting Loki to pay her any mind.

Loki just ignored his assistant and walked into his office. He thankfully made no eye contact with Hannah. His crisp, white button up shirt was an ironic choice, almost as if he wore it with the intention of her noticing. The sudden sound of him slamming the office door shut made her jump in her chair.

“Well… At least we know he’s alive.” Brian rolled his eyes and got back to work.

Hannah remained silent, almost completely sure that she wouldn’t have a job by the end of the day. How would she explain this to Hazel and all her other friends? Her eyes constantly darted between Loki’s office door and her computer, just waiting for him to call for her.

After a few hours of tense work, Loki emerged. Hannah and Brian’s heads snapped toward the direction of their stoic boss. His face was still, not a hint of emotion graced his lovely features.

“Brian.” He called out.

“Yes sir?” Brian spoke up.

“Come see me in my office really quick, we have urgent matters to discuss.”

Brian stood almost immediately and headed toward his boss. Hannah watched intently, slightly slouching behind her desk to avoid any judgmental eyes from Loki. She was sure that if he made eye contact with her she would combust on the spot. However, she did catch Brian’s concerned eyes. They had a hint of curiosity in them, he was curious with what his boss had to say after his brief absence and strange behavior.

Loki remained quiet as he led Brian into his office and shut the door behind him. His assistant observed as his boss as he circled around his desk and eventually settled in his chair. Loki silently motioned for Brian to sit in one of the two chairs on the other side of his desk. He picked the chair on his left and Loki’s right. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds until Brian couldn’t bear anymore and spoke up.

“Why did you call me in here sir?”

Loki’s eyes looked up and met Brian’s. His eyebrows raised as he saw Loki up close. His blue eyes were surrounded by obvious small blood vessels, he had dark circles underneath them. Even though his face was normally pale, at the moment, he looked lifeless.

“Loki, are you okay?” His voice changed, Brian spoke to him like a friend now.

The dark haired man clenched his jaw and sighed, “She ruined me, Brian. I don’t know what to do.”

Brian was shocked at his words, “Who? If you don’t mind me asking?”

Loki buried his face into his hands and mumbled, “Hannah.”

“Hannah? How did she ruin you?” Brian was almost tempted to laugh, but he kept himself together.

“I can’t understand her, she isn’t easily swayed by money or anything else.” Loki rolled his eyes at his last few words, he stood up from his desk and began to pace.

“Well, she is your assistant. And as your assistant, you shouldn’t have to ‘sway’ her to do anything. Do I need to remind you one last time that she is your assistant?” Brian said sternly.

“I think you made it clear.” Loki breathed in a monotone voice.

“I warned you Loki, don’t get involved with her.”

Loki stopped his pacing with a pause and turned to Brian, “That’s the thing. I know that, I know better. But…” He sighs, “I just can’t stop. I’ve tried to distract myself but she keeps pulling me back. She doesn’t do it intentionally either, it’s all me.” He stares out the floor to ceiling window, observing the city from his high-rise.

“Don’t tell me this is more than lust, Loki.”

Loki tenses at his words, perhaps it was. But he could never admit it, not to Brian.

“No. It’s just that…” He searches his mind for the correct words, “She is the first woman who I feel I can trust since… her.” His voice goes dark as he recalls his homicidal past love.

“I understand that, and I don’t want to block that trust.” Brian stands and approaches his boss, placing a hand on his shoulder, “But she is not worth the risk.”

Loki clenches his jaw and moves his shoulder so Brian’s hand falls, “None of that matters now. I broke her trust, if she didn’t despise me before, she certainly does now.”

Brian recalled his conversation with Hannah at his house. Was this about the argument where she spilled wine on him? Brian would think that Loki would hate her, not the other way around.

“I told her, Loki.”

“Told her what?” Loki glares daggers at the shorter man.

“About your past, I told her about your last real relationship and what happened.”

“WHAT!” Loki yelled, quickly turning on his heels to tower over Brian, “Are you trying to make her pity me? Hate me? Don’t tell me that you’re trying to make her leave!”

“Shhhhh… Do you want her to hear you? She’s right outside!” Brian snapped and pointed to the door.

A fire roared in Loki’s blue eyes, his fist was clenched at his side. He didn’t want Hannah to pity him more than she probably already did.

“Leave.” Loki growled in demand.

“She act-” Brian attempted to explain himself.

“LEAVE!”

Brian went silent in defeat and turned to leave, not another word was exchanged as he walked through the door and prayed that Loki’s office was soundproof.

Hannah’s eyes immediately darted to Brian as he walked hesitantly to his desk.

Shortly after he sat down, his eyes met Hannah’s. She mouthed the words ‘are you okay’ to her coworker. Brian just nodded and looked back at his monitor.

Loki slammed the door open, causing both of his assistants to jump.

He cleared his throat and collected himself, “Miss Rei, may I see you in my office? Immediately.” Loki’s attempt at a question turned into a demand.

Hannah nodded and stood wordlessly, this would be the first time that they had talked since their… incident.

Loki looked slightly disheveled, a few rouge strands of hair hung by his cheekbones. The top two buttons on his white shirt were undone. Her cheeks blushed, his appearance reminded her of their intimate dinner date a week ago. When he hovered over her on the couch and-

‘Stop.’ She thinks to herself, remembering the piece of paper that ruined everything, ‘Don’t forgive him, not yet.’ She stood her ground. Her eyes went up to meet Loki’s in a moment of courage, the rage was gone, all that remained was pain.

He was damaged, utterly torn apart, and vulnerable.

The door fell shut behind them, the only sound in the silent office. Loki stood next to his desk with his back to her, one hand resting on the wood. In his short lived fit of rage he called her here, but he had no idea what to say.

“Are you okay?” She quietly asks.

‘How dare she.’ He thinks to himself and grinds his teeth, ‘How dare she care about me.’ He scoffed and let out a sigh, collecting himself once again before turning to look upon her.

She felt small, even at this distance he towered over her. At the pinnacle of his intimidating stature was a defeated look on his face, one that did not match the threatening energy he was exuding right now.

He stepped behind his office chair on his side of the desk, “Have a seat.” His offer feels more like a demand.

She goes to sit in one of the chairs opposite to him before he stops her.

“No, here.” He motions to his chair.

Hannah pauses and gives her boss a hesitant look before carefully obeying his demand. Fifty different thoughts ran through her head yet no words could find their way off her tongue.

The black, leather office chair gave a small creak as she slowly sat down. Loki’s frame remained behind her for a second, enjoying her closeness that he had yearned for these past few days.

“Loki, what is all this about?” Her voice darkens as she speaks, a tone that pierces his heart.

She watches him lurk around the desk, not a word is muttered as he sits in one of the chairs opposite of her. Her heart jumps as she takes in their positions. He had put her in a position of power over him.

“I am giving you an out.” He states.

“What?” She squeaks.

‘This is it, he’s going to fire me.’ She decides as her hands grip the chair’s armrests for dear life.

“I’m giving you the opportunity to leave with a very generous severance check that will cover all of your school expenses.”

She sits up straight and collects herself, refusing to be seen so vulnerable once again to this man.

“What’s the catch?” She asks her defeated boss.

“For you? Nothing. You can live the rest of your life free of me. We can pretend that none of this ever happened and we can move on.” He poorly attempts to sell her on his generous offer.

Her eyes go wide, at first with shock, then a smirk decorates her lips. He wasn’t about to get rid of her that easily.

“So, you are offering for me to leave. No catch, no strings attached?” She repeats.

“Yes.”

“And is this because you wish to get rid of me or run from your problems? Or is it both?” She tilts her head in curiosity.

Loki expected this attitude from her, he relied on it. “You got me. Okay? You can see right through me and I fucking hate it.” He puts his hands up in mock surrender.

She giggles, never missing an opportunity to tease him, “And what will you do if I decide to stay? What happens to the both of us then?”

“Whatever you want.” He breathes out tiredly, “All I know is I don’t want to fight with you anymore. Just be my assistant, that is all I need from you, nothing more, nothing less.”

Hannah glares at him with doubt and judgment, “Can you keep up your end of the deal if that is the case?”

Loki pauses, she knows him too well. “I- I can. I can try at the very least.” He stutters.

She sighs and sits back in his chair with her arms crossed, “Y’know, if you just apologized I could have been open to accept it. I can’t believe you did all of this just to avoid a damn apology!” She accused her boss.

“What! No! I- I thought you would want to leave.” He mumbles, unable to defend himself.

She laughs in a sarcastic tone, “You tried your best, I’ll give you that.”

Loki stares at the ground, powerless and submissive to her. It was a feeling that he loved and hated at the same time. “Brian… I heard that he told you about my past.”

Her attitude goes from teasing to sympathetic, to be fair, if it wasn’t for Brian she would have quit. But his story gave her a certain hope for Loki, even if it was misplaced. Did he fear her? Was he afraid to be betrayed by another woman he placed trust in? She understood his trust issues now, and she wanted to clear that up because, in reality, she wasn’t ready to leave him yet. Even after what happened, she still thought about him every day and night. She worried for his health when he mysteriously disappeared for those few days. Part of her feared that he might have done something drastic and it would be all her fault. All that guilt would pile up because she could never confess that she was with him that night. She offered him her body and cried in his arms, he was not her boss in that moment of intimacy. He was more than that. If she left now, even with a check, she would be torn without him.

“He did.”

“I thought that all of that would scare you away from me.” He muttered, afraid to lose her. He needed her right now more than ever. But the longer he held on, the harder it would be to let go. And he knew that one fateful day, that would be unavoidable.

“You should thank him Loki, that story is what inspired me to give you a second chance.” His head raised at her words, she leaned forward and rested her arms on the desk. “I understand now. Why you do what you do, why you don’t trust anyone. I don’t blame you, I would do the same. But I can’t read minds Loki! When you shoved that paper in front of me, I hate to say I wasn’t surprised. It still hurt though, because I really wanted you.” She confessed, “I cried in front of you, I was vulnerable. You gave me such an amazing offer, a chance for a bright future. I thought I was more than a one night stand. Whatever you had planned afterward, I anticipated it, but I didn’t care. Not in the moment at least.”

Loki was speechless, the overwhelming urge to hold her rushed through him. His veins ran hot and his hand twitched in desperation. All he could do, however, was cautiously touch her hand as it rested on his desk. She jumped slightly, but she didn't pull away.

“Hannah, from the bottom of my heart, I am truly and honestly sorry. I have a sick mind, and I will admit my intentions were never pure, even from the beginning. I have learned more about myself through you and for the first time in my life I don’t understand what all of this is.”

It was another lie of course, Loki knew what it was, she knew what it was. But it was all too dangerous and unrealistic. It could never happen, they could never happen. The feeling ate at their hearts and burned their skin, but they were doomed from the beginning. And Loki knew that it was all his fault. He dragged her into this for his own twisted entertainment, in the end, they both are paying the price.

“Thank you for your apology and your honesty.” She chokes, holding back more tears.

“I learned from the best.” He smiles at her. It was his first smile since the last time he was with her. He only smiled like that around her.

“Don’t lie again, we both know I am buried in a sea of lies.” She recalls every lie she confessed to telling her friends, lies that still were believed as truth.

“I never called you a saint, darling.” He flirted, it was automatic with her. His thumb stroked the skin of her hand, “Every offer I made still stands. If you wish to stay, I will pay for everything.”

He had corrupted her mind by now, nothing mattered. If he was to offer her his money, who gave a fuck about what her friends thought? Fuck morals and fuck ethics.

“And by everything, you mean school right?” She teasingly asked, already knowing his answer.

“By everything I mean everything. The roof over your head, the shoes on your feet, the car you drive, and of course your education.” He leaned closer to her, regretting his purchase of such a wide desk that currently kept her from him.

She was giddy with excitement, hiding it expertly from Loki, “How could I say no to all that?” She smiles, her hands held Loki’s forearms, “No more NDAs?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Torn up and stained wine red, darling.” He assured her.

She forgot to think as she jumped out of the chair and fully leaned across the desk, knocking over a cup full of pens in the process. Loki felt every one of his internal wounds heal as her soft lips met his once again. They could care less if this was temporary. It just gave them an excuse to enjoy it more in the moment. Her hands cupped his cheeks, subtly caressing his cheekbones. Loki held the back of her head and stood from his chair, her body rising with his as he put more of his weight on the desk before pulling her closer, encouraging her to climb on top of it. She took the hint and crawled on the desk to get closer, Loki helped her by hooking his arm under her knees and pulling her flush with his torso. More documents became bent and fell from the desk as she sat on top of it. Loki clearly didn’t care as her legs now hung next to his. Her fingers buried in his distressed locks as his hands rested on her waist, they knew better than to fuck right here on his desk, as much as they wanted to. So they just kissed deeply, enjoying the feeling of being high on each other.

Loki was the first to pull away, he looked down at her with lust as he ran his thumb over her wet, swollen bottom lip. Her eyes still closed, just taking in the moment.

“You will be accompanying me to New York next month. Then you will return to your studies, we will discuss your new schedule at a later time.”

Her eyes opened, they shone with pride, “Yes sir” Was all she needed to say before they kissed one more time. Work did eventually have to get done after all.

In their fleeting moment of passion, neither of them noticed when the door was cracked open.

Brian worried for Hannah after the way Loki had treated him. The sight he was greeted with however, made him even angrier. Hannah was an enabler, and they were detrimental for each other. Brian lost any and all respect for the girl as he witnessed the disgusting sight.

They were both on thin fucking ice.

Notes:

This took way too long to get out and I’m sorry. Life got crazy again and I got writer’s block again.

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)

Follow me on Tumblr: @lokis-dark-queen

Chapter 20: I thought we were friends?

Summary:

Hannah discovers that friendship is sometimes a fleeting memory. And the only person who can properly offer her comfort is the very man she should be avoiding.

“HA! Eat it bitches.” Anna yelled annoyingly as she won the small, low stakes poker game between Hazel and Hannah.

Hannah rolled her eyes at the unnecessary yelling from her friend. This was the first time she had hung out with them in a while, Hazel pressured her into it. There was once a time when Hannah was excited to be among friends, laughing and drinking. However, their recent meetups have been filled with more arguing than laughter and the drinking increased. Hannah had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, when friendships started feeling like this, the end was near.

She began having doubts when her so-called ‘friends’ showed little to no support for her new job when she got hired at Laufeyson Enterprises. She was finally able to pay rent and she constantly got shamed for it. She honestly thought that they would have had a better reaction if she told them she was a stripper.

“So, Hannah,” Anna spoke up after she took a sip of her beer, “I heard that you met some mystery rich man? What is he like?”

Before Hannah had a chance to speak up, Hazel butted in, “Didn’t work out.”

Hannah’s blood boiled at first when Hazel spoke in her place. She had never even brought it up since that morning when Hazel asked about it and Hannah snapped at her. In fact, the two girls had barely exchanged any words since. That was a little over a week ago now.

“Damn, that sucks. That would have been awesome if you bagged a guy like that, Hannah.”

Hannah nodded and played along, it was for the best if this mystery rich man was supposedly gone from the narrative, to them at least.

In reality, he was in her mind now more than ever. But they didn’t know where to go from where they were. Loki was extremely busy with the upcoming New York trip, so was Hannah. They didn’t have time to meet up outside of work. They still didn’t want to be caught by Brian, or raise any suspicion to Hannah’s friends. At the moment, she was just his assistant, even after he said she was more.

“I can’t believe that there are only two semesters left before we graduate!” Hazel squeals in excitement.

“I know right? I got my first job offer too.” Anna brags.

“Seriously? Where?” Hazel asks.

“A small online news blog based here in LA, they are growing quickly and by the time I get the job, they’ll be huge!”

“That’s amazing, Anna! Most people don’t get offers until their last semester.”

“Yeah, congrats!” Hannah contributes to the conversation.

“What about you Hannah?” Anna pries and the air suddenly turns slightly hostile, “Any good job offers or are you going to stick around with that pompous asshat?” She mocks.

Hannah was pissed, of course her job at the moment wasn’t permanent, but she hated being degraded and teased for it. “That pompous asshat pays me more than you could ever wish for a college job. And of course I’m not going to stay there.” She rolled her eyes and picked up her beer.

“It makes sense that you wouldn’t, I don’t think Loki would want a journalist around him. He would probably be exposed in a second. Then his career would be over.” Anna exaggerates.

“Maybe he needs that though, and Hannah could be the one to do it. Imagine that article.” Hazel gives her two cents.

“I'm not there to expose him, who do you guys think I am? I don’t even know him.”

More lies, what else could she expect? They talk about how cool it would be if she dated a rich guy. If she said it was Loki, however, their opinion would change quickly. Not that her and Loki were actually dating, it was just some fun. And lots of money.

“Have you read the headlines? He’s an ass.” Hazel reminds her roomate.

“C’mon Hazel, aren’t tabloids known for lying?”

“Are you seriously defending him? Wow, you have changed.” Anna stated.

Hannah has been rethinking her choice of friends recently. Hazel was sweet until she turned on Hannah when she got a well paying job. Perhaps she was jealous, but she should mind her business and just worry about whether or not she was paying rent. Anna well… she sort of shoved herself into Hazel and Hannah’s friendship when they started college. There was a reason she barely had any other friends, she was loud, rude, and an attention seeker. Hazel, being too nice sometimes, just allowed her to do so and Hannah never spoke up.

Hannah let out a frustrated sigh and placed her cards down, “Maybe I have.” She grabs her beer and stands up, “I wanted to tell you guys that I am missing the first week of school for a business trip. But I could barely get word out without being shamed every five seconds. Don’t argue, you can’t change my mind. Goodnight.” She walks back to her room and shuts the door, leaving her two friends speechless on the floor.

Hannah plopped on her bed, groaning in annoyance. She held onto one of her pillows, she longed for Loki, but she didn’t want to bother him. Besides, if she left in the middle of the night the questions from her friends would be unbearable.

–
Loki sat at his desk, his trip itinerary and meeting notes stared back at him on his computer. He couldn’t focus on them at the moment. All he could think about was Hannah, part of it was sexual, the other part of him genuinely missed her.

He had a separate trip itinerary for them. He had made reservations at fancy restaurants that he wanted her to see. He made time around his meetings to be with her. There was one problem however, Brian, he would be hovering around them the whole time, Loki already knew that. He gave Brian some extra tasks to do so that he could remain busy while Loki had his time alone with Hannah. And if she feared being caught in public with him, he already had that covered. All of their reserved dinners would be in private, bought out rooms. They would be driven around by a private car that Loki hired, he even requested that the back windows have the darkest tint possible. Loki’s entire PR team was keeping his whereabouts quiet to avoid the paparazzi. The last thing that they both needed was a public picture together, and Loki was about to make damn sure that didn’t happen.

His hand fidgeted with his phone, tempted to call her. It was Sunday night, however, if she was with her friends she most likely would not answer.

Loki worried about her friends, they didn’t seem to be that nice to Hannah by the way she described them. He knew that she lived with one, she didn’t talk about the others very much. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, recalling his own college days. He didn’t speak to any of his past friends, and he especially didn’t speak to past girlfriends. Thankfully, Loki was a gentleman and didn’t have to worry about any controversy that would come back to bite him later in his career. They usually left him because they considered him boring. Loki was never one for partying, all of his drinking was done alone, sadly. He watched his former friends, once promising young men with aspirations, turn into alcoholics and addicts in a matter of months. He would rather be alone than to be associated with them, it would hurt his reputation. Would it hurt his image as much as him having relations with his assistant? Well… hopefully he would never find out.

Eventually, he gave in, pressing her contact on his phone and calling her.

—
Hannah’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she saw his name appear on her screen. It was late, almost midnight, they both had to work tomorrow. She looked around the empty, dark room, praying that Hazel wouldn’t come in soon. She still heard their muffled voices in the living room, maybe if she whispered and they just kept talking, she could get away with it.

Hannah hesitantly accepted the call, “Hello?” She greeted with a questioning tone.

“Hi darling, why the quiet voice?” He asks, instantly amused by her.

His deep growl made her clench her thighs under the sheets, “My friends are nearby, I don’t want them to hear.”

“Then leave.” He suggests.

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy, why? Is there something at work that came up?” She quietly questions him.

“If there was, I would tell you tomorrow, I just wanted to hear your voice, darling.” His words made her shiver in bed.

“Oh, okay.” She didn’t have the confidence to flirt back right now, she just wanted to hear him too.

“How has your night been?” He makes conversation.

Hannah groaned as she recalled her recent conversation, “Not the best.”

“Oh? What happened?” His tone became concerned.

“My friends, they hate my job, and you.” She made sure to say that last part extra quietly. God forbid they found out who she was talking to. Especially at this time of night.

“You didn’t tell them, did you? About us?”

“No, that's how much they hate you. Whenever I bring up work they just automatically go to that topic.” Hannah rolls her eyes, not that anyone could see.

“Then why bring it up?” He asks.

Hannah groans in slight frustration, he didn’t understand, “They ask. I swear it’s like they set me up.” She lies on her back with her arm over her head. She had to admit, it felt good to finally rant about it.

“Are you okay?” He asks.

“I’m fine,” she reassures him, “Just tired.”

“Perhaps I should let you go then, you should sleep.”

“So should you.” She reminds him.

“I will, darling, don’t worry.” He pauses, she could feel the tension over the phone, “I wish you were here, it would help me fall asleep faster.”

Hannah giggles, “We both know that you wouldn’t be sleeping if I was there.”

She hears a small laugh from Loki on the other line, “Let’s not do this right now, you said that your friends are nearby, yes?”

Hannah sighs, “Yeah, you’re right.” She whines.

“I’m loaded with work but we should try to fit something in, before the trip.” He suggests.

“I would like that.” Hannah agrees.

“Next weekend perhaps, Saturday night?”

“Another dinner?” She asks.

“Why? Did you have something different in mind?” Curiosity laced his voice.

“Maybe.” She giggles like an embarrassed schoolgirl, she felt no shame talking to Loki right now, and he loved it.

“What is it? Tell me.” He felt like a highschooler in love again with the way he spoke to her.

“Let's just say I’ll pack my swimsuit.”

Loki was dead silent on the other side, Hannah thought that he had hung up for a second before she heard a dark laugh, “Don’t do that to me, you’ll kill me.”

“You’ll get to see me all week, don’t worry about it.” She heard Hazel and Anna standing and shuffling around, causing her to panic. “My roommate is coming in, I have to go.”

“Fine,” Loki groans, “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.” She hangs up the call and pulls the covers over her head. Partly to create the illusion that she was asleep, and party to hide the violent blush on her face. Hazel enters the room moments later, Hannah hears her lay down and turn the lamp off.

‘Way too, close.’ She thinks to herself, heart still thumping from her conversation with Loki minutes ago.

–
Hannah showed up perfectly on time at the office the next morning. A coffee in hand for Loki and another for Brian. She greeted her coworker and placed the drink down on his desk, simply giving him a nod in greeting because he was on the phone. When she walked into Loki’s office she expected it to be empty as usual, so when she was greeted with Loki’s striking smile as she opened the door she nearly dropped his drink.

“Loki! Sorry- Mr. Laufeyson. You’re early today.” She panics before correcting herself due to the current professional setting.

Loki just smirks in amusement, standing to take the hot drink from her hand before it cooled. “There is much to be done, Miss Rei.” He states, his fingers lingering on her hand for longer than should be allowed. As if they weren’t making out in this very office a week ago.

“Is there anything else you need from me, Mr. Laufeyson?” She asks as he walks back to his desk.

“You have no idea Miss Rei,” He lustfully glared at his assistant like a man starved, “As for now however, you are free to complete whatever tasks you have for the day.” He sat down and began to work as if nothing was happening.

“Thank you, sir.” She can’t help but smirk as she calls him that. Intended to be respectful in the current setting, but there was filth behind that word.

She returned back to her desk, reminding herself that this was a serious job and flirting with the boss was very frowned upon. Brian was off his phone call, however, he continued to act as if Hannah was nonexistent in the room with him. This was new, after their heart to heart conversation at his house, she felt closer to him. At the moment, she assumed it was the stress of the upcoming trip, maybe that was it.

They continued to work in silence for the rest of their work day besides a few questions or conformations that were business related. Loki would leave his office occasionally, he always flashed her a coy smile. She could never return it though, she didn’t want Brian to suspect anything.

Little did she know, he knew more than he led on. One day she couldn’t stand Loki and the next she was practically fornicating with him in his office. Hannah was a mystery to Brian, was she really controlling this situation with Loki? Or was she being manipulated by the dark haired man himself? Brian knew that Hannah was becoming dangerous for Loki. And as much as he cared for both of them he knew that eventually, they would have to be torn apart.

“Have a nice night, Brian.” He was pulled out of his daze by the very girl he was cautious about.

“You too.” He replied blankly, emotionlessly, what had gotten into him?

“Hey, are you okay? You know you can talk to me-” She kindly offered her coworker kindness before he cut her off with venom.

“Stop it Hannah!” Brian growled in anger, causing the girl to flinch at his tone, “This fake innocence is sickening, you’re just like him, you could fool anyone!” He scolded her through his teeth, not wanting Loki to hear while he sat in his office nearby.

“What? What are you talking about? I don’t understand. I-I-” She stuttered, trying to hold back tears. Normally, she would hate to cry in public like this, however, with everything that had been happening in her life, mostly with her friends, she couldn’t hold back.

Brian buried his face in his hands, out of regret? Annoyance? Hannah had no idea as he hid his expression. Her hands clutched tightly onto the strap of her bag slung over her shoulder. Her lip trembled in panic as she did her best attempt at keeping the tears from streaming down her face.

“Just quit.” He mumbles into his hands before he holds his head in his hands, “Leave.”

“N-no, I like it here. What happened to you? I thought we were friends?” She croaks innocently.

Brian takes in a sharp breath, “You don’t like it here, you like him, there’s a difference.”

Hannah stands quietly in shocked silence, unable to form words to argue with him. What did he know? What did he see?

The sound of an opening door causes her to move her head towards it. Loki exited his office, ready to go home for the day. He paused in confusion as he observed his two assistants, Brian seemed as if he just lost a prized possession, and Hannah, Loki could never overlook the beginning of tears.

“What is this about?” He asks curiously, cautiously.

Hannah still couldn’t speak as she turned her head away from her dark haired boss, Brian spoke up for her. It seemed that multiple people assumed that she couldn’t speak for herself.

“Nothing, Miss Rei was just leaving, right?” He looked over to her, like nothing ever happened.

She only nodded in response, quickly turning on her heels to leave.

Loki waited until she was long gone before he spoke to Brian.

“What did you say to her?” He immediately accuses his male assistant.

“I only told her the truth, Loki. You need to get rid of her, I don’t care if she’s poor, relying on this job to get by. She doesn’t take one damn thing seriously! All she cares about is you, where you are, what you are doing. And she is so fucking good at lying about it! She certainly had me fooled! I don’t know what you are doing, if you’re polluting her mind with your bad influence or if she is the one behind all of this, acting like she has the upper hand! You. Need. To. Stop. Her.” He stands from his desk as he rants to Loki, who glares one more dagger into Brian’s form as he speaks so poorly of her.

Loki wants to yell, fight with Brian and call him insane for even bringing that up. How dare he accuse Hannah of such a thing? Why should Brian care if they are together or not? The tall man clenched his jaw before taking a deep breath. He couldn’t lose his temper again, not after what happened with Hannah that one night. Loki knew he was lucky to win her back, and if it wasn’t for Brian, that would’ve never happened.

“Leave.” Loki says.

“Are you firing me?” Brian asks, surprised at his boss’s calm demeanor.

“No, I could never. You just need to go home and sleep this off. This isn’t like you.”

Brian scoffs, walking closer to Loki, “Do you remember what I said, when I first caught you staring at her?” Brian questions.

“Of course.” Loki confirms.

“And what was it that I said?” He stares directly into the cold blue eyes of his superior.

“That if I ever slept with her, you would quit.” Loki recalls.

“You think I didn’t mean that? I saw you two, kissing in your office. Right after Hannah said that she turned you down! I had faith in her, Loki, and now…” Brian pauses, shaking his head before making eye contact with his boss again, “She’s just turning into you.”

Loki sighed, not wanting to admit that Brian was right. He wasn’t aware that he had that effect on her, that he infected her in such a way.

“Brian,” Loki placed his hands gently on the shorter man’s shoulders, “I think it would be best for all of us if you just didn’t worry and stayed out of it. Hannah… She's young and she has her personal issues happening right now, issues that you seem to know nothing about. She needs to find comfort in someone, and if that someone is me, I can’t help it. Would you rather have me ignore her, leave her to suffer in her own head?” Loki turns the situation around, making it seem more innocent then he intended.

“You aren’t exactly the first person that people go to for comfort or advice.” Brian states, rolling his eyes.

“That is true. But perhaps, for her, I can change.”

Brian looked at Loki with confusion, he didn’t believe a word that came from his mouth.

“Whatever you are doing, stop. I don’t want to be in the middle of such a scandal.”

“Then stop putting yourself in between us.” Loki finishes, not wanting to talk about it anymore as he gives Brian one firm pat on the shoulder before walking ahead of him to open the door, “You may leave now, get some rest and rethink how you speak to her. I expect an apology as well.”

Brian nods quietly as he gathers his belongings and walks out the open door. Loki closes it behind his disgruntled employee before walking back to his office to grab his car keys.

Loki drove back to his house in silence. His emotions were all over the place, however, he kept a straight face. All he wanted to do was drink, drown his emotions in pools of liquor. It was a problem, sure. However, he would rather do that than lose his mind.

As he pulled into his driveway he saw another car, white, clean, expensive. It was his. He didn’t even pull his Jaguar into the garage as he stepped out of the car and ran to his entryway. It was there where he found her, sitting on the steps that lead to his front door. Her knees were brought up to her chest, she was crying.

‘Damn you, Brian’

“Hannah.” Loki spoke her name, her head raising at the sound of his voice. A voice that she learned to love, to find comfort in.

“I’m sorry,” She choked, wiping her mascara laced tears from her cheeks with her hand, “I didn’t feel comfortable enough to go home and…” She sobs between her words, “I had nowhere else to go. I shouldn’t be here, I know. But even though you are who you are, I know that you won't yell at me for just existing.”

Loki does not speak as he sits next to her on the step, opening his arms so that she could find peace in them. She immediately accepts his offer as she sobs into his chest, a feeling that was all too familiar. How could she always be crying around the person that made her the happiest?

“Shhh…” Loki comforts her as he strokes her hair, placing a gentle kiss on her head. This was deja vu, he recalled their date night that felt like a distant memory. This time, he would not mess it up. “It’s okay darling, you are always welcome here.”

A simple ‘thank you’ was muttered from her place in his arms as he held her tighter. Her friends never offered this type of comfort, recently she only felt hostility from them. If she told them that she had been lying, she would be screwed. No place to live, no friends, nothing. She knew that a small part of it was her fault, but their lack of support was enough for her to know how they truly felt.

Hannah eventually found the strength to stand in Loki’s arms. He led them inside, offering her to use his downstairs bathroom to clean herself up. She ran cold water on her face, attempting to wake herself up enough to make it back to her apartment. However, the sun was setting, and she could smell food being made in the kitchen.

What was the harm in one night?

When she emerged from the bathroom she found Loki in the kitchen, making a simple dinner of roasted potatoes, rice, and broccoli. He had slipped out of his dark blue blazer, now only wearing a white shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A dusty blue kitchen towel was draped over his broad shoulder. And Brian wondered why she couldn’t stay away.

She snuck up behind him as he cooked, wrapping her arms around his torso. All she needed right now was comfort and reassurance from the man that she held so dearly, as if he was a lover. She knew better than that, however. Loki tensed at her touch before relaxing into her embrace, he most likely never received such gentle forms of affection before. Then she remembered, he was almost murdered, maybe sneaking up on him was a poor choice. Loki held one of her delicate arms in one hand as he used the spatula to move the potatoes around in the skillet, assuring that they were evenly roasted.

“I’m making enough for two, just in case if you-”

“Yes, thank you.” She responded behind him, resting her cheek against his muscular back. This was what she needed right now.

“Have a seat, it’s almost done.” He motions to the barstools on the other side of the island behind them.

Hannah silently obeyed his orders, Loki followed with two plates of freshly cooked food. She nearly drooled at the sight of such a beautiful and powerful man serving her dinner.

They ate together in silence, there was no need for words to be exchanged. The silence was comfortable as they enjoyed their food in each other’s presence. Loki snuck a glance at her every once in a while as they ate. He was thankful for her presence at his house tonight, because if it wasn’t for her, he would be halfway through a bottle right now. Drunk on the floor of his office as he drowned every feeling that would attempt to surface.

Hannah wasn’t sure what to do after they finished dinner, she had to go back to work tomorrow, and she didn’t have any clothes here that would be appropriate to wear. Loki also hadn’t invited her to spend the night yet like she thought he would. The bitter reality of having to go home faced her as Loki cleaned their plates while she still sat on the barstool.

“Thank you, I didn’t know you could cook like that.” She giggles, teasing him once again. A sure sign to Loki that she was feeling better.

“Did I not cook breakfast for us one morning?” He reminds her with a laugh.

“Yeah, but you almost burned it.”

“That, darling, was entirely your fault, you shouldn’t be walking around looking that gorgeous. I just can’t help myself.” He jokingly blames her as they both recall that morning, the morning after their first kiss.

“Right, my apologies, I guess I’ll stop.” She sighs with sarcasm as she jumps off the stool.

Loki catches her wrist before she could get too far, “Never stop.” He demands with a suggestive growl and flames in his eyes.

He kisses her teasingly, after a few small pecks he tries to kiss her deeper until he notices that she is not kissing him back. He pulls away with concern and cups her cheek.

“What did Brian say to you?” He asks, wanting to hear it from her perspective.

Hannah sighed as she recalled the dreaded conversation, “He told me to quit, that I only liked you, not the job. I don’t know why he would say that, we just seemed like we were getting along just fine and then he said that, I don’t know what happened between our lunch and…” Her words fade as she rambles, trying to find answers.

“I know what happened, why he said that.” Loki claims.

“What?” She asks.

“He caught us, Hannah. He saw us together when we were in my office last week.” He tells her.

Her eyes go wide, “He just saw us talking, right?” She tries to deny what he truly saw.

“I’m afraid not.” Loki confirms her fear.

“I can’t-” She pulls away from Loki, wrapping her arms around herself, “It was all my fault, I should have thought about what I was doing before I kissed you. I mean, we were in your office! Of course someone was bound to catch us. How could I be so stupid?” She asks herself.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, it was either you or me. There is no avoiding the way we make each other feel. It’s all so… overwhelming. But in a good way, the best way.” He reasons with her, reaching out to feel her touch again. She doesn’t flinch as he places his hands on her arms, bringing her closer to him, the very man she should be avoiding.

“Maybe we should stop.” She mumbles.

“NO!” He accidentally yells in a panic, causing her to jump slightly, “Sorry, I mean, no. I’m not ready to let go of you yet.” He admits.

“You say yet,” She points out, “There will be a day, Loki, and I’m not ready for it.” She confesses.

“Don’t think about that right now, just focus on me, on this.” He takes her hand, bringing it up to his lips for a soft kiss, “This is all that matters.”

She nods in agreement and wraps her arms around him once again, losing herself in his embrace. This was all too good, that is why it was only temporary, because good things never last.

“I would ask you to stay but…” He starts, “It’s too risky, you need to prove to Brian that you take this job seriously, staying with me will not help.”

Hannah snaps her head up from its place on Loki’s firm chest. “I don’t need to prove anything to him. Since when was I ever late? When have I failed to properly do my job? Never. There is enough proof for him. When it comes to us, he can mind his own.” She spits fire at the mention of Brian.

Loki laughs with pride, “You should speak for me at my meetings next time.” He cups her cheek, admiring the fire in her eyes.

“Now that would be too far.” She teasingly points in warning at her boss.

Loki smiles before placing a short kiss on her lips, throwing her off guard. Loki can’t help himself when it comes to her sometimes. They stare at each other with hunger after he pulls away. They were alone in his house once again, they craved each other, they needed each other. Unfortunately, the timing was wrong. It was after dark, they both needed to go into the office tomorrow. She had no change of clothes, no supplies to fix herself up for work at his house. Once again, they would have to leave each other in their time of desperation.

“Stay, please.” Loki asks, changing his mind from his decision earlier. Hannah’s short speech encouraged him to do so.

“Not tonight, I have to go in tomorrow. We both do.” She reminds him.

“Call out, as your boss I am giving you permission.” He tries to convince her.

She sighs, turning to grab her bag, “There is too much to be done, you know that. We will have our time, Loki, after the trip.” She walks up to him, stroking his cheek before placing a kiss on it.

She turns to leave before he stops her to ask one more question, “Are we still on for Saturday night?” He asks eagerly, too eagerly.

She smirks with her back to him, she still has him, “We’ll see.” She gives him a vague answer before shooting him a wink. Before he knew it, she was gone.

Loki plopped down onto his couch in defeat, how much longer was this woman going to dangle herself in front of him? Another night where his hand would be his only form of pleasure.

Notes:

Sorry this took so long! I have like fifty (three) other writing projects right now because I can’t just focus one one thing. But I have at least kind of figured out how this story will end finally. Now I just have to fill in the space in between, and I have lots of ideas!

Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated :)