Chapter Text
“So, this probably isn’t a big deal.” The young woman on the other side of the desk from Kate said, her eyes glazed a little, the smell of stale alcohol seeping from her pores a little.
Kate sighed, leaning back in the leather chair, her fingernails drumming along the heavy wood of her desk. “And what’s that?”
“I might be like… a scootch drunk from last night still.” Rebecca said with a giggle, swaying in her seat. “And a little high but I should be good to start work tomorrow.”
Kate pinched the bridge of her nose, her hair falling in her eyes as she leaned forward fighting against the pounding of her head to keep her voice even. “Miss Goring, we haven’t even started the interview.”
Rebecca let out another choked laugh. “Right, right right right. Do you think we could reschedule it for a day that’s not just after the weekend?”
Kate blinked blankly back at her for a long moment before she sighed, standing from her desk briskly. “Miss Goring, today is Wednesday. I’m afraid it won’t be necessary to reschedule, thank you so much for coming in.”
She barely reacted, just blinked back at Kate, her reactions a little slow, struggling to keep up. “So I… didn’t get the job?”
“No, I’m afraid not.” Kate hummed, faux sympathetically.
And still she sat there, staring back at Kate. “Can you like… maybe be really chill and not tell my Mum about this?”
Kate stared back blankly herself. “I don’t know who your Mum is?”
“Do you like… want me to leave now?”
“Yes, I do.” Kate gestured to the door, sighing with relief as the woman stood, giving her a thumbs up as she went. “Well, that was a fucking disaster.”
Kate sighed again as she settled back in her chair, letting her hands cover her eyes, her pulse thrumming in her temple as it did so often these days, the irritation building in her chest. There were a million over things she had to do today, and this was supposedly the easiest. But so far every interview and been nothing short of excruciating, just like everything about this job. This job she’d never be good enough for, never earned for a second, sat right here behind a desk that she should still be sitting on the other side of.
“That was the quickest interview yet.” Sophie’s voice sighed from the doorway. “I’m actually a little impressed.”
Kate groaned, dropping her hands as she spun towards the doorway. “I’m a very impressive person.”
“At least there were no tears this time.” Sophie dropped into the chair across from her, a tiny smile on her face.
“To be fair to our friend Becky, she was pretty stoned. I think she’ll probably show up for another interview tomorrow.”
Sophie let out a sharp gasp, “You’re kidding.”
Kate clicked her tongue, “I’m not, unfortunately.” She let her eyelids flutter closed, her head still pounding as she clenched her jaw. “Why is it so hard to find a new assistant? I’m a pretty reasonable person right?”
“As your previous assistant, I have to say you are pretty down to earth for a multimillionaire CEO, yeah.” Sophie agreed quietly, taking Rebecca’s resume from the desk and replacing it with a new one.
“Remind me again why you can’t stay my assistant forever?”
Sophie sighed again, placing a new cup of coffee in her hand. “Because you promoted me, and I love you for it. Now, you have one last interview and he is waiting in the main lobby of the floor for some reason.”
Kate stilled, her eyelids fluttering closed, jaw aching as it clenched. “Please tell me he’s not pissing in a pot plant or something.”
Sophie grimaced, “I… For your sake I really hope not but after today? I just can’t rule it out.”
Kate groaned again, straightening her dress as she stood, making her way around the desk, her heels clacking against the marble floor as she made her way through the main office, her father’s eyes staring down at her from the portrait in the hall as she past About Our family still painted above in his handwriting. Kate pushed down the feeling of inadequacy that built in her chest just the same as it did every time as she swung the glass door open, casting around.
The floor lobby was empty but for one man, his head bent as he stared at his phone, perched on the sofa. He was leaning confidently back against the sofa, his arm along the back, his hair perfectly quaffed.
Great. The very last candidate and he’s a total prick, probably.
Kate bit back a sigh as she stepped towards him, clearing her throat to catch his attention. “If you’d just follow me, we’ll get started.”
The man, she’d forgotten to check his name on the resumé before she left her office, looked up in surprise as she gestured briskly to him, barely waiting for him to stand before she led him through the office, holding the door open while he scrambled after her, his satchel swinging wildly from his shoulder. Kate ignored the curious stares that followed them through the main office, murmurs following them the entire way before she held open her office door.
“Take a seat.” She cleared her throat as she made her way round the desk, sitting in her own chair as the man dropped into the chair across from her.
Kate glanced quickly at the sheet of paper on her desk. Adam Fife. “So, Adam is it? Why don’t you tell me about-?”
“Anthony. Anthony Bridgerton?” The man interrupted her, his voice a rich baritone startling her a little.
Kate glanced up, looking him in the eye finally and for a moment all she could do was blink stupidly back at him. He was older than the rest of the applicants, Anthony was, stubble covering his cheeks and strong jaw, his eyes sharp and alert as he stared back at her, a tiny crease between his eyebrows the only thing marring his perfect face.
Kate pushed her eyes back down to the table, caught a little off guard by the mistake and the swoop in her stomach, not really quite sure what to- “Sorry, I don’t… have a resume for you? Do you have one with you?”
Anthony blinked back at her, casting around a little “I… didn’t think I’d need one?”
“At an interview?” She stared back at him, her head tilting curiously, disbelief welling in her chest. “It’s… usually pretty standard in my experience.”
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was that kind of interview.” He said simply, shifting. Little awkwardly in his well fitted suit, a muscle in his jaw clenching. “Sorry, I think I missed your name.”
Kate felt her eyebrows lift in surprise, caught off guard again, pointing a little awkwardly at the metal sign on her desk with her pen that read Kate Sharma, Chief Executive Officer. “I’m… Kate Sharma. I… run Sharma Tech.”
Anthony’s lips parted, as though he hadn’t realised he’d be interviewing with her personally. “Sharma Tech? Miss Sharma I-”
“Seeing as you don’t have a resumé with you Anthony would you mind telling me a little about your education?”
“I went to Oxford, I’ve an MBA but I’m not sure I’m supposed to-”
Kate bit back her surprise, their eyes still locked together. “Impressive, so… do I. And I assume you’re competent with computer scheduling etc?”
“I- yes, but- Sorry, I think… this job might not be right for me.”
Kate sighed, rolling her eyes, biting out the question before she could stop herself. “Anthony, are you the kind of man that has problems working under women?”
“Not at all, Ma’am. I do my best work there.” His eyes widened in time with hers, as though he too was surprised by the growl in his voice and the way his eyes trailed over her body and still there eyes burned together, tension rippling through the room so thick Kate could almost taste it, and-
Ring!
Kate startled at the sound of the phone on her desk ringing, her eyes flicking to it in surprise. Only two people ever rung this line directly and- Mary.
Panic welled in Kate’s chest, her hand already reaching for the handset as she tossed an apologetic look at Anthony, her voice shaking. “Sorry, it’s my mother. I won’t be a second.”
“Of course.” Anthony turned in his chair a little staring at the bookshelf across the room as though it were the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.
“Mum, Hi.” Kate said quickly, picking up the phone, her pulse still pounding in her ears. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, darling.” Mary hummed, her voice gentle through the phone, soothing, almost, if only Kate would let herself be soothed by it.
She let out a sigh of relief, relaxing against the back of her chair, guilt already welling in her chest. “I’m in the middle of an interview right now, can this wait?”
“Oh! Sorry, I forgot that was today.”
Kate’s stomach clenched at the regret in Mary’s voice, the woman who’d taken her in as her own, the woman who probably had to force herself to look at her. The one who’d survived. “No it’s okay. It’s… a welcome distraction actually. Finding a new assistant is harder than I thought.”
Anthony’s eyes flicked over her again before they landed back on the bookshelf.
Mary hummed sympathetically. “Well I won’t keep you long, I just wanted to make sure you were coming to dinner next week.”
Guilt welled in her chest, drowning her, stupid tears stinging at her eyes before she pushed them down. “I- I can’t Mum, I have to go to Hong Kong next week.”
Silence echoed through the phone for a very long moment before Mary cleared her throat. “That’s alright, you’re very busy.”
Kate could almost see the look on her face. The tight, disappointed smile, her brow furrowed and Kate could hardly stand it. “I really am sorry, I’m just… trying to launch this new version right now and-”
“Darling, it’s fine. You’ll come when you get back.”
She could feel it, prickling at her, under her skin. “Yeah, when I get back.” And she knew it was a lie even as she said it. “Mum, I have to go.”
“I love you, Katie. You know that.”
“Yeah, love you too.”
Kate stared at the phone for a very long moment, her head still pounding, like a tiny hammer banging on the inside of her skull.
“Sorry, where were we?” She cleared her throat, turning back to Anthony who wasn’t even pretending not to look anymore, a tight smile on his face now, his eyes narrowed.
“You asked if I liked working with women.”
A surprised chuckle broke through her confusion, staring contemplatively back at him for a long moment. He was… completely over qualified of course, but that wasn’t a terrible thing. He was polite, well dressed, and he didn’t smell of body odour even a bit. In fact the spicy sent of his cologne was floating around them. And really, what other choice did she have?
“Anthony, you aren’t on any hallucinogenics are you?”
Anthony blinked, “…Currently? I mean, when I went to Thailand I tried-”
“Today, you haven’t taken any today?” Kate cut him off quickly.
He looked a little bemused, “When I had a job interview? I abstained this morning.”
“You’d be surprised.” Kate clicked her tongue, her pen tapping against the desk she’d hid under as a child. “When can you start?”
Anthony’s smile bloomed across his face slowly, making her chest feel oddly tight. “How’s today?”
__________________________
“Anthony, can I see you in here for a minute?”
Anthony startled at the sound of Kate’s voice through the intercom on his desk, hurrying towards her office with his heart hammering in his chest.
He’d heard of Kate Sharma before last week, of course he had. There was scarcely a person in his… industry who hadn’t heard of the girl who’d been eighteen when she’d taken over the company her father had started from the ground up but truly, her office was the last place he’d expected to find himself.
He’d dragged himself out of bed, he didn’t mind admitting that, rolling his eyes as he looked at his phone. The message from his assistant too pointed.
Remember you have a meeting about endorsing that new cologne today. One o’clock. Don’t be late.
He’d tugged on a suit and tie, going through the motions just like he had every morning since he’d graduated from Oxford and kept on letting his mother run the billion pound corporation that should be his while he wallowed in self pity. He’d sat in the lobby between two offices, as he’d been directed and her voice had been so commanding, the tilt of her head, her posture so confident that he’d assumed she really was looking for him.
And sure he’d been far too stunned by how abso-fucking-lutely drop dead gorgeous she was to realise she was interviewing him until it was almost too late. But he really had been going to correct her. He had been. The minute he’d realised that she, somehow, had absolutely no idea who he was. He who endorsed and modelled, and fucked around rather than bear the responsibilities she actually had shouldered. And then her phone had rung.
And he’d seen it.
He’d seen the tears in her eyes, and the way her shoulders had slumped and her voice had wavered, and he’d seen the cracks that were right there. The cracks she smoothed over the minute she hung up the phone. The cracks that had formed slowly over time as she fought not to buckle under the pressure that in that moment had been so evident. And his only thought had been: Who looks after you?
And before he’d known what he was doing he was sat in front of a woman named Pamela in HR, filling in his employee contract, not even looking at the salary.
“Are you… that Anthony Bridgerton?”
“Not here, I guess.” He’d grinned up at her, pointing at his new ID Badge. “Says here I’m Executive Assistant to Kate Sharma.”
Anthony knocked on the glass door before he let himself inside, his shoes slipping a little against the marble floor.
Kate was sat behind the desk, a heavy wooden thing that didn’t seem to fit her at all. Nothing in the extravagant office did, rich leather and dark wood, not even the portrait on the wall behind them. A man who could only be her father, smiling with a woman and two young girls.
“Can I help you, Miss Sharma?”
Kate’s eyebrow quirked, not looking up from her tablet, “I told you: Kate’s fine.”
“Can I help you, Kate?” His heart stuttered in his chest at the taste of her name on his tongue.
Kate put her pen down, leaning back in her chair as she looked back at him, considering something before she hummed. “I’ve certified those spreadsheets from accounting, can I get you to copy and collate them ahead of the board meeting tomorrow?”
“Yeah, yes, absolutely.” Anthony nodded, jotting it down on his own tablet, surely it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out how to use a photocopier. “Anything else? Lunch, maybe?”
“Um yeah, Lunch.” Kate said absentmindedly, “But it’s Tuesday today and sometimes my sister drops by after her class so can you get something in case she does?”
“Yeah, yep. What does she like?”
“Pretty much anything.” Her eyes were still burning into his, something unstable between them as their gazes tangled. “Anything as long as it’s vegan.”
“Yeah, no problem. Anything else?”
“Nope, that’s it.” Kate smiled gently, the afternoon sun, shining in her hair catching him a little by surprise. “Don’t forget to get yourself something.”
This wasn’t something he should be nervous about, it really wasn’t. He shouldn’t be nervous about whether or not his boss would like the lunch he’d bought her.
Sophie, Kate's old assistant, had sat with him last Wednesday, running over lists of things with a skeptical eye. Things like-
“She thinks she likes the noodles from Green Room but she actually likes the noodles from the restaurant two streets over. I’ve given up correcting her.”
Anthony had nodded, something burning in his chest, everything new. He’d expected the work to be a little tedious, boring, and sure, there was plenty of repetition in it but he hadn’t been bored once.
He was fascinated by her, by Kate, who walked through the office smiling at everyone asking tiny little questions about everyone. Janet! How’s your granddaughter Chloe? The gentle way she treated everyone. Except herself. And that was why he wanted everything to be perfect. Always.
He walked quickly through the office, ladened down by food, his heart hammering in his chest as he approached her office, moving more quickly as he saw she wasn’t alone.
He knocked, waiting for Kate to gesture him inside. “Sorry, Kate, I didn’t know you had a meeting, do you need-?”
Kate waved him off, her smile gentle as she gestured him inside, “Anthony, this is my sister, Edwina. Edwina, this is Anthony.”
Edwina Sharma was younger than her sister by a few years, younger than twenty he was sure, and Anthony knew immediately, that even if Kate didn’t know who he was, Edwina certainly did.
“Edwina, lovely to meet you.” He said quickly, his cheeks burning.
Edwina’s eyes flicked between them confusedly, her voice slow. “Anthony… nice to meet you as well.”
“I’ve got lunch.” He said awkwardly, leaving it on Kate’s desk. “For the both of you. And I also got, coffee. Oat and soy milk on the side for you, Edwina. Sorry, I’ll learn what you like soon, I’m just getting the hang of things. Oh! And pastries! I went to this Vegan bakery I know about, hope that’s okay.”
Edwina blinked back at him, still clearly trying to catch up. “…Oat milk. I like Oat milk.”
“That’s really thoughtful, Anthony, thank you.” Kate’s eyes caught with his again, a small smile on her face and something rippled through the air between them. Something that made his chest feel tight and his stomach swoop.
“It’s no problem.” He cleared his throat, “That’s my job right? I’ll leave you guys to it.”
And when he left the office, he felt it, finally. The tiniest glimmer of something worth it.
Even if he heard Edwina cackle. “Kate Sharma, you dirty bitch.”