Fierce

Chapter 1

Her eyes opened to the sunlight streaming through the cracks in the curtain, and she watched lazily as the dust bunnies floated across her vision. She revelled in the feel of the sheets against her naked body and stretched with a smile: mornings like this were glorious, especially after a night like last night.

All things considered, the  party had gone quite well. Attending these events was an unfortunate necessity of her job, so mostly she was just content to remain on the edges and let the party revolve around her. If there was any fun to be had, then it would somehow seek her out...and last night it most certainly did.

She rolled over gently in the sheets and was surprised to find Oliver awake - green eyes staring back at her.

"Morning, Oliver."

"Good morning sweetheart."

Georgiana felt her smile slip. "I'm afraid I'll have to be leaving soon. I've got a lot of work to do today. But thank you for last night, Oliver. It was a lot of fun."

"Already? It's a Saturday - what work do you have to do today? The offices are closed. Stay for breakfast, and we can go out on the water afterwards. It's such a nice day. Blue sky and everything."

She hadn't lied - it had been fun. Oliver was a fabulous dancer, and they'd danced and laughed for hours. She had always loved being swept along the marble floors in a gliding waltz, and Oliver was particularly good at it.

But this was morning now, and he knew exactly what he was getting into last night. She always made a point of telling them. So she rose from the bed, and began the familiar spiel again with a sigh.

"Oliver, please. You know that whatever you want from me, I can't give it to you. This was a one-time deal. I don't have the time, or the energy to have relationships or date. You knew this last night. You agreed."

She moved around the room as she talked: picking up her heels from the floor, and sliding back into her dress. She looked back at him and viciously squashed down the guilt - he had agreed. He agreed.

Georgiana crossed gingerly to the bed and pressed a small kiss to Oliver's cheek, and said again, "Thank you, Oliver. It was great." He rubbed his stubble covered chin and stared at her with resentment filled eyes.

With a last goodbye, she padded out of the hotel room quietly.

*

Charlotte met her in the hotel lobby with a cup of coffee and walked beside her to the waiting car, notebook in hand. Thankfully, it was in close proximity to her work building, and it was only a short ride over.

"Morning George! Did you have a fun night?" Charlotte was a giggler. She greeted the world with a smile, and to her, most things were mildly funny - including Georgiana's escapades (or sexcapades, as Charly oh-so-maturely nicknamed them). Charlotte was her personal assistant, best friend, and someone she couldn't live without.

Georgiana laughed at her. "Oh -so much fun. We played scrabble. And Oliver is so good at scrabble. My god." She fanned herself girlishly - and Charly let out her cheeky laugh again.

"George! You know exactly what I mean. Do I get any details?"

"Do you ever get any details? A lady never kisses and tells, my dear. So we might as well move onto today's schedule, mightn't we?"

Charly sighed. "Ugh. You've kept me in suspense for years- you're no fun at all."

"I never claimed to be any fun, did I?" They climbed out of the car and made their way into the building and towards the lift, greeting the security guards as they went (the only other workers around on Saturdays).

"Yeah yeah whatever. Stop laughing. Okay so today we have to go over the LEDcorp case, and refile the paperwork from last months inquiry into the new filing system, which should take a good few hours, let me tell you. That shit's a nightmare. Then you have the lower floor IT guy coming in to run you through the new system changes, and then we have to begin processing in-house complaints about the new 4th floor manager - which I can do, but you'll have to sign off on a few things. I mean, who hired that guy anyway? He sounds like a nightmare. But before all that, Chantal just messaged me, you have a meeting with a Mr Holt?"

Georgiana squinted her eyes a little, and tried to follow what Charly was saying. She had a habit of talking at a million miles and hour, and while this was never usually a problem, it definitely was after a night like last night.

"Hold up. A meeting? On a Saturday? Since when? Today is my day!" She jabbed the button to the 18th floor viciously.

"Don't shoot the messenger! Shoot Chantal! I had no idea until a minute ago. And today was my day too! Can we still camp in your office, and play really loud pop music and dance around while we file? It's like, the highlight of my week. Is that sad?"

Georgiana laughed again. "Well then we're both sad. Get the playlist ready. As soon as this meeting's out of the way, the heels are coming off."

Charlotte squealed - rapid hand clap and all. "Yay! I'm so pumped. Alright, we'll have to get this Mr Holt out of the way quickly then. I've got your work clothes hanging in your office, and your shoes and makeup's in your bathroom too. God, don't you love me? I'm like the best PA ever. He's coming at 9.30, so that gives you just under 30 minutes...so if I were you, I'd forgo the hair washing and just give it a brush and a spritz with that magical stuff you use. You know, the one with the pink and gold bottle? Smells like sunshine? Best shit ever? Cause you need to do something to your hair; you've got a bit of a cough cough bed-hair-look going. Hot look, by the way. Works well for you. Oh, and there's a pistachio bagel sitting on your desk too. Just admit it George, I am the best."

Somewhere during this speech, the elevator doors open and deposited them on the 18th floor. Georgiana threw a smile her friends' way and agreed whole-heartedly. Charly was the absolute best.