ANCHOR DOWN (Pedro Pascal x OC)

CHAPTER ONE

No warnings.

It was Katie's first day back at work after her vacation in México. Being in the sun surrounded by foreigners had done her more than good after the painful break-up with her long-term boyfriend Aidan.

Being back in New York would clearly trigger her and bring up all the bad memories, the tears and the sorrow. Which was why she was purposely and determinedly intending to drown herself in work.

She loved her job as a costume designer on Broadway- all the beautiful fabrics and clothes from every possible centuries were going through her hands before anyone would see them on stage.

This Monday morning, Katie was particularly excited to start work on her newest project- costumes for King Lear. The King would be played by a woman this time, which meant a special challenge for her and the team surrounding her. Also, she was a big fan of Glenda Jackson, who would star in this piece after a smashing performance last year. Katie knew she'd be incredible.

First things first, though. Glenda wouldn't be coming in before Wednesday, therefore Katie was curious about who she'd meet today. After a brief talk with the manager to get her up to date, she could finally enter her office again. Work was already in progress, her team members were concentrated sewing and drawing while she took in all the designs of the important outfits on the big mood board. They would start with the costumes of the supporting actresses and actors.

The first appointments for today were with Pedro Pascal and Sean Carvajal, neither of which Katie had worked with before. Two of her co-workers were already beginning to take measurements while she was still studying the designs.

"Katie!" A familiar voice made her snap back to reality, and when she turned around a giant smile formed on her lips. Melissa, one of her most valuable and kindest colleagues instantly pulled her into a hug.

"It's so good to have to back. We've missed you! Nothing is ever working properly when you're not here!" Melissa beamed, rubbing Katie's shoulders.

"Thank you, Mel. It feels good to be back."

"We HAVE to have drinks after work today, you need to fill me in about your holiday and everything," Melissa smiled with a wink, obviously referring to how Katie was feeling after the break-up.

Katie simply nodded.

"Well, since you're here now, you need to come with me. Grace seems to have a problem over there." Melissa rolled her eyes and chuckled. Grace was your youngest and newest team member, she was blonde and beautiful and always caught all the attention- sometimes losing track of doing her work properly.

Katie shook her head and followed Melissa to one of the dressing tables. Grace was excitedly taking measurements of who Katie assumed must've been Pedro Pascal. He was smiling down on Grace and she was in turn giggling uncontrollably, playfully patting his chest after another cheeky remark.

"Excuse me, is everything alright over here?" Katie asked politely when they reached the pair. Grace instantly blushed a bright red and straightened her dress, obviously embarrassed about the sudden visit.

"Sure, boss. We're just making jokes, that's all."

Katie instantly knew what to make of the situation. Pedro Pascal was clearly challenged to flirt with Grace- as was any other good-looking man who got to have Grace's hands all over his body. Grace loved the attention and always picked up on the flirting, which had been a subject in serious discussions several times before. Katie had to admit she envied Grace for her playful nature and the ability to get along with men so well, but at the same time she considered it fairly unprofessional, especially when Grace became inattentive because of it and made mistakes.

"Oh come on, boss, what's wrong with a bit of fun during work?" Pedro asked, causing Grace to giggle once more. Katie turned to him, cocking her head to one side in order to study his facial features. He was indeed quite handsome- warm brown eyes, a cute dimple and beautiful teeth. Still, Katie knew this type of men. Always charming, smiling their most charismatic smile at any woman who walked in with being absolutely careless about the outcome.

"Nothing, Mister Pascal, but I would rather if Miss Hunter here wasn't so distracted by your allure and took her work more seriously." Katie wondered for a brief moment if her remark came out more arrogant than she had intended, but as she picked up Grace's sketches for Pedro's costume, her mouth dropped open. Numbers and sizes had been carelessly scribbled anywhere on the page without logic, making it impossible for anyone to create a proper costume.

"These are just drabbles, Katie, I'm going to revise them when we're done here!" Grace was struggling. Pedro took a few steps aside to avoid hearing to much of the discussion which Katie found appropriate.

She sighed, looking around the room as if to find a quick solution for this problem.

"Grace, why don't you go and collect the fabrics from the store? Peter can take over." Katie offered, trying to show Grace a small smile, which failed due to utter disappointment again.

Grace muttered something under her breath, collected her equipment and hurried to the door. Peter gladly came to the rescue and continued taking Pedro's measurements, who seemed clearly disappointed in Grace's absence, Katie thought.

"I'm sorry, Mister Pascal, we're going to get this through with you shortly," she apologized.

"I don't see any problems here, quite frankly," Pedro shrugged and winked at Katie, who in turn forced a smile and turned on her heels.

Back at her desk, Katie ran a hand through her hair in frustration, already anticipating having drinks with Melissa tonight. This project was going to be fun.