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___
He knew there was a new person starting at work. He knew it was woman. What he didn't know, and what he wasn't expecting, was just how how beautiful the woman joining him was.
He freezes in the doorway after noticing her. Her blonde hair is tied back and her glasses are pushed to the top of her nose as she types away. "Oh hi there!" She cheerily greets upon noticing him. "I'm Alice Smith." She extends her hand to shake his.
"FP Jones." He shakes her hand and internally sighs when he feels the cool metal of a ring on her finger.
"What's that stand for?"
"It's dorky, Forsythe Pendleton."
"That's not dorky." She says sincerely.
He chuckles. "You don't have to lie, it totally is."
"No, I like it. Really." She smiles at him and goes back to her desk.
He catches her looking at him multiple times throughout the day.
___
The two get closer and closer as the weeks go by. He's come to look forward to work since he knows he gets to see her. He's been oh so tempted to ask her on a date but he knows she's engaged. She's told him all about her fiancé and the fancy ass house they live in on the Northside, how they dream of someday owning their own newspaper.
He's shocked when he walks into the office and doesn't see her there. "Maybe she's sick." He thinks to himself. It was a rainy weekend, maybe she acquired a cold.
However, just as he's given up hope on her coming in, the door flings open and an angry Alice comes barging in. She's yelling into her phone. "You piece of shit! I want you and your stuff gone by the time I get home." There's a pause as she waits for the response. "I don't care where you go, maybe go stay with your slut. I don't give a shit anymore, Hal!" She hangs up the phone and chucks it onto her desk, followed by her jacket.
"You okay, Al?"
"Nope." She slumps down into her chair and drops her face into her hands.
"Wanna talk about it?" He asks, walking over to her desk.
"Why? No one's ever on my side."
"Talk to me, I'll give you my complete, unbiased opinion."
"Unbiased?" She questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Well maybe I'll be a little bias towards you but hey, at least you'll have someone in your corner. Now come on, spill."
She sighs. "Hal cheated on me."
"No." She nods. "Fucking asshole."
"I walked in on them, he had the audacity to do it in our bed too." She scoffs. "It's like he wanted to be caught."
"Do you know who it was?"
"Some girl we went to school with, so she definitely knew we were together."
"So she's just as much of an asshole as he is." She nods and sniffles, trying to discreetly wipe away a tear. He notices and sighs. "Put your coat on, we're going to Pop's."
"Pop's?"
"You deserve a milkshake and whatever else you want after what he did to you, my treat."
"You don't have to do that, I'm fine."
"No you're not, and that's okay. Just-" he takes a deep breath and reaches for her hand. "Let me make you smile."
"Well if you insist, I won't turn down a milkshake."
___
"You were right, a milkshake was just what I needed." Alice chuckles as she finishes off her shake.
"I told you, Al." He smiles at her and she grins back. "I'm glad I could put a smile on your face, I don't like seeing you upset."
"He's an asshole." She sighs. "Maybe it was for the best." She runs her fingertips over his hand and he feels butterflies swarm in his stomach.
___
It's been a couple of weeks since the incident with Hal happened and neither of them have spoken about the moment they had in Pop's. Though he has noticed little details about her appearance more, he doesn't know if it has to do with the recent events in her life or what but it's distracting.
The top button or two of her shirts are always unbuttoned now and she always has some new excuse to come over and get something from him, leaning over him and giving him a perfect view of her cleavage. When she talks to him she'll bite at her bottom lip to draw his attention. She's been dropping stuff more often, having to bend over in her tight fitting skirts to retrieve the dropped item.
He doesn't know if he's just reading too much into it or if he's completely right about her intentions but she's had enough.
She's not working today so he's shocked to see her walking up the steps to the office. "Alice, did you-"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She scolds him.
"What do you mean? What did I do?"
"I've been throwing myself at you for weeks now and you haven't done anything about it!"
"You have?"
"Well obviously. I don't just show off my breasts for the fun of it, I purposely move stuff onto your desk so I have an excuse to come over, and I'm not clumsy, I don't constantly drop pencils right in front of you. Take the damn hint or at least tell me you're not interested!" She's fuming and he can't help but laugh. "What the hell are you laughing about? This isn't funny."
"No, you're right, it's just. I got what you were doing, or at least I thought I did, but I was scared I was mis-interpreting it."
Her face softens and she laughs a little. "So you just let me make a fool of myself for the past few weeks?"
"Hey, I enjoyed the show. Not gonna lie, I stole staples from your desk so you'd have to come over and borrow mine."
"You jerk," She swats at his shoulder. "You could've just brought it up."
"Ditto." He takes her hand and pulls her to his. "But now that I know how you feel, can I take you on a date, Alice?"
"Well it's about damn time you asked." She pulls him into a kiss, effectively cutting off his laugh. "I'd love to go on a date with you, FP."
