2 months later

“Damn this is heavy!”

Allison grunted as she pulled the remainder of her belongings inside her new apartment. As she closed the front door shut and looked around in the sitting area, she sighed a breath of relief knowing she was threw packing, except the last box she had just carried in.

She decided the rest of the unloading of her clothes can wait as she plopped down on the couch in the sitting area. As she checked her phone for any emails regarding her new work schedule, she saw that she was working that very next day at 8 AM. She felt a twinge of excitement and nervousness swept over her. She had only had one big job, and she had kept for 3 years, and at the time she had hoped she would have for many years after that. Then again things don’t always happen like you expect them to anyways. For the first month, her new boss informed her that he was willing to give her a full month to get settled and find a place to stay. She first lived with her cousin, who lived near LA, and then she realized she had to find her own apartment herself, she couldn’t drive that far to work every day through the traffic. So she found a tiny apartment that she could afford, about 20 blocks down from where her workplace was.

When she first left her job in New York, she felt extremely childish, and ignorant for letting a man unconsciously dictate her decisions and feelings for herself in that way. She couldn’t have stayed, but that meant being openly vulnerable, and she was never good with feelings or relationships for that matter. Her last boyfriend of two years broke it off with her, because he didn’t want to get married, but she did. It broke her heart, and she realized that maybe she wasn’t marriage material. That’s why Mr. Hiddleston’s proposal towards her came from so far out of left field from what she was used to.

She had tried her best to not let him control her feelings, or change them in any way. But frankly, she couldn’t help it. He was the first man, ever since her break up, to affect her like that. Now that she thought about it, he was the first man ever to have that kind of longing effect on her. The plane ride over to LA from NYC, was the toughest of all. She longed for his touch and embrace, as the tears from feeling her heart getting ripped away a second time, except this time it was far worse. She had actually loved this man.

Yet she knew that it was all fake. Everything about him was so confusing and maddening. She didn’t know which Tom was the real one. The one she met in London, who laughed with her, and played with her. Who cuddled next to her when he thought she wasn’t paying attention.

Or the snarky bastard from work, who criticized her every move and ordered her around like a little dog. Not knowing which Tom was the real one to her, was scary. She felt like she didn’t even know him at all at the end of their trip to London when they returned. After he announced his feelings for her, she felt hopeful almost, but then she realized, that he had to of been lying, just as a cruel joke on her. And then he would have a right good laugh with everyone at the work place when they returned.

Yet, no jokes came. She left before they could properly discuss the feelings between the both of them. And yet…he repeated that word to her. Love. As she was leaving, she had never heard anything so sad and desperate and beautiful in all her life, than him calling to her, and she almost thought she saw tears threatening to fall down from his eyes as she left.

She almost went back. She was so close to telling that cab driver to turn around so she could run to him, jump in his arms so he can repeat those 3 words over and over again. To her. And then she would know then, that it was all true. But she didn’t. She couldn’t stand the prospect of heartbreak again. But she also didn’t realize that it broke her heart just leaving him, she realized that once she got on the plane to LA, that her heart was completely broken by this man.

She stood up from where she was standing to stretch and get her head together. Thinking about him made her heart hurt. And she couldn’t handle that at the moment, she had to get all of her things together for her first day of work that next day.

Xxx

Her desk was much larger than her old one. Everything was larger than her old though. And she had her own room! Allison jumped up and down, she couldn’t contain her excitement about the fact that she will actually have some peace and quiet, and privacy while she worked.

“Hello, you must be Miss Smith.” A voice came up behind her, startling her, she stopped jumping in midair and turned around quickly to the source of the voice.

“Oh! Yes, that’s me!” Allison replied, a bit out of breath. “And you must be…?”

“Mr. Cooper. You’re new boss!” he smiled.

Mr. Cooper seemed nice. From what Allison could tell anyways.

“Well I must be going Miss. Smith. Let me know if you have any questions okay? I know you probably aren’t used to having such a workload, but that comes with being the editor. Oh and before I forget, you will have an assistant to help you out, of course. However there has been a change of plans that came up with that. I hope you are alright with that.”

“Oh yes sure. What plans exactly?”

Great. Now my own assistant doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, and we haven’t even met.

“Well, she moved last minute to be closer with her mother who is ill at the present time! So we have had a couple applicants we have looked through and we have one that came through a couple weeks ago that looks promising! He just moved here about a month ago actually.”

“Oh I see, well that’s no problem. What is his name? If I may ask?”

Mr. Cooper’s phone started buzzing right after she finished asking. “Hold on one sec.”

As he finished up his phone call, he turned to leave rather abruptly. “Excuse me, Miss Smith, but I am needed and it’s rather urgent. However real quick, I did call him earlier this morning, the one who I said looked promising as your new assistant, and I have plans for him to swing by here for some coffee and for you two to meet. Just to see if it will work.

Does that sound alright? He should be here in the next hour or so.”

“No, no that is quite fine.” Allison fake smiled at her newly acquainted boss.

“Great! Well I will call later to see your opinion on him.” And with that he strode out of her door.

Allison sighed, she wasn’t exactly too happy that he sprung this up on her randomly, but she supposes it’s just part of the job. She had never interviewed anyone before, so it was a bit odd. She just moved some of her belongings around her desk and started putting files in the drawers when she heard a knock on her door.

Allison grinned at the fact that someone was knocking at her door to her office. She felt the urge to jump up and down from excitement again, but that sudden urge vanished into this air when she opened the door and saw who caused the source of the knocking.

“Hello, Miss Smith. Or should I say, boss?”

Allison literally felt her jaw fall at least 10 feet. “Tom…? Wha..what are you doing…here?” She felt a sudden wave of emotions hit her. She didn’t know whether to hit him, or cry, or hit him while she wept. All seemed plausible reactions in her opinion.

“Can I come in?” he asked hesitantly, eying the inside of her office.

She just stepped out of his way and nodded.

“So, I heard that you were in need of an assistant, so…I thought I might as well put in a app.” He smiled down at her as he sat down in the chair across Allison’s desk from where she sat.

Allison still hadn’t moved from her place, still standing by the door. She finally got a fifth of her senses back and shut the door before walked tediously to her side of the desk.

She didn’t sit though; she just stood there, staring down at Tom, not believing it was him.

“You are allowed to sit down you know?” he smirked.

Ignoring him, Allison asked. “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in New York? Making people’s lives living hell?”

Tom looked distraught. His eyes widened and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

He tried again, successfully, “I…I didn’t make your life, a living hell, did I?”

Allison had to sit down. This was all too much for her. The guy she was currently trying to get over just prances back into her life, like theres no problems.

“Well, you didn’t make it feel like sunshine and flowers all the time, that’s for sure.”

“I know, and if I may, I would like to apologize, and explain if I can.”

“Why Tom? What is the purpose of this?”

“Why did you leave?”

Allison stopped. She couldn’t handle this right now. He heart was about to explode out of chest from all of the emotions evading her mind. “Tom, you have to go, now. I can’t deal with this right now Tom. I left because you treated me like crap okay? You always talked down to me and never gave me a chance! I had to leave and get away from the atmosphere.” She started to get up from her chair, and passed his chair to walk towards the door. When she passed his chair, he got up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him.

“No Allison, that’s not the only reason you left. Now, tell me the truth.” Tom’s eyes were staring into Allison’s so fierce with emotion, she wanted to hide behind her bookshelf.

“Tom…”

“Wait!” Tom stopped her. “Before you say anything, let me please apologize. Please just let me. For everything. You want to know the reasoning for me being tough on you, and acting like an arrogant ass hole? I was afraid! Of showing my emotions. I was your boss and I felt inappropriate and I know it was silly. But that is why I was so horrid to you…”

His voice got noticeably softer, “I…I loved you. I did! I know you didn’t believe me at the time and you had good reason to. It just took me a week or so to see that reason. But me being so snarky to you all of the time, was a shield, to hide behind. I don’t want to hide anymore Ali. I want to be free to be myself around you. Be the man that loves you.

Because…after you left…I realized that I couldn’t live without you.”

Allison couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think, or move, or attempt any bodily function without her knees giving out beneath her. “Tom…I…don’t know what to say…”

She looked into Tom’s eyes, expecting to see the hidden laughter he was trying to hide, that this was all a joke, a fake. But what she saw completely made her heart feel as though it had taken flight. His eyes looked as though he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

“I do love you, you know. And…I can’t say anymore before getting way too sappy for my good and yours as well. I can only go too far you know I was never good with this kind of shit.”

Allison actually laughed a real laugh. She couldn’t remember the last time she had done that, it was probably with him.

She slowly closed the remaining distance between them, and felt her lips graze the familiar ones that she had missed for these past couple of months.

Yet he was the one who backed away from it this time, surprising her.

Tom cleared his throat.

“So Miss Smith, do I have the job or not?”

“Well that depends…” Allison smiled slyly

“On…?” he asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow.

“On, whether or not you are up to the challenge of fetching my morning coffee every morning. You do know how I like it do you not?”

Tom just grinned.