Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Feyre had been a child, she had dreamt of what being an adult would mean for her as most children did.  To her sisters it had been the socialite life their mother led.  They had dreamt of parties, and charity events.  Of socials and company balls.  Feyre had never thought that life was for her.. But she also had never thought it would be sitting in the smallest cubicle Spring Tech could offer with an ancient computer that buzzed like a lawnmower when it was turned on watching her life tick away one agonizingly slow second at a time as she filled out TPS reports.

No, what she had dreamed for herself was a life where she could somehow afford to paint and sell her work.  Perhaps have her own gallery or even teach painting classes.  And it might have been feasible once upon a time.  But her parents had died and their fortune had gone with medical bills and one too many business debts.  Feyre had traded in her dreams of art school and the luxury of painting for creativity killing ground level work in an office that had slowly elevated her to where she was now.  The second floor from the top, fifth cubicle down on the last row.  

Despite being the smallest cubicle, it had one bonus which was the window.  Not that the window looked out at much.  There was a dismal street below full of people who kept their heads down and trudged to their office jobs that were likely slowly killing their individuality as well.  Across said street was yet another office building.  That was only a story or so taller than the one she occupied.  Despite there not being much to look at, she still found herself looking out it more and more as she counted down the remaining minutes of her Friday.

"Fay-ruh!"  A shrill voice made her cringe inside as she looked up at the bubbly blonde named Ianthe that was in the cubicle in front of hers.  Feyre wasn't supposed to notice Ianthe's cubicle was larger than anyone else's, at the expense of Feyre's no doubt.  No one spoke about it but it was clear Ianthe held the favor of Mr. Spring, the CEO.  "Fay-ruh!"

"Yes, Ianthe?"  Feyre turned her attention to the one person that seemed to thrive in this environment.

"Mr. Spring asked me to find people to work late tonight.  New software roll out for Hybern requires some extra people.  I told him you were staying."

Feyre narrowed her eyes on Ianthe and her saccharine smile.  Her main area was the damned TPS reports and very little else.  She had nothing to do with the actual software development and troubleshooting.  She didn't take customer service calls nor did she work in IT.  There were others on the floor that did work directly with the software rolling out.

"Why would I stay?  I have nothing to do with the Hy-"

"Tsk tsk, Archeron.  That's not the attitude you should have," came another voice.  A male's voice this time from the cubicle to her side.  Some man named Bron or Hart, she wasn't too sure.  She tried to mind her own business when she could.  "You're the newest to the floor so it's your job to stay late."  With that he gathered up his things and headed towards the elevator with Ianthe by his side.  "Have a fun time, newbie!"

Feyre contemplated following them.  She hadn't actually agreed to stay and unlike Ianthe, she had nothing to do with the Hybern roll out.  She did need this job though.  Despite her six years of experience, she wasn't a desirable hire without a college degree of any sort.

"Ah, Feyre, I heard you're the sacrificial lamb for the night," another voice made her glare up at the opening of her cubicle.  Lucien Vanserra, Mr. Spring's right hand man was standing there with his red hair pulled back into a pony tail and his cinnamon colored eyes crinkled in amusement, likely at her glare.  While she tried not to piss off Mr. Spring or draw his notice at all, Lucien was always good for a battle of words and took it all in good humor.  Sometimes she suspected he picked fights with her because he enjoyed getting verbally thrashed.

"I don't see why it's me.  I--"

"Had nothing to do with the Hybern software development.  I said as much to Tam when he said Ianthe volunteered you," Lucien waved a hand.  "No one is going to ask you to do anything with the Hybern stuff.  We just need a body on the floor when it goes live tonight and you'll get overtime pay.  You just need to sit tight until nine tonight and you’ll be set."

With a sigh, Feyre settled back into her chair.  She wasn't going to win this one and the extra money would be nice.  And it wasn't as if she had plans to do anything with her Friday evening.  Lucien seemed to realize she had accepted her fate and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before dropping a thick stack of papers on her desk.

"Thought you might want something to do," he winked at her.  "See you Monday morning, Feyre." 

She flipped him off as he cackled and left.  She would have flipped him off once more as he got on the elevator but as the elevator doors opened Feyre caught sight of Mr. Spring's blonde hair and she tucked herself back into her cubicle before he could see her.

Slowly the last people filtered out of the office and left her in silence.  She took a moment to stand, stretch, and take a lap around the cubicles.  She refilled her water bottle at the water station and returned to her desk to start on the thick pile of reports Lucien had given her.

After a few hours, Feyre’s stomach started to rumble and her eyes were getting tired of staring at little numbers.  She groaned, rubbed her eyes, and went for a slow walk to the vending machines located in the floor’s break room.  Returning to eat a bag of chips at her desk, Feyre found her eyes drawn out the window once more.

Across the street, the sun was setting behind the other office building, setting the top of it aglow.  Not only that, but what normally looked like mirrored glass was suddenly very clear, and it seemed like she wasn’t the only one working late this evening.  Across the way was a dark silhouette on the top floor, seemingly looking out the window too.  From the shape of the silhouette she could tell it was a man, he was wearing a suit, and he had a decent build.  Beyond that she could discern little else.  He was joined very shortly by two other men, well built but not in suits and two women.  Only when the other silhouettes joined him did the man turn away from the window but not before he paused just slightly almost as if something had caught his eye.

Feyre shook her head as she realized she had been staring and opened up the reports once more.  But somewhere in the deep part of her mind where she had once only dreamed of paintings she could create, a part of her that had long since been drained of any will to create, a painting formed.  And even though she dedicated the majority of her attention to the reports in front of her, the window and the silhouettes across drew her eye from time to time.  Until the lights went out in the office across the way somewhere close to eight and long after she knew the people there were completely gone.

Chapter Text

Monday morning had Feyre feeling better than she had in a long time.  Despite working late on Friday, the weekend had left her feeling refreshed.  She had gone to an art supply store for the first time in years and had justified paying for paints, canvas, and brushes with her overtime she was getting.  Then she had spent the weekend painting until she had been satisfied with the piece she had thought up while working late.

Humming to herself she set her morning coffee on her desk, and practically skipped to the elevator with Lucien’s extra reports.  For once, she didn’t care that Mr. Spring was watching as she approached Lucien’s desk with the reports and happily dropped them back off.

“Done already?”  Lucien asked with a wry grin.

“Was I not supposed to be?”  She asked.

“This would have taken anyone else several full days.  No wonder you were hired into your position without a degree.  I’m just lucky I don’t lose you to accounting.  Now scat,” Lucien waved her off and Feyre obeyed with a chuckle.  It was the closest to a compliment she would receive from Lucien and it made her beam even more as she approached her desk.  Not even Ianthe’s shrill prattling about her amazing weekend from the next cubicle over made a dent in her great mood.

Come Friday, that mood had faded somewhat as the week had worn on and things had returned to normal.  Until a familiar voice called her name just as she was picking up her purse to get ready to leave.

“Fay-ruh… guess what you’re doing tonight,” Ianthe practically sang.

With an eye roll, Feyre set her purse back down.  Lucien arrived shortly after with an apology and a few more reports.  Not nearly as much as the last time but she simply waved him off.

It was a distant hope, she realized, that whoever was across the way would be working late two Fridays in a row.  And she wasn’t even sure what she expected but as the sun started to set, and the light was just right, she saw that familiar silhouette staring out the window once more.  More than finished with the reports, Feyre turned her attention to the silhouette while snatching up a pen and printer paper from her desk. 

The other silhouettes joined him and then again, around eight, the lights went off and they left.  But by then, her desk was littered with sketches for painting ideas.  Her mind was full of ideas and she found she was excited to go home when the clock struck nine and she could get to work.

It was no surprise that come the following Friday, Ianthe had called her name again.  Feyre wasn’t sure why she was exactly needed anymore.  The Hybern roll out was over but she couldn’t complain.  The extra money was nice and she actually enjoyed the quiet office.  But the highlight, more than anything, was that silhouette across the way.  The man that seemed to be looking out the window just as the light seemed to be right.  The man that most definitely was someone important if he was on the top floor. 

She imagined his life, built it into sketches and paintings.  His life and the four others who joined him.  A slimmer male, tall and brooding.  A much bigger male, hulking and probably spent many hours at the gym staring in the mirror.  A female with long hair and fancy looking clothes that almost danced as she walked.  And a small female that gave Feyre the shivers whenever she looked out the window, as if she could see her so very clearly and knew what she was doing. 

And the following Friday, Feyre didn’t even bother to pretend to prepare to leave and happily cut Ianthe off when she started her weekly routine of volunteering Feyre to stay.  Lucien didn’t even apologize anymore as he handed over the extra work.  It was honestly becoming the highlight of her work week.

But this Friday was different.  Not in anything she was doing or had done.  No, it was different because about the time the sun started to set just right and she prepared to go get a bag of chips from the vending machine, her office phone rang.  With a frown she answered it and was told there was a delivery at the door for her.  Since it was after hours she would have to come down and get it.

Confused she wandered down to the lobby and found a delivery boy holding a cloth bag out to her.  The moment it was in her hands, he left.  She waited until she was back in her office before exploring the contents of the bag.  A bottle of sparkling water, a container with a fancy looking salad dressed with walnuts and cranberries, a container full of chicken smothered in a creamy sauce, and steamed vegetables, and a third container with a sinful looking piece of chocolate cake.  Digging into the bag once more she pulled out the receipt that was marked “Paid”.  Frowning she set the receipt down and then noticed the writing on the back.

Chips are not a decent dinner.  Hope you enjoy – top floor across the street.

Feyre’s eyes went wide and involuntarily went up to the window and the silhouette watching from the other side of the street.  For the first time ever, the man lifted his hand and gave her a wave.  She waved back, unsure of herself and feeling awkward.  The larger man came to stand beside him and undoubtedly blew a kiss in her direction for which he was promptly smacked upside the head by the taller of the two women.  Feyre felt herself blush at their attention and turned to her food, telling herself it would have been rude not to eat it.

And like clockwork at 8pm the lights across the way went out, but not before Feyre glanced up in time to see the dark silhouette standing at the window once more, staring down at her.  He gave a slight wave and she understood it as a goodnight and she gave her own in return.  And when they were gone, Feyre turned her attention to yet another sketch she fully intended to paint of the one man getting smacked upside the head.

Chapter Text

“You’re really sure you’re okay with this, Feyre?”  Lucien asked for the twenty-third time in the last thirty minutes.

“I’m really sure,” she told him with a laugh.

Feyre hadn’t been sure what to expect when she had been pulled into Lucien’s office Monday morning.  Hadn’t she done satisfactory work for the fourth Friday in a row?  But then Lucien had laid out the issue to her and had practically showered her in compliments in the process.  She was needed to work late, likely every night for several weeks. 

“Like I said, I don’t think I can trust anyone else to work through this is quickly and efficiently as you,” Lucien said yet again.  He was pale and dark circle ringed his eyes.  She was certain she never wanted to rise higher in the company than where she was if it induced that sort of stress.  But it wasn’t just being high ranked in the company, it was that the software that had gone to Hybern had been experiencing issues.  They were pulling all the information they could get to pinpoint the exact bugs that were being experienced so the tech team could fix them permanently.  But in order to do that, someone needed to go through all of the reports to find anomalies.

“Ah, you have her here,” Mr. Spring entered the office without even knocking, making Feyre’s heart race slightly with anxiety.  Lucien practically scrambled out of his chair to offer it to Mr. Spring.  He took the seat and gave Feyre a quirk of the lips that might have been an attempt at a smile.  His grass green eyes pinned her in place.  “I take it Lucien has explained the situation we are in to you.  And with your willingness to work previous extra shifts and your thoroughness, Lucien thought you would be the best candidate.  Should you succeed in reducing my stress, I will personally double your salary.  If you have no objections, you’ll start tonight after completing your regular work.”  Then Mr. Spring stood, looked her over from head to toe, and left without saying anything else.

Feyre stared after him.  Double her salary?  She would be able to save money, a lot of money.  Maybe someday she would be able to quit her office job and start working as an artist.  She could start a gallery. 

“Eh hem,” Lucien cleared his throat meaningfully and drew her attention back to himself.  “Would tonight be too soon?”

“Not at all,” Feyre assured him.  “I’d best get to work.”

“Of course,” he waved her out of his office and followed her to the elevator.  “Thank you again, Feyre.”

Feyre did not expect her Friday night silhouette man to be there as the sun started to set.  But movement drew her eyes away from the report she had been circling numbers on and sure enough there he was, standing at his window once more.  She offered a wave and bent over the report again.  She needed to make excellent headway on the first night to prove to Lucien, and Mr. Spring, that she was certainly up to the challenge and worth doubling her salary for her hard work.

Throughout the week she caught the silhouette standing at the window each night right when the light became perfect to see him.  And as much as she wished to stop and sketch him, the need to do a fantastic job came first.  Because if she did a fantastic job, she could spend far more time pursuing the need to sketch and paint that had somehow been inspired by the dark silhouette across the street.

On Friday she met with Lucien in the morning to show him her progress and he seemed more than thrilled with what she had found.  In the evening a disgruntled security guard dropped another cloth bag on her desk with another set of containers making up a three course dinner.  On the back of the receipt was yet another note.

Late night again?  Does Tamlin even pay you properly for the hard work you’re doing?

He would pay her properly.  She would see to it.

Another week of late nights and Feyre all but lived at the office.  She only went home to shower, sleep, and change clothes she felt like.  And on weekends she slept and did laundry.  But she was determined to work her way through all of the reports herself, and she was nearly done.

Late on a Wednesday she stopped to rub her eyes and nearly jumped when she heard someone step up to the opening of her cubicle. 

“Hello, Feyre,” Mr. Spring spoke to her as he leaned against the doorframe.  “You’ve been work work working away I see.”  His eyes went to the reports on her desk.  “Helping me reduce my stress and all.”

Feyre stared at him, trying to understand why every nerve in her body was screaming at her to keep him away.  Just as her nerves had always screamed at her to avoid his notice.

“Ianthe said you were a good little worker.  A bit of attitude but nothing that couldn’t be beaten out with time.  Lucien says you’re eager to please,” he took a step into her cubicle and suddenly it felt smaller than ever.  She didn’t like the words coming out of his mouth but this was her boss, the owner of the company.  This was the man that was going to double her salary and make her dreams come true.

“I try to be good at my job,” she tried to offer to him.

“Right, your job,” Mr. Spring reeled back a moment and then offered her a charming smile.  “Lucien said the addition to your salary would likely be something that would motivate you to help me and you’ve been helping me, Feyre.  You’ve really put a dent in my stress,” he came closer setting Feyre’s nerves even more on edge.

“That’s good to hear.  I’m nearly done with the Hybern reports,” Feyre tried to direct his attention to the papers on her desk and she watched his eyes flash to the reports and back to her again.

“Of course finishing that will be helpful, but I was thinking you might be interested in doing something else to help me reduce my stress,” he told her with a gleam in his eye that she recognized.  “You want that extra money, right?  Double your salary if you just help me reduce my stress.  You don’t want me to be stressed do you?”  He crooned as he closed in more, cutting off all escape as he reached for her.

Feyre bit her lip, trying to keep herself from the sudden urge to cry.  She knew, deep in her gut, he had no intention of giving her that raise if she didn’t give in.  But she needed this job.  No where else would pay her half of what she was making or put her near the same level of work.

“Mr. Spring, I don’t think this is really appropriate,” she squeaked out as he leaned over her.

“Oh, I assure you it is quite appropriate.  You help me, I help you.  What’s more appropriate than that?”  He reached down to where she sat and ran a possessive finger up her thigh before pushing the hem of her skirt up.  “Come on, Feyre.  I can be nice about this, or you can see where saying no will lead.”

She needed to get out, to escape, to get the hell away from Mr. Spring but her mind was focused solely on that possessive finger tracing up the inside of her thigh getting closer and closer to his intended target.

Her office phone ringing startled both of them and Mr. Spring’s hand stilled on her thigh.  Feyre quickly grabbed the phone and answered it though she wasn’t sure who would call.  All she knew was it had stopped Mr. Spring and she would take the out if she could to buy herself time to think.

“Stay on the line,” came a reassuring male voice.  “Tell him it’s your boyfriend calling to check in on you.”

“Oh… hi Babe,” Feyre tried to calm her voice.  “I know I said I’d be home soon and I’m really hoping to keep that promise.”  She felt the hand on her leg flinch ever so slightly.

“Good, Darling.  Keep talking to me.  What do you want for dinner tonight?”  The voice prompted.

“Dinner sounds amazing when I get off of work.  Chinese take out, you know my favorites.  What you don’t remember?  Babe I’m hurt.”  She feigned indignance.  “You know I love beef lo mein and honey chicken.  They both sound amazing right now.  And don’t forget to get an order of crab Rangoon.  I’d die without it.”  She fell more easily into the act as the man on the other end offered quiet encouragements.

“What are we watching on Netflix right now?”  The voice prompted when she ran out of dinner plans.

“Oh, I know you really wanted to finish watching Stranger Things tonight, but I need something mellow.  Can we watch a romcom instead?  After this long day I just want to snuggle up to you on the couch and not think for a little bit.”  She kept talking as Mr. Spring hand remained still on her thigh, not moving any higher but not retracting at all.

“Who are you talking to, Feyre?” Mr. Spring’s soft voice was in her other ear.  “I know you don’t have a boyfriend.  You live alone in a studio apartment.  You’ve gone home alone each night.  You spend your weekends alone.”

Panic gripped her as she realized Mr. Spring knew a little too much about her.  Either he was watching her or he was having someone else do it.

“It’s alright, Darling,” the other man’s voice spoke in her other ear.  “Breathe.  I’m almost there.”

“I don’t know how you managed to fake a phone call but it’s time to hang up.  Let’s go up to my office and finish what we started,” Mr. Spring stepped back from her, but only enough to haul her up by her arm hard enough to leave deep bruises.  He pulled her towards the elevator as she seriously debated how exactly she was going to get out of this situation.

Just as they reached the elevator the little tone dinged to let them know the car was arriving.  The doors opened and a hand gently pried Mr. Spring’s grip from her arm.

“There you are, Darling.  I thought I’d pick you up tonight to get that Chinese on the way home.  Why don’t you go get your purse while you think about what romcom you want to watch,” he gave her a gentle push back towards her desk to collect her things.

When she returned Mr. Spring looked visibly shaken as the stranger held his hand out to her again.  She didn’t know him or recognize him, but she sure as hell trusted him more than she would ever trust Mr. Spring.  So she took the offered hand and let the man pull her in against a well muscled body, hidden beneath a tailored suit.  He wrapped a protective arm around her waist and steered her into the elevator.

The moment the door closed he released her, letting her separate from him and have her own space once more.  They were outside before her heart had calmed a bit and she looked up at the man to find herself nearly struck dumb.  Her rescuer had to be the most beautiful male she had ever laid eyes upon.  Midnight black hair was kept short, but long enough she bet it felt featherlight to run her fingers through.  Golden brown skin showed off high cheekbones and a chiseled jaw.  But it was his eyes that really drew her in.  They were so blue they could almost be violet and they were flecked with silver.

“Thank you,” she managed to say when she shook herself from her stupor.  “But how did you know…” well everything, honestly.  How did he know she needed help, and her office phone number, and where she was?

“Allow me to introduce myself,” he offered a handsome smirk.  “My name is Rhysand Night, but you can call me Rhys.  We’ve been waving here and there for the last month and a half or so,” he turned her so she could see the building across the street and the windows that were still lit up, up above.

“Oh,” she felt her cheeks redden at her embarrassment.

“I don’t know about you, but beef lo mein and honey chicken sounds divine right now.  I know an excellent little place nearby if you want to walk,” he offered her a tentative smile.  “I promise I won’t forget your favorites again, and this one is on me.”

“Of course,” she found herself agreeing.  “But I really should be the one to pay.  You did rescue me, and you’ve bought me dinner twice already.”

“I insist,” Rhys told her with a glint of mischief in his eye even as he led her away from the building.

“I also insist,” she fought back, finding that playing with him eased her frayed nerves.

“Then it is a battle of wills we shall find an answer to at the restaurant,” he challenged and off they went.

Chapter Text

Feyre stood with her arms crossed over her chest as she faced Ianthe the next morning with her notice.  She was quitting effectively immediately.  There was a short list of superiors she could go to.  Ianthe, the floor lead; Lucien, Tamlin’s second; or even Tamlin himself.  But she wasn’t going to speak to Tamlin if she could help it and she couldn’t bring herself to face Lucien.  She actually liked Lucien and leaving him would be the hardest part of leaving Spring Tech.  But after a nice dinner of Chinese takeout with Rhys where he explained exactly who he was, and being joined shortly after by a bubbly blonde and a cut throat looking woman with a short black bob, she was armed to the teeth with information to help her with this decision.  Not only that, but she was armed with threats to break her contract completely.

Ianthe took one look at the typed notice and rolled her eyes before offering Feyre a trademark saccharine smile.

“Oh, Feyre, you can’t just quit.  You have a contract.  You are required to see through to the end of the year,” she shook her head.

“I think Mr. Spring would find it in his best interest to tear my contract to shreds,” Feyre offered up.  She saw Ianthe frown for a moment before her crystal blue eyes lit up once more.

“I’ll go speak to him right now, and I’m sure he will want to see you right after,” Ianthe started towards the elevator.

“When you see him, tell him that I will press charges if I have to,” Feyre called after her.  She saw several heads turn her direction and Ianthe faltered for a moment before carrying on as if she had heard nothing.

Then Feyre returned to her desk to gather up her things while she waited.  She turned to look out her window, up at Rhys’ office.  He could see her, at least her shape, until the sun set, he had told her.  She was just a silhouette to him until then, but it was enough to know he could see her.  She waved, hoping he was looking her way before returning to packing her meager possessions into a box.

“Feyre, tell me it’s not true,” Lucien arrived, interrupting her packing.  Then he took a long look at the box and groaned.  “You’re my best person.  I can’t lose you!  Please just tell me what’s wrong and we can fix it.  Is it the working nights?  Is payroll not keeping up on your overtime?  I swear I approved it.  I can get a check cut today.”

“It’s none of that and I doubt you can fix it.  You can’t promise me that Mr. Spring won’t try to sexually assault me again or that he won’t be keeping tabs on my personal life through whatever stalkerish methods he employs.  I am sorry that I am leaving you, but I can’t stay working for someone like that,” she told him softly.  Throughout her speech she saw Lucien’s cinnamon eyes narrow and then he let out a low growl.

“Don’t leave until I get back,” and then he was gone, stalking back to the elevator looking like he was about to spit fire.

Ianthe came down only a few moments later but said nothing to Feyre.  She simply returned to her desk without sparing anyone a glance.  Her office phone ringing distracted her.

“Hello, Feyre speaking,” she answered.

“Everything alright, Darling?  I thought you’d be here by now,” Rhys spoke on the other end.  “I saw you packing up and everything.”

“Lucien asked me to wait for him to come back,” she told Rhys calmly.  “Once he’s back, I’ll be on my way.”

“Don’t keep me waiting too long, I’ll start pining for you,” he teased.

“Don’t let him fool you, he’s been pining after you all night,” came another male’s voice.  Feyre let out a soft laugh.  That had to be Cassian.  Rhys had told her all about his family and she knew Azriel would never shout something like that to someone he had never met over his brother’s shoulder.

“See you shortly, Feyre Darling.  Signal if you need an escort out,” Rhys told her and then hung up.

It was another half hour of waiting before Lucien came back, holding his own box of belongings in his hands.  That drew more attention than her own packing had from other cubicles.

“Lucien,” Feyre breathed out when she realized what it meant.

“I can’t work for someone like that either,” he told her calmly.  “Your contract is void.  I tore it up.  Let’s get out of here.”  He nodded to her own box of belongings.

She let her eyes scan across her desk one last time to make sure she had everything, then picked up her box and followed Lucien to the elevator.  They didn’t speak until they were outside the building, Lucien stopping to look back at the dismal gray structure.

“Do you have a plan for what you are doing next?”  Lucien asked finally.  “I have a friend that does video games looking for a marketing manager.  I could take you with me as a condition of my hire.”

“Thank you, but no thank you.  Rhys offered me a spot at Night Tech doing similar work.  He’s going to teach me to code and do some design,” she admitted.  “Put some of my creative tendencies to work for once.  I’m supposed to head straight over.”  She nodded to the building across the street.

“Do you need a reference at all?”  Lucien asked.  “I can come with and give it verbally.  Rhys knows me.”

“No,” Feyre smiled at him.  “You already gave me enough of a reference by giving me the Hybern reports to work through.”  She saw realization dawn in Lucien’s eye and gave a slight chuckle herself.  Then she surged forward and gave Lucien an awkward one armed hug.  “Thank you, Luc.  Don’t lose my number.  We should hang out sometime.”

“All we do is argue,” Lucien reminded her.

“We should hang out and argue sometime,” Feyre amended with a grin.

“Everything alright here?”  A voice asked from behind them.  Feyre turned to see the impossibly handsome Rhys standing in his tailored suit, hands tucked into his pockets.

“Yes.  I told you I’d be coming over when I was done,” she rolled her eyes at him.

“I just wanted to make sure you made it,” he assured her.  “Vanserra…” Rhys’ eyes dropped to the box in his hands.  “Do you need a new home too?”

“Vassa offered me a spot at Firebird Games as marketing head.  I have no desire to be in the market against you again,” Lucien smirked at Rhys.  “See you around, Feyre.”  Then he took his box of belongings and walked off in the direction of the parking lot.

“He would have been a decent asset in our marketing department as well,” Rhys mused out loud as he helped himself to the box in her arms.  “Did you deal with that little non-compete clause issue in your contract?”

“Lucien said it was void and he tore it up,” she announced.

“Good.  Let’s get you settled,” he told her as he steered her to the crosswalk, “and then I’d like to take my newest employee to lunch.”

Chapter Text

Rhysand Night, CEO, Owner, and Founder of Night Technologies stood staring out his window, more or less glaring at the building across the dreary street down below.  Normally, he ignored the ugly gray building with every ounce of his being but today he just couldn’t.  His brother, Azriel, had just informed him that Spring Tech across the street had stolen several programs from his development team.  One of which they were selling to some big corrupt corporate investment firm.  But he had the last laugh.  The programs that had been stolen had been waiting to be fixed.  They were bugged to the point that anyone using the software to invest would have issues.  In test runs, virtual cash had gone missing without being accounted for.  It wouldn’t track earnings or losses correctly.  And that was the version Tamlin Spring had stolen from him.  And he hadn’t had enough time to fix it by their calculations, so he was selling flawed goods.

It still annoyed him though.  He hated having either someone leak things from their company, or someone hacking into their company.  If it was a leak, it wasn’t someone that worked in that area.  If it was hacking, they had to have someone new at Spring Tech that could do it.  None of their previous hackers had been up to Azriel’s defense systems that would put the government to shame.  Which meant they needed to recheck everyone in the company to make sure they were not spies for Spring Tech.

A shape caught his eye across the way.  A dark shape of a woman sitting at a desk on the second to last floor, in the very last window to the right.  It was just a dark shape with the way the sun streamed down between the buildings, but it still drew his attention.

“Rhys, come on,” Cassian growled from the doorway behind him.  “Az wants to go over the next steps with you.”

It was another two weeks before he truly noticed the shape again.  Except this time it wasn’t a shape, he could see her fully.  The sun had started to set behind his building and her floor was still lit, showing the lone woman sitting at her desk reading reports.  From this distance he couldn’t make out much for details other than her deep blue shirt, golden brown hair that was pulled back, and when she stood, a gray pencil skirt.  She smoothed the skirt down as she left her desk again as she returned several minutes later with a bag of chips.  Then she turned towards the window and he almost felt as though she was looking up at him but it was nearly impossible to see her eyes.  Her chin was tilted upwards just enough that she had to have been looking his way.  Could she see him too?

“Hey, Brother,” Cassian bounded into the office followed by a much quieter Azriel.  Right.  The reason he was there late, that they all were there late was because Rhys had decided to expand his company and to do so, they needed to move to a bigger space.  So it required some moving logistics and that required a meeting, or meetings as it would seem according to his cousin Mor’s planning.

Mor arrived shortly after that with Amren and Rhys was drawn away from the window with one last look at the enticing figure of the female across the way.

She was there again the next Friday which his cousin noted his staring.  She even had the nerve to take out binoculars and let out a low whistle before offering them to Rhys for him to get a good look at the woman.  Cauldron, she was a gorgeous creature.  The details still weren’t clear but she had to be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen or would ever see.  He knew that much deep in his being.  And he also knew the moment she rose from her desk and returned with chips that he had to make the binoculars scarce.  And just like clockwork she returned and looked up at him.  He stayed still until his brothers and Amren arrived and the pulled himself away to his meeting.

The next Friday, he was watching as the woman’s coworkers started to leave and she made no plans to do so herself.  It seemed she was staying late yet again.  It bothered him.  Why was she there so late when no one else stayed?  And it bothered him that as he started to collect dinner orders from his family for their meeting that he knew she would likely only eat a bag of chips again.  That was hardly a decent dinner.  And when he said as much to Mor, she simply smiled at him.

“So why don’t you order her dinner too?  Oh, I know just the thing!”  And Mor proceeded to write out what he should order for the woman he actually knew nothing about.  But nonetheless, he ordered the extra meal and when it was delivered to him with the others, he paid the delivery boy a little extra to take the meal across the street.  He didn’t know her name but he did know exactly where she was in the building. 

He stood at the window as she received her meal and saw her read his hastily scribbled note on the back of the order receipt.  Then her eyes came up and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was indeed looking at him.  Feeling caught out, he gave a small wave and to his relief she waved back.  But then Cassian, stupid Cassian bounded over.

“Who are we waving at?”  He leaned over Rhys’ shoulder and looked out the window, eyes locking on the lone figure across the street.  “Oh, she’s hot,” he blew her an exaggerated kiss.  “Mind if I take a whack at her?”

A primal urge to beat Cassian was squashed by Mor smacking the large man upside the head.  “Come, let’s talk about how we plan on organizing the security for the new building.” 

And it was forgotten about until the others left.  Rhys held on for one last moment before he left and looked out the window once more.  She was still there, working away at her desk with her suit jacket tossed over the back of her chair and take out boxes scattered around her.  As if she felt his attention she looked his way and he gave another slight wave.  He wished it would say what he wanted it to.  Good night, don’t stay working too late.  Come meet me.  But she simply waved back a simple good night and went right back to work.

“You’re obsessed, Brother,” Azriel told him on the following Friday when he saw Rhys staring out the window at the woman once more. 

“She’s been there every night this week, and now she’s making no moves to leave though the bimbo next to her is going,” Rhys pointed out.  “I think she’s staying late again.  She’s been getting in at nine every morning and she stays until after eight each night.  What do they have her working on that’s so intense?  Is she a programmer?  Is she a coder?  Is she some sort of magical tech wizard we don’t have?”  Rhys turned to his brother.

“Actually, from the emails I hacked into, she appears to be tracking what went wrong with the Hybern software program they stole from us.  No files from her though.  She seems to prefer to work in paper.  But Lucien Vanserra seems sure of her skills,” Azriel settled back in his chair.  “Which is what I was coming up to tell you.  Hybern’s software failed horribly.  Investors have their money going missing.  Trades freezing up.  Crashing completely at odd intervals.  Everything we planned to patch for.

“Only one person working on tracking all the error spots?”  Rhys turned to look at Azriel, surprised more than anything. 

“The only one in the company Lucien Vanserra believes capable of the work, as per an email to Tamlin,” Azriel gave a slight grin.  “Tamlin doesn’t seem to have very reliable people.”

“He was never good at scouting real talent.  Which makes me wonder how he got her,” Rhys nodded to the window.

“Fluke.  She started in his mailroom right out of high school and got promoted up.”  A shrug of the shoulders and a soft sigh.  “Go ahead and ask.”

Rhys smirked at his brother.  Of course, he knew what Rhys would really want to know about this woman.  “What’s her name?”

“Feyre Archeron.”

The name rang through him and called to something deep in his soul.  It fit her well, even if he had never met her.  He wanted to taste the name, turn it over on his tongue, try it in every way his mouth would allow.  But Azriel was staring at him again, likely reading those thoughts with that special talent set of his that made lie detectors look like children’s toys.

“Thank you, I’ll see you in an hour,” Rhys dismissed his brother from his office and went to call in his food order to his favorite restaurant once more.  And this time when it arrived, he sent the delivery boy across the street with her name.

She acknowledged him once more, a small wave but little else as she ate the food and buried herself back into the mountain of paperwork on her desk. 

He felt obsessed as he watched her each night, finding himself staying later and later to watch her work.  Sometimes she noticed him, sometimes she seemed too caught up in her work.  Two full weeks of late nights and Rhys was tempted to just meet her down at the door and introduce himself, speak to her, but he was too afraid she would think he was a creep.

On the Monday after her second full week of working late, Rhys sucked up his pride and went to request her direct work line from Azriel.  He didn’t know how his brother managed to get it, but it was on his desk by noon on Monday.  But even with the number on his desk, he couldn’t bring himself to call her.  She would really think he was a creep or a stalker if he just called her.  So he just stared at the number and at her as she worked late on Monday, and again on Tuesday.

Then Wednesday he found himself screwing up the courage to at least type the number into his phone.  He would call her.  He was going to invite her for a drink after, or dinner maybe.  She had only eaten chips.  He was giving himself a pep talk when he turned to look out the window at her and froze.  Tamlin was there, standing too close, moving closer, leaning over her.  And even with the distance between them, Rhys could see Tamlin put a possessive hand on her thigh, slide her skirt up, and he could see her leaning away.  Without thinking, he hit send on his phone and brought it up to his ear.  And then Tamlin stopped and Feyre all but leapt for the phone.

“Stay on the line,” he told her when she answer.  She sounded scared even if he had never heard her voice before.  He knew she sounded scared and it pissed him off.  He was moving before he even thought about what he would do.  Was in the elevator praying the signal wouldn’t cut out.  He fed her instructions and, Cauldron Bless Her, she was good at taking them.  She played right along.  He filed information away without meaning to.  Chinese food, beef lo mein, honey chicken, crab Rangoon.  Stranger Things.  The sound of her voice when she called him babe and said she wanted to snuggle up to him.  Cauldron he wanted those things with her and he didn’t even know her.  But most of all, he wanted Tamlin to believe her, because Tamlin needed to back the fuck off.

He ran across the street and dialed in a long unused code into the door to open it.  Of course Tamlin wouldn’t revoke his security clearance and the guards standing near the door didn’t blink if he used a code to get in.  As he heard the bile Tamlin was spewing at her, he ran to the elevator.  Rhys may have been watching her, but Tamlin had been stalking her.  Picking out his prey the way only he knew how.  Likely had been grooming her for this exact thing for quite a while. 

“It’s alright, Darling,” he told her, sounding calmer than he was.  The pet name slipped out and somehow he felt it click into place as a part of her.  “Breathe, I’m almost there.”  He jammed a finger on the elevator button and forced the doors to close faster.  He heard Tamlin’s voice and then the line went dead.  It made his heart race and each floor the elevator climbed seemed to be moving by too slowly.

Then the door opened and there they were.  There she was.  Beautiful even in her fear.  Beautiful even as Tamlin held her in a bruising grip.  He crossed to them while Tamlin stood there in shock.  Stayed in shock as Rhys pried his fingers away from Feyre’s arm.

“There you are, Darling,” he spoke and got her attention.  Then he regurgitated the information she had given him to prove she had been on the phone with someone.  That she had been on the phone with him.  He gave her a push back towards her desk and she went.

“If you ever fucking touch her again, I will make sure every single horrible thing you’ve done goes to the police and the media,” Rhys hissed when she was out of hearing range.  Tamlin at least had the nerve to pale and take a step back.  Then Feyre was back and Rhys was ushering her into the elevator and down to the lobby.  The further they got from Tamlin, the calmer her breathing seemed to become and that was enough to calm Rhys.

He wasn’t sure what drove him to it, but after he introduced himself, he found himself inviting her out to dinner.  Chinese take out like he had promised her in front of Tamlin, and to his divine luck, she agreed.

It was a stroke of genius to invite Mor out, and Amren.  And between them they not only hired Feyre on the spot for Night Tech but also helped her work out exactly how she was going to get out of her contract and non-compete clause that he knew was in Tamlin’s contract.

The next morning, he found himself pacing his office, watching Feyre’s silhouette across the street.  She had handed in her notice, he had watched that.  And now he was watching her pack.  But she was taking too long and longer still after Vanserra had appeared.  He found himself wearing a hole in the red carpet that adorned his office as he watched her.  Worried about what was happening, he found himself dialing her number, the work number he would be deleting from his phone now that he had the cellphone number she had entered into his phone for him.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long, I’ll start pining for you,” he teased her.  She was open to his flirting at least.  More than open to his flirting it seemed as he had continued to flirt when he had driven her home and she had flirted back in her snarky way. 

“Don’t let him fool you, he’s been pining after you all night!”  Cassian shouted and Rhys nearly jumped.  When had his brother arrived?  But at least Feyre was laughing softly at the remark.

“See you shortly, Feyre Darling.  Signal if you need an escort out,” he all but begged and then hung up.  Then he whirled on his brother to glare at him.

“You have been pining all night and fussing all morning.  You would think she’s the best damn programmer in the world with how you are fussing on her arriving,” Cassian rolled his eyes.  “I can go get her if you want.”

Rhys simply pulled his chair over to the window and sat.  He had called Cassian and Azriel after he had gotten home the previous night and had unloaded everything on them.  They hadn’t had a position for her directly when they had hired her, but bringing her into the company had been a balm to Rhys’ soul.  And Azriel had come through right away with the work Feyre had done to track issues and had placed her in quality control, under his tutelage and he would teach her so much more.  They had even discussed coding and design which had caused Feyre’s face to light up when the possibilities had come up at dinner.  And Cassian had managed to produce security badges for her on short notice.

“No, if she needs someone, I’ll go get her.  I can get into the building without causing a scene,” Rhys threw a look over his shoulder.

“I wreck one room at Summer Industries and suddenly I’m not allowed to go anywhere fun,” Cassian grumbled.  Rhys shook his head and resumed his stake out of Feyre’s office.

Then she was picking up her box and leaving and Rhys stood.  He was going to be good and meet her at the door, help her carry her things, and make sure no one harassed her on her way out. 

But Feyre wasn’t alone outside of Spring Technologies.  Lucien Vanserra stood there with his own box of belongings and that was a surprise.  He would need to get that story from Feyre later.  But he could see how Feyre actually liked the man.  Had heard her speak highly of him and even he had to admit that Lucien was one hell of a marketing genius.  He would offer him a job if it made Feyre happy and to piss Tamlin off.  But Lucien waved him off and dismissed himself.

Feeling happier than he had in ages, Rhys took Feyre’s box from her hands.  It was a pitiful amount of things, all old and ratty.  Unless they had sentimental value he planned on slowly helping her replace them with things he was sure would suit her better.  Including a fancy new desk, in an actual office which he was happy to help her settle into.  Then he planned on taking her to lunch, and from there dinner.  And then, who knew what he would have the courage to ask of her, but he was willing to wait until she showed him the way to what was to come.