Chapter Text

Kathleen Emory poured herself a cup of coffee, and walked back to her work station, groaning internally. She hadn’t even been at the office for half an hour and she was already counting the minutes until her shift was over. It was an early Tuesday morning, and not many employees were in yet. The secretaries, however, had been expected to pull long hours of overtime over the last few weeks; keeping up with the insane schedules of the department heads, due to Cardiff Electric’s innovative new PC program. 

As she sat down at her desk, moving her purse out of the way and into the bottom desk drawer, Janet Summers, her long time work friend, approached the station next to hers. They had met on Kat’s first day, and ever since, Janet’s bubbly, sunshiny attitude had been Kat’s personal shining light in the corporate hell hole known as Cardiff Electric. 

“Hey, how was the drive in this morning?” Janet chirped, entirely too smiley at such an ungodly hour.

“Not bad, traffic downtown is still atrocious though. I had to leave the house half an hour early to get here on time. Damn construction,” Kat grumbled, taking a long drink of coffee as if it were her life force.

“Well today should be interesting. We start our new placements!” Janet replied optimistically.

“Oh joy, can’t wait to take orders from Mr. IBM,” Kat said with a roll of her eyes, flipping through her planner to check the day's appointments.

“Hey, at least you get the handsome one. Not that Gordon is bad to work with, but still, he is much easier on the eyes,” Janet made a suggestive expression, raising an eyebrow, “You never know, maybe you two will hit it off!” she squealed excitedly.

As if on cue, Joe MacMillan walked through the glass doors of Cardiff in all his Armani clad glory; a firm scowl fixed on his face. 

“Send in my 7am when they arrive,” he demanded, walking right past Kat’s desk and slamming his office door behind him; not even looking at her. 

“Yeah,” Kat said dryly, looking at Janet with a sarcastic smirk, “Definitely my type.”

“Oh, give him a chance. Maybe he just had a bad morning,” Janet tried to reason, forever seeing the best in people.

“I doubt it. From what I’ve seen, he’s always like that, and even if he is just having a bad morning, pissing me off is definitely not the way to improve it. Besides, last I heard he was screwing that Cameron girl anyway, so don’t get your hopes up.” Kat replied, saying the last part in a hushed tone as she got up to refill her coffee in the small staff kitchen, “Are we still on for dinner at your place later?

“Yep, just meet me here when your shift is over and we’ll take my car. Well, that’s if we get out of here before midnight,” Janet answered, gathering up papers that needed copying.

“Sounds good. If I have to spend one more night here past 8pm I think I might die. Oh,“ Kat paused, noticing Joe’s 7am walking in, “OK well, into the lion's den I go. Wish me luck.”

“Like you need it,” Janet replied encouragingly, “Now go show MacMillan who really runs the show around here.”

______

Say what you want about Kathleen Emory, but she was not someone to be underestimated. She was a deeply passionate person by nature, in all aspects of her life, and was never afraid to speak her mind. She could recall one of her close friends from college once telling her boyfriend at the time “Kat can either be the most caring person you have ever met, or your worst nightmare. You determine which version you get.” That statement still reigned true almost 10 years later. That was why at this present moment she could be found at her desk trying desperately to hold her tongue as her boss yelled orders at her for about the 10th time in the last hour.

Ever since Joe got himself hired and basically reshaped their whole company, time had passed in a blur of company scandals, business negotiations gone wrong, and more emotional meltdowns than anyone could count. Still, at least it was more entertaining than working for the last idiotic sales manager they had stuck her with. God, that had just about bored her to tears. 

Janet had been partially right about Joe, he wasn’t all that bad, and could actually be quite pleasant to work for at times, but today was not one of them. With Nathan Cardiff and Bosworth hounding him to figure out the funding issue, Joe had been an absolute monster all week. It was a miracle if anyone made it through the day without getting yelled at or threatened with the possibility of losing their job.

Tonight Joe had stayed long after everyone else had left to go over other potential investor options, since the deal with Loulu had gone south. That meant Kat was obligated to stay as well, which would have been fine if he treated her with a shred of basic human decency. And if it wasn’t 11pm!

“Kathleen! Get me another coffee!” Joe called demandingly through his office door, making no attempt to even sound remotely polite.

That was it. After being summoned into his office twice to make copies, once to retrieve something from the printer, once previously for a cup of coffee, and another time to find a sales file all in the last hour without so much as a simple thank you, She was done. Kat was not going to let herself or the rest of the Cardiff employees be treated with so little respect.

Kat stormed over to the staff kitchen, poured a cup of scalding hot coffee, marched into Joe's office, and slammed it down on the desk. She then turned on her heel and walked out as fast as she had come in. Upon reaching her desk she began to pack her belongings. Overtime be damned. At this point, she didn’t care if she got fired. She was going home.

“Hey, what the hell is your problem?” Joe asked angrily, getting up from his place behind his desk and walking to his office door.

“My problem is you acting like I’m your servant rather than your secretary, Joe! I’m happy to take calls and manage your schedule, but nowhere in my job description does it say that I have to be ordered around like your personal maid! You have been absolutely awful to all of us all week long, and I understand that you're under a lot of pressure, but that still gives you no right to treat us this way. Not to mention the positively horrendous hours you're expecting us to work! We are human beings Joe, not machines. I’ve been up since 5 o’clock this morning and it’s now 11pm! I was supposed to be off the clock 6 hours ago! You expect me back here at 6:30 tomorrow morning and I won't even get home until at least 12 o’clock if I leave now. If you want to run yourself into the ground, be my guest, but I won’t be doing so without so much as a simple please or thank you,” she raged on, her volume rising by the second, “I don’t give a shit that you are the product manager. I’m not going to allow myself to be degraded at work like this every day, just because you think you're better than everyone else here,” she finished her rant, breathing heavily. As the rush of adrenaline left her, she realized that she had probably overstepped massively, but there was no turning back now. Heading for the door she turned back and added in a cold tone, “If you keep treating people this way, soon you're going to look around and there will be nobody left on your side. That’s a sad way to live, Joe.”

Kathleen adjusted her purse on her shoulder, and walked out letting the door slam behind her, leaving Joe standing in his office doorway, mouth agape. 

In any other situation he would have been furious that someone dared speak to him like that, but right now, exhausted and overworked, he was stunned into silence by the audacity of his secretary.

Could she be right?

______

Later that night Joe lay in bed tossing and turning, the earlier argument playing back in his mind on a self destructive loop. Was he pushing everyone away with his ruthless business strategies? Did everyone really hate him that much? Didn’t they understand that he was doing this all for their own good? This new venture could change the tech industry as they all knew it, and If they wanted to succeed at COMDEX in a few months, they couldn’t afford to waste time.

He didn’t know why Kathleen’s words cut so deep. Maybe it was because Cam was pissed off at him yet again for God knows what. Maybe it was because he was so tired of being someone he wasn’t, trying to live up to his father’s impossible expectations. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to end up like his parents, but Joe knew that this time he had to try and make it right. 

He didn’t want to end up alone, no matter how much he would deny it if anyone asked. He didn’t want to be the villain. And most confusing of all, he really didn’t want Kathleen to hate him. Why the hell did he care what his secretary, of all people, thought of him?

“I’ll smooth things over tomorrow,” was his last thought as he drifted off into an exhausted, fitful sleep

_____

However, Joe didn’t get the chance to apologize the next day, as Kathleen was a no show. He knew that something must be wrong, as she never missed work. Was she really that upset by our argument that she didn’t come in today, Joe thought to himself, feeling a strange pang of guilt.

“What’s with you today?” Gordon asked, noting Joe gazing at his secretary's empty desk with a troubled expression.

“What?” Joe said, trying to play off his momentary slip up, “Nothing, long night.” 

______

The moment that Kathleen set her purse down on her desk the next morning, she heard a deep voice beside her. She looked up, slightly startled, to see her impossibly tall boss staring down at her with an unreadable expression.

“Can I see you in my office, Kathleen?” he asked, motioning toward his office door.

She simply nodded and he made his way to his office to wait for her. Kat stood rooted to the spot, internally panicking. God damnit, she thought to herself angrily. She knew that she shouldn’t have let her wild temper get away from her, and she never should have taken a sick day yesterday, migraine or not. 

She had tried her best to make it into work, but the lack of sleep was clearly affecting her health, and the blow up with Joe had just been the last straw. While in the moment, she hadn’t cared about the consequences of her actions, the reality of what she had done came crashing down on her as soon as she walked out of the office. she had barely slept all night, thinking about how she had likely just completely screwed herself over. It would be a miracle if she didn’t get fired for what she said, and even if she didn’t, Joe would likely tell everyone what had happened, effectively ruining any positive reputation she had gained over her years of work at Cardiff. 

She had woken up the next morning with a splitting migraine, and by the time she had made it to her closet to get dressed, she had already run to the bathroom to throw up twice, not to mention how she felt like her eyes might explode when she turned on the overhead light in her bedroom. There was no way she would be able to get into work, let alone put up with any of Joe’s bullshit that day, in her current state. Finally after sitting on the floor of her dark closet for 10 minutes, willing her stomach to remain inside her body, she admitted defeat and called in. 

Now she was going probably going to have to find a new job all because she was the only one who had the balls to stand up to Joe fucking MacMillan. Fucking brilliant!

OK, calm down, Kat. Don’t get ahead of yourself, she tried to steady herself. One step at a time. Kat took one final deep breath and made her way to Joe's office, readying herself the fight that was sure to come.

“Kathleen, close the door behind you,” Joe called from behind his desk as she walked into the room.

She did so, and moved to sit down in the chair opposite his desk, schooling her expression into an impassive mask, her pride refusing to let him see how nervous she actually was. However, in an unforeseen turn of events, her efforts were rendered completely unnecessary by his next statement.

“Kathleen, I would like to apologize for how I acted towards you for the past week. It was never my intention to make you feel undervalued as an employee here at Cardiff, and I truly hope that your absence yesterday was not a result of our… little confrontation. I checked your record and it says you haven’t missed a day in the last 2 years,” Joe said, leaning back in his chair, “When it comes to this project, I understand that my approach may be rigorous, but at the end of the day, the only way we have a chance at competing with the big leagues in the PC market is by working twice as hard. We have a chance to really make a difference in this industry, and I would hate to see us fail over a few misunderstandings,” Joe said, in his usual smooth tone that seemed to have everyone else fooled; not Kat though. 

It wasn’t exactly the apology she would have hoped for, or really much of one at all, but it was somewhat acceptable; a good start. Honestly, part of her was happy to still have a job.

“I appreciate you trying to understand my point of view. I just want to be clear that from this moment forward I will not be treated that way again. I don’t care who you were back in New York, Just because you're a manager does not give you the right to demean others in the workplace.” Kat said firmly, her usually confident nature beginning to shine through once again, “In regards to my absence yesterday, I unfortunately developed a severe migraine and there was absolutely no way that I could work through it. I understand how important it is for us to put in the hours, and make this project the best it can be in time for COMDEX, but none of us will achieve anything if we sacrifice our health along the way. That goes for you as well, Joe. I know that Cardiff and Bosworth are on your back about the funding, but you need to remember that we are all only human. Everyone is trying their best.”

“Understood, and I appreciate your concerns for the health of myself and our team, but I assure you, it is nothing to worry about,” Joe reassured, snapping back to business mode. “Now if we are done here, would you mind running 10 copies of this report?”

Kat gave him an incredulous look. Did he not hear anything she just said?

“I’m not doing anything until you say it,” she said, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips.

“Say what, exactly?” Joe asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“You seem to be forgetting one very important little word,” Kat replied in a patronizing tone, as if speaking to a child.

After a moment it dawned on Joe. With a resigned sigh he repeated his question. “Would you mind running 10 copies of this report, please?

“Why, of course, Mr. MacMillan,” Kat replied smugly, back to her usual self, taking the paper and heading for the door. Just as she reached for the door handle, Joe called back out to her.

“Kathleen,” he paused, making sure he had her attention, “Thank you,” he said, giving her perhaps the first sincere smile she had ever seen from him.

Chapter Text

“I’m here for Joseph MacMillan,” Kat said to the police officer at the front desk, assertively.

“Name?” the man asked.

“Kathleen Emory,” she replied, fishing through her purse and handing him her ID.

“Ah, yes,” he responded dismissively, taking a glance at her ID and handing it back to her, ”Bosworth said you would be along. Come on back.”

That’s a bit odd, Kat thought, that the officer seemed to know Bos. To be fair though, he was very well known in the Dallas area.

Bos had called her about an hour ago asking her to pick her boss up from the Dallas County police station. Something about an altercation after he was pulled over for speeding. However, nothing Bos had mentioned prepared her for what she saw as she rounded the corner.

Before her sat the all mighty Joe MacMillan, handcuffed to a metal bench, hunched over cradling his ribs. When he turned his face, she could see that he was bleeding heavily from his nose and had a black eye. In short, he looked like hell.

“Joe?” she called out, approaching him cautiously.

“Kathleen?” he grunted, clearly in severe discomfort.

“You're free to go,” the officer told Joe, uncuffing him roughly from the bench, causing Joe to wince as his bruised body was jerked to the side.

“Bos called me. I’m here to take you home,” Kat explained, moving forward, offering a hand to help him up, “Are you OK to walk? If not I can go ask if somebody -”

“I’m fine!” he snapped at her, and pulled away. Instant regret showed on his face however as he jostled his ribs, causing him to groan in both pain and frustration.

“OK, I’m gonna stop you right there. First of all, do not snap at me! It is almost 1am, and I drove all the way down here from DeSoto to bail your sorry ass out when I could have been enjoying a restful night's sleep. Secondly, I’m only trying to offer my help, and you are in absolutely no position to be refusing it right now,” Kat shot back at him, not in the mood to put up with his stubborn, prideful attitude. 

Sending a venomous glare her way, Joe finally surrendered, allowing Kat to help him out to her car. This must have appeared quite comical to onlookers, due to their quite significant size difference. After pausing several times along the way due to the pain in Joe’s ribs, and a few moments of struggle with the lever to push his seat back further, in order to accommodate his long legs, both were at last seated in Kathleen’s vehicle.

“You look like hell Joe, what happened to you?’ Kat asked with concern, turning in her seat to face him.

“They pulled me over for speeding, and then when I reached for my license they opened the door and  dragged me out. One of them tried to say I hit him while he was cuffing me, when I didn’t even fucking touch him, and well,” he paused, motioning vaguely with his hand, “Here we are.”

“Do you need to go to the hospital? You could have broken ribs,” she said worriedly. This whole situation seemed so strange. It was almost like he had been set up or something, and then the officer knowing Bos… it all just felt off. Not the time, Kat, she reminded herself, trying to focus back on the task at hand.

“They're not broken, probably just bruised. I’m fine,” he spat back irritably, his bruise marred features taking on a distant look, as if remembering something painful, “Trust me, I’ve had far worse.” 

That’s a bit concerning, she thought, but she chose to ignore it for the time being. She really didn’t feel comfortable leaving him alone in this state, emotionally or physically speaking, after the awful night he had just had, but she desperately wanted to go home and get back to bed. Despite being exhausted from her long day at the office, she had tossed and turned for hours and had only just fallen asleep when Bos called at 12am.

“OK, if you're sure, but I’m not leaving you alone like this. You can barely walk without help, Joe, and god knows what else could be wrong. Do you have anyone you can stay with in case you do end up needing to go to the hospital?” At his head shake, she continued on, now feeling a bit desperate. It’s not as if she could offer, could she? He was her boss! That would look bad for both of them if anyone found out.

“What about Cameron? Surely she could…” But she trailed off as he gave her a look that clearly said “Have you met Cameron?”

“OK yeah, stupid question,” she agreed with a sigh. If there really was no option left, then she would have to help him herself. She wasn’t about to let the man suffer alone. Not to mention that if God forbid something did happen to him, it would be on her conscience. Propriety be damned. “Well… in that case, I know this isn’t ideal for either of us, but how would you feel about staying at my apartment for the night? I can make up the couch for you. It’s not anything luxurious, but that way you aren’t alone if you need anything.”

“I don’t need anyone looking after me. I’m not a child, Kathleen,” he said testily, sparking her annoyance yet again.

“Well right now you are sure as hell acting like one. Now would you swallow your pride for five minutes and let me help?” she fired back, then added logically, “Besides, you need somebody to bring you back here in the morning for your car anyway.”

“Fine!” Joe huffed, pouting. Actually POUTING!

God! Men and their pathetic egos, Kat thought as she fired up the engine of her ‘83 Mustang and pulled out of the parking lot.

———

Arriving outside her apartment building, Kat looked over at Joe in the passenger seat. He had nodded off about five minutes into the drive and was now asleep with his head against the window. She took some comfort in the fact that his breathing appeared to be relatively normal, meaning he was likely right about his ribs not being broken. Hurray for small victories, she thought to herself a bit sarcastically.

“Hey, Joe,” she leaned over, touching his shoulder lightly, trying not to aggravate any of his injuries, ”We’re here.”

“Mmm?… Hh,” he looked around groggily, waking up. 

“Come on, let’s head inside. Wait there; I’ll help you,” she opened her car door, ready to step out.

“I don’t n -” but his protest was cut off by Kat fixing him with a stern glare, eyebrows raised, “Ugh, fine.”

“That’s what I thought you said,” Kat responded with a smug look, getting out and heading around to the passenger side.

———

Once inside, Kat led Joe to the kitchen, motioning for him to take a seat on one of the bar stools at her kitchen island.

 “Wait here for a minute. Since you won’t go to the hospital, I should probably try to look you over as best I can,” she said, walking into the bathroom to gather supplies.

———

While Kat was away, Joe just sat at the kitchen island, his pounding head in his hands. Every part of him was throbbing and he just wanted to sleep. He knew that Kathleen was right though, despite him being loath to admit it. His bruises would look even worse if left untreated, and that would be hard to explain at work tomorrow. 

Well, maybe not, he mused bitterly. He could probably just tell them that Cam punched him in the face in a fit of rage over obscure tech problem number 247 of the day. That honestly wouldn’t be unlikely. God, their… whatever they were… dynamic was so fucked up.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sounds of Kat coming back. 

———

“Hey,” Kat called out as she walked over to stand next to him at the island, spreading out various first aid equipment in front of them. She turned to face him, “OK, I’m no doctor, but I was a camp counselor growing up and we had to take basic first aid training. Hopefully I still remember a bit.”

“That’s encouraging,” Joe said dryly.

Kathleen raised an eyebrow, effectively shutting him up for the moment.

She took a washcloth and gently began wiping the blood off his face. Joe instinctively pulled back, as the pressure of her hand on his bruises was rather uncomfortable. This caused Kat to have to hold the back of his head lightly to keep him in place. For the first time Kat got the chance to truly look at Joe up close since becoming his secretary two months ago. She had somehow never fully appreciated how striking his facial features were. High cheekbones, dark defined brows, perfectly straight nose, unfairly long eyelashes that any girl would die for, full pouty lips, and a deadly sharp jawline. Although she hated to say it, she had to admit that Janet was right. He definitely was quite handsome, even with his face all battered and bruised. 

Once she removed as much of the blood as possible she applied a bit of antiseptic to his busted lip, then got up and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.

“Here, hold this on your eye for a bit,” she instructed, handing him the ice pack. “Now, you're sure that your ribs aren’t broken?”

“No, just bruised,” he replied, holding the ice pack to his left eye.

“OK, well let’s at least get some ice on those too just in case. I know you don’t think they are broken, but I would rather be safe than sorry. It might help if you take your shirt off,” she said, then blushed bright red, realizing how that sounded. “I didn’t mean that to… I’m sorry if that sounded… umm,” she trailed off awkwardly.

“No, you’re right, it’s fine,” he said with a sigh, his quick agreement a testament to how much pain he was in, “Can you help with the buttons though? I can’t really move this arm too well right now, and I can’t with -” he motioned to the hand holding the ice pack to his bruised face.

“I’m… yes, here,” she stuttered, feeling significantly less confident than usual.

Get it together Kat, she chastised herself internally. Where is your sense of professionalism? This is your boss for God’s sake!

Any indecent thoughts were swiftly interrupted however, as she opened the fourth button of his shirt. There, across his chest lay jagged scars, looking to be years old. She took in a surprised breath, and instantly regretted it as his whole body stiffened. She quickly realized how insensitive she had been. They looked to be the result of something really traumatic. Clearing her throat she finished unbuttoning his shirt, trying not to worsen the situation.

———

Shit! Joe thought, as he heard her sharp intake of breath. In his pain-addled-state, he hadn’t even thought about his scars. This was the last thing he needed right now. Way to go you fucking idiot, he though angrily. She was going to start asking questions that he in no way felt comfortable answering, and honestly right now he just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep the pain off.

OK, quick, his mind spiraled frantically. Think of something! Ummm… the car story usually works right? Or what about the one he used on Gordon and Cam? Maybe he could - 

But he was shocked out of his train of thought, when in a very unexpected turn of events, she simply cleared her throat and moved on. No questions asked.

That had never happened before.

———

“OK, here,” she said, moving to grab his sleeve, “Slide your arms out for me, then I’ll go throw this in the wash. I should be able to get the stains out in time for morning if I go soak it now.” 

He put down the ice pack for a moment, and slid his arms out of the light blue button up with her help.

“OK, I'll be back in a minute,” she said, about to walk to the bathroom to clean the shirt, but then remembered the ice for his ribs. “Oh, wait, hold on,” she grabbed a larger ice pack from the freezer and wrapped it in a kitchen towel, “Here you go. Why don’t you go sit down on the couch and rest while I get this cleaned up?’

He simply nodded, and made his way unsteadily to the couch.

———

Hearing the bathroom door close, Joe breathed a sigh of relief he didn’t know he was holding. Adjusting the compress on his ribs, he replayed the last few moments in his head. He was deeply relieved that she hadn’t pushed the subject, but in a strange, twisted way, he began to feel bad on her behalf that she had to see that. That he had clearly made her uncomfortable with his mutilated body, and she had been kind enough to not ask about it. Admittedly, he might not have had the same courtesy if the roles had been reversed. He now felt that he owed her an explanation. Even if not the whole truth; something.

Joe was interrupted from his dark thoughts as Kathleen reappeared again.

———

“OK, that’s soaking, so I'll just hand wash it before I go to bed and leave it to hang. That way it will hopefully be dry by morning,” she explained, making her way across the living room to sit opposite him on the couch. It hit her in that moment that her normally arrogant, self assured boss was currently slumped over on her couch half naked, and part of her felt terrible for him, and the other just wanted to laugh at the absolute absurdity of the situation. The sleep deprivation definitely wasn’t helping. “I wish I had something for you to put on in the meantime, but sadly I’m afraid that isn’t really an option unless you want a frilly pink night dress. I don’t know if you have noticed, but we are built just a bit differently,” she joked gesturing to her midsize 5’1 frame.

Joe cracked a slight smile in spite of himself, making an effort to cover his chest with his arms, and decided that if he was going to explain himself, it was now or never.

He swallowed the anxious feeling in his throat and began, “Kathleen, about… this,” he uncrossed his arms a bit, but immediately recrossed them, feeling far too exposed, “I know that you’re curious, and I completely -” Kathleen cut him off mid-sentence.

“No, Joe, it’s fine. I don’t need an explanation. This is clearly a very personal part of your life, and it’s honestly it’s none of my business. If you want to talk about it, that’s fine, but don’t feel obligated. I respect your privacy,” she said reassuringly, placing a comforting hand on his forearm, “Now, it’s getting really late and we both have work in the morning, so l'll go grab you a pillow and blanket.”

———

Joe watched her exit the room in amazement. Did she seriously just say that? The secretary whose life he regularly made a living hell had just offered him more respect than any romantic partner he had ever had. She really didn’t want to know? Who the hell was this woman?

———

“Like I said earlier, I know this isn’t anything luxurious, but it will work for tonight,” Kat said, as she arranged a few pillows on the couch next to him, and handed him a well worn fleece blanket.

“Now,” Kat walked over to the kitchen, grabbed a water from the fridge and a bottle of Tylenol from the first aid supplies still spread out across her kitchen island. “Take these, and try to get some sleep. I’ll wake you up after I shower in the morning so you can get ready. I want to be out of here by 6 if possible so we can go grab your car. I can cover for you if you need to run home and get a change of clothes, OK?”

He nodded and pulled the blanket over him, exhaustion taking over.

“OK, I’m gonna wash that shirt, and hang it out to dry, then I’m going to bed. If you need anything, my room is the first door on the left, OK?” she said, shutting off the main overhead light.

“OK, thank you Kathleen,” Joe said sincerely.

“No problem. Oh, and Joe,” Kat paused on her way out of the room, “Let’s drop the formalities, OK? In the last hour, I’ve picked you up from the police station, cleaned blood off your face, and well…” she gestured awkwardly to his currently half naked body, a blush rising up her cheeks yet again. “The point is, you can call me Kat,” she finished with a tired smile.

Mirroring the same tired smile, Joe responded softly, all sense of professionalism long gone, “OK, thank you Kat. I really do appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it,” Kat replied casually, shutting the bathroom door behind her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

“Hello, Joseph MacMillan’s office, Cardiff Electric, Kathleen Emory speaking,” Kat answered, picking up the phone on her desk, next to the ever-growing pile of memos for Joe. 

Today had begun with yet another early morning for everyone, and ever since Joe hired more coders to complete the software on the new PC, things had become even more chaotic. She had been taking calls non-stop all morning and just when she thought she had a moment to breathe, she would have to go break up a fight between the coders and their idiotic new manager. Why Joe hired him, she had no idea, but now it had somehow become her problem. She so did not get paid enough for this.

“Hello,” responded the authoritative voice on the other end of the line, “This is Joe MacMillan Sr. I need to speak with Joe.”

“Sir, I’m afraid that won’t be possible. He is currently in a meeting and has a fully booked schedule for the rest of the day. I can let him know you called, and ask him to call you back at a later time, if you like,” Kat offered, pulling a post it note off the stack, ready to write down the message.

“I’m sure Joe can take a moment to speak with me. I can assure you, the matter he and I need to discuss takes priority over his little PC venture,” Joe Sr insisted rudely.

“Sir, respectfully, Mr. MacMillan is revolutionizing the way we do business here at Cardiff Electric, and it isn’t your place to judge the importance of this -” Kat continued, feeling a strange need to defend Joe (where the hell had that come from?), but was cut off by Joe Sr.

“And respectfully,” he mimicked her own words back in a condescending tone, “I don’t appreciate being informed of my “place” by a secretary. Now, I expect Joe to meet me at the Carrington Hotel Bar next Tuesday afternoon. He can call me to set a time,” and with that, the line went dead.

Did that asshole just hang up on me? she thought, letting out an annoyed sigh as she sat back in her chair. That had to have been Joe’s father. The name was a dead give away, but so was the arrogant attitude. God, and she thought Joe was bad? He had never mentioned his father in conversation before, and now it was quite clear why.

Kat reluctantly picked up the note and placed it on the pile of urgent messages. It was going to be a long day.

_____

Fucking Gordon! His idiocy will be the death of the project, Joe thought to himself moodily as he swept back through the maze of coders heading to his office. That was supposed to be the easiest of his meetings today! It was simply to discuss progress on the hardware, not a full on fight over an expectation he had set from day one. None of these people understood his vision! It was time to stop listing ten thousand ways why something wasn’t possible, and find the one way it could be made possible. 

As he reached his office however, his thoughts were interrupted by Kat calling out to him.

“Joe,” she waved a small piece of paper, pulling his attention away from his frustrations with the hardware team.

“Huh?” he looked up from the door handle where his hand rested.

“I have a message here from a Joe MacMillan Sr; your father I’m assuming. He wants you to give him a call later to nail down a time to meet at the Carrington Hotel Bar next Tuesday. He’s going to be in town for some reason. Sorry, he didn’t give me much information. You have his number, right?” Kat explained, handing Joe the yellow Post-it.

“Yes, I have his number,” Joe deadpanned, unsmiling, and reached for the paper and scanned it, “…Hem…thanks,” Joe cleared his throat, trying to maintain his calm appearance, and walked into his office, closing the door behind him.

Fuck, Joe cursed under his breath as the door clicked shut. He did not have the time to deal with his father’s egotistical, controlling attitude today, or any other day for that matter. He had left that life behind him a year ago after flooding the data center, and now everything he had worked so hard to move on from would all be brought back up again. He was done being “Joe MacMillan’s son”! He was his own person with his own ideas, and out here in Dallas nobody cared where he came from. He finally had the creative freedom to make his dreams of innovation a reality, and now his father was going to waltz in and tear it all apart like always.

Joe stomped over to his desk in 3 long strides and placed the memo down on top of his latest progress report from the coders. Maybe he could just avoid it and not call back, he thought, then sat down at his desk with a sigh. His right hand rubbing circles into his slowly throbbing temple, Joe began to reason with himself. God, Joe, stop being so fucking pathetic, he chastised. You're 35 and still afraid of your father? And who are you kidding? If you ignore him he will only get more persistent. 

With a shaky hand, Joe clicked the intercom, resigning himself to the afternoon of degradation and scrutiny that was sure to come, and provided Kat with his father’s work number to confirm their meeting for 1pm next Tuesday.

If he relayed the information through her, at least he wouldn’t have to speak to the man that made his life a living hell until then. It was going to be a fucking miracle if he made it through this week with his sanity.

———

Something that not many people knew about Kat was that she struggled quite a lot with her mental health. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of it (anymore), but there was such a stigma around it that she just didn’t want to deal with comments from ignorant assholes that often arose when one was public about such matters. Not to mention the problems it could cause for her if her work colleagues found out. With the aid of medication, she managed it well, but it was still something that made a large impact on her day to day life. Like many people who lived their lives with anxiety and depression, she had learned to recognize the signs in someone else from a mile away.

This led her to realize that something had been off about Joe for the last week or so. He seemed fidgety and anxious, and was snapping at people more than normal, which really said something. He even got a bit short with her that morning about not having a report that he needed. A few weeks ago, that wouldn’t have been anything unusual, but ever since that night at her apartment, they had both come to an unspoken agreement to be a bit more patient with each other. Now it felt strange for him to be so on edge with her.

Kat also noticed that since he came back from lunch with his father yesterday he looked incredibly drained, and he hadn’t stopped working to take so much as a lunch break since; instead choosing to throw himself into meeting after meeting to hopefully lock down a screen manufacturer for the PC. Kat decided to keep a closer eye on him from now on. This didn’t seem to be headed in a good direction, and even if they had a bit of a rocky start, she could understand what he might be feeling, and how painful it could be. No one deserved to go through that alone.

———

“You need to fire that tool!” Cam burst into his office loudly. 

“Which one?” Joe asked dryly. He didn’t have the energy to put up with her bitching. Not with so little sleep and another long day ahead of him.

“I’m not kidding!” she fired back, “He’s a terrible manager. He can’t see the forest through the trees. You have to get rid of him.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Joe bristled, “Learn to work with people.”

All he wanted was to get back to preparing for the vendor meeting tonight. God knows with Gordon arranging it he was going to have to play damage control. 

“He’s assigning drivers to the fastest coders and compilers to the lunkheads. It’s inefficient!” she continued on her obnoxious tirade.

“Cut him some slack. He’s under a lot of pressure,” Joe reasoned with her, although looking back later he felt that he was actually referring to himself more than Steve.

“I could handle the pressure,” she crossed her arms defiantly like a spoiled child trying to bargain with their parents for a shiny new toy.

That’s it. He was done. He didn’t care how pissed off she got. He had much bigger things to worry about right now, namely whether or not his father would try to track him down at Cardiff since he stood him up the day before. 

“You have done nothing to prove to me that you can handle the responsibility required of a manager, Cameron,” Joe told her firmly, walking over to his office door, closing it. “Your work station was absolutely filthy while you were writing the BIOS, and your current one isn’t much different. You act as though the world is ending when even the slightest thing bothers you. You screw around playing games and wasting time instead of working on the software. You go against the manager that I hired simply because he doesn’t run this office the way you would, yet you have absolutely no managerial experience or understanding of how challenging that job is. Not to mention that you barge in here without so much as knocking and start yelling at your superior with his office door open,” Joe lists off in deadly quick success, “Look, I apologize if I gave you the impression that this… thing… we have going on entitled you to special treatment, but you have given me absolutely no reason to trust you with a responsibility this big when you act like a petulant child any time you don’t get your way.” 

Cam remained in her defensive stance, a look of pure disdain and disgust marring her delicate features.

“Now take these,” he reaches into his pocket for his keys, handing them to her, “And remove your things from my apartment. We’ll talk tomorrow. You're done for the day.”

“You're such a coward! You want to build the future so badly but you're too scared to admit to yourself that you're just a washed up salesman,” Cam spat angrily.

She was right, he thought morosely. He was a coward, but not for the reason she thought. He was a coward for leaving without confronting his father. He was a coward for not having the guts to explain his scars to Kathleen. He was a coward for letting the self hatred instilled deep within him by his father prevent him from finding genuine human connections. He was a coward for taking the safe path for so long; not becoming the dreamer his mother wanted him to be.

Joe was mercifully saved from having to defend himself by Kat entering his office like his personal guardian angel, armed with a Manila folder and a cup of coffee. 

“Is there something wrong in here Joe? I can come ba -”

“No nothing’s wrong,” Joe cut her off quickly, “Cameron was just leaving.”

“Uhh! Whatever,” she stormed out, pushing past Kat, causing her to almost spill the coffee.

“Well she’s pleasant today,“ Kat deadpanned, turning back to Joe.

“A sparkling ray of sunshine,” Joe responded, cracking a small sarcastic smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “What do you have for me?”

“Here is Steve’s latest progress report on the software,” she placed the folder on his desk, “And this is for you. You looked like you needed it,” she said sympathetically, holding out the coffee; black, of course.

Joe reached out for the coffee, allowing his hand to linger against hers for perhaps a moment too long before placing the mug down on his desk.

“Thank you, and sorry for snapping at you this morning,” he said sincerely.

“No worries,” she flashed him a kind smile on her way out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Once he was alone, Joe sank down into his desk chair. Sighing he took a long sip of the coffee, allowing its warmth to spread through his body and the caffeine to reignite his sleep deprived brain. Flipping open the folder, he did not find the report staring back at him. Rather, on top of the report lay a granola bar with a Post-It note attached.

He slowly peeled it off, careful not to rip it, and examined Kat’s neat handwriting. It read:

Joe, stop skipping your lunch break. You're no use to us if you die of starvation. You're doing great! No need to run yourself into the ground - Kat

Joe smiled and ripped the wrapper open. Work could wait five minutes.

———

When Kat got to work the next morning, Janet motioned to Kat’s desk with a triumphant smile on her face. Next to her desk lamp sat a still steaming cup of coffee with one of her own Post-its attached.

“See,” Janet exclaimed with excitement, “I told you he has a thing for you!”

Upon further examination, the note read simply “Thank you” in her boss’s messy scrawl.

“Oh please,” Kat said dismissively, sitting down at her desk, “It’s just coffee.”

But Kat was smiling inside as she took her first drink a few moments later. Only a month ago she had completely hated this man, but something about him just intrigued her; made her want to know him better. There seemed to be so much he kept inside, and judging by his actions that night at her apartment, he really wasn’t used to being cared for by anyone. It made her a bit sad for him, because she, of all people, knew how that felt, and she didn’t wish it on anyone. Kat could see a friendship forming between them… and against all of her better judgment, maybe something more.

———

“Cameron,” Joe called out from his seat at the head of the board room table, stopping her as she walked past, “Are you going to this bowling alley thing?”

“Yeah, some of the coders are going,” she said, leaning against the glass door.

“It’s amazing what passes for culture in Texas,” Joe said disapprovingly, “Listen, thank you for taking your stuff out of my apartment yesterday like I asked. I know that might have been harsh, but I think right now it might be best if we both take a step back for a while. It’s affecting the progress of the PC too much.”

Cam just nodded silently, seeming not to care all that much.

“I also noticed that you took something that doesn’t belong to you,” he continued, leaning further forward in his chair, “Look, I think it’s sweet that you wanted to read the article in the Wall Street Quarterly, but I need it back to send it to some potential vendors.”

“I didn’t take it. Your dad came by the apartment,” she replied, shifting her bag on her shoulder.

Joe felt like all of the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. This was the last thing he wanted to happen. To allow his father to infiltrate his new life here in Dallas.

“Did you talk to him?” The slight quiver in his voice betrayed his inner panic.

“Not really. I just grabbed my stuff and left,” she lied, “I have to go,” and she walked away, leaving a reeling Joe in her wake.

———

“Hey Kat, you still coming to the Big Star Bowl with us?” Janet asked, walking over to Kat’s desk. She was still typing away furiously, trying to finish the document that Joe asked for. 

“Yeah, let me just get my things, hun,” she answered, shutting down the computer after her file was saved. Janet began stacking Kat’s papers for her and slid them into her bag, “God, you two would be perfect for each other. Neither of you can stop working for five minutes!” Janet said, handing Kat her bag.

Kat felt a light blush spread across her face, “I have no idea what you're talking about,” she tried to evade Janet’s knowing gaze. She did not want to talk about this right now. 

“OK, let’s go!”Janet says, rolling her eyes, and pulling a reluctant Kat towards the exit.

But on their way past the main board room, Kat saw Joe sitting inside, alone with the lights off.

“Hey, you go ahead. I’ll meet up with you in a bit,” she said, nodding her head in Joe’s direction.

Janet shot Kat a knowing look.

“Oh, shut up. It’s not like that,” Kat insisted. Her best friend was way too invested in her love life.

“Mmhm, sure. You two have fun. I’ll catch a ride with Debbie,” Janet left, shooting a wink over her shoulder.

Why is everyone making this out to be way more than it is, Kat thought. He’s my boss, and he’s with Cameron anyway. Clearly off limits.

“Hey, Joe,” Kat said quietly, sliding the glass door open, keeping the lights off. She didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea if they saw them together with the lights out, but she also knew that he probably didn’t want people to see him right now, “You OK?”

Joe looked up from where he sat with his head in his hands. It was clear that he was in distress, but in usual Joe MacMillan fashion, he tried to rearrange his features into the confident mask that she had seen him put on many times before as he heard her voice, only this time, he was unsuccessful.

Kat moved closer to him and placed a hand on the chair adjacent to his, asked, “Mind if I sit with you?”

He just nodded his head silently.

“What happened this week? Not to be nosey or anything, but you have seemed a bit off lately,” Kat asked, sitting down, dropping her purse into the seat beside her. “I hope I’m not overstepping by saying this, but I’m guessing it has something to do with that lunch with your father.”

“I didn’t go,” Joe hissed out quietly, his hands forming fists where they now rested in his pockets. Why the hell was he telling her this, he thought angrily, can’t you just shut up around her for once? Stop spilling your life secrets to a woman you hardly know! It’s bad enough she’s seen how disfigured you are.

“What?” Kat was surprised. She had seen Joe clock out to go see his father on his lunch break.

“I drove to the hotel, and even walked up to the front doors, but then I saw him through the window… and I couldn’t do it,” he anxiously ran his hands through his hair, “I just couldn’t take his unrelenting criticism! It was bad enough as a kid but…” He cut himself off as if finally realizing that he said this all out loud.

Joe cleared his throat and began to stand but Kat grabbed his right wrist.

“Hey,” she says, pulling him back down, “It’s fine. We all have family issues. God knows I have my fair share. Try being the only progressive female aspiring artist in a family of conservative accountants and investment bankers. That's always fun around the holidays!” she added the last part with a dry laugh, hoping that her cynical sense of humor could serve to lighten the mood.

At a loss for words over what his secretary had just said, Joe released a short, breathy laugh despite himself. Who was this woman, and why on earth did she seem to care about him? He had done nothing to earn her kindness like this. It didn’t make sense. 

She was even telling him about her own family for god's sake! He would have to ask her about the artist comment, he mused absently, he hadn’t known that about her. He didn’t know much if anything about her. Why did he want to know…

“Joe, to put it bluntly, if your father speaks to you like he did with me on the phone, I don’t blame you for standing him up. Nobody should have to have the people who are meant to support you most tear you down,” Kat reassured him kindly, recalling her own turbulent childhood, “And I know we may not always say it, but we do appreciate what you are doing for all of us here at Cardiff. Before you showed up, most of us spent the whole day mindlessly going through the motions the same way this company has for the last 30 years. Now we are actually doing something that could put Cardiff’s name on the map.”

Joe just smiled at her tiredly, but that was all the thanks she needed.

“Now, how about we go have some fun?” she asked, reaching for her purse.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked, intrigued.

———

Joe made his way through the crowd lined up to smash the small Japanese car, tipping people off as he went so he could skip the line. It was Kat’s idea of course, insisting that it would be a fun way to blow off some steam after his stressful week. He honestly couldn’t agree more. Smashing up a car seemed significantly more interesting than sitting in his office overthinking everything that took place this week.

Paying the attendant, Joe picked up the mallet, adjusted his grip and took the first swing. It was as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders instantly as the heavy metal tool collided with the fragile glass windshield. In this, he had total control - where to place the next hit, where to add leverage to ensure optimal destruction. Every shard of shattered glass stared back at him, sharp and dangerous as his father had been; still was. Only this time, Joe held the power, and the glass was only sharp because he had broken it first.

The next hit was harder than the last, and when that wasn’t enough, he climbed onto the hood of the car and began smashing everything he could possibly reach, losing himself in the feeling of metal colliding with metal. 

Finally when he felt that the car had taken a thorough enough beating, Joe surfaced from his destructive trance, and was shocked by how much damage he had done. Part of him was alarmed by how capable he was of destruction, but the other felt almost proud. 

Looking out into the crowd for the first time he saw Kat cheering him on front and center. Well, it was only right that she got the last swing, he thought to himself. It was her idea in the first place. Stepping down from the car, Joe slowly made his way over to where Kat stood, holding the mallet out to her. 

“Me?” Kat shouted over the noise around them, looking rather surprised that he was giving up his last swing for her.

Joe smirked down at her, a slight flirtatious gleam in his eyes, the adrenaline still pumping through his body. “It was your idea. Now, I know by now never to challenge you if I value my life, but that’s just me. Why don’t you show the rest of these idiots who they should really be scared of around here?”

A slight blush spread across Kat’s face at his words, and with a determined smile on her face she took the mallet from his hands.

“Why, Mr. MacMillan, that may just be the best idea you’ve ever had,” she returned his flirty tone (her inhibitions somewhat loosened by the beer Janet had pressed into her hand upon arrival), before turning on her heel and stepping confidently up to the car.

Neither of them noticed Cameron watching them from the back of the crowd.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

“Thanks for inviting me,” Joe thanked Donna and Gordon awkwardly, now feeling like an intruder in the home of this happy family, “I’ll see you tomorrow Gordon, bye girls.”

“Bye,” the two innocent little voices echoed in unison, waving goodbye from where they stood next to their father.

With one last smile to the girls, Joe left, closing the Clarks’ front door firmly behind him, coming face to face with the storm raging outside once again. Looking down at his soaked clothes, Joe sighed in annoyance, he figured there was no point in putting his jacket on. Slinging his suit jacket over his shoulder, he made his way over to his car in somewhat of a daze.

Reaching it, he slid inside, and inserted the key into the ignition. Mind reeling, Joe rested his head on the steering wheel trying to push away the images of that fateful night on the roof that had been playing on repeat in his head all evening; all week for that matter. Ever since Cam stormed out of his apartment in a huff after he refused to tell her the truth behind his scars, he had felt guilt and self loathing slowly consuming him, making him wonder if he should have just told her even if it would have hurt. 

Am I really as bad as she thinks I am? Joe wondered to himself, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Why the hell does she even care? It’s not as if it affects her life anyway. As long as she has worked out whatever has got her “stuck” this time, then I’ve served my purpose right? I don’t owe her anything!

Then his mind flashed back to Joanie and Haley running around, playing with their flashlights. The world hadn’t crushed their innocence yet, and Joe suddenly felt a strange surge of protectiveness for them. He hadn’t been that much older than them when his whole world had come crashing down, and he began to learn his most important life lesson. Trusting no one is easier than letting them love you. Love hurt too much.

Taking a few deep breaths, Joe managed to steady his hands enough to turn the key. Get it together MacMillan, he chastised himself, hearing his father’s words from years past echo in his mind as he pulled out of the driveway, “Man up and move on, Joe. Stop being so God damn emotional.”

———

Kat stood staring out her living room window, watching the storm. There was no way that it would let up by morning. It would be insane for anyone to be expected to drive to work in this. Surely the weather conditions had caused numerous accidents already.

She considered calling the office to ask, but remembered that there would obviously be nobody there. It was after 8pm, and many of the late shift workers had been told not to come in due to the hurricane. She would have to call Joe, she realized. 

Kat made her way to the kitchen where she retrieved her address book from her purse and flipped through it to find Joe's contact information. As his secretary she had access to his personal number, but she hoped that it wouldn’t seem unprofessional of her to call him. 

I think we’ve passed unprofessional by now, Kat, she thought to herself, somewhat guiltily, recalling how she had shamelessly flirted with Joe at Big Star Bowl a few weeks ago. At the time it had been fun, and she had greatly enjoyed his company as they stuck together for the rest of the event, both not fans of big crowds. Over the past few weeks, however, she couldn’t help but feel like she had been far too bold in her (at the time) seemingly harmless flirting. Part of her worried that she had taken advantage of his clearly fragile state of mind; that perhaps she had led him on. While yes, she now knew that she definitely had growing feelings for Cardiff’s product manager, there was no way she was going to act on them. It would just end up far too complicated, and she had promised herself after her last relationship went up in flames that she would never get involved with a work colleague, let alone her boss, again.

Oh get on with it, Kat, she scolded herself, stop stalling.

At last finding the number listed under Joe’s name, Kat dialed it and waited nervously for an answer. Her needless anxiety frustrated her deeply. You spend your day taking calls with the secretaries of millionaire investors and vendors on the regular, yet you couldn’t call your boss to ask about the work schedule? Come on Kat, get a grip, she reprimanded, tapping her nails impatiently on the counter, waiting for him to pick up.

After the 3rd ring a deep, slightly annoyed voice answered.

“Joe MacMillan speaking.” 

“Hi Joe, it’s Kat,” she said a bit breathlessly, trying (and failing) not to stumble over her words, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important. I’m sorry to call you at home so late at night, but I just wanted to ask what the plan was for tomorrow? The storm doesn’t seem to be letting up, and the forecast looks pretty bleak. Has Bos mentioned anything about whether or not we’re going into the office in the morning?”

“No, you're not interrupting anything. Don’t worry about coming in tomorrow. He called me half an hour ago, and I was actually about to call and let you know,” he replied kindly, his tone brightened hearing her voice. 

“Oh, OK, sounds good,” she was relieved to hear that he didn’t have a problem with her calling his personal phone, “How were the roads earlier? You had a thing at Gordon’s tonight right?”

Joe hesitated slightly as if lost in thought, “Yeah… the roads weren’t great. You probably shouldn’t go out unless you absolutely have to. That was a few hours ago, so I can’t imagine how bad they are now.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I figured, it’s coming down pretty hard here,” she said, getting ready to politely end the call, “Alright, well I’ll let you get back to your -”

For some reason, the thought of her hanging up spiked a sudden panic in Joe. Perhaps it was that he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts; or maybe it was simply that he felt safe with her. Either way, the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

“Kat, wait!” Joe stopped her, a slight crack in his voice betraying his inner turmoil.

Shit! He cursed in his head, instantly regretting his slip. Did he really want to drag her into his problems? She didn’t deserve this. You have already been enough of a burden to her, Joe, he chided himself. Just because you feel comfortable around her doesn’t mean that you can use her as your personal therapist. That’s not her job. But on the other hand, it would sound weird if he changed his mind now. Oh, what the hell. He was probably screwed either way, “Umm… can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she answered, curiosity getting the better of her. Was he ok? 

“Um.. do you think…” he stumbled uncharacteristically over his words. Dammit! He cleared his throat in an effort to recenter himself, “Would you… umm.. would you say that I don’t seem authentic when conducting myself outside of a workplace setting?” 

Joe tried desperately to sound more calm and collected, but his phrasing just came out awkward and stiff. He literally made a living out of making shit up on the spot, and convincing people that he knew more than them, yet he couldn’t even get through a sentence with Kat without his heart rate picking up and getting tongue tied. What the hell was happening? Joe thought, frustrated at his own weakness.

Woah, that was not what she was expecting. How did we get here? Kat wondered, a bit confused by Joe's odd question. How was she supposed to answer that?

“Umm … I wouldn’t say inauthentic as much as professional,” Kat answered diplomatically. He was still her boss after all. 

“Kat, I…” he took a deep breath, and soldiered on, “I’m not asking you this as your boss. I’m asking you this as someone I consider a friend,” he faltered, realizing that maybe she didn’t feel the same. The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable. Even if she didn’t see him as a friend, he didn’t want to lose the one person who didn’t seem to hate him,  just because he couldn’t seem to shut up and act normal. Something was better than nothing at all. “You know what, never mind. I shouldn’t have asked. Have a nice night -"

“Joe, wait,” she cut him off. That might have been one of the first genuinely unguarded things he had ever said to her… and he really did consider her a friend? Had he ever considered her as… more? No, Kat, focus, she tried to refocus on the topic at hand. He seemed to need someone to talk to, and who was she to deny him. Especially after she had spent the last month trying to get him to open up. The idea of him finally seeing her as a friend, a confidant, made her heart swell with happinesses, along with something she was rather too scared to address.

“Of course I see you as a friend. I thought you knew that,” Kat said in a kind tone, “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story,” Joe deflected. 

“And where exactly do we have plans to go in the middle of a hurricane?” she said sarcastically, and then realized that her tone may have been a bit harsh, “OK, why don’t you go sit down, pour yourself a drink? I was going to have a glass of wine anyway since we don’t have work tomorrow. Then we can both relax a bit and talk. Sound good?”

“…Yeah,” Joe said, somewhat reluctantly, as he still didn’t want to make things weird between them just because he was too weak to deal with this alone.“Just give me a minute.”

———

Three minutes later found Joe sitting at his living room chair beside his desk, and Kat sitting at her kitchen island with a glass of whiskey and red wine respectively.

“OK, explain, why the sudden worry about authenticity?” Kat asked.

“Just a stupid comment that Ca - somebody made. But it really made me think…does everyone see me as just a thousand dollar suit with nothing inside?” he asked, hesitating a bit, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

“What do you mean?” she asked, even more confused now. What the hell did that mean? And had he been about to say Cameron?

“I don’t want to look around one day and realize I have nobody left,” Joe said, echoing Kat’s statement from months ago.

The heaviness with which he repeated her previous statement back to her made her heart nearly stop. Had her snarky remarks really stuck with him? Had she unintentionally done some type of lasting damage to his self esteem? If so, she was just as bad as Cameron. She had to make this right.

“No, Joe. I said that in a moment of anger, and I was just trying to get you to stop acting like a total ass to me. I didn’t mean for it to hurt you. I just needed a way to wake you up and make you see that what you were doing wasn’t OK,” Kat tried to reassure him, “There is nothing wrong with being professional. It’s just about understanding that it’s OK to show the person behind the fancy clothes and sports cars too. That’s what being authentic really is. Opening yourself up, and letting them see the imperfections underneath. The people that matter will accept you just the same either way.”

What did she mean “the people that matter would accept him”? She had seen the imperfections underneath, and seemed not to care, but most people weren’t so easy to please, at least not most people he had ever met.

Joe was silent for a moment, and Kat feared the call had dropped.

“Joe?” she asked, “Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I'm here, and I still feel like I owe you an explanation about what you saw that night after the police station,” Joe changed the subject. He felt strangely indebted to her in a way. She hadn’t asked questions, and had been okay with him not wanting to talk about it, unlike Cam. If Kat said it was okay to be authentic, then maybe it was time he opened up to her a bit more, even if it was painful. She deserved that much after all she had done for him.

“No, Joe you rea -" Kat tried to reason, but Joe cut her off.

“No, Kat. I want to. If anyone deserves the truth, it’s you,” Joe tried to mentally prepare himself to relive the memories he had been trying so hard to push from his mind.

He was silent for a moment and then began tentatively.

“When I was a kid my mom used to bring me up to the roof of our old Victorian to look at the stars. She was wild; experimented with drugs. One day she let go of my hand, and… I fell three stories and landed on a fence in the front yard,” Joe stumbled through the horrible tale in a quiet, monotone voice, knowing that shutting himself down was the only way he could get through it, “I spent most of the next two years in a hospital bed. That’s it. That’s my story.”

Kat was at a loss for words. She had assumed that those scars were the result of something obviously traumatic, but she had no idea it was that extreme. To experience that as a child must have been so hard for him, and for it to have happened at the hands of his own mother…No wonder Joe didn’t trust easily. She could tell by his voice that he was trying desperately to hold himself together for her benefit and it absolutely broke her heart. He shouldn’t have to always sensor himself to make everyone else more comfortable. He deserved to be accepted and understood as he was.

“Kat… you still there?” Joe asked cautiously, a touch of fear creeping into his voice. Had she hung up? Was it too much after all?

“Yeah… I'm still here. I just… umm…Wow,” Kat responded a bit breathlessly, and immediately cringed inside at how insensitive that must have sounded, “I’m sorry, that was so rude of me. That’s just not what I was expecting. Thank you for sharing that with me. I know that must have been hard for you to do.”

“Yeah, well now you see why I don’t talk about my past,” he said, the familiar feeling of self loathing hitting him full force once again.

“Joe, please don’t think I don’t want to hear about this. I was just shocked. I feel honored that you see me as a friend, and that you're willing to share this part of your life with me,” Kat told him sincerely, hoping he believed her. 

“Yeah, well my fucked up family and messy childhood doesn’t usually make for polite dinner conversation, so…” Joe made an attempt at humor but it fell short.

“I can imagine. But I mean, we all have things we don’t talk about. That doesn’t make you less authentic if you don’t want to talk about something deeply personal, it just means you have boundaries,” Kat rationalized.

“Oh yes, I'm sure the perfect Kathleen Emory has lots of scandalous secrets,” Joe laughed hollowly.

“Trust me Joe, my life is far from perfect. I moved out at 18 to get away from my religious nut family, because I was not going to spend my life as some submissive little housewife like they raised me to be. My father subscribed to all that “a woman’s place is in the home” bullshit and my mother went right along with it. They just about had a fucking heart attack when they found out I got into art school, and I had to pay my way through school on my own because “art isn’t a real career.” I minored in business as well, but clearly nothing is ever good enough, because when they found out I landed this job, my father called to give me an hour long lecture about how I’m “distracting respectable men from their work, and how it’s unfair of me to tempt them with my short skirts and high heels. They can’t help their masculine desires.” Because god forbid men be held accountable for their actions and not treat their female colleagues like their personal playthings!” Kat finished bitterly, and then realized that perhaps she had taken her tirade a bit too far. She was just trying to sympathize with his family problems, not go on a full out rant about the sexism of workplace politics. Trying to get back to her point, she took a breath and continued, “OK, sorry, I don’t mean to make this about me, and I’m sure you don’t want to hear me rant about sexist men. What I’m trying to say is, we all have things in our lives that we don’t really talk about. Wanting privacy doesn’t make you a bad person, Joe, and if it does, then I guess I’m one too.”

“Thank you, Kat,” Joe said sincerely. He was a bit taken aback by the flood of information she had just presented him with, but was grateful for her support all the same, “Alright, well, I won’t monopolize any more of your time. I need to let Gordon and Cameron know not to come in tomorrow, and I’m sure you would rather be doing something with your evening so…” Joe trailed off, not quite wanting their conversation to end, but knowing that it had to. It had been a very long time since someone had shown him kindness like this, and he honestly didn’t know how to handle it. He was way too emotionally wiped out and knew that he would completely break down on the phone with her if he didn’t stop now.

“Joe wait,” Kat interrupted, “If you got stuck in the hurricane or had a problem, do you have anyone you would call?”

Joe was caught off guard once again. In all honesty he hadn’t really thought about it. “Um, no. I don’t think so,” he answered, wondering what she was getting at.

“Well, you do now,” Kat said with renewed confidence, “If you ever need anything don’t hesitate to call me OK?”

An odd sense of comfort came to Joe at that moment that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Someone out there genuinely cared if he lived or died, and not just because he was bringing in big money for their company, or giving them a leg up in the business. She didn’t want anything from him. She actually cared about him.  Imperfect, over ambitious, stubborn, Joe MacMillan . He couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something for him without expecting something in return. This woman was undoubtedly one in a million, Joe thought, feeling a strange warmth spread through his chest. Well that, or totally crazy.

“Thank you, Kat. Same goes for you. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to give me a call,” Joe said tightly, trying hard to keep his emotions in check.

“Have a good night Joe,” Kat said, in a softer voice, hoping he understood how much she meant everything she had said.

“Bye Kat,” Joe said, at last placing the phone back on its receiver. Sighing deeply, Joe dropped his head in his hands, and finally released the tears that had been slowly gathering in his eyes.

Somebody actually cared.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Kat sat on her living room couch reading a book that Janet had recommended, plagued by insomnia yet again, when her phone rang. She tossed her book down haphazardly onto the coffee table and padded into the kitchen to answer it before the caller hung up. 

“Hello, Kathleen Emory speaking,” she answered after the fourth ring, easily slipping into her customer service voice after so many years at Cardiff.

“Kat? It’s Joe,” a deep voice said on the other end of the line, trembling slightly.

Her pulse quickened a beat. Not only because her friend and boss that she had rather strong feelings for was calling her at home at 12am, but because something had to be wrong. It wasn’t like Joe to sound unsure about anything. That man could sell water to a fish.

“Hey Joe, what can I do for you?” she asked kindly, hoping everything was OK and that she simply misheard.

“Umm…” Joe stumbled over his words, “I’m sorry to be calling you so late. I know you're probably busy, but i-is there any way that you could pick me up at the Plaza Hotel?

“What? I thought you had to go to that art show tonight?” she asked in confusion. Why was he at the Plaza? And why didn’t he have his car?

“…Listen, it’s a long story,” Joe began hesitantly, as though it deeply damaged his pride to ask for help, “If you could just give me a lift back to my apartment I would really appreciate it. I can reimburse you for gas if that’s a problem.”

“Yeah, of course I can pick you up. And don’t worry about gas. That’s fine. Ummm…” she paused, realizing she was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and her lacy black panties. That was a problem. Well… no, Kat! Get your mind out of the gutter, she reprimanded herself internally. He was her friend, and he needed help. Besides, even if he was interested in her, there was no way she was ready to jump to… that… so quickly. 

He would never be interested in someone like you anyway, so stop fooling yourself. It’s not like you have anything in the way of looks to offer a guy like Joe , the bitter voice of her insecurities reminded her cruelly.

“What?” Joe questioned her, sounding slightly frustrated at her pause; perhaps thinking she was going to change her mind.

“Oh, nothing bad. I just need to get dressed real quick and grab my purse. I should be there in about 25 minutes,” she said, frantically scrambling to her bedroom in search of suitable clothing.

“Thanks,” Joe said in a clipped tone.

“No…” the phone line went dead, “…problem,” she finished to herself in a sarcastic tone. Rolling her eyes, she hastily fastened her jeans, followed up by her bra, the same oversized t-shirt, and lastly a jean jacket on her way out the door. At first, she had considered putting on a bit of makeup, but ultimately decided to forgo it. It’s not like he could have expected her to be in full makeup at 12am on a Tuesday anyway. Grabbing her keys from her purse she quickly locked the front door and made her way downstairs and out to her car.

———

Looking back on that night, regardless of how much he had tried to deny it in the moment, Joe felt a massive wave of relief wash over him as Kat’s cherry red '83 Mustang turned into the parking lot of the Plaza. She was one of the few people he knew he could rely on, and actually felt safe and comfortable around. It was the first time he had truly felt that way about someone and to be completely honest, part of him felt terrified by it.

He had previously believed Cameron shared an equal position in that regard. That was, up until she told their taxi driver to leave him stranded about a half hour prior. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that this had more to do with his sexuality than anything Simon could have ever said to her in the gallery. She claimed not to care that he had interest in men and women alike, when, in reality, she didn’t care about anything or anyone, period. Seeing the last vestiges of the very real love that he and his ex had once shared must have been the breaking point for her cold, black heart. 

In a cruel twist of fate, she had no idea that Simon had just been removed painfully, yet effectively from his life permanently, Joe reflected bitterly.

Joe let out a shaky breath in an attempt to calm his nerves and regulate his emotions as Kat’s car pulled up next to him. He opened the front passenger side door and slid wordlessly in, buckling his seatbelt without looking at her. 

“Hey, you OK?” Kat asked in a soft voice, clearly registering his discomfort, despite his attempts at masking it.

Joe nodded his head sharply and swallowed, knowing that in his current state, if he opened his mouth he would likely not be able to stop himself from breaking down in front of her. It was all too much. Cameron, Simon, the Giant, everything! 

For such an all around intense person, Kat had an annoyingly comforting demeanor when speaking to those she cared about. It made people want to unburden all of their soul's hardships, regardless of the consequences. Joe knew first hand that he was especially susceptible to this bizarre charm of hers, having already spilled his secrets to her on more than one occasion. How he had made his way into that special group of people that she considered worthy of her affection, he would never know. He sure as hell didn’t deserve it.

“Yeah,” Joe responded, clearing his throat, “I’m fine.”

“OK,” she responded, clearly not buying it, but at the same time not pushing the subject. There would be time for that when he was ready, “Let’s head back to your apartment. You're downtown, right? On Main Street?”

“Yeah,” Joe replied with an exhausted sigh, leaning his aching head against the cool glass of the window.

They drove in slightly uncomfortable silence for several minutes, only broken by Joe’s periodical half-hearted directions. After about 10 minutes, they parked outside Joe’s apartment complex.

“Thank you for the ride,” Joe said, stepping out of her car, “Here, how much do you need for gas?”

“No, seriously Joe, don’t worry about it,” Kat waved him off for the second time.

“No, I insist. You took time out of your night to help me out. It’s the least I can do," Joe said firmly, reaching back for his wallet. He flipped it open only to realize… “Damnit!”

“What’s wrong?” Kat asked, confused.

“I don’t have any cash on me, only my card,” Joe replied, having intentionally not brought any to that sleazy strip club, “Tell you what, why don’t you come up to my apartment for a cup of coffee or something, and I can give you the money. That is, if you don’t have somewhere else to be.”

“Where the hell would I have to be at 1am? ” Kat laughed, thinking that she was being dragged out of bed to help this man entirely too often. “Well, if you’re sure, I guess a cup of coffee wouldn’t hurt. Especially since I have to stay awake for the drive home.

“Great!” Joe said, closing the car door and making his way to the front door of his building, holding it open as Kat made her way over.

———

Once up in Joe’s apartment however, plans changed considerably. A cup of coffee turned into a glass of wine, and giving her 20 dollars and sending her on her way turned into them sitting together on Joe's living room floor chatting.

“Thanks again for the ride. I really appreciate it,” Joe said sincerely. He leaned forward to reach for his glass then winced the tiniest bit. It was quick, but Kat caught it.

“Hey, are you sure you’re OK?” she asked.

“Yeah, just a headache. Long week,” he admitted.

“What did I say about working yourself into the ground? Let me get you some ibuprofen or something,” Kat started to get to her feet, ready to jump into action.

“Yeah, alright. Thanks,” Joe said, rubbing a hand over his face. “It’s in the bathroom. Top shelf of the vanity cabinet.” 

“OK, hold on,” she said, walking over to the bathroom.

After a moment of searching, she found the bottle of Advil, and walked back to the living room placing it in Joe's hand. Before she could offer to get him a glass of water, he had already dry-swallowed 2 pills and placed the bottle off to the side.

“Thank you,” he said, leaning back on his hands.

“No problem,” Kat said, taking her place back on the floor across from him. “Now, do you want to tell me what really happened tonight?”

“Not particularly,” Joe said coolly, and Kat could see him mentally reassembling his walls.

“Hey, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to,” she reasoned, “It just seems like you're having a tough day and I know that talking it through can help sometimes,” 

“I haven’t had that luxury since I was 12. I am fine on my own, Kat. I always have been,” Joe set his jaw, trying desperately not to give in to his desire for comfort. Perhaps this was the result of being told to man up one too many times in his youth. His Navy SEAL father didn’t exactly support emotional expression.

“But do you want to be?” Kat asked softly, moving her hand towards his, and when he did not retreat, she finally rested her hand atop his much larger one.

At the gentle touch of her hand, something broke inside of Joe. A crack had been slowly forming in the seemingly impenetrable dam around his heart ever since he met Kat, and in this moment it at last split wide open. For the first time in years, he found himself willingly seeking solace outside of the bedroom. He squeezed her hand as though it was a lifeline, giving him the courage to respond.

“No,” he whispered, as though admitting it too loudly may cause the world to come crashing down on them both, “No, I don’t.”

“Does this have to do with Cameron?” she asked, attempting to hide her disdain for the blonde coder.

“Kind of,” he responded vaguely, considering how much he should tell her, “She left me at the Plaza. That’s why I needed a ride.”

“What?” Kat exclaimed, offended on his behalf, “It was 12am! You couldn’t have very well had the front desk call you a cab. Everyone had probably clocked out for the night!”

“Which is why I called you,” Joe replied with a small, thankful smile.

“But, did you two fight? Why did she leave you there?” Kat asked. And why the hell had he been there in the first place, she wondered, having still not gotten an answer about that.

“…Something like that,” Joe replied, retreating into himself again. Did he want to reveal his sexuality to her? Not many people took too kindly to it. Cam being a prime example. Did he want to run the risk of  ruining the one friendship that he had right now?

Joe was pulled from his reverie by Kat squeezing his hand.

“You can tell me. You know I won’t judge,” she reassured him.

It was true. She had seen his scars the night she picked him up from the police station. She had patched him up, and looked after him when nobody else cared. She had brought him coffee and food when his father was in town, and she noticed that he wasn’t eating from the stress of it all. She had called him during the hurricane, and they talked for hours, getting probably far too personal about their childhoods. She had yet to let him down or treat him differently after learning of his messy past. Then again, Cameron had seemed to be relatively accepting of his orientation too at first.

Joe blew out a breath, grounding himself. Here goes nothing, he thought.

“You know the man that came into the office this week? To design the case for the Giant,” Joe began, feeling his heart rate pick up in anxiety.

“Yeah,” she affirmed, “Simon Church, right? He worked on the DeLorean.”

“Yeah, him,” Joe paused, gathering his thoughts like he would in a sales pitch, “He wasn’t there for just the Giant.”

“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow.

“He may be the designer of the case, but he is also an old… friend,” he lied, having lost his nerve at the last minute. Coward, his inner voice screamed at him. Joe averted his gaze, hating himself for being dishonest with her when she had done nothing but help him.

“Oh, OK,” Kat wasn’t surprised. They seemed to have already known each other.

Joe felt sick knowing that he had just lied straight to her face. He made a living off of lying about anything and everything, but it felt so wrong with her. After everything she has told you about her life, you can’t even tell her that you’ve dated men, he thought angrily, disgusted by his own weakness. It made him feel far worse than he already had, and in a way it felt like he was taking advantage of her kindness.

With a shaky breath, trying to recall all of the kind things she had ever said to him in case he never heard them again, Joe decided it was now or never. Even if she hated him after, at least he would have been honest with her.

“Kat… I’m sorry, that wasn’t entirely honest of me,” he paused to steady himself, “H-he… was actually my ex from 10 years ago.” Joe rushed the words out, hoping that maybe the faster he said it, the quicker this would all be over with.

“Oh,” Kat looked up at Joe in slight surprise, but didn’t seem in any way uncomfortable with the information, “That’s it?”

“What do you mean “that’s it?” Don’t you have something to say? It seems like everyone does,” Joe said, a bitter tone creeping into his voice.

“Joe, why would I judge you for who you are attracted to? You don’t choose who you love, you just love them. It’s just who you are. Anyone who thinks otherwise can go to hell. Besides, I would be rather hypocritical if I were to judge you, considering I don’t really consider myself straight either. I lean more towards men, but if I like someone, then I like them, simple as that. It doesn’t matter their gender,” Kat said firmly.

Joe was at a loss for words. The thing he had wanted to hear his whole life was just uttered by a woman who he had known for less than a year, while drinking wine on his living room floor at 1:30 in the morning. And she wasn’t straight either? Was this real life? Was he hallucinating? He was so mentally and physically exhausted that he caved upon hearing her words of affirmation. 

“Hey, it’s O-“ the next thing Kat knew, Joe was hugging her tight from his place next to her on the floor. Kat felt as though her whole body was being engulfed by him, and she definitely wasn’t complaining. They stayed like that for a moment, and then Joe pulled back as if suddenly realizing the very out of character thing he had just done.

“I-I’m sorry,” Joe stuttered, a far cry from his usual articulate self, “I shouldn’t have just-“

“Oh nonsense!” Kat cut him off, “You can hug me all you want. Don’t apologize for being human, Joe.”

Joe sat there in shock and wonder, staring at this amazing woman who had somehow in five minutes made him feel more loved and accepted than his parents or any romantic partner ever had in his 35 years of life. So shocked that when she scooted over closer to him and placed a soothing hand on his back that he leaned into her touch without a second thought.

“Now, I take it from your reluctance to tell me that Cameron didn’t react well?” Kat prompted, running her right hand up and down his muscular back.

“Ha!” Joe laughed bitterly, “Things seemed OK at first. She said that she, and I quote, “didn’t give a shit that he was a man,” but I’m pretty sure Simon talked to her at the gallery, and after that she wasn’t so accepting. I wasn’t there though. Bosworth needed my help consulting with another designer for the case, since it seemed like Simon was out. I don’t know exactly what he said to her, but from what I gathered, it was about our past. After I got to the gallery, and had to peel her drunk ass off the floor, she refused to speak to me on the cab ride to drop Simon off at The Plaza.”

“How did you end up stranded there?” Kat asked.

“Well, I got out of the car after him to try and talk him into giving Cardiff another chance, and we got to talking about the old days… as you can imagine, she didn’t like that,” Joe said, his mind seeming somewhere else entirely. 

“That’s not all, is it?” she questioned, seeing the pain in his eyes.

Joe shook his head sadly.

“The fucked up part is that she didn’t even have to worry about him being competition. The reason he agreed to do the case wasn’t just to make some money and get his name out there,” Joe's voice once again caught in his throat, words only coming out as a hoarse whisper, “He’s sick… and he just came to say goodbye.” His voice gave out a bit, sounding raspy and broken. A single tear rolled down his cheek and he ducked his head in an effort to hide it.

“Oh, Joe, I'm so sorry!” she said softly, wishing she could think of something better to say, but not wanting to intrude on his grief.

“Yeah,” Joe said, his voice raw, “Me too.”

“Come here,” she beckoned, opening her arms to him.

“N-no, I’m fine rea -”

“Joe! For the love of God, just let me hug you,” Kat exclaimed in exasperation, her fiery personality rearing its head yet again.

With a heavy sight, Joe gave in, all the fight leaving his body. He turned at the waist, keeping his mile long legs stretched out in front of him, and leaned into her touch and let her wrap him up in her much smaller arms. He couldn’t help but take note, not for the first time, that for such a tiny person she was quite strong. Even though she was about a foot and a half shorter than him, she somehow managed to make him feel as though he was in his own protective bubble, shielded from the harsh realities of the world, if only for this fleeting moment. This was a feeling that he hadn’t felt since his mom was forced out of his life forever, a thought which was entirely too heavy to process at the moment.

“It’s OK to cry, you know,” Kat spoke in his ear reassuringly, stroking his over-styled hair. It was softer than she had imagined, she mused to herself. Not that she had ever imagined… anyway, “It’s healthy, especially after a day like you’ve had. I won’t judge,” she repeated once again.

Joe made no reply, but eventually Kat felt silent tears dropping one by one onto her shoulder. While she didn’t like that he felt the need to keep his grief quiet, she was happy that he felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with her. She was sure that this was a sight seen by very few. Definitely not Cameron, that’s for damn sure.

After a few moments Kat felt his breathing slow, and his weight pushing heavily on her, his face nuzzling subconsciously into her neck. He was falling asleep. Whether that was from emotional exhaustion, the wine, or a combination of the two she didn’t know, but she did know that he couldn’t sleep all night on the floor, and she sure as hell couldn’t lift him.

“Joe,” Kat prompted gently, slightly shaking his shoulder with the hand that wasn’t attempting to keep him somewhat upright, “Hey, you need to wake up for a minute.”

“Hmm…” he mumbled sleepily, slowly coming back to himself, “Oh… God, Kathleen, I’m so -“

“Hey,” she interrupted, “What did I just say, hmm? Stop apologizing. I just thought that you wouldn’t want to sleep on the floor.”

“Right…yeah. Uh…thanks,” Joe slurred his words slightly, getting unsteadily to his feet, clearly ready to drop. He had probably been getting even less sleep than she had, with him working long after he told her to head home. She heard someone say that he and Cam had been there until after 2am on Tuesday.

“Let me help you,” Kat offered, standing up and grabbing his arm for stability without waiting for a response.

They made their way to his bedroom cautiously, as Joe was quite drowsy, leaning heavily on the wall so as to not crush Kat under his weight. She eventually got him to his bed and he all but flopped into it, lacking all of his usual grace and precision. 

“Joe, do you want to get changed into something more comfortable?” Kat asked, surveying the tall man spread out on the bed before her.

“Mmm… huh?” Joe mumbled, not opening his eyes.

Deciding he was a lost cause, she went to grab the bottle of Advil from the living room, pausing in the kitchen to fill a glass of water. Returning to the bedroom, she placed them down on the night stand at the left side of the bed.

“Joe? I’m heading out. Are you going to be OK?” she asked, gently tapping his shoulder.

“Hmm?” he murmured, sleepy and confused, “No, stay.”

“What? Joe I need to get home, we have w-” she started, but he cut her off.

“Please?” Joe asks in a strange mix between mumble and a whine that would normally annoy her, but after everything he had been through today, shot a pang of sympathy through her heart. 

“OK fine, I'll stay, but-” before she could continue, he had pulled her down onto the bed, and cuddled up to her side, resting his head against hers. She knew he must have been really out if it, because he would NEVER be this openly affectionate to anyone in his right mind, but if that’s what he needed after the awful news he had just received, who was she to deny him?

“Kat… th’k you fo’ e’rythin’…” Joe tried to thank her, but as he was half asleep it was damn near impossible to understand. She couldn’t help but think that this exhausted, broken man couldn’t be more different from how she made him out to be months prior. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about anything other than himself. In reality he cared too much, and had been hurt too many times. It was his way of survival. Not dissimilar to hers.

“Shh,” Kat whispered, putting a finger to his lips to quiet him, “We can talk tomorrow. You need to sleep.” 

“...Mmmkay,” he responded, as sleep nearly claimed him, “L’ve you Kat.” 

Kat froze where she lay next to him. Did he… oh God! Did he just say he loved her? No, he couldn’t have… could he? But then she thought back to the feelings that she had been trying so hard to suppress ever since their conversation in the conference room, and she realized that she might have heard him correctly. Maybe? How the fuck was she supposed to respond to that? She was pretty sure that she might love him too, but she didn’t want to say anything until she was sure. It wouldn’t be fair to him for her to change her mind later. And what if he just mean a platonic kind of love and she was blowing this way out of purporting?! Breath Kat, she tried to calm herself. There would be time to talk about it in the morning. Right now she was exhausted, and she needed to have her head on right for this conversation.

“I… think I might love you too Joe… I… I definitely have feelings for you. I just don't want to say it yet if they aren’t real,” she said breathlessly, stumbling over her words. She slowly leaned over to gently plant a soft kiss on his forehead. Her heartfelt confession was met with a rather loud snore.

She laughed quietly to herself. Well, so much for her big moment. Whatever, she reasoned, there would be plenty of time for that later.

Kat eased herself down to rest her head on his solid chest and intertwined her fingers with his. As she drifted into blissful sleep, her only thoughts were of the rhythmic beat of his heart and the soothing scent of his designer cologne. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

Bright morning light poured unrelentingly through the floor to ceiling glass windows of Joe's apartment, shining directly into Kat’s eyes, effectively pulling her from her peaceful sleep.  Becoming aware of her surroundings, she felt momentarily confused, her apartment was never this light in the morning, as her bedroom windows faced west. As she attempted to roll over, the weight of an arm draped over her stopped her in her tracks; memories of the previous night flooding back in rapid succession.

Joe's phone call. 

A glass of wine in his apartment. 

Joe telling her about his ex. 

Him telling her he loved her while half asleep… 

They had fallen asleep somewhere around 3am, and by the looks of it, they had seriously overslept. 

Shit, she thought as she tried to roll on to her right side to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. Yep, 10:37. Fuck! They were over 3 hours late for work!

Kat made to scramble out of bed, but as she moved, Joe's right arm tightened around her, holding her firmly in place. He mumbled something unintelligible and remained sound asleep. She attempted to pry his arm off of her, but as she shifted her weight, she caught a glimpse of his face and stopped. He looked truly relaxed for the first time in the months that she had known him. His features were smooth and free of stress. Even the seemingly ever present crease between his eyebrows had slightly diminished since the night before.

She couldn’t bring herself to wake him. This might very well be the only good night of rest he had gotten in weeks, not to mention the emotional hell he had been through in the last 24 hours. If there was ever a man who deserved to take a day off, it was Joe. And you know what, screw it,  she deserved one too. She had taken all of one sick day in the last two years, and she had been up all night as well.

Kat finally managed to gently worm her way out of Joe's tight embrace and quietly padded out of the bedroom in search of his landline. She found it sitting predictably on his desk.

Now how to explain why she and her boss were both out of work on the same day without making it look suspicious. She supposed just telling the girls from HR that a last minute emergency came up and Joe had given her the day off would be her best bet. Dialing the number for Cardiff, She was thankful that unlike more advanced tech companies, Cardiff didn’t have caller ID technology on their phone system yet, so they wouldn’t know she was calling from her boss’s apartment.

As the phone rang Kat rehearsed her story in her head. It had to at least be somewhat believable. Please let Kelly answer, she thought silently. At least she won’t ask questions.

“Hello, this is Lauren Richardson, Human Resources,” an entirely too cheery voice answered. Kat groaned internally. Great, of course nosey Lauren had to pick up the phone. She was always in everyone’s business. It was too damn early for this.

“Hello, this is Kathleen Emory. I need to call in a personal day on behalf of Joseph MacMillan. He had an unexpected personal matter arise this morning and called me to see if I could make HR aware that he would not be in today, as he would be busy by the time everyone got into the office. I would also like to make sure that it is noted that he gave me the day off today,” Kat spoke matter-of-factly, hoping she sounded confident. She wasn’t lying. He did have a personal matter come up, in the name of Simon's tragic news, and he did give her the day off… he just didn’t know it yet.

“Oh, he gave you the day off?” the once cheery voice turned icy as she seemed to doubt Kat’s story, “Are you sure about that? He gave you the time off that wasn’t scheduled? Didn’t you just take a day off a few months back? We really need all hands on deck right now.”

Kat’s blood boiled. How dare she! She had taken only that one sick day in her entire time at Cardiff. Not to mention that she hadn’t even physically been able to make it into work if she tried. Taking a deep breath she tried to continue in a calm tone.

“I assisted him in securing the deal with Simon Church late last night, and as a thank you, he gave me the day off today as I didn’t get home until after 1am,” Kat elaborated, hoping this would discourage any further questions. She didn't want to feed into any of the office ladies’ gossip.

“OK, well if you're sure-”

“Yes, I am sure,” Kat cut her off, “Have a nice day.”

With that, she set the phone unceremoniously back on its receiver. God, she thought, this ought to be good tomorrow. She didn’t need people gossiping about her and Joe when she didn’t even know where she stood with him. Not after what was said last night. If he even remembers, she thought somewhat bitterly. 

Would that even be such a bad thing though? It made no sense to get her hopes up when he probably hadn’t even meant it. Joe clearly hadn’t been in his right mind at the time. It would be unfair of her to hold him to something he said while practically unconscious.

Kat didn’t have much more time to ponder this though, as a deep voice from the bedroom ripped her from her warring internal monologue, and planted her firmly back in reality.

“Damnit! Kat?!” Joe shouted, clearly having woken and realized the time.

“Right here Joe,” Kat said, poking her head into the bedroom.

“We’re late! Do you have any idea wha-”

Joe was interrupted from his frantic mad dash to find work clothes by Kat placing a hand on his arm, stopping him mid-reach for a white button up.

“Joe, relax. I called us both out for the day. We both had a hell of a night, and God knows you needed the sleep,” Kat explained.

“But what about-”

“You can worry about it tomorrow,” Kat said sternly, not unlike a mother scolding an overactive child, “We are both chronic workaholics, and I have taken a grand total of one sick day in two years. Knowing you, I doubt you're any different. We will be fine. The project can survive without us for one day. You closed a huge deel last night, and now we are ahead of schedule. Take some time for yourself for once. You have been pushing yourself too hard, and if you keep going at this rate you're going to burn out.”

Joe reluctantly sat back down on the bed, the adrenaline from his panic slowly seeping out of his still tired body.

“Fine,” he agreed after a moment, rubbing his large hand across his still sleep-weary eyes.

How was she supposed to bring up last night without making it weird? She couldn’t very well just walk up to him and ask, “Hey, so I know you were half asleep last night, but are you really in love with me?” That would go well (not).

She guessed she would try to ease into it. Kat walked over and sat down next to Joe, and cautiously she placed her hand on his upper arm.

“Are you feeling any better?” she looked into his face, trying to read his emotions.

Turning to face her, he answered, “Yeah, a bit. I guess as good as to be expected… considering…” he trailed off, clearly thinking back to his conversation with Simon.

“Good, well I’m glad you at least got some sleep. You were practically dead on your feet last night. I could hardly haul you in here,” Kat joked lightheartedly, hoping to steer the conversation in her desired direction, “How do I always end up having to carry you and not the other way around? I don’t know if you noticed but I’m not exactly gifted in the height department.”

Joe laughed despite his sadness, but quickly turned serious as if it was too soon for laughter. The news of his ex’s terminal illness was still fresh after all.

“I’m really sorry about that, Kat. You’ve been so great looking out for me, and it’s so wrong of me to ask what I did of you. I’m your boss, and I’ve crossed so many lines. God, I shouldn’t have invited you up last night. This whole thing is so unprofessional on my part,” he paused and looked away from her, “I hope you can forgive me,” Joe said sincerely.

“Joe, what did I say last night?” Kat raised an eyebrow, “You’re human. It’s OK to ask for help. And as I recall, you called me as a friend, not as my boss. Not everything has to be about work.”

Joe nodded in understanding, even offering a gentle smile, but remained silent, refusing to meet her gaze.

“About last night though,” Kat continued anxiously hesitating a bit, “Do… ummm, do you remember everything that you said?”

A look of fear and surprise flashed across Joe’s face, and he sighed once again. Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, he replied unreadably, “Yes, I do remember.”

Kat waited on baited breath for him to continue, only for him to suddenly stand up and turn to face her.

“Look, let’s have this conversation once I have some caffeine in me, and I’m sure you will feel more comfortable after a shower. We can discuss this after, OK? How does that sound?” Joe asked, almost as if he was making a sales pitch. She had noticed he did that whenever he felt out of control. Always back to the old mask, she thought.

“OK,” she said more confidently than she felt.

——-

Fuck! Joe thought angrily as he turned on his coffee pot. He had hoped it had all been a dream, but nope! He really had told her that he loved her, and now she must be so uncomfortable. Not to mention that he practically dragged her into bed with him! Way to go MacMillan, he chastised himself. Just when you find someone who doesn’t hate your guts or just want to get into your pants, and you fuck it all up! Now you’ve probably lost the only actual friend you have in Dallas and you’ll be lucky to get out of this without a lawsuit on your hands.

I should grab her something else to wear. It’s the least I can do, he thought, walking into the bedroom. He took comfort in the faint sounds of Kat singing in the shower. Hopefully that meant she wasn’t too upset with him. Selfishly, he really hoped that she wouldn’t complain to his higher-ups, as another office scandal is the last thing they needed this close to COMDEX. He hadn’t meant for his actions to come off the way they had, and if he had been thinking clearly he never would have even invited her up in the first place no matter how low he was feeling.

After a moment of searching through his immaculately organized closet, he was able to locate a white T-Shirt and a pair of exercise pants that had a vague hope of fitting her comparatively tiny frame; with considerable adjustments, of course. Leaving the clothes in a neat pile at the foot of his bed, he headed back to the kitchen to pour his coffee, thinking absently that if he had been a man of faith, he would be praying to every deity out there right now for the strength to get through this day. 

———

Kat stood under the shower spray humming softly to herself. If I sing, maybe I can distract myself from how much I feel like throwing up right now, she thought, her anxiety building with every passing minute. 

He said that he remembered, but what exactly did that even mean? Did he just remember telling her about his sexuality? About Simon? Did he actually remember? And if he did, what if he just meant it in a friendly way, and she was stupidly getting her hopes up? Even if he was interested in her romantically, she had probably blown the whole thing by not saying it back like he had surely wanted! Good going Kat, she thought bitterly. Get into bed with your boss after several glasses of wine, and then tell him you only might feel love towards him after he pours his heart out to you! What could go wrong? Not to mention that there’s a small chance that his motives might not have been as innocent as they had seemed. Would he have taken advantage of the situation if he had been awake enough? She liked to think that as her friend, he respected her enough not to try anything, but you never know with men. And it’s not like she had exactly refused. Either way, she was so going to be fired.

Resigning herself to her fate, Kat rinsed the last of the soap from her body and stepped out of the shower to towel off. Once she was dry, she threw her hair up into a messy bun, and slipped on her clothes from the previous night.

In hindsight, she wished she had just dropped him off and left last night. She didn’t have any clean clothes, hair brush or makeup, so she must look wonderful right now. A shower could only fix so much. The jeans had just been put on right before she left, but after wearing her shirt since arriving home from work the previous day, and then sleeping in, it couldn’t have smelled too great.

Kat was saved from her worries however, when she exited the bathroom and found the clothes that Joe had laid out.

OK, so at least he doesn’t totally hate me, she thought with slight relief, setting aside the insanely long sweatpants and picking up the T-Shirt. It was about a mile too big and made her feel like a kid playing dress up, but after tucking it into her jeans, she looked somewhat presentable. 

She had to admit, even past partners wouldn’t have been nice enough to give her something to wear in a situation like this, never mind her friend who she had possibly just ruined things with. This prospect gave her a tiny sliver of hope that maybe it would all be OK.

With one last deep breath, she smoothed out the shirt and stepped out of the bedroom.

Time to face the music.

———

However upon entering the kitchen she was not greeted with a serious Joe, sipping his coffee as he planned which way best to fire her. Instead, she found Joe standing at his kitchen counter, adding creamer to a cup of coffee. 

“Here you go,” Joe said, holding the mug out to her, along with a bagel with cream cheese and blackberry jam, like he had seen her eat on occasion when she had been forced to eat breakfast at her desk due to their crazy schedules. “I figured if we need to have this conversation, we might as well eat. Why don’t you go sit?”

Kat just nodded, trying to maintain her composure as she made her way over to the dining table. She felt so confused. She could normally read Joe so easily, but right now she had no clue what was happening inside his head. 

Once they were both settled at his dining room table, Kat took a sip of her coffee and began.

“Look, Joe, I understand that I completely overstepped last night by staying and I never meant to make anything weird between us. I know I should have just -” 

“Kat,” Joe cut her off, “What do you mean what you overstepped? You did nothing wrong. I put you in an incredibly uncomfortable situation, and for me as your boss, and as a person, to make you feel pressured in any way to say or do something that you didn’t want to is completely inexcusable. You hold no blame in this. I mean, Hell Kat, I pulled you into bed with me!”

Kat felt even more confused. This isn’t what she had expected at all. He didn’t want an apology, she wondered. Yeah he had pulled her into bed, but it had been her fault for leading him on right? 

Suddenly she was reminded of their phone call a few weeks ago, and she suddenly realized where she had been going wrong this whole time. She was letting those old words from her father seep back into her subconscious again, and the realization hit her like a truck. Joe wasn’t mad at her, because he was right. She didn’t do anything to lead him on other than offer a hug and a listening ear. She had just been doing what she would have for anyone that she cared about. She hadn’t done anything to make him assume she wanted more. Well, at least until the whole “I love you” thing. 

“So I’m not being fired?” Kat asked wearily.

“God no!” Joe looked as if someone had slapped him, “You're a great person and an amazing friend, not to mention the best secretary I have ever had. I hope you still consider me a friend too after all of this. If anyone deserves to be fired here, it’s me.“ 

Kat smiled softly. “Thank you Joe. I appreciate you saying that, and of course I still consider you a friend. You didn't do anything wrong either. While this may have been an unconventional situation, you were never disrespectful to me, and it really shows the kind of person that you are that you care so much about how I feel about all of this,” she reached over and squeezed his hand, “But… for the record…” she hesitated, trying to prepare herself for the massive leap of faith she was about to take, “I wouldn’t be mad if you really meant what you said when you were half asleep.” 

“What do you mean?” Joe asked anxiously. Were they on the same page here? He wondered, now he couldn’t help but feel like they were both just confusing each other.

Kat took a deep breath, bringing her empty plate into the kitchen and placing it in the sink to stall for time. Joe did the same with his, and soon they were face to face once again.

“Joe… you didn’t make me feel pressured. Do you remember what you said just before you fell asleep?” Kat asked, needing clarification before moving forward.

“I do,” he nodded, swallowing hard.

It felt like a massive weight was lifted off of Kat’s shoulders. At least she knew that he remembered what he had said, and even if he didn’t see her in a romantic light, hopefully they could move forward, even with the knowledge of her feelings. She was done beating around the bush.

“I meant what I said. I… I do have strong feelings for you, and they very well could be love. It's just been a long time since I’ve felt that way for someone, and I swore to myself after my last relationship went up in flames that I was done dating men, especially men that I work with. I really care about you, Joe, and I know how it feels to have someone play with your heart. I won’t do that to you. That’s why I can’t say that I love you for sure, at least… not yet,” she finished her rant, not looking him in the eye, “And if you didn’t mean it like that… then I’ve just made a massive fool of myself.”

“Kat,” Joe lifted her chin to meet his eyes, “You’re not  making a fool of yourself.”

——-

Joe couldn’t believe what he had just heard. She wasn’t upset or uncomfortable about what he had done last night when she had every right to be. She was only upset because she didn’t want to hurt him if she didn’t feel the same way for sure. There were times when he wondered how this woman was even real. He had never met anyone with a bigger heart in his life.

“Kat, you have shown me more love and kindness in the last few months as my friend, than anyone has in my whole life,” he paused, making sure she understood the gravity of his words, “You're smart, funny, the kindest person I know, and frankly anyone who can put up with me on a daily basis is pretty damn strong. You’ve lit up my world, and I really can’t imagine my life without you, as a friend or otherwise…” he took hold of her much smaller hands, “To be honest, having my heart broken by someone as amazing as you would be a privilege. I understand that you aren’t completely sure if you feel the same way, but do you maybe want to give this a try? See if you really do feel the same?”

“What about Cameron?” Kat avoided his questions for a moment. Even if she did care about him greatly, she refused to be the other woman. 

“She… has made it clear what her opinion of me is, and her constant negativity and scrutiny of every choice I make is not something I want to put myself through any longer. Besides, things have been fizzling out for a while now, and leaving me at the hotel last night pretty much put the nail in the coffin,” Joe explained, reassuring her.

“Well… if that’s the case, and things between you too really are over… I guess we can give this a try,” Kat tightened her grip on his hands, stepping closer.

Joe couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across his. How this amazing woman was willing to take a chance on him, he had no idea, but he had never been happier.

———

Suddenly Kat felt herself lifted high into the air to come face to face with Joe.

“Aah!” she shrieked, her legs gripping around his waist for stability and her hands grasped his shoulders, “Joe! What the hell are you doing?”

“Well,” he began with a sly smile, “You did say earlier that it was your turn to be carried around for a change.”

“I did, didn't I?” she smiled, looping her arms around his neck, settling into the feeling of his strong arms around her.

Before she knew it his lips were on hers, and Kat more than happily reciprocated. Her hands found their way into his thick hair and his arms wrapped tighter around her waist. Kat felt like she was drowning in the intoxicating feel of his body pressed against her. Everything about him made her feel more alive. She realized now just how long she had been waiting and fantasizing about something like this and it all felt too good to be true. When his tongue bushed softly against her lips, asking for access, Kat felt like her whole body could just melt then and there. How she had managed to get this gorgeous man to see something in her, she had no clue, but she was sure as hell not complaining. After a moment more, they finally broke apart, their lungs forcing them to come up for air.

“I think I could get used to this,” Kat smiled at him, still somewhat dazed.

“Me too, Kat, me too,” he replied, his smile for once fully reaching his eyes. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

“Why the hell are you taking her to COMDEX? She doesn’t even know anything about computers, let alone how the Giant works!” Cameron barged into Joe's office angrily, leaning over his desk to glare at him.

“First of all, We have been over this before. You can’t just come in here whenever you feel like it. Now at least close the door behind you,” Joe said, pointing at the door, which currently stood wide open for everyone to hear their conversation.

Cam groaned in annoyance and walked back to the door, closing it with a slam.

“Better?” she asked sarcastically.

“Not really. Now, last I checked, it is not your place to decide who I do or do not take to COMDEX. Those decisions are above your pay grade, Cameron,” Joe replied coolly, speaking her name as if it deeply inconvenienced him,” And if you must know… I am taking Kathleen with me, because I will need someone to help me manage my schedule while I’m there, take notes at meetings, and make a record of any companies interested in working with us. All things within the skill set of a secretary, Cameron, not a coder.”

“Above my pay grade? Since when have you given a shit about my pay grade?” Cam spluttered, offended.

“Since you proved to me that you clearly can’t separate your work life from your personal life. I understand that your views don’t align with mine, so you are in no way obligated to be a part of it. Our relationship from this point forward is to be strictly business, and you will be given information on a need to know basis only. I would have assumed your brilliant brain would have come to that conclusion on your own after your actions last week.” Joe shot back, opening his office door and walking out onto the main floor to find Gordon. He didn’t have time for Cameron’s bullshit right now.

——-

Sitting at her desk reviewing Joe's schedule for the day, Kat rolled her eyes as she heard Cameron slam Joe’s office door. Always a flair for the dramatic, she thought, shaking her head. For someone who supposedly was done with Joe and wanted nothing to do with him, she sure was hanging on tight. 

Is she seriously pissed that I’m going to COMDEX and not her? Kat thought. It’s not as if a programmer would serve much purpose there anyway, as the convention focused more on the business and marketing aspect of the products being unveiled.

A few moments later, Kat had finished up a call and was busy taking down the respective memo when she heard Joe’s office door open and looked up to see him head towards Gordon’s office, Cameron hot on his heels. 

“Don’t walk away from me!” she heard Cameron yell indignantly. God, did this girl ever give up? “So what? Is she your new flavor of the week, or something? Is that why you're taking her to COMDEX rather than the person who programmed the damn thing from the ground up?” 

That was rich coming from her. Everyone knew about her on again off again fling with Joe, not to mention the rumors about her and Gordon that had been floating around a few weeks ago. She doubted they were true, but still, Cameron didn’t exactly have room to judge. 

It honestly shouldn’t have been surprising to Cameron that he would eventually move on. From the way Joe had explained it to her a few days ago when she had asked, fearing that he may still harbor feelings toward the blonde coder, neither Joe nor Cameron had made an effort to make anything official, and with the way she had treated Joe, it was amazing that he stuck with Cameron as long as he had.

Kat tried to ignore their arguing and focus on the task at hand, but after a few more minutes of listening to their heated bickering off in the distance, she just couldn’t take it anymore. She wasn’t going to sit by and let Cameron drag her name through the mud in front of the whole office. Kat set down her pen and rose from behind her desk, approaching the corner where Joe had pulled Cameron off to the side, in a failed attempt at keeping the conversation private.

“It is no longer any of your business what I do in my private life, Cameron, and if you're looking to be considered for an opportunity like this, slandering another employee doesn’t speak very highly of your sense of professionalism,” Joe told Cameron, frustrated.

“Oh I see, you're protecting her. How touching,” Cameron replied in a childish tone.

“You know Cameron, we’re all adults here, if you're going to talk about me, the least you can do is say it to my face,” Kat spoke up, stopping in front of Cameron with her arms crossed. 

“Ladies, let’s take this outside. No need to cause more of a scene than we already have,” Joe jumped back in, desperately trying to defuse the situation.

“Oh, I think there is,” Cam said, looking around, gauging the attention of all the now curious onlookers, “Don’t you think everyone should know why you really get to go to COMDEX, Kathleen?”

Kat had officially had enough. She had more important things to worry about than entertaining the delusions of this self-centered little bitch.

“Sure, if you mean because I’m good at my job, and have been working my ass off in this company for the last 3 years,” Kat asserted herself.

“Oh! How cute, you actually think you’re more than just his little office whore,” Cameron laughed snarkily, looking down at her with a condescending expression.

It was moments like these that really made Kat hate her height, she would reflect after the fact.

“Cameron!” Joe barked, coming to Kat’s aid, but she didn’t need it. Her bright blue eyes flashed dangerously, like a lioness ready to go in for the kill.

“Yeah? Then what does that make you?” she lowered her voice, leaning towards Cameron, “You know Cameron, you may act tough, but you know what you really are? You're just a scared little girl in way over her head, and let’s be honest. I think we all know you're only good for one thing.”

“Listen bitch, you know nothing about me,” Cameron raised her voice, taking a step closer to Kat, her pale face turning tomato red in anger.

“Like you know anything about me!” Kat fired right back, not missing a beat, ”Oh, I see, so it’s OK for you to make assumptions about my private life, but you can’t take it when I state a fact that we all know to be true? 

Cameron opened her mouth to argue, but Kat didn’t let her get a word in. 

“Look,” Kat continued, the frustration within her radiating from her as though it was heat from a furnace,” I may be a bitch, but at least I can wake up every morning knowing that I got where I am today through hard work, not by running off to screw my boss every time I don’t get my own way.” 

In a flash, Cameron’s hand whipped out to slap Kat hard across the face, but was stopped before it could make impact by Joe's painfully tight grip on her wrist.

“That’s ENOUGH! Kat, go back to your desk. We’ll talk about this later,” Joe said firmly. His tone turned ice cold as he spun around to face Cameron, “And you, pack your things and GET OUT! Your days here at Cardiff are over, effective immediately.”

It was then that they all noticed the crowd of coders that had gathered around them to watch the fight play out.

“What the hell are you all staring at? Don’t you have jobs to do?!” Joe yelled angrily at them. “Somebody call security to make sure she leaves!”

And with that, he stormed back to his office, slamming the door behind him.

Kat flinched involuntarily at the loud noise. This couldn’t be good, Kat thought to herself as she made her way back to her desk to dial the number for security, and everyone else scurried back to their respective places.

——-

As Kat continued her work that day, her anger at Cameron slowly diminished (although, part of her did feel a bit bad for treating Cameron no better than Kat’s own family treated her growing up), and she began to fixate on Joe’s reaction, feeling herself slip into an all too familiar, but entirely unwelcome state of mind. She had no idea how upset he was with her, but she could only assume judging by how hard he had slammed the door, he couldn’t have been too pleased. 

No matter how much she tried to put it out of her mind, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that it had all been her fault. This self destructive train of thought was not improved in the slightest by Joe’s schedule. He was in back to back meetings all day organizing preparations for COMDEX, and a last minute call to go negotiate vital funding with Nathan Cardiff resulted in him not even having five minutes free for Kat to try and clear the air. She decided that if she didn’t see him by the time she clocked out, she would head over to his apartment after work. She really needed to apologize and figure out a way to make it up to him.

———

Kat stood outside Joe’s apartment trying to psych herself up enough to actually knock. Over the last few weeks of dating Joe, they had spent plenty of their time together between their two apartments after work or having dinner, and it had never felt awkward or forced, but right now she felt terrified at the prospect of going inside. How was he going to react? Would he want to break things off because she embarrassed him at work? Would he want her fired like he did Cameron? 

He had said before that she was the best secretary that had ever worked for him, but was that still true? Just when she felt for sure in her heart of hearts that this relationship had a good chance of working out, and that she could for the first time in her life feel truly safe with a male partner, she had to go screw everything up. Now she was going to be out of a relationship and a job all in one day all because she couldn’t keep her damn mouth shut.

Come on Kat, just get it over with, she thought, shaking her hands a bit in an effort to release some of her nervous energy. There is no point in delaying the inevitable. It was now or never.

“Joe, are you home?” she called out as she knocked tentatively.

About 30 seconds later, Joe answered the door, still dressed in his work clothes. He looked tired and stressed. Kat felt a pang of guilt, knowing that her outburst, and the subsequent firing of Cameron this morning definitely didn’t help diminish the already heavy weight on his shoulders. The last thing he needed was more stress. 

She knew that he was hardly sleeping as it was, judging by the amount of times she had needed to wake him up so he could head home after he had passed out on her couch upon coming back from dinner in the past few weeks. Not to mention the five cups of coffee it was currently taking him to get through the day.

“Sorry, I can come back later if this is a-“

“No, it’s fine, Kat. Come on in,” Joe greeted her warmly with a chaste kiss and a strained smile as she set her purse down on the table by the door. This wasn’t what she had been expecting at all. Judging by his actions in the office this morning, she had half expected him to turn her away at the door.

“Excuse the clothes,” he said, heading to his bedroom, “I just got home a few minutes ago. The meeting with Cardiff took longer than expected, but thankfully I managed to convince him to continue funding the project. Have you eaten yet? I’ve been trying to decide if I wanted to go back out or not and grab some take out since I don’t really feel like cooking tonight, but since you’re here do you have any req -"

“Joe,” Kat cut him off, “I’m a little confused, aren’t you upset with me?”

Joe paused in the middle of slipping off his suit jacket to look at her, perplexed.

“About this morning… with Cameron?” she elaborated hesitantly, hoping he wouldn’t blow up at her.

After a moment, a look of understanding washed over Joe’s face. He quickly folded his jacket and placed it carefully onto the pile of clothes going out for dry cleaning later in the week, then took Kat by the hand, leading her to sit down on his bed next to him.

“Kat, why would I be mad at you for defending yourself?” he asked, placing a comforting hand on the small of her back. 

Kat played with the rings on her right hand out of nervous habit. She swallowed hard before answering, in an attempt to keep her unruly emotions in check. From her experience, most men tended to be overly critical of women being emotional, and even though she knew that Joe was different, she didn’t want to chance pushing the limits. 

“Well… it - it wasn’t very professional of me to engage in an argument the way I did, and to speak that way in a workplace setting,” Kat offered up in a measured tone, turning to look at him apologetically.

“And what part of what Cameron said to you was professional? Look, I’m not happy that it caused a scene at work, but I understand that you felt the need to defend yourself,” Joe said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Why has it got you so worked up?”

“I didn’t mean to cause more trouble for you at work or embarrass you. I knew you had a really busy day, and it was wrong of me to make even more of a scene like that. I should have just kept my head down and ignored her. Now you're down a coder and -” she was rambling, her anxiety clearly getting the better of her. Joe seemed to pick up on her distress and cut her off before she descended into an all out panic attack.

“Hey, hey, Kat,” Joe interjected softly, moving off the bed to kneel in front of her, gently massaging just above her knees with his strong hands, in an effort to get her to refocus on him in the present moment, rather than the storm of spiraling thoughts raging in her head, “Listen to me carefully, I. Am. Not. Mad. At. You. OK? If roles were reversed, I would have done the same thing. Besides, it was only a matter of time before Cameron went too far. It wasn’t your fault.”

“B-but you said “we would talk about this later”,” she echoed his words from that morning, biting her slightly trembling lip. 

“I only said that to make sure it didn’t look like I was showing favoritism. She clearly assumed we were hooking up, and I didn’t want to make it worse. We should be able to tell people about us when and if we choose to. On our terms, not because Cameron feels like it’s her place to start rumors about matters that don’t concern her,” Joe explained, hoping to reassure her.

“Oh… OK, that makes sense,” she said, nodding her head in agreement, though she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.

Joe could sense that there was still something wrong. It wasn’t like the Kat he knew to hold back - ever . With a sigh, he pushed himself off the floor and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms protectively around her smaller body, as if his physical presence could shield her from her own mind. 

“Kat,” he repeated her name, softer this time, brushing her hair out of her eyes and cupping her jaw, lifting her gaze to his, “Whatever it is that’s still bothering you, you can tell me.”

Kat took a deep grounding breath, and pushed onward.

“You don’t really think of me like that, right?” she asked, voice shaking ever so slightly.

“What do you mean?” Joe asked, his dark brows drawing together in confusion.

“Like she said… as your “little office whore”?" Kat cringed even saying it, “That’s not why you want me at COMDEX, right? I told you, Joe. I’m in this for a relationship, not some torrid affair, and I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to take that step with you yet. It’s not that I don’t want to. I just… can’t. I need a little more time.”

“I know, Kat. I don’t want this to be just another meaningless hook-up either, and I respect that you're not ready. What I feel when I’m with you is far too presious to risk fucking up over selfish desires,” Joe said with the deepest sincerity. He hoped that he could convey to her how strongly he felt.

——-

Joe was shocked to see Kat so unsure of herself. It actually scared him a bit. She was one of the strongest people he had ever met and Joe had no idea that Cameron’s words would affect her this deeply. If he had known, he would have never approached the situation the way he did. Didn’t she know how important she was to him? Didn’t she understand that she had practically turned his world upside down? She was the first person that he felt he truly, with his whole heart, cared about. And why was she acting so nervous around him? She knew he would never hurt her… right? At least never intentionally. If didn’t know any better, he would say she was acting like he used to around… around his father…

Joe's mind suddenly began spinning a mile a minute, had somebody in her past hurt her before? Decreased her self-worth down to nothing, leaving her alone to rebuild herself? Did she expect him to do the same thing? Was that why she wanted to move so slowly; out of fear of giving too much of herself to someone who didn’t love and appreciate her the way she deserved? 

Joe felt a rush of protectiveness for Kat in a way that he had never felt for anyone else. Someone with such a beautiful heart didn’t deserve to be treated so badly. She was the first person that seemed to want to know the man behind the mask. It was time he did the same for her, show her the love and kindness that she had so freely given him. If she wasn’t ready to talk about whatever was on her mind yet, he could respect that, just as she had done for him. It was his turn to wait it out.

Joe took a deep breath, trying to think of how to phrase his next words. Just tell her how you feel, he reasoned with himself. Make sure she knows how much you care about her

“Kat, I told you before that I wanted to… that I want to be with you for as long as you’ll have me, and I mean it. I don’t want this to be just another casual fling. I told you I loved you and I don’t say that lightly. In fact that’s pretty much the first time I have ever said that to someone. I know we have something great here, so let’s not let someone like Cameron ruin it for us, OK? I honestly have no idea what I ever saw in her. She could never hold a candle to you.” 

Joe looked up at her face to get a sense of how she was feeling. Her expression, to his slight annoyance, was unreadable. She seemed to still be processing everything. This definitely wasn’t his area of expertise. Had she been anyone else, she likely would have found herself stripped naked under him by now, allowing him to aid her in achieving physical and mental release the only way he knew how, but with Kat, that wasn’t an option, so he felt rather out of his depth. Sex was easy and familiar; emotions weren’t.

“Thank you Joe, that really means a lot... I’m sorry if I’m acting crazy. I just get in my own head sometimes,” Kat breathed out with a tired sigh, looking down at the floor, embarrassed for making something out of nothing.

“I seem to remember a very wise woman telling me never to apologize for being human,” Joe repeated her own words back to her, “That goes for you too. I don’t want you to ever be afraid of me, OK? If we are going to commit to a relationship…” Joe paused for a moment, the words feeling unfamiliar on his tongue. Kat offered a small, knowing smile, encouraging him to continue, “We need to be open about how we feel. Especially if either of us does something that makes the other uncomfortable.”

Joe thought privately that he never in a million years expected those words would come out of his mouth; and about a woman at that! While yes he was bisexual, that didn’t mean that he found men and women attractive to the same degree. He had discovered over the years that he tended to have about a 70/30 split. While he found women aesthetically beautiful, he had always believed that he connected with men more. With Kat though, he was slowly realizing that she broke all of his rules, and he was shocked to find that he was quite happy about it.

———

Kat felt herself begin to tear up hearing Joe's words. She finally knew she had been right to break her self imposed no dating rule, and take a chance on him. If she felt like she loved him before, she knew that she sure as hell did now. For a person so often perceived as arrogant and soulless, he wasn’t that at all. He was a deeply passionate and caring person when it came to those close to him. He just didn’t often let people get close enough to him to see it.

Her ex would have never been this considerate in this situation. In fact it probably would have ended in a screaming match, and her being kicked out of the apartment, having to stay with a friend for the night or find a hotel. There was a reason she felt such a need to be fiercely independent. It was more out of survival than personal choice. Letting people in often lead to getting hurt, whether that be physically, emotionally, or both. Looking back at the last few months, she wondered if that was what drew her to Joe in the first place. She understood him better than anyone in that regard.

She so desperately wanted to tell him about Jackson, about her family, about all of the reasons that she couldn’t bring herself to be with him intimately yet, and how none of it even had anything to do with him, but in that moment, she wasn’t ready to explain it all. Everything was just too overwhelming. Like Joe, she had been on her own for a long time, and it would take her a while to get used to someone caring about her again. There would come a day where she would tell him everything, but not today. 

“You know, people honestly couldn’t be more wrong about you,” Kat said, moving to kneel next to him so they could be face to face. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “You really are the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”

“Then are you sure you have met me?” Joe joked, trying to lighten the mood, letting his hands fall to her waist.

“Yes,” Kat said softly, leaning forward, “And I’m so glad I did… “Kat dropped her gaze, suddenly feeling a bit shy, “Because I love you.”

Joe felt as though his heart might explode from a happiness that he had never felt before. Did she really just say… she loved him!

Hearing his sharp intake of breath at her words, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, trying to pour all of her love and all the things left unsaid into it. She ran her right hand through his thick hair, letting herself be enveloped by his touch, his scent, his warmth. Months later she would realize that she had come to associate all of these things with a sense of safety and home. For the moment though, she was perfectly content to just enjoy herself and allow her hands to do a bit of exploring along his wonderfully defined upper body. 

Even with a shirt on, she could feel every one of his muscles move as he adjusted his grip around her waist to pull her in tighter, and she couldn’t help but recall in vivid detail what lay beneath it. Scars or not, he was an absolutely gorgeous man. Part of her had half a mind to pop a few of those shirt buttons, but she didn’t want to tease him after just having said that she wasn’t ready. 

That being said, just because her mind wasn’t ready, it sure as hell didn’t mean her body wasn’t. Every part of it was screaming at her to give in to her desire. Doing the next best thing she could think of that didn’t require the removal of clothing, Kat brushed her tongue against his lips, asking for entrance. It felt thrilling to have a man appreciate her this way. Never in a million years had she thought that someone like Joe would find her desirable. Not that she thought she was ugly, but she definitely was far curvier than the societal beauty standards told her she should be.

Joe eagerly complied, overjoyed by her words and her attentiveness. Keeping her pressed tightly to his body with one arm and letting the other hand wander up her thigh, Joe couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander. A devious part of his mind began to fantasize as to what those lovely thighs would feel like under his hands without her dress obstructing his touch, and all the things he could do with her if only his hands were granted more access. How he desperately wanted to caress her smooth skin, feel the heat radiating off her body, let his hands drift just a bit upward and inward… no Joe, stop it, he scolded himself. Stop thinking like that! The poor woman just had an emotional breakdown, keep it in your pants. 

Kat made a soft noise of contentment and arousal in the back of her throat, and it took all of Joe’s will to remain composed. Sliding a hand into her wavy auburn hair, Joe tried to refocus on the present, and not his own indecent thoughts.

In that moment, they both felt so grateful to have each other. After the hellish day they had both had, all they really wanted was to get lost in each other for a while, and forget about everything else. 

After a short while, Joe reluctantly pulled away, fearing that he may go too far and actually give in to his lust if they didn’t stop now. 

After just holding each other for a moment, regaining their breath, Kat clambered out of his embrace, adjusting her now wrinkled clothing.

“Now,” Kat said with a grin, her hair a mess, and her face still slightly flushed, “You know what would make me love you even more? Going out to grab something for dinner.”

Laughing Joe got up and made his way to the kitchen to find his stash of take out menus.

“Chinese, or Italian?” he called out options to her with a smile on his face. This woman was going to be the death of him, and honestly, he was more than okay with that.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Crack!

Kat heard a loud noise echo through the apartment outside the bathroom door.

What the hell, she thought in confusion as she washed her hands and dried them on the towel next to the sink. She and Joe had decided to grab some dinner after another long day at work and head back to his place to discuss plans for COMDEX which was only two days away. They had been at his apartment for about an hour now, and Kat figured she might as well use the bathroom while Joe made a quick sales call to a vendor potentially interested in the Giant. 

“Joe, you ok? I heard a -” but she cut herself off when she saw him hunched forward, white knuckled hands gripping his desk, a broken baseball bat laying discarded on the floor a few feet away from him.

Oh shit, Kat thought, her pulse quickening ever so slightly. This can’t be good.

“I have to go to New York.” Joe said in a quiet yet strained voice, breathing heavily. He stood upright and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

What was he talking about? Just ten minutes ago they were talking about what clothes to pack for CONDEX. Now he needed to fly to New York? What the hell was going on?

Kat made her way across the living room, careful to step around the broken bat (there would be time to explain that later), and placed a hand on Joe's arm.

“Joe, what do you mean you need to go to New York? Is everything ok? I was only gone for five minutes, what happened?” She asked in concern. Could it be something to do with his family back home? Did he even have family back home besides his father? As far as she knew he didn’t, but then again, their relationship was still in the early days. Maybe she just wasn’t aware of something.

“No, it’s not fucking ok!” Joe snapped angrily, slamming his fist down on the desk in frustration, and immediately regretted it as he felt Kat flinch and let go of his arm. Letting out a frustrated breath he hung his head and said in an apologetic tone, “I’m sorry, Kat. You didn’t do anything wrong. This has nothing to do with you. Apparently IBM has been developing a portable right under our noses this whole time and I’m pretty damn sure I know who’s responsible.”

“Your father,” Kat deadpanned. It wasn’t a question. If anyone was out to screw this project over for Joe, it was Joseph MacMillan Sr.

Joe just gave a defeated nod. Can’t I ever catch a fucking break? he wondered. He had wanted to do something that would really make an impact in the industry; revolutionize tech as they all knew it. Now it all felt as though it had been for nothing.

“I need to pack and find a flight to -“ but Kat cut him off before he could spiral further out of control.

“Joe, hold on a second, calm down. Why don’t we just call him first and see what happens, ok? If he doesn’t pick up, you can find a flight to New York, but if you do, I’m going with you. Let’s just take this one step at a time,” Kat offered. Men, she thought, wishing she could roll her eyes. Always rushing into things and never thinking it through.

Fuck, Joe thought, having the decency to look a bit sheepish, I really didn’t think of that?

“Yeah, yeah ok,” he acquiesced, taking a seat at his desk, a look of apprehension shadowing his handsome features. The last thing he wanted to do was speak with his father, but there really was no other choice now.

Kat knew that face well. He was nervous. Reasonably so knowing even just the little she did about his father. He didn’t exactly seem like the easiest person to reason with.

Kat made her way over behind his chair and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, planting a kiss at the junction of his neck and ear.

“Hey, it’s going to be fine. I’m right here, alright? We will figure this out together,” She reassured him, giving his biceps an affectionate squeeze.

Joe nodded in appreciation, feeling warmth spread throughout his body at her comforting embrace.

With a sigh, Joe picked up the phone, dialing his father’s number. 

——-

“Hello?” An all too familiar voice picked up after the second ring.

“Is IBM developing a portable PC?” Joe demanded briskly, not even pausing to greet his father.

“Joe?” Joe Sr asked quizzically, surprised to hear his son’s voice after over a year of radio silence.

“Answer the question,” Joe said coldly.

“Now wait just a - “ Joe cut him off, growing impatient.

“I don’t have time to wait!” Joe snapped. He was not about to waste more time on this call than necessary.

After a moment's pause Joe Sr answered stiffly, “We are.”

“So you could crush my machine? Crush ME?” Joe seethed, feeling blood rush through his body in rage, only settling when he felt Kat’s warm hand take hold of his.

He looked up to see her mouthing “breath” at him, and he took a few breaths in an effort to recenter himself.

He had always known his father to be rather cold hearted, with an unhealthy desire for money and power, but he had never thought he would stoop this low.

“ I had nothing to do with it,” Joe Sr defended himself.

“Like hell you didn’t! God, for once can you just tell me the truth?!” Joe felt his anger rising yet again. His father screwing him over for the sake of business, he could deal with, but the blatant lying…

Having had enough of his son’s accusations, Joe Sr began to raise his voice as well, “It may come as a shock to you, Joe, but you’re not the center of the universe. Even if I knew you were making a portable … you think I could alter the course of the aircraft carrier that is IBM? Make them build one just so I could hurt you? You’re out of your mind,” Joe Sr paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “If it makes you feel any better, we’re at least a year away from market.”

As much as he hated to admit it to himself, his father did have a point. Not that Joe would ever tell him that. For a moment, neither of them spoke, and Joe considered just hanging up then and there, having heard all the information that he needed, but then his father spoke again, changing the subject.

“Now, since you have so generously graced me with a phone call just to harass and accuse your own father of conspiring against you, why don’t you make yourself useful and tell me how you ended up in Dallas.” His father said, voice dripping in sarcasm and disdain.

Joe sighed heavily. He really did not want to have this conversation right now. 

“I think I have said all I need to say to -“ 

“Joe, I said tell me, goddamnit!” Joe Sr’s voice grew harsher yet, causing Joe to cringe just a bit.

Joe hadn’t fully realized until this moment how much over the last year he had gotten used to calling the shots, rather being yelled at and demeaned as though he were a petulant child. If this conversation was good for anything, it served as confirmation that he had made the right choice in getting out when he did. 

He shot Kat a pleading look, not wanting her to have to hear the fight that was sure to ensue.

Kat clearly understood, as she whispered, “I’ll go make us some coffee.” just out of reach of where the phone could pick up her voice, and made her way to his kitchen, allowing him the moment of privacy he needed.

Joe took a few more seconds to collect himself, and reluctantly began in an icy tone, devoid of emotion, “After you deigned to tell me the truth, I drove across the country trying to figure out if I was her son or your son.” Joe paused, not wanting his voice to show weakness, “Even if she was dead, she must have lived an entire life after you sent her away. Places she’d been, people who knew her. I talked to everyone I could trying to find the part of her that was me.”

His father let out a long sigh, but made no move to speak. 

‘Do I remind you of her? Is that why you hate me?” Joe asked, feeling his anger seep back in yet again.

“I love you, and I loved your mother.” his father said, sounding exasperated.

Joe was reaching his tipping point. All these years he had wanted to hear those words from his father, to hear that he was loved and valued as a son, that his father was proud of him for everything he had achieved. Now hearing it from him in some half-assed effort to not seem like the bad guy told Joe everything that he needed to know. There was no point in trying to gain his approval anymore. 

“Bullshit! You have never loved me; not really. You loved the idea of me. The perfect son to lead the company and continue your legacy, to settle down with some rich socialite and have 2.5 kids to keep up appearances. You never once accepted me for who I was growing up and you still don’t. All you care about is money, and controlling people,” Joe ranted. He honestly didn’t know he still harbored such strong feelings about this until it all boiled over, “And you never loved her either. If you did, you wouldn’t have tried to rip away any trace of her I had left to hold onto! You would have gotten her the help she needed instead of condemning her to a life without her family. You let me think she abandoned me and then told me she was dead 23 years before she was.” Joe’s voice finally betrayed his pain, cracking slightly.

——-

It wasn’t as though Kat was trying to eavesdrop. It just so happened that Joe's open concept apartment didn’t really lend itself very well to privacy. His deep baritone echoed throughout the apartment as his temper rose, and even over the noise of the coffee grinder she could hear every word he said.

That was why she nearly dropped a mug that she had been pulling down from the cabinet (on an absurdly high shelf at that. Damn him and his ridiculous height!) when she heard him shout the last line in a furious tone. 

What the fuck? Kat thought, astounded. Surely she hadn’t heard that right? That was absolutely insane!

However, thinking back to her conversations with Joe about his parents, she realized that it all made sense. 

No wonder Joe didn’t trust easily! 

Her family was a mess, but at least her father was honest about his deep disappointment in how she turned out. She always knew where she stood with him. There was none of this lying under the guise of keeping her safe like Joe’s father found to be common practice. If anything there were times where she wished her family was a bit less honest. But no, “thou shalt not bear false witness,” and all that bullshit. 

———-

“I’m not going over this again. She almost killed you! I lied to protect you. She let you fall!” Joe Sr shouted through the phone, all semblance of rationality gone.

“At least she took me up there.” Joe fired back, standing up from his seat as if his father could see him through the phone. “At least she cared about me. At least she treated me like her son, not a trophy to be displayed. She wanted me to be a dreamer, and she encouraged me like a parent should! She gave me a childhood, something you would have seen if you were ever around.”

“She took you up there because she was high.” His father deflected, “Your mother wasn’t a dreamer, she was lost . A real dreamer is someone who matters; who makes something of nothing, And that only happens with hard work. You understand that. You always have. You’re more like me in that regard. And thank God.” His father finishes in a gruff tone.

Just as Joe was about to fire back that he was nothing like him, Kat walked back in from the kitchen, holding two steaming cups of coffee. With a reassuring smile, she placed his down in front of him. Taking a seat in the chair next to his, she placed a hand on his knee briefly, showing her support.

At her touch, Joe winced, and seeing her concerned look, he looked sheepishly between her, his leg, and the broken baseball bat laying a few feet away. Yeah, he thought to himself, that may not have been his best decision. Not only was his blood boiling over all the bullshit his father was spewing now to try and degrade his mother, but his leg hurt like a son of a bitch too.

“Listen Joe, if you move back, I’ll find a place for you. You’d be back on track. No more worrying about this portable clone. You can work on the real thing,” His father said firmly, clearly expecting Joe to take the easy way out.

Joe wasn’t going to lie to himself, part of him was tempted. It would be great to work for a company that actually had resources again. Somewhere where he didn’t have to monitor every single detail to make sure it was done correctly. Despite that, he knew he could never go back. He didn’t think he could bear to spend another year being “MacMillan’s boy.” He was 35 years old for Christ's sake! 

Looking over at Kat, it was clear to see by her shocked expression that she had been able to hear what his father had said. If nothing else convinced him to stay, that quietly anxious look in her eyes did. It was clear that she had picked up on his pause, and probably thought he was really considering leaving. Joe knew that he couldn’t do it, nor did he want to. Not without giving the Giant and this relationship the chance it deserved. He wasn’t about to give up one of the best things to happen to him for the sake of a bigger marketing budget, and a fancy office.

“I’m perfectly happy where I am. Unlike in New York, there are people that actually care about me here, and not just about how much money I can make them. To be honest with you, I would rather fall off that roof again than go back to IBM and live the rest of my life as your “perfect son”.” Joe told his father boldly, standing his ground, “IBM can try all they want, but they're never going to beat our machine.” And with that, Joe hung up.

——

As he did, Kat felt her nerves ease a bit. Was he really happy here with her and the crazy team at Cardiff, when he could have it so much easier?

She was pulled from her thoughts when Joe let out a deep sigh, and sagged back in his chair, clearly emotionally wiped out by the conversation.

“Hey,” she prompted softly, leaning closer, “How are you feeling?”

For a long moment, Joe didn’t speak, but eventually he said in an exhausted voice, “I'm glad I left.”

Even though it saddened her that Joe’s family didn’t seem to be much of a family at all, it was nice to know that he didn’t regret his decisions to move forward in his life without them.

Grasping his coffee mug, he took a long drink from it and continued, “It’s getting pretty late, and I doubt you -”

Kat cut him off, “Joe it’s fine. Do you need to talk about what just happened? I’m happy to listen if you do.” She offered, “Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time.” 

Joe laughed, remembering the multiple other times that they had stayed up into the small hours of the morning talking about their pasts. At last some of the tension left his face, “Alright, but let’s take this to the bedroom, this might take a while.” Then, realizing how that sounded, Joe scrambled to clarify, “As in, it’s more comfortable in there so we can talk. Nothing more, I promise.”

Kat just nodded and smiled, finding it cute that for once, she could make him squirm a bit. That being said, she really did appreciate his patience with her. From experience, she knew that the respect he showed her was a bit of a rarity.

Once they were settled comfortably on his king size bed; Joe leaning against the headboard, his mile long legs outstretched, and Kat sitting facing him with her legs crossed and tucked under her, Joe began, “It’s all kind of hard to explain.”

“Joe, I know this is a lot, and you don’t need to tell me anything if you don’t want to. It’s all up to you, ok?“ Kat tried to reassure him, taking his much larger hand in hers. It was so strange to Kat that he seemed to feel safe with her, when in terms of physical size, she was so much smaller.

Squeezing her hand back, and appearing to pull strength from it, Joe began, “Well, you know what happened with my mother and I.”

At her nod he continued, “Well, about three weeks after the initial surgeries to repair the damage to my liver, a punctured lung, broken ribs and a broken hip and femur, I was finally put on a lower dose of pain medication, and was awake and aware enough to handle visitors. Still weeks went by and I hadn’t seen nor heard anything from my father. I mean, he’d obviously been there to give consent for the surgeries and everything, but nothing more than that.”

Kat was appalled. How could a parent not want to visit their child in the hospital? Joe had  almost died for fuck’s sake. What the hell was wrong with this man?

“Anyway,” Joe continued, “As it turns out, in reality he spent that time getting divorce papers drawn up, and shipping my mother off to California to live with some distant relative, with the threat of criminal charges for my injury’s hanging over her head in case she ever had any “crazy ideas” about coming back for me. However, that's not the story I was told when he finally visited, over 2 months after I was stable.”

Feeling him grow tenser with every passing sentence, Kat knew she needed to do something to help him relax, so she shifted her position to lean against the pillows, and reached over to glide a hand gently through his dark hair. After a few seconds, Joe’s shoulders relaxed and he leaned into her touch, savoring the feeling of her nails lightly grazing his scalp. Little did Kat know, and wouldn’t find out for quite some time, the last person to do that before her had actually been his mother. Many nights in his childhood had been spent with his mother softly running her hand through his hair, trying desperately to get her hyperactive child to settle down for the night and sleep.

As much as Kat wanted to chime in with some scathing remark about his father, she knew that at the moment, Joe just needed to explain uninterrupted.

“Instead of admitting that he was a heartless bastard who only cared about protecting his family image rather than supporting his son and getting his wife the help she needed, he told me that she had died in a freak car accident a month and a half prior on the way to come see me, and that while I was too high out of my mind on painkillers and sedatives to even string together a coherent sentence, they had held the funeral.” Joe said, blowing out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding, “He only told me the truth a year ago, a week after she had actually died.”

“God, Joe, that’s terrible!” Kat finally broke her silence, turning his face to hers, and softly caressing his cheek with her thumb. 

“Ha, yep,”Joe laughed a dry, bitter laugh that sounded as though it should have come from a jaded old man, not a lively, charismatic man in his mid 30s, “to make matters even better ,” Joe said, voice dripping in sarcasm before he paused, unbuttoning his shirt and pointing to the two largest scars on his upper chest, ”The only reason these are still so prominent is because I was so upset when he told me she was dead, the first time , that I ripped my stitches. My father spent years after that telling me to cover these “unsightly” scars, but he’s the biggest reason they are so “unsightly” in the first place. If they had healed properly, they would barely be visible now.”

At this point, Kat was finding it hard to keep her own emotions in check. It pained her to think of Joe so young and already so broken by the world. He must have felt so alone. It was no wonder Joe was so used to doing everything himself and going against protocol. It was all he had known for most of his life. With his mother gone and his father not much of a father at all, he had just done what he needed to to get by. Kat was pulled from her internal monologue by Joe continuing on.

“Sure, mom hadn’t been perfect by any means, but at least she was there, you know? At least she loved me. Cared about who I really was, not the perfect carbon copy my father wanted me to be. She encouraged me to be a dreamer and make something of myself on my terms, not his.” Joe cleared his throat, determined not to get choked up over this. “I think I mourned a lot more than my mother that day. I wasn’t just losing a parent, I was losing the only person in my life that accepted me unconditionally, and… and made it feel safe to fail.” Until you, he thought of adding, but thought better of it, as it may be a bit too much too soon.

Holy fuck, was the only thing Kat could think of in response. She wished that she could think of something more articulate, but she couldn’t. Not at that moment anyway. Suddenly, hearing Joe’s slightly hysterical laugh, she realized that she had said that out loud. Shit!

“Oh my god, Joe I’m sorry! I didn’t even realize that I had  -”

But Joe just laughed harder at the look of horror on her face.

“Kat,” he chuckled with a tired, but real smile. “It’s ok. I think holy fuck sums that whole situation up pretty well actually.” And he leaned in and kissed her soundly, still smiling at her uncanny ability to always brighten his mood, albeit unintentionally.

Pulling away, he could see her smile as well, and knew that, at least for now, all this talk of gloom and doom was over.

Looking at his watch, Joe realized that it was now nearing twelve o’clock, and they both had to be into the office by six am.

“Kat, it’s getting really late, if you want, you can just stay over and we can swing by your apartment for clothes in the morning.” Joe offered, however, seeing Kat’s raised eyebrow, he held his hands up in surrender, “Just sleeping. I can behave myself.” He promised, trying to look innocent.

Should I? Kat wondered. Well, he hasn’t given me any reason not to believe him, so what’s the harm? It’s not like we haven’t done this once before.

“Alright, but if I’m staying over I need to change into something more comfortable. Do you have a t-shirt or something I can sleep in?”

“Sure, hold on a second,” Joe got up and walked into his closet to find her something.

——-

As Kat sat there, waiting for Joe to return, she pondered, not for the first time, how Joe was still capable of love after being hurt so many times by those closest to him. Probably the same way you are, she reminded herself. Her story may not be as complicated, but it had been no bed or roses either. She supposed they both just tried their best to get on with life, because they really had no other choice. Either sit around being miserable, or make something of yourself to prove those people wrong. They were both quite spiteful people, but it was that spite that motivated them and kept them going. Now more than ever she felt compelled to explain everything to him, to help him understand why she was still so hesitant about the sexual aspect of their relationship, but she knew it wasn’t the right time. Tonight was about him.

“Here you go,” Joe said, entering the room and handing her a massively oversized white T-shirt, “I hope this is okay. Unfortunately I don’t think any pants that I own would ever have a hope of fitting you.”

“It’s fine,” she waved him off, heading toward his en-suite bathroom to change, “It’ll be long on me anyway.”

Closing the bathroom door, Kat grabbed a washcloth from the linen closet and began washing off her makeup. She wished she had her makeup cleanser with her, but she knew that the body wash that she borrowed in the shower a few weeks ago would get the job done well enough. After the last of her mascara came off, and she wrung out the washcloth to toss in his towel bin, Kat couldn’t help thinking that this all felt oddly domestic. It had been a long time since she had gotten ready for bed like this to spend the night with someone other than herself and her anxieties for the following work day. She had forgotten how nice it felt to know you wouldn’t be alone. 

Taking off her work clothes and placing them in a neat pile on the counter, she slipped the t-shirt over her head and almost laughed at how comically oversized it was on her. This one, clearly meant to fit loosely even on him, was much longer than the one she had borrowed a few weeks ago. It fell just barely above her knees, and she thought that if she tried hard enough, she could fit two of herself inside of it width wise.

Then she realized that she didn’t have a toothbrush with her. Shit, that was a problem.

“Joe, honey, do you have an extra toothbrush?” It was out of her mouth before she realized what she had said, and suddenly she was blushing up to her hairline. Oh my God, she thought in surprise, did I just…

Opening the bathroom door in nothing but sleep pants and a cocky grin, Joe opened the top drawer of the bathroom vanity and handed her a fresh toothbrush. 

“Sure thing, honey,” and still grinning like an idiot he leaned down and pressed a quick peck to her lips, grabbed his own toothbrush, and left the room, leaving Kat’s head spinning.

——

Smirking to himself, Joe made his way back to bed after having brushed his teeth in the kitchen sink to give Kat space in the small bathroom, pulled back the covers, and opened a book he had been trying to finish. He had no intention of actually reading it though. As much as he wished he wasn’t that sappy, the thought of her calling him honey had an effect on him. None of his past relationships had really gotten serious enough for anything like that. Not even Simon, he thought with a tinge of sadness. It made a nice change.

Just then Kat came out of the bathroom looking a bit cautious, and Joe felt bad for teasing her. He hadn’t meant to make her worry. He just wanted to make her blush, as it was rather easy to do. Putting down his book, he turned down the other half of the blanket for her and patted the bed for her to sit down.

“Joe, I -” but Joe didn’t let her finish.

“Kat, it’s fine. I’m actually really flattered that you called me that. I’ve never really been in a relationship where we did the whole terms of endearment thing, and honestly, I like it. So, stop worrying, ok?”

“Ok,” she nodded, a relieved smile now on her face.

“C’mere,” Joe motioned for her to cuddle up next to him.

Kat scooted over and settled in the crook of his arm, her left hand coming to rest on his bare chest.

“Joe,” Kat said, letting her index finger trace along his scars.

“Mmm?” he mumbled a bit, enjoying the feel of her hand on his chest. The scar tissue there was rather sensitive, but when touched lightly I could actually feel quite good.

“Thank you for telling me everything that happened. You didn’t have too, but you did, and I’m so happy that you felt comfortable sharing that with me. You are seriously one of the strongest people I have ever met, and I really mean that. I also know that sometimes it is quite frankly a pain in the ass being the strong one all the time, and I want you to know you don’t have to do that with me, ok? We are both here to take care of each other, this isn’t ever going to be one sided. You just let me know when you need me to lift you up a bit, and I’ll let you know when it’s my turn,” Kat told him sincerely.

Joe felt his mouth go slightly dry. Did she really mean that? No one had ever offered that before. Societal gender roles aside, even in his past relationships with men, he had always been expected to be the strong one, the provider.

“And just for the record,” Kat continued on, “If I ever meet your father and he has the nerve to pull any of that bullshit when I’m around, well, he’ll get to see just how scary I can really be. What you saw in the office months ago is just a preview.”

God I love her, Joe thought blissfully. How the hell did I get this lucky?

In one swift motion, Joe had pulled her on top of him and began kissing her madly. 

“Mmmmhh,” Kat sighed happily as his tongue parted her lips and danced around her own. His hand slid up under the t-shirt, and began to gently knead the muscles of her thigh. Pulling her in tighter, Joe deepened the kiss and let out a hum of pleasure as her hands came to tangle in his hair, and pulled at it slightly. Joe easily flipped them over but stopped when Kat drew back, breathing heavily.

“Joe,” Kat said in warning, eyebrows raised. 

With a slight sigh, Joe rolled back off of her. “Behaving.” he mumbled.

“Good boy,” Kat smiled with a wicked glint in her eye.

That was unfair and she knew it.

Joe chose to ignore the response his body made to her words, albeit with some difficulty. Damn her. Although, he supposed, it was only fair that she got her shot at teasing him too.

“You're a little evil sometimes, you know that?” he asked her.

“But you love it!” she chirped in a slightly singsong voice, leaning over to turn out the light.

“That I do. God help me.” he joked, happy to hear her laugh.

The wait may be killing him a bit, but for her, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

“You wanted to see me?” Gordon asked, eyebrows raised, stopping in the doorway to Joe’s office. He hoped this wouldn’t take too long, as he had to get back to the “kill room” to finish up some final touches on the Giant before it was shipped off to COMDEX with Joe and Kathleen tomorrow.

Joe nodded in the affirmative, motioning for Gordon to sit in the chair  opposite him. “Come sit down, this will only take a second.”

As he sat down Joe leaned forward, hands clasped in front of him. Great, Gordon thought in annoyance, this ought to be good.

“Upon further consideration… I have come to realize that I was wrong to exclude you from the proceedings at COMDEX.” Joe began, and Gordon got a bit of satisfaction from the pained tone Joe was clearly trying to mask. Everyone knew that Joe hated being wrong about anything, and It took all Gordon’s concentration not to smirk at his colleague’s suffering. Serves him right, he thought, after all the shit he’s put me through this year. “You were right, Kathleen and I do not have the engineering experience to troubleshoot in the event of an unexpected malfunction in the software. I have taken the liberty of paying for an extra plane ticket and pulling some strings with an old IBM coworker to update Cardiff’s room accommodations so that you may attend as well.”

Gordon was shocked. So now he wants me to go? Where the hell did this come from? Joe isn’t one to change his mind easily, or ever really. What am I going to tell Donna? What about the kids?

*** Flashback to earlier that morning***

“Joe?” Kat asked from the passenger seat as Joe drove them back to her apartment to get her work clothes.

“Hm?” Joe hummed in response, eyes flicking from the road to her, then back.

“I was thinking this morning in the shower, and I feel like you shouldn’t have taken Gordon off  the COMDEX team.” She said matter of factly. A month or so ago, she would have been more hesitant to voice this opinion, but now she knew that Joe valued her opinion, and encouraged her to give input on business matters.

Joe looked surprised for a moment, and then flicked his gaze back to her again.

“And why is that?” He asked, reaching for the coffee thermos in the cup holder and taking a drink from it. It was only 5:30 am, and they still had 10 more minutes until they reached her apartment in De Soto. 

Kat took a moment to collect her thoughts before explaining, “Well, think about this logically. Neither of us have a clue how to work the Giant if something were to go wrong, and we just don’t have the money behind us to take that kind of risk. Cardiff isn’t going to invest any more into us, and if we don’t make the strongest impression we can at COMDEX, we’re completely screwed.” 

Joe had to hand it to her, she had a point. They had too much riding on this to take chances like that.

“I see where you’re coming from and I… I agree. Gordon was really getting on my nerves when I booked the hotel a few weeks ago, and I meant what I said about not wanting him to bring us down after what happened with him and Donna at COMDEX 81.. but you’re right. We have too much riding on this for me to let my ego get in the way.” He finished, letting out a sigh of frustration at his own pride.

Kat felt torn. She was happy that he agreed with her, but she could tell that he was starting to doubt himself, and she hadn’t meant to make him feel like his decisions weren’t justified. In all honesty, she could see his point, but there was no time for pride when their entire careers were on the line.

Before she could try to further explain herself, Joe spoke again.

“Thank you for being honest with me, I really appreciate it,” and he lifted her hand from where it rested on the center console and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. “I’ll call him this morning and we’ll figure something out.”

Kat just smiled and reached down to steal a sip from his coffee mug, thinking that she would have to leave one of her own at his place for nights that she stayed over in the future.

***End flashback***

“Joe, I would love to, but I can’t just leave Donna with the kids on such short notice.” Gordon told him matter of factly. He had already been absent enough this year, and he feared that something like this might just tip Donna over the edge.

“Which is why,” Joe responded, 10 steps ahead as usual, “I paid for her ticket as well. Just so you know, the cost of the tickets will be coming out of your next paycheck. Nathan refused to cover it with company funding so I paid out of pocket.” 

Classic Joe, Gordon thought. Do something nice for you to make sure you do what he wants, and then make you pay him back anyway. That being said, he wasn’t about to turn down the offer. He would have to call his mother in law and ask her to watch the girls this week. Why couldn’t this have been last week? He thought irritably. Last week was their Thanksgiving vacation so at least she wouldn’t have had to worry about getting the girls off to school.

With a sigh, Gordon resigned himself to the argument this would likely cause tonight at home.

“Alright,” he agreed after a moment.

“Great. Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 10:15 from terminal B at DFW. Meet Kathleen and I at the bag check counter at 9:30 so we all have time to get through security.” Joe instructed, and began looking through a folder of information for the trip, clearly dismissing Gordon. “You should get back in there before they actually kill each other.

With a nod Gordon got up and left Joe’s office, closing the door behind him, Gordon couldn’t  figure out what had made Joe change his mind. It seemed unlikely that he had come to that conclusion on his own. Just then, Kathleen brushed past him, Joe’s signature steaming hot black coffee in hand, and smiled at him as she placed her hand on the doorknob he had just let go of.

“So, are you and Donna coming?” She asked kindly.

“Uh, yeah. I actually need to go call my mother-in-law now to see if she’ll watch the girls.” Gordon told her, taken aback a bit by her question.

“Great, I’m glad he asked you. The two of us would be lost without you if anything went wrong.” And with that she walked into the office, closing the door over behind her.

Hmmmm, he thought to himself, maybe it hadn’t been Joe’s Idea at all.

———-

The next morning found Kat and Joe standing, luggage in hand at the ticket counter waiting for Donna and Gordon. As usual Gordon was running late, and by 9:39 Joe was checking his watch so frequently it looked as if he had developed a nervous twitch.

“Joe,” Kat hissed, getting annoyed by his fidgeting.

Joe must not have heard her, as he proceeded to check his watch for the thousandth time, and stared anxiously in the direction of the entrance.

“Joe”, Kat said more sharply, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow.

“Ow, Kat, what the hell?” He exclaimed quietly as he reeled back from the sharp contact.

“If you check that damn watch again, so help me god, I will take it right off your wrist. You are entirely too fidgety this early in the morning. I’m sure they just hit traffic or something. You need to relax.’ Kat snipped in an annoyed tone. She had hardly slept at all the night before, lying awake in anticipation of the hectic few days ahead of them all, and even after several cups of strong coffee she still felt utterly exhausted.

Joe quirked a dark eyebrow, perhaps considering making a comment about what else she could take off him, but at her knowing glare, he kept his thoughts to himself.

Suddenly there was a commotion by the entrance and Gordon and Donna burst through the crowd, suitcases rolling loudly behind them.

Kat felt Joe breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, she thought to herself. Now to just get through security, and once we are on the plane I can nap for two and a half sweet hours.

“Finally.” Joe said spikily as Gordon stopped in front of him, mirroring Kat’s thoughts. “We were afraid you weren’t going to show.”

“We’re really sorry, Haley forgot her favorite toy and then we had to go back and -"

Joe cut her off. “Donna, it's fine. We are just happy you could make it.” Joe said, trying to be civil with the woman, as he was aware that she was not his biggest fan. “Let’s just get through security before we miss our flight. Here are your tickets, keep track of them. There will be plenty of time to all get up to speed on plans while we wait to board. Let’s go.”

_____

While they waited at their gate, Joe briefed everyone on their schedule and what tasks needed to be accomplished upon their arrival, so that everyone was on the same page.

After a chaotic boarding and a thankfully smooth takeoff, Kat could feel her body losing its battle with sleep. 

“Hey,” Joe whispered in her ear, touching her arm lightly as her head lulled to the side, touching the cold glass window for the third time now. “Kat, hey Kat, sweetheart.”

That caught Kat’s attention and she jolted awake as if she’d been stung.

“Don’t say that here!” She whispered in a sharp tone. “What if somebody hears you, or worse, what if Gordon hears you? How do you think that would look for me? You’re still my boss Joe, and this is still a work trip.”

“Kat, it's fine. Nobody on this flight knows us, and the last minute seats I booked for Gordon and Donna are twelve rows back. Nobody is going to see or hear us, at least no one that matters.” He tried to reason with her, “You're exhausted and the cold window can't be very comfortable. Just lean on me, okay?”

After a moment of consideration, Kat’s sleep deprivation won over, and she just nodded.

Joe wrapped his arm around her, and she snuggled into his side, letting his body heat envelope her.

“Better?” Joe asked softly.

All he got in reply was a muffled “Hmmm” and Joe really wished they weren’t in a crowded plane so he could kiss her and pull her into his lap. He made a mental note to plan something special for the two of them when this was all over. She deserved a break.

____

Around 1:00pm (with the two hour time difference) they finally reached the hotel, and while Joe and Gordon went to get checked in, Kat and Donna sat in the lobby watching their luggage.

“So,” Donna asked, “Are you excited? It’s always a bloodbath the first day. Your friends are trying to rip you off, your enemies are buying you drinks. Everyone is terrified that they won’t make it big. The booths themselves can be hit or miss, but the parties are where the action really is.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. I have a few friends from college that have gone before and they told me all about it. I’m not much of a partier, but I do appreciate a good drink now and again. Granted I’ll probably be more willing to let loose once the demo tonight is over. I’m just crossing my fingers that everything goes to plan.” Kat replied anxiously, trying her best to stifle a yawn. Despite the sleep she got during the flight, she still felt tired. God, she needed another coffee.

“I’m sure it will all be -“

And as if by a cruel trick of the universe, just then Gordon and Joe headed back their way, angry expressions fixed firmly in their faces.

“What’s wrong?” Kat and Donna asked at the same time, alarm bells immediately going off in their heads.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Gordon began, “Well, we have good news and bad news. Good news is we are all set to go up to our room. Bad news is-"

“The promotion materials I had shipped out last Friday never showed up, and now we have nothing!” Joe finished with a frustrated growl in his voice, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Shit, Kat thought, this is bad. All of their posters, pamphlets, and fliers had been in that shipment. Without something to get potential retailers to their suite tonight, they were dead in the water.

A quick look at Donna told her that she was equally panicked. Ok Kat, think think think! We all can’t lose our heads now. Mind racing, she began rapidly trying to figure out a solution.

The backdrop for the booth had just been a photo of the Giant anyway. She knew she could easily make something that worked just as well if she had the materials. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter what their booth looked like as long as it got the attention they needed. It just needed to leave people wondering enough that they came to their suite. And the fliers were just the same design sized down with some product info that they would get tomorrow, so honestly that wasn’t necessary, as long as they got enough people talking about Cardiff, word of mouth should be able to get them the publicity they needed.

“Ok, let’s not panic.” Kat said, more confidently than she felt. “Here is what we are going to do. Gordon, I need you to run out and find me poster board, styrofoam, spray paint and acrylic paint in as many colors as you can find, some brushes and honestly anything else you can find on short notice that I can make a display out of. I promise I’ll pay you back later. We should be fine without the fliers and posters if we get enough word of mouth publicity going, then it’s up to Joe to get them on board.” She fired off her explanation quickly, “ Now, the rest of us need to get the luggage up to the room and head over next door to see what type of space we are working with for the booth, ok?”

Joe, Donna and Gordon stood there looking at each other, stunned by how quickly she formulated a plan.

“Let’s go, everyone move it!” She ordered, and with that Kat took her suitcase, and purse and marched off towards the elevator leaving Joe and Donna to follow.

______

After reaching the suite and putting away their luggage, Joe caught Kat by the arm and pulled her aside as she was about to head out the door, calling for Donna to meet her down at their booth.

“What's your plan?” Joe asked her in a hushed voice. She could tell by the deep lines in his forehead that he was anxious. He had been all day and this whole situation was only making it worse.

“Relax, I have it all under control, ok? You just worry about your speech tonight, and I’ll get people there to see it,” Kat reassured him softly and glanced behind her to make sure they were alone, leaned up as high as she could and kissed him gently.

“Ok,” he replied, breaking away reluctantly. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do!“ and with that she was out the door.

____

On the elevator ride up, Kat had thought of the perfect concept for the display, now just to execute it successfully.

Looking at their booth space, she determined that their backdrop would need to be about six feet wide by five feet tall. Easy enough, she thought, pulling a notepad and pen that she had taken from the hotel room from her purse and sketching out a diagram with the booths dimensions. 

Just then Donna came up behind her. 

“Hey, Gordon should be here any minute, I think I saw him back near the help desk with shopping bags.” She said, setting her purse down on the booth table.

“Ok great. I made a mockup of the design here.” Kat paused, showing Donna the notepad. “What do you think? We need to stand out, and I feel like the more street art inspired style will attract the eye more. We want to leave people wondering. If we tell them too much too soon, they won’t be as compelled to go see for themselves at the demo tonight.”

Donna only had to glance at the sketch, to realize that Kat's idea was far better than anything Cardiff had planned to use for promotion in the first place. This was innovative, and lacked the normal stuffy feel of corporate advertising.

“Kat, this is great! Where did you get the idea for something like this. I haven’t ever seen something like this used by a company before.” Donna asked, clearly impressed.

“Well, I have a BFA in visual art from BU and my minor was in marketing. Living in Boston, you see lots of street art like this, and it was something I always found interesting, but we were never really taught it formally. It was considered too unrefined and alternative to study, especially at the time. I have a few friends that used to be really into it though, and they taught me.” Kat explained, her eyes lighting up at the chance to talk about something she was passionate about. “As for the concept, having a background in marketing and then working for Cardiff made me realize how boring all the corporate advertising can be. Always the same drab color pallet, the same simple fonts, the same spokespeople with that dead inside look in their eyes. Half the companies here would get twice the business they are getting now if they just updated their marketing strategy.”

Donna just smiled and hummed her agreement. Reaching for the sketch, she ripped the paper off the pad, and taking a push pin from the booth next to them when its occupants weren’t looking, walked over and pinned the sketch to the plain white background.

Finally, Donna thought hopefully, there is finally someone around here other than me who knows how to use their brain.

——

“Alright,” Gordon announced loudly, as he entered the suite, having just dropped off the supplies, “Crisis averted, now, let’s get this show on the road.”

He walked across the room to where Joe had set the Giant out on a table.

“Did they tell you their plan for the booth?” Joe asked, trying, and failing, to swallow the anxious hitch in his voice.

“Nope!” Gordon said, popping the P rather aggressively. He was entirely to cheery for Joe's liking.“They told me that it was a surprise and that we had to wait. Hey,” Gordon interrupted himself, his happy expression fading quickly, “did you touch this?”

Joe felt his stomach drop. This can’t be good.

“No,” Joe responded, perhaps more sharply than he meant to. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It won’t boot up.” Gordon said, panic seeping into his voice. “Forget their surprise. You go down and help Kathleen, I need Donna’s help, now.”