Chapter Text
Winn Schott was going to die.
He knew that, of course. Everybody dies sooner or later. That was just a fact -- an often sad and random fact -- of life. He’d thought that he was one of those in the "later" category, but certain evidence now seemed to imply he was heading toward the other direction. Namely, the memo on his desk asking him to please see Cat Grant in her office to discuss his work. Immediately.
Okay, so maybe he didn't mean "dying" quite so literally. But he was definitely getting fired, and that was almost the same thing.
Winn furtively glanced from the memo to Cat’s office, then let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t looking for him, thank God. After a few more surreptitious looks interspersed between typing on his computer and pretending to do actual work, he judged that Cat was busy having a discussion with...hmm. A woman Winn didn’t recognize, or not when he only saw her from behind. She had long, blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and was wearing dark blue. At least Cat was occupied for now.
Winn turned in his chair to face the empty desk across from his, formerly occupied by Cat’s last assistant. She’d only been at CatCo for three days. Winn wasn’t even sure how she’d left. He had just come in this morning, and all of her things were gone. Shame, she was kind of nice. Not that Winn really knew her, though -- hell, he couldn’t even remember her name. Linda? Melissa? They’d exchanged general pleasantries the few times they saw each other, but...well, he’d been working on this floor long enough to know that none of Cat’s assistants lasted. So he tried not to get close to them. It only made things worse when the inevitable happened.
Abruptly, the desk and the woman in Cat’s office linked together in Winn’s mind, and he nodded to himself. If this stranger was talking to Cat face-to-face, it meant she’d gotten the job and Cat was now testing her to ensure she didn’t break down with one cutting remark. That made sense. Winn grimaced, imagining the conversation they were having. He hoped it wasn’t too traumatizing. He’d been on the receiving end of that plenty of times.
He shifted his gaze to get a closer look at the potential assistant and instead locked eyes with Cat Grant. Winn froze. Cat, staring directly at him, frowned meaningfully and made a ‘come here’ gesture. Winn suddenly remembered that when Cat said “immediately,” she meant immediately. I am so dead, he thought. This thought continued as he stood up and walked toward Cat's office at the slowest pace he could manage while still looking like a punctual, model, not-filled-with-terror employee. She’s gonna eviscerate me in front of her assistant as a warning. Show off her ruthlessness. Well, look on the bright side, Winn. Maybe you can try for that Lord Technologies job again. Fourth time’s the charm, right?
Winn didn’t bother looking at the assistant as he opened the door and stepped inside Cat’s office. He was about to be viciously fired, he didn’t need the extra embarrassment of seeing her look of pity. “You, um, you wanted to see me, Ms. Grant?” Winn said. In a way, it was almost freeing, already knowing he was gone. He could stutter less when talking to Cat, at least.
“Yes, how very astute of you to realize that,” Cat said in her typical dismissively sarcastic tone. She pointed to Winn’s left. “This is my new assistant, Karen. She needs to know where everything important in this building is. Show her.” Cat turned toward her computer and began typing, evidently believing that the conversation was over.
Winn and Karen looked at each other. She seemed about as nervous and confused as he felt. Also, wow was she pretty. Winn couldn't help giving her a tiny smile. She returned the smile and stood a little more straight. “Um, Ms. Grant,” Karen said, adjusting her glasses and stepping forward, “are you sure you don’t want me to start right away? I’m a fast learner, and --”
“If I asked you right now,” Cat interrupted without looking up, “to bring these files down to our chief web editor, check in with our art director to see how the new cover’s coming along, then call the usual caterers and make sure they’re on schedule for the dinner I’m holding next week…what would happen?” She finally glanced Karen’s way. Karen was silent, staring down at the floor. “Exactly,” Cat said. “Nothing. Nothing would get done.”
Cat turned back to her computer. “I’m not a slave-driver, Karen. I would never ask you to do anything I can’t do myself. So I will use my valuable time to handle your responsibilities for, hmmm, let’s say two hours. In that time I expect you to learn, at the minimum, the names and phone numbers of all major department heads as well as precisely what is on each of this building’s fifty-two floors. I suggest you get to it.”
“You mean I’m not -- I’m not getting fired?” Winn blurted out.
Cat gave him a cool look. “Is there a reason you should be fired? Because if you do not do exactly as I instructed, there will be.”
“But -- there was a memo -- you wanted to talk about my work --”
“Hmm, was there?” Cat gazed pensively past Winn. “Well, for the life of me, I can’t remember what there is to discuss. Which is why I need a competent assistant. So go.” And with that icy word, Karen and Winn left.
“Is she always like that?” Karen asked, following Winn as he walked back to his desk, shoved aside some stray papers, and leaned back against the drawers.
“No,” said Winn after a moment of thought, “usually she’s worse.”
Karen shrugged. She seemed surprisingly unscathed by her encounter with Cat. “Well, I wanted to work for a powerful, influential woman,” she said brightly. “I guess I just hoped she’d be a little more...supportive.”
“Trust me -- for her, that is supportive. She must like something about you.” Which may or may not have been true -- who knew what good lurked in the heart of Cat Grant? Definitely not Winn -- but he wanted to give Karen the extra reassurance. It was her first day in a job with a very high turnover rate. She needed it.
Karen took a step closer and laid a friendly hand on his shoulder. “Listen, you don’t need to take time out of your day to help me, I’ll be fine. I already know most of the floors, at least.” She looked down again, squinting as though she were remembering something. “Let’s see...radio’s on 19, social media’s a couple levels below that, I think art and style is somewhere in the 30s…”
Winn’s mouth opened in shock. “How do you know all that already?”
Karen looked back toward him and smiled. “I did say I was a fast learner. I, um, saw the directory in the lobby, and I have a really good memory.” She glanced around and adjusted her glasses again. “I do have two questions, though. One: where’s my desk?” Winn wordlessly pointed at the desk next to his and Karen laughed. “Right, right, obviously it’s the one empty desk in this whole area that's right next to Ms. Grant, got it. So, second question: what is your name?” She stuck out a hand. Winn took it, and as they shook he thought in surprise, Sheesh, her grip is strong.
“Winn. It’s, uh, a nickname, actually. Long story. Okay, it’s actually not a long story, I just hate hearing people call me ‘Winslow,’ it’s embarrassing --” Winn stopped right there before he could self-sabotage himself any further. What was with him today? He’d stopped telling Cat’s assistants that ages ago -- it didn’t matter if they knew his full name, they’d be out of there before it started to matter. But Winn couldn’t help shake the feeling that this one, Karen, would be here for a long time. He sure hoped so, at any rate.
“Karen --” he began to say, but she interrupted him with a laugh.
“Ha, sorry, just -- my name’s Kara,” she said, giggling again. “Ms. Grant kept mangling it the entire time I was in there, but I couldn’t butt in and correct her.”
“What? Oh, wow, I am so sorry.”
“It’s fine, you had no idea. Keep going with what you were saying.”
“Okay, uh, Kara,” Winn said, emphasizing the correct name, which made her smile. Winn helplessly smiled back. Why did she make him want to smile so much? “It’s really no trouble to guide you around CatCo. Believe me, I usually have nothing going on. I’m just the IT guy, so.” He shrugged. “Nobody’ll miss me.”
“Aw, I’m sure that’s not true,” Kara said. “I mean, I’d miss you if you weren’t here. Right now, you’re my only friend in this whole building!”
Friend. Well, that was a good start. “Go catch the elevator, I just need to get some things together. You never know when someone’s got a computer that needs fixing in this building.” They both laughed at that, and Kara started walking toward the elevator. “Wait, wait!” Winn called out. “Not that one, that’s Cat’s private elevator. Rule one: do not use it. Ever.” He pointed back down the hall in the direction of the public elevator. Kara nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, and then she’d gone.
Winn quickly grabbed his satchel and stuffed his laptop and a couple of snack bars inside. He’d been telling the truth about wanting to prepare, but he also needed a little time to think. He wanted to know her. He wanted to know everything about her. More than that, even -- every time she opened her mouth he had to stop himself from staring at her and grinning like an idiot. She was beautiful and funny and kind and --
Oh, Winn thought. Oh no.
Winn was not unfamiliar with this feeling. He’d had embarrassing high school crushes, tried dating a couple times, the works. This was different, though. For one thing, it had never hit him like a brick to the chest -- whapow. For another, he was already thinking --
“I love you,” Winn said to the empty air. In the crowded, hectic office floor, nobody heard. And nobody will hear, he thought, because even if she stays, she definitely has a boyfriend -- or, well, someone in her life. She’s got to. But the words felt right as they settled into the back of his mind and deep inside his chest, all at once. They certainly were not going away any time soon.
“I love you, Kara,” he said again. Just in case.