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It was Friday night drinks, and Penelope was having a terrible time.
All the important and not-so-important-but-thinking-they-are-important people from the office were there, and for the first time it included the interns as well. Since they were invited for the first time, it was hardly a good idea to skip these drinks, Penelope knew that. Especially since maybe this was the place she would be able to get ahead of the other intern in the office.
From the moment they had met, it was more than clear that they would not get along, Cressida and her.
Cressida was everything she was not; tall, blonde and from a wealthy family. Penelope suspected more often than not that she had bought her way into this company.
And where Penelope wasn't poor per se, she wasn't as well off as her fellow intern and it was thrown in her face at every possible instant by the other. Combine that with her ability to flirt her way to the top and thus be awarded the best assignments, and she had a real nemesis in her indeed.
But ugh, the drinks.
Everyone was boasting and bragging, trying to one up each other, while she just nursed her gin and tonic. It was all she could afford really, the pay for interns wasn't that great. Especially not good enough to be flaunting a new designer bag every week, like Cressida did.
She wasn't really a part of an ongoing conversation, and she figured she wasn't going to be any time soon.
“Could you watch my drink for a bit?” Penelope turned to her colleague James, handing him her glass. “I just need to pop off to the loo.”
James nodded and grabbed her glass from her and sat it down next to his pint without much more than a glance her way.
Penelope moved towards the bathrooms in the back, but Fridays meant the pub was packed with businesspeople from the whole area. It was hard to move past them, especially being as short as she was.
After peeing and hiking her pantyhose back up her legs, she washed her hands and checked her reflection in the mirror. She looked grown up in her new outfit, but still had a bit of a babyface. It was no wonder she needed to keep her ID ready with every drink she ordered.
She tugged her skirt into place and breathed out deeply. She should just get back into the fray and try to get in touch with one of the executives, try to see if she could convince them to give her one of the better assignments as well.
She walked out of the bathroom and immediately bumped into someone who either didn't see her or figured she would move out of the way.
“Excuse me,” she said pointedly, not ignore being pushed over by everyone in the establishment.
“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you,” the man replied unapologetically.
“It's okay,” she murmured, although it really wasn't.
With a tight smile, she made to move past him, but someone caught her arm.
“Pen? Fancy seeing you here.”
She stiffened and looked up into the bright-shining eyes of Colin Bridgerton. He was smiling at her, genuine and surprised.
“Colin,” she croaked, and she closed her eyes in embarrassment briefly. She was still a blubbering mess in his presence, no matter how much she had grown up since high school.
“I was just on my way out for a smoke, if you want to join me?”
She crinkled her nose in disgust. “No thanks, I don't smoke,” she answered, a little disappointed he had started again (or he had never stopped in the first place and was just tired of hiding it, she reasoned).
“You can watch me smoke then,” he grinned. “Come on, I want to know how you've been. It's been months since we've talked!”
His enthusiasm was infectious and before she knew it, she found herself outside with him. He had gallantly given her his jacket around to shield her from the wind and little drizzle. She told him all about her internship, about the dynamics of the workplace and her disappointment in the work she was assigned.
“But this other intern, she does get the cool stuff?” he asked, taking a drag of cigarette and she hated how she thought it looked sexy.
“Her parents probably bought her way into this internship,” Penelope moped, hugging his jacket firmer around herself. “I bet that's why she gets to do the cool stuff. She is always sucking up to the bosses as well. And she's always dragging me down wherever she can. I hate her.”
Colin laughed. “Ahw, Pen. It’s just an internship. You'll survive.”
“I know, I know,” she said. “I just want to actually learn something here, you know? This internship is really good for my resume, but if I don't actually learn how to handle the big cases, what use will it be in the future? I can't handle another six months of just making copies and doing coffee rounds.”
“Maybe suck up to the bosses as well?” Colin winked at her, and she felt her face heat up in spite of the cold.
“I really wouldn't know how,” she mumbled.
“Well, maybe you could stand out in some other way. There must be some advance you have,” he looked at her imploringly, and she just shook her head in response.
Colin just hummed, his eyes assessing her. She fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze.
“I should get back, I left my drink in someone’s care. If I don’t get back within two minutes he either drank or spiked it,” she laughed, but Colin’s eyes darkened.
“Just get a new drink,” he said.
“Yeah, right,” she scoffed. “I could barely afford the first one.”
He put out his cigarette butt and moved to the door to push it open for her. “After you,” he said, and she gave him a small smile.
“Well, it was great seeing you,” Penelope said, smiling at him.
“You too, Pen. Keep in touch, yeah?”
“Will do.”
She walked to the part of the bar where her colleagues were. Colin seemed to follow her, and she shot him a confused look over her shoulder. He was silent and just inclined his head to the bar. Penelope walked to the bar, and Colin caged her in against it.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“What were you having?” Colin asked, his face nearly in her neck and his breath hot on her ear.
“A tonic and gin,” she replied rather breathlessly.
His hand was on her side then, and she coughed to mask her surprised yelp. His fingers slid over her rib cage and moved to the side swiftly, his hand slipping into the inside pocket of the jacket she was still wearing. He tugged a card holder out of the pocket.
She could feel several pairs of eyes of on her. Her co-workers and fellow intern were clearly watching them.
“I forgot I still had this on,” she whispered.
“Clearly,” Colin said, an amused tone lacing his voice.
He didn't take a step away from her. He flagged down the barman and ordered a tonic and gin for her and a whiskey neat for himself.
Penelope turned to the side, looking up at his face. “Whiskey?”
“I spent too much time in Scotland with Mike and Fran,” he shrugged. “It grows on you.”
Their drinks were put in front of them and Colin handed his card to the barman.
“Who is the other intern then?” Colin asked her quietly. They had to look the most suspicious, Penelope thought, whispering as they were in a crowded bar like this.
“The tall blonde with the permanent look of disgusts when she sees me,” Penelope whispered back and Colin guffawed.
“She's looking at us,” he muttered.
“Obviously,” Penelope hissed. “We look awfully suspicious.”
Colin shook his head slightly, and he grinned down at her. “We don't look suspicious, dear Pen,” he whispered, and he bent down even more, his lips now brushing her ear as he spoke, “we look like lovers.”
Penelope's stomach swooped.
“Oh?” she breathed out, unable to respond differently.
The barman returned with Colin's card, and Colin nodded in thanks. He finally took a step to the side, standing next to Penelope instead of behind her and raised his glass in a toast to Penelope.
"Cheers,” he said and he winked at her.
Penelope's hand shook as she raised her own glass. She tapped it against his, holding his intense gaze (seven years of bad sex if you didn't, not that she was getting any). “Cheers,” she mumbled and took a small sip.
“Penelope,” it was her colleague James, her half empty glass in his hand. “There you are! I thought you had pulled a Houdini on us. Here's your G&T.”
“Oh, thank you, James,” Penelope smiled at him. “I've got a new one, that one is probably watered down.”
James wasn't paying her any attention though, he was looking at Colin.
“Are you a Bridgerton?” he asked, rather bluntly.
“Colin,” Colin said, holding out his hand to shake.
James looked more than a little impressed. “Wow, it's nice to meet you. My name's James Cho,” James said. “I believe you know my cousin? He is an executive at our firm.”
“Cho! Of course,” Colin laughed. “Is he here? I haven't seen him in years.”
Before Penelope knew it, one of her bosses, Mr. Cho, appeared out of thin air. He shook Colin's hand enthusiastically and slapped his shoulder in the way men did.
“What have you been up to, Bridge?” he asked.
“Just got back in the country again this morning. I've been writing for the Lonely Planet and they've asked me to rewrite some parts of South East Asia,” he said, and if he was trying to sound modest, he was failing greatly.
“The Planet,” Mr. Cho said, impressed. It was only now that Penelope realised that the man she referred to as ‘Mr. Cho’ could not be more than seven years her senior.
“Yeah, I actually wanted to spend the evening with my girl here,” Colin continued, his hand slipping around Penelope's waist like he had done so more often than not, “but she had this obligatory work drinks thing.”
“Aren't you one of my interns?” Mr. Cho asked, his eyes flickering over Penelope with a slight surprised look in them.
“I am,” Penelope confirmed to Mister ‘three-sugars-and-a-splash-of-oat-milk' Cho.
“Well, if I had known she was yours, I'd have played favourites, Bridge,” Mr. Cho chuckled, and he slapped Colin's shoulder good naturedly.
Colin smirked. “It's never too late to start,” he winked.
Mr. Cho laughed, while Penelope held an awkward smile on her face.
“Come by my office on Monday and we'll see what we can do, uhh--”
“Penelope,” Colin supplied.
“Of course, Penelope ,” Mr. Cho had the decency to look embarrassed. “I believe we've given the Danbury-piece to the Cowper girl, but I see no harm in giving it to you instead. She can work on something else, and if nothing is available there is always the copies that need to be made.”
Penelope bit her lip to keep from grinning.
“That would be great, thank you sir,” she said demurely.
“Anything for an old friend like Bridge,” Cho said. “The two of you been together long?”
Penelope opened her mouth to correct his assumption, but Colin beat her to it.
“About a year and a half,” he said. “We've known each other for much longer though. Sometimes it takes a while for someone to see what's right in front of them.”
“Ah,” Cho chuckled. “Tell me about it. The same happened with my baby brother and his now fiancée.”
His eyes slipped to Penelope's left hand and he actually looked disappointed at the lack of a ring there. A romantic, Penelope supposed.
“Well, all in a good time, I guess,” he mumbled.
Colin's laugh was forced. “We'll get to that sometime,” he said, the hand on her side tightening slightly. “Once I'm not away that often and can offer her some stability.”
“If she stays with the company, we could offer that stability as well,” Cho mused.
Penelope had enough of the two men talking about her instead of with her.
“Colin,” she said, “I should probably mingle a little with the others. Why don't I meet you at the flat later?”
He blinked and then realised that she was playing along with his earlier lie. He nodded in understanding and held his whiskey in a silent toast before downing it in one go. “Of course, love,” he said. “We have all the time tonight to catch up.”
Penelope nodded at him, and she wondered when she would see him again to thank him for his intervening.
“See you tonight,” he whispered, his hand tilting her chin up and leaning in.
She hoped her eyes didn't display her shock too much, for the sake of the charade. Mr. Cho was probably still watching them.
Colin's lips pressed against hers in a soft kiss, and her eyes fluttered closed. Her stomach constricted with nerves and excitement. It had to be the gin and tonic that made her feel almost queasy.
His hand was on her side again, and he squeezed her there. She gasped against his lips and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside her mouth. She moaned in surprised and instant arousal, tentatively touching her tongue against his.
Colin pulled her closer now that she was participating, their tongues brushing between their opened mouths again.
With the sudden realisation that one of her bosses was still watching them – along with the rest of the department, probably – she pushed against Colin's chest and ducked her head shyly. “Colin!” she admonished him softly, “not in front of my boss.”
He smirked unapologetically. “I had to miss you for several weeks, babe,” he grinned. “He doesn't mind.”
Mr. Cho didn't seem to mind, that much was true. He was looking at them with a look of pure happiness on his voice. “No, I don't,” he said. “But come with me, Penelope. We can discuss the logistics of the Danbury-case with the others.”
Penelope threw Colin another grateful smile as she shrugged out of his jacket, before she followed Mr. Cho to the corner in the pub where the other executives were gathered. Cressida shot daggers her way as she walked past her, and Penelope had never felt better to have one-upped someone.
About an hour and another gin and tonic (Mr. Cho's treat) later, she took the tube home with a slight buzz and a permanent smile on her face. She pulled out her phone and send off a text to Colin.
Just discussed the deets of the case I've been assigned. I'm so excited abt this. Thank you sm! X
Her phone buzzed within a minute.
don't mention it, I had fun 😉 on your way home now?
Her fingers flew over her screen.
Yeah, I am. Ill never forget what you did for me.
She pocketed her phone and sighed happily. She replayed the evening in her head the remainder of the trip home. The way Colin had come to her rescue and knew just how to play Mr Cho so she could use it to her advantage was impressive.
Her blood rushed through her veins when she thought back to the way he had kissed her.
If they had been alone, would she have pushed him away? She thought it through. She wouldn't have. Kissing Colin had been on her wishlist since she had met him at fifteen. She just never thought it would happen at all.
Well, she thought, it didn't really happen, did it? It was all for show anyway.
She walked the short distance from the tube station to her flat. A car was just parking in front of her building and she frowned. Her neighbour, Mrs Varley, was going to be upset; while there were no personal parking spaces in the street, she always parked in the same space. Penelope would be the one to hear her complaints should she run into her in the communal hallway.
She stopped in her tracks when she saw Colin step out at the driver's side.
“Hi,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
“Hi,” she parroted.
Colin opened the door on the passanger side and pulled out a duffel bag and a paper bag adorned with a yellow M. Penelope's stomach grumbled. She hadn't had anything to eat and just the thought of McDonalds made her mouth water.
“Is that for me?” she asked.
“It might be,” Colin smirked. “Will you let me in?”
“With McDonalds? Always.”
“Good to know,” he mumbled.
They settled on her couch and Penelope devoured a cheeseburger and a box of chicken nuggets in no time. Colin was on his second burger already, after wolfing down a portion of large fries while sipping a gigantic strawberry milkshake.
“Not that I don't appreciate the dinner, but why are you here?” Penelope said, grabbing his milkshake and taking a sip.
Colin grabbed the milkshake from her hand and took a long pull. Penelope watched his lips around the straw that had just been in her mouth. It was strangely intimate.
“You told me to be here,” Colin said a-matter-of-factly.
She had to think for a second. “That was just part of the whole fake relationship thing though, wasn't it?”
Colin stared at her. “It doesn't have to be,” he said, his voice was low.
Heat pooled deep inside her, low in her belly. She squirmed on the couch.
“What do you mean?” she whispered.
His gaze was unwavering. “I'll be in London for the next four weeks,” he said. “Cho is bound to expect me to come by the office to see you.”
Was that a thing people did? She wasn't sure.
“Oh,” she breathed out. “Maybe we should make a plan then. To keep up appearances.”
Colin nodded solemnly.
“It's probably best, yes. At least for the time you'll spend at this internship. Would be a waste if they were to give back that important case to stupid Cressida, wouldn't it?”
Penelope nodded. “So, what would that mean then? Will you come by the office and we make out in the copy room?”
Even the thought of doing so brought heat to her cheeks and other places. Colin raised an eyebrow in response.
“Yes. But it's also probably best if I were to come pick you up at least once a week for lunch and twice a week for drinks or dinner after work.”
Penelope's eyes bugged out.
“Wow,” she gasped. “That almost sounds like real dating.”
“Does it?” Colin asked, and she realised he had sneakily inched closer to her. He was practically in her face.
“Yeah, it does.”
“Perhaps we should practice kissing a little,” Colin muttered, his hand cradling her jaw. “You know, so it looks natural when they see us.”
“Alright,” Penelope whispered back. He made a good point.
“Alright?” he breathed.
She nodded shakily and then he was kissing her again.
This time there was no colleague, intern or distant friend watching them. It was just them on her couch, his lips on hers, coaxing them open with his tongue. She met him readily, moaning into his mouth as he practically crawled on top of her.
It was only when she was horizontal on the couch, with Colin on top of her pressing against the smouldering heat between her legs that she figured they were taking this practice kissing a little further then necessary.
She saw no reason to stop him.
When their kisses turned sloppy and desperate, and Colin's hands had disappeared under her skirt, she figured this Friday night turned out to be not so terrible after all.
FIN.