Work Text:
Claire Francois was a goddess dressed in Polo Ralph Lauren.
When she walked into the main headquarters of the Wealth Management System, she didn’t just enter: she owned the place. The sleek granite floors seemed to shine a little brighter under her heels. Style? Impeccable. Money? Limitless. As the heiress to the Francois Wealth Management empire, she quite literally owned the floors she stood on... and she looked phenomenal doing it.
Rei Taylor was a normie who dressed in Uniqlo Essentials, and she was… also there. As a dual-major in Business and Economics, Ms. Taylor should have been one of WMS’s most prized employees. However.
“Ms. Taylor?”
“Yes?” Rei snapped around in her uncomfortable “ergonomic” desk chair to face one (1) Claire Francois.
“Are you going to the All Hands meeting at 1:00?” Claire’s blue eyes flipped down to her navy bullion-adorned Jacquard Blazer, seemingly looking for any loose thread or miscellaneous debris.
Rei Taylor, wearing a simple (but cute!) cotton dress, no nail polish, no makeup, nodded in confirmation. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Great. Get me an Iced Americano from Chavez, down the road.”
Huh? “But Ms. Francois, it’s 12:30.”
Claire cracked a smile, still not looking at Rei head-on. “Well, you better go fast.” And then, she turned on her heel and pattered away in her $1,000 shoes.
Rei ripped herself up from her desk and booked it down the hallway. A dual major, a team Lead who graduated from HARVARD, and she’s the one running to get coffee for the DAUGHTER of the CEO.
It was fucked up.
But Rei kind of liked it.
Claire had always given Rei “special treatment”, from the day she was hired. At that time Claire was not yet involved in the hiring process, thank goodness, but she would often lurk around her Father’s office. He often let her sit in on meetings and gave her some 1:1 economics tips, but never hired her on full-time. She was more like… an overseer.
During her breaks, she’d walk around and judge what the employees were up to. Picking on small things, from organization skills to punctuation. Rei never knew why, but Claire especially loved to look over her shoulder and tear her apart. Honestly Rei didn’t mind the nitpicking, she was too busy percieving how close the heiress was.
Rei was definitely obsessed, constantly bothering her friend, coworker, and wonderful co-alumni Misha. It had started pure, with small comments like “oh! She’s really pretty.” But it very quickly evolved into crass, insane statements like “her ass looks so good in that skirt, I’m literally gooning right now.” Misha, bless her heart, always heard her bestie out. Even if it made her want to die.
Claire and Rei’s first prolonged interaction was nearly a month after Rei had started at WMS. They were both taking the elevator up back to the finance floor, floor 3, after a neat and punctual lunch break. Per the cliché, Rei Taylor had a coffee in her hands. And per the cliché, Rei Taylor tripped over her own two feet and spilled the $5 drink all over the back of Claire’s $800 dress.
Claire was furious, of course. The young woman quickly (and aggressively) leaned into Rei, who was definitely cowering in the corner of the workspace. (God, she had never been so embarrassed in her life. To do such a thing to your crush before you even have your first real conversation?) Dole, Clair’s father, overheard the commotion and briskly walked over to assess and address the situation. It was an accident, he gathered, and Rei was at fault. However, it was very unprofessional and unbecoming for his daughter to be reaming out a coworker in the workspace, so he quickly sent Rei back to her desk and Claire to his office.
Claire never forgave Rei.
Rei didn’t know if Claire’s loathing towards her started with the coffee spill, or if it was due to her getting in trouble with her father. And she probably would never find out.
Since then, the two developed a sort of… dance. Claire would ask Rei to do weird, personal, and nearly impossible tasks- and Rei did them. And she succeeded every time. At first these wins would earn her glares and “tsk”s from her love interest, but as time progressed Claire got more and more vocal. Soon banter was a regular occurrence, and it was fun. Rei learned that Claire had a quick wit that matched hers, and while pointed, she was always delicate with her teasing. She never pushed it too far.
Cut to Rei sprinting for her life to get Claire’s coffee. Just another one of Claire’s weekly punishments.
It was 30°C (86°F) in the Nagoya summer heat, and the young woman felt as if she was about to both melt into a puddle and disintegrate into ash. However! She WOULD get the coffee, and she WOULD impress Ms. Claire!
—-
She did it. She actually made it. Rei Taylor was standing next to Claire Francois with a heavily condensated drink in her right hand… and Claire was less than pleased by it. The young woman took the drink, skillfully avoiding Rei’s hand, without so much as a “thank you”. The young Financial Advisor was, in that moment, very grateful that Ms. Claire had given her 30 minutes to get the drink. A much more rude and vindictive person would have given her much less time.
It’s the little things.
Rei was breathless, sweaty, and very very pleased with herself. She was also wobbly, shaky, and felt a little sick too— but whatever, it was fine! After a beat, Rei finally sat down at the large multi-room conference table with the rest of her team. Dole stood upfront, watching as his employees filtered in.
A hand went to the Brunette’s shoulder, and she looked up. Misha.
“You look like hell.”
“Thanks.” It came out coarse. Oh god, it was showing in her voice too!
Misha took the seat next to her, did a small double take towards her friend, and then sighed as she reached to help brush Rei’s hair back into a presentable state. (The two didn’t notice, but down the table Claire Francois was glaring daggers.)
The meeting started suddenly with a clap from Mr. Francois, soon followed by a quick income forecast and weekly summary. Things were looking good, the clients were happy, and more contracts were signed this week than the past two weeks combined.
“Now, Rei Taylor.” Rei perked up, dread immediately sending a shiver down her spine. She forgot about her presentation! “How are things looking on the Ichiban Project?”
Rei bolted upright and practically started sprinting to the door, “one second, sir! I have the documents and presentation on my desk-“
And suddenly the world spun, and then went black.
—
Rei woke up on Thane Baur’s office couch with severe vertigo. However, even though the world was spinning, Claire served as an anchor in the corner of her vision. A look of concern graced her features; It grounded her, if only for a moment. Rei let out an involuntary groan.
“Lay back down,” Clair demanded, pushing the small woman back into Thane’s plush leather couch.
Ugh, when did she even sit up?
“What happened?” A beat, “… do you have water?” Rei closed her eyes, too afraid to move her head too fast.
Something moved behind her, a waterbottle judging by the soft crinkle. “Yeah, but give it a moment before you sit up and drink. You passed out, either due to overheating or low blood sugar.”
Claire was concerned. Rei could hear it in her voice.
“Damn.” Her presentation was ruined.
“I’m sorry.”
Rei hesitated before asking, “What?”
Claire Francois, THEE Claire Francois, opened her mouth and spoke an apology again, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was that hot outside. I wouldn’t have made you go out there.”
Rei sighed, kept her eyes closed, and sat up. She blindly reached for the water bottle for a moment before Claire placed it in her hands, their pinkies brushing. “It’s okay.” She didn’t really know what else to say, so she opened the bottle and took a swig. Her head felt fuzzy, and she still felt like shit. She took another sip, blindly handed the bottle back to Claire, and laid back down.
“We have a doctor coming, she should be able to-“ Claire started, face hidden by the blackness behind Rei’s eyelids.
“No, no you don’t need to get me a traveling doctor, I’m fine. I just need food and water.”
“The doctor’s already almost here, it’d be a waste to send her back now.”
“It’s more a waste to have her check on me when I’m fine.”
“She’s checking on you, we don’t need you dying here.” Claire pushed forward, her face of concern morphing into one of annoyance.
“I’m not gonna die here! I’m fine!”
“Rei Taylor!”
Rei went quiet at that. Claire had never said her name before- much less yelled it. Oh my god, was she going to… blush?
“Rei? Are you okay?!” Claire used one hand to push Rei back down into the couch, and the other to check her forehead temperature.
Ah, yes, Rei was definitely blushing after that. How embarrassing. Can’t even have a pretty girl call your name without burning up. “I’m okay!” She chirped, not willing to actually do anything about Claire’s hands.
Unfortunately, the doctor made her way into the office before anything else would transpire. Claire moved back, watching the doctor (a woman with short, platinum hair and warm red/brown eyes), run small tests on Ms. Taylor. Claire made sure to re-read every number and every result herself (just in case Dole asked her later, obviously). Rei seemed to be fine, just dehydrated and low on blood sugar, as suspected. The heat definitely triggered her fainting episode, also as expected. As long as she kept drinking water and got some food in her system, she “should be fine”!
Claire gave a warm smile and nod to the doctor as she went on her way. From there, she insisted Rei Taylor let her buy a meal. It was her fault she fainted, after all. Rei quickly gave in, very smitten with the idea that Claire Francois was taking her on a date. (Something Claire would later admit was her intention.)
At the restaurant, a place far too fancy for Rei’s comfort, the two discussed what brought them to their professions. They discussed their immediate dreams and aspirations, all with flushed skin. They could have stayed there for hours, but instead settled on going for a late night stroll through a nearby park. Claire said that it was to do a “stress test” on Rei’s health, but in reality she just wasn’t ready to go home yet.
Claire bought the both of them crepes, which they shared, and together they walked down the summery park path without a care in the world. It was unfortunate that guilt brought them together today, but… Claire was dazzling in the golden light, and Rei found it hard to dwell on that for long.
When they returned to work the next day, things continued as normal. Claire would nitpick over Rei’s shoulder. She would ask her to go do strange tasks, often putting her job at risk, and Rei would do them. However, now, after work they were nearly inseparable. They’d flirt, they’d go on walks, they’d get dinner…
Claire was a goddess in Polo Ralph Lauren, but she was Rei’s. Rei was a normie in Uniqlo Essential’s, but she was Claire's.