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“You seem too happy today.” Even though his gaze were on his newspaper and not her, Rey rolled her eyes at her supervisor.
It was the first day back from a small holiday vacation, the office closed for the past three days, since Christmas. Most employees were happy, still living off holiday cheer. Hell, just this morning, the secretary had caught chairwoman Phasma smiling and showing off a picture of her daughter in an elf costume—but leave it to Hux to be the wet blanket, as usual. She’d give him a pass: it was only nine o’clock in the morning, and he was a workaholic who probably spent his Christmas in the office or on the phone with Snoke, wondering why there was a holiday break in the first place. She had to stop herself from snorting at the thought, flashing a smile at him instead.
“Well, good morning to you too, Armitage.” She glanced away quickly, still catching his smirk as he accepted his coffee from her outstretched hand, his hand lingering a moment on her fingers. He always did that, thinking that she never noticed. She always did, but at least had enough sense, enough respect to say nothing about it. Some days it was flattering, and some days she found herself imagining a relationship with her boss.
But not lately. Now, her mind was solely on Kylo Ren, the handsome and awkward colleague of her boss, technically a higher up, technically off limits, and it was part of the reason that she didn’t dare look back at Hux as she excused herself, settling herself down in front of her computer, mind spinning out of control.
She hadn’t expected disappointment to sit on her chest on Christmas morning when she woke up alone, despite inviting Kylo up to her studio apartment. He had said yes to joining her gallivanting across New York, and so maybe it would extend to spending the night. It hadn’t.
She knew that he would be a gentleman, say no, but she hadn’t expected him to forget about the kisses they had shared, and so she had finished off that bottle of schnapps from the previous night, trying to forget too. She hadn’t—she couldn’t, and she didn’t know if she should kick herself for even kissing him in the first place, for even inviting him to begin with, but she didn’t feel any guilt or regret. Just longing, and a piqued fascination, and a sense that this could end very well, very happily—or it could end in disaster, with one or both of them losing their jobs and hearts. Rey considered her phone again, wondered if she should text him, invite him to lunch, their text conversations becoming frequent over the past few days, but still fleeting, as if both of them were unsure of the other, as if she expected him to gently tell her no, as if he expected her to say that she was involved with someone else. Like Hux.
She didn’t pick up her phone, sliding it into her desk drawer instead, looking up to consider the clock, her eyes drifting to her supervisor’s office. The idiot was staring at her again, probably lost in thought too, his gaze far off as he stared through the glass walls. Despite herself, she smiled, pressing a button on her desk phone, and leaning in close to speak.
Something was very off, and he didn’t like it. Armitage Hux watched his secretary through his glass office’s walls, trying to pin the difference down with his gaze. He knew something was different there—a touch of lipstick here, her hair down instead of up, high heels instead of flats, a dress instead of pants. She was chipper, like always, but her dry humor seemed to have been replaced with general cheerfulness, and it disquieted him—but he didn’t dare ask. Couldn’t be bothered—or have her think that he cared. (Even though he did. A lot.)
What he did know was that people often dressed up more when they were trying to impress someone, attract some special person, and he wracked his brain, wondering who in this office it could be. It wasn’t him—that would be too good to be true, and even if it was, nothing could be done about it. Hux knew better than to try wooing his secretary: too much paperwork with HR if it went badly, and it always did.
But who else could it be? He’d be useless at work today, he knew, his eyes still on Rey as his mind drifted through the office directory, ticking off and circling possible candidates for her affection, even though it was really none of his business.
He startled when his intercom crackled, looking up and out of his thoughts, Rey’s amused face greeting him, sweetly chiding him: “Armitage, if you keep staring at me and not your computer, I’ll be forced to change your screensaver to a picture of me—and trust me, I will not use a cute one. Would you prefer one where I’m crossing my eyes or something else? I’m told that I do an impressive pig face.”
He didn’t answer, ducking his head down, wondering if she could see how red his face was. When he looked up, it was only because there was a thought surfacing, a realization that he wanted to shove aside and ignore, but he couldn’t. The last time he saw her before the short break, he had sent her off to Ren’s office. He hadn’t seen her come back, and he had left with a shrug, figuring that she let herself out after promptly delivering the message, but maybe…
No. Couldn’t be. It was probably someone else. Not Ren. Hux wasn’t sure if he could allow it if it was.
“Ren, for the last time, you are not to go near my secretary.”
If not for his epiphany earlier, Hux wouldn’t have even been sure as to why he was having this conversation, having caught Kylo in the hallway for just a casual question about the merger, only to have that derailed by the holiday foliage the dark haired man was holding. Even though Kylo was the CFO, given more to numbers and math, the redheaded man did know how to set up an equation, and in this case, Kylo plus mistletoe plus sneaking down to Hux’s office equaled a possible sexual harassment complaint to HR, even if Ren was justified in trying to score a date, even if Rey accepted.
“Why not? Did she say something to you?” It was Monday morning, the sun slanting brightly through the skyscraper’s glass panes, and for once, Kylo had been cheerful. He couldn’t get Rey out of his head, hadn’t been able to get her out of his head since Christmas. She had been on his mind for three days, and for the past three days, he had been trying to work some way around it, had been trying to figure out if he was on her mind too…which is why he found himself attempting to sneak down to her desk during the COO’s supposed lunch break with a festive and supposedly romantic gesture, knowing that she’d at least humor him before telling him to fuck off.
And true, maybe this wasn’t the best idea to find out, and maybe his timing wasn’t the best, but this was the CFO’s first time navigating a crush as an adult, and he had never been the best with matters of the heart to begin with. But Hux wasn’t making the process any easier, and so Kylo felt his mood sour, his look sharpening bitterly.
The COO couldn’t help but scoff at his colleague who insisted on glaring at him, even with a sprig of mistletoe in his hand. The businessman wasn’t sure what purpose the poisonous plant had, be it to dangle over his secretary, Rey Kenobi, or to poison his coffee. At this point, it was probably both.
“My proximity to your secretary shouldn’t be of any concern to you—”
“It actually is. She has been the most helpful secretary that I have had in the past five years, which you know.” That was true. Everyone in the office was aware of the bumpy road that was finding Hux the perfect helper, seeing that Rey’s predecessors were either given to incompetence or crying in the COO’s presence. Rey had been a breath of fresh air, mouthing off to him her first day, and now a day didn’t go by where she wasn’t at his side, this moment—and Christmas—being the exception.
“I am not about to risk losing basically the best worker in this damn corporation to an office romance with my financial officer. Not going to happen. Sorry, Ren.” The conversation should have been done there as he pushed past the man, but then he heard the dark chuckle and his feet were suddenly frozen, his hands tensing up into fists. He tasted blood in his mouth, biting his cheek to keep himself from lashing out at his colleague, the man having the audacity to ask the question that could give him away:
“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” The question hung in the air, and Kylo knew that it was a risky question, something that he shouldn’t have said. There wasn’t an answer, and really, he didn’t expect one. Hux was too stiff to admit any emotional attachment. One could see it now in how rigid his shoulders were as he shrugged, turning away, almost as if in defeat.
Kylo wasn’t sure if he should apologize, deciding against it, turning away as well, looking back only as Hux addressed him, tone formal, though the words ached with resentment and resignation.
“Ren, if you absolutely have to romance my secretary, please do it without that damn plant. I’m sure she’d appreciate you being direct and not hiding behind a holiday bush. And be sure to at least let HR know—we have a bunch of gossips around here. I’d hate to lose two people just because Mitaka from accounting can’t keep his damn mouth shut.”
“…Thanks, Hux.” The COO wished that it had been left at that, but then Kylo handed him the mistletoe. He didn’t have the chance to correct the man, to tell him that’s not what he meant by “without the damn plant,” but the CFO waved his hand at him, cutting him off. “Save it for the New Year’s Eve party. Who knows—maybe you’ll have someone waiting for you.”
Hux didn’t know how long he had been standing there with the plant in hand, only that when he looked up from his daze, Kylo was gone, probably down the hall to invite Rey to lunch or what have you. He considered the plant, wondering what this meant for him. What this could mean for Rey.
The answer was nothing. And that was okay. In a few days, he could put a whole year behind him—and in that year, he could neatly package the infatuation he had for his secretary, and put it away. He may not forget about it, and he supposed that the sadistic part of him hoped that whatever came of Kylo’s wooing would end up in flames, that he could swoop in and win Rey for himself, but ultimately, he didn’t wish for it.
No, whatever happened, it would only be because Rey wanted it. That’s what mattered. He told himself that as he walked back to his desk, nodding at his secretary, who beamed back at him. The mistletoe laid across his desk, and he was content to forget about it, and today, and the holidays in general, when his intercom crackled again.
“Thank you, Armitage.” He didn’t have to look up to see Rey’s grateful smile, but he did anyways, forcing a terse simper, wondering why his heart still pounded with the sight of her joy. Her happiness—that was both his gift to her, and her gift to him, a belated Christmas gift, if you will.
There were only a few days left until the new year. That was more than enough time to get over this crush, more than enough time to recover so he could enjoy the holiday party. He tucked those thoughts aside, putting a note in his calendar, uncaring if Rey saw the note when checking his appointments later that day.
4:00pm: Tell Ren to treat Rey properly. Warn him of consequences if he doesn’t. Wish him a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
If she noticed, she didn’t say anything. She just merely smiled, the grin remaining on her cheeks until they hurt, even as she rolled her eyes at the dramatic men in her life. “So petty.” Rey muttered to herself, checking off the event, and reaching for the phone. Life goes on, she mused, listening to the phone ring, her heart jumping when Kylo picked up, warmth flooding her chest. It would be a good year. She knew it.