don't hold that against me [will]

First day of work. Ok. This was new.

Before when she had been working at Crazy Larry’s it didn’t feel like a job. It was just kind of something she did so she had money and won’t be stuck at home all day. None of the previous, extremely short-lived jobs meant anything to Gia either. She’d just show up, did the bare minimum, and went home to crash with a tub of ice cream. But this? This felt official, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for it. She didn’t want to be a waitress forever of course, but she didn’t even know why Will hired her to be his assistant. He probably had loads of applicants who were better qualified and looked better in a power suit than she did.

Oh dear, what if he hired her because he felt sorry for her or he felt obliged to? Or worse, what if he only hired her because of a favour? She didn’t think she could live it down, or face any of her friends again if that were true, especially not Eli. Why oh why did she have to go and say yes when Will told her she got the job? How could she have been so stupid?! She had no idea what he did at Write Hand Press. There were a lot of books, but that’s literally all Gia knew about that place! She had no marketable skills nor any clue on how to be a good assistant, this had to have been a favour. 

It doesn’t matter, Gianna thought, flinging herself dramatically across her bed, groaning when loose spring in the mattress poked her in the stomach. She should really stop doing that if she didn’t want to get stabbed by it when it finally pierced through the fabric one day. Honestly, that was probably bound to happen sometime anyway.

For a brief moment, she considered just not showing up. After all, there was no way she could suck at something she didn’t go to, right?

But then there was also this nagging voice at the back of her head that told her to “honour her engagements” like a “responsible adult”. She knew it would be the right thing to do, but nobody warned her growing up would be so difficult. Most of her siblings and cousins seemed to have grown into adulthood, but here she was, almost having a nervous breakdown the day before because she had absolutely no idea what to wear on her first day of work that wasn’t too waitress-y.

It took a while, but eventually she rolled out of bed and got dressed. Quickly scarfing down some leftovers from last night as breakfast, she disapparated from her apartment and onto the pavement in front of the fancy and impressive looking (she’d forgotten how much so) Write Hand Press. This was it. She walked up to the door and pushed it open, where she could see her admittedly handsome new boss was waiting for her.

“Um, Mr Dasher? Sir? I don’t know what I’m supposed to call you, but here I am. First day of work.” Oh dear lord please stop talking. “I know this might sound inappropriate, but you didn’t give me this job as a… as a favour, did you?”


@Sioban i'm sorry it's so bad i just wanted to get it out <333~

Admittedly, hiring Gianna had been to further his selfish gains.

Having someone handle the paperwork meant that Will could finally take a well deserved holiday. He knew, deep down, that the staff he already had could probably handle his things but they did too much anyway. Besides, someone young and confident and capable would be much better. As much as he adored Alfred, the head of acquisitions, he was resistant to change. He'd been the same way, even when he was working for his father.

He wasn't about to throw Gianna into the deep end without showing her around and settling her in first. His holiday with Honey was a fortnight from now and fourteen days should be long enough for anyone to figure out how an office worked.

Will wasn't going to ask her to make coffee. Everyone here were big enough and ugly enough to look after themselves by now. Gianna was an extra pair of hands. During the summer months, lots of the authors' deadlines rolled around, meaning a number of heavy manuscripts landed on his desk almost daily. Some, on the other hand, needed chasing down and forcing out the last chapters. Will was a generally easy going kind of chap but he needed people to do as they'd promised him. For a kind and genial man, he was skilled at twisting people's arms.

Dressed in a baby blue button down dress shirt and a pair of pressed slate grey trousers, he looked up when someone entered and he smiled broadly. Unable to help himself, he chuckled as he strode forward, a large hand extended to her in greeting. "Will. Just Will," he told her gently with a dimpled smile as he shook her hand and stood back to let her enter.

The surname Regan felt vaguely familiar, like it meant something to him in an offhanded manner. Wasn't Arden's best friend a Regan? That ditsy blonde one who smelled like an ashram?

The taller man blinked, looking slightly dazed as he stared at her. Yup. He knew why she was here but her next comment had him frowning. "No of course not," William replied, looking and sounding slightly mystified by her question. He didn't know enough of her family to be handing out favours and when he got in touch with her, she hadn't come across as the type of girl who needed one. "I hired you because you're a good fit for the job and everyone else was a bit boring," he admitted with another friendly smile.

Nerves were a bad thing. His place of work was sprawling, set over three floors in a Georgian townhouse while his modest apartment was up in the attic. It must be a sensory overload for someone who hadn't been here before. Every surface was crammed with books but it was still bright, with large windows and clever lighting and a large spinning globe in the corner. It didn't at all feel outdated and claustrophobic and Will was keen to promote a relaxed work environment.

"Come on in," Will said, keen to quell those nerves as soon as he could. "No one bites. I promise. Unless you count Pamela." As if on cue, a plump woman with greying dark hair that was held in ringlets curled so tightly, poked her head around the corner and scowled at them both. "Morning Pam!" Will said loudly, lifting a hand and waving at the woman whose scowl deepened and she shuffled off with her hands full of papers.

Lowering his voice to a stage whisper, he leaned into Gianna. "Rumour has it, she came with the building," he joked as he shook his head. "She's been here for years. She should be retired by now but every time I breach the subject, she swats me with whatever she's got in her hands. She's as mad a box of frogs." Will had no desire to sack any of the staff that his father had employed, partly out of loyalty but mostly because they knew what they were doing. "Can I get you a tea or coffee? Water?" He asked as he lead her through the large space. "Your office is on the second floor," Will continued. "It's not massive but it's got great views across the square. You ready to see it?"

He wasn't telling the whole truth.

Of course, Gianna had no idea if her hunch was right, and he actually did hire her as a favour but just didn't want to tell her, or something else. Then again, even she knew that she'd look like an idiot putting herself at a disadvantage if she kept pressing the matter, so she just nodded obediently, letting his much larger hand cover hers in a polite greeting. "Will," She parroted, "You can call me Gia, most people do."

"And you'll find out just how not boring I am in due time." She mumbled to herself as she shook his hand, saying a much louder 'thank you' with a small cough. It was a firm handshake, so he was probably a nice guy. Her father told her, drunkenly, once that it was best to judge a man by his handshake. Besides, she doubted Dash's brother could ever be considered dodgy.

Eagerly, she followed Will into the office like an excited puppy, taking in everything. It was everything she imagined it would be and much more. She expected something slightly dingy and dusty, but it was nice and bright, although still full of books and desks overflowing with loose sheets of parchment and quills. She loved it already.

"Oh god." She jumped a little when the woman called Pamela popped out from behind a shelf on cue. Gia gave a quick little wave, trying and failing to muffle her laughter at Will's comments about her. The woman waddled away after that, her indignant huff not missed by either of them, and neither was her ominous muttering to herself. "Cheerful character," She smiled, "I'm sure we'll be best friends." Generally she liked old people; with a bit of work, she was sure she could get Pamela to like her, or at least tolerate her.

She waved away Will's inquiry, "I'm good, don't worry about me. You should be the one telling me your drink preferences so I know what to get you." She commented mildly. Honestly she didn't mind doing things like fetching coffee and ordering lunch. She was good at these things, and she never felt like doing things like this was beneath her. She just wanted to be helpful most of the time, and not like a burden.

"No way!" Gianna gaped at her futu- current boss, her voice an excited squeal. "I have an office? I have a floor?! I mean obviously it's not my floor, it's everyone's floor, it's your floor! But this is so exciting! I never thought I'd be getting my own space and all, and-" She caught herself then and stopped her blathering. "Sorry, I get like this when I'm excited. But you probably know that now." She said apologetically, feeling a flush creep up her neck. Why couldn't she just pretend to be normal for just one minute?

Coughing slightly again, mostly to mask her embarrassment this time, she gestured at him to lead the way. "I can't wait to see it! I have about a thousand different ways I want to decorate it now." Gia laughed, her previous shyness and nerves long forgotten, her eyes wide and shiny with anticipation. "You still haven't told me exactly what I'll be doing though. Dragon slaying and chasing away women aren't on my work schedule, are they?"

"Gia," Will replied with a smile, making  a mental note to remember her preference. She did look familiar but he'd always been bad with faces. "You don't know my sister, Arden, do you?" He asked her curiously. He assumed Gia might know her as "Dash" and he was the only person who called her by her full name.

Pamela was hilarious but he could understand Gia's surprise. He cracked a grin. "She doesn't like change," he mused. She was so resistant to it when he was taken on my his father, she'd written a four page complaint letter. Will had it framed in his office. "I'll bet," he said lightly in response to them being friends. Pamela was a sort of ninja or perhaps a bad smell; always there, lingering. He could sense her eyes in the back of his head.

He frowned, concerned. "Oh everyone can get their own coffee," he told Gia mildly with a smile. She wasn't hired to do that. At her outburst, Will panicked. He winced at her shrill exclamation before he found himself laughing, reaching out a warm hand and squeezing her shoulder briefly. "I'm glad you're excited!" He joined in, finding her mood infectious as he opened a gnarled teak door that was painted a deep shade of teal. The staircase was small, the carpet a thick and deep steely grey as he would his way to the top and opened up a door, stepping back to let her in.

The room was rather dinky. The walls were painted a cream colour and there was an old wooden desk, sat below a large window that looked out onto the square. There was a small patch of grass in the middle of the square, full off ancient trees that was surrounded by black wrought iron buildings. It was a garden square in London, bordered by a few Georgian townhouses, like the one they were currently in. It was usually quiet but filled up with couples and the nearby office workers, taking lunch on the grass.

The fixtures and fittings in Gia's new office were pretty old. There was a copper light switch that sometimes worked, a lopsided shelf and matching book case. Will nodded in approval. "Absolutely," he said, agreeing with her. "Go wild. Do you like dogs?" He asked, as an after thought.

Will lived on the top floor of the buildings with his Irish Wolfhound, Dave. He had no intention of keeping him locked up so he was free to roam the offices while Will was here. He was a friendly old thing, going deaf and absolutely dopey. "It's just that I have one," he informed her. "He won't usually come in here but he might come and say hello," he said with a smile.

The comment about dragon slaying made him smile. "You haven't met Bruno yet," he concluded ominously. Bruno Margolay was a diva. In his sixties and permanently tanned and flamboyant, he wrote popular fiction and he was always demanding something new and expensive to help him get his muse. Will had flat out refused to give into his demands, which only made Bruno like him even more.

"Oh right," Will said, snapping back into it. "We've got a lot of new authors signing with us this year, which means a lot of paper work and filing. I'm pretty dedicated," he told Gianna swiftly. "But some of the others….well, not so much. You're not here to do their work for them," he told her quickly. "But I need some help organising and keeping on top of things. It's a mess," he said with a sigh. "I might also need help keeping my head above water. Pam used to run my diary," he  said with a frown. "But she was starting to not schedule meetings with certain people because she didn't like the look of them."

He offered Gia an embarrassed smile. "Nothing too stressful but I don't think I can trust her. I'll need to you help me schedule meetings and chase people who haven't met deadlines or are running behind. We'll need to think of ways to coerce them into delivering and maybe shift things around. You can help me organise get togethers and book launches, if you're up for it?" He asked, unsure of she would want to plan parties. "Basically, you can be my right hand woman and the reason for keeping me sane. I love it here but you'll find out soon enough that eventually, it will make you go mad." Gianna had arrived before the push to meet deadlines, the thrill of a book launch and the all round intense buzz of creativity that he lived for and was almost certain he'd be willing to die for, too.