"I can't believe you're leaving me."

Emily moped in the corner of the office, her lips pouty and her shoulders slumped. Even though we both agreed this was the best direction for me to go, it didn't mean that she wasn't going to spend every day up until the move begging me to change my mind. And admittedly, I wasn't too happy about losing my officemate either. I wouldn't make a career decision purely based on how much I liked the person I shared an office with, but that remorse was just one more little thing to add on to the pile of other little things that made me doubt my decision.

"It's okay Emi," I said with a half smile as I piled a few more sticky notes into my cardboard box. "It's not like I'm going that far. We'll see plenty of each other."

"You say that, but I mean we've barely seen each other as it is. You've just been a fleshy blur passing through the office these past few months."

I sighed as I packed my last pencil into my box and looked over my bare desk. All that was left was my computer, which would sit there collecting dust until someone moved from the Pit and into the office that Emily had shared with me for almost three years.

"Let's be honest, you've been a blur yourself," I replied. "Everyone in the department has been racing around without stopping. I kind of feel bad... Everyone thought they'd be getting a break after the gala and then the very next morning the bomb dropped."

Tamara wasted no time in getting Quinto's confession out to the right people. Our department woke up to find Quinto's face smeared all over the news as he was escorted by several lawyers towards the courthouse. It was, needless to say, a bit of a surprise, not just for our department, but the entire company. At least the rest of the company, though, didn't have to digest the news while dealing with the hangovers most of the PR department had after a wild gala.

We had to go into full blown panic mode with many of us coming in that very Saturday to start work on this new and rather momentous problem. Which meant Alec, despite his best efforts, did not get relocated to the graphics department until about a month prior to my own move. As much as he wanted to be free from his position so he could properly spend time with me, we also needed to keep that promise to spin the public in Quinto's favor. It was no small task, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. We were both so busy playing firefighter that we didn't have time to miss each other.

"Well, at least he's taken the plea deal. I know he's pissed he has to sell his summer mansion in Malibu to pay back the IRS." Emily rolled her eyes before continuing. "Though, I'm sure the year in jail is a bit of a downer..."

"To be fair, the prison he's going to is a nicer resort than any hotel I've stayed at." Sadly that wasn't an exaggeration.

"Yes, and he's eligible for early release anyway, so he'll get over it, but still, I know he's not happy. Though it is way better than if he got caught red-handed and since he came out on his own, well at least appeared to be coming out on his own, he got it way easier than some of his compatriots. Though I still don't know how Tamara walked away with just a slap on the wrist and all of three months of house arrest."

I may not have known exactly how she pulled it off, but I wasn't the least bit surprised that she had. In fact, I'm sure she only accepted my offer because she had already planned for this eventuality. She knew full well that the IRS was on Quinto's trail and could raid them any day. She probably rejoiced in the turn of events that allowed her to utilize her exit strategy without the IRS gaining the upper hand with a surprise attack.

"Yeah and now she practically runs the place. With the rest of the executives on their way to prison or still waiting to go on trial, she's pretty much the most senior member of the company right now."

"You know she had to have some things on the board members," mumbled Emily, her eyes cast to the carpet as conspiratorial thoughts churned inside her head. "I can't believe they'd keep her on knowing she had a hard drive full of confidential documents just sitting in her back pocket."

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second," I said with a shrug, "but you have to admit she's good at her job."

"Oh, is that so?" asked Emily, with a twisted smirk. "Forgiven her have you?"

"Hardly," I scoffed. "But, I'm not going to bite the hand that feeds me." I hefted the box in my arms and smiled at my old officemate. "That's her job."

"Right," she said with a humorous twist of her lips. Then she sighed and looked out to the Pit. "Anyway, I guess with her back to work and Quinto's trial over, things will start to settle. Though, we'll now have to focus all our efforts in regaining our clients' trust."

"And that's not going to be a cake walk," I said, turning for the door, "but hopefully your new boss will try to go easy on you."

"Doubtful," she said, with a smirk and a snort of laughter. "Still, here's hoping." She gave me a wink and held the door open as I sidled out into the Pit. There, waiting for me, the whole floor gathered to wish me well.

They stood around with awkward smiles and tired eyes. They'd been pretty beaten up over the last several months and though it was never officially announced, many knew the truth of what happened the night of the gala. I knew some resented me for it, but most knew it was the right thing to do, and all of them knew Quinto had been a complete ass for embezzling in the first place.

"Good luck Lex!" cheered Jean as I stepped out into the path they left open for me.

"Yeah, best wishes on your new adventures," said Theo with a laugh.

Similar greetings and cheers met me as I made my way through the Pit and towards my future.

"Congratulations, Ms. Jeffries," said Colin with a somber roll to his words.

"Thank you, Mr. Travers," I replied with a smile. "Would you mind getting the door for me?"

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled. He gripped the handle and swung open the door to Alec's old office. "Once you're done unpacking I was hoping we could discuss more thoroughly how my role will change now that you are leading the PR Department."

"I agree," I said, depositing my box onto a low bookshelf that sat beneath a wide window overlooking the city. "But, you can wait until after lunch. I have a meeting that I already have scheduled."

"You do?" he asked, slipping in and shutting the door behind him as the rest of the floor got back to work. "I didn't see that on your schedule."

"Yes, well, I'm in need of an administrative assistant to keep track of such things. You're welcome to the position if you'd like." I offered a sweet smile and then reminded myself that I had promised Alec I would stop picking on Colin for losing out on the promotion by the end of the week. I may have agreed to Alec's request, but I did point out that it wasn't my fault he got so cold and mopey after he was passed over for the position. I mean I guess it was my fault as I was the one that led the charge in defending Quinto and regaining the public's trust, but he couldn't fault me for being proactive. Tamara was the one after all that decided who would get the job and he had conspired with her just as much as I had, so we had competed on equal ground. I got there fair and square, no matter how much he pouted about it.

"I'm good, thank you," he said with a vicious curl to his lip.

"I was just joking Colin," I said with a genuinely friendly smile. "I was more trying to point out that I'm going to need your help filling in some holes in our department. We lost a few people with Alec's departure. Can't blame them, a power shift is a good time to retire or relocate themselves. So we're going to have to shift some people around. Quinto Technologies isn't in the right place to be doing hiring. Until then, you'll just have to ask me directly about my schedule."

I looked over at him as he stood gripping the back of a chair in front of my desk. His nails dug into the soft leather as his head hung low from atop his broad shoulders. After a deep breath, he looked back up with an admirable attempt at a friendly smile. "Okay, Ms. Jeffries, well can I pencil in a meeting with you for after lunch."

"Certainly, we'll meet the moment I'm back."

"Right," he said with a nod before turning for the door.

"And Colin."

"Yes, Ms. Jeffries," he said with a frustrated sigh.

"Call me Lex. We're going to be partners, aren't we? No need for formalities."

At this his face lightened. Not by much, but still it loosened a little. He gave me another nod and then turned to find my lunch meeting waiting at the door.

"Mr. Radcliffe," he said, opening the door and giving me a look from over his shoulder. "I suppose you're here for a lunch meeting."

"Oh?" Alec asked with a raised eyebrow. "I was going to call it more of a date."

"Semantics," I said with a shrug.

Colin rolled his eyes and headed out the door as Alec stepped in.

"He thinks I slept my way into this position," I said with a shake of my head.

"He can think what he wants, I had no say on who got the job. I recused myself considering our relationship."

"And you're sure HR is okay with this," I said, my voice dropping as I tried to forget the way Colin glared at me on his way out. Tamara may have had the final say on who took the position, but at some point the board of directors would fill the positions currently vacated by imprisoned employees and they could overturn Tamara's decisions if they found them problematic.

"Perfectly positive," said Alec crossing the office to sweep me into his arms and plant a sweet, light kiss upon my forehead. "They're aware of the relationship and now that we're in completely different departments, we're allowed to do as we please."

"Oh and what would you be pleased to do?" I asked with a mischievous smile.

"Me? I'd skip the rest of the day and spend some time with you since we've seen so little of each other recently."

"Well, it's probably not best for me to skip out during my first day on the job," I replied.

"Yeah, I wouldn't suggest it either." He released me, though one hand lingered upon my back, guiding me away from my desk and towards the door. "So instead, I think I'd settle for a leisurely lunch hour with you. What do you say?"

"I'd like to take you up on that offer, though I do have one condition." We walked out the door and into the Pit. Alec kept his arm around me and I felt everyone's eyes following us. The rumor had spread of our involvement together, but never openly acknowledged. Apparently, Alec intended to change that.

"What is it?" he asked, punching the down arrow for the elevator.

"I'm feeling like frozen yogurt for dessert, otherwise I don't care where we go."

"Frozen yogurt," he said with a light laugh in his voice. "It's just above freezing outside, don't you think it's a little cold for frozen yogurt?"

"It's never too cold for frozen yogurt," I said with a smile.

"Your wish is my command."

"Thanks Mr. Photographer," I said, rising up on the tips of my toes and planting a quick, but affectionate kiss upon his lips for the whole of the department to see.

"Of course, Ms. Head of PR," he said with a wide smile.

As we slipped into the elevator, I caught sight of a few amused grins, shocked expressions, and completely uninterested gazes. I may not have gotten where I was using the slow and steady route I had meticulously planned for myself. I also may have gotten nauseous whenever I reflected on how I did manage to get into this position. However, I had crossed the finish line and I came out ahead with more than just the title of department head waiting for me at the end of the race.

I wouldn't go back and do it over. I wouldn't regret anything that happened despite how painful it was to get there. Because if I had done it differently then I may have never fallen in love with Alec and he may have never fallen in love with me. It may have been painful at first and the road forward may have been filled with bumps as we kept to the shadows and hid it from the rest of the world. But now my love was finally out in the open. No more secrets, no more lies, no more baggage, to weigh down our relationship. We'd both been set free to soar straight to the stars, hand in hand.

***

Thank you for reading A Charitable Scandal!

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