"Can you zip me up?" I asked Alice, who sat peering up at me on my bed.

She nodded, clearly eager to help, and instantly got on her feet. Standing on top of my bed gave her a few extra inches and allowed her to zip up the back of my dress.

"Thanks, sweetheart," I said as I cupped her face in my hands and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Be good for Auntie Thals tonight, alright?"

I turned around and peered at my reflection in the mirror, my heart beating rapidly. Tonight was the night. After months and months of working on my building, it was finally time to unveil it.

The building itself had started construction months ago and kept being delayed due to setbacks. Now it was finally ready, leading to an unveiling party being held by Percy's company, which I was invited to.

"Mommy?" Alice piped up, causing me to realize she was still lingering in my room.

I turned to face her, crouching down to her level as I spoke. "Yes, Alice?"

"Where are you going?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. "And when are you gonna come home?"

I laughed gently. "Alice, I already told you all this. I'm going to an unveiling party. And I'll be back late, when you're already sound asleep."

Alice frowned. "I know, you said that all already but I don't know what an unveiling party is. And can't you come back earlier?"

"Oh, I wish I could, but it's a requirement I stay. You know how mommy's been working on a building?" I asked her. She nodded attentively, clearly listening. "Well, the building is finally finished, so all the people who worked on it are celebrating."

"Can I stay up?" Alice ventured, showing me her signature begging face which she'd inherited from Percy. "I can stay awake, mommy, I promise."

A smile appeared on my face. "Alice, you need to sleep. I won't be back until real late, so don't stay up for me. Now, I have to go, I'm running late. Remember to be good for your Auntie Thals."

I gave Alice one last kiss before standing up. I examined my outfit one last time before turning towards the door, where I was stopped again by Alice.

"Is daddy gonna be at the party?" Alice asked.

My chest tightened. She'd never called Percy that before, which made me nervous and happy at the same time.

I nodded, but didn't turn around to face Alice in case she misread my expression. "Uh, yes, I believe so. I mean, his company is throwing it."

Alice giggled. "That's why you're staying!"

I felt my face turn red, but I simply rolled my eyes and grabbed Alice's hand. "C'mon, I think Auntie Thals is starting Nemo without you!"

Alice gasped and quickly released my hand. She rushed into the living room, her hair whipping behind her.

When I finally reached the living room I saw that, of course, Finding Nemo was already playing and Alice was sitting right next to Thalia, who merely smirked at me.

"Have fun tonight, Chase," she said with a wink. I rolled my eyes in response. "Not too much fun, though."

"Goodbye Thalia," I said with a groan. "I'll see you tomorrow, Alice. And Thalia, remember, call me if you need anything. Anything at all. And don't forget to text me updates!"

And with that, I headed out of the apartment and to my car. Soon I arrived at the address, the address of my very own building, one I had designed. A feeling of pride swelled in my chest as I stepped out of my car and stared up at the building, clearly in awe.

"It's beautiful, right?" a familiar voice whispered in my ear. "You know, not to brag or anything but I know the architect."

I grinned as I turned to face Percy. He was dressed in a sleek tuxedo which I could tell he hated by the way he kept pulling on the collar. His hair was as messy as usual and he had a familiar glimmer in his eyes.

"You came," I said, a warm smile on my face.

Percy chuckled. "Of course I came, Chase. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Well, actually, it's company mandatory, but I'm totally here to support you."

I laughed a little, my throat feeling tight. "Well, we should get inside. It would probably look bad if the head architect was late."

"Same with the project manager," he ventured as he offered out his arm to me. I gulped, unsure of wether to take his arm or not. His smile dropped. "Oh, sorry...."

I shook my head. "Oh, no, it's not like that. I just mean, shouldn't we be a little more, well, professional?"

Percy wrinkled his nose. "God, you're right. I totally forgot. Sorry, I'm not trying to ruin your whole night."

"You're not ruining my night, I promise," I assured him. "Honestly, you're probably saving it. I barely know anyone else here."

"Well, I'm going to get everything personal out of the way right now before we enter. How's Alice?" he asked, despite seeing her the previous day.

Percy and I now had a schedule for seeing Alice. He'd pick her up from school nearly every night and spend time with her before I came home from work or Thalia from school.

"She's good," I replied. He nodded. "Thalia's watching her tonight. Now, we're really going to be late."

We walked inside the building where I couldn't help but contain my gasp. The main lobby was more than I could've imagined despite the fact that I'd designed it. Percy laughed at my gasp but I could tell he was intrigued as well.

We were offered drinks and appetizers on trays when we reached the main floor the party was being held on. It was packed with people all dressed up in suits and dresses. It was a sea of unknown faces to me, but Percy seemed to know everyone.

"Ahh, just the man I'm looking for!" some older looking man called as Percy and I walked in. He instantly clapped a hand on Percy's back. "Great work, Perseus!"

Percy laughed awkwardly. "Ahh, thanks, Mr. Miller."

"Actually, it's Percy," I corrected the man, who I assumed was named Mr. Miller. I winked at Percy, who looked afraid.

Mr. Miller frowned. "Oh, well. Who are you, young lady? Perseus, is this your date?"

I stuck my hand out and forced a grin. "Hello, it's so nice to meet you. My name's Annabeth Chase, I'm the head architect of this project."

The man looked dumbfounded but reluctantly shook my hand. He finished the brief conversation to be polite before quickly darting off in the opposite direction.

Percy snickered as soon as Mr. Miller was out of earshot. "Wise girl, that was amazing!"

"That guy was an ass," I responded with an eye roll before taking a sip out of my drink, which had been recently refilled for me. "How come you let him call you Perseus? You hate that."

"Yeah, well, that ass happens to be our top investor," Percy said wearily. I nearly spat out my drink. "As a top investor, that guy can call me whatever the hell he wants."

The rest of my night was spent nearly entirely with Percy. We joked, flirted a little, drank, and ate. The night slipped by in a blur, and people were clearly getting rowdy.

"I'd like to propose a toast!" someone yelled out as they started to clink their glass aggressively. We all looked up only to see Percy's direct boss clanging on her glass.

"Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone here tonight for coming. Secondly, I'd like to thank our investors, none of this would be possible without you all. I'd also like to thank all of our employees, all of you are very hardworking and I'm proud to call you a part of our company," she said, a proud smile on her face. "I'd like to thank the architects and their company who helped us achieve this building, you all represented your company well. A huge thank you to the construction crews.

"There are two people here that I'd really like to specifically thank tonight. First, the head architect on this project, Annabeth Chase," she said. She paused for applause. My face went red at the sight of all these people clapping for me. "And secondly, I'd like to thank Percy Jackson, the project manager. These two work together like nothing I've ever seen before, it's a perfect balance. Oh, and no surprise, they're standing there together. Let's give a big round of applause for everyone here!"

Percy's face was as red as mine as we all started clapping. The rest of the night people kept approaching us, congratulating and thanking us.

"You two just make the sweetest couple," an older woman commented as she made her way up to us. "It's so nice to see a young couple working together."

I laughed and peered up at Percy, who was biting his lip. "We're actually not together, just friends."

She frowned, clearly not giving up. "Oh, well, you two seem to have some sort of chemistry. Where are your dates?"

"I, uh, I don't have one and I don't think Ms. Chase does either," Percy said as he cleared his throat.

"No dates? No one special in your lives?" she asked.

"Well, I have friends and family," Percy said, clearly confused.

"Yeah, I have a daughter," I interjected. "And believe me, she wanted to come tonight. She's only six, though, so I thought it'd be best if she stayed home."

Percy's eyes lit up. "Aww, she wanted to come? You should've brought her, I'm sure she would've loved to see the fish tanks in person."

"Oh, you know her daughter?" the woman interjected, causing me to roll my eyes.

Percy took a deep breathe. "Can you please excuse us? I need to talk to Ms. Chase about an urgent matter in private."

Percy grabbed onto my arm and whisked me away from her, which made me eternally grateful. He released me when we reached the seemingly empty staircase.

"God, what was her problem?" Percy asked with an eye roll. "All she cared about was our personal lives."

I nodded. "To be fair, I think she was a little tipsy. I think everyone back in there is a tipsy."

Percy peered around the stair case to confirm it was empty before setting his drink down and slowly taking off his coat jacket and then tie, which hung loosely around his neck. "God, I hate wearing suits. Especially the fancy kind, they're the worst."

"I know, I remember prom," I said with a laugh. He grinned. "You even took off your special fish tie. If you couldn't keep that tie on the future of other ties doesn't look too bright. Do you still have that thing?"

"The fish tie? Obviously. I still wear it sometimes," he said with a wink. "I was debating on wearing it tonight."

I laughed. "That would've been hilarious. Imagine what that woman would've had to say about that. Maybe you can show it to me again another time."

He frowned. "Hopefully. I mean, I won't see you every day at work now. God, that'll be weird."

"It's getting late," I whispered as I peered out the window, which was showing the pitch black night sky. "What time is it?"

"Nearly one," Percy said with a yawn. "God, those people will stay for hours with an open bar. Are you leaving?"

I nodded as I set my champagne glass down on the nearest surface. "Yes, I should probably head home. Alice is probably still waiting for me."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Really? It's way past her bedtime."

"I know, I know, but she always waits for me to get home despite how much I beg her to sleep," I said with a chuckle. "She's a night owl."

"At least let me walk you to your car?" Percy asked. I bit my lip, clearly reluctant to the idea. "C'mon, Annabeth, it's late. I just wanna make sure you're safe."

He offered his arm out to me, which I took after yawning several more times. He helped me with my coat and the two of us walked out into the fresh air, arms linked.

"Well, this is my car," I said as we reached my car. His grip on me tightened.

"I don't want you to go," he whispered, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"I don't want to go," I admitted, my heart pounding rapidly against my chest. Percy inched closer to me, our hands interlocked.

Soon his lips were on mine, and nothing seemed to matter. Not the fact that it was one in the morning or that we were acting unprofessional. All I could focus on was him.