Dr-Malfoy

He raises a single, perfectly arched eyebrow. "Have you forgotten we have a meeting today in twenty minutes?"

I mentally slap myself; how could I have forgotten?

"Ohmygosh I'm so sorry. I'll be ready in a few minutes." I invite him inside, before hurriedly latching the door shut and racing up to my bedroom. I grab the first thing I see that looks vaguely professional; unfortunately for me, it turns out to be a long, black pencil skirt that clings to all my curves and a pale pink deep-v blouse with a black blazer. Slipping it on, I brush my hair and swipe a random color lipstick across my lips- I desperately hope it matches, it's embarrassing enough my had to come and remind me of a meeting- and apply a dash of mascara before summoning my work bag with all the most recent files in it and rushing downstairs. He smirks, then chuckles. I immediately frown.

"What's wrong?" He pulls out his wand in response, and I tense thanks to my war instincts. However, all he does is conjure a tissue and reaches forward to wipe the lipstick off my lips. I shiver at the rather intimate gesture, before he leans back.

"There. It looks better now." He smirks again. I am confused on so many levels- did Draco Malfoy, my former academic rival and school bully, now a very polite man who happens to be my boss just wipe my lipstick off? tell me it looks better than before?

Nodding slightly in agreement, I turn away to open the door and run my fingers over my now bare lips before shaking this encounter off and setting my mind to the meeting ahead of me.

As we ride down the elevator, I think of something that causes me to frown. Looking towards him as we ride in an awkward silence down to the ground floor, I ask quietly,

"How did you know where I live?"

It might seem obvious at first; employee records. But since owls can find recipients of the letter just fine on their own, witch and wizard employers tend to not require addresses. He shrugged, not meeting my eyes as he inspected his shirt cuffs, adjusting them.

"Astoria."

"Oh." A small twinge of flashes through me- I'm not really sure what; it's hard to tell. I clear my head as the elevator and we step into a small alcove I had created within the first week of me living in the muggle apartment building so I could easily Apparate without being seen by passers-by.

I still have a bit of trouble Apparating to the office building, since I haven't familiarized myself enough with the space yet, something Dr- is unfortunately very acutely aware of considering I Apparated right into him on the street (luckily no one was around) instead of the designated corner of the lobby. Why he was instead of Apparating I have no idea, but as the outcome let's just say I avoided him as much as possible for the rest of the day since I flushed red as a strawberry every time I was near him.

Malfoy senses this, and pulls my arm through the crook of his elbow. Again, I shiver at the intimacy, before he turns abruptly away from me, and we twist into uncomfortableness and darkness before we land perfectly into the office's marbled-floor lobby. He smirks once more as I straighten up, before the two of us head towards the elevator and I review the files inside as quickly as physically possible.

Draco -

He had explained the difficulties of this client; he had had trouble with him several times before and now I had the pleasure of meeting him in person instead of just hearing about how nasty he was to work with. The only reason we (that is to say, the company) did business with him was because it could potentially have an excellent outcome for the both companies if we could agree to a set of terms.

And if the head of the company changed; the current head was seriously old, pure- blooded and terribly set in his ways. Ironically, the company we were trying to work with was the real estate company Astoria worked for, so I was really vying for her to at least become senior enough to conduct meetings with other companies.

"Granger." Malfoy's voice interrupted my chain of thoughts, indicating we had arrived. I whipped my head around to find him smiling - before mockingly bowing and allowing me to go first. I rolled my eyes and stepped out, bracing myself for a good bout of negotiation as we entered the conference room, waiting for the other party to arrive.

***

When she raced out of her room, I was nearly speechless. Her outfit fit her so perfectly and outlined the body I was barely aware she had; you can't say I wanted her because she was hot, I wanted her because she was so much better than

I stay behind her as we hurry towards the elevators, appreciating the view but worry about the upcoming meeting is beginning to cloud my mind.

I'm really not excited for the meeting; Dellon Marsteraguo is really not a pleasant man to work with and the fact that Hermione isn't pure- blooded isn't going to help our case. Bringing up arguments that I could use in this negotiation, I glance at Hermione as she rides up the building in the soundless elevator. Her nose is scrunched up the way it does when she concentrates, and she impatiently brushes her hair aside as it falls in front of her face with her delicate fingers.

There's not nearly enough time for me to admire her from afar as the door opens. Her hair whips around as she spins to look at me, and if I look at her any longer I'll have a blush on my parchment-pale cheeks. Jokingly, I bow, to hide any sign of it.

Tensing as the door slides open, I'm pleasantly surprised to see Astoria, and offer her a small, hesitant smile that she easily returns with a large grin. My smile immediately fades as I see the man who walks in behind her.

He's old, dressed immaculately in a suit that rivals Dr-, with a solid gold wristwatch and patent leather shoes polished so well I could do my makeup in them. It's not so much his attire as much as it is his attitude and demeanour. There is what seems to be a permanent sneer in his face, and the attitude he carries is very much the 'I-have-better-things-to-be-doing' kind of attitude. Even the way he walks seems to denote that he is of more importance than any other being in the room. Even as he walks in and casts his eyes around, his vision lands on me and, if it's possible, his sneer grows.

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