3. Vivian

Vivian watched as Emma Williams interacted with the rest of the office staff for a few minutes before retreating to her office, giving them space. She would wait for official feedback from everyone, but so far, she liked what she saw.

Emma seemed to get along well with everyone. She had a sunny personality that threatened to break through the cold walls Vivian had built around herself. That was unnerving, but Vivian wasn't going to let her personal feelings interfere with making the best decision for her business.

She glanced back at Emma once more before closing the office door. Vivian didn't do relationships but if she did, Emma was exactly her type. She enjoyed looking at Emma Williams and she hoped that that wouldn't become a problem,

Emma was curvy and Vivian enjoyed letting her gaze run over Emma's body. The curve of her breasts and hips in the navy pant suit were very pleasing on the eye. Emma's hair was thick black curls, her skin smooth and brown and her smile was dazzling and warm. She seemed so happy and lighthearted as she chatted to everyone; it felt like a breath of fresh air. Vivian was already weighing the pros and cons of different offers in her head, wondering which kinds of benefits would entice Emma the most.

Assuming she got the all-clear from the rest of her team, she was going to offer Emma the job. Emma was by far the most suitable of the candidates Vivian had interviewed. Vivian's only worry was that Emma had only worked in much smaller businesses before, so the sheer volume of work might be overwhelming at first.

However, Emma seemed eager to learn and willing to embrace the challenge, which was the most important thing. The rest would follow with training and mentorship. Jane still had two weeks, which should be plenty of time to give Emma a good start, and Vivian could coach her on the rest of what needed to be done.

Vivian took lunch in her office, as usual. Once everyone started filtering back into the main workspace, Vivian went down to join them. "Emma, would you mind going to the waiting area, please? I need to discuss your potential fit with everyone here."

"Of course. Do you mind if I check on Lily in daycare?"

"Not at all—you go ahead. I'll have Jane fetch you when we're done here."

Vivian waited until Emma was out of earshot before turning to her team. "Well? What do you all think of her?"

"I think she'll be a great fit. I like her." Nathan was very introverted and didn't connect well with many people, which meant his recommendation carried a lot of weight.

"Yeah, she seems great," Ruth added. "I'd be very happy to work with her."

"I asked her a few technical questions over lunch, and she aced those. It might take her some time to adjust to a bigger work environment, but she seems resilient and determined. I'm sure she can do it."

Vivian nodded seriously. Jane's recommendation was the one that she would take into the highest account, since it was Jane's job that Emma would be doing. "Does anyone have any objections to me hiring her?"

All around, people shook their heads.

"Okay, then I'm going to offer her the job."

"Already?" Jane raised an eyebrow. "Not even a second interview?"

"I don't think I need one. I think I've got a good idea of who she is and what she's capable of."

It was unlike Vivian not to do a second interview. She was usually more thorough, but Emma was so open about everything that it hadn't been difficult to understand her strengths and weaknesses.

"Then I say go ahead."

"Yeah, Jane is right. Hire her. I think she'll do really well here."

Vivian smiled at Nathan, grateful for his input. "Alright, then. I'll tell her. Jane, would you mind asking her to step back into my office?"

When Emma arrived, she looked almost as nervous as she had the first time stepping into Vivian's office and Vivian couldn't help but find it endearing. Her big brown eyes looked anxious. Vivian was sure that those nerves would fade with time. Emma was understandably anxious about hearing feedback from an important job interview.

Vivian didn't keep her in suspense. "I've got good news, Emma. The job is yours. Can you start tomorrow?"

"Oh! That's wonderful. I didn't expect you to come to a decision so quickly. Yes, I'd love to start tomorrow. Would it be alright if I keep bringing Lily to daycare until school starts?"

"Yes, of course—daycare is open to all employees, you included. We just need to decide on terms, and then I'll have our lawyers draw up the contract for signing tomorrow morning."

The discussion of salary and benefits didn't take long. Vivian knew that her salaries and benefits were competitive, and Emma clearly did too, because she had no desire to haggle. She gave Vivian a bright smile as they wrapped up the discussion. "I'm so glad to be working for you, Vivian. I'm sure we'll end up great friends." She exuded warmth.

Vivian didn't comment on that last part but she felt it was a strange thing to say. "You will be a valued employee at Sterling Enterprises, and I'll do everything I can to make sure you're happy here."

Emma left, throwing a glowing smile over her shoulder at Vivian as she left. Did she have to be so attractive and nice? She evoked feelings in Vivian that she hadn't had to battle with for quite some time.

She had long ago decided that sex wasn't worth the drama. Even one-night stands were not entirely free of complications. As much as Vivian had enjoyed the sex she'd had, she had learned to live without it, along with the lack of human companionship.

Emma Williams was awakening something within her that threatened to break that boundary. Just thinking of her made Vivian wonder if her breasts were as big and round as they looked under that button-up blouse she'd been wearing. Vivian wished that Emma could have left just a few more buttons undone, given her a little bit of a better look…

Of course, that was an entirely inappropriate thought to have about her newest employee. If Vivian did decide to change her mind on the sex things, she certainly couldn't do it with Emma, not when Emma may feel compelled to say yes for the sake of her job.

She couldn't help imagining it, though.

No. Nope, she was not going down that road. Emma was off limits. She would simply have to deal with that.

Perhaps even worse than her blatant sexiness, Emma seemed like a truly wonderful person. Vivian was sorely tempted to get to know her better outside of a work setting, something she hadn't felt the stirrings of with anyone in many years now.

That was what was truly dangerous. She could resist the workplace sex—Vivian was no predator—but the longing for simple friendship? That was harder to ignore. She reminded herself sternly of all the reasons she did this. She didn't know why Emma threatened her walls in this way, but she would simply have to harden herself against Emma's bright presence.

It wasn't like she could avoid her—they would be working closely from now on. Vivian would simply have to learn to become immune. It was a skill she had perfected with most people. She just had to do the same thing with Emma.

Really, how hard could it be?

"Come in," Vivian called to a knock on her door. As she suspected, it was Emma. This was Emma's first day on her own, Jane having left for Spain the previous evening, after a spectacular farewell party at work. Emma had understandably had a lot of questions. It sometimes took a little longer to explain things to her, but once she understood something, Emma didn't forget it.

She may call herself a slow learner, probably because of the extra explaining she required, but the fact that she retained what she had learned, therefore not necessitating that it be explained again, more than made up for it. She was actually one of the quicker learners Vivian had taught, all things considered, and Vivian told her that.

She was surprised to see Emma carrying a tray loaded with food. "Did you lose your way to the cafeteria?"

Vivian was already pulling out a spare copy of the map Jane had given Emma, but Emma shook her head.

"No, I just came from there. I just thought I'd bring us lunch."

Vivian gaped stupidly at her. "What?"

"Lunch. You know. Food. To eat."

Vivian was still staring. Why would Emma bring her food when she could be hanging out with any number of friendly and welcoming colleagues in the cafeteria?

"Um. Thank you, but I'm not hungry."

"Come on, Vivian, you do want to disprove the rumor that you're actually a vampire, don't you?"

"There is no such rumor!" Vivian spluttered indignantly.

Emma laughed. "No, there's not, but now you have me wondering. I think you'd better get eating and prove my worst fears false."

It was difficult not to go along with her. She was just so bubbly and nice, trying to make her cold, indifferent boss laugh for who knew what reason.

"Thank you for the food. You can just leave it here."

"Yeah, right. I made the effort to bring it here, the least you can do is share it with me."

Vivian stared in amazement as Emma bounced over and sat down opposite her, putting the plate of food between them and popping a grape into her mouth.

Vivian was so stunned that she couldn't even summon the presence of mind to tell Emma to get out of her office. She had never encountered anyone who simply refused to accept her cold attitude and refusal to participate in social activities.

"Are you sure you're not a vampire?" Emma teased.

"Vampire this," Vivian muttered, grabbing a chocolate chip muffin and taking a huge bite out of it. Now that she'd started, it seemed silly to send Emma away. She was hungry, and Emma had brought a wide selection of food.

"Are you getting along okay with everyone in the office? You're not here hiding from anyone, are you?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Stop worrying, Vivian. Everyone is great. I've been getting along really well with everyone here—except you. We've been working together for two weeks now, and I feel like I barely know you. Tell me something about yourself."

Vivian desperately tried to fortify her crumbling internal defenses. "We shouldn't talk about personal matters during work time."

"So come out with me," Emma said at once. "Let me take you to dinner. We can talk all we want then."

Was Emma asking her out on a date? It certainly seemed like it. The thought sent a warm shiver through Vivian's spine. No one had ever asked her on a date before—she wasn't exactly what you'd call approachable.

"I think that's a bad idea. I'm your boss."

"Oh yes, I forgot about the no dating rule. I'm not looking to date. Come out with me as friends?"

She was relentless, wasn't she? Vivian might be annoyed if she didn't find it so attractive. "I don't form personal relationships at work."

"Why not?"

No one had ever bothered to ask her that before. Vivian knew that she should be kicking Emma out of her office along with her tray of food, but she somehow found herself answering instead.

"It's too messy. I'm not doing that to my business, or my employees. As CEO, I need to keep a clear head and not get involved in any interpersonal drama."

"That's a load of crap."

Vivian blinked at Emma. "Excuse me?"

"So you're scared of intimacy—I get it. You don't want to get hurt. I disagree with the decision, but it's your decision. Don't try to pretend it's a business decision, though. Plenty of CEOs have friends and do just fine."

Vivian wanted to be angry with Emma for speaking to her like that, but she was too curious to be angry right now. Was Emma right? Was this more about Vivian's personal fear of getting hurt than the business? If she was just using her business as an excuse to avoid making herself vulnerable, that would shatter Vivian's entire worldview.

She repeated her own internal argument to Emma. "I've seen good businesses go down because their CEOs allowed their emotions to get in the way of running a business."

Emma shrugged, unimpressed. "So don't allow your emotions to get in the way, then. That doesn't mean not having emotions. You're a person, not a business robot, Vivian."

Vivian couldn't help but chuckle at the image. Business robot. Yeah, that's kind of what she was.

"You know, you could get in huge trouble talking to your boss like this."

"Not when she knows I'm right."

"I do not!"

"Then why haven't you kicked me out of your office yet?"

Vivian wished she knew the answer to that question. "I'm hungry, and you have food," she defended, taking another bite of the muffin for emphasis.

"Well, at least we can put those vampire rumors to rest."

"Emma! You said there were no rumors!"

Emma laughed. "Don't worry, you're okay there. But there are rumors about you—about your romantic past."

"Don't I know it," Vivian muttered, ignoring Emma's bright-eyed look of curiosity.

She should keep quiet. She shouldn't give in to her desire to know more about Emma, but Emma was right there, so open and friendly, filling a void inside Vivian that she hadn't even realized was there.

"How is Lily doing? Is she adjusting well?"

Emma's face fell a little. "She's struggling. It's hard to make new friends when you're the new kid and everyone else already knows each other. She'll figure it out, though. We both will."

Vivian hated that she'd marred Emma's sunny expression and sought to rectify the situation. "What about you? What do you do when you're not working?"

"Mostly parenting stuff. I don't have time for a lot else. Lily and I are both kind of holding onto each other. It's a big change for both of us. Though I really need to cut back on the ice cream runs—for both our sakes."

Vivian laughed. "Yeah, you wouldn't want her bouncing off the walls too often from sugar highs."

"Exactly. It's all fine and good when I'm on a sugar high too, but I crash faster than she does, and then I struggle. She's like a high spider monkey."

Vivian snorted at the image. "Now that's something I'd like to see."

"So come out for ice cream with us. You know all the secret gems in the city, I'd bet."

"You don't give up, do you?"

"Nope." Emma grinned at her. "You're not as indifferent as you outwardly appear, I'd bet my job on it."

She was betting her job on it. Emma didn't know Vivian well enough yet to realize that Vivian wouldn't fire her simply because she was personally annoyed with her. Emma was risking a lot, just to try to be social with her withdrawn boss.

"I am not coming out for ice cream with you. I'm your boss. This is a professional relationship."

Emma shrugged, seemingly undeterred. "Suit yourself. Did you know that Nathan and Lindsey are getting pretty serious?"

"Oh, I didn't know he was dating."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Well, that figures. If you don't spend time with anyone, how will you learn all the juiciest gossip?"

"I have no interest in juicy gossip. If Nathan has a problem, he will come to me."

"If it's a problem you can help him solve, sure, but if he just needs to vent to someone, he's going to be doing that with his colleagues. You never find out anything if everyone only thinks of you as an emergency option."

"I am only an emergency option. I'm not… I'm not good at people stuff," Vivian admitted.

"Bullshit. You don't get to be a CEO responsible for so many happy employees without being good at people stuff."

"I'm good at business-related people stuff. But personal stuff? No thanks. Save it for someone more qualified."

"You don't need qualifications to be human."

"Being human is hardly all that's required to interact socially in a competent manner."

"Well, no wonder you're no good at it if that's how you think about it. It's not about being competent, it's about being yourself."

"I am myself. This, what you see, is who I am."

"I don't think that's true," Emma mused pensively. "I think there's more to you… and I'm going to unravel it." She glanced at her watch. "Anyway, lunch is over. See you, Vivian."

"See you." Vivian stared after Emma as she left.

What the hell was that?

Emma had been… nice. Nicer than Vivian deserved. Her head spun with the various things Emma had said. No one had ever been so unabashedly straight with her, not letting her position of power hold them back. She wondered if Emma might have a point about—

No. Vivian was not going to go down that very dangerous road. Her life worked fine, and she was perfectly happy with it. Nothing was going to change, no matter what crazy ideas Emma got into her head.

One little ice cream trip with Emma and Lily probably wouldn't hurt…

Vivian slammed the door shut on that thought right away, wondering whether hiring Emma had been a good idea after all. This was more complicated than she'd thought it would be.

Vivian didn't get much work done for the rest of the day. She was too distracted, going over her conversation with Emma in her head. It had been years since she'd had so much social interaction. As infuriating as parts of it had been, she had liked the whole thing a lot more than she should have.

Vivian stayed late to try to make up for the tasks she failed to complete during the day. Her stomach started growling, but she ignored it. She would eat soon enough. She just wanted to finish this report for a group of their investors.

"Knock, knock." She looked up to see Emma holding a brown paper bag.

"Hi, Emma. What do you need?"

"Probably the same thing as you do—food."

Vivian glanced at the clock to see that it was already seven. "What are you still doing here? I told you, you don't need to work late just because I do. I always work late, and I don't want to keep you away from Lily."

"Actually, she went home with Nathan and Miriam. They're doing a sleepover."

"Oh. Well, that's good, then."

"Anyway, you should eat. You look starving."

"It can wait," Vivian murmured.

"Yeah, but I have food right here. May as well eat it when it's hot."

Once again, Emma took a seat uninvited across from Vivian. She opened the bag to reveal burgers and fries. They smelled delicious and Vivian was hungry. She reluctantly took a burger and bit into it.

"What's the catch to all this? You know that if you need something, you can just ask."

"I just want to get to know you better, Vivian. I don't have any ulterior motives."

Perhaps she was foolish to believe her, but Vivian found that she did. "Why me? There are plenty of other people here—ones much friendlier and more approachable than I am, I might add. Why not make friends with them."

"Oh, I am. I just want to be friends with you too."

Vivian sighed. "We've been through this, Emma. I don't do friends."

"Yeah, yeah. Just eat your fries and tell me about your favorite movies."

Vivian mentally examined the question as she ate a few fries. Surely, it couldn't hurt to tell Emma that. It was an innocent enough question. It wasn't going to lead anywhere Vivian didn't want it to. She just needed to keep this situation under control. She could do that. Right?

Vivian could not, in fact, keep the situation under control. Lunches with Emma quickly became a routine. Dinners less so, because Emma had to get home to Lily, but on the occasions when they both happened to be working late, Emma brought Vivian supper too.

Vivian had long ago stopped trying to protest these visits. She looked forward to them more than anything else in her day.

"So, how is Lily doing?"

Emma grimaced. "She was crying again today. I'm considering moving her over to Miriam's school, just so that they can be together. She hasn't really made any other friends."

"Traffic is a problem, though, right?"

"Yeah, it would mean half an hour of traffic to get her to school and another half hour to get back here. I'm not sure if I can make that work."

"If you need to come in later, we could arrange that."

Emma looked up at her from over her chicken noodles. "But everyone works the same hours. Surely, it wouldn't work to have me an hour later than the rest of the office."

"I've been thinking about it ever since you mentioned the travel issues, and I believe we could make it work. I usually stay late anyway, so there wouldn't be a problem with our hours not intersecting there. As for the mornings, I reckon I can survive an hour without you. Why don't we try the modified hours for a few weeks, and it if works, you can go ahead and move Lily."

"Seriously? That would be amazing! I can't believe you're even considering it."

"Something you should know about me—if you have a problem and it's within my power to solve, you'd be best off bringing it to me. I can't promise to solve it every time, but I can certainly try."

"Nathan said something to that effect, but I didn't realize quite how accommodating you'd be."

Vivian shrugged. "Happy employees make for a well-run business."

"I think it's more than that. I think you actually care."

This wasn't a line of conversation Vivian was comfortable with, so she decided to change the subject. "Do you think Lily will have a better time adjusting at a different school?"

"I think she will. This one just doesn't seem to be a good fit for her. I hate seeing her unhappy."

"You're a good mother, Emma."

Emma blushed. "Thanks. I just wish Alison was still here to share all this parenting with me. It is tough, on my own."

"You still love her." That much was evident in the way Emma said her name.

"I do. Absolutely. I think I will always love her and miss her desperately, but at the same time, I have to be open to a different future than we imagined. She'd want me to be happy, I know that. I haven't dated- I still am so lost in grief sometimes, but before she went, she made me promise that I wouldn't give up on love."

Vivian wished she had Emma's strength. She couldn't even imagine loving someone, only to have them die, and still be willing to try again.

Emma's eyes were thoughtful as she looked at Vivian from over her noodles.

Vivian tried to lighten the atmosphere. "So, have you found anyone your interested in yet? Some beautiful woman to come home to after a long day at work?" She couldn't help her curiosity into Emma's personal life. Some of Emma's curls were escaping from her bun and they looked so beautiful framing her lovely face that Vivian's heart ached.

"Yes, I've found someone. I don't think she's interested in me, though."

Emma glanced up at Vivian from under her thick black eyelashes. The look was intensely loaded and she was suddenly shy and Vivian knew suddenly who she was talking about.

Vivian knew that she should change the subject again. It was the safest path by far. But she found that she couldn't let Emma keep believing that her interest wasn't returned, not when it was so untrue.

"I think you'd be surprised." Her voice came out as little more than a whisper, but she was sure that Emma heard it.

What on earth am I doing?

Emma looked up at her, and her beauty had Vivian's breath catching in her throat. She moved as though in a daze, coming around the desk. A voice in the back of her head was screaming at her to stop this madness, but it was becoming softer and easier to ignore by the moment.

Emma's lips were slightly parted as she looked up at Vivian. Vivian took Emma's soft hands and pulled her to her feet. Emma came willingly, stepping close to Vivian, so that her soft warm breasts pressed almost against Vivian's body.

"Don't ever think that the interest is unreturned," Vivian said softly. "I just… I can't, Emma. I'm your boss. It's too messy. I can't risk my business like that."

"I think you can," Emma breathed. She put a hand on Vivian's cheek and it felt electrifying. "Tell me if you want me to stop," she whispered.

She started leaning in. Vivian knew that she could end this at any moment. All she needed to say was one little word, and Emma would retreat—hurt, perhaps, but it would be better, for both of them.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

She didn't want to stop, though. Vivian's eyes were drawn to Emma's full lips. As she felt Emma's breath ghost across her cheek, Vivian's mind disconnected from her body and her eyes slipped shut.

Emma's lips pressed against hers, firm and soft at the same time. Vivian's body reacted without her brain's permission. Her lips started kissing Emma back, sweet and hot and everything she'd ever wanted.

This was not a good idea… and she didn't care.