4

"Who took my pie?" she huffed, stomping her foot when she looked in the fridge and there was nothing. Nobody in the office took another person's food. Especially if it was clearly labelled!

"Oh, are you talking about this one?" Daniel walked in, taking a large bite out of it and licking his lips lusciously. She clenched her jaw, her nose flaring. She took two steps towards him and grabbed it from his hand.

"Why would you eat something that isn't yours?"

"It was sitting in there for two days, River. It feels rejected watching everyone else be picked but it. I was doing it a favour," he explained.

"It had my name on it!"

"I'll buy you another one from the bakery across the street," he said nonchalantly, switching the coffee machine on. A lot of their colleagues hadn't arrived into the office yet and the ones that did were in their offices. It was just them in the office kitchen.

"I don't want one from there. I wanted this one," she said, clearly upset. He looked at her, puzzled that she cared so much about a pie.

"I'm sorry, I hadn't realised you took your pies seriously," he said sincerely.

She sank in the chair, taking a bite of what's left. "I drive really far for these because they're my favourite. I buy a box every Monday and it lasts me throughout the week. You ruined my day," she pointed at him, throwing the wrapper at him. He caught it mid-air and tossed it into the bin, shaking his head at her.

"What's the place's name?" he asked as he made a cup of coffee once the water has boiled.

"Louis' Corner. It's on the corner of Madison Court," she groaned, her head falling on the table as she added softly. "It's my favourite place."

He ruffled her hair when he took a seat next to her, sipping on his coffee. He knew she didn't have hers before noon, so he didn't make her a cup. That's all the useful info he's picked up about her from working here for a week. She was a tough one to figure out.

She lifted her head and eyed his mug, an evil grin on her face. She knew how much he loved his coffee, how he practically worshipped it. It was his fuel to start the day. She also remembered what a fit he threw when an assistant prepared it the wrong way. Now she had the perfect revenge plan.

She stood up and slowly took the mug from him. He frowned but let her have it. He watched as she took a sip and then poured the rest down the sink. His jaw hit the ground as he jumped to his feet to look into the sink. Then he turned to her, watching as she smirked proudly.

"There. Now we're equal," she simply said, flipping her hair as she walked out. He cursed, rinsing the mug before he marched after her.

He barged into her office ready to give her a peace of his mind. "You snide little-" he paused, looking around. He tilted his head, confused about why a shorter woman with a bob cut was standing in River's office, arranging her desk. "You're not River."

"Oh, you can see me? Damn," she cursed, punching the air. "How many wands am I holding?"

"Har har," he sarcastically laughed, rolling his eyes. "Where is that witch?"

"In a hopeless body," she replied, fixing her round glasses.

"And where's the body?" he stressed each syllable.

"Somewhere. Being tormented day in and out," she replied with a lopsided grin.

"You watch a lot of wizard stuff," he exhaled, rubbing his temple.

"You know, if you made an effort you could pass up for a Hogwarts' graduate," she said snidely.

He coughed, offended. "If I made an effort?"

"With your appearance, I mean. You look rather," she paused, fixing her glasses as she looked him up and down. Just then River walked in and gasped.

"You're back! Finally! I missed you. How are you? Any pain? Discomfort?" she cried, hugging the lady. He creased his eyebrows. He had not seen River this excited over anyone. So this lady was special. She was going to be his gateway to figuring River out.

"Calm down now, it was just a little stomach bug," the lady chuckled, pulling away and pointing to Daniel. "Who's this?"

"Just some bland guy. Don't mind him," she said, waving him off.

He visibly cringed. Nobody had called him bland before. "You take that back! I am many things, but bland ruins my brand."

"Hey, that rhymes," the other lady said, putting her hand up for a high five but he just snarled at it.

"Why are you still here, Kleen?" River asked, folding her arms.

"Don't call me bland ever again," he frowned, standing straighter.

"Why? Does it make you angry? Do you want to cry? Should I give you a tissue? Perhaps a hug?" she taunted.

"I wouldn't give a beldam the privilege of touching me," he spat. Now it was her turn to be left speechless.

"Beldam?" she repeated, her hand on her chest in an offended manner.

"It means an ugly, old wo-," the other lady tried to explain under her breath, watching the two have a stare-off.

"I know what beldam means," River said, clenching her jaw. Then she turned to a smug Daniel who was retreating backwards out the door. "I look forward to your resignation letter."

"Nah, I wanna stay and piss you off even more," he laughed, blowing her a kiss before he turned and walked out.

Once he was completely gone, River sank in her chair and dropped her head in her hands. Then she pulled her mirror out and stared at her reflection, muttering the word 'beldam' under her breath.

"You wanna tell me what that was?" the other lady asked. River looked up to meet her eyes, pretending not to know what she was talking about.

"What it looked like."

"Who is he and why does he make you... Soft?" she asked knowingly, taking a seat across her and folding one leg over the other.

"What?" River asked, thinking she was bluffing. She busied herself with some files, hoping the topic could be left alone.

"Dude, I've known you, like, since you were born. You're into that guy. Who is he?"

"He's Daniel Kleen. He's the new merger and will be working closely with us."

"So you're not gonna deny you're into him?" she smirked.

"Beatrice," River said slowly.

"Uh-oh, my full name. I'm in trouble, aren't I?" she tried to be serious but the smile escaped her lips.

"Ugh, I missed you, so I'll let it slide."

"Just like how I'll let you not denying that you're into him slide. He's thawed the Ice Queen and I wasn't even here to witness it."

"Get out," River chuckled, pointing to the door.

"Alright, fine. I'll go back to work. I'll see you and Daniel Kleen around," she winked running out before her boss can get a word in.

River chuckled, shaking her head. She jumped straight into work. She didn't have any meeting's on her schedule so she found it easier to focus and maximise her productivity. Beatrice popped in at noon to bring her coffee and they had a little chat.

When Bea left, she tried to pick up where she left off but she had a little trouble focusing on the new contract sitting on her desk. Her mind was elsewhere and she didn't like it. A soft knock came from the door and she turned around, slowly placing the papers aside after signing them.

"Daniel," she said with a small smile, but it fell as soon as she remembered what he called her in the morning. She watched him walk closer with his hands behind his back.

"I have something for you," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. He got a poker face in return.

"If it's more insults, keep it," she said, busying herself with her phone. He snatched it from her hands and hid it in his pocket. Before she could protest, he revealed the plastic, watching her face light up when she saw the logo.

He could have sworn his heart just skipped a beat because of her delighted expression. She immediately rose to her feet and rushed around the table to take the bag from him but he put a hand up, stopping her just as she was about to reach for it.

"Tell me I'm amazing," he said, holding it up from her reach.

"Yes," she said, her eyes not leaving the bag.

"River," he said, tilting his head. She exhaled loudly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Fine. You're amazing. Happy now?" she impatiently asked.

"Thank you. Here you go," he said, giving her the bag. She happily accepted it, kicking her shoes off and jumping on the couch as she dug in. He stood back and watched her eat her pies, stuffing her face one bite after the other. His chest got a rush of warmth watching her be excited over the simplest of things.

He cleared his throat, pulling out her phone and switching it on. She surprisingly didn't have a password. "What were you working on?"

"Stock options and Rebalancing," she said dismissively. "I was just rounding up with it."

"Yeah, I'm gonna pretend like I was not standing at the door for a few minutes watching you struggle with it," he smirked, walking towards her. He noticed she had her legs crossed on the couch, so he lifted them and took a seat next to her, placing her legs on his lap.

She tried to remove them but he held her in place, giving her a look that told her to relax. She reluctantly gave in, leaning back as she took another bite and watched him mindlessly caress her ankle with his thumb as he read another email.

She made a mental note to visit her doctor because her heart was not working like it used to. It skipped too many beats these days.