Just in Time (A Tom Hiddleston Fan Fic)

Chapter 1: The Meeting

A/N: Hi Readers! So, I've decided to write another Tom Hiddleston fan fic while I'm waiting to hear back from the characters in Life is What You Make It. I'm sure they'll stop their silent treatment soon.

One caution about this story. In addition to some mature content, about which I will warn you before the chapter in which it's included, my main character, Kendall 'Kenni' Andrews tends to cuss a bit more than other characters I've written. You've been forewarned!

As always, votes and especially comments are welcome!

Cheers!!

***

"Hey, what if we do an episode about sexual harassment training?" Bill asks. "It could work, it could work. Of course, we'd have to handle it as purely tongue in cheek, not anything too touchy. No pun intended, but the last thing we need is for some group to take offense to it. Since you came up with the idea, Bill, why don't you flush it out a bit to discuss at the next meeting," I say. "Are there any other ideas?" As it's about 3:00 p.m. on a beautiful Friday afternoon in April, I doubt anyone will throw anything else out there.

"Okay, I take your silence as we're done. See you Monday," I say as everyone stands to gather their things and leave.

"Kenni, there's someone here to see you," my assistant, Jessica, announces as the meeting breaks up. "Who is it?" "He said it's a surprise."

I sigh. I fucking hate surprises. "But you did actually see him, right? No Invisibility Cloak or anything?" I ask, and Jessica nods but provides no more information. "Really, Jess?" She just smiles. "He's waiting in your office,"she says over her shoulder as she walks away.

As an adult, and a reasonably successful one at that, you'd think that other adults would have the courtesy to make an appointment like fucking civilized people or at least send a quick text like, 'Sup? Just in the area and I thought I'd stop by.' I think to myself.

At 29, I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments. I'm the head writer for a successful sitcom on a major network. With three seasons under our belt, we've already been nominated for an Emmy, and I've even been approached by one of the premium cable channels to join them when my contract is up.

Considering my upbringing, I think I'm pretty fortunate to be where I am. As an example, let me start with my name. I may go by Kenni, but my given name is Kendall. I'm not sure where my mom came up with that one. My theory is that it came from the name on a bottle of wine she was drinking on the night I was conceived.

My mom wasn't especially bad - she didn't beat me or starve me. She was more of what I call a 'free range mom'. She gave me a key to the front door at age six when I started school, she generally had food in the house that I could make myself, then she left me to do my own thing. We were more like college roommates forced on each other their freshman year, nodding and smiling at each other when we passed in the hall.

I had two saving graces during my early years. One was that, for a kid, I was pretty fucking responsible. I knew not to leave the door unlocked, or leave the stove on, or any of a number of things that would get an average elementary school kid maimed, killed, or in trouble in other shitty ways. The second thing I had going was my Aunt Sylvie.

In reality, she wasn't my aunt. Nope, no relation whatsoever. I'm not sure how my mom met her. I think Aunt Sylvie was probably my mom's neighbor at one time, and my mom made nicey-nice with her so she'd watch over me from time to time. Not that my mom was particularly concerned about me but I think it was probably more so Child Protective Services weren't called.

Anyway, Aunt Sylvie cared for me as one of her own. At least, to the best of her abilities. She had four kids of her own, and trying to care for them and the latest douchebag in her life was sometimes tough. So, I learned when to make myself scarce, returning to my mom-roommate for periods of time, and then back to Sylvie's when her situation permitted.

Something else that helped me escape a repeat of my mon's or Sylvie's life was I did pretty well in school. Well enough that when I graduated from high school, I got a couple of scholarships to the local community college. I ditched my mom, found a new college roommate and moved out the day after graduation. And I never looked back. Even in times when I was working three jobs to afford my transfer to the local university, I wasn't going to give my mom a second's thought. Sylvie was a different story. Sylvie I helped anyway I could. She's good people, though she has made some poor choices in life.

Yep, my childhood taught me some important lessons: travel light, be flexible, and never ever let a douchebag dictate who you are or what you're worth.

As I enter my office, I find a tall, dark-haired man standing with his back to me, speaking to another man seated on the sofa. "Ben, is that you?" I ask, not trusting my own eyes. At the mention of his name, Benedict Cumberbatch turns to me and gives me a sly smile. The man seated on the sofa stands as I speak.

I cross the room and take Ben into the best bear hug my 5'3" frame will allow. "Well, hello to you, too, darling. Easy there, I'm a married man, you know," he says teasingly, though he's returning my hug just as deeply as I'm giving it. I'm so excited at Ben's unexpected visit that I've completely forgotten about the man with him until I hear a polite clearing of his throat. Ben turns to him, effectively blocking him from my view. "I'm such a twat," Ben says. "Forgive my rudeness. Kenni, allow me to introduce you to my friend, Tom. Tom, this is the ravishing Kenni." As Ben steps out of the way, I see that Ben's friend, Tom, is none other than Tom Hiddleston.

Easy there, girl. He's just a man. He puts his pants on one leg at a time. One long, muscular leg that is perfectly toned from running and shit.

I step forward to greet Tom with a handshake. Tom smiles at me, and it's so dazzling I almost excuse myself to find a pair of sunglasses. He takes my hand, but instead of shaking it, he lifts it to his lips and brushes his lips softly across it. "I think you're mistaken, Ben," Tom says. "She's not simply ravishing. She's the most captivating woman I've ever seen," Tom continues, pouring on the charm.

"Oh, stop it, you," I say, playfully slapping Tom's chest.

This closeness gives me a moment to examine Tom. He's tall, I mean very tall. Slightly taller than Ben in fact. His hair is a soft chestnut brown, though I could see how it could easily appear more red in some lighting and even go toward blond if he spent much time in the sun. His facial features are perfectly formed, with hard angles and soft planes in ideal proportion. What makes all of these things pale in comparison, though, is his eyes.

Tom's eyes are summer, with kids swimming in a clear blue lake. They are autumn, when the air is crisp and the early evening sky turns just the right shade of blue. They are winter, with icicles hanging off of the roof in the blue-gray haze of clouds. Finally, they are spring, all new and glorious and full of potential. Seeing his eyes, I realize that Tom is a man for all seasons.

"Alright, before you two fall in love, get married, and have little Hiddles babies, aren't you even interested why I'm here, Ken?" Ben asks.

"I guess...if you wanna tell me...I don't care," I say, turning from Tom to give a nonchalant shrug at Ben. In reality, I'm glad Ben interrupted Tom and me. If he hadn't, his teasing comment might have come true.

Ben stares at me for a moment, meeting my eyes steadily. I swear that Ben is the fucking world champion of staring contests. Though we've battled several times, I have yet to win. "Okaaayyy, tell me, tell me, tell me!" I say, acting like an eager teenager. It's mostly an act, but Ben loves the attention, and I love making Ben happy.

"Well, I happen to be in town to discuss a new film script, and Tom here is working on promos for his latest project. I thought you might like to join Tom and me for dinner tonight and maybe, just maybe, I might help you convince Mr. Hiddleston to guest star on your little show."