Dauntless Desires

1

It sucks. It hurts. It just plain isn't fair.

Those were Tris' thoughts as she left Four sleeping in their tousled sheets. He looked so boyish and cute spread out beneath the covers. His toned, gorgeously cut torso was visible before the rest of him disappeared beneath the comforter.

She bit on her bottom lip with regret and then sighed, stealing one last look of longing before exiting the room. It was getting harder and harder to have to leave him in the mornings and make it for work before eight AM. But such was the life of a young Dauntless leader.

As she passed the mirror hanging on the wall in the hallway, she barely took note of her appearance. The upswept blonde hair, the light makeup and the black pants and grey tank top. The heavy black boots, adding an in or so to her height. Her slender but toned form in her attire seemed trim, no one would have guessed she was formerly Abnegation.

But then, when it came to her looks, Tris wasn't overly conscious or concerned. She took care to fit into the appropriate mold of a Dauntless leader. Unlike other girls, she wasn't all about seizing attention, especially male attention. Why should she anyway? She had the hottest man sleeping in her bed. The last thing she wanted was to catch the eye of any of the other Dauntless members. And even when she did, she nipped any kind of personal interaction in the bud. Her number one rule on the road to success was never mix business and pleasure.

She felt her mood begin to lighten the closer she got to the pit that held the heart of Dauntless. She loved her job and enjoyed working with the new initiates. However, her mind couldn't help flitting back home, to her apartment.

Early this morning, she'd enjoyed a satisfying romp with the insatiable Four. Always, it felt like heaven to be loved up by her man. She hid a slight frown as she noted how he seemed distracted lately. She knew he wasn't happy with the minor progress he was making on deals with the factionless.

She pushed away the thoughts of Four to focus on work, and made her way to her office across the chasm.

Tris was already brimming with enthusiasm for the new work day when she was eventually seated behind her desk.

There was word going around about the job just opening up for leader assistant. She could still keep her position as initiate leader, but she would be far more involved in what was happening outside of Dauntless. But when she heard who was in need of filling that newly vacant position, Tris thought twice about applying. Her closest friend Christina, was nudging her to take the bold move.

"You're always complaining about not having enough say in what happens outside of Dauntless," Christina said suggestively. She was the armory specialist during initiate training. She was short, petite, but full of fire and determination, her hair was dark short and messy, but she always pulled it off.

"But I'd have to be crazy to want to work for Eric," Tris said dryly. Eric, one of Dauntless' main leaders above her. He was cold, untrustworthy, and just plain cruel.

Just saying his name out loud made her skin crawl in a weird way. Everyone knew Eric was hell to work with. It was no surprise he was in need of a new assistant. He changed assistants virtually every few months. No one seemed to work for him for long. Many said he worked his assistants ragged, while others say that once the female ones start to get too sweet on him, he fires them. Tris huffed at that. Yes, Eric looked like sex on legs but he was still a horrible human being. She'd seen a worker get reduced to tears with just a few words from his well carved lips. She'd always tried to steer clear of him the best she could after initiation was over.

By the end of the day though, Tris had taken the time to think about it and considered the benefits that would come with the job of assistant to Eric. After being a leader for nearly a year now, she'd climbed up from the bottom and made an impact within that short time. She felt she was more than qualified for the post. But she didn't really think she'd get the position. On a whim, she finally put in her application to Max before she could change her mind.

As a week went by, she forgot all about it until she was summoned by Max for a meeting in his office. Tris broke into a sweat but then reminded herself that she'd worked hard to get to where she was and no matter what, deserved everything that she had coming her way.

She was half surprised, half disappointed to be sitting in front of Max as he told her the 'good' news. That she would personally be working along side Eric, completing any task he asked of her.

Tris had never backed down from a challenge. That was why she'd applied in the first place. And she'd faced tougher problems than Eric. This was about moving ahead, and making things happen. As they said, opportunities came around but once. She'd let nothing, not even him, stand in her way of success.