The Agency

XV. an invitation

A/N: Gaonnuri is actually a real restaurant in NYC! This is the table where I imagine they would be dining. Jabari makes an appearance in this chapter. Did you miss him? I know I did.

Virginie looked to the right to see a woman in a large cubicle, typing away. Her skin was alabaster with a sprinkle of freckles across her slim nose. Her red hair was up in a ballerina bun and her bright green eyes were focused on the task at hand. The long sleeve green dress that she wore was the same shade as her almond shaped grassy eyes.

"Hi, excuse me?" Virginie began, trying to get her attention. The woman looked up, trying to find the source of the voice and her eyes softened when she found it. She stood up and shook her hand. She was shorter than Virginie thought she was going to be but her presence was imminent. You could feel how comfortable she was with herself without even talking to her.

"Hi, you must be the new intern," she guessed. "I'm Melinda, this idiot's secretary." She pointed her chin towards Alex who scowled at her but her smile didn't budge. Virginie was glad that Alex had somebody who could challenge him like this. Someone needed to release all that hot air in his head.

"How would you know that?" She hoped that her presence didn't scream "innocent, young and foolish". She held herself to a higher standard than that.

"Because you're so beautiful." Virginie blushed deeply. Melinda waved her hand dismissively at Virginie's shyness. "Don't be shy, everybody in the office is talking about you. All of the guys want you working with them and the girls want to be your friend. You've caused quite a stir."

"I don't see why; I'm nothing special." A flash of confusion passed through Alex's face. She had to stop saying those kinds of things out loud. "But thank you, I'm Virginie."

"We're going to be seeing a lot of each other. I can't wait to get to know you better," she professed. "And if you need anything, like a breather away from this dick―" She motioned to Alex again who continued to frown at her. "―I'm usually at this desk. I'll give you my number later."

"That would be great, thank you," Virginie replied. "I might have to take you up on that." She winked at Alex who turned his head away with a "hmph".

"I'm sure you have plenty of things to discuss with him. Again, I'll be here if you need anything." With that sentiment, she returned to her desk and got back into whatever she had been doing before.

Alex opened the door for her without a word, still visibly hurt by Melinda's comments about him. Virginie thought they were quite funny.

Virginie loved his decor. He had movie posters on his walls, small action figures and sports memorabilia on his desk, and the office smelled like jasmine flowers. In the center of the room was a long and wide mahogany desk with a plush leather chair behind it. In front of the desk were two black single person sofa chairs. On the walls were bookcases that were filled with movies, games, and TV shows as well as books. His wallpaper was the glass that surrounded the building which made the NYC skyline part of his elegant and diverse decor.

Alex sat at his desk in his chair. "Please, have a seat."

Virginie sat in the chair, which was as comfortable as she thought it was going to be.

"Now what would you like to discuss first? We can go over your duties or we can talk about my schedule for the rest of the week. Your choice."

"I'd like to hear about my duties, please."

"Very well then. Ramon is the one who usually gives the interns their assignments but there are special occasions where a partner or even an associate can summon an intern to do their bidding. I'm going to be doing that with you for the entirety of your stay here so that you can be with me at all times. You might occasionally have to work with Ramon but I outrank him so if he ever tries anything, just let me know and I'll have him reprimanded immediately."