Chapter Text
Mr. Ren’s coffee is delivered in record time by a panting Rey.
Worried the coffee would be too cold because she had gotten turned around on her way, a rushing Rey was soon all but sprinting to make it back in a timely fashion. Judging from the way Mr. Ren had lost his temper with the badge, Rey wasn’t sure he could handle another upset like cold coffee.
Having run the length of Poe’s floor, to their breakroom and back, she hardly has the breath to announce her return. To her luck, Mr. Ren is thankfully on his phone again when she enters his office and he takes the drink from her hand without so much as a glance.
His fingers brushing against hers in their hurried attempt to snatch the drink, Rey nearly drops the cup altogether. She swears her life flashed before her eyes, and the brief moment of contact left behind what could only be described as a burning heat.
The kind of heat that Rey imagines acid leaves behind, or touching something equally awful.
Like a cockroach.
Now seated safely at her desk, Rey allows herself a moment to get collected. And wallow.
She was just as incompetent as Mr. Ren had expected: clumsy, under dressed, unable to pin her visitor’s tag…
Her head in her hands, a groaning Rey welcomes the silent privacy - though her thoughts make for poor company.
Augh! This day is such a colossal failure.
Therapeutic as it is to moan over her missteps, Rey’s brief reprieve is quickly interrupted by the alarming sound of the phone.
Her first call, Rey is left at a loss for what to say. But, dreading the shrill tone will carry its way into Mr. Ren’s office, she reaches to answer quickly, muscle memory kicking in before she can stop herself.
“Hello?” She asks.
“...hello?” replies the confused voice on the other end.
“Uh, ah- Mr. Ren’s Office!” She clears her throat, “How may I help you?”
Rey’s palm is crashing into her forehead in self-admonishment before she’s finished responding.
“Who is this?” The voice asks in a, thankfully, amused tone.
“Rey Palpatine, sir, I-I’m subbing for Maz. Um, Mr. Ren isn’t available at the moment but I can take a message for you. May I ask who’s calling?”
A laugh rings out on the other end, followed by a barely audible “click.” For a moment Rey thinks he’s hung up, but is relieved to hear his laughter continue.
“Well, Miss Rey, if you’d please tell Mr. Ren that Hux from down on Business Development - Oh, that’s the 12th floor if you ever want to come down and see me - needs to get his eyes on something and I’d appreciate a call back from him by the end of the day.”
The voice sounds young. As young as Mr. Ren, anyway.
“12th floor, business development, call Hux by end of day.” Rey repeats as she takes down her notes.
Wait a minute. Come and see him?
Rey can’t be sure, but it sounded like the man was flirting with her. It makes her nervous and the peevish face of Gerald appears in her mind.
“Y-yes sir, understood. Is there anything else?”
“No, Miss Rey. I think you got it all. See you around, huh?” He laughs to himself as he hangs up the phone.
Rey was glad she wouldn’t have to reply, frankly she wasn’t sure how to. But the flirtatious energy of the caller, and the absolute absurdity of her day, makes Rey laugh for the first time since last week.
Holding the phone as she settles, a giggling Rey notices the disconnect tone never returns. Still, she makes sure to set it carefully back on its rest.
Odd.
“Office phones must work differently than the ones at home.” she theorizes.
The phone planted squarely on its base, Rey stares a moment before the dread begins to set in. What if she had broken it somehow? Who would she even call to fix something like that?
Are there manuals for everything in secretary desks?
Reaching to begin her search, the elevator dings just feet away. Rey’s half expecting to see the mysterious man from the other end appear, but finds she’s met with someone far more comforting.
“Rey, Honey!”
“Zorii!”
“Congrats on the cushy gig,” she winks at Rey, walking toward her desk.
“Mr. Ren asked your father to send me up and have you take the same exam each of us girls had to take. Then I’ll walk you through a thing or two so you’ll be ready to fly solo come tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Rey’s uneasy face was clear for Zorii to read.
“Sorry, hun. Mr. Ren’s explicit request. He’s a busy man, not much time for a learning curve I guess. But I bet you can manage it!” Poe’s secretary had wasted no time pulling up one of the waiting chairs to Maz’s - now Rey’s - desk.
“Right, ok.” Rey sighs, “But, Zorii, actually - could you help me with something?”
“Sure, sug. What’s the matter?”
“Could you check my phone for me? Do they normally not make the noise-” Rey lifted the phone off its hook, and held it out toward her father’s secretary. Yet, even there with the phone an arm’s length away, the dial tone rang out clearly.
Huh.
“Hm, seems fine to me! Here, let’s start with the exam.” Zorii places a freshly printed form in front of her.
The questions make Rey grimace.
“Do I have a natural flair for organizing the activities of others? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
No
“Do I smile readily and naturally? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
I’m not sure I know what that means?
“Do I make friends easily? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
Not here, anyway.
“Am I fastidious about my appearance at all times? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
This is just rubbing salt in today’s wound.
“Do I refrain from making sarcastic remarks? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
…
“Am I thoughtful and considerate of the feelings of other people? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
Oh, one where I can say yes.
“Is my voice pleasing and well modulated? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
What?
“Can I talk to the boss as easily as to the office boy? No [ ] Yes [ ]”
I’d definitely prefer to talk to Hex or whatever his name was from the 12th floor, so far…
Rey moves to mark the first question No [x] when Zorii clears her throat.
“Remember, dear, it’s 4 points per ‘yes’. You need a score of 80 to pass, we only want ‘good personalities’ here.” She smiles at Rey, and lifts her eyebrows - her suggestion clear.
By the end, Rey has fudged the numbers so she hits the 80 point minimum. But not without marking a few choice questions ‘no’.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Yes, Dameron, she’s doing…exceedingly well. I’m happy to have her.” Kylo hoped the forced enthusiasm came across genuinely.
“Right, right. Yes, well, I was calling to ask if I might borrow your girl…Z- ah, yes, her. If I might borrow her for a while today? Your daughter would benefit from a crash course with her, and it would certainly help Rey along her way. Great, that would be much appreciated.”
Thank god. He could hear the girl sitting out there, shuffling around in her chair. He knew she hadn’t a clue what to do with herself, and he dreaded having to sit through explaining even the simplest task to her. As for coffee, he could only drink so much. But who wants to be tossed a scalding cup of coffee by someone whose hands were as clumsy, or soft, as hers?
Soft? That glass of whiskey must’ve been especially strong.
Kylo’s only just set the phone down when it rings.
Once. Twice.
“Christ’s sake.” He sighs, reaching to pick up the phone himself.
Whoever was calling was about to receive a terrible shock hearing his voice instead of Maz’s, or hers.
But the ringer goes silent as his fingertips meet the smooth body of the phone.
“Hm.”
I really ought to give her a chance to handle it, it’s just a phone call. What’s the worst that can happen?
But the worry of having Rey misdirect an important call makes Kylo lift the phone from its cradle, press the appropriate switch, and quietly place it to his ear.
Let’s see how she does. Just in case.
There was no mistaking the chortle on the other end. A flash of copper ran across Kylo’s mind before it faded, his professional curiosity along with it. A new, personal curiosity sprung up in its place.
“Well, Miss Rey-”
Miss Rey? The fucking nerve of this guy,
“Oh, that’s the 12th floor if you ever want to come down and see me”
Incredible. The snake is wasting no time on the girl. Thank goodness she’s too smart to fall for any of that-
But then he heard it. A sound that made him feel a way he wasn’t sure he ever had before. It wasn’t angry, or sad - though, perhaps a little of both. He felt full of energy but stuck in his seat. He was terrified, overwhelmed, furious and, for the first time in a long time, insecure.
Rey laughed.
She laughed, at Hux. At Hux’s pathetic attempt at flirtation with her - someone she’d never even met.
How could she be so naïve? So stupid? So easily entertained? Was it that easy to make her happy? Hollow sweet talk? How could she take something, someone, like that seriously - let alone enjoy it? How could she, how could she…
She had laughed.
And Kylo Ren was jealous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour passes by the time Zorii has shown Rey how to appropriately answer the phone, and where to catalog her notes or find one Maz may have filed away. She walks Rey through how to read Mr. Ren’s previously set agenda and make changes to it, as well as how to turn away anyone who might show up unannounced to his door.
“There you go, chicken, you’re a natural! Now all that’s left to do is put it into action. Why don’t we accompany the team meeting together so you can watch how I take notes, and you can show your work to Mr. Ren after?”
The prospect was equally comforting as it was terrifying.
By 2:00, the three are huddled together as they take the elevator down to their meeting. Rey tucks herself into the corner while Zorii makes polite smalltalk with Mr. Ren. Rey sneaks a glance or two while her new boss stares straight ahead, sniffling into his handkerchief all the while.
Must be seasonal allergies.
The meeting is as boring as she expects, but with Poe present Rey knows she has to look interested. It proves a difficult task knowing her schoolmates would be finishing their day soon. She wished she could go lay on Rose’s bed and read magazines or ride their bikes to the church. Rose had gotten into the habit of sneaking a cigarette, and Rey loved the one moment of unchaperoned freedom they were allowed.
But this was important, and she’d prove she could do it. No matter how poor of a start she’d had.
Rey does her best to jot down timelines and big takeaways, she notes the questions Mr. Ren asks and the commitments each person provides him. She even makes a point to memorize a few names. It’s altogether much easier than she imagined, although she doesn’t quite understand all the jargon.
Best of all, most everyone seems to ignore her save for a few curious looks. In fact, the only person who made a point to smile at her other than Poe was a red haired ringer for a young Steve Mcqueen standing opposite the conference table.
Rey gives a polite smile back before a shifting Mr. Ren catches her attention. He seemed to have noticed the ginger haired man’s acknowledgment and, though it was near impossible to tell, she swore his frown had worsened. Then again, he had caught her being distracted.
Rey makes sure to keep her nose in her notebook the rest of the meeting.
Its end comes in due time and she quickly learns that Mr. Ren is an in-demand person wherever he goes. He waves her away when a circle of older men in suits approach him, each vying for a moment of his time.
With Zorii tied up going over some spreadsheet with Poe, and nowhere else to turn, Rey backs herself against a nearby wall busying herself with rereading her notes.
She hopes they’re legible.
“I hear your father works here.”
Peering up from her page, she sees it’s the red haired man from earlier.
Rey gives a curt smile, and nods. She’s not sure if it’s a good thing she was helped along because of Poe’s connections, but there’s no use lying when her father is literally in the room with them.
The man gives a toothy smile in return.
“Mine too. Or, he used to.” He chuckled. “Hux. We spoke before.” He extends a hand from his pocket.
Oh.
He was certainly no Gerald.
“Rey.”
Reaching out to shake it, Rey places her hand in his but finds herself startled when he twists it up to his lips, placing a kiss to her knuckles.
“It’s a pleasure. Say, you haven’t had a chance to pass my message on to Herr Ren yet, have you?” He moved to lean on the wall next to her.
It’s impossible to fight off the small yet pleased smile that spreads across her face. Finally, someone she could relate to.
Mr. Ren really does seem like an autocratic sort of person.
She laughs and turns to face him, her back to the door and Mr. Ren.
“Oh, no. I haven't, I'm sorry! It’s been a busy day. I’ll inform him as soon as he’s free-”
“There’s no need to butter up my girl just to get a message to me, Hux. What is it?” A heavy hand dropping onto Rey’s shoulder catches her off guard, and she’s startled into looking up at the young CEO who’d snuck up behind her. His returning look tells Rey she’s no longer needed.
Oh, hell.
“Not at all, I trust she would have gotten it to you even if I wasn’t charmed by her. It was nice meeting you, Miss Rey.”
She would have to run it past Rose to be sure, but Rey was feeling a great deal more confident that this was exactly what flirting looked like.
“Uh, yes, you too.” Rey replied, pausing to nod to Mr. Ren, “Sir” before running to join Zorii and the other remaining secretaries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charmed? Charmed?? And the fucking prick kissed her hand. Doesn’t he realize who she is? Whose daughter she is? Whose secretary, whose girl she was?
He was getting ahead of himself.
All the men around the building acted like that with their secretaries.
But they wouldn’t with her.
He would make sure of it.
When Rey had scurried safely away, Kylo added. “I’d appreciate it if you kept your hands off my temp. She’s got more than enough to handle for me without that kind of distraction.”
As if she’d really be interested in such a slimy, sweet-talking jackass like him. But a faint laugh echoed in his mind.
“Ah, come on Kylo. This job is such a drag without the…perks.” He smirked. “If we’re going to fill our fathers’ shoes then we may as well keep up with the womanizing. Hell, your dad was worse than mine from what I hear.” And that smug smile Kylo had known most of his life was plastered on Hux’s face.
“....I’m too busy for that shit. What do you want?”
“Nothing, really, but I heard you got a new girl so I…”
Of course it was nothing, it was always nothing with Hux. The guy’s job had extremely loose expectations, flexible deadlines, and worst of all: the flake delivered when it counted.
Kylo couldn’t stand the idiot.
Grandfathered in under a wing of nepotism that made it hard to cut the red haired man off, Kylo mostly dodged him once he realized he couldn’t fire him.
Hux likewise knew Kylo had it out for him, and took every opportunity to make the CEO’s life as difficult as possible. Their fathers lifelong rivals, the two carried on the tradition with ease.
It was why Kylo knew Rey was just an easy target for the man - a tool he could use to get to Kylo. If it had been anyone else, it wouldn’t have worked. But Hux was about to find out just how willing Kylo was to fight for what was his.
It didn’t matter if no one else knew it, if Rey herself didn’t know it. But he knew it, and Hux would know it.
Rey belonged to him.
“Stop wasting Rey’s time -my time.” He leaned in toward the man, instructing in a cold, clear tone, “If you actually need something, have your girl talk to mine.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A dismissive “Gentlemen,” sounds from across the room as Mr. Ren brushes his way past the endless line of suits waiting to speak with him.
Hearing it too, Zorii motions for Rey and the two follow quickly after him, a winking Hux waving them off as they go.
Back in the elevator, Rey notices Mr. Ren’s handkerchief is nowhere to be seen, yet his empty fists are just as white as when they had held it before.
The three were greeted by an attendant who was markedly younger than the one from earlier, and seemingly new to the job. Something Rey gathers by the way he asks Mr. Ren where he needs to go.
The imposing man simply blinks back at the boy before Zorii cuts in,
“The top floor, please.”
Rey can tell he’s made the attendant nervous.
Just before they reach the top, Zorii asks to be let off on Poe’s floor and Rey halfway considers reaching out to beg her to stay. She must notice Rey’s distraught look because she gives Rey an encouraging rub to her shoulders before stepping off.
“Great job today sweetheart. Give me a ring if you need anything. I think she’ll be a great stand-in, Mr. Ren. Good day.”
Despite Rey’s pleading face, Zorii’s gone in a blink, and the two are left alone for what should’ve been a short ride - but ultimately feels like a lifetime.
Poe is a gentle father, but Rey knows what it looks like when he’s holding something in. His face does this thing where it’s both blank and tense at the same time. The occasional twitch of the eye makes its appearance. It was exactly the same way Mr. Ren looked standing next to her there in that little metal box.
Better to leave it alone.
But his vibrating energy proves impossible to ignore.
Perhaps it is better to apologize, instead.
“Sir?”
Mr. Ren’s head snaps to the side to look down at her, her voice likely unexpected and his temper clearly too foul to reply.
“Did I do something wrong?”
In an honest feat, Mr. Ren’s permanently furrowed brow manages to lower deeper. He breathed heavily from his nose.
As far as Rey’s concerned, that’s his way of saying yes.
At least I'm learning how he communicates.
“I forgot to tell you Mr. Hux called, I’m sorry. He wanted me to ask you to see him on the 12th floor-”
“I know.”
She looked back to him with a confused look.
He knew?
Mr. Ren caught her look and must’ve known she didn’t catch his meaning. He ran a hand over his temple, sweeping back his hair.
“He’s always asking me to come down there. As I’m sure you’ll come to learn.” He sighed.
Oh, of course.
The ding of the elevator approaching the top floor sounds, and Rey lets her clammy hands release the rail to disembark.
It was a silly thing to ask if she had messed up, and even sillier to expect an answer.
But the new attendant, shaken by Mr. Ren’s cool look and the pressure of shuttling the building’s highest ranking official, brings them to a jumpy, rattling stop before the doors can open.
Losing her balance, Rey fails in her footing a moment and watches the floor draw nearer. Her body lost to the sensation of near zero gravity, she braces herself for the fall - as well as the humiliation.
Too quick to register, Mr. Ren’s hand is suddenly gripping Rey’s forearm, and the floor is static once more.
With a warmth that leaves a tingling bloom across her arm, Mr. Ren has steadied her with a single, solid yank. Though she’s soon upright and bracing herself against him, a moment passes before she registers her hands against his chest, or that Mr. Ren has let her go.
Stepping away quickly she whips her hands from his shirt, and holds them close to her heart.
“Th-thank you,...sir.”
He doesn’t answer her, nor does he chew out the apologetic attendant. He only straightens his jacket and storms past the elevator door, toward his office in an annoyed huff.
Somehow his quiet reply is more unnerving than when he’s shouting, and Rey knows she won’t be seeing the new attendant again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He had felt her against him, held her there.
He was lost in thought about the way Hux had spoken to her, touched her, when his own hand shot out and wrapped itself around her arm.
“Did I do something wrong?” She had said.
Yes. He wanted to say.
Don’t look at anyone who isn’t me. He wanted to say.
But then again, no.
It was Hux who kissed her hand without her permission. Without his permission. It was Hux who was taking advantage of her as an obvious means to inconvenience him. She hadn’t done anything wrong at all. Really, he had been the one to screw up..
He should’ve kept a closer eye on her. Kept her as close as he held her right now.
No, you fool.
He lets her go, frustrated with Hux, with her, with himself - with the damned attendant. Today had been more tiresome than he had imagined, and his ambiguous feelings were fast becoming clearer. Clearer, but far more troubling.
But he had yelled enough, and he had upset her somewhere along the way, so he’d say nothing now. Or maybe ever again.
All he wanted to do was retreat to his office, down a glass of gin and loosen his God damned garrote of a collar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. Ren must have a habit of slamming doors, Rey thinks, watching as the ones leading to his office rattle on their hinges once he’s hidden back inside.
“I should give him a minute.” She says aloud, to no one but herself.
Rey figures it’s best to allow time to let the man simmer over whatever it was that had got him going in the first place.
That’s what Poe always does when I get upset.
But Rey knows she has to run her notes by Mr. Ren for approval, and soon. The day was fast reaching its end and she had to be ready by tomorrow.
She waits a minute, then five, then twenty. Ultimately, she sits awkwardly on her chair for nearly an hour before the silence of the reception area drives her mad.
Enough, Rey. Just get up and do it!
Mr. Ren doesn’t respond when she knocks on his door, but she knows he’s not on the phone. There were no calls she had to answer, and if he had placed one she’d hear him from out there, for sure.
It’s probably ok.
She knocks again.
“Mr. Ren?”
Still no reply, but Rey can see no reason to wait.
If he’s going to be a fuss then so be it, but I shouldn’t have to wait for a man like him to cool off. He’s the one making me do all of this in the first place.
She huffs.
Opening the door, “Mr. Ren? Zorii asked me to run my notes by you-” But she freezes.
Mr. Ren is sitting in his chair, crisp white shirt undone, his undershirt showing through and necktie loosened. His head had fallen back over the headrest and his eyes were fixed to the ceiling.
“I’m so sorry, i’ll come back-” She squeaks out.
“No, Miss Rey.”
It’s the first time he’s called her that, and it worries her that this could be the sort of thing parents do when they use your full name.
I knew it. I did do something wrong.
“Come in.” He orders, voice dark and calm. It makes a chill roll along the length of her spine.
She halts, her hand already on the doorknob, but she lets it go and turns back to, hesitantly, approach his desk.
“Zorii says I have to make sure you’re satisfied w-with my…my notes but-” She hesitates.
He’s a terrifying sort of man, and she’d never been around anyone but her girlfriends in the state of dress she had found him in just now. There was no doubt the appropriateness of the situation was ambiguous at best, yet she felt provoked to ask,
“But - can I get you anything, sir? Are you not feeling well? I noticed your handkerchief-”
“No.”
Her voice dies in her throat.
“Just show me your notes.”
He’s lifted his head, his long hair tousled about in a way that makes Rey’s skin prickle. His piercing gaze is obscured by heavy eyelids, and Rey feels herself take a sharp breath in. A warmth floods over Rey’s cheeks, and somewhere deep beneath her ribcage she feels something like butterflies.
It was not a sensation she expected from someone like him.
“Yes, sir.”
Rey inches over to his desk, close enough to reach out her notebook but as far away as she can manage.
Standing there, her arm outstretched, Rey tries to ignore how taut the fabric of Mr. Ren’s undershirt is across his chest, or how she knows the way his collared shirt feels against her hands. She tries, but fails.
Her eyes unable to break away from the sight of him, she realizes his chair is pushed back far enough for his outstretched legs - but it’s assuredly not safe to look there either.
She hadn’t taken notice of the gray fabric of his pants before, but now, seeing how it wrinkled at the seams, bunched up from the way his muscular thighs fill each leg when he leans forward to take her book, there’s no missing it.
Unlike the coffee, Mr. Ren slowly removes the notebook from her hand.
“Hm.” He leans back, still holding and looking at her notes. “These look half decent. I’m surprised.” He lets out a deep breath. “Hell, I’m surprised you came at all.”
She knew the last part was said more for himself than for her, but how could she ignore it? Couldn’t he see she was trying?
“How do you mean, sir?”
He made the sound of a breathy laugh through his nose, but he certainly didn’t seem happy.
“Well, why don’t you answer that for yourself.” He tossed her notebook on his desk, and looked at her.
She wished he wouldn’t.
“Why did you show, today? You admitted you weren’t prepared. No one forced you to get into my car. So why are you here?”
Rey’s confused face pinched together from the frustrating question.
“I’m here to do what’s been asked of me, sir.”
“Is that right?” He almost laughed.
“Yes. You’ve convinced my father this is a suitable way for me to be granted admittance to CU, and so I’m here. I’m here to learn what I have to do in order to send in my applications with your stamp of approval. And if I’m honest, I think I’m doing a-”
“And you think you deserve it? To attend CU, for me to give you my referral?”
Insufferable, pretentious, exhausting man.
“Of course I do. Why else would I be here?”
Today was an awful example, she thought. But she believed what she said.
Mr. Ren must’ve agreed because he took his time to reply.
Seemingly unimpressed but yielding to her confidence, “You’ll just have to prove it.”
“....yes, sir.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kylo leaned slowly forward to pick up his pen and return his attention to his work. Anything to distract from the fact she had found him in partial undress, or that a band of pink was growing across her nose and cheeks from the sight.
So innocent.
He tried to give little thought to the way she said “yes sir” when he challenged her to prove herself, to convince himself he simply liked it because he liked obedient staff. But the words continued to ring in his ears, and shadowy figures of imagined scenes he tried not to envision fought for his attention.
“Sir?”
God, he wished she’d leave.
He looked to her, his silent gaze his only reply.
“I was just wondering, what time does my day finish?”
The figures gained more clarity in his mind. A girl’s figure in front of his window at night, against his window…
Christ. Why had he thought gin was a good idea?
“Pardon?” He asked her.
Didn’t she want to go home? There was no way she’d want to stay late…
“I noticed your aftershave, so I assumed maybe you stay very late some nights. My day starts around noon, which is already four hours behind everyone else. Am I to stay late, too? To put in a full day’s worth of hours?”
Ah, of course. It was ridiculous of him to consider the alternative. Stupid, even. Laughable. Yet,
“Would you like to?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rey stood in stunned silence. She knew it, he would make her stay late.
Her lips parted in disbelief.
What would they do if there was no one else there? No meetings, no calls? She hardly had enough to keep her busy today…
“It was a joke, Rey. You may leave with your father. At 5.” Mr. Ren returned to scribbling away at whatever he’d been working on.
It’s not a very funny joke, she thinks.
“Yes, sir.” Her stomach grumbles.
Rey grabs her belly, embarrassed and trying to stop the noise as quickly as she can, to no avail. Mr. Ren is peeking up at her once more.
“Speaking of, doesn’t that man feed you properly? I’ve been hearing that thing all day.” He asked her, taking a swig of something clear in his crystal glass. Rey could tell it wasn’t water.
She stuttered at the realization her rumbling stomach had been that noticeable. Embarrassed wasn’t a strong enough word for how she felt.
“Your- your driver, Mr. Bespin, he picks me up during my lunch hour. So, I…”
He sat his glass down, fingers strumming its side. He looked angrier than before.
She assumed it was the annoyance of her noisy stomach and, for a moment, she felt half tempted to starve herself if only to inconvenience him more. But remembering why she had come, Rey resigned herself to being Poe’s dutiful representative.
“I’ll be sure to pack my lunch so I don’t disturb you again, sir.”
“And have to listen to the crumpling of a paper bag for thirty minutes? I don’t think so.”
So he really does want me to starve.
Rey was busy figuring out the math behind waking up early enough to eat a bigger breakfast when Mr. Ren spoke again.
“We’ll lunch together from now on.”
We’ll what?
Standing, Mr. Ren undid his loosened tie and slid it from around his neck. Tossing the black silk to his desk, Rey watched it land haphazardly and slide down the edge to the floor before looking back to her boss.
“What do you mean we’ll-”
Rey froze.
Mr. Ren had picked up the receiver before Rey could react, buttoning his shirt as he spoke into it. The movement of his hands feeling terribly intimate, Rey couldn’t keep from turning nervously to the side.
“Send for Bespin.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Where are we going?” Rey calls after Kylo.
Walking to the double doors of his office, he hears her quiet footfall follow behind him and opens one for her to pass through before him.
“Somewhere I can tolerate the food.”
Kylo would tell himself later he simply hadn’t thought to ask the restaurant downstairs to make him something he liked. Then again, his mother always said it was tacky when people ordered off-menu.
But he could admit, they had gotten off on the wrong foot. Her notes were already far easier to read than Maz’s, and that alone deserved some sort of praise. Maybe it was the gin talking, but taking her to a nice lunch - to several nice lunches over the coming week - might be enough to make up for their rocky first day.
It was the only way he knew how to say sorry, and if Hux could make Rey laugh with some half-assed flirting, Kylo was sure he could do far better. Lunch was only the start.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Let’s go.” It’s not a request, and Rey obediently follows behind. To where, she’s uncertain, but the promise of food is altogether too good to pass up. Even if it means sharing a table with Kylo Ren.
“Miss Palpatine.” Bespin is successful in opening the door for her this time, and she and Mr. Ren share the back seat. What Rey once considered to be a spacious part of the car now seemed ridiculously small with the towering CEO next to her.
Their knees bumping as they went, Rey leaned heavily against the window to keep as much space between them as possible.
“Cedrian Terrace, please, Bespin.”
“Sir.”
When Bespin gets to her door after their arrival, Rey nearly falls out with how closely she’s sat to it.
Stumbling out of the car, she recognizes the restaurant as the one she and Rose always see in the background of tabloids when celebrities come into town. They had promised to go there together one day, after they graduated college and had swanky jobs.
It’d have to be a swanky job, it was the most expensive restaurant in Chandrila.
“Mr. Ren I can’t accept this, I don’t have enough money to afford something like this.”
She didn’t have any money at all, actually.
“Consider it a perk of the job,” He replied, walking in front of her while the host led them to their table. A marveling Rey trailing closely behind Mr. Ren, she realizes his disinterested looks mean he’s clearly been there before.
“Or a reward, if that makes you feel better.” He’s holding out her chair, waiting for her to snap out of her trance and sit.
“Oh, th-thank you.” Her voice is small, but she’s more excited than perhaps she should be given her situation. Certainly too excited to refuse, and hungry.
No sooner has Mr. Ren taken his own seat when two steaming plates are placed in front of them.
Not only has he been here before, he’s a regular.
Somehow, Rey had forgotten just how prominent Mr. Ren’s family was.
Cutting into his steak, her usually chat-averse boss continued, “You did alright, for your first day.” and took a bite.
Was that….a compliment?
Sure, it was half-hearted and indirect, but Rey was eating the best steak of her life and that meant a poor attempt at a compliment from Mr. Ren was just as good as a wonderful one from someone she actually liked. Maybe she’d feel differently after she had eaten, but for now she was more than content.
“Anyway, I’m sick of the food from the cafeteria.” His eyes still cast down on his plate, Mr. Ren continued, “It really is terrible. This gives me a good excuse to eat elsewhere, and I can’t rightly send you home hungry. Can I?” Taking another bite he chews, finally lifting his eyes to look across at her. “Your father would kill me.”
Another joke?
Rey refuses to smile, but gives a slight nod of her head.
“Yes, sir.”
Being fed out of obligation suddenly makes the steak taste like any other she’s ever had. But Rey was taught to always finish what was on her plate.
It’s a strange experience, eating opposite a man as particular as Mr. Ren. Staff flutter nervously around to wait on his every whim, but he asks for nothing, and says very little. Really, all he does is eat, and look at her occasionally.
Rey does her best not to gawk, at the ceiling, the walls, the clean uniforms of the servers or at the suddenly very real man sitting across from her.
At Command Group, Mr. Ren seemed foreboding to be sure. But realizing that he continued to exist outside of the office suddenly made Rey keenly aware of the power this man possessed, and how subtly dangerous an aura he carried with him.
He was handsome, rich, well educated, well connected, and terribly terribly spoken. The world was his oyster, and at his command - and she would be the closest person to him for the next week.
Rey was starting to consider that she had greatly underestimated him, as well as this job. Watching him eat, eyes down to the table, Rey swallowed hard.
Mr. Ren’s unnervingly blank face lifted his eyes to her, a slow chew moving his jaw as she met his gaze.
What does he have, some kind of supersonic hearing?
She swallowed again, but looked down to her own plate as she pierced the bit of meat left for her to finish.
It took her until her 16th birthday to finally feel normal eating in front of boys, but now… That unignorable awareness of the movement of her mouth was returning, sure she could feel Mr. Ren watching her eat.
Judging my table manners, more than likely.
Clearing her throat and looking back to him, Rey confirms his dark eyes are trained firmly on her. Trying not to bristle, she makes a poor effort to distract him.
“You must come here often, they didn’t even ask our order.”
“Sometimes.”
It’s about as much of a response as she could expect, and again he’s back to watching her like she’s the subject of some new-age experiment.
Still, as she sits opposite him picking at her shrimp cocktail and trying not to move her lips more than she can help, it crosses Rey’s mind that - to an outsider’s eye - they might look like two people out for a meal together. Not like boss and employee, but rather…
Rey tries not to cough all over their dessert as it arrives. He had let her pick it out, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her smell is barely noticeable, yet overwhelming to Kylo in the confined space of the car.
There’s no fighting it.
His body wound tight until this point, Kylo finally lets himself take a breath and slumps into the back of the seat. His legs slacking, the relaxing exhale makes his already widened stance grow wider still and his left knee brushes gently against hers.
He sees the way she withdraws a little, can practically feel the way she stiffens. But he won’t surrender an inch to her.
If Hux got to make her laugh, kiss her hand, he would allow himself the right to keep his knees spread in his own car. Brushing against the skin of her leg was almost just as good as making her laugh, or imagining pressing her hand to his lips. Almost.
Besides, seeing her shrink away was amusing in its own right. The shy thing.
He peers down to her knees and finds the angle of them, their smoothness, annoyingly enticing. He notices they’re not quite bony, but certainly small enough to wrap his entire hand around. It’s beyond him to resist wondering how that would feel, to grip her there. He envisions letting his hand find its way to the seat, next to her hand which rested there, entwining his fingers with her own, until he felt brave enough to slide his fingers across her knuckle and up to her knee. He’d let it rest there quietly in the back seat, test the give of her flesh and press gentle reassuring fingers into the meat of her thigh, slowly wandering up…
He remembered her stockings, long and white and drying in his sink.
Kylo’s pinky twitched.
“Mr. Ren I can’t accept this, I don’t have enough money to afford something like this.”
Kylo snapped out of his haze and found Rey standing outside the car.
The simple girl didn’t expect him to make her pay, did she?
Perhaps she has little experience with things of this nature. With being taken out… to eat.
Then again, he hadn’t even thought to ask her if she’d like something like this. Maybe that was her way of saying this spot wasn’t to her liking.
But one look at her wonderstruck face put that worry quickly to rest.
It’s pleasing, he thinks, to elicit that kind of expression from her. He wonders if she’s ever seen a Kyber crystal.
Kylo has to physically shake himself out of his thoughts, reminding himself there are appearances to keep up. It’s easy enough, but he shoots the waiter a searing look so that he can grab Rey’s chair himself. It might be out of the ordinary for an establishment this fine, but that’s what any well mannered gentleman ought to do. Naturally.
Her surprised thanks is enough to make Kylo smile as he stands behind Rey, but he wipes it from his face before he takes his seat opposite her.
‘Your father would kill me’ he’d say, even though he knew damn well the man was blinded by the prospect of Rey’s admittance to CU. Dameron wouldn’t interfere unless he had reason to. Unless a line was crossed…
But this was just lunch. A business lunch, at that. Nothing to worry about. For now.
Or ever, his doubt whispers to him.
Rey could ‘be his’ in his mind all he liked. Her wanting the same, well…
The answer is an obvious and resounding ‘not in a million years’, even from those troublesome voices who normally encouraged Kylo’s reckless behavior.
The realization is enough to kill his mood, the dour look that usually lived on his face quickly returning.
Kylo felt pathetic and defeated. And drunk.
Maybe he would stop drinking at work.
“You must come here often, they didn’t even ask our order.” She says, catching his eyes resting on her.
Oh god, you’re staring.
So maybe she didn’t feel drawn to him the way he felt drawn to her. But perhaps he could be the type of person who she would come to want something like that from. Someone who could compete with Hux’s manipulative charm. Someone who could compete for her laughter.
Don’t come across as haughty, be humble.
“Sometimes.”
She doesn’t seem to like that answer.
I’m fucking terrible at this.
Compete with Hux? The jackass was a cad for sure, but Kylo couldn’t string a sentence together around her. What a joke. Rey was his? More like his to watch from afar. To think he could ever be ‘her’s’.
Her fairy godfather maybe.
Yes, he’d help her get into a good school and pull all the strings needed to ensure she had everything she could ever want while there. Even after.
Now that he knew her, she would have whatever, and whoever, she wanted. But that would never be Kylo.
When the waiter returns with coffee and a dessert menu, he notices Rey’s interest.
If she wanted dessert, she would have it.
Her response is hesitant, but cheerful, and it nearly brings him out of his depressive thoughts.
She likes this.
When they leave, she stands next to him as they wait for the car, the chill of early evening blowing down the sidewalk.
It’s not often he struggles to get out his words, but Kylo starts and stops twice before he manages to say,
“I’d like it if you picked the place, next time.”
“Tomorrow?” She looks up to him with raised brows.
“Right, yes. Tomorrow.”
She doesn’t smile, but her eyes seem brighter and he detects the littlest curl at the corner of her mouth.
“I’ve only ever eaten in the city once or twice. I can’t even remember where. I’m not sure I know of any recommendations.”
He’d have to change that.
“Then maybe I’ll choose the next, but I’d like you to pick at least once, before you go.”
Before she goes. The thought is one he tries to forget.
“Yes, sir. Thank you. That sounds nice.”
To his surprise, it actually sounded like she meant it.
He grabs the door for her when Bespin pulls up, waving him off.
She watches him with curiosity the entire way as he rounds the car, then smiles with uncertainty, almost shyly, when he joins her in the back.
Allow someone else to have those eyes looking up at them when they close her car door? Allow someone else to take her out, help her see the city, the world?
No.
She was his.
No one else was good enough for her.
Certainly not fucking Hux.
It could only be Kylo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. Ren seems like a different person after lunch. He helped her in and out of the car, asked her to pick out a place she’d like to eat. It was all very unlike the person who shouted at her to get coffee, or told her to stop dripping on his floor.
Sometimes I get angry when i’m hungry too, Rey laughed to herself. Finally, she had found something they have in common.
When they return from lunch, there is only an hour left in the day which quickly whittles away to just minutes. 15 before 5:00 Mr. Ren emerges from his office, car coat on.
“I often leave a few minutes before, to dodge the people who wait til end of day to ask me something, and so Bespin doesn’t get caught at the gate with everyone.”
“Oh, alright. Is there…anything you need from me?” Rey stands and asks.
“...No, I suppose not.” She felt like he had something to say, but Mr. Ren wasn’t the type of man to hold his tongue. She must have been mistaken.
“See you tomorrow, Miss Rey.”
So she would be Miss Rey to him, from now on.
Of course, there had to be a logical reason for his choice. It was probably just because it was shorter than Miss Palpatine. Surely.
Still, she kind of liked it.
“Actually, there is one thing.” He turned back to address her, one hand in his pocket and the other held out in thought.
“Oh?”
“The men in this office,... men like Hux. They may do well at their jobs but, and it might be a poor reflection on me to say this, but they’re not the sort of person that you - Well,”
Rey was almost concerned to see the composed man falter with his words.
He rubbed his hand over his mouth, “I think it’s best you avoid….fraternizing with anyone during your time here. If anyone gives you a hard time…That is, I know they can be a handful when it comes to the other women in the building so, if anyone gives you any trouble I need you to let me know.”
His avoidant gaze which looked off to the wall, the ceiling, finally met her eyes.
Other women? Did he see her on the same level as someone like Zorii? Like…Bazine?
She felt embarrassed, and a little like she was being scolded for something she hadn’t done.
“You have a fairly level head about you, I know you’re sharp as a tack, but…just in case. I can’t protect you otherwise.”
Protect? Is he worried about me?
“And your father would never forgive me”
Ah, there it is.
“I wouldn't forgive myself either.”
A shocking bolt of self awareness ran through Rey. Maybe he could see how hard she worked after all, maybe he could see her.
“I understand. Thank you sir.”
Giving a small shake of his head, “Goodnight.”
“Oh, Mr. Ren!” She called to his broad back, “Just a moment,” and Rey ran into his office.
Kneeling to grab the silk tie he had left behind, she fished around for a moment, snaking her body around his chair and backing out from under his desk. Standing to turn, she found herself face to face with the dark eyes of her boss, his looming presence suddenly feeling very different to how it had most of that day.
“Y-You forgot this, It…seems expensive. I didn’t want it to get lost, or caught in the cleaning crew’s…vacuum.” She laughed nervously, “It’s too pretty to lose.”
“Hm. It is.” He replied, his thumb and finger running over the draped end falling from her hand before returning his eyes to hers.
“Wh-what?” She breathed, forgetting immediately what he’d said.
“Expensive.”
“Oh”
“Thank you, Rey.”
Not Miss Rey, but Rey. Just Rey.
It sounded good when he said it. When did it start to sound good?
No, this was Mr. Ren. This was her boss, her father’s boss!
She let go of the tie.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Ren. See you tomorrow.” She would have taken a step back if his desk hadn’t prevented her from lengthening the space between them.
“Right.” He blinked for what seemed like the first time since they entered his office, and moved aside to let her leave.
She made it only a few steps before she heard him call,
“Rey.”
She stopped in her tracks, looking over her shoulder, eyebrows raised.
“Don’t forget your clothes.”
He walked to the door, catching up with her, and bent down closer to her ear. He kept a respectable distance, but Rey was certain she’d never forget the feeling of his breath on her skin.
“You left them in my bathroom. Wouldn’t want the cleaning crew to find those, either, I think.”
She was glad Mr. Ren left before he could see the wide eyed look he left behind, or the rush of blood that flooded across her cheeks.
It’s only minutes later when Poe comes to fetch her, but Rey’s well in the mix of thinking over exactly what kind of person Mr. Ren is. Distracted by the unsettling emotions from her memory of him buttoning his shirt, wanting to protect her, telling her not to forget her clothes, Rey’s blind to her surroundings until a snapping hand is waving in front of her.
“P-Poe!”
“Hey kid! How was your first day?” He wraps an arm around her shoulders as he presses on his hat.
“Ready to hit the road?”
Yes, she really was.