If only I could smoke in here...

[Harrison Everhart]

Harrison Everhart, Editor-In-Chief, was late... well almost. The middle aged man sighed, swatting at his hair in an annoyed fashion as he patiently waited on the slowest elevator known to man. Surprisingly, Harry had remembered to shave this morning, and was actually wearing an ironed shirt, though that was thrown off by the pair of jeans. He also wore a leather jacket, which sort of gave him that "I'm too old to try to be this cool", look. Like he gave a shit.

After what seemed like a century of waiting, the bell rang and the doors open. Harry was greeted by a blast of sunlight flooding in from a large window, and he squinted a bit as he walked down the familiar hall. He waved at a few faces, but didn't stop to bother and talk to them. It would all be mindless bullshit anyway. He was a busy man, and on top of that, he needed another cup of joe.

He entered the reception area of his office, and was surprised not to see his blond assistant, Piper, waiting for him. He frowned, walked past her desk, and pulled out his keys. His office looked exactly the way he had left it. He tossed his jacket on the coat rack, and placed his keys and his appointment book on the desk. Perhaps he should start calling a few people.... He tried to avoid the huge stack of messages that Piper had left on the corner of his desk. Instead, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and contemplated breaking the rules. He was in charge here right? And if coffee didn't come soon, he'd have to rely on the next best thing.

[Piper Monroe]

Piper looked down at the papers she had been sifting through. So many requests for her boss, and only a few could she actually fulfill. She threw a few of the ridiculous ones out and then filed ones that would actually be doable in a separate pile.

Piper Monroe had already been in the office for an hour and 13 minutes before her boss has sauntered in, which wasn't at all unlike their usual morning routine. When he passed her he hadn't said a word, which again, wasn't unlike their normal routine. Piper stood up and slipped a few files and her trusty scheduling book under her arm, her pencil skirt laid perfectly over her legs, and her wine colored blouse wrapping over her thin waist and modest bust just so. She walked over to the coffee machine and picked up an acceptable cup. She poured some of the fresh liquid into the cup and walked towards her boss' office, her heels clicking slightly on the floor.

"Good morning, Mr. Everhart. I hope you slept well." She smiled and set the coffee, mixed just the way he liked it, onto his desk. Noticing the cigarettes in his hand she sighed, but didn't say anything. Sure, it was against the rules to smoke in a public building in New York, but she wasn't about to object. "Doctor Phillips called before you got in. He's wondering when you would like to schedule your next appointment, ((I assumed he was seeing a psychiatrist, just tell me if I'm wrong)) also with the galla being next week I went ahead and sent in your measurements for your tux. The invitation says plus one, did you want me to RSVP for just you or were you planning on bringing someone?"

Piper was all business and no play. She always did as she was supposed to, which sometimes made her come off as a little cold. It usually took a few minutes of talking to Harry before she warmed up each morning; as if she had been sleeping in a freezer all night and had become somewhat frigged.

[Harrison Everhart]

Harry's eye glanced upward as soon as he heard Piper enter the room. Where the hell was she before? Perhaps she had been fetching something in another room... it couldn't be that he just overlooked her, right? Trying to not think about it, and trying to not look guilty, Harry slowly slid a cigarette from his pack and stuck it in his mouth. He lit it up and instantly walked to the large window, opening it a crack.

"You didn't see a thing." Harry chuckled as he took a drag, then noticed the steam rising from the delicious drink on his desk.

"Morning Piper, I slept fabulously, thanks for askin." Harry was an easy man to work for. Well, sort of. He was usually pleasant to be around, and always had a smile on his face. But some of his demands were a bit strange, and of course there was the part of him being crazy.

"Call Phillips back and tell him I'll have to put it off a couple weeks." This was probably a bad idea. Jack Phillips was one person who understood Harry, maybe a little too well. This is probably the reason Harry always tried to put off his appointments with the man. "And for the galla, I don't have a date. Can't think of anyone that'd go with me. RSVP for one."

Wow, Harry must have been a dumb man. Here he was staring a beautiful, interesting woman, and all he could see was "assistant". If he had half a brain he would invite Piper. But that thought never occurred to him. He took a few more drags, trying to keep the smoke near the window, as he slid towards his desk and picked up the cup of coffee. "Mmmmm," now of course this coffee wasn't as good as his coffee at home, but drinking whiskey at work was frowned upon.

"Can you call up Ozzie for me? I'm going to be pretty lonely at lunch and I figured he would join me." Apparently, Harry wasn't the formal type.

"Oh, and Piper. You look lovely this morning, as usual. Real breath of fresh air." OK, so Harry wasn't hitting on the woman. He just thought he should try and make his assistant feel nice, and appreciated. How the woman put up with him, he didn't know.

[Piper Monroe]

As soon as she was finished asking him the questions that she had needed the answers to and telling him what she had already done for the morning she was quick to bring up her planner and notebook, her pen was instantly clicked so that it would be usable.

The Assistant nodded as he talked about his doctor and his appointment. He was a little disappointed that he would be pushing back his meeting another few weeks, but wasn't surprised. As helpful as Harry's visits were, the doctor was slightly obnoxious. Even an even mannered, cool headed Personal Assistant like herself couldn't stand that man. He was a know it all.

Piper quickly jotted down the note about RSVPing for one and gave him a look of disappointment. No! By no means was she disappointed that he had not asked her, absolutely not. Having known her boss for so many years she was sad that he thought no one would want to go with him. Sure, he was a little bit nuts, but he was sweet and kind. If anything he had character, which should make any woman find him attractive, if not sexy. Maybe even her, if she weren't void of feeling when it came to men.

Call Mr. Ramsey schedule for lunch, Piper jotted down on her notebook. Ugh, she couldn't stand that man, and why such a nice guy like Harry would even consider befriending him was beyond her. He insisted on pinching her behind every time he walked by her desk, and always managed to put in a comment about her biological clock ticking. However, Oswald Ramsey was Mr. Everhart's friend and boss, and her boss' boss was always treated with respect, no matter how infuriating he was.

Piper nodded and was just about to leave the room to do her the duties she had just been assigned when she had to turn back to face him. Her name had been called in the sweetest way. He complimented her on how she looked and blushed. She rarely got compliments about her looks, though she tried so very hard to look nice each morning and now she found herself speechless. Piper Monroe was rarely, if ever, speechless. "I-um... Thank you... Mr. Everhart," She smiled as the blush in her cheeks remained. His compliment was the complete opposite of what she had grown to expect from Mr. Ramsey, which she was not looking forward to in the next few hours, and suddenly she felt happier.

Piper was about to leave the room again when she stopped once more to turn towards him. "Oh, Mr. Everhart," She wanted to say something, but her mind suddenly went completely blank. "Um... Will you sister be stopping by this morning?" Stupid question, Piper. "That wasn't what I wanted to ask you, but..." She trailed off and offered him an endearing smile.

[Harrison Everhart]

Harry almost broke into a laugh when Piper blushed. Not because he thought it was funny really, but because his assistant was not one to blush. Then again, he had never seen her outside of the office, so perhaps she blushed like a tomato all the time. He took the last drag of his cigarette and casually tossed it out the window.

"Do we have some sort of air freshener around this joint?" He muttered, completely forgetting Piper was there, only for a moment. He began to rummage through his desk, a slight frown on his face. He quickly realized Piper was still standing in the doorway, and asking him a question. What had she said? Oh god, he really needed to stop being so wrapped up in his own mind.

Something about his sister... and then a strange comment about how she wanted to ask him something else.

"Hm?" His brown eyes flickered, giving her a blank stare. "Mickey? Oh who knows. She'll probably be around. Lucky bitch gets to come in so late..." His sister, Mickey, the layout designer, pretty much got to wander in whenever she choose. Not only was layout sort of a night job, the damn woman was so good at it it never took her that much time to put together a stunning paper.

"Oh! Excuse my language."

'Way to talk like a damn sailor with a lady in the room.' Harry scolded himself silently.

'Hey, she's a grown woman, she can deal with it, right?'

'Shut up you, and get back to the real world.' This internal battle was usual for the man, though if Piper was out of the room he would probably be saying it all out loud.

"You said that wasn't what you wanted to ask me?" Harry plopped down in his comfy leather chair, 'God I love this thing.', and twirled around once. "Now, we're not being shy, are we? I know I know, you really wanted to ask me how I always look this damn good, right?" He broke out in a small laugh, a laugh that was warm and friendly. Of course, he was kidding, and one of these days he was gonna get this woman to laugh too. He joked like this every morning, hoping to hear the tiniest laugh, but no luck.

His mind drifted back to the air freshener, as a whiff of stale cigarette drifted up his nose. Where the hell was it?

[Piper Monroe]

Piper gave him a gentle smile as he talked about his sister. Having worked for the man for so long swears coming out of his mouth had not been uncommon. After all he was the editor in chief of a major newspaper in the largest city in the United States, not less could be expected. Stress was part of the job description.

"I um..." She had forgotten what she had wanted to say in the first place and a strange silence fell over her before she was suddenly saved by the ring of her desk phone. "Oh, one minute," Piper held up her finger and rushed to the phone.

"Mr. Everhart's Office this is Piper speaking..." She paused for a long moment as the man on the other side of the phone spoke. As she listened she quickly opened her largest desk drawer and pulled out the air freshener she kept for occasions such as these; when her boss decided a cigarette was in order. "Mmmhmm. One moment please," Piper clicked the phone onto the holding position then stood up to stand in the doorway between her and her boss. "Your father's on line one, Mr. Everhart. He says it's urgent." A smile peaked through her lips as she tossed him the fabreeze can.

Deep down, somewhere in her heart, Piper Monroe was protective of her boss; and she knew how Harry often reacted to his father's phone calls. Most of the time, she just said that he was busy and that Harry would have to call him back, but the word 'Urgent' had forced her to actually transfer the man to his son. "I would spray that now, before you're reported to the health department." Of course, Piper wouldn't ever allow such a thing. She was the type of Personal Assistant and didn't allow anyone to come near her boss, even a government official, without an approved appointment. She had learned to be quite a hard ass in Washington; and with the type of person Harrison Everhart could be she was just what he needed.

While she waited for Harry to pick up the phone she couldn't help but sigh at the discombobulated man that her boss was. It fit him, and though some people called him crazy, she couldn't see it. He was a little eccentric, of course, but not crazy. There was hardly a day that she didn't secretly hear the man talk to himself in ways that weren't considered normal; arguing with oneself was never a trait she had come by with any of the politicians she had worked for, but he was sweet and endearing. He was always considerate of her, though she didn't need much consideration.

Shaking her head, she suddenly realized that she had been staring and in the mean time had totally daydreamed in her little world. She turned back towards her desk and picked up the phone again, only to dial Olivia, Mr. Ramsey's Secretary. "Good morning, Olivia this is Piper..."

[Harrison Everhart]

Harry continued to search as Piper rushed to the phone. He should have told her to not worry about it and let the voicemail pick it up, but arguing with Piper about doing her job was not a good idea. He had gotten an earful many a times in the past from the woman, and never liked the lectures. He spun around in his chair, and suddenly stopped when Piper told him who was on the phone. He sat frozen, for a good minute or so, waiting for Piper to leave the doorway before he answered the phone. The air freshener fell to the floor with a clunk, but he didn't notice it.

The red light on the phone blinked impatiently, as if his father was controlling it. Harry reached out his hand, and picked up the phone. He was shaking horribly, and he could barely keep a hold of it. Finally he brought it to his ear and took a deep breath.

"Harrison Everhart." He spoke crisply and professionally.

"Oh shut it Harry, since when do you treat your father like a client?" An old, raspy voice came over the line.

"Since I haven't seen you in five years Michael." Harry snapped, trying to keep his cool. He fumbled for another cigarette and lit it, taking about three long drags.

"Aw Harry, still acting like a six year old?" The man's voice was hiding a laugh.

"Let's cut to the chase Michael, what do you want?" Smoke surrounded Harry, and thankfully it didn't set off the fire alarm.

"I thought we should catch up son. I have an event coming up and everyone is talking about you. I mean, everyone wants to meet the man who completely ruined the New York Tribune." There was no joke in his fathers tone.

'Oh god, keep it together Harry... Damn it, who gives a shit.'

"Fuck you Michael. You're an old washed up hag. I don't think I'd like to attend this so-called event, and don't bother to call again. I'll send you straight to voicemail." Harry, who rarely lost his cool, slammed down the phone and looked at it for a minute.

"The fucking nerve of that man.... god he even called me son." Harry mumbled out loud, reaching his hand up and pulling at the roots of his hair. His cigarette was almost out, and he barely avoided burning his fingers.

In a flurry of anger, he popped up out of his chair and started to pace. "God damnit Harry, he can't get to you like this!"

"Yeah well, what am I supposed to do, ignore it like I always do? Let it build up until I exploded" Hopefully, no one was around to view this mental breakdown. Harry's hair was sticking up on end, and he had that wild look in his eyes.

[Piper Monroe]

As hard as Piper tried not to listen to her boss' conversation, it was a little difficult with the door wide open. She cringed and frowned every time she heard Harry's response to something his father had said and truly sympathized with him. Sure, her relationship with her mother was infuriating and she rarely, if ever, spoke to her father, but there were never hostile words spoken between them, at least not that openly.

When the phone slammed down onto its holder and Piper heard nothing but silence for a moment she stooped and walked towards the doorway. The personal assistant leaned on the frame, like she did so often and gave him a soft look of sadness. She didn't say anything, but instead allowed him to work out what had just happened, even if he was having a conversation with himself. She was used to that, and quite honestly, that was okay with her. Somehow, Piper understood him on some strange deeper level.

When a silence passed between Harry and himself she walked further into his office, her heels together as she bit her lip carefully. "Are you alright, Mr. Everhart?" She asked, never using his first name when addressing him. Piper didn't bother to mention the brief moment of crazy that he had just had. There was no use embarrassing him.

"Is there anything I can do?" She paused for a moment then continued. "You know, besides not take his phone calls?" She mustered a slight smile. Had she actually tried to make a joke. Sure, it wasn't a very good one; not at all. It wasn't even funny, but she had at least tried. "I'm sorry..."

[Harrison Everhart]

Harry spun around when Piper entered the room. That woman put up with so much of his crap, he was suprised she hadn't quit yet. There was a desperaty in his eyes as he looked at her, just for one brief moment. As soon as the look had appeared, it disappeared, and the wild look returned.

Trying to compose himself after a small breakdown was the hardest. He knew he should, since he was in the presence of another person, but it was easier said than done. He tried to give her a half hearted smile when she offered up her help.

"Know any good hitmen?" He blurted out, coughing slightly. With that, he sat in his good ol' trusty leather swivel chair and buried his head in his hands. He lifted one hand and waved it at her. "Don't worry about me Piper, I'm used to being tormented by the man. I guess it's been so long I've forgotten how to handle it." He cleared his throat and looked up, his eyes slightly red. He wouldn't cry, of course, he was a grown man. But it didn't mean he didn't want to.

"Call Phillips back for me, will ya? Tell him I'll take anything he has open in the next couple days." Obviously, Harry was desperate to talk to someone. That was the only reason he ever went to see Jack.

[Piper Monroe]

"You would be surprised," she commented, quite seriously. Having worked in politics, she had gained quite a few contacts that many wouldn't expect. Hitman was probably the job description of a one or two people she had logged away in her trusty address book.

Piper nodded slightly when she was told to make an appointment with his shrink, and for a brief moment thought about closing his office door, but didn't. Even though she often had to in order to keep his private matters private she didn't want to have to make up excuses on why she was alone with her boss with the door closed. Everyone enjoyed a good scandal around that place.

Taking a few steps towards him, her heels were silent against the tightly woven carpet of his office. She stood next to him and leaned, facing his direction, on his large wooden desk. Her perfect bottom supporting her as she looked at him with sympathetic eyes. "You know, if you want to talk to me, you're welcome to. I have a confidentiality agreement I had to sign... so nothing will leave this office." She almost wanted to wrap her arms around his head and hug him against her stomach. That, however, was inappropriate, and not acceptable for the work place.

"But if you want to wait to talk to Dr. Phillips, I'll understand."

[Harrison Everhart]

"Oh god Piper, you don't want me to open up to you. You put up with enough of my shit already." Harry tried not to look at her, with her big, kind eyes. For once, the woman was acting quite sweet, but she still was professional. He was her boss, she had to pretend to care, right? She wanted to help him, out of obligation, not friendship. Piper was far too proper to want friendship with him.

He sighed, taking one of her hands and looking at it. "Thanks for the offer dear. Maybe you should take over for Phillips. You're much prettier, and you don't smell like cotton balls, which is always a plus. But I've got far too much crazy locked up inside here for you to handle." He tapped his head with his finger, realizing that his hair probably looked like a national rain forest.

"Are you close with your parents Piper?" He had forgotten to let go of her hand, which was quite soft actually...

[Piper Monroe]

Piper allowed him to take her hand and hold it as he went on about not really wanting to talk to her about his mental issues. She understood that. She wasn't a sharing kind of person usually, either. Personal matters, especially. She didn't like talking about why she was cold and usually quite impersonal. Roger had done a pretty good job of locking her heart away so that no one could hurt it again.

In a brief moment of genuine understanding, Piper ran her hand through his hair to smooth it out a little. He was so much more attractive when he wasn't pulling out his hair. She felt his dark brown hair against her fingertips and then suddenly dropped it.

When he asked about her parents, she smiled. "Not really... my father prefers the golf course to his family and my mother... is a really silly woman." She sighed, thinking back to her parents. She hadn't seen very much of her dad ever, but her mother had been quite an active person in her life. "My mother is a bit of a perfectionist; she expects a lot from her daughters... you would really dislike her."

"What happened between you and your father that made you dislike him so?"

[Harrison Everhart]

Harry instantly calm down as he felt her gentle hand run through his hair. He closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling, but it was gone in an instant. He quickly opened his eyes and listened to her speak about her parents. This had to be the only time Piper had told him anything about her life. She was a blond mystery, so secretive and reserved. He smiled as she talked about her mother. When she asked him about the history between him and his father, he hesitated to tell her.

"I suppose there wasn't anything huge that happened. No horrible blow outs or anything. When I was pretty young my parents divorced. At the time, I thought my dad was pretty cool. But something happened to him after my mom left. He kept me out of school, and I barely saw him. When I did see him it was over dinner, sitting at a table with chairs 20 feet apart. He never cared about how lonely I was. I had no friends, no where to go, but he never noticed. Then when I went to college and graduated with honors he fucking acted like he had something to do with it. I don't hate him as much as I hate the memories of what he made me go through." Harry stopped, taking a deep breath. The only other person he had ever told that too was Jack, and that's cause the guy was paid to listen to him. In some way, Piper was too.

"It's funny, you never really hear about someone liking their parents. I would probably shit a chicken if I heard "Oh, my parents are just lovely." It's not always both, but there's always one that sucked big time." He laughed slightly, trying to make light of the subject.

"Thank you Piper... very much. I won't let you see me like this again." He dropped her hand suddenly, looking at her feet. Ok, this was awkward now.

[Piper Monroe]

Piper shrugged her shoulders and dropped her hand from anywhere near his. She placed her hands beside her, as if to suddenly turn back into the emotionless person that had grown to be in her profession, and even social life. "I've heard of some people liking their parents... and I suppose I don't hate mine... but I'm sorry about you and your father... that has to be hard."

She took a few steps back towards her desk, remembering that she had an appointment to schedule for him as well as a lunch meeting with My Ramsey. "What time would you like me to schedule lunch with Mr. Ramsey, Mr. Everhart? Same time as usual?"

Quickly, Piper ran through the things she had to do for Harry before the next hour. She was always doing that; listing things that were on her agenda, but it kept her solid, and if definitely kept her from getting too close. Ugh, now she was slightly frustrated that she had been so open with her boss. He didn't need to know about her family problems, that was the last thing he needed to know.

[Harrison Everhart]

Harry was sort of surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor. For one split second it seemed like Piper had a heart. And there was something else too, something in the way she was looking at him.... Nah, he was imagining things. He gave her a brief smile and nodded.

"Same time, thank you Piper." He spun around in his chair and sighed. "Could you also call Mickey and see when she's coming in? I'd like her to come to lunch with us, but that isn't going to happen if she's in late." He knew his sister and Ozzie were always interesting to go to lunch together. Ozzie always made off hand comments about Mickey's ass and her intelligence, and Mickey always mentioned Ozzie's... how did she say it? Oh that's right, old balls.

Harry laughed outloud at the thought, and suddenly caught himself before he sounded hysteric. Good thing Piper didn't look like she was paying attention.