Work Text:
November 2007
“Hey, Will! Look at that, it’s quitting time!” Tony announced, barging into his boss’s office.
Assistant Director William Kang did not look amused.
“If you’re done, then have a good night,” he pointedly replied, nodding at the door.
Tony grinned. “You’re done too. Your assistant says you’ve been working too much. Time to go, and I have just the thing for us to do.”
AD Kang had been forced to accept an assistant earlier that month. Trevor Bishop was efficient, mild mannered, and just as stubborn as his boss. Tony thought it was hilarious and partnered with Trevor to make sure Kang wasn’t working late more than absolutely necessary.
“Trevor!” Will snapped, and Tony laughed at him.
“Trevor went home an hour ago. It’s 6pm. Now, I have something for us to do and we’re going to be late if we don’t get going. Come on, Will. Let’s go!”
Will’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Am I going to like it?”
Tony hoped he’d like the results, but Will might not like the process. “Well, you see,” Tony began. Will shook his head. “You need to tailor your suits. You’re management now, whether you like it or not, and your suit makes a statement. I have a tailor and she’ll be there until 7:30 tonight, so if we hurry, we’ll have time to get started with the one you’re wearing.”
Will frowned at Tony, then looked down at his clothes. “It makes a difference?”
That was a much better response than Tony expected. “Yes, it does. So let’s go.”
Will looked around his desk and then ran a hand across his face. He waved at a chair. “Give me a minute to shut down.”
Victory was sweet, and Tony beamed as he waited. As soon as Will stood, Tony prodded him out of the office and into his car.
The haberdashery was only a twenty minute drive from the Homeland Security Investigations office, but Tony filled all of that time with information about suit design and styling. He had decades of knowledge to pass on as long as Kang was willing—or forced—to listen.
Will seemed almost relieved to arrive at the store.
Beckoning him to follow, Tony led the way inside and to the back where alterations were done. He rang a bell and smiled at the reluctant look on Will’s face.
“Coming!” a velvety soft, musical voice called from behind a partially closed door.
Will gave Tony an assessing glance. “You haven’t forgotten that I’m your boss, right?”
Humor bubbled up. If nothing else, the evening would be entertaining. “We’re off the clock,” he grinned.
“Neither of us are hourly.”
“But I am, and I’m done in 45 mins,” the musical voice cut in. “So let’s get to work.”
Elena was, in Tony’s objective opinion, a beautiful woman. Average height with curvy features modestly accentuated by practical but well fitting slacks and a light sweater. Her dark hair was tucked into an elegant bun. The only thing that didn’t fit her outfit was the pincushion tied around one wrist.
“Oh, hello, Tony!” She smiled and looked him over from head to toe. “That one turned out really well. What can I do for you?” She looked over Will with a curious eye.
“Elena, this is my friend, Will.” Tony grabbed Will by the elbow and pulled him forward a step. “Will, this is the best tailor in LA, Elena.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Elena smiled, holding out her hand.
“Likewise,” Will said quietly, shaking her hand.
Tony beamed. “Will needs his suit tailored. Well, he needs all his suits tailored, but we’ll start with this one.”
Will sent him a mildly irritated look, but Tony ignored it.
“No problem! Step onto the riser, please,” Elena gestured to the low, round stage in front of three mirrors.
Will did so without a word.
The suit fit pretty well. Will had purchased the correct size unlike most men who bought them too big. It wasn’t quite the right cut for him though. Tony circled slowly with Elena at his side, murmuring suggestions to each other, and pinning fabric.
Stoic Will stood tall and seemed to ignore them. Tony couldn’t have that. He pinched the side of Will’s pant leg by his hip.
“Take this in a bit? It’s not doing his butt any favors.”
Will glared at Tony in the mirror. “Hey!”
Elena murmured a soft agreement and took the fabric from Tony. She pinched it and used a piece of chalk to mark a line, then circled to do the same on the other side.
Tony grinned at him. “You’ll appreciate it if you’re ever planning on going on a date in your life.”
“It will be more flattering,” Elena agreed absently, studying his sleeve length.
The back of Will’s neck turned red. “That would require a woman to go on a date with,” he pointed out, his voice as dry as sand.
He was pushing it. Any further and Will would get angry.
“And that starts with a good suit!” he chirped.
Will rolled his eyes but otherwise didn’t move. “You’re a terrible friend.”
Tony laughed. Maybe Will agreed with him.
He stepped back as Elena did. They circled one last time around the riser before Elena declared the suit perfect. She raised her eyes to Will’s face and it was only because she was right next to him that Tony heard her breath catch.
Tony hoped they’d be attracted to each other, but this was faster than expected. Wow, he was awesome.
“I, uh, kinda sprung this on Will so he doesn’t have any clothes to change into. Why don’t I pick some out for him while you pin his shirt?”
Elena laughed. “He kidnapped you, didn’t he?”
Will smiled at her. “Strong armed me into it,” he agreed.
“Let’s take a look at your shirt,” she smiled, helping him out of his jacket.
Tony slipped away to find Will some decent clothes, keeping an eye on them. Elena chatted as she worked, fluttering around him. Will’s eyes followed her through the mirror, and he responded to her with a small smile on his lips.
Unfortunately, Elena was efficient and Tony had to return a few minutes later. He handed a stack of clothes to his boss with a smile.
“Try these on.”
Will gave him a narrow eyed assessment. Always so suspicious.
Tony waved a hand at him. “Elena needs the suit to be able to alter it. Go change.”
Elena watched them with amusement dancing in her eyes.
“Fine,” Will grumbled.
Tony pointed out the changing room and smiled at Elena as he stepped out of sight.
“Are you trying to set us up?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“Just introducing you,” Tony claimed.
She saw right through him. “Sure.”
“But if I was…”
“Then I would say ‘mind your own business.’”
She didn’t seem angry or annoyed, so he counted it as a win.
Will stepped back into view, resigned acceptance on his face. He was in a black turtleneck sweater and tight jeans that worked with the shoes and belt he’d been wearing with his suit. It was a good look.
Tony glanced at Elena, but she had regained her professional demeanor. She held her hands out and Will handed her his pants and shirt.
“Thank you.” Will was all business all too often.
“You’re quite welcome. If you leave your number I can let you know when they’re ready for a fitting, otherwise I can let Tony know.”
“There are a few business cards in the pocket of my jacket,” Will gestured at it.
Tony held in his eye roll.
“Great, I’ll call you then.”
Will nodded, turned, and headed for the registers. Tony winked at Elena before following him. She huffed out a small laugh as she disappeared behind the work room door.
Tony offered to pay for the clothes he was making Will buy, but was shot down. He wasn’t surprised.
They made their way out onto the sidewalk and paused as a group of women passed in front of them. Two of them eyed them up. He grinned and winked trying to be over the top. It was a nearly guaranteed way to annoy them into not talking to him. One of them gave Will a double take though.
Tony waited patiently for the comment he knew was coming. Will didn’t say anything until they were in Tony’s car.
“Alright, maybe clothes make a difference,” he muttered.
“I knew you’d come around!”
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“Hey, Will. I’m heading out early. My suit came in and Elena only works until 5:30 tonight so I have to catch her.”
Tony had to look closely to see the thoughtful shift in his boss’s expression. He silently cheered, happy to see any response.
“Sounds good. Later.”
Will turned back to his computer, but Tony took a step further into the office.
“You know, I think she’s single.”
“Tony,” Will started in a warning tone. Tony’d heard that tone a lot though and knew it wasn’t a concern. Yet.
“And she can put up with me so you know she’s patient and kind,” he added.
“I don’t need help finding a date,” Will claimed.
Tony laughed at him. “Sure you do. We’ve been here, what, 6 months? And you haven’t gone on a date yet.”
“Maybe I have.” Will finally looked up, his expression closed.
No, he definitely hadn’t. Someone would’ve noticed a shift in his behavior of some kind. “Have you?”
Will’s stare became a glare.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so. I’m not saying you have to, I’m just saying, Elena is nice and single and you could just try it.”
There was a long pause before Will waved toward the door.
“Have a good night, Tony.”
—
Tony waited until Elena had almost finished her assessment of his suit jacket to approach the topic with her.
“Sooooo when do you think Will’s suit will be ready?”
She gave him a knowing look. “Early next week.”
“Very efficient,” Tony complimented. “I’m sure he’s looking forward to coming back. To get his suit.”
Elena laughed. “You’re usually smoother than this.”
Tony grinned. He was being a bit obvious. “I prefer subtly in my own affairs, but I want to be clear when I’m meddling with other people.”
“Do you meddle often?”
“Seeing how much fun this is, I’m not meddling enough!” Charlie had warned him away from suggesting a blind date to Will, so he went this route instead.
Elena poked him with a pin and gave him a not very believable apology.
He laughed. “Alright, I’m done. You are capable of figuring things out, I know that!”
“Glad we’re on the same page,” Elena smiled, and finished pinning.
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William Kang exited his car and adjusted his jeans. They were the one Tony had picked out for him and were more snug than he was used to. Based on the looks he’d received from women when he wore them, they looked good.
He wasn’t going to complain about that.
He wasn’t going to inflate Tony’s ego any more than it already was either.
He strode across the parking lot trying to feel as confident as his jeans made him look. Tony was right (still not going to admit it to his face), he needed a push to start dating.
And here he was, picking up his suit that a beautiful woman had tailored for him. A beautiful, single, potentially-interested-in-him woman. He just had to ask.
Will entered the store and went back to the corner where Elena worked. The door to the back was open and he spied all kinds of fabrics and thread and sewing machines before his gaze landed on the woman herself.
“Hello!” she greeted cheerfully.
“Good afternoon,” Will responded, and then immediately wished he hadn’t. It sounded so formal.
“I have your suit right here,” she smiled and disappeared for a moment. She returned with his suit on a hanger, and handed it to him before gesturing at the changing room. “Let’s make sure it fits right.”
Will nodded so he wouldn’t say something dumb.
The trousers were tighter than before, but not nearly as tight as the jeans he’d been wearing. The shirt was fitted, but still comfortable. The jacket was the most flattering he’d ever put on, and it left room for the gun he usually had on his hip.
He smoothed the front of the jacket and stepped out. Elena was waiting next to the riser, so he took his place on top of it. She circled and he tried not to get uncomfortable. She was a professional just doing her job.
Then her hands gently tugged on his collar and smoothed his shoulders and he could feel his neck heating up.
“I think it looks great.” She met his eyes in the mirror and smiled again.
“Me too,” he replied automatically. If he was going to ask her out, now was the time. “Uh, hey, I, uh, have some tickets Glamour & Giving with Ra–”
“Rafael DeLuca?” Elena breathed, her eyes alight with joy.
“Yeah. It’s on–”
“Friday at 7, I know. Oh my gosh.” Her hand clung to his forearm.
Man, it had been forever since he’d done this. “Right, so I have two tickets and I was wondering if you’d want to go. With me.”
“Yes!”
He hoped a little of why she wanted to go was because of him and not only super designer, Rafael DeLuca.
“Great.” He smiled.
She paused, her hand still on his arm. “I…I’m glad you asked. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”
A warmth lit in his chest and scorched up his neck. “Me too. I can pick you up. Where do you want to meet?”
“Oh, here’s good. I’m just a couple blocks from here.”
Practical and beautiful, what a catch.
“I’ll see you then.”
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Will straightened his jacket and grabbed the small vase of flowers he brought. Did people still bring flowers? He kind of hated this first date thing. Tony probably would’ve known if he’d asked him. The man hadn’t gone on a first date in years and still managed to connect with Jeanne in less than an hour at a charity gala.
The cashier at the counter smiled brightly at him when he entered. Will nodded and passed quickly by the beaming girl half his age. Elena already seemed young for him, somewhere in her 30s. He wanted nothing to do with anyone younger.
“Hi, Will!” Elena greeted.
His feet came to a sudden stop as he took her in. An emerald lace dress hugged her gently, accenting her tan skin and beautiful curves. Her dark hair, which he’d only seen up in a bun before, tumbled down her back in long curls. He resisted stepping forward to run his hands through it.
There was no doubt she was far, far out of his league.
“Elena, you’re stunning,” he managed to say.
He heard the cashier giggling and felt like a moron, but Elena blushed.
“Thank you.” She gestured at him. “I was hoping you’d wear that suit.”
“It’s by far the best fitting one I have,” he smiled.
“And you look really good in it.” She paused and her smile slipped. “Not that I’m trying to say it was my work that made you look good. You already looked good.”
The cashier giggled again and Elena’s blush darkened.
“I brought flowers,” Will remembered.
“Thank you,” Elena murmured, seeming happy to have something to do. She took the vase and set it on a small table next to a couch near the riser and mirrors.
“Are you ready to go?” He was sick of their adoring audience who was giggling again.
“Yes.” She grabbed a small clutch from a shelf and took one last glance in a mirror. “Ready!”
He offered his arm and she took it with a pleased smile. The cashier beamed as they passed and suggested that they, “have a good night,” which caused Elena to blush again.
It was a relatively short drive to the hotel where the charity gala was taking place. Elena asked him a few questions, and he gave her a high level explanation of his upbringing: born and raised in LA, ten years in the army, joined Homeland Security Investigation after that, moved back to LA six months ago.
They arrived before he could ask about her. The valet opened their doors and elegantly swept them into the hotel. Will offered his arm again and Elena seemed to be delighted, so he figured it wasn’t too old fashioned.
He produced the tickets for the bouncer at the ballroom door and then they were in the elaborately decorated space. Servers with food and drinks mingled in the crowd who wore everything from simple suits like Will’s to complex fashion statements. Models posed like real-life mannequins on pedestals around the room showing off Rafael DeLuca’s signature dresses.
Will only knew about any of this because he had researched it a few days earlier.
He looked at Elena to ask where she wanted to start, but his breath caught at the absolute joy radiating from her face. She stared at the dresses, and he stared at her, unable to tear his gaze away. Finally, she turned to him and blushed again.
“Um, thanks for bringing me here. I never thought I’d be able to do something like this. You grow up in Southern California and you know these kinds of things happen all the time, but it still seems so far away, you know?”
He thought of his childhood in one of the decent blue collar neighborhoods in the city.
“Yeah, I know.”
“I can’t imagine how much this must have cost you,” she murmured, looking around at the extravagant opulence.
It hadn’t cost him anything. And he didn’t want her to feel like she had to earn it. “Actually, I was given the tickets. Please don’t feel any sort of obligation towards me.”
She gave him a grateful smile and he wondered what her past relationships were like.
“So, um, want to look at the dresses? Are you even into fashion? Oh, that was rude.” She covered her face with her hand for a moment and then straightened. “I just need to get this out there.”
His stomach dropping, Will braced himself for whatever she had to say.
“I haven’t gone on a date in…a while. Like at least a year. I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t want it to seem like I’m just here for the dresses because I really do want to get to know you better. You just happened to be making one of my dreams come true right now.”
Will’s insides went all warm and he blamed Tony for making him soft.
“Then I want you to enjoy it. If you still want to get to know me more by the end of the gala, we can go on another date.”
Her eyes sparkled and he figured that wasn’t too forward. “You’re a wonder, Mr.— what’s your last name?”
“Kang,” he chuckled. “William Kang.”
“Elena Delgado,” she replied, laughing with him. “Pleased to meet you.”
“It's my pleasure. Why don’t you lead the way? You can tell me all about the dresses and I’ll pretend to know what you’re talking about.”
“Sounds great!”
She led him to the first model. A server handed them glasses of champagne, and Elena ignored hers in favor of detailing all the things she loved about the dress and some things she would’ve done differently. Will nodded along dutifully, watching her gestures cause the drink to get dangerously close to spilling. Eventually, she ran out of things to say and turned her gaze back to him.
“Thanks for listening,” she murmured.
“Yeah, well, I agree. The pleating is very in right now,” he joked.
She laughed and took his arm. “Are you this charming to all the girls you take out?”
Her assumption was so far off.
“I, uh,” he stumbled on his words, feeling slow and stupid, “I haven’t gone on a date in a while either.”
Elena shot him a sharp look but her voice was soft. “Why not?”
Because Theresa had been a selfish nightmare that he hadn’t wanted to repeat. “I had a relationship that ended badly. Then I was too busy working.” He didn’t want to discuss it. “Why haven’t you been dating? You’re beautiful, interesting, and talented.”
She looked pleased at the compliment before her face fell. “I…I was married once. He died in an accident. It took me a long time to get past it.”
“I’m sorry.” He was an idiot. He should’ve kept his mouth shut.
“No, I’m sorry,” she grimaced.
A silence fell and Elena sipped her drink, scanning the room.
“William!”
The voice made Will cringe. He’d hoped she wouldn’t feel it necessary to talk with him while on a date. It was embarrassing as a teenager and sad for a man in his early forties.
He turned and his mother pulled him into a hug. For a woman in her sixties, Bae was aging well. She was beautiful and elegant, and it was endlessly helpful with her line of work.
“You look very handsome, darling.”
“Thanks,” he muttered, hoping she’d leave quickly. Stepping out of her arms, he gestured to his confused date. “Mom, this is Elena. Elena, my mother, Bae Kang. She is the event planner who organized the gala.”
Bae took Elena’s hand and held her at arms length. “Oh, my dear! Look at you. William said you were beautiful, but you’re even more beautiful than I expected. I’m so pleased to meet you.”
She pulled a startled Elena into a hug. Will made eye contact and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
Elena wasn’t given a chance to respond. Bae stepped back, grabbing her hand again. “Your dress is gorgeous. Where did you get it?”
Elena blinked, still trying to catch up. “I made it.”
Bae smiled and squeezed her hand. Will moved in to interrupt.
“And it’s stunning,” he murmured. “I’m sure you have a lot to check on, eomma. I’ll talk to you later.”
Bae turned a frown on him but he raised an eyebrow and she relented. “Certainly.” She dropped Elena’s hands. “If you need anything, just let me know.”
Bae gave them both one more smile before bustling away, causing more than one server in her path to straighten and avert their gaze. Will gathered his remaining dignity and looked at his date.
“I’m sorry. I was hoping she’d be too busy to bother us. She’s not great with boundaries. I know she can be a lot, especially at first—”
“It’s fine, Will. She seems nice,” Elena retook his arm.
Was she serious? Theresa had hated his mother, and even girlfriends before her had claimed Bae was overbearing.
“We could look at another dress?” Elena suggested quietly.
“Yeah, of course,” Will replied absently. He walked her to the second model and nodded along with what she was saying.
Elena was undoubtedly excited about the dress. Her eyes flew over it, taking in every detail. The hand without a champagne glass twitched at her side as she circled, as if begging to touch. There was nothing about her posture or expressions that suggested she was lying or hiding something. He had to assume she was being honest.
“I think I like this even better than the first one,” she finished her commentary.
“I’m glad to hear it.” She smiled and he smiled back. “So you said you grew up in Southern California. Was that in LA?”
They wandered in the direction of the third model, dodging the mingling crowd.
“No, San Diego. My family is still there. Diego, my late husband, and I were high school sweethearts. He joined the navy to support us and after he died I couldn’t move back there. I chose LA and have been here since.”
She suddenly looked over at him, biting her lip. Will tried not to stare at it.
“Sorry, is it weird to talk about him? I mean he’s been gone 9 years.”
At this point it didn’t seem like Diego was a threat to him, since he was, you know, dead. “If it’s not upsetting you, then I’m fine with it. He was understandably important.”
Will was caught between disappointment and relief when Elena released her lip to smile at him. She was so gorgeous it was distracting. And maybe it had been a while since he’d gotten any action. Not that he was planning on getting any tonight.
He needed to focus.
“The next dress?” He tipped his head at it.
Elena nodded. On the way, he took her empty champagne glass and set it on a server’s tray with his own. She lit up again as she studied Rafael DeLuca’s work.
A feeling like a shadow passed over the back of Will’s neck and he was suddenly alert. He scanned the groups of people around him looking for something out of place. Raised voices had him searching to his left.
“…completely unacceptable…never supportive of me!” a man was nearly shouting.
More people than just Will were staring. The crowd quieted.
“Frankly, you should be ashamed,” the man growled before dumping the remainder of his drink onto a woman’s dress.
Elena gasped softly next to him. “How awful.”
But Will was already moving away from her. He strode up to the couple that most people in the area were watching with horrified fascination.
“That’s enough,” Will stated, calmly but firmly to the tall, thin, and clearly irate man.
With a huff of disdain and an eye roll, the man glanced at him. “This is none of your business.”
Will glared and anger throbbed in his chest when he heard the woman sniff back a tiny sob.
“You’re making it my business. Maybe you should go home.”
Tall and thin scoffed. A sour smile split his face.
“Do you hear that Tiff? They want us to leave. Let’s go.”
‘Tiff’ said nothing, she was trying to wipe some of the drink off her neck with her hands.
“Not her. You. Just you need to leave. And you don’t get to talk to people like that.” This guy was more aggravating than at least half the criminals he’d arrested.
“Do you have any idea who I am?” Tall and thin asked. “You need to back off.”
Will noticed his mom arrive with a towel to help the poor woman—who was now crying—clean herself up.
“I don’t care who you are. You keep talking like that and you’ll be charged with assault. Just go home,” Will cautioned.
The crowd began whispering and tall and thin’s color rose in blotchy spots high on his cheeks. He glanced at ‘Tiff,’ then pulled a double take.
“Stop it!” he snapped, grabbing the towel from Bae’s hands and throwing it to the ground.
Will tossed him to the ground just as easily. He knelt on the coward’s back and cuffed him, not giving one second of attention to the keening cries coming from below. Once he was sure the man was secure, he scanned the room for security. He found two men in dark suits with earpieces hurrying over.
“We’ve called the police, perhaps we can move this to the lobby,” one suggested.
Will nodded and yanked his prisoner to his feet. “Move,” he snapped and tall and thin immediately complied. The two security guards flanked them on their way out.
It was 6 minutes until the police arrived, and 36 until the cops finished their initial investigation. They gave Will his cuffs back before they took the prick to jail.
‘Tiff’ thanked Will for his actions, and he said not to mention it.
Then he remembered he was on a date.
The bouncer at the ballroom door grinned and waved Will past the line of people waiting to get in. He nodded and entered without breaking his stride.
People parted before him, muttering and sending sideways looks at him and each other. Will did his best to ignore it. It was hardly the first time he’d been stared at.
He found Elena studying a dress on the far side of the room. People cleared a space around them as he approached.
“Elena,” he called as quietly as he could while still being heard in the noise of the crowd.
She turned and he received a different smile than earlier. It seemed sadder.
“You got everything cleared up?”
“Yeah, he’s off to jail where he won’t harass anyone else tonight.” He hoped ‘Tiff’ would take the opportunity to distance herself from him. People were still staring from all sides. It was putting him on edge. “I’m sorry. I think I’ve ruined any chance of me enjoying the rest of the gala.”
Elena glanced at their audience and nodded seriously.
“I understand,” she murmured, turning toward the door.
Will held out a hand to stop her. “If you want to stay, I can arrange a ride home for you. You said this was a dream of yours.”
The sad smile reappeared. “Maybe it wasn’t quite what I thought it would be.”
Will nodded. The evening hadn’t been what he expected either. He’d hoped for something light and easy, not discussions of his past failed relationships, a visit from his mom, and arresting some guy.
He offered his arm, and Elena took it. People melted away before them so it was only a minute later that they were at the valet stand. His Lexus was brought around and he helped Elena into it.
It was a quiet drive back to the clothing store. Will couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t sound weak and contrived. Elena glanced at him a few times but didn’t say anything either.
He pulled into the empty parking lot, and into a spot. Elena allowed him to open the door for her. She slipped out and held her clutch with both hands in front of her.
“Thank you for taking me out. I know it didn’t really go to plan, but I’m still glad we went.”
She didn’t add anything about seeing him again. At least she got to see a few of the fancy dresses before he ruined their evening and the chance of a second date.
“You’re welcome. Sorry for, well, what happened, I guess.”
She frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything else.
“Would you like me to walk you to the door?”
She blinked, then shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine from here.”
Yeah, he screwed up.
“Goodnight, Elena.”
“Goodnight, Will.”
He circled the car and slid inside. He drove straight home, parked in his underground parking spot, and took the elevator to his apartment. After changing into some sweatpants, Will grabbed his phone and sent a text message to Tony.
You try to set me up again and I’m firing you.
Tony replied with a single word.
Noted.
Deciding he’d never get to sleep without burning off some of his energy, Will grabbed his tennis shoes and a water bottle, and went down to his building’s gym to run on the treadmill.
Half an hour into that, his phone rang. He paused the machine and connected the call from his mom.
“Hey,” he answered breathlessly.
There was a pause before his mom asked, “am I interrupting something?”
“What?” Realization shot through him and he cringed. “No, eomma. I’m at home running on the treadmill. Is there something you wanted?”
Another pause. This one felt disappointed, which almost made him hang up.
“Just checking on you, dear. You left rather suddenly.”
He would hang up if it wouldn’t hurt her feelings.
“I’m fine.”
“And Elena?”
Probably better off without him. “At home.”
“You always were a gentleman.”
They both knew that was a lie. He’d been on the wrong path for a while as a teenager though he’d learned a few things since then.
“She was wonderful, William. When are you going to see her again?”
“I’m not.”
“What?” Bae sounded genuinely surprised. “But she was so impressed with the way you stood up for that woman and me. She said you were brave and kind. We chatted a bit when you were busy with the cops.”
If Elena felt like that, she hadn’t given him any sign of it. If anything, she seemed upset. “Right, well she didn’t mention it.”
“Oh,” she hummed thoughtfully, “what did she say?”
“Nothing.” Will wiped the sweat from his brow, and tried to fend off his growing disappointment. “I’ll talk to you later.”
With a quiet goodbye, his mom hung up and he started the treadmill again. All the energy he’d worked off was back.
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Tony entered the haberdashery determined not to make things awkward for Elena. He wasn’t sure what happened, but Kang had been annoyed for a couple days and Tony did his best to steer clear.
He greeted the cashier and hurried to the back corner. Elena was hanging his suit in the changing room.
“Good afternoon, Elena,” he let her name roll off his tongue like usual.
“Hello, Tony,” she replied with a hint of exasperation like most women did when they said his name. Most people actually. Not just women.
“Your work is flawless. Bravo.”
“We’ll know if it’s good once you get it on,” she replied dryly.
“You’re right, as usual.” Tony smiled and pulled the door shut behind himself.
The suit really was better than Tony expected. His new favorite, in fact.
Elena nodded in satisfaction as he stepped onto the riser. She went to work, tugging, assessing, marking, and pinning. They were both more particular than a normal suit would require, but this wasn’t a normal suit. This was the suit he was going to wear to marry Charlie. This was the second fitting of it so there weren’t many things to adjust and Tony retreated to the changing room, congratulating himself on not even mentioning William Kang. He carefully handed off the pinned suit and gathered his jacket.
He turned to say goodnight to Elena, but froze. She was hesitating in the doorway to her workroom, biting her lip and looking distinctly uncomfortable.
Sighing internally, he hoped his boss wouldn’t kill him for asking, “You alright, Elena?”
She shifted her weight and nodded, then changed her mind and shook her head. “I screwed it up, Tony.”
He was about to ask how she screwed up, but she went on.
“I was, well I was impressed with what he did but I didn’t know how to say it without bringing up Diego again, and I didn’t really want to do that even though he said it was fine. So I didn’t end up saying anything and I really should’ve. I like him but he probably thinks I’m boring or uninterested or something. His mom was really nice though and I managed to talk to her just fine.” She groaned and hid her face in her hands.
Tony had so many questions. “You met his mom? Wait, who’s Diego? And what did Will do?”
Elena dropped her hands down and grimaced. “He didn’t tell you?”
Will had done nothing but be grumpy for a few days and say he’d fire Tony if he tried to set him up on another date. Tony avoided the whole topic. “Uh, no. He didn’t say anything, really.”
“Oh, maybe I shouldn’t then,” Elena murmured, biting her lip again.
Tony sighed aloud this time. “I feel partially responsible for this whole situation, so if I can be helpful in any way…”
She nodded and gestured to the small couch set in view of the riser and mirrors. Tony tucked himself into one corner and waited for her to sit and gather her thoughts.
“Will’s mother is an event planner and she planned Glamour & Giving, a charity gala, last Friday. She gave us tickets so we went.” A smile warmed her face. “He isn’t into fashion obviously, but he listened to me rant about it anyway. His mom stopped by and he seemed embarrassed but she was really nice. And then I brought up my late husband—”
Tony’s surprise had been mounting and that nearly put it over the top.
“—and Will was super nice and said that he was an important part of my life and it’s fine if I talk about him. But before I could make things not weird, some guy started being a jerk to the woman who was with him. He threw his drink on her and Will didn’t like that I guess because he went over there and told the guy to stop it and to go home—”
Of course Will had stepped in. He has too much integrity to let a woman be treated poorly.
“—Bae, that’s Will’s mom, got a towel to help the woman clean up but when the guy saw it, he ripped it out of Bae’s hands and, oh man, was Will mad.” She shook her head slowly. “He did something, I’m not sure what, to the guy’s arm and had him pinned to the floor with his arm behind his back in like 5 seconds. It was incredible.”
Sounds like Will had been a badass defender of women. No wonder she said she liked it.
“The cops came and Will handed the guy over. I talked with Bae some while he was dealing with all that.” She laughed helplessly. “Talking with her was easy. Everyone stared at Will when he came back and he didn’t like it, so we left. I should’ve said that I was impressed with how he handled everything or something, but I kept thinking about how Diego would’ve done the same thing, or at least Diego would’ve interrupted but then probably gotten into a fist fight. Anyway, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to compare him to my late husband, you know?”
Elena took a few deep breaths to make up for not breathing for the last five minutes.
“Now that you’ve explained it, I do know.” Tony leaned back and considered.
Tony couldn’t interfere any more than he already had. Will might actually fire him. Or just be mad for a really long time.
Elena could try calling, but there’s no guarantee Will would answer. And no way to be sure how the conversation would go if he did. Elena needed to be able to get her perspective heard.
An idea came to him.
“Alright, it’s a little old fashioned, but I think you should put everything into a letter. Explain what you were thinking and why you didn’t say something when you think you should’ve. I’ll bring it to him, and that’s the very end of my meddling.”
Charlie had laughed at him when she heard what happened, saying he brought trouble on himself. She wasn’t wrong.
“You think that will work?”
Honestly, Tony wasn’t sure. “It’ll be the best chance of something working.”
Her face fell, but she nodded understandingly. “Right. I’ll try to write something up in the next few days. I’ll put a rush on your suit. No charge.”
Tony stood and buttoned his jacket. “Don’t worry about the suit. I’ve got time. Let me know when you’ve got something and I’ll stop by.”
She nodded again, already half distracted.
He left her to think before he could start spouting promises of things working out. He didn’t know what would happen and he shouldn’t say otherwise.
He couldn’t make himself feel bad for introducing them though.
0000000000
“Why do you look nervous?” Vinny asked.
Tony looked over to see who he was talking to. Vinny, Liv, and Anna were all looking at him.
“Are you going over to the FBI building again? Because if you hate it that much, you can just send one of us,” Anna added.
Tony waved away their concern. “No, just need to stop by Kang’s office and drop something off.”
The three agents exchanged looks.
“Does he want the something?” Liv asked wryly.
He probably thinks he doesn’t want it. “Eh,” Tony grinned, and all his agents frowned at him. “He’s not going to be happy about it.”
“Tony,” Anna sighed.
“Please stop making Kang mad at you,” Vinny added. “He takes it out on all of us.”
Tony hadn’t heard of any kind of punishment for his team. “What? How?”
“We have to deal with him glaring at you,” Liv snarked.
Anna and Vinny nodded.
“I will ask him to contain the glaring to his office,” Tony laughed as they frowned harder. “It’ll be fine.”
He retrieved the letter Elena had given him the evening before from his bag and tucked it into his pocket. “Wish me luck!”
Although part of his brain thought it was pushing his luck—if he had any luck left—Tony strode across the building to Will’s office. Will’s assistant, Trevor, took one look at him and groaned.
“You’re going to make him mad and then I’m the one that has to deal with it.”
Tony grinned. “You know, it’s funny. My team just said the same thing. Is he busy?”
Trevor scowled. “Yes, he’s busy.”
Tony gave him a look that he hoped portrayed humorous and loveable disbelief.
Trevor scowled harder. “Fine, you can go in.”
“Thanks, Trevor! You’re the best!”
He could hear the assistant grumbling, but ignored him for pulling open the office door.
“Hey, Tony,” Will greeted without looking up from his computer.
“How’d you know it was me?”
Will looked up now, and smirked at him. “You’re the only one who makes Trevor groan like that. Why does he think you’re going to upset me this time?”
”Because I probably am?” Tony gave him a nervous smile. “But not because I’m trying to upset you. I’m fulfilling a promise and then I’m absolutely, 100% done meddling, ok?”
“Trevor was right to be worried,” Will sighed. “What is it?”
He produced the letter from his pocket. “See, I have this letter for you from—”
”Don’t,” Will warned.
Tony ignored the warning. “From Elena.” Will had a truly epic bitch face. “I know, I know. You don’t want to talk about it. No problem. I don’t either. I am just giving this to you and you can do whatever you want with it. Like I said, I’m done meddling.”
Tony decided that based on his boss’s body language, it was time for him to go.
“Just think about it.”
He set the letter on the edge of the desk and backed away. Trevor grumbled some more as Tony retreated to his desk.
00000000000
William Kang was a man who knew himself. He knew the kinds of things that made him angry, or hurt, or frustrated. He knew what didn’t work well in his relationships. He knew he held grudges. He knew he was slow to forgive.
He knew he’d never be able to live with himself if he didn’t read the damn letter.
He was just trying to delay the inevitable because, again, he knew what made him hurt.
With a shake of his head he decided to get it over with. Face the problem so he could deal with the fallout. He tore the envelope open and unfolded the letter inside.
Dear Will,
Great. He’d never gotten a ‘dear John’ from someone he wasn’t actually dating before.
First, thank you. I so appreciate that you were thoughtful enough to take me to Glamour & Giving. Not because of the event itself—although I did enjoy it—but because you actually took the time to consider what I might be interested in and enjoy. That is the first of many remarkable things about you.
What followed was a recollection of their date with Elena’s commentary illuminating how she found him to be kind, thoughtful, gentle, honest, respectful, gentlemanly, fierce, and altogether impressive. She apologized for her lapse in communication at the time and outlined a few of the ways Diego’s life and death changed her forever. By the end of it, Will was firmly settled in his confidence of attempting another date.
He picked up his phone and dialed.
“Will?” She was either surprised or worried.
”Uh, hey. Are you working?” He checked the clock, 6:30pm.
There was a brief pause. “Um, yes?”
He maybe should’ve thought things through more. “Do you get off soon? Would you like to get dinner tonight?”
This pause was not brief. “You got my letter?”
”I did.”
Will might have heard the faintest sigh of relief.
“Yeah, I’d like to go to dinner with you. I’m done at 7.”
”I’ll be there."