DYD&F office 4pm

Lindsay walks into Bobby's office and slumps listlessly onto the couch. Bobby looks up when she enters and smiles pleased to see her.

"Hey you're back already?"

"Already! Bobby that was the longest three hours of my life."

He smiles at the disgruntled expression on her face. "It couldn't have been that bad."

She stares at him with an 'If you only knew' look on her face before saying "If I 'ever' complain about dealing with criminals again just ... just remind me of today. Just say could be worse Lindsay it could be the high school friends from hell ... I don't know how I ever liked those people Bobby, surely I was never as horrible as them ... I swear, after today, I'll never complain about dealing with our clients again."

Laughing he gets up from the desk and joins her on the couch. He puts his arm around her and miserable she curls into him burrowing in as deep as she can. With her head resting on his chest and his arm draped snugly around her she hides from the cruel distasteful world.

"So what went wrong?" He asks rubbing her reassuringly

"Everything!" she mumbles from deep inside her refuge.

"What, you didn't show off the ring and brag about your gorgeous, extremely intelligent, sexy and successful fiancée?"

"You'd better believe I did!" she says looking up with a grin "I even let your photo drop accidentally from my purse, oh maybe, fifty times."

"And they weren't impressed?" he feigns shock.

"With you of course they were!" she kisses his cheek then frowns and burrows back in mumbling, "But with me ... not so much."

"Why ever not?"

"I don't think they believed me."

"About what?"

"About you."

"They don't believe I'm real?"

"Oh no they know you're real. Actually Bobby some had even heard of you."

"Oh that can't be good!" he laughs and she looks up and smiles. "So Lindsay help me out here, what is it they don't believe?"

"They believe you are real Bobby and that you're my boss but ... what they don't really believe is we are engaged. I'm sure they think ... they think we've never dated and that" she sighs "you're just a fantasy of mine."

"Am I?" he asks nudging her playfully with his elbow

She ignores him but grins and continues "They think I made us being together up and they weren't impressed with my effort either." She pulls away, sitting up and looking at him "I could see it on their faces they were thinking 'if you're going to make up a romance to impress us Lindsay at least put a little effort into it; use a little bit of imagination'."

Bobby stares at her amused and perplexed. "I don't get it. Why don't they believe in us?"

"We're not normal Bobby" she moans burrowing back in.

"This conversation isn't normal" he laughs.

"I'm serious Bobby!'

"So am I."

Lindsay laughs despite herself. Bobby smiles and kisses her forehead.

" Seriously though why aren't we normal Lindsay?"

"We don't have a story."

"What?"

She sits up again "You know cute couple stories. Like how we got together or how we met ... that sort of thing. We don't have one."

"Yes we do."

"No we don't."

"We're together and we're a cute couple" he smiles at her teasingly "so we must have a story."

She rolls her eyes "Oh there is a story but it's not exactly one I can tell people."

"Our story isn't that bad?"

"Bobby!"

"Ok tell it to me. Let me be the judge."

Smiling she starts "Ok well I started working for you. We soon became friends, very close friends. We used to work together ... a lot ... at night and ... and one night ... you know one thing led to another and we had sex..."

"Made love!"

"... whatever, in your office. It was good..."

"Very good!"

"... so we kept um ... doing it, but we never told anyone or dated or, or anything like that. It was just ... sex."

"It was never 'just' sex!"

She smiles "Anyway, we kept doing it until you decided to date my best friend..."

"Until 'you' decided 'I' should date your best friend!"

"...whatever ... you dated her, it didn't work, you broke up. Then eventually we just sort of started up again but this time as a real couple and ... now we're engaged."

"It sort of loses something in the telling doesn't it?" he sighs.

"Yep"

They sit quietly thinking. She curls back up against him. He looks at her a little concerned by her mood.

"Ok so we don't have a cute get together story, although I'm sure I could tell it a lot better than you just did, but there's more to being a couple than that Lindsay."

"I know but we don't have a song either."

"A song?"

"Yeah a song that means something to us. You know like one that was playing on our first date or first kiss or first dance or..."

"I guess it would have helped if I had a radio in the office."

"Yeah" she laughs.

"Ok so we bombed on stories and songs what else?"

She sits up "Names ... We don't have pet names for each other."

"Are you serious?"

She nods apologetically pulling a face and he laughs.

"Ok names, names, names ... I've got it you can call me your big bad elbow muncher, just don't do it during staff meetings."

"You're an idiot Bobby!"

"No I think I much prefer elbow muncher to idiot. Idiot is kinda harsh."

"Besides" she laughs " can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to explain why I call you my elbow muncher, not that I'm even considering calling you that."

"People don't ask for explanations of pet names. No one ever comes up and asks 'why do you call him snoofles? What does snoofle mean?"'

"Snoofle?"

"Don't go there, Lindsay!"

She giggles.

"Ok so story, song, names what else are we missing?"

"Nothing" she mumbles unconvincingly.

"Lindsay?"

"Bobby I'm not complaining" she says emphatically whilst gently caressing his cheek.

"Ok" he answers a little nervously.

"It's just that ... they all had stories of things their partners did during the day."

"What do you mean? Like what?"

"Little things, like phone-calls or, or emails or, or... I don't know stupid things like that."

"Lindsay we work in the same office. We can speak to each other whenever, we don't need phone-calls and emails."

"I know, I know I said I wasn't complaining. It's just that ... it was something else I couldn't say. I couldn't say..." she puts on a synthetic voice " my Bobby calls me five times a day just to say he loves me."

"My Bobby?" he mimics the voice.

"You have a problem with that?"

"No! No, not at all! In fact ... I like it!" he pulls her back against him and kisses her "Did you tell them how often I call you into my office every day."

"No"

"You should have said.." again he mimics her synthetic voice "'My Bobby 's 'always' dragging me into his office for no reason other than to be with me because he 'loves' me so much'. You should have said that Lindsay."

"There's no point they wouldn't have believed me if I did."

"Why not?"

"Because Bobby everything I did say about us somehow involved your office. I'm sure that's why they don't believe we're a couple. We don't have any stories that don't somehow involve your office."

"Yes we do."

"No we don't!" she sits up facing him "Where did we meet? In your office. Where was our first kiss? In your office. Where was our first ..."

"In my office."

"Exactly! Why don't we have a song? You don't have a radio in your office. How does he show affection? He calls me into his office. Our whole relationship Bobby happens in your office. They don't think we're together they think I'm obsessed with my boss's office."

"Ah so it's the office you've been after all this time not me." Bobby teases trying hard not to laugh because he can see she is serious.

"Bobby!" she whines.

"So when you say an office romance you really mean an 'office' romance" He can't help grinning and she looks away from him before he sees she's begun to too.

"Bobby this isn't funny!"

"Then why are you laughing Lindsay?'

"Because ... because it's funny." She gives in and laughs out loud with him.

He pulls her back against him and kisses her. They sit in silence holding and caressing one another.

"Hey I didn't propose in the office!" Bobby says excited he can finally dispute her previous statement.

"I know ... but..."she begins hesitantly.

"But what?" he's crestfallen he'd thought he'd made a good point.

"Well firstly, I didn't want to get into the whole I'd been stabbed by a psychotic, head carrying, nun suit wearing, ex client story and ... secondly, there's that ... other matter."

"What other matter?"

Trying to keep a straight face and not let Bobby hear amusement in her voice she says "The fact that 30 seconds after proposing to me I found you in the arms of another woman, and an ex girlfriend at that."

Bobby laughs, she's never going to let him live that down "Yeah but I came back to you."

"Yeah you did" she smiles turning to look at him.

Bobby runs his thumb over her lips tracing her smile "I miss you when you're not here."

She takes hold of his hand, holding it to her mouth as she kisses it then bringing it to rest between hers in her lap. Hesitantly she asks,

"Bobby you know how you love me?"

"Yes"

"You know how you really love me?"

"Yes?" he answers nervously.

"You know..."

"How I really really love you"

"Yeah that ... well um I told them to come by the office tonight at five."

He smiles relieved "And what? Do you want me to put on a show for them? Do you want me to come running out of my office and take you in my arms and say snoofles you have to come dance with me they're playing our song."

Trying not to laugh and to give him a stern threatening look but failing miserably she says between giggles "No! Don't even think of it. I'm warning you! I'm serious"

He shrugs as if he's disappointed

"Bobby I just want you to be you. Please."

"But I'm allowed to look lovingly at you aren't I?" he asks putting on his best puppy dog face

"Yes"

"And can I touch you?"

"It depends on what you mean by that Bobby."

He grins at her mischievously and wiggles an eyebrow. She laughs "You can touch me in appropriate places and at appropriate times."

"Is now an appropriate time?"

"I guess"

"Ooh goody let me find an appropriate place then." He dives at her pushing her down on the couch.

"Bobby!" she protests but doesn't make any attempt to push him away as he kisses her covering her body with his.


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4.30pm

Three overdressed and accessorised women enter the offices of Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt. They approach no one but stand there, looking around with curiosity and a little distaste. Without making a comment or actually doing anything they exude a sense of perceived superiority.

"Can I help you?" Lucy asks.

"Yes dear we are here to see Lindsay Dole." The obvious ringleader of the group, i.e.: she of the biggest diamonds, says.

"Oh" Lucy looks at them suspiciously "do you have an appointment?"

"Oh no no nothing like that dear. We're old friends of hers and, well we're supposed to meet her and her 'fiancée' here for drinks at five." There is a snicker from one of them until diamond girl shoots her a warning look before continuing, "But I'm afraid we're just a little bit early and she mustn't be quite ready for us yet."

"Oh that's fine she's just in there with Bobby" says Lucy indicating Bobby's office "I'll take you on through."

They follow Lucy giving one another sly glances. Lucy stops at the door and whispers conspiratorially "I'd better knock we never know what those two might be up to." She smiles at the women's surprised looks and turns opening the door forgetting to knock. All four stand in the doorway staring wide eyed at the scene before them. Bobby and Lindsay a tangle of arms and legs on the couch and behaving rather amorously to say the least. Bobby hearing a snicker from Lucy stops his exploration of Lindsay's neck and looks up annoyed. He sees Lucy and three strange stunned women staring at him from his office doorway.

"LUCY!" he shouts trying to disentangle himself from Lindsay but only succeeding in falling in an undignified heap off the couch. He quickly gets to his feet straightening his clothes.

"I knocked" Lucy protests.

"Actually you didn't" pipes up the women Lucy lovingly refers to as Miss Prissy Pants every time she retells the story in the future. And she tells it often.

Lindsay instantly recognizes the voice and sits up delighted to see four people in the doorway and not just Lucy. She whispers "I think they'll believe me now" into Bobby's ear as she stands, hands him back his tie and walks forward to great her, well friends isn't exactly the right word but lets not make an issue of it at this late stage, friends with a very satisfied smile.

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Author's note 2: Never believe a Livvy summary