Tom Hiddleston / Reader (4)
Tom Hiddleston noticed you, struggling in your black shoes that had pretty narrow, high heels, wearing a formal white-collar shirt tucked neatly into your knee-long pencil skirt as you walked among the crowd carrying a tray full of wineglasses. You had a moderate amount of makeup and your hair was tied back on a ponytail which was a hairdo that made you look very professional but also revealed the delicate curve of your neck as well as your ears that were decorated with small earrings that had precious light blue stones which sparkled in the bright spotlights.
You were wearing a simple necklace, a silver or white gold chain with a sparkling stone in a very simple setting and a couple of simple bracelets. Tom followed you with his gaze as you moved gracefully in the crowd, carrying the tray and stopping almost constantly to offer people a fresh glass of sparkling wine. Tom noticed that even though you managed your duties perfectly, you were still a bit like a fish out of water in your tight skirt that did not leave room to take proper steps and in your high heels that surely were very uncomfortable. He also noticed that you occasionally forgot to smile and when your face got to neutral you looked like this was the last place where you wanted to be.
Tom imagined your life; clearly you did not feel that comfortable in such formal clothes, especially in that kind of shoes, which meant that you were quite laidback in your civilian life. He noticed that you had small wrinkles around your eyes, the tiny crow’s feet that you most likely had gotten from smiling a lot with your entire face which made Tom assume that you were a very cheerful person. However now you were only smiling with your mouth, very beautiful mouth you had, nothing wrong with that, but after analyzing you for a moment, Tom came to a conclusion that the smile that you were bravely wearing now, was indeed fake.
He walked around, mingling with other guests and so on, but he always kept you in his field of vision. He was attracted to you and there was something very intriguing about you, something very graceful and awkward at the same time. Yes, you performed your role perfectly, but it was only a role and the more Tom followed you, studied your expressions and body language, he decided that serving drinks in charity galas and such was not your dream job. It most likely was only a job that paid your bills and provided a decent living in London… or maybe you had two jobs; this and something else.
Tom chuckled when he realized that he was almost like Sherlock Holmes, solving a puzzle… an enigma that was you. You disappeared into the kitchen every once in a while to get rid of the empty glasses that the guests had left on your tray and fill it with fresh ones. As the minutes turned into an hour and eventually in two hours, the guests, well, some of them, started to get a bit tipsy and there were some plus fifty year old men that kept hitting on you. You kept the smile on your face and always moved away from such people but somehow they always managed to find you… the slimy Harvey-Weinsteins of the movie industry.
Tom decided silently that he would go and stop the situation if the guys got physical. Sure also verbal harassment was bad but it seemed to him that you were on top of the situation, for now at least, besides Tom was there, in the gala, in the role of UNICEF ambassador so his job was to talk with people and tell about the important work that UNICEF did all over the world… however he had firmly decided that if someone took the harassing to the physical level, he would run across the room and cause a scene… unless the harasser did not get it by telling him to stop firmly yet politely. Tom however knew that causing a scene in such situation could cause you to lose your job because you were just a waitress there and your harassers were powerful people in the movie business, which meant that they had gotten used to getting what they wanted; they knew that they could get you in trouble… fired even if they wanted and for your misfortune, some of them were not afraid to use that power on you… especially when the alcohol started to make people bolder and more daring.
Then Tom saw it; someone squeezing your ass while you were holding the packed tray of filled glasses with your both hands. Tom excused himself and walked through the crowd towards you but suddenly there was a loud crash and everything stopped; the band stopped playing and everyone turned to look at you. Tom stared at you as you stood frozen completely still in a shock with almost all of the glasses tipped over on the tray. You swallowed once and immediately, as soon as you were able to collect your thoughts that was, knelt on the floor and started to collect the broken glasses on the tray.
Tom had seen what had happened but it had all happened so fast that he had not had time to react; there had been a man who had clearly had too much to drink and he had bumped into you when he had been walking by you. You had managed to keep hold onto the tray but because it was filled with tall, narrow wineglasses, the sudden push had caused some of them to tip over and as a result half of them had fallen to the floor and shattered in small pieces. Tom rushed to get to you through the wall of people, the crowd that was still staring at you and whispering to each other… although there were people who did not even whisper, they commented on your clumsiness openly and even laughed.
Tom knelt in front of you and tried to talk to you while you were collecting the sharp pieces of glass with shaky hands. You were as pale as a ghost and too shocked to response or even cry. Tom placed his hand on your shoulder which finally woke you up from your thoughts and you shifted your gaze from the mess to Tom. “Breathe” he spoke with a calm, soft tone and just as you were about to get yourself out from the state of panic and deep embarrassment, your boss walked to the scene, grabbed you by your arm and helped you to stand.
- Look at the mess you made. she hissed and then told you to go, get changed into your civvies because you were now fired.
- You are an embarrassment to my catering company. she added with a glare and then pointed at the nearest service exit that led into the backstage of the art gallery where the gala was taking place. You were too shocked to defend yourself and completely unable to say anything so you just turned away with a blank look on your face and walked to the exit that your boss… or ex-boss had pointed at. The people stepped aside as you walked quickly through the crowd and when you had reached the door, you took the shoes off and started to run, even though the skirt was making it very challenging.
You couldn’t believe it. The evening had gone so well and then someone had bumped into you and now you were fired. Sure there had been the usual creeps that had not understood the concept of private space and the whole point of #metoo –campaign, but otherwise the evening had been quite… pleasant. You had enjoyed the atmosphere, the music had been good and the guests, well generally speaking quite nice… and for your first time in this kind of job, you had been managing the job pretty well. Yes, you had just gotten the job yesterday and you had no waitress-experience or education… but you had seen a job-ad online and decided to apply because you needed a job.
You had been previously working as a tour guide in the Buckingham Palace but then the subcontractor had downsized their personnel and since you had been one of the people who had been hired the latest, you had been laid off. You understood why your ex-ex-boss had been forced to let you go; if there were no tourists to bring in money, there was no need for employing a big army of tourist guides and therefore you were not bitter or anything but being out of job… again… left you in a tricky situation where you were living in one of the most expensive cities on the planet but had no steady income to provide for yourself… and that was a problem.
You had liked your previous job and you had a degree in tourism business so in a way... working with tourists in an internationally known attraction, the Buckingham Palace, for two years you had lived the dream… until the bank-crisis had hit the global markets and eventually had a negative impact on people’s wallets as well… leaving them less money to spend on traveling and so on. This was the point when you had gotten laid off. You had received your final paycheck with the highest recommendations a month ago and after being four weeks unemployed you had spotted this job… which you had now lost due to the accident.
You walked through the long corridors into the dressing room, slammed the door shut behind you and groaned as you opened the buttons of your white-collar shirt. You opened your locker and took off the shirt that was partially wet from the sparkling wine and suddenly you realized that someone had followed you because you heard the dressing room’s door opening and then closing. You immediately recalled someone calling you, asking you to stop as the person had followed you, but you had been too deep in your thoughts to register what the person had said. Now you were standing in the dressing room wearing the skirt and your bra when you noticed Tom Hiddleston stepping behind the corner. You took the white shirt from the bench and covered your chest with it as an instant reaction.
- What are you doing here? you asked instantly with a surprised and deeply puzzled tone.
- Oh, excuse me, Miss. I did not mean to... Uhm… surprise you. Tom said with a sincerely apologetic voice that had an undertone of embarrassment. He turned around to give you privacy to get properly dressed and therefore you quickly changed into your own clothes; a casual, long sleeved shirt and jeans. “Great, of course you didn't” you mumbled and put on your own shoes, delicate winter shoes that had no heel but looked still stylish in a casual way. Tom cleared his throat and said
- I spoke with your boss-
- My ex-boss. you corrected him and put on your jacket. Tom asked if you had gotten dressed and after you had said “yes” he turned around to look at you again.
- And I explained to her what happened. he added and gave you a glass of sparkling wine. He had been carrying two glasses because
- I think you might need a drink. he said and continued with a festive tone “Let’s drink to new opportunities.” You shifted your gaze to the wineglass which ironically was exactly like the ones that you had broken earlier and then shifted your eyes back to the man standing in front of you. You chuckled bitterly and emptied the glass as one long gulp while Tom stared at you with a concerned, or even worried, look on his face.
- I might as well drink to homelessness and all the incredible possibilities that not having a home provides. you commented sarcastically and put the glass on the bench that was in front of the lockers.
- Why is that? Tom asked and handed you his glass because you seemed to need it more than he did. You raised the glass with a theatrical gesture and stated
- No salary… means no money for the rent… you can guess where this is heading.
- Not necessarily. Tom said and took a deep breath while you were emptying the second glass of bubbly as he spoke. You stopped halfway and shifted your attention back to Tom. The wine tasted slightly bitter because you very rarely consumed alcohol and now that you did, it was getting into your head almost instantly and therefore you had to support yourself by leaning onto the wall with your hand after putting the glass on the bench.
- I need… an assistant. Tom stated and flashed a smile that made your head spin even more.
- An assistant? you asked with a baffled voice. You couldn’t believe that Tom Hiddleston was offering you a job as his assistant… just like that… without even knowing you. “Yes” he replied but instead of accepting his offer instantly you turned your head away, took your bag from the locker and shook your head. You couldn’t believe that this was happening, although you were not even sure what “this” was. Was he playing a trick on you? Was he making fun of you? No one hired anyone like that! That was absurd!
- I can assure you that no one will harass or bump into you… or fire you. Tom said and walked a bit closer. He had kept a safe distance between you and him because he had not wanted to make you feel threatened or anything. You after all were in a very shaky state of mind and therefore you did not need anyone stepping on your personal area.
- Listen, you do not have to make any decisions now. I will give you my phone number… he said and then corrected himself by saying “Maybe it is better if you will give me your number instead”. He took his phone out from the pocket of his dark blue, straight trousers that fitted perfectly his formal, dark blue jacket and the white-collar shirt with a wine-red tie.
- Why? you asked with a confused, yet suspicious tone. You couldn’t really believe that this was happening; you were talking with Tom Hiddleston who was one of your favorite actors and he wanted to have your number… because he was offering you a job. Tom laughed a little in the “ehehehehe” –way that he was known for and it made you blush a little bit.
- Because if I’ll get your number, I can be sure that we’ll get in touch. Tom said and asked you again to give him your number. You sighed as quickly thought about it, went through your options and then after taking a deep breath you gave him your number. Tom saved it into his phone by name "glass girl" and called you so you would get his number too, however his deeper motive for calling you was to make sure that you had given him the right number. It was not like he had not trusted you or anything but he could see that you were still in a state of shock, more or less, and you could have easily mistaken by an accident.
- I will text you my address and we’ll talk tomorrow. Alright? he asked and smiled a little. You smiled very briefly in return and nodded.
- I should probably go back. he said and wished you a lovely evening. You replied by saying “likewise” and then left the dressing room after emptying the wineglass and putting it back on the bench next to the other empty glass. You used another exit that led into the parking lot, walked through it and headed to the nearby subway station while Tom returned to the gala.
It took about an hour for you to get home. You had to take a subway train and then change the subway line, continue by bus and finally walk five hundred meters from the nearest bus stop. You sighed deep when you finally got to the front door of your small apartment, took the keys out from your bag and opened the lock. You stepped in and put your bag on small bench that was right next to the front door, took off your jacket as well as your shoes and walked straight into your kitchen. You opened the fridge and opened the bottle of dry apple cider that you had bought for yourself to celebrate the first day at work. You raised the bottle theatrically and said “cheers” before drowning your sorrows with the cold drink. You also took some cold chicken wings out from the fridge and started eating them with your bare hands… not even bothering to warm them up. You loved chicken so it did not really matter whether the wings were warm or not.
Later that evening you received a text message from Tom; he hoped that you had gotten home safely and were feeling better. He had written his address in the message and asked if two PM was a good time for you to meet him at his apartment. You replied that the time suited you well and you would see him then. You also wished him good night and hoped that he had nice time at the gala, despite the episode with you and the wineglasses. Soon your phone beeped again and when you checked out the notification, you saw that you had received another message from Tom.
You opened the phone immediately and read the message without any hesitation. He said that the episode with the wineglasses was not even your fault and he was deeply sorry that you had been publically humiliated by your ex-boss. He also asked you if you liked spicy chicken. You replied “Yes, chicken is great, why? See you tomorrow at 2 PM, good night.” but after this Tom did not respond anymore. It was getting pretty late anyway so therefore you were not even surprised.
You stared at the short message-conversation that you and Tom had had and you could feel your head spinning again. You sat down on the edge of your sofa and read the messages over and over again. Then you put your phone away and leaned back. The position was very uncomfortable so you lay down on the sofa and closed your eyes. You did not mean to fall asleep but it happened without you even noticing; suddenly the sounds of traffic faded away and you slipped into a sweet unconsciousness. You had stressful dreams about the evening and woke up in the middle of the night covered with cold sweat. The dream had felt so real, almost like the entire evening had happened again… every detail… every glare and disapproving scoff.
- Bloody hell! you cursed when you sat up and realized that your back did not really agree with you about your decision to close your eyes for a moment on the sofa. You had a very comfortable sofa but it was not exactly comfortable for sleeping and therefore your back was now hurting. You rubbed your eyes and noticed black smudges on the back of your hands because you had fallen asleep with your makeup still on. Therefore you decided that the best course of action was to steer yourself into the bathroom, take a quick shower and then crawl into bed. You after all had the job interview with Tom frigging Hiddleston tomorrow… nope… today… and you wanted to smell as well look alright.
You took a quick shower, washed your face as well as the cold sweat off your skin, your hair and then after drying yourself with a large, soft towel, you put a pajama on and went to bed. You turned off the alarm that you had set previously to wake you up for work every week-day but since you were not working for that company anymore, you had no reason to have an alarm either. Besides you knew that you would surely wake up early enough to get to your meeting in time. You had already googled the address and checked the public transportation routes to get there… and to get there by two in the afternoon you had to leave home around one, ten past one the latest.
You were exhausted and therefore you pretty much passed out as soon as your head hit the pillow. You did not have dreams about the mess anymore but somewhat confusing dreams about Tom Hiddleston, who was the guy who had run to your rescue. Well, rather dreams about him than about your furious ex-boss, right? Although… You did not want to have romantic dreams about the man that was possibly going to be your new boss, because if you were going to do this, accept his work-proposal, you would be strictly professional and not a squealing fangirl.
It was almost ten in the morning when you woke up. You checked out your phone to make sure that there were no new messages or missed calls and then got up. You walked as a zombie into your kitchen and after getting your morning dosage of caffeine you finally woke up. You ate a breakfast, washed your teeth, brushed your hair and put on some makeup to cover the dark circles around your eyes. You felt like you had been doing everything on slow motion, or maybe the time was slipping away twice as fast as normally and suddenly it was half past twelve… and you were still wearing your pajama.
- What I’m going to wear? you exclaimed as you went through your clothes in the slight state of panic. You scolded yourself for not waking up earlier or at least selecting the clothes during the previous evening… or washing your clothes more often, which would have given you a wider selection to choose from… because you had done none of those things and now you had to put on something very random. You groaned as you pulled on black, covering tights, a short skirt that was made of red-black plaid-fabric and finished the combination with a simple black shirt that had a flattering V-neckline. You put on your jacket, shoes, took your bag as well as your CV and letter of recommendation and then ran out from your home. It was almost fifteen past one and therefore you couldn’t miss any transport or you would get seriously late… not just by a couple of forgivable minutes but… more than ten minutes late.
It was exactly two o’clock when you arrived to Tom’s house. It was a simple house with a small garden in the front and it had two floors like all the houses in the neighborhood. You took a deep breath and ringed the doorbell, hoping that you would manage to calm your breath before Tom would open the door. You had basically ran the last two hundred meters from the nearest bus stop and therefore you were panting and your face was red from the sudden sprint. However Tom opened the door almost instantly and welcomed you in with a simple, yet polite gesture.
- Hello! he said with a cheerful tone and a friendly smile on his face and presented himself officially.
- Hi. you said and offered your hand to him for a handshake as you told him your name. Tom laughed a little and shook your hand, helped you with your jacket and after you had taken off your shoes, you followed him further in.
- Perfect timing. Tom said and took an oven pot out from the oven and put it on the stove. The kitchen filled with a delicious, spicy scent when he opened the lid and let the steam escape from the pot. You watched Tom stirring the rice as well as the vegetables in a wok-pan and then turning to face you.
- Please, sit down. he said and gestured you to sit down by a dining table that had been already set. You made a silent “uhm” –sound and sat down as requested.
- I… have my CV with me. you stated and took a A4-paper out from the folder that you had brought with you. You stood up to give it to Tom when he turned off the stove and shifted his attention to you. He took the paper from you since you were basically shoving it to him and glanced it quickly through.
- As you can see, I do not have experience on assistant jobs, per se, but I learn very fast. you stated immediately.
- Relax. Tom said and handed the CV back to you.
- And here is the letter of recommendation… from my previous… well, not previous… obviously… I mean… the one before that… job. you said and offered another paper for Tom to read. Tom however gestured you to put the paper back into the folder and said with a warm, friendly voice
- You have been already hired.
- Excuse me? you asked with a confused tone.
- Yes, this is not a job interview, love. I invited you to eat lunch with me and to discuss the specifics of the job at the same time. he said and lifted the chicken to the table and then returned to the stove to get the vegetable-rice-wok.
- Ah… I see. But… what if I… I am not what you are looking for? you asked as you followed Tom. He asked you to give him your plate and then lifted a big piece of the chicken on it. You watched him silently as he assembled a delicious looking plate for you and then repeated the same thing for himself. He looked so normal… and still very handsome in his casual t-shirt and jeans, slightly curled hair and a very light stubble which meant that he had not shaved this morning… but he had shaved yesterday for the gala… but… he was just a guy… a normal, very handsome, guy.
- Alright, let me be completely honest with you. Tom said and smirked at you. You swallowed once as you stared into his bright eyes that were practically sparkling in the natural light as he sat by the window. “What?” you sighed and shifted your gaze away from his mesmerizing eyes.
- I already have an assistant. he admitted. “Oh” you sighed and exhaled. It was cruel that he had used your moment of weakness, the difficult situation of getting fired like this for his own benefit… for what? To get you to have lunch with him and to see your hopes getting smashed? He had talked about a job… you had gotten your hopes up… and-
- But I am still offering you a job. Tom said when he noticed that the look on your face changed from hopeful to desperate and deceived in a blink of an eye.
- I… want you to be my escort. he stated with a soft voice.
- What does that mean? you asked immediately with a tone that sounded slightly offended. If he thought that you were someone who… who “provided services” for money… then he was wrong! You certainly had not fallen that low yet!
- My life is filled with people and yet, sometimes I get lonely… even though I am surrounded by fans, media, assistants and so on. he explained and took a deep breath before continuing. You kept staring at the piece of the chicken on your plate, not commenting or even daring to look at Tom and therefore he continued
- All I want you to do is to travel with me… hang out with me at the hotels… accompany me on dinners… basically, be my friend.
- You would pay me… for being your friend? you asked, just to be sure that you had heard as well as understood correctly. Surely Tom had plenty of friends to choose from… why did he want to pay you for such thing?
- Yes, and occasionally my therapist. Ehehehe! Or read lines with me. he added with a cheerful tone.
- But you don’t even know me. you commented with a deeply baffled voice.
- Yes, well… As you would get to know me… I would get to know you. he stated with a shy smile on his face.
- Why me? you asked. Tom sighed “ah” and nodded. He had had a feeling that you might ask that question.
- Because you need a job and I need a friend. Tom answered and gestured you to start eating before the food got cold. You felt puzzled, surprised and relieved at the same time. Maybe this was a good thing… maybe… you should take the offer… it wasn’t like you got offered a job like this every day… especially by Tom Hiddleston.