Edward Grey's office was as cold as ever on this gloomy rainy day. The clock showed 9:47 a.m. His new secretary was 47 minutes late. So: no coffee on the table, important documents not laid out, letters not typed- His fingers tapped on the table, rhythmically, like a sentence. Finally, the door opens.

Looking up from his papers he realises that.. His breath hitched. The lawyer's attentive gaze immediately noted many important details. Her soaked jacket, wet hair stuck to her face, trembling fingers clutching her bag and.. A white bandage on her left knee, slightly soaked in scarlet.

"You.." Edward's voice sounded strangely hoarse. "Miss, you-"

"I stumbled and fell. In the park." She nervously ran her hand down her skirt, smiling awkwardly. "How silly", she thought, watching his gaze practically glare at her leg.

Silence pierces the tense air, after which he suddenly stands up abruptly, making her flinch.

"Sit down," he orders, his voice suddenly strained, but not vicious. Then he reaches into the table for the first-aid kit, which seemed foreign in his hands. As if someone had replaced him, strict and punishing Mr. Gray.

"Sir, it's okay, I've already bandaged it up.."

"Sit. Now."

And she obediently sat down, watching him kneeling beside her. His hands, usually so precise in their brutality, were now trembling as he carefully removed the bandage.

"Even if you were late, you shouldn't have run in the rain," he murmured, a few drops of water from her hair falling on his wrist.

The antiseptic stung, but she didn't even blink. Any pain was especially pleasant beside him. His soft fingers (which usually ruthlessly torn up letters with errors) are now applying healing ointment. Then he carefully wraps her knee with clean bandages, his touch deliberate, his gaze careful. And suddenly.. she feels the warmth of his lips on her knee.

Noticing how her breathing faltered, he immediately recoiled, as abruptly as if he had been burned.

"Now..." Grey clears his throat. "Get back to work."