Chapter Text
It wasn’t even noon when things at Arkadia Designs turned hectic. It was nothing to be surprised by, considering that they were managing various projects—particularly the newest and most ambitious project, Polis Plaza, for which Clarke Griffin was the chosen architect.
Clarke inherited Arkadia Designs from her father who passed away years ago. It is the reason why she poured her passion for drawing into creating marvelous buildings that would make her dad proud.
However, things weren’t always so smooth in the world of construction. Not when Clarke had to work with no other than the stuck-up, uber-perfectionist, civil engineer - Lexa Woods.
Clarke leaned over the table resting both hands on the mahogany material. Looking over the blueprints for Polis Plaza that were sprawled all over it. She eyed the woman standing on the other side of the table who stood with such an air of superiority and an impassive face, which probably worked for the engineer most of the time to do her bidding. Not with Clarke.
“I need this pipe to run from here,” Lexa pointed with her index finger, running it over the plans laid out over the table, “to here.”
“I replied to you over the e-mail you sent yesterday that I would look into it.” Clarke’s baby blue eyes threw invisible death lasers at the green-grey eyes of the brunette. “No need to appear out of nowhere into my office to tell me what I already know, Woods.”
“I just want to make sure we are on the same page, Griffin. I was at the construction site yesterday and the pipe was way bigger than expected, we can’t start pouring concrete until we have the new measurements across your parking lot for the new pipes to run.”
Lexa stood up at full height. She was slightly taller than Clarke, but today they were even due to Clarke’s black heels. Lexa lifted her chin, crossed her arms behind her back, and cocked her brow.
Clarke couldn’t deny that Lexa looked good even with her current work boots, jeans, and flannel. The woman could be irritating, sure; but damn, she was beautiful.
Clarke tapped the wooden floor with her black heels, exasperated by Lexa’s demands to gather her thoughts and focus on the matter at hand. “I’ll adjust the blueprint to make space for your big. Thick. Pipe.” Clarke said in a very suggestive way trying to break the composure of the statuesque woman. “Now try to take a chill pill. We’re on schedule, this isn’t going to take long. I’ll meet you later at the construction site with the updated blueprint. Is that good enough for you, Woods?”
Lexa’s ears turned red, making Clarke grin. That was a victory in her books - embarrassing the hell out of Woods.
Lexa licked her full lips, standing at attention. “Very well, Klark.”
And why is it that whenever Lexa pronounced her name in that accent due to trigedasleng being her native language it made Clarke feel tickles in her belly?
“Just don’t take long, I’m on a schedule.”
Before Clarke could add a snarky remark they were interrupted.
“Hey Griff, I finished the 3D mo-” Raven stopped in her tracks. “Oh! I had no idea you were in a meeting.”
“Hey Rae, no worries. Woods is already leaving.” Clarke arched her golden brow at Lexa to signal they were clearly done and began to roll the paper blueprint from her desk.
“Of course,” Lexa replied lifting her chin up. “I uh, I’ll see you later Griffin. Hey, Raven.” Lexa tipped her head in salute and walked out of the main office.
Clarke sighed, rolling her eyes. “Geez, that woman drives me insane!”
Raven chuckled, shaking her head from side to side. “You knew that the options for this project was working with Trikru Engineering or leaving the design to Costia Black.”
“I know, I wasn’t going to lose another project to Costia, so even if I have to deal with how unbearable Woods gets, this is going to be great for us.” Clarke put the blueprint inside a protective tube, and headed back to her desk. She let herself flop on the executive chair and let out a long breath. “Oh! You were saying?”
“Right! The 3D model of the Wallace gallery is ready.” Raven adjusted the red jacket she usually wore, and rested most of the weight on her right leg due to the brace she wore on her left leg caused by an on-site accident two years ago.
“Let’s see if Dante stops by and approves the design to proceed,” Clarke said, as she leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes in exhaustion.
“Awesome.” Raven mock saluted but before she left she looked at the blonde. “You should totally join me and the boys for some cheap beers and tacos Saturday night. You look like you need it, Clarke.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Fair enough. Just don’t drive yourself too crazy with work, okay?” Raven offered a kind smile and waved goodbye to her friend.
Clarke nodded before returning her attention to her laptop and getting to work on the modifications before Lexa started to pester her with a new e-mail.
-oo-
The sun was high in the sky by the time Clarke arrived at the construction site, strategically located between the city of Arkadia and the city of Polis.
The noise was at its peak with machinery and tractors moving materials from one side of the terrain to the next. Clarke parked her car and removed her blazer before getting out into the inclement sun. She walked to the trunk and opened it. Inside was the blueprint tube with the new update and her tablet. Clarke preferred to work mostly digitally, but in the end, paper was always necessary. Next, she grabbed a white hard hat and put it on before closing the trunk.
She began walking into uneven terrain. Definitely not the best idea to come right after work, but if she took any longer she’d have Lexa on her ass all night long.
She greeted the security guy, Tristan, before heading into the construction office trailer at the entrance of the construction site. She climbed the steps and knocked before going in.
She looked around and there was only one person inside. She recognized those hazel eyes and killer cheekbones in an instant.
“Hey Anya.” Clarke greeted the tall, lean woman who was on the desk nearby working on her computer. Anya Pine was Lexa’s best friend/associate and the construction engineer of Polis Plaza.
“I got the updated blueprint, I sent you the modifications but-”
Anya raised her hand stopping Clarke. “Hello, Clarke. Your business is with Lexa and she’s on-site,” Anya answered dryly. “Take one of those security vests if you’re going in.”
“Right! I uh, of course. Nice seeing you!” Clarke grabbed the neon yellow reflective security vest and put it on, she waved goodbye but when she tried opening the door, it stuck.
“Aaah,” Clarke tried the knob, “It’s stuck!”
“Hmm?” Anya stood up. “We really need to change that stupid knob. Out of the way!” Anya leaned on the door and then she pushed the door with her shoulder once, twice!
And the door finally relented.
“Well, off you go!” Anya made some circular movements to ease her shoulder and returned to her desk.
“Thanks.”
Clarke started walking through the dirt, already cursing having to do this in black heels. She looked around and spotted Lexa not too far away, wearing a yellow hard hat and a neon orange vest talking with two hulking men. The wind was also picking at this time, and the amount of dust and dirt flying over was really going to ruin her white blouse and black pencil skirt.
“Woods!” Clarke called from a distance, hoping to be heard over the noise of someone using the chainsaw.
The brunette turned around once she heard someone call her name.
“Ah! Griffin honors us with her presence.” Lexa crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Gosh, Clarke wanted to punch her sometimes.
“I finished the changes. You got the new measurements for the parking lot so you can fit your huge pipe.” Clarke passed the plastic tube to the brunette who immediately removed the cap to pull out the print.
“Gustus,” Lexa said with a commanding tone to the bearded tattooed guy. “Get the team and focus on the water pipes. I want those to be ready before we start to build up that section.” Lexa scanned the document, nodding in approval. She stashed it back into the tube and passed it to Gustus.
“Sha, Heda.” Gustus said, taking the blueprint and began heading his way.
“Lincoln, this is Clarke Griffin, the architect of Polis Plaza.” Lexa introduced the black man who had one of the most dashing smiles Clarke has ever seen.
“It’s a pleasure! I’m Lincoln Forest. The structural engineer.”
“Hey, nice meeting you.” Clarke shook his offered hand with a strong, confident grip.
“I really like what you did with the design, Clarke. It’s fresh and I love how open the plaza is going to be.” Lincoln complimented Clarke and that was unusual.
Lexa cleared her throat, “Anyway um, we have work to do. Linc, check with Anya if we got a response from the steel supplier.”
“Will do. See you later, Clarke!” Lincoln really seemed like such a friendly guy. Nothing like his co-worker.
“Do you really have to talk to your crew like you’re at war?” Clarke looked at the excavator digging deeper into the ground. Farther from where they were, you could spot the rebars that were going to be used to reinforce the concrete that was meant to be poured eventually.
“My people know what is expected of them.” Lexa stepped closer to Clarke looking at the advancements of the work site. “They’re disciplined.”
Clarke shrugged, “Whatever works for you, commander. I gotta run now. I’ll come back in two weeks. If anything else happens just gimme a call.”
Lexa huffed, rolling her eyes. “Of course.”
Clarke turned around to make her way back to her car, but before she left she looked over her shoulder. “And when someone does you a favor, my people say thank you.”
Having said that, she left.
-oo-
Saturday night and Clarke decided to join Raven for drinks. After the crazy week she had, it was more than deserved to pamper herself with a delicious burrito and cold beer.
The local taquería in the heart of Arkadia was colorful and lively. Space Tacos was one of the places Clarke used to frequent with her friends while she was in college, and they have kept the tradition until today. The place had a mixture of space decorations with Mexican decor and the walls portrayed beautiful art that called to Clarke’s artistic eye. The bar was near the far left with stools in different colors like yellow, red, and blue.
Clarke found her friends at their usual booth in the back already chatting amicably.
“Hey, how’s it going!” Clarke took the spot beside Raven. She adjusted her jeans and black v-neck blouse before sitting, leaving her handbag under the table. She crossed her legs at the knees and relaxed.
“Clarke, how are you? It’s been ages!” Monty said first.
“Seems work is kicking your ass according to Reyes here,” Bellamy grinned, before taking a sip of his beer.
“Ah, same old same old,” Clarke stretched her hand to get some nachos from the basket and dipped them in cheese before taking a bite. “Where’s O?”
“Restroom,” Bellamy replied.
“Happy you joined us, Griffin.” Raven raised her glass. “Cheers!”
“Cheers!” Everyone said clinking their glasses before taking a generous sip.
“We should do this more often, maybe meet at someone’s place and have a movie night or something,” Harper, Monty’s girlfriend, suggested.
“If only it was easy. Work is killing us all!” Monty joked.
“You want a drink, Princess?” Bellamy stood up, fixing his graphic t-shirt that read Feed Me Tacos.
“Beer for me, please. Thanks, Bell.”
“You got it!” He gave Clarke a thumbs up and headed to the bar to order.
“Oh my God!” Octavia finally arrived, walking hurriedly towards their table. “I met the man of my dreams!”
Raven tilted her head doubtful, “No shit!”
“I’m serious, Raven. I was coming out of the bathroom when he was going in, and we bumped into each other. I almost tripped but he held me with his huge muscular arms!” Octavia finally sat, she was pretty flustered looking all around the restaurant.
Clarke chuckled, “Okay O that must be a first one for you.”
“He had this charming smile, my legs felt so weak!” Octavia kept looking around when she started to point. “There! He’s back in his booth.”
“Okay let’s meet Mr. Sexy.” Raven and Clarke turned around at the same time, trying to find where Octavia was pointing at.
“No way.” Raven started to laugh.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Clarke face-palmed. “Really? All the restaurants and bars and Trikru Engineering happen to be in this exact place?”
“You know them?” Octavia turned her attention to the architect, reaching for some nachos and dipping them in the guacamole munching with gusto.
“Yeah, sadly I do. The guy you met is Lincoln. I just met him a few days ago at the construction site.”
“Anya and Lexa are there too. It’s so unfair!” Raven sighed, “so much hotness on one table is definitely not cool.”
“Hey! I’m hot too!” Bellamy left the beers on the table and took his spot.
“Shut up, Bell!” Octavia cut.
Clarke gasped, “you too, Raven? Don’t tell me you like Lexa.”
“Pfft!” Raven choked on her beer. “God no. I mean Anya. Look at those chiseled cheekbones, the long-ass legs? Sign me the fuck up! Personality wise? It’s definitely an acquired taste, but I cannot deny they are all attractive. I’d totally tap that if Anya wasn’t so scary to begin with.” Raven shrugged and finished her beer.
In that instant, Lexa looked over and saw the raucous table. She arched her brows, surprised to see the blonde in the same place.
Clarke quickly removed her gaze as if she had not noticed the group of engineers at the other table.
“You okay?” Bellamy leaned over to Clarke.
“I think I’m gonna need something stronger for the night. Rae, can you order me the radioactive burrito? I’m going to the bar, be right back.” Clarke stood up and strolled all the way to the bar avoiding looking again into Lexa’s table.
This was a total joke from the universe. She wanted a weekend to forget about the constant stress that Lexa Woods tended to cause only to find her in the same restaurant as her.
Once she reached the bar, she sat on the stool.
“Hey Clarke, wassup?” Jasper greeted while fixing the goggles he always carried on top of his head.
“Hey Jas, can you get me one of your amazing killer shots?”
“Coming right up!”
“A strawberry margarita and a corona with a lime please.”
Clarke recognized that voice anywhere. The music wasn’t too loud that it was impossible not to overhear the order of Lexa Woods, who was standing two barstools to her left.
Lexa was resting one arm over the counter, leaning casually. Clarke appraised her clean look with her brown hair braided instead of the usual bun she used for work. She wore a leather jacket over a black shirt and tight black pants with converse shoes. Lexa looked at Clarke. Her green eyes stared so profoundly into Clarke’s, that she couldn’t hold the stare for long.
“I didn’t take you for a margarita person, Woods,” Clarke said, adjusting her position on the stool.
Lexa’s lips ticked a little. “That’s for Lincoln.”
“Oh!” Clarke returned to look at her laced fingers over the table.
“Bad day?” Lexa inquired, her face impassive as ever, but there was always a sense of concern in the tone she used with Clarke. Soft and only for her.
Clarke returned her gaze. She rested her elbow on the counter where she cupped her chin in her hand to look properly at Lexa.
“Not really, just Dante Wallace making new changes to my proposed design for the hundredth time; Callie Cartwig wanting to design a residential area with an impossible budget, and let’s not even add a certain civil engineering pestering me about pipes!”
“Here you go!” Jasper poured the shot into the small glass, Clarke grabbed it and tipped it right away. She scrunched her eyes as the burning sensation moved along her throat. Clarke cleared her throat. “Another please.”
“A terrible week, then. I’m sorry if I added to your stress.” Lexa was already in Clarke’s space. The blonde didn’t even hear her coming closer.
Jasper left another shot for Clarke right at that moment. Clarke cradled the shot glass in her hand, she looked at Lexa and drank it immediately letting the burning sensation remove the weird feelings that Lexa was stirring.
“You’re sorry? Since when.”
That made Lexa perk her brow. “I’m trying to be nice, Klark.”
Clarke rolled her eyes. “Lexa Woods being nice? That’s a first.”
“Here is your order, ma’am!” Lexa’s bartender interrupted now, leaving Lexa’s beverages on the wooden counter.
Lexa pulled out her wallet and left a couple of twenties. “My treat.” She curved her lips and winked at Clarke, then returned to her table. Leaving Clarke seething having said the last word.
“So annoying!” Clarke grumbled walking back to her table hoping to enjoy the rest of her night, ignoring that stupid wink. How dare she?
-oo-
It was just a matter of time until O decided to take a hands-on approach instead of flirting with Lincoln from a distance. The engineers' group moved their chairs to Clarke’s table and the mingling began.
Lincoln and Octavia really seemed to be deep in conversation in their own little bubble; Bellamy was far from amused throwing daggers at Lincoln resting his chin on his hand with boredom and drinking sourly his beer; Raven was tangled in a very heated discussion about the best CAD software for floor design with Anya and Clarke felt trapped with Lexa, with no topic of discussion to even begin any friendly conversation, luckily for her Monty was acting like a buffer and talking to Lexa about menial things. Though as the night progressed, Monty and Harper bid farewell to the group leaving Clarke to fend for herself.
Clarke kept drinking from her beer slowly, trying to keep herself busy whilst Raven was making very strong points about her current debate.
“Alright, let’s settle this once and for all!” Anya drank from her glass until it was empty, leaving it loudly on the table, and stood up. “Let’s play some pool, Raven. Best of three.”
Raven grinned, “Very well, Cheekbones. What’s in it for me?”
“Winner pays next round.” Anya proposed.
Raven narrowed her eyes. “Nah, winner gets a dinner invitation to their preferred place. We play in teams so choose your partner.”
Anya nodded and offered her hand. “Deal.”
“Hope your wallet is full.” Raven shook Anya’s hand and looked at Clarke. “Come on Griff. Let’s get that W.”
Clarke facepalmed, “Rae, we’re close to being drunk and you plan on playing now?”
Raven rested her hand on Clarke’s shoulder. “We go this, Griff. We played lots while in college. We’re going to destroy them!”
Clarke and Raven walked to the corner where the pool table was. Clarke grabbed the wooden cue, meanwhile Raven placed the pool balls inside the triangle.
She noticed that Anya was approaching with none other than Lexa.
“Ever played pool, Woods?” Clarke asked as she added some chalk to the tip of her cue.
Lexa removed her leather jacket and dropped it on the back of a chair.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Griffin.”
Clarke let the chalk cube drop to the floor as she looked in awe. Lexa was wearing a sleeveless shirt and revealed her guns and oh wow, she observed for the first time the tattoo Lexa had on her right arm, kind of a tribal design. Clarke had to swallow and bend to pick up her chalk cube trying to recover her slip.
Raven reunited with Clarke to have a quick conference. “Clarke, eyes on the game. We cannot lose. You hear me?”
“I know. I’m on it.”
“Alright, who’s gonna break?” Anya asked standing ready with her cue and Lexa by her side.
“You can start, gorgeous. Consider it a courtesy before you go down.” Raven wiggled her brows, smiling confidently.
Anya smirked and nodded. “As you wish.”
Once the game started Clarke observed how even they were. Lexa and Anya were precise, not with as much flourish as Raven would hit the balls, but they were pretty good. They were currently tied and they were in the last game.
It was Lexa’s turn and she prepared her shot, her eyes scanned the table, analyzing the angles and speed at which she had to hit ball 7. She leaned over the table, her eyes on her target, she searched for Clarke and smirked before making her shot.
“Shit!” Raven mumbled as Lexa pocketed the ball with incredible precision.
Anya walked to where Raven was and hugged her sideways. “Are you starting to regret our bet?”
Raven glared at the taller woman. “In your dreams, Cheekbones. This isn’t over.” Raven started to make some signal to Clarke with her eyes, Clarke wasn’t getting the message until Raven pointed to her cleavage.
“What?” Clarke mouthed.
Raven approached quickly as Lexa added more chalk to her cue, “Trust me. Use your secret weapon, Griff. We need Woods distracted.”
“Rae, she’s playing pretty well. I don’t think I can do a thing.”
“Clarke? I’m extremely observant, and I’ve seen Woods looking at you. Trust me, use your girls and we got this in the pocket.”
Clarke sighed and walked to the corner of the table to stand in front of Lexa who was preparing to make her shot now. Clarke made sure to lean over, showing off her cleavage and some of the lacy black bra she was wearing, visible from the angle where she had bent over the pool table.
“What is it Woods? I see you’re hesitating.” Clarke smirked, looking over at the brunette whose eyes did land on her chest and quickly removed her sight.
Lexa stopped and straightened up. “I’m not. I need to recalibrate, that’s all.” Lexa leaned over the table again and Clarke leaned as well, noticing the mishap from before. “Ah ah, I wouldn’t be so sure of that one.” Clarke walked over to where Lexa was. ”If it was me, I’d totally go for ball 6 or 9.” Using her most seductive voice Clarke said right before Lexa played.
Lexa’s shot hit the cushion instead of heading inside the corner pocket missing it by a few inches.
“Jok!” Lexa reached for the beer bottle she was drinking and narrowed her eyes at Clarke.
“Yay! My turn!” Raven raised her hand to give Clarke a high five.
Clarke high-fived Raven and grinned, the tip of her tongue peeking out of her mouth.
-oo-
The night went in the blink of an eye. Once everyone finished their drinks they started to depart. Octavia was so blissful, looking at the cellphone number that Lincoln provided as she walked out of the taquería and headed to the parking lot. Clarke was aiding Raven, who was limping a bit due to standing for a long time playing pool.
Bellamy was already annoyed at being basically third wheeling his sister and hurrying O to get in the car already.
All in all, it was a fun night. Even in the presence of the obnoxious Lexa Woods.
“Hey Clarke, need a ride too?” Bellamy asked from the driver’s door of his Toyota Prius.
“No, just help Rae get home safe. I got a ride incoming.” Clarke replied, helping Raven get inside the back of the car.
“Ow shit!” Raven wined, using her hand to rub over her leg.
“Carried away in that game, huh?”
Clarke rested her hand over Raven’s shoulder. “If you need to rest some more you can stay home, okay?”
“I'll be fine once I sleep.” Raven said.
Clarke nodded and shut the door, “text me when you all get home.”
“Alright, Clarke. You take care.” Bellamy turned on the engine of the car and soon was driving out of the parking lot.
Clarke typed on her phone the address to take her Lyft and walked to where she would wait.
She shoved her hands inside her jeans since it was getting really cold.
“Here,” Lexa appeared on the sidewalk where Clarke was and offered her jacket
“I’m fine,” Clarke said ignoring the woman on her side, instead looking at her phone seeing her ride was still 7 long minutes away.
Lexa sighed, “Come on, you’re clearly cold. Don’t be stubborn, Clarke. I just want to help.”
“Alright, thanks.” Clarke accepted the offered garment because she was really getting cold. Her pride could take another hit tonight.
Lexa draped the jacket over Clarke and she immediately felt so warm, enveloped by the heat provided by the jacket that smelled like Lexa - a flowery scent underneath sandalwood.
“Better?”
“Yup.”
Lexa nodded. “It was an unexpectedly fun night.”
“Good to know,” Clarke checked her phone again. Still 5 minutes away.
Lexa smiled, “Hey, it was a good game. You almost had us!”
“Yeah, until Anya came with that impossible shot.”
Inviting Lexa and Anya to dinner was one hell of a punishment, but Raven was still pleased with the result.
“I didn’t think you’d be a sore loser, Griffin.” Lexa chuckled and it was so irritating.
“I’m not. Just processing the outcome.”
“I’m not bad company. I can assure you that.” Lexa was now beaming, Clarke wanted to remove that smugness from her face.
“Right, because you’re nothing but sunshine and rainbows.” Clarke side-eyed her companion.
“Hmm, probably not sunshine but full of rainbows? Yeah, very positive.”
Clarke laughed out loud, “Woah, you really are so full of yourself, Woods. Anyone ever tell you that?”
Lexa shrugged, “I’m just confident, not egocentric. But glad to have made you smile. You’re a tough crowd, Griffin.”
Both shared a small smile but soon the moment was broken.
“My ride is here, thanks for the jacket.” Clarke returned the leather jacket and opened the back door.
Lexa approached and held the door open for Clarke. “You have a safe trip, Griffin. I’ll see you around. Good night!”
“You too. Good night, Lexa.”
Lexa shut the door and Clarke watched the intriguing brunette until she was far from view.
Maybe that dinner invitation wasn’t so bad after all.