"You wanted to talk to me?", Emily asked as she entered the office of Section Chief Erin Strauss.
"Ah, yes, Agent Prentiss", Strauss replied and took off her glasses. "Have a seat."
Furrowing her eyebrows, Emily sat down on the chair in front of the Section Chief's desk.
After JJ had told her that Strauss wanted to see her, Emily had started to feel really uncomfortable and sick, wondering what she wanted from her. Internally, she was begging that Strauss hadn't found out about Aaron's and her past. The brunette was sure that her mother hadn't told her anything about it, but even Strauss probably had her connections to find out about certain things.
"How are things going? Everything alright?", the elder woman then asked.
"Um, yes", the agent replied, rather surprised. "I think I'm a good addition to the team, we get along really well."
"I'm happy to hear that", Strauss nodded and let out small sigh. "As your mother might have already told you, I've got my eyes on top leadership of the FBI."
Emily just nodded.
"I asked your mother for some advice", she continued. "She is very successful, after all."
Emily nodded again, still slightly unsure why Strauss wanted to talk to her.
"One thing she told me was to get rid of everything that might imperil my way to that position, you know?"
Her eyes were fixed at Emily, just as if she expected her to know what she was talking about.
"Excuse, but in which way does that concern me?", Emily finally asked.
"The truth is that Agent Hotchner is a thorn in my flesh", Strauss said through gritted teeth. "His team is mostly out of control - no offense - and listening to my orders is something he was never able to do."
The young agent had troubles to keep a straight face. Aaron was the best agent she had ever met and his work as agent and Unit Chief impressed her day for day. She knew that Strauss and Hotch didn't get along that well, but she had never thought that Strauss actually wanted to get rid of him.
"So I need to get rid of him", the Section Chief concluded. "It would be the best for the BAU, too."
Once again, Emily wanted to ask in which way this concerned her, but then it hit her. It was exactly what Aaron had suspected when she had first arrived at the BAU.
"Can you follow me, Agent Prentiss?"
"No", she choked, playing clueless. "Not really."
"Your mother assured me that you would help me in every possible way", Strauss said. "And I need as many information as possible from Agent Hotchner's unit in order to find a solid reason to get rid of him."
"I'm pretty sure that this is not what my mother meant when she told you I'd help", Emily said, a stern look written on her face. "This is not the way she got to her success."
"Well, it's my interpretation of it", Strauss said, scarily calm. "I believe that Agent Hotchner's time at the BAU is coming to an end. And if you want to stay here, Agent Prentiss, you are going to help me with that."
Emily clenched her jaw as she continued to stare at the Section Chief. Stay professional, she internally told herself.
"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?", she then said, her voice cold as ice. "Otherwise I suppose I get back to work."
"No, that's all for today", was the reply Emily needed. She quickly got up and rushed out of the office.
As soon as she closed the door behind herself, she let out a huge breath. Oh, how much she hated politics. The situation with Aaron had already been complicated enough in the beginning, and now this bitch of a Section Chief was practically blackmailing her.
She considered calling her mother for advice for a second, but then she changed her mind. Elizabeth would react outrageous to these news, and she didn't want her to worry. Furthermore, Emily was sure that she would find a solution on her own.
Later that night, Emily found herself on the couch in her flat, sipping on a glass of red wine, trying to get used to the thought of quitting her dream job.
It had gotten into her after she had seen Hotch on her way back from Strauss' office. He had been in a similar situation 19 years ago, torn between telling the ambassadress where Emily had been that night and a promotion to the BAU. He had decided to not play this game, and Emily had known in that exact second that she wouldn't play Strauss' games neither.
Her resignation was already printed and laid in front of her on the table, all she still had to do would be handing it and telling Hotch.
Oh, how much she would miss him. It had taken them 19 years to finally meet again, and now, after a rocky start, it would all end again, for the same reason it had ended all these years ago. Just a few days ago, she had felt how they had gotten along much better, especially since they had spent Christmas Eve together at the BAU. It wasn't in any romantic way, probably, just in a really friendly way.
"Shitty way to start this year", Emily mumbled to herself and took another sip of wine, watching the snow through the window of her flat. It was only a few days into the new year and she already had enough of it.
"Fucking politics", she then mumbled as she put her resignation in the suiting envelope and closed it. "Fucking politics."
YOU ARE READING
10 things I love about you - Hotchniss
Fanfiction[Sequel to 10 things I hate about you] Quantico, 2006. Emily Prentiss has just received the offer of her dreams: to work at the BAU. However, she is faced by someone she has been trying to get over since she was 17 years old. Is this a second chanc...
