Dear Heart, You Screwed Me(27)

“I can’t lose my job.” I sounded pathetic.

“You won’t,” he stood tall, “put the ring back on.”

I grunted as I fisted the ring from my pocket and slipped it back on.

“There, happy?!”

“Very.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you too, sunshine.” He pouted, before a stupid smirk crossed his lips, slipping into Adele’s office and closing the door.

What a prick.



Sitting at lunch with Julianne, I twisted my fork into my pesto spaghetti.

“What’s biting you?” Julianne muttered through a mouthful of her meatball sub. “You’ve hardly eaten.”

“Just this Harlen Laufer stuff, I feel like Adele is trying to throw me under the bus.”

“She is,” she wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

I sighed as I continued pushing my spaghetti round the plate.

“You know I would help you if I could, but I am useless with things like this.” She shrugged her shoulders up apologetically.

“I know you would,” I reached across and placed my hand over hers, giving her a weak smile.

“Now eat up, let’s brainstorm.”

And brainstorm we did.

Walking back into the office with a few ideas bouncing around my head I sat down to get stuck in.

I sent a lengthy email to his email address. I had no clue if it was just a spam account or his actual one. The next stage would be stalking him. That made me anxious. I didn’t want to seem like an obsessed fan, I hadn’t even watched his show. Maybe I should, at least that way we would have something in common. I hoped. Nothing on his social media profile really jumped out at me, I knew where he went for his morning coffee because he always tagged the location so at least I had that to fall back on. But that was last resort. I needed to do this for Adele, but mostly for myself. I wanted to prove myself so bad; prove that I was so much more than her dogsbody who done her dirty work. I had jotted down a list of things I wanted to check out on Harlen so that would be my task tonight. I didn’t have any plans anyway. Connie said she may come over, but she has been seeing Kieran quite a lot. I don’t believe her. She is being too secretive; she is normally so open but for some reason she is acting a lot shadier. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s because I have a secret that I can’t tell her. You know, the secret where I am married to one of the investors of the company.

I mean, seriously. How. How could I have been so reckless. So bloody stupid. I managed to push the thoughts out of my head as I locked my computer and waved to Adele through the floor to ceiling glass panel. Wrapping my scarf around my neck and shrugging my trench coat on, I began to walk towards the main lobby. Julianne was deep in conversation; I would have waited but I just wanted to get home. I couldn’t waste any time. I didn’t want to deliver this on Friday, I wanted to deliver it tomorrow, if possible, but I mean… it was impossible.

Did we have it as a company to push Harlen out into the big, wide world more than he already was? I doubted it, but this was my job. I needed to get him over to Lordes PR whether it was the last thing I done.

My heels clicked across the high gloss marbled tiles as I pushed through the turnstiles and waved bye to the security guards. My small smile dropped from my face as I saw the hustle and bustle of the city. I didn’t like it when it was busy.

Escaping out of the rotating glass doors, the cold air caught in the back of my throat. Autumn was here, in full swing. Pulling my coat around my tiny frame, I dropped my head and began walking towards the subway. I was in my own world when I heard a toot of a horn. Turning my head to see a black Mercedes SUV slow down kerbside. I didn’t even have to guess who was behind the dark tinted windows. The back passenger window slipped down to reveal a beaming Killian. His brown hair pushed off his face, his dark, brown eyes bright as they pinned to me.

“Get in the car,” he called as the car halted.

“I’m fine, I can walk.” I huffed, tightening my scarf before beginning to walk again. I heard the engine start again.

“I didn’t ask if you were okay, I told you to get in the car,” his tone was clipped and short.

“I don’t want to get in the car.” I snapped “I’m not some damsel in distress that needs saving. Take your pissy Chelsea tractor and go away.”

“Chelsea tractor?” I could hear the confusion that laced his voice. I smiled smugly to myself as I continued to walk. There was no way I was getting in his car. I picked up the pace and began walking quicker. I needed to get somewhere he couldn’t. I needed to stay away from him. Us being close, together… it wasn’t good for either of us. It would only be a matter of time before the tension grew too thick, before the air between us began to crackle that little bit louder, his fingers making my skin burn, his mouth making my lips bruised in the best possible way…

Shaking my head side to side softly, I turned the corner and began to slow slightly. This was a one way, no chance of him getting down here. I played over my to do list in my head as I walked, I was so desperate to make Adele happy. But then again, even if I did make her happy let’s be honest… if she finds out I am married to Killian, I would be fired on the spot. It’s clear as day that they have some sort of relationship… whether it is strictly business or… more.