Unbroken Hearts

1

“You can’t be serious, Lance.”

“I am,” he interrupted. “We’re done, Junie. Ray saw you leaving Martin’s house at 11 last night. You wanna fool around with that nerd but you won’t fool around with me? By all means, go for it. Nothing holding you back now. I just can’t believe you’d do this to me. I guess you lied when you said you love me and that you’d be mine for life.” The phone went silent.

“Hello? Lance?” I pulled my cell phone from my ear but it showed my background, telling me he’d hung up. What the hell? He knows Martin is tutoring me, and he knows that Dad agreed to let me stay out late as long as I was getting tutored. Why the hell would he believe Ray? Forcing myself not to cry myself to sleep, I laid in bed for the night and planned to talk to him at school in the morning.

“Lance, can we talk? Please?” I said, placing a hand on his arm when I saw him at lunch.

“No, Junie. I don’t wanna hear your excuses for being at his place. We’re done.” He walked off and never spared me a second look throughout the whole day. By the time I got home from school, I couldn’t hold my tears back any longer, so I ran to my room and curled around my pillow. I woke up to my phone going off and answered it. “Hello?” I sounded sleepy but could still hear the tears in my voice.

“Juniper, it’s Martin. You coming over for tutoring tonight?” I looked at my clock and rolled my eyes, seeing it say 9 pm.

“It wouldn’t do any good tonight. I can’t focus on anything. Sorry, but I gotta go. Maybe I’ll be better tomorrow.” I hung up and stuffed my face in my pillow again, feeling the urge to cry building already. My message tone went off, and I looked at it in hopes that Lance had decided he wanted to talk after all.

- I heard about what happened, Juniper. I tried to tell him what we’d been doing, but he didn’t want to hear it. If you need or want to talk, I’m here.

- Thanks, Martin, but I don’t think it’d help. Can we move our tutoring to the cafeteria before and after school? I’ll give you rides in and home.

- Wherever you feel more comfortable. Should I expect you at the house in the AM?

- Yeah. I’ll be there at 5:30 and we’ll grab breakfast on the way in. Thanks again.

I flipped my phone over to silence it, got a quick shower, grabbed a light snack to put food in my stomach, and went back to bed, waking up with my alarm at 4:45. “Morning, pumpkin. You’re up early.” Dad said as I walked through the kitchen.

“Yeah. Missed tutoring last night so I’m picking Martin up and we’re gonna go study at the school. I thought it might help me focus more on schoolwork.”

“Good thought. Need some money for breakfast?”

“Yes, please.” I said with a smile, trying to look happy for my dad. He handed me a $20 and I gave him a kiss, darting out the door at 5:15.

4 months later

I’d stopped crying myself to sleep over Lance and our surprise breakup a couple weeks ago, but I was still dreaming of him. I went to every party I knew he’d be at, just to see him smile. Dad had asked why he wasn’t around anymore, but I convinced him that he was just giving me space to focus on my studies. I’d sent out a few college applications and found an acceptance letter in the mailbox when I got home today.

“Good job, pumpkin! I’m proud of you.” Dad said, giving me a hug.

“Thanks, Dad. It’s not the college I wanted, but I’ll take it. At least it’s college.”

“That’s how to look at it.” I’d been wanting to go to the same college Lance did so that I could still see him and try to make him talk to me, but figured this was for the best since I really did need to move on.

9 years and 8 months later

“Bye, Angelica. Thank you.” I said as I stepped on the front porch. “Hey, Dad. I’m home.” I hollered walking in. I’d graduated college and got a job back in my hometown of Kimble Fork, but when dad started having health problems, I moved back in with him and hired a nurse to watch him while I was at work.

“Hey, pumpkin. How was work?”

“Good. Apparently, the company was bought out last week and the new CEO is supposedly gonna be making the rounds to meet everyone soon. I’m just hoping she’s not a complete jerk to me. I’d rather not try to find a new job.”

“She should be fine. Just do your job the best you can and she’ll have nothing bad to say.” I nodded.

“Ready for dinner?”

“My treat. Let’s go out tonight. You need a break from cooking for me, cleaning up after me, and working.” Dad said.

“You did that for me my whole life, Dad. I’m fine doing it for you.”

“Don’t you argue with me, Juniper. I’m your father. My health may be failing, but I can still turn you over my knee.” I smiled.

“Alright, Dad. I’m sorry. It’s just that I want to thank you for taking care of me, and this is the only way. If you’d rather a home cooked meal, I can do one real quick.”

“Dinner out with my girl sounds better. Drop your stress and bags, baby. I’ll call for a taxi to come get us so you can have a drink or two.”

“Now that sounds fantastic. Thank you. I’ll be ready in just a minute.” He nodded and pulled the house phone from the wall as I headed to my old room. I set my purse on my bed, dropped my keys by the door, pulled out my wallet, and headed back out after changing my clothes and spritzing myself with perfume. The cab pulled in the drive a couple minutes later, and dad and I got in, heading to Frank’s Steakhouse.

“Juniper? Is that you?” said some guy behind us. I turned at my name but didn’t recognize him. “It is you. Oh my god. How have you been?” His light brown hair was about 3 inches long and he had a pair of dark brown eyes that seemed familiar with their explosion of golden brown in the center, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen them before.

“I’ve been good.” I said carefully. “I’m sorry, but how do you know me?” He seemed confused for a minute.

“You’re joking, right? There’s no way you’re still upset at me.”

“Upset at you for what? I really don’t know you, sir.”

“Wow. I knew I’d hurt you, but I didn’t think you were hurt so bad you’d forget your first love.” I scrunched my forehead in thought and thought back through every guy I’d dated, but none of the guys had those eyes.

“I’m sorry. I still don’t remember you.” I said, shaking my head.

“Lance. Lance Murdoch. We dated in high school?” Recognition hit me hard and I felt tears as our first date flashed through my mind.

“You’ve got the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen, Lance. I honestly can’t stop looking at them.”

“You look at eyes that much?” he said with a smirk. I chuckled and gave a slight blush.

“Kinda, yeah. I’ve got a bit of an eye fetish.”

“Look at them all you want. Just let me kiss those lips you’ve got.” he murmured, moving closer to my face.

“Oh my god. Lance. How have you been? I’m so sorry. I didn’t recognize you. You’ve changed since high school.” I said, wrapping him in a hug. He’d bulked up a bit from high school and was wearing a suit, but I still felt the bit of pudge that’d always been around his abs.

“I’m a hell of a lot better now. You always did know how to make me feel better.” he said with a soft smile.

“Marsh. Party of 2.” called the hostess, making me turn around and look at her, happy for the escape from my worst heartbreak that was starting to hurt again.

“It was great to see you, Lance, but I gotta go. Maybe we’ll see each other around town. Bye.” I waved and headed off with dad to our table.

2

She waved and headed off like she had no feelings for me at all. Even though she was gone from my sight, I couldn’t get her out of my head. Her lips had always held my attention when we were in high school, but she’d grown up so much since the last time I’d seen her. Back then, she’d been trying to grow out her hair, had been extremely slender, and didn’t have much in the way of curves but still knew how to move to drive me wild. Now, she had a near hourglass shape with hair to the middle of her back. She looked good, but I hadn’t wanted to let her leave when she disappeared.

I miss you, Junie. What would you do if I asked you out again? Kill me by saying no, or make me fly by saying yes?

“Mr. Murdoch, this way, please. Your table is ready. I’m sorry for the wait.” said the hostess.

“It’s fine. I got to see someone I hadn’t seen in too long.” I said as she set my menu in front of me. “Will you escort Mr. Charleston back when he arrives?”

“Absolutely, sir. Anything else?”

“One more thing. I’m paying the bill for the Marsh party that was seated before me. Let their server know to bring it to me and have them order anything they want.” The woman gave a curt nod.

“Enjoy your meal, Mr. Murdoch.”

I would if Juniper was at the table with me. My server came by and got my drink while I waited for the owner of the company I’d bought last month. This was our last meeting before it was officially mine and I was planning on meeting all the staff tomorrow morning so that I could see what needed to be changed. Our meeting went smoothly, but he did tell me that everyone at the company was scared I was going to fire them all. “I’m not firing anyone unless they deserve it. However they’re working when I meet them, is how I’m going to expect them to be at all times. I’m not looking at everyone for just a day, though. I’ll be watching for a couple weeks before any firing happens, barring ill conduct.” He nodded and we finished our meal. When he left, I called for the bill but the server brought just mine. “I’m paying for the Marsh party as well. Bring me their check, please.”

“They refused to let someone else pay for their meal, have already paid, and left, sir. I’m sorry, but there was nothing I could say to convince them to accept the offer.”

Damn that pride of hers. There’s no way she can still be that hurt. “Very well.” I paid my bill and headed out. I wonder if they’re still at the same house they had when she was in high school. I could show up with a bouquet of lilies, sweep her off her feet, and- My thoughts stalled. And what? She’s obviously still hurt. Why the hell did I listen to Ray? He spent the rest of the year talking about getting with her for the summer. And since I dumped her, I couldn’t go crawling back and ask her out again. The last thought that crossed my mind as I laid down in my empty California King bed, was that face of hers with those full lips that were tender when kissed gently and perfect to bite when trying for more.

I woke up in the morning and got a cold shower, trying to clear my mind since I’d been dreaming of her all night. Last night had been the first time I’d seen her in a decade and she’d looked incredibly happy. Was it just seeing me that made her happy, the fact that I spoke to her, or was it something else? She was on my mind all day as I wandered around the new company, meeting some of the staff and listening to any complaints they currently had. One office left, I thought with a sigh as I knocked on the closed door about 4:30.

“It’s open.” said a somewhat grumpy voice. I opened the door and poked my head in, but a stack of papers that were being carried started to topple over. “Oh, please don’t fall. It took hours to get all of you in order.” I heard a woman mutter from behind the stack as it stopped moving for a minute.

“Here. Let me help.” I said, stepping in to help the woman carry the papers. The stack fell before I could get to her, and I instantly dropped to a knee to start helping her pick them up but stalled when I heard her voice again.

“God damn it! You mother-fludging piece of shnicklebums!” she shouted.

There’s only one person in this world that says words like that, I thought as a smile tried to find its way onto my face. I slowly looked up and felt my heart start racing as I reached her face. Oh my god. How did I get so lucky as to buy the company that employs the woman I want? “Junie.” I breathed out as she turned and smacked her hands on the wall. All her movements stopped and she slowly turned around, looking at me.

“No. There’s no way this is a real day.” she muttered, staring at me for a minute. “There’s only one explanation for my day being this crappy. I’m having a nightmare. That’s it. That’s gotta be it.” she said to herself as she dropped to her knees and started picking up papers, yanking the ones out of my hand.

“It’s not a nightmare, Juniper. This is real. Can we talk?”

“We already are, idiot.” she muttered, still not looking at me. I held in a laugh, but let myself smile as I started picking up papers for her again. I opened my mouth to ask her to dinner so we could talk about the possibility of getting back together, but a woman’s voice came from the doorway.

“Oh, good. I see you’ve met the new CEO, Juniper. Mr. Murdoch, what are you doing?”

“Helping an employee through a rough day.” I said, looking up at the woman that I’d been introduced to at 8 that morning. She was supposed to be my assistant here, but I didn’t like her. The second she saw me, she’d started flirting and had kept one step behind me the whole day, explaining away most of the complaints that the staff had.

“It’s her job to organize and file all these papers, Mr. Murdoch. No need for you to worry about picking any of them up. Especially not when you have more important things to do for the company.” she said as I went back to picking up papers with Junie.

“That may be, Ms. Burns, but if the woman that handles the paperwork gets bogged down with too many problems from the paperwork, things will start backing up and may never get completed.”

“Then she should be fired.” she said simply.

“Are you the one that makes that call?” I tried not to growl at her but still heard it in my voice.

“No, sir. You have the sole power to hire and fire, here.”

“Exactly. If you ever again suggest that I fire Ms. Marsh, I’ll fire you. It’s actually a good thing you’re here. You can help us pick up these papers and put them back in order so that it doesn’t take her hours to get it done again.”

“Well if she kept them in order in the first place, it wouldn’t take her hours to do her job.”

“You think you can do this job better, Candy? It’s all yours.” Juniper snarled. “Here’s the keys to the office. I quit!” She threw a set of keys at my assistant and stormed towards the door.

“Ms. Marsh, get back in here! Ms. Burns, get all the way in this office and close the door! The three of us are having a meeting, right now!”

3

The entire hallway had gone dead silent when his voice boomed from my office. I took a deep breath to keep from strangling Candy but did as the new CEO said and stepped back into my office. I looked at Lance as Candy closed the door, and he arched an eyebrow at me. “What?” I said, not caring if he fired me or if I walked out.

“Don’t give me attitude, Junie.” he whispered, giving me a soft smile. I looked away to keep my smile down but crossed my arms over my chest. “Hand me her keys, Ms. Burns.” he said in a low voice. I heard my keys jingling, then heard heels clicking as she walked to him. The jingling stopped, but I heard him take a step towards me. “Ms. Marsh, hold out your hand.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I looked at him, but did as told and held out my hand. “Don’t throw these again, and stay put for 5 minutes.” he said, closing my hand around my keys. The look in his eyes told me that it’d be better if I didn’t stay employed here, but I knew I needed the job so I obeyed the boss. He moved back over to stand in front of Candy. “Cause a scene like that to happen again, and I’ll fire you on the spot, Ms. Burns. I will not tolerate boorish behavior toward my employees from any other business owner or myself. Since you are my personal assistant and a reflection of me, it will not be tolerated from you either, so I suggest you get your attitude in check. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.” she said rudely.

“Last warning, Ms. Burns. You’ve been screwing up since the moment we met and I’m sorely tempted to terminate your employment now on the grounds of ill conduct.” She gave a curt nod but said nothing else. “Am I understood?” Lance growled at her.

“Yes, sir. Crystal clear.” I heard the sarcastic joy in her voice and pressed my lips together, knowing that her response would piss Lance off more.

“Go clean out your desk.” Her jaw dropped and I looked away, trying not to smile or laugh. “Now.” he growled out. She shoved past me and flung the door open hard enough to make it bang against the wall, but the gust of wind from its movement flung more papers around my office.

“Hope my replacement can figure out all these papers.” I muttered.

“What replacement?” he asked looking at me with the hint of a smirk.

“I quit, remember?”

“You revoked that statement when you took those keys back.” he said with a smirk. “I’m going to make sure she cleans out her desk, then I’ll be back to help you get some of these organized.” He walked out without giving me a chance to argue about staying. I waited until I heard the door at the end of the hallway close, then let out a sigh.

Even if I wanted to, he wouldn’t let me leave here. He may have dumped me a long time ago, but at least he still cares enough to make sure that I don’t screw up my life. I tossed my keys on my desk and looked at the office floor, sighed again, and knelt down to start picking up the papers again. I had just gotten all the papers stacked onto my desk when a knock sounded on the wall in my office.

“You work quick. I figured you’d be putting them in order as you picked them up.” came Lance’s voice from the doorway.

“I just want to go home and press the reset button on the day.” I said, looking at him. My eyes went straight to his and stayed there as he closed the door behind him without taking his eyes off me.

“Still have that eye fetish, huh?” he said softly with another smirk. I forced my eyes to move to the papers I was straightening.

“Don’t make me feel weird.” I said, trying to hide my embarrassment. He was the first one I’d ever told that to, but the guys in college had always made me feel weird with it. They’d open their eyes too wide and move closer to my face, making sure I saw nothing but their eyes, and a couple of them had actually teased me about it.

“You know I’ve always loved it, Junie. It let me know that you weren’t lying.” he said softly as he walked toward me.

“So to show me that you loved that about me, you break up with me over the phone because Ray said I was cheating on you? Smooth move, Exlax. Now, why not be like castor oil and slide out?” He laughed.

“Nice finish. Look, all I knew is that you’d been hanging with Martin a lot for tutoring. Then Ray said he saw you leaving there at 11 one night. I knew your curfew was 10 and that’s the only reason I could think of for you being out that late. I didn’t even remember that your dad had agreed to let you stay out late if you were getting tutored.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“I’m not hashing out some old heartbreak. I’ve been over you for the last 10 years.” I knew that was a lie, but I was trying to get him out of my office. “That being said, is there something I can help you with, Mr. Murdoch?” I asked, looking at him again.

“Come to dinner with me. We need to talk, Junie.”

“Can’t. I have to go home and take care of my dad, sir.”

“What’s wrong with him?” he asked, looking entirely concerned.

“Why does it matter?” I asked defensively.

“So I know that you’re not just trying to get out of dinner with me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“My father’s health is failing him, Mr. Murdoch. I’m not going to go out and have dinner with some guy on what may be the night that my father needs me to be home.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about his health last night at Frank’s?”

“Because my personal life is none of your concern. Plus, there’s nothing you can do about it.” He took a step forward and reached for me.

“Junie, baby-”

“Stop right there, Mr. Murdoch. I’m not your baby. I haven’t been anything close to yours since you dumped me 10 years ago.” A chime on my phone went off. “Now if you’ll excuse me, sir, I have to get home and relieve my father’s nurse. I’ll get what I can of this organized tomorrow during business hours.” I grabbed my purse and walked out of the office with him, locking it behind us, then stormed down the hallway and headed to my car, before checking the message I’d gotten on my cell phone.

- Juniper, I had to take your dad to the hospital. He was having chest pains. I’ll send more information when we have it, but you’re welcome to come to the hospital and be with him if we’re still here when you get off work.

I cranked my car and flew out of the lot, heading to the hospital, praying that I’d make it before anything happened. “Zachary Marsh. Where is he?” I asked as I ran to the desk in the lobby.

“Just give her a visitor’s badge, Courtney. That’s his daughter.” said a woman’s voice to my right. I spun and saw Angelica, the nurse I’d hired to watch my dad during the day while I was working. “Come with me, Juniper. I’ll take you to him.” I snagged the visitor’s badge and ran to her.

“Please tell me he’s ok.” I said as I stopped in front of her.

“They still don’t know yet.” she said as she led me into the elevator. “They’re waiting on the lab results to come back, but he’s staying here for the night. They didn’t want to take any chances.”

“I’m staying with him.”

“They won’t let you stay overnight for just chest pains. You’ll have to come back tomorrow. I promise, Juniper. He’s in good hands.” she said as we got off the elevator onto the fourth floor. We walked into room 403 and I ran to my dad.

“Hey, Dad. How are you feeling?” I asked softly as I sat in the chair beside him.

“Fit as a fiddle, pumpkin.” His voice was more raspy than normal and I could hear a bit of a wheeze in it.

“Daddy, please be honest with me.” I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

“I’ve always loved hearing you call me that. My chest still hurts a bit, baby girl, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” I looked up at Angelica.

“Is there anything they can give him for it?”

“No. Not until they know more and hear back about his lab results.” I sighed but sat there holding my dad’s hand until a doctor walked in with a folder. Angelica went over to him before he could speak up, and motioned for me to come over after minute. “They have his lab results, Juniper.”

“And? What’s wrong?” I asked, knowing I was on the verge of tears.

4

I’d put a note on Juniper’s office door this morning, telling her to come to my office and see me about a possible job opportunity, but it was 9:30 and she still hadn’t shown up, so I pulled up her employee file on the computer. Looking over it showed me that she’d only called out a couple times and had been late once in the last 6 years of employment here, so I knew something had to be wrong. I called her office, just to be sure that she wasn’t in there and ignoring my message, but got no answer so I called her cell phone.

“Hello?” came her tearful response after a couple of minutes.

“Junie, is everything alright?” I asked, instantly worried about her.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry I’m late. I’ll be in soon.” I heard a sniffle from a runny nose.

“Where are you?” I asked, already closing down my computer and grabbing my keys.

“At the hospital with Dad.”

“What room?”

“403.” I heard a deep breath with a slow exhale.

“Stay there. I’m on the way.” I hung up without giving her a chance to argue but didn’t think she’d leave there anyway. If she’s crying, it’s something deeply painful for her. I sure hope Zach’s ok. I don’t think she’ll make it through losing him until she’s got a shoulder to lean on. I parked at the hospital and went in, grabbing a visitor badge from the desk in the lobby.

“Do you know the room number you’re going to, sir?” asked the lady there.

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” I headed up the elevator to the fourth floor and went right to the room Juniper had told me she was in. Her dad was on a life support machine and some woman was in there with him, but Junie was nowhere to be seen. Zach got remarried. Good for him. At least Junie’s got her step-mom to be with. She’s young though.

“Can I help you, sir?” asked the woman.

“I’m here to see Zach and Juniper Marsh. Are you her step-mom?” The woman smiled and chuckled.

“No, sir. She hired me a couple years ago to keep an eye on her father while she was at work throughout the day.”

“Ah. You’re the nurse she mentioned yesterday.” She nodded. I motioned for her to come over and she did. “What’s wrong with him?” I murmured.

“He was having chest pains yesterday just before 5 so I brought him in. They got the lab results back shortly after she arrived. He’s got Extensive Small Cell Lung Cancer, but they don’t have the money for any of the treatment methods so he’s literally on his deathbed.”

“Oh my god. Is she still here?” She nodded.

“She’s in the restroom.”

“How long does he have? Did they say?”

“2 to 4 weeks. It’s so advanced that even with treatment, it’d only be 2 months at best for him.”

“That’s another 2 months I can get her with him. Who do I talk to?” I said, turning to find a person. A hand landed on my arm and I turned back to see the nurse shaking her head with a sad look in her eyes.

“He doesn’t want it. He said he wants to go quickly and that he’s already got everything lined up. She’s trying to come to grips with the fact that he told the doctor to take him off life support.”

“Shit. Can I see him?” She nodded and stepped to the side, letting me go in. I walked up to the side of his bed and set a hand on his arm. “Hey, Mr. Marsh. How’s it goin’?”

“Only one boy I know would come to see me on my deathbed and not say complete words. How have you been, Lance?” His voice was extremely raspy and I could hear the wheeze in his voice.

“I’ve been alright. Better since I saw Junie a couple nights ago. I never should’ve let her go. Enough about me, though. I want an honest answer out of you, Mr. Marsh.”

“On what, kiddo?”

“If you could have 2 more months to be with Juniper, would you take it?” He shook his head.

“No point in putting off goodbye when we both know it’s coming.” I sighed and nodded my head as the bathroom door opened, showing a puffy, red-faced, teary-eyed Juniper. “Go to her, kiddo. Get her back. Keep her this time.” Zach whispered as he set a hand on my arm. I smiled and nodded, stood and went to her.

“Lance? What are you doing here?” she mumbled through her tears. I wrapped my arms around her and just held her. I felt her tears landing on my shirt and tightened my arms around her as her shoulders started shaking.

“I wish I could say that it’ll be okay, Junie. I really do. I wish I could snap my fingers and give him all the time in the world with you, but we both know better.” I murmured to her as I tucked her head under my chin. She didn’t say anything, just nodded and kept crying into my chest. I moved us to the couch and sat down, tugging her onto my lap and just holding her while she cried. After about an hour, her shoulders stopped shaking, her tears stopped dripping onto my shirt, and her breathing evened out.

“She asleep, Lance?” Zach asked. I nodded. “Good. She’ll sleep through the night. Give him the house keys, Angelica. I don’t want her here for this. Same house, same room, Lance.” I looked at him astounded.

“Mr. Marsh, she’s going to be devastated.”

“Take her home. I don’t want her here for this.” I nodded and took the keys that Angelica gave to me, pushed them into my pocket and carried her out the door telling him to wait until I came back. A couple people tried to stop me on my way out, but I ignored them and kept walking out to my car. I gently set her in the passenger’s seat, buckled her seat belt, and drove to her house.

“I know you’ll probably hate me when you wake up, Junie baby, but your dad didn’t want you there for it.” I murmured, running my fingers across her cheek and swiping some hair off of her face. I couldn’t hold myself back and kissed her temple, then stood and headed out, going back to the hospital so I could honestly tell Junie that it was quick and painless for him.

8 the next morning, I ripped the note from yesterday off her office door and replaced it with a new one saying that we needed to talk. Not wanting rumors about her to start up, I slipped out of the hallway before anyone arrived, and headed back up to my office. Since I’d fired my assistant already, I’d been leaving my door open so I could see who was coming, but a knock came on my office door at 9 and I looked up to see Juniper, still puffy and red but looking pissed off at me. “Ah, Ms. Marsh. Come on in.”

5

I’d woken up at 7 in the house, hoping that I’d just had a bad dream, but searched the rest of the house to find it was empty, telling me that it hadn’t been a nightmare. I called the hospital and they told me that he’d been taken off life support yesterday around 1 in the afternoon. Not remembering how I got home, I looked in the driveway hoping to see my car but saw nothing. I called a cab and went to the hospital to pick up my dad’s things, and found a note in there telling me where my car was parked and who had taken me home yesterday. I went to my car and headed in to work, only to find a note on my door.

We need to talk. Come see me when you get here. - L

Instantly remembering that he’d sign all his notes to me like that, I got pissed. He thinks he can take me home so that I don’t see my dad’s final moments and then tell me that I have to go see him when I get to work? That jerk’s got another thing coming. I turned around and headed up to his office, letting myself get madder at him. I got off the elevator and walked around the corner to see his door standing wide open. I stood there staring at him for a minute fighting down the urge to break down in tears, but walked over and knocked on the door to get his attention. “Ah, Ms. Marsh. Come on in.”

“What the hell gives you the right to think that you can take me to my home when my father is on his deathbed? I should’ve been there to see his final moments! You shit-prick!” His head jerked back in surprise at my language and his eyes widened. There were a few curse words that I never used unless I was really pissed off and hurt, but this was actually the first time I’d ever used one of them around him.

“Zach didn’t want you there for it, Junie.” he said gently. “I’m not going to deny your father one of his final wishes while he’s on his deathbed. I can say though, that it was quick and painless for him. I made him promise to wait until I got back so I could tell you the truth about it. He just went to sleep.”

“You’re lying! He was in pain!” I screamed at him, feeling my tears start rolling down my cheeks.

“No. There was no pain for him. You know I’m not gonna lie to you, especially about your father. Have a seat. We really do need to talk.”

“About what?! How much of an asshat you are?!”

“I know you’re pissed at me right now, but that is a personal matter, Ms. Marsh. You need to leave that and the language outside for the moment.” he said a little more gruffly. I crossed my arms and looked away for a minute, trying to pull my temper down to a work-appropriate level of ticked off.

“What did you want to see me about?” I asked, barely holding back the rudeness in my voice.

“I can still hear the boorishness, Ms. Marsh, but I’m going to overlook it on account of the fact that I know what happened to you yesterday. I’m offering you the position of being my personal assistant. You know what I like so you can easily order my lunches, you know what I expect, and I know you work hard. $75,000 a year net salary to start, travel, shopping, and food when I need to leave the state on work, company phone, laptop, and iPad all included. If you accept, you have the rest of the week and all of next week off to get over the loss of your father, but I’ll expect you in here at 8 in the morning, the following Monday.”

“And if I don’t accept?”

“You’ll still have the time off, but you’ll be going to dinner with me every night and trapped in that little office full of neverending paperwork.”

“Damn it.” I muttered. I looked away, knowing there were still tears on my face and in my eyes, but my temper had died down pretty far now. “Can I borrow a calculator for a minute?” He looked at me for a moment and I thought I saw a brief smirk on his face.

“Round to the nearest penny. Anything left over will be paid in full and any extra will be taken back at the end of the year.” he said as he slid one across the desk to me. I did the math on what I’d be making an hour, then compared that to the measly $10 an hour I was getting at the moment.

“I’ll take it.” I said after 5 minutes of silent deliberation.

“Good. I’ll see you with no tears the week after next. Correct, Junie?”

“Yes. And you’re not taking me to dinner at all, correct?” He smiled.

“I’d like to.”

“No. Not only is that a recipe for disaster, you’re my boss. Not happening.”

“Very well. For now.” he said with a slight smirk.

“No, not for now. For good. Get it through your head, Mr. Murdoch. You left me. I’m not going to put myself in a position to get hurt by you again.” I stood and left, not giving him a chance to say anything, headed back down to my car and went back home. I changed into my pajamas and curled up in my dad’s favorite chair, letting more tears roll down my cheeks. I barely ate anything all week from the depression, but at least I’d stopped crying by Tuesday afternoon.

Monday morning, I walked into my new office at 7:45. I knew I was early, but I wanted a few minutes alone to get acquainted with where everything was. There was no computer on the desk, just an office phone, and an agenda calendar. Lance walked in at 5 minutes to 8 with a computer bag over his shoulder and a couple other bags in his hands. “Good morning, Ms. Marsh.”

“Morning, Mr. Murdoch.” I said softly, already regretting this acceptance. “I’d have a cup of coffee for you, but I don’t know how you like it.”

“3 creams and 4 sugars.”

“I’ll go get y-”

“Don’t worry about it, today. I got one on my way in.” I nodded.

“Let me help you with those bags, sir.” He smiled and handed me the computer bag and one of the bags in his hands.

“That’s your company laptop, phone, and iPad. You’ve got 2 hours to get them all set up, synced together, and familiarize yourself with them.”

“Yes, sir. I do have a question, Mr. Murdoch. I’ve never been a personal assistant before so I don’t know what to do. Do you have someone coming to train me for this?”

“Nope. You’ll get the hang of it by the end of the day. Office phone is answered with the company name and the words Mr. Murdoch’s assistant. Other than that, you’ll be fine.” I nodded, setting my mind to figure everything out by lunchtime. 45 minutes later, I walked into his office. “Yes?”

“Everything’s set up and synced.”

“What?”

“The laptop, pho-”

“No, I heard what you said. Are you serious? It took you less than an hour to set all three of those up and sync them?”

“Yeah. I’m good with technology.”

“And they had you pushing papers.” he muttered, shaking his head. “Ok. Here’s a list of names and numbers that I need to be able to contact at a moment’s notice. I want them in the contacts list on the phone, and I need a digital and hard copy.”

“That’s it?” He nodded. “Mr. Murdoch, give me something that’s going to take more than 15 minutes, please.” I sighed out.

“Alright. I want everyone in the company on a list in the same ways that one will be. I also need a memo typed up and sent out to every manager in the company saying that there’s a mandatory meeting for them with me on Friday at 10. No meetings from 10 until 11 on that day, by the way. Finally, I’ll need a second memo typed up and sent to the rest of the staff, letting them know to email their current complaints to you. I want those summed up in a brief for me so I can address them quickly. I’ll need you available for the meeting Friday at 10, so make sure to keep that time open for yourself as well. Is that more than 15 minutes of work or would you like more?” he asked with a smirk.

6

“That might get me to lunchtime. I’ll bring the memos to you for verification when I have them done.” She turned and headed out of the office, leaving me smiling at how confident she already was.

She’s made for this kind of job. She’s got a mind like a glue trap, she works hard, and she doesn’t give up easily. I wonder if I can get her to let me take her to dinner. I want her back. I’ve wanted her back in my life since two days after I dumped her. An idea hit me. “Ms. Marsh, I’ll need you for a dinner meeting on Wednesday at 6.” I called out the door.

“Where should I meet you?” she called back in.

“Business meeting. We arrive together, so I’ll pick you up and take you home.” I heard a sigh and could picture her rolling her hazel green eyes.

“Very well.” I laughed at the fact she’d just spit my line back at me, then got back to work.

She’s probably gonna beat the hell out of me when she realizes it’s not a meeting, just a date. Just before 11:30, she came back in.

“The memos need your approval before I send them out.” she said handing me two papers. “Also, the contacts on that list you gave me are on the computer in a spreadsheet and in the phone, the hard copy is filed, I have all the employees in the company on another spreadsheet and in the phone as well. However, I can’t give you a brief summary of complaints until I send the memo out. I’ve already blocked your schedule from 9:45 to 11:15 on Friday to give you a few breathing minutes before and after the manager meeting. And last but not least, seeing as how it’s 11:30, what are you in the mood to have for lunch? Steak, pasta, salad, sandwich?” My jaw dropped.

I knew that having Juniper as my assistant would be great, but this is unbelievable. She’s answering questions before I ask them, she’s thinking ahead, she’s flying through the work. Is there anything I can give her today that will stump her? I looked over the memos she’d handed me as I thought about her question and what I could give her to do. “Memos are fine. Go ahead and send them out. As for lunch, I’m thinking a grilled Reuben sounds good. Were you able to find email addresses for the contacts on the list I gave you?” I said as I handed the memos back to her.

“Can’t believe I’m already 2 steps ahead of you.” she muttered to herself. “I’ve got email addresses, work address, home address, office number since those were cell phones, and everyone is organized by their first name on every copy.” I smiled and shook my head.

“You’re good, baby.”

“I’m not your baby, Mr. Murdoch.” She spun and left my office to go back to hers, and I heard furious typing a minute later. I’d done my best not to let it show that it hurt when she said that, but sighed and shook my head as she left.

“You’ll always be my baby, Junie. Whether you want to be or not.” I muttered. At noon she walked back in with a piece of paper and a bag on her arm.

“Here’s your grilled Reuben. I told them to keep the pickle for someone that would eat it. And here’s the summary of complaints from the staff. May I go to lunch now?”

“You should’ve gotten yourself something to eat as well while you were out, but yes.”

“I didn’t go out. I had this delivered for you. How long is my lunch break?”

“An hour. I’ll see you at 1, Junie.” She gave a curt nod and left without saying a word. While she was gone, I got a phone call from Rob Thurgood who was trying to talk me into buying his company but wanted a meeting with me on Wednesday over dinner.

“It’s the only time I have available lately, Mr. Murdoch.”

“Very well, Mr. Thurgood. How does 6 o’clock sound?”

“Wonderful. Thank you. I don’t want to see the company closed, and I’d rather it go to you than one of my ungrateful, lazy kids.”

“I’m sure my parents said that about me a few times.” I chuckled out. “Ok. I’ll set up a reservation for Murdoch at 6 on Wednesday at...Vincenzo’s sound good?”

“Sounds wonderful. I’ll be there with my assistant.”

“I’ll make the reservation for 4 then, as my new assistant will be joining me as well. Have a good day, Mr. Thurgood.” I hung up and instantly called the restaurant making the needed reservations. So much for our date. At least this will give her a reason to trust me a bit more next time I try for one. She came back in at 1 and I told her how I wanted to solve a few of the complaints. “Call whoever you need to, but get those complaints resolved since they’re easy fixes right now. Thank you, Ms. Marsh.” By 4, she’d resolved all the complaints she could get resolved, some others were in the process of being fixed, and everything I’d given her for the day was done.

“Mr. Murdoch, is there anything else I can do for you or do you mind if I go get some of the paperwork from my old office finished up?”

“Answer some questions for me first.” I said, looking up at her. I motioned for her to have a seat, and she sat while I asked my questions. “Why was it taking you hours to get all that paperwork done when it only takes you about 45 minutes to get the paperwork for up here done?”

“Down there, it always needed to be put in the right order before I could start processing it. Up here, it’s already in the right order.”

“Why wasn’t it given to you in the right order, to begin with?” She shrugged.

“I’d asked Mr. Hollins many times to have the reps put it in order to save me time so I could get through more every day, but either they didn’t listen or he didn’t ask them. You’d have to talk to him to find out why those papers weren’t in order.” I looked to the side for a minute, trying to think of an excuse to go down there with her, but I couldn’t think of one, so I looked back at her.

“Take a box with you. Whatever you can fit in the box, bring up here and I’ll let you get through it. You can do that until you’ve gotten through all the papers, but you’re not doing that paperwork anymore so make sure that HR is in the process of finding someone for that job.” She nodded and left the office, grabbed a box from somewhere, and disappeared into the elevator.

7

Looking at the papers still strewn around the office from when Candy got fired, I let out a sigh. Ok. Two of these stacks should fit in the box if I stack it right, but I’ve only got an hour before the end of the day unless he wants to keep me here longer. Screw it. I’ll stuff all of these two in here. Since I don’t have anyone waiting for me at home, I’ll take the box with even more papers home and get the rest of them organized there. I fought to push back thoughts of my father, then I stuffed as much as I could into the box. There were two stacks in the box with more papers stuffed on either side, but the stacks were taller than the box so it was officially overflowing when I headed back to the elevator.

“Ms. Marsh, may I see you for a minute?” came Mr. Hollins voice from his office as I passed by.

“Yes, sir?” I asked, stopping by the door but staying in the hallway. He’d always made me feel uncomfortable when I was alone, but I’d always brushed it off since he’d never pushed the boundaries of our boss/employee relationship.

“I haven’t seen you in almost 2 weeks. Where have you been?”

“Mr. Murdoch gave me the last week and a half off to get over the loss of my father. He also asked me to be his assistant, so now I’m up there with him.”

“So where are you taking the paperwork?”

“He’s letting me take care of what’s in there now until HR hires a replacement for me down here.”

“So you’re not gonna be down here with us anymore?” I shook my head but refused to let myself smile and show that I was happy about it. “Well, tell him that I said he’s not allowed to take you from me. He needs to look for an assistant and send you back down here to me. I have to see you to be able to get through my day.” I forced a smile out.

“I’ll pass along the message.” I hustled to the elevator and got back up to my office at 4:15.

“What took so long down there?” Lance asked as I passed in front of his door.

“Mr. Hollins was speaking with me. He said to let you know that you’re not allowed to take me from his department, so find a new assistant and send me back down there. On a personal note, I’m actually gonna beg you not to send me back down there.”

“I wouldn’t send you down there anyway. You’ve gotten everything completed faster than I expected. You’re made for this kind of job, Junie, not processing paperwork.” he said as he came out of his office. I gave a soft smile as I set my box down. “Curiosity, why beg me not to send you back down to his department?”

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Murdoch.”

“Junie.” he warned. “Speak up. Why?” I looked over at him to see if I’d be able to get away with not telling him, but the second I saw his eyes I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold out for long if I tried. He looked concerned, but also a little ticked that I’d made him ask twice.

“I always feel uncomfortable when I’m alone with him.” I murmured.

“Why didn’t you say something about this before?”

“Because he’s never tried to push past the employer/employee boundary.” He nodded.

“You’re not in trouble for withholding that information from the start, but next time a man here is making you uncomfortable, tell me. Understood?”

“Then I guess I should tell you that you’re constantly doing that.” He smiled.

“Kinda pointless since I’m not gonna stop. I want you back, Junie.”

“Not happening. I’m not dating my boss.” I said, shaking my head as I tried to get my eyes to move away from his.

“Then we’re at a standoff. I’m not firing you or moving you to another department, but I’m not gonna stop trying to get you, either.” He looked determined to win the discussion, and although it took nearly all my effort, I got my eyes to look at the papers in the box that I was gonna sort through.

“When does my day end, Mr. Murdoch?” I murmured.

“At 5.” he said gently. I heard a couple footsteps and my face titled to meet his gaze, gluing my eyes to his again. “Is there any way that I can convince you to come to dinner with me and talk this out? Please, Junie. Last Monday night was the first night I’d been truly happy in a decade And that was just from seeing you.” he whispered.

“I’m not dating my boss, Lance. It’s a recipe for disaster. Not to mention, I don’t wanna be hurt by you again. It took me 4 months to stop crying over us back in high school. I don’t want that pain again. Especially not on top of Dad’s death.” I turned my face away from his to move away from his touch, but every part of my heart broke when his finger disappeared.

“How can I show you that I’m sorry for doing that back then and that you’re not gonna be hurt by me again, Junie? Please tell me how I can get you back.”

“Excuse me, please. I need the ladies room.” I murmured, leaving before he could say another word. I closed the door to the bathroom behind me and choked back a sob as best as I could, hoping he didn’t hear it. It’s easier to turn him down when I’m mad at him, but I can’t be mad at him for no reason. He’d pester me trying to figure out what’s wrong. Maybe I should start looking for another job, just to get away from him so my heart doesn’t break again from a simple touch. I stood there, leaning against the bathroom door debating whether or not he’d let me leave the company when a knock sounded.

“Juniper, can we talk?” came Angelica’s voice.

What the hell is she doing here? I moved from the door and opened it, staying behind it so Lance wouldn’t see me crying.

8

Well I’m glad Angelica gave me her number in case Junie needed something. I don’t think she’s become suicidal since high school, but with losing Zach, there’s no telling right now. Depression will screw up a person big time. I stayed in my office doing some minor paperwork until I heard the bathroom door open, then moved to my doorway. “Everything alright, Junie?”

“Yes, Mr. Murdoch.” she practically whispered.

“You were in there for half an hour before Angelica got here. Try again.”

“She just needed to talk for a bit, sir.” Angelica said. “May I speak with you for a moment?” I nodded and stepped to the side, letting her through, then closed the door to keep the conversation private.

“What’s wrong with her, Angelica?”

“She’s mostly depressed from losing Zach. Only other thing is that she’s still hurting from whatever happened between you two. She wants to get back together with you, but she’s so hurt from her dad’s death, that she’s not sure if she wants to take the risk of getting hurt by you. I don’t know what you’re doing, but you need to slow things way down. She’s got too much going on in her mind to safely add a guy that’s caused heartbreak before into the mix.”

“Is it safe that she’s alone at home? I lost her once to my own stupidity, I don’t wanna lose her to her own mind.”

“She’ll be fine. Promise that you’ll slow down though.”

“I can’t go any slower. All we were doing was talking. I asked her what I can do to get her back and she ran to the bathroom.”

“That was telling her to add a risk of heartbreak to an already fragile mind. Let her heal from losing Zach first.”

“How long will that take?”

“A month. A year. Who knows? She can’t even say right now, Mr. Mur-”

“Lance, please.” I said, interrupting her.

“Think, Lance. They were close. Pick a person you’re close to. The closer the better. How long would it take you to get over the loss of them? Especially so close to the holidays.” I nodded, understanding a bit better, and thanked her before showing her out of the office. Junie was nowhere to be seen so I grabbed my things and headed out of the office. I noticed her car was gone when I got to the garage. I wanted to call her and have her come join me for dinner so that she wasn’t alone, but remembered what Angelica said and left her alone.

Even though I wanted nothing more than to have Juniper in my arms every night, I let her be for two months but tonight was driving me insane. She was wearing a red skirt that looked like it’d be soft to touch, a white blouse, and a red Santa hat. Her hair had been curled a bit and styled to show off the Christmas trees dangling from her ears. I kept her in my sights, even when talking to some of the staff. I’d decided to throw a Christmas party for everyone at the company to show them my appreciation for all their hard work, and they were coming up and thanking me. Although I had allowed alcohol, I also placed a 4 drink limit on everyone to make sure they were safe when driving home. Junie’s old boss had been following her around all night. He’d talk to her a bit and she’d shake her head, saying something to him and walk off, only for him to walk over to her and start talking again.

“Mr. Murdoch, you may want to save Juniper from Mr. Hollins.” said the sales rep that was talking to me at the time.

“Why do you say that, Mr. Davis?”

“Because he let it slip to me that he was gonna try his best to get with her after the party. Pardon my language here, but he said he was, and I quote, gonna fuck her as long as he could until he had her screaming his name and begging him to fuck her ass.”

“The hell he is. He’s not getting in bed with Junie.” I growled.

“Junie? Sorry if this is intrusive, but are you guys dating or something?” I looked at him for a minute, wondering if I should just be honest about our past or if I should cover it up.

“We dated back in high school. I was stupid enough to believe a so-called friend that said she was cheating. I’d be with her now, but I’d rather her get over the loss of her father before adding me back into her life. I never said any of that, by the way.”

“Said what?” he asked with a smirk, letting me know he understood my desire for that to remain between us. He shot a glance to my left and I looked over to see her looking a little drunker than I’d have liked. Mr. Hollins had a hand on her back and they were headed towards the door but had to go past me. “Go save her from him. She’s a sweet girl and I don’t want to see her hurt by him.”

“Get him out of this party when I get her away from him. Otherwise, he’s gonna get decked and fired.” I left the conversation and walked over to them.

“Ms. Marsh, I need your help for a moment. Come with me, please.” She nodded and we headed over to my office door, away from the rest of the crowd. “Junie, how many drinks have you had?” I murmured to her.

“I haven’t gone over the limit of 4, Mr. Murdoch. I’ll be fine getting home.” she slightly slurred.

“That’s not what I asked you. Don’t make me ask twice.” I said, setting a hand on her shoulder to keep her standing up straight. Her eyes focused on mine when she looked up at me, and I saw how drunk she was.

“I’ve had 3 drinks, Mr. Murdoch.”

“The party ends in 30 minutes. I’m driving you home so if you want to have another drink, go ahead.” She opened her mouth to argue but I interrupted her. “This is not open for debate, Ms. Marsh. I’m driving you home in half an hour. Stay beside me for the rest of the time.” She nodded and stayed right next to me for the remainder of the party. True to my word, as soon as the rest of the staff left, I locked up the office and walked Juniper to my SUV. I made sure she was buckled in, then went to her place and helped her out of her seat.

“Thank you, Lans.” she whispered with a slight slur.

“Anytime, Junie.” I murmured as I walked her to her door. “I know you’re buzzed and probably drunk right now, but can we please talk about what happened between us in high school? Our relationship at the office needs to be less stressful and the only way to get that is to talk about what happened.” I cupped her cheek and her eyes closed as a smile curled her lips. I knew I could get her to do almost anything I wanted right then, but I didn’t want to hurt her or destroy the trust that had finally started building between us.

“Less go eh-side where is warmer.” she slurred out. I took her keys from her and opened her door while holding her waist to keep her from falling over. “You always were sweet. Ackuly, you were sweetest guy I day-ed. Even at collage.” she said, still slurring as I walked her to the couch and sat her down.

“You’re the only one I was ever this sweet to. Let me close the front door, Junie. I’ll be right back.”

9

I sat next to her and she leaned her head on my shoulder. “10 yeas an I still no ovuh you.” she sighed out. “I miss you, Lans.” she breathed out, making me smile.

“You know, I never really got over you, Junie. I wanted to ask you back out 2 days after I dumped you, but I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

“Why would you thing tha? I wanted be wif you. I at lease wanted talk day afer to see what happened, but you brush me off.” Her slurring was getting worse, and I wondered how often she’d drank since turning 21.

Her slurring gets much worse and I’m not gonna be able to understand her. “I was still pissed about what Ray said was going on between you and Martin. I didn’t wanna hear excuses and I thought that’s what you were gonna give me. Then Martin told me what was going on every night and by the next morning, I was wanting to talk to you, but you avoided me all day. By Friday, I was desperate for you. I saw you at the parties every time, but couldn’t get over there to talk to you.”

“I only wet those things see you smiuh. You coulda come any night to tall and I woulda tall you. Heh, just mo’sing for me come do you and I wood been by your sigh in harbe.”

“I know that now, Junie, but we were kids back then. I was stupid enough to believe that you were just gonna give me excuses and that you’d be vindictive to me if I tried to talk to you after I’d come to my senses.” We spent a couple hours talking about our past, just sitting next to each other on the couch, but things got a little hard for me when she leaned over and pressed a kiss to my lips. “I should go, Junie.”

“No. Peas stay night. Don’t make seep own, Lans.” she begged, grabbing my arm as I stood.

“Junie baby, you’re drunk. I don’t want you to regret this in the morning. Let me be a gentleman for you until you’re sober, sweetheart.” I said, cupping her cheek as I sat back down.

“Peas, Lans. Stay wif me.” she murmured. Her eyes were slightly closed and her head was tilted into my touch. Even though my body was screaming that it wanted to go to bed with her, I wanted her to say this when she was sober.

“Do you have someone you can spend the holidays with, baby?” She shook her head. “Come spend them with me, then. I know my parents would love to see you again.”

“Ony if you stay wif me night. Peas, Lans. Baa-he go kazy when you round. My har soar when you tuch me, and when you sop, it bake. Peas, Lans. Don bake har.” I saw just the slightest quiver from her lips and knew it was caused by her hidden tears of fear. I leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead, but she tilted her face and crashed our lips together. Groaning at the feel of her lips on mine, I bit her bottom lip and she opened for me. My tongue darted in and flooded my mind with sensations and the taste of her.

“We shouldn’t, Junie. Not tonight when you’re drunk, baby.” I murmured, forcing myself to back from her sweet mouth. The farthest we’d gone in high school was kisses and I was wondering if that’s the farthest she’d gone with anyone since me, but I didn’t want to find out tonight. I knew she’d hate me in the morning if we did anything. She pressed a kiss to my lips again, and as hard as I tried to resist her when her lips trailed to my neck, I caved. Yanking her face back to mine, I claimed her lips in a hungry kiss before biting her bottom lip harshly, gaining entrance to her mouth. She moved to straddle my lap, and I backed just a bit. “Say you’ll come to my parents for the holidays, baby.” She nodded her head. “Say it, Junie. I want to hear the words in your voice.”

“I’ll come wif you for ha-day. You stay wif me night, Lans?” Instead of answering her, I tugged her face to mine again and gave her kiss after kiss. She started grinding on me, and I flipped her to her back on the couch. After a few more kisses, she broke them. “Beh-oom. Peas. I no want first time on couse, Lans.” she whispered as her legs wrapped around my waist. I picked her up and carried her to her room as she pressed more kisses to my neck.

I woke up to a shriek as Juniper jerked out from under my arm. “What?” I asked, sitting up.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! You left me 10 years ago and now you think you can just waltz back into my life and screw me?! Are you insane?!” Her yelling at me instantly set me off and I yelled back as I kicked my legs over the side of her bed.

“I didn’t assume anything, Juniper! You are the one that practically dragged me in there with you! You wouldn’t let go of me, wouldn’t quit kissing me, and wouldn’t accept no for an answer! I was nice enough to bring you home after the party yesterday with no intentions of anything when you were that drunk! If we’re being honest, you’re lucky I’m the one that brought you home!” Her face showed confusion and my voice softened a bit for her. “Your old boss was hitting on you. Hardcore, hitting on you. You’d turn him down and leave, he’d track you down and start up again. After your third drink, he damn near got you out of the office, but I called you over under the pretense of needing my assistant for a minute which saved you from his plans. I’d already talked to a few of the other guys in that department and they told me to get him away from you. That he’d said he was gonna take it from you until you were screaming his name and begging him to screw your ass. You really think being in my arms is the worst thing that could’ve happened to you last night? At least I was nice enough to let you make the decision for getting into bed together.”

“No. I don’t believe you, Mr. Murdoch. Mr. Hollins has never pushed the boundaries of our relationship.” she said, shaking her head.

“You don’t wanna believe me, that’s fine, Juniper. Don’t believe me. But you might wanna ask Peter Davis about what Mr. Hollins let slip to him.” I got out of her bed, grabbed my clothes and got dressed, then left the house, getting in my car and heading right to a fast food joint for some breakfast. I sat in the booth staring at my plate of breakfast, letting last night replay through my mind.

Flashback to last night

I carried her into her room and set her on her feet, still peppering her with kisses. “Oh god. Don sop.” she moaned out. I untucked her shirt from the skirt that she’d been wearing and started undoing the buttons from the bottom up. Pushing the shirt over her shoulders, she let a moan slip, but it changed as she covered her mouth. She rushed out of my arms and through the door, running down the hallway and into the bathroom. I followed her down there and gave a soft smile as I walked in. She was leaning over the toilet and throwing up all the drinks she’d had tonight. I pulled her hair back out of her face and waited until she’d finished.

“Bedtime, Junie. We’ll pick up where we left off in the morning if you still want me then.” I murmured softly as I picked her up and carried her back to bed. I stripped her down before I let her lay on her bed.

“Ah lease hole me ’til I fall seep, Lans? You can go couse afer if want.” she mumbled, sleepily. I nodded my agreement and stripped down to my boxers, crawling in beside her as she tugged the blankets up to her chin. She flipped to her side and curled into me, putting her head on my chest and an arm over my stomach. I tried to get out of the bed when she fell asleep, but her arm tightened around me.

“Let me up, Junie. I’m gonna head to the couch.” I whispered.

“Say.” she breathed out in her sleep. I sighed and curled my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me tighter. I saw a small smile curl her lips and felt my own lips curl at the sight and feel of her in my arms, dozing off before I realized it.

There’s no way that Mr. Hollins would have done that. There’s no way, I thought as I made some breakfast to keep my hangover headache at bay. Lance had to be lying about that to cover his ass. But why would he lie to me? He’s never lied to me before. I kept thinking until noon, but ultimately caved and grabbed my phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Peter. It’s Juniper from the office.”

“Hey, Juniper. What’s up?”

“I was told that Mr. Hollins was going to take advantage of me last night, but I’m not sure if I fully trust the person that told me that. They told me to call you for verification if I didn’t believe them.”

“Trust Mr. Murdoch, Juniper. Mr. Hollins let it slip to me exactly what he was gonna do to you after the party. I told Mr. Murdoch to get you away from him and told him what’d been said. I don’t know what happened between you two last night and I don’t wanna know, but trust him on what he said about Mr. Hollins.” I nodded my head even though I knew he couldn’t see me.

“Thank you, Peter.”

“Anytime, Juniper. Was that all or was there something else?”

“That was all. I just needed to hear it from Mr. Murdoch’s source that he wasn’t lying to me. Thanks again. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Have a good one.” We hung up and I set my phone down as I sighed and curled up in my dad’s old chair, wondering how I could apologize to Lance for calling him a liar. Only one way to start anything with him right now. I grabbed my phone again and sent him 2 words in a text.

- I’m sorry.

I wasn’t expecting to get any sort of answer from him so I set my phone back on the coffee table and went to get dressed to go to the store. 5 minutes later, I came back out of my room, grabbed my keys and purse, and headed out the door. I was halfway down the street when I remembered my phone. I’d better grab it just in case he decides to call. Turning around, I went back inside, grabbed my phone and saw a text from him. I checked the time I got it and saw that it’d been just a minute after I sent mine. Opening the text, I smiled and laughed but wanted to smack him. He hadn’t sent any words, just a question mark. Guess it needs to be a proper apology.

- I’m sorry I called you a liar this morning when we woke up in my bed. I didn’t want to believe that Mr. Hollins would have forced himself on me last night. Thank you for bringing me home and keeping me safe from him.

I sent the text and shoved my phone in my pocket, then ran back to the car and headed to the grocery store. I got another text while driving, but waited until I’d gotten to the store to read it.

- Where are you?

- Just got to the store. I need groceries.

- Which one? There’s 5.

- Mattie’s Mart.

- Stay there. I’ll be there in 5.

- Why?

I sent the last text as I walked into the store but was wondering why he was coming up here. I turned down aisle 4 for some pasta and sauce but got pulled to a stop by arms coming around my waist. I let out a short shriek and the arms let go, letting me spin and see Lance standing there trying not to laugh. “Jerk.” I muttered. Turning back around, I saw a woman peeking down the aisle in my direction and just smiled, shaking my head to let her know I was fine. She gave me a quick smile, then went back to shopping.

“I thought you were apologizing. Calling me a jerk isn’t an apology.”

“Deal with it.” I muttered, stopping in front of the pasta sauce.

“So what are we getting for dinner?”

“What?” I asked, looking up at him.

“What are we getting for dinner?” I rolled my eyes and looked back at the sauces, looking for the one I wanted.

“I’m having pizza delivered. I don’t know what you’re having. Couldn’t really care, either.” I muttered, not looking at him.

“What if I want to have dinner with you?”

“How many times do I have to say no? You dumped me, Lance.” I said, grabbing the sauce.

“And you told me last night that you miss me and still haven’t gotten over me. If that’s true, I’m all yours. If it’s not, how did you learn to lie when looking me in the eyes?” he asked, tilting my face to his as he took the jar of marinara out of my hand. I sighed, knowing that my eyes were glued to his already.

“I wasn’t lying. I do miss you and I haven’t gotten over you. But that doesn’t mean that I want you back. You’re my boss first and foremost, and I’m not dating my boss.” I took the jar of sauce back from him and continued down the aisle to the pasta noodles. I grabbed a box of angel hair pasta and a bag of egg noodles, but when I went to move the cart, Lance stepped in front of it and refused to move or let me go around him.

“You don’t want to feel like you’re getting paid to date me, do you?”

“That’s a good reason, but that’s not why I keep saying no.”

“Then why? Other than the fact that I’m your boss.”

“It’s been 10 years since the last time you shattered my heart and I’m still not over you. Why let you have my heart so you can wreck my life again?” I turned the cart around and went back up towards the sauce, pausing long enough to grab a jar of alfredo.

“Junie.” came a soft murmur from behind me as I stopped at the ice cream. “Baby, you kill me everytime you say no. You may think that I’m over you, but I’m in the same boat you are. I wanted to ask you out 2 days after I broke up with you. I saw you at every party and wanted to go talk to you, but could never get away from Tommy. I haven’t been able to get over you. I know I hurt you in the past, but I hurt myself too, that night. You’re the only one that can stop the hurt both of us are going through.” I opened the door to the freezer and pulled out a small tub of chocolate moose tracks ice cream, letting the door close on its own.

“I’m not doing this here. All I wanted to do was apologize for calling you a liar this morning and you come to the store I’m shopping at, to try and get back together with me. I’ll see you later.”

“I’m coming over, Junie. We need to talk about this. Before we go to my parents for the holidays.”

“I’m not going with you. I have somewhere else I have to go.” I said, refusing to look at him and let him see the truth behind my lie.

“Where? Because you said last night that you didn’t have anyone to spend the holidays with. I don’t want you alone for the holidays, Juniper.” he said as he grabbed the cart, refusing to let me continue shopping.

Damn it. I hate it when I get drunk. I say things I shouldn’t. How do I get out of going to his parents for the holidays?

“Junie, baby, don’t try to lie to me. You know I can see through those with you. I know you were being honest last night when you said that you didn’t have anyone to spend them with. We don’t have to be together to go to my parents.” he said. “I want to sort out our problems before we go so tha-”

“I’ll see you at my place, Lance. Give me 15 minutes and I’ll be there.” I said, interrupting him. I walked off before he could say anything else. 10 minutes later, I was done with all my shopping and was headed back home. Pulling in the driveway, a car that I’d never seen on this street before whizzed by just as Lance walked off my porch.

“Be careful, Junie. I saw that car just a few spots down from yours at Mattie’s and he obviously followed you home.” Lance said, grabbing a handful of groceries for me.

11

“It was probably just a new neighbor that was checking out the local stores.” I said, shrugging off his worries. I grabbed the rest of the groceries from my backseat and headed in with Lance following me. “So what’s there to talk about?” I sighed out. “Our past - you dumped me. Our current - you’re my boss so there’s no chance. Our future - non-existent while I’m an employee, non-existent when I’m allowed to quit because of our past. What are you not understanding about that?” I was proud of myself for not letting him know how upset I was about having to say this, but it still hurt me.

“Just because you say no to a date with me, doesn’t mean that we can’t at least be friendly with each other, Junie.” he said, handing me the cold food as he pulled it out of the bags.

“No it doesn’t, but have you ever tried to be friends with an ex? It doesn’t work well, Lance. Especially in our situation where the past romance between us was exhilarating.” Even more so when both people want the other back, I thought as I put away the last of my groceries. It was driving me crazy having to constantly turn him down when I knew I wanted him back, but he’d shattered my heart once before and I didn’t want to give him another chance to do it again. “What I want to talk about is why you thought last night that you could get in bed with me and take advantage of me. I was damn near plastered last night.” I said, tossing the plastic bags in the trash and turning to face him.

“We didn’t do anything last night, Junie.” he said with a look that said I was an idiot.

“Then why were we both under the covers and almost naked?”

“We were both under the covers because it was colder than a seal’s junk on Antarctica in December.” I tried my best to hold in my laugh, but a snort still came out as I felt my lips curl up in a smile. “As for us being almost naked, I don’t sleep in my business suits and you had a little vomit on your skirt.”

“And why should I believe you? There’s no one else that was here so there’s no one that can vouch for your honesty this time.”

“I’m not gonna have sex with a woman when she’s been vomiting, Junie. Least of all when the woman is you. I’ve got more respect for you than to treat you like a drunk hookup. Plus making your body bounce that much would’ve made things worse. You needed to let your stomach settle.”

“Oh, so now you’re gonna call me fat?”

“Not at all. You look damn good, baby. What I’d meant is that we would’ve been going for a while with varying speeds. That would’ve made everything on both of us bounce, upsetting my stomach and making yours worse.”

“And if I still don’t believe you?” I asked, arching an eyebrow and crossing my arms over my chest.

“Then go pull that sexy little skirt from last night out of the hamper. You’ll see the vomit on there. Near the middle in the front.” I knew he was being honest about why I’d slept in my bra and panties since I’d already thrown my skirt in the washer and saw the vomit.

“Too late. It’s already been washed.”

“Which means you’re just trying to find a way to avoid a proper apology.” he said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes but a smile curled my lips again. “Junie, be honest with yourself. Please. That part of me hasn’t changed since high school. I was willing to wait for you when all the other guys were trying to push their girlfriends for it. Could I have gotten what I wanted last night? More than likely. You were really drunk, leaning into my touch, straddling my lap, kissing me. Hell, when I put you in bed and laid down next to you, you curled up on your side facing me, and tossed an arm over me. If I was going to take advantage of you like that, I would’ve been pushing for it in high school.” I sighed and looked to the side, knowing that he was right. “Come on, Junie. Admit it to yourself at least.”

“I know you wouldn’t do that to me, Lance. But think of my side. The last thing I remember before waking up was getting in the cab to go to the party.”

“Knowing that, I can understand why you reacted like that this morning. I’m sorry I yelled back at you.”

“It’s alright. I’m sorry I yelled at you, to begin with. You’ve been amazing for the last couple months, Lance. Thank you for backing off on trying to get back together with me. And while I’m at it, let me thank you for saving me from whatever Mr. Hollins was planning on doing to me.”

“You’re welcome on both accounts, Junie. There’s no way in hell I’d have let him take you home, anyway. If you’re going home with anyone from the office, it’s gonna be me. At least that way, I know you’re safe. I’ll pick you up at 6 tomorrow evening.”

“For what?”

“You’re coming with me to my parents for the holidays.” I opened my mouth to argue about it, but his voice came out as he pointed at me. “You promised you would last night and I’m not letting you back out of it since you have no one else to spend them with. It’s 2 weeks, Junie. We spend 2 weeks together at my parents and then I’ll let you spend holidays alone if that’s what you want.” I rolled my eyes and plopped down in a chair.

“Fine. I hate that you’re pretty much forcing me to do this, but it’s only for 2 weeks. I’m sure I can manage that.”

“Good. Pack for a Hawaiian winter.”

“Hawaii? I thought you said we were going to your parents?” I said, sitting up straighter and looking at him confused.

“I did say that and we are. They wanted to retire in paradise, so they moved to Hawaii about 5 years ago.”

“Figures you’d wait until I agree to go to tell me that.” I muttered. “Just remember while we’re there. I’m not there for you; I’m there to see your parents.”

“That’s fine. I know they’ll love seeing you.” He tried to hide it, but I saw that my remark had hurt him. Even though I didn’t want to care that he’d been hurt, I couldn’t get the look on his face out of my mind when he left. His smile had dropped half a notch, his eyes filled with sadness, and he’d looked at me longingly as he walked out the door. 2 weeks. I can do this. It’s only a measly 2 weeks with him. I won’t fall for him in that short time. I’ve been fine for the last 2 months, so 2 weeks is nothing. I kept repeating this to myself as I ordered my pizza, waiting for it to arrive. I paid and tipped the delivery driver, but saw the same car from earlier creep by the house as the pizza guy left. I closed and locked the door, deciding not to answer it for anything until Lance got there to pick me up tomorrow evening.

12

I pulled up at Junie’s place a couple of minutes before 6 and knocked on the door. She opened the door after a minute, looking relieved to see me. “Everything, alright?” I asked as I stepped in.

“Yeah.” she said as she nervously looked up and down the street. She closed the door and let out a soft sigh.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Junie? You’re acting like you’re being watched.”

“Because I think someone is.” she muttered.

“Who?” I asked, starting to wonder about her safety. She thought for a minute but shook her head.

“Nevermind. It’s probably just paranoia. I’m already packed. Would you like something to eat before we go?” she asked, motioning at the bag by the door then the kitchen.

“No, we’ll have dinner served on the plane. Thank you, though. I’ll go ahead and get your bag loaded in my car while you double check to make sure you’ve got everything.” I suggested. She nodded and headed off as I grabbed her suitcase. Setting it in the trunk, I heard the front door open and close, with Junie appearing next to me a minute later.

“Nothing that I forgot, so I’m good to go.” A car down the street started up and she jerked her gaze in that direction, looking at the vehicle for a minute.

“Junie, what’s going on? You were never the paranoid type before.”

“Nothing, Lance. I think I just really need to get away for a bit.”

“Well, you’ve got 2 weeks of relaxing to do. If the company phone rings, let it go to voicemail. No answering emails, no scheduling meetings, no work of any kind. Understand?” I said as I walked her to the passenger side of my SUV.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” she muttered. I opened her door for her and she smiled. “Still the same manners. It’s honestly a wonder why you’re still single, Lance.”

“You were drunk so you probably don’t remember me saying it, but I already told you why. You’re the only one I was ever this sweet to.”

“Really?” I nodded. “Why?”

“Why did you tell me not to make you feel weird about your eye fetish?”

“Because every guy I dated after you, made me feel weird about it.” she grumbled as she got in her seat.

“Exactly. I had girls in college that basically thought I was an idiot for trying to be this sweet. After you, I had cheaters, liars, and drama queens.”

“I had sex-crazed guys that would tease me about my fetish, and sex-crazed guys that would open their eyes too wide and make sure I saw nothing but their eyes.” I chuckled. “At least I never gave in to their pushy-ness.” she mumbled to herself as I closed the door. Darting to my side, I yanked open the door and looked at her stunned.

“Did I really just hear that right?”

“What?” she said, looking around like there was someone else I’d be talking to. I jumped in my seat and closed the door, turning to face her.

“Did you seriously just say that you’re still a virgin?” She licked her lips but turned her head to look out the window, trying to ignore me. “Junie, are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m a virgin, dammit. Why is it so hard to believe that my grades were more important to me than screwing my way through college?” she snarled, crossing her arms over her chest and slamming back a bit in her seat as she huffed out a sigh.

“That’s why you freaked out so bad yesterday morning. You thought you’d lost it and you didn’t remember doing it.” I said to myself.

“Can we just go?” she grumbled. “Or is the exploration of my mythical love life too interesting?” I cranked the engine and headed to the airport, still in shock that she never went past the kisses that we had.

“I have to know, Junie. How did you manage not giving it up to a guy in college?” I asked as I pulled off the airport ramps and headed towards my hangar.

“I managed by telling them that they had to let my brother give their junk a health check-up with his mouth first.”

“You don’t have a brother.” I said carefully, completely confused about what she’d been telling guys.

“Exactly.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Wait a minute. You told them that you’re non-existent brother had to give them a blow job before you would have sex with them?”

“Yeah. That’s when the relationship ended each time.” she chuckled out. “Where the hell are you going? The airport’s that way.”

“So? My hangar’s this way.”

“Your hangar? You mean you have a private plane?”

“Jet, actually.”

“I would think that’s ‘need-to-know’ information for your assistant, but maybe I’m wrong on that.” she muttered. “Are you a pilot, too?” I smiled.

“No. Never got interested in learning to fly. I knew I didn’t need to fly anywhere for a few months before you took the position and that information slipped my mind. I’ll need to introduce you to the pilot so he knows who’s calling on my behalf when we do have to head out.”

“We?”

“You’re my personal assistant. If I have to leave the state on business, you go with me. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it, Junie. If it’s for work, you need to be there.” She sighed.

“I still have a few questions about my position. I know you said no work of any kind, but I think these are things I should know to do the best job possible.”

“You already do the best job possible. You’re better than any assistant I’ve had in the last 6 years and even better than a few that my dad had. Wait until we’re settled on the plane and then you can ask your questions though.”

“Alright. Do I need to get the pilot’s phone number or was it on one of the lists you’ve given me?”

“I’ll make sure you get it.” I saw her nod and she turned to look out the window at the planes that we were passing. “Here we are.” I said, pulling into my hangar and parking on the left. I pressed a button to open the trunk as she grabbed her purse, and met her at the back of the SUV. “Evening, Clay.”

“Good evening, Mr. Murdoch. How are you?” asked the guy that was already pulling the bags from the trunk.

“I’m good. You?”

“Wonderful. Good evening, ma’am.” he said, nodding at Juniper. She opened her mouth to respond, but I interrupted her.

“Clay, this is my new assistant, Juniper Marsh. Ms. Marsh, this is Clay. He’s my pilot. He’s the one you’ll be speaking to if we need to head out on business.”

“Ah. Nice to meet you, Clay.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, Ms. Marsh. Do you already have my number?” Junie shook her head. “I’ll make sure you get it before we take off. Excuse me. I need to get these loaded and do one final check before we’re scheduled to taxi out.” We nodded and he darted off with the bags. We boarded and Junie took her seat as she looked at me. “What would you like for dinner? I’ll let the stewardess know so that she can start getting it ready.”

“What’s available?”

“Food.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Name it and I can get it.”

13

Fine. Let’s see if you can get this. “Rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and a Ceasar salad.” I said with a bit of an attitude in my voice, letting him know that I was tired of him acting like he had everything.

“Be right back.” He left his seat and headed over to a curtain near the back, coming back up to join me a couple minutes later. “You’ll have it when we level out in the air. So you said you still had questions about your job?” My jaw dropped. I hadn’t been expecting him to actually have all of that food but hoped that whoever was cooking made just a little for me so that I could go to sleep without being uncomfortably full.

“Yeah. For starters, what is this “when we have to go on trips’ thing? Am I not allowed to have a personal life or a boyfriend?”

“It’s business only, Junie. If I have to go out of the state on business, I’m going to need you there. I may need you to take notes on the meetings, maybe provide me with the proper paperwork or numbers while in the meeting, maybe I’ll need you to contact someone about something that happens in the meeting, or set up future meetings while I take care of the current one. I may not even need you at all, but it’s business and my personal assistant travels with me on business trips. Simple as that. You know my scheduling, so you can schedule your personal life around work.”

“And what about sleeping arrangements for these trips? Don’t you dare tell me that I have to sleep in bed with you on them.” He smirked.

“No. Separate rooms unless the hotel can’t accommodate that. In that event, one of us takes the bed, the other takes the sofa bed.”

“And if there’s no sofa bed?”

“Then we’ll be in the bed together. We’re adults, Junie. We can sleep in a bed together and not do anything. If I was going to betray your trust, I’d have done it the night of the Christmas party.”

“I’ll sleep on the floor or in a chair.” I said, trying to find a way of not getting in bed with him.

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will.” I was getting a little ticked at him for saying that I had to sleep with him if there was no sofa bed and we had the one room.

“No, you won’t.” he said firmly. “I know you won’t because I’ll stay awake until you fall asleep, then pick you up and put you in the bed. Don’t argue about this, Juniper.” I looked away when he called me that. He’d very rarely ever called me Juniper unless we were arguing and he was getting mad about it. I’d always been Junie to him until I started working for him, then it became Junie or Ms. Marsh. “Any other questions, Junie?” he asked a moment later, letting me know he’d calmed down.

“Do I get a vacation or no?” I asked softly, not wanting to upset him again.

“2 weeks vacay. You don’t have to let payroll know, just me. But if an unexpected out of state meeting comes up, I’ll need you there. You’ll get the unused vacay time back plus a bonus for cutting your vacation short. You get the week of all major holidays off unless you’re coming with me for them, then it’s the week before and the week of. You also have 10 personal days off, and can take a 2-week leave of absence for emergencies.” I nodded, liking the amount of time off I had.

“Do you plan anything for scheduling or do I handle all of it?”

“You’re meaning business and personal?” I nodded. “You handle business only. I rarely do, but if I have something personal scheduled when I need to do business, I take steps to adjust my personal schedule.”

“You said when I took the position that shopping was included when we go out of state. What do you mean?”

“Even if I don’t need you for the meetings out of state, you have to be there but you get to do what you want. You can continue your vacation, use the time to go shopping, go to a spa, whatever you want. If I don’t need you, I load $50,000 on this, so don’t lose it. Now if I do need you but we have a dinner meeting to go to, I take you shopping and buy you an entire outfit, get your hair done, and nails too if you’d like.” My eyes bulged and my lips parted in shock as I took the prepaid card he handed me. “Breathe, Junie.” he murmured.

“$50 grand to blow on whatever I want if you don’t need me at a meeting out of state? Are you kidding?”

“Not in the least. Oh, your Christmas bonus is on there. That’s why you didn’t get one on your check.”

“How much?” I whispered, trying not to freak out.

“$5,000.”

“Lance, I- I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“You’re my personal assistant, Junie. That’s one thing Dad taught me. Your personal assistant is treated the best you can ensure, but is held to the business standards you hold yourself to.”

“Remind me to thank your dad when we see him.” I said with a smile. He winked at me and my heart leaped into my throat as I felt heat race up my neck. No. Do not give him your heart, Juniper. He’s hurt you once, he’ll do it again. Don’t do it, I thought as I looked out the door to avoid him seeing me blush.

“We’re heading off to the runway, Mr. Murdoch. We’re scheduled to land in Honolulu at 3 AM. If you’d both like to get some rest, Hailey will wake you before we land.” Clay said as he came in, closing the door behind him.

“We might do that. I’ll let her know if we’re gonna sleep a bit. Thank you for the suggestion.”

“Oh, Ms. Marsh. Here’s my number in case Mr. Murdoch needs a flight.” he said, handing me a piece of paper.

“Out of a window? I’ll definitely keep you in mind.” I said with a smirk. He chuckled as he headed off and I typed his number in my phone, stuffed the card in my purse, then looked up at Lance.

“Why would I need to be thrown out of a window?” he asked curiously.

“Could be any reason. 2 months ago, I would’ve been happy to push you off the plane while in midflight.” He chuckled.

“And now?” Just to tease him a bit, I looked off in thought.

“I promise I won’t push you out.” He laughed and the plane started moving down the runway. I watched the ground rush past as we took off, but my stomach turned as we lifted off the ground. I hadn’t been on a plane in years and although I liked flying, I never liked taking off or landing. I looked at my seat and drew in a deep breath to settle my stomach a bit, but a hand quickly landed on my arm.

“Junie, you alright?” Lance murmured. I nodded. “What’s wrong?” My stomach settled and I exhaled and relaxed as I looked up at him.

“I’m good. Take off and landing makes my stomach flip, but it always passes quickly.” He nodded and a woman came up to us when the plane leveled out.

“Would you like a drink, Mr. Murdoch?”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Hailey.” She gave a curt nod so I guessed that she knew what he wanted.

“Anything for you, ma’am?”

“Do you have IBC Rootbeer?” She smiled and nodded and I felt my face light up as I sucked in a small breath. “I’ll take one, please. Thank you.” She headed off and Lance chuckled at me. “What?”

“Still love IBC, huh?” I thought for a minute about why he was asking, but it didn’t take long before the memory of that date ran through my mind.

Flashback

“Come on, Junie. Just try it.” Lance said as he passed a brown glass bottle towards me.

“I’m not gonna drink, Lance. Dad will know the minute he sees me and he’ll kill you before banning me from going out ever again.”

“Junie, I’m not trying to get you drunk. I promise, baby. It’s not alcoholic.” I rolled my eyes and huffed out a sigh, but took the bottle from him and took a swig, cringing as I waited for the nasty flavor of beer to hit my tongue. Almost coughing it up, I glared at Lance as I managed to swallow my sip. “See? Not alcohol.”

“You could’ve just said it was IBC Rootbeer! I love that one, you butthead.” I laughed out.

“Yeah, but if I did that, I wouldn’t have seen that hilarious face you made.” He held up his phone and turned the screen towards me, letting me see that he’d taken a picture of me taking a swig from the bottle. My eyes were tightly closed and I was holding the bottle a little ways away from my mouth, which looked like I was in the process of saying ‘ew.’

“Lance!” I shrieked, jumping towards him. He caught me in the air and spun me around as he put his phone in his pocket, then tossed the empty bottle behind me as he pulled me tight to his chest and laughed, leaning in to press a kiss to my lips.

14

Juniper smiled and a light blush covered her cheeks, but she didn’t look away from me this time. 2 weeks. I’ve got 2 weeks of her being stuck with me. I wonder if I can manage to get her back in that time. She’s probably gonna use every opportunity she can to get away from me.

“I told you back then that I loved IBC. Why would that have changed?”

“People’s tastes change as they get older. I’m glad I keep a small stock of it on here though.”

“A small stock?”

“A dozen 6-packs.” Her jaw fell to the floor.

“You have 72 bottles on this plane? Geez.”

“It goes fast so it’s always fresh.” She laughed and shook her head, turning to look out the window. Hailey brought two bottles of IBC out and handed one to each of us.

“Dinner will be ready in just a moment, Mr. Murdoch. Ma’am, would you like your salad now or with your meal?”

“With my meal, please. I can’t make myself eat in front of others when they don’t have food.” Nodding, Hailey headed back to the kitchenette, coming back out with our meals about 5 minutes later. Junie ate everything that she’d ordered but looked almost overstuffed when Hailey took the trays back. Within 15 minutes, she’d nodded off and soft snores were coming from her seat. I moved over next to her to let her use my shoulder as a pillow but dozed off with my head leaning on hers. 6 hours later, Hailey woke me up.

“Mr. Murdoch, we’re starting our descent to Honolulu.” she said softly.

“Hmm? Oh, thank you, Hailey.” I said, straightening a bit in my seat. “Junie, time to wake up. We’re landing.” I said, setting a hand on her arm and shaking it slightly. Her eyes fluttered a bit, making me smile as she opened them. “Hey. We’re in Hawaii. The plane’s about to land.”

“Mmm-kay. Thank you for letting me sleep.” she said, stretching her arms and legs. She held her breath as the plane touched down and when we pulled into a hangar, we got off the plane, collected our bags and headed to the car that was waiting for us.

“A pleasure to see you again, Lance.” said my parents’ driver.

“Morning, Willard. Good to see you too. How are Mom and Dad doing?”

“They’re eager to see you. Had me here waiting for you since midnight.”

“I told them I wasn’t scheduled to land until 3.”

“They wanted to make sure I wasn’t late. Good morning, ma’am. How are you today?” he asked Junie as she stepped out from behind me.

“Still a little sleepy, but I’m good. Thank you for asking, sir. How are you today?”

“Sir? My goodness, Lance. Where’d you find a sweet woman to bring home for the holidays? I like her.” I laughed.

“Willard, this is my assistant, Juniper Marsh. Juniper, this is Willard, my parents’ driver.”

“Nice to meet you, Willard. Or would you prefer me to continue calling you sir?” she asked with a slight smirk.

“Willard is fine, Ms. Marsh.” he said, smiling at her.

“Juniper, please.” she said softly with a smile. He nodded and took her bag from her before taking mine and loading them into the trunk as we got into the back seat. He jumped behind the wheel and drove towards my parents, pulling in the driveway about an hour later.

“Thanks, Willard. If you just wanna open the trunk, I’ll get our bags.” I said as he opened the door for us. He nodded and headed off as I helped Junie out.

“Lance! Welcome home, honey.” came Mom’s voice from the porch. I waited until Junie had her footing to let go of her hand and turn around.

“Hey, Mom. Good morning. What are you doing up so early?”

“Waiting for you. Who’s that you’ve got with you?” Willard set our bags next to me and I grabbed them up before Junie could get hers.

“Lance, give me my bag, please. I can carry it.” Junie said.

“It can’t be. Could it?” Mom said as she started down the steps.

“Who are you thinking, Mom?”

“Is that Juniper Marsh?” I nodded and moved Junie’s bag out of her reach as Mom froze at the bottom step. “My goodness, you’ve grown up, honey-pie. Come give me a hug. How have you been?”

“Good morning, Mrs. Murdoch. I’ll come see you and give you a hug as soon as your problem child gives me my bag.”

“You leave it with him and come see me, Juniper.” Mom scolded.

“Yes, ma’am.” Junie said, dropping her gaze to the ground. My mom swept her into a hug the second she was within arms reach. They sat on the couch and talked with each other as I headed up to my room to drop the bags.

“Put her bag in the guest room, Lance! She’ll be fine in there!” Mom called up the stairs. I set Junie’s bag on the bed and opened the window to let the ocean breeze in, then headed to my room and did the same before going back downstairs. I stopped just out of sight and listened to their conversation for a minute.

“You know, he was devastated the day he told us that you two had broken up. His grades slipped a bit, and he barely kept good grades in college. Harry was tempted not to give him the company because of it.” Mom was saying.

“Well he made the right choice. The company is prospering.”

“So we’ve heard. Oh, Juniper, it’s so good you two are back together. You don’t know what a relief it is for me to see you in his life again.”

“Oh, we’re not together, Mrs. Murdoch. I work for Lance. That’s the extent of our relationship, and it’s not gonna change. I refuse to date my boss and I don’t wanna let him have the chance to hurt me again. It took me four months of tears before I stopped crying. With just losing Dad a couple months ago, there’s no way I can handle more tears.”

“I understand not wanting to date your boss. It’s a highly admirable quality, but you two were so good together. You guys were young when he hurt you before. He’s grown up since then, and so have you. You’ve both learned from your mistakes, and you’re older and wiser now. Give him a chance, Juniper. He just might surprise you.” I felt a brief smile curl my lips at the fact that my mother was trying to convince Junie to go back out with me. Forcing it down, I walked around the corner, acting like I hadn’t heard a thing.

“Your bag is upstairs in the guest room. First door on the left. I opened the window for you as well to let the ocean breeze in.” I said looking at Junie.

“We’re near the ocean?”

“On it, actually. Beachfront property with a mile of private beach.” Mom said, making Junie’s eyes widen. “Yes, you can go swimming in the ocean, but I don’t suggest it right now. Wait until daylight.” Junie nodded and bit her bottom lip briefly, making me wish her lips were pressed against mine.

At least now I really know why she doesn’t want to go out. She’s terrified that I’m gonna hurt her again. How do I convince her I’m not gonna do that?

15

I went up to the room Lance told me my bag was in and put my things in the dresser. The room had that salty, fresh smell to it that all ocean air had, and I’d groaned in pleasure as I walked in. 2 weeks. Just 2 weeks. I can handle this. He and his mom aren’t gonna get us back together in that short time. I can do this, I thought as I put my empty bag under the bed to keep it out of my way. I sat on the bed and took a deep breath, enjoying the ocean scent. I wonder if I can go for a walk on the beach right now. I stood and went back downstairs to ask what direction the beach was, but stalled hearing Lance and his mom talking.

“I keep asking and she keeps saying no. Honestly, I don’t blame her. I left her for the stupidest reason. How do I show her that I’m not gonna hurt her again?”

“That’s a good question, baby. How did you get her attention the first time?”

“I don’t know. She had my attention for a couple weeks and I was trying everything I could think of to get her, but nothing was working. Then one day, she finally spoke to me and agreed to let me take her out that weekend. I have no idea what the hell I did to make her look at me.”

“Well, figure it out. It may not work again, but it’s at least worth trying. You were so happy and focused when you two were dating. Since you broke up, you’ve done plenty of stupid things, honey.” I stepped around the corner, not sure if I could take hearing much more about how bad he’d been since dumping me.

“Hey, honey-pie. Something you need?” his mom asked, looking at me. Lance jerked around and a smile curled his lips at the sight of me.

“Actually, I was wondering if I could go walk on the beach. I’m not gonna swim. I just want to see the beach, the ocean, and possibly the sunrise.”

“Of course, Juniper. If you go out the back door over here, you’ll be heading to the beach. Take a flashlight with you and follow the pathway.” she said, pointing me in the right direction.

“Want some company or a guide down there?” Lance asked, looking hopeful.

“I should be fine. Thanks for the offer though, Lance. And thank you, Mrs. Murdoch, for pointing me in the right direction.” I walked out the door she told me to and breathed a sigh of relief at being able to stop Lance from coming with me. I turned on the light on my phone and followed the pathway down to the beach. When I hit the sand, I turned off the light and moved a few feet to my left, sat down, and got lost in thought about my past with Lance and when I finally got attracted to him.

Flashback

Why won’t this boy leave me alone? He’s driving me insane. He’s constantly asking to carry my books, constantly staring at me, and always flirting with me. What can I do to get rid of him? Dammit, here he comes again.

“Hey. Need a hand with those books?”

“No, I’ve got it. Thanks.” I said as one started slipping from my arms. He caught it and took a couple more from me anyway, making me roll my eyes.

“Where are you headed? Locker or lunch room?”

“Library. I have studying to do. Why are you always coming around? Haven’t you had enough of me ignoring you? It’s not gonna change, you know.”

“Because I like you. I think you’re cute, Juniper.” he murmured as the hallway emptied out of students heading off to lunch. “That’s why I’m always around you.”

“Well, it’s still not gonna change the fact that I want nothing to do with you. You’re a teenage boy. My dad told me what you all want, and I want nothing to do with that. I have more important things to spend my time on, rather than having sex.”

“Are you sure all boys want is sex?” I nodded.

“My dad told me so. He’s not gonna lie to me.” I said, taking my books back and pushing past him.

“Then prove your dad right.” he said, jumping in front of me.

“What?”

“One date. If I try to get in your pants, your dad’s right and I’ll leave you alone. But if I don’t try, we keep going out.”

That’s a good deal. I know he’s gonna end up trying before the end of the date since I’m gonna make it last as long as I can. “Fine.” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. “One date. You try anything and your chances are shot. You don’t and I’ll keep dating you.”

“Are you free tonight?”

“No. I have plans with my dad.”

“This weekend?”

“Friday night’s open.”

“There’s a party at Dontae’s. Wanna go?”

“Whatever. You’re pushing for the date, not me.”

“Party starts at 8 so I’ll pick you up at 7. Where do you live?” I gave him my address and walked off, going to the library. I told Dad that night that I had a date on Friday and that the boy was coming to pick me up.

“My baby girl’s first date. This boy better be nice to you. If not, I’m gonna kill him.”

“It’s alright. He made me a deal to get this date. If he tries anything, we’re done and he leaves me alone. If he doesn’t, we keep going out.” Dad’s face contorted in thoughtful frustration.

“I don’t know if I want him to try anything or not. Promise me you’ll take the pepper spray with you. Just in case, baby doll.”

“I promise, Daddy. He’ll be here at 7 Friday night to pick me up.” He nodded and told me to stay upstairs until he had gotten to talk with my date for a little bit. Friday night rolled around and a knock came on the door at 7, with my dad calling me downstairs about 5 minutes later. I walked downstairs and saw Lance smile at me. Wow. He actually showed. I figured he’d back out of the bargain. Maybe I judged him too early. “Hey.”

“Hey. You look good. Ready for the party?”

“You didn’t say you were taking her to a party, Lance. Is there going to be any alcohol or drugs there?” Dad asked.

“Not that I know of, Mr. Marsh. I’ll keep her safe and I won’t let her drink, smoke, or do any other drugs while we’re there if there are any. It’s one of my buddies throwin’ the party so I’ll know most, if not everyone, there. She’ll be fine.” My dad gave a curt nod and came over to me, giving me a hug and whispering in my ear.

“Do you have the pepper spray?”

“In my front pocket, Daddy. I’ll be fine. He tries anything or doesn’t keep his promise to you, and I’m coming home immediately.”

“Good girl. Call if you want me to come get you.” he whispered. “You two be safe and I want you home by 11, Juniper. Lance, you keep her safe, sober, and no drugs. Anything less than that and you’ll never take her out again. Am I clear?”

“Gotcha, Mr. Marsh.”

“Learn to use full words.” Dad grumbled, making me chuckle. I walked out the door with Lance and we headed off to the party at Dontae’s. I didn’t know a single person there except Lance, but one of the guys started hitting on me again as I went to grab a soda when Lance went to the bathroom an hour later. The boy had me cornered in the kitchen by the fridge and was trying to kiss me when Lance came back in.

“I told you to leave her alone, Carson.” he growled as he decked the guy in the back of the head, knocking him out as he collapsed on the floor. “Junie, you alright?” For the first time, I noticed his eyes that were full of concern for me but had an explosion of gold in the center making my mind blank. I nodded. “Come on. Let’s get outta here. Go somewhere else.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and walked me toward the door.

“Yo, man. What the hell? You just knocked my cousin out cold and now you’re taking off with your chick?”

“And I told him not to mess with my girl. I just caught him in the kitchen tryin’ to shove his tongue down her throat while I was takin’ a leak. If he ever tries anything with her again, I’ll kick his ass. Don’t invite me to any more parties if he’s gonna be at them.”

“God damn him. I’m gonna go kick his ass for ya right now then kick him outta here. Stick around, man. Come on.”

“Nah. We’re gonna go hang alone for a bit.”

“Hehehe. Have fun, then. I want deets at school.”

“And I’ll kick your ass too, Dontae. Ya know I can.” The guy headed off in the direction of the kitchen and Lance walked me out the door and to his car. “Junie, are you sure you’re alright? He didn’t do anything did he?” he asked, kneeling next to me.

“No. I’m fine. Thank you, Lance.”

“Anytime. Plus I’ve been dying to beat Carson’s ass. Where do you wanna go?”

“Anywhere away from here.” He hopped behind the wheel of his car and drove to an empty parking lot, pulled me from my seat, and set me on the hood of his car. “You’ve got the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen, Lance. I honestly can’t stop looking at them.”

“You look at eyes that much?” he said with a smirk. I chuckled and gave a slight blush.

“Kinda, yeah. I’ve got a bit of an eye fetish.”

“Look at them all you want. Just let me kiss those lips you’ve got.” he murmured, moving closer to my face. We made out for a while and he never pressed for anything, just took what I was willing to give him until headlights broke us apart.

“Lance, I know it’s your dad’s company, but you really shouldn’t be out here. It is illegal to be on business property when it’s closed.” said a cop as he got out of his car.

“Of course it’d be Officer Jones.” Lance muttered to himself. “It’s better that we’re here than at the party we were at. Otherwise, you’d have been called over there and would’ve had to arrest me.” he hollered at the cop.

“What the heck did you do now, boy?”

“Not my fault. Walked in the kitchen from takin’ a leak and the boy that was hitting on my girl all night, was tryin’ to shove his tongue down her throat. Had her cornered. Am I supposed let him break my promise to her dad?” The cop chuckled.

“Who was it and what party? I did get called to one earlier.”

“Carson at Dontae’s party.” The cop shook his head.

“Wrong party. Good. Well, hate to do it, but I’m kicking you out. You can’t stay here, Lance.”

“Alright. We’re headin’ home. Catch ya later, sir.” Lance helped me hop off the hood of his car and opened the door for me. “Still want to keep making out or are you ready to head home?” I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was almost 11.

“I gotta get home. Curfew’s at 11 tonight.”

“Let’s make sure you’re not late, then.” He took me home and gave me a quick kiss goodnight on the porch, waiting until I’d walked in before he started his car and left.

Well, looks like I’m dating Lance. I’m never gonna get those eyes out of my mind, I thought as I laid down on my bed, dozing off with a sigh.

16

Juniper still hadn’t come back in a couple hours later and I was getting worried about her. “I’m gonna go look for her. I’ll be back, Mom.”

“Lance, she’s perfectly fine.”

“How do you know? She’s been gone for two hours. She could be hurt on the beach somewhere and waiting for help.”

“I can see her. Barely, so I know she’s sitting, but I see her. Just calm down. She’s probably watching the sunrise.” I huffed out a sigh and sat back down on the couch.

“Would you like some help with breakfast?” I asked, hoping to get Juniper off my mind for a few minutes.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you though, baby. Your father should be up soon.” I sat on the couch for a couple minutes, letting my mind wander and thinking about Juniper and her safety.

“I gotta do something, Mom. This is driving me crazy.” I said as I walked into the kitchen.

“What is?”

“Juniper. She’s been on my mind since I bumped into her a couple months ago, and now that she’s been outside for the last two hours, I’m going insane with concern.” Mom chuckled. “There’s nothing funny about this. I’m officially freaking out that she been out there for this long. What the hell could possibly be so interesting?” I asked, walking back to the couch.

“Lance, sit your butt in a chair, shut your mouth, and don’t move. If you can manage that for half an hour, I’ll let you go out there to her.” Mom scolded. I plopped into the chair and huffed out a breath in frustration, but didn’t move. I’d been pacing between the couch and the kitchen for the last hour so I knew she was frustrated with me. 15 minutes later, Mom left the kitchen and curiosity got the better of me, so I went to the window in the kitchen that looked out at the beach. I could just barely see Junie’s head in the dim light, but it comforted me a bit to know that she was right there. My nerves calmed down a bit and Mom came back in the kitchen. “You lose. Time starts over. 30 minutes of no movement from you. Sit down and keep quiet.” she said, whacking my arm with the spatula she’d been using.

“I’m better. I saw her. Not much of her, but I saw where she is. Knowing that she didn’t go far helped my nerves.”

“Good. Now sit. You’re still not going out there until you can sit still and keep quiet for a half hour.” I chuckled and poured myself a cup of coffee before having a seat at the table. “Don’t you want some sleep, baby?” I shook my head, keeping quiet like I’d been told. “Why not?” I looked from one side to the other, moving only my eyes, and felt a smile curl my lips, silently telling her that I wasn’t gonna talk. “Lance, open your mouth and talk to me. Don’t be a smartass. I get enough of that shit from your father.”

“Hey, you told me not to say anything so I was behaving for once.” She laughed and shook her head.

“So why don’t you want some sleep?”

“We slept on the flight here. Got a solid 6 hours. We’ll be good until tonight, but probably call it an early day.”

“There’s my boy. How’s it going, Lance? The company’s been on the news a couple times. Growing well from what I hear.” Dad said from the stairs as he came in for breakfast.

“Morning, Dad. I’m good. Yeah, the company’s doing great. It’s all thanks to the new assistant I’ve got. Her first day, she was already getting a step ahead of me. By the end of her first week, I didn’t have to tell her a single thing. And she’d never been a P.A. before.”

“Good find. Not as good as Rosalie was for me, though.”

“Actually, she’s better than Rosalie was.”

“Impossible. Rosalie had 6 years experience and knew what I wanted before I finished asking for it.”

“Mine has no experience but knows what I want before I even get in the office in the morning.” His eyes widened in shock.

“Who do you have?”

“She’ll be in soon.”

“She’s here? What, are you two dating or something?”

“Lance, honey, why don’t you go get her? Breakfast will be on the table when you get back in.” Mom said before I could respond. I bolted out of my chair and out the kitchen door as fast as I could just to see Junie. Running down the pathway, I nearly slid to a stop as I came to the end of the path. Just to my left, she was sitting down with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them with her chin resting on her arms as she stared out at the ocean and sunrise.

“You alright, Junie?” I asked, nearly breathlessly. She looked up at me and gave a soft smile as she nodded. “Breakfast’s almost ready. Wanna come join us? Dad’s finally up.”

“Sure.” I held out a hand and helped her stand, then tugged her into my chest, kissed her forehead, and led her inside.

“This is my assistant, Dad.” I said as I walked in, in front of her.

“Good morning, Mr. Murdoch. How are you?”

“I’ll be damned. Juniper Marsh. You’re dealing with my son again? I feel sorry for you, dear.” Junie laughed.

“He’s not too bad this time. Granted, the first week I worked for him I wanted to kick him through the office window a couple times, but since then he’s been really sweet and even kept me from getting hurt by my old boss a couple days ago. I should be thanking you though, Mr. Murdoch.”

“For what, sweetie?”

“For teaching him that his assistant should be treated as well as he can ensure.”

“I’m assuming he holds you to his level of business standards?”

“He doesn’t have to. I do that on my own.”

“Lovely. Have a seat and talk to me, dear. How’s your dad been?” Tears instantly filled Junie’s eyes, but she spoke up and answered my dad.

“He passed away a couple months ago. Just before I was hired as Lance’s assistant.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Juniper. Come on in here and talk to me a bit.” he said, jerking his head to the living room. I smiled as she disappeared around the corner with my dad. Both my parents had loved Junie and they’d gotten friendly with Zach, but my dad thought of him as a close friend and was surprised to find that Zach was a single father. They’d spent lots of time together, the summer that we took them on vacation with us.

“Sit down, Lance. She’s just in the other room with your father. I’m sure she’s fine.” Mom said, sounding bored. I chuckled and sat at the table again as she set a plate in front of me. “Eat your breakfast, baby.” I’d just put the third bite in my mouth when Dad and Junie walked back in, with Junie looking a little happier.

“Sad to hear that news, Juniper, but at least he’s in a better place.” Dad said, getting a nod from her.

“What news, Harry?”

“About Zach’s death. I’ll tell you later, darling.” Mom nodded and set his and Junie’s plates in front of them. Junie ate all the food on her plate again and I was wondering where she put it all as she stood and headed upstairs. She’d had two large meals in less than 12 hours and didn’t look like she’d gained an ounce. I cleaned my plate and headed up to my room, hoping to catch up to her and convince her to talk to me about getting a second chance.

17

“Should I just go back to ignoring you the way I did before our first date? Geez, you’re driving me insane. Quit trying to get me to go back out with you. You’re my boss, Lance. I’m not gonna be paid to date my boss.” I snarled. He’d been bugging me for the last couple days about giving him a second chance, and I was just about ready to spend my Christmas bonus on a plane ticket home to Iowa just to make him stop.

“Please, Junie. Just one date. Give me the chance to prove to you that I’m not gonna hurt you again.” Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a towel and headed down to the beach, deciding to just ignore him if I wasn’t working.

I knew I shouldn’t have let him get away with that kiss to my forehead. I should’ve known he’d take it the wrong way. I laid down the towel and sat on it, just looking out at the ocean and thinking about nothing in particular.

“Junie, please. I’m begging you. Don’t ignore me. Just give me one date.” came Lance’s voice from behind me. I kept acting like I didn’t hear him, but let my mind wander to what would happen if I gave him that second chance.

What’s the worst that could happen? I could fall in love with him again and he could break my heart. Again. Is there a chance that he’s being honest and not gonna hurt me again? Yeah, there is, but do I want to take the risk of a shattered heart? I already know he’s not gonna let me quit and he’s more than likely not gonna fire me, so I’d still have to see him 5 days a week and 8 hours a day, shattering my heart again each time.

“Lance, can you come help your father for a moment, please?” hollered his mom from the house.

“Think about it, Junie. Please, sweetheart. I never stopped loving you. We can have that exhilarating romance back. You just have to go on one date with me and you’ll see it too.” he said. I heard footsteps going up the path to the house, but heard footsteps coming in my direction again barely a minute later.

“Are you alright, honey-pie?” came his mom’s voice from just behind me. I turned to look at her and gave a soft smile. “I figured you needed rescuing from him. He’s a persistent little turd, isn’t he?”

“You have no idea, Mrs. Murdoch. It’s like almost every time I turn around he’s right behind me and asking for a date. He’s left me alone for the last couple of months, but now it’s like I can’t get away from him.” I let out a sigh. “I knew I shouldn’t have let him kiss my forehead a couple days ago.” I murmured to myself as I moved my gaze back to the ocean.

“Then why did you?” she asked, having a seat on the steps that led from the path to the beach.

“Because I miss him.” I whispered.

“Then give him the chance.” she said softly.

“To what? Shatter my heart, Mrs. Murdoch? I can’t do that. Not just because he’s my boss, but because I know he won’t let me quit and he more than likely won’t fire me, so I’d still be seeing him 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, and feeling my heart shatter each time I see him. I had that back in high school and I don’t wanna deal with it again.”

“Juniper, look at me.” I moved my gaze to her. “He’s in love with you. He has been since high school. He let his grades drop after leaving you and he picked up drinking in college. Not much, thankfully, but he still drinks. Normally, he’d have a drink in his hand by noon when down here for the holidays. This year, he’s avoiding alcohol likes it’s the plague. The only thing that’s changed is that you’re in his life again. The decision is ultimately yours, but what could it hurt to go on one date? You don’t have to fall in love on the date. You don’t even have to become exclusive with him on that date as long as you’re both clear on that. But you should at least give him the chance to redeem himself. He was younger and, admittedly, stupider back then.” I chuckled. “But he was a good boy and devoted to you. He’s still devoted to you, Juniper. Even though you’re turning him down, he can’t get enough of you.”

“But how am I supposed to handle the heartbreak if he hurts me again?”

"If he hurts you again. You don’t know if he will or not, honey. What can one date hurt?” I took a deep breath and sighed, turning to look at the ocean again. I heard footsteps walking back up to the house and scooted down on the towel some, letting myself fall all the way back to let me look at the sky.

If he hurts me, I’ll never get over him until I die. If he doesn’t, I’ll never get over him until I die. Either way, I’m never getting over him. If he hurts me, I’ll still be seeing him all day, every day at work, so I’ll be hurt again each time. If he doesn’t, people at the office could start talking. I don’t want anyone to think that I got the job by sleeping with him. Damn it. His mom’s right. He was devoted to me back in high school. He never so much as looked at other girls. I don’t have to tell him I love him, I don’t have to even be exclusive with him as long as he knows it, but I should try for that one date. Can I handle the risk of heartbreak and the possible threat of the rest of the people in the office spreading lies about me? I kept thinking out on the beach all afternoon until Lance came out again.

“Junie, supper’s almost ready. I figured you’d want to head up to the house and get ready.”

“Thank you, Lance.”

“Have you thought about that o-”

“Please don’t. It’s all I’ve been thinking about and I’m so sick of just the thought of it right now.” I heard a soft sigh.

“Alright. I’ll see you at supper.” His attempt at retreat made me turn and look at him, and my heart nearly broke as he quickly turned away from me. His stunning eyes were glassy and he looked ready to cry.

“Hey.” He turned and looked at me. “Come have a seat for a minute. Talk to me.”

“About what?” he asked, sitting down next to me.

“Us.”

18

“What about us do you wanna talk about?” I asked, looking at her. I was hoping that she’d agree to the date, but it didn’t look like she was going to.

“Our past and what’s keeping me from saying yes.”

“Come on you two! Dinner’s ready!” Mom called from the house.

Dammit. There goes talking to Junie. I huffed out a sigh. “She’s gonna call us every 5 minutes if we don’t head up there. Mind holding that thought until after dinner? We’ll come back out and sit here talking as long as you want.” She nodded and I stood, quickly offering a hand to help her up. She gave a soft smile and thanked me, grabbed the towel, and followed me up to the house. I hustled through dinner and headed up to my room, grabbing a blanket from the closet before heading back down to the beach to talk to Junie.

“She said she’ll meet you on the beach. Where are you taking the blanket, baby?” Mom asked as I got into the living room.

“In case we need to keep warm down on the beach. I won’t let it get wet, Mom. I promise.” She nodded and I darted out the door to talk to Juniper. “Hey. Still want to talk?” I asked, walking up to her sitting silhouette on the beach.

“We need to.”

“So talk to me. What about our past is keeping you from saying yes?” I asked as I had a seat next to her.

“It’s not something in our past that’s keeping that from happening. It’s something that could happen if I say yes.” I scrunched my face in confusion. “If I say yes and things go well, we’ll keep dating but the others in the office will talk. I don’t want the rumor that I got this job by sleeping with you to start up, and I don’t want every guy at the office thinking he can get some then use me to have better pull with you.”

“I won’t let that happen. Nothing is going to change between us at work. We’ll be professional at the office, but once the clock says 5 we’ll become a couple. And we’ll stay that way until 8 the next morning.” I said quickly, hoping to soothe her fears.

“So you would be able to handle watching other guys in the company flirting with me?” she asked doubtfully.

“No. But they shouldn’t be flirting on company time anyway. If they’re spending time trying to get in your pants, then they aren’t doing their job.”

“What if it’s another company party?” she murmured.

“That’s after 5. We’re a couple at that point.”

“And that’s when the rumor about how I got the job will start up.” I had to admit that she had a point there, but I wanted her to at least give us a chance.

“What about our past? What did you want to talk about there?”

“You dumped me because Ray said I was cheating on you, instead of talking to me first. Yes, given the circumstances, I will admit that you had good reason to believe him, but you were also in the wrong because you knew I wouldn’t lie to you, yet you didn’t think to ask me what was going on. Why should I believe that you won’t do that to me again? We both know what Mr. Hollins was gonna do to me after the Christmas Party. What if he finds out that we’re dating, and tells you a lie to break us up just so that he can have another shot at getting in my pants?”

“That’s why we should go on the date, Junie. I know I showed you something about me at the party on our first date. Something that can’t be told or described. I just don’t remember what it was. I remember what you were wearing, the time I picked you up and dropped you off, the look on your dad’s face when he looked out the window before I kissed you goodnight, who I knocked out and why, what happened after we left the party... I remember everything except what I showed you.”

“Then how do you know that you showed me something?” she whispered, not looking at me. I touched her left cheek to turn her face to mine, but she turned to look at me without me adding more pressure.

“Because you got closer to me after the party.” I murmured. “You were letting me wrap my arm around you, you weren’t stiff and closed off, you were talking to me more... You opened up to me after the party. I just don’t know what I did to make that happen. If I knew what it was, I’d do it again just to show you that I’m the same boy you remember.”

“You don’t want to be the same, Lance. If you’re the same, that means you haven’t changed and it’s more of a reason for me not to go out with you again.”

“Then let me take you out and show you that I’ve changed where it counts. Please, Junie, baby. Just one date. One chance. There’s no curfew this time so we can keep the date going as long as you want.” She let out a soft sigh but just sat there for a few minutes. I saw a shiver run down her spine as a cool breeze blew over us, and tossed the blanket behind us, tugging it over her shoulders. A brief smile curled her lips but quickly faded as she sighed again.

“We’re not exclusive. Not by any means. You date whoever else you want, I’ll date whoever else I want. If things between us change to where we want someone else, we’re done and there’s no more trying to get me back. If before that point, you convince me that you’re not gonna hurt me and not gonna ignore the option of talking to me before dumping me, then I’m yours again and I’ll dump whoever else I’m seeing.”

“I can’t agree to that, Junie. That’s not fair to me because there’s no one else that I want.”

“Well, that’s the best you’re getting. Take it or leave it, Lance. I’m not gonna be exclusively yours and let my heart get destroyed for whoever else wants it, just because you don’t want to take a small risk compared to what I’m risking this time. If one date is all it’ll take to show me that you’ve changed where it counts, then you have nothing to worry about.” I sighed and looked out at the waves and sunset.

One date should be all I need to show her whatever the hell it was I showed her before. I don’t want to risk losing her to someone else. For all I know, there’s been some other guy that was flirting like crazy before I found her. Can I handle the fact that she might be going out with some other guy occasionally? Making my decision, I turned my gaze to her. “Alright. Deal. I’ll do my best to show you that I’m not gonna hurt you before you find some other guy to date. If it takes longer than that, then I’ll try harder when I’ve got you to myself.”

“Thank you, Lance. I’m sorry for doing this, but I don’t want to be hurt by the same guy twice and not be able to have feelings for anyone else because of it.”

“I understand, Junie. Just tell me one thing. Is there someone that’s already been flirting with you, someone that you have in mind for your other boyfriend... Someone that’s going to be my competition soon?”

“There’s one guy that’s been nearly begging for a date the last couple months.”

“Me?” I asked with a smirk.

“The new manager at Mattie’s.”

“Then I’ve got you to myself for two weeks. I’m gonna use it to the best of my advantage and do everything I can to make you all mine so he doesn’t get you for a moment.” She smiled and I tugged her face to mine, pressing a kiss to her lips.

19

Lance dragged me out of the house the next morning, saying that we were borrowing a car. He put me in the passenger’s seat, jumped behind the wheel and took off towards the airport but stopped in Honolulu. “What are we doing here?” I asked as he helped me out of the car.

“We’re on a date for the whole day. I want you all to myself and I’ve got you to myself for 2 weeks in paradise, so I’m gonna use every day to my advantage.” I smiled and chuckled, knowing that he wasn’t gonna stop after just today.

Don’t get carried away with this act, Juniper. He needs to prove that he’s gonna keep you safe, regardless of what the consequence is. That’s what turned your head before, make him do it again. Do not fall for him right now. Deciding to let myself enjoy the day and spend a little of my holiday bonus, I started window shopping.

“See anything you like?” he asked after a few moments.

“Nothing yet. You’ll know when I’ve found something though.” I said, not looking away from the window. We passed by a jewelry shop and I instantly went in, hearing Lance chuckle behind me.

“Girls and their sparkly things.” he muttered.

“For your information, I’m here for a watch, not sparkly things.” I shot back, making him smirk at me. A man came right over and started helping me find what I wanted that fit my price. When I went to pull my card out, Lance put a hand on mine and wouldn’t let go of me.

“You didn’t really think I’d let you buy yourself something, did you?”

“You are not buying my watch. I’ll beat your butt into oblivion, then have your mom and dad do it again.”

“They’d laugh at that request.” he said, setting a card down on the counter.

“Lance, don’t. I can pay for it. It’s just a freaking watch.”

“Don’t care.” he said, shrugging his shoulders and letting go of my hand when the guy grabbed his card.

“Argh. You’re unbelievable.” I grumbled as I gave in and let him pay for the damn watch.

“And you get cuter when you get mad at me.” I rolled my eyes and huffed out a sigh, making him chuckle. “Yep. Cuter.” The guy that’d been helping me handed me the watch box in a bag, and we headed out to wander around some more. About noon we stopped for lunch at a little hole in the wall place. I tried to pay for my meal, but Lance handed the waitress his card before I could get mine out.

“Lance, would you knock it off? Buying things for me and paying my share isn’t going to help your case.”

“We’re on a date, Junie. You’re not paying for anything while on a date with me.” I arched an eyebrow at him, but he just smirked. “Looking at me like that isn’t going to change it.”

“Damn it, Lance. I-”

“I don’t care, Juniper. Quit arguing about this. You’re not gonna win.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away from him as I leaned back in my seat. “Thank you. Have a lovely day, ma’am.” he said a couple minutes later. I heard scribbling and figured he was signing his name on the receipt. A few seconds later, his chair scraped back and a hand came into view. “Come on. Let’s keep going.” I stood without taking his hand, and walked out the door, ignoring him. “Junie, wait.” he said, spinning me to face him.

“I’m not 5 years old, Lance. I don’t need someone to take care of me.” I snarled.

“I’m not trying to take care of you, but we’re on a date. Put that pride of yours aside and just accept that I’m not letting you pay for anything right now. Least of all when I can afford to buy you whatever you want.” I looked away from him to bring my temper down a bit.

I could just act like there’s nothing else I want; just order things online. He won’t be able to pay for it then since he won’t know what I’m getting.

“Junie, this hasn’t changed since high school. I was buying you whatever I could back then. Put your pride aside, baby. At least just for our dates.”

“Sure we’re gonna have more than just this one?”

“I’m hoping for the best.” he said with a slight smile that made my heart melt.

“Why couldn’t you just keep me mad at you? You were easier to turn down when I was mad.” I said softly.

“I noticed that you didn’t seem as upset about it when you were mad at me. Why should I let you turn me down easily?” I finally cracked a smile and shook my head as I let out a sigh. “Come on. Let’s get back to enjoying our date.” I nodded and we started wandering around, window shopping again. After a couple more hours, my feet were killing me from all the walking, so we headed back to the car and his parents’ house. We spent the next week around the house. One day, we were curled up on the couch, binge-watching movies, another we were swimming in the ocean, and today, the day before Christmas Eve, we were cuddled together on the beach away from the house.

It feels like nothing’s changed about him. It’s a good thing that he’s still the same boy I remember, but I want him to show me that he’ll protect me regardless of the consequence.

“Everything alright, baby?” he asked as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I shrugged it off but smiled at him.

“Yeah.”

“Then why aren’t you opening up to me?”

“Because you haven’t shown me what I want to see yet.”

“And what’s that?” I chuckled and shook my head.

“I’m not telling you, Lance. You showed it to me when we were kids without being asked for it, and I want to make sure it’s still there.” I heard him let out a sigh, but he turned my face to his and pressed his lips to mine. Nibbling on my bottom lip, he coaxed me into opening for him, and my mind shut down as his tongue slipped in.

“I love you, Junie.” he murmured as he backed for just a brief moment. His hand glided along my cheek, pushing his fingers back into my hair, as his eyes begged me to say it back.

20

“I can’t say that yet, Lance.” she murmured, shaking her head sadly. I nodded and sighed, but pressed my lips to hers again.

What can I do to show her I’m not gonna hurt her? I want her to be all mine before we go back home so that guy at Mattie’s doesn’t get to take her on a date. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, I held out a hand as I stood. “We should head inside. Mom’s probably wondering about our safety.”

“And sanity.” she chuckled out as she stood.

“Why sanity?”

“Being out here this late.” I laughed.

“She knows I’m crazy enough to stay out all night. Especially if I’m with you.” She smiled and gave a slight blush, and let me lead her inside. I held the door for her to come in, but pulled her to a stop just as she stepped in the door. She scrunched her face and looked up at me, making me smirk.

“What?” I glanced up above her head, smiled, and tugged her into my chest, giving her a deep kiss. “What was that for, Lance?” she asked breathlessly when I backed.

“You’re standing under some mistletoe.” She blushed again as she smiled and took a step back so she wasn’t standing under it.

“Sneak. You probably put it there or told your mom to put some there.”

“Nope. But I’m glad she did.” She rolled her eyes and chuckled at me, then turned to head up to her room. I closed and locked the door, then followed her upstairs, pausing at her door. “Goodnight, Junie baby. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I murmured. I gave her a kiss goodnight, then pressed a second one to her forehead before heading to my room. Christmas Eve and Day were spent holding Junie in the living room of my parents’ house. She headed up to her room after watching the parade, and Mom spoke up when she disappeared.

“You guys have spent an awful lot of time together lately. Are you dating now, Lance?”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t want to date just me. She made me agree to a non-exclusive deal until I show her what she wants to see, but she won’t tell me what that is.”

“Good. She shouldn’t tell you.”

“Why not? I can’t show her if she doesn’t tell me, Mom. How am I supposed to make her all mine if she doesn’t tell me what she wants to see?”

“Because she wants to know you’ll do it for her for a reason other than just because she wants you to do it. It’s not fair to her to see you do something she wants you to when you won’t do it for her without being asked. Make sense, baby?”

“Not really. If I’m gonna do something for her, it’s gonna be for her regardless of the reason.”

“She wants you to win her heart with this, Lance.” I sighed and leaned back in my chair a bit.

“Any idea what I should do? There’s a guy back home that’s been flirting and begging her for a date. I’m scared she’s gonna accept if we’re not exclusive before we get back home.”

“No clue. All I can suggest is that you show her everything.”

“We dated back in high school, Mom. For almost 2 years before I dumped her. Remember? She’s seen everything I’ll do for her.”

“Ten years is a long time, son.” Dad said. “You’ve changed since the last time she saw you. Some things may not be the same as what she remembers. Even if you think she knows it, show her again.” I let out a soft sigh as I looked back at the tv, seeing Junie come back in after a couple more minutes. I spent the next 3 days showing her things about me, but she still didn’t open up to me. We flew back home that Saturday, and I dropped Junie off at her house.

“Thank you, Lance. I needed that getaway.” she murmured softly as she fidgeted with her keys.

“Anytime, Junie.” I cupped her left cheek and grazed my thumb across the soft skin. She gave a soft smile as her eyes closed and her head tilted into my touch. Nudging her chin, I tilted her face to mine and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “What are you doing for New Years, baby?” I murmured.

“Right now, nothing that I know of.”

“Keep it open for me. Please. I’ll get things ready, then let you know what time I’ll pick you up.”

“I don’t know, Lance. We’re not exclusive. Maybe I shouldn’t spend New Years with anyone.” she muttered, looking at the keys she was still fidgeting with.

“Please, Junie. At least think about spending it with me. Just give me tomorrow and I’ll have everything set up.” She sighed, but her shoulders dropped a bit in defeat, letting me know I’d won without her having to say anything.

“Alright. Friends hanging out only, unless you show me what I want to see before then. I’ll see you at work on Monday. Thanks again for taking me on that getaway. I needed that. Bye, Lance.” She walked inside and closed the door behind her. I turned to walk back to my car, but stalled halfway there and went back to the door.

“Junie, one more thing.” I said, knocking on the door. She opened it after a minute and looked at me curiously.

“What’s wrong?” I yanked her into my chest and crashed our lips together, hearing her gasp.

“Workweek starts on Wednesday this week. Monday is New Years Eve, Tuesday is New Years Day.” I said softly as I backed.

“Schnozberries. That’s right.” I smiled and held in the laugh at her language. “Very well. I’ll see you at the office on Wednesday then.”

“But you’ll see me next on Monday night, right?” She smiled and nodded, and I gave her another quick kiss goodnight. “See you then, Junie. Call me if you need anything.” I spent all of Sunday getting things ready to watch the ball drop with Juniper, then called her up at 7 PM.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Junie. I’ve got our plans ready for tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at 8:30, we’ll go to a party one of my college buddies is having, we’ll watch the ball drop, and I’ll take you home in the morning. Sound good?”

“Yeah. That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lance.” It concerned me that she was giving me a quick goodbye, but I heard a sizzling sound in the background and figured I’d called while she was making dinner.

“See ya then, Junie baby.” I said, hanging up the cell phone. I picked her up at 8:30 and we headed straight to the party that Rodney was having. I introduced her to a few people, and just before 11, we headed out to watch the ball drop at my place so Brandon would quit fawning over her.

“Lance, I thought you said we were watching the ball drop there. What’s going on?”

“I never said we were watching it there. Just that we were gonna go, then watch the ball drop. We’re watching it at my place. I’ll take you home in the morning and I promise not to do anything to you.” We pulled in my driveway, and I helped her out of my car and led her inside. “Since we’re not going anywhere else tonight, would you like a drink?”

“Yes, please. Thank you.” I handed her a beer and flipped the tv on, instantly jumping to Channel 24 to see the last band that was playing on stage. She had a seat and started sipping the beer. “Can I ask you something, Lance?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you start drinking? Your mom said that whenever you’d go see them for the holidays, by noon you’d have a bottle in your hand. Why?”

“I didn’t have you around to keep my mind straight. That, plus I turned 21 in college and all my buddies took me out drinking for my birthday.” She shook her head in astonishment. “I wish I’d been at school with you. I would’ve turned them down just to see your face or hear your voice at that point.” Giving a gentle smile, a light blush covered her cheeks. We watched the ball drop at midnight, and I gave her a happy new year kiss, then loaned her a pair of my pajamas to sleep in for the night. She said that she didn’t mind sleeping next to me, so I laid down behind her in my bed, and tugged her as close to me as I could.

21

Lance brought me home Tuesday morning and hung around while I changed into some of my own clothes so that he could take his pajamas back home. “Thanks, Lance.”

“Junie, you don’t have to thank me for taking you out.”

“I know, but it’s still polite to say it. And I wasn’t thanking you for taking me out. I was thanking you for letting me borrow those last night.” He chuckled and headed back to his car as I closed the door. Wednesday after work, I went straight to the store to get groceries.

“Juniper. Good to see you. Happy new year.” said a guys voice from behind me. I turned and saw George, the new manager here that’d been begging me for a date.

“Hey, George. Happy new year to you, too. How were your holidays?”

“Could’ve been better but they’re getting there now.” I smiled and felt a slight blush come up. “Think I could interest you in having dinner with me this year?”

“Possibly. When are you thinking?”

“I’m hoping for tonight, but if you’re not available, we can try for Friday night.”

“Friday night would be better. I have plans tonight.” Yeah, sitting in front of my tv and binging on old cartoons with a bag of popcorn for dinner, I thought to myself.

“Alright. Friday it is. I’ll pick you up at 8.”

“Manager to register 4, please.” came a voice over the intercom system.

“Damn girl needs to learn how to ring things in right.” he muttered. I held in a laugh and went about my shopping, paid, and headed out to the car. “Need a hand, Juniper?” George asked as I started putting things in the back seat.

“I won’t turn it down.” He smiled and handed me a paper as he grabbed a bag.

“That’s my number. Text me your address.”

“Before I do that, I should let you know. I am seeing someone else, but we’re not exclusive. I don’t want to be exclusive with anyone for a while.”

“That’s fine.” he said as he put the last bag in my car for me and closed the door.

“Thanks. I’ll send you my address when I get home, so I’ll see you Friday at 8.”

“Cool. See ya then, babe.” I got in the car and headed home, seeing Lance parked in my driveway.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked as I got out.

“Not much. Wondering what your plans were for tonight.”

“Cartoons and popcorn.” I said, opening the back door and grabbing a couple bags. I heard a scoff and turned around. “What? Do I need your approval for my night?”

“No. Wanna go to dinner with me?” I looked at him curiously. I knew I had cold things to get inside, but I couldn’t move.

“Why?”

“Because I’m trying to get you back and I figured a nice dinner for us would be a step in the right direction.” I laughed.

“No, not why ask me to dinner. Why would you come over to ask that instead of call or text?”

“And skip out on the chance to see you? No, thanks.” he said, walking over to my car and taking the bags from my hands.

“You saw me all day at work.” I muttered as I turned and grabbed a couple more.

“So? That was business. This is personal.” I rolled my eyes and headed to the door. “So what do you say, Junie? Dinner with me, tonight?”

So much for my cartoons and popcorn. “Very well. Just let me get my groceries put away.” He brought in the rest of the bags as I put things away, then hung out in the living room as I changed out of my work clothes and texted my address to George. “Ready when you are.” I said, joining him in the living room. He held out an arm and led me out the door, locking it for me before putting me in the passenger seat of his car. After dinner, he brought me back home.

“Still doing your cartoons and popcorn, now?” he asked with a slight smirk, making me smile.

“No. That dinner filled me up. I’ve got no room for popcorn.”

“Good. That was my plan. Now we can just watch the cartoons.”

“No. Now you can go home and I can go to bed.” I said with a soft laugh. He gave me a quick kiss and went to his car, leaving only after I closed the door. Lance tried again on Thursday to take me out to dinner, but I managed to weasel out of it. I showered and changed into my pajamas when I got home and curled up on the couch with my bag of popcorn. I jolted awake when my phone went off, and grabbed it, quickly shutting off the alarm. Geez, my neck hurts. I used to be able to sleep on the couch. I got up rubbing my neck and got ready for work, then headed in and set my stuff down at 7:55.

“Morning, Junie.” Lance said as he came in a couple minutes later.

“Good morning, Mr. Murdoch. Everything you need for your meetings today is on your desk. Is there anything specific you needed me to get done first?”

“Find out if HR knows why none of the new hires for your old job are staying. If they don’t know, ask Mr. Hollins. If he doesn’t know, call them directly and ask. I’ll have other things for you after that.” he said, walking into his office. I transferred the phone to my Bluetooth and called HR as I went to get Lance his morning coffee.

“Good morning, Juniper. You’re calling early. What can I do for you?” came Yolanda’s voice.

“Good morning, Yolanda. Mr. Murdoch was wondering if you know why all those employees left. The ones that were hired to process the sales paperwork.”

“Only one of them gave a reason. She said that the paperwork was too much to handle since it wasn’t being given to her in order. I asked Mr. Hollins if she or any of the others had requested him to make the reps do that, but he said no.”

“I requested multiple times that he have them put it in order before giving it to me when I worked down there. Have all the employees for that position been female?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be talking to Mr. Hollins in a few moments about telling me the truth when I ask a question.”

“They may not have asked, but I know that I did. Try to find a man for the position.”

“Every guy I sent up there for a final interview was denied the job. Odd reasons for them, too.” I stopped at my desk and looked at the calendar to see if Lance had an open slot since I knew he would want to meet with Mr. Hollins about this.

“Don’t worry about speaking to Mr. Hollins today. Come up here Monday at 9. Mr. Murdoch will want to have a meeting with him after I tell him what’s been going on, and you can speak to him then about honesty. One more thing. Can you email me the phone number for those that didn’t give you a reason? I doubt Mr. Hollins would say anything if they gave him a reason.” I said, writing down the meeting.

“Right away, Juniper.”

“Thanks, Yolanda. I’ve gotta get him his coffee before he bites my head off. I’ll see you Monday.” We hung up as I walked in Lance’s office. “Here’s your coffee, Mr. Murdoch. I just got off the phone with Yolanda Sanchez in human resources.” I said, handing his coffee to him.

“And? What’d she say?”

“Only one person gave a reason as to why she left - the paperwork not being in order. The only people Yolanda’s been able to get hired down there are women. Said that every man she’s sent for the final interview has been denied for odd reasons. I should have an email from her in just a couple moments with the numbers of the women that didn’t give a reason. I was going to call them and ask why they left. Also, you’ll be having a meeting at 9 on Monday morning with Mr. Hollins and Yolanda. At least about honesty on Mr. Hollins part, possibly more if it’s because he made them uncomfortable.”

“Call them and find out why then let me know. If it’s because he made them feel uncomfortable, make the meeting for today.”

“You’re booked for the day, Mr. Murdoch.” I said, running his schedule through my mind.

“I’ll be able to squeeze in a meeting about conduct and honesty. It should only take 10 minutes, anyway. Find out why they left, then let me know.” I nodded and headed off, hoping I could get answers out of them.

22

Junie came back in just before noon with a small stack of papers in one hand and a bag in the other. “Here’s your lunch, Mr. Murdoch. BLT with romaine lettuce, fries, and a Coke.”

“Thanks. Sounds great. What’re the papers?” I asked, taking my lunch from her.

“I phoned the ladies that hadn’t given a reason for leaving, and they emailed their reasons to me. These all say the same thing - that Mr. Hollins was making them uncomfortable and that they’d requested he have the sales reps put the paperwork in order, but it never happened.”

“Call him up here. Mrs. Sanchez as well.”

“During your lunch?”

“This is more important than my lunch. I’ll eat while I wait for them and after they leave. Go, now.” She ran out and I heard her voice drift through the doorway a moment later.

“Mr. Murdoch wants to see you now... Yes, now, Yolanda. He’s calling Mr. Hollins up as well so you’re not in trouble as far as I know... Alright. See you soon.” There was silence for a minute, then I heard her voice again. “Mr. Murdoch wants to see you, Mr. Hollins... Right now... Thank you. I’ll let him know you’ll be here in a moment.”

“Ms. Marsh. A word, please?” She came in looking a little worried. “I’ll need you in here for this meeting as well. You’ve asked him to have the sales reps organize the papers, and he’s made you feel uncomfortable. You can speak for the ladies that quit because of both those reasons. Go ahead and hand me those emails so I can see what they say word for word.” She nodded and handed them to me.

“They’ll be up in just a moment since they’d just started their lunches.” I nodded, and she went back out, waiting for Yolanda and Mr. Hollins. I ate a few fries while looking over the emails and had just set the last one down when one of them came up. “Mr. Murdoch, Mrs. Sanchez from HR is here. We’re still waiting on Mr. Hollins, though.” Junie said from the doorway.

“That’s fine. Come on in, Mrs. Sanchez. Have a seat.” She came in looking a little nervous and had a seat across from me. “Let us know when Mr. Hollins arrives.” I said, looking at Junie. She nodded and headed back out, closing the door behind her. “Don’t be nervous, Mrs. Sanchez. You’re not in any trouble. Tell me what’s been going on with the new hires in Mr. Hollins department.” She seemed to relax a bit and spoke up.

“I honestly don’t know what’s been happening with them, Mr. Murdoch. Only one of them gave me a reason why she was leaving. She said that she couldn’t handle the paperwork not being in order when she got it. It was taking her about 4 hours to get everything in order to process it, and he was wanting more done than she could possibly do. I’ve asked him if she’d requested that the sales reps put the papers in order before giving it to her, but he said no. Every new hire for that position has been female. There’ve been men that qualified, but Mr. Hollins turned them down on the final interview for odd reasons.” I nodded in understanding.

“What kind of odd reasons?”

“Things like, too opinionated and appears to have a problem with authority.”

“And none of them showed those qualities to you?” She shook her head.

“And Ms. Marsh told me this morning that you said he’d lied to you about something?”

“Yes. He said that he’d never been asked to have the sales reps put the papers in order, but Ms. Marsh told me that she’d asked him for that, and the young lady that gave me a reason said the same when I called her earlier to double check.” I nodded again as a knock came on the door.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Hollins is here, Mr. Murdoch. Did you want him to join now or wait for a moment?” she asked with a slightly uncomfortable look on her face.

“Now, please. Thank you, Ms. Marsh. And don’t forget I need you in here for this, as well.” She nodded and opened the door wider, motioning for Mr. Hollins to come in. “Afternoon, Mr. Hollins. Come in, have a seat.” He came in and sat down in the only other open chair next to Yolanda. “Mr. Hollins, do you know why I’ve called you up here?”

“No, sir.”

“Tell me what’s been going on with the new hires in your department. Why have you gone through so many?”

“They can’t do the job.” he said bluntly. “They’ve all told me that it’s too much paperwork.”

“Perhaps because the sales reps aren’t being told to put the paperwork in order before giving it to them?”

“I’ve never been asked to have the sales reps do that.”

“Really? By any of the people that have held that position? Not a single one of them asked you to have the sales reps put the papers in order?” He shook his head. “Ms. Marsh, how long did you work in Mr. Hollins department?” I asked, looking up at Junie.

“6 years, give or take a couple weeks.”

“And in those 6 years, how many times would you say that you had asked Mr. Hollins to have the sales reps put the papers in order before giving them to you?”

“Maybe 4 times each year, so roughly 24 times total in my 6 years down there.” I nodded and looked back at him.

“Let me ask you again, Mr. Hollins. Have you ever been asked, by any of the people that have been in that position, to have the sales reps put those papers in order?”

“I don’t recall anyone ever asking me to do that. So to the best of my knowledge, no.”

Smartass, I thought as I nodded. “Explain something to me. How come you’ve only allowed women to be hired for that position?”

“There haven’t been any men that applied.”

“Mrs. Sanchez, didn’t you tell me that he’d turn down the men that had qualified for the position?” I asked, moving my gaze to her.

“Yes, sir.” I thought I saw a smile trying to pop up on her face, but ignored it and looked back at Mr. Hollins again.

“Stop giving lies, Mr. Hollins. This is business and I’m the one that signs your paycheck. Why have you only hired the women that applied?”

“Because the guys weren’t fit for the position.”

“Perhaps it’s because you weren’t able to make them feel uncomfortable. Does that sound about right?”

“What are you talking about? I take my job seriously. I’d never sleep with an employee.”

“Ms. Marsh, will you please call Mr. Davis up here? Thank you.” Junie stepped out of the office while I held up the emails she’d given me earlier. “Every single one of these papers is an email from the ladies that quit and didn’t give Mrs. Sanchez a reason why. Let’s see. Ms. Carver said you made her feel uncomfortable and asked her to have dinner and drinks. Ms. Zunders said you’d asked her to come to a party you were having at your house while looking at her like you were undressing her. That one’s a quote by the way. And finally, Ms. Harlow said that you made her uncomfortable and even threatened to fire her if she didn’t go out for drinks with you.” A knock came on the door as I handed the papers to Yolanda for her records. “Yes?” Juniper opened the door.

“Mr. Davis is here.”

“Good. Both of you come back in.”

“Drinks, dinner, and parties are harmless, Mr. Murdoch. Just because I invited those girls doesn’t mean I was gonna sleep with them.” Mr. Hollins said, looking at me.

“Mr. Davis, thank you for joining this meeting. I’m sorry to have pulled you from your lunch, but would you please tell me again exactly what you said that Mr. Hollins let slip to you before the Christmas party?”

“I’d rather the ladies not be in here for it, Mr. Murdoch. It was vulgar for a workplace and should not be said around women.”

“Very thoughtful of you. Thank you. Ladies, please step out for just a moment. I’ll call you back in when he’s finished. It shouldn’t take long.” Juniper and Yolanda left, closing the door behind them.

23

“Well, so much for my lunch break.” Yolanda said when she closed the door.

“I know. Take it when you get back to your office. I’ll try to get him to pay you for it since you were up here technically working.”

“Thanks, Juniper.” she said with a smile. The office door opened, letting Peter come out, and we turned to head back in, but Lance held up his hand, stopping us as he spoke from his desk.

“You’re not needed in here anymore, ladies. Close the door, Ms. Marsh.” I closed the door and turned to look at Yolanda.

“I’ve seen that face before. You might want to start looking for someone to replace him, Yolanda.” She and Peter held in a laugh.

“Juniper, Mr. Murdoch said that I was to come back up at 9 Monday morning to see him. Any idea what it’s gonna be about?” Peter asked. I thought for a minute.

“How long have you been here, Peter?” I said walking to my desk and changing the meeting I’d written in for that time.

“10 years.” A smile curled my lips as I looked back up at him.

“It’s probably going to be about a promotion. Don’t quote me on that, but there’s a good chance that you’ll be the new manager down there. Which means that you’ll need to find someone to fill Peter’s current spot, Yolanda. Either way, you want to get an ad set up, just leave the position open for now and I’ll let you know what to make it for.” She nodded and Lance’s voice boomed from his office, making us all jump.

“I’m not going to deal with you lying to me when I’ve had multiple people say the same exact things about you!”

“Well, Mr. Hollins is definitely fired. You guys go back to your lunch. I don’t want him to get upset that you’re all still up here if he comes out.” They nodded and scurried out of the office. A few minutes later, Lances’ office door slammed open and Mr. Hollins came storming out, punched the elevator button and left, glaring at me as I got a text from George.

- Still on for our date tonight?

I sent back a yes and looked up as Lance came out of his office. “Mr. Hollins is fired. I have Mr. Davis coming in for a meeting at 9 Monday morning. I’m giving him the position, so we need someone hired for sales to replace him. Also, since Mrs. Sanchez spent her lunch up here in a meeting, let payroll know that she needs to be paid for her break.”

“Yes, sir.” I pulled up my email and sent one to Yolanda, telling her that the position would be sales, then started another to payroll about Yolanda’s break, but looked up since Lance was still in my office. “Is there something else you need, Mr. Murdoch?”

“Make me happier.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“How did you do it when we were kids? How did you do it when we bumped into each other at Frank’s Steakhouse back in October?” I thought back and felt a smile curl my lips.

“Well, I’m not giving you a kiss, Mr. Murdoch, but I will give you a hug.” I said with a smirk, walking around my desk. I wrapped my arms around his waist and felt his wrap around my shoulders. “Thank you, Lance.”

“For what?”

“For having Yolanda and I leave before making Peter say what Mr. Hollins was gonna do to me. I don’t want to know exactly what was said.” I murmured.

“He told me at the Christmas party and I didn’t want you to hear exactly what was said. He wasn’t kidding, Junie. It was vulgar for a workplace.”

“Still, thank you.” He pressed a quick kiss to the top of my head and backed with a smile.

“Anytime. Thanks for making me feel better. Wanna go to dinner tonight?” he asked as I let go of him and headed back around my desk to finish the email to payroll.

“Sorry. I have a date.” I said, peeking up at him.

“With who?”

“George. The manager from Mattie’s Mart. He asked me on Wednesday and since I was busy, I told him Friday. Then you showed up and took me out to dinner.” He sighed.

“We’re not exclusive. You can date who you want.” he muttered to himself. “Very well. Just promise me you’ll be safe, Junie. If you want or need me to come rescue you, call me. I’ll get to you as fast as I can.”

“I will. I’m not jumping into bed with him. He’s gonna go at the same pace you are because I’m not going fast for anyone.”

“What time is he picking you up? Or is he meeting you somewhere?”

“He’s picking me up at 8.” He nodded and dropped his head for a moment, then looked back up at me.

“Be safe, Junie, baby. If you don’t need me to come save you, shoot me a text when you get home so I know you’re safe. Please.” I nodded and gave him a smile.

“I promise I will, Lance.” I said as the phone rang. “Paragon Offices. This is Mr. Murdoch’s assistant.”

“Good afternoon, ma’am. I need to schedule a meeting with Mr. Murdoch, but I’m unable to come to him. Is it possible that I can get a phone meeting set up with him?”

“It may be an option. Let me check with him. May I know who’s asking?”

“Paul Griever in New York.”

“Give me one moment, Mr. Griever.” I pressed the hold button and looked up at Lance. “Mr. Griever wants to make a phone meeting with you since he can’t come to you. Would you like me to set it up?”

“I prefer doing meetings with him face to face. Give me the phone.” I got the call back up and gave Lance the phone. “Mr. Griever. Good afternoon, sir. How are you?... Unfortunately, I don’t have the time today for a phone meeting, and it looks like I’m pretty well booked for the next couple weeks. I prefer having meetings with you face to face, though. Would you mind if my assistant and I fly out at my first opportunity to see you?... Perfect. I’ll let her know and she’ll be back on the phone in just a moment to schedule the meeting. Have a good day, Mr. Griever.” He motioned for me to put him on hold and I did. “First full day available, schedule him for it. We’ll have to fly to New York for it, so make sure to keep yourself open that day as well. We’ll be back late in the evening, so you may want to make sure that you even keep that night open for yourself. And only schedule the plane. No need to reserve rooms for this one.” I nodded and took the phone from him.

“Let me get him scheduled for you.” He nodded and headed back in his office as I got on the phone and scheduled the meeting.

24

“Alright, Junie. It’s 5. Call it a day and go get ready for your date.” Lance said as he walked out of his office. “When is Mr. Griever scheduled, by the way?”

“February 4th.”

“I said the first day I was available.”

“And he was gonna be out of the country that day. Am I supposed to make the meeting for you and his empty office?” I said as I packed up my things. He sighed.

“Very well. I’ll take it. Just make sure to keep yourself available for that day. Did you give Clay a heads up that we’ll need to go to New York then?”

“And I told him we’ll be returning that night.” I said, nodding my head.

“Good. Thank you.”

“For what? Doing my job?”

“No. For being good at your job.” I chuckled and shook my head as I grabbed my bag.

“Have a good night, Mr. Murdoch. I’ll see you Monday.” He nodded and got in his car, watching until I got in mine. I got home, showered, changed into a pair of jeans with a nice blouse and heels, and sat to wait for George as I had a light dinner since I missed lunch. I’d just washed my dishes when a knock came on the door. “Coming!” I hollered as I dried my hands. “Hey, George. You’re early.”

“I couldn’t wait to see you.” he said with a smirk making me blush. “How does dinner sound?”

“Sounds great. I missed lunch because of a meeting.”

“Well, let’s fill you up, then.” He offered an arm and led me to his car when I locked the door. We spent the night talking over dinner at Fin’s Bar & Grill and even played a round of pool. George bought me a couple drinks and tried to push a third on me, but I managed to get out of that one.

“I need to get home, George. I’m about to fall asleep. I’ve busted my butt at work all week, my house is a mess, and I have a few errands to run first thing in the morning.” I said, trying to convince him to take me home as I covered up a yawn.

“Alright. We’ll call it a night for you. Just let me pay the tab.” I nodded and we headed out a few minutes after he paid. He dropped me at the house and gave me a deep kiss. “Mind if I tuck you into bed, babe?” he murmured as he backed from my lips.

“I’m not that kind of girl, George. Besides, I’m not exclusive with you or the other guy I’m seeing, and until I am, I’m not doing that.”

“It’ll help you keep from getting a hangover.”

“Goodnight.” I said, opening the door and backing in. I closed the door before he could ask again to come inside, and breathed out a sigh of relief. That was rough. And who takes someone to a bar and grill for a first date? I mean, I’m sure there are some girls that like that sort of place, but a girl that works in an office as the owner’s personal assistant? Come on. And what’s with calling me babe? I’m not a freaking sheep-herding pig. I set my purse on the table by the door, tugged my phone out, and sent Lance a text to let him know that I was home safe, then tugged off my shoes as I headed to the bedroom. Just as I pulled on my nightshirt, I got a text on my phone.

- Had a great time tonight, Juniper. Can I see you again tomorrow night?

My mind blanked. You had fun on that date? How the hell did you have fun? That was probably the most boring date I’ve ever been on. Well, I’ll give you another date. The first one could be just seeing what I like, but if you try to get me drunk and screw me again, you’re over.

- Sure. Pick me up at 7 again?

- I’ll be there, babe.

I rolled my eyes at being called babe, but my phone went off again with another text.

- Glad to know you’re safe. That was a pretty long date. Have fun?

- I don’t know how to answer that. We went to a bar and grill. Yeah, we spent the night getting to know each other, but I didn’t really have fun.

- So no more dates for him?

- Tomorrow night.

My phone rang and showed Lance was calling me. “Hello?”

“How did he get a second date if you didn’t have fun?” I laughed.

“He was probably just seeing what kind of things I liked so that he could give me a better one. Why give him just one chance?”

“You alright? You’re kinda slurring your words, Junie.”

“I’m fine. He got me a couple of drinks.”

“Is he there with you?” I heard an odd sound in his voice, but couldn’t figure out what it was so I brushed it off as a figment of my imagination.

“No.”

“Do me a favor and go make sure you locked the door.”

“Lance, I’m fine.”

“Junie, baby, please. Go check for me. If you don’t, then I’m coming over, putting you to bed and locking the door on the way out.” I huffed out a sigh.

“Fine. Hold on. Just let me pull on my jammy pants.” I tossed the phone on the bed, pulled on my sweatpants, then went to check the front door. How the hell did Lance know I’d leave the door unlocked? Is he watching me from somewhere on the street or something?

“Was it locked?”

“Mmm-hmm.” I said, trying to pass off a lie to him.

“Really? You’re drunk and not thinking straight, but you remembered to lock the door after a rough date?” I could hear the smirk in his voice and it ticked me off a bit.

“You’re a butthead, you know that? How did you know that I forgot to lock the damn door? Are you sitting on the street somewhere watching the house?” I grumbled, walking back towards the bedroom.

“No. I just know you better than you think. Put a bottle of water by your bed, Junie. You’ll need it in the morning, if not in the middle of the night. Since he’s claimed tomorrow night, can I claim Sunday?”

“We’ll see. Right now, I’m too tired to even think about tomorrow. I’m going to bed. Have a good night, Lance.”

“Very well. Good night, baby.” I smiled and hung up. George picked me up at 7 Saturday night and took me to Fire and Ice, another bar and grill.

“Look, George. I really like that you were persistent enough to keep asking for a date, but I’m not into bar and grills. They’re just... not my scene. I-” I said after dinner.

“You’re the personal assistant to the owner of a company, Juniper.” he said, interrupting me. “You need drinks to help unwind at the end of a long week. Especially since you get the brunt end of the owner’s attitude and anger. You deal with high demands all day and more than likely barely accomplish everything he gives you to do in a day. Plus, he makes you miss lunches. You work in the fast lane, you should live in the slow lane.”

“Actually, it’s not hard to keep up with what he wants to be accomplished in a day. I’m usually done with everything by a quarter to 5.-”

“That’s not much time to unwind, babe. Just try this out for a month. If it works and you like me, then we’ll go exclusive. If it doesn’t work but you like me, then we’ll try something else and go exclusive.” I sighed and looked away from him for a minute, thinking of whether or not I should take the deal. “I promise it’ll help.”

25

Oh please, no. Don’t take it, Junie. You know this isn’t you. And you know it’ll kill our chance if you give me a month to figure out what you want.

“Fine, but we go exclusive when I say I’m ready for that.” George shrugged, acting like he knew better than her when she’d be ready for something. I wanted to go deck him but also knew it’d ruin her date and make her mad at me. He was a pretty average looking guy with his brown hair and brown eyes. A little heavier-set than I could picture Junie with, but I also couldn’t picture her with anyone but me.

Alright, I can do this. I’ve got to figure out what she’s wanting to see from me before this joker gets her drunk enough to crawl into bed with him. She’d drawn in a deep breath when he called her babe and I wanted to laugh. She’d told me before that it made her feel like the pig that herded sheep. I’d stuck to calling her Junie or Junie baby after that. I called for my check and paid, then headed out to my car. I already don’t like this guy. How has she managed to get through 2 dates with him? And the fact that he thinks he knows how I am at work is ridiculous. Maybe if I just let things be between them, she’ll call it off. He’s calling her names she doesn’t like, he’s telling her what to do, he’s acting like there’s no chance she won’t like him... What did she see in him to actually accept a date with him? I thought all the way home, but turned around and went to Junie’s place when I remembered that he’d bought her a couple drinks. I parked on the side of the street a few doors down from hers where she wouldn’t notice my car and shut off the lights just as another car turned onto the street.

It passed me and pulled in her driveway, and George got out but didn’t go help her out of the car. He just leaned against the front, looking impatient that she wasn’t by his side yet. What an idiot, I thought as I rolled my eyes. Junie got out and headed to the front of his car, looking stunning in her red blouse and blue jeans. He walked her to the door and kissed her, making me force myself to stay in the car. A minute later, his lips were still plastered to hers and I saw one of his hands on her hip, but her hands were behind her back and I could see one of her shoulders moving. What are you doing, Junie? Trying to shrug him off or something, I thought with a soft chuckle. The door behind her opened a bit and her shoulder stopped moving before she pushed George back a bit and said something to him. She backed up and closed the door in his face, making me laugh as he went back to his car looking pissed.

“Good girl, Junie. Don’t let the dumbass in your house.” I said to myself. A text came up on my phone just as George drove passed me, holding his phone to his ear and talking to someone.

- You have two options. 1: you can leave the street now or 2: you can come over here.

I looked up at her house and saw her standing in the driveway looking directly at me with a smirk on her face. How the hell did she know I was here? I smiled and started the car, pulling into her driveway.

“What are you doing here, Lance?” she asked as I got out.

“I just wanted to make sure that you got home safe and sound, tonight. Is that a bad thing?” She rolled her eyes at me. “How the hell did you even know I was there?”

“We had to drive past you to get to my place. I know what your car looks like. And if I ever see you follow me on a date again, there won’t be a safe place for you to hide.” I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her in a hug.

“Your too damn smart, Junie.” I said, plopping a quick kiss on her head.

“So what’s the real reason you’re here?” she asked, leading me inside.

“I was checking out my competition. How have you managed 2 dates with him? He’s telling you what to do, when you’ll be ready for something, he’s not being a gentleman for you, and he’s calling you babe.”

“He’s nice.”

“I can’t picture you being with him. Let alone for a long time, Junie.” I said sitting next to her.

“Can you picture me with anyone other than you?”

“Not really.”

“And that’s where your problem is. You’re thinking that you’re the best thing for me, but there are plenty of options.”

“Who’s the first person you think of every morning?”

“Dad.” She froze and drew in a deep breath, but sniffled just before she exhaled.

“Junie, he’d want you to be happy.” I murmured, getting a nod in response. “Try again. Who’s the first person you think of in the morning?”

“You.” she whispered.

“And the last person you think of every night?”

“You.”

“Even you can’t picture yourself with someone else. How do you expect me to be able to picture you with someone else when you can’t?”

“Find a way to do it.” she said with a slight smile.

“Please tell me that I’m taking you out tomorrow night.”

“Yes. He seems to think that I need to get drunk on Friday and Saturday night to wind down from work all week. Now I need a weekend to wind down from his relaxation ideas.” she muttered.

“Just don’t let him in your house. From what I saw of him, he’s pushing you to go faster than you want because it’ll put you in bed with him.” She nodded thoughtfully. “Go to bed, Junie. I see how tired you are and I know he got a couple of drinks in you.”

“Alright. Have a good night, Lance. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here at 6.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead and headed out the door, locking the doorknob when I grabbed it so that I knew something on her door was locked. I took her to a low key but nicer restaurant Sunday night and a smile spread across her face and stayed there all night and was still there when I dropped her at her house. The next couple weeks were pretty steady. She’d go out with George on Friday and Saturday nights, but be out with me Sunday through Tuesday. Friday evening, I got an email from one of the companies I was trying to buy, and the owner wanted to meet with me tonight since he’d be out of the country for the next few months, which meant I needed to get everything set up now to make a good impression and that required my assistant’s help.

26

“Good evening, Mr. Murdoch. What can I do for you?” I said, letting George know it was my boss.

“Hey, Juniper. I need you to meet me at the office. We have a meeting with Mr. Hastings tonight at 10. We need to get everything set up pronto.”

“I didn’t make a meeting for tonight. Let alone that late. I schedule ev-”

“He just emailed me about it. He’ll be out of the country for the next few months so this has to happen tonight.”

“Sure thing. Give me just a few moments to pay for my meal and I’ll be on my way there.” We hung up and I looked across the table to see George looking pissed.

“You’re not walking out on me in the middle of a date.”

“Blow me.” I grabbed my purse and headed over to the server, paid for my portion and ran out the door to a cab, heading right to work. I shot Lance a text saying that I was on the way and asked if he could have a bottle of water for me when I got there to help me get rid of the alcohol that George had practically poured down my throat. I paid the cabbie and gave him a decent tip for getting me to the office within 10 minutes and ran to the elevator.

“Perfect timing. Here’s your water. I need everything that has been agreed upon between Mr. Hastings and myself and 2 copies of the contract I had you type up yesterday.” he said as I opened the water bottle and downed about a quarter of it. I started up my computer, then ran to the file cabinet and pulled out the file on the company.

“Here’s the file. Everything except the contract is in there. I’ll have those for you in just a few minutes. I just need to print them out.”

“Perfect. Thank you. How much did George have you drink tonight?”

“He got two down my throat. He was pushing for a third, but you called and saved me from having to drink it.”

“Have some more water. You’re still slurring a bit and I can smell the alcohol on your clothes.”

“Crap. I’ll fix it before Mr. Hastings arrives.” I darted back to my office and opened the contract. “Shit!”

“Watch the language, Ms. Marsh! You’re at work!” Lance snapped from his office.

“Sorry, Mr. Murdoch. It’ll be a few extra minutes on those contracts. I have to retype it.”

“What? Didn’t you save it before you closed it out?”

“Yeah. That’s what I don’t get. Will you need me during the meeting or is just my presence out here good?”

“You’ll be fine out there. We’ll just keep the door open.”

“Thank you. I’m gonna spend all my time figuring out why the computer didn’t save it.” I walked into his office and swiped a page from the file. “I need this, though.”

“What is that?”

“The handwritten copy of the contract. I’ll have them in to you as fast as I can. Unless I say your name, ignore me.”

“Okay.” he said, sounding confused. I hurried back out to my computer, turned on my headset, and started reading the contract into the computer. I finished the water that Lance had handed me and grabbed a second one from the minifridge in my office. Taking a break after the second page of the contract, I pulled a spare blouse from the closet by my desk and ran to the bathroom, changed my shirt and sprayed some perfume on, then went back to my desk and the contract. “You keep spare clothes here?” Lance said from his doorway as I got behind my desk.

“Just a shirt. And are you really gonna complain? I don’t smell like alcohol anymore.” He walked over to me and leaned down, sniffing my hair and neck, making my lips part, my heart start racing, and my breathing skyrocket and stutter.

“Well, the top half smells fine. I’d smell lower on you, but somehow I have a feeling you don’t want that.”

“Not really. Go away. I need to finish this contract.” I said, biting back a smile. He smirked and headed back into his office. “And I hope you’re happy. George was pissed that I had to leave in the middle of our date.”

“I’m not gonna say sorry for that. I still don’t like him and I don’t think you should, either.” I smirked but went back to reading the contract into the computer. Just as I finished, the elevator dinged open and a man stepped off.

“Good evening, ma’am. I’m Patrick Hastings and I’m here for a meeting with Mr. Murdoch.”

“Good evening, Mr. Hastings. He’s right in here. Mr. Murdoch?” I said with a smile as I peeked in his office. “Mr. Hastings is here.”

“Ah, perfect. Come on in, sir. How is the contract coming, Ms. Marsh?”

“Almost finished with it, sir. Maybe another 5 minutes before I print them out.” He nodded and I went back to my computer. I listened in on their meeting as I proofread the entire contract and made notes in a notebook I kept on the side of anything I heard that sounded important. I printed 2 copies of the contract when I was done with it and then opened up the computer to start finding out why it hadn’t saved it on Thursday. I grabbed the contracts from the printer and took them in to Lance. “Here we go, sir. Fresh off the printer. I’m going to find out what happened to my finished copy from Thursday. Unless you need me in here?”

“No, we’re fine. Thank you.” I gave a curt nod and headed back out to my computer.

What is going on with you? I thought after an hour of searching through all the files had gotten me nothing but a headache from eye strain. Fine. I’ll run a couple scans on you. I ran one scan and found nothing, then ran a secondary one that said it’d take an hour to complete. Great. It’ll be midnight before this scan is done. I’m gonna have to call a cab to take me home, I thought tiredly as I rubbed my temples. I downed a third water bottle while waiting for the scan to finish. Just as Lance and Mr. Hastings finished their meeting, the scan finished up as well and told me that there were a couple of bugs on the computer. Great. That’s why it didn’t save it. I’m gonna scream. That antivirus software was supposed to keep them off of here. What the hell happened?

“Ms. Marsh, we’ll need these corrections made to the contract and a copy sent to Mr. Hastings email for him to sign.” Lance’s voice in front of my desk made me jump a mile and I looked up at him.

“Yes, sir. I’ll get it done right away.”

“That can wait until Monday since it’s already midnight.” I smiled and nodded, made a note about what needed to be done with the contract, and slapped it on the top page as Mr. Hastings left the office. “Did you figure out why the computer didn’t save the contract?”

“There’s a couple of viruses on it. I was gonna call tech support on the antivirus software on Monday and find out what happened.”

“Alright. Do you have your car?” I shook my head. “Come on. I’ll take you home.” I gave him a sleepy smile and nodded.

27

I grabbed my shirt I’d changed out of and followed Lance onto the elevator, and he helped me into his car and took me home. “Wake up, Junie. You’re home. And apparently, you have company.” I sat upright as he turned onto my street, not realizing I’d dozed off.

“Ugh. What does he want right now?” I grumbled, wiping the sleep from my eyes to wake up a bit.

“Want me to help you get rid of him?” Lance asked as we pulled up to my driveway.

“No, I’ll be alright.” I said, taking off my seat belt. “Thank you for the ride home, Mr. Murdoch.” I said with a smile, opening the door.

“My pleasure, Ms. Marsh. Thank you for coming in on such short notice. I’ll see you Monday.”

“That’s what you pay me for.” I chuckled out. “I’ll see you Monday. Have a safe trip home.”

“I’m waiting until your inside so I know you’re safe. You’re too good of an assistant for me to risk losing.” he called out the window as I headed off.

“Hey, George. What’s up?” I said, turning around to face him and go inside.

“What’s up is that you left me in the middle of our date, Juniper. What the hell was that shit about? You screwing this guy but won’t screw me?” he said, pointing toward Lance’s car.

“That’s my boss. And I’m not screwing anyone. I left our date and went to work for a meet-”

“You work your ass off for him all week. I’m sure the idiot can handle one lousy meeting without you.” he interrupted making me roll my eyes.

“I’ve gotta get inside. It’s late. Have a good night, George.” His hand darted out and grabbed my arm as I tried to walk past.

“Everything alright, Ms. Marsh?” Lance asked getting out of his car.

“She’s fine, piss-head.” snarled George.

“George! Knock it off! That’s my boss!” I snapped at him, trying to yank my arm from his grasp. “Everything’s fine, Mr. Murdoch. You can go ahead and leave if you want. I know it’s late.”

“Not until you’re safely inside, Juniper.” he said coming closer to me.

“Yo, she said she’s fine. Get the hell outta here. You already ruined our date.” George said, squeezing my arm a little tighter to keep me from getting away.

“Ow. George, ease up, please. You’re starting to hurt me.” I whispered, hoping Lance wouldn’t hear it.

“Let go of her arm.” Lance growled at him. “You may be dating her, but I am too and I don’t like seeing bruises on her.”

“She’s already run off from me once tonight and fucked you. Now I’m gonna get mine.”

“We did nothing of the sort. We had a meeting with the owner of another company I’m buying. Now let go of her arm before you get hurt.” George yanked my arm closer to him.

“Oh, so you fucked two guys at once? Good. I’m gonna use all your holes, you little slut.”

“George, let me go. You’re hurting me.” I said, feeling tears come up in my eyes from the pain. Out of nowhere, Lance’s fist connected with George’s jaw, and George let go of my arm in shock. I hissed at the pain but pulled my sleeve up a bit to see if I was going to have a bruise.

“Juniper, inside, please. And lock your door.” Lance growled out before I could see my arm.

“Lan-”

“If you want your bonus for coming to a meeting after business hours, you will get in your house right now, Ms. Marsh.” he snapped.

“Yes, sir. Thank you again for the ride home.” I said softly. I walked up the driveway, rubbing my arm, unlocked the door and went in, locking it right behind myself. I wonder what Lance is doing to George. I want to look out there, but I don’t want him to get mad at me if he sees me. I spent a couple of minutes standing by the door, debating if I should peek outside or not, but one look at my arm and I stopped worrying about what was happening outside. Where George had grabbed me was already a dark shade of red, telling me this was probably gonna be the worst bruise I’d ever had. I got a washcloth wet and put it in the freezer, then headed into my room, got a shower, and dressed in my pajamas. I checked my phone before going into the kitchen and found a text from Lance.

- Open the door for me, Junie.

I bypassed the kitchen and looked out through the peephole on the front door, seeing Lance standing there alone, so I yanked the door open as fast as I could. He didn’t give me a chance to say anything, just pushed past me into the house. “How bad did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine, Lance. I promise.”

“Juniper, don’t test me right now. How bad?” he growled.

“I’ll have a bruise on my upper arm in the morning.” I said softly, looking at the floor.

“Let me see it.” I rolled up my sleeve as far as I could, but it didn’t go up high enough.

“I need to go change my shirt for you to see it.”

“Just take off the sweater.”

“Lance-”

“Juniper, you don’t have anything I haven’t seen before. Did you forget how we slept after the Christmas party? Take off the sweater.” I took off the sweater to keep him from getting mad at me. “You’re not seeing him again, are you?”

“No. If it’s because he was drunk, he’s SOL since that’s all he does when we go to dinner. If it’s because he was mad about me going to work in the middle of our date, he’s SOL because it may happen again. I’m not gonna be bruised every time I have a meeting after hours that we need to take care of, and I’m not gonna be with an abusive drunk.”

“Good. You’re not to go to Mattie’s Mart again, either. Go put on a short-sleeve shirt or tank top.” I did as told, but was confused as to why Lance was acting like this tonight. He’d never been the kind to give me orders before. I tugged on a tank top and a hoodie then went back to the kitchen and checked the washcloth. “Don’t put anything on it yet.”

“Why are you acting like this, Lance? You’ve never been bossy before. Even at work.”

28

I waited until Junie went to her room then called Officer Bridges back and told him I wanted George arrested for abuse. “She’ll have a bruise in the morning from where he grabbed her. It’s already dark red and swollen.”

“Don’t do anything with it, Mr. Murdoch. I need photographic evidence before I can hold him for anything more than 24 hours. I’m on the way right now. I’ll see you both soon.”

“Make sure to have something for a restraining order against him as well, please. Thank you.” I hung up just as Junie’s bedroom door opened and she came out wearing a zip-up hoodie. Her eyes were still red and slightly puffy from the tears she’d been trying to hold in since he touched her. She opened the freezer and grabbed a washcloth. “Don’t put anything on it yet, Junie.” I said with a stern voice. I was still pissed at George for putting a mark on her, and even more pissed that he’d left instead of trying to settle our fight.

“You’ve never given me orders, Lance. Not even at work. What’s going on?”

“I’m pissed, Juniper. Not at you, but I can’t calm down right now so don’t take the attitude personally. Have a seat on the couch. A cop will be here soon to take care of some things.”

“A cop? I didn’t call the police. Lance, did you just get in legal trouble because of George?” I could see the tears of worry for me building and heard the concern in her voice as she walked toward me, ignoring the couch.

“No. George got himself in trouble for touching you. I just made the necessary phone call that I knew you wouldn’t. Sit down.” She obediently sat on the couch and kept her mouth shut. “You’re telling the cop what happened and filling out the restraining order against him.” She nodded but kept her gaze on the coffee table. A knock came on her door a few minutes later and she went to answer it.

“Evening, ma’am. I’m Officer Bridges. May I come in?” She nodded and opened the door wider, letting the cop in. “Evening, Mr. Murdoch.”

“Evening, sir.” Junie closed the door behind him and came back to the couch. He sat down next to her and asked her what happened, getting told her view of the entire evening. “May I see where he grabbed you?” She unzipped her hoodie and slid it off, showing her upper arm and the bruise that was forming. “Alright. I can go arrest him but I need photographic evidence for more than 24 hours. Will you allow me a couple photos, Ms. Marsh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And I was told that you wanted a restraining order against him. That correct?” he asked as he took a couple of pictures. She nodded. “Alright. Let me get the paperwork out. I’ll need you to fill it out with what happened, in addition to his first and last name and his address.”

“I don’t know his address. He always picked me up for our dates and we never went to his place.”

“Do you know his place of employment?” She nodded. “I can arrest him there, but it won’t be until his next workday.”

“That’s fine. Before I left for my meeting he told me he’d pick me up after work tomorrow. It’s only through the night. It’s not that long.” He nodded and she filled out the paperwork, closing the door behind him when he left. “How did you know I wouldn’t call them on him, Lance?” she asked softly.

“Because you’re too nice. Even to those that don’t deserve it.”

“Would you like to stay or were you gonna head home now that I’m inside, safe, and the cops are involved?”

“I’ll stay if you want me to.” I said, finally hearing my voice calm down a bit. She nodded.

“Please.” I heard how hard she was holding back the tears and opened my arms. She ran into them and started bawling, so I squeezed her to me tighter to give her more comfort and make her feel safe. After about 15 minutes, her shoulders stopped shaking violently and she backed from me a bit, led me to the bedroom, and crawled under the covers after taking off her hoodie. “I know you’re not gonna do anything to me, Lance. You can sleep in here with me if you want.” I gave her a soft smile and stripped down to my boxers, crawling in her bed beside her. She curled up next to me and draped an arm over my waist, keeping the covers pulled up to her chin which left my arms out. I wrapped them around her and held her, letting myself relax at the feel of her so close to me.

Maybe I just made her exclusively mine. Only thing I can do is hope for it. We woke up in the morning and I headed home after checking her arm since I knew I’d do nothing but look at it and get pissed if I stayed. I swung by Mattie’s Mart to deck George for it as they arrested him, but the cop saw me and told me to go home or I’d be arrested too so I left, glaring at him as they put him in the back seat of the car. I took Juniper out that night and Sunday, but she wanted to have some time to herself afterward so I let her be for the next week. The Monday before our flight to New York, I was standing in her office telling her what things we’d need to take with us since we were flying out tomorrow morning.

“I’ll meet you here in the morning. We’ll grab everything we need and head out from here since we need to be at the airport by 9:30.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’ll need to take your iPad and phone. I’ll need you in the meeting to take notes and hand me the paperwork as we need it.” The elevator dinged but I didn’t look away from her since we were busy with work. “That being said, I wanna go through all the papers and get them in order for the meeting.”

“You’re not going anywhere with him, Juniper! You’re fucking him, might as well fuck me too!” screamed a man’s voice from behind me, making Junie’s head jerk up from the folder we were looking through.

29

I looked up at the sudden racket that came from behind Lance and felt the blood drain from my face at seeing George in my office. “We’re done. You have no say in what I do or where I go, least of all if it’s for my job.”

“You fucked your boss during our last date! Now you’re gonna fuck me in his office.”

“No, I didn’t, and I’m sure as hell not doing anything with you.”

“Get out of this office, and get the hell out of this building.” Lance growled at him as he turned to fully face him.

“Fuck you. I’m getting a piece of her ass. I can always tell a good little slut when I see one. Get on your knees and suck me, bitch.” George said, walking towards me.

“No.” He raised a hand and I instinctively cowered away from him, but his hand didn’t land on me. Taking a hesitant peek after a few seconds, I saw George laying on the floor and Lance uncurling a fist, standing over him. He is. He’s still willing to get in trouble to keep me safe. That’s it. That’s what I wanted, I thought as I stood upright and reached for the phone.

“Call the cops, Juniper.” he said as they picked up.

“Kimble Fork Police Department. How may I direct your call?” said a woman’s voice.

“Officer Bridges, please.” I said into the phone.

“Transferring. Please hold.” A few seconds later a new voice came on the line. “This is Officer Bridges.”

“Good morning, Officer Bridges. My name is Juniper Marsh. I’m calling on behalf of Mr. Lance Murdoch. We need you to come to Paragon Offices at 6294 West Atlas Road. Top floor, please.”

“Marsh, Marsh... I remember that name. Didn’t you fill out a report a couple weeks ago?”

“Yes, sir. A restraining order on George Palmer. He just burst into my office and tried to hit me.”

“I’m assuming Mr. Murdoch is there with you?”

“Yes, sir. We were getting ready for a business meeting in New York tomorrow when George arrived.” I heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone.

“I’ll be there soon, Ms. Marsh. Thank you for the call.”

“Thank you, sir. We’ll see you soon.” I hung up and looked at Lance. “He’s on his way.”

“Good.” he growled.

“Want me to make you happier before he gets here?” I asked softly.

“I don’t think it’s possible.”

“Do you mind if I try anyway?” He looked at me expectantly, and I walked over to him. Standing on my toes, I pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered in his ear. “I’m yours.” It didn’t seem to register for a minute since I landed back on my heels before he moved to look at me.

“You wanted to see me knock someone out?” he asked, looking at me, astonished.

“No. I wanted to know that you’d protect me regardless of the consequences and risks. You just showed me that you don’t care where you are, you’ll protect me from danger, even if it means getting in trouble.” I said with a smile.

“That one never changed from high school, Junie baby. You should’ve known that when we started going out.” he murmured, cupping my jaw.

“10 years is a long time, Lance. It could’ve changed.” He tugged my face to his and gave me a deep kiss. I pushed back after a minute when I remembered that the cop was on his way. “You’ll have time to get more of those later.” I murmured.

“Oh, I’m getting more of those kisses.” he whispered with a smirk. “I haven’t had ones like that in too long, baby.” I smiled and blushed for him, but moved back behind my desk just as the elevator dinged. “Morning, Officer Bridges.”

“Morning, Mr. Murdoch. You know, you could’ve just called us to come get him when he arrived? You didn’t have to knock him out.”

“Was I supposed to let him hit her? He was already calling her a slut and talking about taking it from her. In my office, I might add.” The cop sighed but looked at me.

“Would you like to press charges on him since he violated the restraining order, Ms. Marsh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright. Let me haul him over here and cuff him, then I’ll get the paperwork.” We nodded and got back to the file as Officer Bridges dragged George away from my desk. When he came back up with papers in hand, we put our work to the side again so that I could get charges pressed and Lance could fill out a report on what happened. “Thanks, folks. Have a good one. I’ll make sure he stays in for a while. Maybe he’ll cool off while he’s in there.” he said, yanking a still unconscious George to his feet.

“We can only hope.” Lance said as the cop got into the elevator. He waved goodbye to us and we got back to work, organizing the papers so they’d be ready for the meeting tomorrow. We landed in New York and the driver I’d hired for the day met us in the hangar, then took us to the office for our meeting, taking us back to the hangar when the meeting was over. Sitting on the plane, I looked over at Lance and smiled. “What?”

“Nothing. Just happy.” He smiled back at me. I let out a sigh and leaned my head back until the plane started to take off down the runway. I held my breath, still not liking takeoffs and landings, but Lance stood up and tugged my face to his, giving me a deep kiss as he leaned over my seat.

“Better?” he murmured as he backed from me. The plane had leveled out by now and I was comfortable again.

“How did you do that?” I murmured with a smile as I looked up at him through my lashes.

“Do what?” he said as he sat back down.

“Make me forget my fears and make me comfortable in a plane during takeoff.” He smirked but never answered my question. Just as we started landing, Lance kissed me again and made me forget my fears and level of comfort. “Now you’re being an overachiever.” I chuckled out. “You’ve already gotten me to be exclusive with you again, now you’re making yourself look even better.”

“Good. Gives you less of a reason to think about leaving. Which I’m never letting you do by the way.” I smirked and stood when the plane stopped, letting him tug me into his chest and give me a deep kiss, but pushed back before too long since I didn’t wanna be caught making out with my boss. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Just take me to the office. I want to put away these files so they don’t get lost over the weekend, and I’ll need my car to get to work Monday morning.”

“Fine, but I’m coming over tonight. I want a few hours of those kisses from you.” he whispered in my ear, earning a smile. True to his word, we went to the office, I got the files put away, then he walked me to my car and followed me home.

30

“Junie baby. We gotta stop, or I’m not gonna be able to control myself. It’d already been too long for me when we bumped into each other.” I groaned out.

“Too long?” she asked with a confused look on her face, making her absolutely adorable.

“Since I’ve had sex. When we bumped into each other, I lost interest in all others. I haven’t even looked at another woman since that night. I don’t wanna push you, so we need to stop.” She straddled my lap and pressed our lips together for a brief moment.

“And what if I don’t wanna stop? What if I want to go further, experience everything?” she whispered.

I woke up the next morning with Junie still curled up next to me and a soft smile curled my lips. Holy hell. That was an amazing night. I’m never letting her go again. She started moving around a bit like she was waking up, so I closed my eyes and rolled my head to face her so I’d see her again when I opened my eyes. I felt her try to slip out of the bed and drew in a deep breath as I opened my eyes, seeing her give me a sheepish smile. “Good morning, Junie baby.” I mumbled.

“Good morning. How’d you sleep?” she murmured.

“The best night’s sleep in a few years. You?”

“Wonderfully. Want some breakfast?” I smiled and nodded, letting her slip out of my arms.

“We’re going to my place tonight.” I said as she tugged on some pajama pants.

“Why?”

“My bed is bigger and I liked having you in it on New Year’s.” She chuckled, but nodded and headed off after tugging on an oversized shirt. I got out of her bed and tugged on my sweatpants, following her to the kitchen to help make breakfast or at least coffee.

“So how are we gonna handle this at the office?” she asked as she set our breakfast on the table.

“The same way we have been. Nothing at the office will change just because we’re dating, Junie.”

“And if someone sees us outside of the office or after work hours?”

“You travel with me for meetings and attend dinner meetings with me. They’ll probably assume it’s one of those reasons.”

“And if we’re still together for the next holiday party you throw for the company? What then? It’s obvious there that we aren’t getting things ready for a meeting or attending a dinner meeting. Plus, you’ve already said that you won’t be able to handle watching if someone else decides to hit on me while we’re there. That means that by the end of the year, everyone in the company will know I’m screwing my boss.” I drew in a deep breath, knowing she wasn’t going to like this.

“They’ve already been talking, Junie.” I said as she sat down at the table with a cup of coffee. “I was able to cover up what I was really doing at the Christmas Party, but I should’ve had you go to the bathroom or something when everyone else started to leave. It would’ve been more explainable for why we left the office together that night. Then, taking you to my parents for the holidays didn’t help the rumor mill. It escalated from there so for the last month, there have been people saying that you were sleeping with me.”

“Damn it.” she groaned out, dropping her head onto the table.

“Just own it. Don’t listen to what they’re saying, Junie. If they want to ask questions, let them. Give them the honest answers, set them straight if they’re wrong about something. You’ve seen how all these people are. Just treat it like you did in high school, but forget everyone’s getting paid.”

“What were they saying in high school?” she asked, looking like she’d never heard a word they were saying about us.

“If you ask any of my buddies from then, you’ve been my bed toy since our sophomore year. Anyone else at the school, it’s been that way since we got together our junior year. Didn’t you ever wonder why my friends were laughing whenever we left school together?”

“I never knew they were. So everyone sees me as a tramp?”

“Maybe. I don’t know how they see you, and to be honest, I don’t care what they think. And you shouldn’t either. It never helps when you try to deny everyone’s opinions of you. Just solidifies their thoughts that they think are evidence.” She groaned and let her head fall back, letting me see the handful of hickies that I’d given her last night. Not wanting to make her feel worse, I kept my mouth shut but made a mental note to put them a little further back on her neck next time so that she could hide them for work. She packed an overnight bag after breakfast and we headed out to my place, spending the day curled on the couch and watching old cartoons. I ordered in for some Chinese for dinner, and the second we were done eating, she straddled my lap and gave me a deep kiss. “What was that for?” I murmured as she backed.

“Don’t ever give me hickies like these again.” she murmured against my lips, making me chuckle. “It’s not funny, Lance. I’m gonna have a hard time covering these for work tomorrow.”

“I won’t give you ones in the front of your neck, but I will give them to you in other spots.”

“And where exactly are you thinking?” she asked, backing up from me a bit. My alarm went off at 6:45, waking me up for the day, and I looked at where Junie was curled up in my arms.

“Wake up, Junie baby. We need to start getting ready for work.” I said softly as I caressed her cheek. Her eyes opened and I smiled at her. “Good morning, sweetheart. I don’t want to, but we need to get ready for work.”

“We don’t need to be there until 8.” she said, snuggling her head against my chest as a smile curled her lips.

“It takes a half hour to get there from here, we need to eat something for breakfast, and you’re gonna want to try to hide your hickies from a couple nights ago. Come on. Time to get up.” I poked her in the side and she squealed as she jerked away from my finger, making me laugh.

31

4 days later

“Juniper, what’s going on with you and Mr. Murdoch?” asked Yolanda over lunch. “I’ve been hearing rumors but I want to know from the source.”

“What rumors have you heard?” I asked, stabbing another piece of bourbon chicken that was on my plate. I’d given in to the fact that rumors had been circling the office about me for over a month already, and decided to just go with doing what Lance had suggested.

“That you’ve been sleeping with him and that’s how you got the promotion.”

“Partially true, starting this past weekend.” I said with a slight shrug.

“Really? He’s playing favoritism like that?” My head jerked up from my plate.

“No! Can you promise to try to stop the rumors on me? If so, I’ll tell you everything.” I said, practically pleading with my eyes for her to agree. She nodded and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Alright. We dated back in high school. One of his buddies told him some lie about me and it broke us up our senior year. I didn’t see him again until the night before he went around the office meeting all of us.”

“Wait, you started seeing him the night before he walked around the office for introductions?”

“No. I was out to dinner with my dad. He was in line behind us when he noticed me. He actually had to tell me his name to get me to remember who he was.”

“Oh, ok. Sorry to interrupt. Go on.” I smiled.

“Well, the next day, I found out that he bought the company.”

“Yeah, I remember. He fired his assistant that day. Any idea why? I heard it was a meeting in your office.” I nodded.

“Well, somewhat of an idea. He said that she’d been messing up since they met but never said how. She was also being rude to me and a smartass to him.”

“That says enough right there.” I chuckled.

“Well, my dad ended up in the hospital that afternoon and we found out that it was actually his deathbed shortly after I got there. Lance came to the hospital the next morning, took me to my house after I fell asleep, then offered me the job the morning after that. Gave me the rest of that week and all of the next off to get over dad. He was driving me insane and kept asking me out, but I was able to handle turning him down until he took me to his parents for Christmas so I wouldn’t be alone for the holidays.”

“So what about the Christmas party? I heard you guys left together.”

“Yeah. Mr. Hollins had gotten me pretty drunk by my third drink and almost got me out of the office. Since I’d taken a cab to the office from the house, Lance gave me a ride home.”

“And you slept with Mr. Murdoch that night.” she said, sounding like it was an obvious detail.

“No. Well, yes, in a way. We didn’t do anything that night, but he slept in the bed with me since it was so cold.”

“Why didn’t he sleep on the couch?”

“He wouldn’t have had any blankets. I was too drunk to know where they were, and he doesn’t know where things are kept in my house.”

“Makes sense. So how did you end up agreeing to go back out with him?” I told her how he and his mom were practically tag-teaming me to get me to say yes, and everything that’d happened between us until a few days ago. “Wow. There’s no way I’d have guessed half of that.”

“At least my first love got my v-card. That’s better than most girls, I guess.”

“You were still a virgin until this past weekend?” she asked, sounding shocked that it was possible for that to happen.

“Yeah. I had more important things on my mind. So that you know, these rumors were the second reason I was able to turn him down for so long.”

“What was the main reason?”

“He shattered my heart once already. Why think he won’t do it again? I’m still kinda waiting on that to happen, actually.” I muttered, looking back down at my bourbon chicken and getting another bite.

“It won’t, Juniper.” I looked up at her, confused about how she could know. “Can I tell you something as a friend and outside view of the two of you?” I nodded. “He’s crazy for you. Whenever I see him near you outside of work, he looks happy and relaxed.” She paused when my phone went off, and I groaned as I looked at the screen.

“It’s like Beetlejuice. We spoke about him too much. Give me a minute, Yolanda.” She held back a laugh and nodded, stuffing some food in her mouth. “Yes, Mr. Murdoch?”

“Junie, I need you back here ASAP. Mr. Hastings will be here at 1:15 to go over the last version of the contract again. He just wanted to clarify a few things.” I rolled my eyes and forced myself not to sigh.

“Very well. Let me pay for my meal and I’ll be back at the office.”

“Thank you. I’ll take you to dinner for this.” I hung up on him, knowing that he’d grumble at me about that later.

“Sometimes I really hate being his assistant.” I muttered, shoving my phone into my purse. “Need a ride back to the office?”

“If you don’t mind. It’d be easier than catching a cab here.”

“Tell me about it.” I said, motioning for our check. “On me. For being a friend and not making assumptions about my relationship.” I said, handing the server my card.

“Thanks, Juniper. Just be careful. I doubt they will, but if things go sour, one of you will more than likely have to leave the company and you know it’s not gonna be him.”

“I know. Problem is, I also know that he won’t let me quit. Even if things go bad.” I said, scribbling my name and the tip on the receipt. We grabbed our things and ran to my car, flying back to the office so that I could get Lance set up for his meeting with Mr. Hastings.

32

3 months later

“Here’s the last of the files for you, Mr. Murdoch.” Junie said as she walked over to my desk, setting a handful of files down for me.

“Perfect, thank you. Now, where is that paper?” I muttered to myself.

“What paper are you looking for?” she asked, smiling when I looked up at her.

“The one with the notes from -”

“Right here.” she interrupted as she opened one of the folders on my desk.

“You’re good, Junie baby. How did you know exactly what paper I needed though? I’ve had 3 or 4 conversations with him.”

“And I’ve kept all the notes from those on 1 page.” I chuckled and shook my head.

“All of your things in order for this trip?”

“Yes. I finally got my passport in the mail yesterday afternoon and I was planning on packing my bag tonight when I get home.”

“Perfect. I wasn’t expecting to ever leave the country on business, but I’m glad you were able to get everything you needed so quickly. How much did the passport cost you?”

“$60 to expedite it, plus I had to show the flight plans. Then, an additional $145 just to apply for it.”

“I’ll get you the $205 back-”

“Don’t worry about it. I was gonna take a vacation this year and thought I may need a passport.”

“When were you gonna tell me you were leaving the country?” I asked, giving her a confused look.

“When I figured out where I was going. And I still would’ve been able to go to any meetings that you needed me at without fighting for the plane ticket. I was planning on having Clay take me and pick me up. Back to work. We’ll talk about this later since I don’t even know where I’m going, let alone when.”

“Damn right, we’ll talk about it. Dinner at my place.” She rolled her eyes and left my office. “Alright?” I hollered out the door after her.

“Very well, Mr. Murdoch. I’ll just pack for our trip tomorrow morning before I meet you here.” she hollered back in.

“Damn you. Always making plans to get away from me. Fine. We’ll stop at your house so you can pack while I order a pizza for delivery. Then we’ll bring your bag to my place.”

“And if I don’t want to stay the night?” she asked, stepping into the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.

“You’re staying.” I said flatly.

“Ugh.” she muttered as she rolled her eyes. “We work together, we sleep together, we eat together most of the time. Why not just have me move in with you, too?”

“Fantastic idea. Move in.” I said with a straight face. She rolled her eyes as she looked away, but jerked her head back in my direction.

“What?”

“You heard me. Move in. I’m not letting you go, Junie. This will happen eventually, so why not now?”

“Why n-? Lance, have you lost your mind?! You know what? No. I’m not having this conversation with you, let alone at work.” She turned, shaking her head and muttering to herself, making me smile and softly chuckle when she disappeared from my doorway.

Her moving in with me would be nice, but I can see why she just freaked out over that. We work together, we have dinner together almost every night, most days we have lunch together. That is a lot of being around each other. I know what would really make her freak out, though. Too bad I can’t do that. I need her for this meeting and if I make her freak out like that, she might try leaving. I can’t ever let her leave - me or the company. I’d never survive a day here without her in the office, I thought as I picked up the page with her notes on the phone calls between Alejandro Dias and myself. I spent the next couple hours of the morning looking over everything we’d already talked about and trying to get everything in order for our meeting in two days.

“Ok. Everything out here is set and will be fine for up to a week. Looks like you still need help with the files.” came Junie’s voice from my doorway, making my head jerk up.

“Yeah. I’d rather not take more than we need to.”

“No problem. What exactly do we need?” she asked, walking over to my desk and coming behind it to stand next to me.

“All the notes on what we’ve already discussed since I’ll be going over those until we meet with him.” I said, watching her flip the page of notes over and setting it on the corner. “We need all the papers that he faxed to us for me to look over on this deal.” She grabbed a file and set it on top of the page of notes, picking up the stack that was on my desk afterwards as I wrapped a gentle hand around the inside of her leg and heard her give a soft gasp. “We need a copy of all the papers that we sent him.”

“Make a note of that one for me, please?” she asked softly. I jotted it down on a sticky note for her as I listed off the last thing.

“And finally, all the legal paperwork that will let us merge our companies, but I need 2 copies of all of those.” I made the note for having 2 copies of the legal papers for her on the same sticky note and gave it to her when she set a large folder down at the edge of my desk.

“Just set it on that folder. That’s the legal papers.” she said, still looking through the rest of the files and pulling one out before looking at them again.

“Good thing it’s not even lunch yet. You’re gonna need the rest of the day to get those papers copied and in the right order.” I said.

“Not really. I’ve figured out some tricks with that copier.” she murmured, moving back to the front of my desk and out of my reach. “Alright. Is that all we need for the meeting?” she asked, setting the rest of the stack of folders on my desk. I nodded. “Perfect. I’ll get all these copies going, get these files put back away, and clip together the papers from each file. Take a breather for a minute, Mr. Murdoch. I’ll order you an early lunch since you have a meeting coming in at 1.”

“With?”

“Mr. Paul Taggert.”

“Damn. That ass. What’s he want?”

“I don’t know. You told me about it over lunch 3 days ago.”

“Oh yeah. That’s right. I’ll deal with him. I won’t need you for it at all. Not even notes will be needed.” She looked a little confused, but shrugged and headed out with the files that we didn’t need. I heard her talking to someone while she was out there, but nothing was very clear so I figured that she was still muttering to herself about me asking her to move in. She came back in and grabbed the other files that we did need.

“I ordered a Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwich with extra chicken for you.”

“A salad or a sandwich?”

“It’s a sandwich.”

“Then why did you say salad?” She stared at me with a blank expression for a minute.

“Wow. You’ll like it. I’ll bring it in when it gets here.” she walked out of my office and I heard the copy machine start up a moment later, but I was still wondering what the heck she’d ordered.

33

Even with setting the copier to copy and collate all those legal papers automatically, I just barely got those done by 3. I made a copy of the page of notes I’d taken so that Lance could make notes on it, then put the original back in its file, and started on making copies of the papers that we had sent to Mr. Dias. I hadn’t meant to, but skipped lunch today and my stomach started growling as I zoned out waiting on the copier. I can’t believe Lance told me to move in with him. I swear the man’s lost his ever-lovin’ mind. We see each other every single day. And what’s with the grumpiness about me taking a vacay and possibly going out of the country? I haven’t had a vacation in 6 years and I’ve never been out of the country. I’m going, whether he likes it or not.

“Hey, Junie. You just about done for the day?” came Lance’s voice from in front of me making me jump out of my skin.

“I think so. Let me just double check that the copies are all done. If not, I’ll finish up before heading home for the night.” I looked at the copier and saw that the copies were just high enough to start tilting to the side, looking like they were going to fall. “Woah. Alright. At least these are all in order.” I muttered as I stabilized the stack. “Let me get these clipped together and in the file, then I’ll be all done, unless there was something else you needed me to do today.” I said as I turned around to my desk and set the papers down, looking at him.

“Me.” Lance said. I rolled my eyes and looked back down at the papers.

“That’s not the first page.” I muttered to myself. Turning back to the copy machine, I saw it saying that there was a paper jam. “Crapola.”

“What?”

“Paper jam. I need to stay a bit later. Just to figure out which papers I need to copy again. Go ahead and head home, Lance. I’ll get this all figured out and finished, swing by my house and pack for our trip, then I’ll be at your place.”

“Give me your key. I’ll pack a bag for you. If you need something that I forgot, we’ll get it there.” Reaching behind me, I snagged my purse from the drawer I kept it in, and tossed my keys on the desk as I dropped my purse back in the drawer. “Anything specific you want to have?”

“Clothes from each dresser drawer and from the closet.” I said as I started pulling the copier apart. “Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, perfume, and shower gel are in the bathroom. There’s a small bag in there on the sink counter, specifically for bathroom items. Thank you.”

“Just come to my place when you’re done here. I’ll have dinner delivered. Call when you’re on the way. Hour an a half max before I come back for you, though.”

“Sure thing.” I grunted out as I yanked on a piece to get it off the machine. “Now, where is that paper jam?” I muttered. It took another hour for me to find the paper jam and get the last 10 pages copied since I was also out of paper and ink. I got everything clipped together as I called Lance and told him that I was done and on the way to his place. He said he’d have a pizza waiting when I got there and I threw my purse over my shoulder as I set the last file on the stack that we’d need. The second I walked in, something seemed different about his place, but I shrugged it off as just being tired. I plopped onto the couch and a plate appeared in front of me.

“Dinner time, Junie. I’m not letting you skip out on lunch and dinner.”

“How did you know I skipped lunch?” I asked looking up at him.

“I heard your stomach rumbling when I came out to head home.” I gave an apologetic smile. “Didn’t mean to, huh?” he asked with a smirk.

“No. I got busy getting those files set up and completely forgot to eat. Thank you for dinner.” I said, taking my plate.

“So, you’re leaving the country for a vacay this year?” he asked as he walked back to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes.

I can’t even eat in peace and relax my brain first. “Maybe. I don’t know yet. I don’t know where I’d go and I don’t even know when I want to take the time off. It’s only May and I had to book a few meetings for you in July already. Ones that I know you’ll need me at.”

“Why so far ahead?” he asked as he brought me a drink with his plate and another drink in his other hand.

“The people you’re meeting with wouldn’t be back in town until then.” He nodded in understanding. “As far as my vacation is concerned though, I’ll let you know when I’m going to take it and where I’ll be headed. I’ve never been out of the country and that’s why I was thinking that.”

“Well, I’m glad to be the one taking you out of the country for the first time.” I looked at him curiously. “We leave for Spain tomorrow, remember?”

“Dork.” I muttered. “I meant on pleasure, not for business.”

“In our case, business and pleasure have mixed.” I rolled my eyes and stuffed a bite of my pizza in my mouth. We finished our dinner and I jumped in the shower, wrapping the towel around me as I stepped out. “I brought the nightclothes that were on your bed for you.” Lance said, stepping out of the closet.

“Thanks.” I got dressed and crawled in his bed, rolling to my side to curl up next to him. “Goodnight, Lance.”

“We’re not even going to talk about you moving in?”

“Not tonight. I’m tired, ready for bed, and you sprung that on me out of nowhere. That can wait for a while.”

“Well, I brought some of your stuff over tonight, so you’re slowly moving in.” I rolled my eyes, huffed out a sigh, and flipped to my other side, giving him my back. An arm landed over my waist as soft kisses brushed my right shoulder. “Don’t be mad, baby. It’s a good idea. Yeah, we’ll see each other a lot, but I’m not letting you go. I’d do anything for you so if you need time to yourself once in a while, say so and you’ll have it. We’re in Spain for a week, right? 7 days?” he asked.

“And nights. Mr. Dias has that week open, but has random things pop up all the time so he wasn’t sure if you’d be able to get through everything in one day.”

“Alright. Here’s an idea. You wanted to go out of the country on vacay, so why not use the time we’re there as it. As long as were aren’t meeting Mr. Dias, you’re free to do what you want. I’ll give you the bonus for appearing at the meetings with me, but you can count it as vacay. Sound good?”

“Extra money for no reason? Really?” I asked, turning to look at him and seeing him nod. “Lance, I can’t do that. I have to earn it.”

“You are. You’re stopping your vacation for a meeting. It just so happens that you start your vacation again when the meeting is done.”

34

“Thank you, Mr. Murdoch, for letting me use this week as my vacation on top of the meeting.” I said to Lance as we sat in the plane.

“What would you like for breakfast?” he asked through his smile.

“Scrambled eggs, bacon, and a fruit cup, please.”

“Rootbeer, coffee, tea, juice, or water?”

“Apple juice, please.” He winked at me and my cheeks instantly started burning as he headed over to tell the flight attendant our breakfast orders. I’d booked separate rooms for us in the hotel just so I could use the time to get away from him and have some alone time. We landed and went to the hotel, checked in and went to our rooms. “I’m right next door if you need me, Mr. Murdoch. Have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning.” I walked into my room and closed the door behind myself, then opened my bag to find that Lance had packed me t-shirts, jeans, no work clothes, and some of my sexiest underwear and bras. My cheeks flushed again, but I grabbed my bag and headed back to his room. “Mr. Murdoch?” I asked through the door as I knocked.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he opened the door. I pushed past him into his room and dropped my bag on his bed.

“Want to explain why you didn’t pack my work clothes but managed to pick out my sexiest bras and panties?” I asked as I pulled out a pair of black lace thongs and held them up, making him smirk.

“I was planning on having you use this as your vacation. We’ll get you a few work outfits in the morning.”

“And my sexy undergarments?”

“I wanted to see you in them.” he said simply, making me roll my eyes.

“Prick.” I muttered, shoving my panties back in my bag.

“Make sure you’re fully rested for our meeting in the morning, Ms. Marsh. If you’d like, I can help you get to sleep.”

“No. I’m on vacation, I’ll be fine. If not, I’ll deal with it in silence. Goodnight.” I slung my bag over my shoulder again and left his room, muttering to myself that he was a bigger ass now than back in school. I put my clothes in the dresser, then headed down to the lobby.

“Can I help you ma’am?” asked the woman behind the desk.

“Do you have a bar here or is there one nearby?”

“We have 2 bars. 1 is in the penthouse with the pool, and we have a cocktail bar right over here with the restaurant.”

“I’ll take the cocktail bar. Thank you.” The woman nodded and I headed off to get myself 1 drink before bed. Letting the bartender know to charge my room, I got my drink but halfway through, I noticed a guy watching me intently. I finished my drink and got a soda, doing my best to ignore the guy, but he came over to me just before I finished my soda and said something to me in Spanish. “Sorry, I don’t speak Spanish.”

“What else can I get you to drink?” he asked with a slight Spanish accent.

“Nothing. I’m done and going to my room since I have a meeting in the morning. Have a good night, sir.” I stood and left, getting up to my room in peace, and quickly passed out when my head hit the pillow.

The next morning, I got up, showered, dressed, and headed over to Lance’s room. “You’re early.” he said as he opened the door.

“No, I’m right on time. You seem to be running late.” I said, walking in and closing the door behind me.

“I couldn’t fall asleep. I’ve gotten too used to having my girlfriend in my arms at night.”

“I do need time for myself, Lance. That’s why I’ve got my own room for this trip.” He shrugged and finished getting dressed as I ran through all our files again to make sure they were in order before putting them in his briefcase for him. “All ready when you are.”

“Perfect timing. Let’s go.” he said, placing a hand on my lower back and taking his briefcase from me. We hit a clothing store and I grabbed 3 outfits that were close enough to be considered work clothes, changed into one of them and paid, then we headed to our meeting. We got to Mr. Dias’ office and I instantly felt uncomfortable when I walked in, but did my best to ignore the feeling. “Good morning, ma’am. Lance Murdoch and his assistant to see Mr. Dias. We have a meeting at 10.”

“Ah, si, si. Come, Senor Murdoch.” said the woman. She led us through a set of double doors and motioned for us to sit. ”Senor Dias will be with you un momento.”

“Thank you.” Lance said, giving her a curt nod. She hustled off and I started to pull out the files so that we were ready the moment he walked in. As soon as I set the last file on the desk in front of Lance, the doors opened again and a deep voice came out.

“Welcome, Senor Murdoch. Good to meet you in person, finally. Thank you for coming.” We turned and I saw the guy from the bar last night, but forced myself to be polite. He shook Lance’s hand, then turned to me and stalled. “You would think I’d remember ever seeing a woman as beautiful as you, let alone where I had seen her. While I know I’ve seen you before, I cannot remember where. Honrado de conocer a una mujer hermosa como tú.” he said in Spanish.

“And that means what, sir? I’m sorry, but I don’t speak Spanish.” I saw a brief smirk hit his face, but kept my calm to keep from killing this merge for Lance.

“It means I’m honored to meet a beautiful woman like you. I also remember where I’ve seen you before, now. Not many people here don’t speak Spanish.”

Damn it. He remembers me. I just hope he doesn’t hit on me, I thought as I forced out a smile for him. “I’m glad your memory is coming back to you.”

“And what is your name, Senorita?”

“Juniper Marsh. I’m Mr. Murdoch’s assistant.”

“I would like to take you out tonight, Senorita Marsh.” he said. Lance’s jaw dropped open, but before he could step into the conversation, I spoke up again.

“I’m sorry, but I have a boyfriend, Mr. Dias. I’m not going to screw up the best relationship I’ve had since high school.” I said, letting my smile drop from my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lance smirk and straighten a bit.

“Don’t answer so quickly. I may not be willing to accept this merge if I get a no. I’ll let you think of it while I’m meeting with Mr. Murdoch, but I want an answer before you leave this office.” I turned away from him and sat, with Lance joining me a moment later. I took notes on the meeting for Lance, but Mr. Dias got a phone call and left the office for a moment.

“Junie, I don’t want you to go out with him. We’re dating and you’ve already said you’re exclusively mine.”

“I know, but I don’t want to jeopardize this merge or be the reason he says no. That being said, how bad would it jeopardize our happiness if I give him 1 night? I won’t sleep with him, or kiss him, or anything. Just dinner and a movie or whatever they do over here.”

“And if his idea of a date is dinner and sex?”

“Then he’ll only get dinner.”

“I still don’t like it, Junie. Don’t do it. If he wants to refuse this merge because he can’t date you, then he’s losing an opportunity that he may regret later. If you go out with him, we’re done.”

“Lance, that’s an overreaction and you know it.”

“I don’t care, Juniper. I don’t want my girlfriend to date other guys after she says that she’s mine and only mine.” he snarled. The door opened before I could respond and Mr. Dias came back in. I put away the papers that they had already gone through and took notes on a couple more things for Lance, but we were interrupted by his assistant, letting him know that he was urgently needed for an announcement for the rest of the company followed by a phone meeting.

“Ms. Marsh, your answer to my question, please?” Mr. Dias said as I stood to leave with Lance. I shot Lance a look, silently asking if he’d be alright with this, but he gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. I gave him an apologetic look, then turned to face Mr. Dias again.

“You have 1 night of my time, Mr. Dias, provided that you accept the merge with Mr. Murdoch right now. Just understand that since I do have a boyfriend, there will be no kisses or sexual relations between us.”

“But I’m still considering it, Senorita Marsh. How do you expect me to accept a deal that is not very well pondered on?” I gave him a take-it-or-leave-it look and he looked away. “Will you give me the date if I promise not to consider it when thinking of this offer?” he asked, looking back at me.

“No. I want to know that if I’m going to take the risk of ruining the best relationship I’ve ever had, that you’re taking a risk of the same size.” I said with determination and finality in my voice.

“You drive a tough bargain, Senorita Marsh. I’ll pick you up at 6. Dress nice, please. And Senor Murdoch, I accept the merge. I’ll get these papers filled out before our meeting tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Mr. Dias. Ms. Marsh, if you please. Our driver is waiting.” Lance said, slightly growling at me. I nodded a curt goodbye to Alejandro, turned and left the office with Lance.

35

I kept quiet all the way to the hotel from Mr. Dias’ office, and I know it was driving Junie insane, but I didn’t want to yell at her and really didn’t want to discuss this in front of anyone else, so I was trying to hold out until we got to the hotel. “Lance, please talk to me. I know you’re mad about what I did, but I didn’t want to be the reason that he denied the merge. Please. Don’t do this to me again.” she begged. It took all my strength, but I managed to hold back from talking. The driver pulled up and stopped in front of the hotel.

“Thank you, sir. We’ll need a ride to that same destination tomorrow morning for a meeting at 10.”

“I’ll be here at 9:15, sir. Have a good evening.”

“Lance, please.” Junie whispered as we got in the elevator. I could hear the tears in her voice, but didn’t want to risk the elevator stopping for someone else before we got off on our floor. I somehow managed to ignore the deep, calming breaths I was hearing from beside me until I walked into my room. I turned around, holding the door for Juniper, but she tried to walk past my room. My hand darted out and caught her arm, making her look at me.

“In here.” She walked in looking a little confused but hopeful. “What is wrong with you, Junie? You’re mine. You’ve said countless times that you’re exclusively mine. Why the hell are you gonna go out on a date with some guy that we were meeting with?” I snarled the second I shut the door.

“Because I didn’t want to be the reason that he denied the merge. Why are you being a butt about this? I got you a solid acceptance of the merge in one day. I swear we aren’t gonna do anything, Lance!”

“Oh, I’m being an ass? Who’s the one that was practically just inviting some guy to her room in front of me?!”

“Would you rather me have taken him up on the offer of a drink last night at the bar? Without even knowing who he was? At least now, I hold a threat his company’s move to an international standing.”

“That’s not the point! You’re my girlfriend! Mine, Juniper! What do you not get about that?” I shouted back at her.

“There’s nothing about that that I don’t get.” she murmured. “Would you rather have spent 7 days hoping that you’d get an acceptance, or would you rather let me go on 1 measly date with the guy and be guaranteed an acceptance?” I walked out to my balcony, leaving her question unanswered. I stood out there for about 5 minutes, cooling off and letting my temper die down, but when I came back in the room, Junie was gone. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and tracked hers, finding her in her room and breathing a sigh of relief. I tapped a few buttons on my phone and set mine to pick up her phone calls so I’d know when she left and could follow her on her date.

She’s gonna kill me if she catches me following her, but I need to know she’s safe, I thought as I changed into some jeans and a t-shirt. What the hell was going through her mind by accepting his date? I’d never hold her responsible for getting denied the merge. She should know that. She was right when she said I’m overreacting by saying were done, but damn it, she’s my girlfriend. Not my leverage to get the merges I want.

My phone pulled me from my thoughts and I looked at the screen, seeing Mr. Dias’ name appear as the clock switched to 6. I swiped the answer button and waited a moment to see if it’d come in on Junie’s phone. “Senorita Marsh, I’m sitting just outside the front door.” came his voice.

“Ok. Thank you. I’ll be down in just a moment, Mr. Dias.”

“Red and black GTA Spano right in front of the doors.”

“Alright. I’ll look for it.” I heard a soft sniffle and my heart shattered, knowing I was the only cause of her tears. The phone went silent and I pulled it from my ear just as I heard her door open. I waited until I thought she was on the elevator, then sent her a text as I changed my mind on following her on her date.

- I’m sorry, Junie. We’re not over. Not a chance, baby. I still don’t like that you’re going out with him, but we’ll talk about this when you come back for the night. Please stay safe and keep your promise to me.

- Thank you, Lance. I will, and I’ll see you in the morning since I don’t know what time I’ll get back tonight.

- I don’t care what time it is. Come to my room when you get back. I love you, Junie.

I set my phone down and walked out onto my balcony, watching her get into his supercar and he took off before the door was even closed. I have to. For her safety. If Zach was alive, he’d kill me if anything happened to her. And I’ll never let myself get over it if something happens to her. I grabbed my phone and called our driver for the week, telling him I wanted to go see Barcelona while I had the chance, and met him at the doors. He asked where I’d like to start and I gave him Junie’s location, praying that she wouldn’t catch me following her on her date.

36

“No, Alejandro. I told you before I agreed to this that I have a boyfriend. And when I did agree, I gave you the conditions that there’s no kissing or sexual relations between us.” I said pushing him away from me for the third time tonight. “I’m happy with my boyfriend.”

“Obviously not very happy because if you were, you wouldn’t be out with me, Senorita.” he murmured, leaning close and tugging me towards him again.

“I didn’t want to be the reason you denied my boss the merge. Take me back to my hotel.” I said, pushing him away again and grabbing my purse.

“Why? The night is young and so are we. Let’s dance. Let’s drink. Let’s enjoy each other fully.”

“No.” I said, fully frustrated with him. “I want to go back to my hotel.”

“Fine. We’ll enjoy each other there.”

“Not for that, Mr. Dias. You’re not invited to my room.” I snarled as I lost my patience.

“Then we’ll go to my place, Senorita.” he said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me towards the door of the club we were at. A fist came out of nowhere and decked Alejandro in the jaw, making him let go of me.

“The car is outside, Juniper.” Lance growled out. “Go get in it.”

“Thank you. Let’s go, Mr. Murdoch.” I murmured, trying not to rub my wrist and show that I’d gotten hurt.

“I’ll be right behind you.” he said, still not looking at me.

“No. I want you next to me. You don’t need the legal trouble that’ll come up if you stay.” I wrapped an arm around his and took a step, tugging Lance with me. “Come on, Lance. Please.” I said softly.

“You contact her again, and your international move will be destroyed.” he snarled, pushing a finger into Alejandro’s chest. He stormed off ahead of me, nearly dragging me behind him now.

“Lance, slow down. I can’t walk that fast.” He stopped and turned, scooped me into his arms, and carried me to the car.

“In.” he growled as he set me on my feet, letting me straighten my red dress that I’d bought this morning.

“Stop giving me orders, Lance. I know you’re pissed at him, but that’s no reason to take things out on me.” I snapped, pointing back at the club. He reached behind me and opened the car door.

“Either you get in on your own, or I’m putting you in there, Juniper.” he growled. I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him. “3... 2... last chance to keep from being pushed in.” I stood there a moment longer and he pushed me backwards just enough to knock me on my butt in the seat. “Now scoot in the rest of the way.” I scooted in and waited until he’d closed the door. “Back to the hotel, sir.” he said as he got in, before a loud smack landed on his cheek. His gaze darted to mine.

“Don’t ever put your hands on me like that again, Lance. I don’t care if you’ve just saved me from some horny fucking asshole. Never push me again.” I snarled at him. His hands flew behind my head and yanked my face to his, letting him crash our lips together. I pushed on his chest but it didn’t do anything. He tugged me onto his lap and stayed smashed against me until the driver said that we were at the hotel.

“You’re mine, Junie. Not my leverage for all the merges I want. Mine alone. No more dates with other guys.” he murmured before opening the door. I nodded, stuck looking at his gorgeous brown and gold eyes. I woke up the next morning to an empty bed, but found a note under my phone.

Junie,

I’m sorry I’m not in bed with you, but I wanted to get the paperwork between Mr. Dias and us completed before I changed my mind on it, and I didn’t want him to see you again. I’ll be back by 10:30. Enjoy your vacation. Anything you do at the hotel can be charged to the room, so charge it to mine. I love you and will see you later. Call me if you need me.

- L

Sweet jerk, I thought as a smile curled my lips. I grabbed my phone and checked the time, seeing that it was 9:30. First on the list is getting a shower. After that, I’ll probably go for breakfast then see where the day takes me. I tugged on my dress from last night and smoothed out my hair the best I could, then sped to my room. I set out my clothes and stripped, crawling in the shower and letting the hot water relax me. As I got out and dried off, I caught a glimpse of my wrist. Oh no. How am I gonna keep Lance from seeing that? The bruise wrapped around my entire wrist and was just a dark yellowish color, but I knew that Lance would notice it if I gave him half a chance. Wrapping the towel around myself, I went to see if there were any long sleeve shirts that he’d packed for me, but it was useless. All I had were t-shirts. Double crap. Maybe I can keep it hidden with makeup. Just until it goes away or fades more. I got dressed and brushed my hair out, then headed out the door, smacking into Lance as I walked out the front door of the hotel.

“Hey, Junie baby. Where you heading?”

“For breakfast, then wandering,” I said, keeping my wrist tucked behind me a bit.

“Want company or are you gonna make me worry about you?”

“I’d like some company. But you better hurry.”

37

Somehow, I managed to keep my wrist hidden from Lance all day, and by the next morning it had faded enough not to be noticable. We spent the rest of the week relaxing and I fully enjoyed my vacation. Lance had bought everything he could for me the day that he’d come with me, but I snuck out the next day without him and went on a bit of a shopping spree. Things kind of exploded between us about a month after we got back home though. I was still avoiding talking about moving in with him, but somehow, more of my stuff was ending up at his place. Finally, one day, I cracked. “Lance, just stop!” I said as I stumbled across something at his place that’d been at mine last night.

“What?”

“Enough with moving my stuff here. We haven’t talked about it and I’m not sure I want to see you 24 hours a day!”

“I’ve been trying to talk about it since the day you mentioned it. You’re the one that’s been avoiding the topic.”

“Because I’m still thinking about if it’d really be a good idea! Quit moving my things here!”

“Not gonna happen, Junie. I’m not letting you get away from me. This is the next step, unless you’d like to skip this and go to the next one.”

“Which is?”

“Marry me.” My jaw dropped, my mind went blank, and I stumbled backwards as I fell on his couch.

“What?” I whispered out in shock.

“Either move in or marry me. I’m not letting you get away from me, so it’s one or the other. They’ll both eventually happen anyway.” I bolted off the couch and ran out the door, getting to the stop sign at the end of the street before I stopped and started pacing.

What the hell? Did he seriously just ask me to marry him? What is going on with him? He’s pushing us way too fast if he truly thought I’d want to get married right now. What’s next - stop working and have my babies? My movements stopped and my brain emptied of all thoughts. Oh my god. That’s it. That’d be the next thing from him. Things need to slow way down. Now. I’m still waiting for him to wreck my heart again and he’s talking marriage and babies.

“Junie? You alright?” came Lance’s voice from behind me. I jumped as I spun to face him.

“Ye-yeah. I-I’m okay.” I said, feeling my breathing skyrocket.

“No you’re not, baby. You’re freaking out. I can see it. What’s going through your head?” I backed up a step, getting ready to run again. “No, Junie baby. Don’t run. Just talk to me.”

“You’re wanting to get married.” I murmured. “Then it’ll be you want me to stop working and have your babies. Then I’ll be trapped forever.”

“I’d never trap you, Junie. No one said anything about babies or you quitting your job. I’d never ask that of you since I know I wouldn’t make it through 1 day without you in the office. Just calm down and come back to the house with me. We’ll talk about this there.” I shook my head and backed up another step. “Please, baby. Don’t run from me. I see how terrified you are, but come back to the house and talk to me.”

“We need to slow down, Lance. Things are moving too fast.”

“That’s fine. We’ll slow things down. I’ll stop bringing your stuff over. Do you want some time alone after work?” I nodded and he took a deep breath. “The only thing I ask is that you text me every night and let me know that you’re safe.” I nodded again and he gave me a sad, weak smile. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride to your place so that you have your car in the morning.”

“Really? You’re gonna let me have some alone time starting tonight?”

“I know it’ll help you calm down, think through everything that’s happened, and decide what you want to do. Take the time you need, baby.” he murmured.

“Thank you for understanding.” I whispered, seeing his smile get a bit stronger as my breathing finally slowed down a bit. I took a couple steps towards him and he wrapped me in a hug. “I’m not going out at night after work. Just home and maybe the store for groceries.” I said into his chest, making his arms tighten around me.

“That’s fine. I still want a text though, just so I know you’re safe, baby.” I nodded into his chest and felt a kiss land on top of my head. “Thank you. Come on. Let’s get you to your house so you can start calming down and thinking.” He walked me back to his place, let me get my purse, then drove me to my house. “Can I get a kiss, Junie?” he whispered as we stood outside my door. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his, feeling him tug me tighter into his body and nibble on my bottom lip. As bad as I wanted to open for him and let my mind go blank from his kiss, I pushed back from him a bit.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Lance.” I whispered. He nodded in response, cupped my cheek, and pressed a final kiss to my forehead.

“Just relax, Junie. I’d never ask you to stop working unless I had to.” I nodded and slipped inside, closing the door behind me and feeling my breathing return to normal as my mind started going faster than the speed of light.

38

I got texts from Junie every night for the next 2 weeks that would say she was home and safe. At work, I wouldn’t push her to talk to me about how she was doing or what she’d been thinking of the previous night - just left that as work only for her to help her stay calm and think through more things. My phone went off tonight and I looked at it, seeing only 3 letters pop up on the screen when normally there were 4 words.

- SOS.

My worry for her instantly exploded and I rushed out the door, pulling up at her place 5 minutes later when it should’ve taken me 10 minutes to get here. The scene that met me was not what I was hoping to see. There were a couple cop cars and an ambulance in front of her house. Junie was sitting on the back of the ambulance with a woman close to her and murmuring, but she still looked like she was freaking out. She had an ice pack pressed against her left temple and a paper bag in her right hand that she was breathing into, telling me that she was hyperventilating. I ran up to her and she dropped the ice pack and bag, leaping into my arms. “Junie, what happened baby?” I asked, wrapping my arms tight around her waist. She just shook her head and I felt her shoulders start shaking, but her breathing wasn’t slowing down. I looked at the woman that’d been standing near her. “What happened?”

“All I can say is that the cops received a call and we were told to come out since there was a young woman that may have been injured. As far as I can tell right now, she’s perfectly fine other than the bruise she’ll have on her temple, but she does need to slow her breathing before she passes out, and I still have a couple other things to check.”

“Junie, baby, calm down. I’m here and you’re fine. I don’t want you passing out. Take some slow deep breaths for me.” I said calmly as I held her tight to me. She shook her head into my chest. “Junie, come on. Don’t tell me no. Take a deep breath for me.” She shook her head again so I pushed her back from me a bit and held her at arms length. “Ms. Marsh, take a deep breath. I’m not having my assistant pass out when she needs to be calming down.” I said. Her breathing stuttered as she tried to take a deep breath, but ended up crying out that one. I tilted her face to mine with one hand since the other was on her waist to keep her standing, and tried one last thing. “Look at me, Juniper. Look at my eyes.” I murmured. Her eyes focused on mine and I felt her breathing slow a bit. “Take a deep breath for me.” She did and her breathing slowed more. “Good. Keep taking deep breaths.” I murmured, not moving my eyes from hers. It took a couple minutes, but her breathing slowed to its normal pace and her tears had just about stopped. I dried her cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Feel better?”

“Getting there.” she whispered out. “Thank you.” I gave her a smirk and she gave a soft smile.

“Ok, ma’am. Now that you’re not hyperventilating, let me do a couple more checks on you just to make sure you don’t need to go to the hospital.” said the EMT. She had Junie follow a light with her eyes and checked her memory, but ultimately said that she was fine.

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll take care of her from here if you need to leave.”

“Seeing as how you got her to calm down when a trained professional couldn’t, I feel comfortable leaving her with you.” she chuckled out. “If anything happens that’s a cause for concern, take her right to the hospital and let them know she had gotten hit on the head tonight. Also, keep ice on her temple for tonight. It’s going to be a nasty bruise, but the ice will keep it from swelling.”

“I will. Thank you.” The woman packed up and left as a cop came over.

“Ms. Juniper Marsh?”

“Yes, sir?” Junie said softly, turning to face him.

“Do you know who had broken in or did you get a good look at them?”

“I know who it was.” Junie turned and looked at me before the cop could ask who had broken in. “Lance, do you mind getting me a glass of water?”

“After you tell the cop who broke in.”

“Please, Lance. I’m really thirsty.” I looked at the cop, hoping he’d say I couldn’t go in yet, but he nodded.

“We’re done in there, sir. You can go in.” I forced myself not to sigh, but nodded, headed in her house, grabbed a glass of water, and ran back out as fast as I could, hoping I’d hear who broke into her house and hit her.

“Alright, Ms. Marsh. You have a lovely night. You’re good to clean up in there if you want, too. If there’s anything else we need, we’ll give you a call. Thank you and hopefully the rest of your night is safe.”

“It will be. Have a good night, Officer. Thank you.” Junie called as he headed off to his car. “Ooh, water. Thank you, Lance.”

“Who was it, baby?”

39

She shuffled her feet like she didn’t want to answer me and looked at the ground. “Junie, baby. Who was it?” I asked, tilting her face to mine.

“George.” she murmured. I felt my anger boiling up that he’d hurt her again, but Junie’s hand landed on my chest, drawing my attention to her. “Please, Lance. Everything’s already taken care of. Don’t worry about it. The cop said he’s staying in for a while this time since this was attempted rape, and he’s now escalated to harassment on top of it.”

“How long is a while, Junie?”

“Minimum of a year and a half, maximum of 4 years.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight to my chest, trying to calm myself and stop her tears from forming any more than they already had.

“It’s alright, Junie. I’m here, baby. You’re fine.” I murmured into her hair as her shoulders started to shake. An older guy came walking toward us from the house across the street and I instinctively tightened my arms around her a bit.

“All good, Ms. Marsh?” She turned her head and looked at the guy before giving him a nod.

“Thank you, Mr. Turner.”

“No need to thank me, honey. I promised your dad I’d keep an eye on you when he wasn’t home. Just because he’s dead, doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget my promises.”

“Still. If you hadn’t come over when you did, I would’ve been raped in my own house tonight. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Juniper. Young man, you keep this girl safe. You hear me? Any harm comes to her by your hand or when you’re around and I’ll hold you responsible.”

“No need to worry, sir. I’d never harm Junie. I’ve even followed her on a couple dates to keep her safe.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” I smiled and nodded, tucking Junie’s head back into my chest as he made his way back home.

“Stay with me tonight, Lance?” she murmured into my chest.

“Sure thing, baby.” I walked her inside and closed the door behind us, sitting her on the couch and kneeling down to see her face. “Let me see your temple, Junie. Do I need to bring you another ice pack for it?”

“No. There should be a cold damp washcloth in the freezer. Just bring that.”

“You had one ready to go?” I asked, earning a smile and soft chuckle from her.

“No. I used it to get rid of my headache last night.” I nodded but didn’t move.

“Let me see your temple, baby. How bad is it gonna be?” She tugged her hair back from her face and turned a bit, letting me see a slight bruise, but it didn’t look like it was gonna get any worse. I let out a sigh of relief about that and went to the freezer, coming back with the cloth. “Here you go, baby doll.”

“Thank you, Lance.” she murmured, pushing it against her temple. I gave her a soft smile and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“Junie, I think it’s best if you have a different home before George has the chance of being released.” She sighed and nodded.

“I just don’t want to get rid of this place. It’s the only thing I have of Dad’s. He left it to me so I’d always have a place to live.”

“That may be, but look at what happened tonight. It’s not safe for you to stay here. You don’t have to sell it. You can just rent it out. It’ll give you money every month on top of your paychecks, and it’ll put you somewhere safe.”

“Somewhere safe means not living alone.” she murmured.

“Do you have somewhere like that?”

“I have 2 choices. Find an apartment and live by myself with a bunch of other people that are looking out for themselves, or move in with you if you’d still like me to.” My heart started racing in hopes that she’d pick moving in with me, but I knew I’d take her to an apartment if that was what she wanted.

“You know I still want that, but I want you happy with the choice you make, Junie.” I said, running my fingers along her jawline and seeing her eyes close a bit.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll move in with you and rent out Dad’s house.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want, baby? I want you happy, not feeling like you’re trapped.” She moved her gaze to me and gave me a nod but it looked like she was still scared. “Junie, as much as I’d love to toss you and all your belongings in my car and go home, please think about it. You don’t have to do anything right now. I don’t want to lose you and if you feel trapped, I’ll end up losing you. Please, baby. Think about your choice before you make it.” She nodded and some of the fear left her eyes, but she still looked scared. “What’s got you so scared?”

“I’m terrified that George is gonna come back.” she whispered out.

“If he does, it’ll be the last time he ever sets eyes on you, darling.” Her lips parted and her breathing slowed a bit. “Junie?” A soft smile curled her lips and she pulled the washcloth down from her temple, pressing her lips to mine.

“You’re always so protective and you’re right where I need you to be all the time. If you’re not with me when I need you, you somehow manage to get to me in record time, even when I don’t call you. How have I not been able to see how perfect you are until now?” she whispered.

“Because you’re scared of something from our past happening that’s never going to be repeated.” She smiled and I gently tugged her face to mine, giving her a deep kiss as my fingers moved back into her hair.

“I love you, Lance.” she murmured as I backed for a moment. My eyes flew to hers and my heartbeat shot through the roof. “You heard me right. I love you.” she said again.

“I’ll never get enough of hearing that.” I muttered, yanking her face to mine again. I crashed our lips together and she pulled me closer to her, nearly dragging me over the arm of the couch as she laid back. I woke up the next morning with Juniper in my arms and still sound asleep on top of me. A smile curled my lips, but I reached for my phone to check the time, jerking when I saw it was 8 AM on Friday morning. “Junie, wake up. It’s 8 AM. We gotta get to work.” Her eyes jerked open and she bolted off the couch, rushing to her room. As I got to the door, she tugged on some of the sexiest thongs I’d ever seen, then dug out a lace bra and threw that on as she went to her closet and pulled out a green blouse with a cream colored skirt, making my jaw drop as she turned around.

“What?” she asked, pulling the skirt up her legs.

“Do you know off the top of your head if I have any meetings today?” I asked, finally getting dressed in my clothes from last night as I tried to forget about the sexy bra and thongs she was wearing. She looked off in thought, then grabbed her phone and scrolled through something on it.

“Actually, no. You don’t have any meetings today.”

“Good. Saves me from having to run to my house and get work clothes.” She chuckled and set her phone down, heading into the bathroom. “Want me to drive you in to work, or do you want to drive yourself?” I asked through the door.

“I’ll catch a ride with you if you don’t mind. No point in both of us using gas to go to the same place. Want breakfast before we go?”

“No. We’ll grab something on the way in.” I finished getting dressed and grabbed my keys from my pocket. “Ready whenever you are.”

“Ready.” she said, walking out of the bathroom and letting me lead her to my car.

40

2 months later

Lance had spent the rest of that week at my place helping me pack up my things and the pictures Dad had put up on the walls over the years. We’d get the trunk of his car filled and take it to his place, then stay there for the night. My phone went off just as I stepped into the shower tonight, and I hollered out the door to Lance. “Can you answer that for me, please?”

“Sure thing, baby.” came his response. “Hello? ... She just stepped in the shower. I’m her boyfriend. Can I help you?” His voice was drowned out by the water when I stuck my head under to rinse out the shampoo so I rinsed as fast as I could just so I could hear what was said, but with no luck. I couldn’t hear anything out there now. I finished my shower and got out, dried off, and tugged on a long t-shirt to wear to bed tonight. I’d temporarily given up my jammies since it was warmer in bed next to Lance. Walking out into the bedroom, I didn’t see Lance anywhere, so I searched for my phone to find out who called, but I couldn’t find that either. I walked to the kitchen to get a drink and stopped short as I found Lance taking my phone apart.

“Lance, what are you doing? I need that.”

“I’m disassembling your phone, and no you don’t.”

“If you want to know what meetings you have in the morning, I do need it.”

“You’re getting a new one in the morning. New number and I’ll have the store transfer everything on here to the new phone.” I rolled my eyes.

“Then why not just change the number on this one? Save the money from buying a whole new phone.”

“The phone company called and said this was a bad model. It has a safety issue and is being recalled.”

“Don’t they test them before they put them on shelves?”

“Sometimes things slip past safety tests, Junie.” he said, finally looking at me with pieces of my phone all over the table. I sighed and shook my head, but something finally registered in my mind.

“So that was the phone company?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why did they obviously ask for me?”

“What?”

“I know they asked for me.”

“How would you know that?” he asked, sounding a little nervous.

“Because I heard you say that I was in the shower and that you were my boyfriend.” I said a little louder than necessary.

“So?”

“So why would they ask for me specifically if it’s just a safety issue on the phone? Let alone, the phone plan isn’t even in my name. It’s in yours so they would have asked for you.”

“They wanted to make sure that you had the kind of phone they were calling about.”

“What’s really going on, Lance?” Something about him taking apart my phone didn’t seem right, and his responses weren’t sitting right with me either.

“Nothing. They told me to take the phone apart to avoid the issue.”

“What issue?”

“The safety issue that’s been discovered on the phone.” he said, blatantly dodging the question.

“And what’s the safety issue?” I was starting to get pissed at him, but was fighting my temper down the best I could.

“They explode if charged for too long.” he said after a minutes hesitation.

“Well that’s what happens with batteries.” I shot back, walking by to get a glass of water. I drank my glass as I watched him fidget in his seat a bit. His hesitation told me not to trust his answer and his fidgeting and nervous tone was worrisome too, but he’d never lied to me before that I knew of. “Lance, look me in the eye and tell me that you’re being fully honest about why you took my phone apart.” I said gently, figuring I’d try the same thing I’d done a couple times when we were in school with him trying to surprise me. He wouldn’t look at me and kept fidgeting in his seat so he stood and got a glass of water as well. “Lance?” I whispered, making him look at me. “Who called for me and what was it about?” He huffed out a sigh and leaned on the counter, setting his glass in the sink.

“The courthouse. George made bail.” he murmured, looking at the counter. I did my best not to let my fear and worry show, but just nodded my head as I drew in a deep breath.

“Getting me a new phone isn’t gonna do anything but keep him from calling me. He knows where I work, Lance.”

“That’s why I’m moving you into my office until he’s back in jail.” he added, looking at me in time to see my jaw drop.

“What? Lance-”

“Don’t argue, Junie. Either you move into my office or I send you on a vacation out of the country until he’s locked up again.” Lance snapped, making my head jerk back.

“What about the files in my office?” I said softly. “If you need them during a meeting, it’s easier for me to go get them. He might be in there at that point. And you’ve already said that you can’t handle a day at the office without me so a vacation for that long is not a possibility.” Lance sighed.

“Fine. But the door between our offices stays open until he’s no longer a threat. I don’t want any more bruises on you. Every time he touches you, a new bruise appears. I’m not seeing any more of them on you.” I nodded and he wrapped his arms around me, tucking my head under his chin.

“Can you put my phone back together so I know what meetings you have in the morning and I can pull the files for you?”

“Not happening. Let’s go ahead and go get your new phone though.”

“That means I gotta get dressed again.” I grumbled as my shoulders dropped a bit and I leaned back to look up at him.

“I’ll help you out of those clothes when we get home.” he said with a smirk, making me laugh and roll my eyes.

“Pathetic.” I muttered. He didn’t respond but plopped a kiss on my forehead and let me go so I could go get dressed.

41

It’d been quiet at the office even though George had made bail, but I wasn’t letting my guard down. I was keeping the door between my office and Junie’s office wide open so I could keep her safe since she wouldn’t let me move her into my office and we both knew I wouldn’t be able to survive without her in the office. “Mr. Murdoch?” came Juniper’s voice from the door. I looked up and saw a guy standing behind her. “Mr. Walsh is here for his meeting with you.” she said with a smile.

“Wonderful. Send him in. I’ll need you in here for this, Ms. Marsh.” I said as she stepped to the side and motioned for my meeting to come in.

“Will you need his file?”

“I don’t think so.” She gave an abrupt nod and went to her desk, coming back in with her phone and sitting off to the side behind me. The meeting was just about over when Mr. Walsh asked something that stumped me. “Ms. Marsh-”

“I’ll be right back with his file, sir.” she said before I could turn around to ask for it.

“Thank you, and the door stays open until you return.” I said as a smile curled my lips.

“Seems like she’s a wonderful assistant, Mr. Murdoch.” he said as Junie disappeared through the doorway.

“She is. And she knows I can’t handle a day here or at home without her.”

“At home?”

“She’s not just my assistant here. She’s also my girlfriend.”

“Lance!” Junie screamed as she got dragged past the doorway. I didn’t see who was dragging her but I bolted out of my chair, getting through the doorway in time to see the elevator doors close off my view of her and George. I rushed down the stairs and got to the lobby level in 2 minutes. “Have you seen Ms. Marsh come off the elevator?” I asked as I ran up to the main receptionist.

“No, sir. Is everything alright?” I heard the elevator ding and spun to see Juniper get yanked out by her hair. I ran towards her, but George yanked her in front of him, tilted her head back a bit, and laid a knife blade across her throat.

“One more step, asshole.” he growled out. I froze in my tracks. “Back it up. The slut’s mine.” I backed up a step, not wanting him to hurt her. I saw Junie’s terror filled eyes flick over my shoulder for a brief moment, but she didn’t say anything so I knew someone behind me was calling the cops. I watched George drag her out the doors with the knife against her throat.

“Cops will be here in a minute, Mr. Murdoch.” said the secretary when the door closed.

“I’ll be back at a later time, Mr. Murdoch. We’ll finish our meeting then. I hope you get her back.” Mr. Walsh said as he came up to me. I gave a nod but ignored everything else he said to the secretary behind the desk. Moving to the door, I watched George drag her down the block with the knife against her side, yanking her into an alley just as cops pulled up in front of the building.

“Follow me. I saw where he took her.” I said to the cops, walking out the door and heading to where I last saw Juniper. We got to the alley and I heard Junie scream bloody murder, making me and the cops take off running toward a dumpster that legs were sticking out past. The cops barreled over George as they tackled him to the ground and I fell to my knees next to Juniper, wanting to wrap her in my arms but not touching her due to the red line going across her throat. “Junie, wake up. Please, wake up baby.” I whispered through my silent tears, lightly brushing some hair back from her face.

42

Fine, you rotten alarm. I’m up. Geez, I thought as a steady beeping slowly became clearer. My eyes didn’t want to open, but after a few minutes I finally worked them open to see nothing that I recognized. My breathing picked up in fear and I felt my heart start to race. The beeping sped up and I looked around frantically for something or someone that I knew to tell me what happened, where I was, and why my throat hurt so bad. Someone in a white coat came rushing in.

“Ma’am, I need you to calm down.” she said calmly. I tried to ask what happened and where I was, but she stopped me before I could do anything more than open my mouth. “No, ma’am. No speaking yet. It’s going to take time for the wound to heal enough. Take a deep breath with me. I need you to calm down.” I didn’t trust this woman. I didn’t even know her and I wanted someone I knew. She pressed a button on the wall and spoke into a speaker looking thing that was just above it. “She’s not calming down for me.” A minute later, the door behind her opened and closed, but even though I didn’t see who had come in, I knew his voice and listened as a few tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

“Calm down, baby. Deep breath for me. Slow and steady breaths.” Lance came into view on my left and my eyes immediately went to his. “Good to see you, sweetheart. I need you to calm down.” he said, softly smiling as he carefully wiped my tears away. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, feeling my heart slow a bit and the beeping evened out with my heart rate. “There you go, baby doll. Keep taking deep breaths.” I took another for him and the beeping slowed to the speed that it was when I had woken up.

“The connection you two have is amazing, sir.” the woman said to Lance. “Ma’am, do you remember anything?” I tried to nod, but couldn’t move my head so I looked up and down twice to say yes. “Do you remember how to write?” I moved my eyes to say yes again and the woman pulled a pen and notepad out of her coat. “I’m going to ask you questions, and I want you to write the answer for me, alright?”

Yes, I wrote, turning the notepad to show her and getting a smile.

“Good. What’s your name?”

Juniper Anne Marsh.

“Do you remember this gentleman and who he is to you?”

Lance Andrew Murdoch. My boss and boyfriend.

“Do you remember what happened to you?” I thought for a minute on that one.

Vaguely, but I’m not sure if my memory is correct. Will you tell me if I’m right?

“Yes, I’ll let you know.”

George Palmer dragged me from my office and down an alleyway. He laid on top of me beside a dumpster while trying to rape me, I screamed for help, and he cut my throat.

“That’s correct, Juniper.”

Will I be okay? I wrote, feeling tears in my eyes again.

“Yes. The ambulance was called just seconds after the incident and pressure was kept on the wound until you arrived here. We’ve stitched the slice and it looks to be healing well, but your throat is going to be quite sore for the next few weeks and it may take some time before your ability to talk returns. Your head is restrained only to help the wound heal properly. Also, you may be feeling pretty lousy for the next couple of days, but that’s just from the blood loss that you had. The cut wasn’t deep, but the neck bleeds a lot no matter how bad the cut is.”

Was George caught? The woman looked at Lance.

“She’s asking if George was caught, sir. I don’t know, do you?”

“Yes he was Junie. The cops and I were at the corner of the alleyway when you screamed. He’s lucky that they had him in cuffs and that I was more worried about your life than beating him. He wouldn’t be in a jail cell if I hadn’t been worried for your life.”

What day is it?

“It’s Thursday. You haven’t missed much time since the incident.” the woman said with a smile.

When can I start trying to talk again?

“When we take the head restraint off, but that won’t be until your wound heals up more. Any other questions before I go get you some water?”

Two more. One: can I keep the notepad and pen to continue “talking” to people?

“Yes.”

And two: can Lance stay with me? Please? She smiled and nodded and I felt a weak smile curl my lips.

“Ok. I’ll be back with your water, Juniper.”

“I have to go, baby. They-”

“It’s alright, Mr. Murdoch. You can stay in here with her. She’ll be coming out of ICU in just a bit. Keeping her calm is more important than anything else right now and you make her calm. If we’d known that when she arrived, we’d have let you stay in the room with her.”

“Thank you.” Lance pulled a chair over next to the bed as the nurse left and ran his fingers along my cheek. “Thank god you’re alive, Junie. I lost my mind seeing that line of red on your throat. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep him from doing that but if I’d tried to save you while in the office, he’d have killed you. We both know that. I’m so sorry, baby.” I started writing when he said he was sorry, and turned the notepad to face him as soon as I finished.

Lance, stop. There’s no need for an apology. You’re right. If you’d made any attempt to save me in the office, we wouldn’t be “talking” now. You did exactly what you needed to do to increase your chances of saving me. I would rather be dead than have sex with someone other than you in any form. That’s why I screamed. I knew he’d try to kill me for it. Plus, we hadn’t gone far and I saw Kerri call the cops. I knew I’d be heard and that there was a slim chance of me surviving. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for my scream. My actions caused you unnecessary worry.

Lance looked at me with tears in his eyes and gave me a soft smile. “I love you, Junie. So much.” The nurse walked back in the room with a large cup.

“Sorry to interrupt but here’s some water for you. Try to drink it all, Juniper, but take it slow. It’s cold and is probably going to really hurt going down but it’s better for the cut than warm water.” I gave her a weak smile and took a small sip from the cup, wincing as I swallowed. She checked a few things on the computer to my right and left the room again while I handed the cup to Lance so that he could set it on the bedside table for me while I wrote a message to him.

I love you too, Lance. I always have. Ever since our first date. You said they caught George and put him back in jail. How long is it for and can he make bail again?

43

“He’s got no bail this time. He’s in for attempted murder, a second offense of attempted rape with a deadly weapon, stalking, harassment, indecent exposure, public intoxication, and a long list of other charges. His trial date is already set for next week. Police have taken photos of your injuries to use in court since the doctor said you wouldn’t be able to speak before then. The doctor is also appearing in court, and so am I. If you get out before George’s court date, the lawyer would like for you to appear as evidence only but he did say that with the photos, doctor, police reports, and my eye-witness testimony that they shouldn’t need the additional evidence against him.”

I want to be there. Will they let me go if they send a nurse with me? Junie asked me on another note.

“I’ll check in a bit. I’d rather just stay right here next to you for a while. I’ve been sitting out in the lobby since you got here. They’ve refused to let me do anything more than look through the window until now.” I brushed some hair back from her face and she gave me a weak smile. “Would you like some more water, Junie baby?” I saw the answer in her eyes and reached over to the cup, holding it as she took a few sips, writing me another note.

How am I supposed to eat?

“They’re feeding you through a tube until the cut is healed.” I said, setting her water on the end table again. “You look tired, sweetheart. Why don’t you go ahead and take a nap? I’ll stay right here with you.” She gave me another weak smile and handed me the pen and notepad, closing her eyes. The steady beeping of the heart monitor was all that kept me sane while she slept for the next 3 hours. The nurse came back in at noon and checked a few things on the machine, giving Junie some more pain killers in her IV. “Ma’am. She asked if it would be possible for her to go to the court date for her attacker if a nurse is sent with her. I’d like to give her an answer when she wakes up. Is that possible? The lawyer only wants her to be there as evidence but doesn’t need her, however she still wants to go.”

“Let me check with the doctor and I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.”

1 week later

I hadn’t been going to work or taking care of any meetings, but Kerri had gone up to my office to get Junie’s planner and phone, calling and letting all my meetings for the next two weeks know that they were canceled due to a medical emergency since I was staying with Juniper until she was released. I met Junie and the nurse at the courthouse today after a quick run home to shower and change clothes. Her smiles had been getting stronger, all the color had returned to her face, her head restraint had been removed, and she was trying to start talking again but would end up saying a couple words and then taking cat nap to regain her energy. I was proud of how well she’d been recovering but I was worried about what today would do to her morale.

“Ms. Marsh. I’m glad you were able to join us today. You’re looking much better. How are you feeling?”

“I’m ... ... good.” Junie slowly croaked out to the lawyer, wincing as she spoke.

“Juniper, take it easy. Your throat is still highly sensitive to any vibrations, especially ones from your vocal cords.” the nurse said, getting a nod from Junie.

“I actually have a question for you, Ms. Marsh. And it is entirely up to you. If I can get the judge to allow you to write your answers with someone else reading them to the court, would you be willing to testify against Mr. Palmer today?” My jaw dropped.

“You said that you would only need her as evidence, and that even then it would be overkill on that because of the amount and kinds that you have.”

“Yes, I did. However, a testimony is stronger than evidence in a case like this, Mr. Murdoch. Especially when the victim survives the attack.” A soft hand landed on my arm and I looked down to see Juniper handing her notepad to the lawyer. “Wonderful. I’ll speak with the judge when he enters. Thank you for your willingness, Ms. Marsh.” The nurse set Junie’s wheelchair at the end of a row but let me sit next to her, then took a seat right across from Juniper so that she could keep an eye on Junie’s wound while letting us talk. The judge came in and Junie was excused from standing for him, but the lawyer went up before anything else could be said and talked to him. George’s lawyer was called up as well and they all spoke quietly for a minute.

“I’ve just been given news that the victim is here with us today. Ms. Marsh, are you sure you’re willing to testify against Mr. Palmer?”

“Y-, Y-, ... Yes.” she croaked out.

“Very well. I will allow the lawyers to question you with your nurse by your side but when you write your answers, hand them to me and I will read them to the court. Understood?” Junie nodded and the nurse handed her a large cup of water.

“Drink up, Ms. Marsh. You insist on talking more than you should be right now, I’m going to insist you drink more water today.” Junie smiled but took the cup with a nod, obediently taking a sip of water and wincing as she swallowed. “One sip for every word. You need two more from earlier.” Junie sighed and shot a slight glare at the nurse but took two more sips and the nurse went to sit back down. I was the first one called up and I gave my account of everything that happened. One of the police officers were called up next, followed by the doctor that’d stitched her neck. When they had us all take a short break, the nurse ran Junie to the restroom while I filled her cup of water, and we started up again when everyone came back into the room.

“Ms. Marsh, if you’ll take the stand please.” said the lawyer I’d hired for her. She nodded and the nurse walked her up there, helping her move into the chair behind the witness stand after she was sworn in.

“As a reminder for all, Ms. Marsh is writing her responses to the questions and handing them to me to be read aloud to everyone. Nurse, will you explain in simple terms to the court why Ms. Marsh cannot speak her answers?” said the judge.

“Due to the injuries she sustained, her throat is still highly sensitive to any vibrations including movement from the vocal cords.”

“Thank you, Nurse. From here on out you may not say anything. All questions are to be given to Ms. Marsh. You may proceed, Mr. Dugat.” Her lawyer nodded and walked toward her as Junie got her pen and notepad ready.

44

“On Wednesday of last week, you were involved in an incident with George Palmer. Correct?”

Yes, I wrote, handing my answer to the judge so he could read it for me.

“Is this the first incident you have had with Mr. Palmer?”

“No.” came the judge’s voice as he read my response.

“How many previous altercations have the two of you had and what kind of incidents were they? And since I know it will be a long answer, can you tell the court in your own words what happened on Wednesday last week?” I nodded and began to write my answer. I felt everyone’s eyes on me waiting for my response, but I could only write so fast so I handed the pages to the judge as I finished them so that things could move as fast as possible.

“This was our fourth altercation. The first time was a bruise on my upper arm that I received from him at my house. I had left in the middle of our date to handle a late meeting with my boss and the other man I was seeing - Mr. Murdoch. Mr. Palmer met me at my house afterwards, claiming that I really left to have sex with someone else. The bruise on my arm resulted in charges and a restraining order on him.” The judge set that page down and read the next one. “The second incident came about 2 months after the first one when George burst into my office still claiming that I’d had sex with my boss rather than taking care of a late meeting, and he was also saying that he was going to - and I quote - get his share - end quote - in my boss’ office during work hours. That resulted in him being knocked out by my boss and boyfriend to protect me, as well as charges from violating the restraining order.” He set that page to the side and read the next one.

“The third altercation took place at my house about two months ago. George came up behind me as I was arriving home after work one day. He knocked me on the floor in my house as I opened the door and attempted to rape me. Due to my neighbor calling the cops and coming over, he was unsuccessful in that attempt. Again, I pressed charges with the violation of the restraining order but he made bail recently from that.” That page got set to the side and he took the last page as I finished it, setting it behind the one he was reading.

“This final and most recent attempt happened while I was at work on Wednesday last week. I left Mr. Murdoch’s office to get a file that was needed for the meeting he was having, and George was in my office. I hadn’t heard the elevator ding as Mr. Murdoch’s office doors were closed, so we hadn’t known he was in there. He grabbed me by my hair from behind and started dragging me toward the elevator. I screamed for Mr. Murdoch as we passed his door. While I was in the elevator with George, I tried to talk him out of whatever his plans were but he pulled a knife and threatened to kill me if I opened my mouth again. When we reached the lobby, he shoved me off the elevator. Mr. Murdoch started to come toward us, but George put the knife to my throat and threatened again to kill me. The secretary in the lobby called the police while I was being dragged out. George walked me down the street to the first alleyway with the knife against my side. He shoved me on the ground beside a dumpster and jumped on top of me saying - and I quote - scream and I’ll kill you slut - end quote. He set the knife down as he tried to undo his pants and I screamed for help, but he grabbed it again and ran it across my throat. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital Thursday. I was unable to move my head and could not speak.” The judge set the final page down and looked at me. “When you’re asked to answer a question with the events in your view, you do just that, don’t you?” I smiled at the judge.

“May we see the wound Ms. Marsh?” I looked at my nurse and she tilted my head as far back as it could go without ripping the stitches. “No further questions, your honor.” The lawyer sat down and George’s lawyer came towards me.

“Ms. Marsh, during the events of Wednesday last week, did you at any time say no to Mr. Palmers advances?”

“H-, He-,” I started trying to croak out since the question had instantly pissed me off.

“Ms. Marsh, write it down. I’m not going to have you injured more than you already are while in my courtroom.” the judge said, interrupting me. Huffing out a sigh, I wrote my response as fast as I could and handed it to the judge.

“Ms. Marsh, please keep the language clean for the remainder of these.” said the judge. “I’m editing out the foul language on this response. He did not make any bleep advances to me. He bleep abducted me from work at bleep knife point and attempted to bleep rape me in an alleyway beside a bleep dumpster. Never once did he bleep ask me if I wanted to have sex with his d-” the judge cleared his throat and out of the corner of my eye I saw him look at me, but I was glaring at the lawyer. “Bleep derriere.” I saw Lance fight to hold in a laugh.

“So you did not say no to his advances?”

“Mr. Toms, I believe it is safe for the jury, people of the court, and even myself to assume that Mr. Palmer did not even ask. Therefore, they are no longer advances, they are acts of sexual harassment. Next question or sit down.” said the judge before I could start writing an answer. The lawyer went back to his seat next to George and the judge looked at me. “Ms. Marsh, thank you for appearing today. You may return to your seat.” I gave a gentle nod and my nurse helped me back into my wheelchair, wheeling me over next to Lance again.

“Drink some more water, Juniper.” she said softly before returning to her seat.

“Do either of the lawyers have any further evidence to expose to the jury?” the judge asked. Both lawyers shook their heads. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you may be excused to deliberate the sentence.” The jury stood and left through a back door. “Ladies and gentlemen of the court, we will take a break for the next 15 minutes at which point I will check with the jury to see if they have re-” The judge stopped talking as the bailiff walked to him from the door that the jury had gone through. “Already?” The bailiff nodded. “Due to some information I received just now we will no longer take the break. Bailiff, if you will let the jury back in please.” The jury walked in and someone handed a paper to the bailiff, who handed the paper to the judge.

45

“George Palmer, please stand.” said the judge as he read over the paper. George stood with his hands cuffed in front of him and chained to the desk, with his attorney standing next to him. “I hereby sentence you to life in prison without the chance of parole for the attempted murder and attempted rape and Ms. Juniper Marsh, in addition to the charges of kidnapping, restraining order violation, public exposure an-...” The judge listed off about 10 different charges that were all being placed on George, but I couldn’t focus on them any more. I was too relieved that I’d never have to worry about him again. A gentle hand landed on my left arm and I looked up to see Lance smiling at me, but he reached over and wiped tears from my cheeks.

“These are happy tears, right?” he asked quietly as George was led off, screaming about something. I nodded and gave him the best smile I could. “Good. I’m so glad he’s no longer gonna be a problem for you, baby.” I wrote on my notepad and turned it for him to read my question. “Of course you still have your job. I’m never gonna fire you, Junie. And I’m not sending you on a vacation unless I’m going with you because I won’t be able to manage 1 day at that place without you. I’m not going in to work again until your stitches are out and you can somewhat talk.” I shook my head and wrote furiously on my notepad.

Call a temp agency or have someone in the company come up and be my assistant. I’ll sit in your office and take all the notes on the meetings and do anything else that I can without talking, but if someone needs to be called, I’ll need someone else to make that phone call. You can’t keep putting off your meetings, Lance.

“Junie, stop worrying about work for now.” I looked down at my notepad to write him another note but he tilted my face to his before I could touch the pen to the paper. “Your health is more important to me than that damn office and all the meetings that come with it. I want to know you’re getting better. The only way for you to get better is to quit thinking about work for the time being. We’re on a vacation until you can talk in short bursts without the stuttering, then you’re working half days until you can talk perfectly fine.”

You can’t stay away from work for that long, Lance.

“Stop worrying about work. It’s all being taken care of.” I gave him a confused look but he only smiled and stood walking around behind my wheelchair. “That’s alright. I’ve got her for now. We’re not leaving the courthouse, just the room.”

“And I’m keeping an eye on her health so I’m going with no matter what you say, sir. My job depends on it.” came my nurses’ voice making me smile. I had a sip of my water to make her happy. I was turned around and wheeled out the door, looking straight at Lance’s mom sitting on the other side of the hallway.

“Oh Juniper. I’m so glad you’re alright sweetheart. I don’t think I’d be able to deal with Lance if he ever lost you again, let alone permanently. Please tell me that bastard got what he deserved.” I nodded as more happy tears flowed down my cheeks. “What was his sentence?”

“L-, L-, ”

“Juniper, how many times do you need to be told to write things down?” scolded my nurse. I sighed and wrote my answer, turning the notepad for his mom to see.

“Life in prison with no parole. Good. I hope he rots and has a new prison built on his bones.” I gave a huge smile and wanted to laugh at that.

“Mom. I never thought you could be that cold to someone.” Lance said sounding shocked and making her look at him.

“Well for someone to try to hurt a girl as sweet as Juniper there should be no warmth for them.” Lance chuckled. “Your father’s at the office, honey. He’s called me about a dozen times asking if you were out of the courtroom yet because him and his assistant don’t know where anything is.” I flipped back a couple notes in my notepad and shoved it in Lance’s chest showing him the one about getting me an assistant.

“No, Juniper. You’re not going back to the office until you can talk a bit more.” came his instant response as he handed it back to me after a glance at it.

Just so that my things stay where I put them. Let me go back to work, Lance.

“No, Juniper.”

“Let ... me ... work.” I struggled out. My nurse gave an exasperate sigh and pointed at my water but I flipped her off, making his mom’s mouth drop open in shock. “I’m ... bored ... at ... hospital.” Another exasperated sigh came from behind me.

“Marry me.” Lance said. I knew he was trying to make me back out of wanting to go back to work, but I wanted to be working again so bad. I took a minute to take a few breaths and ease my throat some, taking a sip of water before speaking.

“When?”

“Now. Before we leave this courthouse.”

“Yes.” Lance’s mom’s jaw fell to the floor but Lance was looking at me suspiciously.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

You’re not? I wrote to give my throat time to relax from the stress I’d just put it through.

“I didn’t think you’d actually say yes right now, but of course I’m serious. I’ve wanted to ask you that since just before the trip to Barcelona.” A smirk crossed his face and I wondered what he was up to. “I guess it’s a good thing I bought you a ring then, huh?” he said, pulling a small box from his pocket and lowering to a knee in front of me. I held back the tears the best I could as I held out my left hand for him as he opened the ring box, revealing a stunning diamond ring that looked like a princess crown with a diamond in every opening. A single tear rolled down my cheek as he put it on me, kissing my hand afterward. He helped me stand from the wheelchair and lifted me in a hug being careful to avoid putting his shoulder against my throat. “I love you, Junie baby.” I backed from him a bit and pressed kisses to his cheek until he turned to face me and gave me a deep kiss. He dried my tears that had fallen as he set me back in the wheelchair. “You have to go back to the hospital until they clear you to leave, sweetheart. When that happens, I’ll bring you back to the office and give you an assistant or two. Alright?” I nodded and mouthed ‘thank you’ to him getting a final kiss on my forehead.

“Alright, Ms. Marsh. I think that’s enough excitement for one day.” said my nurse. “No more talking today. Notes only until tomorrow. Understood?” I nodded. “I’m sorry, Mr. Murdoch, but I do need to get her back to the hospital. The doctor is going to check her wound this afternoon to see how she’s doing. If it’s good news she’ll be going home in less than a week. However if her throat is inflamed from all her talking, she’ll be kept at the hospital longer.” I pressed my lips together and drank some water, making Lance and his mom chuckle.

“I’ll see you soon, Junie.” he said as I was wheeled off down the hall to go back to the hospital.

46

3 days later

“Ready to go home, Ms. Marsh?” asked a nurse as she came in Junie’s room. Junie’s face lit up and she nodded. She looked healthier than she had at the trial and the doctor had told her that she could officially start trying to talk again as long as she took it slow and drank lots of water. “Alright. Here’s all the paperwork that-”

“I’ll take it.” I said holding out a hand. The nurse looked at me almost disdainfully.

“And you are?”

“Her fiance. Is there a problem with that?”

“No sir. Of course not.” she said sarcastically before looking back at Junie. “Those papers have your prescription in them as well as care for the stitches and the maximum amount that you are allowed to talk per day. Make sure to follow those rules, Ms. Marsh. Any excess strain on your vocal cords is going to cause inflammation and you’ll have to come back in. Am I clear?”

“Yes.” Junie said. Her voice was getting stronger and she could say one syllable words perfectly without wincing anymore but anything more than one word at a time was still hard on her.

“Also no hard or crunchy foods since they can injure your throat as well. Try to stick to soups and soft chewables like bread or soft tortillas. Finally, there’s a reminder in there for your appointment to get the stitches out next month.”

“Thank ... you.” Junie said with a little trouble. She grabbed her cup of water and drank some as the nurse left the room before letting out a sigh and grabbing her notepad. I wish I could talk. Writing everything is getting so annoying.

“I know, baby. But you have to take it easy on yourself if you don’t want to come back here for an inflamed throat.” She sighed and nodded, drank some more water and stood up to get ready to go. We got her prescription filled and dropped some stuff at the house, then went to the office since she hadn’t gotten to see Dad yet.

“There’s my girl! How are you doing, Juniper? Better?” he asked giving her a strong hug.

“She’s getting there. One syllable is easy but anything more than one word is still a stretch. I’ve gotta get her a couple assistants since she wants to come back to work now.”

“Nonsense. Juniper you’re staying home for a while.”

“No.”

“Juniper Marsh, don’t argue with me.” he warned. She reached around behind him and grabbed some blank paper and a pen and started writing, making Dad look at me.

“She’s only allowed a certain number of words per day. Anything more and she’s gotta go back to the hospital.” He nodded in understanding and took the paper she handed him.

“Juniper, I’ve got this. My assistant has finally figured out where everything is in your office and things are running smoothly. Take your time to heal and get healthy again, sweetie.” Dad said cupping her cheek.

“No. Bored.” she forced out as she swatted his hand away.

“Water, Junie baby. I’m not having you out of that hospital just so that you can strain your vocal cords and go right back in.” She glared at me. “Now Junie. Or I’m taking you back to the hospital and telling them to keep you longer.” She stuck her tongue out at me but grabbed her cup and took a good sized sip.

“It’s like arguing with a 3 year old that has the intelligence of a 25 year old.” I muttered. Dad chuckled but Junie glared at me again.

“Seriously Juniper. Go home and rest up, honey. My assistant and I have got this covered.”

“Mom told you we got engaged, right?” I asked Dad.

“Yeah. She won’t shut up about it. She wants to start making plans, reservations, going cake tasting, and all that other crap.” he grumbled.

“She tell you that I agreed to let Junie back in here when she got out of the hospital if she married me?” He looked at me stunned.

“You gotta be kidding me.” A huge smile spread across Junie’s face.

“Nope.” I said.

“Sneaky little shit.” Dad muttered before looking at Junie.

“Out.” Junie said, then she pointed at me and the chair telling me to sit and making us laugh.

“Alright, alright. I know when I’m not wanted.” Dad said. “Let’s meet up for dinner, Lance.” he said before walking out and telling his assistant that they were no longer needed to cover. I had Junie get me the number to a temp agency and hired on the first two girls that didn’t try to flirt with me.

“Okay, ladies. My assistant here had an incident a couple weeks ago that nearly cost her life. She’s still struggling to speak but wanted to come back to work when she was released from the hospital. While she can say one syllable words, she has trouble with more than one word at a time. Your job is to answer the phone and any other miscellaneous jobs that she gives you. She’ll show you around the office, get you the numbers you need, and write anything that she needs to communicate to you. Understood?” They said yes and I left them alone with Junie, going back into my office to see what work Dad had gotten done for me.

1.5 years later

“Mr. Murdoch, Mr. Walsh is here.” Junie said from my doorway.

“Thank you. Send him on in please and then get off your feet again. I won’t need you for this one.” She smiled and nodded, stepped to the side to let Mr. Walsh in, then disappeared from view, leaving the door open so she could still hear if I needed something.

“Glad to see things are going well, Mr. Murdoch. That guy got arrested, correct?”

“And imprisoned for life. She just got back to fully normal last year. It’s been a long recovery for her since she wanted to argue a few times but she’s all good to go now.” He nodded and we got on with our meeting. I walked him into Junie’s office at 5 but I didn’t see her anywhere. “Juniper?” I said as Mr. Walsh got on the elevator. The door to the bathroom opened and she came out looking sick to her stomach. “Let’s call it a day, baby.” She nodded and grabbed her purse, then darted back into the bathroom.

“Ugh. Even when my throat was cut I didn’t feel this bad.” she muttered as she came out again.

“Don’t you dare say that you’d trade this for that.”

“No. I just wish I could stop throwing up.” I put a hand on her swollen belly and kissed her forehead.

“4 more months and you will, baby. Let’s go see how Zach was at daycare.’’