The office was alive with noise and new people. Flashes of fire-red hair in the form of Delle Fallsâ Allie's sister and ex- detectiveâ came and went like a very intimidating shadow, Bex in step with her. Where Bex's eyes were constantly on screens, Delle's specialty was reading people, not code.
Everyone was pulled into performance review meetings with Allie while Delle sat in the background, watching their facial expressions like a human lie detector. Before Allie had bought Royal Fashion, Carter had someone working on the inside, and Allie wasn't taking any chances now that Carter was out of jail and she was in charge.
It was two weeks filled with high-level security meetings, watching an ex-detective scaring people without saying a single word, and witnessing Dash strike out with Bex terribly on a daily basis.
Bex had set up a workspace at my assistant desk, oversized hoodie puffed up around her, large noise cancelling headphones on under the hood, muttering to herself as she scanned her computer, taking in lines of code with an irritated scowl. "Who even designed this system? A chinchilla with a copy of Coding for Dummies?"
"Chinchillas are actually pretty intelligent," Dash said from his desk.
Bex didn't even look up, deep in the zone of code.
"Don't bother," I said to Dash from the very corner of the assistant desk, as I filed paperwork. "She can't hear you. Not when she's got her 'code face' on.
Her 'code face' consisted of a scrunched up expression, pen cap in the corner of her mouth, eyes unblinking.
Dash sighed, looking disappointed. "How can we have conversations about chinchillas if she won't take off the headphones?"
I smiled, stacking papers. "You'll figure it out."
He sunk down in his chair, looking thoughtful. "Maybe she'll be impressed if I brought a real chinchilla to the office."
"Don't you dare. Allie will actually kill you. Actually, she'll let Laurence fire you, then kill you."
Dash snorted. "Pretty sure she'd kill me first and then let him fire whatever was left of me."
We were both still laughing when a pretty blond womanâ someone I had seen before but couldn't placeâ walked out of the elevator and stopped at Dash's desk. She wore a black pencil skirt, a deep blue blouse and six inch open toed heels. "Hello, I'm here to see Laurence."
Dash looked up, a flirtatious grin taking up his face. "Do you have an appointment or do I need to work some magic to make that happen?"
I rolled my eyes. Dash had a weakness for beautiful women. Something that was going to be a problem once I was no longer hear to play gatekeeper for Allie and Laurence.
He shot me a look that said. 'I'll win Bex over. Until then, there is nothing wrong with practice.'
"I have an appointment. I'm a few minutes early," she said, all professionalism, unfazed by Dash's flirting.
"You can wait in his office," I said, cutting Dash off before he could say something else stupid.
She offered me a small smile of thanks and walked into Laurence's office without waiting for directions. It hit me then, where I had seen her.
She had come to see Laurence before. Back when Dash wasn't sure if she was there to replace him, or if she was someone Laurence was dating. Laurence had smiled at her as they sat across from each other in his office. He had looked comfortable with her. Relaxed.
Unlike how he is with me.
I turned back to my filing cabinet, trying not to think too deeply about it.
I made my feelings clear. If he wants to see someone else... something casual, I have to be fine with that.
"You've never looked so green with envy," Bex muttered, glancing up at me for a beat before going back to work.
I raised a brow at her. "How long have you been watching and listening to everything going on?"
Bex shrugged, speaking softly. "I heard the thing about the chinchilla's and no. I will NOT be going out with him. Did you see how fast he started flirting with the blond you are so worried about? It was half a second. I have no interest in flirts."
I fought a smile as her face fell back into a scowl. Dash wouldn't give up easily. This is going to get interesting.
"I wouldn't worry about the blond," Bex added, eyes back on the screen, fingers tapping across the keys furiously.
I shoved the folders I was holding back into the filing cabinet and slammed it closed. "I don't want to talk about it, Bex."
Two weeks of no Laurence in the office had been wonderful and terrible. There was so much to do that I didn't have a lot of time to think about him, his brother or my ex-boyfriend. But Laurence's empty office was always there, a blaring reminder of the gaping rejection that was the result of my entire relationship with him.
A glass wall of nothing.
Sitting back down, I pulled up the work calendar, surprised to see the woman's appointment on his calendar. With all of the extra security meetings we had to go over every new detail of installation, and sitting in on dozens of performance reviews, I had forgotten he was coming back today.
I only had a moment to wrap my head around it before the elevator doors opened and there he was, dressed in a impeccable suit, face stoic, all hints of previous emotion gone.
It felt like a magic trick, the way a single look in his direction seemed to hot-wire all of me into overdrive, heart pounding painfully, breaths stuttering, blood roaring in my ears.
I looked away, hating that two weeks had done nothing to make me like him less.
We gave each other a nod of hello, our eyes seeming to stumble over each other awkwardly before he passed my desk and disappeared into his office, greeting the blond with a smile as he closed the door, cutting off all ability to hear their conversation.
He sat down across from her, seeming to relax as she asked him a question, her back to the glass, making it impossible for me to see her facial expression.
"If you are going to stare, at least don't be obvious about it," Allie said, startling me as she came to stand by my desk. "Although... I really wish I knew why that lady's appointment is on Laurence's calendar as 'appointment'."
We all turned to look at Dash who had just sat back down at his desk after grabbing himself a glass of water and looked at us with an exasperated expression. "Don't look at me. Boss Man told me exactly what to write. He was very unhelpful when I asked for details."
I turned back to Allie. "Wait... you have access to his calendar? How? I made both of the details of your calendars private."
Allie smiled, looking far to proud of herself. "It was one of the changes I had Bex make. I want to know what all my minions are doing." She crossed her arms, eyes back on Laurence's office.
"Minions? Really? Does that make you our super villain overlord?" Dash asked with a snort. "Is this place a front for your super secret evil laboratory?"
"Just be thankful she is on your side," a new voice said.
We all turned to see Delle standing next to the elevator, eyes on the glass door to Laurence's office, everything about her intimidating and calculating. "Have you given a performance review to the blond yet?" Delle asked, eyes still on the door, her head tilted to the side, analyzing the unknown subject inside the room. "I don't remember seeing her in any of your meetings."
Allie shook her head. "No one knows who she is."
Delle narrowed eyes, a calculating expression crossing her face.
Allie leaned against my desk, getting comfortable. "Brace yourself. She's about to work her magic," Allie said conspiratorially.
Before I could ask what Allie was talking about, Delle started talking fast, voice monotone, pupils blown wide as she continued to stare at the glass as if she could hear every word going on inside.
"Posture relaxed. He's comfortable. They know each other. By how much he touches his face, I'd say he's telling her something personal. He trusts her. Deeply."
She's reading Laurence's facial expressions, I realized, a chill going down my spine. I hadn't seen Delle's internal monologue expressed aloud before.
Delle was an expert at reading facial expressions, and how quickly she could pick apart someone and piece them back together was bone chilling.
"A deep connection. Could be romantic in nature, but I'd have to see her reaction to know for sure. They met in a work capacity. There's a level of professionalism on her side. Not on his. He clearly struggles with intimacy. Based on how many times he's glanced through the glass, he is worried that their relationship will be found out. This is personal to him."
Delle pushed off the wall and took a step forward, seeming almost lost in her work. She pushed her long curly red hair out of her eyes, her gaze never leaving the glass. "He's talking about something... an attraction of some sort. Could be love... lust. Both?" Delle paused. "She agrees with what he's sayingâ"
I stood up abruptly, yanking Delle's attention away from Laurence's office. "We shouldn't do this. He has a right to his privacy."
Delle blinked, seeming to come back to herself, running a hand down her face. "Right. Yes. Sorry. Hard to turn it off." She shook her head, seeming to have to physically pull her mind away from the puzzle she had just been playing with.
Everyone was looking at me. Dash, Allie, Delle, even Bex. The looks on their faces were a mixture of pity and compassionate. Delle, who had no idea who I was, had picked up on what I was feeling before I even had a chance to blink.
I could practically feel the puzzle pieces clicking into place in Delle's mind as she looked at me. "Half in love with her boss. Just found out he's seeing someone else. She's trying to pretend it doesn't bother her."
Swallowing, I turned away, muttering something about using the bathroom, then I bolted.
...
There was something so utterly embarrassing about being in the bathroom when everyone outside knew you were in there just to hide. Instead of solving anything, it felt like just hitting pause on an awkward situation.
I stood in front of the mirror, trying to wipe away everything I had heard Delle say, her words ringing loud in my head like a painful taunt.
"Could be love... lust. Both?"
I splashed water on my face, trying to drown out the words. "He trusts her."
I scrunched my eyes shut, letting the water cool my burning cheeks."Deep connection."
Wiping my face, I sighed, the words still worming their way inside. "They met in a work capacity."
Looking up into the mirror, I bit my lip, doubt, confusion, and frustration all swirling inside of me. Laurence and I met in a work capacity too. But he can barely look at me now. Is she worth taking the chance on... more than me?
"Worried their relationship will be found out," rang in my ears.
Those words... I scrunched my eyes shut again, to stop seeing the shattered look reflected back at me in the mirror. It didn't take a facial expert to see how a single set of words had left me unsteady.
He has some sort of relationship with the mysterious blond woman. What kind of relationship? He's seen her more than once. Is he capable of an actual relationship?
I pushed off the sink, turning away from the mirror. I know I've made the right decision. If he doesn't want me there isn't a point butâ
Running my hands through my wild curls I took in a slow breath, trying to wrangle my scattered thoughts. Don't think about him Lily. You need to let him go.
Tucking away the stolen information that Delle had accidentally given me, I left the bathroom, wiping all evidence off what I had learned, from my faceâ which turned out to be the right move, because I heard the new arrivals before I saw them, and then was instantly kicking myself for getting distracted.
"WHOA! CHECK OUT THE VIEW! ALL THE GLASS WALLS MAKE IT LOOK LIKE OUR BABY SIS WORKS IN AN INVISIBLE PLANE!" Henry shouted because that is what he did.
"HA! LIKE SHE'S WONDER WOMAN OR SOMETHING!" Sam shouted back, because that is what he did.
I should have met them in the lobby!
Turning the corner I came face to face with six men, all of them tall with dark hair. They causing several states of chaos...
Going through my things at my deskâ "Ha. Classic Lil. She can't help but have a thousand sticky notes. Did you know she used to collect these?" Finn said, dark chestnut hair falling into his eyes, mouth quirking into a smirk as he began to reorganize my desk, because that is what he did.
Shaking Allie's handâ "Ah! The boss! Question. What is the point of dress pants? Jeans are far more durable and look just fine for fancy events." Ryan asked curiously, deep blue eyes taking in Allie's dress pants with open confusion, because that is what he did.
"You could always just skip the jeans all together and go with overalls, now those are practical in every situation." This comment earned a look that could have killed people.
Jack, the tallest and most burly of the group, was currently bench pressing Dashâ who happily counted each setâ because that is what he did.
And Will, curly dark hair pushed out of his face, was in the middle of attempting to pry open Bex's hard drive to see how it workedâ because that is what he didâ while she threatened to strangle him with her computer bag strap.
"Will..." she said, voice dangerously low. "We've been over this a dozen times since we've met. If you so much as touch any of my equipment, I will end your life..."
"You're hard drive's always work faster than mine. I just want to see if there's a trick you aren't telling me about," he insisted, reaching for the hard drive again.
OH MY GOSH... My brothers are here. All six of my brothers are here.
Henry, his inquisitive green eyes wide in fascination, began to tap on the glass wall to Laurence's office, too distracted by the sight of glass walls to register that it had caught Laurence's attention, and was now staring out at all of us.
"These walls are really cool!" he shouted, hitting the wall with his knuckles in an elaborate knock, sending Laurence and the blonde looking from Henry, over to me their brows raised in confusion, while Allie continued to glare at Ryan who had just asked what the point of high heels were.
They are all here... in my office... being their crazy selves... and they are so going to get me fired.
---
Thank you for reading chapter twenty six! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!
UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!
Who is the woman in Laurence's office?
What do you think of Allie's sister Delle?
Would you read a Miss Congeniality meets Bachelor Romance Comedy/ Thriller where Delle is forced to go undercover on a dating show to catch a murderer?
If you would, and want to add it to your reading list, the link to the story is in the comment section here. It's called "The Detective and Her Bachelor" OUT NOW! â>
Will Dash ever win Bex over, or will one of Lily's brother's beat him to it?
What will everyone think of Lily's brothers?
Do you think Lily's brothers will do something about Carter, Liam and Derik?
What will happen next?
CHAPTER QUESTION - Do you have any siblings? What are they like?