Eden's POV:The rest of the day goes relatively smoothly. I focus on my work, doing my best to avoid the team where I can. It's even worse when I leave our department to run errands. People who I've never spoken to before today are stopping me in the hallways.Some people ask after my grandma and I have to come up with realistic lies. I can't think of any logical excuse for why my grandma would miss the memorial for my parents. When she comes back to work and hears that everyone thinks she's had a severe case of food poisoning, she's going to kill me. I may have been a bit more graphic in my descriptions than was actually necessary, my mouth running away with itself as I tell them about her 'projectile vomiting.'I'm restless though, eagerly anticipating the moment when the work day will come to an end so I can go to the hospital to check on my grandma.I can only hope that Noah isn't planning on working late tonight. After just one day off, I know that there's a massive pile of wo
Over the next few days I do everything I can to focus on my work. My time is split between work and the hospital, although grandma keeps trying to send me away.People frequently ask after grandma.For the most part I'm able to maintain the story that she's suffering from food poisoning but that excuse has a expiration date. And everyday people seem to be more impatient to know when she'll be coming back to work.I'm sitting in Noah's office, discussing his schedule on Friday afternoon, when there's a knock at the door. Martin enters the room and I get to my feet. I prepare to leave, thinking that Martin is here to speak to Noah but I'm taken aback when Martin turns to me."Sit back down, Eden," he says softly, coming to sit in the seat next to mine. "We've got a problem."Oh dear. I don't need to know what the problem is to know that I'm not going to be happy about it. If I've been asked to stay then it must be to do with grandma."The department heads are growing restless," Mar
Eden's POV:Arriving at the hospital, I make my way to my grandma's ward. I've rushed here, straight from work, hoping that I might actually manage to spend time with my grandma before she falls asleep.The nurses are sitting at the nurses' station, typing away on their computer. When they spot me coming towards them, they both give me a wide, welcoming smile."Miss Clancy," the first one says, "it's good to see you again."It's practically the same words, verbatim, as what the nurse last night and the night before said by way of greeting.She falls into step beside me, as I continue down the ward to my grandma's hospital room."She just fell asleep, unfortunately."Big surprise there. It's always the same. I come every day and she's always asleep. If I didn't know she'd just had a heart attack, I'd think she is trying to avoid me."No problem," I say, my voice deflated as I enter the room.Grandma looks frail and weak, far too small for her hospital bed. I don't like this at
Eden's POV:Against what I believe to be my better judgement, I don't mention anything to grandma when I visit her the next day or the day after that. Instead, I prepare myself mentally for returning to the company on Monday morning.Just thinking about working in my grandma's office, taking her place, feels wrong.Martin is waiting for me when Noah and I get off the lift. I'm surprised to see him so early. I know my grandma usually starts work early but her 'early' and Noah's 'early' are two very different things."I've drafted up an email to send to the department heads," he begins without bothering to wish either of us good morning. Good old Martin. Straight to business. "I need you to give it a glance over. You'll still need to sit down with them at some point but this should sate their appetite for information for a day or two until you're settled in."I hope he's right. I'm not looking forward to this at all.Noah gives my hand a gentle squeeze as we walk down the corridor
Noah's POV:I know Eden is scared out of her mind that she's going to mess this up. She told me so enough times last night when I dropped her off at her apartment. But you wouldn't know it from looking at her. She's got a confident look on her face and her shoulders are squared, ready for whatever crap the others are going to throw at her.She's pretty impressive but I might be biased.Everyone takes their seats around the table where Mrs Clancy usually holds our team meetings, Eden taking the seat at the head of the table. There's a tension in the air and there's definitely some animosity coming from James and Lewis. It's pretty evident in their matching smirks. They think they have the upper hand.James opens his mouth to speak but Eden gets there before him."I understand that someone has been spreading malicious rumours that Clancy's Comforts is in financial difficulty," she says without hesitation. Her voice is strong and it carries over the silence in the room. "Of course, t
I'm a little in over my head at the office but I do my best to keep a smile on my face. If I look confident, that's half the battle, or at least that's what my grandma would say.It's hard to concentrate when I'm waiting for the post to arrive. It's been a few days since I visited the police station and I've been impatiently waiting for the police report to arrive. I try to not let it distract me from my work but it's easier said than done."Post is here," Martin says, popping his head around grandma's office door. It still feels weird using her office as my own.I try to seem indifferent. He doesn't know anything about my visit to the police station and I'd like to keep it that way, at least for now. I wait until he's dropped several envelopes and a larger bubble-wrapped envelope on the desk and is turning to leave again before I reach for it.He turns back though and I pull my hand away."Can I get you something for lunch?" he asks."Sure," I agree with a smile. "Thank you, Mar
Noah's POV:Eden's smile is significantly more forced when we return to work in the morning. I feel awful leaving her to go to my own office, not that she needs me to babysit her. Quite the opposite. She's more than capable of handling all of this, even if I do wish I could shield her away from it.The morning flies by but just as I'm trying to decide where I'm going to take Eden for lunch, there's a knock at my office door."Come in," I call out, closing down the booking window for Eden's favourite restaurant.Stacey makes her way into my office, closing the door behind her. She doesn't say anything until she is standing directly in front of my desk."Sir..." She hesitates in a way that is very unlike her. "Is Mrs Clancy sick?"Her question catches me off guard. As far as I am aware the department heads have all agreed to keep Mrs Clancy's health status on the down low, at least for the time being.Who would tell? It doesn't take me long to work out who would go against Eden's
Eden's POV:I end up working late over the next two days. James Artie is certainly right about one thing. My grandma's job isn't easy. There's a heck of a lot to do and it's fair to say that James and his nephew Lewis aren't making it any easier. If anything their making the whole thing a d*mn sight harder.It feels like every day there's a new company coming forward to sue us because of Lewis's team. At this point, it seems impossible that Lewis will be able to even try and pass the buck onto someone else. His whole team can't be responsible, if he's not.It just seems to get worse and I seem to be spending an insane amount of my time apologising for Lewis's actions. It would be significantly easier if he'd just scr*wed over big conglomerate but the man has no moral compass at all, and seems to have stolen ideas from the biggest names in the furniture business to little start ups and even one or two family run shops. I don't like having to apologise for something I didn't do and wh
Noah's POV:When I manage to get through the crowd of people, I find Eden sitting at the centre. She's in a metal chair with a hot drink in her hand and she's shaking slightly. My eyes linger on her momentarily before they take in the person talking to her, or more precisely the clothes they are wearing.Eden is speaking to a police officer.What the hell happened? I move to her side quickly, before crouching down to check on her."Eden, are you okay?" I ask.She gives me a small smile and offers me a shaky hand. I take it, feeling the cold that is emanating from her skin."I'm alright," she answers but I struggle to believe her."What happened?" I demand."James…"That's all she needs to say for me to see red. "Where is he?""The police have him now," she tells me, her voice hollow like she's overwrought with emotion."Do you need to stay here?" I want to take her away from all the prying eyes. I know Eden won't be enjoying the attention she's currently getting."I don't
Noah's POV:Mrs Clancy is happily talking away about Eden. Her voice is filled with evident pride. I'm surprised that Eden's been gone this long. It's been almost half an hour and I had gotten the distinct impression that she would rush back."I wonder what's taking Eden so long," Mrs Clancy's words echo my own thoughts.Getting to my feet, I reply, "I should go find her."Mrs Clancy smiles at me as I make my way out of the room in search of her granddaughter. Just outside, I'm glance around. I'm not really sure where to look for Eden. Coffee was just Mrs Clancy's excuse to get Eden out of the room. All so she could ambush me with questions. Questions I would have answered even if Eden had been in the room.The nurses are sitting at their desk, chatting away happily and there are several patients wandering about, but there's no sign of Eden. I pull my phone out of my pocket and call her. It's not like I can search the entire hospital, although I will if I have to. Even if it does
Eden's POV:I'm pretty sure grandma shouldn't be having caffeine so I forgo the coffee and just wander around instead. I tell myself that I'll give them ten minutes – exactly ten minutes – and then I'll head back.I hope Noah knows what he's getting himself into. Grandma is sneaky and she knows exactly how to dig for information. She'll have a wedding date, the number of kids he wants and the names and numbers of his immediate family members all within that ten minutes I'm giving them.Any longer and she'll wrangle every secret he's ever kept out of him.I'm not sure where to go so I head towards the exit, thinking that I'll get a little air. My mind immediately returns to the events of the previous day. It had taken ages to explain everything to the police. They'd have what felt like hundreds of questions.They have more, of course. They want witness statements from all of us. I guess, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow in between trying to fix the mess that James and Lewis have
Eden's POV:Opening my eyes, I stretch my arms over my head. A quick glance at the alarm clock tells me it's later than it should be. I should have gotten up hours ago.I don't have time to waste.In a daze, I change my clothes and give myself a quick wash in the bathroom attached to my bedroom. I need to know what the hell is going on. Hurrying out of my bedroom, I'm surprised to find Noah in my little kitchen. He's bare foot and making breakfast."Morning," he says with a wide smile.I really love the sight of him here like this. Its not the first time I've seen him in my home in the morning but it feels special somehow. Every morning with him feels special.He tells me to sit down at the table and I only waver for a second as I wonder where my phone is. He must see my hesitation because he hands me my phone, unplugging it from the charger that is on the counter."Your battery was low," he tells me gently, as he drops a kiss to my head and places a cup of tea on the table in f
While I wait for the police to arrive, I hurriedly search through Alice's computer for anything about Luxen. I'm pretty sure that's where the company's money has gone and so it's essential that I find the information about it as soon as possible.I hear pounding footsteps and when I look up I see Noah coming towards me."What the hell is going on, Eden?" he demands."The police are on their way," I tell him, my attention returning to the computer. "Where's Lewis?""With Martin. What do you mean the police are coming?""I heard James… He's leaving. He's running away. I need to stop him."It's clear from the look on his face that he's not really following."James killed my parents.""I know.""You do?""Lewis…""Oh.""I called the police. He's going to leave the country.""When?""Alice booked him a flight in four hours' time.""So, we have time… What are you doing now?" he asks, his hand on my forearm."I need to find… There's an account – Luxen. I need to…""That's whe
Eden's POV:I'm moving on autopilot, surviving on adrenaline alone. Several minutes ago when I heard James Artie leave his office with his assistant, I had let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't believe I'd managed to remain hidden.I'd tiptoed down the corridor until I found myself staring right at Noah.My pulse had skyrocketed as I stared at him and I hadn't been able to stop the wide smile that covered my face. As awful as it was to hear James' callous words about my parents' death, I felt like I was finally able to breathe again after the longest time.I knew for sure who killed my parents.Knowing that James Artie is responsible for all the pain I've felt, that my grandma has felt in the last ten years, knowing that he is the enemy I've been trying to beat in the last few months, gave me the fire to win.That need to put him behind bars is what pushes me back in the direction of his office. I know that he's gone back to his apartment to pack his stuff. I heard him tell Alice
Noah's POV:When Eden doesn't hurry back from the loos, I don't immediately panic. It's understandable that she might need a few minutes alone after everything that we've discussed today. It feels like every day we learn something new that has the power to destroy her and yet she faces it with a strength that is beyond belief.I'm in awe of her.I don't think I've have handled all this anywhere near as well as she has if it were my parents that were murdered. In fact, I know that I wouldn't. And it's not because I'm a weak man, but rather because she is something else entirely. She has a quiet resilience, a fire that keeps her moving towards her goal, though I'm not completely sure what that is.Is she trying to save the company or discover her parents' murderer? It's hard to say and I don't think it really matters either way. One will no doubt lead to the other and vice versa.Ten minutes turn to twenty and twenty soon becomes thirty. I find myself checking the clock frequently,
"Just how much did you tell her?" Lewis shouts as he enters the room. I'm not sure who he is talking to. Perhaps his uncle?"Lewis, shut up," James retorts angrily as the door slams shut behind them. "You know full well that Eden Clancy is in the building. The last thing we need is for her to overhear you.""It's not me that told her…""No. But it is you that got caught stealing intellectual property not just once but countless times. So stop shouting at Alice.""She told…""No. She didn't. From what Alice is saying, it was actually your assistant that gave Eden the details of your indiscretion.""My indiscretion? It was your idea! I never even wanted this job and now thanks to you, Uncle James, I'm probably going to end up in prison.""Don't be such a big baby and shut the hell up. Taking a little responsibility won't do you any harm."The room falls silent and I pray to whoever might be listening that no one will come around this side of the desk. "Alice tell me everything,
After lunch we return to the company. I'm a little distracted and not really paying attention to what the guys are saying. And not because we just had a run in with Mason.That whole conversation is like a nonentity. It seems irrelevant compared to everything else that has been happening recently."Eden what do you think?" Noah asks, pulling me from my thoughts.I stand still and blink up at them both. I haven't got a clue what they want to know. What do I think about what?"Er… I'm not sure. I'm going to go to the loo."They nod before returning to their conversation. Leaving the office, I make my way across the lobby and down one corridor, heading in the direction of the toilets.The idea that my grandma has known about my parents' murder for years and has done nothing about it is really bothering me. I just can't grapple with it. It doesn't make sense. Even if she wanted to protect me, she wouldn't just allow someone to get away with killing my parents. Would she?Surely, she