When Seth and I get to the office, Amelia is sitting at her desk. I hate that she is our secretary, but since her and Seth are engaged, I did not have much say. I didn’t want to hurt Seth and let her know that I didn’t feel like she was the right person for him. There was something about Amelia that I just didn’t trust. Maybe I was holding onto old times, but this feeling extends back to our high school days. Amelia and Mayson never seemed to click. I could never figure out exactly what the issue was between the two of them. Mayson and Amelia were completely opposite personality wise. Amelia went out of her way to be a bitch, especially to someone she felt was competition for the attention in the room. Mayson was also one to stand in the background. She didn’t like to have the spotlight on her. She would rather see someone else succeed before herself. That may have been one of the reasons I had fallen in love with her. The red hair and the green eyes drew me in, but her spirit and soul were what held me there. I have never met a person like her and when she left, a piece of my heart went with her. No matter what my future looked like she would always have that part of me.
“Seth, my love, the board members confirmed that they will be here at 10 a.m. Is there “anything” you need me to do before the meeting.” I knew what Amelia meant and we did not have the time for her and Seth to be fucking around (literally) before this big meeting. Seth needed to have all the blood flow to his brain at the moment and not below his belt. “Amelia, this is not the time for your office romps at the moment. Seth and I have to go over this presentation one more time before the meeting. If we can get this contract, you can fuck his brains out on the conference room table, but right now please just make sure everything is set up for the presentation.” Amelia looked at me like she could kill me. She was not someone that liked being told no. I believe Seth was happy with her to a point, but I knew his happiness depended on him letting her have her way at all times. I wanted to say something so bad about it, but I knew it could jeopardize our friendship and it wasn’t worth it. I could only hope that Seth will eventually put his foot down with Amelia and stopped making her more of a brat. “Holden, that was a pretty harsh thing to say to Amelia. I know that we have times when we take the long lunch breaks, but you could cut her some slack.” I understand where Seth is coming from but this is an important meeting that could make or break this company. His relationship with Amelia was just going to have to cool down in regard to their office antics. I didn’t have the patience for it today. “Seth, I understand she is your woman and you are getting married, but this is not the time to get your d&?k wet. We need to have the big head in the game, and the little head sit on the sidelines for now. Any other day screw her brains out on every surface in this building, but not today.” Seth just looked at me at first like he was angry, but the frown went away and he just shook his head indicating he understood and was sorry. Seth didn’t say sorry but I knew what the head shake meant. After about an hour of going through the presentation, I think we are ready. I double checked to make sure the internet connection was fine. I didn’t need the internet crashing on me before in the middle of the presentation. That would make us look like two small town hicks. Technically, we were small town hicks, but we were also professional business men. One last walk through the conference room to make sure everything was ready to go. The internet had a strong signal, the snacks and drinks were out. There were copies of the presentation at each seat. Now all we were waiting on was the board members and the architect that we were going to be working on this project with. I had tried to find out the information on this guy but there was nothing in the paperwork that listed who he was or what firm he was with. I hated surprises and this one was a big one.The shower washed away the grime of the day, but not the worry. As the water cascaded over me, my thoughts were a whirlwind. Who would want to hurt Mayson? And why? It's a question that's been eating away at me since the night it happened. I knew I had to find answers, not just for her sake, but for my own peace of mind. When I came downstairs, the smell of garlic and onions filled the air.Mayson was at the stove, stirring something in a pan, her bare back glowing from the warmth of the stove. She looked so focused, so alive in that moment, that it was hard to believe she had just survived a traumatic event. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," she said without turning around. Her voice was a little shaky, but there was a determination in it that I hadn't heard in days. I nodded, taking a seat at the kitchen table, my eyes never leaving her. She had always been strong, but this was a different kind of strength, one born out of fire and defiance. She was reclaiming her life, pie
The office felt normal again. Our team was three strong again. I could tell Mayson was worn out by the end of the day but she’s tough. Holden will not let her out of his sight. I can’t blame him, someone tried to kill her and there aren’t any leads as to who it was. Amelia was the first to leave the office that night. She’s been acting weird lately, even by her standards. Staying out all hours of the night. When I would wait up for her, she would get defensive as to where she was. "Is everything okay?" I had asked her one evening, unable to shake the feeling that something was off. Amelia had looked up from her desk, her eyes narrowing. "Why wouldn't it be?" she replied, her tone sharper than usual. "Just asking," I said, trying to play it cool. But I couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something. Her evasiveness was more than just her usual prickly demeanor. It was something deeper, something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The office grew quiet as
I know that I am being overprotective of Mayson. But I can't help it. The thought of her getting hurt again is like a knife in my gut. As we walk into the house, I can see the tiredness etched into her features. The shadows under her eyes are more noticeable against her pale skin. She's trying to put on a brave face, but I can see the fear lingering in the back of her eyes. "Do you need help with anything?" I ask as we enter the living room. Mayson shakes her head, her eyes scanning the space with a hint of unease. "No, I'm okay," she says, though the tremor in her voice suggests otherwise. “i am just going to start dinner.” I watch as she heads to the kitchen, her steps tentative. The house feels too quiet, too still. Like it's holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. I know I can't hover over her forever, but I can't shake the feeling that she's in danger. "Holden," she calls out, her voice echoing through the house. "Could you grab me the cutting board from th
It felt so good for all three of us to be back together. Seth proceeded to fill me in on the projects we had been working on, his words coming in a fast and efficient stream. My mind struggled to keep up, trying to piece together the puzzle of the past few weeks. "And the big news," he paused for dramatic effect, "we are on schedule for completion of the project." I nodded, trying to absorb the information. My office felt smaller than ever, the walls closing in as the reality of the workload hit me. "That's great," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Seth studied me for a moment before his smile faltered. "Are you sure you're okay?" I took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm fine," I assured him, though my voice wavered slightly. "Let's just get to work." Seth nodded and handed me a stack of files. As I flipped through the first few pages, the words swam before my eyes, and I realized how much I had missed the structure and purpose that work gave me. The office was a haven
I am so ready to get back to work. Holden and I never argue but we have had some knock down drag out fights. He wants me to stay at home until they find out who attacked me. If I stay at home, this person wins by controlling my life. I want to prove them wrong that no matter what they tried to do to me they were not going to win. "Holden, I'm going to work," I said firmly, as I pulled on my favorite pair of boots and grabbed my keys. His eyes followed me with concern, the tension in the room palpable. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" "Yes," I replied, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "I can't let someone dictate my life like this. I have to get back to normal." Holden sighed heavily, his jaw tightening. He knew arguing with me when I was like this was futile. "Fine, but you are not to go anywhere alone.” I nodded, a flicker of relief crossing my face. "Thank you." Holden took a step towards me, his hand brushing mine as he gently took the keys from my hand. "I
I have had so much on my mind lately. Now that Mayson was out of the hospital and on the mend we could get the project back on track. Whenever I have talked to Holden, he said she was so ready to get back to work. The project has been on hold ever since Mayson’s attack. The investigation into Holden caused a couple of sponsors to pull their funding. Luckily the amount pulled wasn’t going to impact the overall budget. We are behind the eight ball on the time frame. It will take a miracle for the project to be completed on the original timeline. As soon as Holden gets back into the office, we both need to be making calls to contractors to get them back into town. We could not afford to pay contractors that were not working for over a month. Thankfully, this project isn’t the only thing that the firm has going on. There are a couple of projects in Clinton that have come in that have kept me busy. It has kept Amelia busy too, which keeps her calm. Ever since Mayson was attacked she’s act