The Dangerous Truth Between Them

Deborah's POVYou'll miss the sun when it starts to snow. We all know that saying, but some of us don't fully understand it. It needs to be experienced first. Imagine the last thing you told your parents were… Fuck off. I cringe as I remember those words falling out my mouth. I wish I could tell them that I didn't mean it. I wish they were still here to see how sorry I am.I stood frozen before the headstones my breath fogging in the cold air. I slowly sank to my knees and my hands trembled as they brushed dirt and fallen leaves from the graveyard names, my heart clenched at the sight of them. It was like a final glance, an unforgiving one.A sob clawed it's way up my throat and I pressed my forehead to the cement stone and whispered, “Mama… Papa…” My voice cracked. It was fragile and uneven. “I am so sorry.”Tears slipped freely now dripping into the stone as if I could bring them back with the salt of my sorrows. “I am sorry… I shouldn't have left, leaving was the greatest mistake

Lucas's POVI sat at the head of the long mahogany conference table, the glass walls of the boardroom framing the city skyline. A dozen sharp suited executive of the board watched me with guarded expression, their laptops were open and documents spread before them.On the far side of the table, Mr. Collins, a silver haired investor with a reputation for being as cutthroat as he was wealthy, leaned forward, drumming his fingers impatiently. The deal on the table was worth nearly two hundred million dollars, a simple merger that could help even the books for an expansion into international shipping. It should have been simple. I had done these deals all the time, but as Collins fired off numbers, dates and contract clauses, I realized with a sinking stomach that I was missing critical briefing notes.Normally, my secretary would have the summary packet placed right in front of me, bullet point, highlighted every figure and made sure it was double-checked. But instead I was flipping thr

Lucas's POV I watched her from the corner of my eye as I set the second mountain of files on her desk. The sound of the stack hitting the table made her jump slightly, though she tried to mask it through forced composure.“Do the same for these and make sure it's done by tomorrow,” I said flatly but couldn't help myself to allow a small smirk appear on my face as I felt the smallest curl of amusement inside of me. I was probably being too cruel or harsh, but just because she can think on her feet doesn't mean she gets to be in paradise. No ordinary secretary could possibly chew through half of what I had dumped on her that's why I was surprised that she finished the first round. Now, I am just testing my limits here. How much more can I push? Or can she push even?Deborah, however, wasn't ordinary. I knew I hit the jackpot. The way she answered my questions for the interview without hesitation. Her instincts were as sharp as steel.I walked back into my office and sat on my chair

The first thing I felt was the throbbing in my skull, it was dull and insistent. It was like a reminder of every bad decision that had led me here. The second was the dryness in my throat, it was like I'd swallowed sand. But it wasn't the pounding headache or the sterile scent of disinfectant that caught me off guard. It was her. Deborah. I knew I hit the jackpot with choosing her as my secretary. She sat in the chair next to my bed, her chin tilted to her chest and one arm drapes lazily over her lap. A half empty cup of coffee rested in the table by her side. Her jacket bunched into a makeshift pillow. She looks adorable. And exhausted but her presence was steady like she had tethered herself to me even when she has every reason and I mean every reason not to. I stared at her for a long moment, the weight of what she's doing or what she has done for me pressing in. She didn't have to be here. God knows I hadn't earned an ounce of her loyalty. With the way I'd buried her in work,

Lucas’s POV When you are the CEO of a big company like this, a week from work is too long now isn't it?No matter the circumstances, a week as the CEO is too long. I don't do this. Infact I have never done this. Genuinely I am shocked that I haven't been sanctioned by the board, but some of them know why I was absent so I am sure they fought my case for me. That's not to say the week I took off I didn't enjoy it. My goodness I did. The way we kept each other company, the jokes and banter was replaying in my head making me smile a little. A week since I caught myself watching her laugh in my kitchen, since I teased her and the way she blushed when I do much as looked at her shirtless. A week since I stood at that reinforced door and lied through my teeth.Of course it was a storage room. I don't know why she was getting all worked up before.But anyway… it's time to get back to work.The office hummed as of nothing has happened, though I could feel the whispers beneath the polished