Between Mr. Bradley, Mr. Kiyoshi, and Mr. Curtis’s projects, the morning was busy for Zane as he sat at the head of the table, in the conference room, staring at his employees' faces, but he was overwhelmed by the encounter he had yesterday evening.His mind kept drifting back to that moment, and unknown to himself, his fingers had curled into fists and he could feel the muscles in his jaw tense up and relax in a manner most unlike him. He couldn't get out of his head, and his patience was running thin the more he sat there with only one person crowding his thoughts, leaving no room for him to care about anything going on around him.“Boss, do you have any imports on the layout team presentation?” Mr. Parker asked a bit louder for the fourth time.Finally, Zane tore his gaze away from his hands and looked up at Mr. Parker, and replied “I know you guys are trying to spare my pocket and work within a reasonable budget, but my decision to charge my clients less should not affect the qual

The seconds simply went by in silence as Zane stared into Mr. Briggs' eyes, waiting for an answer. But Mr. Briggs remained quiet and stayed calm, staring back into Zane's eyes without any expression on his face whatsoever.“Who are you protecting?” Zane asked, his voice low and filled with malice and anger.“You,” Mr. Briggs whispered, keeping his gaze fixed on him. “I am doing this for you.”A scoff left Zane's mouth at these words, followed by laughter as he shook his head in disbelief, and then he said, “No, you are not. There is someone else that you are trying to shield.”“Maybe... But that doesn't erase the fact that I am trying to protect you too.” Mr. Briggs replied, sounding almost desperate.Another laugh escaped Zane's lips as he pulled away and studied Mr. Briggs carefully while shaking his head again, this time with a smirk on his face, and he said, “There is always the easy way or the hard way. You are going to talk one way or another, and honestly, I don't care which met

As the door to Mr. Briggs's office opened, he raised his head to see his secretary walking into his office with a tiny plate with a mug on it.Her gaze never met him as she slowly walked over to him, her eyes focused on the cup, and she placed the plate on the table, saying, “Here’s your afternoon ginger tea, boss.”“Thanks,” Mr. Briggs mumbled, his mind still disturb by the agreement he and Zane had earlier that morning.As he reached for the mug, she watched calmly until he took a huge gulp of the tea, and then she walked out without looking back.The tea helped calm him down. But the feeling remained as he looked at the computer screen and then he turned it off, knowing that he wasn’t in the right mindset to work.Afterward, he rested back in his chair, staring at the ceiling for a while before reaching for the tv remote and then turning on the news channel. “We have identified those that were involved in the accident from earlier, that took place at keypoint intersection, where a

Nightmares are supposed to be fiction, a product of the imagination and mind. The only thing that should scare you is fear itself. However, in this case, it’s not quite the same for Zane as he grabbed onto his blanket, tightly in his grips, his eyes shut, and his chest rising and falling rapidly. He was breathing heavily, his hands were clenched into fists, and his face was contorted with pain as his life experience became the nightmare that plagued his dreams.Finally, after drawing a deep breath, his eyes opened and he sat up, his head spinning slightly due to the sudden rush of adrenaline. A few moments later, he felt like he finally could breathe again as reality set in. He slowly reached up with a shaking hand to touch his face which was still damp from tears.It took a while, and then he stepped down from his bed, headed into the bathroom, and got into the shower, letting all his emotions run wild as the water ran cold on his bare skin.After that, he got dressed in a pair

The silence in the hospital room was too loud for Emma's comfort, and she felt as if a heavy was weighing on her heart. It felt like an eternity with each passing second of this awful silence, and she felt herself slowly growing annoyed and tenser. “How could he not visit me?” Emma mumbled with a pout, yet her worry for Zane never left her mind. For a couple of seconds, she endured the quietness, and then she blurted out, “Jerk, how can you not visit your wife when she is in the hospital!!”Just then the room door opened and she looked right to see Zane standing there, looking sheepish. With this guilty look on his face, he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and held flowers with another."I'm sorry," he said softly as he entered the room, closing the door behind him.“Where have you been?” Emma asked. She tried to keep her voice calm, but she was still frustrated about him not coming to see her after what had happened. “I was running away from my demons... that thankfull