Annie hauled herself up onto her elbows, out of a sated sleep, glanced at the clock on the table next to her bed and screamed.　　"What?" Naomi asked, bolting awake.　　"Look at the time!" Annie wailed. "My boss is going to kill me, I'm running late for a meeting!"　　Calmly, Naomi reached for the telephone receiver and handed it to her. "Call him and tell him that you are a little bit unwell and you'll be there soon."　　"Unwell?"　　"Would you rather say you've been sleeping your ass off all night?"　　"No," she admitted, and dialled Damien's office.　　Damien was unusually calm and asked her to take her time before coming to work.　　When she arrived at the office forty-five minutes later, Damien was waiting in her office with his hands behind him.　　"How do you feel now?" He asked, taking a step forward.　　"Much better. Thanks" she said, her expression softened, though, knowing he was concerned about her.　　"Oh, great," he said. He handed a little shopping bag to her "Here you go, you ca

　　“YOU CALLED,” Annie asked when she got out of the car, Robert had been bugging her with calls all evening and she was beginning to lose it. He had also sent multiple texts to her asking about her whereabouts and why she hadn't shown up for her session.　　“You didn't show up for your session like you said you would, what happened?” Robert said from the other end of the receiver.　　“I told you I had work to do and had to cancel. Is that why you've been bugging my cell phone all day? you're beginning to creep me out”　　“You have no right to keep me waiting, Annie Gilbert”　　“Who do you think you are? You know what, I quit. I don't need any more therapy. im fine now” Annie snapped　　“I’m going to make you pay for it,” he said　　“You aren't going to do shit” she yelled and hung up on him.　　She didn't need him anymore.　　She muttered a curse as she walked into the house, Naomi was still awake and in the living room when she walked in.　　“Where have you been all day, and why are you mutter

　　Annie was reluctant about going back to work but she had no choice, she had loads of work to accomplish at the office. She also wasn't sure she wanted to face Damien after expressing her feelings to him. She was still pissed that Damien had ignored her and left without saying a word about how she felt.　　She stood in front of the mirror for a minute all dressed and ready for work. She heaved a huge sigh before leaving the house.　　She arrived at the office about thirty minutes later and was greeted by Esme on her way to her office. She hadn't set eyes on her since she was attacked.　　"Hey, I'm glad you're okay," Esme said, pulling her into a tight hug.　　"I'm fine," Annie chuckled. "Uhm, Esme you can let go now, you're squeezing me up" she added.　　"I'm sorry, I'm just glad you're fine now. I've missed you,"　　"Awww, I've missed you too. Damien said you had travelled to represent him at a meeting out of town. How did it go?"　　"It was great. I'm so happy to see that you are good."　　

　　Damien didn't know how to face her after all the things he had said to her. He had received enough tongue-lashing from Esme that could last a month. He wondered what could be going on with her and if she was okay.　　He had decided to work from home the next day to avoid her. He had called the receptionist to inform him of Annie's arrival and to not mention anything about him to her or anyone else.　　He kept himself busy and had nearly five uninterrupted hours, and still, he couldn't concentrate on his work. His words haunted him all day.　　He decided to seek a distraction by channeling his attention on the package he had received from the warehouse weeks ago. Steve, his sleuth, had forwarded another package to him which he had found. This time, it wasn't a threat to Damien's life but Esme’s. Damien already knew it would come to this, he knew that sooner or later those he cared about would be in danger.　　“I think you need to leave town for a while, they might be coming for you” Steve

　　Annie had taken it up as a duty to make sure he was properly taken care of while Esme oversaw the activities at the office during his absence. They had returned to the penthouse according to Damien's request. Mrs. Harper and Thomas had also resumed their duties.　　Damien was getting used to having Annie around him and enjoyed her company even though he made a straight face whenever she was around. Mrs. Harper spoke highly of her and they spent time together in the kitchen.　　Annie decided it was time to finally hand over her resignation letter to him after waiting for him to recover. She walked into his study which was also his mini office as he always called it but it was twice the size of his office at work.　　He was speaking to a client on the phone when she walked in holding an envelope.　　"Can we talk?" She asked.　　"I'll talk to you later," Damien said and hung up. "What do you want to talk about?" He asked, beckoning her to sit down but Annie insisted on standing.　　"I think i