When Andin walked into her building that Tuesday, the last day she needed to go to the office before she would be taking a few days off to visit her mother, a note was waiting for her at her desk. It was not signed but said, "Meet me in the office supplies room at 1 P.M. sharp." It was a rather odd request. She knew Sebastian was as cautious as she was about being seen together, and she wondered what would prompt him to want to meet her.

At twelve-thirty, while everyone else was outside getting lunch, she went to the office supplies room and figured it had to be something really important. But when she walked into the office that night, it was not Sebastian standing there in the aisles between tall cupboards filled with stationeries.

"Come in and shut the door," Maria said, a particularly smug smile flattening her glistening red lips.

Andin did not make any move. Her body was perfectly still. She looked into the cold eyes of the one person whom she even considered a friend. These past few weeks she had enjoyed having her around and being her mentor. Now looking at her hazel eyes, she felt like she did not know the real Maria Gonzales. There was cruelty in those big, beautiful eyes. "What is this about, Maria?" asked her casually as she moved further into the supplies room.

Maria grabbed a file from the shelf and threw it toward her. Andin immediately caught it midair before it hit her forehead. "First, you might want to see this. Then we can talk business."

"What? What business?" Andin opened the file and her heart slammed against her ribs as she saw what was there. Inside were photos of her and Sebastian. There were about a dozen of them, but the most incriminating picture had been snapped the night she had come out of her flat wearing nothing but her slick black raincoat. Although it had been dark outside, the photograph clearly showed Sebastian kissing her while his hand was inside her coat cupping her breast. Her stomach fell and she thought she might vomit all over the floor and the front of Maria's tight purple dress.

"Where did you get this?" Andin shook her head, suddenly feeling nauseous. "I mean, why did you do this?"

"That is not important," she answered, her smile turned creepy. Even though she was a gorgeous girl with beautiful dark hair in a stunning dress, her smile looked like one of Joker's. And for a moment, Andin found herself feeling a bit scared. "What is important is who I am going to send these to. I am sure that after I send the photos to the newspapers, you will have another nickname other than Miss Williams. Something like, I don't know, maybe whore? Or do you like S-word more?"

"What do you want?"

"It is simple. I want you to leave the company."

"I am going to leave the company at the end of this month," she asked incredulously. "What difference would it make if I leave nor or then?"

"It is not for you to know. All I am asking now is whether you leave now and these photos will not fall into the wrong hands or you wait and be persistent and you might find them on the front page of each newspaper or magazine you could find."

"I am practically a nobody." Andin chuckled. "Why would anyone care about my affair?"

"Not you, of course." Maria laughed, even her laughter sounded cruel. "But Mister Summers, the third son of Cedric Summers? That is a different story. The news will eat whatever I am giving them. And you know what I am going to say?" Her eyebrows arched perfectly on her smooth forehead. "I will tell them that he forces his way on all of his secretaries."

"No one will believe you," said Andin tightly.

"Are you sure, honey?" Maria stepped forward and pushed Andin's hair behind her ear. Andin slapped her hand away and took a step back. "Many women would come with me to testify and what do you think will happen? Would they believe your word or even Sebastian's word when there are many women who speak differently?"

"Is it money that you are after?" asked Andin curiously. "You want to make false accusations around so that he will give you money to shut the hell up? What is your angle?"

"None of your concern. And what makes you think Sebastian did not truly force his way on his past secretaries? After all, if you did your research, you must know that before you, a ton of women quit their job. He has switched secretaries more often than any other CEO known to the world." Maria tilted her head to one side, still smiling cunningly. "What if that was the reason? Perhaps I am just doing this as a payback for those women. Who knows?" She shrugged one shoulder. "Now are you going to leave this company now or not? Today is your last day before you are going on a short break, right? Why don't you make that break permanent?"

Andin initially thought that all Maria wanted was money but she had figured it out wrongly. She had thought Maria would stop with the threat of sending the pictures to the newspapers. But the thought of Sebastian getting all the accusations and humiliation added panic to the fear in her tumbling stomach.

"I do not think you want to humiliate Sebastian even further, right?" said Maria as she took another step forward, the only noise was her heels clicking on the floor in the quiet room. "Because if I am not mistaken, I can see it in your eyes."

"See what?" Andin gritted her teeth. She was feeling very annoyed and frustrated at the same time. In all her life, she had been thrown a lot of obstacles and she had always faced them head-on. She had even twice faced the debt collectors who had come after her mother. Life was never easy but she always refused to be bullied by it. Now that this thing came and she was asked to leave, she felt as if she was running away like a coward. She did not like it at all. But what choice did she have?

"See that you love him. You do, don't you? And in your helpless mind, you think that perhaps he does love you back?" Maria tilted her head back and laughed. "Gosh, you should know better that he will never love you. Or else he would never make a move on me."

"It is none of your goddamn business and I do not believe you." The thought of Sebastian and Maria did cause her to have some doubts, after all, Maria was a really gorgeous girl. A man had to be blind not to see how stunning she looked. Her mind thought it was possible that Sebastian would go after someone like Maria and yet her heart spoke differently. Andin had seen Sebastian in his vulnerable moment and a man like him, who would never show any weakness, would not let himself be vulnerable unless he, at some degree, had feelings for her. Furthermore, with his trust issues, she doubted that he would ever talk about something as intimate as his relationship with Piers or his family to just anyone. They had a bond and even though he was not ready to call it 'love' but it was definitely there. Spending time with him almost every day for the last two months had made that bond stronger than ever.

"You do not have to." Maria shrugged. "So do we have a deal? Are you going to stay and bring him down or are you going to leave?"

"I am leaving but mark my word, you will not get away with this."

"Are you thinking of informing Sebastian? If you are then think twice because as you can see, I have eyes and ears everywhere and if I know that you told him, I will have these photos sent to all newspaper companies in town and upload them to the internet as well. Not only you will bring him down but you will bring the entire Summers Empire down with you. With these photos, I could make any accusation I want. For example, I could tell them that you slept with him and have someone else take these photos so you can use these to blackmail him. Perhaps that story will be a hit." Maria folded her arms in front of her breasts and lifted her eyebrows. "Don't you see, Andin, I have all the power. I am going to get away with this."

Andin believed her. She believed Maria would do what she said. "Maybe for now," replied her with a shrug. "But not forever. Someday someone is going to find out and the truth shall prevail. I am gonna leave now. I do not have to stand here and listen to any more of your insanity talking." Andin looked down at her through her frosty gaze. Then she turned around and left.

She heard Maria laughing while saying, "Good riddance. Bye-bye, bitch!"

Andin kept her head held high as she walked out of the supplies room and made her way back to her office. Currently, she had no clue what she should do but she knew that in time, she would figure out how to fix this. All she had to do was think this through. She had to find out what Maria's angle was, the reason why she was doing all of this. Once she figured that one out, she could start planning her counterstrike.

She grabbed her purse from her drawer and left a note on Sebastian's desk that she would have to leave early. Frankly, Maria had disgusted her and she could not stay here for another five hours with her. She went to the parking lot in the basement, unlocked her car, and dumped her purse inside. She was about to get inside her car when someone called her by her full name.

Looking around to find her caller, her gaze landed on a figure that she had not seen for at least a month. The last time she had seen him, his skin was tanned from the Sicily sunlight and his hair was slightly longer, passing the collar of his shirt. Now he looked just as muscular as he was previously even though he was wearing a business suit and not a plain worn-out shirt but his hair was short and brushed back. "Andin, Dio Mio! Do not tell me that you have forgotten me."

* * * * * * * *

"Piers?" Her eyes widened as he approached her and stopped only a few feet from her. "What are you doing here?"

"Ouch." Piers winced, pretending as if she had just thrown a stick at him. "That hurts. There is no how are you, Joseph or it is good to see you, Joseph?"

"I am sorry." Andin shook her head, sighing. "Of course, I am happy to see you. How are you? When did you get back here?"

"Last night, actually. I thought I will come here and surprise Jav and maybe take him to lunch."

"Well, you missed him. He went to a meeting at ten A.M. and he has not returned. Perhaps next time you should give me a call so I can check his schedule for you."

Piers pulled his phone out of the pocket of his suit and handed it to her. "Then how about you giving me your number so I can do that next time?"

"Okay." Andin keyed in her number and handed the phone back to him. "Here."

"Are you going somewhere?" Piers pointed at his opened car door. "Are you going for lunch?"

"No, actually I am not feeling well. I want to go home."

"Are you okay?" He frowned as he gave her a once-over as if he was looking for any sign of injury.

"Yeah." Andin's cheeks felt hot under his scrutinizing gaze. "I am okay. Do not worry about it."

"You have not answered my question though. Have you had lunch?" Piers tilted his head, a charming smile forming on his face.

"Um." She had not had lunch but she knew that going to lunch with him might not be a good idea. "I, um—"

"You have not but you do not want to have lunch with me so you do not know how to answer my simple question. I get it." His lips curled into an understanding smile, his eyes were kind. "You do not have to, Andin. Do not feel bad for saying what you feel. The last thing I want is to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I am sorry. It is not that I do not want to. I just do not think that it is a good idea," she answered truthfully and shrugged one shoulder.

"Okay." His smile disappeared completely and was replaced by a grimace. "So you figured out that I like you, huh?"

"What?" She blinked twice.

Piers gave her a sappy smile that mirrored the sadness in his eyes. "Yeah. I like you the first time I met you on that beach but I know that you and Sebastian are involved. You should know that I am not going to pursue you knowing that you are with him. I will never cross that border ever again so there is no need for you to be afraid, Andin."

She eyed him anxiously. With what had just happened this afternoon with Maria and her threats, she was not sure whether she wanted to go with Piers or not. He was a Summers, he was Sebastian's big brother. Obviously, she could not tell him but keeping things from Sebastian did not feel right too. Perhaps she could tell Piers so that Piers could warn Sebastian about Maria.

While her mind was busy weighing about the pros and cons, Piers stared at her curiously and asked, "Is there something that bothers your mind?" When she looked up and met his eyes, he put both palms up. "I am sorry. Pardon the intrusion but you look like you have a lot on your mind. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Piers, would you mind getting in the car?" asked her as she finally made up her mind. She figured that Maria might not know Piers so it should be fine if she went for lunch with him but there was a chance that she might. If turned out that Maria knew about Piers and the person she might be hired to tail on Andin saw her with Piers, it could be trouble. Here, however, the basement of the Summers building where only permanent employees with access could enter might be a safe place. Furthermore, Maria was still a temp since she was still in training thus she had no access to the parking lot.

"That is an odd request," he commented but he walked over the hood and got into the passenger seat.

Andin got inside the car and sat behind the wheels. "I have a problem."

"What is it?" The frown lines on his forehead deepened as he turned to face her. His face was full of worry. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"This is about me and Sebastian," she started then began to explain what had happened in the supplies room with Maria.

* * *

Andin sat in Damon and Tanner's living room as the boys were watching the football game. Her face felt hot and her stomach burned from pent-up emotion. Even though she and Sebastian had only become close over the past two months, she had feelings for him and she cared deeply for him. Tension pounded the base of her skull and everything seemed unreal as she went through the motions. There had to be some way. There had to be something she could do to keep from losing him. But there was nothing. Nothing at all. She had no choice and it drove her to madness.

Her first instinct when Maria had shown her the photos at the office was to run. Run home, pull the covers over her head, and pretend everything would be all right. Because sometimes it was easier to pretend that everything was simply a bad dream. That had been what she had done as a little girl with no father and a mother she could not rely on. But she had learned the hard way that pretending nothing happened would not help at all so even though her world had just fallen apart, she would not move or run.

"Do you want a glass of wine?" Damon asked her.

She looked at him, at her best friend in his blue shirt and a pair of black pants, who looked very handsome but pretty much unavailable — at least not for the female. What would happen if she told him? Surely since they were in the same flat, same room, there was no way Maria could know, right?

"Andin?"

"Yes."

"Do you want wine?"

She shook her head. "No," she answered and her voice sounded hollow. She stood and walked to the bathroom.

"What is wrong, Andin Mia Bella?" her best friend called through the door.

"Nothing," she managed. "I feel sick." Another sob racked her chest and she knew she could not stay there. She had to get home. "Could you bring me my purse?" She turned to the vanity and looked at herself in the mirror. At her red cheeks and watery eyes. She ran a paper towel under cold water and held it to her hot face. Damon entered the room and handed her bag to her.

"You do not look good," Damon said. "Did you catch something at the office?"

"Maybe. I think I will go home."

"Are you sure you are okay to be alone? I could get you to the hospital if you need to."

The last thing she wanted was to break down in front of her best friend and caused him to panic. "No. It is fine. I am fine," she said as she opened the bathroom door.

"Well, Honey, frankly, I do not believe you. I have known you for fifteen years and you are a terrible liar, Andin Darling." He took a glass out of the drawer and poured the water out of the sink then handed the glass of water to her. "Now you can tell me what is wrong so we can work out the solution together. That is what we always do."

Andin felt like a kid again. Alone and helpless. She had worked so hard never to feel those two things again, and here it was back. A sob racked her chest and fear started to creep into her head. Two months. It had only been two months since she and Sebastian had gotten involved, and her life had changed so drastically, it felt longer. She felt like a different person. Stronger. Confident. More sure of herself. With him, even with the uncertainty of whether he truly loved her or not, she got a taste of happiness. She had finally found someone who made her happy.

Two months to have gained so much, only to lose it all. Such a short time to fall completely and totally in love, only to lose him, too. And it was ironic as hell, really. She had always known that their relationship was not going to be easy. That it would end someday. That it would hit her hard and shake up her life. Yet she thought that it would be because of his not believing in love and calling her crazy but she thought that she could somehow, eventually, convince him otherwise. That she would be able to teach him about love. And perhaps he would come to love her back.

"Earth to Andin?"

Damon's voice finally brought her back to reality and she blinked, shooing her wandering thoughts away. "Yes?"

"Tell me what is wrong?" Her best friend lifted one brow, his face looked more worried than it had been five minutes ago.

"I—I love him. But I can not be with him, Dee. There is a lot of shit going on." Andin covered her face with both hands and took a deep, calming breath.

"I know you love him, Andin Darling. It is hard to miss the obvious." He threw his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "Did he hurt you, Andin Bella? What did he do? He may look handsome but I do not mind messing up that pretty face of his."

"No, Dee." She shook her head helplessly. "He didn't do anything."

"Then what is the matter?"

No longer sure that she could hide this from her best friend, she finally let it all pour out. Whether she had made the right decision by telling him or not was a mystery and only time would be able to tell.

* * * * * * * *

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Also, what do you think will happen next? ;)