"Finally?" I repeated. Joe's emphasis on the last word made my heart skip. Had Robert mentioned me to him before? Impossible, we only met hours earlier.

"Don't listen to him. He's just amazed I'm with a woman," Robert insisted, shaking his head at Joe.

"Right, sorry, Robert's more like a priest or monk than any of my schoolmasters," Joe answered pleasantly.

"Joe is my personal assistant, and it seems he is looking for a demotion." Robert frowned at Joe, who shrugged and winked at me before turning and dashing toward his car. Joe opened the back passenger-side door, and Robert led me to it.

This car was no less elegant than the last. I settled into the soft seats and made a mental note to ask my father to buy us one when we needed a new vehicle.

"What is your address?" Robert asked as he slid into the seat beside me and closed his door.

"Actually, I need to go to my friend's house. She lives in an apartment complex just about ten minutes from here. She should get home from work soon, but I have a key if she's not there."

"Good friend," Robert noted. "To trust you with a key to her apartment."

"Yes, we've been friends since college. Her name's Beth Williams, and here's her address." I popped my phone to show Joe, but Robert took it instead.

"Okay, I sent it to myself." Did Robert Lamb just give me his phone number? "Joe, I just shared it with you."

"You know, boss, she could have shared it directly," Joe teased.

"I don't want to be responsible for any possible harassment on your part," Robert bit back with a smile. He seemed very comfortable around Joe.

"Hey, I gave up stalking years ago," Joe protested with a wink in my direction as he slid the car back into the road. The police handling the semi-truck driver waved us by. I was surprised they hadn't stopped us as witnesses, but what happened was obvious, so maybe witnesses weren't necessary.

Joe played soft pop music in the front seat, and I rested my head on the headrest. I had accomplished it. I had saved Robert Lamb. A wave of relief washed over me, and tears started to form in the corners of my eyes. It had been a long day, but I only had to wait ten more minutes. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm, and when I opened my eyes, Robert gazed at me with a worried expression.

"Are you going to be alright? I'm sorry to have got you mixed up in this." The compassion in his voice bathed me with comfort, followed by naughty chills running up and down my spine.

"It's not your fault, and you get lots of bonus points for saving my life."

"Well, you saved mine in return." My eyes widened, and my heart pounded. How could he have known that I had saved his life? "If you hadn't seen that truck, neither of us would have survived." Right, the truck—I forgot.

"I guess we are even then," I sighed, reassured.

"Yes," Robert agreed. "But I would like to take you out to dinner at some point to thank you. I don't know what that driver had planned for me, but it couldn't have been good. I am lucky you recognized him."

"Oh, that's not necessary." My heart fluttered, and I wasn't sure what to say. Did I want to have dinner with Robert Lamb? Initially, I had thought winning him over before Lisa even had the chance would be quite a victory, but he was a Lamb, and that family couldn't be trusted. Caution won, and I clamped down hard on any desire for this handsome heir. I did enough to stymie Lisa and Tim's plan by saving Robert. "Really, it's not."

"I think it is," Robert countered. "I'll call you when things settle down."

"Oh, okay," I answered. I didn't have to pick up the call, so it was a safe way to end the conversation.

"Here we are," Joe announced as we pulled into the high-end apartment complex Beth had let me upgrade her to. I insisted on paying part of the rent so I could have somewhere to escape when my family got too intense, which meant she could stay in a place with more amenities and excellent security.

"You can pull up to the gate. I have the access number." The fob to get in had been drenched with my bag, so Beth would have to get me a new one when she could. I told Joe the code, and the gate opened to allow us into the underground garage. After waving at the security guard sitting in his booth next to the gate, Joe navigated to the elevator nearest her apartment, where I had them stop so I could get out.

"Thank you for the lift," I said as Joe opened the door to let me out.

"You're welcome," Joe responded instead of Robert, who had exited the car at the same time as me.

As I made my way towards the elevator, Robert fell into step beside me. His hand pressed gently against my back as if guiding and protecting me. We had been through a lot together in the short time we had known each other, which created a certain level of familiarity between us. His touch didn't feel presumptuous, and I felt comforted by it despite the intense sensations it caused.

It had been a whirlwind of a day, but everything he did resonated with me. Maybe it was because he'd been my hero not once, but twice, at the pool and then protecting me from the runaway truck. It was no wonder I felt more comfortable around him than safe. Despite the danger intrinsic to his identity, I couldn't deny that I enjoyed his presence, but I also knew I needed to be cautious. Perhaps this lingering desire was just a "damsel in distress" reaction that would fade with time, or maybe it was something more. Either way, I needed to keep my wits about me and not let my guard down.

"You don't have to escort me," I insisted, desperate for some distance between us as soon as possible. I remembered the last time I had felt this close to a man so quickly, and it frightened me. The memory of the early intensity of my relationship with Tim quenched any burgeoning romantic feelings I had been harboring for his uncle. I could not make the same mistake again.

"I want to," he answered. "You've had an eventful day. Let me bring you safely to your friend's apartment. It will put my mind at ease."

"Oh, Okay," I stuttered in return, unable to find a suitable rejection. I had never had a man escort me back to my house like this. Tim had always stayed in the car when he dropped me off in front of my home unless my parents were home and he wanted to talk with them.

Tim had never dropped me off at Beth's place. He hadn't liked her much, and the feeling was mutual. Over time, I had chosen Tim over Beth and slowly stopped coming to our shared apartment. My heart sank at all the bad decisions I made in my former life. How had I let Tim control me so much? How had I let him convince me that Beth was not my friend, that she was after my rightful position in the company? A position I never really wanted in the first place.

We remained silent in the elevator and during the short walk to Beth's apartment. I knocked on the door. Even though I had a key, I didn't like to use it when Beth was there. It was her home, and she deserved her privacy. Beth answered the door in her favorite red pantsuit. Her sepia-brown skin glowed with a flush, and she pursed her full lips with the residuals of rapid breathing as if she had rushed to the door to greet us.

"Nicky!" Her voice sounded excited and relieved at the same time. Her soft arms enfolded me and pulled me toward her full chest. The stiffness of her suit collar scratched at my neck, and one of her long, tight braids pressed into my cheek, but I didn't mind. Her embrace felt like coming home. As she loosened her grip and lifted her head, she stiffened, and her eyes fixed on Robert, who stood patiently waiting beside me. She released me and offered her tastefully manicured hand to Robert, which he quickly grasped.

"Who are you?" she asked in a businesslike tone. She wasn't condemning him yet, which might have been a good sign.

"Robert Lamb, I escorted Ms. Mason home. I wanted to ensure she was safe, and I see she is now, so I will not interrupt."

"Oh," Beth cocked her head and assessed Robert with her discerning eye. Her intuition about people had been flawless since we met, though I ignored it when it came to Tim. Her head straightened, and she smiled. "Well, that was good of you. Thank you for bringing Nicky. I hope to see you again sometime."

"I hope so as well," Robert answered with a dashing smile.

Robert nodded to us both and returned to the elevator as Beth pulled me into her apartment.

"Girl, you have got some explaining to do!" Beth exclaimed as she squeezed my hand and smiled broadly.

"I will, but first, can we have a drink? I've had a very long day." Relaxation poured over me like warm water as the door shut behind her.

A sense of calm enveloped me as I stepped into Beth's apartment. The spacious communal living space was adorned with a tasteful selection of my artwork, and the scent of diffused jasmine hung in the air. Beth had always been particular about her decor and her favorite scent. My painting studio was on the other side of the living space, a smaller room but large enough to accommodate a good-sized bed and all my painting supplies. Here, I could immerse myself in my art and escape from the burdens of the Mason family conglomerate. The hint of acrylic mixed with the fragrance of jasmine was a welcome respite from the tension that had built up since my return to this life. Here, I had the freedom to be the artist I had always aspired to be, something else I had foolishly given up for Tim.

"I already have the red wine in the decanter. Just sit on the couch, and I'll bring you a glass."

Beth always knew what I needed. Sitting in her living room with a gas fire in the fireplace while Beth poured me a glass of the wine I had left here for this occasion, I couldn't conceptualize how I had ever let this relationship go. How had I let Tim take over my life like that? How could I have been such a fool?

Well, I wasn't going to be a fool this time. This time, I would protect the things I loved, including Beth.

"SO," Beth plopped down on the couch beside me and handed me a glass of wine, "who's the guy?"

"Robert Lamb," I answered with a sip. I readied myself for a Bethquisition (it's like the Spanish Inquisition without the burning at the stake.)

"Lamb? Like Lamb Industries and their subsidiaries, Lamb." Beth raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow and took a sip of her drink.

"Yes, I met him today."

"Today? And he drove you home?"

"Well, it was an eventful day," I explained with a large exhale. I then gave Beth the short version of my crazy day (minus the ending of my first life).

"Wow!" Beth pursed her mouth, and she put down her drink. "Do you think Lisa intentionally pushed you in the pool?"

Right to the point, that was so Beth. "I don't want to think she did."

"Girl, open your eyes. She has it out for you. How much do you want to bet she is dating that Tim guy?" My mouth went slack. Beth had figured out in less than five minutes what I hadn't understood in over five years. How had I become so stupid? Grant it, Tim was my first real relationship after college, and he had saved my life, or so I had thought.

"I accept it is a possibility," I murmured into my glass. Beth's mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened with exaggerated surprise.

"You do?" Beth raised her fist and then pulled it down. "Yes! Finally, I can block that girl's number."

"You can, but I have to find out her plan and when she will try again."

"Oh." Beth's lips twisted into a frown. "Right, she's trying to kill you. I didn't think she would go that far."

"Maybe she didn't, maybe it was just an accident, but she could have called 911, not run off to 'find help.'" I took another sip of my wine and leaned my head on the back of her white couch. "So, even if she wasn't trying to kill me, she wasn't trying to rescue me either."

"Well, you're alive and met Robert Lamb out of the deal." Beth slid her arm around my shoulders and squeezed me reassuringly. "And he is a very eligible bachelor; every single woman in the city will be green with envy when they hear about your misadventure with him."

"Why would they hear about it?"

"Sweetie, it has got to be all over the news. Let's check." Beth sat up and retrieved her phone from the coffee table before us. She began scrolling through some local, new sites and frowned. "Hm, weird."

"Weird?"

"I see a mention of a rogue truck but nothing about Robert Lamb. And no mention of a woman almost drowning at the Lamb International Hotel."

"Probably the Lamb family doesn't want the bad press."

"Right, well, that's good for you." Beth shrugged and put her phone down.

"I guess," I sighed. The tension that had been building in my stomach at the thought of all the press and how it could have affected my parents slowly unwound. I would have to tell them later, but I would have hated them to have heard it first on the news.

"So, how are we going to figure out what Lisa and this Tim guy are up to?" Beth switched gears, using her vast analytical brain.

"I have no idea," I moaned. I had a degree in business and design, not espionage. "Maybe I should hire a private detective to look into her, but I have no idea how. I mean, do I just do an internet search?"

"Well..."

"Well, what?"

"Well, we do work with an agency at the company. They help us with vetting potential clients." I tilted my head to the side and stared at Beth. She had worked with my mother on her executive staff almost since graduating from college. My mother had hired her based on her skills and without my influence. Beth used the company's education fund to pay for her MBA, which she was due to finish next spring. Because she was part of the inner circle, she should have had more knowledge than me, a mere design manager, but it had never come up before. Her relationship with my mother was one of Tim's wedges subtly inserted between us. My insecurity about my fitness for the job of president, combined with Beth's competency, had made it so much easier for Tim to convince me that Beth was not indeed my friend.

"Would it be okay to use them for something private? And if we used a company that works with ours, wouldn't it be possible that Rebecca's people might find out?"

"True, but I work with one of their guys a lot. Maybe he can refer me to someone who can do private work. Let me text him."

"You can text him after work hours?"

"Um, yes," Beth stuttered, and her cheeks flushed.

"Oh, he's a FRIEND," I teased, drawing out the word friend with relish.

"Yes, a friend," Beth answered with a smile as her phone beeped an immediate response. "He sent me a name and contact. I'll forward it to you."

"I'll call them in the morning," I assured her after my phone vibrated with her message.

"You better. The sooner we learn about the Riley family's plans, the better." Beth leaned back in her chair and took another drink. She gazed out her window and frowned.

I joined her in contemplating the city nightscape. I had an ally that I had forsaken in the past but would never do again.

In this life, I had to undo all my mistakes from the last one. My stomach clenched as a stray thought interrupted my determination.

But what about new mistakes?

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