Hayden's PoV

I sat at my father's large wooden desk, the thick light oak top covered in files spread into five different piles, a further pile resting on my legs which I still needed to sort through. This is what my dad had pressured me into doing. I was trained up to take over from him the moment I'd left college and despite my resistance I'd still ended up fulfilling his dreams. I was now sorting through these files and working out how people lost their lives. Dramatic? Not really. This is the truth. On my lap sat files with hitman requests where people would tell us who they wanted killed and how. Nothing in detail, just whether it should look accidental or if they wanted a mark left to show it was a hired hit - the latter normally used for gangs or rivals to scare the others.
We had five hitmen; Ali, Walker, Sash, Greg and Dodge. Each had a preference and a great skill set in that so they were all hired to split the workload and use theirs skills to their full potential. My dad, or now me, would go through each request and put it with who it best suited. The files were then looked at by the guys and a few days later, after some crucial calculating, the hit would be completed. We would then get our money and the file would be shredded and then burnt just to make sure there were absolutely no traces. It was a scary line of work but it paid so well. One single hit could range from £50,000 to £2,000,000 depending on who it was and what the criteria was.
When I was growing up I always knew my dad's work was something different. I was confused at how he always had available cash and how our house was so big in comparison to other people's. When my dad told me he was going to pay for me to go to a private school I refused, asking to be with the other fun kids. He had tried homeschooling with a specialist he'd hired for the first few years of my life but I didn't really like that either. Looking back, I felt isolated and alone and at the time I was only four. I messed about a lot and we went through about five different teachers over the span of a couple of years before dad decided I could go to 'normal' school. This was a relief for me and I still remember my first day like it was yesterday. The noise hit me first, the sound of screaming children, playing and shouting and singing and running around as they played catch. I smiled instantly. This was the sound I needed without really knowing it. I paused at the school gate as I took it all in. It was so busy, like the West End streets of London just before the evening theatre performances, but there was organisation to it. A kind child met me at the gate with mischief in his eyes.

"Hi." He stated obviously. "You're new, I can help."

"Thank you." I responded. "Who are you?"

"Zeke." He grinned.

"Hayden." I responded and my steps fell in sync with his as we headed into the playground. Zeke stayed by me through my first week, sitting beside me in class and eating lunch with me just so I didn't feel alone. He then started gaining other friends whilst I sat on the sidelines watching, wishing I had the courage to speak to these people. I felt there was no point though, clearly my life was different to theirs. Eventually, Zeke began introducing me to all his new friends and soon we were an unstoppable group.

"Boss." I snapped out of my daydream as I glanced up at the doorframe, a towering figure elongated by the angle of our lighting and the shadow that drooped across him. I waved them in. Heavy footsteps and the jingle of the buckle on his boots told me who it was before he reached me.

"Hey, Walker." I nodded at him. "Everything okay?" It was only then I noted the stack of files under his arm.

"Your Dad asked me to bring these to you. We're pretty busy at the moment." The stack was handed to me, around about ten more hitman requests which I took and slid to the bottom of the ones on my lap. "I'll be back to get my list in about an hour." I smiled and nodded as he turned on his heels and left quickly. The silence was short lived as the loud pattering of running feet echoed the hallway and Zeke shot into the room with a newspaper under his arm.

"One, have you ever heard of knocking. Two, I'm busy. Three, aren't you meant to be helping dad?" I reeled off as he skidded to a halt beside me, panting like he'd run a marathon.

"You'll thank me for ignoring everything." He said cryptically as he slammed the newspaper down in front of me, opening it and flicking through pages.

"Zee, I really don't have time to-" but the words stopped as soon as I saw her. In big letters, the title of the newspaper article was 'JINGLE PEARLS'. Below it sat a large photo of Skye being proposed to by some guy in a suit. I felt a mix of emotions pull at my gut; anger, resentment, guilt, sadness. I snatched the newspaper up to get a closer look at the story.

Despite the recent claims against him, Travis Heinbecker looked smitten with his fiancée, Skye Denver, following a proposal at their Christmas Party. Heinbecker, CEO of Develop Industries, had been dating PA Skye for only a few months before this surprise engagement. We have reached out to both their representatives for more information.

By the time I'd finished reading, I'd scrunched the edges of the paper in my hands. Zeke let out a sigh and placed a hand on my shoulder, as if he was acknowledging my pain as well as comforting me. The only person who'd known about my deep rooted crush on Skye had been Zeke - and just like with school, I just never felt like I was normal enough to invite her in. I let out a sigh in response as I handed the half-readable paper back to him.

"I've got to get on with this." I pointed down to the pile of files. "Thanks though." My head was swimming as I tried to compute this information, feeling regret and anger boiling up once again after so many years laying dormant. I suppose I'd always hoped we would bump into each other again and be more confident in taking that next step. Instead, she's moved on and I'm left in the dust. Zeke nodded as he patted my shoulder, leaving without another word. I closed my eyes for a second before I looked back down at the first folder. Let's just get this over with.