I walked through the door to my apartment, completely exhausted from the day I had. Cameron ended up having six different meetings throughout the day, half of which I needed to take notes in and the others I was busy returning all the calls he missed while in the conference room. It must be at least eight o'clock right now, and after falling face first onto my black leather couch I felt like doing nothing else. I was starving from missing dinner, and sweaty from being outside but my body was objecting to me getting off of my comfy couch.

I have lived in New York City almost my entire life, with the exception of when I was in college. And even with the millions of people who lived here, and how busy it was any time day or night, I still found myself incredibly lonely sitting here sometimes. I grew up across the river in Brooklyn, and I missed it all the time. It reminded me of what life was like before my father died and my life went to shit. With my father being a firefighter sure we didn't have all the money in the world, but we were happy. Now my mother was remarried and had more money than she could get her hands on, and I was miserable. Funny how life works.

I didn't mind living in Manhattan, but Brooklyn was always home. It was where me and my brother grew up, it was where i met my best friend Talia, it was where my father died and where he was still buried. I hated he wasn't buried right up the street to where I could visit him more. I missed him every day. I missed him every time I bit into a delicious slice of pepperoni and mushroom pizza, his favorite food. Missed him every time I looked at my brother who was the spitting image of who he was, I just missed him all the time. Sure he died ten years ago, but it still never made the ache in my heart go away.

Without my brother and Talia I really would have nobody, seeing as my mother was pretty much dead to me. Feeling like my head would explode if I though too much about my parents, I finally peeled myself off my couch and wandered into my kitchen to find something appetizing for dinner. I settled on a boring salad and a bottle of water. It didn't satisfy my hunger in the least but I was too tired to make anything else. And I ended up passing out without even changing out of my work clothes.....

The next morning all I wanted to do was lay in bed. My eyes were so heavy and I was having a hard time keeping them open as i took my morning shower. My hair wasn't cooperating even worse than normal, and when I stepped outside into the humidity I knew my day was only going to get worse. Talia keeps trying to get me to get a treatment done on my hair so it doesn't strangle me throughout the day, I just never found the time. But I was really considering it before the benefit on Saturday.

I didn't see any cabs much to my dismay, which meant I would be walking the ten blocks to my office building. But as fate would have it, the one person I didn't want to see would come walking in the direction of my apartment building. "Avery, Please stop being petty about this!" My mother said reaching out to grab my arms with her perfectly manicured claws. "I told you never to contact me" I growled before walking past her in the direction of work.

My mother just chased after me and yanked my arm back, causing me to stop in my tracks."What! What do you want from me?!" I yelled loudly at her, causing an innocent elderly couple to jump as they passed by us. I knew by now bystanders were looking, as anyone does in this city when they see someone raise their voice. Nosy bastards.

"Tommy will be coming home soon, I think we should go together" She said with a fake smile plastered on her face. My jaw opened wide and I looked at her with severe bewilderment. Has my mother completely forgotten everything that happened all those years ago, because I surely know it haunts me every time I close my eyes.

My mother wasn't always like this. When she was married to my father she would be the first one to finish her beer and belch loudly while she did it. She was the one cheering the loudest when the Jets played on Sunday afternoons. She never cared when she would stain her clothes and often times would just replace a stained shirt with one that was even dirtier. That was the mother I loved and knew growing up, not this plastic barbie standing in front of me. Her expensive dress was so tight I thought her breasts would explode out of the top, and I'm sure the bag on her arm was more expensive than two months in my apartment.

She always used to throw her long brown hair up in whatever style would magically happen without using a mirror, now her hair glistened so much in the sun it almost blinded me. My mother was a beautiful woman, but this lifestyle she married into turned her into a monster that haunted my dreams. I hated her so much, hated everything she was. She married a man I thought was someone that loved her and would make her happy, boy was I wrong. Maxwell Preston, My stepfather, was the devil in human form. Sadly my mother couldn't see this, and was blinded by money.

"You have a lot of nerve talking to me as if nothing happened between us!" I sneered at her, gripping the bag on my shoulder so tightly I was surprised it didn't rip at the seams. My mother's eyes were blocked by expensive sunglasses, but I already could tell she rolled her eyes at me. "Please darling, don't be so over dramatic" She said chuckling to herself as she wiped a piece of invisible lint of her dress. I felt tears prickling at my eyes that she would even say that to me.

Something terrible and traumatizing happened to me, yet my mother treats it like a big joke. "I have to get to work" i mumbled wiping the tears that fell down my face and walking quickly away from her, I was grateful a cab drove by at that moment, and I hopped inside thankful to get out of the heat of the city, and especially my wretched mother...

Walking into Jame's Enterprises I was still flustered from the encounter with my mother. I spilled half of Cameron's coffee down my white blouse, and I swear a pigeon crapped in my hair before I walked inside. I hated when things went array before work, it ruined my whole day. "Whoa Avery, what happened to you?" Bradley asked when I stomped out of the elevator, blowing random pieces of hair that were falling into my mouth. "Don't ask" i growled, trying to balance Cameron's coffee and the files in my opposite hand.

Bradley chuckled before walking over and giving me a hand. "Baby doll, you have something in your hair" Bradley said with a grimace as he reached into my bushy brown hair and examined something I couldn't quite see. "I don't doubt it" I said glaring down at my now coffee stained heels. Leave it to just seeing my mother to frustrate me to the point I could barely function this morning, I'm usually more professional than this. "Let's get you cleaned up" Bradley said softly leading me to the bathrooms down the hall.

I didn't even protest when he dragged himself and me into the ladies room. I set Cameron's coffee and my files on the counter before Bradley came over and was running a wet towel through my hair. "You sure have a lot of hair girl" Bradley said with a chuckle as he wet the towel once more under the running water.

"Yeah I know, I'm thinking of chopping it" I said leaning back against the marble counter.

I heard Bradley move behind me and start doing something with the ends of my hair. "Don't do that! It's pretty, just a little poofy" he said laughing. It felt like he was braiding my hair, and when I glanced over in the mirror I saw he had fishtailed my hair down my back. I actually didn't grimace looking at my hair in the mirror, it looked really good. "Wow Bradley, you sure have a talent with hair if you can make ME look good" i said playing with the long braid I had resting across my shoulder.

"You're gorgeous girl, but I'm taking you to fix this cat tail on your head after work" Bradley said with a nod before handing me the wet towel. "No arguments!" he said when I opened my mouth to protest. I ended up just nodding my head and dabbing the wet towel down my coffee soaked shirt. "I have a spare shirt, be right back" he said before leaving, only to come back with a shirt identical to mine, only bigger being a mans shirt. I changed in the bathroom stall and walked out having to roll my sleeves all the way up to my elbows since the shirt was so big.

"Thanks Bradley" I said smiling smoothing out his shirt and making sure nothing was showing through the opening at the top. "Looks good" He said giving me a wink before heading back out to the office. I grabbed my bag, cold cup of coffee and files before doing the same....

Cameron was already in his office when I walked inside with his coffee, and I hated that he arrived here earlier than I did today. He was typing away on his computer when I walked through my office door into his. "Ah there's my coffee! For a second I thought I was going to have to make my own" Cameron said chuckling when I handed him the Styrofoam cup. "It's cold, sorry. Had a mishap on my way to the office" I said with an apologetic look.

I set down the files he needed for his meeting today in front of him on the desk, but when I went to pull my hand away, Cameron grabbed my wrist pulling me closer. "Is this a mans shirt?" he asked quietly looking at Bradley's button down white shirt that was rolled at the sleeves. I coughed awkwardly and saw that Cameron was glaring down at my shirt. That's weird. Why would Cameron even care if I was wearing a mans shirt, he was just my boss.

"Um, yeah. It's Bradley's shirt. I spilled your coffee down my other one" i mumbled gently taking my shaking wrist out of his hand. It wasn't that he was hurting me, I just couldn't deal with feeling his warm skin on mine without wanting to jump on top of him. Too many days I looked into his office fantasizing about what he would do to me on his desk, only for me to smack myself out of that tortured fantasy.

"Ah, good" Was all he said before leaning back in his chair looking up at me. I didn't know what to say, I knew all i wanted to blurt out was I love you. But I'm sure that would make an awkward workplace and I would be fired for fraternizing with my boss. I have come close to just yelling it out to him at the oddest moments, when hes leaning over me looking at my computer. When were alone in the elevator or the back of his car. I have wanted to tell him so many times for so many years now. But I think the only thing keeping me from telling him, was the chance of me never seeing him again.

It was miserable, but I could handle watching him with other women. I could handle just being his secretary and personal assistant. What i couldn't handle, was not seeing this beautiful man every day. Cameron tilted his head and was looking at me intently, like he wanted to tell me something as well. But i shook any thoughts of him actually having romantic feelings for me, and i turned to head back into my office.

I thought Cameron would turn back to his computer and get back to his work, but when I glanced over from my desk Cameron's eyes were still glued to mine....