stop shaking. Fear, unlike anything she'd ever known poured through her body. She stood there, still as a statue, note gripped in her hand.

Breath, she commanded herself.

Recalling the countless yoga classes, she'd taken, Nyla focused on her breathing. Her mind was traveling a thousand miles in four different directions, but she focused on her heartbeat and getting herself to calm down.

It took her five minutes before she was able to move and plan her next move. She called Hyeon on the line and told her to bring George and herself in the office. A few minutes later, both came into her office.

"Shut the door," she said calmly.

They didn't question her and Hyeon closed it. She handed the piece of paper, first to George then Hyeon. George immediately blanched, prompting Nyla to get him to sit down.

Hyeon snapped into business mode. "What do you need me to do?"

George was still silent, not saying anything.

"Get Olivia to go out on a bagel run for me saying that we have a meeting in a couple of hours. Give her some ridiculous place to visit so she won't be in our way."

Hyeon nodded.

"Call the security staff into my office. They'll need to lead the evacuations."

"Are we telling everyone?"

Nyla shook her head. "No, that would cause pandemonium. Everyone would be stumbling to get out of the building. We need to do this in an orderly manner."

Beside her George snorted, causing Nyla to raise an eyebrow in his direction. "Do you have anything to add?"

"As much as you try keeping this under wraps, it won't work. In twenty minutes, the entire building and Fox News will know the story."

Nyla had anticipated that, but she was hoping by that time, the entire building would be clear. "Relay to everyone that we are doing a practice fire drill, so everyone needs to evacuate the building."

Nyla gave Hyeon and George a couple of more tasks before ushering them out of her office. She picked up the phone and dialed the New York Police Department.

"Hi, my name is Nyla Malhotra and I'd like to report a bomb threat."

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Exactly ten minutes later, there were about twenty people crowding around her desk, including Special agents from the FBI, George, Hyeon, Anthony and her own security team.

"Did you see anyone enter the building with this box?" Special Agent Tessa questioned her head of security.

"No Ma'am. It must have been delivered through the mail room or hidden by another box."

"Has there been any suspicious activity lately in or around the building?"

The room remained silent. Nyla frowned, wondering if she should answer the Agent's question. The only connection she could recall was the chemical explosion at the plant. She also recalled the suspicious activity within her own business, but she didn't think it could be related at all.

"A few months ago, another factory was targeted." George spoke.

The agent nodded and George continued telling her all the facts. Nyla turned towards her head of security, "How is the evacuation going?"

The man winced, "Somehow, it got out that a bomb threat was sent to Renne Headquarters so it's absolutely pandemonium. The S.W.A.T team is doing their best to control everything and make sure everyone gets out smoothly."

Nyla rubbed her temples. This had to go down in the history of one of the worse possible days.

"Has the bomb been found?"

Agent Tessa shook her head. "No, my team is still looking for it." Her eyes bore into Nyla's. "Have you received any further instructions or information?"

Nyla pointed to the note that was placed on her desk. "That's all I have."

"Should we not be evacuating the building?" Hyeon asked, her voice unnaturally quite and skin a lot paler.

Beside her, Anthony nodded in agreement. "I think it's best for all non-uniformed members to exit the building. We don't know when the bomb could go off."

Nyla didn't want to leave. She couldn't imagine abandoning the building when her own employees were still stuck inside. Agent Tessa met her eyes, "Go, it's not safe for you. My team will handle the rest."

Nyla looked around her office one more time before she and the others were escorted down the building with FBI agents behind them.

"The board members are not going to be happy about this." George warned.

"I frankly don't care. This is not something I could control and if they are prissy, I will deal with it when the time comes."

The stepped out of the building and the flashes of camera's blinded Nyla as reporters crowded around her, shoving their mikes in her face.

"Has the bomb been found?"

"Are their still individuals inside the building?"

"Who do you think is behind this?"

"Will you step down from being the CEO after this incident?"

Nyla pushed through them all till she reached the car. She looked back at the Renne building, terrified that she was seeing it for the last time.

"It's going to be okay, it's best if you go home." Hyeon said from beside her in the car.

From the front, the FBI agent nodded. "We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates. The evacuation is almost complete."

For the remainder of the car ride, Nyla stayed silent. She had hundreds of thoughts filtering through her mind, yet she couldn't focus on a single one. When they arrived at her condo, Hyeon had to shake her out of the thoughts that plagued her. She shot her secretary a weak smile and slipped inside the building.

Once Nyla reached her apartment, she collapsed on the sofa, not bothering to turn on the lights. The sun filtered through the wall to floor ceilings, yet Nyla felt as though she was clocked in darkness. She laid their, for how long, she didn't know.

Her phone rang and she blindly fished it out of her blazer pocket before pressing it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Are you okay?" Darius voice filled the other line.

Nyla thought she might be hallucinating so she removed the phone from her ear to check the caller ID, it was indeed Darius who was calling her.

"I think you might have the wrong number," she croaked out.

Today had been challenging enough, she didn't need to talk to Darius right now. He was only going to add to her stress. Her fingers hovered to shut the phone, but Darius' panicked voice reach her, "Wait, I'm sorry."

"What exactly are you apologizing for?"

Nyla held her breath and waited for Darius' response.

"I'm sorry for not calling, or texting. But mostly for running out the way I did after we kissed."

Nyla didn't know what to say and she was silent for a few moments until her phone blared and she received a call from an unknown number.

"I can't do this right now."

"I understand." There was a brief hesitation before Darius spoke the next words. "I'll drop by your apartment sometime later if that's okay with you."

"Okay," she said softly. "I'll see you then."

She hung up the call and picked up the other one to realize that it was her doorman.

"There are a couple of FBI agents downstairs asking about you."

Nyla massaged her temples and leaped from the couch. "Let them in."

When Nyla opened the door and Agent Tessa's grim face greeted her, she knew something happened.

She breathed sharply, "How many people?"

When they all gave her confused glances and she clarified. "How many people died?"

"Thankfully, none."

Nyla sighed in relief and leaned against the door in support.

"Do you mind if we come in? We have a couple of questions to ask."

Nyla moved to the side and allowed the FBI agents to enter her condo. She saw a few admiring glances as their eyes travelled around the room.

"Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" she asked politely.

Nyla hadn't eaten anything, but she didn't forget the manners she'd been brought up with. Guests were to be treated with utmost respect and hospitality was a huge part of her Indian upbringing.

They all declined and instead settled down around the dinning table which she almost never used.

"We did find a bomb." Agent Tessa began.

Nyla covered her mouth in horror. She'd seen the note but until the FBI agents confirmed it, it had all seemed like a dream.

"Is the building still standing?"

Agent Tessa nodded. "We had a bomb squad on standby and they were able to step in. What we learned was much more interesting."

Another agent interjected. "The bomb wasn't actually set to go off."

Nyla frowned, "What do you mean?"

"It means, it was a bluff. There was a bomb, but it wasn't set to go off. Maybe the suspect didn't get enough time to set it up but for whatever reason, there was no real threat."

"Do you have any suspects?" Agent Tessa's brown eyes bore into her. "One that you weren't willing to share in the company of others?"

Nyla carefully looked into the faces of each of the agents.

Noticing her hesitation, Agent Tessa spoke up. "You can trust everyone here. I can't promise that your words won't leave the room, but your name will stay out of it."

"I think there might be a mole within the company."

"What proof do you have off that."

Nyla stood up, "I'll be back in a moment."

She walked to her office and opened the locked door before retrieving the files. She laid them out on the table.

"A couple of weeks ago, a member of the accounting department brought this to my attention." She pointed towards the difference in numbers. "The information presented to me indicated that someone was stealing from the company."

Agent Tessa held the paper as her eyes scanned the numbers. "Did you do anything about it?"

Nyla shook her head. "No, the numbers were so minuscule, and I didn't want to make a big deal. Especially since we were getting so close to the launch date."

"Launch date?" One of the other agents asked.

"Darius Giordano and I have a vitamin line coming out on New Year's Eve." Nyla explained. Then it hit her. "This had to be timed right?"

Agent Tessa nodded. It seemed like she reached the same conclusion. "Even if the bomb wasn't real, the company's public imagine would be tarnished by everything that was going on."

Nyla nodded. "We need to maintain our image because during this time, even the smallest news can spread like wildfire and destroy what the brand stands for."

Agent Tessa stood up. "Can we keep the files?"

Nyla nodded. She'd made another copy and kept it at the bottom of her drawer.

"We will be in touch but for now, we will leave you alone." She gave Nyla a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that you have many things to take care off."

Nyla ushered them out of the door before returning back to her office. She had work to do.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla didn't know how long she'd been holed up in her office. The first thing she'd done was send a press release followed by a company wide email ushering employee that everything was under control. She'd also increased security around the building, after calling in favours from Anthony's contacts.

After that, she'd started working on the real issues, trying to figure out who was damaging Renne's reputation. She needed to find people who had a motive, but she couldn't quite figure that out either. Once, Emilia's name popped into her head, but it wasn't as thought Emilia had any connections to the company. Her only motive was the fact that she didn't like Raymond and by association, she didn't like Nyla either.

Nyla twirled the pen around on her fingers, frustrated with herself. She didn't know if all of these things would be happening if Raymond was CEO. He'd been on of the most respected individuals in the country before his death.

She was shaken from her thoughts by a knock on her door. Remembering that Darius promised that he would come to her condo, she flattened her curly hair as best as she could before rushing to the door. She looked like a mess, but Nyla didn't want to scare Darius away.

The door swung open and Darius walked in with takeout bags in his hands. A feeling of warmth spread through Nyla's body as she took him in. He looked as handsome as ever, still wearing a grey three-piece suit which told her he'd come straight from the office.

He held the bags as a peace offering. "I brought food."

She took them from him and padded across the kitchen. She could hear Darius' footsteps echoing behind her. Nyla opened the bag, surprised to see that he'd brought her Indian food. The smell of butter chicken and biryani filled her nostrils. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had Indian food. There was no close place to her flat and she'd been so busy the last few months.

Her stomach grumbled and Darius chuckled. She ignored him and went to fetch plates for the both of them.

She gave him a glance, "You might want to take off the jacket."

Nyla moved to fill her plate but out of the corner of her eyes she watched as Darius unbuttoned his jacket until he was only standing his vest. He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt before his blue eyes met hers. There was a knowing smile playing on his lips—one she didn't like.

She sat down and began eating her food and Darius joined her a few minutes later. Nyla watched his reaction, and a few minutes later she wasn't let down. Darius was gulping down water like there was no tomorrow. His tongue was sticking out and she could hear his breath becoming raspy. It was clear to Nyla that he couldn't handle the heat.

She watched as he tried downplaying his reaction and continued eating the rice. His face was getting brighter than her favourite lipstick shade and she couldn't help herself—she burst out laughing.

"Is it too spicy for you?"

Darius took another sip of water. "This isn't funny."

Nyla still couldn't stop laughing and her stomach ached as she continued chuckling. Moments later, she became aware that Darius had stopped eating his meal and was starring at her with a small smile on his lips.

"What?" she asked, self consciously.

"I missed your smile."

Immediately, Nyla's facial expression dropped, and she became absorbed with finishing her meal.

"I ran away because of all the things I felt after we kissed."

"Don't do this," Nyla sighed, her voice a bit hoarse.

Darius didn't stop. "I've kissed a countless number of girls but that kiss, it shook me to the core. I was terrified of what it meant, or how it could potential change our relationship."

Nyla lifted her gaze to meet Darius and she looked into his eyes. There was sincerity, but also a sense of clarity she'd never seen before. "Why?"

"I've never mix business with pleasure. It leaves a messy trail, one that could destroy me."

Nyla somewhat understood. She'd heard countless stories of people doing crazy things in revenge to their ex's but in their case the companies could also be affected.

"I'm willing to try for this though," Darius said softly. "If you're in then I'm in."

Nyla was silent for a moment before she responded. "I'm in."

Darius' face morphed into a huge smile and his eyes glittered. "For real?"

Nyla nodded. It was amusing to see him acting so carefree.

"Well then Ms. Malhotra, I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow for our first date."

Nyla raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you moving a bit too fast?"

Darius grinned. "Just got to make sure I don't give you enough time to run away."

Nyla knew he was joking, but the words still felt as they held a kernel of truth. "I'll be here," she promised.

--------------

We are getting closer to the end of the story, do you have any idea of who planted the bomb? It's been really hard to write the last couple of weeks but I'm trying my best to push through :)