The most annoying sound in the world wakes me up again. Prying my eyes open, I check the clock. It's 7 a.m. I move my hand to the nightstand grabbing my phone. Darren's name flashes across the screen. Quickly sitting up I answer.

"Good morning Mr. Reed."

"Your presence is needed at eight am sharp." That is all he says before the phone call ends. Over the last week, this is what our communication was like, or the lack thereof. I wanted to curse him out for leaving me at that restaurant alone, but I know it was because of my connection with Selena for his sudden departure; at least he paid for the meal. Crawling out the bed I follow the same routine before heading to work.

Me and my big mouth.

Word vomit is what I like to call my problem. Yes, I wanted to ask Darren about Selena, but not this way. He probably thinks I'm here because of my stepsister. When I got back to the office that day, Caroline filled me in on what happened. Now I feel like shit. I didn't know Selena was a touchy topic, but of course, I wouldn't know. I don't know Darren and he doesn't know me. Leave it to Selena to string him along and lie about Zoey being his for months and just take it all away.

My heels click against the marble lobby floor as I head toward the elevator. Deborah flashes me one of her fake smiles and I struggle to not roll my eyes. She has become one of my least favorite people in the building. I know she started the rumor that I had something to do with Darren's sudden change in behavior. Told everyone that she saw us leave for lunch together and then he came back alone, in a pissy mode. Now I have a fandom of antis in the building.

My office door is open and to my surprise, Mr. Tucker is looking out the window, enjoying the city view or collecting his thoughts. Whatever the case may be, it's not settling right for me.

"Am I getting fired?" I ask putting my purse and laptop bag on my desk. I didn't want to beat around the bush.

Mr. Tucker turns around, a bit surprised not noticing when I first came in. He smiles at me; I can see why Charlotte married this man. He is very good-looking; he has the whole Thor daddy look down. He unbuttons his blazer before taking a seat on the couch, gesturing for me to do the same.

"Good morning, Ms. Alexander. How are you?"

"Well, I didn't get any coffee this morning. So I'm as good as I'll ever be without it."

"To answer your question, no you're not getting fired. I don't fire people based on rumors I hear around the company and also my wife is kind of in charge of the whole firing process when it comes to the women of this company," he says the last part like he still can't believe it himself. "I did however stop by to talk to you about said rumors. As you know the company will be going public in less than a month now and not all news is good news. Also, Mr. Reed is very valuable and irreplaceable to this company and me."

"I understand."

"I don't know what happened last week and I don't want to know. However, what I do know is that you and Mr. Reed need to come together and figure out how to move past it. When my employees bring to my attention of hostile work meetings it does raise a red flag for me." He looks at me, his face void of all emotion.

"Sir, I want to let you know that I will fix whatever it is. I promise." I try to reassure him, but I can tell he doesn't quite believe me. Hell, I don't even believe I can fix it. Darren has been giving me the cold shoulder no doubt and he definitely isn't hiding it either.

"Thank you. I'm glad you said that. Mr. Reed and you will be heading to LA tomorrow for a conference and I hope you two will come back with everything fixed. Also, you two are out there as the face of the company—let's not forget that." He stands heading out of the office. He stops turning back to look at me. "All the details you will need about the trip, Mr. Reed will fill you in before you get there," he says and takes off.

I groan, falling back against the couch, closing my eyes. Why did I have to open my big mouth?

"If you want to go to sleep you can go home." Darren's eyes look me once over as he walks deeper into my office.

"I wouldn't be sleepy if I didn't have to talk to the principal because someone's feelings are hurt." I lay back against the couch not caring about Darren and his pissy attitude. I really need coffee before I no longer have a job. I'm jolted up off the couch. Darren pulls me into his chest, his free hand tilts my chin, making me look into those warm yet intimidating eyes of his. "Don't do something you will go crying about to Mr. Tucker later," I say accusingly.

Letting me go abruptly, I have to catch my balance. He ignores my comment picking up the folder off my desk. "Here, this is what you will need for tomorrow. Everything is inside." And just like that Darren was gone. I look through the folder, already making a mental note of what all needs to be done. This overnight trip has to turn out great or Mr. Tucker would definitely have Charlotte fire me.

The rest of the day passes in a distracted haze. At four I'm making a mad dash for the exit. I need to get packing and that takes me a day to do. Now I only have less than twelve hours. Cassie is sitting on my couch snacking while watching the latest episode of the Bachelor. I still don't understand how she can watch that crap.

"Finally you're home." She sits up.

"Why are you here? I thought I wouldn't see you as much Ms. Lawyer." I kick my shoes off, grabbing my house slippers. "Shouldn't you be at work, knee-deep in some papers?"

"I take work-life balance seriously. I gave myself a half-day." She smiles. "So how has work been going for you?"

"Other than Darren being a total dick, everything is good."

"I still can't believe you're working with him after he gave you such a mind-blowing orgasm." she teases.

"Cassie enough. Work is work and I need the money."

"Hey," she follows me into my room. "Did you re-up on your Midol? I have cramps that are out of this world."

"No, not yet. Mother nature came early for you." I pull my suitcase out of the closet, filling it with clothes. I know I won't need a suitcase for an overnight trip, but I rather be safe than sorry. Cassie doesn't say anything and I look over at her and she seems to be having an internal battle. "Cassie, what is going on with you?"

"My period isn't early, I think yours might be late."