ne. He stood there, silent and im

I asked, my voice cutti

ost imperceptible no

sound like the way you'd speak to a woman

e word. I looked directly into his dark eyes, searching for any flicker

ng in the air,

omfortably. "Chloe, t

him. I was l

ained hard, unyielding. "You were my employer, M

fessional barrier where, apparently, a personal one had once been. The c

p forward and "tripped" over the leg of the chair, lurching forward. The thermos of soup she had just

e immediately started dabbing at his jacket with a napkin, her han

lted away, replaced by a look of gentle concern.

s voice soft in a way it hadn't been with

-filled eyes. "I just feel so terrible. First Chloe i

erself the victim, pulled Liam's attention entirely to her,

.. it was not the way a bodyguard looks at his boss's stepsister. There was a d

hand. "It's alright. Let's get you

mall of Brittany's back and guided her out of the room,

gnation on his face. He turned back to me. "You

It was a dry,

g my voice. "Did you not just s

," he snapped. "Liam

e waking up, I felt a flicker of something other t

about my "attitude," I was a

the pillows, staring

d, a man who was secretly in love with my sweet, manipulative stepsi

ing a movie about someone else's life. I didn't feel the

htstand. I picked it up. The screen lit

t, looking away from the camera, a rare, small smile on his lips. It

d at me with such disdain, who had walked out witho

isgust wash

into the settings, and deleted the image. I replaced it wit

is name was there, right at th

e contact. The optio

esse

up. "Are you sure you wa

again, firmly. Th

mory loss wasn't a tragedy. It was a clean slate. A chanc