Love and Lies

"Fiona?" The redhead gritted her teeth at the mention of her name. She was convinced if she heard her name pronounced in the southern drawl, she wasn't going to keep her act together anymore. It was the seventh time the lady stopped at her office that day and each time she stopped by, it was to remind her of how much work she had to do or how many more meetings she had to attend. "What?" She asked sharply "I ju..just came to remind you we have a meeting by 4pm on Friday" Her forehead creased with confusion.

There was a meeting on Friday? Who the hell fixed a meeting on Friday? She preferred her meetings on Mondays when she was all set for the tiring week ahead. "Thank you Miss Pearson" she replied, her tone a little softer, feeling the guilt of snapping at her earlier. Miss Pearson bobbed her head as she closed the door. Fiona sighed, it was just wednesday, halfway to the weekend. Not that she hated her job but it got tiring. Marketing and advertisement required a lot of planning and brainstorming, new products were launched into the market almost everyday and the need to keep her company's products running as number one in the market got higher. Their rivals were relentless and they did all they could to throw their products out of the market. She had read an article, bashing her company's products and claiming it was fake. It took a lot of work and effort to debunk the rumors and prove that the products were genuine. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had had only a bagel and coffee all day. Who could she blame for that? Living forty five minutes away from her office required her getting up as early as possible to beat the traffic and make it to the office in record time. Not that she was obliged to do so but discipline was her second skin. She had won employee of month six times in a row and never failed to report work early. "Fiona?" Fiona closed her eyes for about three seconds and reminded herself to breathe. Miss Pearson was back again but this time, she had some files in her hand which meant more work for Fiona. "Miss Pearson, what is it this time?" She replied through gritted teeth Usually, she wasn't out of patience but over the past months, she found herself working more hours. The former CEO of the company had handed the company over to his nephew. No one had heard of the new CEO although rumor had it that he was on an island, continents away having the time of his life. With the absence of the new CEO, some of the staff had slacked off and didn't care too much about working but Fiona took it upon herself to ensure things were in order. Most people had said she loved the company too much but she didn't care, she just loved doing her job and she owed it to the former CEO who had employed her when she was fresh out of college. Most companies had turned her down because she had no work experience but he was kind enough to employ her. "I brought these files for you to work on them. We are considering running more adverts for our products to boost sales" Fiona nodded and motioned for her to place them on a corner of her already packed table. "By the way, the new CEO would be coming in by three o'clock on friday so be prepared to welcome him" Mrs Pearson added "Huh?" Fiona ignored the incessant noises her stomach made. Why was he coming in all of a sudden? Why had no one told her he was coming? It looked like she was going to have a busy week and weekend ahead of her. "You would have gotten the information if you opened your mail" She rolled her eyes, she hadn't opened her mail in almost a week, majorly because she was scared of the amount of work she had waiting for her. Also, she still had some debts she had to clear. Her landlord had blown her phone up with so many texts and emails, reminding her to pay her rent even though she still had two months left. "Thanks for the reminder" She made a mental note to read through her mails. She heaved a sigh of relief when Mrs Pearson left her office. She was consumed by nervousness. What if the new CEO didn't like her? What if he wasn't impressed by all the hard work she had put in? She had heard so many stories about him, no one had anything positive to say about him except the fact that he was successful and well established. She closed her eyes and relaxed a bit in her chair. There was so much work for her to do and she needed a break. Each time she remembered that she was the breadwinner of her family, she had to double the effort she put in her work. Miss Pearson popped her head in between the door again. This time, she wasn't surprised and she didn't bother to argue. "Alex said you should submit the files she gave you to work on last week and she wants you to work with some of our clients" "She has to be kidding" Fiona snapped. "Is she trying to rip me apart?" Miss Pearson shrugged, just like most of the workers, she was scared of Alex and she didn't want to be fired the next day. "She said if you think she's mean, you should wait till you meet the new CEO and complain to him" Fiona laughed sardonically, it was typical of Alex to say such a thing. She waved her hands in the air, dismissing Miss Pearson. She decided to deal with Alex later but first, she had to take care of her rumbling tummy.

The coffee shop was a few blocks away from the office. She considered taking her laptop along to work while eating but on second thought, she decided not to. She was overworked already, all she needed was about thirty minutes to herself. "Where are you going?" Fiona turned her head sharply to the familiar voice. She gritted her teeth but quickly replaced it with a smile. "Alex, nice to see you too" she replied sarcastically, still wearing a fake smile. Alex was the acting manager and she didn't waste any time to exercise her power by piling Fiona's desk with files to work on.

"Oh drop the act already" Alex snapped. "Have you worked on the files Mrs Pearson gave you?" "I can see someone is feisty today" Fiona snickered. "The new CEO is coming in on Friday so you'd be relieved of your position. How sad is that?" The blonde acting manager clicked her tongue and sucked in a sharp breath. Fiona was one to talk back and she hated it, she hated her guts and how she wasted no time to stand up for herself. "Let's see if you'd have this same attitude when the ceo resumes on Friday and I tell him you're the laziest worker" Fiona's eyes darkened. "You know how hard I work so don't even dare" Alex chuckled, flipped her hair and strutted off. She had won this round but she had to admit she was going to miss being in charge. Nothing was more fulfilling than ordering the workers around and threatening to fire them. Watching them scamper off and cower in fear gave her a sense of satisfaction. Fiona took a deep breath as she stepped out of the office and the humid September air hit her. Alex had a way of ruffling her feathers. She hated to admit that she was jealous that the former CEO, Mr DuPont had chosen Alex to be the acting manager. Alex didn't put in half as much effort as she did, she wasn't even consistent. Now that the new CEO was coming in, he'd have to listen to what Alex had to say, based on his uncle's recommendation. Alex only ruined her mood but she didn't stop the hunger in her tummy. The coffee shop was unusually packed that afternoon. It seemed like most people had chosen to eat at the same time she did. She stood at a corner of the cafe while trying to locate an empty table. "Excuse me ma'am" a waiter called out over the noise as he tried to balance a tray of drinks on his hands She moved back a little to give the waiter space so he could move to the table he wanted to go to. She frowned and wished she had gone to another coffee shop. She moved aside quickly as she saw another waiter coming, he had two trays balanced on both hands. She felt herself lose balance as she collided with someone. She groaned as strong hands helped to pull her to her feet. "You should watch where you're going next time" The voice held no trace of concern or pity for her, it was purely authoritative and it surged a strange feeling in her. She pushed her hair away from her face to see the unapologetic man. "Have you lost your tongue?" He demanded She held her breath for a split second, she was too stunned to speak. His eyes were as dark as midnight, so cold and dangerous but intriguing. It was almost as he could see through her. She tried to find the right words but she couldn't. Never in her life had she been rendered speechless by am. "You realize you have ruined my suit, don't you?" "Uhhh" she managed to say Her eyes trailed down and stopped at the mat of hair on his chest, his buttons were slightly open. His coffee had spilled on his suit, ruining the expensive piece. The white button up shirt had a big brown patch, it was indeed ruined. "You should watch where you're going too" her voice faltered in a way she didn't like. He had an effect on her, she didn't like it but it seemed exciting in a way, a bad way. He put the blame on her like he didn't have any fault. If they were mindful of where they were going to, maybe the little accident could have been avoided. He scoffed. "You owe me an new suit and a cup of coffee" He looked down in disgust at his shirt and the spilled cup of coffee on the floor. Her frown deepened. She was having a bad day already and now this happened, how was she going to get enough money to replace a suit that was thrice her monthly payment. "I owe you nothing," she pouted. "I have coffee spilled on me too" In reality, the coffee poured on the tiniest part of her dress, nothing that a little water and detergent couldn't wash off. If she asked the man to replace her dress, he would do so in a blink of an eye, it was a cheap dress she had had for a while. "I have important meetings to attend, do you expect me to show up drenched in coffee?" He backfired, his tone even getting angrier "I didn't do it on purpose" she clapped back She could see from the corner of her eye that some of the customers were looking at them, everyone loved drama. "Just forget it" The man hissed and walked away A part of her wanted to call him back, she didn't expect him to walk away just like that. When he saw that he was attracting a little attention, he left immediately. She sighed, she had lost appetite. She had to deal with her disheveled hair and washed off the coffee from her dress. Having a bad day wasn't something she was used to as she was usually a very organized person.

Keith took off his suit in disgust. He had to endure an hour's drive, covered in coffee. The sticky feeling increased his irritation. His uncle had told him he was going to enjoy working at the company but he didn't like the idea one bit. He had stalled coming to work for months but after a while, he decided to face it. The company wasn't half the size of his own company in Beverly Hills but he was willing to give it a try. Traveling had become his passion ever since his father died. It was a way to take his mind off the grief by meeting new people with new experiences.

He had agreed with his uncle to work for only a year and then he'd take off to a new country to continue his exploration. "I'm sorry about what happened at the coffee shop sir" William apologized as he picked the suit up William was hired by his uncle to help him get settled into the new company. Keith knew William's role wasn't only to help him settle in but it was also to protect him. His uncle was scared of him doing something drastic considering how hurt he was. "The coffee shop isn't usually jam packed. I heard that there are some tourists around and they'd be leaving by weekend so everything would be back to normal" Keith sighed, he didn't believe William one bit. Ever since he landed in New Jersey, William had tried all he could to make him like the place. He had even signed him up for an ice skating class and some other stuff. "Do you know the red-haired lady at the coffee shop?" He asked "I don't know her but I can help you get information on her" "Never mind" he waved his hands in the air He didn't want to draw attention to himself at the coffee shop. The red hair lady had ruined his custom made suit and she had spilled his coffee unapologetically. The police had warned him to not cause any drama which was why he walked out on the lady instead of arguing with her. It had been three years since his father was murdered and the culprits were yet to be apprehended. There were some speculations that the culprits were onto him especially after his house in Mexico was burnt. Investigation revealed that it was a leaking gas that caused the fire but he suspected foul play. Keith was always very careful. He ensured everything was put in place and routinely check ups were done. Something about the red haired lady warmed him up. It had to be her scent that reminded him of home. She smelled like vanilla and something sweet or maybe it was her brown eyes that reminded him of pools of honey. Whichever it was, it made him feel a little bit guilty for snapping at her. "Do you need anything for your meeting tomorrow?" William asked Keith shook his head. He had had enough for one day. Everything was going well until he got to the law firm to see his uncle's lawyer. The lawyer had told him there'd be no nosey reporters or journalists so she could come anytime he wished to come. When he got to the office, He was surrounded by some reporters, most of them wanted to know why he had vanished off the face of the earth for almost a year. Others had asked him about his relationship. It was too much for him so he had to leave immediately. William had suggested he got his daily dose of caffeine from a coffee shop near the company so he could check it out. The coffee shop wasn't as nice as William had described it, it was noisy and there were too many people there. He decided to get his coffee and leave when a petite red haired lady bumped into him. He sighed as he remembered how fragile she felt when he grabbed her from falling. She was small but she sure had a sharp mouth. He felt a surge of adrenaline pump through his veins when he saw her falling, fear flashed in his eyes and he felt his heart skip a beat. It was a feeling he was now familiar with especially after losing his father. He got scared of the tiniest things and most of all, he was scared of losing someone else. He had constantly blamed himself for his fathers death. What if he had come home early, would his father still be alive? What if he hadn't left the house at all? He would probably be there to protect him from the bad guys. Maybe he wouldn't be this cold hearted man people knew him to be and maybe his mother wouldn't have to see a therapist. He closed his eyes as he let his thoughts consume him. No matter how much he tried to push it away, it kept coming back to him. "Keith, are you okay?" Keith nodded slowly. Each time he closed his eyes, he remembered how heartbroken he felt when his father's body was wheeled away by the paramedics. He never saw his father look so vulnerable. If anything, the DuPont men were known to be strong but he had failed himself, he had failed his family and everyone who looked up to him. "I suggested you take some time off," Williams said softly. "You don't have to resume at the office, it's a lot for you to bear" Keith shook his head stubbornly. He didn't need anyone's pity, he had to show them what he was capable of, it's what his late father would have wanted. He didn't give up easily and he was going to make sure he was proud even in his grave. He was prepared to get back to work no matter what.