"Where have you been, Elizabeth?" Cole asked immediately I opened the door. He only ever used my full name when I was in trouble, and when I heard it, I would shake all the way to his office, but this time I rolled my eyes and closed the door.Now, I was not just a secretary."I went out," I responded simply, and glanced at him sitting on the sofa directly opposite the door. He was still dressed in yesterday's clothes, and his hair looked wildly tangled. He looked like a mess."Where to? Your phone was off throughout and I could not reach you nor track down–""Is my phone being tracked?" I interrupted, incredulity dripping from my words. Cole looked at me and shrugged, like I should not have been surprised."You're my personal secretary, so I need to know where you are. At all times," he said."I am no longer working for you and–""But I'm still paying you," Cole retorted, raising his voice by an octave."Until when are you going to lord that fact over me?" I asked and sighed loudly.

"Did you have me followed? You know what, never mind," I said angrily, glaring at the cinema screen."I met him at the e-section of the library, where I was having problems with my search results and he guided me through it," I explained shortly, avoiding Cole's eyes as I tried without success to follow the movie."Just like that?" Cole asked, an angry tone evident in his voice as he balled his hands into fists and began to rub them."Yes. Just like that. All he did was help me," I retorted, my mind already scanning through my bags for the piece of paper Dave had written his number on.I subtly avoided Cole's eyes as I glanced down at the photo. It was taken from the angle of the window where I had sat that day, and I cursed myself inwardly for picking that spot. It made our position look incriminating, but it still was not enough reason for Cole to spring it up on me like this.He grabbed his phone, stuffed it into his pockets and leaned back, crossing his arms in the table as he sig

I forced my eyes open, the horrid smell of smoke rushing into my nostrils as a tear rolled down my cheeks. "No," I whispered repeatedly, shivering in fear as I looked around the room. I raised my fingers to my face and began to count them, taking deep breaths as I forced myself to calm down.I was in the Maldives in a warm, nice room with a soft bed and surrounded by blue water and clear skies. "Nothing is burning," I called out to myself twice, trying to think of other things even as the smell of burning flesh thickened.I opened my phone and nearly dialled Cole, but I stoppped myself at the last second. He was in a video meeting at the lobby downstairs, and he would most likely ignore my call. I checked the time on the wall clock: Ten am. Kath would still be at work, and I was not close enough to Crystal or Beth to share this problem with either of them.Seeing no other option, I grabbed a journal from my bag, ready to write down a stream of thoughts, when my hand touched something

"So did you resolve it?" I asked Cole immediately I entered the room, but there was no response. He just stared blankly at the wall, and it was only when I cleared my throat the second time that he turned to me."What did you say?""What did she want?" I inquired and he shook his head."She is trying to threaten me," he explained shortly and I furrowed my brows."Of course. She wants to talk, right?"He nodded and leaned back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling like an answer was waiting there. I was tempted to throw blame at him, but we did not need that right now."So what do we do?" I sat next to him and asked.He looked at me again. "We?""Of course. This affects me too." I felt partly guilty for her arrival, because I was pretty sure she had followed me on Instagram and saw the pictures and videos, especially the one of the hotel.His expression became soft as he sighed and moved closer to me. "I don't believe the child is mine, but she has an incriminating video of our night

I quickly reapplied a little touch of makeup to my eyes and lips while I waited in the elevator before it pinged open, and I stepped out.Cole's driver stood waiting for me at the entrance of the hotel l, and when he saw me approaching, he quickly rushed forward to open the back seat door of the Mercedes.I smiled, feeling quite important as he stepped into the car and began to drive. I had taken advantage of Cole's good mood and asked to take the car to hang out with the girls. He had just nodded and called his driver, half of his attention on the TV as he watched the commentary aspects of the football match. Another thing I failed to understand the importance of, especially when the person listening had watched the match live.Crystal and Beth had called me that morning to make plans for shopping, since their husbands were in no mood to go out. Even as I left the house, they were on a three way video call, watching TV and making comments along with the professionals.Cole's driver l