“You can leave now, Vanessa,” Damien said, dismissing her before Mira would try anything funny.

“Alright sir,” Vanessa said and hurriedly left the office.

“You have no shame, Damien… so you are making things up to quarrel with me so that you can be with that low life?” Mira scoffed.

“I didn’t think you would stoop so low,” she added.

“What are you blabbing about? My secretary and I? Please, leave my office if you don’t have anything sensible to say,” Damien said, his voice a bit firm.

“Me? Blabbing? Are you okay?” Mira said, her voice getting harsh.

“Leave, Mira… I don’t want to call the security on you,” Damien spoke, his patience running thin.

“And who begged you not to call the security?” Mira scoffed.

“I…”

Just as Damien was about to talk, there was a soft knock on the door and Emerald entered.

He could see the tension between them, but he decided to ignore it.

“Oh, hi Mira… you are here,” Emerald greeted with a hand up.

Mira didn’t bother to reply, she just picked up her bag and headed towards the door.

“We will meet at your place tonight,” she paused and said to Damien before slamming the door behind herself.

“Wow… that was intense,” Emerald said, heaving a sigh of relief as he sat on the chair across from Damien.

“I regret ever accepting being with that girl,” Damien frowned.

“She was not that girl when you met her… but now she’s suddenly that girl,” Emerald said with a silly grin.

“Can you believe she denied ever being to that bar?” Damien retorted, trying to look calm.

“Were you expecting her to admit it?” Emerald laughed loudly.

“You shouldn’t have confronted her without evidence,” he added.

“I don’t even know what to do,” Damien said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s simple… wait till you have evidence,” Emerald said as he tapped the desk with the tip of his finger.

At noon, Damien sat at his desk with a stack of reports in front of him. His vision kept getting blurry as he tried to read them and his pen tapped nervously against the edge of his desk.

Then, he dropped his pen and leaned his head back against the chair. He tried to close his eyes but all he saw was the picture of Craig and Mira.

“Stop thinking about it,” his inner voice chided.

But the memory came back like a wound that refused to heal.

Suddenly, he stood up and walked towards the wide window. The city looked alive. Cars were honking and everyone knew where they were going, except him.

“What am I even holding on to?” he asked himself, lost in thought.

“Sir?” A soft voice said from behind, breaking into his thought.

“When did you get here?” Damien asked.

“Just now sir”, Vanessa said with a soft smile and a cup of coffee in her hand.

“You didn’t drink the one I brought earlier, so I thought a fresh one would help,” she added gently as she placed the cup carefully on his desk.

“You read minds now?” Damien smirked.

“Not yet sir… but I can tell when you need a break,” Vanessa smirked.

“Hmm”, Damien sighed as he walked back to his seat.

He sat down and picked up the coffee. It was hot and strong, just the way he liked it.

“Thank you, Vanessa,” he said softly.

Vanessa nodded with a smile and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Damien said, his voice sharper than he meant it to be.

“Yes?” Vanessa muttered as she turned back.

“Can you stay… for a bit?” Damien asked.

“Of course,” Vanessa retorted and slid onto a chair.

“I’m sorry for what happened earlier today,” Damien started.

“Oh that… It’s fine, sir,” Vanessa answered.

“I’m used to it now,” she added.

“Hmm,” Damien sighed as he leaned against his chair.

“Sir… I don’t mean to poke my nose in your personal life, but…” Vanessa said and paused, running a finger through her hair.

“It’s fine, Vanessa… you can say anything you want to say,” Damien retorted, noticing her nervousness.

“I don’t know what’s going on but do not let anyone gaslight you into thinking you are crazy or overreacting,” Vanessa started, her face expressionless.

“Make sure you don’t allow her to steal your truth from you,” she added as she leaned forward.

“You sound so convincing,” Damien muttered, looking straight at her.

“I’ve seen this before. People who betray you will twist things… they will make you question your own sanity because it’s easier for them if you doubt yourself,” Vanessa said with all seriousness.

“Vanessa… Why are you always here for me?” Damien asked with a soft look on his face.

“Because you’ve been there for me too, Mr. Damien… even if you don’t notice,” Vanessa smiled faintly.

“Really? When?” Damien asked, curiously.

“When my mother was sick last year,” she started, leaning back in her chair.

“You gave me time off and you told me family comes first… not every boss can do that,” she added softly.

“Hmm… that was just the normal thing to do,” Damien replied.

“What you call a normal thing mattered to me more than you can ever imagine,” Vanessa said firmly.

“I guess I didn’t realize it meant that much,” Damien said slowly.

“It did… it still does,” Vanessa retorted.

Damien found himself studying her. He noticed the calm way she sat, the steadiness in her eyes, and how beautiful she looked even though she was wearing her signature red jacket.

“Gosh! How come I never noticed how pretty she is?” he thought to himself.

“I’m always here if you need to talk sir… I need to go back to my desk,” Vanessa said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Oh! Right…. I will let you know if I need anything,” Damien muttered.

“Alright sir,” Vanessa said, standing up and smoothing her skirt.

As she turned to leave, Damien’s eyes followed her and that gave him more opportunity to notice even the smallest thing about her… from the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear to the quiet confidence in her steps.

“Geez! What are you doing, Damien,” he mumbled softly to himself.

A few minutes after Vanessa left, he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in,” he said and the door opened.

“Hi Damien,” the person at the door said as they entered.

“Craig?” Damien muttered, a bit flustered.