the various chances

chapter six

Jeremy

Lily fucking Pierce, never changes and haven't even changed, still that mouthy little annoying creature with that sharp tongue. That little flower knows where to hit. The shit that was wrong was my rapidly drumming heart the moment she stepped in my cabin the early morning when I had called her.

And now when she left after, "I know and thanks for the heads up though I appreciate it" a smile threatens to form on my lips but I press them tighter.

Today marks her first day in office and I was going to keep my eyes on her. The last time I blinked she disappeared in thin air. There were so many burning questions I'd like to ask her but we were not friends anymore, hell I don't even remember us having a normal friendship. To a point we had been friends but this little flower couldn't keep up with me and for God's own sanity as well as mine even it was starting to get difficult for me.

The thing constantly spinning in my head was the possible answer to why an A+ student like Lily was basically penniless, the last I knew she could've been making huge bucks in some billionaire company other than mine with her more than awesome gpa, yet here she was.

The papers she just handed me had her name doodled on the corner, perfect, she hasn't changed at all.

My phone rings, I answer to Lorenzo's call. "Jeremy, you are joining us to bar tonight right?" "I was thinking maybe not today." He snorts, "oh c'mon, Aaron said you were going to be there." "I don't know, it's a false alarm, I may not be able to make it today as I am already running behind my schedule." I hear him click his tongue, "about that, I took the care of that fucker you sent, he won't be in this town by tomorrow morning." I nod, "good."

After a head eating request to join them in bar I refuse my brother and turn back to papers. My fingers gingerly lift the pen but I wince in pain due to my bruised knuckles. I had tried my best to ignore the fact that they were paining me but the more I ignored them, the less functional they were making me and they were the obvious reason I was late to the office today morning. Some bastard had tried to have his hands on my baby sister.

Julie called me early morning saying a guy was following her in the park and that she's been making him spin around the park until I get there. With my office attire on, I had been to the park and grabbed the bastard by his collar, smacked his face pretty good and sent him to Lorenzo for the rest.

Another attempt to lift the pen and work on the papers fails. I groan in frustration and press the intercom. "Lily Pierce, Boss' PA here", her voice booms in my cabin. I clear my throat and say, "Miss Pierce" -"yes, Sir"- "do you mind fetching some ice from the cafeteria?" "Sure be right back", and the com buzzes when she hangs up.

My head falls back on the head rest of my chair and I close my eyes for some minutes.

Where and How have you been all this time, Lily?

A knock on the door breaks the chains of my thoughts. "come in", I answer and Lily steps in holding a Styrofoam cup in her hand. She clears her throat and extends the cup, "I got the ice." "leave it on my desk, Miss Pierce", I say while my hands extend to clear the space on my desk and forgetting that as a matter of fact I had to hide my knuckles instead of putting them on display.

"do you need help?" she asks after standing straight. Before I could refuse, my brain answers for me, "yes." Her eyes told me that gears were running inside her head, biting on her lower lip she holds up her index finger and says in a quick manner, "be right back" and strides out of the cabin.

Before I could quite calculate, Lily was back in my cabin, holding out some tissues. She stands on the other side of the desk, places the tissues on it and says, "place your hands on them." Like some idiot mesmerized and hypnotized to do a certain task, I place my hands on the tissues she'd laid on my desk.