How She Came Home

Chapter Eight

Monday morning was grey and muggy, a thin haze lingering over the city as Becca made her way to the office. She'd woken up at five to work out and then gotten ready for work, beating the heavy traffic, but not the lone photographer linger outside A-Corp, snapping photos of her as she swept into the building with a disgruntled look on her face. The office was quiet and Alice wasn't there yet when Becca stepped off the elevator and swept past her assistant's desk.

Hanging up her coat and stowing her bag, Becca was halfway through the influx of emails that had been pre-screened and colour-coded according to importance by Alice when her assistant stepped into the office, a newspaper tucked under her arm as she held a green juice and a tablet.

"Good morning, Miss Armstrong."

"Morning, Alice," Becca said, looking up from her screen, "good weekend?"

"It was quiet. I have a kale and green apple juice for you today, and here's your schedule for the day. The weekly meeting with the department heads has been scheduled for lunch today; I've ordered catering from that sushi bar you like."

Nodding, Becca extended a hand for the newspaper that Alice was holding, taking in the uncertainty on her assistant's face as Alice nervously shifted.

"Thank you, Alice," Becca pressed, "and the newspaper?"

With a quiet sigh, Alice handed it over and Becca unfolded it to find her face on the cover, small at the top right of the page, alongside a photo of Freen in her military dress uniform, standing before the American flag.

Biting back a curse, Becca tore open the newspaper to find the page number displayed on the front, and was greeted with the title Lovestruck Armstrong , along with a reprint of the photo of her and Freen kissing.

It seemed inevitable that the local news would find out from the gossip sites, although Becca still didn't find it newsworthy, and it bothered her that they'd figured out Freen's identity.

Sometimes, she forgot that her life was so public, her every business decision scrutinised and anticipated by business journals and news sites, but it had never really crossed over into the realm of relationships before.

Only her family's private life had ever been under the microscope, and Becca could understand why, but this was something new and she wasn't sure that she liked it.

Heart racing, she pressed a clammy hand to her forehead, eyes scanning the article before she swallowed, her mouth dry, and looked up at Alice.

Composing herself, Becca tossed the newspaper onto her desk, folded in half and hiding their faces, and cleared her throat.

"That'll be all," Becca murmured.

Alice was the same age as Becca, and it left her feeling uncomfortable at times, to know that the lives they led were so different, that Alice could've been her friend if Becca hadn't been her boss, hadn't been the boss of everyone in the company.

She could see a flicker of what could've been in her assistant's eyes as Alice hesitated, looking as if she was about to say something comforting, or perhaps encouraging, before she remembered her place and ducked her head in assent before backing out of the room.

Sipping her juice as she debated whether or not to tell Freen - would it freak her out?

Or should Becca prepare her? - her phone vibrated on the desk and Becca glanced down, finding Freen's name on the screen as if she'd summoned her. Setting her drink down, she picked up the phone and answered it.

"Good morning," Becca quietly murmured, a smile in her voice even as she stared at the newspaper with a twisting discomfort in her stomach.

"Hi. I, uh, I know you must be busy, but I- Mind told me about some newspaper article."