Hidden Love

Chapter 1

*A/N* 
Hey guys, I decided to change Dei'ani's photo back to my original choice as it fits better with certain ones that will come later in the story. Thank you.

As the mini grandfather clock on the wall chimed the hour, Dei'ani packed her bag and grabbed her purse before heading out of the office. She felt emotionally and physically drained although not due to her work, but to a certain man not twenty feet away. Half an hour earlier his current plaything had entered Dei'ani's office and without so much as a word, strutted straight into his office. Dei'ani sat at her desk frowning at the door before getting back to work. A few minutes later, her boss poked his head out of the door and told her she could leave for the day. She'd given him a polite smile before turning back to her computer. She had a few things she wanted to wrap up before the weekend, so she decided to get them done instead of leaving them for Monday. She was halfway through when she heard giggles and hushed voices. Dei'ani rolled her eyes and continued with her work. She was just finishing up and was in the process of shutting down her computer when she heard loud moans coming from his office. Dei'ani sighed and dropped her head.

She stepped out of the elevator into the parking garage and headed for her car. She threw her purse and bag in the back before sliding into the driver's seat. Dei'ani cranked up her car and left heading home. As she drove through the downtown Atlanta area with a gentle breeze flowing through the windows, Dei'ani couldn't stop thinking about what she'd heard before leaving the office. It was nothing new and each time, the hurt was always the same. From the moment she'd walked into Bourgeois Investments and into his office, Dei'ani had been attracted to Laurent Bourgeois. It was hard not to be. At 6'4" tall with a head full of twists and caramel complexion, Laurent Bourgeois was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. A few times throughout the interview he'd had to repeat himself because she'd been daydreaming. She managed to finish the interview and a couple of days later, she'd gotten a call informing her that she'd gotten the job. Now three years later, and the attraction she'd felt for him then had blossomed into something that she's never had the courage to tell anyone, not even him.

As she turns into her neighborhood, Dei'ani sees a few of the neighborhood kids playing on the sidewalk and a new mom pushing her baby in a stroller as well. She turns into her driveway and exits the car. She stands watching the children and envisions her own children one day. The children she would love to have with Laurent. A beautiful little girl with her father's eyes and smile along with his wild mane of hair or a little boy identical to his father. She's startled out of her thoughts when her phone begins to ring. Dei'ani turns and heads for the house pulling her phone from her purse on the way. Glancing at the screen, she smiled and answered as she stepped in the door and kicked it shut with her foot.

"Hey Regina, what's up," she asked as she sat her bag and purse on the kitchen table. Regina was her best friend since high school. They'd met when Dei'ani's family moved to Georgia from New Mexico. It was the first day of school and Dei'ani stood at her locker putting her things away when she was suddenly pushed into the locker. When she turned around, she was met with the evil glare of Hannah, the head cheerleader, and the school bully. Hannah acted as if the sun didn't rise until she got out of bed. Behind her stood her little clique of snobby friends. Hannah continued to glare at Dei'ani. "Well girls, what do we have here? It's the new girl. She hasn't been here a whole day yet and she's already causing trouble for herself. I saw the way you were looking at my boyfriend and I'm here to warn you to stay away from him or you will regret it." Dei'ani glares at her before rolling her eyes. "Considering it's my first day and I don't know anyone, I have no idea what or who you're talking about so I suggest you back up and get out of my face." Hannah squinted before beginning to walk up to Dei'ani when Regina had stepped in front of Dei'ani and snarled at Hannah. "I suggest you walk away Hannah unless you want me to rearrange that mug of yours. Again." Hannah's eyes widened before she backed up while watching Regina. "I'm not afraid of you, I just don't feel like getting my hands dirty," she says as she turns and walks away with her minions following close behind. When they turned the corner, Regina turned to Dei'ani with her hand out. "Hi, I'm Regina, nice to meet you." Dei'ani smiled at her and took her hand. "Hi, I'm Dei'ani and it's nice to meet you too. Thanks for sticking up for me." Regina smiled and waved her off. "It's really no problem, I don't like her anyway. Hannah gets on my nerves with her shit. She's always walking around like she's the queen as if she runs things."