"Thank you for joining us for dinner," Virginia Sparks, or as I call her, Mom, said to me.

"I didn't think I had a choice..." I mumbled, tugging at my dark blonde hair.

"This is true," Victor Sparks, i.e. my father, said. "In that case, we should re-phrase. Thank you for obliging to our request," he corrected. I rolled my eyes. My parents were so formal. Sometimes I felt like they forgot I was their daughter and not another potential stock buyer.

"So whatever you needed to talk to me about must be pretty important since you decided to actually tell me in person rather than over the phone," I told them.

"Your ingratitude is painful, Valerie dear," Mom said. I rolled my eyes again.

"Your mother's right. Why is it so hard for you to believe that we wanted to meet for dinner for the simple fact that we missed you?" Dad asked me.

"Ummm maybe because you've been pretty absent the rest of my life. Why start missing your only daughter now?" I asked.

"Valerie, really. You need to stop being so melodramatic," Mom tutted. I resisted the urge to kick her under the table. Not out of respect, though. We were at a fancy restaraunt and I didn't want to cause a scene.

We sat in silence for a few moments, chewing our food noiselessly. Most people would find this situation extremely awkward. But not me. This was completely normal. My mother was never much of a cook. My father was excellent, but he never had time. Ever since I was a child, my parents would take me to various elegant restaraunts for dinner. It was no wonder I was so spoiled and arrogant.

"I assume you need to talk to me about something," I brought up.

"Let's just talk for a bit before we get to that," Mom suggested.

"How's work?" Dad asked.

I furrowed my brows at them and wondered if they even knew that I had been fired from the previous firm I worked and was now working as a celebrity's assistant. I felt a sharp pang in my chest as thoughts of Duke flooded my mind. I shoved them aside, though. I needed to deal with this headache first.

"Do you know where I work?" I asked.

"Camden Finance, of course," Mom replied.

"Wait, didn't that place go down?" Dad asked, his fork slightly raised in the air.

"Yes it did. Seven months ago," I answered. My parents looked at me sharply.

"Do you mean to say you're unemployed?" Mom asked me. I shook my head.

"No, I have a job," I answered.

"Of course she does. With her resume, anyone would be insane not to hire her," Dad said. I felt myself swell with pride at the off-hand compliment.

"Where do you work now?" Mom asked. I frowned, trying to think how to phrase my answer. I decided to just be blunt and reply straight up; like ripping off a band-aid quickly.

"I'm the assistant manager of Duke Starr," I replied. They blinked, confused.

Of course they wouldn't know who Duke Starr was. I didn't even know who he was until I started working for him. We were all oblivious to the mundane lives of those around us. We were too caught up in our business worlds.

"Who on Earth is Duke Starr?" Mom asked.

"He's a celebrity, Mom," I explained.

"You work for a celebrity?" Dad asked. I nodded.

"As what?" Mom asked. I closed my eyes to steady my frustration. They never listened.

"I just told you, Mom. I'm his assistant manager," I answered. I braced myself for the blow.

"Why not the manager?" Mom questioned.

There it was. Just the way she said those four words was indication enough that she was disappointed. Her voice dripped with judgment and dissapointment. How could her daughter, the heir to the Sparks Empire, be an assistant manager? The thought must have been so incredulous to her.

"Because he already has a manager," I answered.

"So you were demoted from finance manager at Camden to an assistant for a celebrity?" Dad asked, rephrasing my words to make it seem like the worst thing possible. I had a flashback of my initial shock from when I lost my job. I shuddered at the thought. I was indeed their daughter, there was no doubt about that.

"It's not really a demotion..." I muttered.

"Don't assistant managers take care of all the personal needs of the celebrity. You don't even handle his business life, do you?" Mom asked.

"I helped him with his taxes a few times," I said meekly. I looked at their faces. They were not happy to hear this. They must be so embarrassed. Poor Mom and Dad. Well too freaking bad. This was where I was. This was who they had to call their daughter.

"It's a good thing we called to meet you, then," Dad said, letting out a sigh. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

"We know how you feel about the family company, but regardless of your resentment, we are willing to offer you a place in the management team," Mom said, getting straight to the point. I gaped at them. Was I really hearing what they were saying? Was all of this really happening?

"You're going to just put me into the management team at Sparks?" I asked.

"Yes. Let's face it, your mother and I won't be around forever and we need someone trustworthy and intelligent and most importantly, ambitious, to take over. We talked and decided that we don't want to hand the company over to just anyone. It is called Sparks Empire and by design, it is rightfully yours," Dad explained.

I felt my heart rate increase. On one hand, this was the chance of a life-time.  This was all of my hard work finally paying off. I would be among a group of people that were just as goal-oriented and determined as I was. I was being given the opportunity to finally put my finely detailed skills to use. People always had a dream job in mind. This was mine.

But, on the other hand, this was parents' company. This was the empire that they built up from the weak foundation that was set by my grandparents. It was a legacy. And I didn't want to be apart of it. I had always wanted to start a legacy of my own. I wanted to create a business empire that could match the success, or even surpass the success, of my parents'. It was a ridiculous dream and very unrealistic. There was just no way I could do it all on my own. And I had already wasted so much time.

It seemed, then, that this was my only option. I was always so focused on getting the perfect job. And although this wasn't the perfect one, it was as close to it as I would ever get.

But what about Duke?

Could I just up and quit on him? Could I just pack my things up and walk away from him, especially after the events of the past few days? Could I do that?

It would make sense to leave now. I had never intended on remaining his personal assistant for the remainder of his career. I had promised myself that once I found a great job opportunity, I would take it and leave. But the truth was, I didn't even look. In the seven months I had been working for Duke, not once did I even attempt to search for another job. Was it possible that I had begun to enjoy myself? Was it possible that I had finally let loose?

And even if I had, this was the perfect opportunity to go back. This was the perfect chance for me to fall back into my old ways, to become the same driven girl I was half a year ago. The question was, though, did I want to go back?

I sighed and looked at my parents. They had the same patient expression on their faces, waiting for me to reply to their offer.

"Do I have to answer right away?" I asked finally. They raised their eyebrows, surprised I didn't seem excited by the excellent offer.

"This is the opportunity of a life-time, Valerie. You're not going to find an offer like this anywhere else," Dad warned.

"I know. I just need time to think," I told him.

"What do you possibly have to think about?" Mom asked, slightly incredulous at my hesitance.

I bit my lip. I had never really shared anything from my personal life with my parents. They were never around to listen. And when they were, they never had time to care.

"The job that I have now is a little more complicated than I thought. I need to figure things out before I say anything," I answered, trying to be as vague as possible.

"How can a job as a personal assistant be complicated?" Dad asked.

Suddenly, though, my mother's eyes widened, as if she understood. I blinked, wondering if I had imagined what I was seeing. But no, it was real. She really did look as if she knew what I was talking about.

"Victor, dear, could you please check to see if I left my phone in the car?" she asked. My father looked at her, confused.

"Why do you-? he began, but she gave him a stern look. He got up and left the table. Once he was out of ear shot, my mother turned to me, her expression sharp.

"You're not pregnant are you?" she hissed.

I was taken so off-guard by the question that I almost laughed. She was so clueless.

"No! Of course not!" I replied.

"Then what are you talking about?" she asked.

"I kissed him," I said, not really knowing why I was telling her this. She raised her thin, dark eyebrows.

"You kissed him?" she repeated.

"Well, he kissed me," I corrected. "Twice."

"And...?" she asked.

"And I can't stop thinking about it," I sighed, putting my face in my hands. She leaned forward in her chair, showing interest in the topic for once in my life. The situation was so odd. I half expected myself to wake up and realize that this was all just a crazy dream.

"You like him?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No! He's my boss! That'd be ridiculous!" I answered. "And besides, I'm with someone already," I added.

"Does he know about the kiss? Or should I say, kisses?" she questioned. I internally groaned. Why was it that of all the times she could have shown interest in my love life, she had to pick now to become involved?

"I haven't told him yet," I said.

"You should tell him. This is a celebrity we're talking about, after all. Word can get around," she advised.

"No one is going to find out about it. They were very private," I said.

"You never know," she shrugged. "Who is the person you're dating now?" she asked, running her finger along the edge of her wine glass.

"He's a lawyer," I answered. Her eyebrows shot straight up so they disappeared in her side bangs.

"A lawyer? How did that happen?" she asked.

"He's really charming. And he has good business sense," I answered. Her expression changed. She seemed impressed. Then it shifted again. Was that concern I was seeing?

"But he's a lawyer. You should be careful," she warned.

"Mom, I'm a big girl now. I know what I'm doing," I said.

"Just warning you," she said.

"I can handle myself," I defended.

"Really? Because you seem a little preoccupied with the situation you're in," she said, leaning back in her chair casually. I frowned. Curse her for being so knowledgable.

"I told you. I can handle it," I repeated. I knew, though, in the back of my mind, that I couldn't. I knew that I was extremely lost and had no idea how to approach the whole situation. But I made up my mind about one thing: I was going to tell Brandon about the kisses. It was the right thing to do. Whether it was the smart thing to do, now, that was a different story.

Dad came back, then, bringing a chilly air with him.

"I couldn't find the phone," he said.

"Oh, I had it in my purse all along," Mom replied nonchalantly, still gazing at me knowingly. Dad glanced from me to her, clearly lost.

"Did I miss something?" he asked. I shook my head at him.

"Nothing at all, dear," Mom replied.

                                                                ~~~~~~~~

"Brandon, wait. I need to talk to you about something," I said, buttoning up the blouse I was wearing.

We were at my apartment. It was only a few hours since I had had dinner with my parents. I called Brandon over right away to talk to him. I needed to get this over with before I changed my mind.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his blue eyes confused. I ran my hand through his hair, trying to flatten it a little because it had gotten messy while we made out.

"Ummm, nothing. Depending on how you look at it," I answered. He raised his eyebrows and leaned back against the couch.

"Now I'm a intrigued," he said. I tugged at my hair nervously.

"Look, promise me that when I tell you what I'm about to tell you, you won't freak out," I started.

"And now I'm scared. You're not pregnant are you?" he asked, moving a little closer to me, his face concerned.

I felt my eyebrows twitch in annoyance. Why did everyone automatically assume that? Did I recently gain weight or something? Did I look pregnant?

"No! Why does everyone keep asking that?" I hissed.

"Thank God. You scared me," he sighed. Then he looked at me with his adorable blue eyes. "What's wrong then?" he asked.

"I, ummm," I trailed off. I took a deep breath. I had to get this over with. "I kissed Duke," I said, feeling my cheeks burn with shame.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows narrowing.

"Well, he kissed me. Twice," I said. He looked visibly upset. "Brandon, it was a mistake. Both times. And I'm going to make sure it never happens again," I said.

"It's only a mistake if it happens once," he said, his voice low. I frowned.

This was not how I thought he'd take it. Given, I thought that he'd be extremely forgiving. I had formed this delusional idea that he might have feelings for me.

"I know. But I didn't want it to happen! I tried to make it stop!" I cried out in defense.

"He kissed you?" he asked. I nodded. He looked at me with a serious expression and I could tell he was thinking. I just wished I knew what it was that was going through his mind. Was he going to dump me?

Then I calmed down a little when his face relaxed. He still had a somber look on his face, but he leaned in and kissed my lips softly, but deeply. When he pulled away, he looked at me, a peculiar glint in his eye.

"Thank you for being honest," he said. I nodded stiffly, still a little scared as to what was going to happen between us. "I should go. I have a case to prepare," he said. He stood up and went to the door. I followed him. As he opened the door, I put my hand on his. He looked at me with those puppy-dog eyes of his and I felt myself melt under his gaze.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. He reached up, stroking my cheek gently. Then he leaned down and kissed me softly again before walking out the door.

I closed the door and leaned against, sighing. That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But for some reason, I had the dreaded feeling like this wasn't over yet. I felt like something bad was going to happen and I didn't know what. And to me, that was one of the worst feelings ever.

_______________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hey guys! I decided to update even though I should be studying. I wanted to take a break from all the science stuff so I decided to write a new chapter.

It's a lot of thinking in this chapter, a lot of decisions. What do you think about Brandon? Do you like him for forgiving Valerie? And do you think Valerie will take up her parents' offer?

Comment and vote!

It'll be about a week or two before I update next. I'll be switching into 24/7 study mode starting today.

Ciao!

XOXO