My assistant desk was a war zone. Papers were scattered across it in a disorganized fashion, sticky notes were splattered across my computer screen, ruining my perfectly manicured organization system.

"This hurts," I muttered, slowly sitting down at my desk, fingers hovering over the mess, trying to decide where to start. After spending a full week shadowing Allie through several photo shoots, I had all but abandoned my desk. "I'm sorry I've treated you so poorly lately," I murmured to my filing cabinet. "And let you all pile up," I added to the papers. "And left you unanswered," I said to my sticky notes of messages.

Now that Allie was taking a few days to focus on CEO duties, I finally had a moment to settle back at my desk and try to get ahold of the chaos. And getting a chance catch up on organizing was peaceful in comparison to the fashion tornado I had been following lately. I was good at organizing, and was itching to fall into something comfortable. Something that gave me time to process and think.

The afternoon sun gave the entire office a deep, warm orange glow. I felt like I could reach out and strum the gold rays in between my fingers like guitar strings. It left me wanting to melt onto the floor like a cat stretching out in the warmth of the sunshine.

"That mess is unlike you," Laurence Royal said, leaning against the doorframe to his office, backlit by the afternoon sun.

The sudden impulse to melt to the ground was suddenly replaced by a very different feeling. The office seemed to hum as I took in Laurence, momentarily forgetting what I was doing. I had assumed everyone had left. It had been deathly quiet when I came in.

Laurence Royal looked positively disheveled. What other people viewed as a casual look, I knew to be a look of nearly unhinged nature. His suit jacket was off, white button-up shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, his usually slicked hair falling into his face, hooding his dark eyes. I scanned him, fighting my brow's instinct to shoot up in question before I put the pieces together after mentally checking the calendar.

"Do you want me to tell Dash you won't be in tomorrow?" I asked, my voice quiet. I assumed that Laurence Royal hadn't told Dash why he was going to be MIA for the next twenty four hours.

Laurence continued to look at me for a beat, before looking away, a muscle working in his jaw as he ran his fingers through his hair, clearly giving up all pretense at control. "Don't."

"I won't say anything," I promised.

"No."

He was quiet for so long post that one word that for a moment, I thought he had left, but he carried on a moment later. "Don't give me that look."

I blinked, looking up at him, confused.

"Every year, on this day, you give me the same look."

"What does that look say?" I asked carefully.

His tone was dangerous, filled with unfiltered grief and frustration. "That I am breakable."

I swallowed. He was.

Everyone else is allowed to show emotion when their world blows up. Why does he hold himself to a higher standard?

"No one should have to pretend as hard as you do," I finally said.

"I don't want pity."

"I've never given you pity."

Laurence shifted his stance, sending the afternoon sun falling across his face, making his eyes flash like fire. "You assume I don't remember."

My breath caught. Today was the first time he had ever dared to broach the subject of that day three years ago. The day I had shown up at his home unannounced.

As I took in the man before me, the memory of that day came rushing back, suddenly fresh in my mind.

I had been working for Laurence for a week. He had just become CEO of Royal Fashion, a company that had belonged to his parents, and was a nervous wreck over the new title. But back then he had been softer, untested. He was driven and focused like the one I was currently taking in, but Laurence Royal three years ago smiled...

But a week into his new job, Laurence Royal had suddenly vanished from the office, leaving me to run interference, and make excuses to people when he missed deadlines and meetings. And when he still hadn't come back after four days, his younger brother, Carter had shown up, announced he was taking over, and had moved himself into Laurence Royal's office.

His last name had carried weight and I had no idea what to do. But one leering look from Carter had set me into action and I was out the door that afternoon, and before I had even fully formed a plan, I was standing at Laurence Royal's front door.

He hadn't answered. And after knocking, and ringing the doorbell for ten minutes, my mind frozen on the image of Carter leering as he looked me over, saying that he was 'looking forward to taking in the view of me every day,' I pulled out my phone with shaky fingers and began to dial Laurence's number.

I heard music playing inside of his home, and continued to call, over and over, growing more panicked. Was he dead? Was he hurt? Was he trapped under something? Was he even home?

It didn't occur to me that he was ignoring calls on purpose until I had picked the lock to his front door and stood in the doorway, the sound of a 1960's song blaring loudly. 

'They say we're young and we don't know,' A woman sang. 'We won't find out until we grow...'

I took a tentative step into the house, my heart suddenly pounding for reasons I didn't understand. 'Well, I don't know if all that's true, 'cause you got me, and baby, I got you...' a man sang back. 

I followed the sound of Laurence Royal's phone, as I heard it ringing deeper in the house. I slowly made my way through the immaculately clean foyer.The entrance was warm, dark blue walls, art pieces of rainy days framed perfectly in each set of wainscoting, like the walls were carved around the paintings. A thick light grey rug sat at the center of the foyer, that would have made the entire room feel cozy if I wasn't afraid of what I was walking into after breaking into my boss' house. 

'Babe...' the song continued. 

The foyer spilled into a living room with a dark red oak floor, a tall brick fireplace and large sofas. Leather bound books sat along book shelves around and above the fireplace. The entire room screamed man cave. A record player sat on the coffee table, playing the song at full volume.

'I got you babe...'

I walked past the fireplace and down the hall, to a closed door where the sound of his phone ringing came from. I slowly reached for the doorknob, my hand a little shaky. 

'I got you babe...' continued to blare. 

Pushing the door open into a bedroom, I took in the sight of blackout curtains drawn tight, the room dark. Clothes lay scattered on the ground. Dress shirts, suit jackets and ties thrown around, left wrinkled on the ground without thought. It was strange to see Laurence's clothes in any other state but perfectly pressed. 

The only light in the room was from a phone ringing on the night stand, sending flashes of light into the room. A figure lay motionless under a pile of black blankets on the bed. 

I stood in the doorway, suddenly frozen. What was I doing? I had broken into my boss' house only to find him asleep in bed. 

I took a step back into the hallway, but stalled when my back step caused a loud creak. The blankets on the bed shifted, and a moment later, Laurence was peering up at me, his eyes squinted half shut from the light coming in from the hallway. "What are you doing here?"

...Snapping back to the present, I looked at Laurence, trying to school my features. What was wrong with caring about someone? He made it sound like an insult. 

"That wasn't pity," I said. 

There was a reason Laurence always took tomorrow off. He had a hard time being around people on that specific date every year. I had forgotten to add a vague note to Laurence's personal calendar so Dash would know to push every appointment to the day after tomorrow. 

I would have to start cancelling appointments the moment Laurence was out of sight. I didn't care if it made Allie angry, certain things needed to be handled without Dash asking a million questions. 

Laurence leaned against the doorframe, quiet, like he had all day to wait for me to give him a better explanation for breaking into his house back then. 

"Concern, Laurence."

"You hardly knew me."

"Add in a dash of self preservation then," I added. "I didn't want to be stuck w—" I bit off the last set of words, embarrassed.

Laurence raised a brow. "Didn't want to be stuck working for my brother," he finished.

"I would have quit," I admitted, surprised by how honest and open I had become. I loathed Carter Royal. Hated what he had done to Laurence. What he had done to others. But I had never spoken badly about him to Laurence. He had dealt with enough. 

"I don't blame you for that," Laurence said, fingers running through his hair again. "What a mess," he murmured, lost in thought for a moment. 

He looked exhausted, a near ghost in place of the person I knew. 

"You are allowed to want some space Mr. Royal," I said softly, falling into our old pattern of names. "There is nothing wrong with grieving."

"Don't." Laurence Royal seemed to snap back into himself, pushing several strands of hair back into place as he walked over to me, his expression dark. "Miss Autumns. I have asked many things of you since we started working together."

I had the sudden instinct to turn and run, which was ridiculous. I knew he would never hurt me. But his sense of calm was clearly lacking at the moment, and it left me itching to run from potential conflict. 

"And I am fully aware that you owe me nothing." His hands spread out across my desk as he looked down at me. "But if I may ask for one final thing from you..." 

His hair fell back into his face, caging his dark eyes as he leaned forward. "Refrain from using that..."

Laurence Royal's face was unusually close to mine, his breath tickling my neck, his eyes sharp. "...tone right now."

 I swallowed, looking back up at him, barely able to breathe. "What tone is that Mr. Royal?"

Something in his expression shifted as I spoke, sparking his eyes wildly. 

The air felt electric, charged with something dangerous.  

But it smothered out a moment later as he leaned back, the sun falling away from his face. 

The sunset is playing tricks on my brain. 

"I'll make sure there's nothing on your calendar for tomorrow," I said, pulling my eyes away and turning to my computer. I still had access to his calendar and I wasn't sure what else I should be doing when he was staring at me like that. 

"That's not your job anymore, Miss Autumns." 

I glanced at him for a brief moment, brow going up in challenge. "Would you rather Dash handle it?" 

"Handle what?" a voice said behind us. 

Dash was walking out of the elevator, dressed to the nines in a tuxedo. My mouth fell open in shock. "WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?"

"Date attire," he said with a smile, spinning for dramatic effect. "Ready to go?"

I turned back to Laurence, but he was already walking back to his office, posture stiff. 

"Just a minute," I said, turning back to my screen. "Just have to adjust something on the calendar."

Dash sat down on the edge of my desk, casually placing a top hat on his head. I did my best to ignore the added prop as I quickly went through and pushed several meetings until the day after tomorrow. 

"How do you feel about dirt bikes?" Dash asked while he waited. 

"For tonight? Please tell me this isn't some weird fancy person sport I've been lucky enough to be unaware of until now only to have you ruin that for me."

"What about pole vaulting?" he asked, unfazed. 

"If I have to do it in a ball gown, count me out."

"Lion Taming?"

I spun my chair around to stare at him, wide eyed. "Please tell me you're joking. Is that smile a joke smile? I don't know you well enough to know whether you would subject me to that."

Dash pushed off the desk, standing up straight. "This is fun. Don't you like surprises?"

"Not one bit," I said with a glare. 

Dash laughed. "Don't worry! It's going to be awesome! You like wrestling alligators, right?"

"Why do I feel like I am going to have an anxiety attack?"

"Because you are still learning how to have fun. It takes time to master," he said, brushing fake dust off his shoulders. 

Standing up, I rolled my eyes. "Fun sounds terrifying. I'll meet you by the elevator. Just have to tell your boss something."

Walking into Laurence's office doorway, I gave a quick knock on the glass. Laurence was staring out the glass wall, back to me. He was back in his suit jacket, the bottom of the jacket pushed out behind him, his hands on his waist.

"Hey, just wanted you to know your calendar's clear," I said into the silence when he didn't turn around.

He didn't respond, so after a long, uncomfortable moment, I turned and left. 

Dash was in the elevator, holding the door open for me. He placed my hand in the crook of his elbow. "So, are you ready for the night of your life?"

I caught a final glimpse of Laurence, the sun brushing across his body, setting him ablaze with light, a statue of perfection and despair. Then the elevator door shut, sending him into darkness.

---

Thank you for reading chapter twelve! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!

UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

What happened to Laurence three years ago?

Why does he miss work every year on that day?

How will Lily's date with Dash go?

What does Dash have planned?

What will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - Are you an organized person who gets stressed out when your space is messy, or a messy person who can't find anything when your space is clean?