Have you ever wished it was possible to DIE from embarrassment? At least that way you wouldn't have to live with the consequences of your stupidity.

Say, for example, you smash your face into a glass wall, thinking it's a door in front of someone who you find incredibly attractive... at that moment, it would only be fair to die of embarrassment so you don't have to experience what happens next.

That was my first thought as I hit the ground, my face suddenly covered in blood, which got all over my pink 1940's pinup dress with decorative buttons at the waist. It was one of my favorite pieces. The material flared out right below my waist, making me feel like I had stepped right out of an edition of VOGUE magazine from the 1940s. 

I glanced down at the ground, seeing a small splatter of blood along Laurence Royal's most likely priceless rug. 

So much for my work bonus... Just let me die.

Laurence Royal swore, his chair screeching, and then there was. Laurence Royal stared down at me with open concern. "Are you alright Miss Autumns?" he asked.

With this view? YES.

"Can you sit up?"

"I think I better stay here a second," I replied, momentarily transfixed by how utterly handsome and wonderfully close he was. That was a background I wanted to add to all of my devices. He could be the poster boy of my computer and phone background any day.

"You're bleeding."

WORTH IT.

He helped me into a sitting position, his hand on the small of my back, his other hand holding mine to help me sit up, and my nose seemed to suddenly bleed faster. The feel of his skin against mine, even for a second, nearly made me pass out from blood loss.

He handed me a cream-colored monogrammed silk handkerchief. An actual handkerchief like it was the 1950's. Something that was so insanely attractive that I nearly groaned with frustration. 

Why does he have to have all the props from one of my favorite time periods?!? 

The handkerchief was beautiful. I couldn't use it. It was too pretty—

"Miss Autumns, there is no sense in getting more blood on that lovely dress of yours."

"Your rug," I said, the pain suddenly bringing the world back into focus now that my eyes were no longer on Laurence Royal's face. 

"It's just a rug," he replied.

I shoved the handkerchief against my nose, beyond embarrassed. "I'm sorry," I murmured.

He raised a brow, leaning back on his heels as he continued to crouch before me. "Why on earth would you be sorry? It's not your fault that the glass walls were the only material Miss Winters and I could agree on when restructuring this floor, and now you live with a daily death trap."

Laurence Royal sighed, fingers running along the side of his hair, keeping every strand in place even as he itched to run his fingers through it in frustration. "Or that my attempt at kindness literally caused you to bleed."

I stumbled to my feet, growing angry as I thought of Liam.

"Don't apologize for being kind."

You are boring Lily Autumns...

"Kindness is a rare trait, and should be cherished!"

I want more...

I shook Liam out of my head, my anger burning brighter, my face red.

Why did Laurence show more concern for his kindness than Liam for his cruelty? It was unfair that kind people were so apologetic for things that the savage should apologize for.

But my mini rant was shortlived as I realized I had yelled at Laurence Royal, my boss who had done nothing to deserve it.

"I..." As was customary for me, I spun around again, eager to leave, and actually made it through the door on my second attempt. My hand tried to stop the blood that continued to gush from my nose.

"Wait—"

"I'm fine," I shouted from behind the silk handkerchief still pushed against my face, my cheeks burning as red as the blood.

I was nearly back at my desk, tempted to hide underneath it when I heard Allie call me. Shuffling into her office, hand still to my nose, I fought down my feeling of utter embarrassment. Maybe she hadn't seen that awkward mess of an interaction.

"That was tragic," Allie said, glancing up from where she stood, adjusting the bottom of Laliana's wedding dress.

I blushed but kept my mouth shut, not trusting myself to keep from adding more awkward words to my college of shame for the day.

"I keep expecting..." she trailed off with a sigh, gesturing to a plush guest chair covered in swatches of cloth. "Sit."

Scooping up the material, I laid them on another chair already covered in material and sat down, tilting my head back.

"Are you okay?" Laliana asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine." My pride was more bruised than my face. My nose wasn't broken. But I was clearly going to have a very nasty bruise for a while. 

"Good, then don't bleed on my swatches," Allie said. "And stay over there. If you get blood on this dress, I'll have to kill you."

"Noted," I muttered, tilting my head back farther.

"Allie! Be nice. She just embarrassed herself epically in front of her crush!" Laliana said, and then, seeming to realize what came out of her mouth, threw her hands up to it in a very sad delay.

"OHMYGOSHI'MSOSORRY," she said in a flail that nearly threw Allie off the platform where she knelt.

"It's fine."

"Forget I said anything," Laliana said, shuffling her feet, knocking into Allie again.

"Stop moving," Allie warned. "I don't want to get skewered by pins."

"Sometimes I can't turn the jabber off. And you are so cute when you talk to him and—"

"Laurence can be... oblivious," Allie said.

"Can we not talk about—"

Laliana continued, seeming too flustered to stop. "I wouldn't worry about what happened. He looked really concerned. And now you have a souvenir from the encounter. Like a meet-cute. Ohhhh I am going to have to write this down. Do you mind if I write down what happened and use it later?"

"Sure... take my moment of shame and make money with it," I said, closing my eyes.

"Thank you," Laliana said sincerely, oblivious to my sarcasm.

"You are really good at your job," Allie said. "You don't scare easy, unlike previous assistants I've encountered, but for some reason..." she glanced through the glass at Laurence with a sigh. "He scares you. Or the thought of dating him scares you. Either way, I can't watch this..." She waved her hand at me vaguely.

"Attempt at communication anymore."

I grew angry. "We can't all be you."

She raised a brow, helping Laliana off the platform. "Good. Why would you want to be anyone else but yourself? The world would implode with too many me's running around." She shuddered at the idea.

Laliana plopped down on a couch on the other side of the coffee table, the action nearly causing Allie to have a heart attack. "Yeah, no one needs more than one me either. Too much unfiltered talking. Like a first draft of thought that really could have used an editor."

"Laliana, please change out of that before I lose it," Allie said pulling Laliana up.

"You said to move around in it and make sure it feels comfortable. This is my comfy test."

Allie took a slow, deliberate breath as she pushed Laliana behind the curtain that had been put up in her office for quick changes. Then she sat down on the edge of her desk, rubbing her temples for a brief moment. "What is it that you want, Lily?" Allie asked.

"You are the one that called me in here."

Allie shook her head, standing and moving over to a set of sketches, pinning one up to a mannequin, like a general slamming a knife into a location for battle on a map. "I mean from life."

"Career-wise?"

"Let's start with that."

I thought about my life, about my long hours of answering emails, organizing design sketches, taking food orders, running errands, helping my bosses dodge phone calls from people they didn't want to talk to, and on occasion, watch them get into arguments over budget disputes. I loved being surrounded by creative people. And when I was younger I thought that working at a big company was the description of success, but...

"I don't know," I said.

The admittance sounded almost sacrilegious when sitting in Allie's office. She knew what she wanted and was surrounded by her passion every moment of every day. Her hands filled with sewing needles and pins, fingers edged with pencil smudges. Her work made up a lot of who she was.

"Stop doing that," Allie said, taking me in again. "You keep comparing yourself. Don't."

It was hard not to. Especially when Laurence himself had made his affection for Allie very clear. He liked girls like her. Confident. Driven. Put together. Everything I wasn't.

You are boring... I want more...

"It's okay not to know what you want to do with your life. But there has to be..." She trailed off, narrowing her eyes for a beat. "I HEAR FOLDING LALIANA. SO HELP ME IF YOU FOLD THAT WEDDING DRESS, I WILL MAKE YOU WALK DOWN THE AISLE IN HEELS!"

Laliana actually let out a squeak and held her hand out of the curtain, wedding dress on a hanger.

"I am going to help you," she said, taking the wedding dress and putting it up on a tall clothes rack. "I am going to fix it," Allie said, hands on her hips, her one-sided conversation apparently done.

"Fix it?" I asked, pulling myself from the long list of comparisons that continued to fill my mind.

Allie looked at me, giving me her full, focused attention. An intensity to her gaze that left me flustered. A mischievous glint filled her eyes; a slow, determined smirk took up her blood-red lips. "It's quite simple Lily Autumns. I am going to help you catch yourself a Royal."

"WHAT."

"Ohhh dibs on helping!" Laliana said, finally coming back out from behind the curtain, back in her own clothes. "I can write up talking points! You can talk to him about the Roman Empire. Guys like that for some reason. I'm still not sure why."

"Backup," I said, sitting up straight and being rewarded with more blood on my dress."

Allie glanced down at my clothes with a sigh. "I have something you can wear. Just... leave that mess here, and I'll have the blood taken out."

Laliana shook her head. "It's a trick. It starts out as just letting you borrow shoes, and before you know it, she's strong-armed you into a nightclub outfit."

Allie scoffed. "High heels and a black dress are NOT a nightclub outfit. They are appropriate attire when you go to a business event."

Laliana gave her a flat stare. "Umm... Allie, I write books for a living. I go to book events with other book people, and we all come in cozy clothes and talk about books. It isn't a red-carpet event. Save the dresses for you."

Allie rolled her eyes. "And they say I'm the drama queen." She gestured toward me. "Do you want her walking around covered in blood? People will actually start to believe the rumors that I kill my employees."

They both turned to look at me. Laliana winced as she took in the blood on my dress. "Fine just... don't go overboard with her."

I stood up, moving toward Allie's door. "I'm not a doll. I don't need an outfit. I don't want to catch anyone. I just want to get back to work."

"Wait!" Laliana shouted as I made for the door.

Pausing, I looked back. 

Allie gestured to the left, brow raised. "The door is that way. You are walking toward the wall."

Storming with as much flair as I could muster from my poor attempt at a dramatic exit, I moved to the left and stalked off to the bathroom, determined to get the blood off my clothes on my own terms.

---

Thank you for reading chapter three! 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!

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Do you think Lily will agree to Allie's help with Laurence? 

What do you think of Laliana? 

If you haven't read Laliana's story yet, check out "The Author and Her Bodyguard." Story link right here -->

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CHAPTER QUESTION - Has someone ever offered to help you with your crush? Did you agree to let them help? What happened?