The Pegasus was barren and quiet that morning as I perched on my stool, watching as Phil polished the surface of the bar before sliding a glass of fresh orange juice over to me, the sound of the ice sloshing and tinkling more noticeable than usual in the silence.

I found myself releasing a long sigh and leaned on my elbow. During my resignation I had briefly touched on my new personal assistant position that I would be taking during my break from university.

I was obviously not thrilled about it to say the least. Phil on the other hand had made it clear he was enthusiastic about the opportunity for me to work within such an established company.

Then again, I did leave out the gory details that I was essentially an undercover spy planted by my boyfriend to blackmail a woman I had never even met so we could get the upper hand on the old crone that was his mother- it sounded like a crazier and crazier idea the more I thought about it. However, Zach had already made his move and I was officially an employee of the Burbanks ergo it was too late to get cold feet.

"Everything okay over there?" Phil asked as he graced me with a warm smile.

"Hm?" I shook my head. "Sorry, I was in a world of my own."

"New job jitters?" He laughed. "Well, if you work even half as hard as you do here I'm sure Gabriella Burbank will be thanking her lucky stars for having you as a personal assistant."

He had no idea. "I very much doubt it."

"You should have more faith in yourself, girl. You'll be okay." The hulk of a man leaned over and rested his hand on my shoulder. His hand was calloused but warm as he gently squeezed with support.

Truth be told, it was not me I was worried about. My mind was still reeling over the fact that Zach had been drowning his inner demons in alcohol for the past four years and had been hanging by a thread. It was a scenario I had never envisioned he would find himself in.

Strong and determined Zachary Caldwell; billionaire, perfect and confident devil of a man-an alcoholic.

His resolve seemed so broken and lost. I wanted to help him through it so badly. The time we spent apart was all down to his mother. Her cruel materialistic outlook on the world had made us suffer so she could thrive. I wanted to get her back, but I had also thought hard about the method we were choosing to do so. Was an eye for an eye really the only option?

Gabriella Burbank was a stranger. A woman whose path I would have probably never crossed before this plan was set in motion. We were from two completely different worlds. She had a life. A good life that I had no business meddling with but there I was; employed to find a weakness and exploit it so I could be happy.

My stomach twisted at the thought as I sipped my drink. Would we be just as bad as his mother?

"Why the long face, Lockie?" my neighbourhood rebellious Scot asked, clicking his tongue as he slid on to one of the stools beside me.

"Well, new job jitters I guess," I said, using a straw to stir the ice cubes in the glass. There is no way I could tell him about our plan. I did not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out Lachlan would not be on board with the idea.

Lachlan glanced at Phil then back to me. "New job? Wait, I'm missing something aren't I?"

"My star employee is leaving me for a better opportunity lad when the semester ends," Phil piped up, "Our Louise here has snagged herself a job as a personal assistant for a hot shot rich girl!"

"Nice, no more dealing with all of the riff raff here then?" Lachlan laughed. "So, spill the beans. Who's this rich girl you're working for? Someone I know? A celebrity?"

I raised a brow. "A celebrity, really?"

"Well come on Lockie don't leave me hanging, who is it?"

For a moment I considered telling a white lie but my gut instinct refused. I did not want it to snowball out of control. If I had to tell him about the job I would just avoid providing details about the ulterior motive. After all, I had not actually told Lachlan the name of woman Zach was engaged to.

"Gabriella Burbank," I shrugged and even though I acted nonchalant, I could not help the way my palms began to sweat when I said her name. Would he guess who she was? I really could not bring myself to tell him about our plan. "Her family's company is a big deal."

"I've heard of the Burbanks," he said, "I'm sure I've seen that Gabriella in one of the business magazines sat around the campus library. She's a stunner that one. A beautiful bachelorette apparently. One, how the hell did you get a position as her PA? Two, do you think you can get her number for me?"

"Um, I don't know about that-"

Lachlan laughed. "I'm kidding. Don't worry. Seriously though, how did you get that job? It's got to be a crazy amount of money!"

My mind whirled as I searched my thoughts for a reasonable explanation other than 'Zach got me the position so we could plot our way out of the grasp of our blackmailer.' when the doors to the pub swung open with a heavy creak and Zach appeared in the entrance. I let out a sigh of relief. Saved by the devilish businessman.

His suit clung to him like a second skin as always, showcasing his broad shoulders and towering physique. One hand dipped in his pocket as he scanned the room until his dark eyes zeroed in on us at the bar.

A beam of light shining in from outside slid past his right cheekbone and across his jaw as he walked over and I could feel my pulse thumping in my ears. He truly was an Adonis of a man.

"Scot," he said, registering Lachlan's presence before his gaze zeroed in on me. "Lou, have you had breakfast?"

"Ah-" I said, "No, I came straight here."

Lachlan stared at me, green eyes ablaze with irritation and bewilderment before swinging his arm in Zach's direction. "Please tell me you haven't forgiven this piece of shit?"

"I don't think Lou is under any obligation to disclose details about her personal life with you." Zach said, his tone scarily calm as he took one step towards my friend.

"Are you going to let her speak for herself?" Lachlan asked as he stood up, away from the bar.

I panicked as the tension in the room escalated. The atmosphere was so thick I could not breathe. "There's an explanation," I said.

Lachlan crossed his arms and laughed. "Oh there's an explanation is there? Well he must be pretty convincing to wiggle his way out of this one. He's engaged to somebody else, Lockie. Are you out of your mind?"

"This is none of your business." Zach snapped with gritted teeth and I could see he was losing his patience.

"None of my business?" Lachlan said, "She's my friend. I guess it was none of my business when you showed up after four years and ripped her heart out. You must have gotten a kick out of it, didn't you? Asking her to wait for you while you were shacking up with your fiance. You might wear your fancy designer suits and drive a nice car but it doesn't hide the fact you're a selfish bastard who has only put yourself first!"

Zach moved forward, his face completely stoic but I sensed it was the calm before the storm that raged beneath the surface. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Phil's large frame suddenly intervened and he stood in between them. "Look, I don't care if you want to punch each other to death but I'm not having this in my pub. No special treatment."

"I'm so sorry Phil," I said, touching Zach's forearm to attempt to diffuse the situation slightly and glancing at Lachlan. "Can we go? I'll explain everything Lachlan, just not right now."

Zach exhaled through his nose before nodding. "Okay. Let's get breakfast, I have to discuss some details regarding your new job anyway."

"Hold on-" Lachlan said as he looked at me, "Your new job. It's her isn't it? You said his fiance was from a big company. It's Gabriella Burbank. Why the hell are you going to work as her personal assistant?"

My throat constricted as I opened my mouth. "I-"

"You know what? I don't care. Whatever this is Louise, it's not healthy. If you're willing to go along with this, you deserve what you get." Lachlan looked at me with complete disdain, his words coated with venom before pushing past us and leaving the pub.

I could not help but feel he may have been right.