Zoey POV

I awoke the next morning stretching my limbs, my arm brushing against a warm body.

Flashes of the night before went through my mind and confused me.

"Good morning, gorgeous." His handsome smiling face normally would have melted my insides, but not that time.

I shoved Ian off the bed, my confusion of his sudden reappearance turning to anger.

"What was that for?" He groaned, rubbing the back of his blonde head, his blue green eyes full of bewilderment as he stood to his full statuesque physique.

"You know damn well what! Where have you been?" I shouted and remembering neither sets of parents were home, I started shouting louder. "Where have you been the past two damn weeks? Why did you leave with no freaking warning? Why, Ian, why?"

He sighed like he had the night before and I almost felt guilty for yelling, but I still was pissed.

"Zoey, it's a lot to explain. . ." He began, his mouth forming into a deep frown, creating wrinkles between his eyebrows. "And I only left to protect you. . ."

"Protect me from what, Ian? What are you talking about?" I scooted over to the edge of the bed. "What's going on?"

He sat down next to me and pulled my hands into his lap. I must note he only had on a pair of boxers and no shirt, so I was slightly distracted. I mean, it had been two weeks after all. In two weeks, a girl could grow pretty antsy.

"Zoey?" I snapped out of my daze when Ian called my name.

"I'm sorry. It's just. . ." I actually blushed as I admitted it. "You without a shirt or pants on is. . . Well, distracting."

Ian chuckled and my blush deepened.

"Oh. So this is distracting?" He flexed his perfectly sculpted abs.

"Uh. . . Yes. . ." I gulped, already feeling a familiar warmth between my legs. "Very distracting. Could you like put a shirt and pants on?"

"Hmm. . . I don't think so. I quite like seeing you distracted. It's cute." He held that mischevious gleam in his eyes as he pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him.

"Ian, come on. I need to know what's wrong." I let out a little gasp and then moan as he bent forward and began placing open-mouthed kisses down the side of my neck.

He proceeded down to the top of my breasts where my skin was exposed in the tank top I wore.

"Ian. . ." My breathing hitched as he began to pull my tank top over my head. "No! You need to tell me what's going on."

I pulled my shirt back down and spoke firmly, trying to get a control over my hormones.

He just started pulling it back up, ever the persistent one.

"No!" I declared and jumped off his lap angrily. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared my violet eyes at him. "Where the hell have you been the last two weeks?"

"You're not going to like it. . ." He stared at the floor, not making eye contact with me.

I braced myself, desperately wanting to know the answer.

When he didn't respond after a while, my patience grew thin.

"Adrian Carmichael, dammit! If you don't tell me where the hell you've been, then I'm going to strangle your ass." I crossed my arms across my chest and glared for what seemed like the hundredth time during this conversation.

"How are you going to strangle my ass when it's an ass and not a throat?" He smirked, trying to lighten the mood with humor.

"Adrian!" I shouted and by the look on his face, he knew I was beyond frustrated. Especially since I used his full name. I didn't do it often, but when I did, my blood was boiling.

"Alright." His expression turned serious and he took a deep breath. "I was at Naomi's."

I felt like I had been slapped. I hadn't expected him to say the words he uttered.

"Naomi?" I inquired, making sure I wasn't just hallucinating from rage. "As in your ex girlfriend, Naomi? My boss's niece, Naomi?"

"Yes." Was all he said, dropping his eyes to the floor.

My breath had been taken away. My boyfriend, whom I had cried over for two weeks and who I had been in love with for years, had been with his ex girlfriend the entire time?

I walked away from him and out onto my balcony, bewilderment filling me and causing my heart to ache.

"Zoey, I wasn't there for the reason you're thinking." Ian appeared behind me, his hand reaching out for mine, but I yanked away.

"Then what reason were you there, Ian?" I felt defeated, confused, and like crying, but I had to know the answer so I pulled myself together.

"I was protecting you." He sighed running his hands through his hair.

"Protecting me? Going to your ex's house is the complete opposite of that!" I felt my rage boil to the surface again, grabbing onto the balcony railing to calm myself. Cars zoomed by down below along the semi-busy street and the wind slightly blew, causing a shiver to rack through my body.

"Zoey you don't understand."

"Oh I'm sure I do, Ian! I understand that you left me in the middle of the night to be with your ex. And I also understand the past two weeks you've been with that ex doing who knows what." Tears started streaming down my eyes, my heart feeling like it was pounding out of my chest.

"Zoey, listen to me. It really isn't anything like you think." He spun me around and forced me to look him in the eyes by tilting my chin upwards. "I went to Naomi's house to get help."

"Help for what, Ian?" I tried calming my racing mind so I could think clearly.

"Do you remember the children's project you helped our dads and me on last year?" He released my chin and his blue green eyes held a serious and almost distraut gaze in them.

I hesitated for a moment, trying to recollect what he was referring to. I had helped them on quite a few projects back then so it was hard to decipher which one he meant. "Which one?"

"The children's hospital downtown?"

I nodded my head, recalling the exact project. I had worked on it with them for several long and stressful months, budding heads with many financial advisors and business associates of the company. All of which had a tight grip on their wallets and who had made it difficult to get the funding for the hospital.

"Zoey?" He waved his hands in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes. I spent months trying to get those stuffy men in suits to fund the project." I wrinkled my nose in disgust, the same feeling of disbelief flooding through me as it had back then. "The ordeal could have ran a lot smoother if they hadn't been so selfish and thought of all the dying and sick children the hospital ended up helping."

Ian's forehead creased again, sadness appearing on his face for a split second before changing to seriousness again.

"There is something wrong with how the funding was obtained. . ."

"What do you mean? Everything went through the banking systems fine. I personally made sure to it." My mind became baffled again. What was my boyfriend getting at?

"Zoey, it was done illegally. . ."

I felt like I had been slapped again. How could the project that helped so many children have been funded illegally? I had made sure everything checked out with the banks and that it followed the proper procedures and laws. There was no way I could have missed something that big.

"There's no way. . ." I whispered. "Unless someone went in and messed with stuff after I finalized the accounts. . . And that still doesn't explain why you were at Naomi's."

"Well, I'm sure you've noticed Naomi hanging around a certain ex friend of yours. Vidia Gomez?"

I had a feeling I knew what his next words would be so I just nodded, the realization rendering me speechless.

"Vidia admitted to Naomi one night when she hung out with her that she somehow got a hold of the account information and had it wired to her personal account. . ." He frowned sullenly and then exhaled. "Since you were in charge of the financial end of it-"

"She wanted it to look like I was embezzling the money." My rage began bubbling over again, my pulse loud in my ears.

Suddenly a knock was heard downstairs, followed by Rose's familiar voice talking to whoever was at the door.

Moments later footsteps were heard coming up the stairs and she appeared in the doorway.

She gasped, immediately covering her eyes. "Oh gosh, Ian! Put on some pants."

He just chuckled nervously before grabbing some sweat pants out of his drawer in the dresser and heading into the bathroom.

"Zoey, I hate to interupt whatever I just walked in on, but there is a woman and man from your father's company waiting downstairs. They say they're from the Legal Department."

I felt my heart drop. What was I going to do?

A/N: First off, I want to say I am so sorry for the very long wait. I have been working overtime for my job and not had any time to sit down and write on this book. Secondly, I apologize if this chapter is such a filler. I didn't really know how to explain why Ian had been gone so long but I suppose what I did will work. Thirdly, the next chapters will be bringing the story to a close. I had originally planned on ending it by Christmas but having had to work so much the last two months it has been impossible. Please bare with me, though and I hope you enjoy what is to come :)

- Vanessa