N I N E

"NO WAY, HE ACTUALLY SAID THAT?"

That question was from Eric, one of the guys who worked on the twentieth floor, one who surely enough was invited to my dinner with Elijah. Was it strange to be in the company of people that you didn't bargain for? Yes, it was, by all means. But Elijah said that he was trying to get laid and that I shouldn't mess this up. After about twenty minutes of confusion, I thankfully realized that he meant the guy and not me.

Eric was a nice-looking man who I - hate to admit - would've definitely been down for, but he was no Ashton and Elijah was seventy-percent sure that he was attracted to men, so it wasn't worth thinking about. What was worth thinking about was the fact that the two of them begged me to relay to them the events that happened when Ashton dragged me outside when we talked about his parents. I left out some details like his more voyeuristic past with spending corporate money on his escapades since that seemed rather private, as well as the part where he said he liked me because I had obviously misread the signal and I didn't want them to follow my lead by doing the same.

"Yes," I said, rolling my eyes. "Why is it so hard to believe that Ashton might want me working there? I'm a good employee."

"Well," Elijah said, setting his fork down, "for starters, you ruined a woman's marriage in your first week on the job and now he's tip-toeing around a large-scale scandal just to secure his huge press event. Do you want me to go on, or no?"

"Whatever," I said, stabbing my fork into a piece of chicken and stuffing it in my mouth angrily. I didn't need him to remind me that I was wrong for trusting Meredith Marks despite his better judgement, because I was already paying the price for that. In fact, every time Ashton has tried shifting his weight around to save my job has only made me feel guiltier and guiltier. One day, all of it was going to pile up and topple down on me without anything that he could do to save me.

"Okay," Eric said with a grin, "I have a theory. Maybe he's just keeping you around because he knows that if you leave, you could tell the world about his affair."

I shook my head. "He could easily have me sign a non-disclosure agreement."

"Maybe he doesn't want to pay you severance and is waiting for you to quit, or die in an accident on the premises," Elijah offered.

"How exactly would his company look if he was being sued by a Major League Baseball player," I said, taking another bite off of my plate.

"Wait," Eric gasped. "Fiona White, right? You're related to Bretton White? He's so fucking hot -"

As he stopped himself, my eyes widened in shock, looking up at Elijah who just happened to be smirking. That bastard was completely right about Eric liking men, he must've been a genius.

"Sorry," Eric apologized, completely aware of my shock and Elijah's lack thereof.

"It's okay, I hear that a lot," I said. "Besides, we're technically not related, by blood at least, just the same family."

Everyone at the table nodded and an awkward silence fell over us. The restaurant we were in, Carrie's Bar & Restaurant, was noisy with the post-work crowds coming in and out, not to mention there was a sports game on so there was definitely some rage coursing through the air as Philadelphia's home team was being slaughtered by what I assumed was Cleveland, but I couldn't see it that well from our table.

I would've thought the silence would've gone on for the rest of the meal - which wouldn't have been that bad after everything that happened - but Eric sighed and said, "you know, maybe he actually likes you. Like as he like-likes you. It would explain everything, especially why he wants you to stay."

"Impossible," Elijah and I both said at the same time, making me turn to glare at him which he shrugged to apologetically.

"Think about it, Fiona," Eric said, offering me a soft smile. "It's very much possible. I'm not saying this to offend, since even you know it already, but you're not the best or most useful employee. You were hired because someone quit their job and there was a vacancy that needed to be filled, but anyone can do your job - there was a time when he didn't even have a personal assistant. So why hasn't he fired you after all of the hell you've put him through?"

That was exactly the thing I've been trying to wrap my head around: why am I still here? But Ashton liking me back was impossible, no matter how logically Eric put it. Things didn't just work out like that in the real world, no, they were more cut and dry with less speculation. And I had it clear from the start: Ashton Baldwin of Baldwin Industries would never love a simple girl like me.

I stabbed my fork down on the plate and brought it up into my mouth, only for it to come up empty, meaning that I had already eaten all of the chicken. Of course, everyone happened to still be looking at me, making me flush.

"Besides," Elijah said, "you're a lovable kind of klutz, Fiona."

I sighed, burying my face in my palms. "Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"

"Take it anyway you like," he said, "but also just take my advice about Ashton. I've worked there for so long and Eric has worked there longer. If he thinks that Ashton likes you, then maybe, he mig be right about that."

Eric smiled at Elijah for defending his opinion - which I could tell was a total suck-up move to get sex - and I couldn't help but think that maybe they were right. Not about him having romantic feelings for me, but about him liking my company and presence at the office. We got along most of the time and we made each other laugh sometimes, it wasn't that far of a stretch.

"Alright, then," I said as I set my fork back down on the plate. "Maybe you are."

-

WHEN WE FINALLY GOT BACK, ALL THE LIGHTS WERE TURNING OFF FOR THE NIGHT.

I had never stayed out this late since starting at Baldwin Industries and I was grateful to be friends with Elijah and Eric since I really missed having a nightlife like I did when I worked at Happenstance.

We had taken Eric's car over to Carrie's since Elijah and I both took the bus to work and while he had offered me a ride home, I remembered that I was the unofficial third wheel for the night and decided just to take the bus instead. Bretton's secluded villa was about an hour out of their way anyway, so I didn't want to inconvenience them. Of course that meant I would be taking about an hour-and-a-half-long bus ride, but it was at no one's expense but my own.

I sighed, pulling out my phone, still conflicted on whether or not I should call Bretton and ask him to pick me up. It wasn't exactly safe to travel at night like this alone, especially in such a big city. But at the same time, I made him listen to my drama and even painted his toenails so he deserved a bit of a break from me since he was trying to entertain a lady and I would only be a distract to him.

"Fiona?" I heard a voice ask from behind me. Spinning around, I saw that it was Ashton standing there with his hands in his coat pockets and a frown on his face. "What are you still doing here so late?"

"I could say the same," I countered jokingly.

"God dammit, you can't stay out here this late like that," he said, holding out his hand to me. "Let me drop you off at home, Fiona. Where are you headed?"

I sighed, taking his hand in mine and telling him the address. "Why are you doing this, Ashton? You don't want to get into anymore trouble, do you?"

"You and I both know that I'm the bigger troublemaker out of the two of us." He turned to me and winked, making me stifle a groan. "I'm serious, though. It's why the spa appointment thing really hit me so hard - or at least one of the reasons. Believe it or not, I'm kind of the black sheep in the Baldwin family, especially when I was younger, and now me running the company is my plan to try and earn back their trust."

"Oh my god," I said, "I'm so sorry about that."

"No, don't worry about it," he said laughing. "I'm getting exactly the kind of treatment I deserve from them. People see a troubled kid and they think that they need some kind of saving, but I'm a troubled adult with a fortune that makes most trust funds weep, I can save myself from anything."

I was curious about what he was talking about, yet I didn't press because I knew that I was only his employee, not his friend or his shoulder to cry on. Because of me, that was Emilie's job, whether he liked it or not.

"Alright," I said to steer away the conversation, "where are we going?" We had been standing in front of the building for quite a while and it was starting to get colder since it was nighttime and we were on the coast. I could feel myself beginning to shiver, and the last thing I wanted was for him to take his coat off of his back for me. I was not deserving of such treatment or ready to accept it from Ashton while he was seeing Emilie Standifer. It was bad enough that he was holding my hand which was feeling terribly clammy for some reason.

"The car should be coming around in a few minutes," he said. "Anyways, back to my question. Why were you out here so late?"

"I made some friends and they invited me out to dinner with them," I answered, trying to keep my voice stable to mask how cold I felt. "Have you ever been to Carrie's before? It's a couple of blocks north."

He shook his head. "I've seen it around, but I'm not a fan of eating out, so usually eat at home because my chefs can whip up a mean - well, anything."

I nodded in understanding, albeit quite surprised. If I were rich like him, I would go to every restaurant and order everything I could think of because I loved going out to restaurants. There was just some otherworldly quality to it, even if it was the most basic restaurant in a city you've lived in for your whole life.

"So," I said, squeezing his hand playfully. "Now you have to answer my question. What exactly were you doing so late around here? Flying paper airplanes? Listening to music?" I gasped in falsetto for dramatic effect, "Emilie Standifer?"

That last part made him burst out laughing and the sound of it was so precious that it tugged at my heartstrings. I took that moment to look at him, standing with me on a dark and empty street, somehow willing to wait with me for my car and think about what Eric had told me and I had told myself today.

"None of that, for sure," he laughed. "If I had sex in that office building - especially with Emilie of all people - my parents would likely castrate me in front of all of you guys in the main lobby. I just had some paperwork I was going over to prep with a client for tomorrow."

"New investor?" I asked.

He nodded, looking down at his shoes. "Yeah, a new investor."

"Hey," I asked, "what exactly did you mean by that? About Emilie definitely being a reason for them to castrate you?" I had no idea why I asked him that, but I had a curiosity in me that needed desperately to be sated.

"Let's just say that they already know about her divorce," he used his free hand to scratch he back of his head. "There was an angry call from her PR team to me that my parents intercepted and the rest is history."

When he saw my shocked face, he snickered. "Don't look at me like that, you already know who's fault this is."

"I'm just surprised, that's all," I said innocently, "I just had no idea how much trouble I caused you."

"Oh, Fiona, I've seen trouble beyond your wildest fantasies," he said as a luxurious black convertible pulled up in front of us. He reached for the handle of the door and pull it open for me. "After you."

I wanted to comment, but instead, I just slid inside the car with a smile on my face without saying anything. But I've definitely seen trouble before, I just felt this was not the time to tell him about that.