I wanted to stay away from work as much as possible, but I'd taken more than enough days off when I got back from California. I couldn't afford any more days off. I slowly made my way to work but not so slow that I would be late.

I never realized how much New York smelled. Almost everything made me want to either puke or eat. For instance, normally, sidewalk hotdog stands wouldn't bother me but now instantly nausea. I even bought one once or two e over the years, and it honestly wants that bad, but I can't even stand the thought of one without getting sick to my stomach. I ended up having to avoid the subway, knowing it would bother me completely.

I can't keep this a secret. Eventually, someone will find out, and if Dee or my parents found out that I hid this from them, my life would be worse than it already is. How would I tell my parents? They are very traditional people. The fact that I'm not even dating the father would kill them.

Markus, how would I even tell him? Would he believe me if I did?

I made it to work, but I was late. Not too late but late enough not to be able to stop his mother from barging into his office. I could see his frustration from the door. I tried to reach my desk without him seeing me, but he did, and he did not look happy. He started his eyes back and forth between his mother and me. He wanted me to make her leave.

I looked through his planner, but there was nothing there. He had no plans today?! I quickly wrote something down, something even his mother would deem more important than herself.

"Mr. Turner, you have a conference call with one of the investors from California at 9:30," I said, poking my head in the door. I couldn't smell the perfume his mother was wearing. I never realized how terrible it smelled.

"Thank you, Janice." He replied, not even looking at me, and I closed the door. I stood there trying to hear it had worked, but the door was too thick. The next thing I knew, the door was sliding open. I jumped back and stood in front of my desk before they noticed I was listening.

"Good luck darling, call me and tell me all about it." His mother said as she walked out the door.

She gave me a look but didn't stop. I let out a huge breath once she left, not realizing I was holding it.

"Janice." It was quiet, but I heard it, and he knew I heard it.

I walked in and closed the door behind me. He didn't seem angry, which I thought he would be since I was late, and because of that, he had to deal with his mother.

"How are you feeling?"

It must have shown on my face that I wasn't expecting that to come out his mouth because he chuckled.

"You left yesterday...feeling sick?"

"Oh, um yeah. I feel fine. I mean better than yesterday."

"Good. Did they say what it was? That made you sick?"

Should I tell him? Would he even want to know?

"Food poisoning. Going to stay away from that tuna." I said, giving a nervous chuckle hoping he would believe me.

"Good...So I guess surprise lunches aren't always a good thing, huh?"

He was doing so well. I rolled my eyes and walked out.

"Come on! I was kidding!" He called after me, but I ignored him. I knew he was joking, but it reminded me that Julien was a part of the situation. How was I supposed to tell Julien about this?

This is all a mess. If only I had met Julien before Markus, things would be simple.

I sat at my desk and ruined my computer. Luckily for me, Markus had no meetings or calls or lunches or anything. He would just be sitting in his office creating pieces for the novels he chose to market to the investors.

While he did that, it gave me a chance to continue my novel. The one I broke out at the dinner in California. I didn't finish it; in fact, the part I repeated was only a part of a short story I was basing this novel on. I wrote the short story in college for a contest, and I won't. It was published in some local newspaper. It was one of the happiest times of my life.

Basically, it was about a married couple who were having issues. The husband was having an affair, and the wife catches him in the act. In her momentary rage, she kills the mistress, and they both struggle to cover it up.

It is very dark, the darkest thing I've ever written. Mostly I'd written love stories, but, eventually, you get tired of writing about love, so I switfindinge ch,ange, and I liked thinking dark thoughts. It was like becoming a different person; I was becoming the couple to finish the story. What would I do if I were them? What would I do if I were the detective or cops? It's a very developmental part of being a writer.

I paused my writing for a few minutes to think and give my fingers rest when I heard someone sigh behind me. Needless to say, I didn't know they were there, and it gave me a heart attack.

I turned to see one of the marketers standing there.

"I am so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I had some stuff for Mr. Turner and didn't want to bother him, but you seemed so focused as well, so I thought I'd see why. It's really good. I didn't even realize how long I'd been standing here until you stopped." The poor girl rambled on and on about how sorry she was for another two minutes before I even got a word in.

"It's fine. Just leave them on the desk." I said and went back to work.

She did so but didn't leave her spot. I turned to her and smiled,

"You really are interested in this, aren't you?"

She nodded excitedly.

"Fine. When I finish this chapter, I will give you a copy."

She squealed and surprised me with a quick hug before heading back to her office.

I sighed and shook my head, but it made me smile. If this woman was so excited about my story before I had even finished and proofread it, how excited would other people be once it's finally out there? It was exciting to think about.

"Interesting."

I gasped and turned from my computer to see the one and only Markus.

"For the love o...What is with you people and sneaking up on me? Are you trying to kill me?"

"Sorry, I though you knew I was here," he said with a chuckle and quickly changed the subject before I could respond, "Is this that story you recited at dinner the other weekend?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

"I thought so. Sounds interesting."

He didn't seem to be faking his interest, which was good. Maybe he would want to publish it.

Without another word, he gave a thoughtful 'huh' and went back to his office.