Abby

 

“That sniveling little asshole!” Abby swore under her breath as she stormed into her office, Jackie Robertson hot on her heels. “Who the fuck does he think he is talking to me that way?”

 

“Abbs,” Jackie said as she quickly and quietly closed the door behind them. “He didn't mean anything by it. He just forgot to include you on the CC from the email. Anyone could do it. It was just a mistake.”

 

Abby rounded on her, eyes alight with rage. This was exactly the kind of thing that, if you let it go once, it would just keep happening.

 

Jackie had followed her from Pharma-Vitae, just like Abby knew she would. Especially when Pharma went belly-up after the lawsuits, settlements, and fines. She was more than happy to have her old assistant along.

 

“Abbs,” Jackie soothed. “You're really on edge. You need to take a deep breath and think about what you're doing.”

 

“I don't need—” Abby began, her voice raised almost to a yell, but Jackie quickly cut her off with a single finger held in the air. She shut her mouth when she saw the finger, realizing what she was doing.

 

“What have I told you, Abby? What will I not stand for as an employee?”

 

Abby took a deep breath. “I can be your boss,” Abby said, “but you're not my whipping boy.”

 

“Exactly. I had that shit before, when I was younger, but I won't put up with it from anyone. You're yelling at me, and I did nothing wrong. Now, like I said, I think you're on edge.”

 

The new CEO took a deep, measured, cleansing breath, and nodded again as she slowly blinked her eyes. “I think you may be right.”

 

“Thank you. Now, this was all just a mistake on Vincent's part. He didn't mean to exclude you on the email chain. You're respected here, okay? Everyone thinks you're going to be great for the company, including the shareholders.”

 

She was right, too. Upon news of Abby's hiring as the new CEO for the pharmaceutical giant Wat-Cor, shares rose nearly ten percent by end of the trading day.

 

Abby took in her friend's words and nodded. “Okay,” she said, sitting down at her desk. “Okay. You're right.”

 

“I hate to say it, though,” Jackie said as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “But, you've been on edge for weeks. Ever since the engagement.”

 

Abby groaned. She hadn't told Jackie about Zed showing up at her door. She hadn't told anyone. She felt like, maybe, if she didn't ever say anything to anyone about it, it would all just be like it never happened and she wouldn't have to think about it again.

 

Unfortunately, she couldn't get it out of her head. She couldn't get him out of her head.

 

“I just feel like your heart's not in it, Abby,” Jackie said quietly.

 

“The wedding?” Abby asked. “Of course it is! Look at all the work we've done on it!”

 

Jackie shook her head. “I don't mean the work you've done. It's going to be a beautiful wedding—huge and glorious. But you don't seem like you're going to enjoy it. It feels like you're putting together something from a magazine, from some fairy tale girls are supposed to want. There's no love in it, Abbs. No part of you.”

 

That wasn't true. That couldn't be true. Or was it? Abby frowned and looked away, hoping that she could somehow dismiss Jackie's argument if she didn't pay any attention to it.

 

“I think you miss Zed,” Jackie said quietly.

 

Abby closed her eyes and put her hands on the desk. “Jackie,” she warned.

 

“I think you should try again with him,” Jackie continued, pushing forward despite the warning her boss had just given her.

 

“I can't,” Abby said. “I'm getting married to Ethan. You know that. The invitations went out, and the wedding is just weeks away. This is just stress, maybe a little bit of cold feet, but just stress. Why would I choose a psychopath over a nice guy like Ethan?” She leaned forward. “Do I need to remind you that he took you hostage in a fucking elevator?”

 

Jackie smiled a little. “Yeah, but he called me ‘sweet thing’ when he did it. Ethan would never have had the balls to do it the first place, and he'd never be so nice while he did it.”

 

Abby sighed. “Because he's not a fucking psychopath, like Zed Besides,” Abby continued, groaning. “I can't break Ethan's heart. He doesn't deserve to suffer like that, just because I'm getting some pre-wedding jitters. Things will be good with him, especially when all this shit is over with. I promise I'll try to get better with controlling my anger, okay?”

 

Jackie sighed and stood up from the chair, heading for the office door. “Fine. And remember, no yelling at your assistant. I'm here to make your life easier, not to be screamed at. You should be thanking me for keeping your head from exploding, particularly while you're planning a damned wedding.” She opened the door and turned to leave just as she was finishing.

 

/

 

“I know, Jackie,” Abby said. “I know. And, by the way?”

 

“Yeah?” Jackie asked as she was about to shut the door.

 

“Thank you.”

 

# # #

 

Zed

 

“Got a minute?” Kai asked, as Zed swung his sledgehammer into the wall, blowing through a chunk of brick and the drywall behind it like he was wielding Thor's own hammer.

 

They were on their first job already. Zed was astonished at how fast they'd been able to pick up jobs. Surprisingly, a lot of them had come from first responders around the city, people who knew Zed by reputation alone, and wanted to give them the work to get started out. They knew about Kai, too, but to them, he was more a warning sign for them all. It was very much a, “there I go, but for the grace . . .” kind of thing, and both brothers knew it.

 

But, no matter where the work was coming from, they'd been raised to not look a gift horse in the mouth. These first few jobs were enough to get them going, but how well they performed them was going to determine their futures. And they both knew it.

 

“Sure, man,” Zed said, as he brought his hammer back under control and used his forearm to swipe some sweat from his forehead. “What's up?”

 

“I've been thinking about what we talked about a few weeks ago.”

 

“Remind me,” Zed said, grinning. Work had been a Godsend for him. It was really the first time he had been able to clear his head since Kai had been put away. He came in, planned the job with Kai, then he and the guys got to swinging. Not surprisingly, blowing holes in walls was pretty cathartic and kept his brain occupied. Meaning he wasn’t thinking about Abby Winters.

 

“About Abby.”

 

Zed groaned and turned away. “Not this shit again, man. I told you, I'm getting over her. If she wants to be with this Ethan guy, that's her deal. I know I've just gotta pick up my life and move on.”

 

Kai clapped a hand on his shoulder. “It's not that. It's just, me and Kara, we're getting a little more serious. I've been giving it some thought, bro, and I think you should try again with her.”

 

Zed's shoulders slumped and he tossed the hammer away. He whirled on his brother. “Don't you think I did, man? I went and saw her before I saw you, remember? She didn't want me back!”

 

“What I don't understand,” Kai said, taking a step toward him and slapping both hands on his twin brother's shoulders. “Is why you only tried once! You literally took down a massive corporation almost single-handedly! But one try at her, and that's it?”

 

Zed brushed his brother's hands off his shoulders. “Just let me get back to work, Kai. Okay? I just care about Abby's happiness, and she seems like she'll be happy with this Ethan guy. I can't make her love me, can I? What do you want me to do? Force her to leave him? It doesn't work that way.” He grabbed his sledgehammer up off the ground and went back to swinging. Every time it collided with the wall, every chunk it sent flying, he felt a little closer to a job well done.

 

Still, though, no matter how fast he swung the hammer, no matter how hard he made it strike, he couldn't get Abby Winter's out of his mind—the smell of her, the feel of her, the way she cried out his name, the way she called him, “sir.”

 

It just wouldn't leave him. And, deep down, he knew it never would.