I clicked the door closed behind the brooding Samuel Faye, my newly appointed shadow. He was polite, formal. And positively boring. Sure, he was well built, fit. I’m sure he would provide ample protection against whatever it was Alexander thought I needed protection from. I just hoped he would stop referring to me as ma’am in the very near future. It made me feel old.

Nevertheless, I gave him his first job assignment. Since I had no plans of leaving the office today and I would be with Alexander all evening, I told him to take the rest of the night off. There was no sense in wasting payroll dollars. I was pleased that he did as he was told without question. I think. I wasn’t sure if Samuel would be taking direction from Alexander or me. More than likely, it wasn’t me, but I couldn’t waste time worrying about it.

It is what it is.

Returning to my desk, I went back to sorting emails. It was a slow, painful process that I had been struggling with all week. I created three folders: one for rejected proposals, a second for prospects, and a third one for projects in the works. As I clicked on the next email, I superstitiously crossed my fingers and hoped it wasn’t another rejection.

“Damn it!” I swore aloud to my empty office. It was another thanks-but-no-thanks response for our services. I clicked off the email from the potential client and sent it to folder number one. I tried to shrug off the rejection.

Sometimes things just don’t go as planned, Cole. Shake it off.

However, if I were being honest with myself, not much of anything had gone as planned all week. No matter how hard I tried, things just seemed to go from bad to worse. Tilting my head from side to side, I cracked my neck and tried to stifle a yawn. Fatigue was setting in and I still had a long night ahead of me. In an attempt to summon more energy, I sat up a little straighter in my chair and extended my arms in a stretch. Looking around, I surveyed the entire length of my office.

Alexander had pulled out all the stops to make sure everything was perfect for me. Not only did I have an entire floor of Cornerstone Tower at my disposal, I was able to call one of the poshest offices in the city my own. It was everything I ever dreamed of. From the floor to ceiling windows and polished hardwood desk, to the sprawling wall mural with the Maya Angelou quote, it was an impressive space. At times, it was hard to believe that it was mine. The fact that it was all mine only solidified my determination to fix the predicament I was in.

And it was a big one.

Focus, Cole.

I sighed to myself and spun my chair around to flip on the office stereo behind me. Using the music as motivation, I turned back to my computer, determined to stay focused on the task at hand.

My first week back to work since the car accident had been rough. When I proposed buying Turning Stone Advertising from Alexander, I had high hopes. The company held great potential and only lacked in direction. I truly felt that it wasn’t anything a little elbow grease couldn’t fix.

However, after spending nearly three weeks in a coma, then another five weeks resting as per doctor’s orders, my business affairs had been put on the back burner. My employees kept the ship afloat during my absence, as they were used to operating with little instruction before I came along. Nevertheless, they allowed seventy-five percent of the potential contracts I had lined up to fall through the cracks while I was out. They weren’t the most pro-active group of individuals to say the least. As a result, the direction and progress I made when I first took over Turning Stone had to be revisited. My ideas to make the advertising company take flight were suffering from more than one major setback.

Conversely, the buyout contract I signed with Alexander was airtight. I made sure of that, and I refused to play the fiancé card. Just because I was now engaged to the sole owner and billionaire CEO of Stone Enterprise, didn’t mean I could shirk my responsibilities and commitments.

I couldn’t play the damsel in distress role even if I tried.

Either way, the circumstances for how and why I got into this position didn’t matter. They wouldn’t change the simple fact that I was short on clients and one-month delinquent on my buyout payment to Stone Enterprise. I was back to square one. My only option was to keep plugging away.

Moving the computer mouse to click on the next email, I absently hummed along to “Walk” by the Foo Fighters. I smiled to myself when I realized how apropos the lyrics were to my current situation. The singer sang about finding your place and conquering challenges, which is exactly what I felt like. It was like I was learning to walk again.

As I waited for the email to load, a knock at my door interrupted me.

“Come in,” I called.

Regina poked her head in.

“Sorry to interrupt, Miss Cole,” my secretary apologized. “But I wanted to tell you this in person rather than just buzz your line.”

My stomach dropped.

Please don’t give me more bad news.

I quickly exited out of my inbox and gave Regina my full attention.

“No worries. What’s up?” I asked, attempting to come off casual. Like I wasn’t terrified of losing yet another client.

She flashed me a bright, if not a somewhat devious, smile and the corners of her eyes crinkled. I took it as a good sign. If she were giving her notice, she wouldn’t be smiling like the cat that swallowed the canary. I tried to relax a bit.

Regina sat down in the chair across from me and smoothed out her long floral skirt.

“Mr. Tremaine called,” she informed me.

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief, hoping beyond hope that it was the Mr. Tremaine I wanted it to be.

“Sheldon Tremaine, the owner of Beaumont Jewelers?” I asked just to be sure.

“The one and only. He read over the proposal you sent to him on Wednesday, and he wants a meeting. I offered to schedule one with Clive, but he wants to meet with you directly.”

I tried to keep my jaw from hitting the floor.

“Regina, that’s great news! Did you set it up?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s already in your calendar. You are set to meet a week from today. He seemed very anxious to sit down with you, actually. He’s going to come here, despite the fact that I told him you would go to him.”

I relaxed and leaned back, trying to absorb what she was saying. A meeting with Sheldon Tremaine of Beaumont Jewelers was a huge deal and exactly what I needed. He was one of the largest diamond distributors in the city. If I signed his jewelry business as a client, I could rest easy knowing that the expenses for Turning Stone would be covered for the next year, including the buyout payments to Stone Enterprise. I couldn’t afford to screw this up.

“We are going to need all hands on deck next week to get ready for this. Turning Stone needs this contract,” I told Regina. “Please schedule a mandatory staff meeting for Monday morning. We’ll need to prepare a full portfolio, including mockups, before I meet with Mr. Tremaine.”

“Consider it done.”

“Thanks, Regina,” I said and beamed at her. It was a relief to finally have something positive in the works.

“It’s good to see you smile, Miss Cole. I knew this would brighten your day. I know it’s been a crazy first week back, but things will get better. I just don’t want to see you kill yourself in the meantime.” She paused and gave me a tentative smile. “Try not to do everything alone. Accepting a little help from the fiftieth floor when it’s offered isn’t a bad thing.”

I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes at her. When Alexander found out how buried I was, he offered to send his personal assistant, Laura Kaufmann, down to my floor. He thought she could help me get caught up, but I refused him. This was something I needed to do for myself. Turning Stone was my baby and it was my job to fix it. The fact that Regina noticed was surprising. I didn’t think she was so observant.

“Am I that obvious?” I asked her.

“When I leave for the day at five, you’re still here burning the wick at both ends,” she pointed out. “The time stamp on your emails tells me that you’ve been pulling at least twelve-hour days. I don’t want to see you worn down. If there is one thing I learned while you were out, it’s that this place needs you.”

“I’m a big girl, Regina.”

“I know you are,” she said and stood to leave. “But I’m old and I worry.”

I laughed. Regina was barely fifty.

“You’re not that old!”

“I could be your mother, so I say that’s old enough,” she joked back. “I’m headed out in about a half hour. Is there anything you need before I go?”

I glanced at the clock. It was nearing four-thirty. I had to meet Alexander in the lobby at five.

“No, I’m all set. In fact, I’ll be leaving around the same time as you are.”

“Alright then. Enjoy your weekend.”

“Thanks. You too, Regina,” I returned and watched her exit my office.

Feeling optimistic about my schedule for next week, I powered down the computer and began to sort through the piles of client folders that were sitting on my desk. As I put them away into the file cabinet, I tried to switch gears and mentally prepare for the next order of business for the day – the therapy session with Dr. Tumblin. In an instant, my good mood vanished. I was truly dreading the appointment, even if it was entirely my idea.

After I finished putting away the client files, I grabbed my coat and purse. Hitting the switch to power off the lights in my office, I took a deep breath and tried to let go of the tension that was already beginning to set in my shoulders.

Maybe Alex won’t be so resistant today.

I tried to be hopeful, but I wasn’t really feeling it. Round four of therapy was less than an hour away, and it literally felt like I was about to head into a boxing match. The sessions weren’t going well because Alexander had been fighting them every step of the way. As a result, I had been snappy and short tempered with him over the past few weeks. I couldn’t help it.

Bite your tongue. Don’t snap at him today.

I repeated the thought to myself another three times as I closed the door to my office. Making my way down the corridor to the elevator, I steeled myself for what might lie ahead.