I was sitting behind my desk when Cody popped his head into my office.

“Hey, Addison. Have a second?”

“Hi, Cody. Sure. Come on in.”

“I have the specs for the Boston building. Would you mind taking a look?”

“Not at all. Have a seat.” I smiled.

He handed me the drawings and I spread them out on my desk.

“Wow! Look at that rock.” He grinned. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Thank you and yes.” A wide smile graced my face.

“Congratulations. Have you set a date yet?”

“Not yet. But we will soon. These drawings are amazing. I think this is exactly what Mr. Vasko is looking for.”

“I couldn’t have done it without your help. You have a great eye,” he spoke. “Beautiful roses. Did Andrew give them to you?”

“No. There was no name on the card, so I’m not sure who they’re from.”

“That’s weird. Who sends flowers without signing the card?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they forgot. Anyway, how did your date go the other night?”

“Actually, I canceled it. I wasn’t really feeling that girl.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Why don’t you give Mr. Vasko a call and tell him the specs are ready for him to view? Set up a meeting for around lunch time and I’ll have Sam order us in lunch.”

“Good idea. I’ll go call him now.” He grinned as he walked out of my office.

As soon as Cody walked out of my office, a text message from Andrew came through on my phone.

“Lunch?”

“I would love to, but I have a lunch meeting with Cody and Mr. Vasko.”

“Are you leaving the building?”

“No. We’re staying here.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later. Love you, Angel.”

“Love you too.”

I set my phone down on my desk with a smile on my face and held my hand out in front of me. It still felt like a dream being engaged to Andrew. I decided I wanted a latte, so I went down to the Coffee Pod and stood in line. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, there was always a line.

“Addison?”

I turned around and saw Ellie standing behind me. A sickness fell over me.

“I thought that was you.” She smiled. “How are you?”

“Ellie. Hi. I’m good. What are you doing here?”

“I need to see Andrew. More insurance issues.”

“I see.”

“Is that an engagement ring?” She grabbed my hand.

I swallowed hard.

“Umm. Yes.”

“Wow. It’s gorgeous. So, you and Andrew are engaged? When did that happen?”

“Over the weekend,” I nervously spoke.

She stood there for a moment as I watched a hint of sadness cross her face.

“Congratulations.” She forced a smile. “I’m happy for the both of you.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

It was my turn to order and Ellie stepped in front of me.

“I’m buying her coffee,” she spoke to the barista.

“No, Ellie. You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. Consider it an engagement gift. We still haven’t had that lunch date yet. Are you by any chance free today?”

“Umm. No. Actually, I have a business lunch with a client.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe sometime towards the end of this week.” She smiled.

The barista handed us our coffees and she followed me inside the elevator. Uncomfortable wasn’t a strong enough word as to how I felt at that moment. Thank God other people stepped inside with us. As soon as the elevator stopped on the tenth floor and the doors opened, she spoke, “It was good to see you again, Addison. Have a good day.”

“You too, Ellie.”

I stepped out and scurried down the hallway to my office. Once I reached it, I grabbed my phone and called Andrew. He didn’t answer, so I called Maria.

“Mr. London’s office. How can I help you?”

“Maria, it’s Addison. I need to speak with Andrew now!”

“He’s in a meeting, Addison.”

“I don’t care. Interrupt him and tell him it’s important.”

A few seconds later, Andrew picked up the phone.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“I ran into Ellie downstairs at the Coffee Pod. She’s on her way up to see you.”

“Why?” he snapped.

“Something about more insurance issues.”

“Fuck! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I was giving you a heads up.”

“Okay.” He sighed. “I’m in a meeting anyway, so she’ll have to wait. I’ll talk to you later.”

I ended the call and tried to calm my nerves.

“Knock knock.” Cody smiled. “Mr. Vasko will be here at one o’clock.”

“Great. I’ll book us conference room two, and I’ll see you at one.”

“Looking forward to it.” He grinned.

I closed my eyes for a moment and took in three deep breaths. Suddenly, I was startled by a voice.

“Hi, Addison. I hope you don’t mind me dropping by your office.”

“Ellie. I thought you were going to see Andrew.”

“He’s in a meeting right now, so I thought I’d come down and see you. Oh my gosh, what beautiful roses.”

She walked over to my desk and smelled them.

“Red roses were always my favorite.”

“Listen, Ellie. I have a meeting to get to.”

“Oh, that’s right. Your lunch meeting with your client.”

“Yeah.” I got up from my chair.

“Listen, Addison. I get the feeling you’re really nervous around me, and I don’t understand why.”

“I’m sorry if I give you that impression. I don’t mean to.”

“Ellie!” Andrew snapped as he stood in the doorway of my office. “What are you doing here?”

She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope.

“Another insurance discrepancy. I’m starting to think you need to check into another insurance company.” She handed him the envelope.

“I’ll look into it. Now I think you should leave.”

“Andrew—”

“I said LEAVE!” he shouted as he forcefully grabbed her arm. “I’ve had enough.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” she yelled as she tried to get out of his tight grip.

“All of this bullshit is going to stop! Do you understand me? You are to stay away from Addison and me. Anything else that comes from the insurance company, you are to give it to your attorney, who will pass it on to mine. I don’t want to see you again!”

“Andrew, I don’t understand!” she cried. “We’re friends.”

“No, we are not! We will never be friends and you will never be friends with my fiancée. I want you out of my life.” He let go of her arm. “Now get out of here before I call security,” he spoke in a stern tone.

She looked at me with her mascara-stained eyes and ran out of my office. I stared at Andrew, who stood there with anger splayed across his face.

“Don’t you think that was a little harsh?” I sternly spoke.

“Are you kidding me?” He shut the door. “After everything she’s done? Don’t you see what she’s doing?”

“Yes, I do see it, Andrew, but you didn’t have to grab her the way you did.”

“I’m sorry, Angel.”

He walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

“There’s no reasoning with a woman like that. I did what I had to do to get through to her.” He lightly kissed my forehead.

“I have to get to my meeting. We’ll talk about this later.”

I grabbed my phone from my desk and walked out.