36

For the next few days I rushed around, trying to finish designs and schedule a fashion show. I can't even count how many times I've mentally strangled my one employee, Devon.

"Devon, did you get those designs to my mother yet?" I questioned for the sixth time.

He paused in the middle of biting his pretzel and looked at me. I pinched the bridge of my nose, telling myself that I could go to jail for killing him.

"Get out." I seethed.

He scurried out of my office, forgetting to close my door behind him. I grabbed a pillow from the couch and screamed into it.

"Are you okay there?" An amused voice asked.

I snapped my head up to see Damon leaning against the door frame. I sighed and threw the pillow onto the couch.

"Please don't tell me I missed a meeting." I groaned.

He chuckled, "No, a friend of mine has a daughter who loves designing clothes. She's quite talented, I figured I would do them a favor and show them to you."

I nodded, "Sure, but if she's seeking an apprenticeship of sorts, I'm afraid I'm too busy right now."

"I highly doubt you'll be saying that once I show you them." He smirked.

I shrugged, not bothering to give him an actual answer. I was once again distracted by work.

"Lace, you there?"

I snapped my head up, I sighed and nodded. "Sorry, I'm just going insane right now with...this."

He raised an eyebrow, "Organize it and I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I'm trying." I groaned.

He chuckled before placing a file on my desk, "Look."

I looked at him before looking back at the file. I sighed, I could use a break from all of this anyway. I opened the file and immediately gasped.

"She did this...?" I whispered.

He scratched the back of his neck, "Uh, yeah, she has always loved it since she was younger."

"She's amazing!" I exclaimed.

"I know, she'd love to meet you some time."

"That would be awesome...my god, this girl has immense talent. Better than me."

He chuckled, "I can tell you're impressed."

"Uh, yeah. How about I meet her tomorrow? During lunch." I asked, looking back at him.

I raised an eyebrow as he seemed to get distracted by some picture. It was a picture of my father's that I forgot to pack up.

I frowned at the pain in his eyes before he quickly looked away. He released a shaky breath.

"That sounds great." He said with a forced smile.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

I watched him for a few more seconds, "Okay...do you want anything? I was about to go down and get some much needed coffee."

"You stay here and I'll get it." He said.

Before I could answer, he was already closing my office door. I frowned, does he even know where the coffee room is?

I looked down and opened my drawer, staring at his files. After reading through them, I found out quite a bit about him.

His parents apparently died in a car crash when he was eighteen and he's a single child. He also has a degree from Rowan, had a 4.0 GPA, and graduated as top of his class. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I never imagined him as a straight A student. Especially when he was arrested for possession of illegal drugs at the age of nineteen.

I shook my head, closing the drawer. Well, he doesn't seem to still be in the drug business, so, I guess that's something.

"Uh, I forgot to ask what you like, so...I just made you one using french vanilla." He said as he walked in.

I smiled, "It's your lucky day, Mr. Blood, I love french vanilla."

He grinned and handed me my coffee, we sat in a comfortable silence for a bit until he cleared his throat.

"So, how has the business life been treating you?" He asked.

I grinned, "Well, brought me to the brink of insanity in just a few days, I'd say it's going swell. How about you?"

He chuckled, "I've met multiple company owners, I already highly dislike a few."

"Really? Who?"

"A man named Angelo, he owns the De Rege company." He grumbled.

"I've never met him...what is his company for?" I asked.

"Financials."

"Ah, is he good at his job?" I questioned.

He shrugged, "If you consider being a prick as a job, then yes, I'd say he's the best at it."

I frowned, "I'm taking it as you really don't like him."

"I have always hated him." He whispered, taking a sip of his coffee.

"And that, my friend, will never change."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "You knew him before all of this?"

"Yeah." He answered. "I knew him in college, he was always an arrogant man. He even lied and told everyone that he was an only child."

"Wait...you know about his brother?" I asked.

He nodded, "I did my homework, his brother is or was two years younger than him. God knows what happened to the man now. He disappeared after his father's death."

"What do you know about his brother?"

"Not much, only that he's innocent."

I scoffed, "He's not innocent."

Damon looked at me with a blank stare, "What do you mean?"

"He killed my brother, Damon. That man is anything but innocent."

"Like I stated a few days ago, your brother wasn't supposed to die that night. I can guarantee that Angelo's brother is feeling guilty for that."

I folded my arms across my chest, "Do you know where he is? Are you friends?"

He sighed, "We kept in touch until a few months ago. All he said was that he was leaving."

I nodded, I bit my lip as I stared at my desk. Pain made itself known in my heart at the thought of my brother.

He was always protective of me and made sure I was always happy. Whenever our parents weren't around he would take me to the park and let me play with my friends. Him dying crushed me.

"I am truly sorry about your brother, Miss. Lace." He whispered.

I smiled sadly, "Vienna."

"What?"

"You can call me Vienna, Miss. Lace is far too formal for my liking."

He raised an eyebrow, "Does this mean we're friends?"

"Of sorts."

"Well, so be it." He chuckled.

I continued working as he walked around my office, organizing my things. I would look at him every now and then, curious as to why he wanted to waste his time here. I mean, we just met almost a week ago.

I leaned back against my chair and tilted my head.

"Damon?"

He looked up, "Yes?"

"Tell me about Angelo's brother."

He smiled softly and took a seat, "For starters, he was a very quiet man. He was picky about who he became friends with and had some major trust issues."

"Believe it or not, I became friends with him after Angelo and I had an argument that ended our friendship."

I frowned, "But you said you met him in college."

"I did, we were friends from freshman year until the middle of senior year. His arrogance never really bothered me, until he made a comment about my father and I not getting along." He explained.

"We were close, he used to call me his little brother. Which did cause a little issue between his real brother and I. Anyways, after our argument, his brother and I became close."

"His brother was thoughtful, kind, smart, but very manipulative. He knew how get what he wanted and how to get away with things. Which is why you wouldn't want him as your enemy."

I nodded and twirled my pen around, "Is he dangerous?" I whispered.

Damon looked at me, his grey eyes held an intense look.

"Very."

"So, searching him out would be foolish?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I highly doubt he would hurt you."

I frowned, "How do you know?"

"I just do." He stated. "Anyways, I have to return to my own office. I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for lunch."

I smiled, "Goodbye, Damon."

He nodded before closing my door behind him.

I sat there silently for a while, my eyes landed on my phone a few times. An idea formed in my head, causing me to smile.

"Jade?" I called.

She poked her head into my office, "Yes?"

"I want to schedule a meeting with Angelo De Rege. It's time we met." I stated.

She paled slightly, "Don't ask him anything about his brother."

"I won't, Jade. I just want to meet the man."

She sighed, but nodded and left my office. I took a sip of my coffee, staring at Damon's files that were hidden underneath the papers.

The next morning I quickly showered and got dressed. Jade had managed to make a meeting for me and Angelo this morning. I'm not really all that happy about it, considering I'm far from a morning person. However, I decided to suck it up.

Walking into the building had me being greeted by all of my employees. I smiled and nodded at them, not in the mood to talk.

Once I reached my office, I set my things down, grinning at how clean everything was. Maybe I should have Damon visit more often, he's a great organizer.

"Vi, Angelo will be here in two minutes." Jade voiced from her desk.

"Alright." I replied, grabbing my folders.

Just as I sat down, my door swung open to reveal a handsome man. I was stunned by how similar he looked to Damon. I snapped out of it though and glared at him.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" I seethed.

He smirked, "I'm guessing you don't know who I am?"

"No, I do. You're Angelo De Rege, Mr. Financial guy."

He laughed, "You have some humor. I like it. What's your name?"

"Vienna, but you can call me Miss. Lace." I replied.

"Well, Miss. Lace, what did you want me here for?"

I sighed, "Just to get to know my father's old business partners. Though, I don't know how financial goes into designing."

"I helped him make more money. Of course, it was a side business of our's. One you're going to take over soon?"

I shrugged, "My father is quite fond over his side business."

He grunted in reply. I watched as his eyes studied each part of my office. When he looked at my desk, his eyes flashed.

I followed his gaze to Damon's files and quickly shoved them into my drawer. Causing him to shift his gaze back to me.

"This isn't about business, it's about your brother's death. Isn't it?" He questioned.

I frowned, "How did you know?"

"Why else would you look up Damon?"

"Out of curiosity, he told me you two used to be friends."

He smirked, "Yeah, friends. I always loathed him though, he's a liar. A huge liar."

"I doubt that, Angelo."

"I suggest you don't trust him so easily, Miss. Lace. If he wanted, he could easily have you disappear without a trace." He growled.

I went to answer, but he was already standing and turning towards my door. He stopped as he opened it, his head turned slightly as he looked at me.

"When we do meet again, I don't want to hear anything about your brother's death nor do I want to discuss my brother." He snarled before slamming my door shut.

I blinked, well, that went incredibly well. I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. Why is it so wrong that I want revenge on his murderer? If Angelo hates his brother as much as my father had said, then, wouldn't he want to see his brother die as well?

"Great, I'm insane." I mumbled, shocked that I'm actually considering killing someone.

I threw my hair into a ponytail and started looking at the plans for the fashion show.

I guess I'm going to have to get my answers from Damon.