"I'm going to kill you." Maru said as Echo lay still on her bed. "Do you realize how worried I was all day? You didn't answer my texts, you didn't call and you left me to dodge questions about where you were."

Echo took a deep breath. She'd gotten in late last night, after dinner and her entire family was sitting in the family, watching as she went down the hall. Of course they hadn't stopped nagging her.

"Where have you been?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Did you forget what cell phones were for?"

"Don't you think of anyone but yourself?"

"I'm sorry, I was in a very messy situation and I just wanted to get back as soon as possible." Echo replied, still finding it hard to believe it hadn't all been a dream. Maru frowned, watching her sisters stare at the ceiling blankly. What in the world had happened?

"So tell me about the guy." Maru said, laying down next to Echo on the bed, and allowing her anger to subside.

"Do I have to?" She asked.

"You promised." Maru replied.

"He's bossy." Echo said the first thing that came to mind. 

"Bossy?" Maru asked. "Like he tries to tell you what to do."

"Like he likes things done his own way." Echo replied, "... and yes, he does sort of try to tell you what to do."

"What does he look like?" Maru asked, trying to form a picture of the type of guy Echo was into.

"Tall." Echo said.

"Like in comparison to us or actually tall?" She asked and Echo laughed.

"He's taller than Ben." Echo said, "And has very, very broad shoulders. Like if he does a lot of manual labor."

"Oh god, what does he do for a living?" Maru asked, picturing some of the men she'd seen on the construction sites in the city. Maru was boy crazy, always had been.

"He runs a business." Echo said simply.

"What about his hair and eyes?" Maru asked dreamily.

"Dark and dark. Very dark... like pitch black." Echo replied, closing her eyes and picturing him.

"He's handsome, isn't he?" Maru said, turning over and leaning on her arm. She saw the faint smile on her face... Echo was already infatuated with the man.

"Too handsome." Echo answered. "But more than anything, there's something about him. Like the way his face comes together... the way he stares and smiles... he has this scar..."

"Scar?" Maru asked, surprised.

"On his left cheek, it's quite long and stands out. It makes him look... dangerous." Echo said.

"God, Echo... I'm shaking. He sounds like a dream." Maru said, noticing the way Echo seemed to suddenly get sad. "So what happened?"

"We kissed." Echo said, closing her eyes and putting her fingers on her lips. Maru sat up excitedly. She couldn't picture Echo kissing anyone. "he surprised me. I never expected kissing to be quite like that."

"You're first kiss." Maru said with a grin, "took you long enough. And then???"

"And then I left." Echo replied.

"What do you mean you left? Nothing else?" Maru asked.

"No and there won't be anything else. I'm never seeing him again." Echo said, sitting up.

"Why not?" Maru asked with a frown, "Oh no, did he... he dumped you?"

"No, actually. Just the opposite. He said he wanted to see me again." Echo replied. "He wants me to go see him today."

"So what's the problem?" Maru asked. "You're obviously into him. He's married, isn't he?"

"I don't think he's married but he's just not someone I need to be getting involved with. Besides... I'm sure by today he's changed his mind." Echo said.

"Why would you think that?" Maru asked.

"Come on, don't do that. Look at me, Maru." Echo said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's a horrible thing to say, Echo." Maru said, "You can't think so little of yourself."

"Well, it's the truth and please, you don't have to be polite. I know what I look like." Echo replied.

"That's not..." Maru began to protest but Echo interrupted her. 

"We just got swept up in the moment." Echo said.

"Which you refuse to share with me." Maru replied and Echo looked at her.

"I can't." Echo said. "Just trust me when I say, it's better this way. Even if there was any chance that he wasn't just caught up in the circumstances, there's no way I could see him again."

"So that's it?" Maru asked after a few silent minutes.

"That's that." Echo said, standing and walking towards her closet. She needed to be alone, needed to process all her thoughts but she hadn't gotten any time. Last night her family wouldn't give her an inch and now Maru had been bugging her all day.

"It's almost lunch time." Maru said, understanding when Echo grew agitated. She liked to be alone, and maybe she just didn't enjoy spending too much time with that man. It was a pity. she would like to think her sister could enjoy some romance. "I'm going out with Lena and Jessica. Want to come?"

Echo shook her head, as expected, and Maru left.

When she was gone, Echo let out a deep breath. It felt like she'd been holding it in since she left Luke yesterday. She couldn't explain it. She usually couldn't take so much social interaction, even her sisters could make her want to hide away. Her social anxiety was always getting the best of her but none of that seemed to matter with Luke. She'd talked to him quite easily, she'd even talked to Marco easily. She'd even had the nerve to scold him... to throw a plate at him... to kiss him...

Usually Echo was overcome by feelings of inadequacy, she felt overwhelmed by people and found it exhausting to fake conversations and spend time around them. She hadn't felt any of that around Luke. Sure, he'd made her nervous but being in his house, in his room... She'd felt protected, safe, comfortable-something she'd never been able to find anywhere else, not even in her parent's home.

She glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon. If she left now, she'd be there before 3pm.

"No, no." Echo said to herself. It was ridiculous. She was not going. She couldn't do that. He'd probably changed his mind by now. No. She wasn't going. She had no business getting involved with him and besides, what would she do? Was she just going to show up and knock on his door? Absolutely not.

Echo put her hands on her lips again and closed her eyes. She should consider herself lucky. Girls like her didn't experience that type of thing. Kisses like that by men like him were reserved for beautiful, glamorous women... women like Romy. She frowned, thinking that if he had Romy and Echo in the same room, he would completely forget about Echo.

And then she couldn't explain the sinking feeling in her stomach.

---

"You really shouldn't be here." Marco said as Luke walked into his office and took off his coat. It was true, he was doing a lot better and except for the bruises, you wouldn't be able to tell he was hurt. He moved with the same confidence as always.

"Last time I checked, I was still in charge." Luke said, taking a seat.

"There isn't anything to do here that you couldn't do from home." Marco said and Luke frowned. He was in a bad mood and Marco knew it was because that girl hadn't bothered showing up.

Luke was pissed. He'd waited around all weekend, thinking eventually she would show up but she hadn't. Who the fuck did she think she was? To leave him waiting that way? He could have his pick of any woman there to comfort him and instead he was waiting for her.

"Well, I'm here and there is plenty to do. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to get down to business." Luke said, looking at the papers from his desk. "The papers we got from the Ark are ready?"

"Yes, they faxed them over this morning." Marco said as Luke looked them over and then signed.

"Any news on the Russo brothers?" Luke asked without looking up.

"I've got four men hunting them, and any one associated with them, down. We'll find them, you can count on it." Marco said.

"I know and when you do, bring them here. I'll take care of them." Luke said.

"Yes sir." Marco replied. "We can have someone return those documents if you're ready."

"You know I really fucking thought she'd come." Luke said, lashing out. Marco sighed. He knew it was coming but Luke never shared anything unless he was ready.

"Did she say she was coming?" Marco asked.

"No, she told me she wasn't." Luke said, making Marco frown.

"So what made you think she was going to show?" Marco asked and Luke glared at him.

"Trust me, I have my reasons." Luke said, making Marco chuckle. "What?"

"She's not really your type is she?" Marco asked.

"So what?" Luke asked, "Do you have a problem?"

"Not at all." Marco said. "She'll need new clothes though, if you plan to be seen with her."

"She missed her chance, you're crazy if you think I'm giving her another one." Luke said.

This was probably true. Luke was not a forgiving man and if his pride had been hurt, like it seemed to have been now, it would be hard to get back on his good side.

"Just the same, you two were very different and I can think of a couple of women better suited." Marco said but Luke continued to frown. He knew all those women, knew the way they talked, knew how they reached for him and his wallet greedily. Half of those women wouldn't associate with him if he wasn't the boss, especially after the scar. They were much too scared of him.

"Can we please stop talking about her now?" Luke said huffily. Marco didn't bother pointing out that he had brought it up. It surprised him how much this girl had affected him, maybe because she was different than what he was used too.

"So like I said, I'll have someone take these papers over to the Ark." Marco said.

"The ark is in West Tower." Luke said, suddenly frowning.

"Yes it is." Marco said, connecting the dots for him. "And so is Reid Inc."

"Holy shit." Luke said, realizing that he had seen her before. She was the girl from the elevator, the strange one who had spent almost the entire elevator ride staring at him.

"I told you who her parents are, why are you so surprised?" Marco said.

"It's not that. It's just... I've seen her before." Luke said. "In the elevator when I went to the Ark last week."

"Really?" Marco asked, raising his brow. "and what happened?"

"Nothing. She stood there quietly, trying to hide the fact that she was staring." Luke said, "She seemed ridiculously shy."

"She didn't seem that shy when she was here." Marco said and Luke nodded.

"I know, you should have seen the way she talked to me... she threw a plate at me." Luke said, shaking his head. "I can't believe she didn't fucking come."

"I think you expected too much from some one like her." Marco said, making Luke frown.

"How do you mean?" Luke asked.

"Consider everything that had happened over the span of a couple of days. It's a lot to deal with for anyone and if she's as shy in reality as she was in the elevator then I'm assuming the entire situation was way overwhelming." Marco said.

"So?" Luke asked.

"She may have just needed a few days to process everything." Marco said.

Luke thought about this. He could tell that Echo was not an experienced woman. He had a sudden image of her, dressed in those over-sized pants and the sweat shirt. No makeup, hair pulled back. He wondered if she'd ever been out with anyone at all.

"I think you're right." Luke said with a nod.

"Give her a few days, she might show up." Marco said, reaching out for the forms.

"No, that's okay. I'll take these myself." Luke said, pulling the forms away. Marco raised his brow.

"Just because you go down there doesn't mean she'll be there. She might never be at her parent's work place." Marco said.

"I know that." Luke said, "In fact, I would bet she's never there."

"So then, what's your plan?" Marco asked.

"Get Michael Reid on the phone and see if we can't get a meeting set up this afternoon." Luke said.

"With the ark?" Marco asked. The Ark was tech company that Luke owned, small but promising.

"Yes." Luke said, "And don't come back until you can confirm it."

"Yes sir, you're the boss."