A month since the Anniversary party.

"Mr Macallister, There is someone here to see you. He has no appointment. Would you like to see him?"

"What is his name?"

"Benjamin Price."

"Send him in." He laughed.

Mr Macallister had stopped being so harsh on Mary after learning a bit about her past. Mary took note of this and didn't take it for granted. Although they were related outside of business they passed each other off as simple colleagues.

"Hey!" Benjamin exclaimed entering the office. An average built man with extremely short brown hair.

"Ben!" A wide smile formed on Mr Macallister's face. His arms opened wide to receive a hug.

"How is the family?" They started.

Mary had her work interrupted by a call from the hospital. Lola Blakes had a seizure. She felt terribly ill but didn't want to ask Mr Macallister for permission to go check on her during work. She did ask to leave early.

"It was a pleasure." said Benjamin to Mary and took his leave after three hours of aimless talking.

"Mr Macallister." She called softly, hesitating.

"Yes?" He didn't look up from his work, and she remained silent.

"Mary." He called to her. He found her in a state of thought. "May- may I leave an hour early?" She hesitated.

"I must know the reason for your early departure." Mary folded her arms into her cardigan; Autumn had arrived.

"Mary?" He questioned again.Mary inverted her gaze and decided to let it out without thinking."My grandmother had a seizure."

"When? Why didn't you say it sooner?" She was surprised at his sudden concern.

"I didn't want to interrupt-"

"Nonsense! Go. Go check on her." He ordered her away and away she went.

The seizure didn't leave her with any side effects other than dizziness which she was experiencing from chemo as well. Mary couldn't help but worry and stress. She didn't have the money for the surgery and refused to ask her mother for help.

"How is Lola?" Was his first question to her when she entered the office the next day.
"Better." A simple answer didn't seem out of place for Mary, but her mood the whole week had been off; And that worried Mr Macallister. He had been visiting Lola Blakes without the conscious of Mary. He knew that she wasn't in her best health at all.

"Your Grandmother needs surgery." He said later on while they were sorting paperwork. She looked up at him, how did he know she thought. She looked back at her papers, as if she hadn't heard him.

"Mary. Look at me please." She furrowed her brows, she'd never heard that word leave his mouth, Please. She did look up at him, and found those gentle black eyes she had learned to love.

"I will give you an advanced pay, if that's what you need."

"No." She didn't let the words linger in the air for half a second. It was her pride.

"Do not be stubborn Mary." His voice lowered and his tone became stern.

"I am not being stubb-"

"You are." A moment of silence fell between them as they looked into eachothers eyes, finding little details they hadn't noticed before.

"How do you know she needs surgery?"

"Your grandma and I are close friends." Mary was flabbergasted at his statement.

"You and ma? Friends?" She laughed, making him smile a little.

"Yes. I visit her sometimes. She tells me what you don't."

"Why do you need to know anything about us, Charles?" Mr Macallister dropped the papers in his hands and tilted his head with a confused expression.

"Because we're family, Mary." Mary's thoughts were racing; she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"You'll take the advanced pay and you'll pay for your grandmother's surgery. That is final." He rose to his feet and left, not giving her time to process her thoughts or even form a sentence.

Surely a week later she received a check in the mail. $40,000.00. "Is he mad?" She felt bitter sweet; the knowledge that she owed Mr Macallister haunted her but she felt relief knowing that she had the money for the surgery.

Monday

Mary walked into the office with a great smile on her face. Even Though it was raining and work had to be done. She had peace of mind because her grandmother would be getting surgery the following week.

"Good morning. How was your weekend?" She greeted everyone.

Mr Macallister watched from her escritoire, where he stood with Jane the secretary.

"You are late." He groaned when she reached them. Mary bit her bottom lip and gave him kind eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr Macallister. My car was giving me trouble this morning." She apologized with a sweet smile then walked away and into Mr Macallister's office.

"She's a very pretty girl, isn't she?" Asked Jane. Mr Macallister looked at her, he wasn't expecting that. He then looked away and sighed.

"I refuse to inquire about the appearance of my employees. All of you are here to work not to be eye candy for me. Get back to work, Jane." He folded his arms.

"I see how you look at her, I don't blame you. She's sweet and caring. You should be a little bit nicer to her though." He turned to her, appearing to be meditating on what she had said.

"Get back to work." He re-instructed.

He entered the office and found her looking out of the windows into the gloomy yet beautiful city. She didn't take note when he entered and so he leaned on his desk and watched her watch the city. She held paperwork in her hands, she seemed to have gotten distracted by the mist that covered most of the lower buildings. After a couple of minutes she turned and found Mr Macallister staring at her with gentle eyes. He quickly shifted his body and sat on his chair facing away from her.

She wondered how long he had been with her and was he also admiring the city view or- She rather not let her mind wonder.

The next morning Benjamin came by the office but Mr Macallister wasn't in, and while Mary and Ben waited for him, they sat on the couch in the office discussing different un-important topics.

"Sorting life out, yes. Even when you think all is running smoothly and believe you have everything under control, more problems appear out of the blue." Said he.

"But gladly we have the consolation that everything will be sorted out and have a time of relief, even if it is a short one." Responded Mary with a small smile.

"Ah yes. That." He simply stated with a sigh. His hand found itself on her thigh. It was clear to Mary that it was no accident when she saw that he had started caressing it. She swallowed dry, the memory of that night flooded back to her.

"Dont." She moved his hand and stood. He looked annoyed at her request and stood right after her, sending a streak of fear through her whole body; She was afraid of his disposition. Thankfully Mr Macallister entered the room at that very moment.

"Ben!" Mr Macallister shrieked happily.

"Hey! I was just conversing with Mary." He looked back at Mary who had started heading to the door with a slight look of distress.

They spent about three hours in Mr Macallisters office. Mary couldn't help but feel an internal affliction, an ache in her stomach. It bothered her deeply what he had done but it hurt her more the memories of junior year, thoughts that she simply couldn't shake off. After he had left, he didn't acknowledge her on his way out, something Mary appreciated. Mr Macallister left the building to retrieve something from his car, but Mary didn't know he would come back so soon.

When Mr Macallister entered his office he heard soft sniffles and whimpers coming from the closet. And in the depths of her despair he found her, facing the racks of back-up suits and jackets with her hand over her mouth. She quickly wiped her tears and pushed down her sobs when she heard him.

"Why do you cry?"

"It's nothing serious. I just worry for Ma." She lied.

"Your grandmother is fine, I talked with her just yesterday night. Why do you cry? Do not lie to me?" His voice was firm even though he worried. Mary couldn't hold it in. She let her sobs escape and her tears roll, she covered her face in an attempt to hide it from him. His heart sank and he knew it had to do with her past and nothing to do with Lola- her grandmother.

He walked to her and slowly grabbed her by the waist, gently pulling her into him. With her face on his chest he rubbed her head soothingly. Comforting is what he aimed to do but didn't know what to do.

"You are safe." Was all he could conjure up, not knowing if that was the right thing to say.

He lowered his head a bit and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"You are safe here." He repeated. His voice low and raspy but gentle and soothing. He let her cry in his arms for as long as she needed to and when she had calmed down he asked her.
"Did Ben make you feel uncomfortable?" Mary nodded yes avoiding eye contact with him.

"I should've known he was coming today. I wouldn't leave him alone with any woman if it was up to me, I'm sorry." Sighed Mr Macallister, regret tinted his tone.

Mary folded her arms, hugging herself and letting another flow of tears leave her eyes.

"It wasn't just him. I've been having nightmares and everything clashed when he- everything just boiled over." her voice was shaky and her face flushed from all the tears she had shed. The sight was enough to stir anger in Mr Macallister's heart. He grabbed her by the back of her neck and gently pulled her into his chest where she rested for another couple of minutes.

"Mr Macallister!" They heard Jane's voice from the other side of the door. Mary pushed herself off of him, he took a tear off her cheek with his thumb.

"Take your time." And with that he left and closed the door behind him.

"Is Mary alright?" Jane caught a glimpse of Mary's flushed face in the closet.

"She'll be in a few minutes." He brushed her off.The rest of the day was spent in silence between the two of them. Mr Macallister assumed Mary would prefer silence after all that had accured. The next day and the day after was followed by the same silence.

Friday

"Mary." Mr Macallister stood between the two doors in his office. Mary quickly entered the office.

"Tomorrow my mother is throwing one of her lavish parties and she wants to see you there." Mr Macallister.

"Alright." Answered Mary. He looked at her with tired eyes. He had stayed the night at the office. But his emotions were more of concern although he didn't want to ask her how she was doing. Mary turned to leave but he stopped her.

"How is your grandmother?" Mary turned and tried to make eye contact but failed.

"She is getting herself ready for surgery. We are both extremely thankful, Mr Macallister." She said with a tight lip smile. He could feel her burdened soul, she didn't appear to be happy.

"You don't have to thank me for anything, Mary." Saying her name was like warm honey on his tongue. His demeanor was kind and his hands ached to hold her again.

"No. Yeah- I mean you do deserve every thank you I give you." She finally looked up at him with doe eyes, Impulses urged him to be closer to her and somehow he found himself taking a step forward. He realized what he wanted and stopped himself from getting any closer to her.

With an expression of newfound awareness he pulled back and placed his hands over his eyes. Mary did not understand his internal affliction but guessed it was her time to leave.

Mr Macallister didn't realize it until then that Mary was stirring up his emotions. And his aches to be near her weren't that of an employee and boss relationship. Previously his gaze had fallen on her lips and his mind wondered. Out of respect for her and every other woman in his life he would refrain from seeing her for just her outer beauty, but that wasn't it. Even when he simply saw her in all she was, he still long for her.

\⁠(⁠๑⁠╹⁠◡⁠╹⁠๑⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♬ YOU SEE PASS MY CUTS AND SCARS THATS THE WAY YOU LOVE ME!! YOU CAN FIX MY BROKEN HEART THATS THE WAY YOU LOVE ME!! ♪♪

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XOXO COLONELBRANDON