Ps: The picture is Cody.

The murderous glare Devlin shot Peter was enough to make him squirm and bolt. But he was not looking at Devlin. He was looking dreamily at the ceiling and talking like a goddamned fool.

"Alex is going to be there, and she'll be green with envy! That'll force her to come back to me. Then I'll kiss her and I'll take her to my room and make love to her till –"

"No."

"– we become tired and replete from desire then I'll –" he stopped short, his brows creasing into a confused frown. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said no. You're not taking Pamela to any blasted ball or anything, you hear me?" his anger was rising.

"Why?" He asked quietly.

Devlin clenched his jaw. "Just because."

"Aww come on Dev, you can't be serious."

"I am."

"But why?"

"Because I said no." He stood and walked to the door with purposeful strides. He held the door open. "See yourself out."

Peter stood to face Devlin at the door. He looked angry like he would hit Devlin. But all he gave Devlin was silence. Then it seemed he changed his mind.

"Look, old man, I don't know what's got you so worked up but I want you to know that I will stop at nothing to get the love of my life back. You're a badgering bitter old sucker who's scared of falling in love or even letting any emotions in. You're a blasted sore-ass loser. I will go to church and pray you to fall in love so you'll grin like an idiot, stare at the ceiling like a fool, go to a dentist for teeth whitening –" He cut off and leaned close to whisper ferociously. "then, you'll have a fight – which comes so easily with your grumpy attitude, and she'll step on your heart and crush it!"

Devlin wished to hell Peter had stuck with silence. His words hit too close to home.

Peter walked out the door, shouting curses and invectives. Seconds later, the front door slammed shut. The impact was so great that windows rattled.

Devlin winced at the sound. He hated misunderstandings with Peter. But he didn't care. Not this time, and not on this subject. He couldn't let Pamela escort him to some shady ball where her life could be in danger. It was his job to keep her safe and he would keep her under lock and key if need be. He had to make sure she was safe from danger.

He wanted to pick up his phone and call his boys, to know if she was safe, but he resisted the urge. He didn't want to seem like a starry-eyed bimbo in love - and he wasn't. Besides, he had no doubt she was in his safe house, duly protected and safe from any danger that could crush his heart.

~

"Thank you." Pamela smiled and said to the lady that had brought her a drink.

She took a sip and sighed contently as she sat in the conference room that had been turned into a get-together venue. She addressed her new employees and got acquainted with them over wine and little cookies that had been made available for the sudden party that Marcel had declared in her honor.

She should have been mortified, angry, or upset with him but she had let him have his way. She was just glad to be away from Devlin's lair. Bob was still with her, though, he stood behind her and escorted her wherever she went, and that only served to remind her that Devin's power over her was indelible.

The fact that Bob had been following her had piqued her though, but she had to cut the poor guy some slack, he had no choice. He'd left her alone though when she'd asked for privacy to be in her father's office alone.

It had been after Marcel had shocked her with his announcement. Sipping wine, she recalled how she'd felt hours earlier after the announcement. Every eye in the reception and ground floor had turned on her and Pamela had wanted to faint. She hated attention.

Everyone moved to hug or shake her hands. They congratulated her and welcomed her. People on the other floors were drawn by the commotion downstairs and had been called to come to see the new CEO of King Pharmaceuticals. 

Her father had given her his 70% shares of the company so it was automatically hers. Other people that had part of the 30% shares weren't around, but it was a done deal already. She was the new CEO.

Pamela hadn't known what to feel when she had been announced. She just knew she wanted to assume her position and she had. Marcel made things happen, faster than anyone had for her and she was grateful. Marcel had then declared the day off and called for a welcome party in her honor. It was all too sudden but the staff was more than eager to throw a party. More than eager to take the day off too.

While they were busy with the preparations, she'd taken the elevator – with Bob in tow – to the eighth floor, where her dad's office was. When she got to his office door, she saw Bob had every intention of following her in and she disliked that. She wanted to be alone in the room for a minute.

She turned to look at him. "I'll be just a minute. You can wait here."

"I'm sorry I can't."

She looked offended and gave him a haughty glare.

He stood still, unmoving and unflinching. "I'm not supposed to let you out of sight. I'm obeying –"

"Direct orders, I know. I just want to be alone. Even if it's for one minute. I've not been in my father's office since he – you know." She stopped, looking emotional and praying fervently that her tactic worked.

He shifted his weight from one foot to another, looking nervous, and thinking about it now, Pamela laughed at that notion. He was so big and she so small and frail that if he squeezed her neck it would snap in microseconds. But the fact was, her emotional tactic had worked. He'd let her into the office while he stood outside the door.

And as she stepped into the large modern office, she inhaled deeply, wanting to feel the scent of her father here. She opened her lungs, welcoming his cologne, the perfume of his aftershave, and the smell of burnt toast coming from his office kitchen.

But all she got was the scent of detergent and starch and antiseptics.

The office had been cleaned and vacuumed and dusted every day after her father's death so it was normal for the scent to be missing. She hadn't expected it to be that way and it hurt. She realized she'd been standing in the same spot for a while so she willed herself to walk farther into the office.

A huge dark walnut bookcase was lining the entire left-hand wall. There was two leather sofa with a fur rug over the back with a center table. The far wall had a large fireplace and mantle dominating the center, with bookshelves lining it on either side. She moved to his desk. She went around it and sat down on the leather seat and closed her eyes.

She tried to picture her father there, bent over something, some file or paperwork or chart or something. He was never less busy. The only reprieve he gave himself was to make crispy burnt toast because he hated eating out.

Pamela smiled and spread her hands over his fine antique desk, trying to feel his hands on it, or his legs propped up on it. She reached for the drawer and pulled them. The first one was unlocked and filled with a dusty manila envelope filled with paperwork, no doubt.

She removed a piece of paper from the manila envelope and smiled at the neat, clear handwriting. He had taught her to write. She returned the paper and shut the drawer.

She tried the second one, half expecting it to be locked but it wasn't. She was curious as to why her dad wouldn't have locks on his drawers. She shuffled through the drawer and saw nothing important – stapler, stapler pins, an old wallet, a key, pen, labeler but she gave a sound of triumph when she saw his handkerchief there.

She placed it on her nose and inhaled the rich scent. It was a welcome blessing to her nostrils, and she sucked in the scent of her father from the handkerchief, never wanting to let go. It gave her brief flashes of memories with him, that brought tears to her eyes.

After she was done, she tuck the handkerchief into her bag and tried the last drawer. She was relieved to find it was locked. At least her father had some sense of privacy. She'd gone around the office, touching everything, as if trying to ingrain them into her memory. It was not satisfying, but it was better than nothing.

She moved to the huge window that overlooked the city. It was a very scenic view and the sky was, from the office window, delft-blue and cloudless and so bright it looked solid.

Bob tapped her and that ended her train of thought.

"It's time to go, ma'am."

~

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