The next morning, Lena was at her desk. Her head was pounding with a hangover. She was drinking the largest cup of coffee she could find. She was trying to remember what happened last night. She had managed to drink herself to blackout. She hadn't done that in years. She remembers drinking in the VIP room. She remembered some of the conversations she had with Greta. After that, she had no idea what happened.At ten exactly, there was a knock at the door. It sounded like cannon fire to her."Come in." She perked up as best she could. She didn't need him seeing her like she felt. "Mr. Gratiano, thanks for coming in on a Saturday. I don't think this should take us too long."She either has an excellent poker face, or she has no recollection of last night. I've played poker with her, she has no idea what happened last night. "It's no problem. I have nothing going on today."She pulled out his file. "So, as we established, my ex-husband hired you. I can't say that I support his decision, but as a professional, I must admit that you are very qualified, and I know your work ethic is unquestionable. Your loyalty, however, is. Meh.""I am a professional Major... I'm sorry, Ms. Baxter. I want to prove to you that I am here to do my job. Whatever assignment I get, I will do above and beyond your expectations."She smiled. Maybe this isn't going to be as bad as I had thought."What is my first assignment?""Oh, fuck. I forgot about that." Maybe when he finds out, he will quit. I hope he left his last job on good terms."Why don't we take the tour, and then we can discuss who you will be assigned to?""O-kay..." he looked confused."Follow me." She stood up and walked out the door.She was wearing a very revealing outfit. She had on a black leather shirt that sat high on her thighs, an emerald green low-cut, backless silk blouse, and a pair of knee-high, high-heeled boots.He wondered if she wore it for him. Her ass looked amazing. He always had a thing for her ass. He was growing hard. He knew he should be looking if he wanted to walk normally for the rest of the day. She could feel his eyes on her. "This is the conference room. We do have monthly meetings. There are three separate meetings so that everyone will have an opportunity to attend. She walked further down the hall, her heels clicking on the floor, echoing through the empty hallways. Breakroom. Unless it has someone's name in it, it's fair game. I try to keep it stocked with the usual. Chips, protein bars, sports drinks, that kind of stuff. The fridge is cleaned out every Friday at the end of the working day." She turned quickly and slammed right into him."Watch out. Don't want to hurt yourself.""No. That's your job," she said under her breath.She showed him the rest of the office. They walked the halls and weaved in and out of different rooms. He stayed close behind her. He smelled her lilac perfume. It was subtle, but it smelled beautiful to him. She couldn't get enough of him. When she had slammed into him some of his cologne had transferred onto her clothes.She showed him everything she could. She was taking her time to delay talking to him about his assignment.They sat back down in her office. "Did you have any questions about your benefits?""No. I am impressed with the benefits you offer.""We are a very lucrative business, so why not share it with the people who do the actual work?"They sat there in an awkward silence. Finally, Dylan broke it. "Lena, can we talk about the elephant in the room, please? I am going to be working here, and I don't want this shit hanging over our heads every time I see you. I know it might not be very often, but we still need to address it.""Okay. If you want to start, I'm willing to listen." She crossed her long, tan legs. He couldn't help but stare. He had always loved her legs. Throwing them over his shoulders was one of his favorite pastimes. "Oh, all right. I'm sorry...""Is that it? You're sorry? How about you explain why you fucked Sowa."His face turned white."Did you really think that I wasn't going to ask about that?" She folded her arms over her chest."He ran his hands down his face. I can't give you an answer.""Why?""Because I really don't have one.""Was she the only one?""Yes. She was the only one, and that was the only time. I swear to God.""Wow. Caught the only time it happened. Isn't that your bad luck?""No. I deserved to get caught. If I didn't get caught, I may have kept doing it while you were gone, and you would have come back and married a cheating bastard."Her face looked pained. "You would have kept it going with her? I can't believe you would have done that to me. You're disgusting." Her voice was quiet. The sound of it tore his heart in half."I don't know. Maybe I would have. I'm so sorry, Lena." His tone was genuine. She felt the tears prickling in the back of her eyes. "I have to go to the bathroom. Excuse me."She swiftly walked down the hallway to the executive washroom. She couldn't get there fast enough. She closed the door and locked it. She was starting to have an anxiety attack. She hasn't had one in years. When they first split, she had them so often that is the reason she was given an advance release from the Army, which was fine with her because she had just become a single mom. Her stress level was too high for her to continue in her position. Even when they tried to put her on paper-pushing duty, she sat on the small plush bench that was in the small front room of the bathroom.Don't cry. Don't Cry. Don't cry. She was not sure exactly how long she had been there, but she was startled by a soft knock on the door."Lena? I am so sorry I ever said that. No. I wouldn't have kept doing it." Who the fuck was I kidding? Back then, I would have fucked her on the daily. God, I was a horrible awful person. She wiped her eyes. She looked at herself in the mirror. "Umm. I will be out in a minute." She fixed her makeup and took a few deep breaths. "I'll meet you back in my office."About two minutes later, she opened the door. Dylan was leaning against the wall with his arm crossed. She couldn't help but look at his arms. They were tan and powerful. His veins were prevalent, and she wanted nothing more than for him to hold her. She always felt safe when he was holding her. Now, the very person she wanted to hold her was the same person who made her need comfort."I'm sorry. I am so unbelievably sorry." He looked as if he was going to reach out for her, but he didn't."You know. We really should just leave this alone. What's done is done, and nothing can be changed. We both made big mistakes and...""What mistake did you make?"Oh, I don't know. I had your son and never tried to find you to tell you, and now I know that you lived six miles away. "What mistakes did I make that day? Maybe I should have actually tried to talk to you. Ask you why you did it. Exactly how was it not what it looked like. How exactly was it not what I think it is. Did you have answers to any of those questions? If I had opened my bedroom door, what would you have said?" "I have thought about it for five years. I talked about it in therapy for two.""And did you ever come up with anything?""Yeah. But I really don't think you would want to hear them.""Maybe you're right."He followed her back to her office."Alright, have a seat, and I will give you your first and only assignment as of now.""What? I don't follow.""You were hired to replace Cutler. He had been reassigned to a high-profile client who personally requested him. Cutler was my personal security.""You have personal security? Where was your security last night when you were at Trinity?"She looked at him, confused. "How do you know I was at Trinity last night?""You really don't remember?""I guess I don't. Would you like to refresh my memory?""No, that's okay.""Well, how did you know?""I was security there. I worked there for two years. Last night was my last night. I saw you there. I was working security in the VIP room and saw you and Greta."She caught his scent coming from his shirt and remembered him in the VIP room behind her. She looked into his golden hazel eyes and remembered what happened in the upstairs room. A feeling of extreme humiliation came over her."I need to go now," she said hurriedly."What? You haven't told me what my assignment is.""You don't have one yet. I was wrong. I have to move some people around, and then I will let you go. I will call you when I have an assignment for you." She stood up. "You'll still receive your salary while I get everything hashed out. Thanks for coming in."She tried to hustle him out of the office."Wait. Lena.""Please don't call me that. I'm Ms. Baxter."He stood up and held her by the arms. "What? Talk to me. Please.""I remember you being at Club Trinity. I remember," she looked at the floor. "What happened in the room after Evan left." Her tears were slowly crawling down her cheeks.He let go of her. He was happy when he realized she had no memory of last night. He felt shitty for leaving her like he did. He doesn't know what he was trying to prove. He made her give up her control and made her beg. He's the asshole in the situation, not her. Why did she have to remember! Fuck. Same something, you fucking idiot."I was scared.""What?""I was scared of getting married.""Why didn't you just say something to me, Dylan? Why did you have to fuck someone else?""I wanted you to find out so you would call off the wedding, and I didn't have to be the one who put the nail in the coffin of our relationship.""Dylan... that is the dumbest fucking thing I have ever heard. YOU held the hammer! You put the nail in the fucking coffin!""I am sorry, but that's the conclusion I came to. You're never going to forgive me, are you? For that day or last night, are you?""What you did last night was cruel. I don't know what you were trying to do. Haven't you humiliated me enough for one lifetime? I never humiliated anyone I was ever with. You made me beg you. You made me give up my control when I didn't want to. And you just left me. I think I would take seeing you fuck Sowa again over what you did to me last night.""Let me make it up to you. Please." He held her face. "What can I do to make this better?" he asked.The feeling of his hand on her made goosebumps erupt on her skin. She wanted to tell him to kiss her. She wanted to know if she still had feelings besides lust for him. She knew that she needed to be his boss. He was locked in for the next year. She backed off and sat back down."Please sit down."He sat down. She took a breath. "We just need to get over everything. I forgive you. I can forgive. I can't forget, but we need to work together, and my personal feelings for you are moot. Let's just put the past in the past.""Okay. But I am sorry. I know I made the biggest mistake of my life five years ago. And last night was the second. Truth is, I wanted you so bad last night. I would have done anything you wanted me to, but I was so fucking jealous seeing you with Evan. I know I had no right. But all I could see was my Tesoro Mia giving someone else the attention that I was craving.""Dylan, I didn't even know you were there. Maybe if I did... you know, nevermind, let's just drop it. She cleared her throat. Now, your assignment. You are to be my personal security. You and I will be together when I go to various meetings and certain social obligations. You will also be doing some security for my son, too."He was flabbergasted. "Are you sure I am the right person to be your personal security?""Cole hired you for that position, and I think you are the perfect man for the job. You seem to be protective of me already, maybe a little possessive.""So how does this work? Do you call me when you need me?""I will make sure Greta sends you my weekly schedule so you know when and where you will have to be.""What about when you go out? Like last night.""It depends on where I go and who I am with. I knew Trinity had good security, and Stephan is a personal friend, so I knew I was safe.""Okay. So, when do I start?""Now. I am going to have Mauricio take us to my penthouse so you know where I live, and I will show you some of the places that I tend to frequent." She paused and then swallowed hard. "I also need to introduce you to my son, Asher.""Asher? That's a beautiful name. I bet he's a good-looking kid if he looks like his mom.""Stop trying to get on my good side, Dylan. He looks more like his father. He's a very good-looking kid." She smiled at him.She picked up her phone and called Mauricio. Dylan took the opportunity to look around her office. There was a shadowbox filled with her Army medals and ribbons. Her degree from when she was taking business courses while in the Army. Pictures of her with various A-list celebrities, with her employees, one was with her and who he could only assume was her soon to be ex-husband. He had never seen Cole. They had done everything over the phone. He was wondering why she still had it up.Navy man. Figures. Wait. Cole? Cole Castillo. Holy shit! He was the QB for the Navy back when I was the QB for the Army. I'm not sure what happened between them, but I know I hate him already. Even though if it wasn't for him seeking me out, I wouldn't be here. Why did he seek me out?He looked at a few more photos. In the center was a photo of her in a hospital bed, smiling, looking exhausted, and holding a baby. There was one with a little boy on her hip. He looked about one. Another were he may have almost been two. He was surprised that she didn't have more. He started to wonder how old her son was. She had removed all of the pictures that had Asher in them from when he started to get older and look more like Dylan. "Okay. The car will be here in five minutes." She saw him looking at the photos. Her heart leapt into her throat."Your son is really cute. You're wrong, though. From what I can see, he looks like you. I don't see any of your husband in him."She stood up and started to pack her things in her brown attaché case. "Cole is his adopted father," she said quietly."Oh. What happened to his father?""You know we should really be heading down to the car. After you." She let him go out of the door first, then she turned to lock it. Jesus, I am not a praying woman, but please help me out here. You know what I'm talking about.