All the way through the client signing the contract, and during the mini celebration that they'd had soon after, Emily had felt like her world was falling apart.
But for however long she would be holding the title, she was still Derek Haven's PA, so she had held herself together and fulfilled her duties to the best of her abilities.
But once the guest had gone and she had been left alone with her boss. Both of them losing their false cheer, letting their real emotions on what had transpired earlier show, she had been ready to pack her stuff and go.
And the chilly look he had levelled her with as she had followed him to the office had left her in no doubt that history was about to repeat itself. She was going to lose her job all because her nightmares were making things hard for her.
She had followed him knowing that it would probably be the last time she did that as his personal assistant. Her heart stinging at the realization. But miraculously, by the end of her dressing down, she'd still had a job. And not only that, there was no warning, verbal or otherwise attached to it. He did not even cut off a percentage of her pay.
For all intents and purposes, she had come out of the whole thing without a scratch. But she still felt horrible.
She had seen the disappointment in Derek's eyes and she was just as disappointed in herself, as he was in her. It was an awful feeling, a gnawing guilt.
Had such a slip up happened in the presence of his uncle, it would have been the same as placing a bleeding limb into piranha infested waters. Derek would have been eaten alive. Fighting to keep his position when she was the one who had messed up.
He might not have punished her, but that did not mean that she did not deserve it. If she were in his shoes, she would have fired herself without a second thought. But for whatever reason, he had decided to still keep her around. And she was beyond grateful for that. She wrecked her brains, trying to come up with something that she could do to make up for it. Since she could not turn back the hands of time, there was nothing that she could do to change what had already happened.
She could not change the past, but she could at least try her best to make sure that the same thing never happened again. And in order to do that, she had to make sure that she got enough sleep.
And the only thing that she could think to do, in order to make sure that she slept, and did not wake up after a short while, was something she had been actively ignoring…sleeping pills.
No matter how she tried to look for another way, to work around them, she still kept coming back to that same solution. And so, that very day, the moment she got off work, Emily took the longer route home.
She stopped in front of a pharmacy. People walked around her on the pavement, some of them glaring, the majority not even acknowledging her presence.
The street lights came on with her still just standing there, and Emily finally decided enough was enough. If she waited any longer, she would probably get the cops called on her. Steeling herself, she walked forward, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.