DANIELLE'S POV
I closed the file I'd been ordered to organize earlier that morning and stood up, stretching my back and groaning from sitting for too long. I knocked on my boss's office, and when there was no response, strange since I hadn't noticed him going out, I opened the office and entered. I was just going to drop the file and come right out, I told myself.
After the day I'd been interviewed, this was the first time I was entering his office when he wasn't in, and even though it wasn't my first time in it, it was still so unfamiliar. His words came back to me. ''I respect privacy, both mine and yours, so I'll try not to invade your space, and you shouldn't invade mine either. Just do the things I tell you to, and we will be fine."
I scoffed at his words. Which secretary was banned from entering her boss's office anyway? Since I was inside already, I was going to make the best of it.
I checked through the window, and seeing no sign of my boss, I walked deeper into the office, taking note of the neatness and organization. He must be a neat freak, since no one else was allowed into his office; I held that for future reference. I'd been working for my boss for over three months, and still knew nothing about him—not really an oddity in my life since I didn't make it a habit of mine to get close to people I got to know corporately, but my nosiness wasn't letting me settle for that.
He was the handsomest man I'd ever seen; I didn't care that handsomest wasn't a word. It was what I chose to describe him as. He was tall with gorgeous blue eyes, a bit too young to be in his position in my opinion, and way too quiet. Other than greetings when he arrived and demands he needed, which was mainly done through the intercom, I'd never seen him talking to anybody else, not on the phone and not physically, which made me very curious about what kind of man he was.
I briefly glanced through his table and moved towards the organized folder cabinet, but suddenly turned back towards the table. That couldn't be.
Sure enough, I picked up the beautiful green and golden fountain pen that had been next to the remote on the table, my eyes blurring at the influx of memory.
I could hear Daddy screaming, a sound I had never heard before, and it was suddenly cut off.
The man came closer and squatted in front of me, my eyes meeting his masked one.
"And who do we have here?" He asked, caressing my cheek.
Whimpering, my eyes followed the click sound of the pen in his hand, and he laughed and pocketed it when he saw the direction my eyes had gone.
"There's no need to be scared, little girl. I'll make sure you don't remember anything."
He grabbed my hair, which Daddy had carefully packed for me with my favorite bow, and the bow fell and broke. He released my hair, patted it, then bent and picked the bow up.
"What do we have here? How beautiful."
That was the last thing I heard and saw before Mummy's screams woke me up. The man was gone, but Daddy's body was still where it was, and he was just staring at me. My eyes recognized the blood, and I passed out again.
I shuddered and fingered the pen, seemingly the same one I'd just seen in my memory, when the sound of a footstep alerted me I was about to be found out.
I contemplated remaining in position and confirming where he had gotten the pen since I'd searched around the world, almost, and found nothing like it, not since that fateful day, but my courage failed me. I hid under his desk, realizing what a stupid mistake I had chosen to make as I watched his expensive shoes enter the office and start towards me, and I stopped breathing.
"I'll come and see you guys soon, I promise. Relay that to dad as well."
Was that my boss's voice? It couldn't have been because I'd obviously heard the smile in his voice, something I didn't think he was capable of, as he always had a frown on his face. Not even when there was something to congratulate in the office, something we'd been experiencing fairly well. Was he talking to his family?
That question was answered as a feminine, mature voice laughed. His phone was on speaker.
"You have to. I've missed your face, and that's not healthy for me as your mother." The voice paused. "And bring your wife or partner along."
I started shaking as he stopped right in front of his table. Any further step forward, and he would see me.
"If I'm coming, I'm coming alone." He replied. "I thought we had an agreement."
The woman paused and cleared her throat. "That was before…. that happened. You're the only one I have now."
I felt the entire atmosphere tense, the tension coming from the man feeling the office. "I'll see what I can do." He replied, and I began praying, tears almost sliding down my cheeks in fear. I should have just stayed calm and confronted him rather than participating in this suicide mission. Or I shouldn't have entered his office in the first place after I'd realized he wasn't in.
My phone started ringing from my desk outside, and I tensed even further, if that was possible, waiting to get caught and planning the best way to react and apologize and hope he understood. As if that was going to be possible. No reasonable person entered their boss's office after warnings not to, and even if they did, I was sure it would be his first time seeing a secretary hiding under his table. I was definitely going to get fired after this.
"Sounds like you need to get the phone." He said, cutting her off as she started speaking, and he dropped the call. I started coming out when he remained frozen in place. Had he seen me and was waiting for me to stop embarrassing myself?
Just before I came out, I heard him leave the office, and I remained where I was. I peeked out to confirm he had actually left and took my first breath since he entered the office, wiping my sweat.
Taking one last look at the pen, I tiptoed out of the office and melted into my chair. That had taken almost ten years off my life.
I tried to get back to work but couldn't get the pen out of my mind. I had to ask him, but I doubted I was ready to hear the answer. There was no way that pen didn't mean what I thought it did. I'd searched through all means I'd managed to find, but there had been no trace of that pen anywhere.
"Can't you just let it go and let him rest in peace? It's been years, and I hate the fact that you're still torturing yourself." I shook my head to remove my mom's words to me during her last visit when she'd seen the case files I'd been unable to hide well. I couldn't let him go to rest. I was going to find whoever was responsible and make them regret what they had done. How would I be able to live with myself if I couldn't do even that?
JONATHAN'S POV
I needed to clear my mind, and going for a drive seemed the best option right now. I'd inputted the floor for the garage when I realized I'd forgotten to grab my keys from my office.
I punched the elevator wall in frustration and changed the floor to the gym. Punching a few bags would calm down the raging flood in me a little. Something that always occurred whenever Ethan was mentioned or referred to.