Glory sat at her cubicle sipping on her coffee while she scrolled through page after page of unread emails. Monday's were always the worst day of the week for her, after a weekend spent with one night stands and partying with friends-people came down with the monday madness. They wanted her to soothe any lingering regrets or give them encouragement to seize life by the balls-carpe diem.

A ping came through her speakers as an instant message popped up on her screen. Glory welcomed the distraction, it was only ten thirty in the morning but the bitterness was strong with her today just like the coffee in her lipstick stained mug.

LuckyLuLu: Did you get a look at Boss man today? *fans self*

GloryRoads: Not yet. Unlike you I'm not trying to see how many restraining orders I can get.

LuckyLuLu: Sweet Jesus, his slacks are perfect. They give you a complete view of that tight round ass. I swear you could bounce a quarter off those cakes. *Drools*

GloryRoads: Your obsession with butts is slightly disturbing and frankly a bit unsanitary...

LuckyLuLu: Who cares about sanitary when you could get very unsanitary with a someone with buns of steel. ;)

GloryRoads: You're incorrigable

LuckyLuLu: I love it when you use your bigs words on me baby.

GloryRoads: Get back to work before I forward Boss man a copy of this stimulating dialogue about his butt.

LuckyLuLu: killjoy...

Glory spent the next hour responding to the plethora of anonymous emails by the end she was beginning to feel a familiar ache in her fingers and she was almost certain she was well on her way to developing a hunched back. Lifting her lukewarm coffee to her mouth the sound of rising whispers began to chip away at her focus. Curiosity was always working against Glory, her need to know much stronger then her need to mind her own business.

People had begun to poke there heads up over there cubicles to get a good look at whatever was causing all the commotion. It was like every time there was a crash on the highway, everyone had to look and it was beyond irritating because it stuffed up the road unnecessarily. Yet, no one could avoid the urge to look. This was certainly one of those moments, curiosity won out and Glory pulled herself up from her seat.

Barely tall enough to see over the wall of her cubicle when pressed to tip toes, she did her best to look around all the fat heads.

After a couple minutes of struggling with her own height deficiency Glory gave up with a heavy sigh. She plopped back down in her seat and opened the instant message, quickly typing a message.

GloryRoads: What is going on out there Columbus? Do you see land?

There was a couple of minutes of impatient tapping of her ruby red nails before Glory heard the familiar ping.

LuckyLuLu: Oh Em Gee! Its better, I see a sex god known as Arden Fox clothed in an Armani suit. *fan girl screams*

GloryRoads: Should I know who that is? Is he like a model or the fifth member of a some teen boy band?

LuckyLuLu: Please tell me you're asking those questions to be funny. You can't open the newspaper or search the internet without hearing that name or seeing his beautiful mug. He is the 'it' guy in the world of finances.

GloryRoads: That's cute, I didn't know you had an interest finances. I thought your world revolved around wine, therapy shopping, and butts.

LuckyLuLu: First of all don't you dare joke about the holy trinity, thats sacrilegious. Second, it's not his business skills that have fan girls everywhere so interested if you catch my drift. *Wiggles eyebrows*

GloryRoads: I don't know how you could make your 'drift' any more obvious.

Angry voices stirred through the whispers and once again Glory rose from her seat trying to get a view of the mysterious Arden Fox. She made a note to herself to google him later tonight to see what the fuss was all about. After useless struggling she gave up in defeat, not knowing why she had even bothered in the first place.

"I would really like to speak to the person who wrote this dribble." The angry voice broke out amongst the crowd. Glory perked up immediately knowing it had to be Mr. Fox. She felt her curiosity grow, knowing that someone had written something that had offended the man. Though she couldn't imagine was could have interested him to read anything they had written. It's not as though they dealt in stock and bonds. Though Glory was no stranger to supply and demand. People demanded her expert knowledge on all matters of heart and she supplied them with the honesty they could not rely on there loved ones to give them.

"Of course Mr. Fox but perhaps we can discuss this in the privacy of my office." Our boss man -Royce Jones- deep tenor spoke over the excitement. There were a couple of tense moments followed by the heavy sound of a door closing, silence overtook the room.

The excitement was over and everyone got back into the flow of work. Except Glory was still ruminating on the mysterious man who had upset the usually calm state of office. The phone next to her computer let out a piercing ring. She reached out for it as spun her chair in slow circles, "Hello! Thanks for calling 'The Red Light'. If you're looking for a wet and wild ride might I suggest hanging up and calling your nearest sex hotline-they are waiting to service your needs."

The uncomfortable deep clearing of a male voice sounded through the speaker, "Glory could I see you in my office for a moment?" Royce's voice had her stopping her chair mid spin.

"Of course." The phone line went dead and Glory contemplated running away for a moment as the nerves of the situation got the better of her. She remembered quickly that she needed this job to pay for everything in her life, including her shit hole of an apartment. A heavy sigh passed through her lips as she rose from her seat and walked out from the safety of her cubicle. Glory did her best to walk quickly towards Royce's office, using her hand to shield her face from the curious eyes of her coworkers.

She opened the door and launched herself inside with a small breath of relief. Glory could already tell that she was about to become the focus of office gossip, not that this would be the first time. In fact Glory's name was often spoken in hushed tones in the break room.

The tension in the room pulled her attention back into the present. Royce sat behind his big oak desk. His dark coffee colored eyes were boring into her and he was wearing a nervous grin that screamed 'help me'.

Forcing a smile to her lips in response, "What's going on captain?" She tried to joke in hopes of lightening the mood. Her eyes roamed to the other man in the room and she found herself momentarily lost.

He was sitting in the chair across of Royce. Jet black hair slicked back neatly, though a tiny hair had fallen free and was resting against his forehead. His suit was clearly Armani, the material looked like it was made from heavenly thread-not a stitch out of place. There were no wrinkles, everything was crisp and clean, clinging perfectly to his manly form. Her eyes drifted back to his face to find his thick brows drawn together in a deep scowl. Glory began to nibble on her lips nervously when there eyes finally met.

He had the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen but what made her nervous was the fact that they were burning like the white hot fire of a thousand suns. She swallowed hard feeling extremely uneasy about being in a room with two attractive men, one of whom may or may not want to kill her by the look on his handsome face.

"This is the person who wrote this?" Mr. Fox says the person like he's spitting rotten food from his mouth. Glory would have been felt insulted if it hadn't been for the way his husky voice caused an eruption of butterflies in her stomach. The man's voice was sounded like he had just rolled out of bed after a long weekend of sex.

Royce leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk, "Gloriana Novacek is one of our more popular advice guru's. People seem to enjoy her humorous and down to earth responses." She felt her cheeks heat up under the praise of her boss. A small smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"Humorous? I find nothing funny about the situation your little advice guru has put me in." Mr. Fox raised his voice, which has Royce slinking back a bit.

"Perhaps one of you lovely gentlemen would be so kind as to inform of what I did exactly." She pushed her way into the conversation hoping to save her boss the rest of his dignity. Royce opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as Mr. Fox grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and shoved it towards her, "You wrote this did you not?" He accused.

Glory reached out hesitantly and took the paper from his outstretched hand. Her eyes skimming over the words quickly.

Dear UnsureFiance,

I am sorry to inform you that you might be making a huge mistake in marrying this guy. From what you've told me your fiance seems like a total control freak. I mean who organzies there clothes based off of color? Serial Killers that's who. Does he really prepare you on talking topics before you go to his business parties? Bleh, what a bore he must be. Seriously run while you still can. Did you know you have to pay 300 dollars to get a divorce? That shit is not cheap. I know you're probably worried about leaving him but you've still got things going for you, like your youth and your beauty. Hell there's loads of old rich men out there waiting and praying for someone like you to come along and prey on them. Maybe if your lucky you'll meet one who won't constantly nag you about how to properly set a table.

Sincerely

Someone who hopes your cold feet will carry you away into the arms of wealthy old men.

She read over it one more time before looking up from the paper to find Mr. Fox staring at her. A nervous giggle bubbled out of her but he didn't seem to find the humor in the situation. Glory cleared her throat trying to reign in the urge to laugh at a obviously inappropriate time.

"Do you realize that because of your ridiculous advice that my fiancé broke off out engagement three weeks before we were supposed to be married!" His voice booms so loud that she is certain it vibrated every atom in the room. "I've never been more humiliated in my entire life." He rubbed a hand over his face in frustration, clearly someone needed to take a chill pill.

"Look, Arden, Can I call you Arden?" Before he could response Glory continued on, "Maybe you should be thanking me instead of yelling at me. Obviously if she was so easily persuaded by my so called 'ridiculous' advice to not to marry you then you probably shouldn't want to marry her either. You're a young, attractive business man-I guarantee you that there will be another future ex-Mrs. Fox." Royce let out a heavy groan and the look on Arden Fox' face said he was contemplating strangling her to death.

His eyes were opened wide and his muscles were all tensed up as if he was trying to restrain himself. He turned his attention quickly from Glory to Royce, "I demand that you fire this woman at once."

"What?!" Glory screeched with surprise that quickly faded into anger, "You can't come in her demanding to have me fired because your relationship took a nose dive. If that was the case I would have been fired ten times over by now."

He didn't even give her a glance as she made her little speech. Mr. Fox continued to stare down her boss with the clear intention of intimidating Royce into giving him what he wanted and Royce looked like he was crumbling under the pressure. In the last ditch effort to save her source of income Glory threw her body in between the two men, blocking their view of each other. She leaned back into the desk, planting her hands firmly behind her.

"I am not about to be the scapegoat for some suited up control freak who doesn't know how to take the stick out of his ass for two-second to enjoy life. If you want to find someone to blame for your current predicament you need only look in a mirror, which I'm sure you do often enough."

Arden stands up abruptly, "No one has ever dared to talk to me like that..." His body looked like it was trembling under the force of his anger. It also didn't escape Glory's notice that there bodies were now only inches from each other. She could feel the heat of him crashing into her, creating a delicious tingle of awareness across her skin.

"Then perhaps that is the first problem on a very long list." She replied with a smug smirk.

"Be careful what you chose to say next Miss Novacek. I am not someone you want to cross." He responsed in kind with a smirk of his own, challenging her to meet him head on.

"If you think that I'm going to be intimidated by you Mr. Fox because you have a name and money, then you are sorely mistaken." Glory squared off her shoulders, "Perhaps another one of your problems is that while you should be chasing after the woman that left you, you chose to chase after the woman who wrote this." She waved the paper back and forth in front of his face like a bull with a red flag. He reached out and snatched the paper, folding it in half and shoving it into an inside pocket of his suit jacket.

He took a menacing step forward while a smirk still played on his lips, causing a shiver of fear to race through her. Thankfully the door to Royce's office opened, revealing a young man with a nervous expression, "Uh, sorry to interrupt Mr. Fox but if we don't leave now we'll be late for your next appointment."

"Thank you Henry. You may go wait for me in the car." Arden formal response took her by surprise and Glory couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her.

"Yes, Henry do wait for your master in the car." She says in her best english accent as she crossed her arms over her chest.Glory did feel sorry for the poor guy as he looked around the room in confusion before he scurried off, obviously afraid of inciting Mr. Fox's wrath.

Arden was suddenly looking down at her with amusement, "You sure have a wild mouth on you Miss Novacek. A mouth in serious need of taming." She felt her face grow hot as she watched his bright eyes drop to her lips. She couldn't help but to lick them expectantly though she wasn't sure how she would actually react if he had tried to kiss her. Glory found herself stuck between wanting to throttle the man and wanting to rip his clothes off.

He chuckled knowingly, "You should pray that we never meet again Miss Novacek because if there is next time you might not find me so forgiving." His gaze seems to speak to his own internal war over if he should strangle her or bend her over poor Royce's desk. He breaks from their heated stare to look over her, "Mr. Jones." Without anymore words he turned and strutted out of the room like he owned the place.

Work had been a living hell ever since Mr. Fox' critique on Glory's advice piece. Royce had given her a slap on the wrist for her conduct towards the man with the God-Complex. This meant that she was stuck running errands for everyone and writing the stories no one else wanted write until she could get back in Royce's good graces. Although she felt as though she was being unjustly punished for a crime she had no idea she had been committing. How was she to know that she was responding the message from that insufferable Mr. Fox' fiancé? She wasn't a psychic.

Glory had also developed a small form of paranoia. She couldn't help but think that Arden Fox might be stalking her, waiting for the perfect time to murder her. Glory knew what men with money and time were capable of. She had some first hand experience as well as seen enough crime scene investigator shows to know they were capable of just about anything and should never be underestimated. Which is why she had taken up the habit of wearing disguises when she left her apartment. It was a lucky happenstance that she had a box full of wigs from old halloween costumes from over the years.

Tonight Glory was going by the name Veronica, her alter-ego a sexy teacher with a great ass and a big heart. She flashed the guy at the door her ID, getting a strange look before he waved her through. Lucy had called her earlier in the day bawling her eyes out over some guy she had been hooking up with or was it dating? Glory had no idea honestly. This was normal and expected behavior from her best friend who was a serial dater. Lucy 'fell in love' so much it was impossible to keep up.

Glory made her way through the small crowd to the bar where she knew she would find her friend drinking a margarita bitterly. It was easy to spot Lucy, she was like a tall Grecian goddess come to life. Her blonde hair was thrown up in a high bun and she was wearing her infamous red dress. Glory sighed as she took a seat next to her at the bar, "So what happened this time?" She asked as she flagged down the bartender.

Lucy turned her chocolate eyes to me with a frown on her cotton candy painted lips. Her frown quickly turns into a small smirk of amusement, "Are you wearing a wig?"

Glory reached up and ran her hand over the short black bob currently covering her head, "It's a necessary precaution." I said as I looked over my shoulder. She laughed beside me, "You really think he's following you?" She made it seem like the most preposterous idea.

"You didn't see the way he was looking at me in Royce's office that day. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already hired a hit man to take me out." She nibbled on her lip anxiously at the thought.

"What can I get for you?" The bartender interrupts her trip into her paranoid wonderland. Glory forces a pleasant smile to her lips, "A glass of red wine please, iced." He grabbed a glass and headed off to fill it with her chosen poison.

"Well, maybe if you had apologized instead of attacking him like you did..." Lucy interjected. Glory looked over to her friend with a scowl forming, "Whose side are you on?"

She threw up one of her hands in surrender, laughing, "Yours. I'm always on your side of course. I was just saying that maybe you could have handled the situation a little better." The bartender returned, sliding the goblet before her. Glory snatched it up angrily, taking a big drink, "We didn't come here to talk about my problems. What happened with...John?" She asked attempting to redirect the flow of the conversation away from Arden Fox. She had already spent enough of her time worrying about the insufferable man.

"You mean Joe?" She corrected her.

Glory nodded her head, "Yes. Joe. What did good ol' Joe do this time?"

"You know when you came over a couple weekends ago and had a movie night with me?" Lucy asked and a smiled formed on Glory's lips, "Yes I remember because you got mad at me for ruining the ending of 'Lost in Love'. In my defense it was following the cliche Hollywood make-up for a romantic comedy I was just assuming how it would end."

"Anyway, I told you that Joe was going away that weekend to visit his mom in the hospital after some kind of surgery." She nodded her head in response to her friends words, "Well unless his mother is a twenty-three year old model from Brazil with legs that go on forever then he lied to me!" Lucy clutched her cocktail glass a little tighter, "That stupid jerk!"

She took a drink, "I should have known something was up when he got his chest waxed. I mean who does that?"

"Was the model a guy?" Glory questioned curiously, "I mean it would explain a lot honestly..."

"No!" She looked toward her like she had lost her marbles.

"What?" Glory raised her eyebrows, "It seemed like a logical question after you chest waxing statement." Lucy rolled her eyes in response.

Her friend leaned into the bar with a sigh, "I even got her number out of his phone because I was so mad. I thought up this whole speech I was going to say but then I got scared and chickened out."

Glory looked at her friend in her pathetic state and knew she had to take control of the situation, "Give me your phone." She demanded. She watched Lucy grab her purse and fish around int it for a moment, before handing the device over to her slowly, "What are you going to do?"

She ignored her friends question, "What's her number?"

"I saved it under Joe's whore." She replied under her breath. Glory scanned through the address book until she found the number, hitting the call button. The phone rang a couple of times before a gentle accented voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hi. This is Ruth from planned parenthood. I was just calling about the results of a test for a Joe Kline." Glory said with a straight face while Lucy choked on her drink in amused surprise.

"The results of his test?" The girl asked in confusion. Lucy was covering her mouth trying to hold back her laughter at her friends antics.

"Yes, That's right. We tried to reach him on his main number earlier but he didn't answer. This is the other number he had listed. It's very urgent that we speak with him if you could relay the message." She tried to sound grim and serious.

"What was the result of his test?" She could tell that the girl sounded upset which brought a smiled to her lips. "I'm sorry but I can't share that information with you. If you could have him call us back as soon as possible that would be appreciated. Thank you. Have yourself a wonderful evening." She pressed end on the call and handed the phone back to Lucy.

"I can't believe you just did that..." She says trying to get herself under control, "You're my knight in shiny pink heels!" She leaned over and planted a kiss on Glory's cheek.

"Hey. Let's keep that between us. I don't need people thinking I actually have a heart." She mumbled as she lifted her glass of wine, smiling to herself as she took a sip.

"Excuse me? Bartender? My friend and I are going to need a round of shots." Lucy shouted to the bartender who was helping some other customers. He turned with annoyance that was quickly lost when he spotted Lucy. He smiled and nodded his head. Glory let out a huff, not that she could blame the guy—most of them spotted Lucy and crawled all over themselves to please her. After about four shots the two of us were laughing like a pair of hyenas.

"Oh My God! I remember this one time, I walked in on Joe dancing naked in front of my mirror to Salt N' Peppers 'Push it'. Everything was just shaking around awkwardly. I didn't know what to do, so I just scream laughed as I ran out of the room." They both broke out into another fit of laughter at her story. After a couple of stories Glory was feeling like she had accomplished her purpose in coming out tonight.

"I have to pee like sea biscuit!" Lucy proclaimed, "Don't go anywhere!" She pointed in Glory's face before she staggered off toward the restroom.

She shook her head and reached for her second glass of wine, enjoying the moment to herself. The moment didn't last long as a young man sauntered up to the empty space beside her, "Excuse me?" He attempted to get her attention. She raised a brow as she turned her face in his direction. He was wearing a white button up shirt, though he'd left the top two buttons undone to reveal a tuff of hair. His face looked like he hadn't shaved in couple of days because he had that grungy five o'clock shadow think going for him. It didn't take away from his appeal, it gave him a sort of rugged and manly feel.

Her eyes roamed down over his chest to his legs which were wrapped up in dark washed Jeans that hung tight to his muscular thighs. They were the kind of thighs a girl wanted to wrap herself around. His soft chuckle brought Glory back from her very obvious ogling of the handsome stranger. She watched his lips pull back into a friendly smile, "I'm Chase." He put his hand out onto the bar in a polite manner. She planted her hand in his, "Um, Veronica..." He closed his hand around hers and lifted it up to his face, giving her knuckles a feather light brush of his lips that sent white hot desire flooding through her veins.

He gently released his hold on her, "I hope that this doesn't sound creepy but I was sitting over there watching you and your friend and I couldn't help myself from wanting to know the girl behind such a beautiful smile."

Glory laughed and looked away from Chase, "Does that line normally work for you?"

"Normally, how's it working for you?" She looked back to him to find a good humored grin on his face.

"Oh chase." She reached over and placed her hand on his arm, "You're cute but you're going to have to try a lot harder then that to with someone like me." Glory pulled her hand away and took another drink of her wine.

It was precisely at this moment that Lucy returned from her potty break as if the fates couldn't have designed a more perfect moment, "God, I feel so much better now." She says before she notices Chase standing beside Glory. Her eyes widen and her lips pucker a bit as Glory watched her drink him in as she had done moments before.

"Perfect timing! Chase meet Lucy, she just broke up with her cheating boyfriend. Lucy meet Chase, he looks like he'd be a great rebound. Now that my work here is done, I'm going to excuse myself." She said as she hopped down from her bar stool, stumbling a little. Chase reached out to her to keep her upright but she held up a hand to decline, a smile on her lips, "I'm good."

Glory fixed her dress before she strutted off from the pair, her inner goddess berating her for giving over the hot male without a fight. Lucy needed it more then she did. She could take one or not take one for the team.

The cold air outside caused gooseflesh to rise up all over her body and she frowned wishing she had warn something warmer. She stepped up to the curb, letting out a hearty whistle—flagging down a cab to take her drunk self home. She happily jumped into the shelter of the dirty cab to get out of the cold, "Where to?" The Cabbie asked.

"East River Apartment complex please." She slurred as she pulled her arms tighter around herself. Glory stared out the window at the sights of the city, feeling comforted by the steel and concrete jungle that surrounded her. The Cabbie slowed the vehicle in front of a giant building. A man in a suit quickly opened the door and settled into the back seat beside her.

"Where to?" She heard the familiar question.

"Morgan and Beck Tower." Glory would have recognized that voice anywhere. She had engraved it into her memory and replayed it often. Her heart froze up in her chest and she quickly angled her face toward the window to keep the man from seeing her face. What was the odds that Arden Fox would end up sharing a cab with her in a city this big? She groaned internally, contemplating opening the door and jumping out as they pulled up to a red light. No, she needed to calm down as long as she didn't speak or turn around she would be fine.

"It's quite a lovely evening don't you think?" The Cab driver asked trying to get some conversation flowing. Neither one of them seemed willing to speak, grunting a response of agreement.

The cabbie didn't take the hint, "Although it is uncommonly cold for a summer night." They both grunted again, shutting down the chatty cabbie. Soon the driver pulled the cab to a stop in front of her familiar building and a sigh of relief bubbled out of her.

"That'll be twenty dollars and fifty-five cents." He read the meter to her. Quickly she reached into her purse, finding only two twenty waded up together. Glory practically threw the money at the man, "Keep the change!" She opened her door and flung her body out of the cab as Arden turned in her direction, eyes widening in surprise before narrowing in rage, "You!"

She slammed the door shut in his face and they stared at each other through the back window as the cabbie pulled away. She gave him a wave goodbye unable to keep herself from smiling, knowing he must be seething in renewed anger. Glory laughed to herself as she staggered towards her apartment. She had survived the cab ride with Arden Fox and the look on his face had made the paranoia of the past week worth it. 

When Glory arrived at work the next morning, nursing a bit of a hangover she wasn't pleased to find a sticky noted message on her computer screen. It proclaimed that she would be conducting an interview today, not only did Glory not feel in the mood to converse with other humans but the name that had been on the neon green square had her tearing it up viciously.

This was certainly another act of punishment, what else could it be? Putting her and that man together in the same room and expecting them not to kill each other was tempting fate. She dropped her purse into her chair and quickly spun on her heels taking angry strides toward Royce's office. She was intent on giving him a piece of her mind about all this Arden Fox business, enough was enough.

Glory grabbed the handle on the door and barged into the room like a bull in a china shop. Only to let out shriek of surprise at the sight before her, "Oh my God!" Her hand flew up to her face, covering her eyes, "I'm so sorry!"

"Damn it Glory! Have you ever heard of knocking?!" Royce scrambled to put his shirt back on. The girl that he had pushed up against his desk was readjusting herself. Glory couldn't stop the smile that spread across her lips as she spread her fingers to get a peek at the train wreck. The girl didn't look familiar to her but she had a sexy secretary thing going for her. Her cheeks were rosy as she glanced over in Glory's direction, embarrassment written all over her innocent face.

"I'll—uh—talk you about those reports later." Royce tried to recover the situation. Glory rolled her eyes at his poor attempt. His little office sex kitten smiled at him before dropping her gaze to the floor, "Have a good day Mr. Jones." She didn't once look up from the floor as she left.

Once she closed the door behind her, Royce attitude changed. He sent a dirty glare in Glory's direction as he sat himself down in his chair. She only smiled at him brightly, "You are a very naughty man Royce Jones. Doing things like that at work no less—I think my opinion of you has taken a turn for the better."

He cleared his throat, " As much as it pleases me to hear that. Is there a reason you came in here? Other than to annoy me?"

"So what's her name? And how long has that been going on?" Glory questioned curiously as she took a seat in the chair in front of his desk, crossing her legs. Royce stared at her blankly before lifting a hand to run it through his thick wavy chestnut hair, "Glory..." He gives a bit of a warning in the sound of her name, clearly not in the sharing mood.

She pressed her lips into a pout, "Aw, Come on Royce. Give him something..."

"The reason you barged in here?" He demanded with a flustered expression. The sticky note flashed through her mind and her initial anger was renewed, "What was with the note that you left me this morning?" She lifted a brow as she crossed her arms over her chest.

He looked toward her with confusion, "You're going to have to be more specific..."

"You know the one about me doing an interview with Arden Fox." She narrowed her eyes defiantly, "I'm not doing it Royce."

She watched the light turn on in his eyes and he leaned back in his chair, "Oh Yes, That."

"Oh yes. That." She mimicked him bitterly.

A small silence feel between them before he responded, "Florence has come down with something. She was the one who was going to do the interview seeing as it was her piece and she had been hounding him for months to get a minute of his time. Obviously now that she is ill she cannot do it. So now you are, because you want to get back on my good side." He gives her a look as if daring her to challenge him, "And because you know I can make your life here very unpleasant."

She pressed her lips together in a tight line, feeling like her head was going to burst under building force of her anger, "You're evil."

Royce flashed her a beautiful smile, "Think of it as a way to make amends. Plus you already know a little bit about Mr. Fox, use that knowledge to help you create an angle for the interview."

"Sure. Maybe I can make the angle about how he plans to murder me. Maybe we'll have a stimulating debate over the best way to dissemble my body..." Glory replied sarcastically.

"That's cute, love the sarcasm. Now if we're done here I need to get back to work..." He looked from her to the door. A girl could tell when she was being dismissed. She pushed herself up from the chair with a heavy sigh, marching to the door. She glanced back as she grabbed the handle, "I hope that your reports treat you well." She winked at him knowingly.

"Get out!" He yelled as she scurried from his office feeling slightly vindicated by getting the last laugh.

When Glory reached the safety of her cubicle she took a seat in her chair. Opening up the google search engine on her computer and typed in Arden Fox. If she was going to interview the man, she should make sure she knows some things about his life to not look like an idiot. Thousands of pictures and articles popped up. Most of the information bored her and she found herself more interested in staring at his handsome face. After a while Glory began to notice that there was a woman who made continued appearance with him. She was beautiful in a regal kind of way. She looked like she could be the next miss universe or something. She probably spent her free time kissing babies and saving animals. Upon closer inspection of the pictures she noticed a huge rock on her finger. The dread that shivered up her spine had her quickly exiting the box. That was his fiancé—correction his ex-fiance. No wonder he had wanted to murder her.

****************************

Glory approached the woman at the fancy front desk hesitantly, still wearing her sunglasses. The woman looked up from her papers and eyeing her suspiciously, "Can I help you?"

She looked around the room, cataloging possible escape routes, "I have an appointment with Mr. Fox." The woman continued to stare at her probably thinking her to be a crazed fan of Arden Fox, "Of course you do. Name?"

Glory felt slightly offended by the woman's response to her, "Florence." She said sliding the sunglasses of her face and giving her a sweet smile. The stuffy blonde looked away from her, pulling out an appointment book and scanning over the page, "Oh yes. There you are—and it looks like you're late." She says in a disapproving manner, "Mr. Fox doesn't approve of tardiness."

Glory had to give the woman a tight lipped smile to suppress the plethora of snarky comments that wished to fall from her lips, "Yes, well there was traffic. I'm sure he can understand how that can happen living and working in the city."

The woman returned the tight lipped smile, "I doubt it." She reached over and picked up the phone on her desk, punching in a set of numbers, "Mr. Fox. Your two o'clock is here." There was a pause and Glory knew he must be telling her something, "Yes I reminded her about that sir." She paused again. Did he really just ask her if she had reprimanded her? Talk about control issues. She had hit that nail straight on the head.

"Yes I'll send her right in." She hung up the phone and smiled up at Glory with a renewed friendliness, "Mr. Fox will see you now."

Glory smiled back as she leaned into the desk to get a closer look at her name plate, "Thank you, Jackie. You've been so helpful." She stated with a bit of sarcasm before turning and walking toward the white frosted glass doors at the end of the hall. She adjusted her top and fluffed her raven waves before walking through the door.

Arden was sitting at his desk scribbling furiously on piece of paper, "When I agreed to this interview Mrs. Graham I thought I made myself clear on the fact that my time was very important to me and that having people waste it was not something I appreciated." He looked up searing her with his bright baby blue orbs. Heat spread through her body and her inner goddess screamed for her to lay herself out on his desk like an all you can eat buffet.

"Do you scold everyone you meet?" Glory questioned as she watched the surprise of having her in his office hit him.

"You are not Mrs. Graham." He says dryly as he recovered from his surprise, remaining seated at his desk. She shook her head, smiling, "No, unfortunately for both of us she's sick and I'm here as her replacement."

Arden eyed her as he motioned for her to take a seat in one of the plush seats before him, "That is unfortunate."

Slowly she crossed the room and took a seat. Now that she was closer to him she was once again take in by his beauty. No man should be able to look so delicious even while wearing such a fierce scowl, it was unfair. To distract herself from the inappropriate thoughts rushing through her mind she looked to the big windows behind him, "Nice view."

"Did you come here to admire the view Miss Novacek or to interview me?" The way he had asked the question made it seem like he had known she was checking him out. That had her remembering how awful he was and that no matter his outward appearance she would rather eat a cactus then be stuck in a room with him. She forced a smile to her lips, "I'll remember to include how charming you were in the article."

"Your sarcasm is unprofessional and unnecessary." He stated cooly.

"Oh I'm pretty sure its very necessary." She replied watching as his nostrils flared in annoyance. Feeling vindicated she looked away from him smiling as she pulled her notepad from her purse, "Shall we? I would hate to waste anymore of your precious time..." He nodded his head but said nothing.

"First question, What are you going to do with all the small fortune you've amounted? I mean you can't take it with you Mr. Fox." Glory crossed her legs and waited.

He coughed, "I give a good amount of my money to charities, specifically those dealing with underprivileged youth and education. I don't want anyone to be told that because they were born to certain circumstances that they can't achieve the greatest of their dreams. Perhaps becoming a doctor or a lawyer or even a mediocre advice guru." He smirked at his last comment, clearly taking a jab at her.

"Do you have any interesting hobbies? Beside color coordinating your closet and scolding random people you meet on the street?" She peered up at him from under her lashes, meeting him burn for burn.

He let out a warm laugh, as if to say good try but she would have to do better than that, "In fact I enjoy sailing very much. It's something that helps me clear my head when the stresses of my job become a little to much. I'm also a sucker for those crossword puzzles they put in the paper. Although I must say I'm not very good at them." Wonderful, now the snake was actually trying to be charming. She narrowed her eyes knowing this much be some elaborate plot to reel her in before he murdered her.

Glancing back down at her notepad, "I read somewhere that you come from a big family. What was that like growing up?"

"Obviously you must be an only child Miss Novacek or else you would already know the answer to that question." He replied vaguely as his lips turned up into an inviting smirk.

"Touche, Mr. Fox. Touche." She closed her notepad knowing that she couldn't ask any of the questions that Florence had prepared.

"Aren't you going to ask me about my love life Miss Novacek?" He leaned back in his chair like he was a king on his throne. The air of smugness around him putting a bad taste in her mouth, "I mean that's the real reason Mrs. Graham wanted this interview."

Glory clenched her hands into fists and met his gaze, "How is your fiancé doing? I mean your ex-fiance...excuse me...I guess it must be shock to find out you aren't as desirable as you think you are."

Arden pushed up from his seat and walked around to the front of his desk, closing the distance between their two bodies. The intensity on his gaze had Glory's heart rate speeding up at dangerous rate. Her chest felt tight like there wasn't enough oxygen in the room to fill them.

"My love life has taken a sudden change thanks to the help of an obnoxious and particularly mouthy woman." He bent himself forward bringing there faces closer together. This was it, Glory thought to herself. She was about to be murdered by a handsome man who looked like the devil in an Armani suit. He reached out toward her face and she flinched back which seemed to amuse him greatly.

"But I can assure you that no one can question whether I'm still desirable..." His hand came to rest firmly against her cheek. Before she could process what was happening his lips were pressed to hers in a bruising kiss. Her eyes were opened wide and Arden Fox was kissing her, the shock was too much. She forced her eyes closed and her body took over as if knowing exactly what she wanted to do. Her arms reached up and wove around his neck, pulling him closer.

His let out an approving groan letting Glory draw him in closer. Blunt teeth raked a crossed her bottom lip, nibbling and biting. This only seemed to drag her closer to the edge. Arden was the one to break away from the kiss both of them breathing heavily.

Glory opened her eyes slowly still in a lust filled haze, finding him looking down at her with an arrogant smile on his swollen lips, "Well if that's all there is. I have other appointments to get to." He turned his back to her a clear sign of his dismissing her. She felt her cheeks heat up as she realized he had given her the best kiss of her life and it had been a revenge, to prove a point. She wanted to cry for a moment but she held it back. More then that she wanted to win the game that Mr. Fox was playing with her.

She rose up from her seat, collecting what was left of her dignity and strutted toward the door with her head held high. Glory opened the door and paused in the doorway, "Arden?" She looked back at him over her shoulder as she pulled her sunglasses from her purse. He looked to towards her expectantly, still high from his small victory.

"If thats how you were kissing your fiancé that might be another one of your problems." She put on her sunglasses, "It was like kissing a dead fish." Glory kept a straight face through her lie. Enjoying the way his body tensed and his eyes narrowed into little slits. She offered him a smirk as she turned and walked away feeling satisfied with herself. 

Lucy sat across from Glory in the break room staring at her. She has been trying for the better part of the past ten minutes to ignore her friends odd behavior while she scrolled through the tweets people were sending to her work account.

"Why are you staring at me?" Glory asked without looking up from her phone.

"You look different today. I don't know what it is but I'm going to figure it out." She leaned forward, putting her head in her hand, continuing to stare. Glory looked up from her phone, "Alright Nancy Drew, you know its incredibly creepy that you're willing to just sit here and stare at me." She reached over and lifted her coffee mug to her lips, taking a sip. Lucy narrowed her eyes as if she was onto something, "Did you get highlights in your hair?"

"No, these are all natural but its sweet of you to think they could be professionally done." She gushed while her friend continued to analyze her through squinted eyes as if that would help her in someway.

Royce walked into the room and observed the scene at the table, "Dear god, what are you doing?" He asked Lucy.

She waved her hand at him dismissively never glancing away from Glory, "Shush I'm trying to think Boss man."

He turned his attention to the dark haired beauty in the room, "What is she doing?" She responded with a shrug of her shoulders, resuming her social media perusal, "Hell if I know. I gave up long ago ever trying to understand the ways of Lucy. You just have let her run free like a gazelle." Royce makes a sound like laughter before he walks over to the counter and pours himself a cup of coffee.

"You got kissed!" Lucy proclaimed louder then was necessary for the small space they were all in. Royce choked on his coffee, "And that is my cue to leave." He stated before he rushed out of the room, practically leaving a trail of dust behind him. "You got kissed and you got kissed good." She continued with a big victorious smile on her lips, as if she had just reached the top of Mount Everest.

"Was yelling that completely necessary?" Glory questioned with a mortified expression on her face. Lucy ignored her friends obvious embarrassment, "Who kissed you Gloriana Novacek?"

Feeling like she was back in high school Glory brought her finger up to her lips and looked around to make sure the coast was clear, "Promise you will never say anything about this to anyone and that you will never bring it up again after this moment?"

Lucy leaned forward with a wide grin and lifted her hand, pinky sticking out, "I offer you the sacred pinky promise." Glory rolled her eyes as she locked their pinkies together.

"Alright, now tell me!" Lucy chimes eagerly as she pulled there hands apart.

Glory let out a heavy groan, "Arden Fox." She was forced to cover her ears that the excited shriek that ripped through the small space, "Again very unnecessary."

"I can't believe this!" She smiled at her brightly, "How was it? He looks like a man of great experience." A dreamy sigh escaping her lips. Glory looked to her friend with disgust as she lifted her coffee and took a sip.

"I'm pretty sure he sent me to heaven and back, like twice." She replied bitterly, remembering clearly the feel of his lips against hers.

"Then why are you so cranky right now?" Lucy asked with a raised brow.

"Because he's completely ruined my lips. Now I'll never be able to enjoy your everyday kiss without thinking about THAT kiss, without thinking about HIM. I know he did this on purpose. I swear he planned it. This was his revenge for the his fiancé." She clenched her hand into a fist and slammed it down on the table in her fervor, "But I will avenge myself."

Lucy looked at her friend as though she had lost her mind, "Yeah? How do you plan on doing that exactly? Another revenge kiss?"

Glory stared at the blonde across from her, "I don't know yet but it is going to be diabolical and he'll know that Gloriana Novacek isn't someone you want to play against." She let out a wicked laugh, "I'm going to make him wish he'd never met me."

Lucy grabbed her coffee, "I'm sorry to tell you this but I think he already wishes that honey." She takes a sip.

Glory picked up her phone from the table as her mind swirled with thousands of ways to get back at Mr. Arden Fox. She opened her twitter account as one idea began to gain momentum.

She began tapping at the keyboard,

Got to interview Arden Fox Yesterday! Article coming soon! #ILoveMyJob.

She smiled to herself as she hit post, knowing that revenge would be sweet.

****************************

Royce might fire her over what she had done but it was better to ask for forgiveness then permission. She had written the article just as he had asked her, and just like he asked she had given it the Gloriana Novacek flair. She wanted to see first hand the reaction Mr. Fox to what she had done, which is why she was headed toward Morgan and Beck Tower instead of her job. When the cab pulled up in front of the familiar building Glory found her lips parting in surprise. There was a long line of women, going down the sidewalk and wrapping around the building.

"What is going on here?" The driver asked as she handed him a twenty. "I have no idea." She lied as she ducked out of the cab and walked towards the door with a little less determination. She had expected there would be a certain response but she had never imagined that it would have been anything like this. The article had become live sometime during the night, it hadn't even been a full eight hours.

Women watched her like hungry wolves as she passed them. When she reached for the front door the woman at the front of the line grabbed hold of her arm, "You can wait in line like the rest of us." Glory glanced down at the hand on her arm before yanking herself free and resettling her shirt, "Trust me I'm not here with the rest of you." She place her hand on the cool metal handle and pulled the door open, separating herself from the crazed women outside.

Glory noticed Jackie at her desk, frantic as she talked on the phone. There was a security guard trying to deal with women who were already in the building. Jackie glanced up in her direction, her eyes narrowing, "This is your doing!" She crowed.

Glory dropped a bright smile on the blonde assistant before cutting through the line and heading straight toward Arden's office. "You can't go back there! No one is allowed back there!" Jackie screeched after her. She didn't pay her any mind, "Trust me I think he'll want to see me."

Glory pushed the big frosted door open to find Arden pacing back and forth in front of his big windows. There was another man in the room with him sitting where she had been sitting the other day when Mr. Fox had sealed his fate with that unforgettable kiss.

"It's complete madness out there!" Arden yelled as he ran his hand over his now disheveled hair, "You need to fix this Frankie. I need you to fix this."

She moved into the room the door closing heavily upon her entrance. The men bother turned their attention toward her with a bit of anxiety. Arden stopped his pacing, "You wench!" His feet carried him towards Glory with surprising speed, "I'm going to wring your pretty little neck." She started off across the room hoping to escape his obvious wrath.

"This is your fault!" She called to him over her shoulder, "Never mess with a writer!" She stood on the opposite side of his desk trying to use it as a barricade between the two of them. He was literally fuming in his anger, she could almost see smoke rising off of him. How was it possible that he looked hotter when he was in a blind rage?

"You're the one who wrote the article?" The other man he had called Frankie asked. She didn't dare look away from Arden, "The very one. It's nice to meet you." She greeted out of breath before Mr. Fox charged around his desk for her. Glory released a scream as she ran away back towards where she had originally begun this childish dance.

"Can't we talk about this?" She questioned out of breath.

"I think you've done enough talking for the both of us in your damned article." She watched her arch nemesis use his desk for leverage as he hoisted himself up and over it, closing the distance between them. She turned to run again but thanks to her heels he was much faster then her. He caught her by the arm and she began to beat at his chest with her free hand, "Let go of me you caveman!"

"Arden! Let go of her this instant!" Frankie yelled behind him. Glory looked up to find Arden staring down at her with clenched teeth, making his strong jaw even more defined. He didn't seem that willing to let her go now that he had gotten his hands on her. Hesitantly he released his hold on her but continued to hold her gaze with a terrifying amount of intensity. She swallowed the lump of hysteria in her throat, trying to remain calm herself down.

"You have caused quite the madhouse for us with that article you wrote." Frankie commented as he appeared beside Arden. She broke from the stare of she was having to look to the man. He was wearing a nice button up shirt and a pair of pinstriped slacks. He was not nearly as muscular as Mr. Fox, he was more on the tall and lean side of the spectrum. Frankie had the boy next door thing going for him, with his brown tousled hair and ray ban glasses.

"I do apologize for the craziness out there." Glory gave him an apologetic smile, "I didn't realize that my article would get this much of a response."

Arden's peeled back into a violent sneer. She could see that he was contemplating her death once again, "That's the problem! You never think before you do things! Everything that has happened to me in the past couple of weeks is thanks to you and your big mouth."

Her eyes snapped to him, teeth grinding together, "You should consider yourself lucky that me and my big mouth didn't do worse!"

"Worse? You announced to the whole world that I was taking applications for a future Mrs. Fox!" He exclaimed as his arms moved about wildly. Glory found her lips turning up victoriously, "It was definitely one of my best ideas. You did say that your love life had taken a sudden turn because of me. I was only trying to correct the mistake." The crazy look came back into his eyes and she took a step back, loosing her amusement.

"Let's all calm down huh?" Frankie said as he stepped between the two of us, holding his hands out like he was afraid we might attack each other, "I need a moment to think about how to handle this problem and I can't do that with both of you acting like children." Arden and Glory shared a look before stepping back away from each other.

"Who are you exactly? Arden's personal problem solver?" She asked as she readjusted her skirt that had gotten all twisted up during the scuffle. Frankie gave her a polite smile, "Something like that. I'm his PR person."

Glory nodded her head in understanding, "Oh you mean his professional liar." Frankie let out a chuckle at my comment. Arden turned his back to us and moved to the other side of the room where he has glass bottles full of different colored liquids. He pulled out a glass that was stacked under the table and pops open a bottle, pouring the liquid into the glass.

"Isn't it a little early for a drink Mr. Fox?" Glory taunted. He turned back toward her and took a big swig in response. She rolled her eyes.

"I think I know how I can spin this. We can use Miss Novacek's article to our advantage." Frankie said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Arden raised a speculative eyebrow, "How do you plan to do that?" Glory found herself equally as curious.

Frankie looked between the two of them, "You're going to accept the applications from the women." He gave pointed look to Arden before fixing his gaze on her, "And you're going to play the part of matchmaker. If anyone asks, we hired you after reading through your advice columns on the blog you work for. You came to us highly recommended."

"WHAT?!" Arden and Glory questioned in stereo.

"It could be very good publicity for you Arden. It will take the public eye away from Isobel leaving you and it will also make you appeared to be more approachable. Think of all the business it will bring you. As crazy as this sounds, Miss Novacek may have done you and actual favor. In a weird and twisted kind of way." Frankie wagered.

Glory could see that this guy was clearly good at his job, no wonder he worked for Arden Fox, the insufferable man must need his help on the daily basis with the way he treated people. Arden was staring across the room in deep thought. She watched him closely as his shoulders sagged a bit in defeat, "Fine but I am not happy about this at all and I certainly am not marrying anyone. I'll go along with the rouse until the media coverage calms down." She hadn't expected him to actually agree to play along with the madness. It had been a harmless prank, she hadn't meant for anyone to take it seriously.

"Woah, Woah! I am not agreeing to this." She scrambled for words to turn them down.

Arden's eyes locked onto her like heat seeking missiles, "You will do this because it's your fault I'm even in this mess in the first place and because if you refuse I will use every ounce of my power to ruin everything that is your pathetic life." His voice was full of malice as he threatened her. Glory quickly realized that she had been poking a rattlesnake with a short stick and it had bitten her. This was not how she had envisioned this whole revenge thing turning out. 

The office was all a buzz with gossip over what Glory had done to Billionaire Arden Fox. She was currently hiding away in Lucy's cramped cubicle to avoid anymore questions and stares. Also she had successfully been avoiding Royce since the shit hit the fan. She wanted a couple more moments of freedom, "Seriously what is all of this stuff for?" Glory batted as the plastic palm leaves from the plastic palm tree that stood beside her. Lucy's whole cubicle was decorated in cheesy hawaiian party theme trinkets that she had to have got from the local party store.

"I'm testing out a hawaiian theme this week to see how I feel about it for my destination wedding. Next week is Spain." Glory couldn't help but laugh, "You don't even have a boyfriend right now..." Lucy glanced back toward her with a furrowed brow, "So! It doesn't mean I shouldn't be prepared. You never know tomorrow I could meet my future billionaire husband."

"If you do happen to meet this imaginary man, promise me you'll never bring him to this place. He'll think you're a complete psychopath." She stated as she poked a hula dancing bobble head that was sitting on a large stack of papers. Lucy went back to completely ignoring her presence while she furiously began hitting her computer, "Damn you, you piece of shit!" She shouted unceremoniously. She spun around quickly in her chair startling Glory further, "The stupid thing has locked me out of the system again. I bloody hate technology!"

"You do realize that you work for an internet website right?" She ignored my teasing as she pulled herself up out of her chair, grabbing her sweater off the back of it. "Where are you going?" Glory asked in a panic not wanting her friend to leave her alone with the hungry sharks who wanted to know everything about the Mr. Fox fiasco.

"I've got to go down and talk to someone from the IT department. I've got love lives that need saving Glory. This is much more important than your social issues." Lucy walked past her, strutting away like a model on a runway. Glory groaned to herself, "Wait for me." She yelled as she chased after friend and safety blanket. "Nothing is ever more important than my social issues I can assure you."

They have to take the elevator down from the fifth floor to the second. Glory had suggested they take the stairs when she had caught up to Lucy because she hated cramped spaces. She also know there was more of a chance of someone cornering her in the elevator. However, Lucy had quickly reminded her that Prada boots were not meant for stairs. Which she had quickly translated into 'these bitches are killing my feet and I'm not more then I have to'.

When the elevator stopped on the second floor It was like they entered a whole new world. People were quietly seated at their desks, answering phones, "Oh my god. These people are actually working." Glory commented as she followed behind Lucy who seemed to know where she was headed.

"Figure that, people actually working while their at work." She mumbled sarcastically which Glory responded to by sticking out her tongue. "I saw that..." She commented as they approached a tall skinny man who looked like he could benefit from some skin care products. He turned and smiled brightly when he noticed Lucy, "Hey!"

Lucy leaned forward a bit exposing more of her cleavage, which Glory could tell didn't escape the poor mans notice, "Hey Timmy. My computer is acting up again do you think you could possibly fix it for me?"

Timmy looked a littler deflated, "Actually I'm on call right now for geek-on-the-go...I can't leave my desk..." Lucy stands up straight with frown realizing her little trick was pointless. He holds up his hand, "But I do have someone who can help you with your problem." Timmy stood up from his seat, his eyes scanned over his coworkers until he spotted the one he was looking for.

"Heather!" He yelled out across the floor. A cute girl with glasses popped her head up and he motioned for her to come over. She quickly scurried over like a little mouse. As she got closer Glory got the feeling that she they had met before but she couldn't remember where. As her eyes catalog Heather's features it dawns on her where they met. A sly smile spreading over her lips as she recognizes her as Royce's office sex kitten.

Timmy smiled at Lucy, "This is Heather. She's only been working here for two months but she's brilliant. She'll be able to fix any problems you have and probably make your computer run ten times better then it did before." Heathers cheeks flamed with color at his exaggerated compliment.

Lucy struck her hand out in a friendly greeting, "Nice to meet you. I hope you'll forgive the mess I made for you." She shoots her with an apologetic smile and Glory can tell that's won the girl over. That's all it takes for Lucy to win anyone over. A quick flash of her pearly whites and everyone is butter in her hands.

Heather accepted her hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you think."

"You don't know Lucy..." Glory commented under her breath which received a stiff elbow to her side. Heather turned her attention to Glory, recognition flashing through her pale blue eyes. She quickly averted her gaze and Glory pretended not to remember her so she wouldn't feel so uncomfortable, "I'm Glory by the way." She introduced herself.

"Don't worry about her, she's not nearly as important as she thinks she is." Lucy commented which received her a familiar elbow to her side. Heather followed them back up to the fifth floor, the elevator ride being only slightly uncomfortable. When they reached Lucy's cubicle she seemed a little surprised by all the decorations, but whey didn't comment on it. Lucy pushed Glory out of the way and walked into the space, "So my computer is all locked up not sure what I did to it." Heather followed behind her, taking a seat in her chair and getting to work.

Lucy leaned back against her desk, "God, I can't believe you get to work with someone like Arden Fox on a one on one basis. I hate you so much and the fact that you don't even realize how awesome the opportunity truly is, is infuriating."

"First of all I never actually agreed to work with him. I'm mulling over my options." Not that she had many, he'd told her she had a couple days to think about the offer, but he had made his threat perfectly clear. "Second of all, if you actually met the man you would not be saying that. Trust me, he has a stick so far up his ass that I think it's the reason for his permanent frown."

Lucy laughed, "It is true that he does frown a lot in pictures, but it's a sexy pout type of frown." She talked about him as if he were a baby. Glory rolled her eyes and smacked the plastic palm leaf away from her face again. Heather cleared her throat awkwardly interrupting their conversation, "So—um—It looks like the reason your computer was locked up was because you had a virus on it."

Lucy looked over the sex kitten with interest, "Oh really? How did that happen?"

Heather's face turned bright pink, "Oh, Well...Um...This type of virus usually comes from adult websites...not that I'm saying you were using them or anything..." Lucy made an 'o' with her mouth while Glory tried not to burst out laughing. The poor girl was obviously mortified to have to explain any of that to them. Glory moved in deeper to the cubicle, leaning in on the other side of Heather, "Don't worry about it too much. Lucy here is a sex addict. She can't help herself. It's written right down in her resume that she must be allowed to watch porn while at work. It helps to keep her urges in line."

Heather looked between the two of them with wide eyes. Lucy jumped in on the conversation, "Yeah, it's a problem I've had for a while now. It's not like I do anything perverted while I'm at work. I just kind of let it play in the background like other people do with there music. It helps to keep me focused..."

Heather looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Glory shook her head, unable to hold back her laughter anymore, "We're only pulling your leg." She gave the girl a pat on the back. Lucy is wearing a sheepish grin as she give her shoulder a playful squeeze, "Sorry I hope we didn't freak you to much or anything."

Heather relaxed and let out a tiny giggle, "I guess I should have expected something like that from Royce's coworkers." Glory cringed internally at the girls slip up with mentioning any connection to Royce in front of Lucy. Lucy looked to her friend with curiosity before turning her attention back to Heather, "You know Royce?" She asked as her folded her hands together.

Heather's face turned bright pink again, "Yeah. I—uh—fixed his computer for him a couple of times. He's a pretty funny guy." Lucy smirked, "Believe me he thinks he's a lot funnier than he actually is." Lucy had known Royce since college. Most people believed they might have dated or something for a time but they both kind of left that part up to the interpreter. Anyway now they kind of act like brother and sister.

Heather smiled briefly, nodding her head not really saying anything more. Probably afraid she might give herself away. Glory decided to change the topic before Lucy could get to curious, "So what are you going to do with the virus?" She pretend to be interested. Heather pulled her attention back to the computer, "Well I installed some antivirus software and that sure pretty much take care of the problem, and any future problem in that area anyway."

"Good, because I'll definitely be looking at more porn in the future." Lucy commented. Heather looked at her with surprise, to which Lucy shrugged, "It's for research purposes."

"Well it looks like I'm done here so I should probably head on back." Heather stood up from the chair motioning that it was free for Lucy. She quickly made her exit from the cubicle. Glory frowned at Lucy, "Look what you did." She accused her. Lucy's eyes widened, "What did I do?" She asked in confusion. Glory turned and chase after Heather who must train as a marathon runner because that girl is quick. She caught her when she neared the elevator.

She looked at Glory in surprise, "Is something wrong?" She asked fidgeting with her cardigan button. Glory shook her head trying to catch her breath. This was a sign she needed to start working out. "I wanted to tell you that I won't say anything to anyone about you and Royce." Her cheeks got flushed, "I don't know—"

Glory held up her hand, "I really don't have time for the 'I don't know what you're talking abouts' I might be a little thick sometimes but I'm not blind and I have a thing for remembering faces."

Heathers shoulders slumped a little, "Look I'm pretty embarrassed about what happened—" She held up her hand again to stop her, "No need to be. All I really wanted to tell you is that If you ever want to talk about it or whatever, you're welcome to come find me. My cubicle is..." She turned and pointed towards the far corner, "Over there and far less crowded then Lucy's."

Heather smiled shyly, "Thanks you're really nice." Glory waved off her compliment with a smile, "No I'm really not. I'm doing this more for myself. I like knowing things about other people. So really you'd be the one helping me out." Heather gave her a real laugh and it sounded like angels singing. She could actually feel her heart beat a little faster for a moment like an idiot, "Oh I get it." She said out loud. Heather looked at her with confusion, "You get what?"

"I get why Royce finds you so irresistible." She gave her a smooth once over feeling satisfied with the offer to be the girls confidant. The elevator doors opened and heather stepped inside giving Glory a hesitant wave. She smiled in return, "I'll be seeing you soon." She said as the doors close shut. She walked back towards her cubicle with a smile on her face. If she had the ability to help someone as awful as Arden pursue love, then helping someone as innocent as Heather pursue love should be easy peasy. 

Glory sat in the chair crossing and uncrossing her legs, looking around the room trying to find something to entertain herself with. Jackie was sitting behind her desk giving her dirty looks every couple of minutes. Glory gave her a bright smile, because that's what she did when someone hated her. It was like the mental equivalent of 'yeah screw you too!' in that type of situation.

She started tapping her fingers against the arm of the chair humming rather loudly and off key, hoping to annoy her a little. "Could you not do that?" Jackie hissed at her. She stopped humming and pulled her hands together in her lap, "If you would let me go back into Mr. Fox's office then you wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Would you?" She rolled her eyes at Glory's argument and went back to doing whatever it was she was doing. "Suit yourself..." She started humming and tapping again.

She looked ready to get up out of her chair and come at Glory but luckily Frankie walked through the front door as if it were divine intervention, "Good afternoon Jackie." The blonde's expression changed immediately into a charming smile, "Good afternoon Mr. Weston. I didn't know you had an appointment today." She looked down at her book, scanning the page feverishly. Frankie chuckled, "Oh it wasn't an official thing. Arden asked me to come by if I had a free moment." She nodded her head, "Of course. I'll let Mr. Fox know you're here." He nodded his head and his eyes scanned the room, falling on Glory. He smiled at her, "Miss Novacek." He leaned against the front desk, "What brings you here today? Hopefully not any more practical jokes..." He suggested.

She could see why Frankie and Arden worked well together they both are able to carry themselves around with that same smugness. "Not today, but it's still early so who knows. You know I find it interesting how dedicated Mr. Fox' employees seem to be. I bet nothing slips by them. I mean take Jackie here for instances, she's like an iron wall. No one is getting through her."

"Indeed..." He said with amusement, clearly not missing the jesting in Her tone. Jackie looked up to Frankie with a smile and then a completely straight expression when her eyes flipped toward Glory.

"Mr. Fox says he'll see you now." Jackie said as she hung up the phone, still smiling at Frankie. Oh he'll see Frankie but not her? She had been waiting in his stupid lobby for the past thirty minutes. She would have gone in there sooner if it wasn't for the big hulking security guard standing near his office door. He clearly wised up to the type of person he was dealing with. Glory frowned as Frankie nodded his head and pushed himself up right, "Well it looks like your master has summoned you." She mumbled crossing her legs again.

Frankie laughed, "Would you like to join me?" He asked as he motioned for her to follow him. His question took her by surprise but she wasn't about to wait around in this room anymore. Jackie's eyes widened a little, "I didn't get the okay for her to go through..." She scrambled. Frankie waved off her comment, "Don't worry about it Jackie. I want her to come with me."

Glory couldn't stop the smirk that spread across her lips as she rose up out of the chair. Perhaps Frankie was nothing like Arden at all. Jackie looked a little panicked, "Mr. Fox won't like this at all..." Glory shrugged her shoulders, "Who cares what he likes." Frankie chuckled at her comment and walked away towards Arden's office. She started after him but turned her head back, "Relax Jackie, if you're not careful you'll grey prematurely." She looked like she was ready to rip my hair out.

Glory turned quickly and fell into step beside Frankie, his long legs making her feel like she had to jog to keep up with him. "You sure know how to make an impression on people don't you?" He commented with a chuckle. "Unfortunately for every one I meet..." She smile up at him brightly. He pushed the white door open, "On the contrary Miss Novacek, I find you to be very refreshing." He smiled down at her and she walk into the room in front of him blush fanning her cheeks at his comment.

Arden was leaning against his desk reading something, "Thank you for coming by on such short notice Frankie." He didn't even bother looking up from his paperwork as he pushed off his desk and turned his back to them.

"It's not a problem. We are friends after all." Frankie says as he comes to stand by Glory, easing out of his jacket. "Although I am curious as to what it is that has you so stressed." Arden turned back to them ready to unleash his problems but when his eyes meet hers the expression on his face flat lined, "I see you continue to disregard other people's wishes Miss Novacek."

"Hey, you're the one who told me I had to help you figure out this situation or else. If you want to be rude I'll gladly leave." She turned to walk away but Frankie put his hand on her shoulder stopping her from leaving. "Arden can you stop antagonizing the poor girl?" Frankie asked as he removed his hand from her shoulder. Glory turned back towards them to find Mr. Fox sulking a little as he took a seat in his big chair. "Take a seat Miss Novacek." He commanded. She scowled at him but crossed towards the chairs in front of his desk and sat down. Frankie chuckled to himself, "You two are like an old married couple..." Both of them turned and looked at him with equal looks of disgust.

"As If anyone could marry someone as impulsive and big mouthed as her. I'd sure feel sorry for the poor bastard, he'd be liable to he drink himself to death." He commented dryly. Glory's mouth dropped open at his words. "I don't know I think she's quite lovely actually..." Frankie replied with a smirk. She stuck her tongue out at Arden as if to say 'suck it!'

"How mature of you..." He mumbled across his desk to her.

"I never claimed to be mature." She smirked.

"Arden what is it you needed from me?" Frankie interrupted their banter. Arden closed his eyes and breathed deeply, "It's about this whole mess. I know that I agreed to it the other day but Isobel called me last night."

"Whose Isobel again?" Glory asked curiously.

"She's his former fiancé." Frankie calmly says, "And what did she say?" He seemed legitimately concerned for his friend. Arden's demeanor did seem rather deflated which from all the encounters Glory had with him it didn't seem not normal. She watched him run his hand through his dark hair, messing up its perfection, "She called to ask me how I was and to tell me that she hoped that I found someone who would actually make me happy."

"Why does everyone seem so gloomy? That's great news! You could get her back!" She pushed herself up out of the chair feeling like she might have actually gained her freedom back.

"No." Mr. Fox stated without hesitation.

"No? Why not? Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place?" She placed her hands on his desk and leaned in towards him. He spun his chair around so that neither one of them can see him, "No. You were the one who got me into this situation in the first place. She chose to leave because of your words. I was made to look like a fool, it won't happen again!" His voice shook with anger. Glory eased back away from his desk feeling a strange heaviness in her chest. Maybe she shouldn't have given the guy such a hard time. He had gotten himself on the raw end of a bad deal.

He rose up out of his chair, "I am not pleased by this situation and if I could avoid it then I would but I can't. I only wanted to make sure that this was the only way to fix it." He looked over his shoulder toward Frankie who was standing in the same spot as before seemingly unmoved. "I'm sorry my friend but this is probably the best way to handle things, for all parties involved." Frankie's gaze fell on her for a moment before turning his attention back to Arden, "Isobel made her decision and you have made yours."

Glory understood he must mean that he's made the decision to not chase after her, even though it looked like he wanted too. Men, she didn't get them at all. She let out a sigh, "You're pathetic."

"Excuse me?" His voice rumbled deep and low.

"You heard me! I said you're pathetic. You don't understand the first thing about what it means to love someone. I bet you've never truly loved someone in your entire life, other then yourself!" She probably shouldn't have said all of that. It might have been a little harsh but it was true. It was all clear to her now that this was the biggest problem on his list of problems and for some reason deep down inside a part of her wanted to help him. She couldn't explain it but something about him looking all sad really got to her.

"How dare you! What do you even know about me?" His body was shaking.

"I may not know a lot about your personal life but it doesn't take a whole lot to see that you don't know what it means to love someone and as much as I'm probably going to hate myself for this later. I want to help you." She put her hands on her hips as if to make it clear she was ready to stand my ground. Glory noticed Frankie do a double take her direction at her comment.

"What?" Is the only word that came out of Arden's mouth.

"What is it with you today, do you have a hearing problem? I said that I want to help you. Don't ask me to repeat myself again, cause that's the last time I'm saying that." She pursed her lips together.

" And who says I want the help of some like you?" The way he said the words felt like a knife in her chest, but Glory does her best to ignore the feeling. She shrugged her shoulders, "No one said you wanted it but clearly you need it. You don't have to agree with me, but he does." She tilted her head towards Frankie, "And sense he's the one calling the shots with this whole thing I'd say majority rules. So it looks like your stuck with me for now."

Arden had that death stare down pretty good, and he was currently giving Glory his best rendition of it. Frankie cleared his throat, "I think then since we are all here, we could discuss the terms of the agreement." Arden and Glory continued to look at each other neither of them flinching, "Fine." They replied in unison.

Glory was woken up to the sound of someone fiercely banging on her apartment door. Duke, her overweight tabby was startled awake, digging his claws into her leg to which she let out a slew of curses. When the banging continued she jumped out of her bed grumbling. She marched herself to the front door, unlocking it and opening it quickly, "What?!" She proclaimed, still rather sleepy.

"I've been knocking on your door for the past five minutes!" Arden said in a tense voice, "What took so long?" She had to blink her eyes a couple to make sure that she was actually seeing him and to confirm it wasn't a hallucination, "What are you doing here?" She looked up at him and down as usual he looked like he was planning on being on the cover of GQ.

"There were matters we needed to discuss before the press conference Frankie has set up for monday. Are you going to invite me in or would you rather I discuss them out here for everyone to hear?" His tone was as pushy as ever. Glory opened the door wider, but didn't respond to him. He walked into her apartment like he was stepping into an alien space ship. His eyes inspecting and taking in everything but the look on his face was the same frown as always. She closed the door and made her way into the kitchen area, in serious need of coffee if she was going to have to deal with him. "This is an interesting choice of residence..." He said as he turned to look at her as she fumbled through fixing up a pot of coffee.

"It's the only residence I can afford with my salary." She replied as she turned on the pot of coffee and waited for it's heavenly goodness. Arden stuck out like a sore thumb in her apartment, it was clear that he was not used to this type of low level living. "So how did you find me?" Glory asked as she jumped up onto counter taking her usual morning spot next to the coffee pot. He watched her for a second then quickly looked away, "Don't you think you should get dressed into something more appropriate for company?" Glory looked down at her clothes trying to look for something that was wrong. She was wearing a holey t-shirt and a pair of boy short underwear. They're basically like shorts right? She didn't see a problem with what she was wearing. If he was going to show up unexpected then he could just deal with it. She looked back to him, "Why should I change? You're the one who invaded my home. If you don't like what you see then feel free to leave."

He turned back to Glory with his frown, "Are you always unreasonable?" He questioned her as he eased his way out of his nice jacket. She leaned forward putting her hands on her knees, "So how did you find me?" She asked, ignoring his question. He laid his jacket on the bar counter neatly, "I remembered you lived at these apartments from that night in the cab. So it was actually pretty simple to make a call to the apartment manager." He said like it was something she should have figured out on her own.

Glory was the one frowning now, "I'm going to have to speak with Miguel about what privacy means..." When she heard the coffee stop running she pushed myself off the counter and grabbed a mug, pouring herself a cup. She looked over her shoulder, "Would you like some?" She asked to be polite.

Arden shook his head, "I don't drink coffee." Her frown deepened, "What is wrong with you?" Turning back to her coffee, "Ignore him. He doesn't know you like I do." She whispered to the coffee cup.

"So I wanted to discuss your image." Glory turned back to him taking a sip of coffee, "What's wrong with my image?" He raised an eyebrow, "Are you seriously asking me that question while your hair is a mess and it looks like you got that shirt off a homeless person?"

She calmly took another sip of my coffee before she responded to him, "First, I was sleeping until about twenty minutes ago when I was awoken to what sounded like someone trying to break down my door. So excuse me for looking like a homeless person." He looked over her with his usual disapproval, but Glory just smile at him sarcastically over her coffee, "And Secondly, why do I care what you or anyone else thinks of me? I'm completely content with how things are."

"Look it's important that if you're going to be seen with me at any point that you look presentable and like you know something about what you're doing." She stuck her tongue out at him, "I know what I'm doing..." He nodded his head but his eyes said, 'yeah-right'. He cleared his throat, "Also it would probably be best if you kept the talking to a minimum when we get approached by media because I can guarantee we will get approached and you don't need to make more work for poor Frankie." He suggested.

At this moment he kind of reminded Glory of my mother. She had always been all about appearances. Her family was actually pretty well known but when her parents got divorced Glory changed her last name to her fathers mothers sir name so she would never have to worry about being associated with her 'sophisticated' upbringings.' It was also why Glory turned out the way she had, using sarcasm as a defense mechanism. That aside she didn't trade in that life to go back to it again.

Setting down her coffee she walked towards Arden, "Yeah, that's definitely not going to happen. However, I'll try to keep my sassy comments to a minimum. How's that for unreasonable?" She joked as moved around him toward her bedroom so that she could put on some more 'presentable company clothes'. To her surprise she found that he had followed her right into the bedroom. Glory spun around, "You do realize I came in here to get dressed right?"

He motioned for her to resume what she was doing. Glory raised an eyebrow, "Are you joking? This isn't a private strip show Mr. Fox. Plus you didn't even pay me..."

He looked at her pointedly, "If I wanted to have a private show trust me it wouldn't be with you. I came in here to help you pick out something to wear that I approved of." She shook her head at him, "You're going to get out of my room before I sick Duke on you." His eyes widened a bit, scanning the room, looking for a huge dog but when he noticed the fat cat sitting on the edge of her queen sized bed staring at him he relaxed.

"Duke?" He pointed to the cat.

Glory nodded her head, "He might not look like much but he'll turn your pants into shredded pieces of cotton." Duke jumped down off the bed and strolled towards Mr. Fox his tail flicking back and forth. Arden took a step back and then another, "I'll just wait out here." He left the room quickly closing the door behind himself. Glory released a snicker, If he only knew that Duke was probably only wanting to have him rub his tummy. As if on cue Duke looked up at her with a tiny meow then flopped onto his side and rolled onto his back. She squatted down and rubbed his stomach, "Good boy!" She cooed at him.

Glory quickly put on her favorite jeans and a plain t-shirt, brushed out her hair and got rid of the coffee breath. When she walked out of the bedroom she found Arden sitting very relaxed on the couch. His eyes scanned over her as he stood up, "I guess that will have to do." She pretended to be pleased by his comment, "Well gosh, you sure know how to compliment a girl." She walked over to the desk nestled near the window in the living room, "If you don't mind I need to write up something for my..." She felt someone standing very close behind her. Glory looked over her shoulder to find Arden standing behind her looking over her shoulder at the computer screen with interest.

"Do you mind?" She asked as she raised her eyebrows.

"Not at all. I am actually curious about what it is you really do for work. I mean other then ruin peoples lives." He said taking a jab at her. She looked away from him with an eye roll, "You know what on second thought I think that can wait." She moved away from the computer, grabbing her cellphone which had charging. She opened her twitter and tapped a message quickly:

Okay guys. You're going to have to wait for my responses to your questions. I'm currently dealing with a small issue. Love you all. Muah!

Arden walked to the counter and grabbed his jacket, "We're already running behind on the schedule I had set up for the day. So if your done with your "things" I'd like to get on the road."

Glory raised an eyebrow, "We're? When did we make plans to do anything?"

He released a long sigh, "I told you when I entered we were going to go shopping to buy you more presentable clothes." He motioned for her hurry up by taping on the watch face of his shiny wrist watch. Glory crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't see what is wrong with the way I look. I think it says I'm down to earth and relatable." He opened his mouth to probably fire a snarky comment at her but his phone rang an interrupted that thought. He reached into his pocket and answered it, "Arden." What was he a secret agent? Who answered their phone like that?

He looked to Glory then looked away, "We will be out in two minutes. Call ahead and have everything ready to go." He hung up his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. "Put on your shoes." He commanded. She didn't say anything back to him as she walked over to the front door and shoved her feet into the converse. Quickly she opened the front door, "Let's go." Glory said in a bored tone.

Arden exited the apartment as swiftly as he had entered it. Glory followed behind him. Neither of them spoke as the made there way to the parking lot of the apartment building. When Glory saw the limo waiting for them she let out a big eye roll. The boy, Henry from the other day was waiting by the back end holding the door open for them. Arden put his hand on her back to guide her when her steps slow.

"Is it necessary for you to touch me?"

"It is when you're walking slower then my ninety-two year old grandmother. We have places to go and things to do Miss Novacek. I'd carry you over my shoulder if it would get us there faster." Arden replied cooly.

"Where are you taking me?" Glory asked through clenched teeth.

"I've reserved special time at Carmondy's." He said as he pulled them to a stop in front of the limo door.

Glory felt all the energy drain from her. Of course of all the places he was going to take her it had to be THAT place. She got into the Limo with a deep frown set on her face. Her Mother was THE Carmondy and the fact that she was her daughter was bound to get found out. She secretly wished that she had stayed in her bed and never answered the door this morning.

She pulled out her phone and opened her twitter:

Please call 911 I've been kidnapped by a man in a giant limo whose demanding he take me shopping. #RealLifeNightmare 

"Please. Please do not make me go in there." Glory cried from where she was clinging to the opposite side of the limo. Arden was pulling at her free hand trying to get her to get out of the limo, "You're being ridiculous Miss Novacek! I am taking time out of my busy schedule to help you and I don't appreciate your little antics." He growled through his teeth. Glory continued to hold on tight, "I didn't ask for your help! Please!" She started feeling desperate and when Glory started to feel desperate things always got out of control, "I will literally get on my hand and knees and beg you to not take me in there Mr. Fox! I'm dead serious! My hands and knees! I know how much you would love that, so how about it?" She asked as she cast a tight smile over her shoulder at him.

He stared at her silently for a moment and Glory thought maybe he was going to agree but then his eyebrow quirked a bit, "Why don't you want to go in this store Miss Novacek? Your adamant behavior about this is leading me to believe that there is something more behind your reasoning other than the fact that you don't want to shop." She bit the inside of her cheek. Glory chose to pretend like she didn't hear him say anything, "I will literally do anything that you want right now if you promise to not take me in there. Anything..." She gave him a suggestive wink which quickly caused him to release his hold on her. Glory's face slammed into the window. She let out a tiny groan at the unexpected pain.

Before she could really process to much of what was going on the door she was holding onto opened. She fell out of the car, face rocketing towards the concrete. Two big hands grabbed her before she hit the ground and lifted her up out of the car. Glory felt surprise run through her when she found herself looking into Arden's eyes which were downright dreamy.

Of course not at the current moment because he looked ready to kill her again. She really thought they had moved past that stage of their relationship, "If you're going to continue to act like a child then I'm going to treat you like one." He whispered down at her before he quickly tucked her into his side. He had a vice grip on her as he steered them toward the store. Glory recovered herself and began pushing her feet into the ground to try and stop their movements.

"Glory—" He whispered her name into her ear with a deep voice that sent a shiver through her body, "I will carry you in there if I have too, but if you make me do that I promise you that you won't like what happens later." She felt her mouth open and close like a fish out of water at his words but her inner goddess couldn't be more excited about the idea of punishment at the hands of Mr. Fox. He opened the door with his free hand and ushered them inside. Glory let her shoulders sag down in defeat. She had been doing so well at avoiding her past up to this point. Though she'd known eventually it would catch up to her again but she had dreamed it would have been much, much later in life like at her funeral.

A woman in a tight pencil skirt and white blouse approach them with a friendly smile, "Hello Mr. Fox. My name is Marissa and I'm Helena's assistant. We talked briefly on the phone when you made the appointment." Hearing Her mother's name made her feel a churning in her stomach. Glory could only hope that she was out ruining the lives of other people and not in her shop today. Arden gave Marissa a charming smile, "Yes. It's nice to meet you in person. This is—" He pulled his arm away from Glory, ushering her forward, "The problem I was discussing with you about." She looked over to him with a glare, "Problem?" She questioned with mocking smile.

Marissa came forward and started circling her like a shark picking off pieces from a wounded seal. She reached out and picked at Glory's clothing. Which surprised her the first couple of times as she tried to turn to make sure her back was never to Marissa. When she reached out for her again Glory smacked her hand away, "No touching the merchandise unless you take me on date first." She gave her a weird look as she backed up inspecting Glory from further away, "We could definitely help you with your problem Mr. Fox. She's got an adequate figure and she's not to bad in the face either." Glory's mouth dropped open at the woman's blunt words.

Someone better hold me back cause I'm about to squish this girl like a bug under my ratty converse, Glory thought to herself as she glared at Marissa. As if sensing the danger the woman was in Arden stepped forward and pulled Glory back to his side, "I am glad to hear that." It sounded like he was trying to hold back laughter which rewarded him an elbow in the side. He tensed beside Glory but kept up his charming persona.

"Marissa—" Glory's eyes widen at the sound of the familiar voice. Oh dear lord, If you are real I pray that you would let a giant manhole open up in the earth and swallow that woman whole please, She prayed silently in her head.

"Marissa! Have you seen my appointment book? I think I misplaced it again. You know me—" Her mother marched into the room not looking much different from the last time Glory had seen her which was about six years ago. When Glory had ditched the family name and lifestyle to pursue her love of writing and college. Her mothers blonde hair was styled short into a pixie cut and she was dressed to the nines in her blue suede dress. Her eyes widen a bit when she saw her daughter, "Gloriana..."

"Helena." Glory greeted her in a clipped tone. She leveled her with her usual disapproving look, "Still going on about that are we?" Helena questioned as she fells in beside Marissa who was looking back and forth between the two of women in confusion. Helena took in the whole scene and the fact that Arden Fox had his arm wrapped around her daughter. Glory could already see the wheels turning in her mothers head.

"Well, Hello I'm Helena Carmondy and you must be Mr. Arden Fox." She stuck out her hand and Arden received it, "It's nice to meet such a prestigious woman in business." Glory felt like she wanted to gag. Her mother feigned humility, "Oh you flatter me Mr. Fox. How did you and my daughter become acquainted with one another?" She asked with a smile. Arden tensed next to Glory in shock, "Your daughter?" She could feel his eyes on her and she did her best to keep a straight face.

"Yes, Gloriana—"

"Its just Glory now." She quickly interjected and her mother frowned.

"Glory wanted to make a name for herself on her own doing whatever it is she does—Writing romance novels or something." She waved it off like it was something laughable which caused anger to stir in Glory. This was why she couldn't stand her mother. She had always been like this.

"Actually I—"

"And made a name she has. I've hired her as my personal matchmaker." Arden interrupted Glory before she had time to start an argument with her mother. His tone of voice took her by surprise it sounded almost like he had been annoyed by her mothers comment about her.

Helena's eyes widened slightly in surprise at his comment, "Really? Is that so?" She let a pleasant smile fall upon her lips but the look in her eyes told Glory she was about to tear her down, "I'm sorry you'll have to forgive my surprise. You see Gloriana hasn't had a boyfriend in her entire life. It was always her cousin Gemma who was like a sister to her, that had the boys calling. I'm sure you can understand with her little—personality problem. So the thought of her helping someone find love is quite laughable."

Glory frowned, "First, I told you its Glory. You know I hate it when you call me Gloriana which is why you do." She pushed herself away from Arden and he let her go, "Second, I don't have a personality problem. It's called sarcasm and intelligence. Also—not that this matters but I could have had as many boys as Gemma if I had wanted but I didn't because I didn't open my legs to every tom, dick and harry that looked in my direction." She glared at her mother for a moment longer then spun around, "I'm leaving!" She snapped at Arden before she marched out of the store her body practically shaking with anger.

*********************

Glory sat in the back of the limo tapping her sneaker impatiently. When she had stormed out of her mothers shop she had assumed that Arden would have followed her. Only now she was beginning to think that he expected her to return to him once she was done throwing her tantrum. Well, he had another thing coming if he thought that Gloriana Novacek was going to spend any more of her day being belittled by the peanut gallery.

She contemplated telling the driver to take her to the nearest McDonalds so she could eat her weight in greasy, artery clogging burgers to hopefully drive away the horrible feelings seeing her mother had brought her. Maybe if she was lucky she would have a heart attack on sight and be spared from further entanglements her mother and Mr. Fox. Her dark thoughts were interrupted when the side door opened.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, She thought to herself as she came face to face with Arden. Glory quickly turned her face away from him as he slid into the bench seat near her. The tension in the limo was palpable and she only hoped he was as uncomfortable as her. He cleared his throat trying to get her attention but she ignored him, keeping her eyes focused on the world outside of the car.

Arden cleared his throat a bit louder and she bit into her cheek in irritation. Glory reached forward into the area that held drinks and grabbed a bottle of water. She turned quickly in her spot and tossed it at his face with more force then was necessary. The water smacked him in the center of his face, "Damn it! Fuck!" He reached up and grabbed his nose, glaring daggers at Glory.

"What the hell was that for? Jesus Christ woman..." He played with the bridge of his nose, wincing a bit, "I think you broke my fucking nose."

Glory rolled her eyes as she moved from her seat coming towards Arden, "Calm down, you big baby. I didn't break your nose..." He watched her with suspicion as she reached out towards him, flinching back away from her touch. She couldn't help but smirk at the reaction, knowing that a man like Arden Fox was scared of her helped lighten her dark mood.

She held up her hands in front of his face like a peace offering before slowly reaching out to him again. He watched her closely as her slender fingers grabbed gently at his nose. Arden winced a couple times before Glory dropped her hands back to her thighs, as she was crouched before him, "Unfortunately it looks like your nose will be perfectly fine."

He gave her a dark look, obviously not enjoying her joke, "No thanks to you. You are a natural disaster waiting to happen."

Glory found herself mesmerized by the way the dim light of day played off of Arden's eyes. He truly was the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on and her body definitely wanted him but every time he spoke he made her brain angry. Arden seemed to lose a bit of his harsh scowl when he realized Glory was silently staring at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He questioned her.

She moved back a step and lowered herself into the seat, "I was realizing that if we want to find you a bride you're going to have to work on the way you talk to people."

His eyes widened with surprise, "What?"

Glory waved a hand over the expanse of his body, "I mean you've got yourself set in the looks department, but the moment you open your mouth you are bound to send them running for the door. I'm surprised that you actually even found a girl who was willing to marry you in the first place."

Arden's eyes narrowed into angry slits and his body tensed up like a snake getting ready to strike, "You are—You Miss Novacek are—" He was so angry that he couldn't seem to formulate an insult. Glory waited patiently for him to finish not feeling the slightest bit put out. In fact she was finding her mood much improved knowing she had gotten under his skin. It served him right for making her endure even a minute in her mothers presence.

He let out an angry growl before he launched himself across the seat at her. Glory let out a surprised shriek as she tried to scurry away from him. His strong hands grabbed onto her arms as she kicked out widely, nailing him in the shin.

"Fucking—Shit—I swear I'm going to strangle you..." He snarled through teeth clenched in pain.

"Get off of me! You weight like a thousand pounds! You're going to suffocate me!" She yelled.

"Good, that would solve all my problems!" He grumbled as he flipped her onto her back.

They continued to scramble about on the seat, "Rape! Rape! Ra—" His hand smacked over her mouth drowning out the sound of her cries. Glory had imagined dying many times in her life, but she had never pictured an event where she would be murdered by a hot billionaire in the back of his limo.

There bodies stilled as they both found themselves exhausted from the struggle. Arden was positioned on top of Glory, on hand resting on the seat next to her head while the other was pressed firmly against her face. It did not escape her notice that every time they breathed her breasts would brush gently against his firm stomach. She swallowed hard as she felt a familiar warmth pooling in her lower stomach.

Arden was panting heavily, "Are you quite done now?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Dis shis yor fwalt!" She mumbled into his hand.

He slowly pulled his hand away from her mouth, "What?"

"This is your fault! If you hadn't brought me here none of this would have happened." Glory pouted up at him. His expression seemed to soften a bit and he let out a heavy sigh, "If you hadn't thrown that bottled water at me and listened to what I wanted to say I wouldn't have manhandled you like that."

She stared up at him, trying hard to ignore how sexy he looked leaning over with his disheveled hair, "I didn't mind the manhandling all that much—" She mumbled to herself. His eyebrows lifted and her cheeks felt hot as she realized he had heard her.

"What was it you wanted to say?" She quickly rushed, trying to skirt around the sudden sexual tension that was dancing in the air around them. Arden cleared his throat, "What your mother said back there was uncalled for. If you hadn't run away you would have heard me tell her that in not so gentlemanly word —and that she would never get a cent from me."

Glory's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "You cursed out my mother? For me?"

Arden's face turned a little pinker, "I wouldn't say that it was for you. I mean I would do that for anyone. No one should have to have a parent say such things—"

"Arden?" She interrupted him.

His blue eyes met her brown ones in a speculative gaze, "What?"

"Stop talking before you ruin the moment—" She reached up and grabbed onto his shirt, yanking him down to her. He fell towards her as she threw him off balance. Glory smashed her lips into his as she had been wanting to do since the last time he had kissed her. She knew she shouldn't be kissing him especially since they were going to be business partners but she couldn't find the will to care.

He tried to pull away but she hooked her legs around his hips and bit his lip. That seemed to be all the push that Arden needed. He let out a fierce growl of hunger before he joined her in the heated kiss. Glory could feel her body humming with adrenaline and desire as Arden's hands slipped up under her shirt and cupped her breast. She arched up into him breaking away from the kiss with a gasp, "We really shouldn't be doing this. I mean we hate each other...you were trying to kill me a second ago..."

Arden trailed kisses across her jaw to her neck. His thumbs stroking her nipples lazily over the cotton fabric of her bra, "You're right we should stop." He whispered against her flesh before he pulled back and slipped his hands from under her shirt. Glory stared up at him in a haze of sexual frustration, her inner goddess screaming insults at her in her mind.

"Are you going to let me go Miss Novacek?" Arden questioned after a moment of silence, making Glory realize she was holding him prisoner with her legs. She could feel the force of his arousal still pressed up against her and that was all she needed. The devil on her shoulder drop kicked the angel straight out of the limo.

"Henry!" She yelled as she tightened her legs around Arden, making him grunt and narrow his eyes in muted desire, "Mr. Fox would like you to take us back to his place. We have serious business matters to discuss." The limo engine roared to life and pulled into traffic a moment later. This was a better idea then eating her weight in McDonalds, at least this bad decision would help her burn calories. Arden shot her a sexy smirk that would have had even the most devout nun lifting her habit. Oh yeah, she was definitely going to regret this later.

The limo ride was filled with tension and anticipation, Glory did her best not to think about what she was preparing to do. Arden sat next to her with his palm of his hand rest on her thigh while his fingers lazily stroked her in a teasing fashion. She could see the outline of his large erection through his slacks which only caused her desire to flare more. Arden Fox was a forbidden fruit, ripe and ready for the taking.

When the limo pulled up to the sidewalk of a tall building Glory peered out the window. Her lips parted and her eyes widened as she stared up at the steel and glass tower, "Holy—You know just because your closer to heaven then most people it doesn't mean you're anymore god-like Mr. Fox."

Arden leaned over her, pressing his firm chest to her back, "You might find your tongue uttering different words before the day ends Miss Novacek." He reached his arm around her and popped the door open. Glory turned her face to get a look at him. His lips were twisted up into a sinful smirk and his blue eyes sparkled with wicked desire. She swallowed hard and scooted away from him before stepping out of the limo on weak knees.

Mr. Fox followed behind her, putting his hand on the small of her back of a moment, "Follow me." He whispered down to her before her removed his hand. Glory watched him situate his coat, doing up a button as he took confident strides toward the entrance. She suddenly felt very out of place in the high class part of downtown in her jeans and t-shirt. She followed several feet behind Arden forcing herself to keep her head held high. The doorman greeted them as he opened the door.

Glory found her eyes taking in the splendor as she passed through the threshold. There was a giant crystal chandelier hanging from the center of the angelic painted ceiling. To the left there looked to be some kind entrance to a fancy restaurant, a hostess stood guarding the door. Glory peered in to see the people in side dressed up to the nines, it was definitely a place she had been forced to go many times as a child.

"Miss Novacek?" Arden's voice pulled her attention and she turned quickly to see him looking at her with slight impatience, "Shall we?" He seemed to be giving her the opportunity to turn back, as if he expected her to. Glory straightened her back and squared her shoulders, meeting his challenge, "We shall." She walked past him, brushing her hand against his purposefully as she headed to the elevators.

Arden came to stand beside her pushing the button that called for the elevator, "When we reach the Penthouse Mr. Fox—I'm going to show you just how wicked my tongue can be." She whispered in a low voice. Glory noticed the way his body tensed at her words and she smirked. The doors opened and a couple of business men stepped out giving nods of recognition to Arden. He returned it before stepping to the Elevator with Glory mimicking his movement.

She was still smirking as he pressed the button for his floor and the shutter doors slid close. Glory gasped in surprise as she found herself pressed up against the wall of elevator with Arden's hand around her throat in a light choke and his leg shoved between her own. It wasn't painful, if anything the aggression he was displaying only heightened the anticipation of the moment.

His lips were only separated from hers by mere centimeters, "You are playing a dangerous game Miss Novacek." She could taste the mint on his breath as it fanned across her face. She met his gaze as she reached out her hand and grabbed onto his belt, yanking him forward, "What would life be without a little danger Mr. Fox?"

The elevator dinged and Arden moved away quickly, straightening out his jacket. He stepped out pretending to be completely unaffected but Glory held a smirk on her lips because she had felt exactly how affected he had been. His slacks might be nice but they did not help to hide anything. She followed him out into the small hallway that lead to a single door. This has to be the door to heaven, she thought to herself as she admired the way Arden's muscles tensed as he unlocked it.

The door opened, "After you Miss Novacek..." Arden stepped to the side. She gave him a quick look before she pushed her way in, curious to find out how a man like Arden Fox lived. The space was very classy in its shades of whites and grays, everything seemed pristinely in order. It was probably more sanitary then an operating room, she had definitely been right about him being a control freak.

Strong hands grabbed onto her hips, yanking her back into a firm body. Glory gasped at the feel of Arden's erection pressed into the small of her back. She clenched her thighs together in anticipation of having him buried deep inside of her. She was sure he planned to take her there in the foyer of his penthouse, hard.

"Arden? Is that you?" A feminine voice that did not belong to Glory drifted through the Penthouse, echoing off the walls. The two of them quickly jumped away from each other as if they were on fire. A familiar, yet not so familiar face came into view. She looked even more lovely in person then she did in photos, which made Glory hate her immediately.

"Isobel—" Arden choked as he tried to compose himself. Isobel looked between the two of them with curiosity, that did not escape Mr. Fox's notice. He cleared his throat, "Isobel this is Miss Novacek—She's my—Uh—" He looked to Glory with eyes imploring her to help him.

Glory came to his aid even though she'd much rather have watched him sweat, "I'm his personal assistant."

"Yes, Miss Novacek is here to pick up some items I needed dry cleaned." Glory looked to Arden with a narrowed eyes for a moment before putting on a fake smile, "Right, dry cleaning—"

Isobel pursed her lips, "What happened to Jackie?"

Arden quickly redirected the flow of the conversation as he regained his composure, "What are you doing here Isobel?" His questioned in a rough and detached tone. Isobel tucked some of her shiny chestnut hair behind her ear, making Glory's eyes focus on the shiny rock that still decorated her finger. The sight of it brought a strange overwhelming feeling of jealously. She quickly cast her eyes away toward her feet, biting the inside of her cheek.

"I came to grab up the last of my things. I didn't think you would be here..." She commented in a soft tone. Glory knew she was lying, the women was clearly trying to get back into his good graces. Why else would she still be wearing his ring?

All the desire Glory had felt had faded away and now all she wanted to do was get the hell away from this place. She should have been spending her saturday in her shitty apartment with her fat cat, watching some poorly made reality TV. Instead she had been dragged through hell by the devil himself. She was lucky his ex-fiance had been there to save her or she might have sold her soul in a moment of fiery passion. She had almost just become the other woman. That though only filled her with anger and disgust.

"Would you look at the time—" Glory said loudly looking down at her wrist which held no watch, "I'm going to be late to another appointment." She glanced up toward Isobel faking a smile, "You know how Mr. Fox is about tardiness. Don't want to be fired before I even get a chance to really start—"

"Miss Novacek..." Arden's voice sounded guilty. Glory shot her eyes to him with an unbridled anger stirring in them, while she held the fake smile, "Mr. Fox, next time I'll be more careful not to mix up business and personal time. I apologize for my clear lapse in judgement." The words held clear meaning that only the two of them grasped. She watched his eyes spark with a foreign emotion before deadening.

Glory spun on her heels and marched towards the door, cursing Arden Fox and his perfect fiancé or ex-fiance, she honestly couldn't keep up anymore nor did she want to.

"What about the dry cleaning?" Isobel called out to her in slight confusion. Glory froze in her steps and squeezed her eyes shut, That's it I am going to kill Arden Fox.

*******************

Glory sat on her couch with her curtains drawn, surrounded by empty bottles of wine and cartons of Chinese food from her weekend dinners. Duke was purring happily on her lap, though she was certain if he didn't move soon she would never regain feeling in her legs. Her blood shot eyes drifted to her cell phone that had been lighting up every ten minutes but she couldn't find the desire to get up and check it.

She was still wallowing in the fact that she had almost slept with Mr. Fox. Glory let out another groan and threw her head back into the couch. Not only had she almost slept with him but then she had to pretend to be his personal assistant when Isobel had miraculously appeared. It was clearly a sign from the big guy in the sky that Glory had made a terrible judgement call, she could take a hint as well as the next girl.

The gentle sound of her lock clicking caught her attention. Glory turned her head to see Lucy coming into her apartment, "I've been calling you all morning! My god—what is that horrible smell? And why is it so dark in here?" She complained as she closed the door. Glory groaned again and sunk down into her couch, "Go away. Can't you see I'm wallowing here?"

Lucy's heels clicked against the worn hardwood floors as she made her way across the small space. She grabbed onto her curtains and pulled them open, letting in the light of day. Glory scrambled back with an angry slew of curses, causing Duke to awaken from his peaceful slumber. He dug his claws into her legs as if to say he was not pleased. She grabbed onto his fat body and tried to pull him free, "You—stupid—fat—ass—let—go!" She loosened him and tossed him over the back of her couch. He landed with a loud thud on the other side, before waddling away into her bedroom to probably take a dump in one of her favorite shoes as revenge. It wouldn't be the first time.

Glory turned her angry glare on her friend, "My pity party was going so well and then you had to come in here with your Prada and Chanel—looking like a runway model—god forbid any of us should look like normal human beings?! What are parents feeding their children these days..."

Lucy stared down at her friend and the mess that lay around her, "This is worse then I thought, you've gone into full cat lady mode..." Lucy maneuvered around the mess and lowered herself to the edge of the couch, nudging and empty carton away with her foot, "Is this because of Arden Fox? Did he fire you or something?"

Glory squeezed her eyes shut and groaned loudly as she was forced to replay her saturday morning, "No he didn't fire me but I wished he had. He took me to see my god awful mother and I did his dry cleaning—it was a lovely weekend experience..." She whined to her friend as she felt the urge to chug another bottle of wine.

"Bloody hell..." Lucy muttered before she grabbed hold of her friends sweatshirt, yanking her upright. There was a pause before she delivered a hard slap to the side of her face. Glory's eyes snapped open at the stinging pain on her cheek, "Ouch!"

"Don't be a baby!" Lucy snapped at her.

She reached up and cupped her hand to the sensitive spot staring at her friend who had a slightly crazy look in her eyes that said she might slap her again, "You're right, I'm acting like a complete idiot. Thanks I needed that."

She nodded her head and let her eyes rake down the disheveled form of her friend, "You do realize that it's monday Glory..."

"Of course I know it's monday. I'm not completely inept. I made sure to send Royce a lovely email about how I needed a personal day to mourn the death of my pet fish, prince Joffery." She dismissed with a small snort. Lucy gave her a look, "But Duke ate Prince Joffery three months ago. I remember clearly because that was the weekend you spent with that hot barista from the corner market coffee shop..."

"We know that, but he doesn't! Therefore it's still a valid excuse from my excuse bank." Glory proclaimed her cheeks heating with embarrassment as she recalled that weekend and how she now avoided that coffee shop vehemently.

"Since you clearly remembered it's monday that means you also remember you have to be at your press meeting with Mr. Fox in about an hour?" Glory's eyes widened in horror as she jumped up from the couch only to trip over her wine bottles. She stumbled across the floor before catching herself on her coffee table, "Why didn't you lead with that Lucy?! Aren't you supposed to be my best friend? Do you care about my life at all?"

"I told you I've been calling you all morning. Maybe if you had answered your phone—" She mumbled under breath as Glory began to stagger towards her bedroom stripping out of her clothes as she went.

Glory returned thirty minutes later dressed in her funeral garb. Admittedly it was a very nice black number that hung tight to her feminine curves. Her mother had forced it upon her when her grandmother had decided to check out the pearly gates or probably more accurately the fiery pits of hell. Though Glory understood people shouldn't speak ill of the dead so thats why she only thought it quietly to herself. Her grandmother had been even worse then her mother and that by most standards was a hard thing to accomplish.

"Oh mama, what do we have here? This certainly can't be my best friend, who was looking like the swamp monster when I got here." Lucy commented as she rose up off the couch.

"I'm going to ignore that last comment..." Glory replied as she shimmied her arms into her lucky cherry red suede blazer. Lucy grabbed her cellphone off the table and held it out towards her, "Mr. Fox has called you several times while you were getting changed." Glory reached out for the phone quickly but Lucy pulled it back and tucked it into her bra, "But don't worry I handled it."

"What does that mean?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Lucy shrugged, "It means we have less then twenty minutes to get you to that press meeting." Glory gave her friend a pained look as she contemplated just saying screw it and going back to her couch. As if knowing what was going through her head Lucy spoke quickly, "I was to inform you that if you did not show that Mr. Fox said he would personally escort your mother to your residence so you could rekindle your broken relationship."

"I'm pretty sure that he is the devil Lucy. I don't have physical proof yet but give me enough time..." Glory grumbled as she marched toward her front door.

Lucy cleared her throat and Glory tossed an angry look over her shoulder, "What now?"

"Forgetting something?" Her blonde friend questioned. She lifted her brows in annoyance not having the patience for guessing games when she had less then a half hour to prepare for her debut with Arden Fox.

"The dry cleaning—" Lucy reminded with amusement. Glory felt her blood heat to boiling, That settles it I am definitely going to kill Arden Fox. 

Glory ran her finger around the outline of her lips to wipe away the excess lipstick, popping her lips one last time before she flip the visor closed. She tossed her head to the side to look out the window of Lucy's car. She could see the camera and media personal mulling about the entrance to Morgan and Beck tower. A small bubble of nervous energy began to form in her stomach as she thought about the fact that she was about to enter the limelight.

"You've got this! You're Gloriana Marie Novacek, you eat people like Arden Fox for dinner. Dealing with a couple of annoying press people will be nothing." Lucy tried to give her a pep talk. Glory threw a look over her shoulder at her best friend before opening the door and stepping out of the car. She ran her hand over her dress straightening out the wrinkles before she spun back around, "I'll park this hunk of junk and be watching from the crowd" Lucy gave Glory an enthusiastic thumbs up as she shut the door.

She had reached the press conference with only moments to spare. Glory reach up and ran her hand over her pristine high ponytail. The one thing she had learned to do well from her parents was make a good first impression, even if she rarely held to her youthful indoctrination. As she strutted towards the crowd on her stilettos she thanked her mother for forcing her to spend hours parading around in the uncomfortable things when she was a younger woman.

Frankie spotted her manuvering around the crowding press personal. He moved towards her with his confident, long strides, "Wow, you look—" His eyes moved down the length of her. She snapped her fingers in front of his face and his gaze moved back to her face. Glory smirked at his obvious ogling, "You can admire my form later Frankie, right now we have a press conference to attend." His cheeks turned a slight pink as he offered her his arm. Glory placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and allowed him to lead her through the crowd towards the front where there was a tiny podium.

Glory felt a moment of nervousness as she looked out at the crowd. As if sensing that Frankie placed his hand over hers and patted it gently, "Don't worry you'll be fine. They'll probably only ask you a couple of questions. Mostly you're here to look pretty and make Arden look more approachable to the public."

"Oh that I can do—I'm a natural accessory, ask my parents. I made them look great for years." Glory commented under her breath. When the crowd surged forward and began flashing cameras, she could only suspect that the man of the hour had arrived. She chanced a glance over her shoulder to see Arden Fox moving towards them with his usual frown and smoldering bedroom eyes. Glory clenched her legs together and frowned as a wave of desire rushed through her. Apparently her body still wanted a piece of the man even if her brain had come to it's senses.

He reached there tiny pow wow and lifted a hand as a greeting to the onlookers, while he pressed another hand to the small of her back. She jumped slightly at the contact before forcing a smile to her lips. Arden dipped his head down, "I'm glad to see you decided to show up—try not to embarrass yourself or me further. If that's possible..." Glory gritted her teeth together to hold back a rush of insults that sprang to the tip of her tongue.

"You two keep it together for fifteen minutes and we are well on our way to correcting the damage that was done." Frankie said to them before he released Glory. Arden moved them to the podium, camera flashes practically blinding Glory until all she saw was black spots every time she blinked. Mr. Fox lift his hands as if to settle down the crowd which seemed to work quite well, it was as if he truly was a god amongst me the way they responded to his presence.

"I appreciate your questions and interest in my personal life—" Arden began but was quickly interrupted by an over eager journalist.

"The public was shocked to find out that your long engagement to socialite Isobel Carthwright had ended, reports say she left you for your close family friend Brendon Moore. Is this true?" The crowd became quite but as Glory stared out at them, they looked more like hungry sharks waiting to feed. She glanced at Arden out of the corner of her eye and she noticed how tense his body was. His hand was clenched into a fist behind the podium.

"Isobel and I came to the decision together that we had grown apart as—" Before he could finish his reply another journalist jumped in over him, "Reports say that you and Miss Carthwright were seen having a very heated argument outside The Landon saturday afternoon and that she left with Brendon Moore..."

Glory reached out and grabbed his fisted hand in her behind the podium stepping forward, "I've had the privilege of meeting Miss Carthwright and I can say that her and Mr. Fox are on very amiable terms. In fact she gave him her blessing on his endeavor of finding someone with whom to share his life with and I know Mr. Fox wishes her the best in her future as well."

She could feel the heat of Arden's gaze on her but she smiled brightly at the crowd who seemed mesmerized by her presence, as if they hadn't even noticed her until that moment. The journalist who had been fishing for a story made a disgruntled face but backed up, allowing another to step forward, "Miss—"

"Novacek" Glory filled in with her continued smile, she was certain by the end of this her cheek were going to be sore for a week. The friendly looking woman smiled back at her, "Miss Novacek, you were the author of the article that had women everywhere lining up to get their chance with Billionaire Arden Fox?"

Glory chuckled at the question as if she was truly amused, "Guilty." The crowd found her response amusing and laughed along with her.

"In all honesty it was something Mr. Fox and I had discussed during the interview. Though I believe he meant it more as a joke between the two of us—I took the opportunity to help out a man who to me was like any other person on this planet. He just wanted to be love and to be loved." She peered over at Arden who peered down at her. There was a silent moment that stretched between them that was ladened with strange tension. A flash of a camera brought Glory back into herself and she turned her attention back to the crowd, "Neither one of us expected the response it garnished but never-the-less we are pleased, and look forward to the journey ahead of us. I will say this—I do have my work cut out for me." She winked playfully at the crowd, who seemed quite taken with her at the moment.

Frankie approached the podium as the Journalists began to let more questions fly from their lips. Arden and Glory slowly backpedal until they disappeared back into the lobby of Morgan and Beck. Glory let out a small breath as a small tremor worked its way out of her body from excess nerves.

"I suppose for once I should thank you for your quick tongue Miss Novacek—it seems that there is more to you then I first realized." Arden commented. She flipped her gaze toward him to find him looking at her with subtle amusement.

Frankie came in through the doors a moment later, striding towards Glory and picking her up, "You were brilliant out there Glory!" He spun her around once before setting her back down on her feet. She staggered as she dealt with the small wave of dizziness, "Thank you—"

A shriek had them all spinning to the door to find Lucy moving toward Glory with a giant smile, "Girl you were fucking amazing!" Mr. Fox's dry cleaned suit lay gently folded over her arm, "I mean who would have known this morning that—" Glory shook her head quickly to silence her friend.

Lucy lifted a brow before turning her attention toward the two males in the space. Glory noticed the way her friends eyes raked over Frankie in a slow and sensual manner, before she graced him with her award winning smile. When she flipped her eyes to Mr. Fox she lost her smile and her eyes narrowed, "Oh it's you—"

Arden fixed the lapels of his suit, "I can see Glory has been talking about me again..."

Lucy closed the distance between them and shoved the dry cleaned suit at Arden, "This is yours. Next time you want your clothes dry cleaned get a maid." Mr. Fox grabbed the suit, his eyebrows shot up high into his hairline clearly surprised by Lucy's hostile actions. Frankie was wearing an expression of confusion at the interaction. Lucy spun around on her heels, snapping her fingers, "Let's get your fine ass outta' her mama. You've done your charity work for the week."

Glory squared her shoulders and glanced toward her new employers. She knew she should leave now while Arden was recovering from Lucy's blow to his ego, "Call me later this week and we can get dinner somewhere and start going over the application." With that said the two woman strutted out of the building with mirrored smirks of satisfaction. Glory had come, seen and conquered. She was leaving with all her dignity in tact which was more then she could say about her last run in with Mr. Fox.