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There was silence as Lucien silently rocked in his chair, then he let out a large breath and said, “This is obviously not the way I wanted things to work out. And here I was planning on turning over my business to you. Well, that isn’t going to happen.

You really messed up, Mitch. You hurt my girl. ”

“I didn’t want to, Lucien. This isn’t the way I thought things would go, either. I’m glad we stopped this before we made a huge mistake. And, I think it would have been a huge mistake.”

“Well, at least you didn’t do it right before the wedding, like the week before or after marrying her. I think it would have been worse. It is bad, but it would’ve been a lot worse if you were married and then had taken that Stark girl as your lover.”

What if he hadn’t seen Rebecca? Would he have married Lily? He hoped not, but there was no way to know now.

“I’m very sorry,” Mitch said.

“I have a very upset daughter at home who has a wedding dress and no groom.”

How upset could she be? Mitch knew she had been unhappy with him for weeks.

Mitch said nothing more. In time, they would come to see that this was best for all of them, but at the moment, it was too soon.

“I should have never interviewed Garrison Stark’s daughter,” Lucien complained.

“It was a matter of time, Lucien. If it hadn’t been Rebecca, I hope Lily or I would have come to our senses and spoken about our fears. I hope one of us would have called it off before we walked down the aisle. Rebecca just sped it up a bit, but it isn’t solely her fault.”

“I’m just not sure how we go forward from here. I heard that Rebecca Stark quit yesterday. I think that was probably for the best.”

“Yes. I think it would be best if I quit, too,” Mitch said.

“You are a valued, if not the most valued, member of the team, but you’ve broken my trust, and I can’t forgive that. Regretfully, I’ve come to the conclusion that I think it would be best if you and Donovan Security parted ways.”

“I understand that in light of the circumstances. I don’t wish to bring additional pain to Lily.”

“I noticed the ring. Did you do something stupid, like marry Rebecca Stark?” Lucien asked.

“I thought about removing it, but I’m trying not to deceive you. We did marry last week in New York,” Mitch replied.

“That is quick,” Lucien said. “And a bit surprising. You really know how to screw up your life. You’ve ruined everything in less than a week.

I bet you didn’t think about that when you were sleeping with Rebecca Stark.

No one will hire you, not in this industry.

” The man was baiting Mitch. It was harder than he thought not to say anything.

He’d always thought Lucien had an ugly side. Well, he was seeing it.

“I’m willing to take that risk,” Mitch said, barely controlling his anger.

His hands were balled into fists. How dare he speak about Rebecca that way?

It was everything Mitch could do not to stand up, haul Lucien out of his chair, and punch him in the face.

But Mitch and Rebecca already had better jobs and each other. Wasn’t that all that mattered?

“I’m just sorry I had Mrs. Wilder fly over here for an interview, but I didn’t think anything would happen, like you turning into some kind of over-sexed, brainless lunatic. It turned into a shambolic situation and really showed your true colors.”

“If there isn’t anything else, I’ll clear out my desk and email you my letter of resignation,” Mitch said. The desire to hit Lucien still loomed large.

“Lily deserves much better than you.”

Mitch realized Lucien wouldn’t let it go. He wanted his pound of flesh.

“Yes, she deserves a lot more. Sven in accounting likes her,” Mitch said. “He was always looking longingly at her, and he is a nice guy.”

“He is a nice guy. She could do much worse. Well, she already has, thanks to you.”

“Believe it or not, I want Lily to be happy. I’ve found my happiness. It is her turn.”

“I’m already working on your replacement.”

“Good. I’ll wrap up the transactions on my desk and leave.”

“We have some very important meetings coming up,” Lucien said.

“If you’d like, I’ll stay for those and then make my exit, or I will leave today. Your call.”

“Don’t be civil for a letter of recommendation.

I won’t be writing you one. But I need you to clean up the mess on your desk.

You’ll need to stay for the two weeks as outlined in your employment contract, and you are not to discuss Lily in any way.

Do not call, text, or email her. I want you to stay away from her.

And please, please violate your noncompete.

I’d like to drag you through the mud and sue your ass. ”

“My intentions are to go into the private sector. Who knows? Maybe one of our clients is hiring.” I’d love to have them fire Donovan Security.

“Get out of my office,” Lucien spat, like a spoiled child who hadn’t gotten his way.

“Love to,” Mitch replied. He should have just left. But he had never been raised to leave a job half done. He would finish out the two weeks and then leave for good.

***Rebecca***

Okay, Rebecca thought. She had watched her mother make lasagna for years.

She had visited the Tower of London and then actually stopped at a little Italian grocery store near where Mitch lived and purchased everything she needed to make her mother’s specialty.

Okay, some of the items were a little random, but she thought they would work.

That, and two phone calls with her mother later, the lasagna was in the oven, and she had opened the first bottle of chianti and was well into her first glass.

At a little after six, the door opened, and Mitch arrived with a smile. He dropped his briefcase, took off his coat, and made a beeline for Rebecca, who handed him a glass of wine and gave him a kiss.

“Welcome home,” she said and wrapped her arms around her.

“After six years of coming home to an empty, quiet apartment, it was wonderful to have you here, waiting for me,” he said and kissed her. Then he said, “Something smells wonderful, besides you. Are you cooking?”

“Well, I’m trying to make Mom’s lasagna because I know you like it. It is going to be something. I mean it is cheese, sauce, and pasta. How bad can it be?”

“I don’t know if you have ever looked sexier, wearing your little apron and holding a glass of wine.”

“Keep that talk up, and you are going to get lucky tonight, maybe more than once.”

“I think I’m going to get lucky anyway,” he said.

He kissed her again and she said, “I need to pull that lasagna out of the oven in ten minutes or turn the oven down to warm while we do whatever we might want to do in the bedroom to celebrate your return.”

“Turn the oven down to warm now,” he said, and then, “On second thought, allow me.” He went to the oven and did it himself. Then he returned to Rebecca, grabbed her hand, and led her into his bedroom.

Later, after their bodies had been reacquainted after a day apart, they lay together, snuggling under the covers as she rubbed her bare breasts against Mitch’s chest. She was enjoying how his chest hair tickled her nipples as she said, “How was your day, dear?”

He laughed and said, “Bad. Lucien is a serious jerk. This afternoon, he sent me a memo that he wants me to deliver a few things to Iraq next week, and then I’ll be done.”

Rebecca sat up, pulling away from Mitch.

“What?” she asked. “What did you just say?”

“I’ve done it before. It is no big deal.

We have a military contractor in Iraq. We are delivering two helicopters to this American at Collins Industries.

He’s making a mint on military contracts.

The government pays a lot, so I have to go to make sure everything happens smoothly because the contract is worth a lot of money to all parties concerned.

Nothing ever happens. There really isn’t a need for a security detail on this mission, but Lucien is being an ass, so we are pulling out all the stops.

Delivering these helicopters after rolling out the red carpet for them. ”

“Then why do you have to go? Why can’t someone else go?”

“Because I’m the one who has been negotiating this deal.

The military contractor, Jake Collins, is my client.

It will end things on a pleasant note, which is a positive change, as we did not have a good conversation about my leaving today.

But at least I can do this and end things cleanly.

I want to end this position with integrity. ”

“I don’t want you to do this,” Rebecca said. “I’m really worried. I don’t want you going to Iraq.”

“Bex, I used to do this kind of thing all the time when I began at Donovan. Maybe six times a year. You should see my passport. It is covered with visas and stamps. Heck, I was just in Iraq two weeks ago, and the visa is still valid for another two weeks. It is no big deal. You just didn’t know about it.

I even speak a little Farsi, which is very helpful in hotels and restaurants,” he said with a chuckle.

“Let’s just say I can order lamb vs. camel. ”

“This isn’t funny. It is Iraq,” she said. “There is always crap going on over there. I really don’t want you to go.”

“Let’s sleep on it and see how we feel over the next couple of days.”

“Um, I have no say in this, and I know there will be no changing your mind or mine. You are going to do it because you feel guilty, and that is bullshit, Mitch. This is dangerous. Please do not do this. Just walk away. Screw integrity.”

“Honey, my Bex,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “Do you think I’d do anything that would take me away from the woman I’ve been in love with for years and have just now finally gotten together with?”

“I don’t know, but I hope not,” she said and leaned against his shoulder. “You might not see it coming. You don’t know what will happen.”