The Tie That Binds

by Maura, Catharina

  I stare out the window and lean on my elbow, admiring the view. When I look back at him Daniel is leaning back looking much more relaxed.

  “Thank you. You didn’t have to take me for dinner, you know.”

  He looks at me with such a sweet smile on his face that my heart skips a beat.

  “And let you sit through a night of Lucy and Dominic’s PDA? I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

  I laugh as Daniel fills my glass with champagne before he fills his own. He raises his glass to mine and looks into my eyes as they clink together. “Here’s to us,” he says simply.

  I nod and take a sip, my heart racing. The waitress takes our order but struggles to keep her eyes off Daniel. I can’t help but feel offended even though this isn’t actually a date.

  “How long has it been?” he asks when she finally leaves.

  “How long has what been?” I ask.

  He looks out the window and sighs. “How long have you been in love with Dominic?”

  I freeze and stare at him. He’s called me out on my unrequited love before but I didn’t think he’d ask me so directly.

  “I— why do you ask?”

  He shrugs. “Just curious.”

  “I don’t even know, to be honest. I think I’ve always loved him. It was a very gradual thing.”

  Daniel smiles bitterly.

  “What about you?” I ask. “Is there anyone you love?”

  He pauses and takes a big sip of his champagne before nodding. “Yeah, there’s a girl. I’m not sure I’m in love with her, per se. But there’s someone that I can’t seem to get off my mind.”

  My stomach tightens in what I’ve come to realise is jealousy. I brush it off and smile at him.

  “How? I’ve seen the tabloids and the photos that get stuck on your office door. You make it in there almost every week by being photographed with one model or the other and that’s been ongoing for as long as I can remember.”

  Daniel laughs. “It’s complicated. That girl wasn’t available. I couldn’t pursue her.”

  He’s after a married woman? Or at least someone in a serious relationship. My mind automatically replays his words, my anxiety rising. “Wasn’t?”

  He nods and smiles at me. “Yeah. I think I could maybe have a shot now, but like I said, it’s complicated.”

  I tense and unintentionally glare at him. “Yes. And you’re married.”

  He grins and looks away.

  “How long has that been a thing?”

  He takes a bite of his fish and chews slowly, like he expects to get out of the question that way.

  “You’re curious tonight, aren’t you,” he murmurs.

  I swirl my champagne in my glass and take another big sip before smiling at him.

  “Hmm, well. I answered your questions so it’s only fair.”

  I try my best to pretend like the answer doesn’t matter to me, as it shouldn’t. Just as he did, I take a bite of my food and chew slowly. The food was delicious just a couple of minutes ago but now my nerves render it tasteless.

  “A couple of years. Since around the time I did my MBA, I guess.”

  My heart tightens and I try my best not to show how crestfallen I suddenly feel.

  “That was four years ago. Quite some time to hold a torch for someone.”

  I feel jealous and bitter even though I don’t have the right to be.

  “Who is she?”

  It’s likely someone from our social network, unless it’s someone he knows from work or from his MBA. Daniel shakes his head and smiles. I’m annoyed by his refusal to answer. Part of me wants to insist that he tells me since he knows all about Dominic, but doing so would be beyond childish.

  Since she was unavailable until recently she must’ve just gotten out of a relationship or she just got divorced. Considering Daniel’s type of tall skinny models it won’t be that hard to figure it out. Who got out of a long-term relationship recently?

  “Well, if you want to pursue her, I won’t stand in your way. If you’ve waited four years for her I won’t make you wait another three years until we divorce.”

  He looks at me thoughtfully, as though he’s actually considering it. “Is that so?” he asks.

  I panic. Considering how strongly he seemed to feel about that rule I thought for sure he’d shoot me down straight away. I didn’t even realise I was bluffing until now.

  “I.. Well.. Yeah. If that’s what you want, it’s fine by me.”

  I grab my glass and empty it. I’m angry and I don’t even know why.

  “Hmm. There’s no need. If she’s the one for me then she’ll still be there in three years.”

  I laugh. “You believe in fate?” I ask, shocked. Daniel is the most level-headed person I know. While he’s very chivalrous I can’t imagine him being romantic or believing in fate.

  He shrugs and smiles at me as if to say so what.

  I shake my head. “You’re crazy. Life waits for no one,” I tell him.

  He leans forward in his seat and looks at me, his eyes twinkling.

  “I’ll make you a bet. If I propose within the next four years and she says yes then you’ll owe me a new Aston Martin. It’ll have to be whichever model has just come out then. If I win, I’ll buy you a apartment the equivalent of the Aston.”

  I laugh and shake his hand. “That’s a deal, Daniel. I’ll start looking at apartments.”

  He shakes his head at me as though he’s certain that he’ll win and if I’m honest with myself it hurts a little to know he wants someone so badly that he sees himself marrying her. Daniel is the ultimate bachelor. Girls come and go in his life, and no one has ever lasted for more than a few months.

  “You should come back to work soon, Lyss.”

  I look down and nod. He’s right, of course. I’ve not been in the office since my father died. I can’t stay on leave forever.

  “There’s someone who will be joining our executive training programme soon. I’m hoping you can take him under your wing. I owed his father a favour so he’s starting halfway through the programme. I tried to warn him that the competition will be even fiercer because his peers will know it’s blatant nepotism, but he said he didn’t care so he’s on his own with that one.”

  I nod. I’m pretty sure this dude will quit within a couple of weeks anyway. DM Consultancy is an extremely competitive place. Not many who come in through nepotism are able to last.

  “Yep. No problem, boss.”

  9

  I step through the doors of DM Consultancy with a wide smile on my face. This place is like home to me and I’ve been away for too long. I hum all the way up to the top floor, giddy with excitement. It feels like my first day all over again. I forgot how much I love being here.

  “You’re back!” Linda says, hugging me tightly. Luke nods at me, ever so silent. The guy is brilliant with numbers, but not so much with words. The three of us are the only ones in the executive office department. Others come and go, but the three of us have lasted. Throughout the last couple of years we’ve become good friends and allies. We quickly learned that we need to put up a united front if we want to survive the rigorous training Daniel puts us through.

  Daniel walks out of his office with his secretary on his heels. I hate how handsome he looks today. The suit he’s wearing looks sexy as hell on him and my eyes linger on his body far longer than is appropriate. Much to my dismay a guy I know all too well follows behind Kate, Daniel’s secretary.

  I stare at my ex in surprise. What the hell is he doing here? My eyes slowly drop to the name tag around his neck. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I murmur.

  Daniel smiles when he sees me. “Alyssa,” he says. “Meet Jake, your new colleague.”

  I stiffen. I was hoping I was somehow mistaken about this. Out of all the people that could’ve joined, it just had to be Jake. He turns to Jake and hands him a stack of documents. “Alyssa will be your senior and mentor from now on. She’ll help you get started and she’ll be the one you can
reach out to if you have any questions.”

  Jake and I just look at each other wordlessly. Our breakup was messy, to say the least. Jake was the guy I thought things might actually work out with. I attended university using my mother’s surname. I never told Jake about my family and never gave him any indication that my family was even remotely wealthy. It’s what my father wanted. He wanted me to learn what it’s like to grow up as a regular kid as much as possible. It’s the reason why he told me to use Alyssa Carter here at work too. Our top executives know who I am, but beyond that most of my colleagues are blissfully unaware, as was Jake.

  Right when our relationship got serious he told me we’d never have a future because I’d never be good enough for him and I’d never fit into his life. He said that his family was rich and they wouldn’t ever accept a Cinderella into the family. He told me that the two of us could have fun until we graduated, but that it’d never be more than that. I’m glad he showed me his true colours a few months into our relationship, rather than stringing me along even longer. I was furious nonetheless, though. I dumped a cocktail on his head and threatened to castrate him if he ever dared show his conceited self again.

  “Alyssa,” he murmurs, surprised. “I didn’t know you worked here. The executive programme, as well. You’ve done surprisingly well for yourself.”

  I only just about keep from rolling my eyes. This asshole. Surprisingly well? DM’s executive programme is one of the toughest in the country and my dad would’ve kicked me off without remorse if I wasn’t good enough. He warned me beforehand that he’d fire me and make me work for someone else if I couldn’t cut it at DM. I worked harder than anyone else here just to make sure that never happened.

  Daniel looks at me. “You two know each other?”

  I sigh and nod, part of me too embarrassed to admit I dated this douchebag. Daniel looks at me with raised brows but Jake answers him before I can.

  “Yes, we attended the same university. We dated for a while.”

  Daniel looks at me coldly and I almost want to take a step back.

  “Hmm, really now?” he says, his voice low.

  I nod. “We broke up because he said I’d never be good enough for his rich family,” I tell Daniel, a mischievous grin on my face. Daniel stares at me in disbelief and then starts laughing. “Must not have been that serious then.”

  I nod in agreement. It was never serious enough for him to even find out my real name. It’s not like I even go out of my way to hide who I am. I do have social media profiles and all that, it’s just that I keep them relatively private and usually just pretend like I don’t do social media.

  “Join me in my office for a minute, Alyssa.”

  I nod and follow him in, pausing at the threshold. My father’s desk is still there, untouched. Daniel closes the door behind us and I blink away the tears that have gathered in my eyes before he notices.

  He walks to his desk and shakes his head. “That guy?” he says. “Really?”

  I roll my eyes. “Don’t judge. I’ve seen some of the girls you’ve been with.”

  He leans back in his chair and shakes his head. “No, Lyss. You’ve seen some of the girls I’ve been photographed with.”

  I blink in surprise. Surely he isn’t insinuating that not everything I’ve seen is real. I know the media likes to twist things just to get a juicy story out, but there’s often a grain of truth to it. He pushes a folder my way before I can overthink it.

  “Luxe. One of our oldest clients. Out of everyone they are the one client I thought would stick with us, no matter what. But now they’re threatening to terminate our contract after we deliver the new packaging designs and our proposed marketing strategy, unless we give them twenty-five percent discount. They’re saying they don’t have faith in us without your father here.”

  I shake my head. “Impossible. We need them to let us implement the marketing strategy. We can’t afford to give them more discount because we’re barely making any money on them as it is. If we give them more discount that’ll set a precent I’m not comfortable with.”

  Daniel nods at me. “Exactly. Can you handle this?”

  I nod. “I’ll try, but if they’re intent on leaving us then they’ll do so.”

  Daniel sighs and pulls a hand through his hair, messing it up. “Are you doing okay?” I ask. I walk around his desk and lean against it, looking down at him. I haven’t actually stopped to wonder whether he’s doing alright. He’s doing my father’s job now on top of his own, and he’s constantly confronted with his loss in this office.

  “We can remove the desk, you know. You shouldn’t leave this all here. I can pack it all up. Looking at it all day will just be hard for both of us.”

  Daniel stares at the desk opposite him looking so lost that my heart breaks. “Hmm.. I’ll get someone to do it this weekend. I don’t think it’s something you or I are ready to do soon, but it does need to be done.”

  I stare at him, unable to determine whether he’s really okay or whether he’s just putting up a good front. It’s been over a month since my father died. Has he been staring at my dad’s desk all this time? We’ve been married for two weeks and he never once showed me how much pain he’s in, but the agony I’m seeing in his eyes as he stares at my dad’s desk tells me everything I need to know.

  “Okay, alright,” I murmur. I comb through his hair with my fingers, carefully straightening out the mess he made. I smile when I’m done and pull back only to find Daniel staring at me with wide eyes. I belatedly realise what I just did and cradle my own hand.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, Daniel. I didn’t mean to..”

  I feel mortified. In the last couple of days the lines between Daniel and I have begun to blur. I’ve gotten so used to him throwing his arm around my shoulder or playing with my hair that I didn’t think much of it. I forgot that we’re at work and that my behaviour isn’t appropriate.

  He shakes his head and smiles. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. Thanks for fixing my hair,” he says. The way he smiles at me is sweet and almost shy. It makes my heart skip a beat and I step away from him feeling flustered.

  I all but run out of his office, praying my cheeks aren’t flaming. Jake is standing at my cubicle when I walk back and I sigh. I really can’t be bothered with this guy.

  “You can sit there,” I say, pointing at the empty cubicle next to Luke. He nods but rather than going to his cubicle, he hesitates and lingers at mine.

  “Lyss, we’re good right?” he asks. I groan. “Yeah, we’re fine. Get me all the data on Luxe. They’re one of our oldest clients. I need summaries of the information we have. I need details of our past contracts with them, employees who have worked with them most frequently, details on our key contacts there and a copy of our latest proposal, including a full breakdown of the costs.”

  Jake looks startled. “I won’t repeat myself, Jake. You’d better have gotten all that. I need it on my desk within the hour. If one of the interns hasn’t shown you how to use our systems yet then I recommend you learn quickly.”

  He looks angry and I can’t wait to see what kind of bullshit is going to come out his mouth now. “I’m not your little bitch, Alyssa. I get that you’re still bitter about our breakup, but you can’t take it out on me at work. That’s unprofessional. I’ll let it slide this time but I’ll be reporting you to HR if you pull this shit again.”

  I roll my eyes. “Are you an idiot? Did you get into uni the same way you got into DM? Didn’t you hear the way the CEO introduced you to me? I’m your senior, so yes, you are my little bitch. Now get to work or get the fuck out.”

  Linda whistles while Jake’s face keeps getting redder and redder. He looks at Daniel’s office as though he wants to storm in there and demand retribution, but he probably knows Daniel is just as likely to throw him out. His father might have gotten him in here, but he won’t be able to keep him here. After stewing for a couple of minutes he finally stalks off and gets to work.

  “Fifty-three minute
s,” I yell over. He clenches his jaw and starts typing furiously. Luke chuckles. “Don’t worry,” he says. “She’s been here longer than any of us. She’s everyone’s senior, not just yours. And yes, she’s just as tough on us. Don’t take it personal.”

  Sadly for me but fortunately for Jake, he actually gets the information to me in time, robbing me of an excuse to get rid of him. I mull over it and draw up a plan but I’m not a hundred percent confident about it.

  I knock on Daniel’s door with the outline of my plan in hand. He’s on the phone when I walk in so I stand and wait in front of his floor to ceiling window. The skyline looks stunning as the sun slowly sets.

  Daniel joins me when his call is done. He stands next to me, his arm brushing against mine.

  “I think they’re bluffing us,” I tell him. “I’ve gone over the data and the calculations over and over again. None of our competitors can afford to give them the rates we do. I’m eighty percent sure they’re bluffing. Daniel turns to face me and nods. “I agree. I think you’re right.”

  I look away and try to gather the courage I’ll need to tell Daniel about my plan.

  “Would it be okay if I request a meeting with them?” I ask, my voice soft. Daniel looks at me and tilts his head in question.

  “I want to talk to them in person. Remind them of the relationship they had with my dad and how much of a betrayal it is for them to do this to us right now. I’m a Moriani, after all.”

  Dan smiles at me and nods. “That might just do the trick. Have the little asshole sign an NDA and bring him with you.”

  I hesitate. “Are you sure?”

  Daniel nods. I sigh as I walk back to my cubicle to print the non-disclosure agreement and set the appointment with Luxe. I don’t want to bring him, but since Daniel suggested it I have no choice. I slap the NDA on Jake’s desk. “Sign this. The boss told me to bring you to tomorrow’s meeting with Luxe. I’ll take you, provided you sign it.”

  He frowns. “I already signed an NDA when I signed my contract.”

  I shake my head. “This NDA is specific to me. Read through the terms. It states that nothing you hear during meetings you attend with me can be revealed. Not even intra-company. The NDA you signed only covers sharing information with those outside of DM.”