Guarding the Rose: The CEO's Secret Duty

Ten years ago, our class had a graduation party. I wore the couture dress my dad gave me for my 18th birthday and happily bounded up to Lorcan with a huge rose bouquet. My grin was wide, so dazzling that even the roses in my arms seemed to come to life.

"Marry me, Lorcan. I'll give you a complete family."

The air that night had been chilly with an evening breeze. Everyone had been cheering for us and my proposal, even our homeroom teacher. Everyone and nature itself had been on my side.

Lorcan, however, only looked out for himself at my expense. He'd frowned at me in disgust and snapped, "Scram, and get the hell away from me!"

The breeze tousled my carefully styled hair and scattered red rose petals all over the ground.

That night, I went home without Lorcan for the first time in ten years. I stayed out late partying.

I slipped off my shoes under the silver moonlight, then gingerly opened the front door of my family villa. That was when I heard a familiar male voice coming from the corner of the house. "Don't worry, I'll bring you to Ashfield."

The young woman to whom he was speaking exclaimed, "Really?"

He sounded as dispassionate as ever. "Yes."

I stood barefoot on the icy tiles, my expression dazed. My heart felt like it had been pumped full of lead. It was as if someone had stolen the air from my lungs.

No wonder Lorcan had told me to scram and get the hell away from him. He'd wanted Sabrina Porter, not me.

A bitter smile curved my lips, but my heart was hollow and full of misery.

…

Our class reunion ended with a torrential downpour. Those who drove here disappeared into their vehicles, while others without cars asked for lifts home. Zoey tugged on my arm and offered, "Tess, why don't you come with me? I'll get my boyfriend to drop you off at home."

"It's fine, I can manage," I turned her down with a smile.

Lorcan approached us from behind and stopped about six feet away from me.

Zoey pressed, "Did you drive here?"

I shook my head, smiling as I held up my phone and waved it. "No, someone's coming to get me."

"Oh…"

As if on cue, a black car drove through the rain and pulled up by the curb. A towering man with a refined bearing stepped out of the car, holding up a black umbrella. He came toward me and grumbled in stiff Credean, "This is some weird weather!"

Something about the way he said it must have tickled my funny bone, for I couldn't help laughing. I linked arms with him with practised ease. "Yes, you'll get used to it."

I felt a dagger-like stare sweeping across me from six feet away. I found it odd and glanced over my shoulder at Lorcan, whose lips were pressed into a thin, hard line.

Beside me, Zoey went still with astonishment. "Is he one of your foreign boyfriends, Tess?"

Lorcan's eyes darkened dangerously, his heart tightening.

With my arm still looped through Jonathan's, I said without answering Zoey's question, "Bye, guys. See you around!"

The car wasn't parked far from the hotel entrance. As I walked alongside Jonathan, I felt Lorcan's dark, heavy stare on me like the sharpened point of a knife, ready to plunge through me at any second.

"It seems you've used me to ward off unwanted suitors again," Jonathan grumbled after we got in the car.

I put my hands together. "I'm truly grateful for your help, Jonathan. This is the last time, I promise."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Jonathan shrugged speechlessly.

I broke into a wide grin at his resignation.

Jonathan Kilbourne was my co-worker abroad, and he came to Credea with me this time because headquarters had arranged for us to scout new talents with celebrity potential to participate in the company's upcoming commercial production.

It so happened that Sabrina was a candidate, too.

The downpour grew heavier and more relentless. Since getting off the plane, I hadn't gotten used to the time difference before attending a class reunion. I was exhausted.

As the rain drowned out the rest of the world outside, I leaned against the window and dozed off.

Sabrina and I were nothing alike. Zoey had once told me I reminded her of a winter fox treading through snow—aloof, elegant, and gorgeous. Sabrina, on the other hand, was an energetic and bubbly beauty whose mother happened to be our family cook.

Sabrina's mother, Nancy Danes, had been our family cook since I was five. Her husband had died from heavy drinking, leaving her to raise her two-year-old daughter.

Generous and kind as he was, my dad took Nancy home and gave her a job. My mom had passed away when I was little, and Nancy practically raised me as her own. She and I were close-knit, and I'd always treated Sabrina like a younger sister.

Two years ago, with some help from my father, Nancy and Lorcan's father, Vincent Steele, settled down together. After that, Sabrina became Lorcan's younger stepsister.

She'd been in elementary school when Lorcan and I were in junior high. As continuity would demand, she'd been a freshman in junior high when we were in high school.

I could only blame myself for missing all the signs between Lorcan and Sabrina. When had they developed feelings for one another?

The suffocating memory of what happened during those wee hours of the morning suddenly flooded my mind.

Doomsday hit faster than any of us could expect it. Five hours later, my dad's company was plagued by a financial crisis and went bankrupt three days later. After a week, scandals and dirty rumors befell the company.

I packed up and left on a plane, flying far away from the land I called home.

My dad had died because of them. He'd jumped off a building, and I'd seen his death reported on the internet.