The Administrative Assistant

Chapter 4 The Void Left Behind

The Sterling Industries security pass was already active when Sebastian handed it to me. He skipped “I told you so” and every question about the last three years.

I ran my thumb across the black card. One swipe took me back to the work I had left three years earlier.

“The venture capital division has been waiting for you,” he said. “Don’t hold back.”

During the following week, I handled the boardrooms, data streams, and negotiations I had once managed from Julian’s apartment. I dismantled a hostile takeover bid before breakfast.

By lunch, I was restructuring a multi-billion-dollar merger. My name appeared on every document.

No one asked me to leave before the investors arrived.

(Julian's POV)

Vance Group was running out of time. Aegis had stopped working, investors wanted answers, and my lawyers were now arguing over patents they had assured me belonged to the company.

Each board call ended with another demand for cash projections.

By the end of each call, another investor was asking when Aegis would return. None of my reassurances lasted until the next meeting.

Late one night, pain hit below my ribs.

It sharpened until I had to grip the edge of the desk.

“Harper.” I had said her name to an empty office.

The office stayed empty. I pulled open the bottom drawer and searched for antacids.

My hand found a plastic pill organizer labeled with each day of the week in Harper’s handwriting. A note was taped to the lid.

*For your stomach. Don’t skip dinner after investor calls. It’s when you’re most stressed.*

I turned the organizer over in my palm. Harper had stocked the drawer and remembered my meals. She had even noticed the headaches I never mentioned.

The last time she asked whether I had eaten, I told her to stop hovering.

The board wanted proof that Vance Group remained stable, so I announced the annual Vanguard Gala.

I booked the ballroom, approved more champagne than we could afford, and took Chloe to a fitting for a glittering gown. With her on my arm, the photographs would show business as usual.

I told the board it would be a celebration and a fresh start. The guest list was filled with the same investors now questioning whether Vance Group would survive.

At the gala entrance, I shook hands and watched the doors. Harper had nowhere better to go. Once her performance failed, she would return and repair Aegis. I had even decided to forgive her.

Every checked invitation made me look up. Harper would return. She always did.

The string quartet played while servers moved through the room with champagne. At nine, the double doors opened, and the first violinist lost the beat.

Harper stood in the foyer in a midnight-blue gown cut for her alone. Her dark hair, usually tied back, fell over her shoulders.

She handed her invitation to the attendant and waited while he checked the name.

Harper crossed the foyer without searching the room for me.

Guests nearest the door began whispering. Several investors I had spent all evening chasing turned away from me and went to greet her.