Gloria Manning had been a secretary for the Marsden family since her twenties. She considered herself both older and wiser than when she first laid eyes on Reed Marsden, the father of Knox and Patrick.

Both men took after their handsome father. Gloria had stayed as his secretary and originally planned to quit after Reed retired. When Knox took over, his father asked her to stay on.

Gloria could never refuse Reed Marsden. So, she worked for Knox despite his aloof behavior which had only gotten worse since his canceled wedding. Gloria never brought the subject up, but she knew Knox was still dealing with the events of that day.

She didn't understand how he couldn't get over the ordeal of being left at the altar. Sure, it was embarrassing... but he was handsome, rich, and successful. All he had to do was pick up the phone and women would come running.

Gloria shook her head as she thought of Knox firing another secretary. He had instructed her to hire someone as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, he always ended up firing whoever Gloria hired within a few days.

Gloria pulled up to Knox's house. It was almost eleven. He, Patrick, and Jason had gone to some gala before Knox left early. Jason called her to run to the office and grab some files to deliver to Knox's home. He said Patrick had negotiated a verbal deal with some company president who was willing to host his next few conventions at the Luxmar Hotel.

"You know how these two are, Gloria," Jason mumbled. "When they say jump, they expect you to already be up in the clouds. If you can hand deliver the file to Mr. Marsden, that would be great. He's not picking up his phone but at this hour, he's probably at home. Patrick and I are still here. He's schmoozing his way through everyone."

Gloria understood. Everyone assumed Patrick was just playing around in the family business, but he worked hard and could turn on the charm when needed. He preferred to work in the background and took it the worst after Knox suddenly went through his downward tailspin after the wedding.

Patrick had to be the one to pick up the pieces of his brother while quietly taking control of the hotel. Every day, he would send Jason to check on Knox. After three weeks of turning his friend and assistant away, Patrick took it upon himself to visit his brother and knock some sense into him. Literally. If Gloria heard the story correctly from a laughing Jason, Patrick had punched his brother until Knox was unconscious.

After Knox came to, it was to his brother begging him to come back to the company. Jason hadn't shared all the details of that day or how Patrick had been able to beat Knox, someone who normally wouldn't allow anyone to touch him. Gloria always suspected there was more to Jason's story but she never pried. That wasn't her place.

She pulled into the drive of Knox's estate, circling the large two-tiered fountain that made up the focal point of his front lawn. She stopped in front of the main doors and made her way to ring the doorbell. When he didn't respond, she entered the house code and used her personal key to enter.

"Mr. Marsden?" she shouted out, knowing he wouldn't hear her in such a large home. The marbled floor looked spotless and she knew Norma Jean, Knox's maid, took pride in that shiny floor. Norma Jean was a Southern woman who truly believed a floor well swept was a house well kept.

"Mr. Marsden, it's me, Gloria!" she tried dialing him again but the phone went straight to voicemail. Jason had assured her he said he'd be home.

Her heels clicked against the marble floor as she made her way to his study. The hall lights turned on when she passed, activated by her movement. She entered his study and looked at the large desk standing against the back wall. A black leather sofa also sat in his study for those days he felt like taking a nap in here. She turned to leave when she spotted a red stain on the floor.

Gloria's eyes narrowed as she bent over to peer at the stain. It looked like a droplet of blood.

She gulped.

A trail of blood led to behind the sofa. She could hear her heart thumping in her chest.

She took a small step forward and inhaled sharply. A familiar white tennis shoe stared back at her from behind the sofa.

Gloria swallowed her fear and slowly took a few steps forward.
Her eyed darted down to the bloodied body behind the sofa,  and she screamed.

Candi waved a hand in front of Nessa's face. "Earth to Nessa. Wake up, Nessa!"

Nessa caught herself as her head had begun to drop face-first in her cappuccino. "Wh-what happened?"

"Will you please drink up? You didn't even finish telling me what happened. So, he remembered you were the one who pulled down his pants? I wonder if it was because you two were at a gym?"

"Who knows?" Nessa shrugged. "He offered me a job again but I refused."

"Why?"

"Why? I don't know? Maybe because he's already fired me. Then, there's the fact that he's arrogant. Let's not mention the fact that—"

"Okay, I get it," Candi giggled. "Just think about your bills, your rent, grocery costs. If you really want to prove to your parents you can make it on your own, you have to get a job. A real job, not another temp position."

"I know."

"And why are you so tired today? Didn't you get any sleep?"

Nessa shook her head and pointed upward, "The ghosties wouldn't let me. My head was pounding all night. It took everything in me to try and block them out."

Candi shivered. "What did they want?"

Nessa stared at her cappuccino. "To warn me."

"Warn you?" Candi's voice rose. She  looked around the room before whispering, "Warn you about what?"

Nessa shrugged. "Nothing. Just a jealous ghost. It's funny in a way."

"What is?"

"I thought only the living had to deal with heartbreak. Apparently, the dead do as well."

"What do you mean?"

Nessa scrunched up her nose and shook her head, indicating she didn't want to talk about it.

Candi sighed and said, "Well, I vote you take him up on that job."

"No way. He's so—"

"Handsome? Rich? Did I already say handsome?"

Nessa frowned. "It sounds like you're the one who wants to work for him."

Candi twirled a pink strand of her hair around one of her fingers. "I would if he asked me, but he didn't. He asked you. Just take the job, Nessa. If you don't take the job, I'll call your parents."

"You don't even know their phone number."

"I can find out." Candi smiled. "And I'm sure they'd love to hear about all the other jobs you've taken lately. Let's not forget that week you worked at the circus."

"It was a carnival!"

Candi shrugged  "So, are you going to take the job? Or am I going to have to go all stalker-mode on your parents?"

Nessa groaned. "Fine. I'll go and talk to him."

"Let me run this by you again, Mr. Marsden." Detective Rick Conners had his eyes trained on Knox. "Your secretary went to your house and found your maid. Your brother and your assistant were still at that fancy-schmancy party. You left early but you can't tell us where you were?"

"Knox, you really should have them talk to our attorney," Patrick whispered.

"I strongly agree," Jason said.

"Why? I'm innocent," Knox insisted.

Detective Daniel Chavez interrupted, "These are just standard questions we have to ask. After all, it's Mr. Marsden's home that Norma Jean Tidwell was  murdered in."

Knox closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at Detective Chavez. "I know you feel like the information is necessary to your investigation, but I cannot."

"Why not?" Rick asked.

"Again, I'm going to have to ask you two to leave." Patrick stepped forward, signaling Jason to help. "My brother was actually fairly close to his cleaning lady and he's taking this rather hard."

"This is a murder investigation," Detective Conners reminded him. "This isn't the first time your brother has been tied to a murder investigation."

"Ms. Tidwell was in her late twenties. Did you have something on the side going on?"

Knox's eyes narrowed.  "Excuse me?"

"If that's not the case, let us know," Detective Chavez jumped in. "We're not asking for deep dark secrets. Just an alibi. If you have nothing to hide, surely you can grant us the information."

Nessa noted Gloria's absence when she entered the secretary's area. The other two secretaries were huddled together near the kitchenette. Nessa rushed past them and towards Knox's door. She lightly tapped on the heavy oak. When no one answered right away, she pushed the door open. "Hello?"

Five men stared at her and she gave a small gasp. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company. I'll just—"

"Donut licker?" Patrick's surprise showed on his face before he turned to Jason who gave a slight nod.

Jason cleared his throat before saying, "Mr. Marsden, I don't think it's that big of a deal to share who you were with last night."

Knox turned to him,  shock in his eyes.

Jason nodded. "You admitted it at the charity event that you two were dating. It's not against the law to date your former secretary."

"What?" Nessa and Knox both said at the same time.

"What's this?" Detective Conners pointed a finger at Nessa. "Are you dating the boss?"

Nessa's mouth fell open.

Jason continued. "She and Mr. Marsden have been dating. Last night he was with her at her place. At least that's what he told me." He turned to Knox, "I'm sorry, sir. I know you wanted this to remain a secret, but these are detectives. Withholding the information would just lead to trouble."

Nessa began rubbing her temples.

"Are you alright?" Detective Chavez asked her.

"My head hurts," she muttered. "It happens when I'm around idiots."

"Are you calling us idiots?" Detective Conners frowned. "That's not nice."

"Be quiet," his partner nudged him before turning back to Nessa. "Were you really with Mr. Marsden last night? Are you really his girlfriend?"

Nessa looked past him to see Knox leaning his head in his hands in frustration. She saw the looks of worry on Patrick and Jason's faces.

"Well?" Detective Chavez pressed.

"I'm not too sure what's going on right now," Nessa admitted. "But as for last night—"

"All we want is the truth," Detective Chavez said.

Nessa placed her hands on her hips.  "I was about to tell you, if you'd let me finish. Last night I was at my apartment alone."

Groans from Patrick and Jason filled the air. Detective Conners chuckled. "Thank you ma'am. You've helped us determine whether--"

Nessa exhaled before saying, "I didn't finish. I was at my place alone...except for my boyfriend." She pointed at Knox. "He was with me last night."