"Did you hear it?"

"What?"

"There's something going on with the shareholders."

My hands stopped before reaching for my empty lunch box.

Crumbs of cheese sticks were sticking around the round corner of the gray metal.

I took a discreet glance at Lucy and Karen leaning against the counter near me. Lowering my gaze, I focused back on putting the box inside my bag. But my ears had another plan.

Karen clicked her tongue. "There's always something going on with shareholders. What's new?"

"No, Karen. This one is serious. There was a meeting between two of the shareholders and the CEO."

"How do you know?"

"Alen told me the other day. The one from finance department, remember? He's a friend of the new executive assistant."

"Yeah, the one with a hard crush on you."

Lucy scoffed with a smile. "You're delusional! Alen just helped me pick up some files that day. Nothing else."

"Uh huh, and every other day he snags you up for coffee breakfast from our doorstep. Totally nothing else."

Lucy snickered. "Karen! No."

"Anyways, back to shareholders. So, they had a meeting with the CEO. What's the big deal?"

"I don't know much but Alen said something happened with their contract papers. Someone stole them, I guess."

My heart jumped high for a second.

I tried my best to keep my hands from shaking.

Karen scoffed. "Those ol' fools. Can't manage simple papers and tries to be this big ass Bruce Wayne."

"Bruce Wayne is hot!"

"So, is Alen."

"Karen! He's our neighbor."

"Our neighbor with hearts in his eyes for you, yeah."

Lucy grumbled.

But my mind was whirling with the news. Which of those two shareholders reported to Devon? That too, right after the week at Sutherton's!

What the hell would Devon even do now? Would he figure out it was Sawyer, it was us!

Fuck.

I leaned back, closed my eyes, and pinched the skin between my brows.

"Mira, hey."

I opened my eyes to see Sean walking toward me.

Clearing my throat, I straightened in my seat with a forced smile. "Hey."

"Sawyer is calling you in his cabin. Some urgent case," He pushed his glass up his nose and furrowed his brows in concern. "Is everything okay?"

No. Nothing was okay.

"Yeah," my smile strained a little more while I stood up. "It's fine I guess. Just sir being sir."

"Still calling him sir?" He offered a soft smile.

I just shrugged with twitching lips and rounded the counter, trying not to let my legs shake while moving.

I knocked on Sawyer's office and waited while clenching and unclenching my fists.

"Come in," a grave voice rumbled from the inside.

And something in my stomach dropped further.

Did he know about the rumor?

I took a deep breath and turned the knob.

The icy chill of the air conditioner greeted me as I stepped inside. It was much colder than other days as if it was a warning to not shit with the owner of this cabin. At least, not today.

I gulped and stood before the stoic man in navy blue button-down.

His lips were pursed as he worked on his laptop.

Flashes of those warm lips pressing against mine sent tingly shivers down my spine. And I cleared my throat.

"Sir?"

Sawyer motioned for me to sit in response, not sparing me a glance.

He typed on his laptop for a while longer before shutting it down and looking up at me.

His eyes seemed to rake over my fitted white blouse with the sleek black skirt in a way that made my insides warm. Those tingles from earlier were back with renewed vigor.

"Thought I told you to sit," his deep voice had a husked note as he spoke.

"I'm fine." I clenched my hands together to suppress the rising flush on my skin.

Sawyer straightened in his seat and the fire in his honey-gold gaze turned icy cold.

"You may want to take a seat for this, Hayes."

For some reason, I didn't like the way his rasped voice turned so frigid and formal.

One thing was sure, though. Things were bad. Real bad.

I took a moment to brace myself before slowly sitting down before him.

"Yes?"

"You heard about the news I take it?" He rested his elbow on the table.

The news...

I nodded. "I did. It was surprising but an expected outcome. After the way everything happened..."

I didn't dare to elaborate, feeling like it was too open to talk about that stuff even though we were safe behind closed doors.

Sawyer hummed. "Do you know who they were?"

I shook my head. "There were two of them. But who, I don't know that."

"Ben and Sutherton."

I flinched, hearing their name out so loud. It was pathetic to act like it was a dirty little secret.

But then, it really was a dirty little secret, our secret. The one I wished to bury so badly.

I gulped down a sour taste in my bud. "How do you know that?"

Sawyer bit his lips. "Not sure. But I have a hunch it's them who went to complain for their stolen bones. We made quite a scene with them, after all."

"What..." I cleared my scratchy, cold throat. "What are you going to do now?"

Sawyer raised the temperature with a button. "Change of plans."

I was looking down and fidgeting my fingers when I looked up hearing that.

"What?" I frowned.

"Let's lay low for a while."

I blinked. "What?"

Sawyer tilted his head to the side. "You know what I mean, Doll."

"But..." My mind was still reeling. This was too much too suddenly. "How long?"

Sawyer shrugged. "Long enough. Now, go on. Lunchtime is over. Customers are waiting."

And I realized one thing for the first time since coming into this cabin today.

Sawyer did not smirk once.

***

At night, Yuvan and I were having dinner on our bed. Our menu contained takeout pizza, soda, and a sappy romcom with the cringiest romance scenes ever.

Miss Jane still hadn't come back and we were crazy lazy to cook so the sibling night in. Not to mention, I needed an urgent dose of laughter at those crappy pick up lines so that I won't fret over the possible police call coming on behalf of Devon.

Would police even call or straight pound on my door-

"Ow! What?" I glared at Yuvan, rubbing the side of my head.

"You didn't laugh at Tasha flipping on her heels during the ramp walk." Yuvan took a big bite of the pizza, keeping his eyes on the screen.

I scoffed. "Tasha is a bish. She deserves this for trash-talking Lucy in the makeup room."

Lucy was our resident goody-two-shoes female lead and Tasha was her opponent in the office who had a crush on their boss-the muscle-packed, olive-skinned, Middle Eastern male lead. They were having a friendly office beauty pageant and Tasha was set out to ruin Lucy.

"I don't get it. Why they have to be so hung up on one guy like he's the only one left on sale in the world." Yuvan gobbled up another bite when Lucy was announced as the winner.

"That's the way with the movies. Love triangle sells, I guess." I hummed in response to Yuvan when Tasha stomped her foot and limped away, swaying like a cranky granma.

"It's a mess."

My mind went back to Devon and Kara and I washed down a hard lump with my soda.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "But betrayal sucks more."

"Sis?" Yuvan looked at me with concern laced in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

It was a lot harder to see the screen with my sudden blurry vision.

I blinked a couple of times and cleared my throat.

"Yup. I'm great." I grinned wide at Yuvan.

He didn't return the smile. Rather his frown deepened.

"Is it Sawyer?"

My heart jumped for some reason.

Now it was him and that blonde kissing that flashed in my mind. And something inside me sizzled. The strangest part was, that Sawyer's memory had a much stronger reaction than Devon's.

Weird.

"No. Nothing like that."

Yuvan straightened. "Liar."

"Yuvan!"

"Don't Yuvan me. I saw the look on your face when I said his name. Is he hurting you? Jess said he is notorious with girls."

"Who's Jess?"

"Some girl at his nonna's."

Oh, no. He's smiling.

I squinted my eyes. "And how did you meet her?"

He shrugged. "She's a relative of that family. Nonna Viv's brother's granddaughter."

"Nonna Viv, huh?" I smirked.

Yuvan rolled his eyes. There was a small hint of a smile on his face.

I laughed. "Okay, tell me more about this Jess."

Yuvan huffed. "There's nothing to tell. She visited nonna Viv for the weekend and we happen to be in the same grade so we just talked. Did you know, she makes amazing origamis? She even taught me to make paper swans and..."

Yuvan's eyes gleamed brighter and he flailed his arms and told me about Jess. He clearly got 'crush' written on that face.

I smiled at my brother and listened to him.

At least, he was not asking about me anymore. I didn't know what I'd have told him.

I might be the best liar to a thousand other people but this was my brother. I couldn't lie to him. I couldn't disappoint him with my low acts of deception.

Wasn't I just preaching forgiveness just the other day? What would Yuvan think that I was going against my own words and seeking revenge, regardless of the noble cause?

"...psychological work and it's fascinating! Her father is a genius, don't you think?"

I flinched out of my thoughts when he put his hand on my shoulder. "Huh? Oh, yeah, it's good."

Yuvan pursed his lips for a second. Then he turned off the TV and twisted on the bed to face me.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

I opened my mouth.

"And don't give me that 'nothing' bullshit."

"Language, Yuvan."

"Truth, Sis."

"That's right. I'm your big sis so I get to talk like that. Not you-"

"I'm dead serious, Mirasol Hayes."

Welp. This looked serious.

The cold tone in his half-broken voice was quite intimidating even. Boy, he was really growing up into a man.

"Why do you folks just shake and grow up from cardboard boxes to skyscrapers? It's unfair," I sighed, brushing his floppy mop.

"What?" He swatted away my hand and held it between his. "Sis, I promise I won't judge you. Just tell me."

Judge me?

"Why would you judge me?"

"It's okay, Sis. Grown-ups do it all the time, I know. I'm fine with it."

"Yuvan, I really don't understand. What're you talking about?"

"Well, you and Sawyer... together... you know."

My jaw just unhinged and dropped somewhere.

And to add fire to that, flashes of that stolen kiss once again poked my mind.

Fuck you, mind!

"No," my mouth formed a big O. "No, Yuvan. I don't know. You don't know. There's nothing to know."

"But, Sis-"

"Enough!" I took a deep to hide my flushing cheeks. "Nothing is going on between Sawyer and I. Not like that. We told you remember?"

"Then why are you blushing?" He crossed his arms.

"Am not."

"Am too."

"Yuvan."

"Mirasol."

I huffed. "Okay, fine. There is something going on with us."

Yuvan's lips began to stretch.

"But no 'you know' scene. Get your mind outta the gutter. It's purely official."

"Purely official attraction, yeah." Yuvan nodded, biting his lips.

I felt like stomping my legs and flailing my arms.

This boy was impossible!

But before I could do that, Yuvan grabbed my shoulders in a surprisingly firm grip.

"Listen, Sis. Whatever it is that's bothering you, don't think too much. Let it happen whatever is happening. Just trust your gut. It'll tell you what to do at right time."

Trust my gut...

How could I trust my gut when every time I did that, I got nothing but heartbreaks and a hot trail of destruction behind me.

What we were doing was risky enough, I knew. But I never expected Sawyer to pull out first. It was he who convinced me to join in the revenge scheme. Why was he shying away now? What he got left to lose?

Our plan was foolproof. And even if we get caught, he had the option to point fingers at me and wash his hands off. And I would gladly take the blame for I was involved in this not only for his justice but for my revenge as well.

This was not a charity. I got in knowing the consequences. Although, I admit, Yuvan wouldn't deserve the mess coming from us. And that was what I feared the most from this risky mission. More than cops banging down our door at a movie night.

Yuvan's disappointment... His career... His entire future... All would be ruined if I got caught.

But what about Sawyer? Sure if I was out of the scene, it'd be difficult for him to continue the mission. But he already had the resources to fulfill his plan. He could have managed just fine without me. Then why? Why was he playing safe and for how long?

What did you really want, Sawyer?