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CHAPTER 6

Faith lay down on the bed, feeling mentally exhausted. Diana was supposed to come back to work in the next few weeks so she wouldn't have to work for Anthony anymore. At least not as his assistant. She could go back to her old position and avoid seeing him around in the office. What a relief would that be?

The house felt calm and quiet after her father died. The old man kept it lively by constantly yelling and screaming at her. Maybe she will finally be able to sleep at night. And perhaps the nightmares will stop? Time will tell.

Faith decided to get up and check on Mary. She should be home from school and doing her homework right now. She paused in front of Mary's room as she heard her talking. Was she not alone? Faith knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Mary chirped from the other side.

Mary was half lying on her bed with her cellphone. "What is it?"

"Who are you talking to?" Faith looked at her questioningly.

"No one."

Faith observed Mary's face closely. Her cheeks were flushed. Does she have a boyfriend?

"You were on the phone just now," Faith pressed. "Were you talking to someone?"

"So what? Gosh...just get off my case!" Mary cried out.

"Hey, don't talk to me like that," Faith winced.

"Sorry. Just leave me alone, okay? I'm just talking to friends. Do you have a problem with that?" Mary's voice was stern. She had always been headstrong and stubborn. A complete opposite to Faith's calm and timid nature. Their father could never control her.

Faith sighed. Mary wasn't used to be so secretive. But now, she hardly talked to Faith. Teenagers...

She decided to leave Mary alone and visit the department store. She was almost out of food, and luckily she just got paid. Anthony may have acted cruelly back then, but he was the man of his words. He didn't do anything to mess up her position at the company.

She stopped at the aisle containing canned goods. She had been thinking about making pumpkin pie as it was one of Mary's favorite desserts but hadn't gotten around to buy the ingredients. Good thing she remembered now. She tiptoed and reached for the cans that sat on the top shelf.

"Dammit...why did I have to be so short..." she murmured and tried to push the can toward her.

Just a bit more.

Faith pawed at the can, but suddenly, she lost her balance. She grabbed the shelf in an attempt to save herself from falling. Her hand shifted the cans, making them tumble. She thought for sure the cans would land on her face, but suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her waist while the other arm pushed the cans back inside the shelf.

"Be careful," a deep-timbre voice gave her goosebumps.

"Mr. DeMarco," she whispered. She started to panic as she became aware of his arm around her waist. Why won't he let go?

"Why didn't you ask for help? You could've gotten hurt," he leaned down and spoke near her ears. An inch closer, and his lips would touch her earlobe. His warm breath made her skin tingle.

Please let go of me, she thought to herself but didn't dare to say it out loud.

He slowly removed his arm and faced her. She took a good look at him. He looked completely different from the office. He wasn't wearing his usual attire that consisted of a suit and tie. He wore a plain black t-shirt with jeans which he paired with a fleece jacket. The t-shirt tightly hugged his body, showing every curve of his muscles. He had his sleeves rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms. Faith tried not to feel flustered. She knew Anthony was well built, but it was hard to tell underneath the suit.

"Tha...thank you, sir," she muttered hastily.

"We are not at work, Faith. You don't need to call me sir. In fact, stop calling me sir and just call me Anthony from now on," Anthony said. Faith wanted to protest, but his voice sounded firm, final.

"Okay," she said instead.

"Great," Anthony grinned and grabbed a can of pumpkin from the top shelf. "Is this what you needed?"

"Yes sir. I mean Anthony," Faith replied, then quickly took the can from him.

"Anything else I can get for you?" he raised his eyebrows.

"No. I gotta go now. Thanks again," Faith said and looked at the exit. She couldn't wait to get away from him.

"Hang on!"

She halted.

"Where are you rushing off to? How about grabbing some lunch with me?" Anthony said. His piercing blue eyes bored into hers.

"Why?" she looked at him wide-eyed.

"Why do you look mortified? It's just lunch. You like to eat, don't you?" Anthony smirked.

"Yes, but I...I can't!" she said quickly.

"Why not? Got other plans?"

"I um...my sister is probably expecting me home. I am supposed to make her pumpkin pie. It's her favorite, and well...that's why I was grabbing that can of pumpkin, you know?" she went on. She felt stupid right away. Anthony doesn't care about her day-to-day activities. Why can't she keep her mouth shut?

"Pumpkin pie, huh? I like pumpkin pie," he smiled. Her pulse quickened. She had never seen him smile like this before.

"Wo...would you like to come over and have some?" she blurted out again without thinking.

Don't panic, Faith. This is Anthony DeMarco, your boss. Of course, he will say no. He has no time to go to his employee's house to eat cheap desserts. He will definitely say no, she thought to herself.

"I would love to," Anthony declared.

Oh god, why?

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