Serena Mclane's P. O. V I stand there stunned at his outrightness for a few moments, before I blink my way back into normalcy. "Serena Mclane." I say hesitantly. The man grins a wide smile and pulls me into a hug, taking me into shock once more. "Stop messing about Greg." Damien snaps. "Sorry, sorry." He mumbles sheepishly but then glances from me to Damien. "Ah so you're that Serena Mclane." He says coyly. For some reason, minus the hesitation, I can't help but to like this giggling, smiling man. "Okay so what are we looking for?" Greg asks looking at me. I glance at him and shrug, "I'm as lost as you." Damien stares at Greg blankly before the latter of the two men 'Ah's' and rushes towards the small stack of files. A few moments of silence lapse by as Greg rummages through its contents. Finally he emerges with a Manila folder that has a red stripe of tape going across it. He hands it over to Damien who flips it open and scans the contents. Peaking over his shoulder, I try to look at the contents only to see pictures along with columns of writing and comments regarding one of the new prototypes that my father's company is soon to be releasing. "What are you doing with that?" I ask him as he closes it up. He glances at me, over his shoulder. "Borrowing it." He murmurs simply. My eyebrows rise as I look from him to the file repeatedly. "You mean you're stealing it." I state. "Your father owes me a favour, I'm taking him up on it." "You do know that technically your stealing from me." "That is true." Greg inputs while I send him a thankful smile. "Well technically we're not stealing it since I do intend to return it when I'm done with it. It's for the betterment of both of ours companies anyway." Damien says, unrelenting. I calculate what the harm of all this can lead to. I mean if Damien needed it and if it is to endanger the company he would hardly do it in my presence. I purse my lips as I look between the two men and the file still clasped in one of their hands. "I swear if anything bad leads to this-" "It won't." Damien cuts me off. I know of Damien really wants to, he can pin all the blame on me. My father will definitely believe him over me. But Damien doesn't seem like the person to do so. After all he's done for me, why would he resort to sabotaging me like that? Maybe for me to drop my guard. I shake my head and dismiss the thought. "Fine, but if anything happens. I'm not involved." Damien smirks and nods at me. Even Greg grins, "Beauty, brains, and a badass." He says winking which makes me laugh. "Lets go." Damien murmurs, relocating his hand on my waist, slipping the file under his suit jacket. Just as we reach the door, a feminine voice, none other than Nicole's reaches us. "Mr. Mclane. It's good to see you this morning. All your mail is placed on your desk and your coffee will be up in no time." My body freezes upon hearing my father answer back. Oh crap. Damien too stands still before tugging me away from the door. He takes the file from under his jacket and hands it to me, without wasting a second longer, I stuff it into my handbag. "I seriously need to get me one of those." Greg murmurs from beside me. I don't even have time to send him a bewildered look before the door starts to open. All of us look around in alarm to either hide or casually place ourselves as if we are coming over for a friendly, uninvited, visit. If my father finds the missing file we'll be the first suspects. And by we I mean I will be the first suspect. In all our haste to search for a good place to hide, we barely hear the door slowly creaking open. "Sir, I forgot to tell you that Mr. Samuel wants to speak with you. Apparently it's urgent." Nicole's voice comes. My father answers back but that's all that is audible as the door swings open, enough for Nicole's head to pop through. "Back door." She whispers before slamming the door closed. My mind whirls as I look from Damien to Greg before my mind clicks into place. "Follow me." I murmur. Adrenaline pumps through me and the rush I feel definitely doesn't feel as if it's simmering down. Approaching a tiny alcove–just enough for an average sized man to fit through– between two bookshelves, I reach my hand out and find a small handle which causes the partly hidden door to swing open. "This is some type of Sherlock Holmes shit." Greg mumbles from behind me as I easily fit into the gap. Descending down the stairs, I can hear the other two following behind me. "What is this for?" Damien asks, now right next to me. "My father had this built just incase something goes wrong and people can have easy access to get away. Only my father, Nicole–the secretary, and myself know of this door." I mumble. "Seems suspicious to me." Greg comments from behind, "What situations entail the usage of this backdoor exactly?" He asks. I glance at Damien before answering, a small smile on my face, "Someone once said to me that 'Important people don't become important without making a few enemies'" I say, recalling Damien's words from earlier today. "Sounds like a wise man." Damien comments while Greg snorts. "Sounds like an ass." That enough makes me choke on air and coupled with Damien's dry look, I can't help but to let out a small laugh. "What?" Greg says slightly loudly, causing an echoey voice to reverberate around us. "Be quiet." Damien growls out causing me to nudge him slightly which in turn makes him scowl. He's so damn rude. We go down the long of flight of stairs for a good fifteen minutes before we see the door with a light and the word 'exit' written on it. Damien marches towards it and pulls its open just enough to peak at the outside view. He scans our surroundings before motioning for us to follow him. Due to the lack of light in the stairwell, my eyes take quite a few moments to adjust. "Stop loitering around." Damien mutters to both Greg and I. Even Greg squints his eyes while Damien looks unaffected. I glance around at my surroundings to take note of where we are as I know of the hidden stairwell but have never been down it myself before this event took place. It seems to be a simple alleyway where a few dumpsters are lying. Looking back at the door, I can tell it's clicked closed and locked after we came out of it. One way entry, well unless you have the key to manually unlock it. The three of us stealthily make our way to the front of the building where our car is parked. As we round the turn and make our way to the parking lot, a familiar voice reaches us, causing the three of us to freeze. Damien's hold on me tightens while Greg walks off without a word, leaving us behind. I swear, I can hear Greg whistling a tune while he inconspicuously walks away and towards his own car. The both of us turn around as my father makes his way towards us, "Mr. Mclane." Damien says as he shakes my father's hand while I smile at him. "Mr. Stryker. To what do I owe the pleasure." Of course my father ignores me. "We were coming to see you actually. Serena said it would be beneficial for the both of us to see how things run here. The best of both worlds." Damien lies smoothly and without hesitation. My father glances at me, eyebrows raised. "Very well. But why are you leaving so soon? You could have told me. I'd have showed you around myself, personally." My father answers as he looks between the two of us, his eyes locking onto Damien and I's closeness. "Yes but we have to leave, emergency business." Damien answers. "Well I won't keep you waiting. It was good seeing you." My father says shaking Damien's hand once more before leaving. Not even a glance goodbye my way. "That was close." Says Greg now emerging from behind a car we pass, causing me to slightly jump. "Meet us at my office." Is all Damien says as we approach the car. Damien opens my door for me as he passes me a meaningful look causing me to blush and look away. Climbing in, I see Damien murmur something to Greg before the man slides in. I close my eyes and let out a light groan. It's not even been a full day and I'm pretty sure I've broken a few laws already. What is Damien Stryker doing to me?