Chapter 39

**Lily**

“Are you really okay?”, Emma asked me as we entered my flat. It felt good to be in my own home again, it made me feel comfortable and I was finally able to relax.

“Lils, I know something happened to you in the office. Your voicemail sounded like you were in panic.”, Emma sighed, knowing fully well that I wasn’t going to tell her anything if I didn’t want to.

“I just want to know if you will be okay.”, she said, and she sat down on the couch.

“I will be fine, Emma. Really.”, I told her. She wouldn’t buy it.

“Will you ever tell me what happened?”, she asked, looking at me walking around in my flat.

“I don’t know. I’m just choosing now to ignore it. I know you will not approve, but I’m not asking for your opinion.”, I said decisively. I saw her shaking her head on the couch, reaching for her phone. Undoubtedly, she was going to share this with Norah, so that both of them could talk me out of ignoring it.

“Okay, I will let it rest for now.”, Emma said. Her face showed defeat, but that changed soon to a very a devilish grin.

“So, how was it staying with Matteo? His house is huge! Why didn’t you tell us?!”, she grinned, playfully smacking my thigh as I plopped down next to her. I laughed.

“Nothing happened. I wasn’t in the mood.”, I said, rolling my eyes. “He did ask me to stay with him. I think it was his way of asking me to move in with him.”

“He did what?!”, Emma shrieked, turning to look at me surprised.

“I think he did. But if he cannot say it in a way that I understand without having to guess, I’m not moving anywhere.”, I grinned. I grabbed my phone.

I woke up early in the morning in the comfort of my own bed. I rolled over to see Emma still asleep next to me. I grabbed my phone, and rolled out of bed as quietly as I could.

Sitting in the kitchen with some yoghurt for breakfast, I read the text Matteo sent me late last night.

*‘When can I see you again?’*

*‘I miss you sleeping next to me’*

*‘I meant it, Lily. I want you to move in here. I don’t want to sleep without you beside me anymore.’*

I wished I could read Matteo easier, so that I could tell how he feels about me. I wanted to know how he felt about me, because I was relying on him more and more and it was scaring the shit out of me. He had been kind and caring when I needed him and hadn’t pressured me into anything at all when I stayed there. He was maddingly possessive though, which was something that irked me. It made me do the complete opposite of what he wanted.

I also knew that I needed to be home to process everything that happened last week in the office. It might sound strange to everyone, but I’m okay. Strangely enough, with everything that happened to me over the past few weeks, it seemed to fit into the new pattern.

Moving in with Matteo, however, felt way too early.

I decided to go running for a bit. If found some clean gear in the laundry room and left a note for Emma so she wouldn’t worry about me. It felt good to be outside.

Somewhere halfway through my run, I decided to go back to the office today. I was ready to go in and see the aftermath of what had gone down there.

“There you are!”, Emma shouted when I entered the flat.

“I left a note for you.”, I said, as I walked to the kitchen to get some water for me. Emma followed me in there.

“Are you okay?”, she asked.

“Yes, mom, I am fine!”, I said, moving towards the bathroom to take a shower. Again, Emma is following me around.

“Oh, by the way, I’m going to work today.”, I said, and closed the bathroom door just as Emma wanted to walk in. I had to grin softly at her face just before the door closed.

“Lily! Open the door!”, Emma yelled, banging on the door. I ignored her and started the water to take a shower. Somewhere halfway through my shower, Emma gave up.

I was almost whistling when I walked into the office, hoping that Will or Zara were in to get the gossip. I smile when I see Will in his office.

“Hello you! Feeling better?”, Will asked when he saw me entering his office. I nodded and sat down in front of him.

“So, what did I miss?”, I asked him. Will sighed, as he turned slightly to face me. He ran his hand down his face.

“Not that much though. Noah is out on a business trip, so Simon is in charge. And you know how much of a tyrant the old man is. He has been on my back to take care of your accounts while you were out sick.”, he said. He looked tired.

Somehow, it didn’t even surprise me that Noah’s death was being covered up. I don’t know what I stumbled into by getting close to Tommaso and by dealing with the MarBruno accounts, but now I know for sure that my conclusion that these were connected to criminal activity was correct. I blinked my eyes a few times to see Will waving in front of my face.

“Where did you go?”, he asked me. “You were staring.”

“Many things really. I will take back the accounts, Simon will love that.”, I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. The old man disliked Will, but he hated me. I don’t know whether it was personal, or if it was just because we were the people that were checking with the regulations. Or maybe it was both.

“Anything else I should know?”, I asked him. Will shook his head tentatively.

“No, not really. At least not something coming to mind now.”, he said, and he moved back to his monitor. “Oh wait, the guy that used to fight with Noah was here, looking for you.”

I stopped in my tracks. It was to be expected that Tommaso would come looking for me at some point. I nodded and continued to my office.

I had just unpacked my stuff and installed myself in front of my computer when Zara walked in.

“Good to see you back here.”, she said as she closed the door to my office.

“Lily, some things have changed when you were out sick.”, she started. “Noah has been fired from his role, and Simon has taken over.”, she said, bitterness was evident in her voice.

“I know, Will just told me.”, I replied. Zara nodded approvingly.

“Good. You know Simon is not a big fan of legislation and regulations.”, she said. I sniggered, now that was an understatement. Zara chuckled herself.

“He is out looking for war, Lily. I’m warning you to be careful. He wants those accounts that Noah was going on about to get absolute freedom.”, Zara shook her head as she said this. Like she couldn’t believe why someone would want this.

“What do you think? Should we do as he says?”, I asked her. I wanted Zara to be in my corner. We wouldn’t win when it came to Simon, but it felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one with some values and morals around here.

“I have already been in touch with the auditors that came to see us earlier. Just not officially, because I don’t want Simon to find out. Are you okay if she reaches out to you as well? I was thinking if we have them on our side, we might actually be able to stop him.”, she said. It made sense to do this, though I had my doubts that it would stop Simon. But Zara didn’t know what I knew.

I nodded to her. “So, I will resist Simon’s orders and fight back, until it gets too much. Meanwhile, I share with the auditor what he wants to do?”, I tried to summarize.

“Something like that. Be careful though, Lily. I’ve heard some frightening stories about Simon. It’s not just your job that is on the line if you defy him.”, she said softly, caringly.

“And you will do the same, right?”, I asked. Zara nodded and slipped me a piece of paper. When I opened it, I saw a name, number, and email address.

“Audrey is the auditor. She will reach out to the police when we need to.”, Zara was almost whispering by now. I nodded.

It felt good to be doing this, even though it might be dangerous. I just couldn’t sit back and watch everything play out. I couldn’t watch Tommaso get his way without even trying to do something. Who knows who else would get killed? I chuckled at my own thoughts. I was being naïve. Like this 5’7’’ woman could stop the muscular 6’4’’ killing machine.

“Do you think we stand a chance?”, I asked Zara, a slight tremble in my voice.

“I don’t know, Lily. We’re the first ones Simon will want out of his way. Maybe I am naïve, but I feel like I need to try to do something. For my own integrity.”, she answered truthfully. Zara sat in the chair for a few more minutes, saying nothing.

“Well, good. Be aware, Monica is thrilled to have Simon in the office.”, Zara said as she left. I wasn’t sure what she meant by that message, but I nodded anyway. It felt good to have a plan.

I was still in a fairly good mood when I unlocked the door to my flat. Today was apparently not the day that Simon wanted to confront me. So, I dropped my keys on the dinner table, and went through the mail that I picked up. Then I heard someone clearing their throat. I looked up in surprise.

Emma and Matteo were both standing opposite me with their arms crossed, glaring at me.

“Glad to see someone finding this funny.”, Matteo sneered. “You called me to pick you up in a shock last week, and today you go back to the same place? And you didn’t think to send a text?”

He was angry. There was this vein in his neck that started pulsating when he was angry, and by the clenching and unclenching of his fist, I could tell he was trying to stay calm.

“I didn’t know I had babysitters?”, I answered. Okay, so maybe not the best to taunt him when he was already angry.

“Guys, I’m out. But he is right Lily, you should have let us know something.”, Emma said, like she was disappointed with me. It was the worst feeling, to have disappointed your best friend. Emma grabbed her things, hugged me briefly, and then walked out of my house. Leaving me behind with an angry Matteo.