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you.”
    I fix him with my most reassuring smile.
    “I’m totally fine.”
    “What happened? You were supposed to be here an hour ago.”
    I grimace, hoping my cheeks don’t burn too bright red with my embarrassment.
    “It was stupid. Just one thing after another.” I let out a sigh as I give him an exasperated look. “I don’t even want to get into it, but I promise it won’t ever happen again.”
    He gives me a hard look and I’m already ashamed by what he must be thinking of me. It is my first day on the job and I’m already making a horrible first impression. I know Declan had high expectations of me, and letting him down is the last thing I want to do.
    “Next time pick up the phone and call me. I was worried sick about you.” He shakes his head. “If anything ever happened to you…” His voice trails off as he squeezes my shoulders gently.
    The way he’s looking at me makes me nervous. He’s always been like a big brother to me, but there’s something different in his crystal blue eyes that I haven’t seen before.
    “I’m fine. Really. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
    “You’ve got to be careful. New York isn’t like that sleepy little college town you’ve been living in the last four years.”
    I give him a playful slap on his arm and am surprised to feel the taut muscle beneath it. Declan has always been slender, but I’d never before wondered how muscular his build might be beneath the expensive clothes he wears.
    “Cambridge isn’t quite the sleepy little town you seem to think it is.”
    His eyes narrow for a second, and then a smile breaks across his chiseled jawline. All of the nervous tension that had built between us dissipates in an instant, and the old Declan I knew is standing in front of me again.
    “I’ve been all over the world and, trust me, every city is sleepy compared to The City.” He puts emphasis on the last part. A New Yorker through and through. He tilts his head toward a door behind the receptionist desk. “Let’s go. Time for you to see your new home.”
    My heart skips a beat as a smile spreads on my face.
    Barnes Media Group is my new home. It’s everything I’ve been wanting for the last four years.

    * * * * *

    I follow Declan as we walk through the offices of Barnes Media Group. This is my first time in this building. The company used to be in a different one, but a few years after my dad passed away Declan moved into this office space on the Upper East Side. I have to admit, it looks like quite an improvement.
    There are rows and rows of cubicles in the middle of the spacious floor with people looking busy, answering the phones and working on their computers. Surrounding the inner area is a line of offices, all with their lights on and doors open.  
    “This place is beautiful,” I say.
    Declan gives me an appreciative smile.
    “It’s all about the image. I tried telling Bill that but he never listened.”
    My step falters as I hear the name. Declan realizes what he’s said at the same time.
    “Sorry,” he apologizes, quickly. “Your father taught me a lot of things. I’m forever in his debt. But we didn’t see eye to eye on everything .”
    “No need to apologize. I know you and Daddy were close.” I give him a weak smile, then add, “Besides, it’s your company now, not his.”
    “Correction: it’s our company. And as long as you’re around, he’ll be around with you.”
    The smile on my face widens and my pulse slows with my breathing.
    It’s strange talking to someone who not only knew my father and my whole situation, but who was also actually close with him. Declan wasn’t just another one of my father’s employees, he was a confidante. He was the man my father trusted enough to turn the company over to when we found out he was sick. There is no one else like Declan. There will never be anyone else like him.
    For the first time, I realize that my father truly had been right about Declan all that time. Looking around,