CH 22 * P CH 22 Harmony Harmony sat at her desk and got ready for the day to begin . She had no idea how the other employees of the company were now going to see her . She had not wanted any of that to come out . Her sad , pathetic history with Damien was now out and exposed for all to see . They would all now look at her as having blinkers on , that she had been blinded to the cheating ways of her boyfriend . She wondered just how dumb someone had to be , to never see their other half was cheating on them . And shed not seen it , never looked for it , because she had trusted him . Was she really so blinded by her love for him ? That shed never once seen anything suspicious at all . In any of his actions or words to Chloe , shed been right there most of the time to see it all . She should have seen the way they looked at each other , any glances or inconnotation in their words , from the moment that they had decided to start sleeping together . If that came about after her and Damien , she was as yet unable to get past her thoughts while inside Garretts office of herself being the mistress , but if that was the case why would Chloe stand for it ? She didnt understand anything anymore , about any of her relations with either of them . Or was her foolishness in trusting him , believing that he loved her and no one else , solely because shed been alone for so long . That a part of her craved to have that family and love that shed lost when her parents had died . So , she had simply put blinders on herself , and refused to allow herself to acknowledge any of his faults , or things she might consider as flirting or odd behaviour between him and Chloe . Because if they did break up , shed once again go back to being all alone in her life . She had been an only child and losing her parents and becoming an orphan had been very hard on her. There had been so much love within her family , shed always known her parents loved and cherished her , were proud of her . Losing them had changed her , and shed become a bit on the introverted side . Felt full of loneliness and sadness during her time of grief , something shed suffered alone . She still to this day , blamed herself for their deaths and how could she not , when that car accident theyd all been in was her doing . Shed been the one to get the job out here with Blackwell Industries and they , of course , had wanted to drive her out here and help her settle into her new apartment and new life . 1/4 CH 22 +8 Point Only to have them be run off the road by another driver , that had fallen asleep behind the wheel , and careened into them and their vehicle had gone off down a steep embankment and rolled over and over to crash at the bottom , where only she had survived . Shed not known a single person out here , to help her through her grief over their deaths . She knew that their deaths had been caused because she had chosen a job in the next state over , and they wanted to be with her for as long as possible before only being able to see her in the university breaks , between semesters or trimesters . If shed never taken that job , theyd still be alive today and she knew it . Harmony had to deal with a lot in the two weeks that led up to her start date at Blackwell Industries , not only funerals and insurance but learning to be alone , shed ended up just burying herself in the new job that first year , until Damien had come along and coaxed her out of her shell , and convinced her to go on a date with him . His life had been happy and filled with people , much like her parents old life had been , and it kind of helped her as well . Shed not really made many friends , just worked and had co workers she would sit and talk to , but kept things work related most of the time . Even now , after theyd broken up , shed gone back to being alone , because all of her friends now were actually his friends , and not just his , his and Chloes at that . So her social circle was once again down to nothing . Her life was lonely once more , shed lived inside her apartment only going out for interviews and food shopping . To avoid , and she knew it , his very large social group , not one of them had called or texted her to see if she was okay , even though he was now openly dating Chloe . It was clear that they were all his friends and none of them were willing to be separated from him and his wealth and status . To remain her friend , they were likely never actually her friends at all . Or were just like Damien himself and only concerned about their status in the society pages . She was hoping that coming to work here at Owens Construction she could make a fresh start for herself and meet new people , make some friends of her own , outside a relationship . Friends that were not attached to her because of some boyfriend she had . She knew she needed to do that , or she was going to be lonely for a very long time . This place did have nice friendly people working here . She had liked it here those first two days . Now though , they all got to see the things in her life she didnt want them to see . Everything about her had just been exposed to all here in Owens Constructions , just how very screwed up it was , when all she really wanted was a normal , happy life , with a few happy 2/4 CH 22 smiling friends around her . Friends that she could talk easily with , have lunch with , and maybe come the new year go shopping with , go out to eat with or see a movie with . Was that too much to ask for , really ? She was called down to HR , Deidre wanted to speak to her . It was mid morning , and she sighed and got up , So it begins . She thought to herself , wanted to stay positive but really couldnt manage it today , it seemed . She had turned to her work and not even at this point taken morning tea . Please take a seat , Harmony . Deidre waved at the chair in front of her desk . How can I help you ? Harmony asked her . Youre not in any trouble , Harmony , but it has been brought to my attention . There are some sensitive issues going on . Youre in the paper I saw , along with your now ex , and his new girlfriend . She shook her head a little . Why people cant leave things alone I dont know … she kind of sounded disappointed , to Harmony How are you feeling today ? Deidre asked her . Harmony frowned a little . Um , confused to be honest . She finally answered her with full honesty . Deidre nodded her head . I feel that , did you know I once had a similar issue myself ? she huffed . Not a good memory and its not a good feeling to find yourself suddenly in the papers without warning . My husband is 15 years older than I am , and I too went through what youre going through right now , having to be seen in the papers , I mean . Not the same situation . I dont know why its in there , weve been over for nearly two and a half weeks now . Harmony sighed , and she didnt understand it at all . Hmm , try and breathe , dont let it suffocate you , I got all sorts of names tossed at me , it wasnt pretty or fun , and can be downright demoralising at times . Lucky for me , I had Scott right there to back me up the whole time and didnt we show them . We have been married for 39 years now and are still happy . Its a bit different for me though . Harmony huffed I dont have that . Actually you do . I believe Garrett is going to back you , like his father did I. Why ? I dont understand that . And she didnt . She had been his secretary for all of two days now , it was a bit weird in her books . My son , likes things to be fair , and well , she sighed On the quiet just between you and me now . He was going to marry at 18 , found his fiancée cheating on him , caught her in bed with 3/4 + Points CH 22 another , much like you did your man . Oh , I didnt know that . And shed not , couldnt imagine anyone cheating on Garrett . He was happy and charming , seen to be liked by all those around him . Hmm , it was a long time ago , but it burned him . Im still trying to get him to date . She chuckled a little But my boy is stubborn . Hes going to help you , its his nature , so it might seem as though hes meddling a little bit . But really , hes on your side and just wants to help . He doesnt need to , I imagine itll blow over at some point . I think the best course of action is to ignore it . Harmony stated Im just a bit concerned as to how it will affect my job here at the company . She sighed , telling her truthfully . Oh , there will be none of that . You , my dear , were wronged by that boy Damien and everyone here will see that . We also dont approve of gossip , so none will talk about it , likely just want to know how youre doing . Were big on caring . I kind of got that feeling , she smiled just a little I felt very welcomed into the company right away . Good that is what I wanted to hear . Now off you go back to work , Garrett was a bit concerned about you , called me to talk to you . Said you were more quiet than usual , and it was bothering my boy. Oh , I didnt mean to do that . She shook her head . Deidre waved it off . Not a problem , hes observant is all . Take a breath , try and relax and just go about your day like any other . This company takes care of all its employees . I assure you of that . Regardless of new or old . That was nice to hear , and Harmony walked out of Deidres office feeling a little better than when she had entered it . She was not in any trouble , just a check on how she was doing . 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