DARKSIDE

10 | The Penthouse

Dinner date with the boss, surely nothing could go wrong? Except for everything!

Nova knew all of this wasn't actually what it seemed to be right now, this wasn't as wrong as it sounded but she couldn't help her morals. After all, she was her disguised boss's fiance now and that had to speak for itself. And if they were making it a news they sure had it all planned, surely there wasn't going to be any problems.

But no matter what, Nova had to be prepared for any situation that could go wrong and she had been thinking about all of this while getting ready for the date.

Glancing at the million pounds worth of ring – a ring that was a lie, a lie that was for the benefit of her country as well as for the world – she sighed in front of the mirror.

It was clear that Officer Adams and her would be shifting to a penthouse, and Nova already felt the pressure of telling her parents about this. She could lie again, of course, it wasn't like she hadn't lied before. She also just realised that for something that she'd never ever learnt, had never even practised but only started doing recently, she seemed to be pretty good at it.

Convincing people, especially her parents about something that's not true and doing it without batting an eye and maintaining the perfect Nova demanure was the one thing Nova wasn't proud of.

Being a perfectionist sure had its cons and Nova didn't like them.

But since lying was starting to have its toll on her, she decided for the first time and with an unbreakable determination, that she would tell her parents about whatever's going on in her life. And this time, they just couldn't convince her otherwise because MI6 was no joke. Neither were the contracts she signed.

Her father was the best man in her life, but even she knew no matter how good of a solicitor he may be, no matter how good at his job he was, he couldn't file a lawsuit against the MI-6. She could even imagine what kind of complain he would file if he was ever to do that. The complain would surely go someway like how the university had played on brainwashing his daughter and tricking her into doing something that wasn't appropriate for her. And it could be funny if only it wasn't a very probable possibility.

A car honk distracted Nova from her own weighing thoughts and standing up and brushing her hands through her hair she took the clutch in her hand and pressed down on her dress for the night.

The silence in the car when she got in wasn't uncomfortable but it wasn't comfortable either. Officer Adams wasn't much of a talker, that much she knew and neither was she. Everything was working up until now, but Nova still had a mountain of questions, still burning in her head for answers and she knew that Officer Adams wasn't the one who would ever give her them.

She glanced at the man beside her, driving with all the concentration in the world focused on the road. His eyebrows furrowed and cheekbones high just like she remembered the last time she'd paid attention to them. His lips were pursed in a straight line and his jaw sharp and set just like it always was.

Derek Adams was sure a good-looking man. The kind of good-looking you found charming as well as intimidating at times. And because she felt intimidated at that time, she glanced back at her side and stared out the window.

It was as if she was living a different life. Because before all of this, she knew what to do and how to do it in any situation. But now, however, it was as if she couldn't help but walk on eggshells around everybody she came across. If she had to guess she would say it all came with the job.

When the car stopped at a red light and car lights from all directions illuminated the inside of their car, Nova found her gaze going back to Officer Adams.