I sat back down at the desk, sighing. Rose had said that a parcel had come for Oliver, so I went down to get it. It was hardly a big parcel, and I don't know why they didn't just leave it up here. It isn't big enough to have to be signed for, but whatever.

Oliver had finished his phone call, and I smiled at him through the glass that separated his office from my desk. He smiled back, which gave me the impression that he'd noticed my absence, but didn't really care. Or didn't mind. Because he might have cared. But that's the same as minding. Isn't it? Oh, whatever.

"You got it then?" Rose smirked. I really don't like her. Doesn't she have any work to do at all? Or does she just sit there and get paid for it?

I nodded. Why bother starting a conversation, when I didn't really want to talk to the woman? I looked back at my computer, and noticed that my e-mail inbox was still open. Must've forgotten to close it down. I clicked on the icon, so that I could see if I'd gotten any new e-mails.

Miley's name was at the top of the list. I'd had three e-mails from her today. Three. Something about that didn't seem right. Okay, there'd been one asking if there'd been any news. And then there'd been a reply, telling me that if I didn't do anything, she'd get involved. So that was two. But what was this third one? I couldn't remember reading a third one, yet it was marked as 'read'. I shook my head. I must be losing it. Who else could've read it? I clicked on it, thinking that I'd read the first few lines, and it would all come flooding back.

You can bet your bottom dollar that if you two are refusing to do anything about it, I will. Because I've had enough of you showing up to Hannah concerts alone. I mean, people are going to think that Hannah Montana is friends with this freaky girl, who can't get a boyfriend. And we can't have that, can we? I mean, not only do I have a reputation to uphold, so do you. So really I'm looking out for you.

Okay, all that was nonsense. I couldn't care less if you showed up to the concert alone, as long as you're happy doing so. But I know that you'd be happier if you were with him, so if you aren't willing to make magic happen, I shall have to do it for you. And okay, you might be mad at me to begin with, but when you guys are living happily ever after (which I know you will) you'll be thanking me, because without my magic, you guys would've never plucked up the courage to do anything. Seriously, you're about as useless as Uncle Earl after he's had seven helpings of Christmas dinner.

Anyway... if anything comes up. Anything. Because you know how good I am at reading signs, and I swear, that boy is sending more signs your way than Cupid sends in a day. Mkay?

Keep me updated!

-Miley

Usually I would've laughed at such an e-mail, but laughing was the last thing I wanted to do. I was sure that I hadn't read that e-mail. So sure. It wasn't the kind of e-mail anyone would forget in a hurry.

Yet... who would read my e-mails? What sort of person would you have to be, to walk over to somebody else's computer, and rift through their private e-mails, just for fun? Or whatever reason they had for doing it.

The answer dawned on me in a matter of seconds, and I looked across the room, to where Rose was pretending to be immersed in a document of her own. She was forgetting, however, that she never did any work. So the fact that she was doing work now... well that was highly suspicious. I watched her for a few minutes, but she didn't look at me. Pushing her to the back of my mind, I sighed, and looked down at my desk. If she'd only read that e-mail, she'd have no idea who Miley was talking about. If she'd read others... well I didn't even want to think about that one.

Lying on top of my other work, a piece of paper caught my eye. Words were etched into the middle, and I leaned forward to read them.

Feel like acting upon your feelings yet, Lilly?

I swear, my heart stopped. Well, there was no question about it anymore, was there? Rose had read the e-mails, and she'd read the ones that had Oliver's name in them... which meant that she had a pretty good idea that I had feelings toward him that weren't regular in a work relationship.

There was only one thing I could think of doing: talking to Miley. Trying not to look worried or unordinary, I got up, picked up the parcel that I'd gone and collected, and walked into Oliver's office, where he was looking oddly distracted. I cleared my throat, and he looked up at me quickly, wiping whatever emotion he had been feeling from off of his face.

"Hi," he said, as though he could think of nothing else to say.

I walked over to his desk quickly. "Um... this came for you. That's why I went downstairs... Rose couldn't be bothered to put it on my desk, so she told them to lave it downstairs. And make more work for me in the process. I swear, that girl is evil." I forced a laugh, trying not to think of how evil that girl actually was.

"Right," Oliver said, smiling briefly. Then he took the small package out of my hands, and looked at it, a confused expression on his face. "It doesn't have an address on it."

I shrugged. "I know. I guess someone dropped it in, but they didn't tell me who. Rose wouldn't tell me either, but I didn't expect anything less. Um... do you need me for the rest of the day?"

"You need to be somewhere?" Oliver asked, putting the parcel down on his desk. He didn't say it patronisingly, more like he was slightly concerned.

"Sort of..." I said, knowing how lame I sounded. But what else could I do? I needed to be away from Rose, and Miley was at home. She'd know what to do. Not that she had experience in this sort of thing, but she'd be able to think up a really good plan.

Oliver looked at me for a second, and I knew that he knew that there was more to the story. But, because he's amazingly nice, he chose not to pursue it, and smiled at me. "You can go. I probably won't be hanging around much longer either, because it's quiet today."

"Thank you," I said, relieved. Noticing a pile of papers on his desk, I motioned to them. "Want me to do something with them?"

Oliver had looked back down at the parcel, and looked back up at me when I said this. "Oh. They can go in the bin."

"Okay, I'll put them in," I said, and picked them up. The look on his face told me that I really didn't have to; that he wasn't lazy enough to get other people to put his rubbish in the trash, but I shook my head. It was the least I could do. He wasn't asking what was wrong, and he was letting me off early. A walk to the trash can - which is on my way out of the room - is hardly challenging.

He looked back down at the parcel, and I walked over to the trash can, making to drop the papers in. Then I saw a crumpled piece of paper. Most of what was written on it was concealed, but I saw my name. My name. Why would Oliver have something in his trash can with my name on it?

Making an impulse decision, I picked out the paper that was in there, and dropped the pile in my hand into the bin. Then I pocketed the crumpled paper, and turned to Oliver. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

He nodded, and turned the package over, pulling it open. I turned and left the room before he managed to get it open.

Rose looked up at me as I logged off my computer and picked up my bag. "Leaving so soon?"

"Oliver said that I may as well go home. It's quiet today. Sorry that you didn't get the same luck," I smiled, pretending that I had no idea what her evil mind had done.

I turned off the light, and walked over to the elevator before she could say anything else. Frankly, I didn't want to hear what she had to say.

Stepping into the lift, I pressed the button that would take me down to the street, and let out a sigh.

---

"Okay, tell me once more. What exactly happened?" Miley asked, remaining incredibly calm.

I rolled my eyes. I'd already told her what had happened twice, and now she expected me to retell the story again? "Basically, I went out to lunch with Oliver, left my computer logged on, she read my e-mails and now knows that I love Oliver, and then she left me a note saying that she knew. Then I went in to ask Oliver to have the rest of the day off, because I had to speak to you, and I found the note that you are holding in your hands in his trash can."

Miley stared at me in shock. I wrinkled my nose, and waved my hand in front of her face. "What are you staring at? I'd just told you this story, so you're amazingly behind if you're only just registering shock."

"No. No, that's not it. You just said..." Miley said, her eyes wide. "You just sat there and said that you love Oliver."

"I did what now?" I cried, jumping up.

"You just said that you love Oliver! You just said: 'she read my e-mails and now knows that I love Oliver!'" Miley squealed, her face breaking out into a huge grin.

What? I didn't. No. I would've known if I'd said that. I didn't. "No I didn't. I said I like Oliver. I know they start and end with the same letter, but they really mean different things."

"No! You just said: 'I love Oliver.'"

"You love Oliver? I thought you loved Jake." This might work. Confusing her.

"I do love Jake. You love Oliver."

I wrinkled my nose. "I do?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh," Miley nodded, a smirk appearing on her face.

Damn it. Didn't work. "No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. You just said it. And I didn't even have to trick you to get you to say it. You said it of your own accord, which makes it even more true!" Miley clapped her hands excitedly, as though I'd just announced my engagement.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to think of a good response. When no decent reply came, I sunk down onto the couch again, and closed my eyes in resignation.

"And you didn't even put up a good fight! How long did you deny it for? About two seconds! Oh my gosh, Lilly. This is huge! You love him? Are you sure? You said that you didn't two weeks ago. But I guess a lot can change in two weeks. Obviously."

"Miley, can we please focus on the problem at hand. Which is that the evil vindictive personal assistant who works across from me knows that I like Oliver, and I wouldn't put it past her to do something evil with that information!" I hissed, sitting up and opening my eyes.

Miley nodded, but it was clear that she still wanted to talk about the fact that I 'loved' Oliver. After thinking for a minute, she began speaking. "Well, from what this note says, she's suspected it for a while. And she obviously thinks that Oliver has a thing for you too, because she sent him one - "

But do I? Love Oliver? I mean, I said it, but it could've been a slip of the tongue, right?

" - and he was obviously unsure about what to do, because he threw the note away - "

But if it were a slip of the tongue, why didn't I notice it? Usually, when you say a word that's wrong, you go back and correct it. I spouted it out like there was never any doubt about me saying it.

" - you think she'd use a different handwriting, wouldn't you? I mean, imagine if Oliver had happened to come across something she'd written - "

But I can't love Oliver. I've barely known him. I mean, he makes me laugh. And I had an amazing night on Friday. And okay, so I felt something weird when I grabbed his hand to pull him through the crowds. But that could've been anything.

" - it really is all a bit stupid. She can't be that imaginative, can she, doing something like this - "

Yet... when he asked me if I believed in love at first sight... I never have. Never. It all seemed stupid. How can you know that you love someone the first time you see them. But when he asked me that, I felt compelled to say yes. Why? I don't know. I just know that he made me believe it. And there could be only once explanation. Maybe I'd fallen in love with him when I first saw him.

" - I think that we can stop her telling everyone. I mean, what's in it for her. She doesn't want a promotion, because she doesn't do any work to begin with. Getting promoted would mean more work - "

How could I have though? I'd have known. I'd have known if I'd fallen in love with him the very first time I saw him. But maybe that isn't what it means. Maybe, you do fall in love with someone at first sight, yet you don't realise it. Maybe it's once you've gotten to know them that you realise. Maybe once you've gotten to know them, you realise that ever since you first saw them, you've felt a connection with them.

" - I think that maybe you should talk to Oliver - "

I can't see any way out of it. He makes me laugh, and when I'm with him I feel like... like I never need to be with anyone else again. God. Maybe I do love him.

"Lilly! You're not listening to me, are you?" Miley shouted, and I turned to look at her.

"Sorry."

"I was saying... that maybe this is what you need," Miley said, quietly.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"Look, we both know that you weren't going to own up to loving your boss any time soon. And Oliver probably feels the same way. You're confused, and I bet he is too, so neither of you were going to do anything. But now, with the threat of how you feel getting spilled... well maybe you should tell him. Before he finds out through Rose, or whoever she's going to go and tell. It would be best. And if this brother of his has any sense, he'd tell Oliver this too," Miley said. She reminded me of a psychiatrist, and I was her mental patient.

"He doesn't know that it's her," I muttered, processing her idea.

"So what? He knows that someone knows. And he also knows that gossip is the way that most people survive around here. So he should be able to put two and two together. He's a lawyer, so he obviously isn't stupid. I know that this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I think it's one of the only ways."

I sighed. She was right. Miley usually was. "But..."

"I know you don't want to. But I'm sure he feels the same way. And, if he doesn't, then tell me, and I'll kick his ass for you," Miley smiled at me.

Well, it's all very well and good for her to smile. She doesn't have to do... this. She doesn't have to do one of the things that terrifies her the most. She doesn't have to stand in front of the guy she loves (because I may as well admit it, considering that Miley won't let me forget it) and tell him that she loves him, and risk him laughing at her.

God.

"Do I have to?" I whined at Miley, sounding like a little kid again.

She laughed at me, and stood up. "Yes. But it'll be over before you know it."

"I won't be counting on that," I muttered, as she pulled me up and hugged me. "When should I tell him?"

Miley shrugged. "That's up to you. But I'd say as soon as possible. And preferably before we leave for Malibu tomorrow. Because while you may be in a different city, you'll still have the weight on your shoulders, and I'd prefer you to be worry-free."

Tomorrow. I have to tell him tomorrow?

"Get it over with," Miley reassured me, as though she could read my mind.

I sighed, nodded and then left the room, walking into my bedroom and closing the door. Miley didn't follow me.

Tell him tomorrow... I thought, as I sat on my bed. Well, sooner rather than later, right?

Okay... so I have 5 days before I go to Italy. I should have 5 chapters left (connection) but there's room for one more that I'm thinking about having. But yeah, enjoy this one. Might have two chapters up tomorrow. Might. Not making any promises.

I actually tried to post this last night, but the document manager was being stupid. So yeah, you'll still get an update(s) today.