Twenty-two hours later…

Danielle stood behind her now empty desk. Anyone else should be furious, but she wasn't. Yes, the position she'd worked for was gone, and her career plans were changing once again but she wouldn't allow herself to see this as defeat. Even if everyone she knew from this leg of her life would.

Flashback twenty hours before…

It had only taken her boss, Brent Spelling, two hours after she'd woke to call, she suspected from the moment she answered he'd be seething.

"Hello."

"Danielle." He exhaled. "Please, for the love of God, tell me this story is someone's idea of a bad joke."

She'd been sitting in the office with David and Fox when the call came through. She placed her cell phone on the desk with the speaker activated. "Hello Brent, how are you?"

"Don't play games with me Danni! Answer the question, what the hell is going on?!"

She smiled. "I assume you're referring to the mockup article?"

The sound of his fist hitting a desk resounded through the phone. "Damn it, you know that's exactly what were talking about! Do you know what kind of damage that's going to cause? You've practically become come the face of customer relations for the firm!"

Danielle sighed. It was true, being with/in love with a gargoyle would be a P.R. nightmare but she was having difficulty bringing herself to care. "It's a private matter, Brent."

He sputtered. "Pr..Priv..Private? In a position like this Danielle there is no privacy, your life's but under the microscope. Where your seen, who you're seen with, who you're involved with! It all matters!"

Danielle felt her blood pressure raising. "That part is private, Brent. As far as Travis is concerned, you know full well why I left the first time."

They could hear him typing as he spoke. "That was a long time ago, Danni."

She met David's stare from where he sat reclined in his chair. It was more than obvious that he'd gladly step in at any moment, but this was her fight; she holds her ground. "This will more than likely come out, what's on the table?"

The man on the other side sighed, and for the first time since the call began, she could hear him hesitate. "Either clean this mess up, marry Travis if you have to keep him quite; or…"

Fox was sitting next to her and reached over to take her hand. She knew just how damaging these events were going to be for Danielle and her heart broke for her sister-in-law.

Danielle smiled and turned her hand over to return the gesture. "Or I'm fired? I'll be there to clean out my desk in the next two days. You don't have to worry about it, Brent."

David arched an eyebrow at his little sister, impressed at the way she was controlling this conversation. 'She's diffidently my sister."

Brent's voice came back through the line, his tone much softer. "I hope he's worth this, Danni."

End Flashback

As far as she knew, everyone from her staff to her management had left the office upon her arrival, granting her peace and quiet to clear her stuff out. Her responsibilities had already been assigned to Kimberly Chang, a newcomer from Detroit that had been a constant pain in her side for months. In truth though, she saw the quick turnaround as a relief, there wouldn't been weeks of training someone, no endless questions to answer. And she hoped no heated debates with some know-it-all that thought she'd made the mistake of her life.

That last thought dissolved as she turned to face her ex-assistant standing in the door. Tina had been informed this morning of the changes to leadership and Danielle couldn't decide if she were angrier with her or everyone else. To her knowledge, Tina was the only one Brent had shared the mockup with. "Tina, I'll miss you. I'm sorr…"

"Don't." Tina stepped forward and slammed the door. "Don't even pretend you're sorry. When you left in October, I knew you were going to help someone you loved very much." She sighed, and her gaze moved away, focusing on the fall wall. "I just never would have guessed you were messed up with those…"

"Monsters…" That got her attention and their eyes locked. "…freaks, animals?" Danielle moved to stand directly in front of the one woman she really had considered her friend. "They're so far from that, so much more than anyone gives them credit for."

Tina nodded. "It isn't natural."

Danielle smiled, she knew it was the truth. But she also knew that without knowing them, Tina would never be capable so seeing anything else. "I know it's not." She cupped a hand on her shoulder. "If you'd ever like to decide for yourself, there'll be a place for you in Manhattan."

With nothing more to say, Danielle stepped around her and headed for the door. As she reached it, Tina's voice caused her to pause. "You're ruining your life."

Danielle turned to her long-time friend and smiled, a true and happy smile. "No, I'm building it."