A/N: Thank you guys for reviewing, I'm glad you haven't given up on the story yet and I also want to thank everyone that is (or just started) following my story. It feels good to know that people actually read this Big thank you to my beta The Yankee Countess. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Know your enemy

"They're all staring at us," Sybil whispered to Tom as they stepped into the big lobby of Crawley Tec. She felt everyone's eyes on her, which instantly made her remember why she'd never wanted to become an actress or get involved in politics.

"You don't know that," Tom whispered back. "Maybe there's something really spectacular going on right behind us?"

Sybil looked up with him with raised eyebrows.

"…Yeah, alright they're starring," he finally admitted.

On the short subway ride from Tom's house to Crawley Tec, (because it turned out there was a subway connection to almost every part of Dublin and it would have saved Sybil a lot of time and money if she'd know that sooner), Tom hadn't stopped talking. Sybil just sat quietly in the overcrowded wagon, pretending she didn't know the blue-eyed Irishman who talked to each and every person sitting or standing next to them.

"You have to learn to let loose a little," Tom told her as they made their way to the elevators, irritating Sybil even further. The only time she had tried to "let loose a little" was years ago. Her mother, father, and especially her grandmother had immediately set her straight. A young lady of aristocratic heritage was supposed to act "decent and proper". In the years that followed, Sybil became shy and withdrawn up to the point where even her own sisters had to tell her to get out more. Her people skills had always remained one of her strongest traits, which perhaps was why she liked nursing so much, because she got to sit, talk, interact, and care for people.

Of course she knew Tom didn't know anything about her life. He didn't know that his comment had upset her or brought on a fresh wave of self-doubt that made her stop in her tracks. Was nothing she did ever good enough? Nursing, she once again reminded herself; she was good at being a nurse, she knew how to be a nurse. So why couldn't she just go back to working at the hospital?

Tom looked back over his shoulder and noticed his companion was no longer with him. "What's wrong?" he asked as he turned around to face her.

"This!" Sybil cried out with a grand gesture indicating the space around them. "All of this!" Tom saw she was struggling to hold back her tears. Everyone who wasn't staring before certainly was now.

Tom rushed towards her and Sybil expected him to tell her to stop acting like a child, but instead he grabbed her by the wrists and dragged her into an empty elevator, away from all the prying eyes.

Sybil waited for Tom to say something, not knowing that he was waiting for her to do the same thing. Eventually Sybil couldn't take it anymore; she had to tell someone about what was bothering her. Her emotions were suffocating her and she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I want to go home," she whispered in a monotone voice. "I don't know anything about running a multi-million dollar company, I just want to be a nurse again." By now the tears were running freely down her cheeks.

Tom looked down at his feet, unsure of what to say to the woman he had only met the day before. "You can't give up now," was the first thing that came to his mind. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. "You've defied Larry Grey; the rest of this is going to a piece of cake compared to that."

They both burst out laughing and missed the ding or ping noise the elevator made, indicated they had arrived at their destination. The doors opened to reveal a very agitated Mrs. Hughes who starred at them, wide-eyed as she took in the sight of Tom and Sybil before her.

"Miss Crawley, are you alright?!" she asked clearly shocked by Sybil's tears. Mrs. Hughes shot Tom a stern look, before asking, "Did he say something to upset you?"

Sybil smiled, touched by the concern the older woman showed for her well-being. "No, no it wasn't his fault," she carefully wiped the tears from her eyes, but Tom's white handkerchief still had some black stains on it when she was finished.

The thought that her make-up was ruined and that she probably looked like a mess almost brought on a new wave of tears, but Mrs. Hughes quickly came to her aid. "Our guests haven't arrived yet," she said.

Sybil released a big breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

Upon entering the meeting room, three men similarly dressed, turned their way. Their Chinese guests had finally arrived, half an hour late, like every other self-respecting business man. As Tom closed the door behind them, all Sybil could manage was a shy smile. All three of their guests rose to their feet, but only the smallest and fattest one stepped forward. He was clearly the decision maker. His lips were set in a thin line and he stared at her over the brim of his thick, black glasses. Sybil's first thought was that the man seemed void of emotion.

Tom cleared his throat and suddenly Sybil remembered the purpose of the meeting. "Hello," Sybil suddenly said with all the enthusiasm she could muster. "I'm Sybil Crawley; it's nice to meet you." She extended her hand towards the man in front of her, who stared at it as if it was a poisonous snake. The other two, who were both large and forbidding looking (and reminded her of sumo wrestlers), gasped loudly. She didn't see Tom, who was standing behind her, roll his eyes in frustration. He firmly pushed her hand back down and shot her a look that said something along the lines of 'are you insane?!'. He shoved her aside and gave a polite bow towards the Chinese man, who after a minute of staring at them in utter silence, returned the gesture.

What happened next was something Sybil had never expected. Tom started to address their visitors in a language that sounded a lot like Chinese. Sybil knew the language had many different dialects, so she was pleasantly surprised when the man seemed to understand what Tom was saying. Who was this man?!

The meeting itself was long and boring, and even though the rest of it was in English, Sybil still didn't understand half of what everyone was saying. In the end it turned out, Crawley Tec's biggest competition was a company based in Beijing that also had an American and European branch. It was called Lee Software Enterprises or LSE in short.

The man that did all the talking was one of the head managers from Beijing and the two sumo wrestlers were his bodyguards; they just sat in the background and never moved a muscle. When Sybil finally worked up the courage to actively participate in the meeting and tell the manager she was no longer interested in selling Crawley Tec to anyone, the man paled. If he was actually capable of showing emotion, Sybil was sure he would look angry, but his lips remained tightly pressed together. A true poker face, she thought.

The next stage of the meeting involved a lot of "trying to convince Sybil Crawley to change her mind". After two long hours, their guests finally gave up.

"It would've been easier if you had just sold the company to us, Miss Crawley," was the last thing the manager had said before he left. "Running this company into the ground will take some time, but in the end, we'll still win no matter what."

Sybil's eyes widened at the smile he gave her before parting. It appeared rather…sadistic, and it sent a chill down her spine.

Tom didn't seem to be all that troubled about it. "Don't worry, they always threaten people; I think it's in their job description or something," he joked lightly, before gathering his things and walking out the door.

Sybil swallowed and took a few more calming breaths before rising. However unlike Tom who seemed rather confident, she left the meeting room with mixed feelings. She wanted to ask him what they were supposed to do next, but was surprised to see that he was nowhere to be found.

She approached Mrs. Hughes, who was sitting behind her desk, staring intently at something on her computer screen. "Where's Tom?" she asked.

"Mr. Branson just went home," Mrs. Hughes replied, looking up at Sybil in confusion. "He said-," Before Mrs. Hughes could finish her sentence, Sybil was already gone and jumping down the stairs, leaving the older woman with a confused, but somewhat broad smile in her wake.

Sybil caught up with Tom near one of the big fountains in the lobby. "Wait! Where do you think you're going?" she called out to him.

"Home," he threw back over his shoulder without slowing down.

"But it's 4 PM!" Sybil yelled as he neared the exit. "The workday isn't over yet!"

He stopped and turned around to face her. "I know, but since I don't officially work here anymore, I'm free to go whenever I want."

He sounded bitter. The man who had comforted her in the elevator earlier that day was gone and his defences were back in place. But Sybil didn't want to give up just yet. "Then you're 'unfired'," she told him. "I still need your help."

Tom gave her a sad smile and shook his head. "What you need, is to call Larry Grey," he simply replied.

"Why on earth would I want to do that?!" Sybil exclaimed. She never, ever wanted to see that horrible man ever again, let alone call him.

"Because even though he resigned, his contract says he has to work here for at least another month before he can leave," Tom calmly explained not even attempting to hide his disdain towards the man. "I know the guy is an a-hole, but he can teach you a lot more then I can."

She was about to tell Tom he was wrong, but he was already out the door and almost instantly vanished in the busy afternoon traffic.

Sybil sighed. Suddenly she felt extremely tired and decided it was time to call it a day. She would ring Larry in the morning, but she wasn't done with Tom Branson yet either. There was definitely more to the handsome Irishman then met the eye.

At least Sybil had learned who her enemies were today. "Know your enemy," her father had always told her. What she didn't realize however was that in a big company like Crawley Tec, anyone could turn out to be an enemy in the end.

TBC

DUM. DUM. DUMMMM, reviews are always welcome.