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[Legione Sumus]

Andrew Mitchell

[align=left]As Mrs. Shale's personal assistant, Andrew had essentially taken over the company during her honeymoon.  In reality, things pretty much ran themselves and mostly, he did a lot of the work anyway.  Mrs. Shale wasn't lazy, but she trusted people to do their jobs and do them well.  He just kept her on track.  He had worked with the Shale's since they laid the first brick, and that hadn't changed with the death of Emily's parents.

Emily was back though and Andrew wanted to make sure that she was ready to come back into her role.  She entered her office and he had a coffee ready for her - just the way she liked it.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Shale," he said, a bright smile on his face. "How was Italy."

"It was abosolutley wonderful, and you've known me since I was a little girl.  How many times do I have to tell you to call me Emily." It was their typical interaction.

"As always, at least one more time, Mrs. Shale."

Emily gave him a grin.  She enjoyed the familiar banter. "Fine - I'll deal with it for now. How's Daniel."

Andrew smiled at the mention of his husband. "Very well, he of course sends his regards.

"I'm glad. Now - get me caught up.  Any fires to put out."

The gears shifted fast to work mode. "None at all.  Everything ran smoothly. I only have a couple of things for you to deal with.  The Board discussed upgrading our security in the building and feels that now is a time to do so.  They've given you control of deciding what.  I took the liberty of doing some research.  Her is my recommendation." He handed her some pages.

She flipped through them. "Durante Securities. Thoughts?

"They have a good reputation - solid company to do business with. Very professional."

Emily nodded. "Call them up - let's get a quote. Something else?"

"Ana Vega contacted us - wants to discuss a charity with you. Second Chances."

Emily smiled at that. "Set up the meeting," she said.

Andrew nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Shale." He turned to follow her instructions.

[Rachel Shale]

Rachel didn’t come to the Shale Building often, but the people there knew her face. When she came in to have lunch with Emily, they checked her in rather quickly and escorted her to the appropriate part of the building. Rachel tried to remember how long it had been since she had bern with Lucio. She checked the date on her wallet, but it didn’t help. She didn’t remember what date it had been when she had last seen him. As long as she kept busy, she was usually fine, but she got antsy when she was out of his presence for about a day.

Lucio was amazing and Rachel was sure she loved him already. She couldn’t believe how fast it had happened. It wasn’t just the sex - which was amazing. It also wasn’t about the gifts. He treated her like a princess. There was more to it than that. She hadn’t said it to him yet, but had started calling him the Italian word for love “amore”. She didn’t know when she’d see him again, but she hoped it would be soon.

Lucio had also encouraged her degree. She was now working so hard on her thesis her professors wouldn’t be able to say she was behind when she came back for the spring semester. If anything, she was ahead now.

Rachel turned her focus back to Emily which was difficult. She loved Emily with all her heart, but she found it hard to think about anything besides Lucio and how much she needed him. Rachel would text him after lunch. She couldn’t do so before or during or she would lose focus. Andrew came out of Emily’s office and gave her a smile.

”Rachel! Always lovely to see you. Having lunch with your sister?

Rachel smiled at him. Andrew was a family friend. ”Yes! I figured it was time for her birthday lunch!” Emily’s birthday just happened to be Christmas Day, and a tradition had started where Rachel would bring her lunch for her birthday - usually a week or two before.

Andrew smiled noticing the bag of food she carried, and opened the door for her. ”Enjoy! Lovely to see you as always.”

Rachel thanked him and entered her sisters office.