Nancy had been living with Jason but in her quarters for about a week before Phoebe made her appearance again at the Campbell's mansion.

She had decided not to act too clingy. She decided that the only way to make Jason miss her was to keep a little distance from him. So for about a week,she had stayed away.

Jason had not been bringing female companions to the house but he met with them outside. Phoebe had the privilege of visiting him only because she lived just a stone throw from him and the window of her apartment overlooked his mansion.

There were alot of things she noticed that got Jason thinking that it may not just be that she could see the happenings in his place from her apartment because of her view of his mansion but that she may have a binoculars,that made what she saw clearer.

He had dismissed the thought thinking that she had no reason to spy on him that way.

It was a Friday night and she came and spent the night with Jason though he would rather not have had her visit. He was beginning to get tired of the frequency of her visit but he was too cultured to tell her so. He thought that his body language would be enough to put her off but she seemed to be oblivious to it.

The next day was a Saturday. Jason had got his emotions under control after telling himself all the reasons why he could not allow himself to be attracted to Nancy.

He asked Nancy to have breakfast with him. Do they had been having breakfast together every morning and they would go to work together and when he had to get to somewhere before the office, he always called her a cab or dropped her off at the office before being on his way. They were growing close and most times, they would discuss about the office work and the schedule for the day on the dinning table and on the way to the office.

Jason felt that he could not have been luckier having such a secretary as Nancy. She was a fast learner' and did her work efficiently.

She was also so humble and easy going. All his household staff had grown to love her in the short space of time that she had been living with them

She was also hardworking. Though that was the part that they didn't really agree

But they had agreed to disagree.

Nancy, not knowing that there was a female visitor in the house had brought Jason's breakfast as usual enough for both of them, though she was surprised that Mrs. Potts had made more food. Nancy had simply thought that Jason must have specially requested for that

She had her cup of tea because she could not tolerate coffee

And this had started since her pregnancy.

She set the tray on table and was shocked that the table had been set for three, not two as usual.

'Good morning Sir'

'Good morning Nancy', he replied softly.

'Are we expecting someone to join us?' she asked as she took her seat at the table.

Before Jason could say anything, Someone entered the room and Nancy looked up into the eye of a beautiful woman.

The lady was not very young as she was but no one could deny her beauty. And she was really curvy with flowing curly chestnut hair.

'Yes, I shall be joining you'.

Nancy could not take her eyes off the lady but she felt that the lady did not like her. It was not in anything she said or did but there was this hostile and threatening look in her eyes as she smiled at Nancy that put Nancy on her guard.

'Phoebe, this is Nancy, my personal secretary. Nancy, Phoebe Walkman, my friend'.

Phoebe did not like the way Jason had introduced her. She felt that they were more than just friends and he could have said something like, my lady friend,though she would have preferred it if he refered to her as his fiancee. But lady friend would have sufficed but she was going to make this girl know in no uncertain terms that they were definitely more than just friends.

'Jason darling, but what is your personal secretary doing here having breakfast with you?' she asked, her voice dripping honey as her eyes shot daggers at Nancy, then she turned and smiled sweetly at Jason.

'She is living in the quarters and we have developed a ritual of having breakfast together before going off to work. It is a perfect arrangement that is mutually beneficial'. Jason said eating his breakfast with a great appetite.

'Nancy,why are you not eating? Please eat so that you can tell me some of the programs I have for next week'. he said ignoring Phoebe.

Phoebe was not very happy about this. They ate in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

Phoebe looked at the girl called Nancy through her eyelashes and was consumed with jealousy. Nancy was very beautiful. Even that early and without makeup, her skin was translucent and wrinkle free. One could see that she had not just beauty but youth as well. Her shape was great. Though the tea shirt she wore was on the big size,her firm breasts were still visible and her firm buttocks in the jean she had on was an indicator that she was a beauty. If she were to dress up with the right make up and jewelry, then Phoebe was afraid that she would be no match for Nancy.

And she was living here and having breakfast with Jason every morning. Who knows what else, they were sharing apart from breakfast and a ride to work.

They were close at home and at the office as well. This was dangerous and not a welcome development at all.

Phoebe could see her months of scheming on how to become Mrs Campbell going to waste and her efforts, going down the drain.

She had to do something to stem this development before it got out of hand. But how was she going to do it. If they had had a normal relationship, she would have staked her claim on him but what they had was an open relationship and she dated not show her disapproval openly.

She decided that she would make out time to speak privately with Nancy.

Nancy could feel hostility oozing out of the beautiful lady called Phoebe. She wondered why she was being so hostile. She was not a threat to her nor her relationship with Mr. Campbell. In fact the relationship she had had would last her a lifetime considering the fruit of that failed relationship.

Right now, she was not interested in having any relationship bit to prepare for the birth of her baby and how she was going to cope with being a single mother but a good one to her baby.

The lady had definitely spent the night with Mr. Campbell. Yet she was feeling threatened by the mere presence of a secretary? What kind of relationship did they have then if she was not confident of her hold on her partner or any trust in him.

She felt that she had had enough and put down her spoon and fork.

She said thanks and got up to leave the table but her boss asked her to stay since he still had things to discuss with her.

Phoebe who had been happy that Nancy was going to leave the table,nearly shouted out her frustration, when Jason stopped her from leaving.

Dark eyes looked daggers at hazel eyes and Nancy refused to be intimidated. She had done nothing for which she should be ashamed or for which Phoebe should be hostile to her.

They stared at each other for a long time and Nancy who had wanted to give an excuse why she had to go to her room, sat back down, deciding not to move an inch except instructed by her boss.

She sat back and watched the other two finish their dinner as Jason ignored Phoebe and asked Nancy some more questions about the office while Phoebe seethed.

She felt like standing and throwing down her napkin and storming out the room but that would have been too revealing. So, she sat there and pasted a smile on her face but she could feel her face burning with humiliation and anger. Her cheeks too were starting to pain her from her false smile.

Thank goodness, the meal was finally over as Jason wiped his mouth and hands with the table towel and got up.

Nancy picked the tray and went into the kitchen. She wondered how Jason could be so unaffected. Didn't he feel the tension in the room?

And what kind of relationship did they share that made him act less loving towards Phoebe. She had been expecting a more blatant show of affection and had steeled herself to feel self pity because her of the betrayal of her so - called love.

Nancy thanked Mrs Potts for the delicious meal and went off to her quarters where she fell into the bed drained. Even if she had not been pregnant, she would not have wanted to be the woman who would make another lose their love and that was why it hurt her that without knowing who she was, Phoebe was already judging her and being cold towards her.

But she was not going to allow that bother her because she had a whole lot of other things to concern herself with.

Nancy had to admit though that she was beginning to like her boss quite alot.

She rembered the part he had played at the burial of his late secretary. At first she had waved it off with the explanation that he was just performing his duty as a good boss and anyways, the late Mrs. Amos had deserved it judging from the glowing accolade her colleagues had given her and as a result of her years of faithful service but he had gone the extra mile to give scholarships to the late secretary's grand children and some other noble acts which Nancy had to admit had impressed her greatly.

She knew that the selfish lover she had had would never had done that.

The way he treated his staff was also worthy of commendation. He cared for their welfare. He was a freak for dedication and was strict but he was also king and generous. Just take a look at the way he just helped her. She had materialized out of the blue and yet without knowing her very well nor her background, he had helped her in more ways than one and that was why she was finding her present situation endurable.

It was really easy to fall in love with such a person and with the way they were growing closer these days, Nancy felt that she would have to be careful. But definitely with a lady friend like Phoebe, she had nothing to be afraid of now did she? She felt drowsy. She had wanted to knit some things for her unborn child. She wanted to make some things for it herself and buy the others but she was feeling exhausted and decided to just shut her eyes a little.

She must have dozed. She did that alot these days especially if she was not occupied. She was shocked to wakefulness by a sharp knock on the door.

She dragged herself off to the door thinking that it must be Tim or Sandy coming in for a chat or to inform her that her boss wanted her for something or maybe Mrs. Potts wanted her help with something.

Judging from what he had said during breakfast, Mr. Campbell should have gone out by now. So who could it be and what did they want?

She opened the door to find Phoebe standing there as though she had come for a war.

'Phoebe, you are here. Can I help you with anything?'

'Of course. You can help me with plenty. But the first is that you not set your eyes on my man. I can see what you are trying to do. cozying to him, pretending innocence' Phoebe said looking hard at Nancy.

Her brain was befuddled with sleep. She could not understand what she was blabbing about.

'What are you saying?' she asked.

'Oh, please do not pretend to be innocent or unaware of what I am saying. You better stay in your limit. Jason and I will soon get married and you will just be ruining your life setting your cap on him. He is already caught and he is mine'.

Nancy looked at the woman standing before her, with pity as her words sank in and shook her head.

'If you are so sure that he is yours, why are you standing here speaking to me? If you have an issue we hy don't you discuss it with your lover, why involve me?'

Phoebe was shocked at what Nancy had said. She was right but that only served to incense her further.

'Jason is a very kind and generous man and most times, too trusting and I know the likes of you. You want to reap where you have not shown. Just a few days after moving into these quarters, you are already sharing breakfast with him and and soon, you would want to move into the main building. Gradually warming your way into his life but I warn you that I shall not allow that to happen. So you better stay in your limit and face your work as a secretary and not get any funny ideas because if you do, you do not know what I am capable of doing. If you sincerely do not have any such intentions towards him, then move out and find another apartment so that I do not show you the dark side of me', She threatened.

Nancy was so shocked that before she could think of any other thing to say to her, she had stormed off.

Nancy wanted to go after her and tell her that she got it all wrong and that there was nothing between her and her boss but a professional relationship and that she was not interested in any other relationship with him for that matter but she restrained herself.

'I do not owe her any explanation. If she does not know how to keep her so - called fiance, then that is her business and not mine. I shan't lose sleep over the fact that my presence here is making her feel insecure. If she is not comfortable with my presence here, then she should discuss it with Mr. Campbell and I will willingly leave if he asked me to. Apart from that, nobody was going to drive me from the quarters my boss has given me except I decide to move out of my own accord'. She thought to herself.

Phoebe on the other hand was fuming

imagine that non entity speaking to her that way. She couldn't blame her though. Jason was responsible for the girl's attitude to her.

She just didn't know what to do. To go steady with Steven and encourage him would be accepting defeat and she was not going to do that. She had been able to show Richard the stuff she was made of, a tough stuff. He had thought that she would not survive without him but he had been wrong and she wanted him to see how wrong he had been and that she had done better than him when he found her name linked with such a famous man as Jason Campbell in the papers. She wanted him to die of shame.

As she came round,preparing to go back to her apartment so that she could go out with any of her male friends who was available, she saw Jason coming in.

She decided to wait for him.

'Phoebe, you are still here?' he asked as he got to her. Sometimes rather than drive,he preferred to walk. It was a form of exercise to him. He wanted to remain fit. It was a hobby he had adopted since he recovered from Rebecca's betrayal and was not ready to give it up.

These days though, he was walking out more because of the attraction he had started feeling towards Nancy. She was everything that Rebecca was not and come to think of it,they had more than their love for their job in common.

They both had been betrayed by the people they loved but had survived in spite of that. So, Nancy was a survivor just like him.

True,he had been fed up with life at first and had wanted to end it all, albert in a cowardly way through alcohol but he had pulled through just like Nancy who had also tried to end her life by walking into his on coming car but she had also been able to move on with her life but she was pregnant and he knew that that singular fact would always remind Nancy of her love and she may never forget the villain enough to trust and love another. Though it was not his business if she did not.

She had not told him what had really transpired but she didn't need to. He could deduce it all.

He had sworn off women and so could not encourage this attraction. It had no future at all. He was not ready to go into a relationship where the feelings was not mutual. He had done that in the past and it had nearly destroyed him. Not anymore. So this attraction won't be encouraged at all.

Therefore to ensure that does not happen, he decided to go to a luncheon with Phoebe and thank goodness he found her.

'You are not happy about the fact that I am still around? You do not have to be afraid or think that I have become clingy. I just wanted to get to know your secretary better. So I went to have a chat with her. As a matter of fact, I am just from her quarters. I hadn't expected to see you. I thought you went out with some friends'. She said trying to dispel any suspicion he may have about her.

'Oh, I wasn't thinking along those lines. How could you become clingy when you can have your pick of the men in your life and anyways, we have both been keeping our agreement to have a no strings attached relationship. No Phoebe, I was not thinking that', Jason said and Phoebe seethed but forced a smile to her lips.

Jason continued, 'I am glad you are getting to know Nancy better', Phoebe bit her tongue. She felt that she was going to explode if she heard that girl's name one more time but she kept the smile pasted on her face but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep it up.

'I am happy though that you are still here because I had wanted to call you. I would like for you to accompany me to a luncheon. Would you like to be my companion or do you have other commitments?' he asked.

Phoebe could not believe her ears. It had been long that Jason had taken her out on any social gathering and he had not thrown any himself as well since that first time they met. This was indeed great news.

The smile that spread through her face was genuine this time.

'Of course!' she blurted out and thinking that she sounded too eager, amended, 'I shall not mind being your companion for the luncheon, if you are sure'.

'I am. Why else would I be asking you if I weren't? It is for tomorrow Sunday'.

'So soon, why hadn't you informed me earlier?

'What? You are already engaged for tomorrow?' he asked, thinking of calling up another female companions of his.

'Not exactly. I just thought you should have told me about this earlier so that I could get a befitting dress for the occasion'. She pouted.

Jason thought that women could not do without these things. They were all the same.

'It is not taking place early in the morning. It will take place around 2pm. Do you could get whatever you need from now till then. Come in and I'll make out a cheque out to you. It escaped my memory and I have just remembered about it because I met one of my acquitance who reminded me a d that is why I am back this early. Do come in for the cheque. I trust you to look your absolute best'.