Damien 91.Five minutes later, I was surprised to see her back. She seemed so relaxed as she made her way to me. She hugged me tightly without a word and I held on to her till she had her fill of me."You were early," I told her. "I believed that the slotted time was ten minutes," I added."He was not worth more than five minutes of my precious time," She told me."So what now?" I asked her thinking that we should go home."Let us go to work," She simply replied."Are you sure that you will be able to get anything done?" I asked with concern.She nodded. "I have what I already wanted which was closure but it turns out that I did not even need it in the first place, men like Robert have no power over me," She said.Together, we left the state Penitentiary never to come back again. We got into my car and I drove straight to the office.I occasionally checked my rear view mirror just in case we were being followed. Isabella was my life now and I would do anything
Isabella 92.I had no idea what today was going to bring but I was ready to face it head on. A playful knock sounded on my jaw and I smiled immediately. It was Jackson the joker or Jackie for short. He peeped his head in with one eyes closed."Assistant HR reporting for duty," He said on a robot voice."Come in you goofball," I said with a short laugh and shook my head."And in tow is the delectable Ms. Grace, the event mistress," He added as he walked in.Grace walked in and rolled her eyes. She was weary of his jokes but there was a smile on his face."It's so good to see you boss, It's been hell without you, Grace was mean to me all the time," Jackson complained with fake sadness. It was hilarious."For someone so jacked, you eat like an obese person," Grace said with exasperation.Jackson smiled. "You were totally checking me out if you know I am jacked," He said."Behave yourself," Grace said with a smile."Yes ma'am," Jackson said."You too are a breath of fresh air," I said."P
Damien 93.There was no use playing her game. Rose loved to have leverage over people who were desperate enough. Fortunately, I was not one of them. I knew that if I allowed it, Rose would only tease me with that knowledge of where Vito was. I was not interested in games nor did I have the time.If she did not want to tell me, that was fine. I was confident in my ability to lure him out myself."The fact that you referenced him in our conversation means they he his near," I told Rose. "I will find him without your help," I told her."You should cut him some slacks, he was desperate," Rose said."Rose, if there is nothing else for you to say, I need some privacy, got to prepare for my trip," I told her already bored of her presence.If she was still seeing that needy little scared teenager when she looked at me, then that was her problem.She gave me a slow smile and I knew that she was not going to stop. I had wasted the whole morning talking to Rose and no
Isabella 94.I knew that Natalia and I would never get along but I did not intend to hurt her. I wrongly assumed that she was aware of how things ran in her prestigious family. I felt bad for her and it surprised me. I sat on the public bench and table beside the food truck.I had not yet ordered anything because I was waiting for Damien. I had no idea how Natalia was dealing with the news of Damien's past but I genuinely hoped that she was alright.I smiled as soon as I spotted Damien crossing the streets. "Have you ordered anything yet?" He asked as he joined me."I was waiting for you," I told him. We both ordered extra large hot dogs with ketchup and mustard."I like this," He told me as he ate."Yeah, they make good hot dogs here," I said. He chuckled lightly."No, I meant that I like hanging out with you and the scenery is beautiful, with you I feel normal," He said with a smile as he happily looked around.I looked around also and saw what he meant. We looked like casual busine
Damien 95.Isabella went mute and wide eyed when I broke the news to her. I was terrified of what was going on in her mind. Was she blaming herself? Was she happy? I could not tell."Say something, Isabella," I pleaded. But there was no response. She gave me a haunted look as she shook her head in denial."Please do not beat yourself up on this, you had no control over what could have happened," I implored her."Damien, I need to be alone, I need space," She said in a quiet voice that threatened to break.Being alone was the last thing she needed but I had to respect her boundaries. I reluctantly stood up and headed for the door. I was filled with intense concern as I reached the door."Damien?" She called softly. I turned back to her."Thank you...for letting me know," She said. I nodded a little and closed the door after me as I left her office.I wanted to call Jackson but he was already on his way to Isabella's office. He was all smiles when he came but gr
Isabella 96.It took a while for me to get over the death of my ex. It took days actually. That was a lie, it took more than days. There were times I would be busy going through work, and I would realize that he was dead and a heavy bout of depression would hit me.Sometimes, I would have panic attacks and it would take Damien holding me and whispering soothing words before I got myself back together.I was deep in work when someone walked in. Her perfume hit me nose and I knew who it was. I was actually surprised that she was here. She had been avoiding me ever since I unwittingly blurted out that her mother was a cougar.Natalia sat and made herself comfortable, gazing at me with an blank expression. She had on a peach colored couture work dress and crossed her legs."Please, make yourself at home," I said. I had no idea what she wanted today but she was my boss and the rules were different here. Despite the fact that we were enemies, business was business."I h
Damien 97.I knew it was going to be a long day when I met Natalia in my office waiting for me. With so much happening, I had no time for anyone's drama."What do you want?" I asked, gruffly settling down my suitcase. I had no idea what version of her bullshit was going to be my headache today."To apologize," She said."Apology accepted, you may leave now," I told her, getting ready to work."Please, Damien, just hear me out," She implored which maid me pause. She sounded sincere. I sat down and leaned backwards against the chair.I waited, attentive to what she had to say."I had no right to treat you the way I did and I failed to understand that you are the victim hear. I am so sorry, Damien," She said."Thank you, if you really mean that," I said, mildly surprised that this side of Natalia existed. I had no idea what what she was up to but I suspected that it was going to be something different."One more thing," She said, coming closer to my mahogany desk."I will wait. I know th
Isabella 98.I was lying to myself if I said that I understood what was going on in this conference room. I was even more shocked to realize that the beautifully old lady was Damien's mother. Vague memories invaded my mind as I tried to recall where I had seen her.The smell of apple pie came to my nose and I knew that she made those on the weekends. For the first time, I saw Vito for who he was. In this conference, he had no say. He had been rebuffed twice by his estranged wife and I realized that he almost had no say on this meeting.Was that why he resorted to almost killing me? Because he could not control his wife? Or did he hate women in general. Damien, although looking worried did not seem to care about the meeting.He was more concerned for his mother, because he kept looking at her like she was going to spontaneously combust into flames. It felt so cute to see my husband dotting over his mother."Calm down, son, I promise you that I will not do anything