I hatedI looked at the watch again for the millionth time, nothing. Maybe something was wrong with my phone. I thought to myself as I walked back to the kitchen. "Hey Maria," I said to the housekeeper who was busy washing utensils in the kitchen. "Has Jake called yet?" I asked her hopeful, she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me, I could see the pity in her eyes. She felt sorry for me. "He said he will be late." she finally said, our eyes met, and I tried to hold back the tears welling up. "Oooh," I said awkwardly and walked back to my room. I tried to lie on the bed, still looking at my phone, there was nothing. Jake had called the housekeeper, but he didn't leave me even one message. Maybe I deserved it. I said to myself trying to ignore the urge to break down. I looked at the time again, it was almost ten pm. I put my phone on the night stand and tried to get some sleep. I don't know how long I lay there, unable to do it anymore, I slowly got up and walked over to
Kalia sat in the sterile, fluorescent-lit waiting room of Saint Gregory’s Hospital, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, a mixture of anxiety and exhaustion written across her face. She had been sitting there for days, her eyes glazed over from the endless monotony of hospital life. The cold white walls of the room seemed to close in around her, mirroring the weight pressing down on her chest. Her husband, Ethan, had been in a coma for over three weeks. The doctors had given her little hope. Yet, Lena refused to give up. She couldn't—she wouldn’t.Ethan had been the love of her life since their high school years. They had married young, had children young, and lived their lives with a quiet kind of happiness that seemed impenetrable. Until that car accident. That fateful day when a distracted driver had plowed into their car, sending Ethan into a coma. He had been unrecognizable, hooked up to machines that beeped and whirred incessantly. The doctors had told her that the chances of h
Waiting by the window. I hatedI looked at the watch again for the millionth time, nothing. Maybe something was wrong with my phone. I thought to myself as I walked back to the kitchen. "Hey Maria," I said to the housekeeper who was busy washing utensils in the kitchen. "Has Jake called yet?" I asked her hopeful, she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me, I could see the pity in her eyes. She felt sorry for me. "He said he will be late." she finally said, our eyes met, and I tried to hold back the tears welling up. "Oooh," I said awkwardly and walked back to my room. I tried to lie on the bed, still looking at my phone, there was nothing. Jake had called the housekeeper, but he didn't leave me even one message. Maybe I deserved it. I said to myself trying to ignore the urge to break down. I looked at the time again, it was almost ten pm. I put my phone on the night stand and tried to get some sleep. I don't know how long I lay there, unable to do it anymore, I slowly g
I walked slowly to the cemetery with a bunch of my mom's favorite flowers. Unlike the other tombstones, my mom's was dirty broken and filled with dirt. I sat down in tears cleaning it with my hands. It was written all over words like slut, home wrecker, murderer. I tried to rub the offensive writings but nothing could come off. Then I saw it, the rosary put at the edge of the tombstone with fresh flowers. Five years ago"Really? Tim Bradford?" Naila said when she caught me staring at Tim Bradford. "I have been thinking about the people I will miss, and i don't really want to miss Tim Bradford." i say staring at him through the car's side mirror. "Chen, i love Tim but he was horrible to you in high school."I miss you so much mama! I wish you were still alive to see how well your daughter turned out. I said in tears to myself before standing up and walking away. "You could atleast get an Instagram so your high school best friend can stalk you from afar." Naila said as soon as i w
"Daddy!" I coughed in the upstairs hallway. My lungs are already filled with smoke, as the fire cracked all around us. I watched as the only home i have ever known went up in flames.My father gripped my shoulders shaking me almost violently. His eyes glowed with ao much fury and hate, not at me but at the monster that was attacking us.My father yelled, "Get out of here Paige, get back to your brother and mother. Run Paige!""No daddy no!" i yelled back in tears, he was clearly hurt, his arm was bleeding he was loosing alot of blood fast.His face twisted in pain, and i saw my father crying for the first time, "I love you princess." his voice cracked at the words.I stared at him, helpless in disbelief. He was the strongest man i knew and right now he looked helpless. The man who would let me paint his face and have tea parties with him, the man i loved was saying goodbye to me.Forever.He knew his fate and he accepted it.But i didn't think my heart could survive it. I was not read
JakeIt was a beautiful night, the sky was crystal blue the moon and stars were out. It was calming. Buti rarely noticed things like those, i didn't have the time to watch stars. Am sitted on the rooftop of club Ice, i can still hear the music from up here.. I took a sip of my burbon as i held the glass between my fingers looking out at the city. New York is like a different city at night and its the best view from up here.Am hiding from the various women who have been throwing passes at me all night. It's not like i don't like playing with them, but lately i have lost all interest. When you can fuck any woman in New York city whenever you want after a while it's not as exciting anymore. I liked especially models but which meant they were always dumb, so having any kind of conversation with them is always pointless.I look in the mirror and i don't recognoze myself anymore, i am this cold heartless monster, i have officially become my father.My father was a great dad to my sister a
I walked slowly to the cemetery with a bunch of my mom's favorite flowers. Unlike the other tombstones, my mom's was dirty broken and filled with dirt. I sat down in tears cleaning it with my hands. It was written all over words like slut, home wrecker, murderer. I tried to rub the offensive writings but nothing could come off. Then I saw it, the rosary put at the edge of the tombstone with fresh flowers. Five years ago"Really? Tim Bradford?" Naila said when she caught me staring at Tim Bradford. "I have been thinking about the people I will miss, and i don't really want to miss Tim Bradford." i say staring at him through the car's side mirror. "Chen, i love Tim but he was horrible to you in high school."I miss you so much mama! I wish you were still alive to see how well your daughter turned out. I said in tears to myself before standing up and walking away. "You could atleast get an Instagram so your high school best friend can stalk you from afar." Naila said as soon as i w
Olive. “I’m guessing they got rid of you, Olive, because you are strong and they didn’t like that. The way you grabbed my hand, anyone else in the pack you would have shattered their wrist. I felt the power that’s inside you.” He stood behind me, so close, too close. His hands went to my hips, and i closed her eyes.“I feel your fear. I bet you avoid touch a lot, don’t you?”"I never used my power back in the pack and they didn't get rid of me. No one knows how strong i am. I ran away because they raped me and i couldn't stay anymore. I would hurt them, really bad. All of them." i finally managed to say as it all came back to me. How much my father hated me and mistreated me. “ I am so sorry that happened to you Olive. I really am. No one deserves to go through such treatment and abuse."“I don’t want to die,” i managed to say. “I don’t want to go feral, and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”“Then I will teach you how to handle your strength. I will help you get in control of your wolf,
Kalia.I had been working for him for a couple of months now as his pr, and still I was not used to it. The fact that the very first thing I felt when Jake’s deep, masculine voice pulled me out of the deep sleep I had been in was a shiver of excitement, and not a pang of annoyance, was disturbing on a lot of levels, all of which I was too tired to analyze in that particular moment.“It’s one in the morning, Jake .” I said, as I blinked against the blinding light radiating from the screen of my smartphone. After four months in working for him, I should know better than to be surprised by a midnight phone call, but somehow every time it happened it caught me unprepared. “It’s nine a.m. in England.” He said, “And we have a crisis on our hands?” I immediately rolled over and brushed myhair out of my face, the cool sheets from the side of the bed that had been unoccupied chilling me slightly.“The sky isn’t falling, if that’s what you mean, but we have protesters lining the streets at
Kalia.And I had vowed i wouldn’t become like that. I wasn’t letting anyone have control over my life again.Although, obviously Jake had some modicum of control over my life since he was my boss and my child's father, but that was different. “If you expect me to buy new clothes you have to give me time to shop.” I said facing him with a straight face, after all this was his event he was inviting me to, it only made sense. “You can have the afternoon off.” I shook my head, my tight bun staying firmly in place. “Morning and afternoon. I need some sleep too.”“Morning to lunch hour,” he countered.“Deal.”“No black. No beige.” He added“It’s an art gala, most of the women will be in black.” I said defensively “I know, and that’s exactly why I want you to wear something else.”I frowned. “I’m not in the habit of allowing men to dictate what I wear. I can choose for myself.”He stood from his desk, and I was distracted, as I always was when he surprised me like that, by the superb sha
Jake was from a fairly affluent family, that was general knowledge. It surprised me that he’d had to take out loans to start up his company.When we were married he never talked to me about this type of stuff, or anything business related at all. Which is why I loved our new arrangement, I felt needed and smart. I was not just a pretty girl. “But now you have to play the diplomacy game,” I said.“I would anyway. I develop resort and hotel properties, the public has to have a favorable view of me.”“That’s true.”For the most part, the public did have a favorable view of him. He was charismatic and charming and dated the most eligible women in Hollywood, which put him on the front cover of a lot of magazines andmade him very high profile for a businessman. He was also a slave driving taskmaster, but only his employees knew that. And in fairness, he never expected anything from her that he didn’t expect from himself. In fact, he seemed to expect more from himself.Which was why, even
Kalia. In theory, I liked sexy men, at least from a distance. When said sexy man was both my baby daddy and boss, it made life a bit more complicated. It didn’t really matter, though. Business was business and I had no intention of crossing any lines with him. I wasn’t his type anyway. He liked party girls. The shallower, and the shorter the skirt, the better. Of course, I wasn’t entirely certain what my type was as far as practical application went. Judging by my recent string of failed dates I didn’t really have a type.“How many shots?” he asked, lowering the cup.“four,” I answered, trying to bring my mind back into the present and away, far, far away, from his lips.“Good. It’s going to be a long day.” i sat down in the chair by his desk, pulled my notebook out of my briefcase and sat poised with a pen in my hand.“Why do you do that?” he asked.“Do what?”“Take physical notes on paper. You have a million little gadgets for that kind of thing. I know because most of them were pu
Kalia. In theory, I liked sexy men, at least from a distance. When said sexy man was both my baby daddy and boss, it made life a bit more complicated. It didn’t really matter, though. Business was business and I had no intention of crossing any lines with him. I wasn’t his type anyway. He liked party girls. The shallower, and the shorter the skirt, the better. Of course, I wasn’t entirely certain what my type was as far as practical application went. Judging by my recent string of failed dates I didn’t really have a type.“How many shots?” he asked, lowering the cup.“four,” I answered, trying to bring my mind back into the present and away, far, far away, from his lips.“Good. It’s going to be a long day.” i sat down in the chair by his desk, pulled my notebook out of my briefcase and sat poised with a pen in my hand.“Why do you do that?” he asked.“Do what?”“Take physical notes on paper. You have a million little gadgets for that kind of thing. I know because most of them were pu
Jake was from a fairly affluent family, that was general knowledge. It surprised me that he’d had to take out loans to start up his company.When we were married he never talked to me about this type of stuff, or anything business related at all. Which is why I loved our new arrangement, I felt needed and smart. I was not just a pretty girl. “But now you have to play the diplomacy game,” I said.“I would anyway. I develop resort and hotel properties, the public has to have a favorable view of me.”“That’s true.”For the most part, the public did have a favorable view of him. He was charismatic and charming and dated the most eligible women in Hollywood, which put him on the front cover of a lot of magazines andmade him very high profile for a businessman. He was also a slave driving taskmaster, but only his employees knew that. And in fairness, he never expected anything from her that he didn’t expect from himself. In fact, he seemed to expect more from himself.Which was why, even
75.Jake.I had never seen Kalia look less than perfect. She always looked beautiful, even when she rushed into the office at two in the morning to handle some sort of media crisis. But in a dark navy blue gown with ruffled sleeves, a demure neckline and a back that dipped so low it ought to be illegal, she was stunning.Her hair was pinned to the side so that her curls cascaded over one shoulder, and didn’t cover any of the skin that was on display in the back of the gown. Her makeup was more dramatic than she usually wore to the office and her legs were bare, and on glorious show, the dress barely skimming her knees. And they were amazing legs.My libido kicked into gear, a reminder that I hadn’t had sex in a very long time. But business had been intense and when I hadn’t been focused on my various building projects I had been handling Maya’s big move into her new, off campus apartment. An apartment she hadn’t wanted, because she couldn’t afford it herself. But there was no way I wa
JakeI put my hand on the small of her back, on her bare skin, and I felt a small shiver go through her whole body. She was feeling every bit of the attraction I was. Strange, because I had only ever seen her in herbuttoned up professional mode for a while now, now suddenly she was unbuttoned and very, very hot. Although, she had always been hot. I had thought more thanonce about uncoiling her tightly wound hair and watching the dark curls tumble down.She shifted against me, her hip brushing my body intimately. My muscles tensed and desire roared through me, my body hardening at the accidental contact.I drew her closer, letting her feel. Letting her know exactly what she was doing to me. I didn’t hit on employees as a rule, ever. But she tempted me. And that was a new experience. Women appealed to me, and I desired them. But I had never considered them a serious temptation. If itwasn’t the right time, it was easy for me to leave my date standing on the doorstep and go home withou
KaliaI bit my lip. This side of Jake always confused me . In some ways he seemed more uncomfortable having people know anything good about him.He didn’t seem to mind the negative press that came when he dated one supermodel, then switched to an actress the next night. But he didn’t seem to want to let anyone know about his good behavior. And there was something about that that made me almost like him sometimes, and that made all the other physical things he made me feel intensify.“It’s … okay, events like this are definitely a little bit fake. It’s see and be seen. Most people are flashing their bids all over the place.” I jerked my head toward the glittering celebrities and debutantes gathered around different pieces of art, waving their bids around while they talked.“I don’t play the game,” he said. “It doesn’t appeal to me.”“You have to play the game a little bit, Jake It’s good for business.”“What’s it like for you, doing a job that’s so at odds with who you are?”The questi