Betrayed by his fiancée hours before their wedding, CEO Mason Caldwell impulsively finds a last-minute bride, Gianna to spite his ex. Gianna is bound by a contract to Mason, who has vowed to never open up his heart to anyone ever again. But when some unexpected feelings begin to bloom between the two, it seems there might be more danger looming, as well as bitter truths that surface from the past to tear them apart.
Lihat lebih banyak"Why the hell am I being fired?" Gianna demanded as she burst through the door in anger.
The manager looked up from his laptop, eyebrows raised. He leaned back in his chair but didn't say a word. "I said, why am I being fired?" Gianna repeated, now leaning over the desk. She slapped the pink slip she’d been given down over it. "This says 'termination of contract' but gives no reason why. What did I do wrong this time?" Rather than answering, the man picked up a stack of papers from his table and flung it across the desk at her. They went flying in the air around her. Gianna flinched. She was stunned as the papers rained down around her. She just stood there motionless for a few seconds then bent down to gather the scattered papers. While she picked them up, she read the words on one of them; “NOTICE ON COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT”, “EARLY SCRIPT LEAKS FOR BRAVADOS III", as well as other evidence, including a chain of emails exposing the truth about the leaked scripts incident that happened a few weeks back. A knot tightened in the pit of her stomach while she went through each of the documents. She looked up at the manager imploringly. "I had nothing to do with this!" "Maybe not directly," he said, steepling his fingers. "But it was your boyfriend who did the leaking, was it not?" "Ex-boyfriend!" Gianna shouted, outraged. "Marco and I broke up months ago, that asshole. This has nothing to do with me!" The man shrugged. "Be that as it may, the agency has decided you share culpability since the leaked materials clearly came from your end." "That's ridiculous!" Gianna's face was bright red now. "Marco and I aren't even on speaking terms. Why would I help him?" "I neither know nor care about your personal affairs, Ms. William. Since the culprit has absconded and you’re the only one we can link to him right now, be rest assured you’ll be taking responsibility." He picked up his laptop again, signaling the end of the discussion. "The decision has been made. I suggest you show yourself out." Gianna stood there, trembling with all the shades of anger, disbelief, and despair there could be. She looked down at the incriminating emails again in silence. Then she turned around and headed for the door. “Our lawyers will be in touch,” the manager added. Gianna slammed the door behind her. She found her way to the bathroom as soon as she got out, stumbled over to the sink and leaned against it while staring at her reflection in the mirror, feeling lost, hurt, unfairly treated. How could this be happening? After all her hard work, all her struggles to finally start making a name for herself in the industry? This was supposed to be her big break with the Bravado movie franchise. And now some ex and the agency were trying to snatch it all away. Gianna dug into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. She found Marco's name in her contacts, her thumb hovering over it as her hand shook with anger. They hadn't spoken in over a month, not since that horrible blowout fight after she discovered he'd been cheating. She was disgusted just looking at his name on her screen. But she had no choice. If she didn't confront the idiot, he was going to ruin her life and fledgling career over this stunt. Gianna was still one of the least favored talents at the agency. It took years of grinding it out in crummy student films and low-budget indies before she finally managed to get her foot in the door here after a streak of luck and perseverance. She was just an upcoming actress, desperate to finally make her way into the limelight after struggling for so long in obscurity. And now this masturbating jackass Marco was jeopardizing everything! Her eyes watered with hot tears as she stabbed his contact and raised the phone to her ear. The line rang...and rang...but then an electronic voice came on: "The number you have dialed is unavailable..." "Son of a BITCH!" Gianna cursed under her breath in frustration. She was going to have to actually hunt the bastard down herself if she wanted to clear her name and save her career. If they were going to file a suit against her, she didn’t even have any dime in her name to foot her own bills, let alone that. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Gianna straightened up, brushed her fingers through her hair, dabbed at the tiny beads of tears in the corner of her eyes and walked out of the bathroom then stormed out of the agency building. Her jaw was clenched so tight it ached as she angrily made her way towards the street. Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked at the screen, seeing the notice, "Rent Due" on the screen. Shit, not today of all days. While she was reading the details and mentally calculating what other bills were coming due, someone bumped hard into her shoulder. Her phone went flying out of her hand and clattered to the ground. "Hey, watch where you're going!" she shouted at the oblivious pedestrian. But they just mumbled an apology and kept walking. Gianna crouched down to pick up her phone, now finding that the screen was spiderwebbed with cracks. "Oh no, no no no, not now!" she groaned desperately. As if her day could get any worse. Her phone buzzed again whilst she was still sulking over the nearly destroyed screen of her phone. This caused her to angrily pick up the call and snap at whoever the caller was, "Get the fuck off my ph—" "Gianna?" Her shoulder slumped when she heard her friend’s voice—more like all the anger she felt got drained out of her and was replaced by weariness. “What’s the matter? Everything okay?” Gianna crouched down by the side of the street. The tears started coming to her eyes again and this time she didn’t hold them back. “Nothing is okay. I'm just...I'm fed up with everything. I can't do this anymore…" “Hey, hey...it's alright, just talk to me. What's going on?" "Nothing’s working out," Gianna hiccuped between sobs. "I can't get any work, any gigs...it's all so fucking pointless. And now, to top it all off, that bastard Marco is trying to sabotage and ruin the little bit I have left!" She told her friend the whole story while the friend just listened patiently. "Don't give up yet, babe. We'll get through this, I promise. Things always look their darkest before dawn, right?" Gianna sniffled hard, wiping her eyes and nose with the back of her hand. “I guess so." "Actually, the reason I was calling you initially is because I heard about a potential acting gig…but, I don’t think I should..." Gianna immediately perked up at those words, sniffling again. “Oh please tell me!” "Well, it’s happening in like an hour from now. A very minor role, just a few lines as an extra basically. But the actress they had lined up didn't show, so they need someone to fill in at the last minute. I mentioned that I knew someone who could do it." "Oh my god!" Gianna clasped her hands with the phone. "Thank you, thank you! Of course I can do it." Gianna priced a smile even with her reddened eyes, smeared makeup and disheveled hair from all the emotional stuff from minutes ago. "Alright, calm down….I'll text you the address and where to go once you get there. They'll fill you in on the role and everything else." "I don't know how to thank you enough for this," Gianna gushed, now feeling a little spark of hope. Just the opportunity to get out there and act again, and maybe get a little bit of cash could be exactly what she needed right now. "Quit thanking me and just run along, would you? Don't want to be late.” "Yeah, okay.” As soon as she hung up with her friend, she brought up her messaging app, squinting hard at the cracked screen. Sure enough, a new text from her friend popped up. She checked the message and tried to make out as much as possible through the hazy shards of glass covering her phone. Gianna huffed out a relieved sigh as she headed for the bus stop, hobbling along on her aching feet. It might be a tiny and utterly thankless part, sure, but it was still work. She waved down a passing taxi and soon reached the address. It was a luxurious hotel. She quickly paid the fare and hurried inside, checking her phone again. "Two ten...two eleven..." Gianna muttered under her breath, checking each numbered door in the hallway. When she reached the said door, her heart did a quick flip then she crossed the hall and knocked on it. Here goes nothing, she mused as she bent the doorknob. She opened the door. A very tall, ruggedly handsome man turned around from the window, lowering his phone from his ear as he was clearly in the middle of a phone conversation.Cufflinks clicked; wristwatch secured firmly around his wrist. He turned from the mirror, grabbed his office bag, and headed out of the door. Downstairs. The scent of coffee welcomed him before reaching the door of the staircase, as well as the sound of Gianna humming from the kitchen. She stood at the counter, hair swept into a messy bun, wearing one of his t-shirts that drowned her small frame. Her hips swayed slightly as she moved between the coffee maker and stove, where something sizzled in a pan. “Don't burn whatever that is,” he teased, making her turn around.“Morning?” She sang.Gianna raised the spatula she was holding like a weapon.“I'm making that egg white omelet thing you like. Though I might have killed it.”Mason walked over to where she was, smiling warmly.“Save it for some other morning,” he said, then reached past her to turn off the burner. “I'll grab something at the office.”Gianna pouted playfully at the nearly burnt egg, then shifted her face into a grin j
Glass shattered. In Gianna's chest. It wasn’t from pain, but from joy pulsing in her body. She called Mason, and watched the phone ring, all the while thinking she was going to spill the beans too soon. A secret this big felt like trying to hold sunshine in her palms.“Hey, beautiful. Called you earlier.”Her heart did another odd little skip. “I must have missed it when I was helping Sonia at the store.”“Just called to tell you I won't be home tonight.”“No?”“Sonia's got this massive project deadline. She needs an extra pair of hands, maybe extra eyes too. So we might pull an all-nighter.”“At the store?” Mason asked.“No, we're heading to her place. She's got all the materials there.”“I could stop by on my way home. Maybe bring you both dinner?”“Aww, thank you love.”“Alright. See you soon,” he said, “I love you.”“I love you too.” Those words, at least, were pure truth.The call ended, and Gianna let out a breath that felt like she'd been holding it since the doctor first sai
Colin flicked through the portfolio on his tablet. "So, Mr. Caldwell, what are your thoughts on our talent pool?”Colin's mouth quirked a bit as he zoomed in on one particular headshot. “Let's be honest here, Morton. Half of these profiles read like badly written dating app bios.” He turned the tablet around, displaying a black-and-white photo. “This one, for instance. ‘Born to command the stage’, yet his only credited role is as Tree Number Three in a community theater production of Macbeth.”The man's smile flickered but held still. “Ah, yes, well, Marcus is still developing his portfolio, but his raw talent—“Colin slid the tablet back to himself. “It’s about as raw as sushi that's been blowtorched. Listen, I'm not here to invest in potential. I'm here to invest in proven marketability. Though I have to admit that your photography team does excellent work.”“Perhaps we could focus on some of our more established talents? Page twelve has—““Already there,” Colin interrupted Morto
“Are you lost?” Gianna asked, and when the boy nodded slowly, she pursed her lips slightly.She reached out slowly, telegraphing her movement before gently patting his shoulder. “Hey, it's going to be okay. Would you like to come with me? We can go to the police station, and they'll help us find your parents.”Tommy took a half-step back with uncertainty.“Mom says not to go with strangers.”Gianna smiled, nodding approvingly. “And she's absolutely right. But right now, you're out here alone, and it's not safe.”She then pulled out her phone to show it to him. “Look, I can call the police right now, and you can talk to them yourself. Would that make you feel better?”He considered this with his small face scrunched in thought. “Can...you show me your badge first?”“My badge?”“Like the police have. To prove you're good.”Gianna stifled a chuckle. “I'm not a police officer, but I have my driver's license. That's like a badge that says I'm allowed to drive. Would you like to see it?”
Click, clack, went Olivia’s heels as she approached. She was dressed in a peach colored gown whose length was barely past her ass. When she spotted Mason where he sat ahead, she smiled predatorily and twiddled her fingers in a coy wave at him. She slid into the seat opposite Mason.“Cool spot,” she purred as she crossed her legs. Now, her dark eyes swept the conspicuously deserted space which looked like some sort of cafe, but it had been emptied of anyone save them.“Without wasting my time, how much do you want?” Mason asked icily.Her eyes twitched subtly, amusement playing at the corners of her mouth. “For what?”“To shut your mouth."Oh?" She leaned forward and rested elbows on the table.“So we're going to stick to keeping secrets?” She whispered.Mason kept his srare arctic and unmoved. The muscle in his jaw ticked visibly.“Don't do that,” Olivia chided, as if scolding a child. “All cold shell on the outside, but we both know how warm you are underneath.”Her tongue darted
“A tale of forbidden love and ancient curses,'" Gianna read aloud from the dust jacket as she wrinkled her nose. And then she cleaned the book before wedging it between two equally dramatic-looking tomes on the mahogany shelf:Gianna shifted her weight on the rolling ladder.The next book in her stack had a more promising premise— something about time-traveling archaeologists. “Now this seems interesting,” she murmured, adding it to her mental might-actually-read list before finding it a home in the sci-fi section.Dust motes continued to dance around in the afternoon light streaming through the tall windows, to give the whole scene a dreamy quality. The scent of old paper and leather bindings mixed with the cinnamon-apple candle Sonia had lit earlier.Speaking of Sonia... Gianna shot a glare towards her best friend's office. Sonia had called Gianna on the phone that morning, claiming she wanted to take her on a treat. Gianna was also eager for the date because she thought it woul
THUD.Mason forcefully slammed his fist into the punching bag. The impact reverberated through his wrapped knuckles like an echo of the chaos in his mind.‘Tell her,’ came a voice in his head.THUD. THUD.‘Keep your mouth shut,’ said another voice.CRACK.The bag swung wildly as he continued jabbing; sweat dripped from his chin, dropping down to the rug under his feet. He could see his own reflection in the wall-length mirror, with chest heaving, muscles coiling tight and face twisting in a grimace.He looked exactly like what he was: a man being eaten alive by his own secrets. The bag took another punishment as he drove his right fist into it. The chain rattled overhead like mocking laughter.‘Don't tell her, and let Olivia hold the sword over both your heads. Let her play puppet master until she gets bored or cruel or both,’ the voice in his head warned again.“Fuck!” Mason bellowed from his lungs as he landed a last hook. The bag swung back at him like a pendulum of judgment, and h
“You're Martha Winters, right?”The old woman's fingers stilled on the counter, her eyes tracking Gianna's hand like a cat watching a mouse hole. “Yes…. Is there some problem?”Digging a hand into her handbag, Gianna replied, “Not exactly…”She then took out a piece of paper and placed it in front of the woman. “I received a package recently. The sender used this phone number, which, according to my sources, belongs to you.”Martha regarded Gianna more skeptically now, patting her dress pockets for her reading glasses. She wiped the glasses with her dress before putting them on. As soon as the rims were on her nose, she bent forward to examine the paper.Gianna studied the woman's face intently the whole time. Could this woman be closely related to Finn? And if not Finn, the imposter? Gianna tried grasping onto too many things at the same time.Martha straightened, pushing her glasses up into her silver hair.“I think there must be some kind of mistake. I haven't sent any packages t
“You're a crazy woman, Olivia,” Mason answered with disgust. “You need psychiatric help. And this is your last warning to stay away from me.”A soft, malicious laugh trickled through the phone. "“Or what? I'll tell your precious Gianna that her dear husband spent the night at my place. How do you think she'll take that news?”Mason's hand clenched around the phone until his knuckles nearly blanched white. The pressure in his chest built until he thought his ribs might crack from containing it. His jaw worked silently as he stared straight ahead through the windshield, watching a pair of sparrows dart past the morning sky with an almost painful intensity. Seconds stretched like pulled taffy. His left eye twitched—once, twice.The silence must have made Olivia nervous because her voice came again, softer this time and almost conciliatory. “I will keep this a secret on one condition.”“Don't run from me….Don't refuse me. Let me prove my love for you. I’ll prove I'm better. I can show
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