David’s POVRunning late for my meeting with the Russians wasn’t in my plans. I was known for always being on time, but today, the Russians were going to have to wait as I had business to finish before heading back to Manhattan. At that moment, I was in the basement of my secret house in Brooklyn with Dane. I got here about an hour ago when I finally tracked down the bastard that tried to steal my merchandise, the merchandise he’d made me believe was lost in the sea. Luckily my investigation and contacts in the South led me to the truth otherwise I would have never found out that the bastard was planning on building an empire with my fortune. “Who sent you?” I asked for the second time, I wasn’t fond of repeating myself, and the fact that he already made me do that riled me even more. He had to be working for someone, someone must have sent him because no one had the balls to single-handedly decide to steal from me. No sane person who knew who I was could have tried to steal 500 mi
Rihanna’s POVMy fingers hurt from typing at a fast pace in a short amount of time. And although the air conditioning was on, it couldn’t stop the sweat seeping down my back. I never realized how challenging Elena's job was until that moment. Typing everything people were saying in real time was no joke, especially when they were speaking so fast and all at once. It would have been so much easier if we’d just recorded the meeting instead of choosing that method of documentation. I couldn't shake the feeling that Nicholas had some sort of grudge against me. He hated me, that was the only explanation. Why else would he make me take the difficult route when there was a much easier and less stressful way to handle the situation?Out of nowhere, Nicholas suddenly turned his attention to me and asked, "What do you think?" All twelve pairs of eyes in the room were on me, and I looked up at him with wide eyes, completely caught off guard."Huh?" I blurted out. I had been so focused on try
Rihanna’s POV Luckily for me, Nicholas didn't notice my hand in the air right away, so I quickly hid it behind my back. Then, David stepped out of the elevator, and what happened next completely threw me off balance. He wore this genuine smile on his face, and not because he was compelled to 'cause he was on TV, but because he wanted to.And no, he wasn't smiling at me. He didn't even acknowledge my presence. He was smiling at Nicholas. "Mr. Stones," David greeted, extending his arm for a handshake. "It's great to see you here. How long has it been?"Nicholas reciprocated the handshake, a smile playing on his lips. "Likewise, Mr. Marchetti," he replied. "I think it's been about a year. I heard you managed to secure a contract with those stubborn folks at The Cabaneiros—"I stood there, completely stunned, as I watched their friendly exchange. My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened in disbelief.I mean, seriously, I thought these two were rivals. They were supposed to hate each other! N
Rihanna’s POVAfter ending the call with Alicia, I realized two things: First, Nicholas lied about not knowing what 'friends' meant. Second, I had gotten inside his head and that made my confidence level skyrocketed. Maybe, just maybe, if I continued what I was doing, I could break through his walls and make him fall in love with me.And no, this wasn't about David anymore. It started that way, but now it was more about the thrill of seeing if I could win someone like Nicholas over.When Nicholas walked out of his shoot, he had his usual signature look - a blank face and arctic eyes. But this time, I wasn't fazed. I immediately switched to "Operation Make Nicholas Fall in Love with You" mode. It was going to be fun."Welcome, sir! Did you enjoy the shoot? When can we see the pictures?" I said confidently, with a cheeky smile on my lips. He gave me a questioning glare, rightfully so, since I was acting quite differently from my usual self.I was surprised when he extended his hand towa
Rihanna’s POVI blinked a couple of times, straightening up and brushing off the invisible dust on my clothes while pretending as if I couldn't notice Nicholas’ glare at me. "Don't make me repeat myself, Ms. Garcia," he warned with a stern voice."Um," I paused, desperately trying to come up with a quick excuse. "I, uh, saw... there was something... inside my office," I stumbled over my words, awkwardly pointing back and forth between my office and his."Ms. Garcia?" he called, narrowing his eyes slightly."Yes, sir?" I looked down at my feet, then back at his face. "There was a... fly that I was trying to catch, but it...""Ms. Garcia," he cut me off."Yes, sir." I met his gaze briefly, feeling a chill run down my spine under his icy stare. He didn't say anything else, just continued to glare at me as if he wanted me to freeze and disappear."Oh, come on, leave the poor girl alone," Alicia chimed in, pushing Nicholas back and standing between us, shielding me from his gaze. "You're E
"Thank you for coming," Alicia said as I walked into Nicholas’s mansion. "Let's go in through the back so you can get dressed," she suggested.Still in my work clothes, I hadn't had the chance to change at David's house because I never went there. Ben, my usual ride home, had been surprised when I told him I wouldn't be joining him that day. I could see the fear in his eyes, knowing that David wouldn't take it lightly when he found out I had made other plans. I felt a twinge of guilt for Ben, but not enough to cancel my plans.We soon arrived at a spacious bedroom, but I barely had time to appreciate the room before Alicia whisked me into the closet. The sheer number of dresses left me in awe, and I couldn't help but wonder if Alicia lived here with Nicholas.Alicia must have sensed my dilemma in choosing a dress because the next thing she said was, "Why don't you go take a shower while I pick out the perfect dress for you?"She directed me to the en-suite bathroom, and as I stepped i
Rihanna’s POVMy usual reaction to something like that, after the initial shock, would be to push him away and connect my fist with his jaw. I probably would have reacted that way if I hadn't seen him in a different light earlier that night. If I still thought of Nicholas as nothing more than my stone-faced boss, I would have punched him in the face for kissing me.But, I didn't do any of that. Not because I suddenly developed feelings for him, because, trust me, handsome or not, it was easier to fall in love with a statue than Nicholas. I let Nicholas kiss me because it felt so good, and well, it had been almost two years since anyone had kissed me.And no, I didn't kiss back. I just stood there with both hands limp by my side, letting him assault my lips however he wanted. I didn't even close my eyes.He pulled away after a short while, his eyes searching mine. His jaw tightened as he took a step back, and I tried to figure out what had suddenly made him so irritated.“Um…so you don
David’s POVI barely slept the previous night. Since Rihanna told me she kissed that son of a gun, my mind went into overdrive. I couldn’t help but wonder how it all went down. I wanted to barge into her room the minute I processed what she’d said. But she looked exhausted and in dire need of sleep. So, I decided to give her some space and wait until morning. Little did I know, her revelation would keep me tossing and turning all night long. That's why, the moment the clock struck 7 am, I dashed to her room.As I stood there, glaring down at her, she looked at me as if I had no right to be standing in front of her door. It was like she forgot that the house belonged to me. "What do you want?" she asked, with a scowl plastered on her face. I brushed past her and walked into her room, and she shot me a look as if I needed her permission to enter."Close the door," I snapped. My voice came out crankier than I intended, but I was just so frustrated that I had hardly gotten any rest all n
David's POVIt was a bad day for me. The multimillionaire contract that I'd been trying to secure for months just slipped through the tip of my fingers and although I'd fired everyone responsible for that misfortune, I didn't feel satisfied. I never should have let them go, or at least I never should have let them walk back home on their two feet. I should have done something more 'David Marchetti' like to them. I should have made them pay for their foolishness.'It's not too late, you could always find them if you want.' A voice at the back of my head said and I took a large swig from my whiskey bottle to shut out the voice. Since I got back from work about an hour ago, I'd locked myself up in my room, chugging down alcohol because I was too mad at myself for letting those who brought me loss go scoff. Why did I do that?I'd asked myself that question over and over again and yet I couldn't come up with a logical answer. I glanced at the clock on my wall to see that it was almost
Rihanna's POVNicholas found his stupid file. He found the file he was looking for. It turned out that his former secretary, who'd worked for him before I was employed, had taken it. And my bastard of a boss didn't have the decency to tell me about it. I never would have found out he'd find his damn files if Elena hadn't told me. I guess he didn't feel the need to share the news with a mere employee like me. Maybe he was avoiding having to apologize for wrongly accusing me of stealing the files. Honestly, I wasn't expecting an apology from him anyway. I knew him well enough to understand that he never admitted his mistakes, even when he was clearly in the wrong.As I walked down the hallway towards my office, I exchanged greetings with Elena, who always had a warm smile on her face. Just as I settled in my chair, the computer beeped. It was an email from Nicholas. I groaned and rolled my eyes, expecting one of his condescending messages. With curiosity and frustration, I clicked open
Rihanna’s POVEvery day, right before leaving the office, I usually switch on the "Do Not Disturb" mode on my phone. I couldn’t let David know that I had a phone. And ever since he returned my own phone to me, I'd been too caught up in texting Ivory to even check the other phone that Maria lent me."I swear I didn't see the message until now," I said sincerely.The message had warned of consequences if we didn't comply. What kind of consequences did they mean?Surely, he couldn't be considering firing me just because I didn't show up to work on a weekend, right? Even he wouldn't be that cruel."Um," I swallowed nervously. "Could you fill me in on the meeting I missed? If it's not too much trouble," I mumbled.He shot me a piercing look before saying, "A file is missing. A very important one." The way his eyes bore into mine when he emphasized "very" sent a shiver down my spine. "The file was in the drawer attached to your desk in your office. I accessed it myself three months ago, bef
Rihanna’s POVI had never felt more relaxed than I did then. I never realized how much I needed a massage until Alicia’s invite. The masseur's hands moved efficiently around my oiled back, massaging slowly, releasing every knot caused by years of stress. His hands were so gently yet firm. It took everything in me not to release a satisfying moan as that would be too embarrassing and inappropriate given that it was a man giving me a massage. Alicia was on the bench next to me, a lady was in charge of massaging her because the man that was meant to, was late for his shift. I realized then that there was no better way to spend my Saturdays than that. It had been a long, stressful, and irritable week for me all of which were triggered by both David and Nicholas. I sighed wondering how I had to be so unfortunate to be involved with two of the most vile men that ever existed. Alicia called out my name, and I turned my head to listen. "Yeah?" I replied, it felt like more people called
Rihanna’s POVDavid didn’t make himself scarce as I’d hoped for. In fact, he decided to stay indoors that Saturday, choosing to sit in the living room which made me stuck in my room because there was no way I was going to sit out there and watch my favorite TV show with him. If I wanted to get back at him, I knew I had to take a step back. But then, out of the blue, Alicia called me and invited me to a spa date. couldn't say no because it was exactly the escape I needed. She offered to pick me up at my house, but I refused ‘cause she couldn’t know where I lived. So I told her to text me the address, and I’d meet her there. “Where are you going?” David suddenly asked as I tried to sneak past the living room, hoping to go unnoticed, but the guy probably had eagle eyes or something."It's none of your business," I replied, keeping my voice low but still audible enough for him to hear.He whirled around, his face contorting into a frightening expression as his eyes scanned my outfit. Hi
Rihanna’s POVI was hit with a wave of shock, embarrassment, and anger when I saw David walk out the door. My eyes were glued to it as I replayed the last few minutes in my head. It was hard to believe that he’d actually walked out on me and said all those hurtful words after kissing me the way he did, as if he wanted to swallow me whole. I didn't even realize I was crying until I tasted the salty tears in my mouth. And once I realized it, I couldn't hold back the floodgates. I had never felt so humiliated in my entire life. I mean, in all my twenty-three years, I'd never been rejected by someone of the opposite sex. And now, when it finally happened, it was in the most brutal way possible. A part of me felt like I deserved it, like it was some sort of punishment for even considering being with the man who took my parents away from me. I could only imagine how disappointed my mom would be if she knew I was thinking about being with him. I was supposed to hate him, to seek revenge fo
David’s POVI’d always thought I had a good idea of what Rihanna tasted like. I’d always thought her scent and taste which had been embedded in my head since that night, two years ago would be exactly as I remembered it if I were to cross paths with her again, but I was wrong. And I’d never been so glad to be wrong in my life as she tasted nothing as I remembered but rather, better. Her lips were as soft as the clouds and her mouth tasted so sweet that I couldn’t find the words to describe it. I could taste the champagne she had earlier as well as a unique taste that pertained to her, the unique taste that was about to make me lose my shit. I nudged her mouth open with my tongue, to invade her mouth and have more of her because I was insatiable. I wanted all of her, I wanted to taste every inch of her. She obliged and the soft whimper she made when my tongue roughly invaded her mouth made my pants grow tighter than ever. Why the fuck did I wait so long to do this? Why the fuck did I
David’s POVMy teeth were clenched together as I struggled to keep my emotions in check, especially with my mother sitting right across me. The tightness of my pants grew increasingly uncomfortable, making it harder to focus on the conversation. I couldn't comprehend Rihanna's audacity in crossing that boundary and touching my dick, especially with my mother present. I never expected her to be so daring.Just as my grandfather asked about the progress with the merger, pulling my attention towards him, I placed a firm hand on the one she had on my crotch. I squeezed it tightly, forcefully pulling it away. I paused mid-sentence, my throat suddenly feeling dry, when I felt her hand on me again. My teeth ground together as my grandfather gave me a questioning look for the interruption. "We're still waiting for Montoya to finalize the documents for..." My voice trailed off, my concentration shattered. In an attempt to regain composure, I reached for the wine glass on the table and emptie
Rihanna’s POVMy face was in complete shock. I kept looking back and forth between David and Dave, hoping one of them would just burst out laughing and say it was a joke. I was hoping Dave would be the one to say that because I knew David wouldn't crack a smile even if his life depended on it. But neither of them reacted the way I expected. They both had this serious, stoic look on their faces, and Dave's shocked expression only confirmed that it was real.I shot David a questioning look and subtly took a few steps away from Dave. So many thoughts were racing through my mind. What was David thinking? Did he know about Dave and me? Did David know we used to date? Was that why he approached me at the club that night?Then, David's mom walked up to me, breaking the silence in the room. She had this warm, friendly smile on her face, and it caught me off guard. I didn't know how to react because it was so unexpected. I had imagined David's mom to be just like him, but she was the total opp