It was supposed to be a one night stand, but he found her charming. He met her again, at another club and he wondered if he had been wrong to have dedicated himself to Rylee for so long.He couldn't remember if he had used protection the second time and that was the terrible mistake he made. He left the country a week after that to Mareco. Then he saw her at the hotel, he thought there was something about her that was similar to Eva, that was why he had stalked her, but she was different. She wasn't easy and after his looks, like the rest of them. She knew he was fine, but that was it. She did not want anything to do with him, and that was what made him chase her more. He really hoped Serena would forgive him, even though he didn't get to be with her again, he just wanted her to hear him out and clear all the half-truths.“Jaxon, are you still there?” His mother's voice called him back from his momentary travel.“Yes…yes, why would he do that, he doesn't have any right to my persona
Serena braced herself as she pressed the button of the elevator. She was the only one inside. She wiped her face with a handkerchief and kept on checking her wristwatch. She hardly wore wristwatches, she digged this one out the previous day when she wanted to throw the blue heart necklace she'd gotten from Jaxon in Mareco.Hadley had tried not to be insensitive but she suggested selling it instead of throwing it away. Some random kid would pick it up without knowing the value and it would end up in the hands of someone who would sell it and be better off than them.Serena had agreed and let Hadley take it. The elevator halted and she got off on her floor. She met a janitor in the hallway, who mouthed a good morning to her. She responded and took a deep breath before opening the door to her office.She was in time before anyone else. She sat down on her desk and held her head on her two hands. She hoped she would get something done.David came in first, he was quiet about welcoming he
Serena dragged her feet through the busy roads. She held her bag firmly under her arm. She hadn't even lasted four months at the job. She stopped at an ice cream shop and ordered a large bowl of ice cream. She sat in the lounge and ate it alone. It was weird to just sit there and eat ice cream alone.A child passed with her mum and the girl kept looking at her. It felt like she was wondering why a beautiful lady like her would eat ice cream with such a horrible expression.She must have looked very sad. Serena waved at the little girl as she left the restaurant with her mother. The little girl has two ice cream cones and she offered Serena one.Serena laughed, “oh my God, that is so generous of you. I can cry right now. Look, I can't even finish this bowl of ice cream. Thank you.” “I like having ice cream cones better than the one with the bowls, the cones are super crunchy and they make me happy, you should have one, you look sad.” The little girl's speaking was so fluent.Her moth
Melvin held her hand all the way to where he parked his car. She felt good about it, she felt like she had someone who wasn't laughing at her for once or talking rubbish about her…well asides Hadley and every other person who cared about her.They got into the car and the ride was quiet for so long, he was taking her home. She wanted to ask him if Natasha but she felt he would speak about her if he wanted to.He was excited talking about her the other time. Had it ended at a talking stage, where they having issues? “How's Natasha?” She finally asked. Harry Styles’ Fine Line started playing in the background. He smiled when he heard her question, “she's cool, we never really got past the talking stage. She became too busy for me.” That was sad, Serena thought. Women were only busy for people they had no interest in. She wondered if something had changed, the way he talked about her the other time was so beautiful. Had she given him the wrong signal?She noticed they were no longer o
Jaxon walked briskly through the familiar reception of one of the biggest companies in Rhode Island. The branch in New York was just as big , but his father had made sure the one at home was exquisite.People greeted him from left to right, some even went as fast as bowing down, while some moved away in fear. He had no time for pleasantries, he walked past a man who seemed to be one of his father's stakeholders.The face was familiar, he had called out his name, but he didn't stop to look at him properly or even consider his presence. He came here to see his father. He had left Rylee's place first thing in the morning after asking her for one last favor.She used her card to order a new outfit for him. She knew he was going to see his father at the company. He knew what she was going to do, order a suit, something presentable for his father.He warned her against it before she could think of lacing the order. She ordered something basic: cargo pants, white vest, a flannel shirt and a
“You quit your job? Oh, come on, honey, I'm so sorry,” that was Hadley's response to Serena when Melvin dropped her at the apartment after they left the beach.“I should be sorry, I wasn't strong enough.” Serena held her closely.“How did you do it? I'm sure it was hard,” Hadley held her at arms length and looked at her pitiful figure.“It was actually easier, they were going to transfer me to a small company anyway. The whole gossip in the news is becoming a threat to the company's image.”“So they'd just throw away their employee like that because of some random bull…”Serena’s glare stopped her from cursing. “It's what anybody would do anyway. With the nature of my employment, you can't stop these hungry journalists from digging up shitty stuff.”“I still don't like the idea of just cancelling you out. You were a good employee, I don't even have to be your colleague to know that. So did they give you any compensation?”“No they…” her bank notification cut her short. She had just be
Jaxon went back home to The Capital, a vast area of luxurious houses, owned by his father. He drove into the huge parking lot and parked his car. His mother was waiting for him in the sitting room.There was somebody else with her. Jaxon didn't recognize the lady at first until she turned after hearing his footsteps. Why was Eva in his house?He heard light footsteps coming down the stairs. To his surprise again, Brian was home. He thought he had said he had things to finish off in school in the UK.Brian didn't regard his presence, he just left the room and took off in his car. Jaxon shook his head and fell into a couch opposite his mother.“Is that how you guys greet your mothers these days?” She sat in her chair in her usual regal manner. “What is she doing here?” Jaxon ignored her question.“You might be at war with your father, but you don't have to extend that to me.” She continued sternly. “You're not on talking terms with your brother?”“Everyone knows there's no talking term
Jaxon hated the smell of hospitals. They had to wait for a while before they were ushered in to see the doctor. He was an elderly man who appeared very cordial.They wasted no time in getting the blood samples from them and took them into the lab for the tests. They were asked to return after three days for the results.Jaxon had thought they'd get it immediately, he paid for the test without asking for the costs. He told the doctor to send the details to his account manager. He didn't want to think of how much they'd be spending on something like this.Immediately they were done, he drove off by himself. He didn't care what she was going to say to him. She had to hear him out. He parked in front of the familiar building and took the elevator up to her apartment.He knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect, but was ready to accept anything, she could slap him and beat him, he didn't care. He already felt worthless, everything had turned upside down for him.Serena opened the do
Serena managed to get through the event without feeling intimidated. Jaxon made sure he didn't leave her side for too long. He introduced her to his parents as his girlfriend, he was so proud of it.They had received her warmly, contrary to what she had expected. She was surprised to see his brother, he was calm, handsome and soft spoken. She had imagined him to be a viscous, stubborn, shorter man.He smiled at her when she put her hand forward for a handshake. It wasn't the best of smiles, but for someone who was in some sort of rivalry with his brother who happened to be her boyfriend, he gave her a warm reception.Jaxon's father was just as she imagined, like the clips from the news, he was funny, but he still had that wall around him, like he was a small god and unapproachable. He had complimented her dress and told her he'd heard of her wonders and he was happy to see her.His mother on the hand was the sweetest soul, she hugged her and was surprised to hear the college she gradu
He had seen her on the dress before but it didn't look as elegant as this, he wiped his face with a handkerchief to be sure he wasn't getting teary. She had curled her hair into magnificent waves that dropped to her shoulders.Her shoulders gleamed under the bright chandelier that hung on the ceilings of the stairs. She flashed her radiant smile at him, his heart melted again. She was wearing the emerald green version of the blue heart necklace which was paired with complementary earrings.It seemed like she was taking forever to come down the stairs. He resisted the urge to meet her where she was and lift her in his arms down the stairs.It felt like prom night again, but with someone he actually loved. She finally met him at the foot of the stairs and placed her manicured hands on his jacket and straightened the collar. They heard a gentle cough from behind and separated. Uncle Jeff came from the living room and handed her her coat. “I expect that you won't catch a cold with him,
“I'd like for us to have an official date, not just reconciling in the middle of a launch like this, it's so busy around here, but first I'd like to invite you to my inauguration party this weekend” Jaxon leaned in to whisper to Serena.Serena's eyes darted from left to right and she looked up at him. She didn't expect him to say that. “Inauguration party?” “Yes, you know, corporate stuff, I'm sorry it's going to be a lot bigger than this and all of that formal shit, but I'll be by your side. I want you by my side.”“I…I don't know, I'd love to…but,” she began but he hushed her before she made any excuse.“I'm desperate right now to be honest and I can go on my knees for you not to refuse me. Did I forget to tell you or has Hadley told you?”“Told me what?” Serena asked confused.Jaxon’s mood shifted to a more solemn one, “I heard you found out who your…real mum is.” Serena nodded and kept on paying attention to him, the information wasn't something to bother her again. “And she happ
Serena loved her experience in Florida, the person she had stayed with was the most hospitable person ever. She showed her around herself, she made sure she always had something to eat. She even waited for her at the airport during her arrival in Florida.She took her to the most exciting places, met new sane people. She fell in love with the most mundane things and she had a lot of fun.It was quite sad that everything had to come to an end but she was excited for what was coming. Hadley was going to launch her restaurant in the coming week so she left Florida during the weekend.Uncle Jeff and Aunt Mabel were so happy to see her. They had celebrated New Year without her. She immediately went to Hadley's house to see her, her brother and mum had come to Rhode Island for the launch too.Serena remembered when she used to crush on Hadley's brother. Hadley had been so against it, that they almost fought. He had more tattoos now and Serena already heard he had a girlfriend, so there was
“Serena, Hadley is here!” Mabel called Serena from the front door. Serena screamed with joy like she'd been for her since forever. She wore her indoor slippers and ran down the stairs.“Oh my God, Hadley,” she hugged her until they both fell on their knees and were lying on the floor of the front door. Mabel looked at the hilarious sight, it felt good to see them like this again. It was like they were sixteen and about to resume high school again.“Come on girls, you're making fools of yourselves in front of the neighbors.”“Hey, the neighbors,” Hadley jumped to her feet and gave Serena a helping hand, “is Gavin still around?” She grinned.Serena tapped he arm lightly, “all you know how to do is ask after your men, you wouldn't ask how I'm doing before you move into your men.” She joked.Serena carried Hadley's small travel bag inside the house. Hadley came behind her and shut the door. She took off her shoes at the small passageway just before she entered the living room. Mabel gave
Jaxon wondered why she demanded to meet him in person. She'd been trying to contact him for days and the assistant he assigned to her had been bugging him.He finally decided to spare some time for her. He arranged a meeting with her at a cafe close to his office. He made sure it was during busy hours when people would be around in case she wanted to try something funny.She had the effrontery to be late, he kept on checking his wristwatch for the time. He ordered coffee and sipped it bit by bit as he watched the people walking into the cafe through his shades.A few people still managed to recognize him, some of them pointed at him discreetly. It was amusing how he had turned from nobody to somebody and everyone wanted to identify with him. He didn't like having bodyguards around him, so he still had to deal with pushing some people off by himself.Anybody would rush at him, for business proposals, for food, money, assistance. He didn't know how to explain to them that he wasn't a wa
Serena chose to ignore her presence and sat down beside her Uncle who was seated alone at the breadth of the rectangular table. Aunt Mabel sat opposite her, next to him while Amora sat beside her sister. They were having fried turkey with rice and salad. Serena allowed Aunt Mabel to dish her food and she began eating. She expected them to say something about why this woman was with them. They didn't say anything until they finished eating.The normal tradition was to watch sitcoms together anytime they had a meal at the dinning room. Aunt Mabel would be the first to sit in the sitting room, Serena would join her while Uncle Jeff would come in last.Aunt Mabel always slept halfway into movies, Serena and Jeff would binge watch movies together until Uncle Jeff was tired he'd take her aunt into the room while she either continued watching more shows or she'd retired to her room.That was when they ate together, but on other nights when she had her meal in her room, she'd just watch stu
Serena began speaking after the waiter left. She had given the restaurant a four star review for both of them.“I know my place, Jaxon. Our worlds are totally different and you have a lot going on. I should be the least of your worries. Whatever you have going on with your brother, you should resolve it. Family is more important, focus on that. You might regret it so much if you lose any of them. It can happen at anytime, any minute, so please, take care of yourself. I'll always remain grateful to you for getting my uncle out and giving us our house back, but you see, it makes us even more indebted to you. I don't think any further affiliation with you would be good.”Jaxon sighed, “I'm not asking you for anything. It's just..”“My uncle still has to work for your company to make sure everything is returned, doesn't he?” Serena asked him, he sighed, they both knew the answer.“It's not like he's working for the replacement of the funds, I'll figure it out, but it's not like you're s
She wore a teardrop pearl necklace that sitted well on her chest suiting the V-neck blouse she'd chosen to wear her black mini skirt with. It was nothing grand, she reminded herself.She had picked the venue and made sure to come twenty minutes late. She walked into the cafe and didn't have to look around too much to find him. He was punctual, all these things he was doing to repent.He had shades on, but she could tell him apart even if there were several men wearing the same suit he wore. He looked nice in a suit. She laughed in her head, he still became the corporate guy he dreaded so much - because of her, she was reminded by another of her thoughts. Shut Up- she told it back.Lemons - he had started using that bath wash again or he intentionally used it to remind her of the first time she met him. She maintained her stoic expression. He wasn't exactly smiling at her as well, but he looked good, seductive as always in whatever he wore. He would be the center of attraction in his