I closed the door and turned to face Carlos, my arms crossed defensively as I tried to suppress the rising irritation in my chest.
"Why are you in my office, Carlos?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. "You could have at least answered my calls or replied to my messages."
I was not going to take it easy for coming to my office knowing fully well that I was working for Nathan. Carlos knew what he was doing and he was looking for an advantage to get one at me.
Carlos shrugged, his expression unbothered, leaning back in the chair. "I don't operate like that," he said coolly, his eyes meeting mine without a sort of remorse. "If you want the information, I’m here. If not, I can walk out of that door right now."
Carlos stood there, eyes blazing with determination as he locked his gaze onto mine. His voice, though lower now, was thick with emotion, “I’m here because of what you said, Mel. You told me to fight for you. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”“What? You cannot use that on me!” I replied in shock.“Why not? You wanted me to fight for your love, right?” he asked.I blinked, momentarily taken aback. He was talking about the conversation at the Royal Café, the one where I’d challenged him to prove he wanted me back. I hadn’t expected him to take it this far.“What did you think I meant by that?” I asked, my voice a little shaky.
A burst of laughter filled the room, breaking the silence. A tall, elegant woman stepped in, her laugh echoing in the space as she clutched her stomach.Nathan, clearly caught off guard by her laughter, furrowed his brow. "Why are you laughing, Rose?" he asked, slightly annoyed but curious.She wiped a tear from her eye, trying to compose herself. "Oh, I’m sorry!" she said, still giggling. "It’s just... I’ve never seen a man that... hard in such an awkward situation." She pointed at Nathan’s trousers with a mischievous smile, and I couldn’t help but follow her gaze. Sure enough, Nathan's apparent "reaction" was quite visible.Nathan cleared his throat, his face barely concealing his irritation, and introduced
As the meeting wrapped up,I could see that there was still tension in the room. Nathan had handled the discussion with his usual authority, but I could tell that Steve was far from satisfied with the way things had unfolded.Uncle Jesse, looking concerned, had quietly pulled Nathan aside before leaving, asking the same question that had been on everyone’s mind."What’s your plan, Nathan? You can’t leave us in the dark on this," Uncle Jesse had pressed, his voice low but insistent.Nathan looked at Uncle Jesse and gave him a brief, knowing smile. "I’ve got to handle this one myself, Jesse," he said, his tone firm yet unruffled. "I do not want family politics in this. They are too messy. You know how it is."
As we stood in the office, still embraced in the conversation we just had, the door swung open, and Rose walked in again. Her usual playful smile was firmly in place, but there was an edge to her eyes. She glanced at me first, then shifted her gaze to Nathan."Tell Nathan we’re meeting in the conference room," she said, her voice light but purposeful. "There’s a new update."Before I could respond, she turned and left without even allowing me to ask any further questions. “Is that the way they behave here?” I asked myself. I blinked, confused for a second, unsure of what had just transpired.I told Nathan we needed to be in a meeting via the intercoms right from my desk. Nathan was already moving toward the door, and I followed quickly, tr
As I stood there, nervous and unsure, I asked Nathan quietly, “What should we do about the Stones?”Nathan didn’t answer right away. Instead, he walked over to his desk, reached into a drawer, and pulled out a dress, a beautiful, sleek piece of fabric that shone in the light. It was bold, striking, and far more revealing. He held it up, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.“Change into this,” he said softly, his voice low and smooth, sending a shiver through me.I looked at the dress, then back at him, unsure of what to do. “I… I’ll go to the bathroom,” I stammered, feeling the heat rise to my face. “I don’t want someone to walk in…”Nathan’s smile deepened, a gentle, almos
As we arrived at the mob's headquarters, I could feel the familiar knot of tension tightening in my stomach. This place always made me uneasy, but there was something different in the air today. Don Chappo emerged, his usual air of casual authority replaced by something more ominous. His smile, the one that always seemed like it concealed secrets, was gone. His face was serious, hard, as though whatever had brought us here weighed heavily on his mind.He didn’t waste time with pleasantries, waving us inside with a brisk motion. The room he led us into was unlike any we’d been in before, a high-security room, dimly lit, and completely cut off from the outside world. The kind of place where secrets were meant to stay buried.Nathan was calm, his face a mask of control, but I could sense the underlying tension in him. Someth
Pachi’s voice had been urgent over the phone, giving me no room to ask questions. "Don Chappo wants to see you," she’d said, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Come alone."Now, sitting across from Don Chappo in this slightly dark room, I could feel the tension in the room. It looked as if I had been kidnapped though I came there myself. The smell in the air was different, smells of cigars and the rest, it looked like an interrogation room or something I couldn't quite place, but I knew something was terribly wrong.The Don leaned forward, his face cast in shadow. His voice was low and rough, the kind that demands attention.“Nathan is in trouble,” he began, and those words hit me like a punch to the gut.
As I walked into the classroom, the weight of the stares was immediate and heavy. The whispers began almost immediately, eyes widening and necks craning. I glanced down and realized that I was wearing the sexy, slit-revealing black dress.I had wanted to change into something more simple, but I had forgotten about all that was happening to me today.How could I have forgotten?The dress was costly with a low neckline. It was another daring, bold, and completely inappropriate thing for a classroom. But here I was, standing in the middle of the lecture hall in this provocative outfit, with the guys clearly enjoying their free show. I could feel their eyes tracing my curves, lingering on my legs, my hips, and the back of my dress as I made my way to my seat. Every step seemed to draw more attention, more whispers, and I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment.I hated this. I hated Nathan for this.I had told him I needed to attend class, but somehow, in the rush of the day, I’d
Nathan and I stepped into the sleek, high-rise office building of Cains Corporation, and the tension between us was evident. My heart pounded with a mix of dread and determination, while Nathan’s jaw was set in a hard line, his usual confidence tempered by the storm we were walking into. The elevator ride to the boardroom felt interminable, the silence between us punctuated only by the soft hum of the machinery.When we entered the room, the atmosphere was as icy as the air conditioning. Steve and Uncle Jesse, seated at the large conference table, looked up in unison. Their expressions shifted from surprise to defiance. Alex Sommer stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his back turned to us, gazing out over the city. He turned slowly, a sly grin spreading across his face as he took us in.“Well, well,” Alex drawled, his voice oozing mockery. “If it isn’t Nathan Cain and his... entourage. What a pleasant surprise.”Nathan’s lips tightened, but he ignored Alex’s taunt. “What’s going on
Nathan arrived the next morning, his face a mask of frustration and concern. He didn’t wait for me to invite him in; instead, he stepped into the room with an urgency that instantly unsettled me. I had been expecting him after our tense phone call, but the weight of his expression told me this wasn’t going to be a simple conversation. I gestured toward the couch, and we sat down in silence for a moment. Hoping that he would ask me about my meeting with Carlos because I had a lot running through my mind. The situation we have found ourselves in was because I chose to love him.He ran his hand through his hair, clearly grappling with how to begin. Finally, he exhaled deeply and broke the quiet.“Katrina’s not backing down,” he said, his voice low but resolute. “She’s made it clear that she’s going to push forward with this lawsuit. She’s demanding 50% of my worth, and she’s threatening to implicate you further. Mel, this isn’t just about me anymore, it’s about you too.”I felt a lump f
The air in the café shifted the moment Carlos walked in, his presence as commanding as it was unsettling. He strolled over to my table with an air of self-assured arrogance, a smirk playing on his lips. It was clear from the way he carried himself that he felt in control, and the glint in his eyes told me he was ready for a confrontation.“Well, well, well,” Carlos said, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from me without waiting for an invitation. “I got your little... plea bargain. That’s why I’m here.”I frowned, confused by his words. “Plea bargain? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Carlos.”His smirk widened. “Oh, come on, Mel. Let’s not play games. Pachi told me you wanted to talk, to negotiate, to plead for a truce. Isn’t that what this is?”I shook my head firmly. “No, Carlos. I’m not here to bargain or plead. I’m here to talk some sense into you, to figure out why you’re doing all of this.”Carlos leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why?
When I arrived at Café de Royal, the sun was settling down. Its warm golden glow filtered through the windows, casting soft shadows across the tables. My heart raced as I stepped inside, half hoping and half dreading the encounter I had orchestrated. The plan was simple: meet Carlos, try to reason with him, and perhaps take one step closer to untangling the mess that had become my life. But fate had other plans. Instead of Carlos, I found Lisa seated at a corner table, scrolling through her phone with a focused expression.The sight of her made my stomach twist with unease. I had hoped to avoid her tonight, at least until I spoke with Carlos, but now that hope was gone. Taking a deep breath, I approached her table. She looked up at the sound of my footsteps, her eyebrows raising in mild surprise.“Lisa,” I said, forcing a polite smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”“Mel,” she replied, her voice cool but not outright hostile. “What brings you here tonight?”I hesitated, unsure of
The phone felt heavy in my hand as I paced back and forth in the dim light of my father’s living room. The weight of Don Chappo’s call was still pressing down on me like a stone on my chest. With a deep breath, I pressed Nathan’s number, my fingers trembling as I waited for him to pick up.“Mel?” Nathan’s voice came through, low and calm, yet there was an edge of exhaustion in his tone.“Nathan,” I started, my voice faltering for a moment. “I just got off the phone with Don Chappo.”There was a pause on the line before Nathan responded. “What did he say?”I sighed, gripping the phone tightly. “It wasn’t what he said as much as how he said it. Nathan, he’s not happy. He knows about everything, Carlos, the warehouse, Alex Sommer. He’s worried that this mess is spiralling out of control.”Nathan let out a long, measured breath. I could hear the tension behind it, the way he was trying to keep himself calm. “And what did he want from you?”“To fix it,” I replied, my voice cracking slightl
After my conversation with Nathan, my instincts pushed me toward Lisa. If there was any chance to stop this madness before it spiralled even further out of control, I needed to address the situation head-on. Lisa had to understand the gravity of her actions and the potential consequences they were inviting. Yet, with the police on my trail, meeting her in person was risky. Still, I couldn’t let that stop me.We arranged to meet at a small, out-of-the-way café, one of those places that managed to stay under the radar. I arrived early, scanning the room nervously, hoping no one had followed me. Lisa walked in shortly after, her usual confident stride somewhat subdued as she spotted me. She gave a hesitant smile, clearly uncertain about the tone of the meeting.“Hey, Mel,” she said, sliding into the seat across from me. “You sounded... urgent on the phone. What’s going on?”I leaned in, lowering my voice. “Lisa, I’ll get straight to the point. This thing with Steve, it has to stop.”Her
It was a quiet evening when my phone buzzed, breaking the stillness of the room. I glanced at the screen, seeing Pachi's name flash across it. My heart sank slightly; calls from Pachi rarely carried good news, especially in the tangled web of complications we’d found ourselves in lately. I hesitated for a moment before answering, bracing myself for whatever storm was about to hit.“Pachi,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “What’s going on?”“Mel,” he began, his voice tinged with urgency and anger. “I don’t even know how to start this, but you need to hear it straight. Carlos, he’s gone too far this time.”A cold shiver ran down my spine. Carlos had always been unpredictable, his temper as volatile as a storm at sea, but there was something in Pachi's tone that told me this wasn’t just another one of Carlos’s outbursts.“What did he do?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.Pachi let out a long sigh, as though he was gathering the strength to deliver the news. “He saw Steve
I pushed back from his hold and sat down. Nathan stood there, his arms folded across his chest, the tension between us thick enough to cut with a knife. I got up and took a hesitant step closer, searching his eyes for a change of emotion, of vulnerability, anything to bridge the growing tension between us. I tilted my head up and leaned in, intending to kiss him, to remind him of what we had. But before our lips could meet, he turned his head away, leaving me hanging in an awkward limbo.The rejection hit me like a slap. I took a step back, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment and anger. “What’s going on with you, Nathan?” I demanded, my voice sharp. “Why are you pulling away from me?”He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if trying to stave off a headache. “Mel, it’s not you. It’s... complicated.”“Complicated?” I repeated, incredulous. “What’s complicated about this? About us? You say you care about me, but you won’t even let me get close to you anymore. Who am I to you, N
Nathan arrived at my father’s house just after sunset, his presence commanding even in the dimly lit surroundings. I had been pacing the living room, a swirl of emotions gripping me, confusion, frustration, and a growing sense of unease. When he walked in, he gave me a soft smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.“You said it was urgent,” he said, shrugging off his coat and laying it across the back of the couch. “What’s going on?”I motioned for him to sit, but he remained standing, his posture rigid. I decided to get straight to the point. “I spoke to Alex today.”That got his attention. His brows furrowed, and his jaw tightened. “Alex?”“Yes,” I confirmed, crossing my arms. “He told me a lot of things, Nathan. About you, about him, about Katrina.”Nathan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “What did he say this time?”I stepped closer, my voice steady but tinged with urgency. “He said you betrayed him. That you pushed him out of the business and took his shares, he said that’s