"Okay Marj. Keep your mouth shut and just listen." they walked in the restaurant and she almost turned back. The place was crawling with flies even though the tables were wiped clean. The few people that were there spared them a glance and went back to eating swatting the flies away every time they came near their food. A guy at the back raised his hand, signaling him over.
"Alexis....." Marjorie started but she cut her off.
"Shut up Marj or go back to the cab and wait for me"
"I hope you know what you're doing" she mumbled to herself but Alexis heard her. She also hoped Marj was right. This could turn sideways any minute which was the more reason why she was going to hurry it up. They approached the table where the guy was and sat opposite him. She made the mistake of leaning on the tabl
"Alexis?""Connor hey""I need your help. I've been arrested and I don't know who to call"Alexis gasped "What? How? Why?""I really don't know. I woke up in a car full of coke and heroin. The police won't believe me that they both aren't mine. Apparently, the car was reported stolen last week""Oh, poor baby. What is going on? First, you're suspended and now this?""I really don't know what's going on. It's like someone is out to get me. Can you help me? I hate doing this, coming to you, but I have no one else"
The receptionist sneered at her then said "The fifteenth floor" and went back to what she was doing, which was nothing. So much for making friends on her first day. Deciding to ignore her, she got in the lift and pressed the button that would take her to her new workplace. When the lift pinged open, all eyes turned on her. The layout was just like every other office she's been to, cubicles, only here people actually stopped to stare. Didn't they have anything to do? With the way she was dressed, they were making her feel uncomfortable. One girl who appeared to be her age got up and approached her"Excuse me, are you lost?"Do I look like I'm lost?Was on the tip of her tongue but she said "No. I'm looking for Mr. Copeland's office. I'm his new assistant"The girl
It was horrible. If Alexis thought Mr. Jerkface was mean that first day, she found out later what a devil he was. He'd explained to her what she needed to do. Get him coffee first thing in the morning, black no sugar, inform him of the day's appointments, remind him when it was time for lunch, and time to leave the office, get his lunch, go on errands when he needed her to. All that on top of her job and she'd thought that for someone so proud, his schedule was simple. Until the next morning.She'd arrived early so she could make his coffee but he was already there and he'd taken pleasure in telling her off about the importance of arriving at the office earlier than the boss. His face was a mask of anger and irritation but his eyes danced with humor clearly enjoying torturing her. That was just the beginning. Every time she made him a cup of
"Yes sir," Alexis said out loud getting up to follow him. But then the idiot slammed the door on her face knowing very well that now she had to knock then wait for his approval so she could go in.Dear God. Where is the patience I asked for?She raised her hand and knocked."Come in" that came after five minutes. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in.Keep calm Alexis."What can I do for you, sir?""Call Miss Elizabeth Austin for me""Excuse me?" she blurted out without thinking because she was sure he hadn't made her wait for five minutes just so he could tell her to call someone for him."Ha
Ray looked around the apartment he'd picked out. It was identical to Alexis' which was on the opposite side but hers had a better view than his. He wasn't complaining though because that view had nothing on her. They were on the twelfth floor which was the highest in the building and consisted of only the two apartments. No nosy or ridiculously loud neighbors. It would be just the two of them on the floor. The thought did nothing to calm some of his crucial body parts down.When he'd seen her in the kitchen dressed in those clothes that hid her figure, he hadn't seen how terrible they looked on her as Jayden kept saying. Oh no. He'd taken one look at her and the only thing he could think of was what he'd find when he was done unwrapping her. She looked like a Christmas present and given the chance he'd peel off all the layers one by one until there
Hours later Ray was contemplating on what to do when he received a text from Marjorie inviting him out. Her only condition was that she bring Henry along. He knew she liked his friend and he felt sorry for Henry because Marjorie wasn't someone you could ignore. All throughout college Henry had turned down girls using the excuse of not wanting to get distracted. To some extent, Ray understood why he wanted to succeed so much, but he'd also told him not to forget about other things like relationships. They were important too. Otherwise, what would having success mean if you didn't share it with someone? But he'd grumbled saying there was time for that later. Hopefully, that later was now because Marjorie had set her eyes on him and he could only imagine what she planned to do to have wrapped around her little finger. Also, there is no way he was going to miss seeing Henry pretend not to like her which is why he called his friend. The fact t
He leaned on the table with his left elbow obscuring her view of everyone else. He wanted to create their own bubble where it would be just her and him. Where she was relaxed enough to tell him everything. It would be the first time that she would trust him with any of her problems. Maybe if he played it right, she would learn to trust him little by little."So? What's bothering you?"She sighed. And for a second he thought she wasn't going to tell him anything but she must have made up her mind because she started talking. "I just.... I miss Jim so much. If he were here, he'd know what to do. He was so good with that. Giving me advice on how I should react in some situations. I depended on him too much and now I feel like everything I do is wrong but I have no one to tell me what's ri
Dipping his head, he kissed her. Well, it was more like he'd placed his lips on top of hers, testing the waters, but that counted as a kiss in his book. He waited for her to push him away, slap him and call him names. God knew he deserved it. Her boyfriend was in jail, her boss giving her a hard time and here he was moving in on her instead of offering to help her. He'd get it if she got mad at him if she decided not to talk to him ever again. It would be horrible knowing he blew his chance with her because he couldn't control himself. He wasn't one of those people who gave up easily so he'd probably chase after her for the rest of his life but it would really suck to see her with someone else after Connor. He's supposed to come after that imbecile and stay forever. That was the plan.Her lips moving against his cut his muddled thoughts short. She was kissing him back and Ray could have j
Five years later "Natalia Catherine Lachlan, what are you doing?"Startled, she gasped and dropped the bowl full of flour, on the floor. "Nothing. I promise I didn't do anything""Then why is your face covered in flour? And what is that in your hair?""It wasn't my fault mommy. Jamie told me to do it"Alexis would have laughed but Talia needed to be taught a lesson. She was always blaming her little brother for everything she did even when it was clear she was the one who'd committed the crime. Ray and her grandfathers had spoiled her rotten. She had been folding the laundry when she
"That doesn't make sense""It is clear how much your boyfriend loves you and no matter how many times I've tried to scare him away, he wouldn't budge. He is so much like his father that I want to punch him every time I see him""You're such a bully. Why do you have to take your anger out on Ray? Your problem is with Vince. Not his son""But I don't want him to marry you even though he really is the right man for you. You're making Vince a part of this family. It's frustrating honey""I think you're getting old since you don't remember that Vince is Jasmine's husband." she didn't even want to understand what he was talking about so she let him be. If they started arguing about Ray, they'd never leave the house. Changing the subject she ask
"Wow you look like a princess""You forget that she is a Princess" Jazz bumped her mother smiling. They'd gone all out with the dress, a dazzling beaded bodice on flounced tulle ball gown that made her feel like the princess they kept calling her and the makeup was kept to a minimum. Her shoes were a pair of embroidered ivory lace heels that completed her look. She couldn't begin to imagine what they'd done with the venue.Ray had insisted on getting married in a church which was funny because normally the brides were the ones who did that. Not the bridegroom. But this was the man who loved her and wanted to make all her dreams come true. To him, that included giving her a church wedding. He really wasn't like any other man she knew, excluding her father of course. Last night he'd insisted on not s
"True" he replied straightening from the bed to stand in front of her. Slowly he took off his clothes, starting with the jacket then the bow tie. As he untucked his shirt, he noticed how her breathing had hitched and decided to give her show. Which was pure torture for him because he could see her glistening center from where he stood. Spread out and ready for him. But he was never one to back down from a challenge, especially if it involved her so he unbuttoned his shirt with trembling fingers. Inwardly rejoicing when he was one less button away from being naked. Then came his belt, pants, and boxers which proved to be difficult since he still had his shoes on. Alexis tried to close her knees together but he knelt between her to stop her, not wanting to lose sight of that wet pussy and kicked his shoes off while cursing because the action was taking too long. He snapped his head up when he heard her giggle.
"Ray" Alexis breathed, letting out air she hadn't known she'd been holding. It took a lot of effort on her part to keep a neutral expression on her face. A few minutes passed as she just stood there staring at him, afraid of blinking in case he was an apparition. When she was convinced that he was real, she let her shoulders sagged in relief. At that moment she wanted to do a lot of things like hugging him or kiss him or slap him but her body wouldn't move. She was frozen in place not actually believing her eyes. It was him. He was there, standing in front of her looking dashing in a tuxedo suit. Her breath caught in her throat and she wondered if this is the same man she'd seen in that orange jumpsuit. There was no trace of that man at all. The beard he'd had from days of not shaving was gone. The Ray standing in front of her was different and dare she say happy? But why would he be happy? Shouldn't he still be mad at her? And when did h
"Lexi you have an hour to get ready. Red or black?" Jayden barged into her room announcing. He had two gowns on either hand, holding them up for her to see."Did I miss something?""Yeah. Dad needs you to accompany him to this event he has to attend so hurry up""Really? Why can't mom go with him? I don't feel like going anywhere" she grunted letting her head fall back on the pillow. The police had told her that Copeland was the killer but it would take them a few days to let Ray go due to the amount of paperwork that needed to be signed. Add the fact that most government officials were on holidays, they'd said a week at most. She didn't know if he would come to see her or if he'd keep being mad at her. God forbid he went to see Odessa first. The thought of them together made her pull the
"We found photos of you and your girlfriend, together and apart. It looked like he had been stalking you for a while. We also found the clothes he had worn when he'd killed ConnorGrey. They were hidden in his closet and the DNA matched. We're still investigating but all I can say for now is that your business partner was obsessed with your girlfriend. It happens when people think they're in love but by killing Mr. Grey, Duke Copeland had taken his obsession to the next level. There's no saying what he would have done to Miss Rutherford hadn't she ran from him. These kinds of cases are a bit hard to solve because we never really know when the perpetrator's behavior escalates. Most stalkers start out innocently. It's always to keep someone they love safe or just wanting to know the person's every move. Until they feel betrayed or something snaps inside them. Then they s
She swallowed. How did he know about her apartment? Did Ray tell him? "Thank you. That was really nice of you""Anything for you my little bird," he said taking a bite of the bagel. It was the second time he'd called her that. She didn't want to know why he kept calling her 'little bird'. If she asked too many questions, she'd spook him. So she kept her mouth and ate her breakfast. Alexis was so busy trying to find a way out instead of actually eating, that she missed her mouth and spilled coffee on herself."Crap," she said standing up. Copeland did too."Don't worry. I'll get you something to clean the mess with" he said hurrying to the kitchen. She couldn't stop him this time so she did the only thing she could think of. Ran out the door barefoot. There was an elevator but she kn
Alexis paced back and forth in front of her bed fuming. She should have taken her mother's advice and pulled Odessa's hair. That damn woman was everywhere. She'd left home willing to give Ray a chance to explain himself. She was so ready to listen until she saw Odessa, sitting there and talking to him like she had every right to. But then again it was her fault, wasn't it? She'd served Ray on a silver platter when she'd told Odessa she could have him.Even so, she didn't think Ray would fall for her tricks. They'd signed the divorce papers. So then why did he keep seeing her? Wasn't there a rule about not keeping in touch with exes or something? Dammit. Why was she letting that woman get to her? Her intention hadn't been to fight with Ray. She had carried the ring in the hopes that he'd get down on one knee and propose the right away after th