"That's what I've been meaning to ask you," Jordan replied. He suddenly stood up and turned his back on me, reminding me to wear his shirt before we resumed our discussion. I blushed, completely forgetting that I was naked underneath the covers. I quickly put his shirt on, and I'm glad that it was long enough to reach my thighs.
"Is there any information - that could be valuable - which you are hiding from people, like the police?" Jordan asked. I tried to remember the things I've deliberately kept from the investigators of the Yates-Gallagher car accident. There was one, which I have not been able to disclose even to Conan yet, since we never got the chance to talk again before he decided to escape for a vacation and go missing. "Yes, there is," I told him.
I took my mobile phone from the bedside table and browsed through my saved video call recordings. I let
Jordan's POVI've treated Conan's sudden disappearance also as a clue to what my father really wanted me to find out. It's true that Conan recorded himself and Alannah when they announced my taking over the family business, but I've never seen or heard from him in person since he filed for an indefinite leave. The only assurance I got that he was safe was when the recorded message gave me a sign that he was somewhere untraceable by whomever it was that he needed to hide from. I couldn't understand, though, why Dad would instruct Conan to "hibernate" while our older sister and I were out."Marco and his men could take care of me and Angelique," Alannah once told me. I knew that her billionaire husband would never let a fly touch her and his daughter, and it made me a little assured of my sister’s and my niece's safety. What I was more worried about was that it see
No, I always had to remind myself that Vee was a lot younger than me, and it would be inappropriate to hit on her while we were faced with complications. I've already told Frank about it probably a million times, but he just keeps pointing out that Vee and I were going to get married anyway. And that soon, we would have to consummate the marriage. Bloody pedophile.Another thought crossed my mind as I recalled how she appeared like checking me out last night. I definitely saw her gaping at my upper body while I was asking her about the video call recording which she had shown me. I had to act nonchalant about it - why did I have to forget to wear my damned shirt and make her feel uncomfortable?Even now, I’m trying not to let my eyes be tempted to feast on Vee'
I went back to the jeep after a few minutes and felt like something wrenched my guts when I saw Vee staring out the window with lonely eyes. I wondered if I was causing her more pain than intended, but I really don't have any idea how to treat her. A part of me wants to forget about our age gap and just take her into my arms, but another side of me says that I should keep my distance. I'm not even sure if her heart already belongs to someone else. And I don't have a clue if she likes me or not. This is the first time I ever doubted how a lady feels for me.I found myself blocking Vee's view with my face. "Hey," she blinked several times before I came into focus. "We could stop at a mall in a hundred and fifty miles then you can buy any clothes you want." I heard myself say, in the hopes of making her feel better. She simply shrugged, and her pretty eyes stared through me and beyond the woods. I kind of fel
As opposed to what they hoped, Jordan and Vee were unable to immediately decipher what the painting was all about. Other than its title's literal meaning "First Son," they could not think of other clues out of it. The painting itself didn’t lead to other clues which may lead them to what their next steps should be."Maybe we are overthinking," Vee mused. For some reason, her brain refuses to function today. She could only think of wanting to continue her vacation which got interrupted by unforeseen events. "I wish we could have more days off..." She slumped her body in her chair and stretched her long legs across the table as she watched Jordan still intently staring at the painting.She was just planning to wrap her day up earlier than usual when she got a call from him and he said he wanted to drop by her office and study the painting yet again. She had
After their short vacation which turned out to be an investigation, Jordan and Vee had to go back to work to face their pending jobs in both of their families' businesses. Vee resumed the business refresher courses she had started taking to keep herself sharp and in the loop with industry standards. Afterall, she can’t always just rely on her advisors. On the other hand, while she engrossed herself in her projects for the Rustik-Yates Hotels, Jordan resumed his research on Conan's pending transactions for their company.The mall conversion of the Gallagher Industries branch in Asia was a big project and Jordan always found himself trapped in cadences and overseas meetings. He had to fly out of the country every other day and it deprived him of proper sleep. He remembered the days when he got deployed for special missions in far flung lands where he had to endure sleepless nights while on watch for th
Since it was obvious that Vee would be unable to dodge Lenka's interrogation, she finally gave in and decided to narrate every single detail about her vacation-turned-clue-hunting with Jordan. She purposefully left out the bathtub incident for fear of being teased, but her storytelling skills have yet to be honed since it was too easy to find loopholes which made Lenka discover that she was hiding something. Cornered, she finally shared what happened and how she was left with only a towel after all the ruckus.As Vee had expected, Lenka started giggling so hard that Guy finally gave up trying to catch some much needed sleep. He looked around his room and realized that the ladies had invaded his privacy and now had deprived him of some rest. Guy’s eyes widened as Lenka relayed to him Vee's experience with Jordan while they were in a motel, and with much excitement described how the Gallagher heir trie
Vee could still hear Guy and Lenka enthusiastically imagining and speculating things about her relationship with Jordan but her mind was still tainted by a familiar sinking feeling which she had been ignoring. I was a nagging sense of unease - she couldn’t shake the idea of him being reluctantly caught up in all the Yates-Gallagher ruckus which seems to be her father’s brainchild.Her suppressed thoughts of an image of Jordan looking silly while talking to the woman who called his mobile phone while they were out for lunch still lingered in her head, and she wasn’t sure how to address that.She had almost forgotten, but the magazine article she had seen at the gasoline station which featured Jordan’s younger years was also something to consider.The magazine feature was a lookback at when he had won his mixed martia
While enduring Lenka and Guy's teasing which lasted a couple of days more, Vee intentionally engrossed herself with paperwork and important business meetings to avoid looking like a ripe tomato every time she was with her friends. Not long did she realize, though, that she would be unable to evade the two longer than she had hoped when her wedding planner reappeared one day and reminded her of the important steps she had yet to do with Jordan."I-I was hoping to have the fitting postponed..." she said, biting her lip in discomfort. She just couldn’t imagine how to invade Jordan’s already full schedule and further test his sanity to talk about yet another obligation. Almost instantly, Guy jumped from his seat and recited his objection."Your birthday will be in less than seven weeks, lady," he announced dramatically. "Remember that you are
Jordan studied Lucas' disgruntled face before snatching the envelope away. He peeked into it and saw a small flash drive."There are no other copies left," Lucas said, "and the cops don't know about it. You could research all you want, but that's all there is. I risked my reputation just to get away with that. I don't know what the old man Yates wanted with it, and why he seemed to know that his own accident was going to be captured in it. I did what he wanted - deliver that to his daughter."A sudden movement from the backdoor exit alarmed Lucas and he instinctively hid behind Jordan. The latter aimed his gun in the direction of a man who was lurking behind the shadows."Hold it," came Frank's voice. He slowly approached, his hands raised as he grinned at Jordan and Vee. "'Sup, Jordy, you seem too excited to blow p
"W-who are you?"Vee felt a bit confused as she questioned the man who picked her up from the dance floor and guided her to the backdoor exit of the bar. She wondered how it happened that no one suspected she was being kidnapped or dragged away - she hazily recalled how she appeared to still be dancing as people around her moved with her. She also did not fight back, much to her disappointment with herself, but she realized that she was not being forced. She couldn't clearly see the stranger's face which was covered with a scarf up to his nose, but she could see his wary eyes darting around as though trying to ensure that no one noticed or followed them. He cautiously let her lean against the wall after letting go of her arms."Please don't make a scene, Yates," the man said in a hushed voice. "I won't hurt you.” He sounded worried and sincere. He moved V
Due to Jordan's strict instructions of not making any information sit for more than twenty-four hours, Frank felt the need to immediately inform Vee about his discovery. He wasn't sure if he would need to filter any details - he knew Jordan wouldn’t want anything worrisome to cause Vee any stress, but since Jordan couldn't be reached, he would take the risk of discussing them with the Yates princess. He also knew that he had to work covertly, so he decided to fly to the city himself like how Jordan would do it, instead of talking over the phone or asking Vee to go back to the camp to meet him.The next evening as previously agreed, Vee was all set to meet Frank at a bar which was close to Lenka's workplace. She was also scheduled to attend a fellow model's birthday party, and she took it as an opportunity to act as normal as she could to avoid unwanted attention. Frank had specifically asked he
No one has received a call from Jordan, and no one dared to check on him due to strict orders of not being disturbed while he was out. Since no one had an idea who the woman was, Vee started wondering if it could have been Jordan's secret girlfriend. The image of him giddily talking on the phone when they were together came back to her, and she recalled seeing a woman's photo of the caller ID flashing on his phone then.Suddenly feeling weird, Vee asked if Katie could let her stay in the office and wait for Jordan for a few minutes. She was granted full access, as Katie was fully aware of the Gallaghers' orders to treat anyone of the immediate Yates family as their own employer, a rule which had been existing since Alister's time as CEO. Vee was allowed to enter the main office while the receiving room was closed.When she was finally left alone, Vee found hers
While enduring Lenka and Guy's teasing which lasted a couple of days more, Vee intentionally engrossed herself with paperwork and important business meetings to avoid looking like a ripe tomato every time she was with her friends. Not long did she realize, though, that she would be unable to evade the two longer than she had hoped when her wedding planner reappeared one day and reminded her of the important steps she had yet to do with Jordan."I-I was hoping to have the fitting postponed..." she said, biting her lip in discomfort. She just couldn’t imagine how to invade Jordan’s already full schedule and further test his sanity to talk about yet another obligation. Almost instantly, Guy jumped from his seat and recited his objection."Your birthday will be in less than seven weeks, lady," he announced dramatically. "Remember that you are
Vee could still hear Guy and Lenka enthusiastically imagining and speculating things about her relationship with Jordan but her mind was still tainted by a familiar sinking feeling which she had been ignoring. I was a nagging sense of unease - she couldn’t shake the idea of him being reluctantly caught up in all the Yates-Gallagher ruckus which seems to be her father’s brainchild.Her suppressed thoughts of an image of Jordan looking silly while talking to the woman who called his mobile phone while they were out for lunch still lingered in her head, and she wasn’t sure how to address that.She had almost forgotten, but the magazine article she had seen at the gasoline station which featured Jordan’s younger years was also something to consider.The magazine feature was a lookback at when he had won his mixed martia
Since it was obvious that Vee would be unable to dodge Lenka's interrogation, she finally gave in and decided to narrate every single detail about her vacation-turned-clue-hunting with Jordan. She purposefully left out the bathtub incident for fear of being teased, but her storytelling skills have yet to be honed since it was too easy to find loopholes which made Lenka discover that she was hiding something. Cornered, she finally shared what happened and how she was left with only a towel after all the ruckus.As Vee had expected, Lenka started giggling so hard that Guy finally gave up trying to catch some much needed sleep. He looked around his room and realized that the ladies had invaded his privacy and now had deprived him of some rest. Guy’s eyes widened as Lenka relayed to him Vee's experience with Jordan while they were in a motel, and with much excitement described how the Gallagher heir trie
After their short vacation which turned out to be an investigation, Jordan and Vee had to go back to work to face their pending jobs in both of their families' businesses. Vee resumed the business refresher courses she had started taking to keep herself sharp and in the loop with industry standards. Afterall, she can’t always just rely on her advisors. On the other hand, while she engrossed herself in her projects for the Rustik-Yates Hotels, Jordan resumed his research on Conan's pending transactions for their company.The mall conversion of the Gallagher Industries branch in Asia was a big project and Jordan always found himself trapped in cadences and overseas meetings. He had to fly out of the country every other day and it deprived him of proper sleep. He remembered the days when he got deployed for special missions in far flung lands where he had to endure sleepless nights while on watch for th
As opposed to what they hoped, Jordan and Vee were unable to immediately decipher what the painting was all about. Other than its title's literal meaning "First Son," they could not think of other clues out of it. The painting itself didn’t lead to other clues which may lead them to what their next steps should be."Maybe we are overthinking," Vee mused. For some reason, her brain refuses to function today. She could only think of wanting to continue her vacation which got interrupted by unforeseen events. "I wish we could have more days off..." She slumped her body in her chair and stretched her long legs across the table as she watched Jordan still intently staring at the painting.She was just planning to wrap her day up earlier than usual when she got a call from him and he said he wanted to drop by her office and study the painting yet again. She had