“Please stand up,” My voice cracked. I sounded cold even to my ears. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“But you're angry. And I've wronged you, Cherry. I toyed with what we shared. Let me make amends.”“I don't remember you,” I met his eyes now and took a step back, away from him.“There is nothing to apologize for because I don't know what you're talking about. You've got the wrong girl, Sir. I'm not your Cherry. I'm Elaine.”He paled, horrified. “Cherry...”“Stop calling me that. I'm not Cherry!” I shouted, rushing to the door. “And I'm not coming back to this place.”I unlocked it and bolted for the elevator. He ran closely behind, calling my name.The elevator doors closed off his shouts and I pressed the button that would take me to the first floor hastily, wiping the tears that had escaped the corner of my eyes. I hated myself for being a chicken. I could hear the sincerity in his voice, but I'd been so unfeeling that it was easy for me to lie.I still wanted him, but we were in different places now. If he had traced me to the publishing house in Manhattan, then he could've asked for my house address. I had no cause to believe that he was very much in love with me. Only God knew how many ladies he said those words to on a particular day. I wasn't prepared to be a contender for his attention. I had my son to think about and I couldn't even handle it even if I tried.So it was for the best.— | —Elaine Matthews is an eternally single, twenty-two-year-old, receptionist. She doesn't do love. she's never been in love. She's seen her friends fall in and out of love and has decided to stay away totally. Yet, when she gets involved in a one-night-stand with a gorgeous stranger who saved her from a creep, she throws away that opinion into a gutter.But fate comes biting hard when she finds out months later that she's pregnant, and has no contact with the man who changed the course of her life.Max Sturm is a well-known CEO and proud owner of a publishing firm. The most eligible bachelor and ladies man in the room. If only anyone knew how heavy that title was. If only anyone knew how tired he was behind all the bad boy facade. When he saves and meets the phenomenal woman at a nightclub during a business trip, it's a night of passionate lovemaking with no names exchanged, no questions asked. Yet, months later he still finds it hard to stop thinking about her, and no leads as to her whereabouts.But when they find each other at last, both are in completely different places. Elaine has moved on with her son and a man she's starting to love, and Daniel is getting engaged to a woman he couldn't love. It's worth a try to shut the door on true love, but fate has other plans for the both of them.Elaine.I hated nightclubs. The sweaty dancing…the pumping music…the slutty advances…it all made me want to choke on my vomit.Ugh.I raised my chin and glared at the dark-haired man that'd been pestering me for over an hour now, his eyes shining as he talked about his sexual escapades with so much enthusiasm, you might believe it was what he knew best. As usual, his eyes weren’t focused on mine, but rather on my breasts, which bulged out of the thin outfit I wore, making him swipe his tongue out to wet his bottom lip unconsciously.Yikes. He couldn’t even pretend to be decent for just one minute.I’d had enough. Holding up a hand now, I moved away. “Sorry to offend you but I’d like to use the restroom now, please.”He shrugged eagerly. “Fine. No problem. I can wait for you here.”“Thank you,” I said, hoping he couldn’t hear the exasperation in my voice as I moved away into the crowd of dancing bodies at a corner. The restroom was down the corridor and I bumped into Cora on my way the
ElaineI moaned softly as my back hit the door, his lips on mine as he twisted the door knob to let us in. I’d found him increasingly attractive after my fourth drink or so and had pulled him to a hidden corner on the balcony, pressing my body to his, the pores of my skin dripping with need. He’d chuckled as his tongue dug past my teeth, his large hands finding the back of my thighs, cupping them roughly to hook around his waist. I arched my back, tilting my head as his hot mouth traveled down my jaw and neck, stopping at the line between my breasts, sucking at the fair skin there. I ran my hands through his soft, blonde curls, the waves of pleasure making my legs tremble.God, feels so good.But he’d pulled away immediately, reaching for his back pocket and pulling out a silver key – the reflection of the balcony lights off the metal just as immaculate as his dentition which he flashed at me. My disappointment turned to one of curiosity. “Y-You have a room? In this place?”He chuckle
Elaine.A few hours and seven showers later, I still lay sprawled out in bed with my fake husband. He had his arms around me as we nibbled at each other’s lips underneath the thick drapes. I ran my hands over his solid abs, squeezing his left nipple and swallowing his moan with a passionate kiss. I’d completely lost track of time at this point, and let me be honest, I didn’t care. Never did I ever imagine a night like this, in bed with a man I was slowly learning not to do without. And to think I didn’t even know his name, or where he came from – all I knew was that he could make any woman go crazy and blow up like dynamite.It was quite an unbelievable night.We had sex in multiple positions – on the floor, bent over the bedpost, holding onto the window bars, while showering, and in the bathtub. We’d run out of condoms in the long run, but that didn’t stop us. It seemed like each time he plunged deep into me, I couldn’t get enough. And he knew how and where to put that hot tongue of
Max“Cherry left quite early,” I jumped at the sound of Flynn’s voice in my ear. “Jeez, calm down. It’s just me.” He laughed.Bastard.Wagging a finger at him, I huffed in annoyance. “Don’t try that shit again with me, arsehole.”He nodded, hands raised in surrender. “Noted. I’m sorry.”I straightened my jacket and turned to stare once more down the pitch-black road that was now deserted. I didn’t know how long I stood there, looking into the darkness, feeling an influx of emotions unfurl in my stomach. She was gone. The reality of that was such a bitch.“Are you alright?” Flynn asked, following my line of vision towards the road. “You’ve been standing out here for an hour or so. Did something bad happen with Cherry?”I ran a hand through my hair, too pissed to even reply to him. God, I’d messed everything up with just a sentence. I knew she chose to be vulnerable with me because she felt something for me, and just like the loser I always was, I’d gone and ruined it. I didn’t have her
Elaine.“Thank you,” I smiled at the blonde waiter as he placed our drinks on the table. He looked Irish, with a sharp jaw and emeralds for eyes. If I wasn’t still thinking about the bastard I met at the club, maybe I would’ve been remotely interested. It was a Saturday night, and since the flat was empty, Cora had insisted that we go out for a girl’s night together.“So, what’s up with your sour mood?” I asked her, popping open my Coke and taking a cautious sip. Cora had her arms folded across her chest, eyes dark with fury.“Ugh. What else? The job interview was a disaster?”“Really?” I frowned. “But you said that your new boss seemed like the friendly type.”“He fooled me into believing that he was great when he was just a little piece of shit!”The couple seated close to us stopped talking now and glanced at us. I patted Cora’s arm. “Calm down. Everyone’s looking.”“It’s so pitiful. I tried to ignore his sexual advances, but things went south. After the general interview with his b
Elaine.“Mom?” The little boy turned back from the window, the cool summer breeze tousling his dark curls about. I smiled, using a finger to wipe away the dried milk at the corner of his lips. “When are we going to stop?”“Soon, baby.” I carried him up onto my lap. The moving truck ran into a pothole, sending us bumping up and down. Finn giggled, thrusting the wheat biscuit he was holding against my nose.The truck eventually came to a stop and Finn rushed out of my grasp to the window again, pointing at the two-story house with faded blue weatherboards. “Is this our new home, Mommy?”I drew in a deep breath before nodding. “Yes, baby. We’re home.”God, how relieving that felt.Our new home was located in a quiet neighborhood with a wide, empty street. It had a huge veranda that wrapped around the house, beautiful marigolds past the posts, and a cobblestone path flanked by wild garden gnomes leading up to the front steps. The air was moist and had the smell of old books mixed with nat
MaxNew York Times.A woman cries out for help, saying she has a child for billionaire CEO Max Sturm.From news reaching our headquarters, according to the allegations brought forward by the woman, Max Sturm had seduced and promised that he'd marry her during the launch party of his New York Times bestseller ‘The Golden Ones’ a few years ago. She'd agreed and slept with the award-winning author, but he left her the next morning without a note or anything to contact him. He didn't even reveal his real name to her. She took the heartbreak in stride and found out that she was pregnant a few months later, but didn't abort the baby because she's a Christian. She was never one for the news, or trends so it was little wonder why it took her all this while to get hold of him...“What the actual fuck?” I stopped reading at that, slammed the damn papers down, and exhaled in exasperation. I swear to God, people could be really desperate especially when it came to wealth. Glancing at the picture
ElaineOn Monday morning, I strode into the lobby of Sturm Publishing Inc. with nothing but printed inquiries Cora had sent me. Since I couldn’t go back to being an editor, because the job offers I’d browsed through on Craigslist weren’t paying well enough. I came across the post for a secretary with better payment and applied. Luckily, I got an email that said that I had been shortlisted for an interview along with six others two days later.It hadn’t even been up to a week since we moved here and New York was already bearing fruits. I got Finn enrolled in a Catholic elementary school close to Cora’s new office so she could pick him up after work in the afternoons, since I would be closing by five on weekdays.“Hello. Good day. I’m here for the interview?” I tilted my head and offered my hand to the middle-aged receptionist sitting behind a huge desk. There was a white intercom on her left, piles of paperwork scattered all over the table. She had her food flask opened in front of her