We entered his house, and he reached for the light switch and turned it on. With the sudden emergence of light, I was overwhelmed, and I wrapped my arms around me, folding into myself.My mind wandered to Jeremy, and I could imagine the look on his face when it was time to go home and he discovered I wasn’t around. He would be so disappointed.“Should we go upstairs to my room?” Alex suggested, and I was nodding my head. Jeremy could wait a little longer. I will deal with him when the time comes.“Sure.” I let him lead the way, even though I was no stranger to this house. There was something feminine about a man taking charge, and I wouldn’t want to take that role.My eyes scanned the house as I moved, trying to take note of anything different, but nothing much has changed since I last came here. Aside from the new painting, there was no difference.Even the placement of things was the same.We came to the familiar mahogany door, and he pushed it open for me to enter. “Thank you.” I s
"Indeed, you are beautiful.” I said as I beheld this caliber of man. Men like Alex were a rare find in the world we live in. Men that embrace their masculinity as a part of them, and when you see them, everything in you just wants to worship them.My pussy throbbed as I looked at him, lowering my eyes gradually to the v of his waistline, where there was a little sprinkling of dark hair.He must have shaved it recently, because the hair there was sparse and gosh, I was in love. The little hair extended to the base of his cock, and it reminded me of a bush path clearing. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the right description for it, but I don’t know how I was going to describe something as majestic as that.“Do you like what you see?” Alex teases me as he sees me devouring him whole, and I couldn’t talk. I could only nod as my mouth was already watering at the thought of getting busy soon.I did the only thing befitting someone like him—a king like him, and I was going down on my knees. Alex tr
“I love you.” I heard Alex say it in my subconscious, as I was about to fall asleep, but I was waking up early to go.If Jeremy had found out I had left to see Alex, it wasn’t going to end well, so I had to be discreet.I could always tell him that I left the party early because I was tired and wanted to rest. That was a more plausible lie, but he may catch on, if I come around sleeping like sexIt was difficult for me to stand up because Alex had decided that strangling me was the only way he could sleep comfortably.I held my breath as I untangled myself from him. His sleep pattern usually alternates from heavy sleeper to light sleeper, depending on how tired he is.I had hoped I was able to wear him out so he could sleep deeply. I had accomplished the impossible and had untangled myself from his chokehold; it was now time to look for the cloth that was left.I began to look for my clothes that had been flung at one point in time during our session. Because why did I find my pants v
“Alex?” Jeremy looked at the man that had come in with me, and he looked at me. The frown on his face was enough to tell me that he wasn’t approving of my company.But trust Alex not to care. “Hey Jerry, how are you doing?” He said quite cheerfully even waving at him, but Jeremy’s frown only seemed to deepen.Alex was purposely baiting him because Jeremy hated being called Jerry and the fact that he was here with us was probably annoying him.“What are you doing here?” Jeremy asked as he kept looking at both of us. He looked at me, still dressed in yesterday’s outfit, but my makeup was smudged, and he gave me a knowing look. He turned to look at Alex, who was wearing his casual outfit , and he knew something was up.“I was only dropping off Ruby; I didn’t know her personal guard was here.” Alex said, and I looked at him sharply, trying to discourage him from whatever he was trying to doWay to go Alex. It was obvious he was just trying to rile him up, and Jeremy was aware of this fac
We finished explaining our plans, but Charles didn’t seem to be happy with what he had heard. “There is not enough progress. If we continue like this, there is no way we can take this from Knight.”“Agreed, we need more brute force if we want this to work.” I said, nodding my head. After meeting up with Alex, I was reluctant to continue this project because I knew just how much it meant to him.But business was business, and the first rule of business was not to mix it with pleasure. Something I had clearly ignored.“What is the way forward?” Jeremy asked the question that had been on our minds.“I will be meeting the governor in two days, and I should be able to convince him of our company. Meanwhile, there is a private dinner taking place at the mayor’s home, and we have been invited. Naturally, you all will be with me, and we could see how we can get this ball rolling.”“Alright, I am down for whatever we need.” I said, and the rest nodded their heads in agreement. The discussion mo
I had told the mayor of my plans to provide more shelter in New York, and he seemed intrigued. “That is really interesting; you spoke like you really had passion for this cause. Why do you think it is important?”This was a trick question. He was trying to throw me off balance, but I was ready for this. I took a deep breath as if I were contemplating the question, and I started talking. “I am aware that New York has a growing problem with homelessness. You walk through some streets, and you see people sleeping wherever there is a shade. I would understand this more because I grew up in New York and have been part of those people.”His ears pricked as he heard that, and his eyes softened, barely believing what he had just heard, but I knew I had gotten to him.“Let me tell you a little secret, mayor.” The mayor was nodding his head, eager to hear whatever I had to divulge. In that moment, my eyes met with Jeremy, who was doing his own share of networking, and we shared a smile. “I am an
We came back from the event late in the evening, and everyone was beat. I had worn myself out socially so much that I didn’t want anything to do with it for a long time.How do social butterflies do it?I see people that are always in one event or another, hopping around like butterflies and making small talks, and I wonder just where they get all the strength from.I was exhausted as it is, and I was crawling to my bed, drawing the blanket all over my body, and I was falling asleep.I was awoken the next day by a knock on my door, and I was reluctant to open the door. “Ruby, open up; it is I.” I heard Jeremy said, and I was sighing.I stood up with great effort and picked up the robe that was hanging in the wardrobe, wrapped it around myself, and dragged myself to the door.I opened the door with sleepy eyes, and the first thing I saw was a cup of coffee in my line of sight. “I figured you would need this.” He said it as I was looking at it skeptically, and I nodded.I would have pref
“The winner, who is also the person with the highest number of bids, is..." The announcer paused for a moment and observed the audience, his heady eyes scanning all of us.My heart was in my mouth as I looked on, and my ears pricked to hear the result. A thought flashed through my mind, and I was shaking my head. I didn’t know what I was going to do if I didn’t win.I didn’t even want to know; I just knew that I needed to win this thing.A hand grabbed my shaking legs, halting the movement, and when I looked at the culprit, Jeremy’s eyes met mine. “It is alright; we have tried our best. Whatever the result, I know we did our best.”“Hmm.” I couldn’t bring myself to talk, but I nodded my head and placed my hands on his hands, letting the warmth comfort me.“Without further ado, the winner of the bid is none other than Elite Dwellings!”“We won!” Jeremy's reaction was immediate, and he was yelling in my ears while I was still trying to process the information. "Oh, Ruby, we won.”“Yea.”
Honestly, this wasn’t how I imagined the book to end. I still had a lot of ideas, but as I gave it some thought, I knew that I was dragging the plot unnecessarily, and I think Alex and Ruby deserve their happy ending after all they had been through, even though it may not be what you wished for.I have learned that sometimes less is more, and that is what I am looking for in this book.Their future is left for you readers to decide, so be creative and leave a message on how you think they should have ended, and I would be happy to contribute and add my own theory.I want to thank everyone that has been reading the book even up to this point; you are the reason I kept this going.Your comments and gems were really appreciated.I do have a tiny favor for you. If you enjoyed reading this book or have read it to this point, you could click on the three lines at the bottom left of the screen, click on book details, and leave a rating for the book.You can also look forward to my future pro
I stood on my tiptoes, and my hands flew up to circle his neck, even as I connected my lips to his. Alex was frozen in place, not expecting my reaction, but the man was quick to recover.I heard a low growl from his belly, and he held my neck, pulling me closer to him. His lips were firm as they pressed against me, the complete opposite of the gentle butterflies that were fluttering in my stomach.Alex pulled back for a split second, his warm breath fanning my skin and sending delicious tingles down my body. He was looking at me with stormy eyes, and I could see nothing but love in his gaze.“Before we go forward, I need your verbal response. I don’t want to have any casual relationships anymore. I am tired of chasing the clouds, and I want something authentic with you. If you are saying yes, that means you are all in.” His eyebrow creased with serious intent as he spoke.I gave it a little thought, even though I already knew what my reply would be. In all honesty, I was tired of this
I looked at my phone, squinting at the mail I had just received, just to be sure that it was actually from Alex.Why couldn’t he tell me if they had accepted or rejected our offer in the mail? Did he have to see me face-to-face so he could gloat at my dejected face?He didn’t even give a specific date, so he had expected me to be omniscient and know when I should come. I looked up at the top left-hand corner of my phone, where the time was reading some minutes before one.A flitting thought crossed my mind about how it was so close to time. It took me some seconds to process the information before I was jumping to my feet.He obviously meant today, and if he did, I needed to be extra fast to make it on time. Thank goodness for the little things. I had already taken my bath, so it was going to make things easier.I padded my wardrobe, which was only seen to be overflowing no matter how much I debunk and declutter. I think I was going to have another yard sale so I could create more spa
“Hmm.” Alex’s lips were in a thin line as he looked at me. He finally allowed our eyes to meet, and I wasn’t sure I liked what I was seeing there.They were unreadable and barely giving anything out, and honestly, I didn’t know how to feel about that. But I could feel the huge divide between us, and I had no idea how I was going to mend it.“Alex? I asked a question.” I reminded him when I got no response again.“Yeah, I heard you the first time; I was just wondering why you decided to come to me.” He folded his arms, and I watched as his muscles bulged, giving him a menacing look. But I wasn’t fazed. “Why are you coming to me? What happened to all the numerous investors that gave you the contract? Are they suddenly backing out of the contract?”I whined with each sentence, each sentence delivering a lash on my back, and I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. Alex sure had a way with words, and he knew how best to make it hurt.“I came to you for a reason, Alex.” I said while I practiced
“Hey, I need your help.” I said into the speaker, and I waited, unconsciously holding my breath, to hear his reply. A few seconds had passed, and I didn’t hear anything from him. I was sure he heard me, but I was going to repeat it again to clarify any doubt. “I need your help.”“Yes, I heard you for the first time. What do you need?” No matter how he tried, he couldn’t hide the hostility in his voice, and I was cringing as I heard it.I deserved it. I had hurt him beyond measure, yet I was the one on his phone, seeking his favor.“Uhm, it is a long story, but I think it is better if we meet in person.” I said, my heart pounding in my chest for no apparent reason.I heard the ruffling of pages and a small pause before he replied. “Alright, tomorrow should be fine with me by 6 p.m. I will send you the location.”“Alright, thank you.” He was disconnecting the call even before I even finished talking, and I looked at the blank screen for a moment, wondering where it had all gone wrong.I
“We need to talk.” I spoke into the speaker, and I didn’t care if he had heard me or not, but I disconnected the call and flung my phone on the bed—only carefully, of course.That particular phone had cost me a ton, and I didn’t think I had the strength to replace it just yet. Plus, all of my important information was there; I couldn’t afford to lose it because of a tantrum.I held my head in my hand, cradling it like I would a baby. I wanted to scream out my frustration, bang my head on the wall, or do something crazy.But I couldn’t find the strength to do so.I have never been one to resort to violence if I didn’t have my way. Okay? I was lying, I used to in the past, but I'm a changed person now, and I don’t do such things now.I sat on my bed, unmoving, while I waited for the person on the other end of the phone to come back home. All this time, I was numb, not allowing myself to feel anything, but my brain was still working on how to come up with a solution.I was snapping out o
Work began in earnest the next day, which means that we were going to be staying in New York for a great deal of time—well, only Jeremy and I.Charles and Anna had gone back to Seattle as they had a lot of things to do and couldn’t always be here for us.However, I understood how much of a sacrifice they had made to make us reach such levels, and I was never taking it for granted. That was why I was eager to make sure this project was a success.It had to beJeremy and I had rented an Airbnb that would accommodate us during our stay in New York. Nothing fancy though; it was a modest house with 3 bedrooms and well-furnished rooms, and it had all the essentials we needed.We had decided on a 3-bedroom in case we had visitors; they could always stay in the guest bedroom without having to inconvenience anyone. I flew back to Seattle during the weekend just to check on how things were going over there while Jeremy was holding out his end in New York.We had no ongoing project anymore in Se
I held my breath as I opened the door, but I realized too late that it wasn’t him. It wasn’t the one that I dreamed of every waking hour, the one that somehow found a way to occupy my thoughts even though I didn’t want him to.Anna was quick to notice the frown on my face, and frown lines were etched on her face. “Are we interrupting something?” She asked in a worrisome tone, and I was quick to shake my head, denying her claim.“No, of course not. It is fine; please come in.” I said, moving out of the door so she could enter inside. “I had just woken up not so long ago, and it wasn’t to good news.”“Yeah, about that.” She began entering the room and taking up the empty space on the sofa while her husband sat on the only chair that was in the room. “We heard, or rather saw, what happened, and we just wanted to check on you.”“Yeah, Jeremy was just telling me about it, but it is pretty much under control.” I said, shrugging my shoulders. There was no need to start remembering the hurtfu
“What have you done?” Jeremy yelled as he entered my room. I was taken aback by the outburst, and my eyebrows rose in question.“I don’t understand. What happened?” I asked, confusion written all over my face. I had just woken up from a sweet, albeit short, nap, and I was still trying to get my bearings.There was no way I would have done something between those times, except I had a Dopplerganger somewhere who was wreaking havoc when I was sleeping.Thinking of it, if I had a dopplerganger somewhere, I would want to meet with her; maybe we could exchange jobs or something.“Don’t try to play ignorant about this; your face is literally plastered all over the internet.” Jeremy barked, cutting into my thoughts.“Ohkayyy…” I dragged out the words as I was still trying to recall what bad I had done. “I mean, it should be a good thing, right? Some exposure means more opportunities.”Jeremy looked at me. His jaw was hanging low, like he couldn’t believe what I had just said, and I was even m