The new perfume launch was held in the Royal Hotel, and by the time Gemma arrived, most of the things had already been taken care of and all that was left was her making her presence for the launch to take off.
It was all thanks to the new event planning department. The company’s structure had undergone significant change and that included the employees. Many of them had been transferred to different departments while others who had jeopardized the company’s interests were fired.Gemma looked proudly at the work that had been done and understood why her new assistant was usually referred to as godly hands.“This is my last event at Gem Bliss.” She smiled proudly, like a mother looking at her child who was finally all grown up. Livian had accompanied her, and he couldn’t help asking for confirmation even though she had already given her answer before. “Are you sure you want it to be?” She nodded without thinking too much of it. “Gem Bliss helped me geGemma woke up to the sun rays seeping in through the window and rolled onto her side. Why was the window open? She always closed it before going to bed. Deciding that Livian must be awake, she stretched out a hand to touch him, found nothing but empty space, and got out of bed. The aroma of food led her to the kitchen but he was not there. Before she could try to call out for him, she heard his voice from the living room. It turned out that he had been there all along, discussing with Wayne. “You’re awake.” He noticed her presence before she could even speak. “Breakfast is ready. Are you hungry?” When she nodded, he stood and headed for the kitchen to warm it up for her even though she told him she could do it on her own. She knew that she would never be able to battle against him insisting on w
When she went to his home office, Livian was still in the middle of his conference meeting with his headphones on. He lookes serious and if speaking a foreign language could make someone look sexier, then he did. Or maybe it was just because of her undying attraction for him that she thought he was incredibly charming speaking Russian. She didn’t even know how many languages he spoke fluently.He was having a meeting with Russian clients and couldn’t meet them in person yet. She only picked up a word or two which were relatable from the languages she had learnt but she couldn’t be fully certain that they meant the same thing. Nonetheless, she leaned against the wall and watched him speak, probably negotiate, in a serious manner. He looked handsome even while working and she could watch him all day.When he noticed her presence, he looked up from above his laptop and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if she was okay and if she needed anything.
The following day, the duo went to check the orphanage out. They had seen it on the pictures and blueprints that the attorney gave her along with the property documents so she didn’t expect the actual structure to be even more beautiful. Or maybe it was because she had been looking forward to it and was currently viewing it through rose colored glasses. She noted down the important details on her tablet and as soon as they went back to the car, she revised them as she found ways to finish whatever was left. It would be much easier since she was not starting construction from scratch.“I need an interior designer. Do you think you could fill in the position, Mr. Dumont? We can discuss the details if you are interested.” She asked him flirtatiously.He smiled at her. “I'm always available for you, Mrs. Dumont.” He flirted right back, winking at her.She glanced back at the tablet and wrote something down. He wo
Construction was completed with two weeks to spare off the time that Livian had predicted. He had included two weeks in case there was a mishap and since they were ahead of their planned schedule and there were no hiccups, they had managed to complete everything in one month and a half. The end result did not disappoint."I feel I should kiss you a lot more than a thousand times every day." She jokingly remarked when she saw the completed structure.Livian and his team had taken care of every detail including the beddings, and everything was in perfect order. The opening was two weeks away and she suddenly wished she had set it thirteen days earlier."Thirteen days will be gone before you realize it." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders when he realized just how much she anticipated the opening."They will be." She didn't deny that, especially looking down at her stomach. She rubbed her bump softly. It had grown big and round and with e
She was wearing a blue dress herself. which was the same shade as that of the little baby tux that Liam was wearing. Livian was wearing a blue tux as well but aside from them, no one else was wearing blue clothes. She was carrying the little boy in her arms and he had a hand on the small of her back, walking in step with her as they entered the house.Alicia cheered as soon as they walked in. “They’re here!”Of course, she joyously took Liam when she had the chance. “He is so cute. Hello there, little darling.”Gemma smiled as she hugged her parents and Wayne.“Something smells delicious.” She remarked.“It’s probably the turkey.” Alicia winked. “The chefs are almost done.”“Now I’m hungry.” She chuckled.When Constance took her grandson to play with him for a while and Livian got engrossed into chatter with Wayne, Ali
“She is at it again.” She felt exhausted just thinking about it.Livian looked over at her from his pile of gifts. "Who is?” It didn’t take long before he guessed it. There was only one woman who Gemma didn’t appreciate getting anything from, and who thought it was fun to send letters and cards nonetheless. Cora.“Is it Cora?” He confirmed, and she nodded.“She congratulated me. Do you think she has some other reason to keep contacting me? Something creepy, perhaps?” She asked as she threw the letter aside. It was still a mystery how she managed to obtain information about her. It was definiteky not through Ybonne since the latter couldn’t be stupid enough as to continue being used as someone else’s minion.“I have no freaking idea. What I do know is that no matter what the reason is, she should stop sending you letters. They make our life uncomfortable and she should
“How did it go?” Livian asked as soon as she saw her leave the prison. He was waiting for her in the parking lot thanks to her insistence on him not going into the building with her. He had been tensed up about it even though he knew that nothing could possibly happen under the intense scrutiny of the wardens, and that Cora would be in cuffs if they thought she was a threat.“Good. Not reconciliation in tears kind of good but it’ll do.” She tiptoed to kiss him. “I know it sounds crazy but I’m relieved. It was not fun to live in suspense and with no information of what the hell was actually going on.”“It’s not crazy.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her for a long time before finally opening the car door for her. When she got in, he asked, “Would you like us to go home for a while before picking Liam up?”They had dropped Liam off at his grandparent’s house so
"Alicia!" Liam called adorably as he ran all the way from his bedroom. He had overheard his parents announce the arrival of his godmother and couldn't stop himself from being excited about it."Hi there, sweetie?" Alicia met the boy halfway through the room and hugged him, kissing his cheek.He pouted and presented his other cheek for a kiss. She laughed and kissed the other cheek too. He had always done that whenever she kissed one cheek and he probably couldn't understand why his godmother just wouldn't kiss both of his cheeks at once."I missed you so much." She hugged him tightly."I missed you too, Alicia." He kissed her neck and retreated a step, waiting for something.Alicia smiled and took out a candy from her bag, which she presented to him. They had always kept this little tradition. She would come over and hug the little guy and as soon as they hugged, she would give him candy. It was probably his favorite time of see
Wendy had her eyes shut when he opened the bathroom door."What's the result?" He asked.She didn't intend to tell him without playing a guessing game with him, which he quickly found out. Luckily, it was only a two choice option."Is it positive?" He asked hopefully. She shook her head.His mood dimmed in the slightest but he still asked, "Is it negative?"She shook her head, and he was baffled. Was she going to make him have a gazillion options even though it was a question of yes or no?He tried again. "Were you unable to take the test?"She shook her head to that too, and he was about to ma
It had been several weeks since Mia learned the truth about the past but it was not in the slightest bit easier to bear. It was still hard to imagine that the woman she had hated all her life was also the one who had saved her life. She had not had the courage to tell Carlos about it. Maybe he already knew the truth but kept it to himself. It was probably one of the things that would become clear with time and she was not willing to pry into them before they naturally unfolded. It made her feel guiltier because they were growing closer by the day.They had agreed to be friends but spent a lot of time together, doing things that friends definitely wouldn't ever do—not that she was complaining.On Friday evening, she went to his office as soon as she clocked out. This was how it had been for weeks. He would either seek her or she would seek him, every day. They would either have dinner together or he would drop her off. On weekends—like today—they would coo
“What in the world…” Gemma was rendered speechless by the insanity she had just heard. “Why the hell would such a rule even exist?”The elderly lawyer had no definite answer to that, because it was not he who had written the will nor had he set the rules that his granddaughter was finding absurd. He could only hypothesize. “The old man didn't want his bloodline to go extinct. He had to set some rules, and you are lucky that he did not specify that you must have a son before inheriting his estate.”Gemma sighed when she imagined that such a thing was possible. She had not known her grandfather when he was alive, because her family was yet to find her when he passed away. From the tales she had heard about him from her parents and grandmother, she knew that setting such an absurd rule did sound like something he would do.Even so, it still made no sense when she thought about it. “But I'm a w
Mia translated the document and while she didn't think there was anything secretive about it that would make Carlos unable to give it to someone else, she got the work done within the deadline nonetheless. It was the only way to get him to stop seeking trouble. She hated having to do everything he asked of her but he was the boss and there was nothing she could do about it. At least not yet.He was still sitting at his desk when she returned."That took you half an hour,." He remarked when he saw her.She placed the folder on his desk. "I'm done." She muttered, wondering why he sounded like he was complaining when he had given her two hours. She had not even taken up half of the allocated time. Was he going to scold her for being too fast?"Thank you." He half whispered. It was the first time he was appreciating anything she did and she was baffled."You're welcome." She smiled. He was smiling back at her and for the first time as well. She not
She thought he would ask to spend more days of the week with her or something along the lines but what he said surprised her."Promise me that you will sue Declan and that you will definitely go through with it no matter what happens."She frowned. "How is that paying you back? It's in my favor either way." She looked at him in confusion. Did he have a misunderstanding about the meaning of paying back?"It does pay me back. It's a win-win situation for both you and me."She thought hard about it and still couldn't understand how that was remotely possible."Is it because the man who hurt the woman you love will be behind bars and you will no longer have to see his face around? or, do you have personal grudges with him? Are you planning to use his term in prison as a way to end him?He smiled at her vivid imagination. "It's nothing of the sort. Well, those would be added benefits of putting him behind bars but the main reaso
"You are so beautiful." Livian ran his hand down her shoulder and kissed her cheek. She would have thought that he was just saying it to get on her good side but when she met his gaze, she had to believe that he truly meant it. His eyes were filled with adoration and if it was humanly possible, his attraction for her seemed to have intensified after what they had just done.She purred like a comfortable kitten when he kissed her cheek. She was lying against his chest with her body half sprawled against his. She pulled her knee up against his thigh and it drove him crazy. He groaned in pleasure."You are insatiable." She chuckled. They had done it twice in a row and she was beginning to realize that it didn't take much for him to be hard again.He wrapped his arms around her waist and chuckled against her neck. "Who am I to blame for that? If the wife is too sweet, is it the husband's fault that he got addicted to her sweetness?"She looked
Liam and Wendy had a shotgun wedding and it was baffling to everyone. The first thing they had to do was fulfill a part of the contract, which was for Wendy to make an appearance in the Dumont family as his wife.Their plan was to pass off as a real couple but they were shocked when they found out that Gemma was not falling for it."The two of you broke up two years ago, didn't you?" She questioned them."We reconciled and realized that we didn't want to risk losing each other again, so we decided to get married." Liam held her hand.Gemma chuckled. "Or, Liam had his assistant get him a suitable wife for hire so he would be able to access the trust fund from his great grandmother and since his assistant couldn't get a suitable woman, you decided that it would be more believable if it was you and him getting married." Gemma teased."That's not…" Wendy didn't know how to defend herself."It's okay. It's perfectly
She was certain that if she chose to agree to the contract marriage, the money she would earn would be enough to pay all her debts including her rent. Forget paying rent. Even if she wanted to purchase the entire estate and kick the landlady out of the apartment complex, she would have the power to do so.She was only in such a predicament because she had a falling out with her parents and decided to leave.It was impossible to count the number of bosses and managers who had tried to take advantage of their position to sexually harass her.Even so, she did not regret her decision, nor was she going to bend her will for that man. She shrugged. Many of her problems would be solved once she received her salary from the diner.After eating her snacks, she took a shower and prepared to go to bed.…It was already 7pm and the traffic couldn't get any crazier. Wendy was already an hour late for her evening shift and she kne
Evenings were the busiest time of the day at the diner and when Wendy was finally done with her work for the day, it was already 7pm. Even so, she couldn't leave until her replacement who would be working the night shift arrived since it was a 24 hour restaurant.She glanced at her pocket watch in irritation. Alma, that bitch, was late again. What irked her was the fact that she knew Alma disliked her and she was doing it on purpose like she always did whenever she had to take over the night shift from Wendy.Clara had already changed out of her work uniform and sent it to the laundry, so she was ready to go. She offered a smile at Wendy as she made her way towards the back door. "Want to go home together? My boyfriend will pick me up. We can give you a ride. Go on and change, I'll wait for you."Wendy looked up from the orders she was preparing for a couple and their daughter, returning the smile. "It's alright. I'll take the subway." She was gratef