Cora was even faster at investigating than expected. By evening, she had already caught the maid who had been hired to snoop around. Gemma had given her the day off so she would be able to do it but within a couple of hours, she had found the culprit. When Gemma returned from work, she mentioned the name of the maid.
"Alicia? I didn't know she had that in her." Gemma was shocked when Cora told her. She sat down on the couch as the latter brought her a glass of warm water. She accepted it and whispered her thanks. Cora sat opposite her. "The people you least expect to betray you end up being the worst traitors." She warned. Gemma nodded in agreement. "I still can't believe it. Where is she now?" "She still believes that she has me fooled. We could set a trap and catch her in the act." Cora suggested. Certain that the servants wouldn't enter the living room unless they were asked to, she knew that they could discuss in"Livian? Are you still there?" She probed after a while. He had been silent for too long and she was almost convinced that he had hung up. She glanced at the screen and he was merely staring at her."Yes. I was just thinking about it." He finally spoke and ran a hand through his hair."What do you think?" She asked, knowing that he must have come up with something."Nothing you haven't thought about yet." He slumped onto his bed and placed the phone on a stand so she could still see him, and went ahead to change into his sleepwear, right as she watched him.She rolled onto her back. "You should get some sleep soon.""Is that your way of saying that you miss me and would have loved it if I slept with you?" He teased, making her roll her eyes at him."Don't get me started." She huffed. "I mean it. Go to sleep." She rolled onto her back."I will in a minute." He winked at the screen. "I miss you already. The bed wil
"Is there any sort of connection between Alicia and Rebecca?" Gemma asked over lunch, looking at the man sitting across the table. She had hired a private investigator to help her figure out who Yvonne's mole was in Gem Bliss.Rudolf had managed to uncover the culprits in innumerable conspiracies and this was no different. It had been only four days since she fired Alicia and he had already found out that the mole in Gem Bliss was Rebecca. It was as she expected but for someone who knew nothing about the company and had to pretend to be one of the employees so he would gauge if there was anything off about any of them, he was indeed fast.She had also explained to him that the person behind the moles, Yvonne, had also hired one of her servants to invade her study.Rudolf thought about her words and subtly shook his head. "I don't think they are related in any way. Most of the time, the mastermind would refrain from choosing people who have the slight
"Of course I'm happy to see you." She smiled at him and when he leaned over her desk to kiss her, she ran her fingers through his stubble. "Did you rush over as soon as you arrived?"He nodded in affirmation. "I'm famished. Let's go home for dinner.""I need to do something before that. I'll go home and get changed, then I'll join you." She stated.He rubbed his thumb against her left cheek. "I'll drop you off."She knew that she wouldn't be able to convince him that it was alright so she gave up trying and nodded.When the elevator doors opened, they walked hand in hand towards the parking lot. They were talking about what they would have for dinner when he suddenly stopped talking. Her body tensed up for the same reason. Something felt off."How about Mac and cheese?" She suggested, trying to pretend that they had not noticed anything."Are you in the mood for some?" He played along but they noticed the s
"That's your perfume." He pointed out, finally comprehending what was going on. It was not just about her brand's design being copied; it was highly likely that it was Gem Bliss's exact perfume being advertised in the commercial."I want to know which brand produced it." She bit out through gritted teeth.She had expected this kind of thing when it was revealed that Rebecca was Yvonne's mole. She had said that it wouldn't matter but how could it not matter? It was her sweat and blood.The perfume's name was Écarlate so she looked it up and rolled her eyes when she saw the name of the store where it was available to order and purchase at the official stores. "What kind of crappy name is this?"YLA? What the hell was that? She had never heard of it and she liked keeping an eye on her competitors so she wouldn't end up losing out too much."Wait. It's a new brand. My idea was stolen by a newbie?" She fumed. This was insolenc
"Good morning, boss. You look happy today." Rebecca had the audacity to smile at Gemma when the latter arrived at Gem Bliss in the morning. She sure was fake. No wonder no one ever suspected her. She was an actual wolf in sheep's skin.Gemma paused in her steps with a brilliant smile. "It's indeed a good morning. I finally caught the little birdie that has been stealing my grain."Although she was talking about a bird, her tone made it obvious that it was not an actual bird. If Rebecca knew what she was talking about, she sure was good at hiding her true feelings. There was no hint of panic on her face. "I guess it's the birdie's unlucky day, then?" She continued with her brilliant smile."I'd say she is lucky. I wanted to rip all her feathers before hanging her upside down to die of suffocation but on second thought, I'll let her die with her feathers intact.""That's kind of you, boss." Rebecca smiled and looked at her screen. "Miss Yvon
Gemma cooked with her mother as they talked about random topics, Livian taking up most of the attention. Constance wanted to know about his family and what they had to say about the fact that their son was married to a widow. While she and William didn't think they would have minded it if their daughter married a widower, she knew that not everyone thought the same way.Society made it sound like a widow was different from a woman who had experienced a break up. It was as though just because she was a widow, she was bound to treat their son as the substitute to her dead husband."If they try to tell you any kind of crap, don't hesitate to tell me. I will shove their son along with their ridiculous beliefs up where the sun doesn't shine." Constance declared seriously.She looked like she would really do it. Gemma giggled. "Charles and Beth don't really care what their son does.""That's a relief." Constance smiled and looked at her daughter
"What are you talking about?" Gemma shot up from her seat in shock. "When did you find this out?""Could you calm down, Miss Arnaud?" Rudolf sounded just as exasperated and Gemma would have yelled at him if she was not tongue tied. What she wanted was answers, not to be told to calm down. How the hell was she supposed to be calm?"Speak." She prompted when it didn't sound like Rudolf was going to answer her."After finding out that she and Andrew had stolen the lipstick you set up, I bugged her personal cell phone so I would notice their moves if they had any other plans. She and Yvonne have not been meeting anymore and neither has she met Andrew in secret so I guessed that they must be exchanging calls and text messages. ""What's your point?" Gemma felt her head hurt. If the moles were planning to escape, she would need to move fast. They couldn't get away with what they did!"Yvonne transferred a lump sum to their accou
An hour ago.After reading Rudolf's text message, Gemma was puzzled. It didn't make much sense for Rebecca and Andrew to resign on the same day. Why did it sound like they were hiding something else?She dialled his number and gave him a call. "Is there something else to this?""I think they did something last night and want to hide their tracks urgently. Either that, or they are planning to do something. Miss Arnaud, you better be careful.""I will, thank you." She hung up and immediately turned on her laptop. If they had done anything, they would have been captured by the new drones that no one at the company knew about.She checked the surveillance and as expected, Rebecca was up to something. She had poisoned the lipsticks, which Gemma was only certain of because Rebecca was suspicious.There was no time to investigate and if she waited until someone used the lipstick, it might affect innocent consumers so she immediate
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