**Third person**Valerie's throat suddenly felt dry. She forced a swallow before pressing her lips together.Then Lucas massaged her shoulder. “Are you okay?” He asked sweetly, his piercing blue eyes staring down at her, and she felt her breath hitch.Yes, she'd signed a contract to act as his girlfriend, but that was only supposed to be in front of his family. Still, the way he spoke to her just now, the way he looked at her... it all felt good.Adam’s eyes widened in stunned horror. “Girlfriend? Who is that?” His eyes darted from Val to Lucas with his mouth hanging open.“Is there a problem?” Lucas arched a questioning brow, his focus returning to Adam.Adam's fists clenched by his sides and his blood boiled, but he willed himself to respond. “No, no, of course not,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.Lucas took a sharp breath, his eyes never leaving Adam’s. “I must have heard wrong. There's no way you said something about making work difficult for my girlfriend, right?”“Ye
**Valerie**After I told Lucas that he sounded like a donkey braying, he caged me to the bed. His manly cologne filled my senses and awakened the desire I'd tried so hard to suppress.Feeling a wet sensation between my legs, I clenched my thighs.My gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips, and I wished our lips would meet. But at that moment, he rolled over to his side of the bed, and he closed his eyes.Was this how this night was going to end? With nothing happening? “Of course, that's how it should be,” the voice in my head fired back.But at that moment, my lips parted, “Uh... Can I turn off your lamp?” The words escaped before I had a chance to stop them, and my body moved too.I don't know why I said that; I wasn't thinking. Shit, I don't even know why I was doing this. Maybe it was because I'd been sex starved for over a year before my one night stand with Lucas. And that night only did more to fuel my desires.Hovering above him, I reached for the lamp and turned it off, pl
**Third person**“Good,” Karen said with a satisfied smirk and ended the call.Tessa lowered the phone, the weight of what Karen just said settling on her. She was to spy on Valerie and report back to her. So far, Val did seem odd, but there was nothing concrete.Except… Expect for the time when Adam sent Valerie flowers and a text message.“I hope you like the flowers. The offer to be my mistress is still on the table; have a nice day (inserts love emoji),” the message had read. She'd taken a quick peek at it before Valerie noticed she didn't fail to inform Karen about it.Maybe it was part of the reasons Karen wanted her gone? Or maybe it was something else. Anyway, that didn't matter to her, as long as she was getting paid. As long as the money was going to help with her mother's hospital bills...**Valerie**The whistling sound of the kettle snapped me out of my thoughts. I reached for the hot water and poured it into the tea cup on the counter, the smell of milk and honey fil
**Valerie** Wow… Was Adam really willing to divorce Karen and backstab his in-laws just to be with me? Me? The fat and ugly Ashley? An amused chuckle left my lips before I could stop it. I stared at his face a tad longer, and there was no sign that he was joking. He was actually serious? Taking over and divorcing Karen? Seems like I won't even have to do much since he was on the path of self-destruction. Then I smirked. "Well, I guess we'll never know.” With that, I walked away. What was he up to? Either way, it sounded exciting. An hour later, I was at the knitting club. A wave of warmth washed over me. There, by the window, sat Grandma and Frances, their heads bent over their knitting projects. A smile spread across my face as I approached them. “Hello,” I said with a big grin as soon as I was standing in front of them. "Valerie!" Grandma exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Good to see you; I almost thought you wouldn't make it.” “Uh, I finished working late. You look a
**Lucas**“So anything on why Adam wants to make work difficult for Valerie?” I asked Calvin.I couldn't just ignore what I heard him say to her, Adam was a complete jerk.“Apparently, Mr. Smith likes Mrs. Thorne,” he answered.My brows raised as I turned to look at him. I wouldn't put cheating beneath Adam, and Valerie was a very attractive woman.“So, he wants to date an employee?” I scoffed. “And not even minding that his wife works in the same company too?”“Turns out Mr. Smith is quite the womanizer,” Calvin chipped.My jaw clenched and my grip on the window rail tightened. Turns out he really fucking was. At least, now that he thinks Valerie is my girlfriend, I expect him to back off. But still, I wouldn't take chances.“Make sure a close eye is kept on Valerie; I want to know everything that goes on with her in that place,” I instructed. And I assume Karen would not be too fond of her.“Yes, sir,” Calvin said before heading out of my office.Thoughts of her kept running in my
**Adam**Anger surged through me when I saw that damn Lucas wrap his hand around Valerie's slim and slender waist. That waist is mine. She is mine! Mine!!The scene replayed in my head for the umpteenth time. The way she looked at him... She has never looked at me that way.It was supposed to be me, not that self-satisfied prick. And the fact that she had managed to catch the attention of Lucas made her even more desirable. Ruffling my already disheveled hair, I paced the length of my office again; her words kept echoing in my mind.*He's more handsome, caring, richer, and, of course, faithful, seeing as he doesn't have a wife but you do.*My fists clenched, my knuckles turning white, and I punched it hard against the wall without thinking. The sharp pain that coursed through me was a welcome distraction as I leaned against the wall, my eyes closed, trying to calm my racing heart. Oh Valerie… I will have you, no matter what it takes.First, I needed to take over the company comple
**Valerie**It was lunch break already and the office was empty, except for me and Tessa.Just then, my phone buzzed. “Hey Valerie, how are you doing?” Lucas's voice rang through the receiver.“I'm good, how are you?” I replied, gritting my teeth to suppress the smile forming on my lips.“It's your lunch break, maybe we should have lunch together?”“Uh, I'm already eating with a colleague,” I replied.“Okay then, I'd wanted us to meet and talk?”“Talk?” I echoed, my cheeks turning red as my lips curled into a cheesy.The past few weeks have been crazy, the last thing Lucas asked for us to meet in my house, I was pinned against my kitchen counter and fucked shitless. And the same thing happened the last four times before that.Not that I was complaining though…I subconsciously bit my bottom lip as my mind wandered.It was clear that there was a strong physical attraction between Lucas and me that we couldn't ignore. Anytime we saw each other, there was this strong urge to devour him
**Third person** Wednesday evening, Adam headed to his bedroom with his travel bag in hand and Karen trailing behind. “How was Chicago?” Karen asked as soon as they stepped in. “Fine,” Adam hummed tiredly, slumping into the bed. She studied his face for a moment before speaking. “You don't seem too pleased, did the deal go well?” “It was fine, I'm just tired.” His voice held a tint of irritation as he placed the bag on the floor without even glancing at the woman beside him. Sighing, Karen plopped down beside him on the mattress. “Dad said that Italy was a dead end,” she announced. “Oh, tell me about it,” he thought, his eyes rolling in frustration. “I wonder where Ashley could have hidden all that money,” Karen added. “Wow, I wonder too,” he finally said in a monotonous tone, taking off his shoes and then his socks. “You don't seem too surprised?” Karen pointed out, searching Adam's face. Of course, Adam knew firsthand that Italy was a dead end; he'd gone t