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Chapter 16
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2024-09-22 17:05:05Related chapters
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 17
AIDEN'S POV"Tessa, tonight we attend a business party," I said, her message open on my screen, my fingers pausing to send. I ordered a dress and shoes for her too, something appropriate. Maybe it wasn't necessary to explain it, but at least she needed to look the part. My thumb tapped the screen, the message gone in an instant as I didn't second guess myself.I leaned back in my chair, my eyes drifting to the clock on my desk. The evening stretched open before me like an open yawn, but I couldn't shake that nagging feeling something tangible had lain between them since the moment that plane took off. Business only it was. Only business.Yes. Only business.But my head circled right back to Tessa. Icy and shut down on that plane, she'd stayed shut down-ever since, really-and hell, I couldn't exactly blame her. I'd been doing the same thing.But somehow this utter disconnection from me was what clawed at my brain. It was for the best that way, anyway. I couldn't afford complications, a
Last Updated : 2024-09-22Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 18
AIDEN'S POV"Tessa, Aiden." Jason White's voice cut through the hum of the party with ease, homing in on us as he made his way over, his signature confident grin leading the charge.Most of our clients fell into mid-thirties at most-but something about that sharp jawline, the well-tailored suit, and the perpetual air of ease was precisely what drew people toward him, success falling into his lap with nearly no effort applied at the young age of twenty six."Jason," I said firmly, the moment my hand came into contact with his, shaking it with cool politeness on my face.I had met him a few times when business got hot once or twice, but tonight was to be different. Business was to be laid aside now, and I had to focus, meaning, not to let him or anyone else screw with what we came here for.He turned his attention to Tessa who was standing quietly behind me. "Tessa, it's been years. You are strikingly lovely tonight."Tessa smiled, looking a thousand times more at ease than one would ha
Last Updated : 2024-09-24Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 19
TESSA'S POV"Ignore them," Jason whispered melodiously as we swayed to the rhythm of the song, in a low and smooth voice. "They are just jealous because I am dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room."I did blink, turned to stare at the women staring back at me from their various corners of the ballroom. Their gazes ran the gamut from curious to downright hostile. My fingers clenched on Jason's shoulder, and I deliberately loosened them, focusing on the soft warmth of the music and his steadying presence."Beautiful?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow as I tried to sound light. "I'm not sure they would say quite the same about that."He laughed, a low easy sound full of confidence. "Trust me, they would. They're just mad you're the one on my arm tonight."He leaned in closer, eyes glinting. "But none of that matters. Right now, it's just us."I rolled my eyes, playful, but couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips. There was something to Jason's charm that was just infectio
Last Updated : 2024-09-24Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 20
AIDEN'S POV"You don't look as if you're having fun with the party," a voice that I knew broke into my thoughts.I turned my head and watched Jason saunter out onto the balcony toward me with the same casual smile plastered on his face. I straightened up, this time trying to pay close attention to not allow tension to build in my chest well over an hour into the night. I forced at least a small smile onto my lips, trying not to show exactly how much frustration was rising inside."Just needed a break, " I said coolly, turning back out to the skyline of the city. Before us the lights of London stretched out bright and sprawling, but I couldn't focus on them because when it came down to it, there was only one thing-or rather, one person-on my mind.Tessa.And Jason.Together.Jason fell into step beside me, casually leaning into the railing. For a long time he didn't say anything at all-just stood there, watching the city like I was. I knew he glanced over at me now and then, probably t
Last Updated : 2024-09-24Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 21
DAMIEN'S POV"Another round," I growled at the bartender, sliding my glass across the counter. Noises buzz around me from the bar really; all I was able to pay attention to was this fire of frustration burning down deep in my chest. The alcohol isn't drowning it out quite the way that I want it to, but I am willing to try."Are you sure about that?" A voice came from my left.I looked up, blinking through the slight haze clouding my vision. Chloe, Tessa's so-called best friend, was standing there, her perfectly manicured nails clutching a glass of wine. She gave me a sly smile, sliding onto the stool next to mine."Why not?" I grumbled, waving at the bartender again.Chloe chuckled lightly, swirling her drink as she studied me. "Rough day?""You could say that," I said, words slurring a little as I tossed back another shot. The liquor burned on the way down but wasn't even close to being enough to numb the thoughts in my head. Of her."Let me guess," Chloe leaned in a little closer, h
Last Updated : 2024-09-24Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 22
AIDEN'S POV"Are you ready?" Jason White dropped into the chair at the head of the conference table, cutting through the low tide of chatter. His investors were arrayed to either side of him, interest divided between papers before them and the screen showing his presentation slides."Of course," I said now, turning to Tessa, who sat beside me, ready to take over with her portion of the presentation. She nodded assuredly, her hand already clutching the small remote controlling the slides.Awkwardness in the air-that's from my end, at least. Jason had been way too friendly with Tessa the previous night, and it was starting to get difficult not to notice how his eyes strayed to her a bit too often, staying that fraction of a second longer than it needed to.Worse still? Tessa seemed utterly unbothered by this fact. If anything, she actually appeared to enjoy it."Time to get this over with," Tessa said, standing from her chair and floating across the room to the front. Her eyes flashed t
Last Updated : 2024-09-24Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 23
TESSA’S POVI glared up at the cascading gown from my closet, that one which Jason had been so insistent he was going to send up to my hotel room earlier that afternoon. Sleek and sophisticated, the gown was unmistakably very expensive-a great deal too glamorous for a simple business dinner, but tonight wasn't about the business, was it?I sat before the mirror, my tummy a well of bubbly excitement mixed with trepidation. Was this a good idea? Was I crossing some sort of line by accepting dinner with him?Logically, my head knew this wasn't just a friendly meal between business associates, but rather more. I knew that right from the party last night. His eyes, the compliments had crossed over into professional admiration a long time past.I slid onto the dress, smoothing the silk over my body. Deep red was the color-one of those colors that commanded attention. A neckline fell just low enough to be tasteful, yet alluring and the back was low enough to expose my skin to view in that wa
Last Updated : 2024-09-24Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 24
AIDEN'S POVI lay in bed, staring at the ceiling while my mind worked and worked in circles. I just could not get the image of Jason's hand on Tessa, the way they smiled across meeting at one another.The bare idea of them together, laughing, talking, maybe more than that pulled at me like some sort of virus that wouldn't cure. And every time I closed them, there it would be: the picture of his hand, her smile, that touch of comfort in them.I rolled to my side toward the clock. 10 p.m.Was she even back yet?I wasn't thinking when I reached for my phone and dialed her number. It rang once, twice, and she answered."Aiden?" she said softly, as if she hadn't at all expected my call.“Are you back at the hotel?" I asked, trying to be conscious not to let any interference into my voice, though I knew it was seeping through."Yes, I got back a little while ago," she said, her voice light; yet something inside me was monitoring the flicker of a hesitation. "Why?I didn't answer. I merely s
Last Updated : 2024-09-24
Latest chapter
Falling for my cocky Boss Epilogue
TESSA'S POVSunlight streamed through the huge window panes of our house onto the invitations laid across the dining table. I sat with a pen in hand, writing down final guest names, while Aiden leaned against the counter sipping his coffee."We could just elope, you know," he joked, the corner of one lip tugging upwards with a mischievous smirk.I turned a mock glare his way. "After all this planning? Not in your life, Aiden GRAY. We're doing this properly."He laughed, setting his mug down as he ambled over to me. "Properly, huh? That's why you've been vetoing half my suggestions?""You wanted a firework display during the vows!" I reminded him, laughing.“And what’s wrong with that? It would’ve been epic.” He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my temple. “But fine, no fireworks. As long as you’re there, it’ll be perfect.”It was what he said that always made my heart flutter, and the words this time were not an exception. It was one of those weddings that put me into anticipation and j
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 130
AIDEN'S POVMonths melted away.Weirdly, life went on since it all came crashing down. It had been months since Damien's death, Chloe leaving the city, Tessa and me over his grave saying our goodbyes. Time didn't heal everything; that it never could. But the space it gave. to breathe, rebuild, and put pieces of our lives back into place-was something all of us had desperately needed.That, with me and Tessa, gradually slipped into rhythm, and whatever in our daily life had disappeared with time turned into the time worth living. The daily morning coffee on the balcony, the late evening lying on the couch curled up, making small talks about the future-this had become a routine thing with us. Indeed, chaos seemed to bypass us somehow, yet the shadows took one corner of my mind with the coming night.But as I watched Tessa, humming to herself and arranging flowers in the sitting room, it suddenly hit me-the ton of bricks they say are always used in such situations. I loved her; I had alw
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 129
AIDEN'S POVI did not want to come here. I had told myself that I wouldn't-that some things quite simply were not worth a second chance. But here we were. Tessa stood beside me, her hand in mine, as we walked through the cemetery toward Damien's grave. The wind was cold, a bite into my skin, but nothing compared to the chill now setting into my chest.There it lay, the newly turned soil, the headstone, and the blunt inscription stating his name: "Damien Gray." Seemed so … normal. No great sentences of poetically flowing verbiages, no flowery platitudes of an exaggerated regard. A plain, uneventful name to denote an end of the life so full of promise to me and torn by just so many things… in particular by myself.I had stopped in front of the grave, said nothing. All these emotions warred in my brain, jumbling anger, guilt, sorrow. And it wasn't just because of what happened to him. It was for everything, things that could have gone differently, which I should have done."Do you think
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 128
TESSA'S POVChloe sat up against the mountain of pillows that propped her back. Her skin was a dull white; those alert features dulled by exhaustion and pain. When her gaze locked with mine, something flickered over her face-shame, perhaps? Regret?"Tessa," she husked out, her voice husky, yet steady. "I didn't expect you to be here.”"I did," I said, stepping inside. The door clicked shut behind me, and the soft hum of machinery in the room served to fill the brief moment of silence.A minute swept by with neither of us speaking. I had absolutely no idea where to begin, while Chloe seemed to fish for the right words. Then she spoke.“I'm so sorry," Chloe said, her voice breaking. She looked down at her hands, which were twisting the hospital blanket over and over in a nervous fashion. "For everything. For what I did to you. For what I let Damien do.”Her words were like a wave, and all the anger and hurt I'd been trying to bury surfaced. I crossed my arms, my voice sharper than I mea
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 127
AIDEN'S POVIt all boiled down to me standing against cold brick outside of a hospital. The sharp night air almost nipped my skin but couldn't take away what had been brewing inside of me since the night Damien was finally gone.Dead.The word reverberated in my mind, hollow yet heavy. He had not reached the hospital. Just a few minutes later, when the ambulance had speedily gone away from the warehouse, the police confirmed that my brother was no longer alive. In the pit of my chest, a tussle between relief and guilt twisted itself into this sensation, which has made me so ill.I stared upwards, trying to make sense of the darkened sky. It was a path he'd chosen, wasn't it? He'd refused every olive branch, clung to his rage, and let it consume him. Still, a part of me couldn't help but ask: What if?The sound of footsteps pulled me from my reverie. Tessa came forward, her face ashen, eyes red-rimmed from crying. She wrapped her arms around her middle, as if holding herself to protect
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 126
AIDEN'S POVThe ropes chafing my wrists were heaved into the painfully darkened room by two of Damien's men. My rib cage was racing, pounding within me like a war drum, as my eyes coursed over every inch, scanning the space for her. The echoes of my footsteps rattled through this large, high-ceilinged area, joined by the smothering tension in the air.Then I see her.“Tessa!” screams my hoarse voice in desperation while seeing her tied around the chair, white faced, and tear streaks covering it, her arms bound behind her back, a gag over her mouth, muffling her cries while her big terrified eyes remained fixed on mine, imploring for help.It came finally with the breaking of the silence from Damien's cruel laughter. "Well, well, your Prince Charming is finally here.""Let her go, Damien," I said, shaking all over with anger mixed with fear.Damienne cocked his head to one side, his face a mockery. "And miss this little family reunion? I don't think so.”Damien started to circle me wit
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 125
TESSA'S POVThe stench of that dark room shredded through my senses. My wrists throbbed, sore where the coarse ropes had lacerated into the skin, and with each weak inhalation, it was like the final one that could break this tenuous will hanging by a thread.I was not going to back away from him, not from Damien after what he pulled on Aiden, on me, and our lives.Standing in the doorway was a mountain of a man, with a great scar running down his cheek, scraping his boots on the floor and yawning and weighing his weight on one side. He had been left to watch me; now or never was the time to try anything that came into my head.I pulled carefully, testing the looseness of the rope binding my hands, my heart racing in my chest. Hours of subtly working at this knot had finally paid off; it gave way just enough for me to slide my wrists free.I glanced over to the guard, who now had his head leaned back against the wall, his eyes shutting.Go, Tessa. Now.Summoning every last shred of cou
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 124
AIDEN'S POVThe house was creepily silent when I went in-the kind of silence that twisted my gut. Something was off because it was too still, too empty."Tessa?" I called out, dropping keys on the counter. Nobody answered.My eyes scanned around the living room, the kitchen-nothing. My chest had already tightened as I tried again, louder this time. "Tessa? Marcus? Garret?"No response.And then I saw it-her phone. It lay on the counter, cracked at the screen, looking like she had dropped it there in haste. Tessa would never leave her phone lying anywhere.Now dread set in as my heart began racing, strode toward the security room for some answers, though my gut already told me otherwise.I burst through the door into the room to find Marcus and two other guards huddled around the monitors."Where the hell is Tessa?" I growled low, an edge to my voice that could cut through glass.Marcus slowly turned to me, white as marble, and seemed to fish for his answer. "Sir… we were reviewing the
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 123
TESSA'S POVIt wasn't until we stopped before Aiden's building that the car came to rest; it was my safe refuge now turned into a sanctuary in which the fears inside my head seemed to nestle. Those were instances from two weeks ago, haunting in my mind like some unsavable storm-accusations which memory just didn't seem willing or able to rid itself of."You're home," Aiden whispered, and immediately his voice was an anchor of solace amidst my rioting thoughts.Turning back to him, I pushed a small smile. "Home," I echoed, though the word felt wrong. Was I ever again safe?Aiden climbed out first, coming around and pulling my door open. His firm hand reached inside toward me, steady and reassuringly strong. "Come on; got you.I hesitated, staring at his hand. For a moment, the hospital was safer. Out here, the world was too big, too dangerous. But I chased the fear away, telling myself Aiden would never let anything happen to me.I took his hand and he led me out of the car."Take it e
