Grace dried her hair as she got ready for work. Theo was still showering as she got ready. It was a big day for both of them, it was Grace's first day at work and Theo was being announced as the official manager at the new store. It was a triple story building. First floor was a lobby, second was only for the showcased diamond jewelries and the third was a trial area full of huge mirrors where men and women could try on jewelry and see what looks best on them. Theo knew that being a mere manager was beneath him but he understood that they needed someone on the inside to look after things so nothing goes wrong. There was one thing that Theo never told Grace. He was only going to be in Italy for 6 months. While Grace thought that they were going to live there together for a long time, Theo didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. She was so genuinely excited that when he saw the sparkle in her eyes, he thought it was not something he wanted to tell her and ruin her happiness. Thoug
"Dante?" Grace said, not understanding what he was doing here or how he could speak English. "What are you doing here?" "It's nice to meet you also," said Dante, with broken grammar and a heavy Italian accent. "You learned English?" Grace asked. "Yes. I realised I might meet another American beauty who didn't speak Italian," he said, still smirking at her. Giuseppe interrupted and said, "Oh, you two know each other already?" Grace turned around to look at him in confusion. "This is my son, Dante Lombardi. He came here from his college in Pisa to help me during the summer break." Grace didn't know how to feel about it. The last time they met, he was shamelessly hitting on her and Grace had rejected him because she was with Theo. She was scared that this might affect her chances to grow in the business. She knew she would have to get on good terms with him in order to make sure everything remains well at her job. Grace turned to Dante and smiled, extending her arm to shake his ha
Grace yawned as she got up from the bed and stretched her arms. "Good morning, beautiful," Grace heard a raspy voice say behind her. She turned around to see Theo lying on his back with his hand resting under his head while his other hand drew random patterns on Grace's bare back. It sent chills down her spine to feel him touch her so sensually. She realized that both of them were completely naked with nothing but bed sheets covering their private parts. Grace smiled shyly and climbed on top of Theo, resting her hand on his cheek before diving in and giving him a passionate kiss. She pulled away and smiled at Theo. He smirked and said, "That was amazing. Only if there wasn't your stinky morning breath ...." Grace gasped embarrassingly and slapped his chest, feeling offended at his remark. She got up from him and tried to get away but Theo's strong arms pulled her back down, pinning her on the bed as he swiftly climbed on top of her body. "You can't take jokes, can you?" Grace gulpe
Theo stood behind her with her phone in his hand. "Wow you look mad," he said as he kept the phone on her desk. "You left this in the car." All of Grace's frustration suddenly melted away and she smiled at him, getting up to hug him. "Thank you." "That's nice," said Theo as he hugged her back. "What's nice?" Grace asked, pulling her head away but her hand still resting on his shoulder. "You showed gratitude for once," Theo said playfully. Grace scoffed and playfully smacked his arm, earning a hearty chuckle from him. All of a sudden, she saw Dante approaching them. He had some papers in his hand. When he reached them, he looked up and saw Theo standing next to Grace. "Do you work here?" He asked. "No," Theo replied, squinting his eyes at him as if trying to recognise his face. "I just came to drop my girlfriend's phone." "Ah, so you're the lucky man," said Dante, smiling cheekily. That remark seemed to click something in Theo. "You're the guy from the club right?" Theo asked
Grace looked at the time and said to Dante, "Wow, it's really late. I'll go now." "Why? Stay for a while," said Dante. Grace had talked to Dante for about two hours and she lost track of time. It was almost 8 PM and she had told Theo that she would be home by 6 PM. Grace got up and picked up her purse to leave. "No, I have plans with Theo tonight, we'll talk some other time." "That's too sad," said Dante with a pouty face, then he got up himself and walked with Grace to the door. When they walked out of the cafe, they saw Theo waiting outside Grace's office, leaning against his car with a worried look on his face. Grace waved to him and ran over to him, with Dante slowly following her. "Hey, I'm so sorry, I went to the cafe to have a drink and lost track of time," said Grace as she hugged Theo and kissed his cheek. She felt like his body was too rigid and he ended the hug too fast. When she pulled away she saw that his eyes were fixated on something else. He was looking at Dant
3 years later Eden sat in her chair, fidgeting with her sweaty fingers as she waited for her name to be called. She was both excited and nervous for the new chapter of her life that was about to begin. "Eden Brown," the Vice Chancellor of her University announced. Eden stood up, fixed her clothes, put on a confident smile and walked over to the stage to collect her degree. She was now graduating from college and she knew what this meant. She would finally be eligible enough to take over her father's business and act as its CEO. After Alfred died, there was chaos in his company. It was so sudden that no one knew what to do. Eden was bombarded with letters, e-mails and calls, asking what to do next. When Bennett saw that it was too overwhelming for Eden, he asked her to step down until she completes her education and not worry about it at all. Eden trusted him so she backed down and let him handle it. Bennett hired a trusted member from the board of directors to act as the interim C
"Okay but listen to me." "Alright, go on." "Maybe it's all going just fine. Maybe they don't really need me." "Mhm." "Yes, and I know because I saw the charts and it's been going alright. Profits are good, reputation is back on track and I'm getting my cut of the profits. There's really no need to change anything," Eden said breathlessly as Bennett listened to her calmly. "Mhm." "And the current CEO is doing a good job, I don't understand why I'm really needed there to be honest," said Eden, her voice shaking with fake optimism. "Mhm. Keep talking," Bennett replied as he pretended that he agreed with Eden's argument. Eden noticed his sarcasm and groaned in response. "So do you suggest we go back and burn your degree? Can't lie I enjoy burning things, it'll be fun." Eden sighed and leaned back on the car seat and looked outside the window to see a huge skyscraper in front of her with the name "Brown Industries." It was supposed to be Eden's first day at work as the CEO of her f
Mr. Madden led Eden down to the huge main hall where everyone was waiting. Eden's eyes scanned the room to find the man she encountered that morning. She just wanted to see the look on his face when he found out who she was. Mr. Madden cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. The chattering in the crowd quieted down and a few whispers traveled the room. On a normal day, Eden would be nerve wrecked to have so much attention on her, but she realized how less it mattered to her after learning how to perform in front of a crowd. Another reason why Eden was not worried about the eyes on her was because she had another motive on her mind. She was still looking for that man. "As you all know, the sudden passing of Mr. Brown has affected us all deeply. Before he left, he handed the future of this company in his daughter's hand, who had worked hard to become worthy of this position. Let's all please welcome Miss Eden Brown as the new CEO of this company," Mr. Madden announced l