Bennett closed the door behind him and locked it. Eden threw her bag down on the floor and hastily embraced Bennett, kissing him with a passionate lust. All she wanted to do was think about nothing but Bennett. She kept kissing him deeply, thrusting her tongue in and out of his mouth, teasing him with her hands roaming all around his body. "Looks like we have the place to ourselves," Eden whispered into Bennett's ear. Suddenly she was picked up into the air by a pair of strong arms and thrown on the couch. "Do you know how sexy you look in this suit?" Bennett said as he climbed over her and started kissing her neck while unbuttoning her shirt. One button. "Would be better if you take it off," said Eden in between moans. Two buttons. Bennett sat her up and took off her coat and laid her back down, working on her buttons again. Three buttons. Eden felt his hot breath on her neck as he trailed his kisses from there to her collarbone. Four buttons. Eden intertwined her hands
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Nicholas Humphrey piped in, with a smug look on his face. "This may sound unconventional, but maybe we need to focus on the morals and ethics of the employees to boost productivity. When I first arrived here, it seemed like a very hostile work environment," Eden replied. "That's going to do nothing for the profits," Nicholas retorted. "Say, Mr. Humphrey, was it always like this or did the passing of my father change the company?" "Alfred was a very disciplined man, he always imposed strict rules and proper work principles here," Nicholas Humphrey replied, his tone suggesting that he was offended. "I see you knew my father well. So you agree that this environment was created after he died," Eden said as she intertwined her fingers and rested her arms on the table. "I had my differences with my father but I'm still his daughter. I want the same rules and principles to be followed by everyone here that my father promoted. We don't want employees
After the conference room was emptied out, Eden, Mr. Madden and Amanda stayed back. Eden felt horrible for how things had to happen but she knew that it was necessary. If she was going to have people in the company who openly opposed her, it would create an environment for the other employees that supported Harvey's opinions, and that was something she could not allow. Eden looked at Amanda, whom she had asked to stay back. "Amanda, thank you for backing me. I need to know how exactly Harvey has been a nuisance to the employees. He may file a suit against us for illegal termination, I need to understand what exactly he has been doing." Amanda scoffed in disbelief and said, "Do you really think that I care about you? I'm just as opposed to you being the CEO as everyone on the board. We're just not stupid enough to display it and get fired, seeing how you have the majority shares and you truly control the company now." Eden took a deep breath and said, "I just need to know what I can
"What?!" Eden exclaimed. "You haven't seen Giuseppe for three years? What the hell have you been doing there all this time?" "Well, we had a falling out. We didn't exactly share the same opinions and I decided to go solo. Started my own clothing line. It was rocky in the beginning, but it's been going good. I bought some dresses for you from my collection and I just know you'll love them," Grace rambled nervously. "Wait, wait. Slow down. So you're saying you weren't working with Giuseppe and you just decided to stay there? Didn't you even think about coming back and starting your business here?" Eden asked, she felt sad that Grace never talked about this with her "Yeah, we'll. Working with Giuseppe gave me some good contacts with models and vendors. I thought it would be for the best if I focused on my work there only," Grace replied, looking down at her fiddling fingers. Eden noticed it and remembered that she always does it when she lies. "That's not the whole truth, is it, Grace
"Woah, what the hell?! Are you alright?" Bennett yelled. Eden heard someone say in the background, "Did you say Grace is back?" "Yes, but, Theo, are you hurt?" Bennett asked. "What? Oh. Yes of course," Theo replied, he sounded nervous. "Uh- I have to go, I'll be back." "Jesus. Get yourself together," Bennett said. He got back to his phone and said to Eden, "I'm sorry about that, looks like someone is too excited to hear about Grace coming back." "Wow. That was some reaction," said Eden, chuckling at his surprise. "Well, enjoy your night. Call me if you want me to come and take you home, okay?" ______________________ "WE ARE NOT GOING HOME TONIGHT! THIS IS AMAZING!" Grace yelled, barely audible behind the loud music. Eden and Grace met for drinks at a bar but as they drank more, the urge to go dancing kept increasing too. Eden was too drunk to deny Grace and she secretly wanted to party too. She hadn't felt like herself for a long time and she needed to let loose with Grace.
Grace's PoV: "Can you believe it? I really just walked out on him. The man who groomed me and made me who I am today. Maybe one day I'll go to him in peace and apologize," said Grace. "Giuseppe is a great man. But I'm happy it didn't work out with him, it pushed me to give life to my own ideas and run a business according to what I want." "I'm happy for you, Grace. But you still haven't gotten to the part about Theo. What exactly happened with you two? His reaction was very….out of pocket when he heard you're back," Eden replied, feeling a little tipsy on the cocktails she had with Grace. Like they decided, Eden and Grace met for drinks at a bar after Eden got off work. There was so much to tell that neither of them could shut up. "Ugh, fine. I'll tell you but get me another drink first," Grace demanded. Grace told Eden everything that happened between Theo and her and how he hid from her the fact that he was in Italy for only six months when Grace was planning to stay with him for
Eden's POV Eden woke up the next morning with a hammering headache. She couldn't remember much about what happened last night but she was still worried about what Bennett was thinking. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 1:00 PM. She started panicking and got out of the bed to get ready for work, even though she was already five hours late. Eden stood up from the bed to go to the bathroom but a hand gripped her arm and pulled her back to the bed. Her back was pushed into a hard chest and a pair of strong arms gripped her tightly. "Oh no, you're not going anywhere today," Bennett's raspy voice whispered into Eden's ear. "Bennett I'm late for work," said Eden and tried to squirm out of Bennett's grip but her headache and his strength were working together against her wishes. "I already called Mr. Madden and told him you're sick today," said Bennett. Eden eased into his arm but not because she was relieved. She felt disappointed in herself. Disappointed that she fell back in
Grace paced around her penthouse worried about the party she was hosting. A lot of models and renowned fashion designers were coming to her party. Though she was excited to make more connections, she was nervous about one thing. She didn't know if Theo was coming to the party or not. She needed to know for sure so she could stop feeling whatever she was feeling in her stomach. Butterflies? she thought, but pushed the idea out of her head. She had more important matters to attend to. The guests had already started arriving and her nerves were getting the best of her. She quickly walked over to the bar and ordered a glass of champagne to get her to calm down. She hated how she was feeling even after what Theo did to her. She felt her self respect slowly depleting as she thought more and more about him. After downing a glass of champagne in one go, she instantly felt a lot calmer and decided to put on a charming smile and go socialize. She pushed Theo to the back of her brain and starte
Eden let out a monstrous scream as Bennett held her hand. He could feel her nails digging into his skin but he knew he couldn't let go. "PUSH!" the doctor screamed at Eden. "PUSH! IT'S ALMOST OUT! PUSH HARDER!" Eden let out one last loud scream before it was over and she could finally take a breath. Her grip loosened on Bennett's hand and she fell limp on the bed. She heard the sound of crying and suddenly all her energy was back. Three years after their wedding, Bennett and Eden's daughter was born. The baby was wrapped into a clean towel and handed to Eden. There was still some blood on her body but Eden wanted to hold her before the nurses took her for a bath. "Emily," Eden whispered. "Her name is Emily." Bennett leaned in next to Eden with his eyes full of tears. He looked at his little baby girl like he had never seen something so delicate and precious. Eden's heart raced faster than ever when she saw Bennett pick Emily up in his arms. When she saw his tears and the smile
Three years later: Grace woke up and noticed something weighing down on her stomach. She turned her head around to see Theo sleeping peacefully next to her. The droof falling from his mouth and onto the pillow made her smile. She quietly reached for her phone on the nightstand and clicked a picture of him before kissing his forehead. She was up 10 minutes before her alarm went off so she turned it off and walked to the bathroom to get fresh, hoping Theo would get a few minutes more to sleep. When Grace walked out of the bathroom she saw Theo sitting up on the bed with his phone in his hands and his eyes wide open with shock. "Woah, that drooling picture isn't that good," said Grace. Theo didn't look away from the phone and kept staring at it. Grace got concerned and asked, "What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong. I'm going to be an uncle," said Theo, his voice monotonous. "Wait. Wait. Wait. What are you talking about?" Grace walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed. "Theo." "E
Theo's PoV Theo looked at Eden and Bennett suspiciously as he stared at the ticket they handed him. "This doesn't make sense. You want me to come to your honeymoon?" "Yeah, of course. It's so much more fun when you're there too," said Eden. "I mean, yeah sure, I'll go. But are you sure you're okay with this?" Theo asked. "Theo, it's not like we're asking you to stay in the same hotel suite as us too," Bennett reasoned. "Alright. I could use a vacation after the last few days happened," said Theo and put the ticket in his pocket. "But promise me you're not going to make me feel like a third-wheel?" "Yes, yes we promise. Also, your ticket was a last minute idea so we couldn't get it in the same flight as us, but the landing time is only two hours apart so we'll see you there when we land," said Eden. "I know we're all thinking it but I'm gonna say it, this is all sounding very suspicious and weird but I've heard some good things about the nightclubs in Paris so I'm not going to co
Grace didn't regret her decision of sleeping with Theo, and after all he said to her she didn't think that it didn't mean anything to him. She just felt embarrassed that even after trying to show Theo her resolve, it only took one kiss for her to give in. "I didn't think you'd want to avoid me after what happened this morning," said Theo. He came closer to Grace and whispered in her ear, "I want you more than ever now." A chill ran down Grace's spine. She stopped herself from shuddering and looked away, trying to ignore the feeling. She didn't want Theo to think that she would fall for him again so easily, he needed to know that she can't forgive him this fast after everything that happened. "Yes, I guess too much stress can make people do or say certain things they wouldn't do under normal circumstances," Grace replied with a cold voice. Theo seemed to have taken offense to that. He shifted away from Grace and looked out the window, not saying a single word to her again througho
Grace's PoV: "The bride and groom may kiss now," the pastor announced and Bennett and Eden kissed each other. Grace watched them with tears in her eyes, she felt so happy that her best friend was finally happy. Of course she felt guilty for being late for bringing the dress. She remembered why she was late and quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. She looked over to the groom's side at the altar and saw his best man, Theo, standing next to him and smiling at Grace. She quickly averted her gaze and started clapping for Bennett and Eden. Everyone left the chapel to attend the reception ceremony at a different venue. Eden had forgotten her phone and asked Grace to bring it to the reception. When she walked out all the cars were filled up with only one left, but someone was already inside it. Grace thought she had already had a rough day, that person can squeeze one more passenger in the car. Grace opened the door and stepped inside the car, closing the door behind her. "I'm so
Eden paced around the room while her make up artist tried to get her to settle down. Grace was still not done with the dress and Eden was considering getting a readymade dress. It was an hour before Eden had to walk down the aisle with Buddy. He had offered to walk with her since there was no other father figure present. Eden picked up her phone and dialed Grace and it went straight to voicemail. She sat back down on her chair hyperventilating when she suddenly heard the door burst open. It was Grace standing with a dress bag and heavily breathing like she was just running. "Oh my God, Eden I'm so sorry. Something happened and I-" "It's fine, it's all fine. Thank God you're finally here, I was just about to go and buy a last minute resort," Eden said as she stood up and walked quickly towards Grace. "Can I see it now?" "No, close your eyes. We'll put it on you and then you get to see it," Grace smiled with excitement. "That wouldn't be very convenient but okay," said Eden. "Let's
"Okay, so we got the guest list done. Invitations will be sent out tomorrow morning, the venue is booked, flowers are decided and the caterers have been taken care of," said Grace. "Now there's only one thing left to do." "Grace, I really wish you didn't bother yourself, Sophia and Natalie with all these tasks. We have help doing all of those things. You should focus on your store," said Eden as she buried her nose in her laptop, staring at the previous year finance reports. "And I really wish you would stop working for just a couple of days so you could enjoy your wedding preparations," Grace urged. "You've done nothing but work since Bennett announced the date of your wedding." Eden sighed and looked up. "I've been working so hard because I'm going to get off work a day before the wedding, the day of the wedding and the day after. That's three days going without work, and I need to prove to everyone I care about the business too." "Eden, I know this is important to you, but no on
Eden wore a beautiful cream gown that went down all the way to her ankle with a slit that reached up her left knee. It had a heart shaped neckline and thin shoulder straps. Grace was wearing the same dress as her since both of them were bridesmaids at Sophia and Natalie's wedding. They waited at the altar as both their father's walked them down the aisle. Eden couldn't help but get teary as she saw the wedding happen. She didn't remember what happened the night they got wasted at Grace's house and she didn't remember saying anything to Bennett, or even calling him. "The brides may kiss now." Natalie and Sophie kissed each other and the applause erupted from the guests. Eden and Grace hugged them tightly before congratulating them. After the wedding, all the guests made their way over to the reception. Eden saw Grace getting in the car with Theo while holding his hand and smiled at the thought of them finally making up. Eden got in her car with Bennett and smiled at him when she
Eden's PoV Eden got back from a tiring day of work and went through the mail to see if she received any. She saw a purple letter that caught her eye. It said that it was for both Bennett and her. When she opened it, a wave of happiness washed over her. It was an invitation for a wedding. Sophia and Natalie's wedding invitation. Eden almost started jumping around with happiness and squealing with excitement. She picked up the phone and immediately called Grace to ask her if she received the invitation. Grace picked up the phone and started screaming loudly on the phone. Eden couldn't contain her excitement and started screaming too. She heard the door open and the sound of footsteps running towards her. "What's wrong?! Eden?!" Bennett yelled as he ran over to Eden and saw her grinning ear to ear with eyes full of tears. "Wha- what? I don't understand? What's going on?" "NATALIE AND SOPHIA ARE GETTING MARRIED!" Eden yelled. "I can't believe this. Oh my god of my god oh my god." R