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CHAPTER SIX
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2025-04-12 13:04:13“Babe, can I call you back later? I just got out of a meeting concerning the Julius and Myres company”. Leila said in a calm tone. She was beyond stressed, she had met Harold when her life was falling apart and he picked her up and made her who she was today. She was not supposed to base her entire life and success story on a man but Harold really did a lot for her.
The day she met him, she wanted to take her own life, she was about to jump into a lagoon but someone held her back, he pulled her back and fed her then he took her to his house and she had a hot tub waiting for her with an housekeeper who assisted her to take her bath, it was all dreamy and Cinderella-ish. She only read about those sort of stories in fantasy book where Cinderella meets Prince Charming in a time of distress and she ends up being saved by him. But she was no Cinderella and Harold was no Prince Charming. He was not bad looking at all but he didn’t come close to Gavin Hasters. In short, She thought Harold was cute but in her own eyes, Gavin was hot and sexy and strikingly handsome, in a Chris Hemsworth kind of way. That night, she slept like a baby. *************************************************** She sighed loudly, she had another meeting with Bancroft Inc, she was supposed to meet them to finalize the meeting they had the other day. Bancroft inc was failing to live up to its glory after the death of its owner, Meridith Bancroft. She was one of Harold’s business friends and they attended all sort of socialite parties together. Leila had plans of renovating the place. She was a major shareholder there. She was proud of herself, five years ago, she would not have been able to add anything to her name and now she was having up to six companies attached to the ‘Baker’s name. Her phone buzzed harshly against her suit, it was her driver, he was probably waiting to take her to her next stop. She waited to a minute and her driver arrived. Without any words, he opened the car door and she entered, she looked at the mirror in the car, her eye lids were puffy underneath all the makeup, it was obvious if you stared too deeply. She needed to rest, the past week had been hectic for her because she could not stop thinking about what would go down when she eventually met Gavin Hasters AGAIN. Now that it has happened, she did not feel any different from how she felt before she met him. Now she just wanted to get through with the day and take the next few days off. The car pulled up at Bancroft Inc and she stepped out, it was a liaison of the initial clothing brand owned by the company only that it specialized in only women’s clothing line. She made her way to the conference room. She checked her phone, she was exactly on time. Leila hated being late, it made her uneasy so she avoided it at all costs. When she opened the door, she met them all seated. At least they could keep to time even if the sales were declining. She sat down and cleared her throat. “Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Let’s get straight to business. This quarter, we’ve seen a 10% decline in physical sales, who is in charge of that?” A bald man with glasses spoke up, “ It’s because of the modern youth Miss Leila. People prefer buying things online than coming to a walk-in store to purchase the same thing” Leila found the reply funny, she laughed, “So if times are changing, you would not change with it, what is your name please?” Another shareholder replied, “His name does not matter right now. How do we increase the sales?” Leila Baker sighed , she should have just postponed the meeting, her head was everywhere and she could not think straight, she needed to rest her head or something. Today had been a long day. She rubbed her temple slowly with both of her hands. “I have a suggestion. How about we host an event and invite young influencers and other aspiring entrepreneurs in the clothing industry. We could name it Her-titude. Our clothes would be on display for them to win vouchers to buy clothes. Bancroft produces the best luxury female outfits in the whole of New York. We just need to send out the word and people will show up. How about that?” People nodded in agreement and the other shareholders started rambling on and on. The remaining part of the meeting was a blur. She informed her driver to bring the car back to the entrance. She picked up her shades and she left the conference room. In the car, Leila could not stop the smile tugging at her lips, She was back in New York and she still loved Gavin like she never left.
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Leila Baker let out a deep breath as soon as Gavin Hasters walked out of the office. The air around her still held the faint trace of his cologne, a deep, musky fragrance that spoke of sophistication and wealth. She realized her hands were trembling slightly, and she clasped them together to steady herself. It wasn’t just his looks, it was more of the way his perfect eyes stood out in their blue shade, and the way he kept touching his jaw unconsciously and the way he licked his lips like three times while he was in the office and the way his perfectly chiseled chest looked in the clothes he wore. The list could go on and on. Although she could not deny how stunning he was, it was the commanding presence he exuded. Her cheeks felt hot all of a sudden and she had to pinch herself to bring her back to reality. How could she have a crush on her boss.She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to process her first encounter with her boss. “Get it together, Leila,
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“Crap, I’m late!”. Leila screamed to no one in particular. She had an important meeting with Mr. Hasters this morning by 9am and she just waking up by 8:50am. There was no way she would dress up and make it to the office in ten minutes. She was cooked! Leila stepped into the office and the mood in there was close to make her panic. Scrap that, she panicked!.She opened the door to the adjoining office and Gavin Hasters was seated, his face buried in his tablet. She broke the silence“I’m very sorry sir. I had a family emergency this morning. It won’t happen again”. She said in a low voice.“Miss Baker, this is your first strike. We had an important meeting in order to go over and seal our deal with the Bancrofts”. “Is there anything I can do to make this up sir.”Leila had already decided to do anything to make this right Gavin Hasters set his tablet down slowly, his piercing blue eyes locking onto Leila as she stood awkwardly near the door.“You want to make this up?” he said. “The
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Leila stared at her phone, the headline glaring back at her. Her head was blank, Her heart raced as she skimmed the article, reading every word. Blurry photos of her and Gavin leaving the afterparty together filled the screen. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out that she was the one in the pictures. One showed Gavin’s hand resting on her lower back; another caught them stepping into the elevator.Her voice was barely a whisper. “This can’t be happening.”Gavin, now fully dressed in dark slacks and a crisp white shirt, stepped closer and plucked the phone from her trembling hands. He scanned the article, his jaw tightening with every line.Leila ran her hands through her hair, “And Adele… oh my God, what if she sees this?”Gavin’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Adele and I have an understanding,” he said, his tone clipped. “She knows how the media operates.”Leila blinked at him, incredulous. “An understanding? Gavin, they’re calling me your mistress!”He held up a
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“Miss Baker? Miss Baker!?” The flashback ended as quickly as it came, her head was throbbing, she was not over the whole travel sickness, she had been suffering from it for a long time, ever since she left Cali. Her head flew back to the voice that called her name. It was Armstrong.Leila smoothed the lines on her dress and smiled, She nodded like nothing had happened. “Yes? Can we begin?Gavin sat at the edge of the conference table. As usual, his whole presence was intimidating but she was prepared for it. The whole room was silence, He broke the silence. “The Almighty Leila Baker, to what do we owe you the pleasure?” It took Leila all she had not to break into laughter, Gavin Hasters was trying to break her and she was not going to stand for it. He did it once and he would not get the chance to do it again, “You should not believe everything you read online, take it from someone that has been involved in one too many scandals” The moment she said it, she wished she could take i
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Leila stood frozen.Her hands curled into fists.Adele Cooper had just declared war.Leila sat down on the couch, her mind was not focused on the accounts she was writing, the only thing she could think of was Adele Cooper and how she had openly threatened her. If there was one thing Leila had learned from watching soap operas, it is that the guy’s first girlfriend is usually dangerous. And Adele did not seem like the kind of person to make empty threats. Leila had to do something and she had to do it fast. She could not put all her trust in Gavin. Fine, she liked him and it was obvious that he liked her also but she already knew that their love story would not work out. It was just too magical to be true. A billionaire into her? Leila? It was not even believable at all. She had decided to take the next few days off in case things spiral out of control. But she was starting to get tired and irritated in the enclosed place she called home, she was not used to spending her whole day at
LOVE AND LUST CHAPTER SIX
“Babe, can I call you back later? I just got out of a meeting concerning the Julius and Myres company”. Leila said in a calm tone. She was beyond stressed, she had met Harold when her life was falling apart and he picked her up and made her who she was today. She was not supposed to base her entire life and success story on a man but Harold really did a lot for her. The day she met him, she wanted to take her own life, she was about to jump into a lagoon but someone held her back, he pulled her back and fed her then he took her to his house and she had a hot tub waiting for her with an housekeeper who assisted her to take her bath, it was all dreamy and Cinderella-ish. She only read about those sort of stories in fantasy book where Cinderella meets Prince Charming in a time of distress and she ends up being saved by him. But she was no Cinderella and Harold was no Prince Charming. He was not bad looking at all but he didn’t come close to Gavin Hasters. In short, She thought Harold w
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Leila stared at her phone, the headline glaring back at her. Her head was blank, Her heart raced as she skimmed the article, reading every word. Blurry photos of her and Gavin leaving the afterparty together filled the screen. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out that she was the one in the pictures. One showed Gavin’s hand resting on her lower back; another caught them stepping into the elevator.Her voice was barely a whisper. “This can’t be happening.”Gavin, now fully dressed in dark slacks and a crisp white shirt, stepped closer and plucked the phone from her trembling hands. He scanned the article, his jaw tightening with every line.Leila ran her hands through her hair, “And Adele… oh my God, what if she sees this?”Gavin’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Adele and I have an understanding,” he said, his tone clipped. “She knows how the media operates.”Leila blinked at him, incredulous. “An understanding? Gavin, they’re calling me your mistress!”He held up a
LOVE AND LUST CHAPTER TWO
“Crap, I’m late!”. Leila screamed to no one in particular. She had an important meeting with Mr. Hasters this morning by 9am and she just waking up by 8:50am. There was no way she would dress up and make it to the office in ten minutes. She was cooked! Leila stepped into the office and the mood in there was close to make her panic. Scrap that, she panicked!.She opened the door to the adjoining office and Gavin Hasters was seated, his face buried in his tablet. She broke the silence“I’m very sorry sir. I had a family emergency this morning. It won’t happen again”. She said in a low voice.“Miss Baker, this is your first strike. We had an important meeting in order to go over and seal our deal with the Bancrofts”. “Is there anything I can do to make this up sir.”Leila had already decided to do anything to make this right Gavin Hasters set his tablet down slowly, his piercing blue eyes locking onto Leila as she stood awkwardly near the door.“You want to make this up?” he said. “The
LOVE AND LUST CHAPTER ONE
Leila Baker let out a deep breath as soon as Gavin Hasters walked out of the office. The air around her still held the faint trace of his cologne, a deep, musky fragrance that spoke of sophistication and wealth. She realized her hands were trembling slightly, and she clasped them together to steady herself. It wasn’t just his looks, it was more of the way his perfect eyes stood out in their blue shade, and the way he kept touching his jaw unconsciously and the way he licked his lips like three times while he was in the office and the way his perfectly chiseled chest looked in the clothes he wore. The list could go on and on. Although she could not deny how stunning he was, it was the commanding presence he exuded. Her cheeks felt hot all of a sudden and she had to pinch herself to bring her back to reality. How could she have a crush on her boss.She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to process her first encounter with her boss. “Get it together, Leila,
LOVE AND LUST PROLOGUE
Leila Baker hadn’t set foot in New York in three years. She had left with the certainty of never returning, yet here she was, sitting stiffly at the back of her car, She stared out the window, the city had changed since she had last been there. The car came to an abrupt stop in front of Julius & Myres consulting company.A company that once belonged to someone she used to know. Someone who had once mattered. Someone she had vowed to forget. The place looked so different from what she remembered. It was her revenge that fueled her to return and she was going to do all it take. She was lost in thought until a voice interrupted. “Miss Leila, should I drop you off here”. Her driver politely asked.“Yes, thank you. Take the car to the parking lot and meet me here in forty five minutes, I won’t be long” Leila stepped out of the car and stepped into the building, her stiletto heels clicking against the pavement as she smoothed down the crisp lines of her tailored black dress.As she went
