They were so close, Rosie's breath ceased for a brief second. Gregory held the back of her head with his palm in a bid to protect it from the floor. His body leaned towards hers. Then there came the magnetic pull that surfed between them. Rosie unknowingly parted her lips, staring dreamily at his face, making it difficult for him to break his hold. At that moment, they were both lost to each other. His concentration shifted to her lips and they drew closer to each other in an irresistible pull. Spellbound and helpless. She finally mustered some strength and spoke up. "Let's eat." She whispered, hoping he could hear her even though she didn't hear herself. A word from her was what Gregory needed to be free from the invisible spell. He adjusted himself, and helped her up as well. He picked up the bottles of water on the floor and replaced them with new ones from the fridge. "Let's go." He said to a dazed Rosie who was still trying to regain herself. Going ahead of her, Gr
"Alright, I'll get you a glass of wine now." He said standing up. He called Mrs. Dee to get them a bottle of wine and glasses."So, tell me more about yourself Greg." She continued once Mrs. Dee left "What do you want to know?""Anything you think you can share with me." She replied."I'm Gregory Johnson." He started. "There isn't much about me. I got married at twenty nine to my high school sweetheart. We were actually pregnant and of course in love with each other. So we went ahead to have a simple wedding. I'd started Brass Enterprise a year and a few months before the wedding. We had our son seven years after our daughter." He handed Rosie a family portrait. "That is my family." He said.She stared at the mini portrait and smiled. If there was a word far better than 'perfect', she would have used it to describe the adorable portrait she was holding."What about you Rosie?" Tell me about yourself.""Ah!" She exclaimed. "I knew that was coming." She laughed."I'll just give a summa
"Oh, I'm sorry Roseline. I'll just head upstairs now. I'll see you later, Roseline." She said and took to the stairs after making Rosie promise that she'd inform her before taking her leave. "Your daughter," Rosie whispered. "She's so accommodating. I thought for a split second that she was going to be mean. You know, we... I..." "Because I was giving you a foot rub?" He cut in. "Yes." "Angie doesn't interfere with my personal life and I don't go about rubbing everybody's feet." He said, looking directly at her. "Why did you rub mine then?" "You didn't enjoy it? Swear you didn't." She started laughing. "Well, I did. It was awkward at first, but the benefits and the soothing sensation outweighed the former." She said truthfully. "And that reminds me, thank you once again for the lovely clothes you sent to me earlier." "You've thanked me before." "On the phone. Not physically." She insisted. "Alright, I take it that you like them?" He asked again, sitting up. "
Rosie looked down at her fingers after baring her mind. "Rosie, look at me," Gregory called. She turned to face him. "Is that really what you're scared of?" She shook her head. "Do you want to tell me why you want to run then? I want to understand." He stood up and grabbed her hands, bringing them to his lips; he kissed her fingers. "Make me understand Rosie, what do you want to run away?" Rosie shut her eyes, willing to numb what she was feeling at that moment. A full course of attraction rushed through her. Scared of what she was feeling, she looked down again, to prevent her eyes from betraying her. She could have avoided all of this by maintaining a safe distance. But even that itself would have turned into a very tough task overtime. There was this feeling of warmth and peace she felt, being around him which would have been a huge obstacle to her. "Greg," she called, struggling to look him in the eye. "I'm not trying to run away. I told you, I don't want to mess thing
Rosie imagined what being in a relationship with Gregory would look like. The attention, the love, the fondness, the affection! He'd kill her with doses of them all. She knows this much, but there is a problem; "How the hell is she going to introduce him to the world as the love of her life." People were going to say lots of awful things to her. Lots of unprintable names would fly around her. A gold digger is on top of the list before numerous others. She sighed and shifted the whole thought aside before diving into her food. Finally, when it was time to go home. Rosie rushed to pack her bag. Just when she was about to leave the office, the office phone rang. "Bernard Bruce's office, Roseline Bainer speaking." She said. "Miss Bainer." Bernard's voice sounded. "I'd like to talk to you. My office, now." Bernard said to the receiver. He hung up almost immediately. Rosie sulked and started toward his office. "Good
With the looming business dinner, work at the office took a turn for the worst. Rosie had been working with her Boss on a few extra features they planned on adding to a banking App they were working on. Some of the features were meant to allow their customers to apply for loans from third-party brokers, with Global Link being one of the companies that will be placed as one of the partner loan agencies. With the loan interest pitched at ten percent of the total loan cost. Thereby creating enough money for both Global Link and the Bank. And the customers would have access to these loans without visiting the bank physically. Customers were meant to be able to book their flights directly from their banking app, pay their hotel bills in advance, and book their holiday getaways/resorts before their arrival. Of course, as the middleman, the bank will impose a very minute charge on each of the transactions. Generating extra money for the bank. It was
"You'll see." Came the reply from Gregory.The doorknob twisted gently; Maxwell turned toward the door, waiting. Rosie opened the door and graciously walked in with a smile."Rosie!" Gregory exclaimed, standing up while Maxwell remained staring."Greg!" She called happily and went ahead to hug him. Both held each other in an embrace for a while, finding it hard to let go immediately."I've missed you." She whispered close to his ears."I've missed you even more darling." He replied. Maxwell cleared his throat, reminding them of his presence. That prompted them to release each other and Rosie shyly stepped behind Greg."Max, meet..." He stuttered. "Meet Roseline." He finally said. "Rosie, my friend, Maxwell." He pointed to Max."It's so nice to finally meet you, Roseline," Maxwell said, standing up with an outstretched hand, waiting for a handshake, a smile plastered across his face. Rosie received his hands returning the smile."It's a pleasure m
"The paid version can have Basic and Standard plans or even more with varying prices. The bookkeeping aspect should still be there, and it should remain free. The paid version should have bigger features like follow-up plans offered to its users by the company, exclusive updates, or notifications on loans available to business owners; they can assign a business assistant to each paid subscriber. Offer free courses on basic stuff you can easily get on G****e. Host an online conference once in a while. Offer annual and bi-annual discounts on subscriptions, a few days free trial, back-to-back business tips, and a whole lot more. I can't say everything at the spot but there are lots of things they can incorporate to make customers see more value and reason to become paid subscribers." She concluded. "Wow, Rosie," he called looking stunned. "You are one of a kind. You are so smart. This is the most brilliant contribution we've gotten for Fester so far. Even Maxwell will be thrilled. You'r
Rosie hesitated for a moment before slipping her finger under the flap and pulling out the contents. Her eyes widened with curiosity as she saw a stack of neatly typed pages. As she began to read through them, her breath caught, shock, surprise registered on her face immediately. The papers were house ownership documents for the lake house Gregory rented for her birthday celebration. The same lake house they were in, when he had asked her to marry him. But what shocked her the most was that her name was listed as the new owner of the property. With trembling hands, she looked up at Gregory, unable to believe what the document was implying. “Greg, what… What is this? You bought the house?” Gregory shrugged casually, as if it were no big deal. “You said you liked the house, so I decided to buy it for you,” he explained. “I realized I hadn’t actually gotten you a proper birthday present yet, so… this is my birthday present,
Mrs. Dee quickly disappeared down the hallway, leaving Rosie to soak in the comforting familiarity of the space.Moments later, Gregory appeared at the hallway entrance, surprise and delightful joy spread across his face. He looked at Rosie, and for a moment, they just stared at each other, relishing in the joy of her visit. Then, with a few quick strides, he crossed the room and pulled her into a tight bear hug, lifting her off the ground slightly. Rosie giggled cutely as she spun her slightly.“I can’t believe you’re here,” he murmured into her hair before pulling back just enough to capture her lips in a deep kiss.Mrs. Dee, who had been watching from the hallway, glowed with joy and she did a little happy dance. Sensing that it was time to give them some privacy, she quietly slipped away, leaving the couple to themselves.The kiss between them started slow, as they locked their lips, but then, it gently escalated into something more passionate, demandin
Owen laughed, letting out a harsh, unremorseful sound. “Always acting like the useless clueless saint, always." He spat out. "You had it coming, though. Do you think you can just toss me aside, mess up my career, join a rival firm, cart away most of my clients, and everything will be fine? You deserve everything that happened to you, do you fuckin hear me?” He banged his hands on the table between them and became immediately calm when the policemen in the room rushed at him.Hearing his painful, venomous words, Rosie lost every hope she had of hearing or seeing him sound or act remorseful. It dawned on her that he didn't regret any of the things he did. Unshed tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let him see her cry. “You’re a bitter, selfish, and wicked man,” she spat at him, her voice very steady and clear. “I hope you rot in hell for what you did.” Owen started laughing mockingly, still seated, held down by the police. Without waiting for a response, Rosie turn
As soon as Gregory and Angie left, Rosie turned to her mother, "Well?" she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.Evelyn took a seat, looking at her warmly. "I always want your happiness, Baby," she began. "Gregory is a good man, he's proven that. And he loves you. It's also very clear that he makes you happy as well. You two would make a good couple. I've gotten past the bad blood between us, and you should do the same."Annie chimed in, "I think someone is going to get back her engagement ring pretty soon because you don't even have a choice. Not with how smitten you look.""You think?" Rosie blushed."I know," Annie replied.Rosie took a deep breath, then confessed, "You are right. I love Gregory Johnson so much that I don't think I could survive perfectly without him. I love the way he loves me."Everyone in the room smiled, feeling the warmth and love shared between them. They all came together for a family hug, embracing the second chance at happiness
A few days after being rescued from her kidnappers, Gregory and his daughter, Angelina brought Rosie home from the hospital, where she spent several days in recovery. Annie let them into the living room and went to inform her mother of their arrival. Evelyn, who was busy in the kitchen, making dinner, hurried out to the living room to welcome her daughter home.Pulling Rosie in a hug, all smiles, she held her a little longer. Annie offered Gregory and his daughter a seat and they settled into two of the empty sofas in the room."Thank you so much," Evelyn said to Gregory when she finally released Rosie. "Thank you for everything." She added."You know I'll do even more," he replied with a smile. Then he turned to Rosie, who was now settling in her seat. "I thought about taking her home to care for her myself, but I figured it was best to bring you home to family first."Annie smiled warmly. "Thanks for being so thoughtful," she said sarcastically. Everyone laug
Disguised as farmers, local traders and fishermen, the police infiltrated the community close to the location where Rosie had been held hostage the night before. Kick-starting an undercover mission.The next morning, their rescue mission commenced. Dressed in rags, a couple of police officers scaled the poorly built fence surrounding the isolated building and quietly entered the compound with cautious and well-calculated movements.As they combed through the house, they found no one else inside. Exposing their trousers, two out of the officers present pulled out their guns with silencers already in place. They followed the signal from Rosie's wristwatch, and it led them to a room with two packed boxes and a mask. A purse was emptied on the bed, and its contents exposed some cash, two debit cards and Rosie's wristwatch. But, there was no sign of Rosie. Their eyes quickly fell on a door at the end of the corridor. Weapons pointed at the door; they approached it
As soon as he ended the call, Gregory put his Bank account officer on speed dial. Without waiting for confirmation, he just knew that the location would lead him to Rosie's kidnappers.So there was no time for sentiments. He needs to start getting things ready, and that would start from his bank. Once his account officer picked up, Gregory barked into the phone. “Damon." He called, "I need $350,000 arranged immediately,” he barked, his voice leaving no room for negotiation. He had already decided it's either try the option of giving the abductors their request and hoping that Rosie would be released to him, safe or involve some of his trusted friends in the force and have them ensure Rosie's safety while he went ahead to give in to the abductors request.Damon agreed, “That can be arranged, sir." He said. "But, I’ll need you to come to the Bank in person. There are certain procedures involved that would require your signature.” He insisted.Gregory’s frustratio
He immediately turned and hurried out of the room with his mind still making several calculations on the next few steps to take. He had to save Rosie, no matter what it took. And in this case, all they want is money, which he has and is willing to offer. However, he wasn't certain about her life. If he were to provide the needed money, would she live, or would she still end up dead? That was a question he had no answer to.As the call to Gregory ended, the scar-faced guy left the room, murmuring inaudibly. Then, the masked one, among her abductors, entered the room.His mask concealed his face completely, leaving only little holes for his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. And when he asked her a question, "Are you hungry?" There was something about his voice that sent chills down her spine. It was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She swallowed hard, trying to convince herself that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. But the more she thought ab
"If the location shows the wristwatch is here, or at the apartment she shares with her flatmate, then we'll be sure that she didn’t go out with it. But if it points to somewhere else… then we might have to check the location out." Gregory replied. The room fell into absolute silence. They were all on edge, silently praying and hoping that the wristwatch’s location would give them a clue to Rosie's current location. Evelyn, who had been quiet for most of the time, spoke again. “She has to be okay...” her voice trembled. Gregory nodded, forcing a positive smile, but the fear in his eyes betrayed his attempt to push a positive message. They were all thinking the same thing, even if they didn’t say it out loud. Everybody knew without being told that something was terribly wrong. As they waited for the tracking information, Annie and Gregory continued trying Rosie's number, while Evelyn, who was terrified to her bones, sat down and started whisper