(ARIELLE’S POV.) The air in the room was charged with expectancy and a little bit of tension. I’d finally come face to face with the breakthrough I’d been looking for. I was seated in my office, Jared occupying the seat across from me while we waited for the video to come up on the television. Zek
The questions came flying from all over the room. Jared was glad to oblige them with an answer most of the time when they roped me into a corner. “Ms. Meyers, are you saying the lady in the video is not a displeased customer?” a reporter asked. “A lot of faces come and go from my restaurant. I c
(MICHAEL’S POV.) I nursed a cup of coffee in my office while I waited for Arielle to arrive. I slid open my drawer again to check the documents I’d put together for the purpose of our meeting and a smile crossed my lips. There was a knock on the door and my secretary walked in, Arielle following
Her general reaction to my words were nothing close to what I’d expected. She seemed confident, too confident for comfort. I quickly pulled out the drawer and fished out the documents I had sitting inside. “I bet that’s going to cure you of your sense of humor,” I said with a confident smirk. “W
(ARIELLE’S POV.) I hurried out of the building, shaking off the awkward experience I’d just had in Michael Langley’s office. He had to be deranged to think I’d buy even the slightest bit of his silly farce. It only amused me what lengths people were willing to go with their foolish ambitions. I ro
I was instantly filled with anxiety as the realization dawned on me that I was in some serious danger. “You son of a…,” I cursed through gritted teeth. “Let me out of this car, now!” Denzel chuckled in amusement and shook his head. “You’ve not been paying attention, ma’am. I have the upper hand wh
(JARED'S POV) Sitting by the window in the VIP waiting lounge of the airport, I gazed out at the relentless drizzle that had begun almost an hour again and had refused to let up. This slight delay of my flight due to the rain shouldn't have bothered me as it had already been announced by the weat
“Save it, Langley,” I said firmly. “ I'm not buying any of it. If you're looking for people to help, there's the least privileged out on the street. Go help them. Arielle doesn't need your help to be whatever she wants to be. Whatever she needs, I'm always here to help with it.” “And I'm done talki
“Sorry about that. I just wanted to go through everything we have to do first,” Julian explained, earning a little roll of the eyes from his ex-wife. I was glad that I didn’t need to be sedated for the tests they were about to conduct. Something about lying still and unconscious again with no defin
(ARIELLE'S POV) The procedure began with a couple of preliminary tests—blood tests, x-rays and the rest. I could see the outline of Jared’s figure on the other side of the glass barrier on one side of the room. He paced about anxiously and I felt a twinge of guilt for the way I’d spoken to him earl
I let out a tired sigh and figured since it was still a while before dawn, I could try and go back to sleep. I tossed and turned on the bed for what felt like an eternity before the bedside alarm clock began to ring. By the time I shut it off, I realized I’d been rolling about aimlessly in bed for t
(ARIELLE’S POV) I stirred from sleep. I felt the heat of Jared’s naked body pressed against mine and knew without any doubts that everything that had happened was in fact real and not some figment of my imagination. Somewhere in the heat of our escapades the previous night, Jared and I had stepped
I rolled my eyes and tried to rise to my feet. But he pulled me back. “Can I get one more drink? Please,” he said softly. His voice was silky and enchanting, like that of an experienced spell caster and it took all the self-control I could muster to break away from him. “I’ll go check the kitche
(ARIELLE'S POV) A couple of shots later, the air was more loose around us and we were both laughing at a silly joke he’d made. I couldn’t remember what it was but I laughed so hard my insides began to hurt. “I think my intestines just exploded inside,” I joked, and we broke into another round of l
(ARIELLE’S POV.) The room remained silent, all eyes trained on the couple whose eyes were misty in solemn gratitude. I remained lost for words, my tears already rolling down my cheeks, burning hot with gratitude and hope—hope that their procedure would give me the cure I so desperately wanted. Ma
He must have noticed my facial expression because he turned to me, his bespectacled eyes holding surprise. “Don't tell me you don't know them,” he whispered incredulously. I shrugged, they were probably medical personnel just like everyone else in this room beside me and Jared. Like he could read
(ARIELLE'S POV) The rest of the day flew by in a blur. Jared returned from the call, and we spent some time talking, catching up on everything except the looming summit. I called my Mom and Maverick when I retired to my room, and the sound of my son's cheerful voice filled me with so much warmth an