...Anderson dropped the file on the table when the maid returned from Katherine's room."She says she's not hungry and refused me entrance," she informed him. Anderson's palms balled into fists, and he stared stoically at the table occupied with dishes for a moment, not bothering to think of a reason for Katherine's obstinacy. He was aware that she was acting on his words. He wondered for how long she planned to starve herself this time. "Send dinner to her.." Anderson paused and shook his head, "no, let Trina do it. She mustn't leave Katherine's room until she eats something. Tell her it's an order." "Yes, Mr. Riecke," the maid walked away. His eyes roamed down to the file again and a sigh escaped his lips. What's the use of handing her the contract if she already planned to quit job hunting? To think he rushed up the construction for her convenience pissed him off now. If she had a knack for taking his words seriously, why then did she cheat on him after vowing not to?Looks
... "Um, Yvonne can you step out for a while, I want to talk to Dad alone," Katherine adjusted in her seat, keeping the papers on her thigh, in place. "Oh okay," Yvonne said and in half a second, she was out of the screen. Xavier gave her a questioning look afterward, "are you okay, honey?" "Yes. Is Yvonne out of the room?" "Yes." Katherine held out the papers, pushing them to the screen of her laptop to give her father a clear view of it, "I found these documents in Anderson's room, they're all about loans and debts and your name is on every one of them. Please tell me what this is about." Xavier's brows dropped, his gaze momentarily lowered. That single act confirmed Katherine's thought, it was all she needed to know that her father was not only aware of the debts but he also had no plans to tell her about it. When Xavier's gaze darted to her, he had his hands clasped on the desk in front of him. "They are loans that I took years back. Some of it, I tried to use in sta
...Anderson staggered by a step, his gaze glued to her body, having a mind of its own. He found his body succumbing, a disturbance surreptitiously raging in his pants, but his mind was against it. It seemed to be the only sane part of his body at that moment. Katherine stared at him, her heart racing. She couldn't read through his expression, she couldn't figure out if he wanted her or not. If he didn't, she would not just feel shameless but also distressed knowing she was the only one who felt this way about him. Maybe she should have thought this through. Maybe Anderson truly didn't want anything from her in return. Or maybe she didn't act out of that but out of her own desire. Her sexual craving.Being pregnant, she craved a lot of things and all along she had denied herself this particular one, to be touched. "You don't want to?" Katherine asked, blinking when she felt a wetness in her eyes. Why the fuck was she tearing up?Anderson was always nuts for her body. He couldn't
...A smile gleamed on Katherine's face as she tossed under the covers. She inhaled sharply, his smell still hanging in the air, unleashing sweet memories in her mind.She held the covers in her fist as she drifted awake and sat up. She felt the cover directly contacting her body and her naked legs clustered against each other. A sensational ache coming directly from her core hit her but her smile only widened knowing how it came about. A notification sound from her phone diverted her thoughts and she collected it from the nightstand, operating it to read the message that had popped in. *Your appointment with Bella's touch has been approved.Appointment time: 12A.MDuration: 3 hours*Good. Katherine smiled. She was going to spoil herself today until she had no more money left in her account. She couldn't remember when last she went to a proper hairstylist to have her hair professionally styled. She had been engrossed in other things and other people and kept her secondary needs asi
... The projector went blank and the wordings appeared, boldly spelling: THE HORATIOS. "..And that is all you will get if you partner with us on project Alexander." Anderson demonstrated with a smile and the hall went wild with cheers. He noticed his father seated at the back of the hall, smiling back at him in pride while clapping. Anderson left his P.A to conclude the meeting as he picked up his apple MacBook and stepped down the podium. He walked out of the exclusive conference room and fished out his phone from his pocket. A smile spread on his lips when he clicked on the messages from his bank and saw the debit alerts, another following almost immediately. There was a ton of text from Tony too but Anderson's gaze settled on the last, *Now at the boutique, picking outfits..* Anderson hit the power button when he heard footsteps drawing towards him. "Mr. Anderson Riecke Horatio," the middle-aged man smiled, engaging him in a light hug, "your speech gave me so much assuran
... Katherine scanned the document and it got displayed on her laptop, she found the position more comfortable. She was in her dressing robe with nothing underneath, her shower cap still on her hair. She choose to go through the contract first before picking an outfit for the night. After returning from the trip with the maids bringing in her shopping bags, Katherine didn't realize how much stuff she got. She spent at least an hour trying on the clothes and keeping aside the two infant onesies that caught her eyes at the baby section, she would have cried if she hadn't added them to her cart, judging by her tweaking hormones. They were so cute, she already imagined how adorable they would look on her child. Since Margie already covered the shopping for baby things, Katherine didn't get more stuff and she had to leave the section to curb further temptation or Tony's suspicious gaze. Everything there messed with her hormones, almost making her burst into tears at how cute they loo
…Katherine slammed the door of her room and leaned on it, releasing a heavy sigh, that depicted her wasted effort.Maybe she should have just made a move. But what if he rejects her or verbally brutalizes her?Taking the jacket off her night dress, Katherine slid under the covers. She leaned and turned off the lights before settling back in bed, her palm resting on her stomach.She was losing guard. She never imagined the situation to come to this, never expected herself to still want him so much. Her resolution was failing her, she was going against herself, letting her desires get the better of her.Was she not the one who vehemently kicked against this closeness with Anderson as she signed the contract, agreeing to be his wife again? She decided with her mouth to be as far away from him as she could to keep her pregnancy away from his hateful gaze.Now, she was craving him. The hell, she was craving him so bad she wanted to scream her lungs out of how shameless she was. Katherine
.... The longest ride Katherine has ever had in her life finally came to an end. She breathed out when the door was pulled open for her and a rush of air, different from the warm, tickling one in the car, savored her skin. Katherine climbed out of the car and stared at the building in front of her, it was of average height but insanely broad. On the last floor, a little into the roof was an inscription made with silver platings that read, THE HORATIO ART GALLERY. "Come here," Anderson said and she went over to his side. They walked to the entrance together. "Good morning, Mr. Riecke!" Some men greeted. They were carrying a large painting into the gallery, Katherine traced where they came from and discovered there was a truckload of different artworks that were being off-loaded. Anderson's skin on hers jolted her gaze back to him and she noticed he was now two steps ahead of her. She covered it easily and they walked into the entrance together. The front hall was not as occup
"When did you arrive?" Jude asked after handing her a cup of coffee. "Two hours ago. Would have arrived earlier but there was a little trouble with the flight." "I hope it was nothing serious. You're okay, right?" "Oh, not at all. And I'm fine," Hope smiled. Jude lowered his gaze to the ground like there was something interesting there and an awkward silence fell between them. "How have you been?" Hope broke the silence. He started with a slow repetitive nod, "Good. Really good. You?" "Same," Hope nodded. "I was driving to Dad Xavier's to pick up Katy's kids, so I thought I'd stop by and say hi since I was close. You'll be at the party, right?" "Yeah, I'm all dressed up for it." "Oh good," Hope breathed out, wrapping her palms around the mug. As much as she didn't like how silent they were, she expected it. It's been seven years and she suddenly appears in front of him without a word. She had hoped to ask him to accompany her to Xavier's or probably expected him to su
*** _*Six_Years Later*_ *** Renard's fingers caressed the package as he spoke on the phone to his mother. "Ugh, Mom! I told you I'm not going." "Just this once, Renard. It's not like you attended the previous ones. How long do you plan to distance yourself? They're your niece and nephew!" "Do you have to keep calling me every year for the same thing? I have work to do, if I slack Anderson wouldn't take it lightly. You know how he is. I can't stand him," Renard fused. "Even Marcus will be there, you think you're the only one who has work to do? Besides we both know Anderson wouldn't trouble for missing one day." Renard grumbled, taking the gift off his thigh. "If I go this once, will you stop calling me concerning it?" "I'll give you a break for the next two years." "Four," he bargained. "Three years. I can't believe we're bargaining this! It's not even supposed to be this serious." "You're making it serious, Mom. Like I don't care about my brother, I mean I send gif
***"Careful," Anderson cautioned, his palms resting on her bare baby bump. They both giggled as she successfully sat on him, her weight falling on him. She touched his chest to support her balance, and Anderson quickly adjusted to the weight. Katherine began moving her waist in circular motion and riding him slowly. Amidst the waves of pleasure, Anderson's eyes remained plastered on her, fearing that she might fall and ready to grasp her if she did. "Do you really have to do this?" He asked, guiding his hands to her waist. "Yes," she answered. "Relax and enjoy. I'm fine," she said, leaning slowly to kiss his chest. Anderson threw his head back, the pleasure slowly grasping him more than he could control. "About Marcus-Anderson sighed, "is that what this is about?" "No," Katherine denied, moving her hands to his chest and teasing his nipples with her fingers. "Fuck Katy, this is so goddamn good," he groaned and she smiled, loving how she gained control of him in a short space
***"200 meters is just perfect, if there are any changes I'll let you know beforehand," the client stood up."Please do, sir," Leila stood up with him. "Until then, we'll have the garden ready for you and yours " He smiled, "Perfect. If you're available, please attend." With that, he slipped an invitation card into her hand. "Oh," Leila hesitated, "I'll see what I can do." After a handshake, Leila picked up her stuff and walked out. In her car, which she managed to get back with her earning, Leila made a happy dance. She was elated and above all, she was glad she was finally doing something that would make her boss pleased with her again. After losing a rental deal a week back, Leila had tried to make up for it. She noticed Jude's unwillingness when she asked to be in charge of this project, but he eventually handed it to her. Amongst the twelve clients, ten were willing to patronize them, one was going to think about it and the last person already booked elsewhere. Leila coul
***Jude didn't miss the discontented look on Bianca's face when he walked in with Leila. "Hey," she forced a smile, "I didn't know you were bringing someone with you. We didn't discuss that." "She's my secretary and will be in charge of the meeting. She'll answer all of your questions and explain to you what to expect if your father's corporation partners with us." "Oh secretary," Bianca emphasized, relaxing. "I don't mind." "Where's your father, I expected to see him here with you." "Oh he's not coming," she winked. "He wants me to talk to you first and if I like what you're proposing, we automatically have a deal. So it's all in my hands now." "Okay," Jude shrugged, "so let me start with-"Hold on," Bianca's leaned over the table to touch him. Jude jerked away from her hold, glaring at her, "Why don't we eat first? It's a dinner date remember." "Not a date," he reminded. "Right," she chuckled softly. "Over here, waiter." A waiter approached their table at once, "What are y
***"Leila-" The door went open and she quickly turned away, wiping the tears from her eyes while trying to gain composure of herself. Jude's brow narrowed as he opened the door wider and walked in, his gaze first landed on the skinny tall man in his secretary's office and then on Leila whose back was at him. "I need you to make me some coffee," he said. "I'll be there, sir. Please give me a second," she answered, trying her best to give a straight response despite the sound of her voice. "Who is he?" Jude asked, staring at the unknown man that wore a frown. He didn't plan on interfering but the atmosphere in the room was something he didn't want any of his guests to meet. "H-he-" Leila stuttered. "I'm her husband," the skinny man replied, darting a cold stare at Jude, "you must be the boss." "Alex, please leave.." Leila tried to interfere. "What? I can't meet your boss? You said you were scared, should I tell him on your behalf then?" "No, get out!" Leila snapped, her voice
***Jude walked into his office, he turned around only to find Leila stirring his coffee as she spoke on the phone. Her body was in a different direction but her hand didn't stop moving the spoon in a circular motion. She was carried away and seemed to be pissed with whoever she was talking to on the phone. Jude noticed this and paused, watching her multitask. It was her first day without Ria's assistance and she was already giving him an idea of how berserking she could be. "I told you I'm fine, I don't need your money. Please stop calling me, you could get in trouble," She hassled. "Stop talking to me, I don't want any more problems between you guys." "Please don't say another word to me, Mom. You know I'll never agree to it. I can't move back in, don't you understand?...The other words strolled off his hearing. Mom? She was arguing with her mother? Jude squinted his brows. "I'm hanging up, please don't call me again. I'm fine and I don't need your help. I'm not worth losing yo
***"Sir?" Jude looked up from his computer to find Ria, his secretary walking in. "I brought the monthly accounts for the three hotels in Northridge. I already reworked them and piled in the conclusion. Please check and tell me if there's a problem." Jude took the papers from her and went through each page briefly. Knowing her capabilities, it didn't take him a lot of time before he started nodding in satisfaction. She had worked for him for four years and had proven countless times to be competent. Left to him, he wished he could make her stay. "What do you think? Is it good, sir?" She asked when he dropped the file. "Yeah. All good." "Really?" He shot her a stare, "is there a problem?" "Not really but the intern actually worked that out. It wasn't my doing." "Intern?" He looked lost for a minute before it hit him, "Leila?" "Yes sir. I gave them to her two days ago and made my workings too just in case, but checking them I realized she did quite a good job with the balanc
***"Oh hey, there Rey-" he grabbed her wrist before she could finish talking and led her out of the hall, scowling. His grip was too strong for her resistance and soon she relaxed and focused on catching up with his long step in her six inches heels. "What the hell," she breathed out when he finally stopped and released her, pushing her ahead of him roughly. "What the hell is right. Now, what the hell are you doing here?" He growled at her. She huffed, crossing her arms. "To see you obviously, who else do I know in this stinking rich organization." Renard grimaced, "I don't recall inviting you, and I cut all ties with Suzy and everything that has to do with her so why the hell are you here?" "Jeez chill, I didn't come to bother you," Anna assured, tucking her hair behind her ear, "You're the only one I could come to because you're the only one I know that knows Suzy." "So?" "I came to drop off her stuff. I'm leaving the country first thing tomorrow and her stuff are in my way.