Raya"Hi"I jumped as Isabella walked inside the room heading towards me, and it wasn't until she stretched out her hand to Mr. Sterling did I realize that she had in fact, not been heading towards me, but to Mr. Sterling.I breathed a sigh of relief almost immediately, feeling my heart rate decrease but it didn't do much to reduce my nervousness though, as she was this close to me."Nice to meet you" Mr. Sterling said, kissing her hand, and she smiled widely."Nice to meet you too. I was wondering who the new CEO was and, may I say, the photos don't do justice to your looks."I cocked my eyebrows, what? You're married, woman."Thank you. Also, thank you for working on this campaign with us.""It's a pleasure.""Then"They finally let go of each other's hands, her eyes meeting with mine and I thought she would say something or recognize me, but instead, she followed after the staff that came to meet us in order to lead her to the changing room and I wondered if she hadn't recognized m
MaxwellThe boy was very excited and small. Kyle.I've never really had to deal with anything or one that small, and he grabbed my hand once we got to the amusement park, startling me."Let's go to this place" he said as he dragged me to a section that attended to rides and I shook my head."Uhm... How about we go for that one?" I pointed to the water slides in the corner, but he was already queuing for the rides.F*ck! I hate rides more than anything in this world."Whoo!" The boy squealed once we were strapped to our chairs, his small body moving in the large chair and I closed my eyes at the start of the ride.Sh*t! Why did I involve myself in this?*Flashback*What is your name?" Kyle, the son of my secretary who had followed me up the stairs, asked as I walked into my room and I turned to face him.I thought of the question, "uncle... Max..."He pursed his lips, "uncle Max?""Hmm, hmm""So you're my mom's boss, right?" I nodded, "Correct.""Then you're the one who has been keep
MaxwellThings were quiet between us. The elevator rides, the talks in my office and now on another elevator ride.I wondered why she wasn't talking back or lashing out like she normally did. It was one thing I loved about her, even though it was annoying.It was like she had just lost every ounce of fight within her and I wondered if it was because of what I had said the other day.That must be why you're a single mother.I felt like kicking myself.Why did I have to say that?That was something that probably served a deep wound to her and I had said it so nonchalantly and coldly.I collected the files from her hand and sat down on my seat.She was quiet and waiting for my next instructions."Coffee, make me some coffee"She nodded and went out to get it while I looked through the files she had given me.Possible ideas for the re-branding.Nice, but I needed something more subtle and elegant. Even better if we could do it in time for the cosmetic release.I pursed my lips and pondere
Raya"What? Business trip?" Kendall was just as flabbergasted as I was when I told her later that evening at her house and she turned away from the cookies she had just popped into her oven."But you've never had to go on a business trip before.""I know right. It's just so sudden.""To which country though?"I cocked my eyebrows at her, "that's not the point here. It's the fact that I'm going to be separated from Kyle and I don't even know for how long.""True" she toned down the happiness I had seen on her face."But still... You could use it as a mini-vacation. You have, like, literally never gone out of New York since you were born."I rolled my eyes, "true, but it's called a business trip for a reason, not a mini-vacation.""Hey, but I'm sure you'll be able to relax, sight-see and eat foreign foods." I rolled my eyes again, "how do I tell Kyle though? We've, literally, never separated from each other before, and it might seem strange to him.""Are you sure you're not the one bei
RayaI handed my bag to the flight attendant, staring in awe as they led us up to the place where we would sit inside the plane.What? This sh*t was fancy. Like really fancy."I didn't know your family had a private airline," I said in an attempt not to seem too nervous, but I was.My palms were sweating, and I was feeling quite nauseous."We do. You should know that as a Sterling group employee"I rolled my eyes, "just because I work for Sterling doesn't mean I have to get myself involved in their lives."He turned to me and stared once we were seated.I glanced away, "what?""You're nervous, aren't you?""Uhn?""You're more talkative than you've been in the past few days."I glanced away.That was because he had hit a nerve with the statement he made that day at his house.That was why I was a single mother.The motherf*cker. But what was I expecting? He's an a**hole anyway, and I've decided not to let his words get to me.Though I think he must have been hurt to react like that
RayaWhat?A wedding?I paused in my tracks to process that and waited for Mr. Sterling to notice my absence from his side, before confronting him about it."What are we doing here? At your brother and his fiancée's wedding...""I was invited, remember?""But I wasn't.""You're here to help me, not to attend the wedding. We'll just be here till it's over"I stared at him dumbfounded but had to follow after him. After all, he kind of made sense, but he could just have put me in a hotel or something, instead of bringing me here."This is where you'll be staying" the assistant who had led us the whole way to our room said as she stopped in front of a door and I waited for her to show us another door.They both walked in, and I went in after them too."If you need anything, you can get me on that landline.""Okay, that'll be all then.""Wait? What of my room?" They both turned to me like I was an alien.Mr. Sterling waved the woman away, and I turned to him, flabbergasted, "I need my room
Raya"Are you just going to stand there?" I turned to Mr. Sterling, who was moving out of the room again, and I followed after him, packing my messy hair into a ponytail.That must be why she had touched my hair. But, servant's quarters?The woman was really something.I thought she would be chill like she had been the other day at his house, but guess she had developed some beef with me since that day."Where are we going?" I asked Mr. Sterling once I was beside him again, and he glanced at me."I'm guessing you must not be hungry then.""Uhn...""I thought you would be hungry since we've not had anything to eat since our meal on the airplane.""Oh.""You must have had a nice sleep though, considering how disheveled you are."He gave me a look from head to toe and I immediately rubbed my face, looking away from him, "it's jet lag.""I know.""But where did you go all this while?" I asked, cause there was no way he was just coming to the room when he saw me with Miss. Diane and ah, d
MaxwellI stared at my secretary who left, confused about what I had done.But wasn't that the truth?She had a child yet was always acting coy and innocent like she had never had sex before or seen a naked man before.I huffed and got into the bathroom, taking a long shower and by the time I got out, she was still not back in the room.Where could she have gone?I shook the thought off my mind, and got on my bed to roam around the internet as well as focus on work a bit and when I heard footsteps heading close to the room, I wasn't sure why I did it, but I pretended to be asleep.Maybe for her comfort, maybe to avoid the awkwardness, I stayed still on the bed as she shuffled around the room, then I heard her talking quietly, away from me."My baby""I miss you too.""I didn't call, because I thought it would be night.""How are you doing?"She must be talking to her son.I stayed like that till she was done with the call, holding my breath in order not to give myself away, and I took