Once I returned to my office from the warehouse, I found out that our new lawyer, Mr. Donovan had been waiting for me for quite some time. Stav could have called me but he chose to make him wait, not that I was complaining. The guy had a huge ego and he could use some time to ponder over his behaviour.
"You needed to talk to me about the trial?" I asked once I settled on my seat behind my desk.
"Yeah, that too." He leaned in the visitor's chair, tapping his feet on the marbled floor. "I thought we could discuss this over a cup of coffee. I am feeling a little drowsy."
"I'll ask Stav to send coffee for you," I said.
"I was thinking of something a little more cosy." He smirked again.
"Mr. Donovan, I don't know if you are aware of my reputation but I am not one to mix business with pleasure," I replied as a matter of fact.
"I don't know if you are aware of my reputation but I am not one to drag a trial. The business between us will be over in a
And then came the day of the trial. And just like Antonio had said, we had nothing to worry about. If I had any doubt about his skills as a lawyer, they got cleared up within the first twenty minutes of the trial and by the time we left the courtroom, I was thoroughly impressed.Same couldn't be said about Stav as he walked by my side to the parking lot. He had an unimpressed scowl on his face, as if he had a stick somewhere deep in his ass."Miss Montelebalo?" I heard Antonio's voice and I stopped in my tracks."Mr. Donovan." I raised my eyebrows. Stav walked forwards, leaving me alone with him."I think you owe me a dinner." He smiled, showing me his pearly white teeth."Do I?" I cocked my head to the side.He nodded sheepishly. "That's the least you can do," he said."I suppose..." I took a deep breath. "I can spare you an evening.""I'll consider myself a lucky person if you do that." He smiled."Tonight, 8pm. See yo
Sweat drops blinded my vision and my lungs struggled against my chest. I had started the treadmill from 6mph, and gradually increased it to the maximum until all I could feel was the harsh beating of my heart. Anything I could do to distract me from the thing that was killing me."Hey, Stav!" Isaiah's girlfriend, Kylie's head peeked through the door. I almost stumbled forwards and cracked my head. Hopping off the treadmill, I leaned against the wall and took some deep breaths to calm my racing heart."What?" I asked, wiping the sweat with the towel."You didn't come for dinner. We had saved you some pasta," she replied."I am not hungry," I said, still gasping."Are you okay?" she asked, stepping closer to me."Of course I am okay," I said almost instantly."It's just that, you look stressed," she said, her almond eyes observing my face keenly."I am not stressed. Why would I be stressed when everybody is happy and having the t
Once Antonio's car stopped in front of the massive mansion, we both exited the car simultaneously and he extended his hand for me to hold. Hesitantly, I laced my fingers with his large ones and we stepped towards the entrance."You will be the prettiest girl in the party," he whispered, lowering his mouth to my ear."Thanks." I chuckled, although I wasn't sure he meant it.Patty had sent me this dress from her boutique to wear at the gala. It was a silk, off the shoulder A-line dress, deep red in color, that cinched around my waist, with a slit that ran from the ankle up to my thigh. I had parted my hair in the middle and curled the ends. Neela helped me do my makeup and I complemented the whole look with my favourite shade of red lipstick and a new pair of heels. I felt like the dress caught too much attention and the few looks I got from random men just added to the misery."Shall we?" Antonio said and we both entered the hall. He himself looked quite d
This wasn't my plan. I came to the gala just to prove to Alice, and maybe to myself, that I wasn't a complete loser and I had a life. I didn't intend to act like a complete jealous freak throughout the party but I couldn't help myself.The minute she walked in, dressed in that damn red dress, I lost all the control I had. The delicious curve of her neck, her bare shoulder and decolletage, her long leg that peeked out of the slit of her dress with every little movement, everything about her was driving me crazy, stealing me of all my senses.And then there was Antonio, who left no chance to feel her up, may it be the dance or his attempts of kissing her. And that bastard even succeeded in doing that. I couldn't stare at them any longer so I left the hall and found a solitary corner where my car was parked.But I didn't even get a few minutes of solitude. A few minutes after coming here, I heard her voice, screaming at me, "What is wrong with you, Stav?"I
It was official, Stav Trajano had ruined me.Never had I had such a hard time concentrating on the laptop in front of me or the pile of files on my side. Never had I so desperately wanted to burn a memory from my brain. Each time I caught his sight through the window, my mind went straight to last night when he was ravishing me with his delicious mouth and his curious hands, and some other parts of him as well."Argh," I groaned and then answered my phone that had been ringing for the last two minutes."Hello." A familiar voice responded and I immediately sat up straight. Antonio's thoughts had been wiped out of my mind until now. How could I be so selfish to leave the party without even informing him first?"Hi," I said, gulping. "Um. . .Sorry about last night. I-I had an upset stomach.""You and Stav both, I guess, considering you both went AWOL at the same time," he said, and I flushed in embarrassment."Antonio, I am sorry. Stav and I. .
It had been two days since Stav left. I called him a few times yesterday but he didn't pick up my call. Earlier today, I received a brief text message from him saying Christopher was out of danger now. I knew he must be really busy but I desperately wanted to hear his voice to see if he was okay. Was I pathetic?"Your coffee is getting cold." Patty's voice broke my trance, and I shook my head. "What are you thinking about?" she asked."Stav," I said, and she lifted her eyebrows mischievously. "Take your mind out of gutter. I was just worried for him. He must be really stressed.""When will he come back?" she asked."I don't know. I haven't talked to him directly," I replied."Do you want to?" she asked. I chucked the cushion at her. "What? It's not my fault you look constipated since he left. The sex must have been great.""Remind me why I told you about our hookup?" I hid my face in between my palms."Because I am your best friend,"
I was busy signing the annual finance report when my phone rang. Picking it up absentmindedly, I responded, "Hello." "Good evening, Miss Montelebalo. Can you kindly spare a minute to my client, Stav Trajano? He says he is an old acquaintance of yours," Stav's voice responded from the other side. "I am sorry. But Miss Montelebalo is a little busy because her last assistant left her to deal with dimwits," I replied, fighting the smile that was appearing on my lips. "Aw. Darn it. My client was really looking forward to talking to her," he said. "Well, in that case, maybe she can spare a minute or two." I bit my lips, and closed the files, leaning back in my seat. "How is your first day going?" "Awful. There are hundreds of pending projects, unread files and postponed meetings that I have to deal with. I haven't had a free minute since 8," he replied. "Sounds exactly like I expected." I chuckled. "Luckily, your last boss was kind of a Sata
It had been two weeks since I started working at my company and talking to Alice was the highlight of my days. It was our little ritual. After returning from the office, I would text her to ask if she was free and then we would talk for about twenty minutes to half an hour before going to sleep. There had been some harmless flirtatious exchanges between us, but I wanted to make things official. So I was planning on visiting her as soon as I was done with all the pending projects and asking her out."And guess what, I actually fired an employee today. Me. Sweet, innocent me. I never thought I'd fire someone one day but that idiot just pushed the wrong buttons at the wrong time," I huffed."Am I a bad person if this news makes me happy?" I heard her click her tongue. "I mean, now you can understand why I do such things.""Well..." I trailed off. "Kinda.""See, I am not the devil now, am I?" she asked."For me, you will always be the devil." I chuckle
"Let's call it a day," I said, leaning back in my seat and stretching my arms. "Do you want me to order some food for you, Mr. Trajano?" Celine asked. "It's fine. I'll go home and eat with my wife." I said and stood up to leave. Once I reached the elevator, my eyes fell on Sunshine, standing inside with her hands linked with Thea. Apparently, after dating me, Sunshine reached this conclusion that she wasn't into men anymore. That was a pretty big blow to my ego, not that I didn't deserve it. "Stav." She acknowledged me with a nod. "Sunshine." I passed her a professional smile. The whole elevator ride was somewhat awkward, after which I went straight to the parking lot where my driver was already waiting for me. Almost one year ago, a month before my marriage to Alice, we decided to merge both companies. I took over as the CEO of Montelebalo-Trajano enterprises while Alice decided to head the board. It was the only thing feasible, becau
"What the hell is your doing? Stav, untie me right now." I groaned."Patience, love," Stav said and guided me out of the car. I had been blindfolded for the last fifteen minutes now and despite my utmost displeasure, all I got in response was, "Patience.""Where are you taking me?" I groaned as I felt my heels sinking in the ground. He held me straight by wrapping his arm around my waist and led me forwards."I am going to tie you up and have my way with you," he whispered in my ear and I felt a shiver down my spine. I heard him chuckle at my reaction, after which he untied the blindfold and rolled me around to see where he had taken me.In front of me was probably the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. We were on a dark beach, dimly illuminated by a few fire lamps dispersed here and there. The sun had already set and the moon was casting its beautiful shadow on the blue water. There was a table set near the shore, two chairs around it facing the sea.
The minute I saw Dustin dressed in a three piece suit, I immediately realized that this was a mistake. It was never supposed to be a "friendly" dinner. And then there I was, dressed in blue jeans and a button down black shirt, with my hair tied back with the help of a bandana."Where are we going?" I asked him nervously."Your favourite restaurant. Delilah's eatery," he said."I don't go there anymore, since I came to know that the owner, Delilah is homophobic and racist," I replied and an awkward silence prevailed inside the car."Oh, I didn't know that. Where do you want to go?" he asked.Somewhere casual, so this won't turn into a date."Let's go to McDonald's," I offered.He laughed out loud at this."I am serious. I am craving a cheeseburger," I added."Wait, you are kidding me. Right? We can go to some nice burger place. What about Emily's?" he asked."Fine." I sighed in defeat.There was no way out o
It was almost 2am. After taking a bath and fueling myself with caffeine, I returned to my home office to continue working. With this new decision I had made, things were going to be really hard for the next few months. The work load was going to triple, but I would happily do it if I could be with Alice at the end of the day."You are still working?" I heard Dad's voice. He was standing near the doorframe, watching me with curious eyes. Mom and Dad came to visit me a few days ago but I couldn't find enough time to spend with them."Yes, Dad. I still have these reports to review," I said."You shouldn't have made the decision of moving the head branch to Philippines right now. Things are going to be really hard for you. You should have given yourself some time to settle in," he said."Don't you think I know that?" I passed him an exhausted smile. "I need to be with her, Dad. It's killing me not being near her.""You love her, don't you?" He chuckled
Another month had passed.Another month of drowning myself in work to avoid facing the fact that I was all alone. Another month of being heartbroken, and mentally and physically stressed. Another month of trying to distract myself by taking different hobbies like Pilates and gardening in my free time.I missed Stav, so much that it was killing me. I remembered two weeks ago, when I finally caved in and ended up calling him. We talked for about an hour and that's when I realized how correct he was. Listening to his voice made it harder to stay away.Sundays were comparatively better. I spent the afternoon in the academy and the rest of the day doing different chores. I had befriended all the other students in my class and it was refreshing because they didn't know me as the tyrant CEO.As far as work was concerned, there was nothing to talk about. I had grown used to having Stav in the office and in his absence, the whole office felt dull and drab. It was
I woke up with a strong arm tightly wrapped around me and a heavy weight on my chest that turned out to be Stav's head. My eyes searched for the clock which showed that it was almost midday, which meant we had slept for twelve hours straight. That was the most I had slept in days and apparently, so had Stav."Hey." I brushed his hair to wake him up. My cheeks were flushed at our position, the way our legs were intertwined and his mouth was resting in the valley of my breast, using me as his own personal cushion."Stav," I whispered, grazing his back with my fingernails.He stretched on top of me and then lifted his head, staring at me with his pearl green eyes."Come with me," he said, giving me a peck and then rolling off me. "I want to wake up like this daily. In fact, take me with you.""What about your company?" I said, playing with the dark lock that had fallen on his forehead."Ugh. Why do you have to remind me?" He groaned, kissing my
Once the elevator door closed behind Stav, we were alone in the small space with nowhere to go. He stepped towards me, his signature scent filling the air. I took a step back, recreating the space between us but he seemed to have ignored my attempt and continued walking forwards until we were standing forehead to forehead."I am sorry," he whispered and his breath tickled the skin around my mouth."Well, so am I." I flashed him a humourless laugh. I was angry, so angry that I wanted to rip his stupid clothes off. What the fuck? No, that's the opposite of what I wanted. For all I cared, he could wear another suit over this one."I didn't want to hurt you," he said."Well, you did a pretty good job at that." I glared at him, crossing my arms in front of my chest before his heat could seep through me and lower my defenses."Let me explain why I didn't call you back. It will make you hate me less." His voice was filled with grief and desperation and a
Ignoring Alice when she wasn't around was hard, but ignoring Alice when she was around me was my own personal hell. The minute I saw her, all the reasons for ignoring her sounded so trivial and all I wanted was to go to her and listen to her voice.For the last two months, I had been anxious. My sleep wake cycle was disturbed, my head ached most of the time, my heart beat faster than it should, my stomach was a mess. I thought it was because of the extra work stress but when my eyes landed on her, a sense of euphoria swirled through me and all the anxieties were settled, all the aches were cured.I wanted her to talk to me, to scold me, to glare at me, but all I got was a cold greeting and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.I couldn't exactly blame her for the cold shoulder she was giving me. After all, after being AWOL for two months, I stole a project from her the day we met again. And Alice wasn't someone who took such things lightly.I tried to expla
When Stav stopped responding to my texts and calls, a series of weird emotions happened. The first day, I was agitated. I thought he was probably busy and made excuses to myself for his lack of response but it did nothing to calm my racing heart. The second day, I was anxious because I thought I did something to earn that reaction. The next day, I was worried for him. I thought something had happened to him but his Facebook profile said he attended an event last night. So apparently, he was alive and kicking. And then the day after that, I was furious.It had been two months since then and it's safe to say, I was still furious at him.Most of the time, I kept myself busy so I wouldn't have to think about him. Because whenever I did, my hands itched to go to him and strangle him for his stupid behaviour. He avoided me like a plague and the worst thing was, I didn't even know why.Right now, I was inside a cab, on my way to a meeting from the hotel. Kaye was sitti