The weekend came about faster than Leonica liked and even though she preferred to stay in bed and rest away all the stress this week had given her, she found herself up and getting ready when it was approaching the set time for she and Ashley’s hang out with Gabriel.She threw on a simple pink hoodie, pairing it up with black leggings and a pair of sandals, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, leaving a few strands loose, framing her face.She was just about done when Ashley bounced into her room, looking happy and energetic about the day ahead.“Good morning mommy!” He greeted with a gummy smile, hugging her leg once he got close enough.“Morning Ash.” Leonica returned his greeting with a smile of her own. “Are you ready to hang out with daddy, today?”Ashley nodded his head and Leonica couldn’t help but chuckle. “Glad to hear that.” She said and turned to pick up her phone when Ashley pulled on her sleeves.Having gained her attention, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bl
"Is this true?" The stranger asked, glancing from Leonica, who had a neutral expression on her face despite the wave of confusion running amuck inside, and his phone which still had the article open on display."I mean, you don't have to make an official statement or anything like that. I know how you rich people are, reputation and all, but-""That's enough," Gabriel interrupted him, pushing the phone away from Leonica's path of view. "It's very rude to question someone over a falsely written article.""Well, how can you say for sure that it's false?" The stranger retorted."And who are you to say it was written based on true facts?" Leonica asked, finally regaining her composure after the tabloid she had read.What a load of bullshit, she thought as she shook her head, people sure were thirsty for her family's downfall to have enough time to create a bullocks rumor like this.But then again, she shouldn't be surprised, it was expected."I'm just saying-""Nothing." Leonica shot him
Leonica woke up the next day to the sound of her phone rumbling hard on her bedside stool. She groaned and turned on her side, blindly searching for the vibrating device until she found it.Without looking, she wiped on the answer icon, or at least hoped she did and pressed it to her ear.“Hello?”“Leonica,” Her eyes finally opened at the sound of her father’s voice and she pulled the phone away from her ear for a few seconds to glance at the caller ID.It was Indeed her father. Why was he suddenly calling her?“Father, why are you calling so early in the morning?” She asked, rubbing her eyes to rid the sleepiness, while she glanced at the time.It was just ten minutes past seven, quite early for her to be awake on a Sunday morning.“Come home Leonica, there’s something important we need to discuss.” Benjamin answered, his voice sounding stern.“Something important?” She repeated, her brows knitting together. It was only after a few seconds that something clicked in her head and she r
Irene Rosewood, huh?Seating in front of her laptop, fingers just above her keyboard, Leonica gazed at the picture of her supposed half sister.It had been more than two hours since she left her family house and in those two hours, she had done numerous research on Irene, learning all there was to know about the girl.Explains a couple of things, she thought, analyzing the all too obvious similarities in their faces.It wasn't that Irene had done a face lift, she simply just took after their father, who Leonica also happened to take after.However, that wasn't what bothered her, what did was the fact that Irene who had remained quiet for all these years, suddenly decided to show herself.Was it simply a coincident? Leonica didn't think so.Her reason? The articles. They all seemed too well crafted, but had one thing in common, neither of them revealed Irene's name, only pointing fingers at her father, calling him unjust.It was almost as if someone was trying to move Benjamin's hand.
A few hours before Irene's arrival.Leonica, along with her parents, we're both gathered in Benjamin's study. After Cassandra's tantrum, the air surrounding them seemed thick, but Leonica didn't care about that, no, rather she couldn't bring herself to care about it at this moment."If you study all these articles well, you'd realize that they all have one thing in common," She explained, using the huge television set in her father's office as a viewing board. Her parents listened intently, eyes scrolling through the articles their daughter had briefing brought up, before continuing. "The fact that they are all crafted to sound like a prompting note. This, this and even that, all have an ending sounding like they expect father to do something.""No Leonica, you're simply thinking too much into it." Benjamin shook his head with a sigh as he spoke. He should have known that the news would also affect Leonica this way.Who wouldn't be affected."No, father," Leonica objected. "I know wha
So she was right, Leonica thought with a smirk during the car ride back home, Irene's just a pawn, and the real culprit must be someone close.Now, who would it be?She didn't have an answer for that, but it didn't matter, what did, was the fact that she now had proof that she had been right and she could now move on with her plan.Her plan, Leonica sighed as she leaned her head against the window, how many times since she came back to Norway has she had to concoct a plan to catch some mastermind? Said masterminds were even surprisingly dull, but that didn't stop them from being annoying.And Irene was going to be no different.Leonica had no beef with her. She couldn't hold her accountable for being brought into this world, but she could hold her accountable for joining hands with someone to ruin her family.Which begged the question, what were they actually hoping to achieve?To soil her father's name and make him look like an uncaring father in the eyes of the public, thus leading
There was a knock on Gabriel’s office door, momentarily distracting him from the paperwork on his table.“Enter,” He called. The door was pushed open and Billy, poked his head through the crack.“Sir, sorry for the interruption, but I’ve got something urgent for you.”Gabriel glanced at the papers in his hands, before nodding. “Come in.”Billy did just that and shut the door behind him. Walking towards the male’s desk, he placed a white envelope on the table.“A while ago you asked me to look Into the individual whom had been digging into the Romero family’s past,” He stopped, waiting for his boss’s reaction before continuing.Gabriel, picked the envelope and opened it, pulling out the contents and his brows arched the moment his eyes landed on the picture in his hand.“Who is he?” He asked, looking up at Billy.“His name is Jamil Vanadas,” Billy explained. “He’s the current CEO of Herox Media and owns several branches and subsidiaries in the Middle East of Mexico and further investig
“I saw the conference video today, luce mia.” Owen’s voice boomed from Leonica’s phone as she had him on FaceTime. “You did great.”“I know.” Came Leonica’s answer as she finished changing into her to be and sat in front of the camera. “I know I did good because everything went according to plan. Well, everything but Florence’s appearance.” She muttered the last part, but Owen caught on quickly.“Florence Winslow? The reporter who you had an interview with? What of her?” He asked.Leonica contemplated telling the entire story. For some reason, she felt like telling Owen about Jamil wasn’t the smartest choice. It was like Owen held an unspoken vendetta for the male.But then again, maybe she was over thinking it. Owen wasn’t that type of person, and holding a grudge for someone he barely knew wasn’t something he’d do.So with a shrug, she spoke. “Florence works for Jamil Vanadas,” This words were enough to get Owen feeling more alert than he previously was. “Her questions seemed kind o
Anastasia had fallen asleep after her call with Megan, only to be awoken to the sound of someone knocking on her front door.Reluctantly, she slipped out of bed and made her way towards the front door and without checking who was at the door, opened it.When her eyes landed on the person standing in front of her, her expression switched from surprised to angry, then back to surprise, because she had not expected to see her mother standing in front of her door after so long.“At times I want to believe that you’re blind to my call, but then I see you winning all these cases on national Television and realize, oh wait, my daughter does have eyes.” Pushing her way into Anastasia’s apartment, Fiona dropped her purse and coat on the chair and turned to face her daughter. “Give me one good reason why you’ve been avoiding my calls?”“Didn’t Mason pass along my message?” Anastasia questioned, closing the door and heading to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.While doing so, she did
Whatever dark, alcohol induced thought that had been roaming Anastasia’s mind was dashed the moment she gave Lloyd the pass code to her apartment and instead of doing anything when he arrived at her room, he simply tucked her underneath the duvet and sighed.“You’re really a case.” He mumbled underneath his breath, but she clearly heard it, and just as he was about to turn around and leave, she caught his wrist.“You’re leaving? You’re not gonna do anything?” She had blurted out the question before she could control her own words and in seconds, she wished for the bed to open up and swallow her.Gosh, why had she said that?The alcohol, yeah, it is as definitely the alcohol!“Do you want me to stay?” Lloyd’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Do you want me to stay, Anastasia?” He repeated when she remained silent.Her grip around his wrist loosened and Lloyd nodded.Of course she didn’t want him to stay. That was simply the alcohol in her system talking.Swallowing the bitter pill, he
Lloyd’s words had instantly sent Anastasia’s heart into an overdrive. Without even needing to focus on it, she could feel her heart beating hard against her chest, shaken up by his words, his proximity and the look in her eyes.And it scared her.Not Lloyd, but rather the familial pounding of her heart and the fluttering in her stomach, because she knew it all too well and it was a feeling she feared.It was the same feelings that had caused her unfortunate relationship with Derek.Those memories flashed within her mind and before Anastasia knew it, she had paled.Lloyd didn’t fail to notice this and in seconds, his expression changed into concern. But before he could say anything, she had broken free from his hold and stood up, walking towards her door and holding it open.“Get out.” She demanded.Lloyd was surprised by the sudden shift in her attitude. Just a few seconds ago, she seemed pissed at him, now the look in her eyes made it seem like she was trying to be on guard against h
Shrouded by the darkness her office provided after lights out, with her eyes glued to the bright screen of her laptop, Anastasia replayed the CCTV footage she had gotten from Danco.She studied the man’s movement, how he had approached Logan, his face shaded by the black hoodie he wore. She paused the video during moments of their interaction, trying to read the lips of Logan.It was clear he rejected at first. He even looked appealed by the idea. But then his eyes suddenly showed the interest that had sipped into his mind after heading something that he hooded figure had told him.What could it have been? Anastasia wondered as she watched the part of their interaction where Logan had indeed offered the hooded figure payment, in the form of raw cash, but he rejected, handed the drive over to Logan and walked out.Smartly, the hooded figure had walked in the opposite direction waiting until the attention on his had lessened before he came back and entered the black car, which belonged
“What?” Anastasia blinked in surprise after hearing what Logan had said. “He didn’t request for any money?”“Yes. As a matter of fact, it seemed like he was doing it not out of crude or hatred, but rather obligation. At first I thought something was wrong, I tried refusing it, trust me, but he insist and before I knew it, that bastard had dumped the concept and vanished.”Anastasia brows knitted together more. This wasn’t at all in the file that Kareem had given her. In fact, going back to what he had told her when briefing her about the case, he said the employee’s motive for selling the concepts was because they had gotten fired and had a personal grudge against the company.But that wasn’t the case, at least not from both sides.“And did you tell your attorney this or-““Yes, I have. I even explained the whole goddamn thing to Riley when his lawyer dropped by yesterday, but he refused to listen. He thinks I’m covering for the employee.” Logan sighed. “Look, I’m telling you the trut
Anastasia sat in the chair farest from Lloyd, listening to all his assistant had decided to tell her about the situation.Yes, she had accepted the job. Why? Well it was simple, the pay. The money that was offered for her to handle this case was more than enough to buy her a whole island.Who was she to turn down such an opportunity. Most definitely not her and most definitely not because of someone name Lloyd Riley.“And that is the case.” Kareem concluded.“I see.” Anastasia hummed, nodding her head in the process. From all she had heard, learnt and was able to gather, the situation on ground had come about because of an employee who had stolen confidential files from the company and took it to a rivalry company, selling it off.But the rivaling company, either they were not smart enough to change the concept of what had been sold to them or that they purposely wanted to rub the fact that they had gotten hands on L.R co’s latest concept.Either way, it was a stupid move and Anastasi
Lloyd woke up the next morning to find the bed beside him cold and empty. His brows furrowed and as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his mind recalled the events from last night yet Anastasia was nowhere to been seen.Did she leave? He wondered.He looked around, and his eyes landed on a piece of paper on his bedside table.Lloyd frowned and picked the note up, his eyes skimming through the words written on it.Last night was great, but I could have gotten better. I left some cash to thank you for your service. Hope we don’t ever cross paths again, Lloyd Riley.After reading the message, Lloyd’s eyes quickly found a thousand dollar bill placed on top of his wallet and he chuckled.“Is this a fucking joke?”Did Anastasia take him as a sex worker? Or did she think he was a prostitute?And she even had the balls to tell him that she hoped they were crossed paths again.He shook his head, still finding it funny that she’d leave a message like this.“Oh, Anastasia, you’re so cut
“Lloyd Riley, I’ll make this a night for you to remember.”It was like a promise, or maybe even a declaration, but regardless, it was one Anastasia was determined to keep and she knew just how to do so.Over the course of years, she had dealt with boys like Lloyd, players, the call themselves. They waltz into your life, mess up your emotions and end up using you as a one night stand.Anastasia’s first experience at that had been painful, so right now, as she walked back to where she and Lloyd had been seated, she wondered how Lloyd would feel if the tables were turned on him.“You done?” Lloyd asked as she took her seat from across him, fingers curling around the glass of her whiskey.“Yes. The bathroom here didn’t really have much to offer.” She flashed him a smile, deciding to move on to her plan rather than delaying an further. “So, do you have any plans after this?” She asked, placing the tip of her glass on her lower lip and looking at Lloyd through her lashes.He narrowed his ey
Standing in front of the mirror, Anastasia sighed, a frown etched onto her face as she checked herself. For a second, she debated whether or not she could pull off the outfit she was wearing.Her usual dress code, always having had the mindset of a lawyer and boss woman, was a simple jumpsuit or trousers and a blouse. But tonight, she had decided to switch things up.Tonight, she was wearing a knee length, skin tight dress, a dress that was cut at the front, revealing the bare skin of her thigh. Her hair, usually held up in a messy bun, was free flowing down her back, her lips a deep shade of red and her eyelashes long and luscious.As she stood there, checking herself, her mind began running wild.Why had she agreed to a date with Lloyd? What the fuck was she thinking?She shook her head, this for sure, was going to turn out to be chaos.Being ripped away from her thought by the sound of her door bell ringing, Anastasia decided to lock up her worries in the back of her mind and appro