CHAPTER 1

NICOLE

Putting the last of my signatures to the documents, I hand them to the love of my life, my knight in shining armor, my husband of 4 years, Mason Reyes.

“Baby are you sure about this?” he asks me as his eyes slowly scan the documents

“I’m one hundred percent certain, everything I have is yours my love” I reply

I had just signed over all my assets and shares in my company to Mason, I want to become a full time housewife and try to give us a child.

We’ve been trying for four years now and the doctors say nothing is wrong with either of us so it must be because I work too much and my hormones are imbalanced.

“Baby this will look like I am taking advantage of you, I don’t want it, giving me your shares is one thing but signing over your assets is another” he says, concern lacing his voice and his expression changing to a gloomy one

“Honey, I am nothing without you, everything I have and have been able to achieve is as a result of your unconditional love, it’s hard to find a good man and I found one who’s not only good but sacrificed his dreams so I can chase mine, I hear how people murmur and gossip about you but you pay no heed, you just want me to be happy, this is the least I can do, please don’t break my heart by rejecting it” I say to him as I hold his hand

Mason and I have been together for six years now, married for four.

When I first met him, he was aspiring to become the biggest brand manager in all of London but a chance encounter with me and he gave it all up on a whim to help me build my brand and my company.

To me, he’s the most selfless individual in all of planet earth and I might add the most handsome as well. It was his blue dreamy eyes that first attracted me to him, they looked like they had all the answers and yet asked burning questions to my soul.

It was love at first sight and I just knew he was the one for me and he felt the same way about me too.

“But babe, that is why it’s called love, my reward is seeing you happy as a result of my actions, but if you insist, thank you my love” he shrugs and smiles a little

“I insist, now shut up and make my tongue dance with yours” I say to him putting my hands across his neck

He drops the documents and grabs my waist, pulling me into him, “so what kind of dance are we talking about? The one where the clothes stay on or where they go missing?” he asks with a mischievous look on his face, his beautiful blue orbs staring lustfully into my soul

Even though we’ve been together for six years now, Mason looking at me like this still sends jitters down my spine

“Well how about we let the music take control” I say leaning in to kiss him

“Sorry to interrupt your little dance love birds but we have to go Nicole” my best friend and personal assistant Claire interrupts our little moment in my office

“How long have you been standing there?” I ask her

“Enough to know you totally forgot what today is, we have to close the distribution deal with Rico Foods and we’re already late” she replies, grabbing me by the arms and pulling me away from Mason

“Hi Claire” Mason greets her

“Hello Mason” she replies coldly

Claire and Mason never seem to get along, they are the two most important people in my life but they are almost mortal enemies, I’m the only reason they cross eyes and I’ve tried to soften the relationship between them over the years but it’s no use, they’re just hostile to each other even though they’ve learnt to be more subtle about it in my presence.

“Put on your damn shoes Nicole, we need to go” she orders

“Hey! you need to remember I’m your boss” I say to her with a stern look as I sit on the couch to wear my heels

“And you need to remember that I am your best friend, silly girl” as she bends down to help me into my shoes and we both burst out laughing

Claire is like a sister to me, there’s nothing I do without telling her, we’ve been friends since high school and when my parents died in my fourth year of high school, her parents were generous to let me stay with them till we went to college

When I started my business, she was there with me supporting me all the way and covering up all my lapses. People think I’m some superhero but the truth is if I’m Batman,she’s my robin.

“I finally did it Claire, I signed it all to him” I say to her as we exit the elevator of my office building

“You did what?!!” the look of shock vivid on her face

“I told you already Claire, I want to focus on giving us kids, I’m done putting my work over my marriage” I say holding her hand, hoping she agrees with me

“I understand, but just remember that if anything goes wrong, I warned you. You cannot fully trust men, everything that comes out of their mouth is a lie” she says as we get into my Rolls Royce cullinan

“Not my Mason, he’s the sweetest one ever and you’d know if you didn’t let your sexism blind you” I taunt her and we both laugh

As we step into the elevator of Rico food’s building, I close my eyes and quickly run the details of my presentation through my head, making sure I remember every important point.

“Hold!” I hear someone cry out, the voice sounded familiar

I open my eyes and it’s him, of course his company made the final draft also, the bane of my company’s existence, Chris Bale, the CEO of Strong Haven