“This was the last topic on the agenda of our meeting today. If no one else has anything to add, we can call it a day. Thanks for the hard work, everybody.” Millicent said it loud enough for everyone at the conference table to hear, but, as always, all she got back were a few mumbles and grunts that were impossible to understand. There was no doubt that she had managed to convince everyone there to respect her word, but on the other hand, there seemed to be more aversion to her than ever. But now, finally, she felt like she could understand the root of the problem. It was more than just a mere prejudice about her being a Nepo baby. Apparently, Jasmine had been spreading lies about her personality and, now that Millicent was finally using her influence as supervisor of that project, everyone thought they had received proof those rumors about her being a spoiled and heartless tyrant were true.Knowing the origin of all that disdain didn't make it any less uncomfortable, however. After
Millicent had learned an interesting thing about herself that day: she functioned much more efficiently when her sole focus was getting back at Austin and making him angry. Who knows, it wouldn't have been better if she had found a way to bring him with her and Isaac to that restaurant.Maybe then she would be able to stand confidently, instead of feeling so… Nervous.“Try to relax, Miss. Bianchi…” Isaac murmured in her ear, as the two followed the waiter to their table “Remember people will think we are on a business date and we have to make it look like a romantic date. And generally, a woman in love doesn’t seem as restless as you.”“I'm trying my best.” she squeaked silently, trying to soften her expression “It’s just… I didn’t expect you to choose a restaurant where almost all the patrons know my family.” Millicent made the mistake of looking around for a quick moment, finding all the other customers' eyes on her.“Of course. If we want the word to spread, then we have to get the
“Why do you look like you haven’t slept in days?” Cassidy asked, but the only answer Millicent was able to give her was a long yawn. “How many hours did you guys spend on that date today? Two or three? What could have happened to give you dark circles that big?” “Nothing happened. I just… I couldn’t sleep properly.” Millicent couldn't control another yawn.“If nothing happened, then what exactly kept you awake?” her best friend insisted, even though Cassidy was having to divide her attention between herself and all the reports on the computer screen that Mr. Davis had demanded be reviewed later that day.“I think… It was just because nothing happened.” she admitted with a deep sigh “It was all very… Tense, I guess. I don’t know if I know the right word to describe how I feel around him since that… Kiss.” Millicent mumbled as quietly as she could, “I know I should be happy about this, because it will make our fake affair a lot easier and now I can be sure there's nothing wrong with me
"Ms. Poulin?" Millicent stood up, surprised “It's good to see you, but... I think there may be some mistake in the schedule that may have been passed on to you. The new meeting to discuss the details of the project will only take place in 3 days…”"I know." the old woman snorted, not paying her any attention, while other team members crowded near the door with their expressions full of dread. “But I decided to get ahead of myself and save my time. It's all rubbish. Do it again and, this time, correctly, if you want me to continue with this project.”That disdainful look was powerful enough to make Millicent's blood run cold and, under other circumstances, she would certainly have her head down and totally intimidated by Laura, as well as her colleagues on the outside. It would be much easier to just give in and go through the enormous trouble of doing it all again. It would be Austin's responsibility anyway, since everyone thought he was the sole leader and creator of that project. How
“Oh, Millie, honey. You look so beautiful!” Thea sighed, even needing to pull out another tissue nearby “It always makes me so happy to see you looking stunning like this. Especially knowing you’re about to have the displeasure of enduring the Carnbys for an entire night…”“Thanks, Thea.” Millicent smiled, running her eyes one last time at the sight of herself in that dark green dress in the reflection of the mirror “You and Mom always manage to make me look so much better than I actually do.”“What have I said about commenting on things like that?” her mother sighed, moving nimbly around to straighten every detail of Millicent’s dress, almost as if she herself wasn’t already cramped into a formal gown “I know you don’t care about looking pretty just because Austin is going to be there. I also think it's bullshit to want to show he lost the most beautiful woman in the world. This is already obvious to everyone, after all. But, I'm glad you finally want to highlight your beauty instead
The Carnbys' spring formal seemed more crowded than usual. Evan was the type of businessman who never refused to reach out to anyone as long as the other person offered enough money to do so, so obviously he had more “friends”, partners and clients than his family's huge mansion could support. Even so, they seemed to have squeezed in a hundred more people that year, almost to the point of making it difficult for waiters to move among the guests with trays of drinks and appetizers in their hands.And, even with that crowd divided into several different groups and distracted by several different conversations, almost everyone still turned to see Millicent and Isaac entering the room.“I wish they would at least try to hide it…” Millicent muttered to herself, but Isaac didn't even seem to have to make an effort to listen.“We are their evening's entertainment. They're probably relieved to have something to talk about now, instead of having to keep pretending to like each other.” Isaac c
“What a lovely surprise.” Florence was the first to break the silence between them, plastering her face with a sycophantic smile that Millicent knew very well “When could I have dreamed I would have two of the loveliest young women in High Society grace my ball? Oh, Alessia, darling, it's been so long since we've seen each other. You look stunning, as always.” Austin’s mother approached, running her hand through Alessia’s long and strawberry blond, almost red hair.“Thanks, Florence. It's always great to come here. You throw the best parties.” Alessia laughed “Although, I hear the real action has been happening outside of the galas thanks to your son, right?” “That… It was nothing more than a misunderstanding. It's a shame you heard about that horrible episode from the wrong people, but as soon as I have some free time tonight, I promise I'll tell you what really happened.” Florence forced a smile, clearly eager to end the conversation “Anyway, it's great to have you here, my dear. A
If Jasmine's goal was to make an impressive entrance, she certainly succeeded, because many of the guests several feet away from where they stood had turned their necks to look at her. Perhaps not only because no one expected Austin's mistress to attend an important event like that, but also because she hadn't chosen a dress that was the least bit discreet for the occasion, with a long dark red skirt covered in sparkles and a large ruby necklace on her neck that would not let her go unnoticed in any way. On her face, there was a convinced little smile, as if just by being there in front of Millicent she had already won something.However, that confidence only lasted until the moment when Florence seemed to recover from the shock.“What…” she panted, furious “What is this woman doing here, Austin?!”“Mom, I…” Austin stuttered, his gaze at Jasmine not at all soft or romantic “I… I don't know, but I promise I'll sort it out right now.” he growled, lunging at Jasmine to grab her arm. “I
Millicent was no longer a virgin. That was the first thing she thought when she opened her eyes after a quick nap and found herself After what had happened with Austin, she had even thought that this moment would never come. But, well, it would be difficult to remain a virgin when Isaac had fucked her in various positions and places in the bedroom throughout the evening. And night. And that early morning… And she had loved every second of it.It was a good thing it was Sunday, because she would need to sleep for a long time to regain her energy.The spot between her thighs was sore and her body was a little stiff, but not in a bad way. It was as if she had overdone it a little at the gym, but… For good reason. She should probably get up right away and start getting ready so she wouldn't be home too late, but that sweet exhaustion only made her want to snuggle even more into the warm bed and stay there, feeling Isaac's fullness on the pillow right next to her. Millicent would have to
“Oh, God…” Millicent wailed, her breath catching in her throat as she instinctively dug her nails into Isaac’s back, as that new sensation washed over her.“Take a deep breath.” Isaac murmured, freezing in place with just an inch inside her, as his hands slowly trailed down her belly in a gentle caress “It’s just for now. You will feel better in no time…”Millie, however, didn't give him much time to continue his comforting, as sweet as it was to know he was worried about her. Overcome by that feeling of urgency, she tightened the embrace of her legs around his waist, undulating against him until she could feel a little more of his thickness inside her.“What…?” he grunted in pleasure, but still held her hips firmly, almost as if he believed she had done it unintentionally “You… You're not in pain…?”“I… I don’t know…” she admitted, not knowing if that was the right word to describe the feeling of being filled completely like that “I… I always heard that sometimes there is no pain, bu
For a moment, Millicent can only stand there, her blood cold and her stomach churning with despair as she observes the marks on his legs. The burns were certainly old, as the color was dark and there were parts that had gone through a better healing process than others. While his feet and ankles were completely covered, irregular waves rose to near his knees, becoming brighter and clearer until they disappeared.And her heart sank as Millicent imagined the kind of pain he must have gone through to be marked like that.“Sometimes I forget how disgusting this can be to see.” Isaac commented, finally snapping her out of her shock “Doctors often say I could have reconstructive surgery, but I don't see why I should bother with something like that.” he said coldly, with his eyes on the clothes scattered on the floor “I can always get dressed again, of course…”"No!" Millicent jumped onto the bed, grabbing his wrist “Please, don't say that. I would never feel disgusted with you. It’s just…”
In total, Millicent tried to have sex with Austin three times. It sucked that she was thinking about this at a time like this, but in her defense, it was almost shocking the difference between those three terrible moments and what was happening at that moment. Everything with Austin was about manipulations and his own desires. She had never really felt like sleeping with him, but had been carried away by his whining and mumbling about how, if she really loved him, she would prove her love in bed. But as great as that bastard was at convincing her to do what she didn't want, not even his talk had been able to make Millicent fight the repulsion and desperation of having him approach her like a pervert, wanting to snatch her underwear. It would forever be a relief that she had never let him get this far, not even with her bra on.Now, however, all that was coveri
“Did you notice the car too?” Isaac asked, as Millicent looked in the rearview mirror at the sports car that was right behind them.“It's hard not to notice when I'm not making any effort to be discreet.” she grumbled, watching Austin's car almost get hit by another when the light they had just passed turned red “I don't know how many messages I've already had to send to Sage asking her not to intercept them. Jasmine must be very determined to become the new Mrs. Carnby if she is willing to watch her boyfriend become a stalker stalker.” Millicent sighed, relieved to realize that they were approaching Isaac's condominium “Are you sure you shouldn't notify your security team too? If Austin seems comfortable following us, I don't doubt he'll try to get in here.”"Don't worry. The security team at this place knows the
“I'm not even surprised they came all this way…” Millicent muttered as she watched her ex-fiancé and his girlfriend enter the bar, surrounded by an unnecessarily high number of security guards, as if they were celebrities or something “But knowing they probably had someone watching me, so they knew I was coming here, really pisses me off.”“I think it was too much for Austin to know you would continue to be seen with me without him being able to do anything to stop it.” Isaac commented, sitting comfortably in the chair next to hers, looking as resigned to the situation as Millicent.“Typical of him.” Millie grumbled, taking the last sip of her drink and trying to pretend just that small glass hadn't already messed with her head.“Do you want to leave?” “And let him think that just his mere presence is enough to make me back out of my date?” she just grunted, pulling her second drink closer “Never.”“Good girl.” A ghost of a smile appeared on Isaac's face and, to her surprise, he cares
“Okay, Millie. The GPS says we’re almost there.” “Thanks, Josiah.” Millicent sighed, watching the city lights pass through the car window “But, you really didn't need to offer to drive me here. Another driver or even a member of Sage’s team could…”“Stop it right there, young lady. I know I'm old, but I'm still capable of putting in a few miles. I’ve done this my whole life, after all.” Thea's husband snorted, as if his pride was hurt “It's great to be retired and be able to just do nothing all day, especially now that Joshua has finally decided to give me some grandchildren. But, oddly enough, I still miss working. Especially when Thea and your parents make me go to those appointments where a butcher keeps breaking my bones…”“You know physical therapy is good for your arthritis.” Millie laughed “Also, you can drive as much as you want, as long as it doesn't harm your health. You just don't have to do this for our family, as if it were your obligation. I would really be fine coming h
It was still impressive to Millicent that she had wasted so much of her life worrying about what other people were thinking about her. Now that she had simply accepted most of her co-workers thought only the worst about her, everything seemed easier and more predictable. Still cumbersome, no doubt, but much easier.“Look at her, thinking she rules over all of us, just because Austin’s brother is here today.” one of the secretaries grunted, probably not even imagining that Millicent could hear her from where she was in the break room “So, What does it matter if this man has money? It's not like he owns the company! I've heard people on the team comment that his frames have caused even a gentleman like Austin to lose his temper lately. I hate knowing we're all in the hands of arrogant idiots like them and that woman, Pauline or something. She thinks that, just because she has a few Oscars at home, she can walk around like she owns everything and everyone.”“Well, it seems like she’s been
“I think this sums up the changes that Ms. Poulin has asked to be made to the scripts approved so far.” Millicent said to the team, taking the slides she had prepared for that meeting off the projector “I ask you all have the utmost perfectionism when making these corrections. Remember, it wasn't easy to convince Mrs. Poulin to give us a vote of confidence. We need to prove to her that we are capable of meeting her expectations if we really want to receive her confirmation to begin pre-productions…”“Thanks, Miss. Bianchi.” Austin cut her off, clearly irritated after being forced to spend so much time just listening to her talk “As the leader of this project, I will take over from now on. After all, I'm sure that if Mrs. Poulin has finally decided to be a little less merciless towards us, it's because the requests I made to her have taken effect. So you can be sure that I will be able to do it again if nec