Stephanie glanced at her wristwatch to see that she was already late and she hurried down the stairs, muttering a goodbye as she made to leave the house. The conversation with Ciara had taken most of her time. “Steph,” Paul’s voice rang out, making her stop to turn around and glance at him with furrowed brows. He walked towards her and she noted that he was already dressed up. “I’ve been waiting for you. Are you okay? You look pale.” She swallowed hard and shook her head. He was waiting for her? She didn’t think he would want to go with her, she had noticed the way Victoria looked at her the night before and believed that the woman would speak to Paul about it. “Let’s go,” he said without waiting for her to speak and her eyes jet Victoria’s. She could swear that she detected a hint of anger in Victoria’s eyes which was quickly replaced with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Paul,” she called, her voice dripping with forced warmth. “Don’t forget about the ga
“Stephanie I..” “Sir, I…” They both said simultaneously and stopped at the same time. “You first,” he said and she shook her head.“You first…” “Here’s your water madam and sir." The waiter arrived just then as he set down her glass and poured the two of them some water. "Anything else?" The waiter asked standing up straight."Yes," Paul said, his eyes not leaving Stephanie’s. "We'll have two glasses of my usual white wine.""I'll bring it right up." He said nodding and walkingaway.Stephanie felt a bit awkward as she sat there having lunch with her boss. Sure she had done it quite often, but they had never been alone and it always wasn’t this weird. She felt his eyes on her as she shifted in her seat uncomfortably, not meeting his gaze. Suddenly Stephanie heard a voice she hadn't heard in months. She spun around turned around quickly to see him walking in and greeting the staffs.Of course, he frequented the restaurant.Ernesto Ferreira, a huge man with a curved mustache.
“I’m pregnant” She said in the calmest voice she could muster with her blue eyes looking everywhere else but his. Paul Costa’s grey eyes shot up to the woman before him, easing his back onto the chair in his huge office. The Woman has been working for him for the past six years since he became the executive director of Costa Incorporation. There was something different about her this afternoon, perhaps it was the way she styled her hair or the Color of her eyes, He had never seen her without her glasses. That was probably why she seemed so different. Heck! It could even be the perfume she was wearing, it was jasmine. Paul couldn’t remember if her hair had always been this black or her eyes this blue. He wasn’t sure if any of those things were attributed to the difference he saw in her, But then, he had never paid any attention to her, all he knows was that she could do her job right, she was the ‘perfect assistant’ and that was why she still worked for him after 6 years. Stephani
“Excuse me, sir?!” Stephanie’s eyes shot up as she stared at him,gasping as she realized what he meant. He was offering her such a huge amount of money to get rid of the baby, her baby!!. She was not prepared for this at all, She shouldn’t even be here but here She was,being told to kill her baby for a fee,a huge one. She thought the best thing to do after finding out about her pregnancy was to let the father of the baby know, She didn’t think about his reaction and the fact that He wouldn’t be too pleased to father a child with her or could even deny the pregnancy. A highly respected multibillionaire like him could suffer from such scandal and this would have a huge effect on the company, stock prices will go down. Of course,the best way to prevent that was to not father a child with her,therefore,the baby must be terminated. But she loves children, she had always wanted children of her own with a man she loves and She is about to have a child now, with a man she is head over he
It was around 8:00 a.m. when Paul Costa strode into his office building. It was a huge building, the headquarters of Costa incorporations, in the very Heart of New York. He was wearing an Armani suit and a blue tie, he looked as handsome as always and had a smile etched on his face. The moment his foot touched the marble floor, everyone fell quiet. Nobody was expecting him until 9:00 a.m. and they certainly didn’t expect to see him smiling, it was strange. He never smiled, he was always scowling and frowning. People parted as he made his way to the elevator, they had the notion that his smile was dangerous. He went all the way up,to the top floor. He walked past an empty desk, where the personal assistant should be, and noting her absence he nodded. Immediately he got into his office,he reached for the telephone and stopped after seeing the letter across his desk. “Dear Mr. Costa, You are to sign the documents in the envelope under this letter. You also have a conference call wi
“Work stress?” He asked, noting the worry etched on his friend’s face. Kenneth smith has been Paul’s best friend and close confidante since childhood. He knew all about Paul’s problems and “sexcapades”. Paul nodded his head in disagreement, and Kenneth chuckled lightly. “Ross?” He asked,knowing how Paul felt towards his intended marriage to Victoria. “There is also that,” Paul said with a sigh,dropping his glass on the table. “There’s nothing you can do about that one” Keneth said with a soft smile, “besides,i heard she’s good down there” he added again and that caused Paul to look at him with a murderous glare. Victoria’s adventures weren’t a secret and apparently that did not bother his mother as she was hell bent on him marrying her and acquiring Ross incorporation. “Thought you didn’t care about that,” Keneth said and raised his hands defensively. “But really,why can’t we do anything about it?” Paul asked and Kenneth looked at him puzzled.“Do what?” He questioned,looking co
Paul was furious,he never expected Stephanie to be this difficult. He was stressing himself too much over her issue,he didn’t know what else to do. She outrightly rejected all his offers and what really baffled him was the fact that she had nothing and yet acted like she had everything. She was like a stranger!,perhaps he’s never really known her. After their last conversation where she told him that she’d terminate the pregnancy,he didn’t know what else to do. He doubted the possibility of her actually going through with it,but he knew better than to provoke her any further. He wanted her to terminate the pregnancy at first,but she insisted on keeping it and now that he also wants her to keep it,she’s threatening to terminate it!. What the hell was wrong with this woman!He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Goddamit! Stephanie!”he yelled out aloud and laid on the sofa,trying to clear his head of the events of the past days. He would figure something out,he always do
Stephanie lazily opened her eyes, wincing as the harsh light in the room scorched her eyes. She was trying to remember where she was , what she doing here and more importantly, why she felt so weak. “Steph?” A familiar voice called out and she wrinkled her face in confusion. It was her boss. What was he doing here??. She fully opened her eyes to see her boss looking at her with —concern?. Was that really concern etched on his face? She blinked. “Can you hear me?” an unfamiliar voice said and she realized it was a doctor, she didn’t see him before. Her eyes widened almost instantly when she realized what had happened. She had fainted!!!. Her throat suddenly felt parched and everything came rushing back, her mind only on one thing, her pregnancy. “M.mmy…my bb..bbab..bab..y” she croaked out hoarsely. “Stephanie, listen to me. The baby’s going to be fine and you are going to be too!” Paul stated pulling her hands into his and squeezing it lightly, his eyes reflecting reassurance.
“Stephanie I..” “Sir, I…” They both said simultaneously and stopped at the same time. “You first,” he said and she shook her head.“You first…” “Here’s your water madam and sir." The waiter arrived just then as he set down her glass and poured the two of them some water. "Anything else?" The waiter asked standing up straight."Yes," Paul said, his eyes not leaving Stephanie’s. "We'll have two glasses of my usual white wine.""I'll bring it right up." He said nodding and walkingaway.Stephanie felt a bit awkward as she sat there having lunch with her boss. Sure she had done it quite often, but they had never been alone and it always wasn’t this weird. She felt his eyes on her as she shifted in her seat uncomfortably, not meeting his gaze. Suddenly Stephanie heard a voice she hadn't heard in months. She spun around turned around quickly to see him walking in and greeting the staffs.Of course, he frequented the restaurant.Ernesto Ferreira, a huge man with a curved mustache.
Stephanie glanced at her wristwatch to see that she was already late and she hurried down the stairs, muttering a goodbye as she made to leave the house. The conversation with Ciara had taken most of her time. “Steph,” Paul’s voice rang out, making her stop to turn around and glance at him with furrowed brows. He walked towards her and she noted that he was already dressed up. “I’ve been waiting for you. Are you okay? You look pale.” She swallowed hard and shook her head. He was waiting for her? She didn’t think he would want to go with her, she had noticed the way Victoria looked at her the night before and believed that the woman would speak to Paul about it. “Let’s go,” he said without waiting for her to speak and her eyes jet Victoria’s. She could swear that she detected a hint of anger in Victoria’s eyes which was quickly replaced with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Paul,” she called, her voice dripping with forced warmth. “Don’t forget about the ga
As they drove back in comfortable silence, Stephanie couldn’t shake the feeling that everything had changed. Her heart still fluttered from the words he had said to her. “I’ll always be here for you, Stephanie.” She glanced over at him, feeling something she knew she shouldn’t, something dangerous yet irresistible. She let herself savor the quiet, the ease, and the promise of his words, even if it was only for this one night.The familiar building came into view and a quick glance at her phone screen told her that it was well over midnight. She couldn’t help but wonder how Victoria would feel if she saw them both arriving so late.To Stephanie’s surprise, Paul got out and walked to her own corner and opened the door for her. His hand reached out to her and she glanced at it with an expression of surprise. He nodded at her, urging her to take it. She hesitated before finally taking it, stepping out as she felt a shiver run through her.But as they turned toward the entrance, neither
It had been a long, exhausting day at the office and Stephanie leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples as she tried to focus on the sea of reports spread across her desk. Layla had stormed out earlier after uttering profanities and she was left to work on the many long overdue works. She wondered if Layla had even gotten anything done.Her back ached from sitting too long and she stretched her body as she yawned.She was glad to be spending time away from Victoria’s watchful gaze and Paul’s lingering eyes. She missed being this tired. “Stephanie?” Paul furrowed his brows as he saw Stephanie buried in a pile of paperworks. He had gotten so busy himself that he had lost track of time and when he was finally done, he thought she would’ve left as it was past working hour and almost midnight. Stephanie glanced up at him, startled to see him as she had thought she was the only one in the building. She averted her gaze quickly she took in his appearance. The top button of his sh
Stephanie swallowed hard, wondering if she knew…Layla laughed at Stephanie’s reaction. “Oh my God! Why are you acting so surprised? I mean, isn’t that why you even came back?”“Perfect assistant indeed…”Stephanie had already had enough and she stood up. “If you’re going to be like this, then I have no choice but to report you to Mr. costa!”Layla shrugged. “By all means, Ms. Hathaway, you go ahead!”Stephanie blinked rapidly. The girl had guts.As soon as she got to the door to Paul’s office, she was about to knock when she heard him on the phone and for some reasons, she was tempted to listen to him.“….no, Victoria she’s working…”“…I can’t just let her go out…there’s a lot and…”Silence The silence lasted for so long that Stephanie thought that the call had ended before she heard his voice again.“Vicky, you can’t come here! This is a work space!”He sounded more agitated this last time and Stephanie knew that it could be the stress.Since she left, the office had been a bit cha
Stephanie Hathaway stood by the large window of her room as she stared at the view beside her.The night view was the best and from her room, she could see it clearly. Her hands instinctively moved to her growing belly, a gesture she had become familiar with during the last few days.She was exhausted, emotionally and physically as she lived under the same roof with Paul and Victoria who had become unnecessarily kind to her these past few days.Stephanie sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned, and there she was.She didn’t even bother with a knock. “Stephanie!” She had a smile plastered on her face, one that didn’t reach her eyes.“Victoria,” Stephanie walked towards her. After the incident, she had been ignoring her, not wanting things to appear anymore awkward then they already where and whenever the three of them were in the same room, it was as though she intentionally couldn’t keep her hands off
Stephanie felt the woman’s gaze on her face and grabbed the milkshake she had been served, gripping the cup a little too tightly.“You look sick,” Victoria said, her eyes glinting with mischief.Stephanie swallowed hard. “I’m fine. I just…”“You’re not angry with me right?”Stephanie glanced at her. Was she really serious? After humiliating her that way in front of everyone!Victoria chuckled. “I’m sorry okay. I never thought you’d get pissed off over something as little as that. Come on, you can’t seriously be angry!”She had wondered why Victoria called her and was about to end the call when Victoria told her that she was at the cafeteria close to the house and wanted to see her.She wondered why Victoria would want to see her that early and contemplated not showing up, but she made up her mind to go anyways, deciding that if worse comes to worse, she would inform Victoria of her decision to leave.“Friends?” Victoria said, jolting her from her string of thoughts as she stretched ou
Theresa Costa was a woman who hated nothing more than embarrassments, but what she had experienced the night before was something she totally wasn't expecting.She had pleaded with The Ross’ to not call the marriage off, that it was just a small issue and her son wasn't in his right senses. The Ross’ had angrily left the ceremony and she had paid her most trusted bodyguard to make sure that news didn't spread about what had happened that evening.That night, she tossed and turned as she thought of what she and her husband had worked for, going down the drain because of her son's stupidity. If it were another woman, she might not have been this bothered, but it was Stephanie! A common personal assistant! A nobody!It was just too much for her to believe and as soon as it was dawn, she got up and dressed up. Her maid, Cara glanced at her, wondering why she had put on a very dark lipstick. She knew the woman she served and she knew that her lipsticks were worn according to how she felt,
A day before the fundraising event,Stephanie came back from Ciara’s house feeling a bit uneasy. She had told Ciara everything about the incident with Victoria and they decided to find out about the woman named Helena by themselves instead of asking paul. She feared what she would hear. She had never heard that name but it did sound familiar,like she's heard it somewhere before.As soon as she arrived in her room,she plopped down on the bed,trying to rid herself of the gnawing feeling in her belly. She groaned when a knock on her door prevented her from doing so. It was probably Victoria or the cleaning lady. After that incident,Victoria hadn’t even bothered to talk to her at all and frankly,she preferred it like that. She knew Victoria hated her but what was she to do?,she was here against her own volition.‘It's open’ ,she called out,easing herself upwards. The door opened and she sighed upon seeing who it was,she definitely wasn’t expecting him,it was paul.