“Roxanne, take your seat soon.”
The sound of her coworker snapped Roxanne out of her shocking thoughts. It was her workplace, she should be professional no matter who their client was.
Roxanne reminded herself as she headed to her seat.
“Everyone is present, shall we begin, Mr. Laurent?” Her boss politely asked Lance and the latter just nodded his head.
Somehow, Roxanne could feel his aura today was totally different from what he used to have. More abstinent but more charming.
'Charming? Keep your head, Roxy. You two only had a two-night stand. Let it go and focus on your work.'
Shaking off those messy thoughts, Roxanne forced herself to focus back on the meeting while not noticing Lance's face turned colder when she ignored his new message again.
The meeting lasted for several hours before it ended, mainly because of a picky assistant beside Lance. For some reason, Roxanne could feel that it was not that woman hate her design but hated Roxanne the person instead.
Several times, Roxanne couldn't help but glance at Lance to see if it was his idea but he didn't look at her anymore.
Weird. But it might be a good signal that he started losing interest in her.
Roxanne encouraged herself to think positively but the assistant suddenly blocked her way after the meeting.
"Long time no see, Roxanne. Hope we have good cooperation." The woman said to her with a provocative smile and then Roxanne’s eyes widened as she remembered who the woman was.
***
“What? Do you mean Julie Curt, your nemesis in college? She is your client now! ” Iris exclaimed after Roxanne shared her meeting with Julie that morning. Now, they were at a bar where they usually gather after work.
“Yeah," Roxanne sighed as she took a sip, "But she looked a bit different from before so I didn't recognize her at once…”
"Well, good luck, sis." Iris hugged Roxanne and changed the unpleasant topic, "Putting that aside, how are things with you and Chris? ”
Roxanne’s fingers had curled up around her glass and froze there. Iris barely knew all that was going on. She had left her in the dark for so long and was now feeling guilty. But just as she opened her mouth, the sound of a loud chanting from the dance floor interrupted her.
Iris along with Roxanne turned their heads around slightly and saw a woman who was dressed in a red short gown actively swaying her hips to the music and dancing wildly on the dance floor, attracting the attention of many horny men.
With her red short dress, black heels, and loose blonde hair, the woman was without a doubt, pretty.
"Wait, that woman seems to be Julie Curt." It didn’t take Roxanne a few seconds to recognize that face and Iris then squinted her eyes to get a better view.
“She changed a lot,” Iris commented and a thought hit her when her eyes fall back on her best friend, "Don't you even realize that the face of Julie Curt now resembles yours."
“What?” Roxanne frowned to hear that. Was Iris mean that Julie got a facelift to look like her? What kidding. They both knew how much Julie Curt hated her.
Roxanne wanted to argue but suddenly noticed that Julie was straight up rejecting any guy who had come up to her as she walked seductively towards the VIP section, swinging her hips at every step.
Then the duo caught a dashing-looking young man there with a glass of whiskey in his hand. It was Lance Laurent.
“That sly little witch.” Iris sneered as she watched Julie practically throw herself at Lance.
Iris had never liked Julie.
Not when they had been course mates during college and definitely not now when she was trying to use a face resembling her best friend to seduce her college senior.
No way in hell was she going to allow a leech-like Julie to have her way.
Without saying a single word, Iris stood up and approached Lance in the VIP section before Roxanne could say a single word.
She was stopped at the entrance by a few bouncers but once Lance recognized her, she was allowed in.
“Well if it isn’t Lance Laurent.” Iris greeted with a genuine smile happy to see her college senior after quite a while.
“Iris,” Lance addressed her with one of those his usual bachelor smile. “You’ve grown.”
“Right back at you,” Iris said and turned her gaze to the leech seating beside Lance. Her smile dropped as she eyed her viciously and without acknowledging her presence, turned back to Lance.
“When was the last time we met like this, off work I mean?”
Lance chuckled and took a sip from his glass as he remembered the last time he had hung out with Iris and ended up spending close to a million dollars on drinks. “Three years if I recall correctly.”
“Well, care to join this junior for a drink?” Iris said and pointed towards her table.
Lance’s eyes followed the direction where she had pointed and when his gaze landed on Roxanne who had been watching them and she instantly avoided his eyes, he chuckled.
“I didn’t realize you now went for fake copies, Lance.” Julie cut their talk while having craftily wrapped her arms around Lance’s upper ones.
Iris' smile faded at once. God she really can not stand Julie using that low version of Roxanne's face to do such disgraceful things.
She looked back at Lance. “I didn’t expect your taste to diminish so much.”
Before Julie lost her temper, Lance just chuckled and stood up, "Let's go for some drink."
Roxanne was nervous while watching them approach. Before Iris had her seat with Lance, she rose from her and dragged Iris by the arm.
“Please excuse us for a minute.” She faked a smile at Lance but barely looked him in the eyes before rushing off.
In the restroom, Roxanne made sure they were both alone before asking. “What are you doing?”
Iris seemed confused. She didn’t see anything wrong in what she had done.
“Inviting a friend over to join us and drink? Why? What’s wrong?”
“A friend?” Roxanne asked and barked a laugh like she was some crazy person. “Unbelievable.”
Iris was truly confused at this point and asked. “What’s wrong? Roxy, did you do something that you’re not telling me about?”
That question was all it took to make Roxanne burst.
“Yes. I slept with him.” She admitted and felt like a lump had been removed from her throat, while Iris stared at her silently with wide eyes.
“You… you slept with Lance Laurent?” She had nearly screamed but calmed herself down at the last moment. “Wait, doesn’t that mean you cheated on Christopher?”
Roxanne shook her head and pulled Iris closer before explaining the entire situation. By the time she was done, Iris’s nostrils were flaring with anger toward Christopher.
“That douche bag.” She gritted out. “I swear to God I’d kill him when I get my hands on him.”
“Don’t.” Roxanne objected. “Not yet at least.” She added seconds later.
Iris snickered before asking. “So, you and Lance?”
Roxanne felt heat rush to her cheeks and was about to dismiss the topic but before she could, Iris asked.
“Was he good in bed?”
Roxanne thought back to the night they had sex and licked her bottom lip. He had been more than good, fantastic was the word to describe his skills, but obviously she wasn’t going to admit that.
“He was average.” She told Iris with a shrug. “A bit disappointing if you asked me.”
Iris laughed out loud. She couldn’t believe what her friend had just said.
“You are crazy, scratch that, insatiable.”
Roxanne swatted her teasing aside and leaned against the wash hand basin with a huff.
“Well now that you know, best keep that big mouth of yours shut.” She warned.
Iris raised her hand in the air. “You can trust me, this secrete goes to the grave with me.” Then she added in. “Shall we head back now?”
Roxanne glanced in the direction of the restroom door and shook her head. She felt like she needed to sober up a bit before going back out. She didn't want to face Lance right now as she seemed to have drunk a bit too much before.
"You go ahead; I think I need to clean my makeup up a bit.”
However, when she stepped out of the restroom a few whiles later, she was suddenly picked up and thrown over a shoulder.
A harsh smack on her butt caused her to yelp and her movement to come to a standstill when she heard that familiar voice.
"Some little birdie told me you were quite disappointed with my bed skills. Then let me show you something tough tonight."
Lance entered Roxanne's apartment with the password that Iris sent him.He was planning to give Roxanne some punishment in his car but this woman really fell asleep while they were kissing.Carrying her towards the first bedroom that seemed like hers, Lance sighed as he placed her down on her bed and tucked her underneath her duvet.He was about to step away when he felt Roxanne’s fingers curl around the hem of his shirt. She stirred in her sleep almost as if she was having a nightmare, muttering incoherent words in the process.Lance glanced down at her tiny yet slender fingers and tried prying her fingers off but failed on the first try. Just when he attempted a second try, a silent sob broke through her lips, startling him in the process.“Don't leave me alone... Mom, Dad.”His heart suddenly softened to hear her murmuring. He gently hugged her in his arms as he comforted her, "Don't be afraid. You have me here."His eyes lately fall on the family photo on her bed table and beside
Her heart was in her throat when Roxanne met Christopher again as she stepped out of the elevator after work.Didn't he tell her that he had to work overtime tonight? What made him change his plan?"A surprise." He grinned widely as he gave her a big hug. Many passersby casted envious glances towards them, thinking they were a couple in love.Yet Roxanne was keenly aware of something strange. Christopher was a bit too clingy today. That was not him.Even though he was smiling, she could feel there was something hiding behind that."Sorry for being busy these last few days. I'll make it all up tonight." He said gently but somehow gave her a shiver."It's okay." Roxanne answered as she slipped into the passenger seat.The rest of the ride, Christopher consisted of his one-sided conversation regardless that Roxanne had told him that she was tired and needed some rest.By the time they had arrived at Roxanne's house, she didn't hesitate to jump out of his car the moment he had parked it w
Christopher kept banging his fist hard against Roxanne's door to the point that it attracted the attention of neighboring security."Young man, what's the problem here?" The security man had asked after getting him to stop creating a ruckus, but Christopher wasn't about to hear that.He knew something was going on. He could feel it, after all Roxanne had called him and then suddenly hung up. He couldn't pin point the exact reason for her action but he could tell that there were several meanings to it and the only way for him to discover the answers was for him to get into her apartment, but even that wasn't going so well for him right now."I'm sorry for creating a scene, but the thing is, my fiance is currently in her apartment but she's not responding. I need to get to her some way." Christopher vaguely explained and was about to get back to banging when the security gaurd stopped him once more."Please be calm, Sir, I'm sure your fiance is fine if possible, I'd help you contact her
"Amber?!" Christopher was surprised to see who had been standing at the door and soon became nervous.Roxanne slowly got up from the couch and examined the two. She watched Amber's eyes momentarily traveled to the couch she had Christopher had been seating before biting down on her lower lip.Yeah, how does it feel to see your man about to make love to another. Roxanne thought as walked towards the door and purposely wrapped her hand along Christopher's upper arm."Amber, why are you here so late?" She asked like the caring fiancé, tilting her head to the side in confusion to make her acting look all that believable.Amber couldn't stand seeing Roxanne all mushed up to Christopher. He was her man and more than ever, she wished to tear the two apart, but simply kept her calm after remembering what big plans Christopher had for them both."I'm sincerely sorry for coming by so late at night, but I couldn't contact Sir Christopher and he wasn't by his house and I needed to get ahold of hi
It was grand. More than ever, Roxanne had never seen an engagement party so lavish and neither had she expected the Laurent family to put such wealth into Lance's engagement ceremony.There were many guest, some that even Roxanne knew and was pleased to see and others that she wasn't, like Amber. Although Roxanne understood that Amber's father, Mr Snow, had been a diligent employee of Laurent cop back in his young days, she didn't see the need for inviting them.Stepping into the full venue with Christopher beside her, Roxanne had expected Amber to cling at Christopher's arm the first chance she got, but to her surprise, Christopher avoided Amber's gaze.Roxanne glanced between the two for a few seconds confused, until she finally realized what was happening. It was the obvious, they were having a lover's Spat.How lovely. Roxanne bit back the thought as they stepped into the main venue of the engagement ceremony. It was the outer garden decorated bountifully with red roses and other
A few minutes after Roxanne had stumbled her way into the women's restroom, Amber glanced sheepishly at a waiter beside her and signaled that he follow Roxanne. The waiter, placed his tray down then gave a curt nod before stalking off. Amber couldn't help but chuckle in delight as she folded her arms and watched the people in front continue to go frenzy due to Lance's absence.Today was finally the day she showed Christopher Roxanne's true color. Amber thought with a pleasant feeling roaming her stomach. She had despised Roxanne so much when she had earlier tried to teach her all about morals. What did she know? Just because she was from a family of aristocrats didn't give her the right to look down on Amber.For that, she was going to make Roxanne's life a living hell. Amber thought with a smirk and found the waiter she had sent after Roxanne stalking back towards her. She couldn't suppress the smile of delight that broke out on her lips and just when she was getting ready to pull Ch
"You sly man stealing whore." Penelope's friend, Janet, squeezed past Christopher and Lance and rushed into the room before either of them could react. In seconds, she had ripped the blanket right off the bed, exposing the naked body of the female laying on the bed.Christopher's eyes widened as he realized the woman on the bed was not Roxanne, but rather Juliana Curt, the college mate Roxanne had spoke of countless of times."Are the lot of you nuts?!" Lance angered voice tore through the room as she broke free of Christopher's hold and matched over to Janet who was about attacking Julie. He snatched the blanket from her hand, glaring daggers at her as he placed it back over an embarrassed Julie."Is this the respect you show towards the Laurent name?" He growled and Janet shivered under his intimidating gaze.She shrank back, entwining her hands as she suddenly lost all confidence from earlier. Maybe she should have listened to her friend from earlier and maintained. The thought cro
For a brief moment, Roxanne was bemused. Without any warning, Lance had materialized and announced he was taking her home.What a mad man! Roxanne thought as she tried to leap out of his embrace, only to be caught by her wrist and pulled back."Behave." Lance instructed as he turned to Alicia, forcing a smile as he uttered. "Be a dare and take care of Julie for me, would you?"The doctor seemed to hesitate for a while. She had other plans before now, but seeing as this was a request from a friend, she couldn't say no.Sighing, she nodded her head just as Lance chugged her the keys to the waiting room he and Julie had been in. Alicia glanced between he and Roxanne one last time before walking off and leaving them alone.Almost immediately after she had left, Lance began to pull Roxanne towards his car. She noticed this and tried fighting out of his hold.She struggled vigorously for a few seconds, trying to get her wrist free and far away from Lance, as she was in no mood for his theoc
Roxanne sat by the window of her favorite cafe wrapped from head to toe in seasonal clothing befitting winter. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail while her fringe hung on the side of her face, she wore a brown and white beanie while a black scarf was wrapped around her neck. Her outfit consisted of black jeans and a beige winter sweater along with a pair of white boots to complete her look. She had ordered a hot chocolate along with a pastry and was sipping on the drink when her phone rang.She looked down to see that it was Colton and she quickly answered the call, placing her cup down on the table. "Hey, Col, where are you?""In front of the cafe." The voice from the other end of the phone responded and Roxanne looked outside to see her friend waving. She smiled and waved back."Alright, I'm coming out." She said and got up, throwing her cup into the bin before grabbing her bag and walking out of the cafe.The winter was getting harsher and harsher with each passing day but she had
"You are absolutely pathetic, Penelope Cube." She said and glanced over to the crowd before returning her gaze to Penelope. "You're absolutely pathetic." She repeated in a much louder voice, making sure everyone in the room could hear. "All this while I had my eyes on you, waiting to see how far you'd sink before you drown." Roxanne smirked. "But you're the one that ended up drowning yourself, it's you that lost the game and now, you're going to have to pay for it."Immediately after Roxanne's words, Claude emerged from the crowd ready to defend his daughter. But Lance was faster.He rushed forward and blocked Claude before he could get closer to Roxanne. "Don't you dare?" He sneered.Claude stopped short in his spot and looked around from Roxanne who was standing her ground and looking unfazed to Penelope, his daughter who was drenched from head to toe in wine and then to Lance who was shooting daggers at him through his eyes. He didn't like the look that the young lad was giving him
The rest of the party went by peacefully, that is until Henry clinged his glass, drawing the attention of everyone in the room as he announced that he had something to say. In that moment, Lance and Roxanne glanced at each other, remembering how Henry said he was going to announce Lance as the new CEO tomorrow and step down from the Company."Can I please have your attention?" Henry said with a smile on his face as he stepped forward from his place where he had been standing with Frank and took to stand at the center, while everyone watched in anticipation."I know this might be quite sudden but I want to thank everyone here today for being a part of welcoming back my father from the hospital, it means more to me than any one could ever imagine." Henry said and glanced at Frank who nodded his head in agreement and looked back towards the crowd with a smile on his face."It's been an honor and a pleasure to meet all of you, whether you be the regular guests or some of the close family
After looking at herself one last time in the mirror, She decided that her outfit was okay as well as every other thing on her."You ready?" Roxanne asked when she finished dressing up and found Lance standing in the living room in his black suit."Yep." He answered and extended his hand for her to take, which she did, giving him a smile of confidence."Let's go." She said, and the couple exited the penthouse, locking the door and taking the elevator to the ground floor and stepping out into the bright sun of the morning.The city had woken up early that day, and the streets were already packed with people going on with their daily business, having no idea about what was to happen later that day.The couple strolled towards the parking lot, hand in hand. Roxanne took a deep breath before entering the car. She buckled up and strapped the seatbelt while Lance slipped into the driver's seat and started the engine."How nervous are you?" He asked once he pulled out of the parking lot and
Henry went stiff and his gaze momentarily flew to where Roxanne was seated beside Lance, finding her eyes glued on him before he looked away."I..." He hesitated. "I did so because I wanted to protect Roxanne."His answer left both Roxanne and Lance stunned and confused."Protect Roxanne?" Lance asked."Protect me?" Roxanne asked."Yes." Henry nodded. "At the time which your parents had died and their case was being handled, Claude had been proven guilty In many ways and as a result asked to pay compensation worth thirty five billion to the victims daughter, Roxanne, or spend the rest of his life in jail. So Claude taught that if Roxanne wasn't around then he could pass under the charges. He was planning on harming her in other to walk Scott free and I couldn't allow that, so I bribed the judge to drop the case to make sure that Roxanne remained safe."Lance's eyes narrowed in on his father and he frowned deeply. "You mean, that monster that killed Roxanne' parents had actually attemp
Lance and Roxanne spent a few more hours in Rosalie's place, talking things over and planning for the party the next day. By the time they had finished, the sky was already darkening and Lance and Roxanne feeling tired. They bade Rosalie goodbye and began the journey back to Lance's penthouse which was now virtually like Roxanne's place too."So, you and me, huh?" Lance asked playfully once they were in the car on the drives back home.Roxanne who had her head leaned against the window chuckled. "Don't even push your Luck, Laurent." She teased, earning a hum of disapproval from him."Why not, you're already my girlfriend, I don't see any harm in making you my finacee.""True, but it'll be awkward to explain this to everyone since we only just found out that you and I are apparently engaged since childbirth, but without a doubt, it'd be funny seeing Penelope's face when she learns of this." Roxanne pointed out with a chuckle which faded almost instantly as she said. "Funny and pitiful.
Rosalie was rather surprised when both Lance and Roxanne showed up at her house, so suddenly."Lance? Roxanne? Why are you both here? Isn't the party until tomorrow?" The elderly woman asked, looking confusingly between the young couple."Hi, grandmother." Roxanne greeted, followed by Lance who gave a curt and respectful nod in her direction. "Yes, the party isn't until tomorrow but that isn't why we're here, we need to talk." She said seriously."Oh," Rosalie uttered, surprised by her granddaughter's sudden serious demeanor. But she recovered from that quickly and smiled. "Well, how about we have a chat in the living room." She suggested politely, gesturing for both Roxanne and Lance to step in.They both did as told and sank down together in the same chair, waiting till Rosalie had served them glasses of water and sank down in her won chair before begining to discuss the reason why they had come here for."Grandmother, can we ask you a few questions?"Rosalie viewed her granddaughte
Roxanne quickly looked over the document, reading the information and then quickly turning to look at Lance, her eyes wide and her heart racing with excitement. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!""What is it?" Lance asked as he walked over to her and looked over the documents in her hand, his brows creasing with equal confusion. "I wasn't aware that Grant Enterprise had a medical center." He commented."That's because it doesn't." Roxanne informed, flipping through the documents all the more to get headings and after a while, she scoffs. "This is ridiculous. What are we meant to do with fake documents."She tossed the paper back into the podium and ran her hand through her hair, pushing them back and out of her face. In the process of doing so, she had missed as Lance bent down and picked off the floor the piece of paper that had slithered out from in between the pages of the document as she had tossed it away."Perhaps it isn't fake," He began, looking over the small piece of pap
"Penelope Cube, the daughter of the Cube family is the customer claiming to have already wanted those dresses.""Oh my freak fucking God." Roxanne cursed as she rolled her eyes and later on groaned in annoyance while Lance on the other hand sighed out loudly in frustration, both leaving Catherine confused."So you mean to tell me the person playing owner over the dresses I picked is Penelope Cube?" She asked once more out of confirmation sakes.Catherine hesitantly nodded her head. "I'm afraid so.""Oh fuck my life. That girl has been making it her mission to be the worst person ever. Why she had to come here to spoil our time together is beyond me." Roxanne ranted with a roll of her eyes. "I can't fucking believe this.""I know this might sound like a difficult task, Catherine, but I need you to get me those dresses. Not a single one of what we picked should go missing. Am I making myself clear?" Lance instructed with a serious look on his face and Catherine nodded her head immediate