"Remi, it's me!" Dad barked, covering his ears with his hands. "Calm down.""Dad? What are you doing?" I yelled. My mind was racing and my lungs weren't getting enough air."I need to talk to you," he said calmly as if he didn't almost give me a heart attack just a few seconds prior."You couldn't call?""I did. So did your mother. Remi, just come home. We – your mother is worried about you. Living in a hotel? And this one?"I rolled my eyes but inside I wanted to hug my dad. I wanted to cry into his arms like when I was a little girl. I'd always taken the easier path whenever I had a choice. I left home to be with Oscar instead of following the path my father had carved out for me; most people didn't get that. I'd also ran right back home when my marriage blew up in my face instead of trying to fend for myself. All of that had to come to an end. I needed to make my own way."I'm sorry, dad. I can't do that," I muttered under my breath. He sighed a deep, heavy exhale that blatantly
For the rest of the week, Jesse would come over after work and we would spend the whole night exploring each other. I started to keep track but eventually lost count of how many times he brought me to a toe curling, back arching, sheet gripping climax.At some point I began struggling to keep up with his strength and stamina. The man quite simply was a machine."So, next week, huh?" Jesse said, as he came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.Next week. My coronation, so to speak."Yeah." I was dreading it. Not because of the job itself; my meetings with Tristan had given me a new outlook and immense confidence that I would do a good job. What was bothering me was Jesse. He was such a sticker for the rules. I knew he would want us to stop… this. I'd been so pleasantly surprised when he called and actually showed up and we'd been having sneaky links since. But I could just picture him saying we had to end it once I took over. He dropped the towel, giving me a full
I gasped and ran to him seconds before I realised I should have run outside to try and get help."Tristan?" I whispered, cupping his face. A little blood got on my hands.He was unconscious and I tried tapping him awake but that didn't work. I noticed the dried blood on his face and on my hand was powdery, like chalk. I rubbed it between my fingers and it came off easily, reminding me of the dried watercolour I used to play with as a kid. What the hell was going on?"AAAAHHH."I stumbled backwards and unto my ass, I could feel my heartbeat in my throat. Fear gripped me as I assumed the worst. Had I done something to him? He glanced at me and pushed his chair back so he could get to his feet.He rushed to me and offered me his hands. I took them cautiously and let him lift me to my feet. "Sorry about that," he said coolly. "My wife told me you probably wouldn't appreciate the theatrics. Guess she was right.""What the hell is this, Tristan? Is that paint on your face?"He glanced ar
I took a deep breath and exhaled, forces all the air of my lungs until it felt like I'd pass out.My big day had come and as much as I'd convinced myself I was unphased, my legs had been tingling since I got in bed the previous night. I'd thought the jitters would be he gone by morning but as soon as my feet touched the cold, cold tiles, I instantly remembered what day it was. The thought froze me to the edge of my bed. In all the time I sat frozen, my phone rang five times – I'd counted. I didn't bother picking up, didn't even bother checking who had called. I sat frozen as it rang over and again like a mockingly bubbly soundtrack to my dreary disposition.The sixth ring made me spring to my feet. Dad had said greatness came from doing what needed to be done despite the fear, in spite of doubt.Those two things, I had in spades at the moment so I decided to follow his advice. I picked up my phone to find a whole lot of texts. I didn't want to deal with all that so I did a cursory s
He sighed and I saw him roll his eyes through the rear view mirror. I almost burst into laughter but decided to put him out of his misery. "You know the Renard Dynasty building. That's where you need to take me." "Buckle up." I would have preferred a quiet ride but then started playing some old times music that I didn't utterly hate. "The classics, better than the ear infections they play today," he said. "That's a new one," I said through a chuckle. Never before had I heard music referred to as an ear infection. Another thing to log into my mental diary. "What, ear infection? That's all there is these days. All of them singing about drugs and guns and women. Nothing of substance," he lamented, shaking his head. Music was never really my things so I didn't have much to say on the subject. "There are some good songs out there though. It's not all filth." He glanced at me through the rear view mirror. Seeing only his eyes made me feel like he was judging me for saying t
By the time we got to the event centre, I was fully convinced the oldies had way better music. My driver, Grant, had recommended a bunch of albums for me to listen to to properly experience the essence of ideal music, as he put it.He wound down the passenger window when I got out. “Thanks, Grant. I'll definitely listen to those albums.”“You should. Will be the greatest thing you ever hear. Alright, bye Remi.”I waved as I watched him pull off. Such a great guy, I thought.“Friend of yours?”I nearly jumped out of my skin hearing a voice that sounded like it came from inside my head.“You look like you've seen the ghost,” Jesse said, smirking “I wonder why, Jesse. What are you doing here?”“I was assigned to be your butler basically. You look… nice by the way.”His gaze drifted down my body, unashamedly taking in my entire figure. Any other person and I would have been offended. I placed a hand on my waist and struck a sensual pose. “Wait till you see what's underneath.”He sucked
No, no, no. Not today. Any day but today.I was still frozen but Jesse's hand on the small of my back brought me back to consciousness. “Go ahead. The stage is right around that corner.”My legs moved swiftly on their own. My mind was clouded over with racing thoughts and emotions.What the hell was my bastard ex-husband doing here? And how did he know Jesse? I thanked whoever was watching over me that he didn't see me. I didn't know how, nor was I ready to deal with whatever drama came with it. But he was here. I would have to deal with him eventually. Was Celia here too? His new wife? Oh god, why today? Why couldn't I have bumped into him at the mall or something?Standing outside the stage entrance, my heart was pounding against my ribcage. I felt like running. Stop spiralling, I shouted in my head. I took a deep breath to clear my mind. What was I scared of? Oscar? Celia?What could they do to me? Nothing. It was the shock. The last time I saw him was when I was dragged out o
What was the deal with these people and hugs? I was trapped. I couldn't stop her or push her off me lest I damaged my public opinion. I didn't know what to do, only that I didn't want a hug from Debbie.I'd rather have stuck needles into my eyes. She missed me? What a joke.“The board will leave any second now, we need to get there,” Tristan whispered. “Miss.” He stepped in front of me and extended his hand.Debbie's face contorted into an unreadable emotion that almost made me burst out laughing.She begrudgingly took his hand. “I'm just trying to say hello to my friend, sir,” she said in a sickly sweet voice.“You'll need to put that off a little longer as she's on a schedule.” Tristan guided her aside and we went on our way.I didn't need to look at her face to know she was probably pulling her hair out of her scalp. Little did I know, the worst was yet to come.“There'll be more of those,” Tristan whispered as we marched down the aisle. “Just smile and wave.”One second, our path