Wednesday brought the rain. Ice-cold wind blew against the Lowe property, above dark clouds covered the sky promising even more rain. Regardless of the gloomy weather excitement coursed through Matt’s veins as he sat in the back seat of his car with his secretary beside him reading reports of his company’s achievements in the past week. He could barely hear what Lawrence was saying. His eyes were drawn to the other cars pulling into the Lowe property, each held company owners and representatives seeking to gain control of the Lowe family business.The car in front of him was Noel Greer’s. Middle-aged, tall athletic figure with striking good looks, three times divorced. Noel was old in the business and from Matt’s earliest memories he remembered the rivalry between him and his father. After his father’s death, there were speculations of Noel’s involvement in the murder but those speculations were simply rumors that died down eventually. Not that Matt cared much about the rumors, for al
“Good night you guys,” Sophia called out to Nate and Mike as they went in the opposite direction. She was beyond tired as she opened the door to her apartment. Bobby cracked an eye open as she put on the lights but made no attempts to rise from his bed for pets. She took off her shoes and crouched in front of him. “Hey, little guy. Aren’t you happy to see me?” He wagged his tail and lazily licked her hand before going back to sleep. Laughing she patted his head and stood. Phone in hand, going through her messages as she went to the kitchen for some water she stopped at a message from her sister. ‘I’m dying, Sophia. Will that get you to come over?’ Sophia rolled her eyes at Abigail’s theatrics. She knew from her sister’s husband that she was doing well. Abigail’s exaggerations were one of the reasons she avoided her sister’s calls and messages. Shaking her head she started to drop her phone on the counter when it buzzed. It was Matt. Willing her treacherous heart to slow down she
“I swear you buy every orange juice in stock, Sophia,” Rosa said to her as they set their lunches on the table. “I still don’t get why you only drink orange juice.” Sophia picked up the bottle of orange juice and took off the cap. “Because vitamin C aids the absorption of calcium and calcium helps you grow taller.” Mike, Stella and Rosa burst into laughter. Sophia ignored them even though they were drawing the attention of other people to their table. She glanced at Nate who was smiling but wasn’t joining the others to laugh maniacally. “You are not going to laugh?” she asked through clenched teeth, holding back her own laughter. “I mean you’re not wrong…” “Where did you hear that?” Stella asked gripping the edge of the lunch table trying to keep from falling off. Shrugging Sophia picked up her sandwich and took a bite. “My elder sister. She used to tease me about my height. You guys stop being silly,” she said trying to keep a stern face. “Besides, orange juice is delicious.”
Nervously adjusting the v-neckline of her black gown as she stared at her reflection in the mirror for the fifth time on Sunday, Sophia sighed. She never attended a gallery opening before. While in school she had visited some galleries to just appreciate the work of the local artists but none of those were social affairs. She had looked up the name of the gallery. Apparently, it belonged to a Simone Pierce with whom Matt seemed to be very friendly and the list of guests in attendance included the who’s and who’s of high society. Something sexy. But the only nice evening gown she ever bought for herself was the black one she used on her graduation from nursing school, not because she lacked the money, though. All the excitement building up on her final year in school evaporated when she remembered she would be the only one in her family witnessing her success after 3 ½ years of studying to earn her degree. While Stella, Rosa, and some of their other friends were busy trying on differe
The Modern Street- Simone Pierce’s new gallery was a part of a wide block of privately owned property, some of the buildings were smaller chain stores of popular cloth brands, and there was a wine shop a short distance from the gallery itself. It was a converted two-storied condo with the name Modern Street brightly illuminated above the entrance. Sculpted lamps brightened the entrance, casting their lights on the sculpted walkway with perfectly manicured hedges on either side. Heels clicked against the stone walk and dresses swished in the night breeze as stylishly dressed women and men moved towards the entrance. There was a doorman greeting guests and holding the heavy glass doors open to a wide and simple but expensively decorated interior. The polished paneled floor reflected the bright lights from a ceiling with a solid glass geometric design. The lights seemed to come directly behind the glass ceiling. The soft hum and whirl of security cameras combined with the soft music tha
Why was he jealous? Seeing her so at ease with Lawrence put him on the edge. When he led her away from the small gathering of people coming over to compliment Simone his first instinct had been to go after them but Liza Gianne had other plans for him. For months he avoided her calls and invitations to her many charity events but once she got her claws on him she held tight and talked until his ears began to ring. When he finally found a way to sneak off he was surprised to see her laugh at something Lawrence was saying. There were two other guys with them. What was he saying to her? Before he could join them Liza found him again and chastised him for running off before she finished her one-sided conversation then launched into another long discussion about how much money she raised at a charity event she organized two weeks ago. Finally, two ladies who recognized her, possibly from one of her many parties came over, soon Liza was too busy talking to them to pay him any mind. When h
Her body felt feverish, deliciously feverish. With his hand on her hip, he guided her from one framed painting to another, each one more outrageous than to other. Maple Albatross really was eccentric. She could finally understand why Simone had a private section for her works. For a woman who hid behind baggy clothes shrinking away from conversations, her imagination was quite vivid and her paintings incredibly detailed. “What do you think?” They were now in front of the sculpture the other woman was looking at when they came in. It was a wrought iron piece. It looked like an amateur attempt at sculpting but once again Maple’s imagination was at work. Unlike her other arguably tame works this one was on the wild side. A woman on her knees in front of the male who held the end of a metal rope with the other end of it attached to a collar around the woman’s neck. A shudder ran through her and she laughed nervously. “I think Maple is actually into some wild stuff beneath that timid ext
“What is it, Lawrence?” Matt asked through clenched teeth. He didn’t sound pleased with the interruption and his eyes were still on her.He remained pressed against her, shielding her from Lawrence’s view. Not that she needed shielding since she already dropped her legs from his waist as soon as she realized they weren’t alone. But Matt still held on to her, holding her against the wall with one hand while the other discreetly replaced the strap of her gown.“Uhm…maybe I should…” Lawrence was saying. Sophia sneaked a peek at the door. Lawrence was already backtracking towards it.“What do you need, Lawrence?”Lawrence stopped mid-step. “Uh…Simone says he wants to see you, sir…but I can…”“Tell him I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”“Yes sir.”This time the sound of the door closing echoed softly. Her heart beating wildly, Sophia let her heels touch the floor and would have stepped away if the wall wasn’t behind her and Matt was an immovable wall in front of her. He released a frustrated si