Richard POV
“You should know better,” Dylan says as we exit the elevator. I can smell perfume in the air. It’s sweet and not overpowering. It’s just perfect. I realize that Layla always smells nice, but as I never leave the office while she is here, I never get a chance to experience her perfume like that.
“Hello, beautiful,” Dylan says as he walks to Layla. She smiles at him, and I realize she is still wearing her suit. But I can see the bag hanging with her dress inside. I have to say I am curious about what she will be wearing. Hopefully something tasteful and sexy. After all, I didn’t really need her at the meeting, and I don’t even know why I am doing this. Maybe to keep her away from her boyfriend?
“Dylan,” she says as he takes her hand to his lips and gives her a small kiss. Dylan is seriously starting to piss me off with all the flirting. I know this is who he is, but could he just leave my secretary al
Richard POV "Dylan," I hear Pamela say as she approaches the table, and Dylan looks stunned, like he has seen a ghost. I have never seen him like this before. His eyes rise, and he smiles, standing up. "Pamela, lovely to see you," he says, kissing her cheek, and then she looks at me and smiles. Dylan looks like he is about to puke, and if the situation weren't fucked up already, this would be kind of funny. "Richard," she says, and I nod toward her when her eyes land on Layla. Her facial expression changes from a smile to a frown. "Who is this?" she asks, waving her hand in front of Layla. Rude much? How did I ever like this woman? "That's," Dylan says, and I rest one hand on Layla's leg smiling. "This is my date," I say without thinking twice. Layla's eyes go wide, and Dylan almost chokes on his drink. Pamela looks at me with the most shocked look ever, and I smile, "Pamela, this is Layla," I say, and Pamela s
Layla POV "We both know you wouldn't make it. You owe a lot of money to many people, and if you don't sell it to me, you will have to go public. You will lose so much money that you will never recover, so take the win, accept the money, and let me buy you out so I can save the jobs of the people who are trying to save your ass every day," Richard says. I can't help but feel impressed, and the man really knows what he is doing. He knows what to say to get the job done. I want to be like him when I grow up. I can feel Gustaf's eyes on me, and I shift in my seat. I pull my legs closer together as if he has all of sudden gained x-ray vision, and he can look at my legs through the table. I know it's impossible, but it's incredibly uncomfortable. "Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me like that", Gustaf says, and Dylan clears his throat as he leans forward on
Layla POV “I’m sorry, what?” I ask, and he gets even closer. The car stopped abruptly, and his arms wrapped around my body, keeping me in place, and I realized I didn’t put my seatbelt on. I am now almost lying on top of him while the driver shouts out of the window. All I can hear is noise, background noise, and it feels like the world has stopped moving, and there’s only me and this beautiful specimen of a man. My eyes are locked on his, and I lose my will to move. I stay still as his hands move slightly down, and he touches the bare skin on my back. I feel a chill down my spine, and the entire world disappears. All I see is the blue from his eyes, staring back at me as if he is reading my soul. With no warning, his mouth collapses on mine, and I let out a small moan. His hands move to my hair as he rests one hand on the back of my neck and the other one he places on my ass as he lays back down on the back se
Richard POV I toss and turn, not being able to sleep. I can’t stop thinking about Layla, about how she feels and how she tastes. I still can’t believe she is the same girl from Dylan’s party. I still need to figure out how she went to the party, who took her, and who she was escorting. Why was she with different hair? The way she looked at me when I kissed her in front of her building. I couldn’t just go away and had to kiss her one last time. I had to do it for my sanity. One last time, I had to smell her skin against mine, kiss her lips and taste her before I went completely insane and I kidnapped her to devour her body. I promised myself that that was the last time I would kiss her. I can’t risk it. I really can’t She is my employee, works for me, and has already made me lose my mind twice, and it can’t happen again. It won’t happen again. I get myself ready f
Layla POV “Miss, you really should let us examine your head,” the nurse says for the thousandth time since we got to the hospital, but I shake it. I don’t need anyone to check on me; I need them to keep Jo safe. I close my eyes as I rest my head back on the chair they brought into the room for me. I try to push away the memories of how my night went from splendid, dreamy even to my worst nightmare. I couldn’t fight Leo off, he was a lot stronger than me, and he managed to get to Jo. I really hope the police get to him. I feel so bad for her. “Layla?” Jo whispers, and I lean towards her and grab her hand. Her bruised eye locks on mine, and she offers me a small smile. She tries to move but immediately groans in pain. “I am sorry,” she says, and I smile, shaking my head as I feel a single tear stream down my face. “What are you apologizing about?” I ask, an
Laila POV"How are you feeling?" I ask Jo as she flops on the couch after we get home from the hospital. It's been four days since the Leo incident, and I have to say that after Richard put his credit card under everyone's noses at the hospital, Jo go treated a lot better and faster. There was no wait for a nurse to come help move her or to give her the medicines."Miss, where would you like these?" Nando asks with a smile on his face as he holds the crutches and our bag with some clothes and toiletries that Richard got for us. I haven't seen him since that day, but he has called, and Dylan even showed up once to check on us."Near the door is fine, Nando. Thank you so much, " I say, and he smiles as he places our stuff down and stands near the door."There's food in the fridge. Mr. Ashford made sure you had ev
Richard POV I open my eyes as I hear the phone ringing. I blink twice before grabbing the phone charging on my bedside table, and bringing it to my ear. “Hello?” I say, feeling like if I close my eyes right now, I will go back to sleep. “I can’t find her, Richard. I don’t know where she is”, I hear Pamela’s voice on the other side. I immediately sit up on the edge of the bed with my feet on the floor to bring me some balance. “What is going on?” I ask as I move my hand through my hair, pulling it away from my eyes. “Mia, she’s not on her bed. I tried her cell, and she’s not answering. I can’t find her”, Pamela says, and I stand up, feeling my heart beating so fast that I feel like I am about to pass out. Where are you, Mia? “When was the last time you saw her? Did she go out with her friends?” I ask
Layla POVThe elevators open half an hour later, and Richard walks in. He is dressed in his light gray suit and a white shirt with a dark gray tie. I watch as he waves at me as he talks on his phone and he walks into his office. I grab my iPad and follow him. He is sitting behind his desk when I arrive and looks frustrated.“I told you that if it happened again, you would go to a public school Mia. I am tired of paying people off trying to get you to stay there, so that’s final,” Richard says, and I frown.Richard waves at me to sit while he breathes heavily on the phone. Mia, who is Mia?“Mia, I told you what is going to happen, and after the stunt, you pulled yesterday, you should be thankful I am not sending you to an all-girls boarding school,” he barks, and I raise an eyebrow as I look down at my iPad. Is Mia his daughter? I
Richard POV“I can’t believe this is actually happening” I let out and Dylan smiles as he adjusts my butterfly tie. I take a deep breath and I have to say I am nervous as hell. The door opens and Fred walks through the door.“Hey, how are you feeling, old man?” He asks before he pours himself a glass of champagne. I shrug my shoulders and Dylan looks at Fred shaking his head.“He is nervous as fuck” he says and Fred laughs as he crosses his legs.“I bet you are, after all, it’s the second time you're doing this,” Fred says and I shake my head focusing on his face.“Third,” I say and his mouth opens wide and Dylan frowns looking at me.
Layla POV “What are you doing?” I ask as Richard blindfolds me and guides me to the car. I smile as he places one hand on my lower back while the other holds my hand. “Come on, where are we going?” I ask but again all I get is a small kiss on the lips after we are inside the car. The drive takes more than one hour. I have no clue where we are now. There are so many places that he could’ve taken me in one hour or so. When the car comes to a stop and Richard helps me out of the car I feel the cold wind blow and I realize we are somewhere open, without buildings or trees. My hair flies in every direction and I bet I will look like I have a helmet on my head. “Where are you taking me?” I ask at the same time he scoops me off the floor. I let out a small squeal as I feel him going upstairs. Where the hell are we? “Good evening Mr. Ashford” I hear someone say.
Layla POV“How is she? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I ask Dylan as he takes a deep breath after telling me that Jo spent Christmas in the hospital. We both had shit holidays.“You were recovering from brain surgery. Do you really think I was going to tell you that Jo had a panic attack and ended up hooked up to fluids in the hospital?” He asks as if I am the crazy one.“Yeah,” I say, grabbing my phone and dialing Jo’s number. She answers almost on the first ring.“I am sorry, I am so sorry, I really am sorry,” she says as she answers, and I feel my heart beating so fast I can’t even cope with it. I place one hand over my chest where my beating heart is and take a deep breath.“No,
Layla POV“I open my eyes, and I find my mom sitting on a chair next to me. I frown and look around, realizing I am in a hospital room. I blink several times until my vision focuses but no luck. I lick my lips, but my tongue is so dry it feels like I have sand in my mouth. Argh, my entire body hurts. I try to remember what happened, but I really can’t.The door opens, and Louise walks in, followed by Mia. When her eyes meet mine, the biggest smile appears on her face while my sister stays exactly the same way. “Layla, finally,” Mia says as she ruses to stand next to me. My mom hearing the voices opens her eyes and walks to me, holding my hand between hers.“Oh my God, how are you feeling?” My mom asks, but as I try to speak, it becomes a little difficult. I frown as my voice doesn’t sound the same. “Relax, baby, you ha
Richard POVWe’ve been sitting in these uncomfortable chairs for hours. Mia is asleep with her head resting on my shoulder while my brothers are wide awake with me. I keep trying to push away the horrible feeling I have in the pit of my stomach. I take a deep breath, and Mia opens her eyes.“Is everything okay?” She asks. I offer her a small smile and stand up. My entire body is aching at this point. We have been here for hours without news because we are not related to Layla. Her mother is on the way, and even though I said I am her fiancé, the doctor, and not saying anything. This is ridiculous.I have tried to throw money around, I tried to offer a big donation to the hospital If they allowed me to go see her, but it didn’t work. My father kept asking me to stay calm. This is a hospital, people are sick, and at least we know she is
Richard POVWhen we arrive at the house, I feel every hair in my body rises. I shake my head as I cross my arms in front of my chest. I am behind the police barrier, and they're not allowing me to go inside with them. This is ridiculous. He could be hurting Layla as we speak, and they are here playing police officers and trying to negotiate with him. Just fucking go inside and bring her out. Or even better, let me go inside, and I will bring her out after I knock him down.Jude is standing next to me, and he is keeping my father and my brothers updated while I walk around like a maniac trying to escape the torture I am being put through. “When are you going to invade the place?” I ask the detective, and he looks at me as if I have three heads. What the hell is wrong with people?“We need to make sure he is alone. I can’t just send my men blind,” he says, and I scoff as I shake my head
Layla POV“James, let me go,” I plea as he tightens the zip ties around my wrists. It hurts me, and I flinch as he stands in front of me, his nose almost touching me. I feel the tears rolling down my cheek while he smiles and rubs his nose over my cheek as he inhales deeply. I shut my eyes tightly, turning my head away from him.“You smell so good,” he finally says, and I feel my stomach turning. I have no clue where we are, it’s dark and there’s only a small light in the corner of the room. I can see windows, but it’s too dark outside to even know where we are.“James, please, let me go,” I cry but he doesn’t move. He stays in front of me, and slowly, he places both his hands on my legs I try to push him away but my ankles, but I can’t. I have zip ties around my ankles as well, holding me on the chai
Richard POV“Pamela dear, there’s been a mistake. You are not sitting here. You’re on my table,” my mother says, and I swear I could just shout at her right now. This woman is infuriating. The way she tries to make Layla feel shit in front of her is crazy. I look at my mother with a smile, and I can tell by Dylan’s eyes he knows what I am about to do. “Excuse me, I need to freshen up,” Layla says, walking away before I even have a chance to do anything.“That was rude,” Pamela says, and I look at her as Mia rests one hand on my arm. “Dad, don’t,” she pleas with me, and I take a deep breath. I take one step closer to my mother, and between greeted teeth, I start talking. “Layla will sit next to me, whether you like it or not, she is my fiancé, and you better keep up with the program
Layla POV After the silent auction, we are all taken to the dining area. This is an event like a wedding, with round tables with beautiful linen spread all around the room. Big vases with red and green flowers and ornaments. I have to say that Cruella can definitely put on a show. She really knows what she is doing. Kudos to her. Mia walks to her table, and she scrunches her nose when she notices who’s sitting next to her. Richard walks to her, checking on the sitting chart, and I can tell he is not happy either. I have no clue where we’re sitting, and when he offers me his hand, I take it, and he places a small kiss on my finger next to my beautiful diamond ring. I can feel my cheeks go warm. Damn, this man has the ability to leave me flushed. “I promise I will make this right,” he says, and I frown, looking at Mia and then at Richard, and that’s when I realize