Monk sat by in a small pub downtown as he watched Benedict order his third bottle of beer in less than ten minutes while also staying on a call with Don Grander. He had trailed Benedict all the way to the pub when he received instructions from Dom Grander.“Is he still there?” Don Grander asked.From the sound of his voice, Monk knew that he was with a young whore getting satisfaction. “Yes, and from the look of things, he is trying to get himself wasted,” Monk told Don Grander. He had not removed his eyes from the lawyer ever since he trailed him into the pub.“Is he alone?” Don Grander asked.“For now, he is,” Monk answered.“Then that should make the job easy for you,” Don Grander said, eager to get off the call and get on with his business.Monk did not have to be present before he knew exactly what Don Grander was doing or how he was feeling by simply hearing the sound of his voice, because he had been working for Don Grander for more than a decade now, and he knew his boss like
Aimee surprisingly arrived in the blink of an eye, as though she had been waiting in the corner. Lily felt as though she was going to pass out.“Thank goodness you are here, Aimee,” Christopher said.The relief in Christopher was palpable, and Lily knew that she had lost, but she couldn’t let that happen. Her mind flashed back to Don Grander’s violence and his visit to Joe during his game and shivers ran down her spine. “I can’t let this happen,” Lily said to herself.Christopher then turned to the lady in charge and said desperately, “Please hurry up and clear her.”“Right away, sir,” she said and began to punch on her computer with speed.Lily was still thinking of what to do before Aimee would be cleared and then she would go with Christopher on the trip instead when Aimee turned to Lily and gave her a look that said she had won. Lily could not forget Aimee’s words to her on her wedding day about not getting comfortable, and it dawned on her that perhaps, Aimee had a hand in it. C
The moment Lily’s butt touched the plane seat, she breathed a breath of relief; one hurdle crossed!She could hardly believe that she almost lost an opportunity to get some information that might help Don Grander and get him off her back. Christopher did not say a word to Lily as expected, so she did not let it bother her, because ever since she got married to him, they had been living like absolute strangers. Lily thought about being in a country for the first time, and she could not help the thrill that came with it. When she was a little child, she had often dreamed of being a pilot, because Lily wanted to tour round the world, but then again, her parents had died tragically, and she had had to step into their shoes. Lily had had to forfeit her dreams to help Joe chase his.When Lily was tired of thinking about everything and looking around, she dozed off. It was better that way than being awake, because if she stayed awake, her mind might wander into unhealthy territories. Upon t
After Christopher got out of the bathroom some minutes later still looking very upset, he turned to Lily and asked, “Would you mind a drink?” Lily looked at Christopher, stunned at the question. It sounded as though he was asking an acquaintance or a friend of his out on a date, and even though he still looked angry, the tone of his voice was lighter.“You have been acting like a zombie all through the trip and getting stunned at every damn thing,” Christopher complained, and Lily realized that she was doing it again.She could not understand why she was letting herself get carried away when she should be bringing her A-game to this business trip, because her performance mattered more than anything in the world.“God, please help me not to mess this up,” Lily prayed in her heart, hoping that God would forgive her for doing something bad and actually come to her rescue this time around.“I don’t know what this is, or what has been going on with you that has been making you to act thi
Lily walked around the room as she held the phone to her ears, waiting and hoping that Don Grander would take his calls.Lily had not been given the schedule for their stay here, but Christopher could actually waltz back into the room and inform Lily that they were going out on a dinner date with the business associates he travelled all the way to see, and she was yet to go through the things Christopher said he sent to Ashley’s email about them.“They are possible questions that might be asked as a couple, and our story must be in synchronization,” Christopher had told her strictly.How could Lily even forget those words so easily?The bigger problem now was that she had no access to the email, and if Don Grander would just pick up his phone and give her Ashley’s email login details, then she would be able to practice the lies before any meeting they might have with the businessmen.As Lily paced about, her eyes caught sight of the large ocean through the wide window.“Oh heck, no!”
“Excuse me, who are you?” Lily asked, blinking in confusion.Running into people would never end with the way things were going, and Lily was beginning to wonder how many more coincidences she would have to deal with.What if Christopher had been in the room?The female staff cocked her eyebrows at Lily in disappointment. “You most certainly haven’t forgotten about me, have you?” She asked coyly.Lily became irritated!Aside from the fact that she clearly had something to do with Ashley Grander, this was the most unprofessional experience that Lily had ever had. All through when she worked at the wine shop, she never acted out of place. They were strictly taught to respect customers and clients and to always put up their professional hats. So Lily could not understand why this hotel staff had the audacity to approach her.“This is so unprofessional, and I am going to ensure that the hotel management handles this strictly,” Lily said firmly.Right now, she hardly cared if she sounded l
Lily was back to pacing back and forth and talking to herself in the hotel room.“I am doomed. I am ruined,” she kept repeating to herself.Each time she felt as though she was getting something right, other things always came and destroyed everything. She was supposed to be acting as Ashley to get her parents what they wanted from Christopher, but at the same time, Ashley was still the same person ruining things for her.“What am I supposed to do now?” Lily asked herself frantically. “I can’t go for this meeting, otherwise if her words were true, they would catch up with me right away,” Lily pondered. Then she stopped pacing as her shoulders fell in defeat. “But I have to go for it; it’s the reason I am here for crying out loud,” Lily added.She was conflicted, and confused, and defeated, and angry at Ashley Grander for making things extremely difficult for her.“Gosh, I hate you, Ashley Grander!” Lily said out loud, and vehemently.This was the first time that she would be saying so
“Huh?” Lily asked like a zombie as she stared at her hair on Christopher’s hand.Indeed, some of her hair had turned to wavy blue, her original hair color. It had been weeks since her hair was dyed to auburn, and they had all completely forgotten about it.“Why are there strands of wavy blue hair on you?” Christopher asked, staring at Lily skeptically.It was dark, but Lily could very much see and feel Christopher’s skepticism and suspicion on her, and she knew that she had to do something real quick before things got out of hand.Lily cleared her throat, “I am pressed; I need to use the restroom quickly,” she said as she hopped out of bed immediately.Thankfully, Christopher’s hold on her wasn’t strong.“Ashley…” Christopher called out, his voice a little strong.“What? I just said I have to pee,” Lily said as she opened the bathroom door, entered and slammed it shut.She really needed some time to gather her thoughts together. First of all, she stared at her reflection in the mirror
Don, why haven’t I gotten an alert for my spa and shopping apartment?” Emily asked as she stepped into Don’s study without bothering to knock.Don Grander was sipping on his liquor and waiting for Monk. Something had been bothering his mind since their last arrangement, and until he spoke with Monk, he would not be at peace. Monk had left to sort out a few of his personal things, and had promised to be back as soon as possible, but he was taking longer than necessary.“Not now, darling,” Don Grander responded. He sometimes wished that Emily was both understanding and sensitive, especially when it came to money, but that was like wishing that pigs could fly.“What do you mean by that?” Emily asked, her voice getting high, and Don knew that he was in for another bout of whining and nagging. “It has been a week!” Emily complained.“And you can wait another couple of days more; it can’t be that hard,” Don Grander said, his mind wandering back to the worry in his heart.“You know damn well
Time was ticking for Lily, and she was still confused with what to do. She could not go to Mr. Yang and fulfill his desires. Heck, she was a virgin! How was she supposed to just give that to anyone all because she needed to play Ashley’s role to the finish line? Lily sobbed and sobbed until she felt as though she could no longer sob. It was even more hurting that without knowing what Mr. Yang requested of her, Christopher had asked her to do it. Or what if he was just like them? Growing up in a middle-class family, Lily was raised with dignity and morals, which was why while most of her age mates were having boyfriends and getting pregnant, Lily stayed disciplined. She had never even had a boyfriend, and one morning, boom! She woke up with a husband. According to what her mother had taught her, Lily was to wait patiently until she found the love of her life, get married, have kids and raise a family just like the one her mother had raised.She was not about to throw all of that away
For a moment, Aimee froze in shock.Rosa was shivering on the floor and battling to breathe while more blood came out of the spot that Aimee had hit her with. “Help me…help me…” Rosa pleaded in rasped breath, her words coming out as a painful and muffled sound. Aimee was shocked at what she had done, because she never expected it to turn out this way. Granted, she had been very upset that Rosa was trying to play smart with her. If it hadn’t been for her, a woman like Rosa would never have had access to Christopher Bridger’s home. Christopher was not a man who was keen on interviews and blogs, and he was also a very private person. Regardless of how close they were and how long they had been working together, Aimee could literally count the number of times that she had visited Christopher’s mansion, and ever since he married the wild Ashley Grander, he had not made any attempt to invite Aimee over. In fact, Aimee knew that as long as Christopher remained married to Ashley, chances of
As soon as Aimee arrived at Rosa’s apartment, she turned to Derek and said, “Don’t worry, I will handle this myself.”Derek seemed surprised. “I thought we were in this together, and don’t forget that I brought this information to you,” Derek said.“If you wanted to get a pat for a job well done, Derek, you would have gotten the full information, not bring something to me in halves,” Aimee said tightly. “I know Rosa, and I personally hired her to create ruins and damage for Christopher and Ashley’s interview, and trust me, she is going to talk to me faster than she would talk to you, and besides, seeing you might unnerve her,” Aimee added logically.She knew that Derek liked to feel important, especially when it was his area of expertise, but then again, Aimee was too desperate to leave this all to him to handle. All she needed to do was go in there, speak with Rosa and that was all.“Whatever you say,” Derek was not cool with the decision, but he also did not want to push it, because
Aimee Landon waited for Derek in her car that she had parked by the road.“I hope he doesn’t delay much,” Aimee said to herself.Not that she had anything else to do, especially now that Christopher was out of the country, but since Derek told her that he found something about Ashley, she had been eager. She could not wait to get her hands on something that she could use against Ashley.“Christopher is mine, and no one is going to take him away from me,” Aimee told herself firmly.These were the words she continued to say to herself, because they made her believe that they were true, and they also made her fight for him. Aimee already knew that loving a man like Christopher meant competitions, and it was a good thing that she was a good player. She had worked so hard to not also be by Christopher’s side, but to also make him see her. She had been able to maintain her position by his side, and one task had been successfully achieved so far, and all she needed to do was put in a little
Lily had just been placed between the devil and the deep blue sea, and she had no idea what to do, but what Lily knew was that she would not give herself to Mr. Yang for anything in the world.“You always have a way of making things difficult for me,” Lily said angrily under her breath as she hurried to their hotel room.She couldn’t even wait for Christopher to return from the room.As soon as Lily arrived at the room, she barged in like a wild dog, startling Christopher who was going through his documents with ease.“Jeez, Ashley, what is it?!” Christopher asked after recovering from the shock that Lily had just put him through.“We need to leave, right now!” Lily said frantically.Christopher was surprised. “Why are we leaving? What are you talking about?” Christopher asked without standing up from his sitting position; he did not share in Lily’s need for haste.“Can you just listen to me for once and let us leave?” Lily practically pleaded.When she had rushed upstairs, she hadn’t
About two hours later, Christopher and Mr. Yang were done with the meeting.Lily was bored and tired of listening to a conversation that she did not understand at all, and the only thing that kept her from dozing off was watching Christopher Bridger in his element, but then again, she could not deny the fact that Christopher was extremely upset. Lily could not tell if he was upset with her, even though she had said things that she shouldn’t have said, but it did not ruin anything, as Mr. Yang still seemed very much interested in whatever Christopher was saying.“Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Yang,” Christopher said as the two men shook hands.“We are happy to host you, and I know that you were supposed to have this meeting with the full team, but everyone else had other delegations,” Mr. Yang explained. “Anyway, we will put all that you have said into consideration, and since you fit into our requirement, you will be highly considered,” Mr. Yang addedChristopher seemed pleased t
Lily coughed, as though the tea was choking her, but by the time she was done acting up, she realized that the men were still looking at her, and expecting a response, especially Mr. Yang.“Um, her name is…” Lily stuttered and she hoped that her drama would not cost her the biggest mistake of her life, because she did not know why they had shifted from Christopher’s business to Ashley’s family.It would have been better if she had an idea about what she was being asked, but Don Grander never saw it fit to give her all the details regarding Ashley, and now she was left stuttering.“I think my wife is having a difficult time because she had a rough night,” Christopher immediately chipped in.“Oh my, is that so?” Mr. Yang asked, instantly getting worried.“Yes, it is,” Lily quickly answered, grateful that Christopher had come to her rescue. “I had a banging headache, which was why I couldn’t join Christopher for yesterday’s dinner,” Lily answered.Christopher cleared his throat uncomfort
The show is yours, Mrs. Bridger, please regale me,” Mr. Yang said, looking at Lily with an expectant smile.“That’s right, honey,” Christopher added tightly. “Please tell Mr. Yang the beautiful story of how we met,” Christopher said. Then he muttered something that only Lily could hear. “Hell save you from my wrath if you don’t do this well.”Lily began to shiver inside again while struggling to maintain a better appearance; one that did not say that she was shaking and in dread.“Um…” Lily started. She had no idea what Christopher had sent to her, because she did not even get access to it, and at the same time, Lily could not keep the gentlemen waiting, especially Mr. Yang. “Our parents were very good friends,” Lily started.From the corner of her eyes, she saw Christopher’s jaw tighten in anger, and she knew right away that she had said something contradictory to his story, but whatever the case, Lily could not stop now, which only meant that Christopher would have to abandon his ow