Adam's POV
"How's the building coming up?" I asked the contractor, staring up at the half completed building for the Stone foundation middle school that was being constructed. I stood in the middle of a large expanse of land, with multiple buildings scattered in a pattern all around.
It was a lifelong will of my mother to do something lasting for charity. And one of them was to give free education to orphaned kids and those who couldn't afford school.
The Stone Foundation, my company, already sponsored over five hundred orphaned kids around the country to several schools around. But it only made sense to have one as well. One that could be referred to. One that served as a center of excellence.
I wanted a school that rivaled even private schools yet offered children who had no parents, children who had lost hope, education.
If my mother h
Adam's POV"And how was the meeting with the humanitarian association?" I said into the Bluetooth device attached to my ear. The driver had swerved into the driveway of my home and somehow I wished I was somewhere else entirely.The huge house before me looked too big and well too empty. Perhaps I should have told him to drive me to the club instead.I stepped out of the car to see his eager face poke out the window as he grinned at me. The man was probably happy that I had come home early and he could go home to whoever it was that waited for him to come home.I, on the other hand, had a huge pile of documents in my study waiting to be read. And that was literally the last thing I wanted to do."It was okay," Lillian said grumpily. Since I had to check on the sites today, she had chaired most of my meetings. Judging f
Eve’s POV“Adam?”I could literally hear my heart pound loud in my ears. Every cell in my body, every part of me waited for him to say something. I clutched that phone tighter, holding my breath, anticipating, waiting, ready to hear his voice. Wanting him to say the words that I wanted to hear.Do you miss me Adam? Do you miss us? Do you want to see me? Do you regret it all? So many questions. So many things to say, to ask. I closed my eyes, raising my hands to grip the blouse I wore tighter, trying to even my breathing.I had woken up that day in fear. The same way I woke everyday, next to Tom, terrified of the man he had become. He was still his usual obnoxious self. Easily irritated. Angry at everyone.Threatening to bash my head against the wall when I made a mistake, like shrinking his tie in the washing machine. I had sat in the lau
Tom’s POVI marched into the warehouse, terrified out of my wits. Barlow had called while I was at the office claiming that there was an emergency and I had to show up. I had raced all the way there with my car, trying not to think of the worst,yet it was all I could think about. Had the police found out? How was that possible? Was that why Barlow had called me?Did he think I was the mole?I stopped in my tracks when I saw a smiling, happy Barlow sitting at the head of a long table, grinning at me as if he was high on dopamine or some shit. That was the same bastard who had called me barely thirty minutes ago, screaming as if the world was coming to an end.“What’s going on?” I mumbled, looking around to see his henchmen had similar grins on their faces.They hung around the dimly lit warehouse, sharing
Adam’s POV“Lillian?” My secretary paused sorting out the files in my shelf and turned to look at me, her brows raised in anticipation. ‘Do you think I made the right decision?” Lillian sighed and turned back to the shelf as if unsure of what to say. Had I made a truly awful decision? I had been all concerned about what I wanted, how badly I wanted it, but I did not want to make a decision that would affect the foundation. “I…I don’t think so,” Lillian mumbled, fishing out the file she had been looking for and walked to my desk. "I am definitely not a fan of Mr Harrison. Especially after that stunt he had pulled when he wanted you to sign that deal so badly with him. That man gave me the creeps.” “So he’s a no then?” “Of course not. You taught me to never make business decisions based on emotions alone. Creepiness aside, Tom Harrison is quite the dogged businessman. He’s good, he rose quickly through the ranks, and he is always ready to expand himself for his business. That’s a
Tom's POVWhat the hell? I reread the document in my hands, frowning as I looked from it to Adam Stone and then back to the damned paper.When I had received the document, everything had seemed just right. A building contract with the Stone foundation? Heck yeah!Although it was quite annoying that he hadn't accepted my casino business idea and I did think that the business had so much promise. But the aim was to be partners with the all pompous and renowned Adam Stone.Until I saw the damned clause.'If the third party is involved in any illegal or illicit activity that could tarnish the reputation of the Stone foundation, the contract becomes null and void and the third party has to compensate for damages done."I looked up at the damned Adam Stone, waiting for an answer, however from the way he simply stared at me, it di
Adam's POVLeonard signed the document, dropped the pen and looked up at me as if to see if I was satisfied. Of course I was. Harrison hadn't backed out of the contract like I had thought he would.The protection clause has been necessary. The businessman Tom Harrison that I knew was good at his work and had the potential to be greater. But the man he was, the plain old regular kind of person that he was, was sickening.A man who beat his wife. A man who laid hands on a woman. A man who treated his valuables like trash and who couldn't set his priorities straight. He had a woman like Eve, someone I would give the world for, and he made her miserable.That kind of man could definitely get into a serious mess. One that he would drag my entire foundation into. And I could not let that happen. When he had almost lost his shit, demanding an explanation, I had been certain tha
Madeline's POVIt felt so good to be out in the mall shopping my head off. Call it a coping mechanism or what not, it was the only thing I could think of when I'd worried my head off about John."Ma'am?"I blinked rapidly, my eyes focusing on the short shop clerk before me. She had some ridiculous pink hair on her head making her look like a barbie doll wannabe. She had a gum rolling between her teeth and it irritated the shit out of me."Excuse me," I told her, trying not to look disgusted as hell. Who on earth did she think she was walking all up in my face, having the nerve to glare down at me as if I were the gum between her teeth?"What would you like?" She asked in a nonchalant tone, roaming her eyes down my knee length Zara dress. She was probably trying to judge if it was truly authentic or a rip off.Bi
Tom's POV"Would you like another glass of wine sir?" The waiter asked, staring at my empty glass and half finished steak.When Adam Stone had hauled his ass out of the restaurant, I had stayed back to treat myself to dinner. Because I sure as hell deserved it, didn't I? I just bagged a contract with the famous Adam Stone. The man of all fame. Of course I deserved to eat something good.Some cool cash would be pouring down into my pockets like a damned avalanche. I could smell it already. Hell, I could taste it too.The money made with Barlow had been used to keep my company's stocks from crashing entirely. It had been crazy, the effects from the New Orleans hotel downfall, the number of people we had to compensate and the number of hands we had to grease so we could keep the hotel building.We had started reconstruction all over ag