Brian quickly moved to my side."Sweetie, Kade is fine. He is insisting that I call you and see if he could spend the night."1"Oh. Okay. Yeah, Mrs. Smith. That is fine."Kade had stayed over at her apartment plenty of times."Okay sweetie. See you tomorrow."I hung up the phone and placed it back in my pocket."Is he okay? Where's Kade?" Brian said looking frazzled."He's fine. He just wanted to stay the night with Mrs. Smith.""Thank God. How about we go out tonight? Just you and me. We could see a movie or get some food.""Brian, you have a huge tv down stairs. Couldn't we just watch a movie there?""If that's what you want then yes.""I think I'm going to
Last night I agreed to go to a business dinner with Brian tomorrow. He scheduled me a fitting at one of the nicest dress boutiques in the area. After four dreadful hours I found one that I actually liked. The dress would be sent to Brian's house tomorrow. I picked Kade up from Mrs. Smith's and he was currently in the game room playing any game he could get his hands on. He was very excited to stay with Mrs. Smith next week. I'm not going to lie. I am going to miss him terribly. We have never been away for this long. I know he is in good hands and that eases my anxiety a little.Tomorrow will be interesting.-------"Lena," I was awoke by the tiny hands of my brother."Yes Kade," I said sleepily"Mrs. Smith."I stand up and get ready to take him to his favorite place. Once he is dropped off I have two hours to get ready before Brian w
I woke up alone. I stood up and looked in the mirror. My eyes were red and swollen from crying. Kade was still at Mrs. Smith's. I knew I had to go get him, even if he had to see me like this. I walked into the kitchen and seen a note on the counter."LenaI went to get Kade from Mrs. Smith's apartment. After the night I put you through you deserve to rest. I'm going to take Kade out for breakfast and then the three of us can spend the day together. Be ready when we get there.Brian"I guess I need to get ready.------Once I get ready I go into the living room and sit on the couch."Lena!" I heard coming from my little brother."Hey buddy! I missed you," I said taking Kade into my arms.Kade hugged me tight and quickly pulled away."I have
My eyes slowly fluttered open. I feel someone's arms wrapped around my torso and I slowly begin remembering last nights events. I looked up and seen Brian's sleeping face. His eyes softly opened."Morning beautiful," he said smiling at me."Morning.""That's the best sleep I have ever had," he said pulling me tightly into his arms."Me too," I chuckled.Brian pecked my forehead and stood up."Today is the day you meet my parents. Are you excited?""No," I said flinging the covers over my head, "tell them I'm dead."9"Lena, it won't be that bad."I got up from the bed."Yes it will. They will see right through this. They will probably think I'm some sort of gold
I stayed in the bedroom all day. Brian begged me to open the door for about an hour. After that he finally discovered that I wanted space. I received countless message from, who I assumed was, Carly. The first one was getting together to plan the wedding. The next asking if I was okay because I wasn't at dinner. The next saying she was on her way upstairs to talk. Then another saying Brian wasn't with her.Tonight Brian and I were supposed to have dinner with Carly. Brian must have went without me. Not that it bothered me. I'm glad he went. We both have things we need to figure out.I rolled off the bed once I heard a knock on the door. I let Carly in and she handed me a bag."Here. You have to be starving so I brought you some food. Brian said it was your favorite."I smiled softly, thanked her, and walked over to the table to eat.The first few minutes we
Epilogue10 years later3"Hey Lena! Is the cake ready?" My no so little brother asked me."Yeah. I will be there in a few minutes."Kade turns 15 in four months. Time just flies by. He is a freshman in high school and a very gifted and talented football player. I still remember how excited he was to make the varsity team as a freshman.Brian and I didn't want to rush into our wedding. We decided to wait two years until we finally tied the knot. Eight years later we are just as happy and in love as we were all those years ago."Mommy," I heard bring me from my thoughts, "I want daddy.""Okay. Go ahead sweetheart."Six years ago we introduced our own little bundle of joy. Sadie is one of the sweetest little girls out there today. She is a spitting image of
NEW BOOK( THE CEO AND ME )2Irene8The cabinet door creaked open, I reached for a bowl before closing it with a click. I broke the two eggs on the surface of the counter.Crack.Crack. I whisked the eggs, a rhythmic clink of the fork as it hit the glass bowl filled the kitchen.The tea kettle whistled. The eggs mixture sizzled in the pan, followed by salt and pepper.I leaned on the counter looking through the window, the autumn wind blew outside with whooshing sounds.Or at least that was what it would have sounded like to anyone else. Not me.I was deaf.Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my teenage little b
My eyes widened as I quickly pulled my arm from the lady grip, and pulled the cart out of their way, feeling my face heat up in embarassement.The lady waited outside as the men walked in. Before the doors closed, my dark eyes met penetrating bright blue orbs. Then they were gone.The woman turned to me, and if looks could kill I would have been six feet under. She glared at me in so much anger someone would have thought that I had just told her her red suit did not match her red hair. It really didn't."What were you thinking?! Do you have any idea who that was?! you c...."I couldn't read her lips after that because she shook her head and spoke way too fast. But by the way she was moving her hand wildly, I could have guessed she wasn't pleased.I guess I screwed up, I thought fishing my note book from my pocket.
Fine, fine!" he rubbed his face, "whatever you want, just... don't do it." "Don't get involved in my life, and I will not get involved in yours." **** **** After Matt was dealt with, I felt much lighter. The next day was a Saturday. I woke up first, like usual. On most days, Irene slept in. She had admitted to me that for years, she could rarely afford to sleep in the mornings with the kind of work that she did. Now that she could work on her own time, she took full advantage of it. Thoughsleeping inwas a relative term. She would never stay in bed past eight thirty. I would make breakfast, and we'd have it together before joining our family in the tennis club. 2
I see." I stepped closer until I could whisper in his ear, "I don't give a fuck about your excuses, Matt. We both know what's really happening here. But I'm not dealing with you tonight."I pushed past him towards Irene. I would deal with Matt properly, and by the time I was done with him, he would come begging for mercy.1Irene smiled and rose when I reached her. The interpreter looked more than relieved to be spared signing the two women's words. What kind of crap had they been spouting?The two women looked at me with wide eyes. They scrambled to their feet."Oh, Leo! I didn't know you were coming?" one of them said, her name was Elizabeth or Isabella or something like that.I gave her a look and wrapped Irene in a short hug. She might look calm and unaffected, but I knew her enough to read the anger in her face and body. She wa
Leo"So, what do you think?" Lydia asked me as soon as I picked up my phone."About what?" I replied, motioning for Brandon to take the documents I just signed. He nodded and left the office, closing the door behind him. I turned my chair to look through the ground to ceiling glass behind my desk. The city below was busy.4"Ugh! I sent you a video of the venue five minutes ago!" Lydia said.I closed my eyes. "Lydia. You know neither Irene nor I care about the venue. We just want to get married.""You are going to be the death of me! I can't wait for Irene to come back!" she screamed and hung up.I sighed and checked the message she'd sent me. It was a video of yet another wedding venue. This one was outdoors, in what looked like a lush garden. Irene would like it.Except that, unlike
Nathaniel held on for about a year, respecting Irene's mother's wishes to leave them alone. But then he started looking for them again. It was about the time his company faced difficulties. So Eve made him the offer to pull his company off the ground if he would drop all efforts of looking for his daughter. Nathaniel did. And that was why I would never get along with him. He had chosen his company over his child. I didn't care about his excuses. Nothing in the world would keep me from my child. 3 The man hadn't even had the guts to tell Irene the whole truth back when she asked why he didn't look for her. Nathaniel was a selfish bastard. 1 Sure, he was now present in Irene's life, trying to be a father to a daughter who'd been through more than he could imagine. I didn't care
LeoWe were having dinner in mom's house. Everyone was in attendance. The Allens, Julianna, her husband Ethan, and the twins, Nathaniel and Vincent.The living room was buzzing with activity. Irene was sitting with the twins on a couch, engrossed in what seemed like a senseless conversation with the two toddlers. She was so good with them, it was no wonder Julianna worshipped the ground Irene walked on. Well, pretty much everyone did, really, not just Julianna.1Jayden, Grayson and I were standing by the french doors of the living room leading out to the garden. The weather was nice enough to keep them open."So, I heard Megan stopped by the exhibit," Jayden said. I made a face. Irene must have t
IreneIt was only minutes later that Nathaniel Braxton called Leo.'It's Nathaniel,' Leo signed, after checking his phone. I fisted my necklace. 'He'll probably want to see you.'I didn't know whether I wanted to see him now or not. But I had decided I would get my life together, and the first step in doing that would be to face my past.I took a deep breath and nodded, "yes, I'll meet him."Leo hesitated for a moment. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he held back and took the call. I looked away, not wanting to read his lips. I really didn't want to meet Nathaniel right now. There were so many questions that onlyhecould answer, and asking those questions meant digging de
I had lunch with Julianna, then headed to the library. The coffee shop was only a ten minute walk from the center, so I walked there. It gave me time to think. What did I want to do with my life?The answer came immediately. I loved painting. If I could paint for the rest of my life, I would be the happiest person alive. But I also knew that it wasn't easy to make your name known enough in the art industry in order to make a living out of it. I did want to try, however.Which meant that I had to find a job to support myself, while at the same time working on getting my paintings out there.A job? Most well paying jobs require a college degree. With Julianna's payment for the mural and what Sophia paid me for the painting she commissioned, my bank account was no longer suffering.3When I reached the library, I went online, did some research, then some calc
She grinned and propped her chin on her hand, "you're not going to tell me it's too dangerous."I rolled my eyes with a smile, 'now you're just being mean.'She laughed. The waiter arrived with menus and left. Irene wrinkled her nose at her menu."I have no idea what half these dishes are," she said. There was humor in her eyes. I relaxed.'What are you in the mood for?' I signed.She pondered over it for a moment, "I'm craving seafood."I scanned the menu, then signed, 'trust me?'She pretended to think about it with a deep sigh, "Maybe. But youarea good cook, so I'll just have to take my chances.""Alright, smarty pants," I said with a smile. Her sense of humor had gotten more... unrestricted recently. But only with me, and I loved it.Food arrived.
Leo's eyes landed on Mrs. Braxton, he stopped beside me. I was now surrounded by three giant, over protective and angry men. I felt sorry for the hotel staff.8Two guards took a few steps back and stood behind the young employee. The poor guy spoke with a bobbing throat to Jayden, while Mrs. Braxton stood her ground. Her stubborn chin raised, but her features had gone from contemptuous to cordial when Leo and Jayden joined us.The only time I had seen Leo this mad was at Lydia's birthday party, when he punched that man, Matt. And just when I thought things had gotten blown way out of proportions, life proved me wrong. Nathaniel Braxton and his son, Vincent, walked up to us with matching frowns.Of course! Join the party! This is the most dramatic bathroom trip ever...I should've just held it in!47I fumbled with the lotus at my n