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2021-11-09 23:04:17Amanda remained at the front of the elevator for a few seconds, taking in the scene in front of her.
Samuel was what you’d call tall, dark, and handsome. He sure had an appeal to him, and that’s one reason Amanda had fallen for his charms in the first place. But now, looking at him, none of the warmth that filled her chest whenever she saw him when they were dating showed up. Instead, everything inside froze up, and she wanted him gone in an instant.
“How did you get up here?” she demanded, resuming her walk.
“You didn’t change the code.”
Damn, right. She had never thought of that because she had never expected him to show up at her place.
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The CEO's Love 28
“I’ve barely seen you these last three weeks,” Lucas noted, running the tips of his fingers along Amanda’s shoulder.They were in his boat, lying together in his bedroom. It was the first time they’d gotten together since the night Amanda showed up there after her father gave Rebecca control of the company.“We’ve both been busy,” she replied.“I suppose we have. I guess I never expected it would be so hard to get you alone.”“Yeah,” she mumbled.She sounded distracted, as if there was something else in her mind. He also wasn’t entirely buying the being busy excuse. At some point, he could have sworn she was actively avoiding him. After what happened with her father and Rebecca, she had occupied herself with the ongoing project. He totally understood that. But, he was also afraid that sh
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Five Months Later“Damn, Amanda. Are you trying to kill me?”“I’m standing here, enjoying my glass of wine in peace. Don’t you dare accuse me of attempted murder, Mr. Erikson.”Lucas groaned and stepped closer, bringing up his hand to rest on the small of her back. They were standing at the bar, which was mostly deserted as most of the wedding guests joined the dance floor. The occasion was his elder sister’s wedding.“Do you know how many times I’ve had to mentally fight down an erection because I couldn’t stop imagining tearing this dress off you and fúcking you on the nearest surface?”She pressed her wine glass to her bottom lip and gazed up at him. “Now, that’s just naughty, Mr. Erikson.”“Naughtier than you letting me know you ha
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Lucas scrambled to his feet, shielding Amanda with his body. “Mum!”Behind him, Amanda patted her hair, which was thankfully still secured on top of her head, and stood up. “Hello, Mrs. Erikson.” Her face was burning up, but there was nowhere to hide.Susanne closed the door and walked forward, her eyes moving from one to the other. “It really is Amanda.”“Mum,” Lucas called in a warning tone, still trying to hide Amanda from his mother.“Are you two together?” Susanne asked.“That’s none of your business,” Lucas grumbled.Susanne shook her head. “No, but it is. How long has this been going on?”“A while,” Lucas confessed.“A while? Looks like I didn’t have to work so hard trying to match you
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The next day, Sunday, Lucas walked into his family’s home around noon. His mother had called him that morning, claiming there was an urgent issue she and his father needed to discuss with him.He was convinced it had to do with the company. He could not remember the last time both his parents summoned him. If they were planning to gang up on him about taking responsibilities in the conglomerate, they were about to be disappointed.When he walked through the front door, the housekeeper appeared to take his coat. “They’re waiting in Mr. Erikson's study,” she informed him.The study? Definitely business-related.A minute later, he walked into the room. His mother was pacing in front of a bookshelf, while his father sat behind his desk.Lucas closed the door and approached the desk. “I’m here. What is it?”S
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Two weeks later, Lucas was on a flight to New York with Amanda. It was mid December, and they were headed to the fall/winter fashion show. He had received an invitation to attend the fashion week several weeks before, and he had decided to take her along.As far as everyone was concerned, they were travelling for work-related purposes as the CEO and creative art director of Lemaiyan Fits.But Lucas had other intentions. He had been dying to get Amanda away from their daily routine, spend time somewhere they didn’t have to worry about someone discovering the true extent of their personal relationship.And, for the last two weeks, he had been grappling with the truth he now knew about her family. Should he tell her? His mother had appeared at his boat two nights after the meeting with his parents, warning him against sharing what he knew with anyone. Especially Amanda. She claimed that Charles had a pla
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“Daniel would be so disappointed in you, Tyra. Your father was a man who knew how to get things done. The only problem was that he was too loyal to the wrong people. Maybe you inherited his weakness!”“I’m not sparing her, mother! It’s just… she has nothing right now!” Tyra exclaimed. “Rebecca has been calling all the shots at the company for the better part of this year.”“That wouldn’t be a problem if you worked on Lucas Erikson like we agreed, would it?” her mother snapped.“But I told you what happened, Mum!”“Right, you did. She got to him before you. Can you ever do anything right for once?”Tyra balled her hands into fists and glared out of the window. It was her father’s death anniversary, and her mother was more agitated than ever about her failure to make
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“I cannot believe this year is almost over. It’s been hell,” Amanda muttered as she walked into Lucas’s boat.It was the day before Christmas Eve, the first of a five-day break at the company.Lucas stepped in after her and closed the door. He said nothing as he placed the groceries he had picked on the way on the sink. He proceeded to unpack them into the refrigerator.“So, are you really going to spend Christmas alone?” she asked, taking a seat and placing her bag beside her.“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”“How can I not? It’s kind of depressing. This is your first Christmas at home in five years and you’re not spending it with your family. What exactly did you fight about?”When he had told her he would spend the next couple of days cruising on his boat, she had thou
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When Amanda showed up to her father’s office the next morning with news of the blackmail, she didn’t for a second think that he would refuse to give her ten million dollars to ensure her reputation wasn’t stained forever. She was prepared for a long lecture. Scolding. She had imagined he would be truly livid that she was in the middle of another scandal, with another CEO of her company. She was ready to take whatever judgement and anger he passed. But she never thought he would think ten million dollars were too much a price to pay to protect his daughter’s image. Even when she pointed out that the amount was only a tenth of her mother’s inheritance, which she had entrusted to him, he didn’t budge. He insisted ten million dollars was too much, that the business would suffer if he suddenly forked out that much money. When he commented
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One Month Later “A Crumbling Empire? What Next for Lemaiyan Group After Amanda's Exit and Erika Lemaiyan’s Entry? Also Read: Never Seen Before Couple Photos of Amanda Lemaiyan and Lucas Erikson” Amanda pushed the notification away and made a mental note to unsubscribe from that and all the other news outlets that tended to push celebrity gossip to her inbox. She wasn’t interesting in keeping up with what the internet thought about her. She was even less interested in keeping up with gossip about the Lemaiyans. “We are here,” the driver said, bringing the car to a stop. Amanda’s gaze shifted to the outside. They had arrived at the docks. She put her phone into her bag and got out when the driver opened the door for her. Closing the door, he went to the back to retrieve her suitcase. “I’ll help you bring it to the boat,” he said, leading the way down the dock. “Thank you, David,” she told him, going after him. She saw Lucas the moment his boat came into sight. He stepped off the
The CEO's Love 43
“This is none of your fault, Amanda. He used you, just as he planned to use my daughter. So don’t apologise to me. Also, you heard from your mother. Adeline helped her after the accident, even when she herself was in a bad condition. She chose to save you. That was just like her, always prioritising others. And you know what’s amazing? Even if you’re not her blood, you grew up to be just like her. You were passionate about honouring her memory, and you lived every day for both her and you. You were the best thing that happened to me after she was gone. So you’ll always be my granddaughter. You’re my family, do you understand?”A tear rolled down Amanda’s face as she recalled Helena’s words after they had told her everything. She wiped her face and took a deep breath.She was standing outside the mansion, in the backyard. It was late, around eleven o’clock. The day had been a rollercoaster. Finally, everything was done. Helena had promised to make Charles pay for all the pain he had ca
The CEO's Love 42
Amanda was planning to make the drive to her parent’s place alone. She could no longer use Tom. He was on the company’s payroll, and she was no longer a part of that. After he had dropped her at the headquarters, she had instructed him to park the car in the parking basement so she could have an easier time leaving when she was done. If any reporters had already made it outside, the most they would get was sight of her speeding away. When she left Charles’s office, she took the elevator down to the parking basement. When she got there, instead of Tom waiting beside her car to hand over the keys, it was Lucas. Why was he there? She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. She needed to go looking for her parents before settling things with him. “We can’t talk right now,” she told him when she got closer. Looking around, she asked, “Have you seen Tom around?”Lucas flashed a car key. “I’ll drive you.”Amanda shook her head instantly. “I’m going alone.”He shook his head. “You just drove four
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When Amanda had opened the door to her cabin and found Lucas on the other side, her first instinct had been to throw herself into his arms. Ever since he told her the truth about her father, she had constantly craved one thing. His comfort. She felt… No, she knew that if he held her, everything would seem better. Just like back then when they first met. He had been there for her every time things went awry since that time, and never had he given her a reason to doubt his intentions towards her. But it was so hard, so hard to let go and give in to her need for him. Not when her mind kept reminding her of every time she trusted someone only to get betrayed at the end. First, it was Keith. Then Samuel. Tyra. And now, the last person she would have ever expected to betray her. Not to mention that her birth parents gave her away for money. It was as if every person she allowed to got close to would eventually hurt her. As if nobody ever cared enough to want to keep her around.Why should
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“I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t disclose the personal details of our guests.” Lucas cursed softly and turned away, grabbing his hair in one hand. He should have known this would happen. But he wasn’t going to let his trip down here go to waste. “Are there any available cabins? I’d like to book one.” If she wasn’t going to tell him whether Amanda was at the resort, he would get in and look for her himself. The receptionist adopted an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, sir. All cabins are fully booked at the moment.” Why was his luck suddenly so rotten? “But, if you’d like, you can get a day ticket. If not, I can check when a cabin will be avail—” “The day ticket,” he interrupted her. “I’ll take a day ticket, please.” “Got it,” she said, turning to her computer monitor. “Would you like to rent any gear?” “No, I’m good.” Thank heaven
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When Lucas showed up at Amanda’s building the next morning, she didn’t buzz him up. He was already worried because his calls hadn’t gone through when he called her after he woke up. Apprehensive, he punched in her code, which he was familiar with, but he quickly realised she had changed it. It was after a couple more unsuccessful calls that he thought to check her car in the parking basement. After a couple minutes of checking and double checking, he realised it wasn’t there. Which meant she wasn’t at the apartment. Where could she have gone? The office? To see her father? A quick call to the office revealed she hadn’t showed up there. He drove straight to the headquarters, meaning to go check whether she was at her father’s office. But when he got there, Charles’s secretary informed him that Charles was in a meeting, and no, Amanda hadn’t showed up there either. He called up people he never thought he
The CEO's Love 38
“What’s wrong?” Amanda asked, noticing how agitated Lucas seemed. She had just told him about her grandmother’s offer, and how she had met Bolton Group’s lawyer that morning. He had given her some documents to review, and informed her that Helena wanted everything done by New Year’s. After New Year’s Day, she was supposed to have her inaugural meeting with the company’s board of directors. She had thought Lucas would be happy to hear the news. Instead, he looked worried. He stood up from the couch and paced, shoving a hand through his dark hair. Finally, he looked at her, his gaze earnest. “Don’t accept the company.” Amanda frowned. “What?” “It’ll put your life in danger.” Amanda’s frown deepened. “What are you talking about?” Lucas sat back down and took her hand in his. “If something happened to you right now, who would get what you have?”
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When Lucas got to Tyra’s apartment building, he recognized Amanda’s car in the basement parking lot right away.As he got closer with his car, he saw that she was in the driver’s seat. Parking his car next to hers, he alighted and walked over to hers.Through the window, he could see that she was crying, sniffling into a tissue. He gunned straight for the passenger side and tried to open the door. It gave way and he slid into the seat, eyes on her distressed face.“Amanda, what’s wrong?” he asked, cradling one side of her face with his hand and turning her to face him. His other hand lifted to wipe away wetness beneath her left eye.She dropped her eyes and shook her head, crumpling the tissue in her hand and dumping it in a mini trash bin placed in the cup holder.“You said you got the video, right?” he asked.
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On the evening of the day after Christmas, Amanda’s doorbell rang. When she went over to check the monitor, she was surprised to find Keith standing outside the building, awaiting her clearance. Sighing, she pressed the intercom button. “What do you want?” “Let me up, Amanda. I have something important for you.” She rubbed her fingers on her temple. “Look, Keith. This is a bad time.” No time would have been a good time for him to show up at her apartment, but she had no energy to get into that. The day was drawing to a close, and she had just negotiated with the blackmailer to accept just half of what they were asking, then give her another day to put it together. Their parting shot had been—‘If I don’t get the money by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll release the video.’ “Trust me, there couldn’t be a better time,” Keith said. Then he lifted his hand. He
