Saturday arrived before Zoe knew it. She had not gone in full contact with Henry for the rest of the week as he was too preoccupied with work. She hated to say she kind of missed seeing him. Sparrow had done a good job keeping her company. He was a cool kid, except for the fact that he blackmailed his way into Magatech. They spent most of their lunch at work together, encrypting and coding side by side. He was exceptional at his work, and Zoe liked him for that. Leo’s expulsion from his school would be decided the next week and Zoe knew she had to get Henry on their side. It was their only hope out. With the kind of influence and power he had in Leo’s high school, there was no way Leo would get expelled if Henry pulled a few strings. Zoe was standing in front of her mirror with the dress Henry got her glued to her body. It looked like it was made just for her. Zoe’s hair flowed to her shoulders and glistened with all that hair spray. Her face was adorned with light make up. Heavy
The coldness in Henry’s voice made a chill run down her spine. The security released her arms from their tight grips and moved back in fear. "M...Mr. Arthur," the waitress stuttered. "Welcome. We did not know you had a guest." "I mentioned it immediately I got here. Where is your head?!" Henry’s temper heightened. "You, and you," he pointed to the two security men. "You are fired!" The waitress began panicking. "It is all my fault, sir..." "Do you want to leave with them too? Be my guest. Pack your stuff and leave!" Her mouth fell open as Zoe followed Henry out of there. They headed towards a VIP room that resembled a mini restaurant. The room contained just them in it, giving them the luxury of their own privacy. "Why do you fire people that easily?" Zoe questioned. "Do you know how hard it is to get a job?" "If they had done theirs right, I would not have fired them." "Oh, please. You would fire a person if the sky was not blue enough." Zoe looked around the place. "It is co
Henry had always believed kisses were boring. They were just a means to get to the good part, the part where both people involved in the act where they would fuck like rabbits in heat. But now, as Zoe’s soft lips were set on his, it felt better than any sex he had ever had. Her lips tasted rich, dipped with mint. She tasted like everything that could describe sin. And she was passionate about it. Grabbing the back of her head, he pushed his tongue into her. He sucked on her tongue as she pushed her breasts into his chest while his other arm wrapped itself around her waist. The chiseled feeling of his muscular arms sent a shiver down her spine. Her shirt was getting bundled up as the passion grew. There was not enough oxygen in their lungs. But they did not care. They were far too gone to give a shit. They were too drunk. Too happy. Too lost in the euphoric feeling. Passion burned, their breaths mingled and lust flared as they both tumbled down to the bed. Warmth and darkness engul
The space next to her was empty when Zoe peeled her eyes open the next morning. She yawned and stretched, sinking deeper into the cozy sheets in bliss. Then memories of last night crashed down on her. She jolted up from the bed, holding the sheets up to her body when she realized that she was butt naked. She had slept with Henry right there on the bed and she remembered...liking it? Zoe blamed her actions on the alcohol, swearing she would not have kissed him if she had been sober. She looked around the room, seeing her dress arranged in a neat pile on a couch. She eased off the bed and headed towards the bathroom, washing away the stench of sweat and alcohol from her body. When she was done, Zoe dressed up quickly and picked up her purse that had her phone in it. A knock came from the hotel’s door and she froze. Henry was about to catch her escaping. She did not know if she could face him after their shared moments of intimacy the previous night. It was still fresh in her head,
Henry seemed to be in a lot of work meeting as the weeks passed. Zoe barely saw him at the company anymore. Either that or he was avoiding her. No matter how she thought about it, there was no plausible reason as to why he would avoid her. Was he backing out on the contract now that he got what he wanted? Zoe did not know why she felt bad about that. She would run into Daniel in the hallways most times but did not have the guts to ask him where the hell Henry was. She did not want him to think she cared. Zoe was doodling on a piece of paper absentmindedly one work afternoon when Sparrow walked up to her. "You look like you just got broken up with," Sparrow said. "What is with the long face?""Nothing. I am just tired." Zoe tried to force out a smile but failed. "What are you doing after work? I know this amazing place where we could have dinner." "Just the two of us?" Sparrow nodded with a smile. "Just the two of us." "I’m in." Zoe continued with her doodling. "Hey, can I ask
"Don't you dare threaten me," Zoe said back to him. "You are at fault as much as I am.""What the hell do you mean?"Zoe could not tell if he was acting like he did not know or he was just plain stupid. "Who is the woman with you?" "That is a business partner." "You are lying. I am not stupid." "Apparently, you are." Henry’s phone rang in his breast pockets and he picked it up. The lady he came with informed him she was about to leave and he offered to see her off. "You wait for me right here," he instructed Zoe. "We have a lot of things to discuss." She watched him storm off, not knowing whether to actually stay or ignore him and leave. Henry met with the lady at his table and flashed her a smile. "I hope I did not make you wait too long?" "Not at all. Shall we?" He escorted her outside, shooting Sparrow a glare as he passed by their table. Sparrow was still oblivious that Henry was in that same restaurant. Was that why Sparrow wanted a job at the company? To get closer to Zo
"Let us get you some medicines. You do not look too good." Emily tried to shove Zoe out of her bed but she did not budge. "It is just a fever. I will be better when I wake up," Zoe replied. "You said that yesterday. And the day after that. You might just drop dead at this point." Zoe hated medicines more than anything else in the world, that was why she always avoided getting sick. Her sickness started the night she saw Henry at that restaurant. It felt weird that she got sick immediately after seeing him. Looked like she was allergic to his bullshit. "Fine. I will take the medicines," Zoe finally agreed. "I need to feel better for work tomorrow anyway." "Now that is the spirit!" Emily cheered. "Get your ass up. I will drive you to the pharmacy."Emily succeeded in dragging Zoe out of the bed this time. She grabbed her car keys and started the car, zooming out of their neighborhood in a hurry to get to the hospital. "Slow down," Zoe complained. "I am getting nauseous again." "W
Henry popped open a champagne bottle, pouring the liquid into two transparent glass cups. He handed one to Daniel as he took it carefully. "What is my schedule for tomorrow?" Henry asked. "You are free the whole day. Except for the meeting with the Thompsons." "Cancel it." "We already canceled it the last time," Daniel said. "They would be furious if we canceled it again." Henry pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated. He just wanted a day to himself. That was not so much to ask for. Ever since that encounter with Zoe at the restaurant, Henry had been feeling restless. She did not look good yesterday when he saw her at the office. She seemed a bit pale and bloated. He had been showering her bank account with money to get a reaction out of her, but all he got was a cold shoulder. What else did she want? All the mistresses he had in the past would have come running back to him after that. But Zoe was just a different breed on her own. He did not see what he did wrong, so he c
He was not sure who deepened the kiss first. It might have been Zoe- or at least a part of him wanted it to be her- but since it was all he had been thinking about since he saw her when she walked downstairs, it seemed more likely it was him. It stopped being important who deepened it first when their mouths collided fully in a clash of wet, warm tongues. Zoe’s arms went up and around his neck, clinging to him. Henry slid his hands down her body to her backside, scooping her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her mouth further into his, exploring, tasting. The soft moans she released from her throat made his body tremble slightly. His knees weakened as his erection lengthened. Zoe kissed her way down his face, around his mouth to his neck, his throat, inhaling deeply when she got there. She felt perfect in his arms. He dropped her mouth to her shoulder and bit her there softly which caused her to moan louder. Bringing his mouth back to hers, he move
Zoe went to Mario’s house the next day with rage. She had made herself clear about leaving Henry to her. Why he kept meddling, she could not tell. She went into his room without knocking, and saw a half naked girl on his bed. The sheets was the only thing covering her nude body. "Welcome," the girl looked at Zoe from toe to head. "Mario did not say anything about a third person joining us." "Where is he?" "He stepped out for a bit." Zoe groaned in frustration. He was having fun with girls while also making things hard for her. The door to Mario’s room opened and he walked in wearing a black robe. He took one last puff of his cigar and put out the flame on a steel plate, furrowing his eyebrows at Zoe."What are you doing here? I did not ask you to come over." "I needed to discuss with you," she glanced at his visitor on the bed. "In private." "Excuse us," Mario told the girl as she got up from the bed, shrugged on a dress and walked out. "You can speak now.""I thought we agreed
Zoe stared up to the face of the voice in shock. Henry’s eyes searched her face worriedly. "What is wrong?" he asked. "You look like you have just seen a ghost." "I needed to step outside for a moment," she replied, checking to see if Mario was anywhere in sight. Zoe could no longer find him in the swarm of people. "You should have told me. Let us go somewhere else if you do not feel comfortable here." Zoe shook her head. "You still have guests to meet. I do not want to keep you away from them.""You are more important to me. Let us go." She felt bad making him leave early because of her. Zoe followed him outside, letting Henry open the front door for her. "Since when are you this nice?" "I am a changed man." Zoe snorted at his claims. "That is hard to believe." Henry was trying everything he could to gain her trust but she was being too hard headed. He should have known winning her over would take more effort and work. Coercing her into a contract marriage was obviously not e
Henry cleared out his work schedule to spend the day with Zoe. The last time they went out together on a date, he ended up messing everything up. This was his second chance to earn her trust again. Maybe if she trusted him, she would not have to be sneaking around in the house and be open to him. If she was hiding something from him then there must be a reason. She had never been one to be too secretive. Zoe would come to him herself whenever she was ready, but for now, he had to focus on winning her back. Zoe changed out of her clothes into something perfect for a date. She wore a dress with heels and a sling bag. Henry suggested a date together out of nowhere. Was he really changing for the better? Why did he have to be nice to her now of all times? If Mario had asked her a year ago to crash the servers, she would have done so with glee and without hesitation. But not now that he is actually putting in effort to make sure she was happy. Zoe joined Henry outside who waited for he
What Mario asked her to do was impossible. Crash Henry’s company of all things? He had already admitted to his wrongdoings and even apologized, doing what Mario suggests would be beyond heartless of her. "I can't..." Zoe tried to muster up courage. "I can't do that. I settled things with him. There is no need for that." "I am not asking you to do it for yourself," Mario said. "I am asking you to do it for me." Zoe could not understand why he was being this way. It was not like he held a grudge towards Henry or anything. She used to hold a grudge and she was finally letting it go. Mario’s demands were questionable. "What do you want me to do?" she asked. "Since you can't hack into their system, I want you to crash the system servers. If his branch here becomes useless, then he can go back to America where he came from." Mario did not know yet that if Henry leaves for America, she is going along with him and that meant she would not be able to work for Mario anymore. "Why can't y
It was a bad sign that Henry was getting suspicious about her. If only Maria had not been too forward and ran her mouth like that. The cons of having an overactive five year old. Henry had even went ahead to do a background search on Mario without her knowledge. Him digging a bit deeper might ruin everything. She had to be extra careful now and quit being so distant from Henry. Her actions was what was making him grow suspicious. He surprised her earlier by stating he was trying to make things right between them. It sounded like this was not about Maria anymore. It was about both of them resolving their past issues. He even got flowers for her with Maria. Zoe came out of the shower that night and noticed Henry was not in the room. They had not spoken a word to each other after she walked out on him in the kitchen. Was she being too harsh? Even Emily advised her to give him another chance. Henry and Zoe were going to spend the rest of their lives together, it was only reasonable t
There was nothing else that could quench Henry’s curiosity other than what he was about to do. Zoe kept giving him reasons to suspect her, and his gut never failed him. There was something about her so called boss she was desperately trying to hide. Henry could tell from her reaction yesterday when he mentioned him. It was either they had an affair, or some other activity Henry was yet to fathom. He called Daniel into his office and Daniel showed up immediately. "There is something you have to do for me," Henry said. "I am all ears." "Zoe has a boss. His identity is unusually unknown. I want you to find out who he is and what he does." "Are you sure about that?" Daniel asked. "If Zoe finds out you are digging into her work life, she is going to be pretty pissed." "Let us worry about Zoe later. Do what you are asked to do." Daniel knew contradicting Henry’s opinions would only cause an issue, so he nodded and left the office. Doing long distance was harder than he thought, and
Zoe moved into Henry’s apartment by the end of the week. He was out with Maria when she stopped by the house. Daniel happened not to be home too. She had been instructed to pick up the house key from inside the flower pot just beside the front door. Zoe dragged her luggage inside the empty house, taking a look around. His taste in house decor had not changed over the years. Everything still looked expensive and shiny. She was conflicted on whether she should share a room with Henry or take a separate one. This was just a marriage contract because of Maria, she thought. Zoe did not feel obligated to share a room with him. Making up her mind, she chose a room and settled in it. Maria and Henry were out having father and daughter time, and Zoe could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy no matter how hard she tried to push it away. They were getting closer day by day and she did not want Maria drifting away from her. But then again, they both still had to make up for the five years
"He said what?!" Emily exclaimed on the other end of the phone call. Zoe had just told her of Henry’s proposal, and her reaction was understandable. "It sounds crazy, right?" "Crazier than when he asked you to be his mistress? Yes," Emily said. "This is marriage, Zoe. You are going to spend the rest of your life with him. Are you sure you want to do that?" "Do I really have a choice? I want to do it for Maria." Emily sighed deeply. "I understand. But it is all just so surprising. You have been running away from him, and now you are going to marry him. The universe must really want you two together.""This has nothing to do with the universe. That bastard would not just leave me alone." "Did Maria and Henry get along?"Zoe scoffed. They did more than getting along. "I would say she even loves him more than she loves me at this point." "You know that is not true." "Emily, please. I know what I saw." Zoe was not jealous Maria seemed to like Henry a lot, she just did not think Mar