“Daisy, she’s not worth it,” Victor said as he took my hand.But I shook him off and walked over to Karen. “William and I are friends. If you can’t get a boyfriend, don’t blame me. You are spoiled and unpleasant to be around.”“How …how dare you speak to me that way?” Karen sputtered. “You’re nothing. You were raised by Betas, and no self-respecting Alpha wants anything to do with you.”“Yes, I was raised by Betas,” I said. “And I have always avoided spoiled Alphas like you who think of nobody but themselves.”“And the fact that William doesn’t want to date you has nothing to do with me,” I continued. “William told Victor and I that he doesn’t like you. Everyone can see why.”Karen inhaled sharply and glared at me.I got in her face. “And you don’t know William at all if you think he would pursue another man’s fiancée. He has too much honor to do that. But then, honor isn’t something you would understand.”Gisele, her assistants, and the other customers in the store all listened with
“It feels strange leaving school before lunch,” I told Victor as we drove to the office.“We can have something to eat at your desk,” Victor said. “Tell your assistant when we get there what you want.”Principal Jones had temporarily shortened my school day even more, as long as it didn't affect my grades.I would miss having lunch with Amy and William, but he was still permitted to leave school early some days to help me study business matters at the office.Victor and I put in orders for sub sandwiches before my lesson began. I love learning something new, and this topic was fascinating.Today, Victor was beginning to teach me all about the stock market.“Let’s start with what stock shares are,” Victor said. “They are fractional pieces of a company that are sold to investors. The company puts that money to work to grow and improve the business.”“Like Wilson, Inc. has stockholders,” I said.“Correct,” Victor said.I wanted to understand as much as I could. I would rather have first-
“I thought we’d have dinner at Gilded,” Lana said. “I called ahead and made a reservation for a quiet booth.”“That sounds great,” I said. “I love their steak tartare.” I wanted to bring up the scene Lana had witnessed at my office. But explaining it away would involve more lying.Fate had intervened once again when she walked in on us and stopped something from happening between me and Victor that I would have regretted.My first kiss should be with someone I was in love with and who loved me. As incredibly hot and tempting as Victor is, he doesn’t even believe in love.Plus, I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. I liked having him in my life and didn’t want to make things weird between us.Lana drove as fast and expertly as her son. We were soon pulling in front of the restaurant, and Lana hesitantly handed over her car keys to the valet.“I hope they don’t scratch my baby,” she mumbled.I smiled at her words, but I would feel the same way if I owned a car as extraordinary as hers.
My excitement grew from the moment I opened my eyes the following morning. I climbed from my bed and went outside onto my balcony to stretch and breathe in deep gulps of the fresh morning air.The sun's warmth shone on my face, and I spun in a circle as I chuckled to myself. It was going to be a wonderful day!After showering, I put on a wraparound dress that fell to just above my knees. With the dress, I wore simple gold jewelry and low-heeled sandals.Jennifer said I look perfect. The outfit was dressy but functional.Alex was in the family dining room having breakfast and coffee when I wandered into the room.“Have a wonderful day, sweetheart,” he said. “I wish I could go with you, but I’m not sure if I’m up to it yet.”I kissed his cheek and sat down to have some toast and scrambled eggs with him. Victor was picking me up before noon, and there wouldn’t be much time for lunch.But I was too excited to eat much and ended up waiting for him by pacing the foyer. I ran outside when I
“You and your daughter must leave right now,” I demanded.“Why?” John said with a sneer. “Don’t you want everyone to hear the truth?”Victor squeezed my hand, and I felt his strength flowing through me. It gave me the extra courage I needed at that moment.“The …the truth is, Mr. Cameron, is that you and your daughter are here only to make trouble,” I said.Despite my anger, I was trying to choose my words carefully. The Camerons were devious enough to spin my words to their advantage.But it was hard to think while arguing in front of all these people. If I started to stutter, my words would become meaningless. Nobody would take stammering seriously.I needed to give in to my anger just enough to let my words flow freely yet remain in control of myself.But Karen seemed intent on making me lose it on her.“How is enlightening these people about your scam causing trouble?” Karen yelled. “The only trouble that’s been caused is by you trying to pull the wool over these good people’s eye
After the triumph at the auction, my entire Sunday was spent studying. I finally put down a book on the use of AI in risk assessment around midnight when I couldn’t hold my eyes open any longer.Still dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, I collapsed onto my bed and slept until it was time to get ready for school Monday morning.When I arrived at school, I spotted Amy sitting on a bench near the tree where we always met. I could tell she was crying as soon as I got out of the car.But when she heard me approaching, she dried her eyes and tried to act normal.I sat down next to her. “What’s going on, Amy?”She shrugged. “I miss Justin. He wasn’t supposed to be gone this long.”“Have you heard from him?” I asked. My concern that he was going to ghost her was growing.“Yeah. We were texting last night,” she replied. “He seems okay, but I have the feeling something is wrong. I just want him to come home.”I didn’t know what to do. I knew what Justin’s problem was, but I didn’t think I should te
I woke up the next morning and bolted from my bed. Test day was here!Even though the test wasn’t scheduled until early afternoon, I wasn’t going to school today because I was too nervous to sit in class. Alex agreed I should stay home and relax this morning.Resisting the urge to do some last-minute studying, I dressed and went downstairs.Alex was in the dining room eating breakfast. “Good morning, sweetheart. Sit down and eat something.”“I’m not hungry,” I replied. I was sure I couldn’t eat a bite. My stomach was gurgling and fluttering madly.“You should try to eat, honey,” he advised. “You’ll be able to think better with something in your stomach.”I sat down and nibbled on a piece of toast and accepted a glass of juice from Benson.“There’s no reason to be nervous,” Alex said. “Victor assured me you are more than prepared.”“What if he’s wrong,” I mumbled.“Judging from the company reports I’ve seen, you know what you’re doing,” Alex said as he patted my hand. “Believe in yours
The head of security rushed to my office. “I’ve got men combing through all the footage from this floor, the elevator, and the stairwells during the past half hour.”“Concentrate on the conference room and the adjacent hallway,” Victor instructed the man. “Somebody took Miss Wilson’s test from that table. We need to find it as soon as possible.”“Other than Miss Wilson, we were the only ones in the room and the hallway,” Mr. Foster insisted. “Are you accusing us of cheating, Victor?”“Of course not,” Victor replied. “But the test is gone, and I know Daisy would never cheat. That means somebody else took it.”The security chief received a call on his cell phone. He stepped outside the room, and I heard him giving orders.“Send the footage to Miss Wilson’s email, and close off all elevators, stairwells, and exits until further notice.”He returned to my doorway. “We know who took your test from the conference room table,” he said. “Please watch the footage on your monitor while I detain