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
Even though I was enjoying my time with Victor, I was curious about the surprise waiting for me at the mansion.I savored the drive home in the Lamborghini and said goodbye to Victor before I hurried inside to find Alex.I found him in the living room with Benson. Their smiles and the way Benson left quickly with his clipboard made me wonder what was going on.Alex rose to his feet and took me into his arms. “Congratulations, my darling. I knew you would do well.”“Then you heard I passed,” I said. “Word travels quickly.”“Indeed it does,” he agreed. “Word of your triumph is spreading along with John Cameron’s shame. He is no longer connected in any way to Wilson, Inc.”“That’s good news,” I said. “I heard you have a surprise for me.”“Yes, I’ll give it to you at dinner this evening,” Alex replied. “Why don’t you take an hour to go to your room and rest? You had a long, trying day.”“A nap sounds good,” I said. I was full of fast food, and all the adrenaline from the test drama had wo
“The telephone has been ringing all day, Miss Wilson,” Benson said as we went over last-minute details for the evening’s charity ball.“Over two dozen individuals who declined your invitation due to other obligations now wish to attend,” he explained. “Even the hosts of another party have canceled their affair and wish to come to your ball.”“Can we accommodate them all?” I asked, wondering why this many had a change of heart.Benson assured me they would all fit in the ballroom, or they wouldn’t have been invited in the first place.It would be a challenge to handle this many last-minute guests, but each person attending paid a five thousand dollar donation to the charity foundation.How could we turn them down?“I’m sorry for all the extra work, Benson,” I apologized. “I never dreamed this would happen.”“It’s quite alright, Miss,” he replied. “It’s all for a good cause.”I patted him on the back. Benson was an absolute treasure. “Is there anything I can do to help?”“I called in th
I was dreaming about dancing with Victor when something began to tickle my nose. Then my whole body began to shake until my head flopped around like a rag doll.“Victor, what’s happening?” I asked him in my dream. “Why is everything shaking?”I heard a feminine giggle. “I’m not Victor. Wake up, goofy.”My eyes flew open, and I realized I had been dreaming when I saw Amy sitting on my bed next to me.Was this a dream too?I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “Amy, what are you doing here?” I asked. “What time is it?”“It’s nine o’clock, and I need to talk to you,” she replied. “After your butler let me in, your dad said I could come up to your room and wake you up.”I stretched and yawned. “I tried to call you last night when I found your messages, but you didn’t answer your phone.”“Yeah, I fell asleep and found the missed calls from you when I got up this morning,” she said.Amy seemed normal, but I could tell something was on her mind.She always tries to hide it when she is upset. But I co
After one brief text, I didn’t see or hear from Amy until the following morning when I arrived in front of the school.She sat on the bench near the tree. Her facial expression told me nothing as she stared at her phone screen.I hurried over and sat next to her. Relief flooded me when she flashed me a quick smile before returning her attention to a sitcom on her phone screen.“Whatcha doing?” I asked.“Catching up on my show,” Amy replied. The pain I saw yesterday in her soft brown eyes was gone. “There are only three episodes left this season.”What happened with Justin to put her in such a good mood? She wasn’t volunteering any information, so I’d have to ask.“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” I said. “Did you hear from Justin?”“We were on the phone for half an hour yesterday.” Amy looked into my eyes and smiled. “He said he loves me, and he will return to the city soon.”“That’s great news.” I gave her a side hug. But was it really great news, or was Justin putting off the inevit
Victor took me home, and I told Benson I was expecting company. Before I could ask, he told me that Alex was in the living room watching a news broadcast.I hurried to tell him I was home.“Ah, there you are, Daisy,” he said. “How was your day?”“Okay,” I replied. “But I think my evening is about to get more interesting.”I told him about the girls coming to visit.“You should ask them to stay for dinner,” Alex advised. “I like their parents very much.”“I hope I like their daughters,” I said. “But I don’t think we have much in common.”“If you give people a chance, you may find you have more in common with them than you think,” Alex said.“You are right,” I agreed. “It would be a good thing for me to get to know them.”“It never hurts to have a few more friends, honey,” Alex said a moment before Benson announced my guests.“Hi.” I waved the girls into the room. “This is my father, Alex Wilson. Dad, this is Megan Thomas, Becky Foster, and Hallie Edwards.”“Delighted to meet you girls,
Victor’s POVMy dinner meeting had wrapped up, and I was walking out of Gilded when I spotted William walking toward me.“Victor, I’m glad I ran into you,” he said. “We need to talk about Daisy.”Before I could speak, the valet pulled up with my car. I handed them a tip and told William to climb in.I drove a few blocks to a city park. It was almost dark, so it was easy to find a parking slot.William and I got out of the car, and I beeped on the security system with my key fob before we began to walk through the park.“What’s on your mind?” I asked.“Have you noticed how different Daisy is these days?” he asked.“In what way?” I inquired.“She’s turning into… one of us. And that’s not who Daisy is,” William replied. “All she thinks about anymore is business, contacts, and raising money.”“She recently accomplished something many Alphas only dream about,” I explained. “And she did it while under attack from a leader of the Alpha business world.”“I understand that,” William said. “But
Instead of going to my room, I hurried to the music room and sat on the piano bench. The soft light from the hallway made the freshly waxed antique wood glow.I was upset and didn’t want to talk about it with Jennifer. It wasn’t something she would understand. I knew she would be hovering near my room, waiting for me to get home and get ready for bed.My fingers brushed over the smooth ivory piano keys as my eyes began to mist with tears.I hated being at odds with Victor. He was always good to me, but he made me so angry tonight.My instincts told me that the young Alpha I was speaking to was not to be trusted. I was looking for a way to turn him down gently when Victor swooped in and acted like a jealous jerk.Everyone except the people closest to me have been treating me with respect since I passed the test. But Victor was the worst. He still acted like I was a child who needed to be watched every second.His eyes were on me the entire time we were at the party. At any other time,