It takes a moment for his words to sink in, and then a moment longer for me to realize that he’s being genuine.“My current campaign manager is having a baby soon,” Miles says. “She wants the time to spend with her new family. I’ve told her again and again that it’s fine. She’s helped me get this fa
“Thank you, Esther. I mean it. I had no idea.”Pride fills me, and I wonder if it would always be like this. As Miles’s campaign manager, I could help steer him away from situations and people who would only hurt him.In a way, it would be like protect him as he has so often protected me.When dinne
I don’t know what to say. If he breaks up with Selena… does that solve anything? It would remove the biggest reason I had to push Miles away, but our relationship likely still couldn’t be public. We’d still have to keep everything a secret.But I wouldn’t be the other woman anymore.Then, there’s Hu
The next morning, I don’t trust any of the revelations that came to me after I climaxed. I’m still bound and determined to make the best choice for both my heart and my future. I know rushing will only lead to potential heartbreak on all sides.So I get ready and go to work, same as always. In the b
“Bring them,” Hugo says. “It will only take a moment, and I’d like to meet them.”After hanging up with him, the girls are less than thrilled about having to go to work with me.“It will only be a minute,” I tell them. They eventually, reluctantly agree.At the office, I park and we all head inside.
For my final date with Hugo, I picked a simple and sleek dark blue blouse with black trousers. My hair, I pulled up into a no-nonsense bun.While I applied my makeup, I had Cynthia on speakerphone, my phone resting on the bathroom counter near the sink.“And you are sure you are sure about this?” C
“Before you, I didn’t think I would ever want to touch another person ever again, especially not a romantic partner. Yet I found comfort in touching you, not dismay. This gives me hope for the future.”My heart breaks for him. I wish I could be the right person for him, but I’m not.I’m just not.“Y
This meeting with my parents has gone surprisingly well and I’m feeling optimistic about it. So much so that I even feel uplifted as I start to leave. For the first time in a while, I feel like I have a set path in front of me.Ending things with Hugo, and now plotting a new career path leaves me fe
“We should watch the rest,” I tell him, though my voice is shaky. “No,” Miles says, more firmly. I breathe a sigh of relief. For my job, I know we have to hear it. But personally, I would like to go the rest of my life without even thinking about Edward Zimmer again. “The numbers are already u
Edward’s response comes in the form of a video message. Crystal set it up on the television on the wall, while Miles and I huddle closer to the screen. Miles holds tightly onto my hand. “Whatever happens. Whatever he says. We will stand against him and we will win,” he says. I believe him. Last
How could I say anything but yes? A thousand times over, yes, yes, yes. I’ve tried so hard since that first night, sleeping with Miles while thinking him a call boy, to not fall in love with him. Yet, as hard as I tried not to, my heart kept pulling me straight back to him. My love for Miles is so
We hold the press conference in front of the headquarters, setting up a podium outside the double doors. The news media organizations have been notified, so they send reporters and cameramen, who have set up around the podium. The release we sent out already told them that the conference would be
Later, I’m going to have to have a meeting and call in all the employees to discuss this. Their care is appreciated, but I need to be able to do my job. For now, though, it seems as if Crystal gets the hint. With a shallow nod, she continues her report. “Mr. Zimmer has been quiet since the inter
Garnar, knowing I was giving a difficult interview tonight, offered to watch the kids. Since they are at Garnar’s house, I expected the house to be empty when I finally returned. Instead, I see Miles’s car parked in my driveway and the additional security staked out around the premises. It’s a rel
Jean was warned about the story, but she still gasped. My eyes went a little wide. We came here to talk about this, but Daphne’s direct wording leaves me speechless. Daphne didn’t come here just to tell a story. She was ready to reveal her truth, once and for all. “Esther and I were victims,” Da
In the Harbinger HQ, in one of the studio sets arranged to look like a fancy living room, Daphne and I sit side by side on a white couch, facing an interviewer, a woman interviewer named Jean, who sits on an arm chair facing us. The setting is intimate, and Jean is a kind, middle-aged woman, who i
“Miles…” Emotion overflows within my heart. There are so many things I want to say, to express – my gratitude, my own affections, explanations about why this has been so difficult for me to accept – yet in the moment, everything gets tangled up in my throat. “Miles…” My tears fall from my chee