The new week had begun with Max being on the plane. Everything in the weekend had just happened too fast over the weekend, and it all seemed like some sort of bad dream that he was going to wake up from real soon, but the thought of Debby’s blackmailing pictures in his phone kept him in touch with the harsh reality he was living at the moment.Touchdown had already been announced, and it was only a matter of moments before he would be breathing Middle Eastern, Abu Dhabi air. The grueling twelve-hour flight had been the worst he’d had in a while, as he had been forced to fly the economy section, due to his last-minute appointment with Kent. The first class section had been oddly filled, forcing him to stay at the very tightest of spots in the flight. At that point, he could barely feel his knees and everything below it.But he felt lucky to have had twelve hours to prepare himself to face Chloe. He had kept a lot from her and it weighed continually on his conscience. The partnership be
“Remember, play it cool.” Hilda’s voice on the line made it all seem much more uncomplicated than it was. “Don’t make it too obvious,” she went on, “She’s as smart as her father. If not smarter.”“Jeez! You’re making me more tense than I should be right now,” Ollie said, feeling all the pressure of the moment. She could imagine Helen sitting comfortably on a sofa as she comfortably gave out the orders for the almost impossible plan she had suggested during the weekend.“Am I?” she asked, chuckling over the line, “ Well don’t screw this up, or you could kiss your fairy tale with Anthony goodbye. Forever.”“Alright, that’s enough,” Ollie said, about to hang up, “I’ll let you know how it goes.”“Good luck.”Ollie was finally left alone in a world of her own. She had gone over the first phase of the simple plan to get Helen to mess up things between her and Anthony.The first day of the week had gone awfully fast at work. She was going to spend her lunch break at Helen’s school, hoping t
Carlos’ heart couldn’t help but thump in unreasonable fright as he made for the balcony in Alejandro’s hotel room. Making his way through the room, he felt a bit suffocated by the pungent smell of marijuana and used condoms. The coalition of the two contrasting odors were beyond repulsive and it made him want to leave in a hurry- just like he wanted to leave Abu Dhabi .His stay at Yas Island which he had expected to be nothing but soothing and a perfect chance to get away from the wear and tear of New York’s elbow grease. But then it had been just the same damn thing every day like he was in a disguised New York on the Eastern side of the world, instead of the Eastern side of America. He was still going about all of Alejandro’s business even though it was meant to be a summer holiday getaway for everyone, but then, it had been for everyone but him.Predicaments as such made him regret joining the life crime, but he was already knee-deep in. His unforgiving boss made it all the more d
Emma felt a renewed confidence as she drove from the hospital to the home she would soon be referring to as one of the places where she’d once lived.She felt in charge. She felt like she had finally had a say in what her life was going to turn out to be. Her mother’s plan gave her a kind of confidence that she couldn’t quite explain. It felt like she had been suffering all the while for nothing.Looking at the city flying by her window through her shades gave her a vague sense of exhilaration. It had been a while since she had enjoyed a simple decent ride in the city. It felt like she had been missing out a lot being with Kylian.Her phone buzzed. She was pleased to see that it was her mum. “Hello, Mom,” she said, leaving it on loudspeaker.“Hello Emma,” she said. “How did the trip to the hospital go? How’s our baby?”“Our baby’s doing just fine, the scan showed that it’s still intact. Nothing to fear.”“You better take care of yourself and our little one. You are literally carrying
"Rise and shine sleepyhead," Chloe teased as she put down the tray on the bedside stool, "You've been sleeping a lot lately."Max's eyelids slowly cracked open, as he took in the early morning sun rays which made him forget about his worries for the moment. He just wished that the morning would continue going on for however long."Breakfast is already here," Chloe announced, running her hand through his muscular chin, "Get up and dig in. I bet you already had your fill of sleep in the weekend."That single statement floored him back into the hard slab of the reality that he was living in. He'd been levitating from his worries up until then. The weekend had been one he wished to forget as quickly as he could. Remembering the incriminating pictures in his phone, made his appetite vanish, though he could perceive the delicacies on the tray— delicacies which he would kill and die for on any given day. Breakfast seemed to just bring memories of his ordeal with Debby that Saturday morning.
"What then?" Max said, still reeling from the sudden news he was being tackled with, "What then does he expect us to do?""He told me to play along, and go for the meeting," Chloe said, "But that would be too damn difficult, I can barely pick up his calls, let alone present a business proposal."Max was perplexed by the news more than he was perplexed by the solution itself. He questioned how many other things had been going on without his consent the past few days. Why did all the drama have to wait up until they were on the brink of their breakthrough before it all unfolded?"I've gotta call Gray." He said."But that's not going to change anything," Chloe said, "It's not going to make all the legal defense that he has behind him suddenly disappear into thin air."Max was thrown into complete disarray. They were left with no option but the one that Gray had offered. The consequences would be unspeakable if Alejandro ever found out that they were aware of who he really was. Their stay
Kylian had woken that morning, feeling quite on top of his game. He hadn't felt that refreshed in a while. It had been a close call when he saw Shirley at the concert venue. He hadn't known of his apparent fame up until then when all the eyes were on him at that point.He had a lot of problems lined up, but his time with Maya made it all seem like unimportant trivia. Every time he left her, it felt like he was slowly coming back in touch with his harsh reality.Every passing moment in his office had him glancing at his phone, expectant of a possible text from her, which was yet to come. He knew that was bad for his concentration, but still, he entertained the bad habit, which was so uncharacteristic of him."C'mon Kincaid, you've got work to do," he told himself as he looked at his phone once more. He didn't know how much time he had for work before his mother would come with the lawyer to discuss his divorce. He quickly threw his phone in his bottom drawer and locked it. Forgive me,
The beeping of medical machinery, the chattering of medical personnel, and nightmares of death had all made a seemingly frantic endeavor to slowly bring Francis back to reality. He had thought he would die the moment the bullets came piercing through his upper back, but somehow he found himself awake and alive.It took a few moments before he could feel his body, the intense pain in his midsection, the bandages on his skin, and then the soft mattress of the hospital bed underneath his body.What had happened? He couldn't recall how he had gone from getting out of his car to talking to Emma to being at the point of death and in the hospital and in that pitiful state.Slowly, his mind recalled how he'd been scooped into a stretcher while he had been bleeding out. The desperate utterances of the medics inside the ambulance, trying to keep him alive still echoed as it all played back in his mind. He had instinctively pulled out his phone and dialed 911 as he watched Emma drive off and lea