The harder he tried, he couldn't shake the thought off his head. It felt like he'd lose his mind if he hesitated a second longer. He pushed his entire body out of the pool, leaving the unfinished punch by the poolside, and wrapped himself in a towel from the nearby rack.He reached for his phone as he dried his face and hair with the towel. He knew he had to find Chloe again but didn't know where to start. He scrolled through his contacts and stopped at Olivia's name. She might know where Chloe was, he thought. He hesitated momentarily before finally pressing the call button as he strode through the shaded yard toward his old-fashioned chateau.The sound of Ollie's voice echoed from the phone's speaker, but it lacked the usual excitement Max remembered from their previous conversation."I promise not to bother you after this." His voice reverberated with a solemn promise as he strolled by the gallery adorned with a lineage of portraits."I told her—I'm sorry, I couldn't keep it from h
Max felt a pang of regret as Chloe pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her face. He couldn't tell if she felt comforted or didn't want him there. He wondered if she regretted showing her vulnerability to a man who was supposedly using her for his own gain.She brushed the line of tears from her face and moved away from him. She had been vulnerable, and even now, Chloe didn't know if it wasn't a mistake to show her vulnerability to a man who was after her for his vengeful plot."What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice laced with anger and sadness. "I thought I said..."Nevertheless, Max ignored her question as he took a seat beside her, maintaining a respectful distance but trying to offer comfort in some way."How are you?" he asked softly. "I saw the news."Chloe scoffed. "Everyone saw the news. Isn't it amazing that my life is a mess?""Your life is not a mess," Max countered, reaching out to gently touch her arm.Chloe pulled away, shooting him a glare. "What do you
The blue Cadillac glided down the winding road, Chloe's fingers firmly gripping the steering wheel. She kept her gaze fixed ahead, unresponsive to the chirping crickets in the trees that flanked the road. The moon hung large in the sky, casting a silver glow over the dark, looming clouds that filled the atmosphere.Her mind was too preoccupied to fully appreciate the beauty of the night. The soft breeze that was whispering past her car's windows went unnoticed as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. Chloe's thoughts were consumed by what she was about to do and the consequences that would follow. The moon and the stars were just distant decorations in her periphery, and the chirping of the crickets was lost in the background noise of her racing mind.The sting of the news was still fresh in her heart, and it felt like an endless well of sorrow had been dug in her heart, and it promised to overflow.Max's presence had been helpful while she could get over the thought. But the minute
A pair of Stuart Weitzman Diamond Stilettos clanked along the marble floor of the Kincaid Group of Companies. Linda moved with ease. Even if she was incensed, she didn't show it. It was hard to tell why she had walked into the company after two months of not setting foot there.She walked on, barely responding to the "good mornings" from the workers.Linda was a fashion goddess, and everyone knew that. From the delicate embroidery that knitted a seamless purple gown, which did nothing but show off the glow from her fresh skin—one of the latest trends off the runway—to the Hermes bag strapped to her hand, which was new-season. Her silver-dyed hair complimented her looks as it fell in neat curls over her shoulder.She took to the corner that led to the CEO's office and caught Shelly bent over Kylian's secretary's desk in an early morning gossip.Brad straightened when he saw her. "Good morning, Mrs. Kincaid."Shelly pulled away from the desk and recoiled in a corner, embarrassed.Linda
Chloe could feel the warmth pumping through her as she held onto Max's broad arm for support and felt her breath leaving her. She gasped for breath, feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of Max's desire. She kissed him passionately, damning every consequence, throwing caution to the wind, and ignoring the discouraging thoughts in her head. Her heart and body were urging her to give in to her desires, and she couldn't resist the intensity of the moment. 'Fuck the consequences!' she said to herself as she decided to relish in this moment of pleasure she'd not experienced in a long time. Max's lips devoured hers in a feverish hunger, his tongue seeking entrance to taste her sweet essence. Chloe couldn't resist the pull of his lips and eagerly opened her mouth to allow his tongue to explore every corner. His hands roamed over the silky skin of her thighs, leaving a trail of heat wherever they touched, sending shivers down her spine. She moaned into his mouth, feeling a familiar warmth
The room's quietness was filled with the swishing sounds of their sexes pleasuring each other. Chloe's moans of ecstasy filled the air, her voice bearing pure, unadulterated bliss as more moisture seeped down her core."God, you feel so amazing; I could die in here, Chloe." A feeling of euphoria enveloped him as he increased his thrusts, his huge erection throbbing harshly in and out of her depths. Both his arms were gently placed on her delicate ones a little above her head, his tongue nibbling teasingly on her earlobe."Max..." She moaned his name, her voice tender and sweet to his ears."I like it when you say my name like that," His right hand clutched the back of her hair while his left hand slid down to her lower abdomen. Gently, his fingers trailed down to pleasure her clit, applying gentle strokes in a circular motion while his shaft maintained a steady rhythm. Her folds clenched. The intensity of his touch sent an uncontrollable sensation through her.Chloe felt a wave of el
Ollie wore a worried look as she stood in front of Chloe's apartment. Her eyes conveyed enough, and she didn't open her mouth to speak."I have been fine," Chloe said, moving away from the door and letting her in. She occupied the couch she had been reading a magazine on. "I told you I'd be alright. There's nothing I can't handle."Ollie settled on one of the couches. "I should have visited; work has been keeping me busy.""And that's what I wanted you to do."Max had contained the situation of her near-suicide event, and the only news around her was her ex-husband's engagement to her cousin, her only relative.Ollie felt sorry for her boss. She knew Chloe was a strong woman who kept her emotions tidy. She would keep up with a contagious smile even if she were hurting."Tell me," Chloe said, wishing to take Ollie's gaze and pitiful thoughts off her. "How has work been? How much progress are we making towards fashion display?"Ollie was excited to tell her how well she had organized th
"What the fuck are these doing with you?"Kylian's right hand shot into the air, holding a brown envelope with a fierce grip. Emma could see his reflection in the mirror and recognize the same envelope she had seen before. The glare on his face made her heart race.She stopped applying the foundation to her face and turned to face Kylian, putting on an innocent expression as if she had no idea what the envelope contained."What are you talking about, hun?" Her voice came tenderly, and she wore a confused expression on her face.Kylian wasn't falling for her gimmicks. "Don't give me that, Emma. I found these in your car; you are the only one who drives that car."Emma bit her lips. She had been reckless to have left the photographs in the car, and with them in Kylian's hand, she had to devise a way to escape being incriminated.She moved her eyes to the envelope, trying to remain calm. "What's in there? I've never seen it before."Kylian snickered in disbelief. He unloaded the contents
Chloe pushed the doorbell of the door where she once lived. It felt like ages she’d been at Emma’s doorstep. The number of calls and the text messages she had gotten at the wedding made it feel like it had been really something urgent.She’d had her doubts about making that visit. The last time she remembered, Emma had wanted her downfall so badly that she had gone to the extent of allying with dangerous criminals, even putting herself in danger in the process.After a while of waiting, she pushed the doorbell yet again. She heard some footsteps trotting steadily in her direction. She held her breath in anticipation as she couldn’t tell why she had been called out there.“Chloe,” Emma said, “You’re here.” She hadn’t expected to see her after all.“Yeah, I’m here.” Chloe’s eyes ran a quick subtle scan through her. Her wandering eyes were caught by the little bump in her belly. She was shocked as she hadn’t been told that part of the story. Max…come on. He had sadly left out that import
“I look stupid!” Ollie exclaimed in a mild tone of disappointment as she looked in the mirror one more time. “I look like a total goof.”“No, Ollie, you don’t,” Chloe protested as it had taken her and the costumier a considerable amount of time and energy to get her in that. “You look elegant.”Chloe looked over at the other girls on the bridal train as they silently complained about Ollie being way too vocal about her own complaints. And her dress too.“Elegant? Are you kidding me right now?” Ollie seemed like she’d never be satisfied, even though she was just a few minutes from walking down the aisle.“I’m not. Besides they’ve put in their best to give you the best, so it’s best that you just…” Chloe was out of words as she walked up to Ollie from behind, her tone becoming more and more hushed as he advanced. “Give them your best reaction. The dress is just perfect, Ollie.”The glistening white wedding gown had a very elegant flay. Maybe just too elegant to the point it puffed proud
Emma was getting uncomfortable in her seat. How had Kylian gotten his hands on all that? It was probably Francis, but how had he gotten to Francis?Her attorney was totally unprepared for that sudden twist in the case. It had been a walkover up until then. That woman’s testimony had them all dumbfounded— she, her mother, and her attorney. They were all thrown in disarray.“Emma, when did this happen?” Her mother, Amelia questioned from behind in a whisper. She had no answer that could appease her mother’s curiosity without implicating her as well. Her lips seemed to shut off their own accord.She knew she was about to face cruel music which she hadn’t rehearsed its dance steps. The look on Kylian’s face when he said, “It’s over,” almost made her lose it in front of the judge. She would be giving herself away before the case was over if she hadn’t gotten her act together.“You could have told me about this,” her attorney whispered faintly in a way that meant that she was really in big
"Don’t worry,” Kylian’s attorney told him not to do the one thing that his mind had been doing subconsciously since he’d set foot in the courtroom. “You’ll be fine.”“Sure I will,” he said, trying not to discourage his attorney before the grueling duel began. Either way, he wouldn’t be that much of a mess. Worst case scenario, he’d have to see Emma at their board meetings.“Kylian,” his mother called out from behind in a whisper. “Keep your composure out there, our fifty percent depends on it.”“Thank you, Mom, you’re doing such a great job at easing me of the pressure of the moment. Very commendable.” He said, harshly sarcastic.“Thank you, Kylian. Just don’t fuck this up for us.”He was a bit taken aback to hear his mom say the ‘f-word’ in public. “It’s really sad you called me just to tell me this.”“Now’s not the time to get in your feelings, young man. Go out there and get our family’s legacy. That’s all the pep talk you need.”As much as he hated it, she was right. He inhaled de
Max had his shades on as he walked through the construction site on the hot sunny afternoon.“The long-awaited upward progress has finally begun.” Mr. Singh mused as he was almost following all of Max’s footsteps throughout the site.“Isn’t it lovely?” Max replied with a smile. “Feels like we started just yesterday.” He was glad that it had been all running smoothly despite him being occupied with all the many personal challenges that he somehow managed to see himself come out on top.“It sure does.” Mr. Singh seemed like he had a default positive response for everything he had to say. It had Max wondering if he’d ever get to see Mr. Singh mad, even just once. He itched to see that moment, except that it didn’t have to be on the job that he was doing for him.Max believed that it was all because of the remarkable presentation that he had put forth. He strongly believed that it was still speaking for him up until then. He hadn’t questioned his moves and followed him with blind trust. H
Ollie picked up her phone and dialed frantically, “Did you hear about Alejandro on the news?” The report on the news seemed untrue, and she assumed that Chloe hadn’t seen it yet. “Alejandro has been arrested on numerous charges?”“Yeah, I heard,” Chloe said, unalarmed like they hadn’t lost one of their biggest potential partners after they had set quite a huge part of their budget plans around him and his cash, especially. “He’s been arrested.”“You know what that means?” Ollie still believed that she wasn’t getting the full scope of the impact of that news in particular. “What’s going to become of our plans and all?”It took Chloe quite some time to get a sigh out from her end of the line. “Well, we are going to figure something out, Ollie.”What? She meant to ask but swallowed it in as she sought a much better response but she couldn’t find any other, that forced her to say it out anyway, but more softly and politely that didn’t make it seem like Chloe had said something unreasonabl
“It’s on the news, Chloe,” Max stared at the TV screen in wild wonder, calling out to Chloe who came running, “They finally got him.”“Businessman known as Alejandro Navarro has been finally apprehended by the forces on charges of illegal drug trades, manslaughter, sex trafficking…” the TV presenter went on and on with his many dirty deeds.“Damn, he’s got quite a lot going for him at the moment.” Max remarked as he reclined on the couch, “Good thing they got him. There could’ve been trouble if they didn’t.”“Yeah,” Chloe said looking on in anticipation, “Nothing on Diego yet?”“Wait for it.”“Alongside the underground drug lord, the notorious gangster, Diego Gutierrez was also found in the building. After much resistance and shots fired, the swat team was able to break in and apprehend the two men and a few other survivors from the heated exchange. Two hostages were found in the basement of the building, a male and a female, suspected to be victims of his trafficking crimes…” The pre
It was the D-Day of the raid. Gray couldn’t deny how nervous he was, but he had to what had to be done. His heartbeat surged forcefully with each stop and turn of the vehicle.Most of all, he hoped the resistance they had predicted would what they’d be faced with. He’d heard stories of how vicious the Mexicans could be, and he didn’t want the mission to be a continuation of that tale.“Alright,” he finally got the courage to speak up amid the men in the large trunk of the van, he was about to attempt to make them not feel what he was feeling. He took out the large tablet that had the blueprint of the building.“The operation is simple.” He didn’t believe it was, but he had to say it anyway. “First, we surround all possible exits of the villa, which include the main gate, the back gate, and one other hidden gate on the Eastern side of the fence…”“Second, we ask Alejandro and his men to come out peaceably. If they don’t, which they most probably wouldn’t, we first hit them hard with so
Kylian tapped on the door, hoping that he’d somehow made it to the right door, following Maya’s directions to her place.The block of flats had way more homes than it appeared to have while viewing it from the outside. One could easily get lost in there. It had him wondering how the inhabitants kept from mistaking another door for theirs.He tapped yet again. He heard some faint footsteps approaching the door and expected to see Maya’s dazzling face. He could hear hands working desperately at the lock and that made him brim with anticipation.Finally, he thought, till the door opened for him to see a tall macho man with overgrown beards and tattoos scattered all over his body. The shock from seeing the stranger made him almost unable to speak. He had heavy rock music pounding in his apartment.“Can I help you mate?” his deep voice could make anybody’s knees buckle with frightful intimidation.“Sorry…I came to the wrong door,” Kylian broke out in an uncoordinated stutter, “I was lookin