As planned, Zayn picked Reese up from her house the following morning and drove her to work. All through the ride, he kept filling her ears with unnecessary chatters, and she kept rolling her eyes all through the ride. Zayn was a talkative and she couldn’t possibly deal with him if she ever agreed to his request. "Bye, see you after work." She said, when he pulled up in the company’s parking space, and she quickly opened the door without waiting for his response.She jumped out of the car, and before she could shut the door, He lifted a finger and said. "Wait!""What is it?" She asked. "Uhm… There’s one more condition I didn’t tell you about. It should be part of the contract clause." He said. Lifting her brows, she nodded her head, urging him to continue."I won’t be faithful," he blurted out. "I’d cheat. Just because I don’t believe in love doesn’t mean I won’t have sex.” His lips curled into a smile. “I love sex!" He said exclaimed, proudly. She scrunched up her face. "Sleep
Axel was in his office, swirling on his chair, with his mind clouded with thoughts of Reese. His intention was to keep his distance with her in order to get his senses in check because she was a distraction. But when he was her entering and coming out of another man’s car, he was enraged. And been so close with her in the elevator, staring at her succulent lips, he couldnt control himself anymore.Whenever he was with her, all his senses gets block and he hated it. He hated and loathed the fact that she had so much control over him. A knock sounded on his door, pulling him out of his reverie. “Who is that?” He asked gruffly. “Reese.” “Come in.” Slowly, she opened the door and slipped inside the office, swaying her hips as she sauntered towards his desk. Every turn of her hips, causing his dick to throb under his trousers. Fuck! He hated the woman standing before him. He hated her but still asked her to come to his office to tell him his schedule. He knew he could have just t
The meeting with the Chinese clients lasted three hours. Fortunately, Axel was able to push thoughts of Reese to the back of his mind, and he was able to pull through the meeting smoothly, without dazing off.Although it was a really tough one, they came to an agreement that was suitable for Perfect Touch Inc. He was back at his office and was about to go out again for the meeting with the marking team, which they had adjourned to today. They had already come up with a marketing plan for the product that was to be launched the next day—foundation with SPF—but after giving it a second thought, he realized that the plan wasn’t good enough, and they had to come up with another one quickly.After the long meeting with the Chinese clients, his head was on fire from thinking so deeply and hard, and he needed to rest his brain before the next meeting.But he couldn’t. He had no time to rest. They had to get the meeting done with today and come up with a unique marketing idea that would br
"Fuck!" Axel exclaimed when he opened the boxes and saw for himself that, truly, the ingredients were not printed on the bottles. How are they going to sell these to customers? No one is going to buy if they don’t know the content of what they are purchasing. He turned to look at the warehouse manager, the fire burning under his eyes so palpable as he spoke. "What are these products still doing here? Get the truck ready and let’s return them to the printing company."Raking his fingers through his hair, he blew out a frustrated breath, and regrets washed through him.All this mess wouldn't have happened if he had taken the product launch to the company's headquarters in New York. They had their own printing company there, and something like this had never happened. If he would remain in London, he had to make sure that he builds a printing company for perfect touch. He hoisted his head up to see that the warehouse manager was still standing there. "Why are you not getting the tru
Tom was able to get four printing companies to do the jobs, and the employees that would place the labels on the bottles were already at the warehouse, waiting for the companies to deliver the labels. The first batch of labels arrived in two hours, and everyone got to work. Axel kept going around, supervising and shouting at them to work faster. They were too slow, and if they continued at that pace, they might not be able to finish in time for the launch tomorrow. His eye caught the attention of an employee who made a mistake while placing the label and had to discard it and pick another. "Hey you!" He yelled, pointing his index finger at her as he sauntered to where she was, ready to go nuclear on her for wasting the label. "What’s your name, and why can’t you fucking do it right?" He snarled. "I’m sorry, sir." She apologized, the perturbation in her voice palpable."Mr. Griffin," Reese called.He darted his gaze at her. She was sitting on a bench with her legs crossed.She l
What a total jerk! Reese thought, fuming with anger, as she stared at the box of the unreleased foundations in front of her.She should have never given him the suggestion of using labels. If she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have made her do the tedious work she’s about to embark on. Blowing out a frustrated breath, she opened the box to bring out the bottles and get to work, but her heart skipped a beat and she quickly hoisted her head up when she felt a very strong presence before her. Axel. His hand was close to her hair, and he quickly caught it when she lifted her head. Why was his hand close to her face, and why was he standing there? She thought, as confusion spread across her face.He was standing so close to her that she could hardly breathe."How can I help you?" She asked breathlessly. Right. What was he doing there? Why was he so attracted to her? He thought, scratching his temple. "Mr. Griffin?" She called when she didn’t get a response from him."Uhm." He pinched the bridge
Axel was standing there, his heart beating fast against his ribcage as he waited for their response. No, this can’t be. Could it be that she had been engaged all this time and had been cheating on her fiancé?But her cheating on her fiancé wasn’t what was troubling him. It was the fact that she was someone else’s and not his."Uhm, that’s not it." Reese quickly said, cutting through his thoughts. Before he could reply, she continued. "What are you doing outside?"She had to change the subject, because there was no way she could possibly tell him that she and Zayn were planning a marriage of convenience—which she hadn’t agreed to anyway. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at her. It was obvious that she was trying to change the subject because she didn’t want her little secret to be revealed. Nodding his head, he decided to let it go for that moment and confront her later. "I came out to receive some fresh air." He replied to her question. But that was a lie!She was gone for too long
Reese wanted him, but she was sick of his on-and-off attitude. One minute he wants her, and the next minute he’s building walls again. She doesn’t know what he was trying to pull off. He thought he could get her and toss her aside whenever he wanted? at his own free will? She wasn’t going to give him that right over her, she thought, as she trudged to the bench where she had been seated earlier and slouched on it.Glaring at the bottles before her, she picked one up and continued placing labels on the bottles. Two minutes in, she felt a presence before her, and she knew who it was; Axel. Without bothering to look up, she continued with what she was doing. After standing there for more than one minute in total silence, Axel finally spoke. "Ms. McBride." He called, his gaze fixed on her. "Yes? Mr. Griffin." She replied, her eyes still glued on the label she was placing."What was that for?" he asked.She raised her brow and finally looked up. "What?""You know exactly what I am t
The scent of tropical flowers hung heavy in the air, carried on the gentle breeze that drifted through the lush foliage of the Kula botanical garden in Maui, Hawaii. The sun was shining high overhead, casting a warm, golden light on the vibrant greenery. The sound of chirping birds and the rustling leaves of the lush green trees surrounded the beautiful garden, creating an idyllic atmosphere for a wedding ceremony. And the setting couldn’t have been more beautiful. The guests sat on chairs adorned with flowers. The only guests in attendance were Reese’s parents, Axel’s parents, Lucy, Harry, Zayn, Luke, and Ethan. When Reese told her parents that she was going to have her wedding in Hawaii, she had expected them to say they wouldn’t be able to attend or even ask her to postpone the wedding due to the unfortunate incident that happened with Beatrice. But the reverse was the case. They agreed to the wedding without hesitation.Lucy invited her boyfriend—Harry—for the wedding because she
When the day Beatrice and Jasper were to be arraigned in court came, Reese was strong enough to go and testify against her sister. Reese was standing in front of the mirror, looking at herself after getting dressed for the court hearing. She was dressed in a black suit set.Sighing, she turned to look at Axel, who had been supportive after the incident happened. "How are you feeling?" Axel asked."I don't know," Reese replied, and Axel held her hand as they walked out of the house together, entered the car, and went to court. She entered the court and caught sight of her sister. Her heart ached as she looked at her, wondering how someone she had known all her life could now seem like a complete stranger. She thought she knew everything about her sister, but now she realizes there are depths to her personality that she had never even suspected.As soon as Reese's eyes locked onto her sister's, her sister's gaze quickly averted, prompting Reese to ponder the possibility of whether her
Luckily, no vital organ was hit when Reese and Axel was shot, so they survived without complications. Axel woke up after getting to the hospital, but Reese was in a coma. Although, they were assured that her vital signs were okay and she would wake up soon. The news of Reese and Axel was carried by the reporters, and different channels were trying to cover the story. The following day, Axel sat down in his bed in his ward and watched the news, hearing how they wanted an interview. Axel sighed and changed the channel. It was another reporter reporting the news of the predicament that happened. He wonders why everything about him has to be in the public eye and sighs."It was shocking that one of the most anticipated weddings of the year got canceled, Mr. Axel and Miss Reese's wedding got canceled with not much information on the reason it got canceled and the..." Axel got tired and turned the television off. He knew watching the news right now would do nothing but worsen the state he w
Jasper just stood there as he watched them exchange words. The only thing he was interested in was the money Axel was willing to give him. He helped Beatrice kidnap Lucy and Reese just because of the money she promised to give him. Now, he’s getting a better offer, and he suddenly doesn’t care about the money Beatrice promised to give him anymore. He needed to act fast before Axel withdraws his offer. "How did you even say you were willing to give me?" Jasper asked. "You requested five million dollars. I would give you that. Axel said. A smirk touched his lips as he turned to look at Beatrice. "Let them go."Beatrice drew her brows together. "Are you crazy? I didn’t go through all this just to let them go.""But I am going to let them go." He told her. "There’s money involved. And I started all this because of the money. you promised to give me in the first place. Now, I am getting a better offer. I am a businessman, so I would go with what pays me more.""So you joined her in doin
Jasper, who was determined to convince her by all means. The moment she answered positively, he would take the bag, hold her hand, and walk away with her as fast as possible before she changed her mind. Beatrice seemed like a determined type of girl, and she could go to any extent to get what she wanted.He didn't know how he came across such a woman and just wished it was someone with a simple mind, not a complicated mind. Reese was making him tired and losing hope that he would win this game. He wasn't ready to lose that shot; he had already started to imagine what it would be like to have such money and be able to do or get whatever you wanted."We could just take this money and leave. This shouldn't be a hard task.” Jasper said, looking at her with a calm and hopeful face."Yeah. We can all settle this amicably without hurting anyone, and we'll go back to our daily lives like nothing happened." Axel said, gesturing with his hands for her to calm down.Beatrice scoffed. "You both a
"Mr. Axel, you'll need to calm down. We are going to try our best to save your fiancee and her best friend. All we need from you is your cooperation by staying put. If you do not stop, it's very possible that you could affect our strategy." The cop said this over the phone, assuring their safety.Axel was restless and decided to rush down to the location that Reese had dropped. He couldn't just sit down and wait for the police to do the job; he wanted to see Reese himself to see how she was doing. Then he went out and started driving towards the place, and he thought of what he could actually do, the strategy he could use that would leave him with regret.Then a thought sprang up in his head. He was going to search for the numbers Jasper had used in blackmailing him. He searched and almost thought he had lost it until he saw the number and then dialed it immediately."Hello." He answered the call."Let them go now." Axel said with a confident tone."Why should I let them go?" He asked
Reese confirmed it was Lucy's number, but didn't understand what was going on. Why was a man talking on the phone?"Hello, who are you? I would like to speak with Lucy." She said, trying to ignore every negative thought that ran through her mind."You really are clueless, aren't you?" He chuckled and sniffed."What do you mean by that? Who are you? What did you do to my friend?" Reese asked, feeling frightened. She had been avoiding all these negative occurrences, and that was why she didn't want to get married yet in the first place. Axel had encouraged her to allow them to go on with the wedding, but things got worse. She had thought that the man had decided to leave them alone or that he couldn't get anything on them since they were laying low. But hearing the man's voice sent shivers down her spine, and she felt cold suddenly."If you want your friend alive, you have to get her in a few minutes. I do not care if you are about to start your wedding or not. All I know is that if you
Reese was really scared and didn't know what to do while she was waiting for Axel. She could see the man approaching them, and Reese became more frightened as she didn't know if that was going to be her last day on earth. She tried calling Axel again, but his phone wasn't reachable. She had given him the address of the inn and decided to take Lucy with her to the inn to feel protected until Axel came to save them. Reese was inside the inn, her hands kept on shaking, and slowly Lucy started getting sober; she raised her head to see how worried Reese was."What’s going on?" she asked, sitting up sluggishly. Reese's phone started ringing, and she couldn’t answer Lucy. She picked up her phone immediately, and it was Axel calling her.She picks up the call immediately, feeling anxious and happy at the same time. Babe," she said immediately after picking up the call."I’m outside the inn," Axel said."Okay, I’m here with Lucy, and she doesn’t look sober enough." Reese replied"I will come i
Three weeks later, Reese's best friend Lucy flew to New York for Reese’s wedding. She had called her earlier to inform her of her arrival. Reese went to the airport to pick her up, and her face broke into a smile when her eyes landed on Lucy, who was walking out of the airport. Lucy took her glass off when she saw her best friend and smiled. They hugged instantly."Wow! It’s so nice seeing you again, and babe, you look wonderful," Lucy said when they broke the hug. Reese chuckled at her kind words."I’m thrilled to see you too, and thank you." Reese said, and they went over to enter the car that was waiting for them. As soon as they entered the car, the chauffeur ignited the engines, driving them to the hotel premises."How is the preparation going? I know you must be feeling super nervous right now," Lucy asked excitedly, and Reese chuckled slightly, moving the string of hair blocking her sight."Nothing much is planned; I just want to have this done and dusted," Reese said, and her h