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Chapter 100: Celebration Time
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2022-10-26 14:06:26Related chapters
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 101: Transferred
I finish signing the last piece of paper, making my transfer to the marketing team official, and then pop the top of my brand-new company-provided laptop. It's a new week and a new department. Sitting floors below Vincent has left me hollow. I'm aware we're in the same building, but this space is so much different from the one I've shared with him for the last few weeks.The marketing department is a wide-open floor with basic carpeting and white walls. Gray soft padding lines each of our cubicles, but otherwise it's plain and boring. Nothing like the almost homey space I used to call an office sitting right outside Vincent's door. He even had a plush leather couch in his office and two bookcases full of reading material.While he used to drive me nuts with his fingers clicking over his keypad as he smashed them into oblivion, now the whole floor is full of various people tapping away at their devices. I'd much rather it be replaced with the sound of his angry death strokes.But
Last Updated : 2022-10-26The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 102: Not Off to a Brilliant Start
Nothing I can do will make up for not going on another date with him. If he dislikes me for that, I guess he'll dislike me. It's his choice if he holds a grudge for the rest of his life.I have enough boy problems. I don't need to go adding more to the mix.With my laptop turned on, I put in the company-provided password and check the large clock on the login screen. 9:01. Already an hour into work and I've spent most of my time thinking of Vincent.Not off to a brilliant start.I brought nothing personal with me into work because I was constantly aware I wasn't staying as Vincent's assistant. Either I'd quit or he'd fire me. The slimmest chance went to ending up exactly where I am now. The desk outside Vincent's office was never mine. It belonged to someone else, and I was merely renting it for a short time.Now, with a spot in my own area, I can move into this position and decorate. Make it mine with a plant—probably best to go with fake—or my favorite picture of Ashley and
Last Updated : 2022-10-26The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 103: Money Problems
I hit refresh, certain they're having a problem at the bank. My account has extra zeros. Not so many as it puts me into rich terms but more money than I should have at this point in the month. Something has to be wrong. My blood pressure rises in my panic as I try to work the math in my head.With another quick click, I scan my transaction history to find out when the money came in. There were the normal things I remember, items that took money out of my account rather than put it in—an extra run by McDonald's for Ashley one afternoon, a second trip to the store to buy more ice cream and then the auto deductions for our rent. But one very large payment is missing.Shit.The bank didn't take out my student loan payment four days ago when it should have. As it has every month for the last two years. Most of my student loan payments won't come due until I'm six months out of graduate school, but a few of them have been accruing interest the entire time I was in college, and I've bee
Last Updated : 2022-10-26The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 104: Midnight Oil
THE FLOOR slowly empties of people, the tap tapping growing softer as the day wears on."Burning the midnight oil on your first day?" Dawn, who I found to be an absolutely wonderful person, says stopping by my cubical. The high-top bun she started the day with has a few flyaway hairs, but her eyes are bright. I want to be her one day.She stopped in today on occasion, making sure I didn't find the training videos too boring.I did, because they were horrible, but I kept that secret on lockdown. It's a golden rule that training videos in a new job have to be the worst things you ever witness in life. I still have nightmares of what they made me watch when I spent the summer working at a hardware store. The small chain was locally owned, and the videos were home produced."Yeah, I'll be leaving as soon as I finish this last video. Have a good night."She waves goodbye and I hear the elevator doors open. I wait another ten minutes to make my move. In one fluid movement I rise fr
Last Updated : 2022-10-26The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 105: Time to Discuss His Mother
The light kiss on my forehead is the first thing that rouses me from sleep, but the whispered, "Good morning," in my ear causes one eye to flutter open."Hmmm." I roll over, trying to get away from the man working so hard to wake me up, even if he smells of clean aftershave and a fresh shower. "Ten more minutes."The smooth vibration of his laugh fills my soul with something it's been lacking for longer than I knew, but it's quickly doused with water when he flips me over on the bed and reaches across my body to grab ahold of my ass cheek. His wet hair drips on my face and I use a hand to pull the covers up, shielding me from his onslaught. To my dismay Vincent tugs them down easily and then crawls back underneath them, not resting his head on a pillow."My mom likes you," Vincent drags me to him and I nuzzle my head against his chest, preferring that over a pillow any day. His skin is smooth, and he smells of fresh soap and shampoo."Why are we discussing this now?" Sun peeks
Last Updated : 2022-10-26The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 106: "Oh Shit" is right
I stop in my tracks, my eyes wide, taking in the scene before me. Crap. Crappity crap. For a moment I consider backing up and pretending this hasn't happened, but two sets of eyes find mine before I'm fast enough to move.Vincent leans across the table, holding a stack of papers as his assistant Amy points to various parts. Whatever they've been discussing ends and both stare at my half-clothed form standing in the doorway.Vincent pushes off the counter and crosses his arms against his bare chest, shaking his head. "It's okay. Amy, you've met Mackenzie."She bites her lips together and nods, doing her best not to smile or let her eyes dart back between the two of us. Amy doesn't need a second look to figure out what's happened here.Crappity. Crap. Shit. Fuck.This is exactly what I didn't want to happen and I'm the one who did it. There's no one to blame but me. I've already become too complacent in Vincent's space.My hand clutches at the fabric on my chest. "This doesn'
Last Updated : 2022-10-26The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 107: Sneaking Home
Most of downtown is deserted as the state employees try to get out of the city early on a Friday afternoon. The warm sun hits my face and I smile up at the bright sky. It's the first time I've been out of Vincent's building in the last three days. The glorious thing about having a mega-rich billionaire for a boyfriend—if he is my boyfriend—is that he doesn't care how much it costs to have food delivered every single night. Between going to work, back to his place, and then back to work I've only viewed the outside through his floor-to-ceiling windows.But now it's time to go home to my own place. Check in on my roommate and maybe institute a girls' night Friday movie-fest. Past the church on the corner of North Ottawa, I turn left, my apartment building looming on the street when my phone dings with a text.V: What do you want for dinner? I'll have it waiting.I palm the phone between my two hands and smile. The one person I didn't warn I'd be returning home this evening was Vinc
Last Updated : 2022-10-26The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 108: Get it Together
Well, kind of. They don't normally include alcohol. More like ice cream and cookies. Clearly with me not here to stop her from breaking out the whiskey, she's gone way further down the road than ever before in these instances.It's time for supportive roommate love from a best friend."Get it together, whore. You say this every test, but then you always get an A.""No, remember that time with Perpetuities?"Ugh, that was a rough time period. "You're one of the smartest people I know."Ashley always freaked out, but then sailed through school—except for perpetuities and one statistics class her senior year of undergrad. Rough semester didn't do an adequate job describing the turmoil, but she passed. When final grades came out, she printed them off, hung the C- on the fridge, and we celebrated.She'd do the same thing after the bar exam."Not this time. I haven't been studying like I should."Guilt trips my heart and trickles down my spine. How long has she been freaking
Last Updated : 2022-10-26
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The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 171: Epilogue
My enormous stomach stretches against the seatbelt in Vincent's expensive car. I'm no longer just showing a small bit as my due date creeps ever closer. The trees have budded along the highway as his car continues to travel north."Vincent, where are we going?"He smiles. "Our weekend place," he gives me what I suspect is the first semi-honest answer he has the entire trip.When we left this morning, I asked if I needed to pack a bag, but he said it was only a day trip. If I am being completely honest, my first thought was he bought the home in Okemos and planned to drive the fifteen miles to get away for the weekend. But we've been driving for over an hour at this point, passing my family home along the highway to continue north."I can't give you any more than that, Mackenzie. It's a surprise." He says turning off the highway.I hold back a sigh. They never do any good, anyway. "And you know how much I hate surprises.""Yes." His hand falls to my knee and squeezes, rubbin
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 170: Doctor's Orders
"I promise you, Mr. Valiant, your wife and baby are perfectly fine. I don't even see signs of a concussion. She's one lucky woman." The doctor's smooth voice does nothing to lessen Vincent's irritation."Can't you check them both again?" he grinds out annoyed he has to ask.The steady beeping of the baby's heart monitor, a large device they've wrapped around my tiny stomach, beeps consistently. "Vincent, I am fine."He looks back at me in the hospital bed and squeezes my hand. "I know, baby. I just want them to check you again."The doctor sighs, smiling at me as if apologizing I have to put up with the man for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't have it any other way."They've looked me over three times. I'm perfectly fine," I run my fingers over his arm, but it doesn't lessen his scowl."Your wife is right, Mr. Valiant. We've run every test. She and the baby are healthy. I'm going to write up her release papers as soon as I leave the room. Go home and get rest. That's the
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 169: November Winds
"I'm sorry we can't go on a honeymoon right away,""Vincent, I promise I understand. Really." He's an important CEO of a billion-dollar company. I don't expect him to take off whenever he wants. He can throw together a quick weekend wedding, but we can't drop everything and go on a three-week honeymoon like he's promised without notice. We have plans to make.I wrap the sheets around me tighter, the northern winds of November howling outside the window. We've been newlyweds for exactly twenty-four hours, and after I sneezed four times yesterday, Vincent decided I need to take Monday morning off to lie in bed and stay warm. He's obnoxiously worried about me catching a cold while pregnant. Any other time I would find it annoying, but the baby is involved so I'm listening to his heavy-handedness. This time."I'm sure I'll forgive you for not whisking me away on a honeymoon immediately during the three weeks we're on the boat in the Bahamas over Christmas." He thought of the best way
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 168: Two Weeks Later
Another two weeks laterA gust of wind batters the outside of the car, but the frigid temperatures we're walking into aren't enough to sway Vincent. He allows Davis to open the black limos door and then reaches for my hand when he exits."Is your mom going to kill us?" I ask as I step out into the freezing temperatures of northern Michigan in the late fall and wrap the white fake fur shawl around my shoulders."Probably," Vincent says with a devilish smirk, meaning he doesn't care what his mother will say. I wish I had his self-confidence.At least we'll go down together. "Good because my mother is going to murder me in my sleep."The newest personal protection guard—I'd never get used to that name—steps up to my side. Nicki is tall and her body thin, but she's never once looked at Vincent inappropriately over the last two weeks she'd been protecting me.When Vincent introduced her and brought her into the team, I hadn't argued. Safety isn't something I can take for granted
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 167: Too Early to Tell
Two Fridays laterMy eyes have just begun to close as I settle into the post-work catnap. The doctor said it wasn't a big deal I hadn't experienced any morning sickness or other complications during the pregnancy and I should consider myself lucky. But from the way I dozed off at my desk every couple hours the last few days at work, the exhaustion part of being pregnant is hitting me hard and making up for lost time of the first trimester.I still can't believe I'm pregnant. I've seen the evidence, we have the pictures to prove it, but besides being tired I don't feel different. Even though it is too early, I definitely haven't felt anyone moving around in there. Because I lack so much evidence, it is hard to picture me with a baby. It's even harder to picture my big rigid Vincent as a father. Not that I have any doubt he'll be a great one, I've just never seen him with kids. I rarely even babysat myself. Only once or twice in high school. I spent a couple of nights watching the Wa
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 166: You Can't Hid Glam Wear
Without thinking about, it I place my hand on my desk and the metal in the ring that sits so heavily on my finger hits against it with a clink. It draws my attention back to the fresh addition to my finger and I smile as I stare at the beautiful piece of jewelry.I tried not to wear out of the house this morning. It was Monday and even though Vincent's employees handled his email well, I couldn't imagine it would get the same response as the newspaper article outing his previous wife. I prepared for a full-on tizzy. To my relief the article didn't publish as expected. Vincent answers my text with only a smiley face—so unlike him. I figure it cost him a pretty penny, but he worked his magic.Me walking through one of the company floors wearing a big ass ring on my finger would only add to the clusterfuck I was sure our day would turn into at any moment. Therefore, in the name of less drama I tried to leave the item on my nightstand, but Vincent must have swiped it. He followed me on
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 165: Book Deals and Broken Promises
Vincent moves my feet off the couch and sits in the space. I don't like him being so far away, so I reposition myself until I'm leaning next to his body and getting into his personal bubble.He leans back on the couch wrapping one of his muscular arms over my shoulders. "Today's been shit. Huh?"He'd spent most of Sunday on the phone with his legal team and public relations employees. Everyone in Valiant Industries had quite the weekend. Even though he said he didn't plan to take action against Tiffany, he wants to stop the book from being published. Vincent doesn't elaborate on how he plans to make that happen, but I have faith in him.His legal and PR teams worked for hours and now had a course of action moving forward. Tiffany might strike the first blow with the article about her book, but Vincent wouldn't take it lying down. Tomorrow morning his office would release a statement countering the article and hopefully combatting any speculation. There will still be rumors and ta
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 164: Agreements
By the next morning we still haven't come to an agreement on the house. I want to continue living in the penthouse and Vincent wants to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a weekend place fifteen miles out of the city—a home we won't officially move into until the baby is school age.Something warns me if I don't put up a big fight, Vincent will buy the house and just not tell me about it right away, so I make him promise in the car on the way home he won't do anything without getting my permission first. It's his money, and I feel bad bossing him about his own bank account, but a house is a big damn deal. You can't just buy a house. I'm only half sure making him promise will work, but it's time for me to stretch the trust part of our relationship."You're hiring the chef who made the sandwich and the chocolate cake. Right? I ask biting off another piece of my breakfast bagel."We are hiring and yes."All the meals we tested were delicious, and my core heats remembering the
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 163: A Ruined Evening Fixed
The early Saturday morning sun wakes me the rest of the way after Vincent's alarm starts the job by rattling on his bedside nightstand. Who sets an alarm for Saturday?Vincent rolls over and wraps his arm underneath mine cradling a breast in his hand. I snuggle my back to his chest and reposition my head on the pillow, hoping I can fall back to sleep and he can do whatever he incorrectly believes is important enough to wake up early on a weekend."I'm sorry last night was ruined." He kisses the back of my neck sucking lightly."You mean when your wife broke in here and tried to steal what I strongly suspect was an engagement ring?" We'd talked about many things the night before but never got around to that topic.I'd planned to ask him, but after finding out Tiffany's demands for his sperm and then the sex, the thought completely fled my mind. We lay in bed together for another hour as Vincent held me tightly, but eventually he slipped from under the covers.Hours later I fou
