Louisa Woods, after discovering she wasn't the biological daughter of the man she had been calling dad for nineteen years, but that of her mum's secret lover Conrad, becomes every man's sexy, attractive worst nightmare. Love knocks; Things change when Mason, her teenage one sided lover, returns from Australia looking ten times more attractive than when she lastly set eyes on him. Will her loathe for him plus, her loathe for men give him a chance with her as they work hand in glove with each other? There is a skeleton in every cupboard; Louisa and Mason both have secrets which they might end up spilling to each other or forever remain speechless as long as Hawaii can accommodate them. You must read 'Married to a stripper' to facilitate understanding
View MoreInspired by Janet Devlin- honest men.
You might want to read Married to a stripper BB1 before reading this.
Red Dahlia. strictly business.
In the silence of the illuminated hall, only one thing was given attention to; the clicking of her heels. She knew for sure that she radiated a vibe. A vibe which not many appreciated--in fact, none at all. She captured awareness, desiccated friskiness, watered hard work, and frowned at incompetence, all of which was simply inherited.
Louisa could smell their tension, glimpse their beads of sweat, feel their shiverings, taste their revulsion, and hear their cries of get lost.
Am I this intense? A question she had been asking herself for the past years.
It was only going to be a matter of seconds before the room returned to the marketplace it previously was as her body got embedded in the lifter.
"Ms. Woods?" She simply nodded at her associate, Nerry who showed up once she was at the comfort of her office's embrace.
The happily married ever after pretty lady she seemingly lived to envy. Even though she did not personally interact with her workers, she knew more than she needed to know about them; Louisa knew that she had a charming husband who picked her up after working hours, a pretty three years old lad, and an obedient fluffy cat.
She who holds the bouquet is the next to wed.
The tremendous bunch of fib people seemed to console themselves. It's been four years and ten months to be exact, since she'd caught her sister in law's bouquet, yet nothing close to positive seemed to near the wedding environment of her life.
"Mr. Pol wishes to see you."
Perhaps they did.
"I'm not available."
But Louisa didn't want to build an interest in any of them. She didn't as well want to be their hit and run type; Gianna was much more than enough. After all, inevitable occurrences might lead to unwanted yields. 'Like in my case.'
Another relatable thought.
Whoever said all men weren't the same was totally right; there were the bad ones, worse, and certainly the worst. Never the good. Starting from Conrad, who'd totally zoned out of her existence from childhood like he never was the sperm donor. Her thoughts drifted to Mason, who had used her yet, never reciprocated an inch of her love until his disappearance. How sick she got just thinking about him. Them. All the men.
Mason.
If life had a little bit...just a little bit favored her, she wouldn't have been going through all the mess of pretending to be ok; to see happily married couples and not feel bad about it, to have moved on with her life, to go on dates just to see if her heart could belong again, to fake smiles, fake enjoying kisses, touches, and sex, to have to dodge some faces after a one night stand because of how awful he was in bed.
"Ms. Woods?" Nerry appeared in the doorway again and for once in her life, she rejoiced being interrupted, "We have a client on the line from Hawaii. He wishes to speak with you. Would you prefer I link you up?"
"No. I don't work out of the country and you know that. So take care of him and tell him I'm not accessible."
Louisa knew not how Nerry hadn't figured out her mood during her two years of experience as her assistant. For heaven's sake, there was nothing cheerful about her outfit talk less about her makeup, not like there had ever been in the first place but today was way different.
"But Miss, I would've likely done so myself if he hadn't mentioned that he is an old friend of late Mrs. Antonia."
If there was one thing Louisa despised concerning business, it was definitely to use someone dear to her to get to her. Be it living or dead.
Her countenance thawed. "Did he mention his name?"
"Yes, Daniel Rudolph."
The name was quite familiar. If not mistaken, he once was her late mother's trusted client. His wife, Relindiss, became her mom's best comrade, and their kids- Adrian and Norton- were scoundrels she never wished to set eyes on especially during Sunday tea parties. Funny how life turned out though.
"Link me up."
Even though Adrian was an epitome of a god of seduction, Norton wasn't bad at all. At least, he had the charm and chivalry every lady cried for contrary to Adrian.
Truth be heard, Louisa still had a deranging weak bone for Adrian even though she knew very well that like charges repelled.
"Ms. Woods speaking," she finally spat after contemplating on exactly how to address herself. "I'm fine, Mr. Rudolph."
Louisa was glad for one, that he navigated with her in keeping the discussion professional as he shot straight to the point. After a quarter of an hour of yes's and No's, she ordered Nerry in.
"Get the team ready. We'll be leaving for Hawaii next week. Please do well to notify Doug to clear his schedule on or before Thursday to be precise. It's a six days trip at most and also, inform Gab to carry over Dr. Stall's appointment."
"Yes, ma'am,"
She dove into her computer, fidgetted with its keyboard for what seemed like thirty minutes before her phone broke the relationship she had begun to appreciate between the keyboard and her fingers.
The number, upon glaring at her phone screen, happened to be unknown and kept her mind debating on which of her so-called suitors owned it. The screen switched to black and she immediately thank the deities but was short-lived when it sparked again.
Melissa, her best friend, had warned her, but she honestly found it hard to block them for some reason yet to understand. Almost seven months ago, she would receive endless calls from suitors to the extent of getting a new number with which she had spilled the old attitude of giving it to two or three breathe-takingly gorgeous men.
Or is it four or five? Just reject it.
In a blink of an eye, her dainty finger contradicted her mind as it swiped the screen to the right.
It could probably be Marley.
Lately, her brother has been bugging her life by getting tips on how to comprehend a pregnant woman going through emotional struggles again. He was expecting baby number three and knew not how to go about it. Forgetful douche!
"Sweetheart."
A voice that had succeeded over the past months to suffocate her heart with sweet bitterness echoed from the opposite end. It was the voice of a man she couldn't forget even if she strived to, a man she wasn't supposed to develop a cardiac likeness for, a man she ought to escape from in every means possible.
"Adrian?"
The mention of his name jolted a current of high intensity throughout her body.
Heaven knew that even if she did as Melissa warned, a situation as such could never be inevitable considering the fact that she just accepted a six days contract with his family in Honolulu.
Six days!
"Missed me?"
She bit her lower lip while squinting her eyes as if thinking hard on whether she precisely missed him or not but the thumps between her legs eased the mental stress.
"How did you get this number?" She shot. She sure didn't have a collective memory to not know that he was the primary reason why she changed her number and that she voluntarily rejected his calls after mastering the last four digits of his number.
Adrian chuckled.
"You don't think you can get rid of me so easily,"
Louisa gently inhaled and exhaled trying to control her temper, "that is not the answer I was expecting."
"I have my ways."
"What do you want?" She fired.
"I want to see you."
Louisa rolled her eyes and thankful for the fact that he couldn't see just how far into her head her pupils had traveled. She must admit that Adrian was the only man, out of the many she's been with, she still yearned. Not that the way he touched her made her feel deeply about him, it was just better than the touches she had encountered over the years.
Now, she thought she could discard him like she did the others but turned out a one-night stand equalized friends with benefit or so she thought.
"Not available."
"Yes, you are," he insisted.
"Just how clueless are you? Can't you understand a lady's body language?"
"We both know that you do not have any when it comes to me. Well, that is if you do not consider the room version."
She pictured his smoldering look. "Adrian, listen up. I don't want this. We have to stop, ok?"
"You can only confirm you can't achieve something when you've given it a try or two."
"I don't want to," she bit harder on her lower lip this time around that she tasted blood.
"Why not? Are you by any chance developing sentiments, Louisa? I know that there's something else between us besides sex, reason why you've probably been avoiding my calls, right?"
Intermediate.
This was absolutely why she averted any encounter with Adrian in the first place for she knew she won't be able to resist him anymore if they started something.
Adrian wasn't a one woman's man. He was a gigantic flirt and so was she. He never was stable as the next heir to a petroleum company and so was she. He expunged marriage in his to-do list contrary to her. That was just to name the few reasons out of a thousand why they weren't close to compatible.
"I'm in town. Was wondering if we could go out sometime, if not tonight," he continued.
"No."
He chortled, causing Louisa to raise her tattoed brows as if he could see her, "I thought as much,"
A faint knock traversed the receiver's end, followed by a door creaking open. "I want you to think about it, Louisa," his voice slumped. "There could be..." He trailed before what seemed like the audibility of a kiss. "...an 'us' someday," she heard him moan followed by a girl's giggle.
"You're so disgusting!" Louisa hissed as she dropped the call, hearing his faint 'see you in Hawaii,' and haunting laughter fade away.
She sighed and buried her face in her palms. Six days was going to be hell on earth.
She delved into her purse for she felt her lipstick was out of place after biting on her lip way too many times. When her phone rang again she bit back from picking it and kept staring at the foreign number.
It could be Adrian, but then, what more did he have to say with a sumptuous snack in his presence. It could be Derrick, then again, he quit calling like six months ago. The same applied to Morris and Silva.
Her brows met when the caller insisted the third time. Her hands itched to pick as her head began scouring for tons of not-so-pleasant words.
Hell break loose if it's you, Adrian.
Within the snap of a finger, the gadget enclosed her diamond garnished ear.
Louisa didn't speak. She waited for her caller to attack first.
"Where the hell have you been?"
Her chest declined at the sound of her brother's voice. "Lou, I need your help," he cried.
"She smashed your phone again, didn't she?"
It was a silent ride to school so far. Neither Petra nor Gianna seemed to be in the mood for a dispute and Louisa was very much happy and okay with that. The last thing she needed was to drive to work with a thumping head as the routine had it which is why she preferred Mason to drive the kids to school. He knew the tricks which never worked when she tried. He wasn't going to be in town until two days and she missed him dearly. Louisa and Mason, a year before their wedding, were lucky enough to purchase three hectares of land in their dream town—Philipstown. They'd taken out time to visit it after their contract in renovating a retired baseball player's home— Joey Duran—was over. They'd fallen in love with the serenity of the little town, its adorable boutiques, and classic restaurants. Louisa had most especially fallen in love with Cold Spring Harbor. It's greenish-blue glimmering water at day and different hues of orange and yellow at dusk due to the reflection of the setting sun.
"Before you all present here, most especially Mr. Frederick Woods, I, Mason Donovan plead to have your blessings and to let go off your daughter, Louisa Ariana Woods to the realm of my love, care, and affection. I do not want to make empty promises but I give you my word that I'll give her all that I've got." He turned to Louisa, took a step back, and gradually went down on a knee."It's been a short, yet a long time since we've known each other, Lou, and during all this time I've learned so many things about you and with you. You might think this is too early but I don't. I have made up my mind," he fished out a blue velvet ring case from his pocket."To spend the rest of my life with you," he opened the box to a shimmery diamond ring. "Louisa," he called. "Will you marry me?"Louisa covered her mouth with a palm as the tears which had built up during his little speech finally rained."Say it!" Doris yelled from the crowd."Yes, say Yes, Lou," Elizabeth added.Soon enough, all the wom
Everything went on successfully. It was indeed true that happiness originated from a peaceful mind, an entourage of sincere positive energy from family, friends, and even strangers. Everyone's face dazzled with smiles and laughter as plates and dishes were passed from one to another. The atmosphere was inundated with chatters about everything and anything.What more could one ask for? Zaphrina was barely thirty seconds into her meal when she noticed Ace's absence. She could swear he was present during grace but now where was he at? "Bread?" Louisa who was sitting beside her asked with a basket of buns. At the latter's sight of worry in Zaphrina's countenance, she asked, "what is it?" Zaphrina vacated her chair. "I'll be back, permit me."It was in the boy's room, after adventuring in the playroom, that the young mother found her boy crying at an idle corner, his head bent to his knees. "Ace, what is wrong, my baby?" She rushed to h
YOUNG BEARDED GANG HQ. "Relax, man," Marley reassured Mason by tapping his shoulder, "you're as stiff as a corpse." The latter hadn't realized that, in fact, he seemed to not have known what was going on as he walked into the company of other bearded gangs of the family with Marley looking all happy-panky and friendly. Like nothing ever transpired.He would've thought so if the plastered cut on his jaw didn't sting so bad. The dude had quite a fist, he had to admit. "Gentlemen, I present to you an aspiring new member of the gang, Mason Donovan." The room which was filled with a dozen and three more men turned dead as fifteen pairs of eyes glued their way.The room was a typical men's garden with a bar growing a variety of liquor, a billiard table, flat-screen TV, beer fridge, and much more his eyes hadn't landed on yet. "What happened to your face, dude?" A tall man resting his feet on a coffee table asked. His low cut, exposing his scalp, made him look younger than his age could
Gianna had fallen asleep in the middle of a story that her father narrated. A kiss and a good night wish crowned the event. Mason strode to Louisa's room afterward, the latter was changing into a tempting shimmering dark red silky nightdress. She flew her hair out of the dress's trapping neckline in a way that was not only alluring but dick-breaking. He stood there staring in awe. "Is she asleep already?" "Uh...yeah." He broke out of his daze and began discarding his clothes. A warm shower and a lower body cover—boxers—entitled him to the bed right next to Louisa. She laid her head on his chest, closed her eyes, and listened to the quietness of the room then to the melody of his heartbeat. "How did your visit go?" He played with her hair. "Great. She's growing strong." "Yeah, I noticed that too. It's a good thing." "What about work, how did it go?" It was rare that they worked on Saturdays and when they did, it usua
The proper introduction of Gianna to Ruth went smoothly, joyfully, and amicably. To Louisa's surprise, Gianna enjoyed the visit to the extent of not wanting to return home. The little girl stuffed herself with Ruth's pastries and sumptuous meals so much that it was almost impossible for her to walk. Louisa at some point had second thoughts on going even though joining the duo was her idea. The fear was due to the first impression she made of herself in front of Ruth a few months back. The twists and turns of life. But luckily for her, the lady was receiving and behaved like nothing out of place ever occurred between them. "She's fast asleep," Mason commented after a glance at the rearview mirror. Louisa swiftly turned. "I'm afraid we'll never hear the end of Grandma Ruth's apple pie."That was all Gianna chanted halfway through their journey before falling asleep. "She reminds me of Ava. She too loves my mum's apple pie." "I
"It still hurts you isn't it?" "Badly." Dylan exhaled. On his way to Lydia's, he had seen Louisa and Mason from a distance cheerfully hopping into Mason's jeep. Credit to his gallantry to make sure she was secured in first.Why did that detail bother him? Because whether he did that or not, she won't come flying in his arms for severe reasons. "Did Louisa tell you...her brother wishes to help?" He had immediately jumped to narrating to his sister about his encounter with Louisa days back after telling her about seeing the happy duo down the street. "Why help?" Lydia lowered her head. Even though Dylan was closer to her than Levine and Max were, she still found him intimidating when talking about certain things with the fear of not knowing how he'll take it. Especially since Corey came into their lives. "To reduce Corey's penalty." She hesitated. "Because that's what you want?" She remained silent for a bit. The only time Dylan ever got mad at her was when she settled for the di
It was very understandable how Dylan reacted to Corey's case. She would do the same if she were in his shoes. Lydia hadn't to worry about him, not now, not in the next life because of the strong support system that existed—family. From a visible distance, Louisa couldn't sight her daughter at the meet-up point and the premises had begun to dry out of human presence. Panic surged.Louisa brusquely fled out of her car into Gianna's classroom where she walked into Mrs. Heather with a stack of papers. "Hello, Miss Woods, how can I be helpful to you?" She adjusted her glasses upper her nose. "I haven't seen Gianna so I was wondering if she was still in class." "Not at all. All the kids flew out as soon as the bell went off," she laughed but stopped when Louisa's face was still insipid. "Uh, have you checked the restrooms? Or perhaps someone from the family must have picked her up." She didn't know or assign anyone to pick Gianna up. Zaphrina was under house arrest, Marley around that t
"You're ridiculous, you're fucking ridiculous, Conrad." "What is it this time?" A woman in black and red ombre hair tossed a phone to the dark red-haired man. "Who is she? You've been texting her since three days ago, isn't it?" Conrad opened his mouth to speak. "You can't lie to me because the proof is right there in your phone, so tell me the truth." The woman yelled. "Come on, Jenny, she's my coworker and nothing more." "You call your coworker sweet names?" Conrad gently approached Jennifer as a zookeeper will do to an escaped Leopard. "I swear, there's nothing going on between her and me. It happens that we call each other sweet names but there's nothing more to it, believe me." He tried to touch her but was yelled at in return, "don't touch me. You're a bloody liar, Conrad." She pushed him to run downstairs. "Jenny," Conrad called behind her, "Je...Jenny, hear me out." "Don't follow me, Conrad, don't talk to me
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