The air was alight with joy. There was loud music playing from a state of the art sound system, and an old man stood at the grill seemingly enjoying what he was doing. Children ran about excitedly, and adults exchanged smiles and hugs. There was a table filled with cupcakes and food close to the man at the grill and everyone had a glass of wine or a bottle of beer in their hands.It was beautiful. It was the sort of beautiful chaos that I thrived in. I looked on with a smile on my face as the couple danced happily and the woman laughed at something her husband said.Brenda Lynn's 20th wedding anniversary was going perfectly and I couldn't help the contented smile that played on my lips at the sight of the fine job I'd done.I walked back into the kitchen with the empty tray in my hands. I'd taken out the last batch of canapes to add to the already full table. Already, a few guests had come in here to compliment the chicken skewers and one little girl had asked if I would make her a gi
The court hearing between Kingston Enterprise and Anthony Smith of Smith Assurance rocked the internet like a storm. The Kingstons took up the case with a vengeance that Anthony hadn't expected. The hearing didn't last long. Anthony was being accused of several counts of misdemeanor with evidence that made it impossible for him to wiggle out of the situation this time. Even his shiny suit lawyer stuttered as he tried to defend his client.Good. I don't know how they'd hoped to win against the entire Kingston family with such glaring evidence incriminating Anthony, but whatever it was, they learnt quickly why the Kingstons were considered one of the most formidable families in all of New York, and perhaps, even the United States. They had connections in all the places that mattered.The ruling was for Anthony to pay a fine of one million dollars for damages against the integrity of Kingston Enterprise. He and his lawyer made it clear that they were going to appeal, but the truth was in
The credits rolled on our third romcom of the night. There was a saccharine pop song playing over black and white stills of the happy couple who in the real world, truly would make a terrible match.I turned to say something to Jordan and found him slumped against the head of the cushion. His head was tilted back, and his lips were slightly parted. There was a quiet rhythmic snore from deep within his chest that made me smile.He was out cold. Looked like this knight had decided that the damsel wasn't in any real distress and had chosen an easier battle: sleep.I smiled, reaching over to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead. His breathing didn't even hitch. Careful not to wake him, I went quietly up the stairs, got an extra blanket and threw it over his still, peaceful form.My fingers lingered at his shoulder, tracing the hard line of muscle beneath his t-shirt. Even in sleep, he looked like he was ready to spring into action at any moment. The muscles in his arm were taut, I
I woke up to small kisses being scattered across my face. The feel of his whiskers against the smooth skin of my face felt hot as hell. I smiled as I blinked my eyes open.“Someone's up early."“You look like an angel when you sleep" his voice still sounded a little groggy.As he reached for my lips with his, I rolled away from his reach, forgetting that my small bed was just spacious enough to accommodate the both of us. I landed hard on my butt, and a belly rumbling laughter exploded out of his chest.“It's not funny." I said with a pout but he wouldn't stop laughing.After a short while, I found myself struggling to keep my own smile in check. I liked the sound of his laughter. It was raw, and genuine. It occured to me that I never saw him like this when he was dealing with the outside world, just when it was the both of us. Mysterious billionaire to the rest of the world, crinkly eyed, laughing man to me. I felt my smile grow bigger.As his laugh ebbed, I picked myself off the gro
We ordered Thai and stayed in my small, creaky bed through the afternoon. We were wrapped around each other with the sheets tangled at our feet. Chloe texted sometime around noon to say that she would be going to work from Caleb's and I rolled my eyes. At this rate, she could as well just move in with him. She was there most of the time anyway.Later that afternoon, Jordan asked me to get dressed because we were going out. He went into his car for a change of clothes which he claimed he always made sure to leave there ‘just in case'. When I asked what to put on, he said to look casual. We were just going to have fun. Nothing serious. He wouldn't say what kind of fun, though.I pulled on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. I made him pick between two sneakers and finally settled on the one he least liked. By the time that we got into his range rover, it was already past 3:00pm. No matter how much I tried, Jordan refused to tell me where we were going.We rode with the windows down. He
We were on the road in mere minutes. We'd hurriedly packed up the basket and the blanket and made our way to Jordan's car. Now, he tore through traffic and drove as fast as possible to reach the hospital.As soon as he found a spot in the parking space, I was out, running through the reception. I had pulled on Jordan's shirt over my jeans. He was behind me in his white tee shirt. Both our hairs were still wet, but that didn't matter as we raced through the hospital entrance.“Nancy Jenkins" I said to the nurse at the reception and she pointed me towards the ICU. I saw Sam first. He stood with his back against the wall, down the corridor. He had a blank look on his face. Chloe sat on a chair outside the hospital room, her knees drawn up to her chin and her shoulders heaving.Caleb stood opposite her, resting slightly against the wall as he watched her and struggled not to break down at how broken she appeared.“Chloe." I said, and she raised her eyes to mine, rushing to her feet and in
The house felt gloomy. Chloe and I returned with her dad to their home on the outskirts of town, but now, for the first time since I'd first stepped foot in here, the place didn't feel like home. It felt… empty, like there was a cloud hanging over it. Even the atmosphere felt gloomy.As I poured boiling water from the kettle into teabags in small mugs, I wiped at a tear that had managed to escape. This was Nancy's favorite tea. She always said it had a soothing effect that was second to none. Now, standing here, making three cups that didn't include hers squeezed at my heart again, reminding me of the gnawing feeling I had felt at the hospital yesterday.I placed all three cups on a tray and carried it into the living room where Chloe sat curled up in a small armchair that she'd always liked to sit in. I looked around for Sam but couldn't find him. Chloe followed the movement of my eyes and signaled upstairs telling me that he'd gone up. I nodded and carried the single mug up the stur
I unfolded the piece of paper in my hand and looked at the words I'd written down. They felt so mechanical. So distant. I'd decided to write down what I wanted to say because I didn't want to break. I wanted to be in charge, to not lose control, but in a bid to stay in control, I'd failed to convey my true emotions into these words. On a sigh, I folded the piece of paper back in place and started to speak from my heart.“I remember the first day I met Nancy like it was yesterday. I was 13, and had just made friends with Chloe. She was the most confident, self assured thirteen year old I'd ever met, and by God, that scared me. So when she dragged me to the parking lot after school one afternoon to meet her mom, I was scared to death. Then Nancy smiled and folded me into a hug, and I was home.Standing here, facing everyone in this room, I do not know how I'm going to learn to live without Nancy because that day 14 years ago, that woman gave me something that I didn't even realize that
I was already on my way to bed when Chloe's phone rang. She was curled up at the far end of the couch, a blanket up to her chin, and a remote in her hand. She'd been working all day, and had only just settled to watch TV about half an hour ago.I watched her frown at the screen, then her eyes widened as she answered immediately."Caleb?" Her voice was sharp.There was a pause, and then she shot right up, throwing the blanket off."Oh my God. Okay. Okay! We’re coming right now.”I was on my feet before she even ended the call. "What? What happened?"She grabbed her hoodie from the arm of the chair. "It’s Lilian. She’s in labor. Devon's already taken her to the hospital. The others are on their way.We were moving in mere seconds. I didn't even think about changing my clothes. Nothing mattered. Chloe picked up her keys and we hurried out of the house. I'd never seen her drive as fast as she did ex.We didn't speak to each other during the drive. We were out of the car as soon as she fou
“Chloe!" I chirped sunnily with a smile and a meaningful glare directed at her. She'd better keep her mouth in check.She rolled her eyes at me. “I didn't know we were having a reunion." She said with sarcasm dripping from every word.Layla laughed before bringing the coffee mug to her lips. “Good morning to you too, Chloe."Chloe turned a false smile in her direction before taking out a mug and pouring herself some coffee.“You're welcome." Layla said, raising her mug and pointing to the coffeemaker.It took a moment for Chloe to understand, but when she did, she simply snorted. “It's my coffeemaker after all. Doesn't matter who brewed the coffee one day, I bought the goddamn thing with my money.”“I didn't say otherwise. Now, now, Chloe darling, you and I are going to have to find a middle ground soon. After all, we're going to be seeing each other a lot more over the course of the next few weeks.That's right. I'd taken her up on her offer to help with the planning of the grand ope
I didn’t panic. Not at first.Jordan had said he had meetings lined up, that this week was going to be very busy for him. He'd said it to prepare my mind for days like this. Moreover, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for a whole morning to pass without a call. I wasn’t that clingy, at least I didn’t think I was. We had our lives, our jobs, and our different rhythms.But then the afternoon rolled by, and evening came, and my messages remained unread. It was at that point that I started to panic. I wsd6 refreshing his chat thread like it owed me answers. Still nothing.I'd called him at least six times today, and each time, it had gone to voicemail. He hadn't called back. That was unlike him. Jordan always called back. Especially when it was me.Still, I tried to keep it together. There were logical explanations. There was a chance that his phone had probably died. Or maybe he was just buried in work and would call the moment he came up for air. That was his way, after all. He was focused
After that initial awe had worn off, excitement took over. I wanted to see the entire place!I walked to the middle of the room, spun around, and shouted, “This is mine! I own this building!”My voice echoed off the walls, and Jordan laughed.“Damn right you do.”He spun me around in the center of the empty room and our laughter filled the air.We didn't go straight home. We went to a park filled with noisy children and lovesick teenagers. The place was livelier than usual, and although it took some teasing, Jordan finally dropped his almighty Kingston cap and joined in the fun.He joined me on the rollercoaster ride and laughed heartily while I screamed. He liked it so much that he went for a second ride when I got off the ride. He said he hadn't done anything like it since he was a child.We ran around the park charging bubbles and trying to pop them. Later, we simply sat on the floor, with me lying back against his chest and him wrapping me in his giant arms.By the time that we fi
Breakfast went smoothly. We all had our pancakes with hot chocolate, and chatted happily over insignificant things. There was something about a full belly, hot chocolate, and laughter shared between the two most important people in my life that made the world feel… weightless. Like I was walking on air. Like I could do anything.After breakfast, Chloe hurried upstairs to take a zoom call while Jordan and I talked through clearing the dishes. When we finished, I dried the plates and placed them back in the drawer. Jordan relaxed against the same counter that he'd kissed me on less than an hour ago, staring at me like I was some prized piece of art that only he had access to.“You ready?” he asked, his lips twitching into that little smirk that always managed to melt something in me.“Ready for what?” I replied, feigning cluelessness, though I knew full well what he meant. He'd been talking about this ‘somewhere’ that he wanted to take me to since he got here.I wondered what it was thi
Jordan gave me 20 minutes to get dressed before leaving. I took almost 40 minutes. What kind of woman would I be If I got ready under the exact time he gave?Downstairs, Chloe sat at the dining table hard at work. She wore an oversized shirt over black biker shorts, and drew her knees up to her chin as she typed furiously on her laptop. Her natural blond hair was up in a messy bun, and she wore her wire rimmed glasses which she'd hated since she first got them in senior year, high school. She looked hot as hell! She took her eyes off work, and turned her attention to me briefly when I got downstairs.“Hey, beautiful."“Hey, beautiful." I returned with a smile.“You look good."I did a 360 spin for her and she hooted and whistled. I was wearing a simple floral dress that was snatched at the top, and flowed regally to my knees from beneath my bust. It was simple and classy.“Thanks. Where's Jordan?"“In the kitchen." She said, pointing with her finger. “He offered to make breakfast.”We
I didn't get home until evening. Brenda's book club's tea party was only a few days away, and I had to meet with the ladies for some last minute adjustments to the menu. I'd never wanted to impress anyone like I wanted to impress these women. They were some high caliber people, and this was my chance to win them over before the business opened.I sighed and kicked off my shoes before plopping onto the sofa in the sitting room. I still didn't have a name it. I'd stopped stressing over it, thinking that it would come to me naturally, but at this point, it looked like I might be needing to start making conscious efforts to get a name again. We couldn't have a grand opening without a business name now, could we?I heard someone rush down the stairs and looked up to see Chloe with a box of steaming noodles in her hands.“You're alive!"I chuckled. Why wouldn't I be? It's not like Layla had claws or fangs or anything. Plus it had been almost six years since we left college. We were all diff
Chloe made more noise than a hurricane as she rushed down the stairs with her bag in one hand and her six inch tall shoes in the other. For someone who was already tall, it was interesting how she never wore anything other than heels.“I’m late. I’m late. I’m so damn late,” she muttered as she skidded into the kitchen.I was leaning against the counter, sipping coffee and reading a recipe draft on my tablet. She glanced at me, then did a double-take.“You’re dressed.”“I am.” I said with a small smile.She narrowed her eyes at me as she shoved her arm into the sleeve of her coat. “That's suspicious. Didn't you say y'all found a replacement and you don't have to go to work anymore? What are you going to do?"I laughed. Suspicious indeed. "I'm not going to work.”"Then where?” Obviously impatient, but not willing to leave without knowing where I was going."I'm meeting Layla.”Her eyes bulged. "Layla as in Layla Freeman? Same Layla that we ran into a couple nights ago?”"Same same.” I r
Chapter 81Chloe and Caleb were already seated at a table when we walked into the restaurant. It buzzed with life and I smiled at the sight. This was the same restaurant where I'd first seen Jordan. It almost felt like it had been ages since that day when Chloe and I sat across from each other, and I stepped out to take my mother's call. The scowl that had been on my face when I came back in after that encounter with Jordan outside still made me laugh till date. The fact that he'd actually asked me to ‘look after myself'. Oh, the nerve of the man! I chuckled and glanced at Jordan. I wondered if he remembered too. We walked over to the table where Chloe and Caleb sat, already sipping from the cocktails in front of us.Chloe saw us first. She hurried to her feet and pulled me in for a hug. She hugged Jordan next. Caleb had a big smile plastered on his face as he rose to hug me too. God, had we all missed that smile. It is true what they say. Being with the person that you love makes a