For every step that Simon took that brought him closer to Anders’ office, Veil wished she had telepathy each time. Perhaps, if she lived in some fantasy world where she could wish things to be, she would have screamed at Simon from her head, telling him to turn around and go back to his office. But this was no fantasy, and Simon was mandated to obey every one of Anders’ commands. He was still the CEO of Kingston Groups, and as such, even the smallest instruction mattered. Veil could only imagine the derision on Simon’s face as he struggled to come to terms with that flimsy errand. Even Veil had never fetched Anders something like that. Sure, she had to get him lunch and his usual black coffee before the start of the day. But that was about it. A bottle of water all of a sudden for someone who wasn’t him? That was suss. The knock Veil had been waiting for sounded at the door, and as her hands stopped midway to her mouth, Anders glared at her, urging her to keep eating. “Come in,
Veil stared at Anders like he was a crazy person, and he couldn’t even blame her. He was sitting in front of her, proclaiming that he wanted her to be his. No rational person was going to be fine with that, but for Veil and Anders, it was more than the bounds of rationality. And even though Veil was yet to admit it to herself, Anders was certain of it. He could see it in the way her pupils were dilated each time she looked up at him like she was drunken in his presence. He could tell from the way she flushed each time he came remotely close to her. In all of Anders’ life, he was barely wrong about something. And he knew this wasn’t going to be an exception. “Mr. Roderiguez...”“Anders. For the last time.”A muscle worked in Veil’s jaw, and Anders found it remarkably attractive. She was pissed, and it was all due to his stubbornness. But he knew he had to have this woman. “You can’t just say that when you don’t mean it.”“Who says I don’t?” Anders questioned, angling his head. He n
Anders would have asked whoever it was by the door to get the fuck away, so he could continue from where he stopped with Veil. But the trance was broken, and she was scampering far away from him, the hunger he recognized still in her eyes. Veil stood mere feet away from Anders, her eyes hazy and her breath untamed. Her previously sleeked-back ponytail was nowhere to be found, and in its place were her curls sticking all over her back. Her skin was a bright red, and she still pressed her legs together. Anders was pleased that even though she was no longer right in front of him, he still had that arresting effect on her. Both of them must have forgotten what made them jump apart in the first place because Veil suddenly froze in panic as the office doors were pushed open and Sophia walked in. She still looked as immaculate as Veil had seen her hours ago, and she could only imagine the stark difference between them right now. Her stiletto heels made a tapping sound on the ground as sh
Veil was distraught for the rest of the day, as every moment kept popping up in her head. She kept thinking there was something she could possibly do, even though Anders had told her to do nothing. But how could he expect her to just stay still and watch everything go by from a corner? If Sophia hadn't bothered knocking before walking through those doors, Veil would have been in a different type of trouble. Or maybe Sophia knew and was only pulling her legs. With a start, Veil realized that she had been working on the same page of a contract for the past thirty minutes and had made absolutely no change to it. "I think I'm going insane," Veil muttered to herself as she leaned against the headrest, closing her eyes. She could feel a migraine coming along and didn't think she could work in that condition. Veil could remember the day she got the invitation for an interview at Kingston Group. She had been so happy that she would finally be able to work somewhere as prestigious as KG,
Veil asked the windows to be rolled down and she reveled in the feeling of the cold air caressing her face. She put her hands outside the car, her fingertips having an alluring tug with the air. Veil was in control more than half the time, but it made her only feel worse.Withdrawing her hand, she sank into the seat, thinking about how difficult it was to be the driver of her life in real-time. She was in a tug with the cosmos, yet it kept flinging her in every direction. First, it was her father who had fallen ill at a moment when everything wasn't rosy, then her hunt for a job that almost took a whole year.“Where's your mind at, Veil?” Orleans’ voice fleeced over to her and she shook her head subtly.“It's just one of those days,” she breathed, sinking further into the seat.“Is it your boss again?”“No,” Veil answered, shaking her head. Although it was indisputable that Anders was a lot of things, she couldn't pin this on him. In fact, he had made things a tad better for her by en
Anders brought his car to a halt in front of Sophia's house, and for the umpteenth time, he wondered why he had agreed to do this. Spending the night going through the update report on the construction site sure was a better way to spend the night, rather than being cooped up in here with the idea of a marriage hanging over his head.One that he surely didn't want.He was late, and intentionally so. Anders had spent over an hour walking through his entire house, looking for an excuse to bail out on the dinner. He knew exactly how tonight was going to go and dreaded it. How was he supposed to act love-struck when all of him needed to check if Veil was okay?As Anders stepped out of the car, the doors to the entrance were pulled open and Sophia walked out of them with her head high. She looked great tonight, with a blood-red dress that hung right above her knees, and her hair down in ringlets. She had on a pair of black heels that looked pretty uncomfortable, but trust Sophia to strut i
“Are the lights dancing?” Veil's speech sounded slurry, and she thought she was going to topple right off the chair. She couldn’t remember how many shots she had had, and Orleans wasn’t really keeping count either. “You’re just drunk, Veil,” Orleans chuckled, his shoulders moving along with the sound. He felt the tension of the week leave his bones, and he relaxed on one hand, leaning on the table. “No,” Veil shook her head. “Can’t you see it? The lights are … they are hopping now? Is it salsa? Maybe ballet.”“You sound so convincing that if I didn’t know better, I would have believed you immediately,” Orleans said. “Should we try something fun?”“What are you thinking?” Veil grinned at him. “Another … round of shots? I’m sure … I can down it … without the lime. Wanna see it?”“We should take a drive around town,” Orleans suggested, his eyes sparkling. “My car is a convertible, so we can feel the wind on our faces. We could add music to it and belt it out loudly into the night. What
Time seemed to be taking all year to go by because even though it felt like hours already to Anders, they had only started on the second course. He thought he could really use some quiet right now, but it would be impolite to ask to use the restroom, considering the fact that he had done that a few minutes ago. Anders felt Sophia’s hands on his thighs again, but he didn’t try to shake her off this time. Not with her father’s eyes fixed on him. “You both seem to have gotten closer,” he commented, still watching them intently. “Don’t you think it’s time for an announcement?”Anders almost choked on the food, and he grabbed the glass of juice, taking his time to down half the cup’s content before looking up at the President. “Er…I think it’s best we take our time.” He didn’t need to look at Sophia to know she thought the exact opposite. “Nonsense!” The president’s wife asserted at once. “There’s nothing like taking one's time where you both are concerned. You’ve been friends since you