“Tell her I’m busy.”“Yes, Ms. Maia.” Maia hung up and continued to focus on her work. …“Did she receive the flowers?” Cedric asked as he set aside his files.“Yes, they were delivered. Ms. Maia has received them.” Baz replied.“How did she react?” Baz chose his words carefully. “Ms. Maia gave the roses to her employees. Everyone in the company got one. She also transferred 27 thousand dollars into our corporate account.” How dare she give her staff the roses and then send him the money? She was making it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Baz could feel his boss getting angrier. He could only lower his head and try to disappear, thinking, ‘Ms. Maia is bold. This was the first time his boss had ever given anyone flowers. Yet, she gave them all to someone else!’ Suddenly, he heard the sound of a pen snapping in half. Baz felt a shiver down his spine.For the next few hours, HL Corporation was shrouded in a cloud of gloom, which did not lift until the end of
Buck’s thrilled voice said, “Ms. Maia, I found Jordan Cantrell!” This was good news, especially for Starlight Entertainment.“Where is he?”“He’s living in Eldertown now, working as a math teacher at a high school.” “Get me the fastest ticket to Eldertown tonight!” Maia needed to leave this instant! “Yes, of course.” “Maia, are you going somewhere? I heard you asking someone to book tickets for you?” Tess asked as she placed a dish on the dining table. “Aunt Tess, I’m sorry but I need to leave for Eldertown tonight.” Maia told Tess truthfully. “Eldertown? That’s quite a distance from here. Why do you need to go there?” “Jordan Cantrell lives there. He used to be the chief financial officer of Starlight Entertainment.” Maia clarified. “Are you looking for him to get him to come back?” Errol interjected. “Yes, I think he is most suitable for this position." Maia nodded. The position of chief financial officer was one of the most important in the company. Maia need
”Shit!” Cedric cursed as he thought of the possibilities. He lit a cigarette as he got into the car, slamming the door hard. Baz cowered in fear. He knew very well that Cedric was not a smoker. The only time Cedric had allowed himself to succumb to alcoholism and cigarettes was when he thought Maia had died. Yet here he was, smoking again because of her. “Find out where she is at once!” He would not allow himself to lose her again. “Yes, sir.” Ten minutes later, Cedric got Maia’s exact location. “Mr. Larkin, Ms. Maia left for Eldertown 20 minutes ago.”“Eldertown?” Cedric asked slowly.Baz nodded. “Get me tickets for Eldertown immediately,” Cedric demanded. “I’m sorry, but the last train has already left.” “Are there any other train stations nearby?” “There’s one, but we’ll have to drive another 290 kilometers to Eldertown. Perhaps we could get tickets for the first train the next morning?” Baz asked.“Get me those tickets tonight,” Cedric replied firmly. “Yes,
As her back hit the floor, her legs collided against the edge of the bed. One of her arms had a huge cut from the shattered glass and was bleeding badly. The pain from her throbbing arm kept her conscious. She bit her lips hard as she tried to stand, grabbing hold of a table for support. Another loud thud echoed through the building. At that moment, the alarms in the hotel rang, and she could hear a staff member speaking urgently through the PA system. “All guests please evacuate the building through the emergency stairway on the sixth floor. Leave all valuables behind! This is an emergency!”Seconds later, the announcement ceased as the hotel was again thrown into darkness. The backup power was gone.Maia endured the throbbing pain as she stood up slowly. She dragged herself towards the door and hurled it open with all her strength.Moments later, the door slammed shut behind her with a bang as the strong wind continued to blow. The corridor she was in was covered in shattere
“What is it?” Aiken turned back to Maia.“Please be careful.”“Don’t worry about me! Make sure you take care of my sunglasses, I’ll come get them when I’m back. You should take a break while you can!” Aiken said, flashing an OK sign to reassure her.“Of course,” Maia promised.Aiken then left with the others to help the locals.After what seemed like hours, the winds began to clear up. However, the rain still showed no signs of subsiding.The rapid water currents were strong and rushed toward the lower areas in the town. Most of the roads were flooded.Maia looked out through the windows. She saw that the tide was as high as a two-story building. Numerous residential areas around the hotels were completely destroyed.Maia’s fatigue started to set in and she slowly drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, a woman in the room screamed, “Look! A child! There’s a child in the water!”“Oh my God! It’s really a child! Is there anyone else who could swim here?”“All the good swimmers left to
Maia was taken aback by his question and stared at him with a puzzled look.Cedric just smirked and said, “If you’re dead, how could you take revenge on me?”Maia frowned at this as she realized now was not the right time to start arguing. She bit her lips and threw one of her arms around him.As Cedric felt her arm tighten around his waist, he started to swim towards the rescue boat. Every time he exerted force, he could feel a ripping pain coming from his back. The only thing that helped Cedric with the pain was the thought that he had to make sure that Maia would get to the boat safely.When they got onto the rescue boat, Cedric immediately checked on the wound on Maia’s arm. Maia had been in the water for a long time, and her arms were already starting to turn purple from the lack of blood circulation.“Hand me the first aid kit.” He took a look at her infected wound and frowned.One of the rescue team members quickly handed Cedric the first aid kit. He took it and started
Maia already knew that news would get out when she and Cedric came to Eldertown. What she did not expect was how it was all blown out of proportion.Maia bit her lower lip and moved quickly toward the direction of the hospital. She did not want to attract any more unnecessary attention.The moment she got to the entrance of the hospital, a pack of reporters swarmed around her like hungry hyenas. They bombarded her with questions, one after another.“Ms. Maia, what business do you have in Eldertown?”“We got news that Mr. Larkin is hospitalized. Is that true? Could you give us any information about that?”“Ms. Maia, seeing that you’re wearing the evacuee tracksuit, does that mean that you were trapped in the hurricane along with Mr. Larkin?”The public knew very well what kind of relationship she had with Cedric. Now, the two of them were seemingly together in Eldertown. The reporters could not wait to get their hands on the latest gossip about the couple.With cameras flashing i
As Maia didn't know how to react, Jordan covered her by thanking the doctor. When the doctor was gone, he said, "I'll go settle the medical bill for Cedric's surgery."Maia nodded and asked, "Jordan, when do you think the airport will resume operation?""It's not badly affected by the flood, but I think it might take a week at least.""I think he needs a week to recuperate after the surgery. Can you help me arrange a chartered flight to bring him back to Prismara when the airport resumes operation?" She wouldn't need to deal with him once he returned. "Sure." Jordan nodded. "Leave it to me."After Maia thanked him, she headed toward Room 508. The fifth floor was so quiet that Maia could hear her footsteps. When she walked into the room and saw the worn-out man lying on the bed, she thought of how he protected her as they were about to hit the billboard.Maia let out a bitter chuckle and asked, "What is this all about? Some sort of atonement?" She looked away and prepared to leav