Daisy was up a bit late the next morning, it was the weekend and in the absence of work, she had no urgent need to get up early. Feeling groggy and grumpy but no longer overwhelmingly tired. She strolled to Ugo's room to check up on her before heading to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. The doorbell rang just as she was about to settle into the sofa. Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered who could be at her door. Brett was one of the four people she placed on the list to get past the front desk, so she felt he could be the one. Excitement rushed down her body as she headed to the door.And when she opened it, it was her mother. Bridget swept right past her in a fancy red flattering dress that she pulled off comfortably. Looking young enough to be her daughter's sister. She raked a glance over Daisy's comfortable nightwear before saying, "Honey, oh my God, did you hear?""Hear what?" Daisy asked, drawing her brows together."Christ you have no idea." She pulled Daisy into a tight
"I'm serious, Daisy Ledwig. Watch your damn weight. There's nothing funny about that." Bridget scolded. Daisy found her mother's persistence even more funny. So, she laughed some more until she fell on the bed. "Oh, stop it." Bridget shoved at Daisy's shoulder. "This is not funny." But Daisy laughed until a few tears streaked down her cheeks. "Daisy, really?" Bridget said, now smiling. She giggled sweetly and tapped Daisy gently on her lap. Finally, she gentled down and gave her mother an appreciative stare. Bridget's presence somehow turned out to be just what she needed. With her hands on her now cramping stomach, she took a deep cleansing breath. "Did he give it to him?" Daisy asked softly. Bridget's smile faded. "Who?" "Dad." "Give what to who?" "The money. Did he give it to Julian?" "Oh....." Bridget gasped and Daisy waited. "No." She said. "He would never give it to him. Your father is smarter than that. His mind doesn’t work that way. He told him to go to hell and
Handling the tablet over to her mother with more care than necessary, Daisy released the breath she'd been holding unknowingly. "That’s not his sister." She said, truthfully."I figured. The caption did the explanation but I didn't want to point that out." She looked at her mother. "Could you do me a favor and check up on Ugo. I have a call to make.""Sure." Bridget replied, getting up. "Don't be too soft on him. Be firm and state your boundaries. Most influential men easily take people for granted. There is a thin line between power and control when it comes to them." Bridget shared a tip out of the abundance of the experience she'd had. She reached over and set her hand on Daisy's own, kissed her forehead and left for Ugo's room. Once she left, Daisy grabbed her phone and hit the speed dial for Brett's phone. She bolted her door and leaned behind it while waiting for him to pick up. Two rings later, he did. "Lexington," he said, even though his screen would’ve told him it was D
Daisy cried her eyes out in the bathroom, and when she cleaned up herself and went to the sitting room to meet Ugo and the mother, the two women acted like her face wasn't looking stripped and her eyes weren't red. Surprisingly, Ugo agreed to stay at Daisy's place until much later. They played Ludo, watched some real comedy series, and played mix-and-match. And when Bridget was ready to leave, Daisy was eighty percent out of the sulking zone. The next couple of days crawled by. Every day she told herself she wasn’t waiting on some sort of contact from Brett, but when she crawled into bed at night, she would cry herself to sleep because just like the others, another day had ended without a word from him. The people around her worried. Ugo, her parents. Her mom formed the habit of calling her every morning, during lunch break and every evening. Donald, her Boss at the office, was worried too. Not because she wasn't doing her job well. If there was anything, she was doing her job ex
"Daisy." Bridget Ledwig practically squealed. "You’re going to look amazing. I know just the thing to do with your hair. You’ll love it." Ugo's lips twitched. "All right then, can't wait to see what the new Daisy would look like." New Daisy turned out to be a modern, slightly edgy hot-ass. Her once long, straight dark hair was now shoulder length, cut in long layers, with the tips tinted blond, framing her face. She had her makeup done, too, to see what sort of look she could pair with her new hairdo, and she found out that smoky eyes were a perfect killer, along with soft pink lip gloss. In the end, I didn't go with red for her nails and chose white for her toenails and pink for her fingernails. Everything looked great and she really liked them. For now, anyway. She was willing to admit she was going through a phase and she did. "Okay, I'll take it back," Ugo said, whistling. "Breakup clearly looks good on you." "See." Bridget crowed, grinning. "I told you. Now you
On Ugo's insistence that she was okay, the two friends found themselves on the dancefloor alongside Daisy's parents. When the song ended, they pulled apart and started toward their table. But Daisy felt fingers circle her wrist and when she turned her head, she found herself looking into the eyes of Willock Hampton, Manuel's younger brother. "I’d like to have the next dance," he said, his mouth curved in a boyish grin. There was no sign of the angered man she'd seen arguing with Brett the other night. Ugo stepped forward, looking at her friend for cues. Daisy's first instinct was to refuse Willock, and then she looked around. "You don't plan on causing a scene today, do you?" He tugged her into his arms. "I would never do that. I’ve got her," he said to Ugo, sweeping Daisy off. "You look fantastic, Daisy. I love your hair." Daisy managed a tight smile. "Thank you." "Relax," he said. "You’re so stiff. I won’t bite." "Sorry. Just want to be sure I don’t offend whoever y
When the new week arrived, Daisy left her apartment as New Daisy. With a well made-up face, soft lipstick and her new tinted bouncy hairstyle. Ugo had left earlier as she was rushing to beat traffic since her workplace was a bit far from Daisy's apartment. Daisy locked her apartment door and exited the elevator cheerfully, feeling pumped and ready to act like someone else, someone who wasn’t heartbroken and lost and angry. The SUV was at the curb when she stepped outside. Ben didn’t bother to exit the car, knowing she wouldn’t accept a ride. It puzzled Daisy that Brett would have his chauffeur wasting his time hanging around, just in case she might have him drive her somewhere. It didn’t make any sense unless Brett was feeling guilty. The morning at Lex and Gibson went by swiftly. "You look good, Daisy," Donald said when she first joined him in his office. "Are you doing all right?" "Not really." She replied truthfully. "But I’ll get there." Donald leaned forward, settin
Brett's breath hissed out at having those crude words thrown back in his face. "Don’t say that Daisy, don't..." "Daisy..." He called and her eyes trailed to the ring and bracelet she gave him. "You can take those off and trash them, Brett. There's nothing left." "Never, I never take them off. I won’t. Ever." His right hand released hers and he reached into his pocket. She watched as he slid the ring he’d given her before back onto her finger, and then he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it, then pressed his lips to her temple. "Wait for me, Daisy...." He said. Then he was gone. The elevator began its descent. "What the hell is this?" She whispered, confusion-ridden. Her right hand curled into a fist and she backed away from the