All Chapters of Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

[Cordelia] I’ve been stuck on the phone with my mother for the last hour listening to her unending rant about her “situation. She is speaking so rapidly and with so much force I haven’t had a chance to say more than two words. I am exhausted from the day before, sore from the accident and my experiences in jail, and listening to her jabber is taking the last bit of energy I have remaining. “...And now our lawyer is saying there is no way out of this without at least one of us going to prison!” She starts to moan and weep. I pull the phone away from my ear. “I’m sorry, Sweetie, but it looks like you might have to spend some time in jail.” I startle at her implication. She doesn’t know what I know, so I try to feel gracious as she explains how she’ll let me take the fall for everything in order to save the company. She then spends the next ten minutes wailing about our family’s misfortune–one daughter missing and the other daughter in prison. I am glad she cannot see me roll my e

[Cordelia] Tilly’s face is flushed with fear. She is worried about me. Her anger and frustration come from a place of love and concern. Shivering, I take a look over my shoulder at Jude’s place. “Can we go get lunch out today? I'd feel safer if we went somewhere else.” We take her car, and as soon as the apartment disappears in the rearview mirror, I begin to tell her everything. Tilly listens quietly, occasionally nodding to let me know she is still listening. Eventually, she surmises that she doubts he is up to anything “nefarious” although she understands why I might be concerned. “Babies, Tilly! He had babies floating in jars. How do you explain…?” I wave my hands up and down in frustration. “He’s an experimental scientist, right, working on cutting-edge medicine. I bet there is a reasonable explanation for all of it,” seeing my fear and uncertainty she then adds, ”I’m just saying that we should give Dr. Smexy a chance to clear his name before you condemn him.” Crossing m

[Cordelia]Clark knocked on the door of our studio the next morning, a tray of coffee in his right hand, a bag of donuts in his left, and a huge, goofy smile across his face. “Good Morning, Cordy,” he chirps. “Ready to start your day?” Apparently, he is one of those annoying morning people.  “Why are you here?” I groan, ignoring his laughter as he follows me inside.  Tilly, another annoying morning person, gladly takes a coffee from him and puts him right to work helping us load our two fashion collections into the bac

[Cordelia]The rest of my morning went by in a flurry of signed purchase orders and special requests. There wasn’t enough time for me to think about Atlas or anything else. By the end of the afternoon, I had secured over one million dollars in orders and there are still another three hours of the market to go. Buyers and other investors are still swarming around booths, looking for collections to add to their stores, all of them buzzing about the next big event–the Best of Market Fashion Show. “Hey, Cordy!” Clark’s micro drone hovers next to his left ear like an electronic assistant, recording our conversation like an interview. “Did you hear the news?”Tilly and I look at each other. “The list for the Best of Market Show was just released,” he pulls out a copy of the list and begins reading off the names. A few popular designers are listed, no surprise there, including Mathilda Madison.”...And,” he pauses for dramatic effect, “Cordelia Louise D

[Sydney}When I saw Atlas’ brother carrying Cordelia into the hallway like a fallen princess, I couldn’t help but react. And then I had to cover up my shock with another excuse. I may have overdone it because now I am stuck in the sick room lying down on a cot with a heart monitor on my chest. They think I had a real panic attack. In truth, I almost did. For the amount of money I paid for those delivery men, you’d think they’d get the timing right! Because they jumped the gun, trying to snatch her too early, there wasn’t enough distraction for them to successfully carry out the plan. Bad things always happen when you don’t stick to the plan.Pushing the buttons on my phone hard enough to bruise my fingers, I text them back