All Chapters of Heartstrings and Agendas: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Adán’s POV I arrived home after a long day, eager for some rest. My daughter, Ava, was already in the house with her babysitter, Grace.  As I walked through the front door, I could hear the faint murmur of a movie coming from the home theater.  I smiled; it sounded like Ava was having a good time. Entering the theater, I found Ava sprawled on the couch, her little feet propped up on the armrest.  Grace was sitting beside her, her gaze fixed on the screen.  “Hey, champ!” I greeted Ava with a warm smile as I walked in.  Ava turned her head, her face lighting up with a grin.  “Daddy! We’re watching Finding Nemo! Come come come!” “Is that so?” I replied, chuckling. “Well, you’

MILLIE We got to the capital of Italy, and we were taken to our hotel. All the employees also arrived and were lodged in the same hotel. When we got to the hotel, Mr. Serrano disappeared, and his bodyguards handled his suitcases for him. I went to get the keycard to my room: Room 800. I opened the room door and arranged my suitcase to the side of the room. The room was white and beige, and it had a very nice view of the garden with the ceiling-to-floor window. There was a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I went to take a view of the bathroom, and I was also wowed. I didn’t get any calls or emails from Mr. Serrano, so I just kicked off my shoes and took a nap. ... I was awakened by the door opening. I was sure as hell that I had locked the door when I got in. Who had another keycard to open it? I st

I came out of the bathroom, wrapped with a towel, my still-hot body from the hurried encounter awhile back with Mr. Serrano. My heart was racing against my chest as I stood there, hopeful he hadn't seen how thrown I'd been. Mr. Serrano didn't utter one word as he entered the room; all he did was sit on the bed and started messaging with his phone. The air was silent, quiet because of him.He got up without raising his head, took his clothes and towel in his hands, and moved into the bathroom. I was left there lying, with no idea of what to think or how to be. Finally, a sigh of relief exhaled, yet I also felt filled with disappointment. Why was I hoping for him to say something? Anything?I got dressed in such a rush because I didn't feel like being alone anymore in that room. The mere thought of doing so, with the possibility of more awkwardness, just drove me nuts. I wanted air—and I wanted to find Isabella.I had barely gotten out of the room when I realized how large the hotel was

Finally, he spoke, low and controlled. "Is there something amusing you two would care to share with the rest of us?"I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Isabella wasn't much help either; she stared at him with wide, guilty eyes. Great. We were coming off like a pair of schoolgirls who'd been caught gossiping about the principal. "Well?" he prodded, taking far too much pleasure in our discomfort. His lips actually arced into the tiniest hint of a smirk. "I'm all ears." I started to cough, desperate to think of an excuse that wouldn't make me sound like a complete moron. "Um…we were just talking about…um, some funny movie I just saw?" "A funny movie," he repeated. His smirk grew, and he didn't believe me for a second. Quite rightly, really-we were crap liars."Yeah!" Isabella jumped in, her voice a little over-eager. "It was a comedy. You know, one of those comedies that's really slapstick

My heart stopped. Slowly, I turned around, wide-eyed in horror as Mr. Serrano entered the room; he wasn't looking at me first, seemed engrossed with whatever was on his phone, but the second he looked up, his entire body froze. There I was: half-naked in nothing but my underwear, standing right in the middle of the room. I just blanked out in my head. I was immobile, couldn't even utter one word. It seemed like the time really stopped, and all that I was doing was fix my gaze on him with wide eyes while, in my brain, the comprehension of what really just happened registered. Mr. Serrano's eyes blinked once, and then again, like he clearly hadn't expected to see me there like that. His gaze darted from my face, to my…less-than-fully-clothed state…back to my face again. For the first time since I'd met him, he looked utterly and completely shocked. Neither of us said a word.