With everyone else finally leaving the conference room after the conclusion of the event meeting, the last two people left happen to be Sarah and Eric. Seeing Sarah furiously typing away on her laptop, finishing the document with the roles and responsibilities that they discussed in the meeting, Eric has an idea pop up in his head. Seemingly muttering to himself he says, “I wonder if Xander Empire is not doing as well as it used to when senior Mr. Xander was the CEO.” Saying this he leaves the question open-ended and starts putting things together in his bag before finally getting up. As expected, Sarah hears him alright and in a more business-like manner asks him, “I am sorry, is there anything that you find missing? Is there something I can help you with?” Shrugging his shoulders, he simply responds, “Well, aren’t these meetings supposed to start on a congratulatory note? We won a new business. A prestigious one at that. A meal or a dessert would have been a nice way to s
The next few weeks pass by quickly in preparation for the big event. Eric and Sarah work very closely together with their teams and Rose supports them fully from the sidelines since Alec keeps reminding her that her primary role in the organization is being his secretary. Since that day of their lunch at the yacht, Alec and Rose had somehow gotten rid of the coldness between them but it is still a delicate professional relationship. Alec knows if he pushes even a bit, the cold walls would be drawn up between them once again. So he tries to stay reasonable around her. However, he is unable to stop feeling threatened by Eric’s growing closeness to Rose. It is one of the reasons he keeps a close eye on them and barges into meetings unannounced on the pretext of supervision and updates, just to keep a check on them Alec, with his eyes only trained on Rose, doesn’t realize that his brother is interested in Sarah and what he feels for Rose is a protective brotherly love, more so sinc
As the much-awaited hour of the event arrives, Sarah, Eric, and Rose do a team debrief and everyone takes their respective positions. The Xander mega yacht looks truly magnificent with the additional lighting and classy, minimalistic decorations. With the entire event being super exclusive, the paparazzi are not allowed to step onto the yacht. However, as the guests start arriving at the scene, the company’s professional team ensures all key moments are captured on tape and shared with media tomorrow while the social media team keeps doing a live stream. The celebrities, entrepreneurs, the contenders for the award tonite, all start appearing one by one with their respective plus one. And then suddenly Rose spots the one she had been waiting for. Walking up to her, Derek pulls her in for a kiss. “Wow! You are looking gorgeous, babe.” Looking around to check his surroundings, Derek notices the interiors of the supremely luxurious yacht. “Everything is looking really good. Loo
Finding herself naked and stuck inside a strange room with an equally naked Alec was a scenario beyond comprehension for Rose. With a million thoughts running through her head, she looks at Alec to get some answers only to find him looking at her from head to toe with a dazed look in his eyes and a massive tent forming inside his towel. Seeing this really triggers the temper in Rose, but right now she needs to find out what really happened. However, as she is met with complete silence from this arrogant man, she concludes what might have taken place last night. Looking at him in pure fury she asks him, “This is what you had always wanted all along, isn’t it? To catch me at a vulnerable moment so you could finally add me to your endless list of one-night stands.” Seeing him take a step towards her, she puts a hand to stop him, “Do not try to come close to me. Stay where you are.” Seeing her expressions and hearing her angry words, Alec’s face holds a confused look. He had
At the insistence of Sarah, Rose had spent the weekend at Sarah’s place. Getting away from her own apartment had been a great idea. Spending time together, watching some old movies on Netflix, and Sarah’s excellent cooking had brought about some semblance of peace to Rose’s mind space. By the time Monday arrived, she was feeling a lot better, and getting to the office with Sarah had felt breezy. But now, as she stood outside Alec’s office, she felt a little nervous. Getting in, thankfully Alec seems busy with the papers on his desk and doesn’t look up till she reaches the desk. However, once she does, Alec looks up and greets her warmly, “Good morning, Rose. How are you today?” Feeling a little hesitant, she softly responds, “I am good Alec. Hope your coffee is fine today. May I read out your today’s schedule for today?” Inspecting her from top to bottom, Alec takes a sip of the coffee and smiles politely at her. “Perfect.” After she is done reading out his day’s schedu
The doctor leaves the room offering both Rose and Alec privacy thinking they both are the parents to the unborn child. While Rose is too overwhelmed by the news, Alec doesn’t correct them either. They stay in the hospital for a while till she has the IV connected to her arm giving her additional fluids to her body. The entire duration, neither says a word. Rose is lost in thoughts of how this could have happened, while Alec is imagining Rose with a swollen belly and a happy glow around her. Before long a slightly elderly nurse comes inside the room to remove the IV. As she removes it off her arm, she tells them both, “I was told this is going to be your first child. The doctor has already prescribed you the multivitamins so you should not miss any of those. But it is also essential to supplement those with healthy food and beverages. Since it is your first pregnancy you both really need to be careful, especially in the initial few months. Also, try not to take extra stress and st
Flashback to a few hours before Rose’s call with Derek. Derek hears his dad angrily walking inside his apartment, screaming, while looking for him. “Derek!” Though he hears his dad’s voice he does not even bother acknowledging it, letting his old man go through each room looking for him before he finds him. He chuckles as he hears his dad’s anger rising from the next room and then suddenly, they are face to face. His father’s voice booms inside the room, “Still playing your juvenile games. I am ashamed to even call you my son. You have been an utter waste of space your entire life. Not only have you wasted the money that I spent on your education, feeding, and clothing a piece of filth like you, but you are now making a bigger dent in my resources by leading a life of excesses while the company continues to go deeper into losses.” Hearing this Derek feels a wave of anger rising inside him but his dad persists. “Random naked women keep opening the door every time I come to
By Tuesday, Rose’s emotions had settled a bit. While subconsciously she had known that she would be keeping the baby, saying it out loud to Sarah had freed some of the fear and anxiety. By Wednesday, she had accepted she was going to be a mom. A title that would remain with her forever. By Thursday, her spirits had improved and she had stopped trying to feel sorry for herself. And by the time Friday had arrived, Rose knew that while she had done the right thing by telling Derek about the baby, she did not want him to come to her house. That would lead to conflicted emotions and she did not want to build up her hopes on a man who had been happily cheating on her. Saturday early morning, Derek arrives at the café Rose had suggested they meet at. Seeing him again after that night, Rose’s first instinct had been to scream and shout at him. But she wanted answers from this man whom she had called her boyfriend for a year. She wanted to figure things out and assess if his enthusi