Layla
For someone living in a small neighborhood, Louis seems like he can afford to rent out the most expensive suite.I don't want to be nosy, so I don't even point that out.Jogging with him is pleasant and it feels great to have some company that doesn't throw sexual comments at me.When I can't jog anymore, I pause to catch my breath and he stops, too."Giving up already?" He shakes his head."Yes.""I can tell." He chuckles.My throat is so dry that the water I have isn't enough to quench my thirst and it seems I'm too obvious because he offers to buy more for me.Though I want to decline, I need it so I agree.Because we've been jogging for a long time, we're already close to a convenience store so he leads the way.He's so tall that I have to look up just to take a look at his silky blond hair. He also has the perfect muscle tone.Once in the store, I take my water bottle and it's time for him to pay the salesperson, a young lady like me, but he rummages through his pockets for a long time.Please don't let this be one of those moments where someone has no money and is embarrassed by it."It seems I don't have any cash on me," he says to her. "However, do you accept payments with this?"He asks, taking out his wallet and when he presents a black card with a gold line, my eyes widen just as much as the sales person.Those cards are exclusively for the elites of society.She nods and reaches for the card, her hand even trembling a little.I look on in shock as I begin to wonder how someone like Louis is living in such a small and simple neighborhood."Anything else I can get you before I put my card away?" He turns to me.I'm still in so much shock that I only shake my head.That card is still on my mind because Nathan also had one.As soon as he comes to my mind, I squeeze the water bottle and it crunches a little while it's still sealed."Whoa! Are you alright?" His voice is laced with concern."Oh...yeah."I lead the way as we leave the store and slowly open my bottle, but he goes ahead of me and smiles."Allow me," he says, opening the door for me. What a gentleman.Nathan stopped opening doors for me not long after I lost the baby. The few times he did, it was only so he could pretend to be a good husband.I try to block him out of my mind when Louis and I step outside the store."I can't help but wonder, who exactly are you?" I tilt my head with curiosity.He stops in front of me and crosses his arms."I told you that already. I'm Louis.""I know, but really, who are you? That black card is-""So that's what this is about. I see. Well, I don't want to tell you who I am. I prefer showing you, only if you agree to come with me. Is that okay?"I'm so curious that I nod. Nathan and his siblings all had black cards.I find myself thinking about him again and how he treated me like I was nothing and it makes my blood boil, so much that I squeeze the bottle again."Easy with that. Is there something on your mind?""Uh..not at all." I lie to him.Nathan's a thing of the past. The only reason he first crossed my mind was because of the black card.But just like I promised myself before, if I ever cross paths with him again, things will be very different between us.In silence, Louis and I jog back home together. His house is nearer so he arrives first and I expect him to turn and go up the stairs but instead, he accompanies me and walks right beside me."What are you doing? You're home." I point at his house."But you're not.""I'll be there soon.""And I want to know where that is. Also....your phone number."I chuckle. "Seriously?""You didn't think that was it, did you?"He takes out his phone and hands it to me as we keep moving and I type it in with ease.This is the first time I'm giving out my number in a long time."Here you go." I hand him back the phone and he looks at me with raised eyebrows."How should I save it?""My name, which you already know.""Well, I see. Just curious in case you had something else in mind."I roll my eyes at him."I know you said you'd show me who you are, but can you at least tell me part of it?""All I can tell you for now is that I lived in this neighborhood for five years. That was a very long time ago but it's special to me."I expect him to keep talking but he stops right there, leaving me disappointed."If this is your attempt at making me tell you everything so you don't come with me, you're already busted." He waves his finger with a smile."That wasn't my plan at all.""Which means you still want to come with me?" He's excited."Of course." I smile at him.After everything I've been through because of Nathan, I feel like I've isolated myself for so long that I shouldn't do it anymore. I need to live my life now.~That same day, later in the afternoon, I'm all dressed up with a touch of some simple makeup.I haven't worn one of my favorite body hugging white dresses in a long time and it fits me perfectly.I feel so gorgeous that I can't stop checking myself out in the mirror.When Louis gives me a call and tells me he's outside, I step out to meet him and he's in a similar outfit from earlier.I even feel overdressed."Maybe I should go back inside and change." I look at myself with disapproval."Not at all. You look absolutely gorgeous." His eyes are filled with admiration.He makes me feel flattered. I don't think anyone's ever looked at me like that before."Shall we?" he says, opening the car door to the backseat for me.Because I'm someone who's familiar with cars, I can tell that this is a limited edition and extremely expensive.As we ride in the car for thirty minutes, he showers me with respectful compliments and I feel so comfortable around him.When we arrive at the airport, we travel using his private jet and while we're up in the sky and engaged in conversation, I make a shocking discovery about him.Layla"You're really Louis Lindgren?" My eyes widen.He nods. "Yes, I'm the first son. It seems you know about my family name.""Of course. I've known about it since..."I trail off, not wanting to mention that I've known about the Lindgren business rivalry with the Partridges since I was married to Nathan.Thinking of something quickly, I force a smile."Uh.. I've seen the name in so many business articles. I've also seen your father a few times. Now I see the resemblance. I was wondering where I've seen you before." I know I'm not being completely honest with him, but I don't yet feel like talking about the period of my life that involves Nathan. Maybe I never will. It still hurts me.To shut him out, I switch conversations and say, "I thought you said you would only show me who you are, not tell me."He chuckles. "At this point, you're already on this private jet with me so I'm already showing you. Besides, we're almost there."When the private jet touches down at the airport, we
LaylaAfter years of hard work and dedication in my studies, I finally graduated.This whole time, Louis has been there for me and on several occasions, he's confessed his feelings for me. but I just couldn't reciprocate.What I went through with Nathan left me deeply scarred.Every year, I've found myself feeling sorrowful on the day I had the miscarriage and what happened afterwards. I thought I was completely past it but each anniversary has made me feel almost the same.This year’s anniversary is coming up soon and I'm hoping it'll be different. It's because I won't let it get to me.This is the reason I've been hesitant this whole time to give Louis a chance but after so long, I feel I'm ready.I also focused on getting a job right here in New York and finally, I got hired at Tech-Beet. I'm working in the finance department.Louis hasn't been too happy about it because he's been offering to give me a job at one of his companies, but I don't want to work for someone close to me in
LaylaLouis is so excited on the other end of the line that it takes me a second to respond as my lips curve into a smile."I need you to say that again," he says to me, his voice laced with anticipation."Nope, you heard me the first time." I chuckle."Wow! you have no idea how you've made my day so much better. Let's have lunch together in a few hours." He sounds thrilled."Hmm, I won't be up for it.""Too busy thinking about how long you've made me wait?""Hey...""Just kidding. I'm glad I never gave up and trust me when I say you'll never regret it."Louis has been so good to me that I don't doubt him at all.~When I return to the office, I slowly walk through the isle and usually, everyone's focused on their computers, typing away and the keyboard noises and printers going off, but none of them are in the mood.While I'm worried about my job, it's worse for some of them since they've been here for a long time. This was their whole source of income and now it might be the end of
Nathan I'm hoping I made the right decision by coming to New York. Drowning myself in a lot of hard work here at Tech-Beet should help block out everything else on my mind. I still can't believe James decided to come with me just like that. I guess he'll always follow me wherever I go, for as long as I want him with me. As the new Tech-Beet management team is announced, the two of us stand right next to each other backstage while he fixes his necktie with enthusiasm. His name is about to be announced. Even from this distance, I can see one section of the staff as they give a round of applause. Once James is called to the stage, I pat him on the back and proudly watch him get up there. When my name is finally announced, I walk to the stage with my head high and force myself to give a half smile. Now that I'm right on the stage, I see the other half of the crowd. As everyone continues to give a round of applause I casually look around at everyone. But suddenly, my gaze
NathanAccompanied by James and my new team, I lead the way as we move through the office, checking on what everyone's up to. While it's my intention just to see the faces of the people I'll be working with, it's only one part of my reason for doing this, the other part being to find Layla. I know she's right here.I have the option to just mention her name and be guided to her workstation, but I feel that'll only begin to raise questions, and I still wish to keep things as they are.After moving through several workstations, I approach the finance department and before I can even get inside, I know I've just found her. She still uses the same fragrance from when we were still married.There's the possibility that it could just be another person using the same brand, but I'm certain she's the one because this is the only place I haven't yet checked.After I step foot inside, I stop in my tracks right after I make it past the doorway when I spot her in the corner.Her other two collea
Nathan It takes me a moment to process what just happened and right at that moment, there's another loud bang against the door and I hear Miranda grunt a few times. She sounds furious. "I thought I heard something," James says from the other end of the line. "Is everything okay over there?" His voice is laced with concern. "Yeah, it's just Miranda. I'll see you at the office tomorrow." After shoving my phone in my pocket, I approach the door in a hurry, wondering what she hurled at the door. The moment I unlock the door, she swings it open from the other side and I almost fall backward. Finding my balance, I shake my head at her as I straighten up. "What the hell's wrong with you?" I ask, my eyes scanning her figure. She's still in her lingerie. "What's the meaning of what you said to me when you walked in?" She glares at me, placing a hand on her hip. "How dare you tell me to put some clothes on?" My expression turns blank. "I just had a very busy day. I'm not in the mood rig
Layla"Why should I quit?" I look down at the phone like Pamela can see me."Isn't it obvious? Your ex-husband is your boss," she replies from the other end of the line."Is that enough reason for me to quit?" I then press my lips together to finish off my lipstick application."Are you saying you want to work for him?""I just want to wait and see what happens.""Why do you want to wait when you know he's definitely going to fire you?""On what grounds? That I'm his ex-wife?""Actually, firing you isn't even the right thing to say. You've done nothing wrong, but it's like you said, you're the one most likely to be laid off because of how you recently started working at Tech-Beet.""When you put it that way, you're right. I'll most likely find out when I go to work tomorrow. I'm leaving the company anyway, so I won't look weak in front of Nathan by handing in my resignation letter for personal reasons. It has nothing to do with my job and I refuse to let him get to me.""I like the so
Layla As I brace myself for the inevitable, I imagine that Louis is about to lose interest in me. His eyes will lose their warmth, and his hands will leave me. However, the unexpected happens. "I know you're divorced." He smiles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "You do?" My eyes widen in shock. "Not long after I met you, a friend saw me with you a few times and told me about it." "That means this whole time, you've known that I was married to-" "Yes. Listen to me. I don't care that you're divorced." His voice is filled with conviction. "That's why when I found out, it didn't change the way I felt about you. I still wanted you, and even now, I still want you." I part my lips to speak, but it takes me a moment as I'm at a loss for words. "There's, there's something-" "It doesn't matter what else you have to say. I still want you." He smiles at me and I chuckle with relief, my vision blurring a little from the tears in my eyes. "I also have something to tell you."