I screamed into a pillow as Damon chuckled while reading the headlines.
“Look at you little miss celebrity,” he mused.“This is all your fault!” I pouted as I threw a pillow at him which he easily caught.“You’ll get used to it don’t worry,” he winked.“Besides they’ll get bored eventually and leave you alone,”“Not if we keep seeing each other,” I frowned.“C’mon it’ll give your ex boyfriend something to think about. He was totally jealous and I’m sure you liked the way it felt.”Yes the thought of Michael being jealous made me feel a certain way. But I wasn’t going to admit that.“I don’t think he was jealous. I think he’s really in love with Lana.”“She doesn’t seem like a nice person,”“No shit.” I rolled my eyes.Damon plopped down on the bed beside me and pinned my hands above my head.“Careful Arya. You better watch that mouth of yours.” He growled as pressed his leg between my legs.A soft moan escaped my lips as he smirked.“I want you to ride me like crazy right now,” he whispered in my ear and I released a shaky moan because of the way he sounded. He turned me on.As I was about to take off my top, my phone rang.“Aren’t you going to get that?” Damon asked and I shook my head no.I climbed on top of him and straddled him.“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” He raked his hand through my hair and I blushed.Then my phone rang again ruining the moment.Without checking the caller ID I answered.“Hello,”“Arya,” Michael’s calm voice greeted over the phone and I instantly froze.“Oh! How can I help you?” I asked and Damon raised a brow. I mouthed to him that I was talking to Michael and he smirked.“I was hoping you got my email earlier. I wanted to go over a few things with you concerning the acquisition of the company.”“Yeah sure,”“Can you meet me at Starbucks in 15?” He asked and I nodded.“Arya?” He called and I realized that I nodded and he couldn’t see me.“You were nodding right?” There was a playful tone in his voice.“Yeah I was,” I blushed. What the fuck is wrong with me?“Well I’ll see you in a bit,” I hung up before he could say anything.“Sounds like you have a date,” Damon joked and I rolled my eyes.“It’s a business meeting for your information.”“Uh-huh, I hear you loud and clear,” Damon chuckled.I quickly got dressed and grabbed my coat. After I called an Uber, I thought about meeting Michael. I knew it might be awkward but this was just business. I had to believe that all it was.When I got picked up, I went to Starbucks to meet Damon. If I’m honest, I was nervous.I stepped out of the car and went to meet Michael inside.Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the building and immediately spotted him sitting at the table.“Hey Michael,” I smiled as I took a seat opposite to him.“Glad you can join me Arya. I ordered a beverage for you. I remembered how much you liked caramel Frappuccino.” He smiled and I nodded.“It’s my favorite drink.”“Yes I know. I use to get you that drink all the time.”An awkward silence fell over us as I stared at the drink, a small smile playing on my lips.“I’ve decided that I want to merge companies instead. We can form an entirely new company from this deal.”“I thought you would have preferred an acquisition,” I raised a brow.“I mulled it over last night and I’ve decided that it would be better to at least do a merger first.”“Wow I’m surprised to hear that.”“I thought about it and it seemed like the better option right now.”“Thank you, that’s exactly what we were hoping for but it’s not the case anymore. The CEO of our company stepped down last night. I got his email this morning and he says that the acquisition is fine and he has no issues going through with it. All he wants to do is become a shareholder when your company takes over.”“Oh, I see.” He thought for a moment.“In that case I want you to be my personal advisor and the head lawyer of the chain of my companies as well.” He said and I almost spat out my drink.“W-What?” He can’t be serious.“That’s a great offer but I don’t know,” I confessed. Working with Michael is entirely a different story and I don’t even know how to feel about it. About him! Besides, I don’t want to let the company down. That position is huge.“Are you doubting your abilities?”“It’s not that, it’s just a lot in such a short time.”“You’ve become so confident and you’ve clearly matured. Surely you can handle this. You’ve always doubted yourself but I’ll need you to trust and believe in yourself. Remember I use to tell you that you’re smart all the time and I’ve encouraged you to be better,” Michael said and my eyes widened.“That’s up until you start degrading me and making me feel like I was stupid. How could you give someone confidence and then take it all away. That’s selfish,” I whispered and he turned his head.“Arya I-“I can do it!” I interjected before he could finish. I didn’t want to relive anything or make any moments between us.“I accept the position you offered me. I’ll redo the contracts and email it to you. I’ll also like to keep this professional. Have a good day Mr. Stone.”“Put your best foot forward and be sure to make this company a great working environment. I’m still in the process of laying off employees so I implore you to act in a certain manner. I know management around here had some loose ends but I can assure you that I’m perfectly fine with cutting loose ends. Return to work. You all are dismissed.” Michael’s words cut like a knife as his voice was cold and sharp. “Damn, your ex is intense,” Yasmeen muttered and I nodded. “He was always serious about his work. He takes it to heart and he’s very hardworking even though he had everything handed to him.” “Miss Sterling, have you already responded to the foreign investors? How is my schedule looking for the day?” His voice snapped me out of my conversation. “Sir, I didn’t have time to look at it,” I confessed. “Your position is not permanent so I suggest you get on board quickly. Your desk has been relocated to my office. Get to work.” He snapped and I flinched. Why was he talking to me like
I groaned as I rolled off the bed; my stomach hurt so badly that I didn't even feel like moving. Fuck! My period was here. I wasn't in the mood to deal with this, but to be fair, I don't think I'd ever be in the mood to deal with this, I quickly hopped into the shower and ran myself a warm bath. It felt good and relaxing, and I wished I could stay here all day, but I had a job. After I got dressed and made my way to work, I took a few pain relief tablets. They never worked, but I still took them, hoping that they would magically work at some point. By the time I arrived, I felt like the pain was radiating from my body. The only thing I didn't do was cry. I trudged up to the office and began doing my work for the day. We had such a busy schedule today especially since we had a meeting with the shareholders. I hadn’t seen Michael all morning. That’s good because I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit. Before lunch time I was already doubled over from the pain. I knew it was usuall
I felt a warmth on my stomach, which caused me to wake up. Looking around, I saw that I wasn’t at my home. I remembered Michael carrying me to the car but everything went blank after that. There was a heating pad on my stomach and I was wearing an oversized jersey and my underwear. “I see you’ve woken up,” Michael said as he entered the room. He was still in his work clothes but his sleeves were rolled up. He had a tray in his hand with food on it. My mouth watered instantly. I didn’t even know I was so hungry. “I could really go for some food right now,” I said and he chuckled. “Yes that’s the plan. I made you some chicken teriyaki and noodles.” “Yum, bring it over here.” I immediately dug into the food and began scoffing it down. It was really delicious. If it’s one thing about Michael, he could cook really well. “You were really hungry I see,” he said and I nodded. “Yeah I didn’t really eat today.” “That’s not good Arya. You have to do better.”“My period is so bad sometim
“Lana! What a surprise?” I faked smiled as I steadied myself. “It is a surprise. What are you doing here?” She asked. She looked like she had seen a ghost.“Just had a meeting with Michael, that’s all.” Her eyes bore into the bag I had in my hand. The bag that Michael gave me with all the chocolates and snacks. “I can see that,” she managed through gritted teeth. As I was about to step inside, she blocked my path. “After all these years, you can’t come crawling back to Michael and acting like nothing happened. There’s a reason he’s with me and not you. If I were you I’d back off.” She whispered in my ear.“If he’s with you, then why are you threatened?” I smirked and she scoffed. “We both know—“ she started but I cut her off. “Both know what? That he’s a two timer? That he’s a cheater? That he could leave you at any moment without an explanation? Yes we both know that but one of us is smarter here. If I were you I’d keep my head low and mind my business.” I smiled and her eyes
"This is really nice." I smiled as Yasmeen and I walked into the cinema. It was Friday evening"Girl, you needed it. We both did." Our popcorn was stacked in our hands, along with sodas and nachos. This was our girl's night, which we would have every now and then. As we waited for the movie to start, Yasmeen's phone rang, and she stepped outside to take the call. My mind wondered back to Michael and the way he treated me so coldly when we were together. He just ignored me. Quite frankly, I didn't care, but the thing is, it still made me feel a certain way. I texted Damon, and he told me that he couldn't hook up this weekend, much to my surprise. Well, that's a good reason to go clubbing. Yasmeen reentered the room with a sullen look on her face. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. "Yas, what's going on?" I asked, and tears began rolling down her eyes. "It's Raine; there's been an accident. She is hurt. I'm not sure what happened, but it doesn't sound good." She sobbed, and
“What am I doing here? That’s a bold question to ask, considering what you just said. So let’s try again, what the fuck are you doing here?” I retorted and he released a frustrated sigh. He turned away from me and I quickly put on voice recording on my phone. I needed to record this for proof. “Look, it’s not what it sounds like.” “Okay well what does it sound like? What is it? Because I’ll be damned if you think that I’m just going to stand here and let you spit bullshit to me.” “Look Arya, you’re a nice girl and I really don’t want you to take this the wrong way but you should really mind your own business.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “What’s that supposed to mean? Is that a threat?” I raised a brow and he smirked.“It means that you shouldn’t be in things that don’t involve you. It could get really bad for you.” His smirk widened. “Is that a threat Troy. Just because your parents have government influence and power because they’re politicians doesn’t mean I have to be af
Yasmeen's face was twisted in disbelief. "What? That's... that's insane. He was my boyfriend, and he proposed to me. How on earth is this even possible?" She staggered back. I nodded solemnly. "I know it sounds crazy, but Troy admitted it to me just now. He tried to brush it off as if it were nothing, but it's clear he's been involved with her. It is clear that something happened." Helen's hand flew to her mouth in shock. "But why would he... Why would he do something like this? Raine is only a child. She's my sweet, precious baby." Her lips quivered. "Because he's twisted," Yasmeen said, her voice trembling with anger. "He's always had this weird obsession with Raine, but I've never seen it like that. I figured they were getting along. He would just always talk to her and try to include her in our activities. I figured he was trying to be a part of the family. I just never thought... I never thought he'd go this far." "We have to do something," Helen said, her eyes darting toward
After Yas disappeared in the room, the severity of the situation collapsed on me, and I had to excuse myself to the restroom to try to get some sort of composure. Checking my phone, there was a text from an unknown number. 'If I were you, I'd mind my pretty little mouth.' That's all it said. I chose to ignore it and decided to text someone else. My hands were shaking as I sent a text. I was worried now. This wouldn't usually get to me, but it did. Hearing about what Raine went through really hurt. My phone buzzed as Michael's ID popped up.Here I was, having a low moment, and my ex was the one to bail me out. I didn't want anything to do with Michael, but I wasn't sure who else to call. "Hey Arya," Michael's voice came through the line, soft and concerned. "I saw your text. Are you okay?" I hesitated for a moment, feeling a lump form in my throat. "Not really. It's been a rough day. " "Do you want me to come over to the hospital?" His offer was tentative, but genuine. I pau