Donald smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder again."Are you sure you're going to be okay, my damsel in distress?"Claire laughed at how boyish he looked. She couldn't resist ruffling his hair. Surprise registered in his eyes, but he didn't say anything."I'm going to be fine. I can handle myself, alright? Now go on, or you're going to miss your flight." Donald groaned. "But I don't want to go!"He pouted as he whined, and some hair fell over his eyes. He shook them out of his face and gave her a heart stopping smile. Claire felt her heart twitch, just a little. She swallowed loudly. She needed to get out of here and call Danielle."I'll see you around, Donald. Bye!"Donald furrowed his brows at the way she hurried away, then shrugged. He knew he was in big trouble once he entered the car and found that Axel had decided to ride shotgun. He couldn't even bring himself to smile at his scowl."You locked me in."Donald turned on the ignition. "It was necessary to prevent you from let
Lisa had not stayed idle since Axel had sent her away. She had gone to make preparations for Claire's arrival at the company. Her investigator still had not been able to access Claire's file."What's taking so long?" She barked into the phone."You need an insider, someone from the government to grant you access. The person has to be one of the higher-ups."Lisa thought quickly. How lucky was she that her informant had told her Axel was going to Paris? She could hitch a ride with him and get someone to open the files for her. She wore a black dress on purpose. It would be a day of mourning for her, because she would have to give up something she had saved for Axel alone, just to get rid of Claire.Her parents, the Davinsky's, had raised her to not give herself up to any man who was not her husband. It was a very old fashioned way of thinking to Lisa, but in the society she ran with, a pure and untouched lady was more valuable than a harlot. Her parents planned to marry her off as a mai
Axel didn't say anything until Lisa had bade them goodbye and they were the only ones left in the elevator."I did just fine without it all this years too."Donald gave him a sceptical look. "You think I am ever going to fall in love?"Axel shrugged. "You're the one who was surprised when I did. What's going to stop you?"Donald's phone chimed loudly and he took it out of his pocket just as the elevator doors opened again. They got off at the top floor and Donald made sure their luggage had been brought up."You'll have to stay here alone tonight, Ax. Will you be okay?"Axel scowled. "I'm not a baby." He watched Donald scramble out of his outfit into an all black body fitting suit. "Where are you going?""Lisa just left the hotel. I know she didn't come with us to Paris to make up with you. I want to know what she's up to." Axel turned to the window and pulled the shades. "How did you know she has left the hotel?""I can track her phone." He slipped into foam boots that made no sound
Lisa went straight to the hospital from the estate. She felt dirty and used, like a piece of battered rag. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of finally taking her revenge on Claire. As she sat in the crowded emergency room, she thought about all the other people sitting there. Under normal circumstances, she was not even supposed to be at a hospital like this. Too many germs. She called out to a nurse passing by."Could I have a sanitizer, please? I don't want to pick up something here."The nurse regarded her with a cold stare. Her eyes moved from the expensive dress Lisa wore to the limited edition purse to her costly shoes and jewelry. "If you feel like you are better off than anyone here, you should have carried yours."Lisa gasped. "How dare you disrespect me?" She rose in fury. "Do you know who I am?"The attending doctor had come out of his visiting room to call the nurse."What is going on?"Lisa sent him a searing look. "Your nurse just insulted me!"The doct
The days had been pretty quiet for Claire. It had already been a couple of days since the interview, and she found that waiting for the company to get back to her was frustrating."Relax, Claire. You'll get the job, I know it." Danielle was trying out another recipe, and Claire longed to go home and eat her food. She had her tablet on a tablet holder on the counter, so Claire could watch her cook and she could watch Claire bounce off the walls in boredom."But it's taking too long!" Claire whined and flopped down on the love seat. "I think I will come back home." "Home?" Danielle stopped stiring the bubbling stew she was making. "Home is no longer Croatia for you, Claire. It's New York City. I don't want you coming back to all the pain you have gone through here."Claire sat up. "I meant our apartment, D.""Our?" Danielle furrowed her brows. "Last I checked, my roommate has been evicted." She gave Claire a cheeky grin. "Stay where you are, young lady." Claire pouted and fell back o
Leo knew he was in a hotter mess than he could possibly imagine. Lisa had sustained very serious injuries, so she definitely would not give up the file easily. He didn't know what he was going to do. There was no way he was going against a Lysander's orders. But he couldn't take the Davinskys for granted either.Lisa had blown his phone up with calls and messages. He couldn't respond to any of them because he didn't know what to tell her. He had to think, and fast. His phone buzzed with a text and his expression changed when he read it. He excused himself from speaking to the nurse and left for the bathroom.When he got to the male's bathroom, he kicked all the stalls' doors open to make sure no one was hiding behind any of them and pulled his phone out."Has she been following me?""No sir," the voice on the other end responded. "It appears she had just been leaving the hospital when you arrived.""Why didn't you tell me this since?" He snarled. "How long has she been here?""Since y
Axel sat in the plane, staring at an empty spot on the wall. His mind was surprisingly blank, and he did not for once during the entire ride think about work, or anything else for that matter. It disturbed him, this inability to be productive. His pile of work was mounting, and he knew Donald was having a hard time taking care of everything he usually did himself.The file. He glanced across the aisle at Lisa who sat facing his direction. She held a manilla envelope close to her heart and kept grinning like a Cheshire cat. Axel's heart did not ache for her. Granted, she had given too much for what she thought was a means to ruin Claire. Axel wished he would be in the room when she opened the envelope.He wished the most that he would be there the day she found out it was fake, all of it. He would savor her anguish with relish. How dare he go against everything her parents had worked hard for? They had tried everything to make her useful, but all that sincere effort had turned her into
Danielle screamed. The sound made Claire jump, but she joined in on the screaming. Soon, they were both screaming and jumping up and down like little children that had just been given too much sugar.The act reminded Claire of Myla. She stopped jumping."Do you think Myla's been accepted?"Danielle stopped screaming too. "That's true. Oh dear, you should call her."Claire's phone buzzed with a text. "It's her! She's in, she's in!"And so began another screaming match. "I'm so happy for you Claire.""I'm so happy too!" Claire cried. "I waited and waited. I nearly lost my mind.""I still can't believe this."Claire rolled her eyes. "You're the one who expressed so much confidence in my ability." She turned back to the email. "Should I read it to you?""Pleaseeeee."Claire laughed. "Easy, D. I can literally see your tail wagging." She opened the mail and began reading.Dear Miss McLennie,With reference to your application to work at our company, this letter is to inform you of your appo