Alessia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.Logan wanted her to be his girlfriend for real?She couldn’t help but ask again, needing confirmation. ‘Are you serious?’Logan nodded. ‘Yes, Alessia. I want you to be my girlfriend.’‘Girlfriend, as in, the woman you go on dates with, watch movies with, the one you introduce to your family and friends?’ she pressed.Logan chuckled, finding her cautious approach amusing. ‘Exactly. I don’t do things half-heartedly, Alessia. You’ll be my girlfriend in every sense of the word.’Alessia’s expression turned sceptical, and she couldn’t help but sneer. ‘Do you remember what you said to me before?’Logan raised an eyebrow. ‘What do you mean?’Alessia sighed, trying to keep her emotions in check. ‘The first time we met at the Grand Opulence hotel, you offered me money to spend the night with you, treating me like a... a hooker.’The memory still stung.‘Alessia, that’s not what I meant,’ Logan tried to explain.‘Oh, really? Enlighten me then. What
Alessia had to admit that his persistence was starting to wear down her defences.‘You never give up, do you?’ she remarked, her voice tinged with both frustration and a hint of amusement.A smug grin appeared on Logan’s lips when he sensed she was starting to relent. ‘I didn’t get to where I am today by quitting after failing just a couple of times.’Alessia rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. ‘Well, no one can say you haven’t tried.’Logan leaned closer to her. ‘So what’s your answer? Be my girlfriend. Yes or no?’Alessia almost blurted ‘yes,’ but she caught herself.She knew she was attracted to him, but she had to be cautious.‘Your grandfather wanted you to go on blind dates,’ she reminded him. ‘He probably has a long list of girlfriend candidates picked out for you.’Logan’s expression hardened slightly, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. ‘I’m the one dating you, not my family. And I don’t take orders from anyone about who I choose to as
Alessia’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Mrs Scott—Connie Jansen.It had been six long years since she last saw her older sister, and the memories that flooded back were far from pleasant—Connie ending up in bed with Brayden, Connie getting engaged with Brayden, Connie rushing her to the hospital when Alessia’s water broke, and Connie standing by her bedside when Alessia woke up, groggy and in pain.Alessia could never forget how she felt as she listened to a tearful Connie tell her that she’d given birth to twins but unfortunately, one of them was stillborn.That was the day her life was turned upside down.She thought she had put it behind her, that six years were enough time to heal most wounds.But she realised no amount of time could heal the pain of losing a child.And Connie’s name would always be associated with the most painful period of her life.Logan’s eyes narrowed as he watched Alessia’s face pale visibly.‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. ‘Are you feeling unwell?’Aless
‘I didn’t know you had a sister,’ Logan said.‘Two, actually,’ Connie said. ‘Alessia’s the second oldest. I’m the eldest, and we have a younger sister too.’The mention of Alessia seemed to bring a mix of emotions to Connie’s face, and Logan sensed that there was more to the story than she was letting on.‘You mentioned Alessia left Veridian about six years ago,’ Logan probed further. ‘You haven’t seen her or had any contact with her since then?’Connie looked away, a hint of sadness crossing her features. ‘No, I haven’t seen her in six years,’ she admitted. ‘After some… unfortunate misunderstanding, she left home and the city. I tried to find her—I hired six different private investigators, but it was like she vanished without a trace.’‘It must have been tough for you.’Connie nodded. ‘It was. Especially because I had to take over as the CEO of Redwood Group when my father passed away. I was just twenty-two, still in college, and inexperienced. Saving the company took all my energy,
The two of them sat in silence for a while longer.Then Logan tapped his Breitling. ‘You’ve been taking a break of almost half an hour.’Alessia rose to her feet. ‘Fine, let’s go.’‘Why didn’t you ask?’ she questioned him once they returned to the empty office.She was relieved to find Connie gone.‘About what?’ Logan replied, seeming nonchalant.Alessia hesitated before mentioning her sister. ‘About Connie. About what happened between us. You might have noticed we are not exactly on the best of terms.’‘It was hard not to notice. But I don’t like to pry into other people’s private business.’‘Says the man who keeps meddling in my life,’ Alessia mumbled under her breath.‘What did you say?’‘Nothing.’‘Connie Scott, or should I say, Connie Jansen, asked me to relay the message that she’d be here to pick you up after work.’Alessia slumped into her chair. ‘I knew she wouldn’t give up so easily.’‘You don’t want to see her?’‘That’s the last thing I want to do.’Logan summoned Terence i
Logan sneered. ‘The company has gone downhill for a reason. Wilde Enterprises is doing the lion’s share of the work here. We’ve got everything in place—building permits, financing, the whole package. Redwood, on the other hand, is only in charge of the construction.’‘It can’t be easy work, building a mall of this size,’ Alessia said. ‘The sheer scale of the mall is a daunting task, not to mention the challenges in sourcing materials and managing the timeline.’‘Which is the only reason I offered them twenty-five per cent,’ Logan said. ‘If it were an easy construction job, I could have simply hired another company instead of offering a stake in the business. But now both Brayden and Connie are coming to me, asking for a bigger stake without offering to do any more work.’Alessia nodded. ‘What you say makes sense.’‘It’s equivalent to begging,’ Logan remarked, his tone biting. ‘They fail to see that I could easily replace the construction company, but Redwood can’t afford to find anoth
Terence couldn’t help but comment, ‘I didn’t know Miss Jansen and Mrs Scott were sisters. Forgive me for saying that, but you two don’t appear to share a lot of similarities.’Alessia smiled. ‘A lot of people have said that.’In fact, all three of the Jansen sisters look different: Connie was statuesque and voluptuous; Alessia was a head shorter and lithe; Veronica, the youngest, was more adorable than beautiful and no matter how much she ate, she could never seem to put on weight.The Bentley pulled up outside the BuzzBeat office.Logan turned to Alessia. ‘I look forward to tomorrow morning.’Alessia countered, ‘And I look forward to lunch.’Logan teased, ‘Are you so sure you won’t lose?’Alessia checked the time on her phone and confidently retorted, ‘It’s now six forty pm. Our bet is till midnight, only a little over five hours to go to prove I’m right.’In the chief editor’s office, Alessia discussed her interview notes with Wilda Hicks, who complimented her on a job well done and
Connie, struggling to control her rising anger, tried to appeal to their familial bond. ‘I’m your sister, Alessia, and we haven’t seen each other for six years. Aren’t you going to at least invite me in?’‘I would have preferred it if we don’t see each other for the next six decades.’Connie made an awkward attempt to change the subject. ‘I was so surprised to see you in Mr Wilde’s office today. Congratulations, by the way, on getting hired by Wilde Enterprises.’But her true intentions soon became clear as she probed, ‘How did you get the job? Are you Mr Wilde’s secretary?’Alessia glanced over Connie’s shoulders and noticed the door to apartment 604 was cracked open.Terri McCall, the nosy neighbour, must be eavesdropping again.Alessia moved past Connie and said abruptly, ‘Come with me.’Without waiting for a response, she strode towards the elevator.Connie caught up with her, reluctantly following.They rode the lift down in tense silence, then got out of the lobby until Alessia