CHAPTER ONE.

It was time.

Lucas Ramirez had built an empire, keeping one step ahead of his competition and two steps ahead of his past. he had been rich since the day he was born money itself meant too little to him, the exclusive private Jets, his investment, and everything as far as he was concerned was all props, it was winning that made his blood rush and it was also winning that made him lost the most valuable person in life.

The business was always a game to Lucas every stock he bought, and every contract he got, were just another roll of the dice, one more playing piece.

He had the look of power, something the Ramirez men were known for, six foot four, the body of an athlete, his thick dark hair cut enough to be civil and long enough to be wild, his face roughly chiseled and hard-edged, he had the ability to intimate with one glance of his smokey gray eyes or charm majority of the ladies with a tilt of his firm mouth.

Cold and heartless was what people classified Lucas to be, what did it matter to him as long as he got what he wanted.

He heard the landing gear lower on the jet and glanced at his Rolex, right on schedule

"We will be landing in ten minutes Mr.Ramirez "

Ellie his flight staff moved towards him from the gallery. an attractive brunette with a pageant smile and hazel eyes

The past few years, he had traveled more often than he liked but with office all over the world, there hadn't been much choice, he had put all his hours into keeping the Ramirez name alive, and he enjoyed the challenge of it when he was younger but he was ready to move on now or to be more accurate he was ready to get the one person that added color to his life, something he didn't know from childhood till she came around.

Lucas had been raised on the east side of Texas, his grandpa owned a very successful construction company, Lucas's father was nothing like his father, he was wild, he was into parties, gambling, drugs, all the things his parents weren't.his marriage to Lucas's mother only lasted 10 years before she suicided, a month later after she had his only sister, Daniella after their mom dad, Antonio Ramirez packed his 3 kids and dropped them off at his parent's house, he hadn't heard from his father since then and he didn't care.

Lost in his thought, Lucas didn't realize Ellie was still standing beside him asking him something, he glanced up at her and realized she had asked him if he wanted more coffee,

"Thank you, no"

She leaned to collect his empty mug "can I help you with anything else?" The subtle brush of her hand across his legs didn't go unnoticed

"No" he shocked his head and watched her saunter away to prepare for landing, he was certain that the woman could do many things but not today, he only had one woman on his mind, the one that had occupied his mind for four years, the one that had given him a sleepless night, one with Sapphire eyes and raven hair.

Alyssa Walker had always loved November, it was her favorite time of the year her parent's B&B usually get twice the number of guests but with thee, B&B already filled up even before November, and her big brother Derek had mentioned he was able to win an all-expenses-paid construction from one of Los Angeles famous construction company for them to expand, she didn't know how he did it but she was happy things were finally turning good for them, a smile formed on her lips as she thought of how hard they had fought to keep the B&B, the legal battles, her father's health condition declining and everything life had thrown at them but they had pushed through

Growing up her family had always been a close one and that, she was thankful for, she and her sisters shared a bedroom even though Alyssa was old by 2 years they did everything together, the many nights they had laid awake talking about boys or complaining about their big brother, Derek. if there was one thing they both agreed on was that their big brother was a heartless bully, A heartless bully they both love.

She thought of another man, who was a heartless bully, one whom she had loved beyond life itself, but the thought of that man only brought pain, it has been four years but It still hurt like it was yesterday, so she pushed him out of her mind, was not a time to be sad, she wiped the tears that managed to fall, she reminded herself this was a good time for her family it was a time to celebrate.

She got up, going to get herself a late-night snack, a habit she developed four years ago when she had returned from

Los Angeles, she tip-toed to the kitchen and back trying not to wake anyone up, she laid on her side snuggled under the sheet, stared into the darkness as she munched on the bag of chips silently until she gave in to the exhaustion of work, slowly closed her eyes, dropped the remaining bag of chips on her side table and slowly drifted to sleep.