JOY I was having second thoughts now. The last time I’d seen Vincent was a week ago. And since then, he hadn’t called. Hadn’t texted. Maybe he and Olivia had finally got back together. Now that Olivia was free from her husband as well. The news had been all over the papers—the supermodel divorces and breaks free of the ten-year marriage. I shook my head. My brain was about to explode with the thoughts of Vincent Brown—the man that I was planning on ignoring for the rest of my life from now on. Mondays were the most hectic day of the week since there were hour-long meetings discussing the previous week's progress and data. I cracked my neck as the elevator door opened to the massive reception plus waiting room with a large mahogany desk at one side and a door at one and a grand bookshelf bursting with books and magazines on the other. A long, round couch encircled the desk. The dress that I was wearing was a

JOY "Oh, hell no!" Julia said as she stared Vince down. He was standing with Dad, talking with the directors. Julia had come by after the speech had ended and everyone returned to gossiping. I could bet she pitied me, seeing me all dressed up with no one to keep me company. To have someone near me at this moment was very relieving. Vince had been glancing at me from time to time, making me shiver under his intense gaze. "Damn!" Julia exclaimed, turning back to me. "It's so romantic. And he looks even better than he did five years back." "I know. But what's so romantic about all this?" I asked, hesitantly shifting in my seat while my eyes roamed over him. Vince didn’t smile while talking to those people. It was the most serious I had seen him so far. The absence of his beautiful smile was very disturbing. At least, I understood why people looked so afraid of him. "You guys spent some time in Paris and then departed. T

JOY I was thirty minutes late and when I entered the office, the cold and quiet environment was enough for me to know that something was wrong. Mr Richardson was sitting by the chair before my desk while Bailey was by the side of my chair, a worried look on her face. "Good morning?" I said, my voice ringing with confusion. "You’re the head of the fiction department. The only thing I expect for you to be is devoted, and coming late is not a good sign, Ms Gale," Mr Richardson snapped, without even giving me a chance to breathe. I glanced at Bailey, who was frowning and shaking her head at the same time. "I don't need excuses." Mr Richardson was a nice man, minus his moodiness, when he didn’t get what he wanted. And at this moment, it was I who couldn't complete a simple task. To be fair, it wasn't exactly an effortless task. The masked author was driving me crazy. "The masked author called. Did you know?" My bo

JOY "Who's Paige?" The moment the question left my lips, a frown appeared on Vince’s face, which was quite clear to be ignored. Not heeding my question, he stepped out of the car. Why did he react this way suddenly? Whoever Paige was seemed really special to him from the way his eyes twinkled. Is she his ex? But he had told me that Olivia was the only person he’d dated. He opened the passenger door, bringing me back to my senses, and I stepped out. He just made things awkward and a little embarrassing for me. I followed him inside the restaurant with no further delay, my mind still suffering the qualms of his behaviour. Has this man ever been to any other restaurant that had less than five stars? The marble floor and the clean tiled walls were too shiny for my eyes. I could see my face reflect on them. We followed the waitress to our table. "Seafood?" Vince asked, clearing his throat. "

JOY Putting me down on my feet near the bed, he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest as if waiting for me to take the lead. But I was a nervous wreck, even though every nerve in my body fluttered. I hadn’t had sex since Josh. I’d thought that I'd slept with him back in Paris. A part of me was relieved at that thought as well, like the feeling that I had successfully crossed the path without looking back. But I couldn’t help but tense, different thoughts swirling in my mind. Can I do this without my entire body screaming for help? Or my soul? Vince seemed to have understood me as he said, “Listen, Joy, we don’t have to do this if you—” “I want to do this,” I said immediately, cutting him off. I really wanted to do this. “Take off your clothes.” He regarded me carefully before unbuttoning his shirt, his chest, his ripped abs, oh so slowly coming to my view. He pulled his shirt off, his eyes boring into min