The Lady And The Billionaire Scoundrel

Today was the start of the promising future Charlotte had worked so hard to attain. It was way too early to be in the office, but she had gotten up at 6 am and hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. Now she stood by the glass window on the 33rd floor of her office building and looked down at the parking lot with a warm cup of tea in her hand. Coffee wasn’t her thing. Her car was far out towards the street, but after today, she’d be able to park right next to the door with all the other partners at the law firm, under the shade of the sycamore trees. Her promotion was to be announced. Too many good things were happening at once. About a month ago, Edward had called to tell her he was applying for a job at the firm. The dormant love she had always felt for her childhood friend lit back up like a wildfire. He could have worked at any of the best law firms in South Carolina, but he had decided to join her in Atlanta. That was the only logical explanation as to why he was coming back

She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, taking care not to ruin her makeup. Pulling herself together, she headed out, thinking of what to do next. There was no way she was going to give up on Edward so easily. Despite everything she had said to him, she knew they were meant to be together. The problem was figuring out how she was going to convince him to realize it. And the partnership, well, that would just have to wait. Just as she got back to her office, the phone rang. She wanted to ignore it, but it could be something important, so she reluctantly picked it up. “Charlotte, could you please come to my office?” Floyd said. Charlotte’s hands shook as she put the phone down. It wasn’t even ten in the morning, and not only had she apparently lost the love of her life and a promotion, but she was also probably getting fired. And she needed the job. Desperately. When her father died ten years ago, he left behind more debts than assets, especially with the girls’

After lunch, Charlotte left the country club in a daze. What had she just done?  It went against her principles to get ahead using her looks, and although this wasn't technically the same thing, it felt just as wrong. And she wasn't taking into account Floyd's feelings, but she was certain his interest in her had nothing to with matters of the heart.  She drove home to her apartment, and as she was unlocking the door, she heard the phone ringing. She rushed inside and picked it up. "Finally!" Janet said from the other side. "We... have a situation here at the office. You need to come over."  "It's four-thirty... by the time I get there, it'll be past five," Charlotte said. "What is going on?" "There's a wo

 They pulled into a long driveway surrounded by trees. "What is this place?""The house I built for my mother, but she refused to move here," Logan said, pulling down the windows. The air smelled fresh and clear, of the countryside. "Did you have this built after you married her? What is her name, by the way? She never told me," Charlotte said."Julia. It was almost done when we got married."Soon the house came into view, and it was anything but a house. The place was a mansion, possibly bigger than the country club main house in Chateau Ella. It was three stories tall, and it seemed

Linda styled Charlotte's hair into beautiful loose curls while Logan was still upstairs getting a haircut. Every once in a while, she could hear the hairdresser's laugh pour down from the upper floor. She didn't understand why Logan had stayed for a haircut; it didn't seem like he needed one, and he surely had an army of hairdressers and stylists at his disposal.  She couldn't shake off the feeling that he was still mocking her. Like he was having fun spending the day like a normal person. Or a poor person, if you compared him to Charlotte.  "You look beautiful as usual," Linda said, holding up a hand mirror so Charlotte could see the back of her head. "Thank you," Charlotte said and hurried to the front desk to pay. She wanted to scurry out before Logan came down. But there was another woman talking to