Novels by Edima Essien

Shit. What have I just done?! “Cancel the approval.” Alexander said with a dangerous calm that made Daniel jolt subtly when his gaze shifted back to him. “Sir?” “The Singapore expansion. Cancel it.” “B-but sir, the board has already approved the preliminary-” “Cancel. It.” “Mr Thorne, we’re scheduled to finalize the negotiations by Friday.” “Then you’ll find a way to explain this mess to them while they wait.” Alexander shut the folder in front of him, and stood up. “We don’t invest hundreds of millions of dollars based on numbers that can’t even survive basic scrutiny.” Daniel swallowed. “S-sir, I assure you, the discrepancies are just-” “Bring me the raw customer acquisition data.” “Sir?” “The original data. Not your slides, nor this report.” Alexander said, gesturing toward the report on the table. “As well the complete expenditure reports for the last eighteen months. On every campaign.” “…” Daniel’s gaze went to the floor. “Yes, sir.” Alexander turned to another on

The conference room was already occupied. Three executives sat around the long glass table, with their laptops and several documents arranged neatly in front of them. A big screen at the far end of the room on the wall displayed the BluTech logo beside a title that immediately caught my attention. ASIA-PACIFIC EXPANSION PROPOSAL. Okay then...that sounded quite important. I went in first and Alexander followed. And the moment he stepped in, the atmosphere changed instantly. The three men all sat up, straightening in their seats. “Good morning, Mr. Thorne” “Good morning.” Alexander’s response was brief as usual. I moved with him to his seat, still gawking about, only to realize that every pair of eyes was now on me. This was the same reaction I got from the employees at the lobby. Apparently, being married to this guy came with an invisible spotlight I didn’t know I signed up for. Alexander pulled out seat next to him. “Sit.” I glanced at him. “You really like giving ord

The drive to BluTech passed quietly. The morning traffic crept through the bustling city where sunlight shimmered and reflected against rows of glass buildings and skyscrapers. Most of the way, Alexander read reports on his tablet, and answered phone calls with crisp replies. “…Push the Singapore meeting to Thursday.” “No…make it Friday.” He paused. “…Good.” Then the call ended. I sat next to him in a white bodycon corporate dress, paired with a black handbag, and white heels. Mia made sure to chose to make me a walking spotlight apparently. “You always sound like you’re firing someone when you’re on the phone.” I said, glancing his way. “I usually am.” I rolled my eyes and simply turned my head away from him. The Blutech Headquarters towered over the business district like monument of glass and steel, giant enough to dominate its surrounding. People, possibly the employees, bustled out the revolving doors, each carrying laptops, tablets and/or takeout coffee cups, but the

The rest of the event passed without further incidents. Chairman Thorne and Madam Diane continued to introduce me to what felt like half the ballroom, and there seemed to be several influential people who suddenly developed an interest in speaking to Alexander Thorne’s wife. It was all too exhausting. And as well strange and a little ironic. If they knew I was only a contract wife, most of them would not have even glanced my way. Thankfully, Mark, Ruby and Vivian never returned to the party, so it was a smooth sailing the rest of the night. By the time we left the hotel, the city skyline sparkled under the night sky, and all I could think about was taking off my heels and collapsing into bed. The drive home was quiet. Alexander sat next to me, reading emails on his tablet as though he hadn’t witnessed anything out of the ordinary tonight. As if the evening chaos had never happened. I, on the other hand…I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even though I acted as though none of i

My eyes rose to meet his through the mirror. He still had the same look he always did. Calm, calculated, and unfairly annoyingly composed. “As far as I’m concerned,” he said matter-of-factly, “I’m helping my wife fix the zipper of her dress.” The words settled between us, knocking some sense into me again. To him, being his “wife” was simply the role and a title I had agreed to play, nothing more. It was just another fact and responsibility he’d accepted the moment we signed that contract. I felt pathetic now, as an uncomfortable ache settled in my stomach at the thought. “You really don’t think these things through, do you?” I muttered under my breath shaking my head at him, more to myself. One of his brows quirked. “Sorry?” I sighed, rubbing my forehead in surrender. “Nothing.” I replied, my mind switching to something else like a defense mechanism. “What’s the history between you and Vivian Danvers? It sounds rather juicy, or is it not to go public?” I noticed his frown, n

Everything happened at once. Gasps filled the ballroom as crystal glass shattered against the polished marble floor. The music from the from orchestra screeched to an abrupt halt beneath the deafening crash. The silver tray spun through the air. Dozens of crystal glasses tumbled after it. Deep red wine spilled out, bursting free like scattered rubies under the golden chandelier, each sparkling drop catching the light as though time had slowed. For one surreal heartbeat it looked beautiful to see. Then my brain finally caught up with my eyes, realizing what was happening. It’s coming straight at me?! I couldn’t move. My feet would not listen to me, as though already accepting the fact that even if I moved, the spills were inevitable. My beautiful pale evening gown would become nothing but a mess in a matter of seconds. Not even Chairman Thorne nor Madam Diane would be able to avoid it. Neither of them was fast enough to get out of the way. A broad body suddenly steppe