تسجيل الدخول~ GAVIN ~I also learnt that Edward had been made president of Steele Group — a position that had always been meant for me. I harbored no resentment toward him for it. If anything, I felt sorry for him. My absence, coupled with the criminal record that would follow me after my release, had forced him into a role he had never prepared for. Our father had decided long ago in his twenties that he would be retiring at fifty-five. It was the reason I was drilled so hard over the years. I had to be ready to receive the baton and start running the moment he passed it. Edward was never part of that plan. He, of course, was an engineer, but never aspired to lead the company. That didn’t stop the responsibility from being thrust upon him. In the end, we were both paying the price for my mistake — each in our own way.“Protecting the business — and myself — is protecting you,” Robert stated pointedly. “It is protecting the Kessler empire my father left in my care — the same empire you all ar
TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide~ GAVIN ~Arguing voices from open windows got louder as I approached. I could recognize my father’s — of course, he had to be at the center of every conflict. Then Edward’s and Uncle Thomas’s.I pushed the front door open and let myself into the waiting room, then continued to the living room. For the first time in a long time, my entrance into a family gathering was not met with an awkward silence. The three men were too busy tearing into each other to notice me. Hannah’s parents were in the room too. Her dad sat in his wheelchair on the far end, while her mom perched beside him on a reclining sofa, both of them watching the exchange stunned and speechless. The bone of contention must be really fat for my family to begin chewing it out in front of their in-laws. “The fact remains that you have no right to fire Lennon from his job!” Uncle Thomas was raving. “By virtue of being a Kessler, he has a guaranteed position at Steele group!”Fùck. I warned Edward
~ GAVIN ~ I stared at my phone for a moment after Sienna abruptly ended the call, the disconnect beep echoing rudely in my ears. Why exactly was she mad? I had laid out this boundary clearly. Why would she think I was bluffing? What about me suggested I was a man who talked just to hear his own voice? Something rustled behind me and I turned fast, instincts kicking in before awareness. This was Edward’s house. My father was somewhere on these grounds which meant I had to stay alert. Aunt Roseline stood beside a bush of yellow blooms, looking radiant in the dress she'd chosen for meeting her grand-niece for the first time. A swan brooch caught the moonlight on her chest, glinting every time she moved. “Is that how you youngins do the love thing now?” she asked, descending the few steps into the sunken courtyard. I'd left everyone inside to take Sienna's call — a call I'd been expecting from the moment I gave the order. Nearly the entire family was gathered there; Hannah’s
~ SIENNA ~He laughed, caught completely. “She did say you were smart.”I smiled back. “I might have missed it if you hadn’t looked like you were waiting for a biopsy result while waiting for me to agree to the ride.”To be honest, I didn’t know why I asked that question. Okay, I did. I wanted to feel flattered. To confirm I could still grab a man’s attention without trying. To tell myself I still had it regardless of what anyone thought. “I’ve never been a good actor,” he mumbled with a shrug. “But you must be an excellent negotiator. Margo wouldn’t do you this favour for nothing.”“Oh, you have no idea how many favours she owes me. Some are decades old.”My attention perked up. “Tell me about it.”“Mmm… Margo’s always loved celebrity life, and she used to make us play these dramas where she was a blockbuster actress and the rest of us were… well, whatever she casted us as. From rival actresses — who always lost to her, to valets to her fainting fans. And I was the one holding i
~ SIENNA ~The potluck with Margo’s family was the best table I’d sat at in a long time. We had only just settled in. Margo was still making introductions, but I already knew I was about to have the evening of my life.The space itself was beautiful — long oval tables surrounded by cane chairs, tucked beneath artsy umbrellas and bathed in the golden glow of hanging bulbs.But even more beautiful was the energy radiating from every member of her family.“You’ve already met my mom, the reason for the season,” she said, gesturing towards Brenda. She wore a bright purple crochet poncho that complimented her skin tone in a way that would make anyone start research on colour analysis.We exchanged greetings. “Then there’s Kylie, our Silicon Valley connection.”Kylie blew me a kiss, and I immediately found myself grinning.“You’d think the most remarkable thing about her is that she raised three hundred thousand dollars for her tech startup,” Margo continued. “But it’s actually that she b
~ SIENNA ~“Why do you want this job?” Margo read from the paper in her hands. “Because my savings are depleting fast and restaurants don’t offer free strawberry boba,” I replied.She chuckled lightly. “And why did you choose this company?”“Because you’re the only one of the twenty I applied to that chose me.”She grabbed the armrest to avoid sliding off the couch entirely, her body heaving in laughter. “Don’t you wish we could be this honest?”I sighed. “I know, right?”“Okay okay, let’s get serious.” She sat straighter. “This is a big deal.”It was. I had gotten an offer from one of the companies I applied to. A junior role — the kind of position that would have barely excited me five years ago, but right now, it was the only thing keeping my self-esteem from completely bottoming out. Margo was helping me practice for the physical interview. “I know,” I murmured. “I’m excited, but also terribly anxious.”"You’ll ace it. Don’t worry,” she said, with the easy confidence of someo
~ SIENNA ~I ignored him and continued searching for a ride on the app but it kept returning ‘No available drivers for your location’.Maybe because the kind of people who dined at Aurum Noire and environs didn’t need cabs to leave. Their chauffeurs and convoys were parked close by, waiting for the
~ SIENNA ~It was hard to say ‘Stop’. Not only because every part of my body was begging him to keep going, but also because my lips were still swollen from his kiss earlier. Gavin had ravaged my mouth like a man having his first meal after a weeklong fast. The kiss was hungry and desperate, like
~ GAVIN ~Sienna didn’t run, which was an ill-informed decision because she didn’t know how hard my cock was in my pants. And the extent to which I wanted to wreck her body tonight. She just looked up at me, lashes fluttering as if she was wondering whether or not this was really happening.One… T
~ SIENNA ~Minutes later, I walked out of my bedroom into the living room wearing a wide smile and a light-blue halter neck pleated dress. “How do I look?” I asked, giving Margo a twirl. She paused her movie and looked at me all over with an unreadable expression. “You look like Cinderella — befo







