I glared at Jethro as my heart hammered with frustration. What was this man thinking? It was not like I eavesdropped on purpose. Was it necessary for him to intimidate me like this?"I want you."I shot him an angry look, but he didn’t reciprocate my feelings. Instead, his cold face wore a warm, affectionate smile. As if he wasn't attractive enough, his smile transformed him into an utterly captivating sight. I was not one to swoon over a pretty face, but damn was he stunning. His aura of elegance was downright magnetic.I was completely spellbound until his hand brushed against my chest. The touch jolted me, and I shot him a furious glare. "You're insane! Let go or I'll scream!"I was livid. His actions had crossed a line. I was a reserved woman by nature, and his audacity outraged me."Playing coy as we? Is this some kind of game to you, Serena? Do you find this amusing?" Annoyance flashed through Jethro's eyes, subduing his earlier warmth.Men like him were probably used to ha
The seriousness in Jethro's eyes was unmistakable, but the more eager he appeared, the more my instincts screamed for me to run away. The reason I got hammered that day was to get back at that scumbag Liam. Once sober, I regretted everything, so why would I want to go another round with this man?"Can we talk about this? I’m willing to do anything but that," I said as I laughed nervously. I backed away, attempting to put space between us. My instincts told me this man would devour me."Do you really think you have a choice in the matter, Serena? No woman can deny my desires," he proclaimed as he advanced toward me, his voice tinged with arrogance.Though I was irked by his smugness, there was no denying his good looks and wealth. Still, what gave this narcissistic man a pass to assume every woman would be thrilled to sleep with him? I retreated further, debating whether to just turn and run and what were my odds of escaping."You told me I was good in bed and well-endowed. How abou
"Feeling shy now, Serena? You were quite the opposite that night. Honestly, I liked that version of you better," Jethro whispered seductively. He grinned mischievously, and his breath warmed my ear.Hearing those words, I wanted to slap him. But before I could even start to berate him, he silenced me with another kiss. As time passed, my energy was slowly drained. Jethro was unrelenting in his advances on my body. Finally, with a low growl, he found his release. He lay atop me heavily, trying to catch his breath. I could feel his heart racing from the ordeal.After a few minutes, Jethro casually put his clothes back on while I was too exhausted to move. He glanced at my exposed skin, frowned, and covered me with his suit jacket."Where do you live? I'll drive you home," he said, breaking the silence. His tone was flat, detached."I need to go to the pharmacy first," I said in a tone that matched his indifference.Though what Jethro did had distressed me, I couldn't show it. Feelin
“Excuse me.”Having had enough of Jethro, I pushed open the door and exited the car. He didn’t say anything—he just frowned. As soon as I closed the door, he drove off and left me in the middle of nowhere.Yeah, that pissed me off a little. It was like being gentlemanly would kill him. Not that this was a problem to me. We were strangers from today onward, right? I took a cab back to Summer’s place. Along the way, I realized I was still wearing Jethro’s coat. I would rather return it to him, but we hadn’t exchanged numbers. Besides, he was the Mr. Bigshot CEO, right? He wouldn’t notice that one of his many coats was missing. I could return it to him some other time. Summer got home at the same time as me. She noticed my messy clothes and the man’s coat and put the two together. “Tell me the truth, Rina,” she said, her eyes settling on the hickeys on my neck. “What happened, and was it with him?”Summer was my best friend in the entire world, but being asked about something lik
Summer wrapped me in a tight hug. She was even more elated than I was. Starting tomorrow, I was going to be a Titan Ads employee. This was a cause for celebration, and Summer was going to enjoy it for free. She deserved it after putting up with me for the last few days.“Tonight, dinner is on me. We’re gonna have a feast!”“I’ll choose the venue!” Summer proclaimed. “Invite your boyfriend too. I haven’t met him yet. Now’s the perfect time to do that,” I suggested. Summer agreed and called him. She then made reservations at a fancy restaurant and the two of us went there by cab. Her boyfriend arrived half an hour later. Naturally, I studied him. Lanky and bespectacled. A bit on the…wimpy side, if I was being honest. Summer rushed up to him and clung to his arm. Someone had switched to girlfriend mode.“Claudeybear! You’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for you!” I couldn’t stop smiling. I wonder if this guy knew what Summer was like at home. “I got stuck in traffic, s
Claude looked relieved after hanging up, but his smile instantly froze when he saw me. “S-Serena! Wh-What are you doing here?” His eyes dodged my gaze, telling me everything I needed to know!“I heard everything, buddy,” I said. I got straight to the chase. I wasn’t going to mince my words for a piece of shit. He started panicking again. “Serena, I can expla—”“Hush. You don’t want others overhearing our conversation, do you?” I pointed to the window at the far end of the corridor. “Let’s talk over there.”Claude fell silent, but he followed me nonetheless. I glared at him. “You were calling another woman, weren’t you? And she’s your lover, isn’t she?” I demanded.“...Yes,” he admitted. He knew I knew, so he made the smarter choice. “Please don’t tell Summer about this,” he added pleadingly. “Tell me, who do you actually love? The woman on the phone or my best friend? ‘Cause I’d like you to kindly get the hell away from Summer if you’re not interested in her,” I snarled.C
“Yeah, let me drive you home, Claude. I’m really worried about you,” Summer repeated, pulling his arms into hers and cooing. After what I had said, Claude couldn’t wriggle out of this one. If he rejected her offer again, even she would start suspecting him. He accepted her offer of a ride.After watching them leave and settling the bill, I went back to Summer’s home. I had to prepare myself so that I wouldn’t fumble on my first day on the job. I eyed the clock and noted it was 9. It was likely that Summer would be home late. I was about to retire when the front door opened. Summer was back so soon?I frowned. “You’re back early. Why didn’t you stay with him and enjoy your peaceful time together a little longer?” I teased. “He said he was tired. He shooed me home before I even entered his house. Rina, did I do something wrong? He was pretty cold to me today,” she said sadly.My fury returned in full force. Another excuse to hide his sins? And now Summer thought she had done som
“What am I gonna do, Summer? I’m 20,000 dollars shy of the cost of the operation. Where am I supposed to get that kind of money in just a few short days? We don’t have insurance, and we aren’t rich…” I blabbered uncontrollably as tears ran down my face. I couldn’t help panicking over Dad.“Don’t cry, honey. You know what doctors are like. They always exaggerate how bad a sickness is. I’m sure it’s not as bad as they make it out to be,” Summer said reassuringly as she hugged me. “Calm down. We’ll come up with something.”I knew she was trying to relieve me from my panic, but I couldn’t stop. Was I going to watch Dad die from this illness?“Rina, you remember Jethro, right? He’s the richest man in the city. You know what that means, right?” Summer suddenly brought up a name I hadn’t heard for a while. I felt my heart skip a beat. I could see hope…and it promptly died. I already told Jethro that we’d be strangers forever. We were even now, so why would he lend me money just because I