LOGINCALISTA“Ahhhh!” I screamed, feeling the ground rushing up to me. But just then, before I hit the floor, Harrison grabbed my hand and pulled me up in one swift motion, his other arm wrapping firmly around my waist.“I got you. I got you!” he said, breathing heavily. At that exact moment, a car screeched behind us followed by a loud slam. I turned and saw Mikhail storming towards me, the wind pushing against him like it had a personal vendetta.I gulped down the dryness in my throat and quickly stepped away from Harrison.“Do you know him?” Harrison asked from behind me. I moved quickly toward Mikhail before he could reach us because the tension in the air already told me this was not going to be calm.“H-hey, Mikhail,” I said, my voice breaking, still trembling from the near fall. Mikhail stopped in front of me, looking down at me for a brief moment before shifting his gaze to Harrison behind me.“You got here so quickly,” I added, rubbing my arm against the cold wind.“Let’s go.” He
CALISTAI stood abruptly, seeing who it was.“Harrison? What are you doing here?” I asked cautiously. His eyes fell to the drink in my hand before he looked back at me.“Nothing. I overheard you both talking about drinking. It’s not safe for you to drive after drinking, so I came here to take you home.”“Oh.” I looked around, but Katrina was still busy with what she went on to do. “There’s no need for that. I can call my driver or someone else.”He looked at me, then smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. “It’ll take a while before they can get here. Are you done? I don’t see your friend with you.”“Katrina will be out soon,” I answered, turning fully to him. For some weird reason, he gave me a strange vibe.I didn’t know if I was being judgmental or if I just didn’t want to give him the chance to speak more.“Okay,” he smacked his lips, putting his hand inside his pocket. “So have you thought about it?”“About what?” I arched an eyebrow at him.“What we discussed an hour ago. You going ou
CALISTA“Is something wrong?” I asked with concern. She shook her head, then sighed.“Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine. It’s just that something has been bothering me ever since it happened. The accident.”“Go on. I’m listening.”She looked at me. “I know you’re not a bad person. You never gave me that vibe or anything like that. It’s just… we didn’t really talk about what happened and I assumed you’ve been avoiding me.”“Avoiding you? I never did such a thing. You’re the one who’s been avoiding me. I tried reaching out to you, but when I saw you were still affected by what happened, I didn’t want to push you too much that you would distance yourself from me. I was waiting for you to come back to me.” I paused, looking into her eyes. “To discuss this.”“Oh, I-I thought—” she stuttered, fumbling with her dress, but I held her hand, smiling.“Why don’t we talk about this at your bar?” I asked. “I’m in the mood for a drink.”She nodded. “And my hands are itchy to do something. It’s the only way
CALISTAI stood in front of the door with the name [CEO's Office], adjusting my dress. I lifted my hand and knocked on the door, stepping back a little.I didn’t know who I would be expecting from behind the door. Was it an old man with many years of anger issues, or a woman like Mrs. Parker, perhaps even worse?“Come in,” a muffled voice sounded from behind the door and my eyes widened at how familiar it was. I tilted my head sideways, nah I must have heard it wrong.I grabbed the handle and stepped inside the room. A man was typing frantically on his laptop, his glasses almost falling off his nose bridge. He seemed to be in his late thirties, and dark lines were visible underneath his eyes.“Thank God he’s not an old man,” I exhaled in relief and walked towards him.“Good morning, sir. I’m Calista, the new intern. I got your email that you wanted to see me,” I said, looking at him.The man didn’t look up from what he was doing and continued typing frantically.“Sir?” I called again.
CALISTAThe next day, Eleanor left for Italy, leaving Mikhail and me behind.“You’re going to do this until she returns. Do you understand all I’ve said?” he asked, pointing his stick at the board.“Yes,” I rolled my eyes at him. “But not having any party is a no for me.”His brows shot up, and I smirked.“You can’t stop me from having that, right? I mean, it’s been hectic going to work, the stress, and everything. I need somewhere to let it all out.” I folded my arms in front of me.Mikhail picked up the marker and wrote something on the whiteboard.“Once a month, you can go to a party, but there’s a condition.” He turned to me.“Ugh, what is it?”“I’ll have twenty of my men guide the premises and check IDs on everyone there to fish out anyone trying to harm you,” he said.“Hell no,” I blurted out. “You can’t do that. What’s the fun if you ID everyone and bring over twenty men with me? It’s like announcing to the world that I’m living with a mafia who’s obsessed with me.” I flung my
CALISTA“When can I see you again? I mean outside work,” the man asked, walking behind me.“I don’t know. I have lots of things to do,” I answered, stepping into the elevator. I pressed the 13th floor and stepped back, staring at him.He looked at me, smiling as the doors slid shut. After making sure he was gone, I exhaled heavily, holding my chest.I took out my phone and went through Mikhail’s message again.“He’s injured and still wants to pick me up?” I frowned. My eyes drifted to the elevator display, watching the number rise to the sixth floor. I still had plenty of time.My finger swiped across my phone before I pressed it to my ear. It rang for a moment before Mikhail picked up.“Mikhail?” I called, listening.Instead of a response, I only heard heavy breathing in the background.“Is everything okay over there?” I asked, frowning.“I’m sorry… mmmph!” A weak whimper came through, and my frown deepened.“Mikhail?” I called again.“I’m here,” his rough voice came shortly after. “
CALISTADimitri shut the car door, and he wrapped my arm around his neck as he led me to the house. Katrina sat in the car quietly, and I noticed the change in her expression when she saw Dimitri. At first, I did not think too much about it and assumed my drunken state was messing with my head.“Ca
CALISTA“So… are we going to do the introduction?” I asked, twirling my pen. Katrina's head lifted from the book she was reading to look at me; her brows lifted slightly.“We already did that.” Someone cut in before she could reply. I faced them. “My name is Marcus, and he is Lucas, my best friend.
CALISTA“Cal.” Sera's voice trembled from the speaker. “I never knew he was the man you kept telling me about. If I had known he was your stepfather… I would have created a distance between us.”“You never sent a picture of how he looked. All you've talked about is your hatred towards him and how y
MIKHAILThe bunker's door swung open, and my men stepped aside, their hands returning to the guns attached to their belts. I groaned softly, making my way inside the bunker.My left hand pressed against the surface, the cold seeping through my palm as I swept my gaze over the dusty space. I wrinkle







