ELENATo my surprise, this man unabashedly put a palm on my thigh.He didn’t stop there. He’d gone ahead to trace a finger on my skin, and it frustrated me that I could not raise my hand and slap the silliness out of him.Uncomfortable as hell, but having to comport myself, I’d tried my best to give him everything I knew about the work dealers did in a casino.I was grappling at some point, but at least I gave it a try, right?By the time I was done with my explanation, I’d managed to scoot away from his grizzly hand.“So, how old are you?” He ran his eyes over my body in a leery manner, watching me like a hawk did its prey as I slowly got to my feet.What did my age have to do with anything? I clearly looked young, wasn’t that what mattered?“You don’t want to keep me hanging with the answers, sweetheart,” the man’s voice interrupted my thoughts, dark eyes taking in every inch of me, “trust me.”I swallowed hard, folding my palms together in front of me. “27, sir.”He nodded, seeming
ELENADays have gradually turned to a week, and I wouldn’t say life has been any better. Generally.Las Vegas was nothing like Manhattan.I was always cooped up in Lordy’s apartment unit, staring out her floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the bustling nightlife of Vegas.“I need to find a job, Lordy.” Once again, I stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, my back turned to my friend from one of the foster homes I was juggled around.Over the years, we’ve grown into the kind of friends that only reached out to each other on special holidays, just for courtesy’s sake. I bet she was surprised when I called her out of the blue, so randomly.But I wouldn’t deny the fact that Lordy was a real one.A real one would let me stay over at their place without any prior heads-up.I’d arrived in Vegas to an already boiling, relaxing hot-tub, and like, the most heartwarming meal ever.So yeah, Lordy is a real one.But when I say Vegas is nothing like Manhattan, I mean it sincerely. Achingly.This
ATLASWhat truly did catch my heart, was the way this caregiver with bouncy blonde hair and hazel green eyes handled my mother with absolute care and gentleness, like she was hers.She washed my mother’s hands and feet with tender movements, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled up at my mother, who was as mesmerized as I was.She had so much graceful energy, her movements as equally gracious as her curves. Causing a thrill to race through my chest.I reached for the door handle. “I’ll see her now,” I said to Keelan without looking at him, then I twisted the handle and walked into the room.The blonde-haired, gorgeous-eyed caregiver and my mother, seemed so deep in thought they hardly noticed a third presence in my room. Until I cleared my throat.“You must be the new caregiver.”She whirled around, her eyes widening. “Oh,” she mumbled, hazel green eyes gleaming with mischief, “and you must be the son. Our beautiful Olandria here, hasn’t stopped speaking about her son whom s
ATLASAll I could think of behind the wheel, driving down the highway, was Elena.She filled every thought of mine, every corner in my head.Her irresistible face, the way she smelt, that smile of hers I only got to see on rare occasions. Those eyes of hers…I was filled with an immerse aggravation at her sudden disappearance and impromptu quitting. She didn’t even give a heads-up.Why would she? I’d wronged her…and to her, it would be more like betrayal.With a heavy heart, I thought back to the first time I saw her. And fell. The day I swore to myself that I’d never let her go.Well, until it became exactly what I had to.It was mid-summer, right after my late brother, Braden, got married to her.************A few years agoI sat on the hood of my car, which sat in front of my penthouse.I’d just arrived from an official assignment that deterred me from attending my favored brother’s wedding. Braden was the nicest of the Grants, and he always made sure he carried me along the famil
ATLASThe elevator dinged on the ground floor, and I tried as much as I could to stride out casually, adjusting my tie and smoothening a hand over it.I couldn’t let everyone know that I was worked up. That I was enraged to my bones.Of course, I never wear my emotions on my sleeves that way. I have to act coordinated. I have to be coordinated, if I want to get anything done.And I have a whole fucking lot to get done.I didn’t even bother going in search of my asshole of a brother anymore. I was fuming about how low my father had spoken of Elena.I mean, even if he didn’t like her, how could he call her a deadweight?Oh the itch that had so begged to be scratched. The itch to make it clear to my father in a tone as stern as his, that Elena, this woman I was completely mesmerized by, was nowhere near a deadweight, and was actually a woman to die for, if they at least try to get to know her.Instead of all this bullying…The only reason I didn’t scratch that itch, however, the only rea
ELENA“Just make sure you take a look at that file, Elena.”Luke’s final words before he left my house, kept replaying in my head, time and time again.What could possibly be in the file? Or the flash drive? Why was he helping me?I found it difficult trusting Luke because he had proved to me so much already that he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A man that stabs his wife in the back for his own gain.He was never truly going to help me, or had any intentions of doing anything that would benefit me, even slightly…So why was I stalling? Why wasn’t I storming over like I should, and putting the file and flash drive where they belong? In the trash…I stared at the file and the flash drive on the table for as long as I could remember, then, with a deep resolve to satisfy my curiosity—a peek wouldn’t hurt, would it?— I strode over and picked up the file and flash drive, taking them up to my room.I slotted the drive in my laptop with shaky fingers, leaning back against the table and wai