Mark
It was her scream that pulled me abruptly out of my sleep. It was so loud and sudden that I found myself spiraling out of bed without even knowing what was happening.
My head hurt like hell and I had to hold the sides to douse the pain. Looking straight in front of me, the pain vanished when I saw the sight.
My eyes lit up in shock as I stared at the woman in front of me. Not only was she a stranger, she was stark naked. Not going to lie, but she had one of the most amazing and beautiful bodies I’d ever seen.
She was petite and had all her features perfectly balanced on her curves. She was a perfect work of art.
But then, I didn’t even have time to process the whole thing before she started screaming again. From her reaction, she had no idea she was naked until I mentioned it. And once she knew, she started screaming… again.
I knew I had to stop her somehow before she blew my head up. Quickly, I grabbed the sheet and threw it at her. It didn’t stop the screaming, but her voice was muffled, and I’d take that over the roof crashing down on me.
That was when I saw I was naked too. My clothes were scattered over the floor and I quickly threw my pants on.
I didn’t need a soothsayer, I knew what had happened between us. S*x. Even though I can’t remember the details now, I can tell I enjoyed it. That was the only way I would let a girl sleep over in my crib after being together. I always send them away, but occasionally when the s*x was so good, I’d forget myself and just sleep off.
The only problem here was this naked stranger kept screaming that I was in her room.
That’s not possible… or so I thought until I scanned the room and truly, I wasn’t in my room.
Where the heck am I? I couldn’t remember how I got here, but that wasn’t the time to start racking my brain.
This could be a disaster brewing, because how did I get into a stranger’s bed? I needed to do something.
“If you even think of ever blackmailing me with this, I’ll make sure I ruin you. I’ll make sure you disappear without a trace even before you make your first public appearance!” I fired at her while dressing up quickly.
“That’s for your silence. Don’t ever show your face in front of me!” I fired at her and then threw a huge wad of cash on the bed.
I didn’t wait for her response, I just dropped the money and took off. I know she’s going to pretend like she didn’t want the money and doesn’t appreciate being paid off. But I can’t afford it coming to bite me in the leg later. I’ve had experiences like that in the past, where they pretended to be all good, but barely hours later, I’d be in the news trending for the wrong reasons.
After a few scandals like that, I made up my mind to never leave without paying.
“Always pay them and make them understand it’s for their silence. And if you sense any foul play in their body language, you make them know the consequences of coming against you. And you make sure you’re firm while doing that.” Barry, my best friend, had said to me after the last scandal.
I started doing that and, since then, it has been all good. This one won’t be different either.
She seemed different though, like she genuinely meant well, but then, women can be so pretentious. All they care about is money, money, money. And that’s the way I treat them too. Something to be bought.
I stopped chasing love, and started using them for what I can get from them…
The elevator opened on the fifth floor and I stepped out. Looking up at the number on my room entrance, I realized the mistake I had made. Her room was the fifth room but on the fourth floor. I was too drunk and must have pressed the wrong button in the elevator last night.
The moment I stretched out to open the door, it flung open and Sophie was standing there. Her face brightened up with a broad smile the moment she saw me, and she immediately pulled me in.
“Where were you all night? I had to leave when I waited for you, but you never showed up.” She let out while I thought of an answer.
“You weren’t yourself last night. I was so worried, that’s why I came back early this morning to check up on you. How are you feeling now? God! I’m so happy you’re okay!” She added and then rushed over to my side.
“Wait, what happened last night?” I asked while she stared intently in my eyes, as if searching for answers too.
“You really don’t remember? We… we…” she stuttered, blushing hard too.
“We what?” I asked impatiently.
“We got intimate.”
“What?! We had s*x?” I exclaimed.
“Relax! We didn’t go all the way. You were too drunk and didn’t want to rush things, but you did confess your love to me and we made out. It was so sweet!” she explained.
Everything she said seemed off to me as I couldn’t remember a thing. But before I could even say another word, she threw herself into my arms, and wrapped her hands tightly around me.
She was giggling hard, and that sound was just what I needed. It took me back to the last couple of hours when it all started.
After securing the huge contract in the afternoon, Sophie suggested we go to the club to celebrate. I agreed and once we were done signing and finalizing everything, we went straight to the club.
Being the president of Rowland’s group came with a lot of perks, and that includes VIP treatment everywhere I get to. Sterling club was one of those places. The moment we stepped in, we were ushered into the private booth. We had barely sat when drinks and girls were brought in.
Sophie and I shared a knowing glance then before she stood up.
“Enjoy yourself, I’ll be right back,” she said, and then left.
I did enjoy myself. I gently sipped my drink while the girls threw me a hot show. They stripped and kept me entertained. Things were about to get steamy when Sophie waltzed back in with two glasses of wine.
“Okay ladies, that’s enough. You can leave now,” She said, and they left immediately.
“Hey, what was that for? We were just getting started,” I said to her while she gave me one of the drinks.
“You have a busy day tomorrow and, as your personal assistant, it’s my job to make sure you are at your best.” She let out.
I didn’t argue further. Sophie has that power over me. She can make me do things I don’t want to and that’s because I know she wants only the best for me.
I downed my drink in an instant and then turned to her.
“Ready to leave when you are.” That was the last thing I remembered saying before my head started feeling light, and my eyes blurry.
Thinking about it now, my drink must have been spiked because I don’t get drunk that easily, and I only had a few drinks. Could it have been Sophie? Did she spike my drink? Hell no! It can't be! She has no reason to…
I got so wasted that I could barely even get out of the car by the time we got back to the hotel. Sophie stopped the car and then hurried to my side.
I thought she was coming to help get me out, but she hopped on my lap and locked the door instead.
I knew I should have stopped her, but once her lips were on mine, I grabbed her, and we started making out.
It got intense, but before it got serious, I was knocked back to my senses.
I gently pushed her to the side, got out of the car, and made my way into the hotel. The elevator opened, and I tried opening the door with my card, but it wouldn’t bulge. Just then, the door flung open, and an angel was standing there.
I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or her beauty, but I was too stunned to even utter a word.
She had the most beautiful pair of blue eyes, and once our gaze met, I was instantly hooked. I wanted her. My eyes wandered to her cleavage and I just couldn’t resist her anymore.
She was drunk too, but we could read each other’s minds without saying a word.
She also wanted me and in an instant, we were tongue deep in each other’s throat.
She jumped on me and I led us to the bed, barely making it there, before ripping each other apart.
She was wild in bed. She did things to me, things I never thought an innocent-looking girl like her could do.
We finally wore ourselves out and then crashed into a deep sleep.
In the morning, when she screamed me out of bed, I took one look at her and knew she was different. There was something about her that attracted me, but I wasn’t going to take chances. One thing I’ve learned in life is never to trust anyone… and certainly not a naked stranger in my bed…
“It’s fine if you don’t remember…” Sophie’s voice pulled me back to reality.
“Oh no, Sophie. I do remember, and I’m deeply sorry for that. I’m not even trying to make excuses here because that should never have happened, drunk or not!” I quickly apologized while she smiled.
“It’s fine. You did nothing wrong. I wanted it too and I enjoyed it.” I was shocked to hear it come from her.
“What? You’re not just my PA, Sophie, you’re like a sister to me. What happened was wrong, and I promise it’s never going to happen again,” I added.
SophieMark walked in looking sharp and confident as ever, and as usual, my heart stupidly skipped a beat the second I heard his footsteps approaching.I adjusted my blouse quickly, smoothed down my skirt, and grabbed my tablet before heading toward his office. He hated delays and I’ve never given him one. I live to be ready for him.He had just dropped his keys on the table and was unbuttoning his blazer when I knocked once and stepped inside.“Good morning, Sir:” I let out while he looked at me and smiled. He knew I was goofing around, I always address him by his name but when I want to get some of that sweet smile, I become formal. It always works so I always use it.“Morning Sophie, you look good.” He replied and I smiled too.“Thank you, Mark.” “You’ve got two back-to-back meetings this morning,” I began, standing straight. “First is with the legal team about the Wexler contracts, and then at ten, your father requested a call with the board. Apparently, he wants to go over last
ViolaFor a few seconds, I sat there, stunned, I couldn’t even hear what Jared was saying anymore. His voice just faded into the background like a distant echo and my eyes were still on the contract, but the words had begun to blur together. I wasn’t reading anymore. I was just... existing and breathin in confusion.I wasn’t naive enough to think Mark had suddenly become a decent man but after my little talk with Brenda, I thought I had finally gotten some ground to stand on and to protect myself with.Turned out I was just deceiving myself, Mark had just taken this whole thing to a new level. I didn’t even look at him at first, I just kept my eyes on the contract and tried to steady my hands on my lap. My fingers were twitching and that was always my tell when I was spiraling inside. I knew he was watching me and waiting for a reaction. He’d so happy to see me explode, crying and screaming my dignity out, but I gave him none of that.“This is what you stayed up all night planning?”
MarkI didn’t sleep a damn wink. I just lay there on the stiff-ass couch, staring at the ceiling like it had answers, while Viola slept like a queen on my bed.I was supposed to be in control, it was the one thing I had left after swallowing my pride to agree to this circus of a marriage. I even agreed to let her move into my room thinking that at least, I’d set the rules in here but then she flipped the entire table on me.I should’ve known something was off the second she stepped into the room and didn’t look scared. Hell, she looked like she expected a fight and worse, like she’d already won.And she did really win because by the time she was done talking, I had nothing. No threats, no comebacks, just hit rage burning inside of me. She had me cornered, and she knew it.I gritted my teeth and turned on the couch for the hundredth time, punching the pillow like that would help anything. It didn’t. Every part of me burned with how badly I wanted to put her in her place. Of course not
ViolaThe second Mark walked out, I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. He had gotten on my nerves so much and I desperately wanted him gone. The way he talked about me like I was there was so annoying and if I had my way, I would have shut him up right away. That would just have been too messy with his parents sitting there and I didn’t want to disrespect them. They didn’t ask for this, we did. We were the ones who got so drunk and just f*cked each other carelessly. I pushed my food around my plate for a bit longer, trying to appear normal, but the air felt heavier with him gone, and I could feel Frank’s gaze on me, quiet but sharp, as if trying to read what was going on behind my eyes. I didn’t want him to and I didn’t want any more probing tonight so I set my fork down and stood up, planning to slip away before someone said something I didn’t have the energy to respond to.“A maid will come get you shortly to help move your things into Mark’s room.” Frank said while I
MarkI slammed the door behind me so hard as I walked out of the house. My blood was boiling. I couldn’t even see straight from how pissed I was.Get married to her? What the actual hell was my father thinking?I stormed out of the house without looking back. My mom called my name, and my dad shouted something after me, but I didn’t even care. I’m not a child so why force a marriage I don’t want on me. A girl I barely even know! I needed some air and space and maybe a drink too… actually, several drinks because that’s the only way this can ever make any sense. I got in my car and drove like a maniac across town before finally parking outside Ridge’s Bar. The minute I walked in, I spotted Barry in our usual booth, two glasses already on the table. I didn’t even call to tell him I was coming but he already knew. He looked up and raised a brow. “That bad?”I sank into the seat opposite him, grabbed a glass, and downed it in one go. The burn felt good. It shut out the noise in my head,
Viola“Hi, Miss Viola, the checkout time is ten, that's about thirty minutes from now. We’d like to know when you'll be leaving so we can send in the cleaners,” the receptionist said over the phone.I was in the bathroom when the phone rang, and I had to run out to answer it. My hair was still dripping, so I held it up while I thought about my next step. I don't have a house to go back to, my bank accounts have been frozen, and my boyfriend is a ba*stard cheat.I used all the money on me to pay for the night, and now that the hotel wants me out, I have to come up with a plan, or I'd be on the streets in thirty minutes.“Ma’am? Are you there?” the lady called out.I didn't have an answer yet and was about to hang up when my eyes suddenly wandered to the bed. The money Mr. Rude stranger gave me was still lying there, carelessly. Just then, I knew what I had to do.“You know what? I'd be booking for a week.” I finally found my voice.“Okay ma'am, do you need anything? Food, drinks…”“Yes