๋ก๊ทธ์ธ๊ณต์
Not There For Her
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๋ฐ์ดํธ:
2024-05-09 03:39:57
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Getting Luckyย ย ย Meeting Hank
EMBERโMr. Marx isnโt in the office today,โ a perky receptionist on his floor told me snidely. The tone she used made me wonder if there was something more going on between them, but I dismissed the thought.She was probably simply bitchy. Like Gracie pointed out, people here had their default setting set to rude. I smiled, refusing to stoop to her level. โDo you know when heโll be back? I have some important business to discuss with him.โWhat I wanted to discuss with him wasnโt business or particularly important, but I was tired of waiting for him to come to me. I needed to figure out if the air needed to be cleared between us, and I was over wondering about it.If he didnโt have the balls to come to me, I would come to him. Or I would try, anyway. Apparently, I had chosen the wrong day to do so.The receptionist, whose name I didnโt know and didnโt care to learn, glared at me. โIโm not his personal assistant, so I donโt know when heโll be back or where he is. Would you like to leav
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09Getting Luckyย ย ย Even Better News
EmberHankโs grip was so strong, it nearly strangled my hand, but I wasnโt one of those girls who shook like a limp fish. One of my female professors back at Harvard had impressed upon us ladies the importance of having every bit as strong a handshake as the men who we would inevitably end up working with.I returned his handshake with more confidence than I felt, curling my lips into a smile. โMr. Marx, itโs a pleasure to meet you.โโIโve taken the liberty of ordering up lunch for you. I was hoping you would join me.โ He motioned toward the seating area with the waiting salads, looking at me expectantly.Like I was going to say no to an invitation to lunch with the biggest boss I had? โI would love to.โโIโm sure youโre wondering why I called for you,โ he said once we were settledI nodded, mentally crossing my fingers that this wasnโt all an act and that he wasnโt going to fire me anyway, despite having gotten me lunch first. โThe thought has crossed my mind.โMr. Marx chuckled good
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09Getting Luckyย ย ย Busted
KADENGoing back to work on Wednesday morning, I stopped to pick up two more coffees. It was take two for me trying to talk to Ember. I refused to let anyone stop me from doing it today. Not even my dad was going to stand in my way.When I got to our building, I went to my office first to drop off my stuff and check in with my assistant to let her know I was back. From there, I would go to the training floor to find Ember.Rounding the corner to my office, I was surprised to find Ember already there waiting for me. She stood up from the black leather couches in the executive waiting room when she saw me, smoothing out her skirt.Her very tight, very sexy fucking skirt.My mouth went dry at the sight of those curves, so very clearly displayed in the skirt and a form-fitting jacket.Holy shit. Was it possible for a person to become sexier in two days? It had to be. That was the only thing that could explain how she had gone from sexy to devastating in less than seventy-two hours.โKaden
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09Getting Luckyย ย ย Sharp
KadenI shrugged. โIn this case, itโs the truth. Ryan wouldnโt ever have figured it out if I hadnโt told him straight out.โโWell, thank you,โ she said. โI owe you one.โโYou donโt owe me a thing,โ I told her. โI was happy to do it. I just hope things get better between the two of you. He wants it too, you know? He just doesnโt necessarily know how to make it happen.โโWeโll figure it out,โ she said confidently, flipping her hair over her shoulder. โOkay, well, I should probably get going. Thanks for the talk and for talking to Ryan.โ Getting up from her chair, she lifted the coffee. โThanks for this too. You may just have saved my life with this. Iโve been dying for Joeโs.โA chuckle worked its way out of my mouth. โThatโs a little dramatic, donโt you think? You wouldnโt actually have died.โHer head bounced from side to side as if she was actually considering it. Then she shrugged. โLuckily, weโll never have to find out. So, thanks for that too.โ โAnything else youโd like to thank
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09Getting Luckyย ย ย Disrobing
EMBERAfter my conversation with Kaden on Wednesday, the rest of the day and the next dragged on and on. I found myself checking the elevator banks again when I heard one stop on our floor.It became annoying. I thought I might be developing a crick in my neck because of it. My head snapped around to those things at least twelve times a day, if not more. The people in this building were seriously lazy. Was it too much to ask for them to start taking the stairs instead?She wonders while standing in one of the elevators. I smiled to myself. I wasnโt taking the damn stairs, not in these heels. They were pretty as hell, all red and sexy, but functional, they were not. As soon as I hit the sidewalk, they were coming off. I had a plain pair of pumps in my purse with my name on them.Literally. I bought them while I still had roommates at Harvard.The elevator car stopped on too many floors on the way down, leaving me to wonder if anyone else was as neurotic about their arrival on their flo
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09Getting Luckyย ย ย Just the Beginning
EmberโDisrobing? Really? Who says that?โHe laughed. โMe. Kaden Marx. I thought we were messing around yesterday, but do you actually have memory problems? Do I need to remind you who I am?โI rolled my eyes, but the corners of my lips tugged into a smile. โNo need. Youโre the cocky bastard I work for who used to be the cocky bastard hanging around my house ignoring me all the time.โโI didnโt ignore you,โ he protested.I raised an eyebrow. โI donโt think Iโm the one who has memory problems.โโFine.โ He shrugged. โI was a teenaged idiot back then. All teenage boys are idiots, havenโt you heard?โโYup,โ I replied cheerfully. โI just wanted to hear you say it out loud. Why were you following me out here anyway?โScoffing, he shook his head. โI was not following you. I happened to see you standing here disrobing and thought I might come offer a hand.โโEver the gentleman,โ I muttered, fighting another smile. If someone told me the only person in New York who was a sure thing for getting
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09Getting Luckyย ย ย Take Me
KADENIf I had known Ember was this much fun to hang around, I definitely wouldnโt have ignored her back in high school. She would have been my best friend instead of her brother. Ryan was the best, but Ember was even better.Well, she would have been my best friend for five minutes, and then I would have made her mine. So it was probably actually better that I hadnโt known her back then. Making her mine that early would never have worked.I would have broken her heart because it wasnโt immodest to say that was just what I did, and then where would we have been now? Definitely not a couple of beers and a bottle of wine strong after a b-rated horror movie, doing shots at a hole in the wall bar near the park.Ember lifted her tiny glass filled with only the bartender knew what, a slightly drunken grin on her full lips. โTo you, for broadening my horizons by introducing me to the most awful movie known to man.โI clinked my glass to hers and downed the shot. It burned all the way down, d
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09Getting Luckyย ย ย With My Teeth
EMBERBack when I still read womenโs magazines, I read a few articles claiming many women enjoyed stripping for their men. Apparently, it gave them some kind of rush.I remembered being horrified when I read it the first time. Stripping was already one thing, but stripping for just one person in such an intimate setting with no lights blinding you and being able to see every reaction on that personโs face was downright terrifying.Unlike most, I respected people who had the necessary self-esteem to strip for strangers. Seriously. Iโd heard all the arguments about it being a profession born from desperation, but anyone had to admit it took guts to take off your clothes for the viewing enjoyment of others.My self-esteem wasnโt lacking in any way, but never in a hundred years would I have the confidence to strip for just one man.The shots Kaden and I drank earlier probably had a bit to do with this new-found confidence, but I was by no means drunk. Not anymore, anyway. I had been well
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-05-09
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Getting Luckyย ย ย Gender Reveal
KadenAs an adult, Iโd always been too busy to spend too much time on hypotheticals like if I wanted to settle down and have a family someday. I used protection religiously to avoid conceiving a child with a woman I didnโt really know in my younger days, and after that, I kind of gave up on ever finding a woman I could imagine myself spending the rest of my life and having kids with.Until Ember.Everything I used to want, worry about, think, or believe changed the day she walked back into my life. She still teased me some about my previous life of being a jerk as a kid or a player, but I could hardly remember what that was like either. Just like with my apartment, those were vague memories I didnโt care to recall.All my life, Iโd heard people say you couldnโt change. I was living proof those people were wrong. To be fair, Iโd started making changes before I even met Ember, but the guy I used to be wouldnโt have taken the whole day off work to go to the doctor and then to stock up on
Getting Luckyย ย ย Ultrasound
KADENโEverything is looking good so far,โ Doctor Kruger told us, holding the ultrasound wand still on Emberโs growing stomach. She was really starting to show now and thought she looked more and more like a whale every day. I couldnโt disagree with her more. โThe baby is growing well, and everything looks the way it should at around twenty-four weeks.โDoctor Kruger was the gynecologist Ember chose. She came highly recommended by the girls at the office. She looked a little bit like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, with hair so thin you could see most of her scalp, but there was a whole wall of awards in her office speaking to her ability.Ember smiled up at her, squeezing my hand tightly. Her eyes were glued to the screen beside her though, as were mine. It was hard to believe the black and white smudges we saw was an actual baby growing in Ember, but now and then, we could make out a hand or a foot or something that drove the point home.The doctor moved the wand higher, squeezing ou
Getting Luckyย ย ย A Dozen
EmberโHave you felt it move yet?โ Kaden asked, dragging his chair around to my side of the table so he would be next to me instead of across from me. โAnd should we be eating Mexican? Isnโt it too spicy?โโI ordered it mild,โ I reminded him. โBut I donโt think eating Mexican is a problem. Sushi is probably a no-no for me until the baby comes, though.โHe nodded, and I could practically see him adding the information to some kind of mental checklist. โSo, you didnโt tell me if youโd felt it move yet.โโNot yet,โ I said honestly. โI would have told you immediately if I had.โThat much was true. Despite my misgivings about his reaction, I wouldnโt have kept him from anything involving his child. Something as major as feeling it move for the first time especially.โWhen do you think youโll feel it?โ he asked, cocking his head and shifting back on his chair to make space for him to get his phone out of his pocket.I lifted my shoulders, shaking my head. โNo idea, but it will probably be s
Getting Luckyย ย ย Four Months
EMBERFor four weeks, I had been waiting to find the right time to talk to Kaden about this. There just never seemed to be enough time. Though we were practically living together and had adjoining offices now, we were also busy and running around for work.My heart hammered against my ribcage so hard it was almost painful as I leaned forward, forcing myself to look into Kadenโs eyes. I had no idea how he was going to take this news. We had so much on our plates as it was, and weโd never even come close to talking about anything like this.Every word I knew suddenly disappeared from my brain as I looked into his gorgeous eyes, questions darkening them while he waited for me to tell him what Iโd been waiting for the right time to talk to him about.Grasping for words, any words at this point, I ended up just blurting it out. โIโm four months pregnant.โKaden paled, his eyes going huge. His jaw loosened, and his throat worked. Oh crap.This was exactly the reaction Iโd been afraid of. Me
Getting Luckyย ย ย Home
KadenA faint line appeared between Carolโs eyebrows before she schooled her expression, shaking my free hand again. โWeโll be in touch soon, I assume? If you could email the paperwork to my assistant, the same one who set up this meeting, Iโll have the lawyers look it over and send it right back.โโIt will be in your inbox before the end of the day tomorrow,โ Ember promised. If I knew her, she was already planning on firing off a text to Scotty as soon as we were out of Carolโs sight.Ember and I were sharing Scotty as our main assistant now. We each had a second assistant working under Scotty, but he was our go-to guy and the one who organized our respective second assistants. It was a system that was working really well for us.Once we were settled in my car, I glanced at her before putting my hand on her headrest and backing out of the parking space. โDid you ask Scotty to send her the documents yet?โShe smiled, holding up her phone to show me the text she was typing. โJust about
Getting Luckyย ย ย How Far Along?
KADENโIf you consider we only started putting this together for you last week, I think youโll appreciate the growth you would already have seen if weโd started making these moves only a few days ago.โ I was speaking to our new potential client, an older woman with her dyed black hair pulled back in a severe bun.She was the CEO of a hotel group that was starting to pop up everywhere. The company was only a few years old, but they were expanding at an impressive rate, and Ember and I both really wanted to sign her.โWe can do great things together, Carol,โ Ember added, clicking a button on the remote in her hand to move onto the next slide we had prepared for her. โBoth our companies have shown exponential growth over the last six months, and together, I think we can keep that trajectory going.โI could feel Emberโs excitement coming off her in waves from where she was sitting next to me at a mahogany conference table at one of Carolโs groupโs hotels. The group had two new boutique ho
Getting Luckyย ย ย Together Again
EMBERWhen Kadenโs lips crashed into mine, it was with such passion and fervor that a fresh wave of tears welled up behind my eyes. Different tears this time, happy tears. I couldnโt believe he was here, that he was in my arms and kissing me the way he was.An hour ago, I was convinced our relationship was toast. When I didnโt hear from Ryan, I thought the worst. I thought Kaden was so mad at me, heโd convinced Ryan he was right, and I was wrong. I thought Ryan wasnโt going to speak to me ever again either.I thought so many things, all of which were apparently wrong. It was hard to have faith in people when you felt as guilty and as badly as I did, though. In my defense, those werenโt feelings I had much experience with, and now that Iโd felt them in their fullest glory, I had no intention of ever finding myself in a position like that ever again.From now on, I was going back to honesty. I still regretted the way I handled things with Mr. Marx, but Iโd also learned from it. With Kad
Getting Luckyย ย ย Big Brother Talk
KadenShit. I even made her promise to stop avoiding me. I shoved her even deeper into the impossible corner she was already in. I made her look me in the eyes and sleep in my bed, even when she couldnโt do it, and now I was pissed at her for doing exactly that?I groaned out loud, bringing my forehead to my desk.As if Ryan could tell what I was thinking, he said, โShe loves you, Kaden. She loves you more than anything in the world. Youโre everything to her. Trust me when I tell you she never meant to hurt you. She was stuck in purgatory about this for weeks.โLifting my head only enough to catch a glimpse of his eyes, I frowned. โIs this a big brother talk? Because I donโt think I can stomach one of those right now.โI really couldnโt bear to hear him tell me how much she loved me after the way I acted. Sure, I was shocked, and she shouldnโt have done what she did, but I honestly didnโt know what else I could have expected her to do under the circumstances.Even if she did, would sh
Getting Luckyย ย ย You Don't Listen
KADENMy head was spinning. I felt nauseous, my stomach twisting and turning as I tried to focus on the screen in front of me. I was trying to get everything with Ember out of my head and get some work done, but it was proving to be harder than I thought it would be.Despite everything, I still didnโt want to let my dad down. Sure, he told my girl he was dying and not me, butโโFuck,โ I muttered, dragging my hands through my hair. Again. I shuddered to think what I looked like by now. At least no one was bothering me.Scotty was keeping his distance, and most people would probably be leaving soon. They were giving me the day to get settled in, which was a fucking blessing since I had no idea how I would be able to handle meetings or making any big decisions today.Iโd been so damn optimistic just this morning, determined to make this work no matter what. I was so damn sure I had this under control, that I was going to walk in as CEO and things would just fall in place.I was prepared
