Breakfast was very lively, and the group of friends ended up spending a long time chatting. Jason and his friends left early because they had plans to attend to, and the others went back to their rooms. Jen and Lucas decided to go take a short walk before they left, and James took Laura with him as well.
The two of them lagged further behind the pair of lovebirds as they took in the whole atmosphere of the impeccably maintained garden.
“Have you really made up your mind about dating me?” James asked Laura, who had been asking herself whether or not it was okay to hold his hand the entire.
“Hm?” Laura asked, not expecting him to ask this.
“Our conversation from last night, do you still stand by your words?” James asked and slowed to a stop. Laura also stopped next to him and raised her head to look at his face. His hair was loosely tied at the nape of his neck, combined with the loose white sweater he was wearing. He looked relaxed and easygoing. It was as if he was planning on spending the day reading a book outside with a cup of tea.
“Laura,” James called to her when he realised that she had fallen into a daze again.
“Hm?” she responded and blinked her green eyes at him. James smiled helplessly when he saw her expression.
“Focus,” James told her, and pushed a few strands of hair away from her face.
“You don’t make it easy,” Laura said with a sheepish smile.
“Well?” James asked and pulled his hand back, waiting for her response.
“I have,” Laura answered.
“Really?” James asked again, like he was asking her to reconsider.
“How many times should I repeat myself? You were like this yesterday as well,” Laura complained, almost losing her patience.
“I need to make sure you are not being impulsive. I don’t date often, but when I do, I tend to be very serious and I want to be sure we are on the same page,” James said with a smile when he saw her irritated expression.
“Does it look like I’m being impulsive?” Laura asked him with furrowed eyebrows. She didn’t know that was how she came across to him. But as she continued to think about their circumstances yesterday, she felt that his concerns were very valid.
“Actually, forget it. Don’t answer that,” Laura said, stopping him from answering her. She then stepped forward and took his arm, hugging it with both of hers.
“I’m being very serious, James. This is the first time I’ve liked someone enough to ask them out myself,” Laura said seriously. James looked at her, knowing that she was doing her best to reassure him.
“I’ve never gone out with anyone before, so I’m not taking you lightly, James,” Laura said when she didn’t get any response from him.
“You really haven’t dated anyone before?” James asked, vaguely remembering her saying something along those lines. Laura felt a bit embarrassed when she heard him repeat her words. For some reason, it felt like she has been missing out.
“Why? is it a problem?” Laura asked him, as if she was daring him to say that he was.
“No, not at all,” James said and smiled.
“Is it funny?” Laura continued to ask when she saw him smile.
“No, I think it’s cute,” James said, and used his other hand to brush her flushed cheeks.
“How is it cute?” Laura asked as she tried to feign nonchalance but with the way, her eyes kept shifting around. James used his index finger to tip her chin up so she could look at him and leaned forward to close the distance between them.
“To think that you haven’t done this with anyone else,” James said, their faces so close that Laura could feel his warm breath fan over her lips, making her heartbeat so fast she felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to move in to kiss her, Laura looked into his grey eyes and fell into a daze as she became enamoured once more by his face. Seeing her silly expression, James pulled away with a smile. It looked like the new little girlfriend he had gotten was a bit silly. James thought to himself as he put an arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll accommodate your pace,” James said when he saw the questions in her eyes, and Laura happily leaned against him. She was happy that he was willing to be more patient with her, not knowing that James meant what he said literally.
Laura stared at the man sitting next to her with a shallow smile on her lips. James had called his driver to come and pick him up and decided to drop Laura off at her hotel before he went back to his place. It was rare for him to have a free weekend, so he was planning on making the most of it. “Is there something on my face?” James asked as he turned to look at her. “No, but I can’t help but look at you,” Laura answered honestly. James chuckled when he heard her response and continued to read the script he was holding. He had changed into more formal clothes before they left. He was wearing a beige turtleneck with a black blazer and a pair of black slacks. It was simple, but it made him look both ascetic and sexy, which was very contradictory but somehow worked with him. “Why did we have to leave so early? We could have gone horse-riding,” Laura lamented, as she finally looked away from the handsome man to stare at the scenery outside. “We’ll go ride horses next time. We can also
Movements outside her room woke Laura up. After feeling alert for a while, she relaxed once she determined that it was a familiar noise from the kitchen. She squinted as she clumsily fumbled around her bed to search for her phone. She quickly checked the time and saw that it was 6:30 am. She groaned before pulling the covers over her head. She didn’t understand Rachel at all. Why was she waking up so early even though they were on vacation? She asked herself before continuing to sleep. She only woke up after another two hours and got out of her room. Rachel was drawing on her tablet while enjoying a cup of tea when she heard the door to Laura’s room open. She looked at her half-asleep friend walk towards the kitchen and take out a bottle of water from the fridge and downing it in one go before joining her at the table. Laura rested her chin on her hand as she sleepily watched her friend who had turned her attention back to drawing. “Why are you working during vacation?” Laura asked
Laura walked into Diamond Star’s company building and headed straight for the reception desk without looking around. But from the moment she walked in, everyone’s attention was drawn to her. Even the cute receptionist girls stared at her for a while before hearing what she was saying to them. “Yes, how may I help you?” one of the more experienced receptionists asked Laura, snapping the rest of the girls out of their daze. “I’m going to see James Lewis,” Laura said as she leaned on the desk, her cleavage peeking out the top of her dress. The employee smiled politely and focused her gaze on Laura’s face while trying to maintain her professionalism. “Do you have an appointment?” she continued to ask, feigning nonchalance, but Laura could see her ears redden at a visible speed. “Yes,” Laura answered with a smile, and continued to watch as the other party picked up her phone to call the CEO’s offices. “Please sit down, someone will be sent to escort you soon,” the receptionist said onc
Laura seriously went through the contract offer and would occasionally peek at James, who was holding another document in his hand. The contract offer was quite impressive, the terms were generous and she would be treated like an A-lister. “I’m going to sign under one more condition,” Laura said, drawing James’s attention to her. He put down the papers he was holding to give her his attention. “What is it?” James asked her. He wondered whether his team of lawyers rushed the job and forgot something. “My manager has to be you,” Laura said, and smiled at the subtle expression on James’s face. James was already managing his younger brother on top of managing the company. The only reason he took on the job by himself was because Jason would go overboard with his managers. It had taken him years to find staff that could understand and tolerate Jason’s antics, but the manager position was one that only he could fill, seeing as Jason was also on the board of directors. Now, on top of all
James got closer and closer to her and, as he did so, he could see the anticipation in her eyes. Laura swallowed nervously when she saw a strange glint in his eyes. He was making her feel really nervous. “Take off my glasses,” he said and Laura raised her hands to remove the gold-rimmed glasses and placed them a safe distance away and looked up at him once more. When he held her chin with his hand, Laura slightly parted her lips as she remembered being told to open her mouth. This made James smile even wider before he pressed his lips against her open ones. Laura did not even have the time to get surprised before he pushed his tongue into her open mouth. He moved the hand that was holding her chin to the back of her head to block any retreat as he swept his tongue over her own. Laura felt like a small boat caught in a storm in the middle of the ocean. Her heart was racing from the excitement she was feeling and held on to his jacket as if to ground herself. James wrapped his free ha
“You are going to drink now?” James asked Laura, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table. “Is that a problem?” Laura asked him with a raised eyebrow. James checked the time on his watch to make sure that he was not the strange one here. “You think it’s too early?” Laura asked when she saw him to check the time. “You don’t think it’s early?” James asked her back. It was a little past 1 pm. The only way he would be drinking at this time was as if he was taking a weekend off. “Then I'll drink later in the evening,” Laura said with a smile that made James nervous rather than reassure him. “You can do as you please,” James finally concluded, and Laura’s smile turned into a laugh. “But you’ll have to accompany me later,” Laura said and became silent once the waiter returned with the wine she ordered. “Okay,” James agreed. He didn’t have anything planned for the evening and since he just signed her, they might as well celebrate. “Really? Hey, I won’t be drinking anymore,” La
The first thing Laura did after returning to the hotel room was to dive into the internet to go through different forums. She had overestimated herself because of the previous encounters she has had with men. They had always taken the initiative to approach her and were very eager to please her. She knew if she showed the slightest interest, they would not hold back as James did. So, she wanted to know how to poke holes into his defence. She read everything, from how to make their relationship develop to the next step, to all the tricks she can employ to seduce him. She studied so seriously that she hadn’t even heard Rachel when she returned home. “What are you reading?” Rachel asked as she made a beeline for the kitchen. She had gone out to buy a few things she needed for what she wanted to cook later. Laura didn’t bother answering her and continued to mentally take notes about what she was reading. This made Rachel even more curious, so she snuck up behind her and checked to see w
Laura could already see James standing outside his car from the hotel lobby. So, with her eyes focused on a set destination, she did not notice all the attention she had drawn to herself. James could already see the commotion through the glass doors and curiously looked to see what was going on. When Laura finally stepped outside, James ended up choking on air. Laura had no idea of just how flustered James was because of how she looked and only walked toward him with a wide smile and eyes filled with excitement. James continued to stand in one place, feigning calmness. But he knew just how excited he was when he saw her looking the way she was. Laura stopped in front of him and looked at him, her eyes clearly asking him if he thought she looked good. “You look beautiful,” James said with a smile and raised his hand to touch one of the loose curls framing her face. “Thank you, you are looking handsome yourself,” Laura said sincerely. James chuckled when he heard her since he was st