LOGINHe gestured toward Brock with the smallest possible movement of his hand.Brock said nothing. He just stood there with his arms crossed, his eyes moving past Linda into the house like he was already taking stock of what was inside."I'd like to speak with you and your husband," Bron said. "May we come in?"Linda didn't move out of the way, "My husband is resting.""I understand," Bron said pleasantly. "I'll keep this brief."He said it in a way that made it clear the question had not actually been a question and then he stepped forward and didn't stop despite the fact that she was standing by the entrance blocking him. Linda had no choice but to step back from the door so they could peacefully walk in. Samuel was in the small sitting room when they came in. He had heard the knock from his chair by the window and had already pushed himself upright, his face arranged into the careful calm of a person who had been expecting something like this and had been dreading it with equal measur
A few minutes earlier before se walked in. Hazel paused just outside the heavy mahogany door of Maxwell’s office, the heat of his morning coffee seeping through the cardboard sleeve into her palm. She could barely feel it as her full attention was on what was being said behind that door.The door to his office was cracked open just a fraction, but it was enough for Victoria’s sharp, amused voice to drift into the hallway.“There is nothing going on between me and my assistant. We are not involved. I don't have feelings for her. It was a… practical decision." Maxwell's voice came through. Hazel chewed on her lower lip. She wasnt the type to eavesdrop. However she couldn't help it. This was too interesting to walk away from. She had spent the last day agonizing over why he had actually hired her. If he truly wanted revenge, the easiest route would have been to torpedo her chances at this dream job and send her packing. Instead, he had handed it to her. Why? The talk coming from insid
"I didn't want to be late," Hazel said, keeping her voice as calm as possible. She didn't mention that she’d been up since four in the morning, jumping at every sound outside her window, worried that it might be Brock and his brother coming to collect their money. Or that the early bus was the only way she felt safe getting to the city.Maxwell nodded once."Good," he said. "Come into my office."Hazel grabbed her notebook and followed him. She watched him sit behind the massive desk that seemed to make him look even more powerful. She was still in disbelief that this was the same man she had dared to insult.He didn't start working immediately. Instead, he stared at a closed file for a long moment, his thumb tracing the edge of the folder. He found himself absent minded all of a sudden. He was now thinking about the journal. About his father playing a part just to be loved, and his mother playing a part just to get ahead. He looked up at Hazel, who was standing there waiting for a
The journals were stacked to one side. He had been putting off reading them properly. Not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't want to read them and get emotional or sad.However today he was bored enough to pick them up. He picked up the first one and opened it. Inside the front page, in handwriting that was neat but not careful, someone had written a date from twenty nine years ago.Maxwell stared at the date for a moment.Twenty nine years ago, his father had been roughly the same age Maxwell was now, or more accurately 27 years old. He turned the page and started reading.The food arrived forty minutes later and Maxwell hadn't moved.The entries were not dramatic. That was the first thing that struck him. His father didn't write like a person who knew he was going to die young and leave things unfinished. He wrote like a person who expected to have time. Observations about the business, frustrations with suppliers, occasional notes about books he was reading or thing
The front door clicked shut, leaving the three of them in the quiet of their small living room. For a long moment, nobody said a word. The atmosphere felt heavy, like the threat Bron had made was still here in the corner of the room.Hazel sat there, her mind racing through numbers. She was already calculating how much of her first paycheck could go toward the debt and how quickly she could scrape the rest together. She needed to move fast, before Bron decided to do more than just call.After a couple of minutes, her dad finally spoke."I’m sorry," he said. His voice sounded thin and full of regret. He reached out and took his wife’s hand, his fingers shaking slightly.Hazel felt a sharp ache in her chest. Seeing him look so defeated was worse than the phone call. "Dad, don't do that. Don't apologize.""I have to," he insisted. "I borrowed that money because we were desperate, but I shouldn't have. I’ve put this whole family in danger.""You didn't put anyone in anything," Hazel said
Maya looked at her. Then the corner of her mouth curved into a mischievous smile. "You're happy," Maya said with a teasing undertone in her voice. "Yes," Hazel said simply. "My day went well. I attended an executive meeting. I think I'm allowed to be happy about that.""You are," Maya agreed. She looked away, ostensibly at the street ahead of them. "Definitely. That's definitely why you're smiling."Hazel glanced at her. And she could tell that Maya was doing her thing again, that she had been doing a lot lately, ever since that day at the lake. "What does that mean?""Nothing," Maya said pleasantly. "Just that you're smiling. Which is nice. Very nice." She paused just long enough. "Are you sure it's just the meeting though?"Hazel stopped walking and expression darkened, her eyes narrowing as she gave Maya a disapproving look. Maya took two more steps before she turned around, her expression the picture of innocence. “Are you sure it doesn't have to do with a certain Sterling?”"Re
That same evening, the Lexus family mansion's private dining room was filled with the sounds of expensive silverware clinking against fine china and the low murmur of conversation.Debra sat next to her husband Ramon at the long mahogany table, looking impeccable in her designer dress and perfectly
"That assistant is about to learn a very important lesson about respect!" Derek declared confidently.Unfortunately for Maxwell, Brodie was already on his way to the hotel at this very moment! And things were about to go very, very bad for him!On the other hand, Amanda had a deep frown across her
With those thoughts in mind, Derek began walking confidently toward Maxwell, ready to confront him about the shoes and put this nobody in his place.Amanda watched her boyfriend approach the man who had stolen those super expensive limited edition shoes from under her nose, and she'd been powerless
Maxwell stared at Derek like he was looking at something that had crawled out from under a rock. This whole thing was unreal to him. Someone from out of nowhere, just walked over to him and they wanted what?."Let me get this straight. You walked all the way over here to demand I give you the shoes







