Jeffrey stared at his phone, at the picture of Chase and Mackenzie. Mackenzie. She was the only person in the picture that caught his interest. His onyx eyes were filled with shock, roaming her face on the screen. She looked different. With her thick, long curls left untouched, unlike how he remembered her always straightening till the point where he felt sickened just by looking at her.He could see she was glowing, even when she was not directly facing the camera. But he still could not believe it was her. He say in absolutely stunned silence.His mother had paid a reporter to stalk Chase in other to dig around for some dirt on him. Instead of the reporter capturing a juicy secret they could wield as a weapon against him, to show the board of directors and win them over, but he had gotten something even more shocking.Something Jeffrey never expected.He could not believe Chase was with Mackenzie. What was she even doing in Greensville? She had run off to North Dakota, and did not e
Mackenzie walked inside her new office, and was stunned at how beautiful it looked. It was large, by her standards, but compared to most of the offices she had seen here in the Axford Furniture Company, she realized it was more on the medium side.There is a couch next to the wall, which looked very comfortable to sit on, and even sleep in.Not that she planned to sleep during work, or spend all-nighters in the office. There’s a door that led off into the restroom.She moved to her desk to look over the stack of sketch pads where she can do her designs, since she preferred to do them manually than digitally.Her eyes spot some pink flowers that looked incredibly familiar. Pink Camilla flowers. The beautiful petals were blooming in their vase, under the sunlight streaming in from the window. She narrowed her eyes, as it suddenly clicked.The flowers, always being wherever she went.Her home in North Dakota. Her apartment in Greensville. Now, her office. She could not understand how she
“Fine. But did something happen?” Mackenzie asked.Chase did not give a direct answer. Instead, he deflected the question and asked back, “Is anyone threatening you? If something like that ever happens, you will tell me immediately, right?”Mackenzie was caught off guard by that random question. Only, it did not seem to be so random to Chase, judging by the look she could see in his eyes. There was obviously a reason he was saying that to her. A reason she did not know about, yet.“You’re acting strange, Chase. You know that whatever happens, I am not going back on my word.” She moved back to her desk, careful not to get too close to him. That was dangerous. And picked up her bag. “I should get going to the factory now. They’ll be waiting for me.”*************A few hours later, when Mackenzie was rounding up a fairly successful first day of work, she realized that she had not even called her kid’s nanny to check up on them. She moved to a quiet part of the factory and fished out her
The waiter placed two margaritas on the table, and Chase watched Mackenzie grab her glass and take a shot of the cocktail. She dropped her glass back on the table and glanced sideways at him.She met his unwavering gaze, and asked, “What?”He only gave a half smile and raised his own glass to his lips. They were in a private booth in some bar that was good but not really popular like Nightshade. After the uproar taking root in internet right now, the least they can do is avoid paparazzi.Especially as Chase knew Mackenzie was not in a great mood after seeing the article.Mackenzie stared at Chase, wondering why he was smiling secretly to himself. She tried to make herself feel annoyed, but all she could really feel, were butterflies. His smiles were something he reserved only for her, and they were heavenly.Beautiful, even.And the seating arrangement in this booth was so intimate, that Mackenzie had been trying all along to ignore it by focusing on her fear and the drinks. But even
Post-coital clarity hit Mackenzie once her clothes were back on and they were out of that intimate little booth that was permeated with the heat of their passion and the lingering sex hormones charging the electric air.Her face was in a permanent state of heat and a rosy blush, as she could not forget how nasty things had gotten in there.They were walking along the dimly lit parking lot, and her hazel eyes slid sideways to glance at Chase. But he was already gazing at her, shamelessly letting the heat and desire in his eyes shine through. The blush on her face increased ten-fold, and she abruptly broke eye contact.“Mackenzie.” He said in that dirty seductive tone of his. “Would you like to come by my place?”Her heart stuttered. Did he just invite her over? She could only tell her screaming and fainting female hormones to calm down, that she could not take up his offer. She had kids to attend to, and they were more important over her giving in to her feminine urge to spend the nig
Calista fiddled around with Mackenzie’s collar. “I know.”“Where’s Cameron?”“He’s sleeping.” Calista answered, then added eagerly, “Thank you, mommy, for letting us go back to school again.”Mackenzie’s voice went softer as she patted Calista’s hair lovingly, “Baby, you don’t have to thank me. It’s mommy’s duties to make sure you go to school. Did you have fun at school, today?”“Yes! I had so much fun with my friends. I missed a lot of school games and activities, but I’m happy to be back again. I never want to stop going to school again!”Mackenzie lets out a small smile when Calista stumbles over some of the words in her enthusiasm, but within, there was a tug at her heart. She should never have stopped them from going to school out of fear, like a damn coward.That was such a bad decision on her part. What was she thinking?She sighed lightly and brushed Calista’s light hair away from her face. Her baby girl’s hair kept getting less dark and more light every day. She wondered who
Mackenzie was ready to go through anything so her kids don’t suffer any more hardships in life. She had to be there for Cameron and his little baseball games, Calista’s art classes or piano classes. Whatever interests they develop as they grow, no matter how fleeting it might be.She would not impose anything on them, just let them follow their own interests, and support them.Whatever her babies chose to do, she was going to work hard for it. She was going to work so hard in the Axford company to be acknowledged as a real employee, and not just someone brought in by the CEO.Not acknowledged as Jeffrey’s ex-wife, but as Mackenzie Torsney.Axford already had a long history of greatness, and she was going to leave her own footprints in the sands of their memories. She sighed and tugged Cameron’s blanket over him, tucking him in lovingly. She leaned in to place a kiss on his head, noting how if felt like she could see a bigger version of Cameron at work.It was fascinating.And at home,
The manager got up from his seat, along with his assistant. The assistant stepped forward and said to Jeffrey in a placating tone,“Sir, you have to be authorized.”Jeffrey’s expression showed that he thought those words were actually bullshit. He slid his card out from his pocket and flung it at the assistant’s chest.“Is that enough fucking authorization for you?” He spat. The assistant glanced down at the card and gave the manager a wide eyed stare. The manager swallowed and asked tentatively, “You are Chase Axford’s brother?”That question triggered so much anger in Jeffrey that he has the maddening urge to smash the Manager’s jaw in. There was nothing in this fucking world that gave his ego a devastating blow, as being a brother to Chase Axford. Not just a brother, but a stepbrother. Someone who a lot of people barely even noticed no matter how hard he tried.Chase effortlessly stole the spotlight with every single thing he did. He was the leader of the Axford Conglomerate, desp