ZORA'S POVAs soon as I opened my eyes the next morning, I knew I was in big trouble. My head was banging like crazy. It felt like the world's biggest band practice was going on there. Thankfully, the room was in darkness. The electric lights were off and the drapes were drawn. But even the little sunlight I could see from a tiny portion of the drapes sent waves of pain through my skull. I moaned softly and held my head in both hands as I struggled to remember what had happened last night, and how I had ended up in this pitiable condition. I remembered drinking, ordering for more drinks from the barman, and downing the drinks faster than he could pour them. Then I remembered trying to get to my feet, with the vague intention of somehow getting myself back home. I recalled that I had staggered and almost fallen. Strong hands had effortlessly held and kept me upright. The rest was blank. I looked around the room which was mine. I took in the familiar objects in it and muttered silen
ZORA'S POV "Shit!" I exclaimed as I banged the table repeatedly. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" I was in big trouble. There were more photographs on the site but the first one was the most damning one. It encapsulated everything that had gone wrong last night. There were a lot of comments attached to the post but I did not bother going through them. I knew that all those who had been trolling me on social media would have a field day. I quickly dialed Trey's number. He picked up at once. "I was just about to call you, Zora," he said in a choked voice. "Never mind who is supposed to call who," I said impatiently. "You were here earlier, so why the hell didn't you tell me what happened? Someone just called me and told me about those horrible pictures circulating online." "Zora, I-" "Trey, do something for heaven's sake before all this comes crashing down on our heads. I even thought you would have handled the situation before it- it blew up in our faces." "I honestly didn't know that it w
ZORA'S POV I was so shocked that I could not even pull away. A part of me was wondering what had brought this on. A larger part of me was thrilled at the prospect of rediscovering the taste and feel of Elliot's lips. His tongue probed my lips, urging them to open and let him in. I tried to remind myself of where we were and why we shouldn't be doing this. He was married and I was a model who had just been in the news for the wrong reasons. But the more I tried, the more my objections to returning his kiss flew out the window. Elliot had a trick of flicking his tongue across my lips when kissing. As soon as he did that, I was lost. Someone moaned and seconds later I realized it was me. My hands of their own volition crept up and fisted themselves in his hair. I massaged his scalp and drew him even closer. His scent filled my nostrils, leaving me feeling light-headed. My response seemed to be the signal Elliot had been waiting for. He deepened the kiss and continued with such inten
ZORA'S POV I looked up at Cheryl. She quickly averted her eyes. She looked at my chair, the ceiling, out the window, everywhere but at me. Her recent attitude was undoubtedly occasioned by the scene with Elliot that she had witnessed. I knew she was nervous and didn't know how to act around me now. If I were in her shoes, I would have acted the same way. But her attitude was actually ruining my day at work as Cheryl was the one I worked most closely with. Once again, I cussed myself for letting my hormones get the better of me. If Elliot had only kissed me and I had not responded, Cheryl and I would have been laughing about the incident by now. I sighed, sank further into my seat and slowly massaged my temples where I could feel a headache gradually building. Damn, Elliot for putting me in this sort of situation with the world, and with Cheryl who I had so far had an easy working relationship with! Wearily, I gestured toward the chair right in front of me. She hesitated. Walki
ELLIOT'S POV I groaned and shut my eyes in frustration, wishing that I would open them and the woman standing in front of me would disappear. I had no such luck. I had known this day was coming, right from the moment I saw the pictures of Zora and I in the papers. I had dreaded this conversation and now here it was, rapidly spiraling out of control. As usual, Sharon had barged into my office, totally ignoring the protests of my secretary. My secretary had barely left the office before she had started on me. Thankfully, she had not started creating a scene before she got in. Her fist slammed on the table again, ruffling some sheets of paper there. "Are you even listening to what I have been saying? Answer me, dammit!" Sharon demanded. Sharon was like a hound when she wanted something. She would gladly go to the ends of the earth to get whatever it is she wanted. I didn't care where she went. All I wanted was for her to leave me alone. "I am not in the mood for this," I mutte
ZORA'S POV My heartbeat was so loud that I wondered briefly if Elliot could not hear it. That was a secondary consideration, however. What I was more concerned about was how my traitorous body would react if Elliot touched me any further. All the protests I wanted to make went straight out of my head. I could feel goosebumps forming at the spot where he had brushed my hair back from my face. He was so close to me that I could see the stubble on his chin and could smell his musky perfume. The proximity reminded me of the times we had been together. It was all I could do to stop myself from reaching out and touching him. I swallowed nervously. Those penetrating blue eyes of his followed every nuance of my expression. He had just told me that he would win me back no matter what it took. I was supposed to tell him to go to hell, to tell him that would never happen and that I would have nothing to do with him. The words seemed to have gotten stuck in my throat. I literally felt my h
ZORA'S POV From the glass window of the restaurant, I could see that there were very few customers in the place. I felt myself relax a little. The place was just what I needed. I was not in the mood to be in the midst of a whole lot of people just yet. Before we got out of the car, I looked around and arranged the shawl across my face. "We are here at one of my favorite spots," I said, turning to Cheryl and smiling. "You will like the food here, I promise." "At this point, I could eat anything." As we stepped through the door, a waiter, in the crisp white shirt and black bow tie of the establishment, darted forward to usher us to a table. "Good day, ladies," he said. "Please, step right this way." As though he could read my mind, he led us to a table at the rear of the restaurant, a little away from the see-through windows. When we sat down, he handed us two menus and whipped out a notebook and pen from his back pocket. "What would you ladies like to have?" he asked. I ord
ZORA'S POV "Wait up!" Cheryl called from behind me. I wasn't aware when I had broken into a run. There was a tense moment when I couldn't find my car keys in my purse. I wiped my eyes which were becoming blurry with tears and tried again. Finally, my fingers closed on the keys. I started the car and was about to drive off when Cheryl slid into the passenger seat. With a squeal of tires, I sped off. Trey stood at the entrance of the building, watching us go, confusion etched on his features. My clammy hands gripped the steering wheel as I drove. I whipped the car in and out of traffic, shooting recklessly across intersections. I heard as if from far away the cursing of some motorists whom I almost had a collision with, the honking of horns and Cheryl's inquiries as to where we were going. Cheryl held on to her seat and kept whimpering in fright. She winced each time I got dangerously close to a car. When I nearly drove onto the culvert, Cheryl screamed. She turned to me, her ey