Sunlight peeking through the white curtains of the hotel's luxury suite forced Calvin Cartier to open his eyes. He rubbed his eyes, ran a hand through his already messy hair and sat up straight on the soft matress. He looked at the sleeping figure of the beautiful woman beside him. Her soft ginger hair was sprawled on the bed, a thick blanket covering her naked body.
His eyes widened in shock when he saw the time in his cellphone.
"7:00 am? Shit!" He cursed loudly and quickly got dressed. He needed to reach the Empire on time or else he would hear an earful from his brother. He picked up his phone, wallet and Rolex from the table, wrote a short message on the notepad which was provided and left it near the table lamp.The girl woke up only after he left. She was wondering about his absence when she saw a note on the table. It said:
"Dear Kyla,I had a good time last night. Please don't contact me again :-)Ps. I have already paid for the room."She crumpled the piece of paper and threw it on the ground."Damn you Cartier!"...
Calvin reached his house, did his routine and rushed to the Empire. Lucky for him, he entered on time.
He could feel people's eyes on him as he walked through the fancy corridor of the departmental building of Cartier Empire.He radiated a powerful aura which caused people to look at him with respect and admiration. The sound of his expensive shoes clicking on the pearl white marble floor could be heard clearly as he walked.
Attention was something he was used to. With his towering height of 6'2, perfectly tanned skin and striking eyes, he was always in center of attention wherever he went.
He gave a charming smile and responded to a few 'good morning's from his employees. He could see some women throwing flirty glances at him which he chose to ignore. If it were some place else, he would have flirted back but it was his work place and he needed to be professional.
Using the private elevator he went to the top floor of the building where his office was located. After greeting his secretary, Nora, a tall skinny lady in her 40s, he asked her to bring him his schedule.
"Sir, you will be having a meeting with mr. Jones at 12:30 pm and another one with mr. Bell at 4:00." Nora explained pointing her bony fingers at the timetable she made. He nodded his head and tapped his chin in thought when his gaze fell on the newspaper on his table.
"ANDREW CONSTRUCTIONS STOCK PRICES FALL AT AN UNBELIEVABLE RATE, EXPERTS SPECULATE THIS MIGHT BE CONNECTED TO THE CONVICTION OF BYRON CHASE."
The news left him in great surprise. Byron Chase got convicted? How? No one in their right mind would try to go against the Chases, unless they had consumed liquid luck. But even if he got convicted, why would the Andrews be affected by it?
"This is some hot news..." He muttered to himself grabbing the paper to read the full article.
His eyes fell on of the picture of a woman in prosecutor's outfit. She had brown eyes, dark hair with rosy skin and plump lips. 'Blair Andrews is damn gorgeous!' he thought to himself. He moved his eyes from the picture and continued to read.
Apparently, the heiress of Andrew Constructions was the lawyer who fought against Byron Chase and got him a jail sentence of 15 years.
Calvin was amazed at her ability. She did what no one was able to do in years. He still remembered that case, a newspaper editor disappeared 4 years ago. It was revealed that he was collecting evidence against the Chase family. No one ever dared to investigate that because the Chase family was involved.
Though she did God's work, she put everyone around her in danger. Andrew Constructions, one of the biggest construction company of the country came crumbling down just in matter of hours.
'Atleast that bastard got what he deserved. Even if 15 years are too less.'
Byron Chase was the incarnation of evil. That man had his hands in almost every illegal business. Human trafficking, drug deal, illegal selling organs and what not. He was like a real life devil living on the earth. All of his wrongdoings were backed up by his sister. If he was devil then she was Lucifer.
"I can't tell if she's brave or stupid, tsk."
"Ms.Andrews certainly did a great job but she should have considered the aftermath." Nora commented.
"Oh lord!" He screamed, placing a hand over his heart.
"Is something wrong, sir?" She asked in a calm, monotonous voice. "I didn't notice you were still here." He breathed.
The beep of his phone interrupted them. It was a text from his oldest brother, Denver. ''Come to the manor tonight, we need to discuss something.'' He clicked his tongue, typical Denver, always talking on the point.
"Nora, on a second thought, please postpone the second meeting."
"Sure sir, I will discuss it with Mr.Bell's secretary and inform you."
He thanked her followed by a wink. She laughed it off and left his office. She was well aware of his playful ways and didn't mind him. She was one of those countable number of people with whom he was genuinely close to and who knew his real personality.
The media had always portrayed him as a bad boy, a cold heartbreaker and a spoilt brat. It wasn't completely false but also not complete truth. But that didn't bother him the slightest. He didn't give two fucks about what anyone thought about him as long as he had his loved ones on his side.
...
The drive to Joanne manor was about 25 minutes from the Empire. All of the Cartier siblings their families and parents were already gathered in the huge living room when Calvin made his entry.
"Oh the young master is finally here after 20 minutes of waiting." His sister Jackie playfully mocked and pretended to cheer. All three of his brothers decided to join their sister to tease their youngest sibling. They all waved their hands in the air and cheered while the rest of the family laughed at their childish behaviour.
"Calvin, we have something to discuss with you." Joanne said, as he sat next to her and kissed her cheek.
...
"I kind of saw this coming." He chuckled after hearing what his mother said.
"They are in a bad place right now, it's the perfect time to strike." Said Jackie.
"Once we get Andrew Constructions under us, we will have the upper hand in the construction market." The second brother, Elvis commented.
"Also, you're already 27, you're getting old." Jackie hit the back of her twin brother, James' head. "That's not the topic, idiot."
They all looked at Calvin with hopeful eyes, waiting for his answer.
"Okay." He left everyone bewildered with his unexpected, nonchalant answer. Who would have thought a freedom loving bachelor like him would agree for a marriage commitment so easily.
The Andrews had once rejected their offer of forming an alliance with a business marriage. And now they were the one who proposed it again to the Cartiers. Though he wasn't fond of the idea at first, he agreed because it was important for them in order to conquer the construction market.
He had to admit, his pride was hurt when he had found out that he was rejected by the heiress of Andrew Constructions. It was his first time getting rejected by someone, after all. But now, it was different, the coin flipped, the tables turned.
'This is going to be fun, Ms.Andrews'
"Why is she calling me at this time?" Calvin wondered when he saw Jessica's name flash on the caller ID. Getting a call from her was already unusual, and on top of it, in middle of the day? He assumed it must be something important. Without wasting any more time, he tapped the green icon and placed the phone near his ear."Get inside!" He flinched when her voice blasted from the other side."Jessica? What is going on?" He inquired. He was pretty sure she was not talking to him. Did she call him by mistake? There were some weird noises from the other side. Muffled sounds, grunts, some commotion. His curiosity rose. Instead of questioning her any further, he kept quiet, putting his attention on what was happening on the call."You like to play, don't you?" It was a man's voice. Gruff and stern. However, that voice did not sound familiar to Calvin. And he did not sound like someone civil with Jessica. Before he could assume anything more, another feminine voice spoke."Stop! You want me,
Jessica watched intently as Dr. Hill put some disinfectant on a ball of cotton, held it up with a suture scissor and dabbed it on Stephanie’s chest. Jessica helped by pulling her shirt further, near her shoulder, to give the doctor better access to the wound. Stephanie was still like a statue. Surprisingly, the sting was very minimal, much less than the previous time. She remembered the last time she got her wound cleaned. It burned so much, she felt like someone had inserted a flaming rod inside her. She shook her head, wanting to forget that horrible memory, it was one of the main reason why she did not want to visit the hospital. “Does it hut too much?” Jessica inquired with a whisper, noticing the girl’s stiff expression. “Not at all.” She whispered back, putting the former at ease. Just the thought of getting shot sounded terrifying to her. On top of it, the pain that comes with its treatment, the idea made all hairs on her body stand up. In her eyes, she found incredibly brav
"I am just being paranoid." Raiden stated to himself. He gulped down a glass of water, wishing it will come his restless heart. Jessica had texted him saying that they had reached the hospital. 'They would be home in no time. It is not a big deal.' That's what he was trying to convince himself. However, his instinct told him something was not right. He glanced at his watch. The case would resume in half an hour. He had to get his mind off everything else and go through his points once again. Blair had already immersed herself in revising each and every document before they had to face the jury.For time being, everything was going in their favor. They just had to stay consistent and he would walk out of the courtroom with another victory by his name."Mr. Kingston? You seem distracted." Blair observed her boss's lost behavior. It was unusual of him, not paying attention on his work. "Should I get you a coffee?" She asked. "That is no need for that." He waved his hand to dismiss her
"Do you really like my brother?" It would be a lie if Stephanie said she did not expect it. Jessica was like that, nosy and straightforward. At least in Stephanie's eyes. She reminisced the conversation she had with Raiden that same morning."Dr Hill can't come today, so we have to go to the hospital." He informed, keeping his eyes downcasted. Things had been awkward between them since the day he indirected rejected her. In all honesty, she missed him. His face, his voice, his smile, his shabby cooking which she always ate without any complains. She would feel so overwhelmed by his efforts that his bland food did not bother her. She was happy, just by looking at him. His mere presence bought her unexplainable joy.However, now things were not the same as before. The person who provided her comfort, was acting like a complete stranger. And it was all her fault. She was convinced that it was a huge mistake on her side to confess his her feelings when she knew she would get rejected. 'Bu
We should always obey our elders. They know the best. Elders are never wrong. All these things are embodied in our heads since our childhood. We should never expect them to apologize, even when they are in the wrong. That's what we are taught. But, is it always true? In that room, Blair encountered to completely different type of adults."I am so sorry, my dear." Miguel apologized with regretful eyes as Martha stood in the back, keeping her lips zipped and holding on her usual, 'I am disgusted' expression. "All this time, I only thought about myself. How did I became so selfish? I never tried to understand how you must feel. Family is supposed to have each other's back in difficult times, but I left you alone when you needed my support the most. I'm sorry, Blair." He asked for her forgiveness with downcasted eyes.His heart was full of regret. He softly clutched her palm, showing her a grim smile. "It doesn't matter to me. Even if we don't share the same blood, you are still my li
"I really have no idea." Aaron chuckled when Blair gave him a questioning stare. As per Miguel's wish, her and Calvin visited the Andrews mansion. They found Aaron and Mr Park in the living room. However, the older couple was nowhere to be seen. She wondered what could be the reason behind the invitation."They were fighting again. Dad's health is getting worse." Aaron spoke up, out of the blue. Mister Park nodded his head in agreement."Mr Andrews is looking into divorce lawyers." He revealed. "At first I thought it was not that bad because they were attending marriage counseling. But now, things doesn't look that good.""Dad is planning to get a divorce!? Why didn't you tell me?" Aaron exclaimed, feeling disappointed. If he had known everything from the beginning, he could have tried to solve it."I didn't want to hide it from you, but your father asked me not to involve you. I am sorry." The older man apologized.My parents are considering divorce, for fuc- God's sake! How can I not