LOGINALICEI was surprised to find out that Francesca was in her office when I walked in the next day. Eleanor was the one who told me. "She asked me to tell you as soon as you walked in."As I went to her office, I couldn't help but feel nervous. Yes, I'd been wanting to speak to her about this whole thing and after what Theo told me last night, I was even more grateful for her involvement in all this. I still felt nervous, though. I knocked on her door first, and she told me to head inside. The blinds of the only glass wall were down, which meant that I couldn't see Freddie's office. Francesca looked up at me and smiled. "Alice, my dear! Let me stand up and give you a proper greeting!"We embraced and I noticed that her hair was different. A wig, perhaps? She pulled away first and peered at my face. She looked paler than usual and her lips were bloodless. "How are you feeling about all this? Have you spoken to Theo? Freddie tells me that he's here every day."I blushed. "Yes. We're de
THEODOREThere was so much more I wanted to say to Alice, but I had a feeling she wouldn't take any of it well, so I dropped the matter. She wasn't ready for that conversation. Not yet. The more I got to know her, the more I resented her family and that wasn't a good thing. Alice was the one part of my life that felt right and I hadn't felt this way about anyone ever. A solid, well-established relationship between the two of us meant that I would have to be around her parents for as long as they were alive. And they weren't that old, so that meant we'd have a long road ahead of us. I couldn't see them as anything but bloodsuckers. So, now that they were mad at her for being my lover, where would they get their monthly paycheck? Would they starve for now? Get their asses up and find something to do? I wondered, I wondered. Sure, maybe I was being an insensitive prick, but I couldn't stand watching her suffer. Earlier, when I mentioned her favorite childhood restaurant, she grimace
ALICEA few days had passed and I still hadn't stopped thinking about what happened in Theo's home. I wasn't sure why, but that scene kept popping into my mind and making me go over it again and again. My guess was that this became an occurrence because I felt sorry for her. Yeah. That was it. I was tired of pretending that this wasn't the case. I saw her heartbroken expression as she walked out the door and it made me feel like a terrible person. At the same time, I genuinely didn't feel like her reaction was a reason for me to break things off with Theo.What would the point of that be? Things between us were great—better than ever, actually. I walked into the office in the morning and noted that the door to Francesca's office was closed. Theo told me a couple of days ago that she had to return to London, as she'd had an emergency there, but that she would return before the end of the week. I really wanted to talk to her and get her input on all this. She was someone I'd talked
THEODORE"I came here thinking we could reconcile!" she continued. "I was prepared to listen to what you had to say. Maybe it could be something we could ignore. But this...How could you bring her here, Theo?""Carmella, I know we haven't talked about this, and I'm sorry for laying it on you like this, but it's over between us. I thought the article would've made that clear—I was wrong to have assumed it, but—""What're you talking about?" she interrupted. "Are you even listening to yourself? We can't break up. We're engaged!"She showed me the ring on her finger and continued, "You don't mean anything you're saying to me. You love me. You've always taken care of me. Always made sure I was alright. We have history, Theo. That kind of thing can't be erased because you're enchanted by your fucking secretary!""It's more than that.""Oh, yeah. Sure." She stepped toward me. "Who're you fooling? Me or you?""This isn't a joke, Carmella. It's done. I'm not gonna marry you."She shook her he
THEODOREFucking Todd.Whenever I thought about what he'd said, I felt like turning the car back around and punching his jaw to mush. Son of a bitch. What gave him the fucking right to have an opinion on my life? If he pulled that shit again, I'd end him. I was done with him at this point. Done. If he wanted to end our partnership, he could do it. No. I'd end it first. I didn't want to have someone like him as a partner. I couldn't stand to look at his face anymore and I didn't care what the consequences were—I wanted him out of my life yesterday. In the meantime, I focused on getting Alice to my place. I could've driven her home but I wanted to spend more time with her. I wanted her to see her there, standing in my home so that maybe, it would start feeling like one. I was filled to the brim with plans. I wanted many things. Things between us were just starting to feel steady, though, so I wouldn't share all those plans with her out of fear of overwhelming her. But at some poi
ALICETheo handed me my second glass of champagne and I took a deep gulp of it before resting against the pillows. I was spent. God, my body was still trembling from the intensity of the orgasm he gave me. He moved to the other side of the bed and snuggled up close to me. I took another sip and looked into his warm eyes. "You did really well," he murmured. "That was fucking amazing, baby. I mean it.""I loved every second of it."We shared a short but passionate kiss, and he held me close to his warm, sticky body. I felt cherished and adored in his embrace. In this room, with all these strange and foreign things, I felt oddly at home. "We should do this more often," I suggested before gesturing at the bondage bench. "Maybe we can try that next time."Theo ran his fingers along my jaw. "Whatever you want.""Really? I thought you were the one who was in charge," I teased. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "I think we both know that's not really true."My face grew hot. Oh,
ALICEHis mouth greedily swallowed every moan that escaped me.I was rolling my hips and grinding my pussy against his hard-on, desperate for a release. He kissed along my jaw, each kiss sending a bolt of electricity straight to my aching, swollen center. His hands moved under my shirt and he pinch
ALICEI didn't have a chance to confront Mr. Linden-Hawthorne about what he did because Mom and Dad didn't leave his side once.But now, everyone was asleep, so I had my chance to walk up to him and talk.We were going around in circles; I knew that. I told him what my wishes were a long time ago,
ALICEI folded my arms and stared at the dark night sky for a long time while trying to wrap my head around how crazy it was seeing Theodore Linden-Hawthorne around my family.I still wasn't over it.He came up behind me. I wasn't sure why, but I was too ashamed to whip my head around and look at h
THEODOREAlice insisted on cleaning up the kitchen by herself, so her mother and I were still seated at the table. She was smoking and I was finishing my third cup of coffee while trying hard not to stare at Alice blatantly.I knew she was upset that I was here, and honestly, sometimes I asked myse







