Seven years had passed, and Joan and Isabella were still as close as ever. With Joan running a bar back in Norman and Isabella, a very successful bakery of her own several miles away in Riverdale.
Life was good turning twenty nine with two seven-year olds and a much larger house, a stable job and her peace of mind—but it wasn’t always like that.The many months after the twins’ birth was the toughest of her entire life.Isabella had to look for jobs while taking care of babies that hated to be quiet. Luckily, Majorie was there for the most of it but she could only do so much.When she started Bella’s bakery, it was barely thriving at this part of the town, until the Annual Baking Fair put her on the map—where she’d won two awards to her name and several hotels chased after her.One going as far as to offer her a store in New York City. But Isa couldn’t leave her twins, so she stayed. A month later, the offers died down but the customers never did.She heard the chatterings echo from outside her windows before she brought it to close.“Sorry, we’re sold out for the day.” Her words were met with a chorus of murmurs and a smirk crept to her lips.Heaving a sigh, her eyes darted to the recognition plaque across the table, on which was engraved her very name—Isabella Evans, baker of the year.It was how she secured her second job, delivering the best of her daily cakes to the best hotel in Riverdale, Marriott Suites.And usually by the time when she closed, she’d toss her apron off and grab her keys with the boxed desserts, and she’d drive all the way there. It wasn’t that much of a distance, and in barely five minutes, she was at the entrance of the five star hotel.“Shit” She muttered, running late for brunch in its restaurant.Nodding at the waiters who knew her, she dashed past into the storeroom, placing the first cakes on the table. Her eyes immediately met Tony, the restaurant manager and he had a half hearted smirk on his face.“I’m sorry, got caught up in work” She apologized, shrugging her shoulders and he nodded.“Hm. What do we have for today?” He asked.“The usual, red velvet and i have chocolate in the car. I’ll go get it now” Isabella replied, turning back to the direction of the door.She opened her car doors to get the last of the cakes and she soon found herself at the foot of the hotel elevator.The door chimed open and suddenly a young man charged through and before she could get a hold of herself, the cake fell to the ground in a mess, having bumped into the stranger’s shoulders.He walked past her, and she fell to her knees.“Shit” She couldn’t gather what was left.“You ruined it” Words gritted through her teeth as she looked up to the man that was now guarded by an army of security. “Watch where you’re going” One of them said, threatening to hit her with the stick in his hands.“Bastard” Came a subtle cuss from Isa’s thin lips.“Watch your mouth, young woman” He inched closer and she took a timid step back.“You watch your manners” Her shoe smeared the rest of the cake.“It’s okay” Her aggressor gave way, walking through his security.He had his phone in his hands, which he was clearly engrossed in. And he dipped his hands into his pockets with wavering eyes.“Here” His voice was thick as he tossed to the ground some wads of cash. “That should do it”He turned around, strands of his glistening dark hair falling down his shoulders and her eyes darted to the money scattered on the ground. “You keep your money” Isabella kicked it to him and he halted, throwing his head over his arms.“Such an ungrateful piece of shit” He croaked, his emerald green eyes saying much more than the words from his mouth. And before Isa could utter another word, a voice called unto her.“Isa” It was Tony and he had his hands against his hip.“My office. Now!” There was an authoritative tone to his words and her shoulders fell.“I swear he bumped into me and he ruined the cake” She argued once his door closed. Tony stood behind his desk and she was frantic, obliged to prove a point. “It’s okay” He muttered.“No, it’s not. I hate whatever privilege and pride right people like him have to look down on someone like money is everything—“ He scoffed at her words before breaking in.“You have an offer, Isa” His words were low, but somehow still halting her. Her hands fell to the table with intrigue in her eyes.“What?” Isa asked.“Good news huh.” He said.“There’s an opening in Norman, and i just got word from my partner. Marriott is setting up a hotel at one of its axis and he was around the other day to taste some of your cakes. He loved it” Tony said and Isa squealed with disbelief in her eyes.“He loved it so much that he offered to have you back. Do you know what this means?” He asked and Isa nodded, narrowing her eyes with a wide grin.And suddenly the frown across her crinkling brows turned upside down.“You could have your own bakery with Marriott and you wouldn’t have to go back and forth. You’d be a fully contracted baker” He scoffed.“Now i tried my best to sway him with the idea that you might not want to come back to Nor—”“I will” Isabella suddenly blurted.“I will, Tony. It’s been a dream to work fully contracted with Marriott. It could put me more on the map you know” She said and she shrugged his shoulders.“Way to throw me under the bus” He teased and she scoffed.“You’ll be fine, Tony” She said.“You’ll be fine without me.”“He’s paid off your contract so i can’t really hold you back, can i?” Tony asked with that little smirk of his.“You really worked hard for this, Isabella. I’ve watched you grow over the past few years, you deserve this” Toni said and she nodded.In her widest fantasies, she might have imagined a life with him—where he wasn’t her boss and she wasn’t a baker. That they’d just met and fell in love.Tony was the kind of person you fell in love with.“I really hope you take it” He muttered and their eyes met.“Well, are you?” Came an enthusiastic yell from her phone as Isa battled through her doors.She placed her coat by the chair and walked into the dining with som leftover pastries. Both Ryan and Emily pounced out at the scent of the cake.“Mummy” They chorused, rushing to grab her into a hug and she ran her hands through their hair.“Thank you” She whispered to Majorie before walking into her room. “Joan” She called into her phone.“Yeah?” Her best friend replied.“I asked are you going to take the job?”At that question. Isa heaved a deep sigh. For the first time that night, the thought of returning to Norman seemed to intimidate her. She fell back into her bed.“You know how much you have wanted this, manifested this” Joan reminded her and she pushed a lump down her throat.“But Colton?” She whispered, remembering the last time she was in Norman, she hadn’t reached out to him, neither had she spoken to her family ever since.All she had was Majorie and her twins.“Screw Colton, you’ll have me” Joan exclaimed. “It will be like old times, Isa” She whispered and a smile crept to her lips.“Old times” She echoed, realizing that it wasn’t meeting Colton that scared her, it was meeting the father of her children.But it was a slim possibility, right? Right.The winds rustled through her hair and Isabella swiped it out her face. She stepped into the arrival unit and that familiar scent of Norman, Chicago hit her in the face. It was surreal, how almost nothing had changed since she was last here seven years ago—With her tickets by her knees, she looked up at the blinking signs before her eyes fell on her aunt. “You’re ready?” Majorie’s voice was gentle, holding her jacket with one hand and her suitcase in the other. Isa nodded with a smile, nudging her a bit. “I’m so happy you get to come with me.” She whispered and then she looked to her twins, walking towards her with ice-cream from the vending machine. “And they as well, maybe Norman can’t be as bad. It won’t” She added. “This was the first company that offered to take them along, i’d never leave them”“I could never” Isabella said and Majorie rubbed her shoulders. “You’re just like your mum, she would be so proud” She replied and just then Ryan slid, bumping into her knees. Isa le
"What are you doing here?" Leonardo arose from behind his desk, a finger pressed against the table and an arch coming between his brows. Isabella shivered, not knowing why in that moment, she did not move. He inched closer to her her, coming round the table."Are you stalking me, woman?"The scent of him piercing through her nose, that although it was just one night they were together, she could remember it, She could feel it—and could almost hear the exasperated moans from her lips. His shoulders were clothed in an expensive dior suit she was sure was worth a luxury but that night she'd seen them.Her nails had dug into them, whilst drawing him closer. A lot had changed since seven years, her whole life had. Now she never thought she'd meet the father of her kids, let alone have her as her boss, but somehow here she was. Leonardo Carter, a man feared by all, and the only man that she knew. Their eyes met and she almost choked on the lump that slid down her throat. She was like a mu
"I've signed it" After about half an hour, Isabella walked back to the front desk where Daniel was stood and handed him the papers. His gaze fell to her slender hands, muffling a smile. "It's about time" He stretched his hands and she reluctantly took it."You'll be around tomorrow, won't you?" Daniel asked, to the sheepish glare that was the audience of the receptionist and Isa darted her eyes across the room. "I'm not sure yet" She said and Daniel pulled away with a frown. "You work here now, Isabella""You wouldn't want to miss the grand opening."Isabella nodded as if giving it a thought. "I'll think about it, Daniel—" She caved in and he gave a coaxed stare. Isabella made her way towards the elevator, feeling Daniel's stare at the back of her head. She clicked the button to go down and she heard the shrill chuckles between the receptionist and him.A smile crept to the corner of her lips as she stepped in—maybe it was time to get back into dating, and it took Daniel for her to re
Joan’s shot glass rammed into the marble counter, making a clinch sound. The symphony of the orchestra set the mood in the large banqueting hall—themed with strident silver and turquoise. The latter matched with the dinner gown that Joan wore, out dressing even the staff at the event. And Isabella was right next to her with a simple high-slitted diamond gown. She’d only worn it back in high school and it only needed a few touches to resize. It comforted her that she hadn’t added that much weight over the past seven years. Her eyes fell on Joan, downing what was her nth drink that night. There was a sudden applause as Daniel mounted the stage with a woman a few inches taller than him. “We welcome you to the grand opening of Starlight’s very own, Marriott here in Norman, Chicago” The applause continued as his eyes wavered the expensive crowds for Isabella. She grabbed her phone from her purse. “I’m coming” Muttering to Joan, before taking her leave. She walked into the corridors, he
“I’ve never cummed like that before.”A needy moan escaped Joan’s lips as her back broke though the bathroom door. Placing her hands against the walls, she could feel the music reverberate through the concrete and into the pit of her stomach. Her eyes were closed, against his but she could feel herself being suddenly lifted up in the air.And her bottom met the hard edge of the sink. She was breathless, ravaging his jacket ferociously with her hands until it feel to the ground with a thud. “I want you to fuck me” She shut her eyes open, gritting through her teeth at the first man who’d shown interest in her that night. Isabella was right——if there was anyone that knew the lengths of Joan, it would be her best friend. But one particular length that shocked the woman in question was the size of his rock hard cock, the man before her. She gasped, clutching her lips with her violet painted fingers.She knew length did only half the job, but the way the man flipped her to her side showed
“So what made you move across town to Riverdale?”Daniel’s voice drew her attention and she zoned it back in. Perhaps it was his question that stomped her heart—she hadn’t told him of the twins of in fact anything that deep about her.Isabella made the conscious decision to take things slow, but sitting across him on that table in fine dining, she realized she was doing just the opposite of that. Her lips parted slightly before pursing again. “I wanted a change” She lied. Not exactly.That was merely half the truth, the rest involved her father telling her to never return to Norman as she walked out of her wedding chapel that day. Occasionally, she’d get sucked up in the memory of her flower petals dancing in the air between them—the look of shock on Colton and the rest of the congregation’s faces.Luckily, she never got to see them again, including her father and Samantha, her step mother who was nothing but evil. “Hey” Daniel tapped into the table and Isabella looked to him. “Whe
“He hasn’t picked my calls since yesterday”“I’m worried” Isabella paced around the corridors with the phone in her hands as she was sent to Daniel’s voicemail for the nth time since last night’s dinner that ended in shambles. Joan was by the mirror, applying mascara across her eyes and she turned back to Isa’s worrisome face before heaving a sigh.“So she just like blurted it out?“ She asked, referring to Patricia.“Who could blame her—“ Isabella’s shoulders fell. “She was really drunk and you needed to see the expressions on both their faces” She grunted. Joan pulled away from the glass. “Leonardo doesn’t really have a right to an opinion, i mean he moved halfway across the state, didn’t he ask any questions?” She said.“Besides all you owe him is that you do your work well.”Isa bit into her lips, surrendering her phone to the table. In that moment she might have thought it the best time to tell Joan that Leonard was in fact the father of her kids, but it was just never the right t
Pulling out a stack of documents from his drawer, Leonardo tossed to the table. The thud reverberated Isabella's heart as she brought the door to a clown behind her. Desperate to keep the distance from him, she just stood there, even as their eyes met.The CEO ran his hands into his greasy dark hair until a scoff escaped his lips. "Why am i here?" Isabella asked him. "I'm afraid there is no easy way to say this" He almost cut through her words as his hands fell to the documents on the table."Section 64" He heaved, looking pointedly to the handbook."Office relationships is something i highly discourage""Discourage?" Isabella echoed, stunned by his words. "Banned Isa, it's highly inappropriate that your supervisor gets embroiled in a romantic relationship with you" He cleared his throat, feeling the wrath of the awkwardness of this conversation as much as she did and he pushed a lump down his throat."Well that wasn't in the contract, Leo.""Well it is in the handbook" He replied. "A