보관함
검색
홈 / Romance / Tempting Playboy / The Opening Bell

공유

The Opening Bell

작가: mr_dutta
last update 게시일: 2026-07-19 15:29:10

The mechanical keyboard on Gia’s desk clicked in a rhythmic, frantic staccato that barely masked the sound of her racing heart. It was exactly eight-twenty-eight on Monday morning.

The Vance Foundation headquarters was filled with the quiet, high-stakes hum of a new week. Sunlight poured through the tall, arched gothic windows of the anteroom, casting long shadows across the polished hardwood. Outside on the quad, students were rushing to their early morning lectures, entirely oblivious to the
이 작품을 무료로 읽으실 수 있습니다
QR 코드를 스캔하여 앱을 다운로드하세요
이전 챕터 다음 챕터
잠긴 챕터

최신 챕터

  • Tempting Playboy   The Opening Bell

    The mechanical keyboard on Gia’s desk clicked in a rhythmic, frantic staccato that barely masked the sound of her racing heart. It was exactly eight-twenty-eight on Monday morning.The Vance Foundation headquarters was filled with the quiet, high-stakes hum of a new week. Sunlight poured through the tall, arched gothic windows of the anteroom, casting long shadows across the polished hardwood. Outside on the quad, students were rushing to their early morning lectures, entirely oblivious to the economic execution occurring right above their heads.Gia’s eyes were locked onto her left monitor. The pre-market tickers for the New York Stock Exchange were live, and the Thorne Shipping Corporation line was a visual bloodbath.-14.2%The bleeding hadn't stopped. The institutional debt acquisition Leo had triggered over the weekend was systematically strangling Ethan’s family assets before the trading floor even officially opened.The glass double doors at the end of the corridor slid open.T

  • Tempting Playboy   The Threshold of the City

    The modern glass doors of the Montauk estate slid shut for the final time that weekend, locking the shadows and the secrets of the coastal house away behind them.By three o'clock in the afternoon, the luxury SUV was pulling onto the highway, heading back toward the sprawling grey stone architecture of the university. The transition felt brutal. The isolation of the cliffside fortress had allowed them a twisted kind of freedom, but the closer they got to the campus, the heavier the corporate and academic armor felt.Chloe was sitting in the front passenger seat, her laptop open on her knees as she aggressively coordinated with the foundation’s public relations team over the phone."No, I don't want the student paper getting an exclusive interview with the dean," Chloe dictated into her wireless earpiece, her tone sharp and defensive. "Frame the decentralized grants as a routine administrative restructuring. If anyone mentions Arthur Sterling’s name, redirect to the new compliance metr

  • Tempting Playboy   The Morning After the Storm

    The storm had passed by sunrise, leaving behind a blinding, brilliant blue sky and the rhythmic, deceptive roar of the Atlantic washing over the wet cliffs below.Gia stood in front of the vanity mirror in her guest suite, her fingers trembling slightly as she adjusted the high collar of a cream-colored silk blouse. She pulled her hair forward, carefully checking her reflection to ensure the dark, faint bruise Leo’s fingers had left on the side of her neck was completely hidden.Her body ached with a deep, liquid exhaustion. Every time she closed her eyes, she was instantly thrown back into the pitch-black pantry—the freezing wood against her spine, the explicit, relentless friction of Leo’s touch, and the terrifying, mocking weight of Ethan Thorne’s voice right through the glass.He knows. The phrase had been looping in her brain like a terminal command for the last five hours.She couldn't stay hidden in her room forever. The foundation alignment didn't stop because she was having a

  • Tempting Playboy   The Edge of Exposure

    The frosted glass door of the butler's pantry felt like a razor-thin line between safety and absolute ruin.Gia’s back was pressed flat against the cold wooden shelving, a row of crystal wine glasses rattling almost imperceptibly against her shoulder blades from the frantic shuddering of her own breath. In the pitch-black space, Leo’s massive frame was an unyielding, crushing weight over hers, pinning her into the corner. His large palm was clamped firmly over her mouth, his fingers digging into the soft skin of her jaw to keep her completely silent.The heat radiating off him was terrifying. His chest rose and fell in deep, jagged expansions, the smooth silk of his unbuttoned shirt rubbing against the bare skin of her collarbone.Just inches away, on the other side of the glass, the soft scuff-scuff of Chloe’s slippers stopped right by the marble island."Gia?" Chloe’s voice was closer now, carrying the thick, irritated fog of someone woken up in the middle of the night. "Seriously,

  • Tempting Playboy   The Price of the Secret

    The cold marble of the kitchen island bit through the thin fabric of Gia’s black dress, but the chill was instantly scorched away by the heavy, territorial weight of Leo’s body pressing flush against hers.Outside, the storm shrieked, rain lashing against the glass panels like handfuls of gravel. Inside, the only sound was the ragged, uneven rhythm of their breathing.Gia’s hands were still locked around Leo’s forearms, her knuckles aching from the sheer force of trying to hold him back—or hold him close, she couldn't even tell anymore. His dark silk shirt was warm beneath her fingers, the rapid thud of his heart hammering a frantic pace against her palms."You're going to get us caught," Gia whispered, her voice breaking as his lips traced a burning path along the sensitive line of her collarbone. She pulled her head back, forcing him to meet her eyes in the shadow-drenched kitchen. "Leo, listen to me. Ethan isn't like Sterling. He doesn't care about the rules, and he’s looking for a

  • Tempting Playboy   The Undercurrent

    The sound of the Atlantic crashing against the cliffs below seemed to echo through the sudden silence of the lounge.Gia felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. Ethan Thorne’s blue eyes were dancing with a sharp, dangerous curiosity, his smirk indicating he had just stumbled upon the most entertaining puzzle of his semester. He was intentionally pushing buttons, playing a dangerous game with a man who legally owned the ground he was standing on.Before Gia could formulate a response that wouldn't sound like a confession, the space behind her was completely eclipsed.Leo stepped into the light of the fireplace. The sheer physical gravity of his presence effectively pushed Ethan back half a step. The charcoal cashmere of Leo's sweater brushed against Gia’s bare shoulder, a brief, burning contact that made her knuckles turn white around her crystal glass."Ethan," Leo said. His voice was a flat, gravelly warning, devoid of any social warmth. "I didn't realize your family's shippin

더보기

다른 추천

좋은 소설을 무료로 찾아 읽어보세요
GoodNovel 앱에서 수많은 인기 소설을 무료로 즐기세요! 마음에 드는 작품을 다운로드하고, 언제 어디서나 편하게 읽을 수 있습니다
앱에서 작품을 무료로 읽어보세요
앱에서 읽으려면 QR 코드를 스캔하세요.
DMCA.com Protection Status