Chapter Eighteen—His Past Sins Gianna marched her way down towards her office, with a huge smile on her face as she was in a delightful mood. She greeted everyone from their little cubicles, said hi to the new office mascot who was a labradoodle and walked into her office only to be met with a surprise. Her brows creased for a moment, her eyes narrowed and her mouth squirmed seeing the bouquet of roses on her desk. Just then Aiden walked into her office with a clipboard, his eyes lit up in surprise seeing the same thing as his boss, “You ordered flowers?” He asked. “No,” shaking her head, “Did you?” “If I wanted to order you flowers I would’ve sent Peonies. We both know you hate roses.” He replied. He was right. She hated roses, not because they were bad but because her ex husband always had them delivered fresh every morning to their home, as a token of his love towards her. She hated the flowers right after their divorce, a painful memory
Chapter Seventeen—Manchego’s, The memories Manchego’s was definitely the same even after her return. It’s pristine white walls, the authentic Italian food and what they were best known for—the most amazing tiramisu in all of America. Gianna salivated just at the thought of ordering some as she drove to the restaurant. Whatever Justin had to say clearly had to be important, otherwise he wouldn’t dare send her a message. She remembered it all too vividly, the black dress she wore on their first night out. It was a few weeks after she’d just graduated from college, and gotten an internship in her father’s company. Justin had invited her to go out to dinner which she was ecstatic about. After all, she was fawning over the man for weeks. He was the hottest new bachelor in town and all the other girls wanted him, for some reason he was drawn to her shy and timid self. They had ordered a huge plate of lobster pasta which they both shared. Then they drank the most expe
Chapter Sixteen—Terrible, Terrible CEO “What have I done??” Justin murmured to himself, for the first time he felt aghast. Placing a hand over his mouth, he watched his friend walk out of the club shaking his head in massive disappointment. This was what it felt like, a boatload of regret and guilt. For the first time in three years everything came crashing down all at once, not Gianna’s brash words hours earlier, not the sleazy tabloids calling him a ruthless boss, not any of it—-right now, it all came crashing down on him. “You want me to pour you a drink sir?” The bartender, who witnessed the whole situation asked, “Women am I right?” Justin sent him a dirty glare, “What do you mean by that?” The bartender shrugged and chuckled a little, “I mean if you’re accusing her of being a whore then she must be a— “Do you want to get fired?” “What?” “I suggest you mind your drinks and keep your mouth shut” The b
Chapter Fifteen—The Gentlemen’s club(2) Justin didn’t want to believe it. The same woman who had turned his life upside down, his timid and well poised ex wife, being in a club with another man probably a prince from somewhere, smiling from ear to ear. “What are you doing?!!” Gianna yelled, as he tried to pull her upwards. “Ei…leave the poor woman alone!” The Persian prince tried to step in. Justin shot him a death glare, “Watch it! This is private business.” “Private??” Gianna scoffed loudly, “I barely even know this man.” The prince, on high alert turned to Justin, “is this true??” Justin rolled his eyes, unwilling to cooperate with a man he barely even knew, one who clearly had ogling eyes for Gianna, “Mind your business.” He turned to his ex wife, “We need to talk.” “No.” “Gianna pl— “Fuck off Justin.” She cursed as she finally rose to her feet, storming off into the crowd. He cursed under his breath, tagg
Chapter Fourteen—The Gentlemen’s club Gianna grunted at her reflection in the mirror thirty minutes later. She was beautiful, clad in simple black strapless dress with a slit that reached the highest of her thighs. It was an old dress bought to seduce her ex husband, Justin used to love it when she wore provocative dresses when he returned from work—and the love they made right after, she gulped hard just thinking about it. Now she was clad in the same dress for a night out. For a moment she opted to change, scared to look unprofessional in the eyes of her employees, just then Aiden waltzed his nosy self into her room and gasped, “Oh my….” “What?” She snapped, rolling her eyes minutes later, “God I look stupid don’t— “No,” he quickly cut her off, right before her insecurities reared it’s ugly head out, “You look quite stunning if I may say. It’s a wonder why that man divorced you.” Gianna rolled her eyes again, because Justin was an irrede
Chapter Thirteen—The Billionaire’s Regret Mason Jenkins, a fellow business mogul and Justin’s only friend frowned deeply as he strode into the apartment ,which was open to his utmost surprise. The place was a mess, clothes lazing around with empty bottles sprawled all over the ground. This was a sudden change from the neat freak he once knew and grew up with. It’s been five years since he saw his one and only best friend, in those five years Justin had gotten married and divorced. The events leading up to it was such a blur, but Justin’s sudden message to meet up was too enticing to pass on. He made his way into the kitchen, only to find his friend in a downcast state, next to him was a bottle of vodka and a lime-rimmed glass beside him, his nose twitched at the stench of strong liquor. “Yeah I think that’s enough drinking for tonight.” He murmured, scooting next to Justin who let out a deep sigh. “How’d you get in?” “It doesn’t matter,” Maso
Chapter Twelve—A game of cats and dogs “Bullshit!!” Gianna yelled at the top of her lungs, “There’s no way I’m being evicted!!” The attendant, unwavering in his stance shrugged lightly, “It’s the truth ma’am. If you have an issue you might as well take it up with the manager.” “Where’s the office?” She asked, eyes blaring warning signs that she wasn’t to be messed with. The attendant pointed at one of the doors at the far end of the other side of the reception. She stormed over, knocking on the door incessantly and after a moment it was opened. She could spot a familiar head from behind the manager’s stance, the frown on her face morphing into a deep scowl as she pushed the man aside before bathing in. “You!!!” She cried out, wanting to go ballistic on the man who ruined her life, “You did this!!” Justin smiled. She played right into his trap, “Miss Lawson. It’s nice to see you again.” “You both know each other?” The manager asked, hi
Chapter Eleven—It’s not over yet “You’ve been reported for stalking and badgering Mr Santiago.” The head of the city’s police captain murmured in his office. Justin, with handcuffs placed in his wrists, not being treated like a normal criminal frowned deeply. It was embarrassing enough, his secretary quitting, now he also had to deal with whatever new shenanigans Gianna was up to. “Who reported this?” He asked. The captain smiled, clearly not wanting to tread on deadly waters knowing the person in front of him’s reputation, “That doesn’t need to be— “Gianna Santiago?” “Uhhh…” “Gianna Lawson??” “Uhhh sir— He rolled his eyes, “She’s my ex wife. This is just a ploy to ruin my reputation Mr Captain. I have pumped a lot into this department of yours, and I don’t appreciate being taken into custody in such a manner.” His reputation for sure precedes him, the sheriff thought as he sighed deeply, “You can’t go
Chapter Ten— The Painful Jab Gianna paced back and forth in her office to no surprise of Aiden an hour later. She panted heavily, feeling disgusted and utterly insulted ro the highest level. Damn Justin, she thought, stalking her to the point of breaking into her home to insult her with a ludicrous offer. Damn him. “You know,” Aiden shrugged, “200 million is a great offer.” She shot him a death glare, “Don’t even.” “I’m just saying,” he smirked, toying with the glass figurine which acted as a paperweight on her table, “If he’s going to offer you 200 million as a buyout, it only means he sees you as a worthy opponent.” Gianna paused in her pacing and turned to her aide, “You really think so?” “I know so,” Aiden reassured, “No CEO offers that much money to a startup unless he sees potential. Your ex husband might be a cunning son of a bitch but he’s a smart one. You have the upper hand here if you ask me.” Gianna let out a sigh, som