Se connecterChapter 71~ Kesley ~I couldn't wait in the office anymore.The clock had hit 4:45 and there was still no word from Taraji. My desk felt like a cage, the walls of my cubicle closing in with every passing minute. The silence of the nearly empty department was oppressive, making every small sound—the hum of the air conditioning, the distant ping of an elevator—seem amplified and accusatory.I had to go to the lobby. That was the only logical place Taraji would go if she couldn't reach me by phone. She'd probably come to the lobby and ask for me at reception or wait by the entrance or park her car outside.She had to.I grabbed my bag, stuffing my phone into the side pocket even though I'd been checking it obsessively every thirty seconds, turned off my computer with hands that weren't quite steady, and headed for the elevator bay, my heart pounding with a mixture of anxiety and determination.Just get downstairs. Wait for Taraji. Get the costume. Transform. Make it to the restaurant.
Chapter 70~ Taraji ~Shit. Shit, shit, shit!I stared at my dead phone for the hundredth time, as if willing it to magically turn on would actually work.It didn't.Of course it didn't.I'd forgotten to charge it after school, and then in my rush to get to Kesley's apartment, grab the Aria costume, and avoid her mother's questions, I'd left my charger sitting on my desk back in my classroom.Now I was driving through rush hour traffic with a bag full of wigs, heavy makeup, and a dress so tight it probably violated several public decency laws, and I had absolutely no way to contact Kesley.No way to tell her I had the stuff. No way to coordinate where to meet. No way to let her know I was running late because traffic on the interstate was moving at approximately the speed of continental drift.She was probably panicking. Probably thought I'd abandoned her or forgotten or decided this whole thing was too insane to be part of.Which, to be fair, it was insane. Completely, utterly insane
Chapter 69 ~ Kesley ~The clock on my computer screen read 4:10 PM.Around me, the department was emptying out in the usual Monday evening exodus. Derek had already packed up and left ten minutes ago, throwing a casual "see you tomorrow" over his shoulder without bothering to wait for a response. The other guys were gathering their things, stuffing laptops into backpacks, laughing about some inside joke I wasn't part of—something about a fantasy football league and someone's terrible draft picks.Normal end-of-workday activities. The familiar rhythm of office life winding down.Except nothing about today was normal.I sat frozen at my cubicle, staring at my phone like it might spontaneously combust or transform into something useful, willing it to ring.Taraji still hadn't called. Hadn't texted. Nothing.No "I got the stuff," no "on my way," no "your mom asked questions but I handled it." Just radio silence.I'd tried calling her three times in the last ten minutes. Each time it wen
Chapter 68 ~ Kesley ~How can he request for a picture?I stared at my phone screen, at Niklaus's message demanding I send him a photo, my mind spiraling into full-blown panic mode.What kind of obsession was that? Who asked for pictures like this? It felt invasive. Controlling. Like he was checking up on me, verifying something, conducting some kind of investigation.Was this normal behavior for fake fiancés? I had no frame of reference. No guidebook for "How to Navigate a Contractual Marriage with Your CEO."Oh wait.My heart stopped.Actually stopped beating for a full second before hammering back to life with painful force.Why was he asking for a picture?Not just casually, like "hey, send me a selfie." But specifically. With urgency. After seeing me this morning in the department.Did he recognize me? Did seeing me in person—Kesley, the nervous data analyst with her hair down and her green blouse—trigger something in his memory? Was he planning to do some kind of face recogniti
Chapter 67 ~ Niklaus ~Grandfather was still waiting, his expectant gaze fixed on me with the patience of someone who'd built an empire by refusing to take no for an answer. He clearly wasn't willing to let this go."Pictures can be deceptive," I said, trying a different angle. Shifting tactics. "Why not wait until you see her in person? You'll get a much better sense of who she is face-to-face than from some photo on a phone screen."It was a reasonable argument. Photos could be filtered, edited, carefully staged to present a particular image. Meeting someone in person was always more revealing."What's the point of waiting when I'm going to see her anyway?" Grandfather countered, his logic annoyingly sound. He leaned back in my chair and folded his hands over his stomach. "A picture now doesn't preclude meeting her later. It just gives me something to look forward to. A preview, if you will."He leaned forward again, his eyes bright with genuine excitement. The kind of enthusiasm I
Chapter 66 ~ Niklaus ~I pushed open the door to my office, composing my expression into something calm and professional despite the panic coursing through my veins. My pulse was racing, my mind already running through worst-case scenarios.Grandfather looked up from the Financial Times he'd been reading and smiled. A genuine, warm smile that immediately told me this wasn't an ambush. At least not the kind I'd been dreading."Klaus!" He set down the paper with care, folding it along its creases, and gestured around my office with a sweeping motion. "I hope you don't mind me sneaking in here like a common thief. I didn't want your father to know I'd come down."The tension in my shoulders eased slightly. This was a social visit, then. Not a business emergency.I glanced toward the ceiling, as if I could see through it to the floor above where my father's office sat. "Father's upstairs?""Yes, yes. Chairman duties and all that." Grandfather waved his hand dismissively, that familiar ge







