The next couple of days were outstanding for Aria. She got a raise, and the company gave her an official car. It was the first car she ever owned, and it was beautiful.She was so excited; she made some cookies, put them in a basket and brought them to her colleagues at work almost every day. They loved her more for it.Her intention of avoiding Arthur was easy for her so far, because he had gone on a business trip with his dad for a few days now. It was serene for her. No hiding behind the counters. No scanning along the hallway before coming out of her office...On Thursday morning, she came to work as usual and distributed some cookies she made around the office.When she finished distributing the cookies to those who cared, there were still a few left in the basket, so she took them and headed to her office.She was about to open the door when she heard a familiar deep masculine voice behind her.“You didn’t save any for me?”She turned around and saw Arthur standing behind her wi
The place became rowdy. Aria tried to pull Arthur away, but she was just not strong enough to break up a fight between two well-built, muscled men. She only ended up getting pushed to the ground.Liam heard the commotion from where he was and quickly rushed to the source of the noise.He saw Arthur on the floor, in a brawl with some random guy, and immediately jumped in to back him up. He joined the fight and landed a few punches on the guy who Arthur was fighting with before some other guys came over to stop the fight.They dusted off their bodies, and smoothened wrinkles on their clothes, and checked for any bloodstains on their bodies.There were some bruises on their faces. Arthur had taken a punch to the nose. His nose might be broken.They stared at each other with so much vicious intensity their eyes turned bloodshot red. They were itching to tear each other apart.Fortunately, they were restrained by the birthday celebrant and some other persons. When their blood pressure calm
The drive back to the house seemed longer than the drive on their way to the party. Maybe it was because they were talking and laughing throughout the entire ride, they lost track of time. This time, Aria was the only active person in the car. Liam had gone home to make sure his house didn't burn down, and Arthur was dead drunk.Also, it suddenly started to rain on their way back, so the air became chiller. She began to shiver, because her pretty red dress was very light and definitely not made for this kind of cold weather.She pulled up in her front yard when they finally arrived at her house. She turned off the car and looked back. Arthur’s eyes were still closed. He must have fallen asleep while she was driving.The rain was still pouring down heavily and she couldn’t find any umbrella around, so they had no other option but to go under the rain.She came down from the car quickly and opened the back door. Arthur didn’t seem like he had gotten his cognitive senses back to for him
These few seconds of inactivity gave her enough time to get back to that annoying battle of morality that was going on in her head. What was she doing?She was getting herself into something she would regret. Getting intimate with her boss like this. And to make matters worse, it was without his consent.But he was actively engaged in the process... Her mind tried its best to justify her actions in order to escape the guilt. She sighed.Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried to tell herself that he also wanted it, the truth was that he was high and intoxicated.For all she knew, he didn’t even know where he was and he might not even remember a thing from this night by tomorrow morning.Wrapping her hands around his neck, she closed her eyes and buried her face in the curve of his shoulder and hugged him. She felt so good. She wanted it to last forever.“Thank you for everything.” She whispered under her breath.As much as she would have loved to continue being with him, she had t
At the swimming pool.Arthur’s phone rang just after he put on his swimming trunks. It was Liam. He called to find out where he was and how the rest of the party went. He had to leave the party abruptly after receiving a call from his neighbor, notifying him that there was something burning inside his apartment. Thankfully, his house didn’t burn down. He had forgotten to turn off the gas cooker in his kitchen before leaving the house for the party the previous night. His cooking pot with the food in it got burnt and even caught on fire. Fortunately, the smell spread everywhere and could be perceived from outside. When his neighbor returned from work, he perceived something burning, and he traced the source of the smell to Liam’s apartment, so he placed a call across to him. He was so lucky he got there on time before the fire caught on something else. “So, where are you?” the voice on the other end of the line resonated. Arthur, who was just coming out of the dressing room, replie
For all she knew, it would be impossible for Arthur to have any romantic feelings towards her. In his eyes, she’ll always continue to be that poor, helpless waiter he met at that restaurant. Was that not why he asked her to pretend to be his girlfriend?!“Yes, Arthur, I have feelings for you. I know it’s stupid and all, but you’ve just been so nice to me since we met. That's possibly why I got carried away. I don’t know what happened. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken the job. I’m sorry.”Arthur’s brows furrowed. “Woah woah woah...” he interrupted. “Why are you apologizing? It’s only natural to have feelings for people you like. That’s why it’s called ‘falling in love’ You never have control over it. It just happens spontaneously.”“... and it’s a good thing, because I also have a confession too. I have had deep feelings for you from the first day I met you, Aria.”He leaned forward and held her arms. “That day at the restaurant, I felt like I saw an angel. Your beauty, your h
Amelia nodded, but it still seemed fishy. Things just didn’t add up. But unfortunately, she couldn’t care less. She shrugged and simply waved it off. As long as they would no longer have to continue living such an impecunious lifestyle, who cares where the money came from?“Also, I’ll have some money transferred to your account. I’m sure all my accounts would still be under supervision so it won’t be safe there. When you receive the money, I want you to use it to purchase some crypto just in case your account is being monitored, too.”“Don’t leave large amounts of money in account for safety reasons.”Amelia was a bit scared.“How much is it?” she said, almost in a whisper.“Three million dollars.”Amelia’s eyes widened in shock. That kind of money had not entered her bank account before.Of course, it wouldn’t have been considered a large amount of money to Clark three months ago. In the days of his grandeur, that money would be like a cup of water being poured into the Atlantic ocea
The next morning.By 9 am, Arthur and Liam left Maryland airport for a business trip in bordine. It was a 45 minutes’ flight, so they arrived at their destination a few minutes before 10 am.They were supposed to inspect two estates in the area owned by Brookland Corporations. They checked into their various rooms at the hotel and had a little rest before setting out by noon.It was supposed to be a two-day trip. They spent the entire day at one estate, doing several inspections and meetings. The next day, they would also do the same for the second estate. It was a tedious task, and it was usually done by Mr. Miller himself, but he decided to assign it to Arthur in the bid of getting him well acquainted with the business, being his inevitable successor.By dusk, they were done with all the activities for the day, so they headed back to the hotel.Liam’s room was right next to Arthur’s, so they bade themselves goodnight before entering into the rooms.Normally, they would have gone to