Mr Grayson cursed and turned around, wondering who it was that had the nerve to barge in the room to interrupt him. In front of him was a tall dark-haired man giving him a cold glare.He wasn’t familiar to him. And he was sure none of the men who were outside drinking with their dates would have interrupted him. He also didn’t look like a security guard–he was wearing a suit and a long coat like an office worker.Supporting himself on his hands, he got up and faced him, sneering. “Who the fuck are you?” He wasn’t about to let anyone ruin this for him.When Mr Grayson suddenly released her and fell backwards, Isabelle shot up from the bed, thinking that perhaps one of the people in the room outside had finally come to help her. But when her eyes fell on Jacob instead, a happy cry left her lips as she crawled over the bed and to him.He took her in his arms and held her close as she hid her face in his chest, sobs causing her entire body to shake. She could hardly believe he was there,
Jacob let go of Isabelle’s face and looked away. “I was in the company of a friend,” he replied to her question.“Oh,” she muttered, remembering how the men in the private room had all been there with women in their arms. What was Jacob doing there? Had he also been there with a lover? Did he flirt with the women there?The thought bothered her, but she didn’t let it show on her face.“I’ll go and take a shower,” she told him, getting to her feet. He nodded and shifted to let her leave the sofa.In the bathroom, she stood under the shower for a long time, enjoying the feel of the cascading water over her skin. Even though Mr Grayson hadn’t succeeded in touching her the way he wanted, she still found herself scrubbing her skin thoroughly. Somehow, she felt as if washing thoroughly would not only wash away any trace of his touch on her but also wash away the memory of what happened.By the time she was done, she felt a lot better. Her body had also stopped trembling. It wasn’t until she
When Jacob’s finger tugged on the towel and it became a little loose, Isabelle snapped out of the trance he had distracted her into. Her face flushed afresh, and as her mind rattled back into work-mode, she realised how precarious her situation was.She had let this go too far.Pushing Jacob’s hand away, she ducked under his arm and reached for her door. This time, he didn’t stop her as she twisted the handle and pushed the door open. She slammed it closed behind her–as if to further emphasise that she was not up for whatever he had in mind.Rushing to her mirror, she pressed her hands to her face and took deep breaths. She had no idea who she was more pissed at–him for teasing her in her state of undress, or her for giving him any sign that she liked it.It seemed that she was getting too comfortable with him and forgetting that not only was he her pretend husband, but that she was also deceiving him about her identity. Nothing could happen between them as long as she was living a li
On her way home from work that evening, Isabelle came across Jacob jogging in the community. He was dressed in a pair of running shorts that left his long muscular legs exposed, and a t-shirt that made it easy to imagine the muscular physique hidden beneath.Soon as her thoughts went to forbidden territory, she stopped them and focused on the matter that had been on her mind all day. Jacob was the only person from last night who knew her identity and who took the incentive to stop Mr Grayson. There was a high probability that he was the one who had reported him to the police.“How was work?” he asked when he got to her and fell into step with her on their way home.“It was good,” she said, and then looked up at him. “Some officers came in the morning and arrested the director. Are you the one who went to the police with the surveillance video from last night?”“Oh, they did?” he nodded approvingly. “Good. Yes, I’m the one who gave them the video.”“Thank you,” she told him. “He was tr
The moment Isabelle pressed her lips to his, the little restraint that was keeping Jacob from doing something that could have her running into her room snapped.Even if he was determined to not do such a thing, the frenzied passion that surged through his body the moment she kissed him made sure that his efforts were futile.Wrapping his arms around her body, he picked her up and walked to the sofa, their lips still pressed together. The fact that she didn’t pull away or push him away through all that assured him that she wanted this as much as he did.He only separated them as he lay her down on the sofa and hovered above her. Her eyes fluttered open to look at him, and then she nibbled on her bottom lip shyly. Had she known what accepting his request for a kiss could lead to? Or had she thought it was an innocent request?“You’re too naive,” he whispered as he brought his lips down to hers. This time, he kissed her urgently, his firm lips prying her soft ones apart. She submitted to
Isabelle worried her lip with her teeth when the client replied right away, asking that she stop working on the design. Did he no longer want it? Or did he want to put an end to their partnership?Or maybe he did not appreciate her asking for an extension. Some clients were very strict about deadlines and could cancel an entire project if they were delayed even a little.Considering that, she sent him another email, hoping he changed his mind. In the second email, she told him that she would do her best to finish it in time.Even if she had to give up sleep, she was going to get it done.She didn’t want to lose such a client–the chances of finding another one who could pay anything close to fifty thousand dollars for a single design were pretty low. Besides the money, she was keen on building a good reputation. Good feedback from clients was very crucial for her career. If she became known for tardiness, it would become hard to get new clients.She also really liked the client–he was
Lucy Cruz was in the master bedroom with her husband when Isabelle showed up at the front door. The master bedroom was on the first floor, facing the front of the house. It had a balcony on which if they stood, they would have a clear view of Isabelle at the door.When the servant turned Isabelle away, Lucy had thought she would go away. She was determined to ignore her and even have the servants lock her out of the house. But when she threatened to tell Jacob Garcia the truth about their marriage, she froze with fear.She wouldn’t really do that, would she? If the Garcias found out that they had deceived them, there would be consequences.“How dare she?” she muttered, pacing beside the king size bed in the room. “We rescued her from that dirty orphanage and gave her a decent upbringing. And a family she could only have ever dreamed of. How dare she threaten to reveal the truth about Naomi?”“We promised her,” Francis pointed out. “Do not forget that she did us a favour by marrying Ja
The next day, despite finally receiving her first salary at work, Isabelle still felt low because the amount was just a tiny fraction of the surgery fee.It was quickly dawning on her that she needed to look for other sources of income.If she didn’t hurry up with the payment, Ruth might end up losing her chance for the transplantation. If she had to wait again to find another kidney that was a match, it might be too late.At the moment, she didn’t know what to do, and it frustrated her to no end. A thought crossed her mind that maybe she should ask Jacob for help, but she pushed it aside. She knew that Jacob would be willing to help her, but she couldn’t risk him finding out the truth about Ruth and her family.Also, it would be incredibly selfish of her to ask his help when she was lying to him about her identity.She had to forge ahead alone, and this time, she would be more careful compared to when she had wanted to take part in the drug trial.She was about to leave the office wh