*Damon*I pulled my car into the driveway, finding an empty parking space to park in. I stepped down, shutting the car door and looking at the building in front of me with disgust. My father's lawyer had contacted me again late in the evening yesterday through my PA, asking that I show up this morning for an important meeting with him. I gazed down at my Rolex, realizing that I was right on time.I had hoped to be a little late to piss the old man off.I practically marched into the building, quickly locating his secretary and asking her to inform him of my arrival. She came out more than five minutes later to invite me in. I held down the bile that seemed to rise in my throat once I noticed her hair was looking more disheveled than it had been when she'd walked inside. Not to mention her shirt was a little more rumpled and her lipstick had been cleaned.Asshole.I shot her a dirty look, letting her know she wasn't fooling anyone by sleeping around with someone who was more than twice
*Melanie*I glanced at the wall clock placed in a corner of the diner and felt a sense of relief wash over me. I had actually done it. I arrived a whole fifteen minutes earlier than I should have. I'd been confused when Shayla had reached out to me, asking if I was free so we could go out for lunch. I'd even almost said no. Then I realized that for whatever reason I didn't actually want to get on her bad side.I ordered a glass of non alcoholic wine, waiting patiently for Shayla to show up. A part of me feared that Damon had said something to her about me. Maybe something about the whole episode the other night. Or something that wasn't nice. I hadn't gotten the weekly email so I wasn't exactly sure whether or not I'd passed the first round.I briefly wondered if she was taking the pain to personally inform me that I hadn't made it to the next round. I discarded the thought as soon as it came. I wasn't special. There was no reason for her to do so much just to let me know that they ha
*Damon*I stared at the couple bickering playfully a few feet away from me and thought about how lucky they were to have found each other. They were old, probably in their late sixties or early seventies but you could tell that they were still very much in love even after all the years they'd obviously been together. Sometimes I wondered what that was like. Meeting someone and deciding along the way that they were the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.Growing up, all my parents had ever done was fight and then ignore each other. It had been so bad that I had known despite being so young that things weren't okay between them. I'd always wondered why my mother had stuck with him. Why she hadn't just packed up her things and left. It was later I realized she had refused to leave her marriage because of the vows.It was very sad really. It was obvious they were no longer in love but she strongly refused to ask for a divorce. And she wasn't even that religious. One thi
*Melanie*I'd been called back. I mean, honestly, I had kind of expected it. I'd seen how impressed Shayla and Jake had been with my presentation. And Damon as well, though I knew he would rather die than admit it. Getting the return email hadn't at all been a shock. Well, to me. It had been hell of a shock to Trish though. What surprised me though was that we were beginning this week's round with a party. Apparently we were supposed to have an event at the end of each round and we had missed the event last week since the contestants had still been much.I heaved a sigh, staring in irritation at my duffel bag. I wasn't sure I enjoyed the every weekend rearrangement. I unzipped my bag, getting ready to place my things in the exact positions I had put them in the last time. Just like before, I was the first person to arrive in the room. I'd just picked up my make up kit when someone knocked and entered the room.I turned to look at the door, watching as Hailey rolled her suitcase behi
*Damon*She was avoiding me. I wasn't sure why I was so surprised. I guess it was partly because I'd come to see her as someone who had no time for games. Before I could even get a word out after talking to room service lady, she had already walked out the door. That was almost two hours ago. She'd been successfully making sure we were never alone together again. And I've been trying to achieve the exact opposite.I watched her as she laughed at something a red head said to her. I didn't think she could possibly get any more beautiful than she already was but she was apparently determined to unconsciously prove me wrong. Her lips lifted in a genuine smile and I immediately understood why it was said that a woman was her most alluring when she smiled. I wondered what it would be like to have her smile at me like that. She always seemed to have her guard up around me no matter how little.Until I was kissing her."Do you think there's a fire extinguisher in here?" Jake asked, coming to
*Melanie*It was surprisingly a bit cold. It was one of the things I noticed, staying awake for as long as I did. I'd closed the glass windows, adjusted the curtains and also turned off the aircon but still, I could feel that the goosebumps which had risen on my arms were still there. It should have been gone by now. Especially since I'd thrown myself into the bed and covered my body with the duvet. It would have certainly disappeared by now. If the goosebumps had been from the cold.I was debating whether or not I should meet up with Damon. I tapped my phone twice, the screen immediately lighting up as I sought out the time. It was already three minutes past midnight. A part of me wanted to stand up. If not for any reason then to prove to myself that I wasn't letting Damon affect my senses and my decisions. I had an idea what he wanted to discuss and even though I wasn't embarrassed about it, I still didn't feel like having a conversation.Why did he feel the need to iron things out
*Damon*Good.I had done what I'd intended to do and said what I'd intended to say. There was no reason for me to still be standing in the room, staring at her and wishing I could take back my words. It bothered me but only the slightest bit that she had so easily agreed to chalk it all up to a spur of the moment mistake. But then what did I expect? That she was going to refute my statement and suddenly declare her hidden feelings for me?It would be more possible for hell to freeze over.I managed a nod and stepped away, even though it might as well have killed me. I needed to leave before I did something entirely stupid. The thought of her easily agreeing that it would also be a mistake the second time was enough to keep me heading in the direction of my room. A ridiculous delusional part of me hoped that she was going to say something. Maybe ask me why I was so easily discarding our kiss.It wasn't a good thing I hadn't been counting on her to react that way. Or I'd have ended up m
*Melanie*I applied a little bit of lip gloss to my lips, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I had already made plans for how I wanted the day to go. Very detailed plans. Plans that certainly didn't involve going out to anywhere for whatever reason. But then Trish had rung up my cell, literally blackmailing me to meet up with her on the ground that we hadn't had lunch in a while since I joined the competition. As tired as I was I'd still agreed to meet up with her.Because she actually was right.I carefully placed my lip gloss bottle back in my make up kit and then picked up my cellphone. I had three missed calls from her. I unlocked my phone in surprise, wondering when she'd called that I hadn't picked. Realizing, I was in the shower then, I dialed her number and placed a call across. I listened to it ring for a few heartbeats."Hey," I said, the second she picked up the phone. Closing my laptop and walking it to my wardrobe, I balanced the phone between my ear and my shoulder.