Chapter Six

Everything was falling apart— the business his parents had struggled to build, his relationship with Lisa was already in flames and Abby still didn't want to talk to him.

Anthony felt like he was falling and there was no safety net anywhere below him to break his fall.

“Aimee, can you at least try to convince him that we can handle the project? We really can, we just need him to believe us.”

Aimee, his assistant secretary, sighed into the other end of the phone. “Sir, we've done that already but every attempt to convince them has remained futile.”

He blew out a breath of air and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, send the company's contacts to my personal email, I'll talk to him myself,” he replied and hung up.

Anthony reclined into his chair, exhausted and worn to a frazzle. How had he ended up here?

Wells &Co. used to be one of the best design companies with the best architects but now, not only had they lost their best workers, they were struggling to keep their major clients.

His phone rang and thinking it was a business deal, he rushed to pick it up.

“Anthony,” a familiar voice rang tjrough. Disappointed formed across his face— he almost dropped the call.

“Hey dad. How are you?” He asked, his voice dull.

“I've had better days. How's everything with the company? I heard things are moving smoothly.” Anthony didn't know who was feeding his father all those lies but he owed them.

“Yeah, we're just trying to close a deal with a client,” he laughed lightly and quickly changed the topic. “How's mum doing?”

“She's great. Never been better ever since the surgery. She's been asking of you too,” was his father's reply.

Anthony sighed. Whenever his mum did that —randomly asking of him— it meant she was planning on visiting.

Anthony's eyes swept through his house— his rented house. Now wasn't a great time.

“I'll call her and let her know that I'm alright,” he replied.

“You know, your mother and I are planning to attend a high class gala with a couple other big companies from the coast, even some from Dubai and other Arabian countries…” Anthony already knew where this was going and he liked it. “We were wondering if you would like to come with us.”

“Of course I would love, that would be great!”

It was the best news he had heard all day. If he was even lucky, he would be able to secure a deal with one of them— or at least open up their minds to working with his company.

“Alright. I'll send one of their invitation cards to your mail,” he replied and just as the conversation was going well, his father asked, “How's Lisa doing?”

Anthony's smile fell immediately. He exhaled silently. “Lisa's doing alright. She's been busy with work herself so she barely has the time to call in. I'll remind her,” he promised, even though it was impossible.

“Alright. Don't forget to speak to your mother. You know how she can get sometimes,” he said and the call went dead.

A mix of emotions swirled in his chest but overall hope outshined the rest of them all.

Wells&co. actually had a shot this time around.

Exhausted and somewhat satisfied with the turn of things, Anthony rose to his feet and went to freshen up.

It was only four o'clock that afternoon and the sun was still in the sky. After a cold shower, he dialed Abby's number for the fourth time that week and this time around she picked up his call.

Surprised, his lips failed him. Abby, on the other end, said nothing but after a few seconds of hearing nothing from his end, she hung up.

Shit.

He dialed her number again but the call never connected. Had she picked up by accident?

Determined and driven to get a response— anything at all out of her, he grabbed his keys and hurried to his car.

It was a Sunday. If he was lucky, he'd catch her alone somewhere.

Twenty minutes later, after stopping by a flower shop to pick up some flowers and a ‘I’m sorry's note, he was parked outside Mindy's house.

Thankfully, there was no sight of Mindy's truck parked at the driveway but that could also mean no one was home.

With the bouquet of flowers in his hands, he went up to the front door and rang the bell. Several seconds later, the door swung open.

A frown dug across her forehead. “What're you doing here?”

Anthony flashed her his million dollar smile. “Can I come inside?”

She debated on it mentally and finally stepped aside to let him in. Just as he'd hoped, the house was empty, no sign of Mindy or Sarah anywhere.

Abby closed the door shut and turned to face him, eyeing the bouquet of flowers. They were her favorite and he’d remembered all this while— pink tulips.

“I wanted to say how sorry I am Abby,” he noticed her attention on the flowers and handed them to her. A small smile formed on her lips and Anthony couldn't help but relax.

It was working.

“Flowers don't cut it, you know that right?” She said after she'd taken a sniff. Setting the flowers down, Abby went to the kitchen to get an empty vase.

“I know but that's only a little way of expressing how sorry I am. I know you've always loved tulips,” he said. Another smile formed across her lips. “I'm sorry Abby. I'll do anything to make it up to you.”

Anthony watched as the tough exterior she'd built against him melted away.

“Would you like some ice cream? Or a drink?” She asked, pulling open the fridge and ignoring his cute little statement that had caused butterflies to erupt in her stomach.

“I'll have a bottle of soda. Anything would be fine.” He watched as she grabbed two bottles of soda.

Abby was dressed in a short robe and from what he could tell, she didn't have on a lot underneath.

Shamelessly he stared and Abby, feeling his eyes on her, allowed him to drink to his fill. She didn't bother stopping him.

Silently, she passed him his bottle of soda and settled into a seat at the table.

“Where’s your wedding ring?” He asked, noticing her hands were bare of any jewelry. Abby shrugged.

“Officially divorced,” she said, her eyes gleaming with something mischievous. The air in the room thickened. “I'll probably pawn it and see what it amounts to.”

After a couple days of not seeing or hearing from Anthony, Abby couldn't deny that she wanted him now, even though it was the wrong thing to do.

Within minutes, Anthony had her pinned to the wall as he hungrily littered kisses all over her neck, lips and the top of her breasts where the silk robe had parted.

He was losing control and Abby loved it. They sealed their lips together in a hungry fervour to get a little and more from each other.

In one swift move, Anthony had lifted Abby up, his hardened ‘friend’ pressed against her middle. She bit back a moan, breathless.

“Room?” He asked, breathless too. She directed him upstairs to her bedroom which was slightly a mess but neither of them could care less.

Soon, their clothes joined the pile of sheets on the floor and Anthony got straight into business. He'd been hoping to get a taste of Abby, at least once.

Now that he was inside her, he didn't want it to be once. He wanted as many rounds as he was allowed.

He pushed into her, enjoying the moans that would occasionally escape her lips.

Abby, meanwhile, was in lala land. With her breast pressed to the crumpled sheets below her and her rear end held up, Abby let herself enjoy every ride, every deep, sharp and swift plunge.

Anthony was huge— not too huge that it was painful but just big enough to fill her up and whenever he went a little harder, Abby could swear she'd felt it press against her g-spot, bringing her closer to ecstasy.

Beads of sweat formed on their skins as they rode each other, with Anthony spanking and kneading every soft mound of flesh he could find and finally, after half an hour, he pulled out, releasing on her.

Abby collapsed into the sheets, her hair a mess, her back aching and her legs a shaky mess. She couldn't remember the last time she had experienced a good time like this one. Even Mike couldn't do this to her.

No one.

“I love it when you moan,” he said, his eyes tracing down her body and resting on her ass. The longer he stared, the more flashbacks he had of what had just transpired between them several minutes ago.

Abby wanted more, heck, she was ready but just as she was about leaning in to press a passionate kiss to his lips, she heard voices downstairs in the living room and— before either of them could react— footsteps in the hallway.

Wide eyed, she sprang out of bed, her feet barely touching and making a sound on the rugged floor, she locked the door.

The door handle twisted twice from outside immediately and Sarah's voice rang out.

“Abby? Whose car's outside?”

Shit.