Jess’s career was turning out to be as pleasant and exciting as she had anticipated. She woke up looking forward to going to the office each morning and she loved her job. Her immediate supervisor was very demanding but Jess found that her concerns were often fair and constructive. The supervisor encouraged her team to be proactive and to speak out about any issue that they found wanting. She also followed the policies in the company strictly, and required the same of her subordinates. Thursday began as an ordinary day for Jess except that it was the first time she would be present for a major meeting. This was the first departmental meeting held that month. The company leaders would get a chance to interact with the subordinates as they reviewed the progress of the department. Jess had been limited to interactions with her entry level colleagues and her immediate supervisor. The meeting was held in a large conference room where the staff were seated

Jess woke up in an unfamiliar room. The sun was shining from the wrong side of the bed and the window was in the wrong place. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. It was then that her senses came back and she remembered that she was in the penthouse. A warmth washed over her as she remembered being with Pete last night. She hugged herself and imagined his tender touch on her body. She wondered where he had gone as she sat up on the bed. She had never felt as confused as she did right now. She did not regret giving him her virginity and was happy, but she was also scared. What if he didn't want her again? She got up and put on a bathrobe that had been placed on the bed and then she headed to the bathroom. She stopped before she opened the door as she heard water running inside. She walked to the other bedroom to shower when she realized Pete was in this shower. She was surprised to find more items of clothing in the room that had a rack full o

The hospital corridor was dimly lit and gloomy as hospitals often are. Pete was walking in slowly as he convinced himself to finish what he had started. He finally got to the VIP wing and looked at the door for a while. He finally convinced himself to take a step and get in.  He walked into his mother’s private room and was surprised to find a well spread bed with no personal effects anywhere in sight. His heart skipped a beat when he thought that he had been too late. He walked to the armchair by the bed and sat down with a downcast mood.  Just then, he heard the toilet flush and then the washroom door opened. His mother came out. She was dressed in ordinary clothes and not hospital attire like last time. "Sonny?"she said in surprise.  She used to call him Sonny when he was a child. "I came to see you and I thought...."he stammered then kept quiet. He couldn't finish the statement yet and he breathed a sigh of relief as he looked

Jess had never appreciated her bed as much as she did at this moment. She had a late night working, and she had barely had enough time for a simple meal. A glass of juice and some cookies had been her dinner because she had been too tired to cook when she finally finished her work. She got into bed and slept immediately, partly due to fatigue and in part because of the effects of the warm shower she had taken. It felt like she had barely slept when the persistent ringing of the doorbell woke her up. Jess was confused for a minute, and then she dragged herself to the door thinking that Pete had worked a late night just like she had. He spent every other night here and they often joked that they were kinda living together. She smiled as she got to the door, but nothing prepared her for the shock that met her sight. When she opened the door, Pete was just barely standing,  and there was a man holdi

It was Leslie's last week in the country and she had been trying to make time to see Jess.  She had so much to do as she had kept postponing everything until the last minute.  Packing was the only thing she had completed because she planned to shop for new clothes once she relocated. She also had many clothes that were almost new and barely worn. She decided to give them to Jess who would need them much more. This act of generosity was what landed Leslie right in the middle of a war zone. Leslie had tried to call Jess to tell her she was coming over but she had been unable to reach her. She decided it would be easier to drop off the clothes since Jess was almost always home. She drove to her old apartment and parked, then asked a man who was at the parking lot to help her move the luggage. The man obliged and soon they were outside the door of the apartment. Leslie let them in and she reached for her purse to give the man a tip. When she loo