All Chapters of More Than A Business Deal: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I was having an amazing time in Paris, and I was determined to let it last. I graduated from the university three months ago, and this was my well-deserved break from spending four years studying business administration instead of Art. Dad has tried to get me to come back home multiple times in the last year, but I refused. I slaved my way through university and graduated Valedictorian, so I was going to be selfish with this vacation. But on the other hand, could I call it a vacation if I had spent my last three months in Paris in the comfort of my hotel room? I went sightseeing and did a lot of shopping in the first few weeks I came here, but I got bored quickly, and I didn’t have any friends to bring with me. I didn’t do friends. There was a lot of drama and baggage involved that I would rather not deal with, and I had yet to meet someone who genuinely liked me and wasn’t after me because of what they could get from my father. Today, however, was going to be a different day from

“David, could you please drive a little bit faster?” I asked for the millionth time since we left the airport. I was sure David was irritated with my constant push for him to drive faster, but he showed no hint of it. He had always been good at hiding his emotions. “Young mistress, I can assure you that I am driving as responsibly fast as I am allowed to He replied with the same answer he had given me every time I asked the same question, and his tone held no grudge; he was just understanding. I had asked him if Dad was at home and knew I was coming, but he kept avoiding the question or just ignoring it. His silence was doing little to nothing to pacify me. It was like experiencing life through the eyes of 12-year-old me all over again when Mom had left us after her long struggle with cancer. I had been in school, eager for the torturous day to come to an end so I could go home and sit by mom’s side and read her favourite book from my bookshelf to her, only I didn’t need t

The sun was out, and the weather was beautiful. A contrast to the storm brewing inside the house. I signed and leaned against Mum’s grave as I continued reading Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince since it had been one of her favourite books when she was alive. I hadn’t been a big fan of books and only read because of Mom. I read about seven chapters before I got tired, so I closed the book and lay down on the well-trimmed grass beside her grave. Weird, I know but it always calmed me down to be this close to her. I always felt like she was always here with me whenever I visited her because of how calm I always am whenever I come here. At first, our staff found it creepy that I felt comfortable lying beside a grave but to me, it was not just a grave but my mother’s bed. She was there and I never had to feel afraid when it came to her. I would spend hours here and it was always easier to talk to Mom about issues I could never talk to Dad about. “Mom, Dad may be coming over to

“This was my favourite photo of you. You looked like a real angel; I knew I had to take a photo” There was so much love and adoration in Dad’s eyes as we looked at a picture of me when I was seven. I had to admit that I was a real beauty as a child. It felt like I was staring at a human-sized Barbie doll. I was wearing a cute pink gown, and my blonde hair had been put into a ponytail, and my eyes were so blue as they sparkled with innocence and mischief. “It had been a hassle to get you to stay still for that photo. You had way too much candy because your mother could never resist your puppy eyes, and you knew it. We had to bribe you with the promise of another candy if you stayed still to take that photo” He smiled and ran his fingers over the photo as if he was reliving that moment all over again. “That was the best day. Mom had finally gotten that catering degree and made us a feast. I didn’t understand what that meant back then, but I was happy because she was happy” “I l

I didn’t think I had ever been this nervous in my entire life. I thought the most nervous I would ever get was when I waited for my admission letter, but standing here in front of the floor-length mirror in my walk-in closet as I examined my outfit for the millionth time, I could barely breathe. I told myself I didn’t care and I would not bother to try hard at all, but when Mariam, one of the maids, had told me that Atticus was around and Duke had requested that I make myself present in an hour, my body told a different story altogether. I hated that my body wasn’t working with me as I tried to calm my nerves. The sweat on my palms seemed to increase with every moment that passed despite the cold room. It was as if the air conditioner was no longer working or my body was rejecting the cold. I knew I looked amazing, but I had no intention to try and seduce the man just because I wanted him to treat me fairly. Atticus was not a stranger when it came to stunning women. I had s