Lahat ng Kabanata ng Owned by the Billionaire Mafia King: Kabanata 221 - Kabanata 230

SaraAfter my third reading, I was starting to feel more confident. Jaxon had filled me with a lot of fear about Tatiana and how she might try to attack me, but it had been two weeks with no response. I knew I shouldn’t let my guard down, but I couldn’t help feeling like if she was going to retaliate she would have done it by now. Danny kept a good pace behind me while Jones and Arch kept close to my sides. They looked like normal bodyguards, and I was certain that most people didn’t think anything of them. I smiled brightly as I walked toward the next bookstore down on 10th Avenue. Arch quickly picked up his phone as we walked and listened. He would mumble ‘yes’s’ and ‘I understand’ but gave no indication about the nature of the call. When he hung up, he kept walking as if nothing happened. "What was that?" I asked. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye but his face remained expressionless. Both Arch and Jones had a strange stoic expression, like they spent hours each da

SaraI tapped my foot in frustration as I stared at the blank page on my computer screen. I needed to finish getting out this last piece of my latest project, but I couldn’t get myself to focus. All I could think about was Jaxon upstairs in his office. I hated being in a fight with him. I hated not talking to him, but I was still so furious that he was trying to blame me for the attacks from the Vitullo family. I was also still reeling from the attack. Jaxon had warned me this might happen, but it was still surreal. No matter how upset she had seemed, I couldn’t imagine that Tatiana would have approved this attack. But of course, I knew that nothing happened in her organization that she didn’t know about or approve. Everyone around me was typing away endlessly. They sounded almost like drones: just working with no real thoughts or distractions. I groaned internally at them. I looked over at Tori, who seemed lost in her work. "I’m going to go take a break, I’ll be right back,"

Sara"Well, that’s quite an offer," I forced out and downed the rest of the wine in my glass. Instantly someone appeared in front of us and refilled my glass. I smiled weakly at him. I knew it probably wasn’t smart to keep drinking and reach a level of tipsy, but I needed more to help control my nerves. "So what do you think? I can guarantee we’ll be successful and unstoppable," Tatiana smiled at me as if she knew she had gotten me. I suddenly felt grateful that Jaxon had insisted on so much protection and people around. I felt almost sick. I wasn’t going to give her the answer that she wanted, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to see her disappointed response. "That’s very generous. I appreciate your offer and you considering me. However, I’m not interested. Jaxon is my husband and my partner; I’m not going to steal everything he’s built and turn against him. I am the one who initiated leaving this business, and Jaxon agreed. It doesn’t serve my interests or desires to stay in it

SaraI wished, and not for the first time, I could be better at hiding my emotions. I had never been very good though at pretending I wasn’t upset, especially when all I felt was rage. I threw myself down on my chair and scooted into my desk. I pushed my loose hair out of my face and started to warm up my computer. I hardly noticed Tori staring at me until she loudly cleared her throat. I turned to look at her slowly. "Um, what’s going on?" she demanded instantly. I frowned. "What do you mean? Nothing is going on. I’m just arriving and ready to work," I answered in a grumbly tone. She gave me a disbelieving look. "I know you better than that. You’re upset, what happened? Did something not go well with your meeting?" she asked, bringing her voice down to a whisper… well, what was a whisper for Tori. She never could get her voice down low enough to really qualify as a ‘whisper’. I smiled weakly at her. Tori’s expression softened, and the concern in her eyes was almost unbearab

SaraI stared at my computer screen, unable to find the words to type. I had grown so used to working in the office with the familiar chatting of Tori and the others. The silence of the home office room seemed somewhat unbearable. My head hurt and my mind felt in a daze. I felt I should do something more about Tatiana, but Jaxon told me to leave it until we could talk about his plan. My mind drifted into a fog of nothingness. I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to pretend my life was not my life and slip into unimportant issues of TV characters and video game levels. I gave up and closed the computer and moved to lie on the bed and play on my phone. I played silly mindless games that didn’t require a lot of thinking. I dozed in and out, feeling even more tired every time I opened my eyes. Sure, it was boring, but the alternative was leaving the house and possibly getting sniped by one of Tatiana's people. The time seemed to drag on, keeping this foggy day lasting much longer