RILEY.“Well,look who’s come to join the party,” said Lena. “And just in the nick of time, too.” “ What a perfect way to have a wedding between you and my daughter”I scoff.“ So what has my wife and kids got to do with all of this ? I ask.“ Uhm…Lena scoffs, who’s with you?“Check for yourself” I said.Is men quickly rush out and return that I was the only one. Really could that be true, how did I know here if there is no one with me? I thought.“ Okay, why should I fight you, my mom and dad was murdered by you and now I am sure your plan is for me to get married to your daughter so that you will have that total right to my inheritance” I said.“Well,well well, Your father was a bastard, I proposed marriage to him but he went ahead to marry your mom and to add to it all, he found out my truth , he was going to block my avenue to run my father’s company which has flopped, I had to do the needful” Lena said.“ So that you can continue stealing and you succeeded in doing that for twenty

RILEYFew days later we return home, our kids were having nightmares.My Grandparents have been helpful, they came spend some few days with us then left, they always call to know about our well being. they couldn’t sleep alone, we had to share bed with them I practically left her off balance when I leaped from the shower and kissed Chloe. But then, as I cradled her, with nothing but a towel around my waist, she put a hand knowingly to her lips. And then I remembered that our kids were fast asleep.“It’s three walls of soundproofed insulation,” I said.“I still want to be quiet,” Chloe said, playfully.I grinned and wrapped my arms around her head as I kissed her. In turn, she put her arms around me, and the feeling of the soft linen material of her shirt as it pressed against my naked back was ecstasy. In the low light of my bedroom, I picked her up easily, and span her as we kissed, making her a little dizzy. By the time I threw her onto the bed, cushioning her fall with my arms, I

NICOLE I run up the dirty steps to get out of the NYC Subway system, cursing the backed-up trains, and tapping frantically on my phone. I can still save the morning, get to work on time, and make a good impression on my new boss if I take a ride share. I can get to work in...I hold my breath, watching the app’s loading signal. Ten minutes. That’s when the nearest car can get to me. I blow out a sigh of relief and wrap my puffy coat tighter against the winter cold. I can make that work. In my headphones, Summer walker is breathlessly singing about throwing a wish in the well. I love this song because you can hear the smile in her voice. I take a few more deep breaths and remind myself thatthis timethings are going to work out. For good. I wait for my heartbeat to slow from a sprint to a jog. The truth is, I’d be a knot of anxiety, even without the backed-up trains. I'm a 26-year-old graphic designer, and I have the worst possible luck with jobs. First there was the theater company t

And that gives me enough courage to settle in and fasten my seat belt. “Here’s the thing,” I say. “I’m not getting out. So, we can keep arguing and both be late, or we can stop arguing and both get there on time. Either way, we’re doing it together.” Nathan sizes me up, from my black flats, to my itchy gray suit, to my blond curls tied back in a ponytail, to the mutinous set of my jaw. For the first time all morning, I get the sense that he’s really seeing me. For some reason, the idea makes my pulse speed up. “Are you trying to tell if I’m bluffing?” I ask. “No,” he says shortly. “I don’t gamble.” He leans forward, meeting the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Drop me off first. There’s an extra hundred in it for you.” “Drop me off first,” I say. “Please. I can’t be late. I can give you...” I rack my brains, “a pumpkin spice bagel.” “You’re both going to the same block,” the driver says, in a voice that suggests his day has already been far too long. “Oh.” I hesitate. “D

I stand and leave without bothering to say goodbye.It’s just after 3:00 p.m. when my assistant Lucia steps into the office and coughs discreetly. In one of her many stylishly asymmetrical loose black suits and her signature brunette pixie cut, she In addition to being a flawless administrative assistant, she can get information out of anyone.Also, she’s on my side.Everyone at the company can be divided into basically two camps: the people on my dad’s side, and the people on mine. My side has most of the admin team (since I don’t patronize them), the accounting department (since I care about little things like tax law and financial solvency), and generally all the account managers, copywriters, and project managers who are actually good at their jobs. My dad’s side has the sales team, everyone who likes reminiscing about the good old days more than doing their jobs, and a few ambitious kiss-ups in account management who appreciate how easy my dad is to manipulate. Also weirdly the