Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 271 - Chapitre 280

"This isn't funny," Lawrence muttered."No one said it was." I giggled, glancing at him. "It's just... laughing is a side effect of alcohol."Our shoulders were touching, actually—my entire right side was pressed up against his left. It felt natural, just like it used to be before the fight at my house."Still going to argue that you're mature when your first instinct was to hide under the bed?" he asked, this time in a tone that was softer, almost nostalgic."Oh, sure, because letting Amber, Ryan, and Emma catch us arguing alone in a room would've been better, right?" I replied."The funniest part would've been if they thought like you and actually checked under the bed," he said, amused."That would've been devastating," I laughed.We both smiled, him looking at the floor, me watching him. In the dim light and this close, I found myself wondering if there was a way to fix things, a way to go back to how we'd been before. Lawrence wasn't just anyone; he'd been my friend longer

It was a great, bitter irony that she'd come back into my life just to turn it upside down again. Ignoring my request to stay away from my wedding, barging in where no one had called her. I hadn't factored in the level of Sara's stubbornness. Leading a project that would undermine hers or lying to her over and over about wanting her far from me had done nothing to stop her from coming closer. The more I pushed her away, the more she came toward me.And I didn't like it. I didn't like what had just happened between us. The way she had let me touch her, the way my own body had reacted to her presence in that closet, and how, under the bed, I'd felt a flicker of hope.For what? For her to run as soon as Amber and Ryan's noises stopped. Which only added to the humiliation. The only way Sara had ever responded to me as a man was in the dark, hidden away, where she couldn't see me, couldn't speak, just caught up in the thrill of what we had overheard.I wasn't angry with her. I was angry

"You asked me to do it. Don't you remember?"Unfortunately, I didn't. But if Elliot said so, it was probably true. I gave him a few more instructions and then ended the call. I headed to the shower, hoping the water would wash away those inappropriate memories that had no business haunting me.Lawrence and I had been victims of circumstance; the rest wasn't up to us.-I tried eating, tried going back to sleep, but my body betrayed me both times. I couldn't focus on anything—not even on the movie playing on my screen. My mind kept drifting back to my phone, so I lay on the couch, scrolling through messages and hoping for something to distract me.My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it immediately, only to see a message from Amber asking where I'd disappeared and why I hadn't said goodbye."If only you knew..." I sighed, scrolling through the other unread messages.There was one from Ryan, one from Marie, and a few from other friends... but nothing from Lawrence. By now, he should hav

If you wanted to secure an important deal, it was always best to handle it yourself. This advice held even more weight when I considered that my competition was nipping at my heels. So, here I was, sipping coffee from a flowery little cup on an uncomfortable two-seater sofa, trying to secure what should rightfully be mine—the third building for my project.We were inside the building in question, in one of the few occupied apartments of this dilapidated property. The main obstacle to buying the building was the tenants: a single family that occupied the apartments. They didn't want to move out, which was why the owner hadn't been able to sell. That's why I needed to convince them to leave and sell it to me.Unfortunately, the Sanders family had a major hoarding problem. The apartment was crowded with cardboard boxes full of random objects, and there were other damaged items piled around. The air was thick with dust and humidity, far from pleasant. But at least the family seemed recep

I'd held back long enough, and I couldn't keep putting this off or it would drive me completely insane. More insane than I already felt, trying to ignore what had happened. To top it off, Lawrence just sat there, silent, as if he'd forgotten how to speak—until he finally remembered he had a tongue."You still remember that?" he asked.I faked confusion in the most exaggerated way possible."Remember? Oh, of course not. I have no memory whatsoever of you grabbing my chest or pressing yourself against me. I'm just so forgetful!" I shot back, dripping with sarcasm.Lawrence tried to mask his reaction, but I saw it—the faint blush that crept up his cheeks."Now, you're going to act like this," he muttered, refusing to look at me. He fussed with his jacket even though it didn't need adjusting, hiding his embarrassment behind a mask of indifference."How am I supposed to act, Lawrence? You think I'm just used to people touching me without explanation whenever they feel like it?" I snap