How To Pick Locks

I go to the boutique my son has invested in to pick up the gown I've ordered for a banquet. Just as I'm about to leave, the manager, Wendy Reed, stops me and says that I still owe them money. She pulls out the bill. I look down at it and see that the boutique is charging me 300 thousand dollars for their creativity, 500 thousand dollars for fabric therapy, and one million dollars for their chief designer's mental wellness. On top of other expenses, the price totals up to two million dollars. I laugh incredulously and send a message to my secretary. "Withdraw our funding from my son's company and this boutique!"

My boyfriend gave me away to his arch-nemesis because he lost a bet. On the same night, I was driven to his arch-nemesis’ house. Before leaving, he expressed remorse, “Anya, just bear with it for a bit. I will come to pick you up in a month.” That night, the man pinned me to the bed and started unbuttoning my shirt. As he traced his cold fingertips against my collarbone, he said, deep and seductively, “So that’s the scumbag you fell for? Why don’t you be with me instead? I can give you everything you want.” I leaned forward and kissed him right away. “Sure.”

When retired 80s rockstar and Casino owner, Jake, sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in Mississipi, he didn't believe it was real. One by one he's watched hounds pick off his friends one by one. Now they've come for him. Shortly after her husband's death, Nadia discovered her husband was in the mafia and his death was not an accident. But why did they have him killed? The answer lies in a forgotten briefcase and his best friend, Jake, who happens to be her rockstar crush from back in her younger days. Now Nadia and Jake must fight the demons for their lives and the casino as they slowly fall for each other.

After being homeschooled by her mother in a cabin in the middle of the woods for 17 years, coming to the city and living with her Alpha father and going to a real high school is quite an adjustment for Ava. She doesn't look or act the same as any of the other girls at her school which causes them to pick on her. And with her stepmother and stepbrother causing trouble for her at home, Ava finds solace in the one person that she can turn to after arriving in the city. A fellow classmate, Wesley. Will he be able to help her navigate her way through high school and find the person that she needs to be? Or is there something more sinister going on, threatening to stand in the way of their new love?

Due to the world being overrun with wolves, it is almost impossible to find your true mate, but that is exactly what happens to Willow Green. To ensure her mother and little brother survives, Willow makes a choice. A decision that sees her paraded on a stage in front of desperate humans and being sold to the highest bidder. Only the highest bidder isn't human. Zane Hallow is the Alpha of Night Watch. The last thing he was expecting was to pick up a delicious scent on the way to a meeting. Slipping in amongst the crowd, he is disgusted by what he sees, that is until Willow walks on the stage. In that second, he knew he wasn't leaving until she was his.

"You're going to get yourself killed, Sofia." Sofia Russo has heard those words her entire career, but they've never stopped her before. As New York's most relentless prosecutor, she's made it her mission to take down the Moretti crime family. But when she locks eyes with Luca Moretti across a crowded courtroom, she realizes this case is unlike any other. Luca Moretti isn't just the heir to a criminal empire—he's a man with secrets that could bring the entire city to its knees. Brilliant, dangerous, and impossibly alluring, he sees right through Sofia's tough exterior to the fire that drives her. As Sofia delves deeper into the Moretti family's web of corruption, she finds herself caught in a deadly dance with Luca. Each step brings them closer to the truth—and to each other. But in a world where loyalty is everything and betrayal means death, their growing attraction could be their downfall. With her career on the line and her heart at stake, Sofia must decide: Is bringing down the Moretti empire worth losing everything—including the one man who might be her salvation?

Over five years I’ve lived a bittersweet lie as David Hargrove’s kept woman, Maria Bell. David’s shown no interest in me beyond what he wants. Love’s a bitter pill to love when it's not returned. I'm bought and paid for. Kept in a gilded cage. David suspects nothing of the secrets I hold. Tonight, David announced he’s marrying my stepsister. He doesn’t know. The level of betrayal I’ve experienced is unbelievable. Everything becomes complicated as the lies surface. Leaving and facing it alone are my only choices. I’m living in fear as I pick up pieces of a life, I believed lost. Blackmail, sabotage, and intrigue dog my steps. I don’t know who I can trust or how to win. I won’t surrender without a fight this time. They don’t recognize me. They won’t see me coming. My name is David Hargrove, and someone is trying to destroy my family. I must marry my rival’s daughter. His stepdaughter signed the contract. Before we learned, she couldn’t deliver the Belgrave empire to me. She can help me secure my family’s empire as my fiancée. I need the ugly biological daughter, Maria Belgrave, who’s hiding. Things get confusing. Maria Belgrave sent two women to represent her. One is my Maria. My missing woman. The betrayal and conflict of interest still stand. I will say when our contract has ended. How can I work with her? I know nothing about her. She owes me answers and loyalty. Perhaps I’ll use this to my advantage. When David learns of Maria’s past life. Will he help her? Or use her and take over the business himself? It starts with an engagement and the death of a patriarch.

Lucas Martin had never been so tolerant since his transfer to White Day High after being expelled from Aspho. He would recklessly use his newly-discovered Fire Starter skills to protect himself, but always been stopped by his cousin Moon Martin. But his misconception about him not needing anyone made him drove Moon away as he always did. When he learned about the news of an upcoming Tournament game, he started to partake and hoped that he will be selected to be a part of the school's group. He will soon realize how bad his transfer into White Day High had gotten after the Aspho Principal, Mister Vacio, insisted on his approval to either transfer back to Aspho High or stop participating in the White Day's group. Lurking with this dilemma wan an identity that said to be Lucas' past self that he didn't know if it's true or not. But as he continued fighting over his stay at his school with the rage of everyone and the aim to defeat Aspho High, he started to pick up pieces of information regarding the past self he was told while the tournament slowly come. Those intricate circumstances left Lucas with no other option but to defeat Aspho High with the hatred he has for Mister Vacio who kept getting onto his ways. The Division Skills Tournament was about to confront what its nature has only hinted from hearsays and its danger no one dared to whisper. The life-or-death fight over the victory of his school has a lot to hide than anyone anticipated.

Fire suddenly breaks out at the hotel where we're hosting our wedding. My fiance, Alan Godwin, doesn't hesitate to pick up Brenda Larkin, my cousin who has already collapsed out of fright, and rush out to safety. Meanwhile, my parents and older brother hurriedly cart away the wedding gift Brenda has made. They don't want her to get sad if the gift is damaged in any way. As for me, I've twisted my ankle, making it inconvenient for me to escape from the hotel. Everyone has already forgotten all about me, so I end up getting severe burns all over my body. When they look at the bandages wrapped around my body, they shoot me disgusted looks. "Why are you such a jinx? How is it possible for a fire to break out at your own wedding? Thanks to you, Brenda has fainted out of shock!" "Well, it's not like you're suited for any public appearances when you look like this, anyway. Brenda's figure is similar to yours. Why don't you let her replace you in the wedding?" I just nod calmly and agree to the suggestion. After that, I sort out the details of getting dispatched overseas for my job with my boss. One month later, I board my flight on the day Brenda is set to wed Alan. I no longer want Alan, who's blind to the truth, and my family, who are nothing but biased toward Brenda. But why is it that they are filled with regret after I leave them?

Malachi Brooks is a wealthy, eligible bachelor with everything going for him. He is living the life many would want, but he is missing something - The love of a real woman. Of course he has the pick of any woman he chooses; women would bend over backwards to bare his children. He is very attractive, intelligent and he has a lot to offer but he wants something different than what has been getting. Brianna Martin wants something other than being a booty call. She is a thick sistah with a lot going for her. She wants to find real love with a real man who would appreciate her for being her. Lately, Brianna has been thinking it's inevitable for her to be single for the rest of her life. On his way to work, Malachi sees the woman of his dreams but doesn't know how to get in touch with her. Yet he is determined to find out who she is. Meanwhile, Brianna gets an inappropriate phone call that livens things up for her. She does the unthinkable and steals the caller’s number to hunt him down. She’s intrigued to find out who is behind that sexy voice. As luck would have it, Brianna finds the caller and begins calling him to give him a taste of his own medicine and they click! A meet-up is planned between Brianna and the caller. Brianna is hesitant and decides to have a back up plan. The plan goes awry leaving confessions needing to be made. Will Brianna be able to come clean? Will Malachi see Brianna for who she really is?