Stephanie took off her heel shoes and threw her bag on the bed. She dialed the number of one of her subordinates. She sat on the bed and drank from a bottle of water while she waited for the call to connect.
"Hello, ma'am.""Who is he?" She asked."We couldn't find anything about him.""What?" Stephanie stood up from the bed.After watching the footage from the party and seeing how much Ryan had sprayed on her brother, she had been curious to know who he really is. He had not even come back to pack the money. Just how much does he have to have wasted a million dollars? She had ordered her subordinates, The elite hackers who had helped hack into very secured systems before, to get information about Ryan."Apart from what you already know; he is from the orphanage and he saved your Patriarch, there is nothing about him that we could get," the man at the other end said."Alright," she saiThe gate guard couldn't believe the guy dressed in navy blue suit was laughing. Does he seem like a joke to the man? Of all time, this isn't the time a random person should come here and cause a scene. The new boss would be here any moment from now. "Actually —" Ryan started to say but the gate guard interrupted him."Didn't you hear what I said? I said you should go." Each passing second was making the gate guard more furious. Inside the compound were the rest of the workers lined up, ready to give the new boss a very remarkable welcome. Would this man, this serious man, be the one to ruin all the plans everyone has made?"I am—"The gate guard stamped his foot on the ground. "Have you not been listening to me?" He snapped. "We. All of us…" the gate guard pointed toward the gate. "All the workers in this company are inside there, lined up, waiting for our new boss. This isn't the time for you to be here. Do you get it?" He snapped the last part of the sentence.Ryan smiled. "I am th
"Let him be, after all, he was doing his job," Ryan said.The gate guard raised his head to look at Ryan. Was the executive director really letting him go freely? He couldn't believe it!"His only problem is that he treats people based on how they are dressed. I hope he already learnt a lesson from this," Ryan said."I promise, Sir, I won't ever look down on anyone. I will respect everyone I see, Sir," the gate guard said.Brenda was quite surprised by Ryan's decision to forgive the gate guard that easily. This side of him must be what the Hill family were used to, that was probably why they treated him the way they did. She was quite worried that the workers here might take advantage of his kind heartedness and look down on him thinking they would get away with it. Planning to call his attention to it later on, she pushed the thought behind her mind."I look forward to having a great time working with all of you,
Ryan shocked Brice more with his reply. "What if they knew? Everyone starts from somewhere."Brice scoffed. "What?" Definitely, Ryan has too much confidence for someone who doesn't have any experience in this job."What exactly are you getting at, Mr Ryan?"Ryan shrugged. "I am just trying to tell you that you don't have to be worried about the fact that I am not used to this. I can learn anything." Brice stopped pacing around. He had tried to think of anything that the board of members might have seen in Ryan to have made him the executive director, but so far, he had not been able to figure out any reason why someone like him would be placed in a position like this."Mr Ryan, what exactly were you expecting when you came here? Did you by any chance think that you were coming here to laze around?" "I—"Brice raised his hand to stop Ryan. "I am not done, Mr Ryan. This is the only way
Ryan woke up and thought it was a wet dream at start. Then he realized that he did feel an additional weight on his bed. The warmth of her breasts pressed against his bare chest.He turned to his side, saw his wife climbing into his bed. A part of him that convinced him he was imagining things, made him reach out his hand to touch her. A gasp escaped his lips as he felt his wife's soft skin, warm against his fingers. He tried to sit up in the bed, but she lay completely over him before he could. The smooth and slippery touch spread along his body through the warmth. "Steph…" he doubted she heard him before she pressed her lips on his. Her lips were soft and moist, carrying her scent. He and Stephanie had been married for three years, but she still didn’t allow Ryan to lay a finger on her, let alone any other more intimate contact. What was with her today? Whatever the reason, this was the first time Stephanie had ever shown him herself. Fire crackled under Ryan's skin as her
Ryan felt stupid as he stood up and slowly gathered his clothes and wore them back. It had been there. The signs that Stephanie didn't love him. But he had ignored them, hoping that someday she would see how much he loved her and reciprocate his feelings. And the humiliations too. The ones he had to go through with Stephanie's family because he seemed to them as nothing but poverty. He sat down on the chair and buried his head in his palm. The woman he loved only did see him as a substitute for her ex-boyfriend. If he could feel free about the realization that Stephanie would never love him, it would make him feel less stupid. He couldn't understand how his life had gotten to this point where he has almost become a house husband just to support his wife‘s career, as she asked for him at the wedding night. His mind wandered off to the past three years and the realization of what his choice has brought him. Ryan heard a shattering sound. He raised his head slowly to see the m
Stephanie stared at Ryan in surprise. Had he just mentioned a divorce? "What?" Her voice was almost silent as she thought about what Ryan had just told her."Divorce. I want it. Today," Ryan said.Stephanie took a few steps away from him, wondering if he had gone crazy. He's a useless man who has no ambition and is only married to her because of her family's wealth. A divorce? Is this a joke?Even if Ryan couldn't do anything, he could at least take care of the household. Without him, it was like losing a nanny.A divorce was also bad for her family image.Besides, she had sworn to her late grandfather - the former head of the family - that they would stay married for some unknown reason. If only she hadn't made the stupid mistake of saying Anderson's name last night, it wouldn't have come to this. She tried to think. Think of something to make Ryan give up the idea of divorce. "Do you have to make the rest of today difficult for me? For something you don't mean?" Frustration was b
The car door opened and a butler walked toward Ryan, about two bodyguards escorted him.The butler bowed slightly before Ryan. "Sir, your three-year period agreement with the master has ended and since you couldn't keep Miss Stephanie with you all these while, you should return to New York and inherit the family business according to your promise."Ryan was fifteen years old when he was abducted by people he couldn't recognize, and he had lost his memory since then. When he at the orphanage home, he accidentally saved a man sprawled on the floor. The man turned out to be the master of Hill's family. He took Ryan to the Hill family and three years ago, Stephanie's grandfather, to show his appreciation to Ryan, asked that Ryan get married to Stephanie. Ryan had been under the impression that the Master of the Hill's family might have arranged the marriage for an extra purpose, but he never knew why. The Joy of being with Stephanie tempered his doubts.On the wedding night, Stephanie
"Master said you don't have to return home now if you don't want to, but you have to manage the subsidiary of the conglomerate here in Atlanta," the butler said as Ryan read through the contract."What if I don't manage the subsidiary and at the same time don't return home?" "I am afraid, Sir, Master would have to retaliate against the Hill family."Ryan glanced sharply at the butler. "What?" He asked, more shocked than surprised. "Dad told you that?""Yes, Sir."Ryan shifted his weight on one leg. His father had him cornered. Before Stephanie's grandfather died, the man had made Ryan promise that he would take good care of the Hill family business. Even after what had happened between him and Stephanie in the past few hours, he couldn't bring himself to watch her family business get destroyed because of him. But wait a minute… He glanced at the butler who was waiting for his response. "Dad told you he would retaliate against the Hill family if I don't manage the subsidiary?" "Yes