The woman's blonde hair rested over her shoulders in bouncy waves. She sat upright with her upturned nose high in the air as she waited for the date her father had arranged for her."Hi, Veronica, I'm sorry I'm late," he apologized for keeping the young lady waiting as soon as he got there.Veronica turned to her right where the voice was coming from and her breath hitched in her throat. Her father told her that the person she was going to see was the son of his long time friend and business partner. She had mapped out different images of the person in her head but none of them came close to describe how handsome the man that stared at her was."Are you okay?" Chase asked wkty concern when she stared at him for longer than was normal and she was snapped out of her daydream.""Yeah, um, hi. I'm Veronica," she said nervously and stood up to offer him a handshake."I already know that," he replied with his million dollar smile and took her hand in his and handed her the flowers.Veronica
With shaky hands, Laura returned to the table with Veronica's order.Veronica frowned at the food and was about to say something when she realized that Laura had gotten her order wrong but Chase beat her to it."What is this?" He asked and Laura's eyes snapped up to meet his. "Are you deaf or just plain stupid that you couldn't get a simple order correctly?" He asked with annoyance."The…..sir…" she immediately corrected her slip up."Shut up and get this rubbish out of here and come back with my correct order if you don't want to lose your job," Veronica did the rest of the talking.It irked her how the girl seemed to know Theo, who she now liked and even though Theo had made it clear that they didn't know each other, she could tell he was lying and she planned to do everything to belittle the girl.Chase on the other hand, really enjoyed how scared and confused Laura looked at their outburst. She had been so scared and anxious that she got the order wrong and they made sure to ridic
"Miss, kindly come with me," he told Laura quietly and before she could process his words, he was already pulling her elbow away.She couldn't even say anything. Her only reaction was the tears streaming down her face as she turned around to look at Chase who had a hard expression on his face.She didn't want to cause a scene because she knew that that would make matters worse for her, so she just followed the manager out of the building in silence."Please sir, it was a mistake," she finally begged when the weight of what was going on dawned on her but by then, they were already in the lobby."I don't give second chances and even if I wanted to, you heard the man," the manager said with no emotions. "Make sure she doesn't show her face here again," he instructed the guards and they pushed out the rest of the way.Crying heavily now, she moved to the side of the road and her knees gave in and wobbled under her, causing her to fall on the ground in the parking lot.She could already te
"I don't mean to pry but from what that lady said, it seems like you both had a relationship," she started as she turned to the side to gauge his reaction.Chase had expected her question, hence he wasn't too surprised that she asked."Yes," he said simply. His tone came out flat to discourage her from asking any more questions but Veronica wasn't having it."Why would you date someone like that?" She asked and scrunched up her nose."I don't see how that's any of your business," he snapped. He had finally had enough of her meddling in his business all night.She jumped a bit from his outburst and her lips quivered."Sorry. Sorry for snapping at you, I'm just tired," he apologized."That's okay," she muttered.The rest of the ride was in silence and soon, her house came into view."Let me walk you to the front," he said and she nodded happily.They slid out of the car that was already held open for them and walked to the front of the house."We should do this again and soon. I had so
"Stop staring at the door like a moron, Evelyn, he isn't coming back," Alice said after they had watched the press release that morning. "Boy, that guy sure was sneaky. Vice president? I can't believe he came down and mingled with us. I knew there was something off about him," Alice rattled on as she pushed her cart out of the door.Evelyn was finally left alone to her thoughts.She pulled out her phone and her thumb hovered over the number that she had dialed and texted a million times over the past couple of weeks.She couldn't believe that he would hide something that huge from her."I'm such a fool," she said and swiped her fingers till she deleted his number and the first year slipped down from her eyes.The rest of the day passed with her being in a daze and she couldn't wait for it to be over.Closing time soon reached and she was the first person to leave the hotel and head home.She got to the house and something seemed off."I'm sure I locked it this morning," she mumbled to
Chase's fist stopped mid-air and his breath hitched when the door opened to reveal Evelyn.He had thought of what to say and even rehearsed it in the car on his way but now that he was there, all the words disappeared into this air.Evelyn stared at him for a couple of seconds and her face hardened when she realized that she wasn't dreaming and he was really there."Hi," he started, not knowing what else to say.Her first instinct was to shut the door on his face, which was what she did but he was quick enough to hold the door."Eve, please hear me out," he pleaded.She was about to say something when her brother's voice interrupted her."Evelyn, who's at the door?" He asked as he closed the distance to the door.She looked over her shoulder and turned back to Chase but before her brother could reach the door, she reacted."Don't worry about it, Malcolm. It's no one," she yelled and after a muffled 'okay', he retreated back into the house and she closed the door behind her, fully step
"Eve," Chase called and rested his head on the cool wood of the door but he was only met with silence.He stayed that way for a long time and when it was clear that she wasn't coming out again, he walked back to his car with slumped shoulders.He drove himself after making sure to tell the guards not to follow him because he didn't want to overwhelm her.As soon as he reached the car and sat down, a single tear rolled down from his eyes."Fuck!" He growled and hit his head on the steering wheel.After he woke up in Theo's body, he had promised himself never to cry for a woman, which was exactly what he was doing.Only this time, it was different.He was crying because he had hurt the one person that truly cared about him. Not his status, not his wealth. Just him, Theo, without the big surname.The hurt that she felt had been evident in her empty eyes, which made him feel even more guilty."I fucked up. Big time, and I've lost her," he said in a resigned voice.He stared into space for
His footsteps echoed loudly but somehow, the sound of loud chattering surpassed it as he drew nearer to the office.Patrick's secretary saw him and her eyes bulged out of their sockets but it was already too late to alert her boss.Without saying a word to her, Chase closed the remaining distance between him and the door, pushing it open when he was close enough."Kaitlyn, I told you not to let anyone in," Patrick groaned without looking up from where he sat on the couch.Patrick and Paul were both seated on the couch, exchanging stories and laughing at the top of their lungs, ignoring all the work that needed to be done."Is this what you're paid to do?" Chase's gentle but cold voice filled the small space of the room and the two men snapped their heads to the right to see the new entrée.Patrick squinted his eyes to see properly and they widened the next second when he realized who it was and he shot up from his seat, Paul following after him."Theo…it's really true," Patrick stutte
"Quickly, place that there," the empress instructed a group of people with a bunch of flowers."Yes, Dame," they said and did as they were told."Mother, you'll only get yourself sick from all that walking around," Imelda said."My grandson is coming back today," the empress replied and continued walking around to make sure everything was in place. "Everything has to be perfect," she added."One would think we're preparing for a president's arrival," Imelda teased.The empress waved her off and continued checking the decorations."Why don't you rest?" She placed her hands on her mother's shoulders. "I'll take care of everything down here. Your grandson wouldn't be happy if he comes back and you're all stressed out," she told her."There's till a lot to be done and little time and…." The empress started."Mother….." Imelda drew out. "I'll take care of everything. Just take a nap," she told her."Are you sure?" The empress asked skeptically."Yes," Imelda assured her."Fine. Make sure t
"Mother, why aren't you saying anything?" Jacob requested angrily, his hands balled in fists on both sides.The empress, not even sparing him a glass continued sipping leisurely on her coffee.Jacob fumed angrily but his wife, Regina, placed a pacifying palm on his arm, subtly telling him to calm down."Mother, you can't just buy the whole Union consortium," he continued.The empress considered ignoring him again this time, but decided not to.She dropped her cup majestically and squared her shoulders before turning to him."I can and I have," she said in a bored tone.The union consortium belonged to Regina's family. Jacob had seen it as a plan B because he wasn't so sure about his place in Gab and Gabe's consortium with Theo in the picture, hence, he planned to get Regina to inherit the company after her father but much to his surprise, the empress had bought the company."Why?" He snapped."Jacob," the empress said sharply, narrowing her eyes in slits. "I think you forget whom you
"Why my daughter?" Evelyn's mother asked.Chase stared at her as he tried to make sense of the question.Silver caught on his confusion and proceeded to clarify her question."Out of every other person, why did you choose to help my daughter?" She asked.Chase sighed softly before answering."Your daughter helped me first," he said loud and clear. "So the question should rightly be directed to your daughter," he said.Malcolm, who had been leaning against the pillar scoffed and walked away."There's something I've been wanting to ask but I guess now that we've met, I should just ask you," silver said."Ask away," he said with a welcoming smile."How did you and my daughter meet?" She asked.The question about how her daughter had met someone so high and mighty had been on her mind ever since but she hadn't had the right opportunity to ask.Chase smiled and rubbed his hands together."Well, we..""Mom," Evelyn's voice from the staircase cut him off.Chase stood up and rushed towards he
Chase was already half asleep when the text message from Evelyn had come in.He rubbed his sleepy eyes, picked up the phone and read through the message.A soft sigh escaped his lips when he read the words."Evelyn…." He muttered under his breath and shook his head before tossing the phone to the side and going back to sleep.He was woken up by the blaring of his alarm clock the next morning and he sat up groggily on the bed.His long-term "mini vacation" had finally come to an end and it was time to return home.He picked up his phone again and skimmed through the many unread messages but frowned when none of them was from Evelyn.He dialed her number but got the automated feedback before it went straight to voicemail."I guess this is it," he muttered to himself.He got up and walked straight to the bathroom to get ready and when he was done with his quick shower, walked into the closet.All of his things were already packed and ready and he got dressed quickly.There was a soft kno
"I know…it's far and…." She started to say."Heck it is," Malcom interrupted her immediately and she sighed softly.Their mother quickly put her hand over Malcolm's hand to calm him down."Let's hear her first," their mother's soft voice echoed.The glare on Malcolm's face didn't lessen but he was quiet now.Evelyn took a deep breath. Even before she started talking, she already knew how difficult the conversation was going to be, given that her mother was still recovering and Malcolm was yet to get a good job. At some point, she even considered going selfish, but she just had to put it out there. "As I was saying, I got a scholarship in NYU," she repeated but her voice was no longer as firm as the first time."Scholarships at NYU aren't easy to come by, sweetie," her mother said softly, goading her to tell them more.Evelyn looked down at her intertwined fingers because that part was going to be a little difficult but it couldn't be avoided. She wasn't going to lie to her family."I
Quietly, she followed him into the car which was already held open for them.She smiled inwardly at all the respect he was getting because she believed he deserved nothing less, given all that he had gone through."Do you want to get ice cream?" Chase broke the silence between them after contemplating for a while.Getting ice cream after lunch or dinner had always been their thing.Evelyn was still overwhelmed from everything that had happened and had barely been able to get food past her throat."Maybe next time," she said with a polite smile.Her words made Chase happier than she knew. It meant that she was actually considering a next time with him, which only meant that that day wasn't going to be the last time they met."How did you do it?" She asked out of the blue, turning in her seat so she could face him.The partition of the car was up, so they were separated from the driver and could have any conversation without fear of being eavesdropped on."Do what?" Chase asked and arch
Evelyn's eyes skimmed through the words on her screen again and again as she tried to understand what she was seeing.She looked up at Theo who had a small smile on his face as he watched her because he had a good idea what had her like that."Wha….what's this?" She asked with shaky hands. "Do you know about this?" She showed him the screen of her phone.He read through the email and leaned back in his seat."You know about this," she said softly. "I can't accept this," she shook her head and started to type on her phone but he gently took it away from her."Eve…" he started but she interrupted him."No, this is too much, I can't accept it," she said hurriedly."You've always wanted this," he pointed out.She reached for her phone but he kept it out of her reach."It was a dream. A dream I had no hope of fulfilling," she argued."And an opportunity has come for you to fulfill it," he countered."I can't accept this," she shook her head. Chase studied her for a few seconds without say
"I know it was you who paid my mom's bills and helped my brother out of jail," she said softly. "I…" Chase didn't know what to say. He had tried as much as possible to hide it from her because he knew how difficult it was for her to accept help. She had done life on her own for a long time and she felt that any help rendered to her was a set up."I just want to let you know how grateful I am and I'll work as hard as I can to pay back every cent," she said and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat.She hadn't expected her little speech to get that emotional and she wished with everything in her that he knew how grateful she was."I don't need anything back from you," he shook his head. "I didn't do any of that to get anything in return. I did it because I know how much your family means to you and you're my friend. Friends help each other in need," he told her."But I've never helped you," she said and choked on a sob."You have," he replied without missing a beat and leaned
With a small smile and a shake of his head, Chase tucked the phone back into his pocket but not before sending a quick email to someone."Take me to Hovers," he told the driver, who nodded once and turned on the engine.The ride to Hovers was smooth in contrast to Chase's bumpy thoughts on what to say when he gets there.He hadn't expected her to reply but she did and he was going to see her.He tapped his long fingers on his knees impatiently as each second of the ride felt like a lifetime but soon, the driver was pulling outside of hovers.Hovers was a small café downtown. It was far from the whole bustle of the busy city and Chase could really pin that kind of place to Evelyn.The fresh greenery on the outside and the minimal but cozy decor on the inside was definitely her scene.He pushed the door to the welcoming space that smelled of coffee beans open and he looked around for a couple of seconds before his eyes caught her honey brown hair in a corner.He cleared his throat and r