“What kind of despicable act is that?!” She explained angrily and shot out the chair. “I cannot believe that you are a cad who would force me to accept you in my bed against my will, Well absolutely not!” Her voice filled with outrage still did not hide the fear that crept in.Thor remained calm and reclined in his seat and studied her face lazily while Garnet forced herself to hold his stare.“I am certain that you and your family would be able to give classes on how to be despicable…” Thor eyed her and a pink blush of embarrassment rose up her neck. Moreover, I am a gentleman and i would never force a woman, I have no need to do that.” he said and Garnet scoffed while he grinned at her prickly reaction.She stared at him and had to silently agree with him, even without the appeal of the money and nice clothes and expensive accessories he had always been an attractive man. An image of him shirtless rose unbidden to her mind and she had to clamp down on it as she blushed.“I do not ag
Within the course of the next couple of weeks Garnet had gone about seeking a new job at the companies which had show interest in poaching her from her previous job and she discovered to her shock that they did not want to have anything to do with her anymore. From there she went on to companies that were not her ideal as she was overqualified to work in those places but at least she would be able to earn some money and she found to her shock that she was turned away from every single place she tried at despite her glowing CV. At a point she started to consider working as a waitress but could not get herself to do it, it was too degrading and would not pay enough money.To their humiliation her family had been forced to move out of the house and they were now staying at a roach motel thanks to the meager savings that Garnet had left in her account, money which they knew they had to stretch and which was quickly running out because even though the four rooms they had gotten were dirt
“Your family cannot move in, at least not right now.” He said and leaned back in his chair watching the anger on Garnet’s face switch to confusion.“What do you mean? Do you have more outrageous demands you want me to comply with?” She asked, swallowing her fear.“Your family’s home which has fallen into shambles from the constant state of disrepair is currently not fitting for a man of my status to inhabit, I am going to need to have renovations done first.” Thor said with a smirk.He was right about the house, it had looked the same for years and it honestly needed some work done. Garnet had thought that with her promotion she would be able to have some renovations done to the house and restore it to its former glory.“Fine.” She said with gritted teeth. “I guess you will just have to give me a budget to work with and I can get to work immediately.” Thor laughed uproariously and shook his head while Garnet frowned. “You are mistaken to think that I would trust you on such an import
“You should hurry up don’t you think, it is your first day at work and we don’t want Thor mad at you do we? You did say resumption was at eight am didn’t you?” Beth came in and cooed as she tried to make Garnet hurry.It was a few minutes past eight in the morning and Garnet was sitting leisurely in her dressing robe on the couch and watching the television as if she did not have a care in the world while her mother hovered nervously.“It is despicable that we are selling Garnet off to that man.” Stan glowered at his mother and she straightened up and frowned before chastising him.“Nobody is selling Garnet, she chose to marry him of her own will and he is being extremely generous now after the way that we have treated him all this time. You should be very grateful.”Garnet ignored their squabbling and continued savoring her coffee, she intended on taking her sweet time and no one was going to hurry her up until she was good and ready. “You know Garnet, you should have agreed to work
“What are you doing in here, Where is Thor?” Garnet straightened up when she realized that it was an amused looking Laverne who had been sitting in the chair. “The question should be why are you so late? Is this how bad your unprofessionalism is? Not only are you a two penny gold digger but you also don’t know how to behave in a cooperate setting or do you think that you get a pass just because you happen to be married to the boss?” Laverne mocked. Garnet gritted her teeth and ignored Laverne’s pointed insult because she knew she was goading her. If she had known that this was what she was going to meet at the office then she would have come in on time in order to avoid this stuck up woman who would look for any chance to have a fight with her. “Where is Thor?” Garnet asked again through thin lips.Laverne stared at her for a minute and started to play with the pens on table.“Did you think that he would wait for you like a love lost puppy? Well he had better things to do and he lef
Garnet reluctantly opened her eyes and peeked from under her eyelashes at the wide chest in a mauve shirt with a perfectly knotted tie and a black suit right before her and swallowed nervously before looking up to see Thor’s face and he looked displeased with her. She flushed in embarrassment at being caught snooping in his private space.The domineering look on his face floored her and made her feel like she was in danger, she took a step back and he took a step forward. She took two steps back and he took two steps forward that brought them toe to toe. Feeling uncomfortable Garnet kept walking backwards until her back hit a plush wall and Thor loomed over her.Garnet awkwardly cleared her throat then said apologetically. “I am really sorry, I should not have come in here...” “Shhhhh” Thor put his index finger to his lips and Garnet watched mesmerized, unable to say another word. Before she could realize what he intended to do, Thor grabbed both of her hands and held them up again
Garnet was instructed to go to Thor’s office and wait for him so that they would leave together. She sat in the chair and watched him in his rolled up sleeves and walked around the room making calls.He exuded a power and confidence that she had never seen before and was awed all over. He should consider getting a job as an actor because his acting was unbelievable. The switch from henpecked husband to powerful CEO was too staggering for her to fully comprehend.He finished with his work at last and unrolled the sleeves and wore his suit and beckoned for her to come over and help him fix his cuff links. She held her breath from the proximity between them and realized that her hands were shaking trying to fix the buckles. She hurriedly finished and stepped away so that he would not notice that he made her nervous, he did not need any more ammunition against her.Together they strode out of the office and into the elevator. Garnet intently studied the wall and refused to look beside her
“Get up! get up Mrs Woods, Garnet. Why are you letting him do this to you?” Bill demanded and tried to pull them up while they resisted and Thor just watched in amusement.“What do you think you are doing?” Bill turned to Thor when he saw that no one was willing to listen to him and just ignored him.Thor simply watched him and Bill bit his bottom lip as he remembered how he had been knocked out by this man, he certainly did not want a repeat so he turned to Garnet and held her hands.“Why are you letting this man do this to you, I am here now and I will fix everything all you need to do is…” his words trailed off as his eyes caught something and he leaned closer to have a better look.“What happened to you, why are your wrists looking irritated and red?” He asked and Garnet wrestled her hands out of his hold while blushing then she glanced briefly at Thor before looking down at the ground.Bill caught the look and felt a chill run through him and he swerved to look at Thor, Garnet’s g
In a cafe downtown far far away from all the pretty and pricey cafes that she normally frequented, Andrea sat waiting patiently at a table with its chipped edges in a corner of the room where she could see whoever came into the cafe but she was not seen even though her dark sunglasses did not make her look inconspicuous because it was a little weird to see someone wearing glasses indoors. Soon her phone rang and she looked at the phone and looked outside and saw Bill looking around in confusion then she picked up the phone.“You are in front of the right cafe, just come inside, I am sitting on the last table at the other end of the window.” She directed.Bill came in and looked in the direction she had described and he sat opposite her then looked around at the questionable environment while Andrea beckoned to the waitress.“What would you like?” She asked when she came before them and pulled out a notebook from her yellowed apron.“I am fine.” Bill said in disgust when he looked at
Thor, still grappling with the aftermath of their fight and the lingering sting of Garnet’s words, approached the topic of visit with trepidation. Garnet, a porcelain teacup poised halfway to her lips eyed him knowing that he wanted to say something to her. Thor's hesitant but still as proud as ever cleared his throat , "Hey, so…there's something I need to tell you," had shattered the morning's fragile peace."Okay. What is it?" she asked, her voice guarded and obviously still annoyed with him. His news, she sensed, wouldn't be sunshine and rainbows.Thor fidgeted, running a hand through his already tousled hair. "My grandfather…he invited us to visit him."Garnet frowned. The mention of Thor's family always seemed to bring a cloud over his usually contained personality. She on the other hand did not care, besides it was going to happen anyway.“Good.” she said simply, “when do we leave?”.He snorted, a humorless sound. "Good?” He said. He was surprised as she asked no questions at al
Thor adjusted his cufflinks, the glint of platinum catching the strobe lights like scattered diamonds. A journalist was coming to do an interview for the segment the magazine was doing on him. The newest and youngest billionaire in the city. The air thrummed with an energy that made him feel uneasy but he masked it perfectly with his easy smile, he felt a flicker of unease but kept it down knowing that the reporter would probably smell it like a shark smell it blood in water. He might hate dressing up and acting like a puppet in front of all these people but he reminded himself that it was just temporary and soon he would no longer need to dance to their tune.Andrea’s father had insisted that a spread needed to be done to celebrate his success with the contract he had won and done justice to. It was ridiculous that just a year ago no one even knew of him and now, he was the golden boy, the architect of a billion-dollar deal that had saved not just his company after that Virus attack
Thor adjusted his cufflinks, the glint of platinum catching the strobe lights like scattered diamonds. A journalist was coming to do an interview for the segment the magazine was doing on him. The newest and youngest billionaire in the city. The air thrummed with an anxiousness that he masked perfectly with his easy smile, he felt a flicker of unease but kept it down knowing that the reporter would probably smell it like a shark smell it blood in water. He might hate dressing up and acting like a puppet in front of all these people but he reminded himself that it was just temporary and soon he would no longer need to dance to their tune.Andrea’s father had insisted that a spread needed to be done to celebrate his success with the contract he had won and done justice to. It was ridiculous that just a year ago no one even knew of him and now, he was the golden boy, the architect of a billion-dollar deal that had saved not just his company after that Virus attack, but revitalized the c
Thor adjusted his cufflinks, the glint of platinum catching the strobe lights like scattered diamonds. A journalist was coming to do an interview for the segment the magazine was doing on him. The newest and youngest billionaire in the city. The air thrummed with an anxiousness that he masked perfectly with his easy smile, he felt a flicker of unease but kept it down knowing that the reporter would probably smell it like a shark smell it blood in water. He might hate dressing up and acting like a puppet in front of all these people but he reminded himself that it was just temporary and soon he would no longer need to dance to their tune.Andrea’s father had insisted that a spread needed to be done to celebrate his success with the contract he had won and done justice to. It was ridiculous that just a year ago no one even knew of him and now, he was the golden boy, the architect of a billion-dollar deal that had saved not just his company after that Virus attack, but revitalized the c
The air in the living room felt thick with unspoken words, the silence a suffocating blanket after the bombshell on the television she had just switched off. The news crashed into her like a heavy wave and slammed Garnet into the cold, hard reality of her new life. Thor, her husband of a whole three years, had not only accepted her proposal for separation with the emotional depth of a handshake goodbye, but he was already parading Andrea Whitlock, her supposed "friend," as his new girlfriend all over media merely two weeks after. They were the sweethearts of the media and she could not even open any social media apps without being confronted by the smug glow of happiness on their faces in every picture, the sickeningly adoring captions, they had even been given a relationship name, “AnTh” how ridiculously juvenile. All of it felt like Thor was spitting on the ashes of their marriage while laughing and it hurt.“It couple," the headlines crowed. "Thor Smith rebounds with stunning Bill
Thor adjusted his cufflinks, the glint of platinum catching the strobe lights like scattered diamonds. A journalist was coming to do an interview for the segment the magazine was doing on him. The newest and youngest billionaire in the city. The air thrummed with an energy that made him feel uneasy but he masked it perfectly with his easy smile, he felt a flicker of unease but kept it down knowing that the reporter would probably smell it like a shark smell it blood in water. He might hate dressing up and acting like a puppet in front of all these people but he reminded himself that it was just temporary and soon he would no longer need to dance to their tune.Andrea’s father had insisted that a spread needed to be done to celebrate his success with the contract he had won and done justice to. It was ridiculous that just a year ago no one even knew of him and now, he was the golden boy, the architect of a billion-dollar deal that had saved not just his company after that Virus attack,
The early morning sun, a pale ghost against the dew-kissed windows, found Garnet still in bed, a half-finished mug of chamomile tea sat untouched on the bed stand beside her. Sleep, that elusive butterfly, had finally fluttered in after several hours of tossing around restlessly in bed. Atlas’s exit last night had left behind a gnawing anxiety that had her twisting the sheets into tight knots and being unable to sleep. Today, the silence in their home felt more pronounced, the air thick with an unspoken question: what was coming after, would he grant her wishes?A sharp rap at her door startled her into wakefulness, shattering the fragile peace she had been enjoying. She sat up, heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Who would be knocking on her door so early in the morning? Crystal usually let her sleep in for as long as she wanted and would not come up unless summoned. Was Thor back with some scary pronouncement? She climbed out of the bed and padded to the door and
“Well well well, if it isn’t Garnet.” Andrea said jovially and leaned forward to kiss the sides of Garnet’s cheeks while Garnet stood stiffly and stared at Thor who looked back at her nonchalantly.“What are you both doing here?” Andrea asked.“The same thing as you I expect.” Garnet answered churlishly. “Celebrating freedom.” “What a surprise , I did not expect to see you here."Bill," Mr. Smith's voice, a practiced charm, cut through the music. "Garnet. What a surprise." His smile was polished, devoid of the cracks their divorce had etched.Garnet's smile was like ice cracking. "And I did not expect to find you celebrating, Richard," she replied, her voice laced with venom. "Though I suppose drowning your sorrows in champagne is one way to deal with a failed marriage."A humorless chuckle escaped Thor. "Hardly a failure, my dear. Merely a...reconfiguration." He gestured towards Andrea. "I’m sure you know Andrea. She has graciously offered to help me with the transition."Andrea’s fe