Zade was up the minute the fire alarms went off. At first, he suspected Roselia might have burnt food, but when he checked the surveillance system, he found a group of men sneaking out through the walls.A little more survey and he found out the house was indeed burning. He got out of the wheelchair and moved to the bookshelf. He was about to push the brick and get out of the house when he remembered he wasn't alone in the house.He hurried back to his bed and grabbed his phone. He dialed her number and waited for her to answer the phone. When she didn't at the first ring, his heart sank. He couldn't imagine her sleeping while the place was on fire.He tried her number again and this time she answered."Zade? Zade… are you okay? There's smoke… " she coughed and his grip tightened."Rose, listen to me…""I… I can't get out…""Listen to me, dammit. Get to the bookshelf…""I can't breathe…" she gasped again."Rose… Rose please listen… I can't get to you so you have to listen. Get to the
Several thoughts ran through Roaelia's mind at once. She wasn't a fool to think that Zade would run just because Lance set his house on fire. If anything, it would trigger him to fight back and she wasn't certain Zade could withstand Lance.Another thing was that the man whom she was made to believe was paralyzed lwalked into her room and carried her out in the middle of a fire. The same man took her to an ambulance without any form of struggle. As she sat across the ambulance, staring at him while the nurses bandaged the wound on his back. Although he avoided eye contact with her, she could see him burning with rage. Her own anger stirred from within her.Just as he stood up to leave, she ran after him and blocked him, ready to unleash her own fury."Get out of my way," he growled and she shoved him."No, I won't! Tell me, what right do you have to be angry? All you've ever done since I met you was lie to me. You lie about being jobless, you lie about being poor and the next yo
Throughout the ride to the airport, Zade remained silent, staring out the window. Elizabeth said nothing to bother him. She knew he was anxious and nothing she would say would change that. His anxiety increased when they got on the jet. She placed a hand over his and his eyes flickered to hers.She smiled, giving a small nod. Zade rolled his eyes and looked outside the window.Elizabeth chuckled, shutting her eyes."Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked."Thought you were an expert at rolling your eyes," she retorted, earning a laugh from Zade. She opened her eyes, tilting her head to look at him, "Whether it is good or not, you can't jump off the plane.""Thank you for those kind words. I feel better now," he scoffed. She shut her eyes back, smiling inwardly. After dosing off for a few minutes, she woke up to meet Zade in the same position she left him.She smacked his shoulder in annoyance."Can you cut it out already? You are not going to meet Zachary Delamonte," she groa
"What… What are you doing with a gun?" She stuttered backing away from him. He shot the spot beside her and she screamed."Take one more step and I'm going to blow your brains off," he threatened. Roselia clasped her hands together, pleading even though she couldn't get the words out. Lance sat on the seat, without moving the gun from her. Roselia swallowed thickly, praying her mother or William would walk through the door and save her. Giving it a second thought, she cursed herself for making such a stupid request. There was no guarantee that he wouldn't shoot at them if they showed up."What do you want from me?" She decided to ask the big question."I was wondering when you would ask that. It's quite simple. I don't want anything, I just have a question. A really small question.""What is it?""Where is Zade?"Roselia stopped shivering, annoyance replacing her fear. "Is this a joke? You sit there pointing a gun at me and all you can ask is Zade? How the hell am I supposed to kno
Clad in a three-piece Italian suit, all remnants of Zade Harper were completely shed off. He was now Zade Delamonte, the heir to the Delamonte empire and his first assignment was to convince the biggest tech gurus in the market, Parallax, to invest twenty billion dollars in their latest software, Skytel. A hacking device and tracking system that could hack surveillance systems, car GPS, CCTV, and other security systems within a large area and track people with just a photo scan.With Skytel, missing persons could be found in minutes, security systems could be adjusted, and one could literally find and see anything on the planet with that singular software. Coupled with the device, it would be God's eye. The project held the key to making or unmaking DE Consortia. The funds required to run the project would drive anyone bankrupt, the Delamontes included. However, if it worked and the launch was successfully executed, they would be more than multi-trillionaires.His first assignment
"Mr Delamonte?" Adera called when he hesitated for too long. Zade didn't respond to her question, instead, he got the document from her and fixed it in his briefcase."Is the meeting over?" She asked further."You said we should have lunch. We can't have lunch without putting away the documents." He answered."So you agree to go on a date with me?" Adera asked in a tone devoid of emotions."No. I'm agreeing to eat with you so we can go straight to business. I believe we both have work piled up on our desks. We can't afford to waste any more time," he casually responded.His answer stung Adera, but she forced a smile. She'd never seen any man so uninterested in her. She was usually the one in the spotlight. The one who could walk into the room and pull everyone's attention. Zade was the first man to look at her like she was human. First human even. While the men gazed lustfully at her, the women stared jealously at her, projecting their envy to the way they interacted with her. Zade
Zade cursed himself inwardly. He couldn't understand why he chose to say that and ruin the moment. "I'm sorry. I guess I have not fully put business aside. It still feels weird having an informal lunch with a client. Don't be offended, please," he pleaded. Adera didn't say a word. She continued with her food like nothing happened but Zade could see her change in demeanor. The friendly air was gone, now it seemed like a tense awkward family dinner. She seemed like she just wanted to get it over with and leave. He had to fix it somehow, but he didn't know what to say or how to appease her. Usually, when Roselia was mad at him, he would cook her favorite, but Adera was a totally different woman and he didn't know what she liked."Ummm… Dera?" He called softly, then waited for her to stiffly correct him or even snap, but she simply looked up.He reached for her hands slowly, giving her enough time to flinch or slap them off. Again, she did none of that. While holding her warm hands,
"How was the meeting with Parallax?" Zachary inquired later that evening. "It was quite eventful," Zade responded almost absent-mindedly. "I met with Adera Blake."Zachary watched him carefully, aware that more than business had happened between the two. He knew his grandson was not one to lose focus easily so he tried not to jump to conclusions yet."Anything involving Adera Blake should be eventful. May I know how it went?" Zachary asked. "We didn't discuss business," Zade confessed. "Thank you for your honesty," Zachary's dry reply almost made him laugh. "Since you didn't discuss business, what then caught your interest?"Zade ignored the suggestiveness in his father's tone and went ahead to explain the earlier events. Zachary was surprised she gave him a hard time when he brought up the business proposal, but at the same time, he was impressed that she was bold enough to go for what she wanted. "... she asked us to reschedule the business meeting. We're expected to meet later