Rhys watched as Ethan walked out of Ashley's office, sending him a glare. The once-filled confidence Ethan exuded was nowhere to be found. It got Rhys wondering what must have happened in there.Did she say something to him? Was she intimidating?Ashley has a hard time standing out from her siblings. Alec and Hannah are known for their confidence and strong personalities; you could say she's overshadowed by them."Mr Mickelson" His name being called out by the secretary cuts him out of his train of thought.She sent him a glare, her nose scrunching with disgust. "Ms. Freeman would see you now."Rhys nods and fights back the urge to hiss. Working with a secretary would only add more to his problems; he can't have another person irritating him."Lex," he murmured as she led him to Ashely's office."Yes? What's up?""Get her fired.""Who? The secretary?" He chuckled. Rhys ignores knowing Lex is well aware of who he means yet wants, getting on his nerves."Right. On it" After a short wh
Rhys lifted from the bed with a growl, heaving out. He rubbed his eyes, cleaning off the drowsiness in them. He barely had enough sleep last night.But of course, it's Rhys after all—nonchalant as ever with his health.His eyes moved to the wall clock, a mumbled curse slipping out of his lips."Shit!"Soon enough, he paced to the bathroom, ran a quick shower, and came out, getting dressed hurriedly, taking glances at the time here and there."Morning Master," Curella greets as he walks out of the room, fixing his glasses."Would you--"He cut her off. "No. Engage all the alarms in case anyone comes lurking," he orders with the thought of Angela on his mind."Yes, master," she responds.He walked out of the house, deciding to stop by a cafe shop to get a cup of cappuccino that would help with his condition.The walk from his penthouse to the FreemanCorp is thirty minutes, nothing too distant for Rhys to cover up, and that's why he decided to walk himself to work throughout.Stepping in
Ashely sat in her spacious office, lost in thought, after the phone call she had with her uncle. Her eyes sting from the words he had used on her, but who was she kidding? It's something she got used to over the years.Everything she ever does is not enough. Ashley, you're imperfect, naive, incompetent, and useless. Every word of his was carved in her skull, probably for the rest of her life.A sharp knock coming through has snapped her back to reality.Squaring her shoulders and masking away her emotions, "Come in," she mumbled, expecting anyone but her best friend."Hey, girl!" Layla greets her, her smile soon dropping as she sets sight of Ashely's dull demeanor.She huffed out, "It's him again, isn't it?" Layla asked, flying her hands out of the air with a low hiss.That's all it took for Ashley to burst out: "I don't know how I'd ever be able to please him. Nothing I ever do is enough for him. I'm sick and tired of him dictating my life." She spat, annoyance evident in her tone.La
He walked out of the elevator holding the cup of coffee Ashley ordered him to get. Rhys knows that she's been trying all possible ways to provoke him into quitting, but if only she knew, it takes a great deal to have him step down.For the past few weeks, she has had his manager overloading him with work just so he could get fed up, but nothing he couldn't handle. The work he's being loaded with is not as much as the one he does.Rhys has always been a workaholic; he could spend sleepless nights working himself up.He chuckled as he made his way to her office."Mr. Mickelson," he hears his name being called out, fighting back the urge to hiss.He knew exactly who it was—the new employer that had been on his neck and trying to force himself into Rhys's affairs.Damien.Rhys paused, huffing out a breath before turning to face him. "What's up?" He asked, trying to hide the hint of annoyance evident in his tone."I bought a ticket to the..."Before he could end his statement, Rhys had alr
Natalie paced back and forth in her room, unsure of her parents' decision. Her relationship with Alec was going pretty fast; it was becoming overwhelming.It's three days until the announcement of their official engagement party, which has been organized by Alec's family. Alec is a good man; he's given her all she could ever think of having: attention, care, love, and most importantly, wealth, but somewhere deep down, something is missing that she couldn't quite understand just yet.Her mind has been wandering off Rhys lately; she still thinks they got off on the wrong foot, and the guilt is starting to become unbearable.She may have used Rhys all along if only she had realized that she was only infatuated with him and nothing more, yet she only understood that long after they had been married.Rhys wasn't the man for her; they didn't belong in the same status; she was way above his league. All that her parents had tried to point out to her, but she never listened, not until it was t
"I don't know, aunt," Ashely whines for the eleventh time, trying to wiggle her way out of the situation.She could hear her aunt hissing through that call: "I'm not taking no for an answer; you are coming down to Seattle for your cousin's engagement party, and that's final." With that, she cuts off the call, leaving no room for further argument.Ashley growls, keeping her phone aside on the sofa.Ashely and her aunt share a mutual relationship that consists of love and understanding. Her aunt, Rebecca, is the only one she can regard as family, as she's always been there for her since the death of her parents.Unlike her husband and kids, she's as soft and understanding as Ashley's late mother; she has never made Ashley feel otherwise as the others do.Ashely sighs, knowing that there is no way she's ever going to escape attending Alec's engagement party.She fears that her uncle and other relatives will be hard on her about the fact that she's yet to bring forth a man. Ashley has nev
"You have to find a way to attend the engagement," Lex says through the phone.Rhys just come back from his usual night of jogging, and thinking he'd get some rest now, Lex had to bombard him with such news.He still hasn't fully recovered from the heartaches Natalie has caused him, and seeing her at the moment is the last thing he wants to do, especially with the fact that she's getting engaged to Alec, the man she cheated on Rhys with.His jawline hardened at the thought of that, but there was nothing he could do. The damage has already been done, and just as she moved on, he should also consider that.But the question is, was he ready to take such a step?Hell no!The only way he could move on is after he makes sure all of them suffer for not just their mistakes but their hidden crimes."Hey man, are you there?" Lex snaps him back to reality."Fuck, I don't think I can do that. The last thing I want now is to come in view with their despicable faces, and god knows if I'd be able to
"Aren't you going with a suitcase?" Lex questions, gulping on his cup of black coffee..Rhys grumbled, remembering his conversation with Ashley during the day at work; she specifically warned him not to bring any of his stuff, not even his outfit; she'd get him new ones when they got there.His appearance matters a lot to her, and she probably didn't want to be seen with him as he is now."She'll handle everything," Rhys responded after a deep silence.Lex giggled, "Technically, she's—or should I say, they are getting to see the dashing Rhys," he teased."More like vindictive," he sneers."No, man, not yet," Lex reminds him. "I can't wait for that time as well. You know what I like about you?"Rhys hisses, "Fuck off!""I'm still going to say it, you ass. Anyways, as I was saying before I got interrupted, you, Mr. Mickelson, have a way of scheming that they—our enemies—see coming till after the damage is done. The current upper hand you have in collapsing every fortune they've worked