\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t\u2026?\u201d he asked, voice barely a whisper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned in, eyes locked on his. \u201cThen I take everything. Every share, every inch of the company your father bled or. You\u2019ll walk out with nothing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His face paled. \u201cI-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake tonight to think about it,\u201d I said, stepping away, the click of my shoes echoing in the marble silence. \u201cIt\u2019s the only grace period I give anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
>>\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind me, Alec let out a low chuckle. \u201cI wonder what she saw in you to call you a good man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I arched an eyebrow, but he said nothing more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We reached the car, and Alec opened the door for me. I slid into the back seat, watching the city blur beyond the glass. Alec settled into the driver\u2019s seat and started the engine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d he said casually as we pulled away. \u201cYou\u2019re really flying back to stay in America for good tomorrow? Thought you said it was boring.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back, loosening my tie, lips tugging upward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBoring?\u201d I tilted my head, remembering the look on her moonlight\u2013colored eyes as I pleasured her, the way her body trembled beneath my hands. \u201cHow could it be boring when she\u2019ll be by my side soon?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait to have that woman trembling under me again\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
he went even wat as oftros tre 25 FROS\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t even half as attractive as Hades\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cViolet!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sound of my name cut through the room. I groaned sofy and lifted my gaze, blinking up at the person standing in front of me. It was the assistant manager, a blonde woman with sharp eyes and her hands firmly planted on her hips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes widened. I shot to my feet. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, I fell asleep again-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She sighed, her expression halfway between irritation and concern. \u201cThis is the third time today. Didn\u2019t you sleep last night?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her words made my throat tighten. My mind betrayed me, dragging me back to last night, my aunt and Conrad, the way my skin crawled just from being in the same room with him. I\u2019d lain in bed, staring at the ceiling, eyes wide. Every time I closed them, my mind screamed at me to stay awake, to stay alert, or it would happen again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By six in the morning, I\u2019d given up. I took a quick shower, grateful for the silence in the house, and slipped out with Tiger before anyone could stop me. I brought him to Penelope\u2019s place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted him with me, but his safety came first. Keeping him here could cause problems, and he was a dog, I couldn\u2019t have him locked in a room all day. Even though he didn\u2019t want to go, staying with Penelope for a while was the best option until I figured things out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today was always brutal, first a shift at the library until eight, then bouncing between other jobs until late into the night. But today, my body had finally hit its limit. The moment I sat down alone, I must have drifted off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lowered my head. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She waved her hand dismissively. \u201cYou\u2019re one of the best girls we have here, and this is the first time you\u2019ve been caught slacking, so I\u2019ll let it go. But there\u2019s a couple in the store right now looking at some of the expensive pieces. You\u2019re the best at handling those clients, so take care of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, grateful she didn\u2019t press further, and watched her walk away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A sigh slipped out before I could stop it. My whole body felt like it wanted to shut down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind me, I heard Mia and Lacey talking loudly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first time one of the bosses has ever scolded he,\u201d Lacey said loudly, making sure I heard every word. \u201c I wonder what\u2019s wrong with her. Did she lose her touch?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia scoffed. \u201cShe\u2019s probably too busy throwing herself at men to do her job properly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned just enough to look at them, then rolled my eyes. They reminded me of the girls from high school, desperate to be seen as bad girls, thinking spite made them interesting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not worth my time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood, smoothed my skirt, and ran my fingers through my hair until it fell neatly back into place. Then I turned and walked out of the employee lounge, my heels clicking softly against the floor, heading straight for the store.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first thing I noticed was the woman\u2019s voice, loud enough to carry across the store, as if she wanted everyone to know she was there. She sat perched on one of the velvet couches, her smile dazzling as she leaned toward the older man beside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man had a belly that strained against his shirt buttons, his arm stretched lazily across the back of the couch like he owned the world. His grin was smug, and self\u2013satisfied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t even hatt tts oftro how the Hedor\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet whatever you want,\u201d he said, chuckling. \u201cI\u2019m in a good mood today. Hehe,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman pressed a manicured hand to his chest and smiled up at him. \u201cThank you so much, Hun. You\u2019re the\u00a0<\/p>\n
best!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked toward them, forcing my tired body to straighten, my lips to pull into a polite smile. \u201cGood evening,\u201d I said, bowing my head slightly. \u201cI\u2019m here to help you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They both turned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s smile dropped instantly into a frown, her eyes narrowing as she looked me over. The man, on the other hand, let his gaze trail over me far too slowly before meeting my eyes with a grin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ignored both reactions. \u201cWhat are you looking for today?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman crossed her arms. \u201cI don\u2019t want your help. Call for someone else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyebrow twitched upward, but I kept my voice neutral. opened my mouth to respond when the man chuckled and shook his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, don\u2019t be rude, Victoria. You shouldn\u2019t turn anyone away. Let her help us, she\u2019s just an employee. I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll pick something suitable for you, right, dear?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
((\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her frown deepened, her lips tightening like she\u2019d just bitten into something sour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d already seen this situation a hundred times, jealous girlfriends or wives glaring like I was some kind of threat, as if I wanted the man sitting next to them. I glanced at him again, tattoos snaking up thick arms, short, round body, the faint scent of cheap cologne wafting toward me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 39 \u00a0 I can\u2019t\u2026?\u201d he asked, voice barely a whisper.\u00a0 I leaned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27955\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}