«Nicole Wales»I stared at the face in front of me in astonishment. The dashing man tilted his head go one side, regarding me quietly. He was on one kneel gathering the remaining of the files.“You stare at me,” He noted cooly with an expression that was difficult to read.I quickly diverted my gaze feeling the red that crept up my cheeks. I wonder what he thought of me... Nothing bad I hoped.He stood up and offered me a hand. “Be careful next time, do you know who I am.”He said it more like a fact than a question. “Mr Ceo I....” I stuttered. He raised an eyebrow. “It's fine, I wasn't going to announce my presence anyway.”He brushed past my shoulders and walked into the elevators. “Well?”“Of course,” Hurrying to compose myself, I shuffled the files under one arm and made my way away. Forward, I thought wobbling slightly on my heels.Glancing back sharply, I caught the slightest hints of a smile in his eyes as the doors of the elevator slided shut.My stomach felt queasy. I had j
«Layla»It was my first day of work, I was already trying to be in ten places at the same time. Was there really that much vacancy at Ethan's company? And if so, half the city would die to work here. Why was he giving all the job to one person?Somehow, I didn't think it was as simple as that. Once I introduced myself as Layla Wales, the manager smiled at me and began typing on his laptop. I offered him my credentials and he just swept his eyes through them really quick and announced,“You got the job.” Then went back behind his laptop.Now, seated in a large hall where fifty of the workers worked, I looked through the slip of paper that he had given me. My working schedule. God it was choked!Mondays to Fridays I took a morning shift at the lab, afternoons, I went for a brief break then joined the archaeological research department. Saturday
«LAYLA»Finally, I was done for today... Or more like for now since I would still have to conclude the rest of the day's work once I returned to the mansion. I took the elevator down and phoned Jonas to pick me up.I walked past the front desk and outside the building. The red ferrari was already parked. Jonas leaned against the car waiting for me. Either the black camo outfit and dark shades was part of the uniform or he just enjoyed the in-between look of an underground gangster and a black belt ninja.“Milady,” He straightened and bowed as I approached.I acknowledged him with a nod. He opened the back seat for me.“Your driver is here.”True enough, I sighted a stranger at the wheels. His well ironed navy blue suit glinted in the sunlight. “My credentials,” He said offering me his license. Gloves, I noted. As well as a British accent. I glanced at the card and shrugged sitting down. I wasn't the fucking sherif anyway. Jonas closed the door and walked around the car, sitting at
«ETHAN»I sat in on the chair with my feet crossed on the study table. Glancing at the laptop, through the cameras I saw Layla seated at the dining table.Good I thought. The phone was also on the table along with some files neatly arranged to one side.“Layla or Nicole,” I muttered absently.Truth be told, I wanted neither of the sisters but if it boiled down to a situation where 8 had to choose, who would I pick?I toyed with the idea for a while then found the whole thing pointless. How could I picked when my father had already made the decision for me. It was out of the matter.I bit into the bar of chocolate in my right hand and opened the drawers, reaching out for a tiny jotter.“So here was what we were going to do Ethan,” I began softly.I spun the pen in my hand twice then paused hearing a knock on the door. I glanced at the camera.“You can come in Jonas.”“My Lord, I drove her back as requested.”I nodded slipping the jotter into the compartment inside my suit. They all see
«NICOLE» “Mom I'm home,” I called entering the house. I walked up the front porch where she sat enjoying the view and the cool evening breeze. “You usually come home at noon,” She noted without looking up from the sweater that she was knitting. It was a habit she couldn't get rid of even after dad bought her a machine she could use, she always preferred to keep her hands busy the hard way. She was still young and pretty compared to her college friends. In my terms, she should have been dressing up to going out to parties and drinks with friends. Not sitting here like a woman from the 90s, pretending to knit while secretly monitoring my movements. “I had some matters to attend to.” I waved my hands signalling it was nothing worth looking into. “There's red wine fragrance on you.” She pointed out. “That's because I had some drinks before I came. Any thing else detective Victoria?” I rolled my eyes entering the manor. I still hadn't forgiven her concerning Layla's wedding to the m
«NICOLE»The feel of the morning sun on my face never felt better. I sat up stretching, the events of yesterday flooding back.I yawned getting up, determined not to start this day with another wave of self pity. However, if my parents made this house impossible to bear, I would look up apartments on the net and find one to rent until the month ended.I spent some minutes freshening up then slipped into an office button down long sleeve and dark the blue blouse which matched my navy suit perfectly.Since I had work to do at the Crawford Company Company, it was only natural that I dressed coporate.After spending an hour or so applying my makeup and choosing high heels and handbags, I snuck down the stairs not wanting to awaken anyone, neither of my parents especially.I foot into my car and called Loveth, asking if we could go to an eatery for breakfast.———“It would be difficult to get close to your sister,” Loveth began when we had placed our orders.“Stepsister,” I corrected. If L
«LAYLA»I didn't see Ethan the whole of last night. He ordered me to come home then didn't bother speaking to me at all. At some point I suspected he had left the mansion all together. I curled up into bed miserably that night. Instead of telling him about our honeymoon, maybe I could propose a divorce.At breakfast, America told me the usual story. The master wouldn't be joining me.Jonas drove me to the company. I was eager to resume work as that was the only thing that managed to keep my mind occupied.“Aren't you going down,” Loveth asked. I looked up with a frown. Just because everyone seemed to be heading downstairs didn't mean I wanted to leave my precious work. “Whatever for,” I asked resuming my typing. “The CEO is here,” She said looking incredulous that I didn't even know. Well I wouldn't know, he didn't exactly tell me after all. “Oh,” I shrugged. “Run along then, you don't want to miss his glorious appearance.”“So... You're not coming?”“Must you bother me?” I look
«Layla»There were two options, go to twelvth district and find out what I could or let Jonas drive me to Drake's workshop and see if there was anything new.Oh and there was also the option of going to the hotel where everything began. If I was lucky, there would still be clippings of last month... Considering the scandal involved important personalities like Ethan, the file in the cameras might have been saved.I had a premonition that the man Nicole ordered to r#pe me was the same John that was reported on dead today. That would be something worth clarifying.After all, he did look innocent. But then again I couldn't be sure because my memories of that night were foggy. A picture of the scene would do the trick.“Milady,”Looking up, the three story mansion came into view. Oh shoot... I thought.I hadn't been able to make up my mind in time so the driver who didn't have a preferred destination, automatically drove to the mansion.Well I guess brunch would be good too. I thought com