Sophie McDermott's life in fast-paced San Francisco was already complicated as a single mother balancing the demands of work and raising her son, Dawson. Just when she believed her life couldn't get any more hectic, fate intervenes. Being employed by Polo Enterprise should be a dream come true, but Sophie is about to come face to face with the last person she ever expected- Alex Hernadez, her first and only love whom she has spent years trying to forget. What will happen when these two get to work closely? Will he get a chance to find out Dawson is his son and will they find a way to overcome the damages of the past and finally claim the happiness they have always yearned for? Or will shadows of deceit and jealousy tear them apart once more?
View MoreI repeatedly called my mom but there was no answer. I considered going to the hospital, but it was late, and leaving Dawson home alone wasn't a smart move.I decided to text her, urging her not to leave Celine alone with the visitor and to confirm who that person was by showing the video evidence I had. Still, no response came through.Growing increasingly anxious, I began pacing back and forth, trying to reach her. Then a thought struck me - why not call the hospital directly? I quickly dialed their number."Hello, I need to check on the status of Celine Roberts," I stated urgently after the call connected."Alright, let me transfer you to her room," the person replied.I waited several minutes, tapping my foot impatiently but the call never went through to Celine's room. My worry went through the roof."What's going on? Hello?" I prompted when there was no update."It seems she may be out of her room at the moment," the voice said hesitantly."Out of her room? Are you kidding me? B
The detective gave a firm knock before entering Celine's hospital room. He had a no-nonsense air about him as he addressed us."Mr. Hernandez, Ms. McDermott. I’m Detective Rogers, in charge of investigating the assault on Ms. Roberts. Let's get down to it - fill me in on what you know."Rogers pulled out a notebook, pen ready to jot down details. He fixed his gaze on me intently. "Ms. McDermott, walk me through your connection to the victim and how you became aware of this incident."I took a steadying breath. "Celine and I only recently became friends through working together at Mr. Hernandez's company."The detective gave a curt nod for me to proceed as he made some initial notes."A few days ago, I saw the first real signs of trouble," I went on carefully. "It was her boyfriend, Louis. I know it."Rogers' eyes sharpened at this, his jaw tensing slightly. "Did you directly witness him acting violently towards her?"Throat tightening, I pulled out my phone and queued up the unsettli
I rushed through the hospital corridors until she reached the desk. "I'm looking for Celine Roberts - where can I find her?"The nurse checked the computer. "Ms. Roberts is in the emergency wing, room 212. Just go down that hallway and it's the third room on your left.""Thank you," I uttered swiftly and raced in the direction given. My heart pounded as I spotted room 212. I took a deep breath and entered.Celine was motionless on the hospital bed with an IV inserted in her hand. Her face was injured and there was a bandage covering her head. My stomach dropped.A doctor in a white coat noticed me enter. "You must be Ms. McDermott. I'm Dr. Ramirez.""H-how is she?" I asked, trying to keep her voice steady.Dr. Ramirez's expression was serious. "Ms. Roberts sustained a concussion possibly from blunt force trauma to the head. Additionally, we noticed the broken ribs and internal bleeding which we managed to stabilize. She's sedated right now to allow her body to rest and recover.My min
Why was Alex texting me instead of being at the dinner? Had it gone that poorly, or was something else up?I turned my head towards Celine. "I have to go. Mr. Hernandez needs me.""Oh, there's no way you can go see him like this! Just text back saying you have a family emergency so you don't jeopardize your job.""You really think he'd buy that excuse? Let me just go. I can handle it.""If you say so," Celine relented reluctantly. "I'll have your dress laundered and drop it off at the office tomorrow. Thanks for the heart-to-heart, babe.""Anytime, and don't forget to call me if you even think he's going to start getting shady on you.""It's branded into my brain," she assured me as I managed to get up and leave the bar.The cool night air hit my flushed cheeks as I hailed a cab to Alex's place. I decided to try and get myself together during the ride, inhaling and exhaling deeply, and letting the breeze calm my nerves a bit. After a few minutes, I finally arrived at the house. It t
I blinked, momentarily disoriented as I resurfaced from the memories. The harsh clang of Mia dropping an armful of files jolted me fully back to the present.She didn't even spare me a glance as she grumbled under her breath, gathering up the scattered papers with jerky motions."Mia..." I began hesitantly. She glared at me and rolled her eyes, waiting for me to continue.“Mr. Hernandez asked me to let you know that you’ll be accompanying him to the investor dinner tonight instead of me.”Her eyes widened in amazement, then quickly sharpened. “Is this a joke or something? Why would Mr. Hernandez want me there instead of you?""I...told him I wasn't feeling well," I admitted, the lie tasting like ash in my mouth. "He said to have you assist him at the dinner."Mia studied me closely for a long moment, likely trying to decide if I was lying or not. Finally, she seemed to accept my words as the truth, her lips curving into a satisfied smirk."Well, well. It seems Mr. Hernandez is finally
Alex frowned as he looked over the pile of documents between us. "This proposal from PharrellTech for the Wilson Renewables Project is a lot more aggressive than I expected."I nodded grimly. "They seem determined to undercut us at every turn to try to score this lucrative contract.""Walk me through their pricing strategy," he said, mouth set in a hard line. "How are they able to come in so far below our projections?"Pulling up the detailed analysis I'd prepared, I clicked through the key slides. "From what I can gather, PharrellTech is willing to take an initial loss by slashing their Phase 1 implementation fees nearly in half."Alex's eyes narrowed. "Surely they can't keep up those razor-thin margins for the full multi-year rollout, can they?""That's the gamble they're making," I explained. "Get their foot in the door with Wilson at any cost. Then once they're embedded, they'll try to nickel and dime their way to profitability with endless boosted 'service fees' and 'consulting c
I'm Sophie, Mr. Hernandez's assistant," I replied, trying to keep my tone polite and professional despite her scrutinizing stare.The woman's eyes narrowed as she looked me over again disdainfully. "Hmm, and you can't wait for him at the office?"I squirmed uneasily under her stare. "I'm just following Mr. Hernandez's orders. May I please come in? I'm already running late."She gave me one final disparaging look before finally stepping aside with an exaggerated sigh. I hurried past her into the house, quickly looking around for a couple of seconds before heading towards Mr. Hernandez’s home office.“Good morning, Ms. McDermott,” one of the housekeepers offered me a friendly smile as I walked by.”"Good morning," I replied shortly, increasing my pace. I didn't have time for pleasantries."Um, Mr. Hernandez asked that no one disturb him for now," the housekeeper called after me hesitantly.I paused mid-stride, turning back towards her with a frown. "Oh, is there a problem?"She offered
I pulled out my phone to call us a ride. But before I could, Celine emerged from the building looking exhausted. I palmed my phone and turned to face her."Let’s just go to my place, okay?" I said gently. "You don't need to be alone right now."Celine nodded wearily, looking so downtrodden. “Thank you...I owe you one, for real.""Don't even worry about that," I waved it off. "Just focus on taking care of yourself right now, okay?"I called a ride and we waited outside until it arrived. The short drive to my house was silent. When we arrived, I led her inside and up to my room.Here, you can borrow some clothes to freshen up if you'd like," I offered, rummaging through my dresser. "And take the bed, I can crash on the floor."Celine shook her head. "No, Sophie, I can't put you out of your own bed. The floor is fine for me."You're the guest though," I insisted. "You should be comfortable."After some back and forth, she finally relented and accepted the t-shirt and shorts I passed her.
I hurriedly dried up my hands and went to have a closer look. As I left the bathroom, I was jolted by the unexpected view - a man had Celine against the wall and grabbed her arm fiercely as she cowered in fear.Get off her!" I shouted without thinking, rushing towards them. The man twisted his head back, a nasty smirk distorting his face. "If you don't get out of this damn place, you'll end up in this situation," he let out venomously. He turned back to Celine, giving her a shake. "So you screamed for people to come out?" "N-no, I didn't," Celine stammered, trying to shrink away from him. "I'm sorry..." Her obvious terror made me feel sick and I couldn't abandon her to this brute's abuse. My hands shook uncontrollably as I fumbled to locate my phone, bringing it to the front to capture the tension.“Leave now… Or face the consequences with the police,” I said, my voice quivering.The man looked at the phone as if he was thinking about his options. I held my gaze without flinching,
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.