NAGITS ATTACK The bathroom door opened again. This time Manuel was dressed and he was looking the way he used to as he walked to meet her.He sat across from her, the folder open on his knee.“You did good work,” he said after a moment. “As usual.”“Thank you,” Laura replied.Their eyes met again, but neither of them mentioned the shower or the way they felt.“Hmm… you ain't saying anything?!” Laura said, staring down.She has never felt so shy speaking before, but before Manuel, she was not able to speak properly.Suddenly, Manuel’s phone rang when he wanted to say some, so he paused.Beep. Beep.Manuel reached for his phone, but before he did the call ended, but soon the call came again. He glanced at the phone and saw that it was Christopher that was calling. He sighed and picked it up.“Yeah,” he said, with a low voice, waiting for him to respond.“Boss,” Christopher’s voice came through. “Are you coming in today or not?”Manuel leaned back, pressing his head against the couch.

LISA'S CONFRONTATION That night, Mara lay awake long after the house went quiet. The grocery store replayed in her head, the sound of the van and how she had dropped the basket on the floor.She stared at the ceiling, her heart beating hard in her chest again.“I know you,” she whispered into the dark, but didn't know exactly who the word was for.She kept stirring on the bed until sleep finally took hold of her.****The next day, Lisa dressed up and went to the hotel she and Jamie usually meet.They had agreed to meet, but Jamie hadn't come yet.She wanted to discuss something very important with him, especially about the Nexagens and also about Ivana.She had been trying to reach Jamie on the phone, but he hadn't been picking and it was counting into days already and yet, they hadn't seen each other.So, she sent a message to him because she knew he would see it. She asked him to meet her at their normal meeting point. When she left the house in the afternoon, she didn’t tell any

A NIGHT WITH HER The dinner was over and the plates were all gone. You could still hear people in the kitchen putting away the dishes. The dining room was still cozy and there were candles on the table that were almost burnt out. Jamie sat back in his chair as Ivana was laughing at something her mom said. She had her hand on Jamie's arm like she did all the time. Jamie and Ivana were sitting across from each other at the table. Even though the whole place looked comfortable, Jamie did not look comfortable. Ivana was touching Jamie's arm and laughing still at her mother's jokes.Tommy felt happy and relaxed as he watched them. He had his fingers together in front of him like he was thinking deeply about something very important.“You want to say something??” Tommy said, looking at Jamie.Jamie looked up. "We were just talking about leaving after dinner," Jamie said. He wanted to tell them something.“The roads are really dark.” Tommy said. Ivana turned to Jamie, her eyebrows went

THE UNKNOWN DOCUMENT Lisa looked at her screen and didn't know who exactly was calling her. As she stared at it, her heart started pounding so hard in her chest and she thought of ignoring the call for a moment, but the phone lit up again when the first one ended.A message dropped this time around and she looked so closely at it. The number wasn't something she was familiar with.We should talk. Today. I'll text you the address.That was the message she saw, and her breath caught as she kept staring at it.She heaved and straightened herself, trying to brace whatever it was. She started thinking of who the person might likely be, but the more she thought, the more she couldn't figure out anything.She was just in the car, holding the wheel and staring into distance.Suddenly, she started the car and started moving immediately. She'd find out who ever the person was.____NEXAGEN ESTATES Tommy Lyden’s private office sat at the top of the building like a throne room no one was mea

ANOTHER CONTRACT Jamie arrived home late and it was unlike him. Ivana had been waiting for him to come back, and had also tried calling him but he wasn't picking up.Ivana heard the door before he came into view. She was changing her clothes when he heard him call out to her.“Come with me,” he said, moving closer to her.She blinked. “Where?”“You’ll see.”An hour later, they were already standing in the middle of a crowded restaurant as Jamie put his hand around her waist. She wondered if her father put him up to what he was doing and wondered what they might have discussed.Just then, Jamie handed her a bouquet as the people around started snapping them and posting online.Ivana froze as she came closer to him.“For me?” she asked.He nodded, placing a hand lightly at her back and staring straight at her face. “You look beautiful.”People were watching. She smiled because it was expected and because she always wanted it.“Thank you,” she said, smiling so boldly so everyone could