2025-05-31 15:30:34“Who was that?” Sadie asked Charles as she watched Emmy's brother walk off.
“It’s nothing. Let’s pay and get out of here fast. The baby must be hungry,” Charles dismissed quickly. The last thing he wanted right now was to explain his ridiculous past to Sadie.She’d laugh at him. He would’ve laughed too if the tables were turned.Sadie stayed quiet, watching him as he paid. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know much about Charles at all.“Should I help you unstrap the baby?” he asked after dropping the groceries in the trunk.“Yeah.”A few minutes later, Charles was driving. She sat in the back seat with the baby, eyeing him. Something had changed since that man showed up. Normally, Charles would’ve thrown a sarcastic jab her way by now.Damn. She hadn’t signed up for this version of Charles. The sarcastic, annoying one was way better than this tight-lipped stranger.“Um, I forgot to ask,” she started, “
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Damn. Maybe this was all a bad idea. What type of friends does Sadie even keep? This was the third one checking him out tonight. Charles took another sip of wine. Damn.“Ladies and gentlemen!” the MC's voice suddenly blasted through the hall, slicing off the smooth music like a blunt knife.“The birthday boss is coming on stage now,” he announced, way too close to the mic. “He has a wish!”Charles winced. Damn, bro, you trying to eat the microphone or what? Give it some space, man.“And the wish? He’ll tell us now!”Cheers erupted as the birthday guy swaggered onto the stage. Loud applause, mostly from the ladies—which, to Charles, was just irritating noise.The guy acted like some D-list celebrity, waving like he was on tour or something, eating up the attention until the crowd simmered down.“My wish,” he said, voice too soft for someone with such bulldog features, “is to have a one-minute dance with Sadie Wy
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Caught off guard, she gasped into it. He pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her waist, then turned his gaze to Charles. A quiet, threatening stare.Then he looked at the reporter.“Mr. Roger? Oh my goodness…” Mara whispered, hand covering her mouth.She remembered him now—her old college crush. Back then, he was the campus celebrity. She never got the chance to speak to him… until now.“Hi, Mara,” Roger beamed.“Um… she’s… oh, is she your girlfriend?” Mara asked, hesitantly.“Yeah,” Roger said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sorry for her outburst, but honestly? I would’ve reacted the same way if this man had done to me what he did to her.”Mara glanced at Charles, then back at Roger. “What are you talking about?”Roger leaned in a little. “I don’t know your relationship with him, Mara, but take my advice—run. Get away from him.”“What do you mean, sir?” she asked, clearly thr
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“What are you saying? I can’t hear you,” Roger said at the other end. “Charles—I just saw Charles—”The line went dead.Roger hissed and tossed his phone back in his pocket, switching it to Do Not Disturb. This woman shouldn't ruin his carefully planned evening. He looked around and spotted Sadie two tables away.“Man, take your eyes off that woman for once,” one of his friends chuckled.Roger poured himself a drink. “I need that woman.”“She’s way out of your league, bro. Most men here can’t get past business talk with her,” another added.“You never can tell until you try,” Roger said, glancing at them.They laughed.“What?” he asked, seeing the ‘you don't know what you are saying’ look on thurt faces. “Don’t bother. I tried. She canceled me on the spot. Wanna know the worst part?”“She told you she had someone?” Roger guessed.“Nah, worse. Told me to do somethin
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Charles shook his head and dialed Sadie’s number. You couldn’t blame some folks—they probably never learned how to drive properly in their first life.“You said you’d wait outside,” he said dryly once there was an answer at the other end. “Oh my God, Charles?” A strange voice answered.“Who are you, and why do you have Sadie’s phone?”“She’s a few tables away, chatting. You can tell me the message—I’ll pass it on.”“Give her the damn phone.”“Relax,” the woman chuckled. “I’ve known Sadie since we were four. There’s nothing you could say that would surprise me.”Really? Charles scoffed. “Tell her I couldn’t find the brand of condoms she asked me to get.”The line went dead silent—then choking.“You should’ve just passed her the phone,” Charles muttered. “Tell her I’m outside.” He hung up.He glanced toward the door. Two security men stood at the entrance, looking like status. A memory crawled u
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"Miss Emmy?” the CEO snapped, impatience bleeding into his tone.Emmy offered him a plastic smile, trying to look composed. But they both knew she had absolutely nothing under control.“Are you sure you’re the one who’s been writing these proposals?” the CEO asked, loosening his tie. He looked ready to explode, and Emmy had no power to stop the inevitable.“I’m sorry, sir. I think it’s just the stress—”“Stress?” he barked. “What damn stress? You used to submit ten proposals a week!”Ten? What kind of human coughs up ten ideas a week?“And this is your second week with nothing to show?”“I... I ran out of ideas.”“All of a sudden? After nearly two years of consistent performance? Shouldn’t you be getting better at this, not worse?” He leaned closer, his voice low and lethal. “You have two days to send me twenty viable proposals or I’ll terminate the collaboration. I don’t care what magic you used before.”
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Charles glanced around. “This all you’ve got? Why am I so disappointed?” Kade's smile twitched. “You're exactly as they described you.”“I’m sorry, buddy—” Charles lunged, grabbing Kade by the neck and pressing a knife to his throat, fast and ruthless.“She’ll be up in eight minutes,” Charles whispered. “If you want her to wake up to a corpse, keep bluffing. Or you can play nice and let her think you’re a gentleman.”Kade's jaw tightened. “Drop your weapons!”One by one, the guns hit the grass.“Now,” Charles whispered in his ear, “tell them to disappear.”Kade clenched his fist tighter. “Leave us. For now.”The hidden men hesitated before melting into the background like ghosts.“You got me, huh?” Kade said, forcing a grin. “Guess I underestimated you.”Charles cocked his head. “Glad we’re on the same page. By the way…” He glanced around casually. “Where are the others who were with you earli
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