Page 114 of Bittersweet Revenge

And it had been true. I'd never slept better than with her in my arms.

But it had been difficult, more than we'd thought it would be. So we made sure to always stay clothed whenever we were together just to avoid pushing things too far. There was only so much a man could take.

Seeing her like this – bare feet and bare skin, wet tendrils of hair sticking to her neck, some droplets of water still peppering her shoulders... My body reacted and there was nothing I could do to rein it in, even if I wanted to.

She looked down. Staring shamelessly at my straining pants, she bit her bottom lip. I knew that her thoughts were just as decadent as mine.

“As much as I would love to take care of this problem, we’re late. Your mother has already checked on you twice.”

I rolled my eyes. It had not even been our idea to arrange this little gathering. A sort of ‘In Memoriam’ mixed with a ‘Welcome Home Esme’ as well as a ‘Goodbye Antoine, we hope you enjoy Paris’.

“Can’t your Uncle Luke distract her?” I sighed, undoing my tie and dropping my suit jacket on the chair beside the door.

Luke had been with us for a week now. I was not sure what Archibald had found on his father, but no word of protest had been uttered.

I loved seeing Esmeralda with him. She was so carefree. The smile she had given when I’d offered for him to stay a while had been worth any hassle his presence could have caused. I’d loved it so much that I’d even sat down and listened to the ‘talk’ about respecting Esmeralda and treating her right. The man didn't know I’d rip my own heart out if she asked me.

“I think if those two spend any more time together, it will end up in a murder-suicide.”

I cocked my head to the side pretending to ponder the option. I threw my hands up in surrender. “I just need a quick shower. It’s been a long day.”

She detailed me, her eyes seeing right through me as usual. “Is everything alright? You look tired.”

I grabbed a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom. “The board’s not going easy on me,” I admitted. I could let the walls down when I was in my room. With my Angel, I could share my doubts, my fears, my weaknesses without any fear of being hurt in the process. It was a treasure I thought I would never get.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked as she settled on the vanity we had moved from her room to mine in order to do her makeup.

“It’s more than that. I need to,” I replied, getting into the walk-in shower and watching her do her makeup through the steamed-up glass of the cubicle. It was all so domestic and I loved every second of it.

“We’ve got a problem.” Better rip the Band-Aid off now and see how it goes.

“Okay?” she called back cautiously.

I sighed, resting my forehead against the black tiles of the shower wall. The hot water felt wonderful on my tensed back muscles.

“The board said that if I want to assume the role of CEO, I have to fulfil all the functions, no exception.” I was so angry. I could see my father’s former right-hand man salivating at the idea of having the top job. The more eager he was, the more adamant I was to take it from him.

“What do they mean by that?” dhe asked from the walk-in closet as I stepped out of the shower.

“It means that I’ll need to be in the office at least twice a week and attend the fortnightly early morning calls with London and the monthly very late calls with Shanghai.”

She walked into the bathroom dressed in a simple pair of dark jeans and a red V-neck blouse.

“You look stunning,” I offered, buttoning my shirt.

She rolled her eyes, her high ponytail waving from right to left as she bounced toward me. Standing on her dainty red-painted toes, she gave me a chaste kiss. “You always say that! Even last night when I wore my sushi printed flannel pajamas.”

“And it was true then too. You’re always beautiful.” I lifted her and sat her on the counter beside me before I started to shave.

“I guess we always knew that taking over would be a lot of responsibility, Caleb. It’s alright. There is nothing you can’t do.”

I sighed. “Your faith in me is commendable.” I met her eyes in the mirror. “But it also means we can’t go to Cornell, Angel. It is too far. It’s not practicable.”

She shrugged. “Okay, there are a few colleges around here. It’s not a big deal.”

I stopped shaving and turned toward her. Had my girl lost her mind? “No, I was not thinking of community college, Esmeralda… I was saying we can’t go to Cornell; we need to go to Yale. It’s only an hour away, so it will be easier on me, onus.”

She started to laugh, full belly laughs, tears-in-her-eyes kind of laughs.

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