After Memory Loss, I Have Fiancé (Business Empire Heir 2)

Esmeralda's POV

"Miss Griffin, Mr Stone will see you now" the receptionist says smiling at me after putting the phone back in it's position.

I exhale nervously and smoothen the imaginary crease in my shirt before standing up and moving towards the direction of the door to the CEO's office.

Esme, calm down, He's just a man. An ordinary man with the reputation of a dragon. You can do this.

I give myself more internal pep talk before going inside.

I become confused when I enter the office and see no one. The chair at the desk was empty.

Where is the infamous 'Mr. Stone'? The legendary man who has built the group of companies he inherited into the biggest empire. The man whose name rule every single headline about success and magazines about the hottest men ever.

God Esme you're so stupid. You should have done some research about him or at least searched for a picture of him on the internet. If only I was someone that keeps up with the news and magazines. But no, I'd rather have my head buried between a book.

"Miss Griffin" A husky voice says from behind me and I literally jump two feet in the air and drop my bag.

I quickly spin around holding my hand to my chest. When I set my eyes on the person that just almost scared me to death, the breath I'm trying to catch leaves me in a second.

Perfection.

That's the only world that springs to mind. He is so handsome, I feel like I have to pay a certain fee before being allowed to look at him. When I finally lift my face to his, an involuntary shudder travels down my spine. His smoldering hazel eyes are assessing me curiously. I quickly turn my eyes to the floor unable to hold his intense gaze. I pick up my bag from the floor but I'm still unable to lift my eyes to his.

He looks.........familiar. A little bit like someone I've been repeatedly seeing in my dreams.

Nah, that's nonsense. Get your wild imagination in check Esme!

I feel a hand move under my chin and lift it up and I see that he has moved a bit closer but there's still an appropriate space between us. His gaze becomes more probing and then his hands cup my cheek gently caressing it.

"Daisy, is it really you?" He mutters his voice deeper than when he first spoke.

Daisy?

Who is Daisy?

"II'm... Uhhh....no?" I reply stammering unable to think straight.

For God's sake Esme, at least talk like someone who went to school.

He moves closer and rests his forehead against mine. His other hand join the first one in caressing my face.

"Why did you leave me? Where have you been? I've missed you so much angel" he says his breath fanning my face. Tingles run through my while body even though I have no idea about what he's saying. If I tilt my head up, my lips will touch his. He's affecting me in a weird way. My mind doesn't even feel like it's mine anymore. What is wrong with me?

All of a sudden, he retracts his hand and close his eyes for a brief second before opening them and placing his hand in his pocket. His expression back to the business man look.

"Pardon me, Miss. Griffin. I thought you were someone else" he apologises noncommittally before walking past me to his chair and then he takes his seat.

A stupid part of me almost wants to claim to be the person he mistook me for so he can touch me again. I kill that stupid part as soon as it rears it's head.

Jesus Christ Esme, he only apologised not ask for your life story.

I laugh nervously and take a seat then spring up immediately.

"Ccan I take a seat?" I ask and bite my cheek inside in embarrassment. I am so not getting this job.

"Please" he answers gesturing to the chair and I finally seat down.

"I've gone through your CV and you graduated with a first class in business management. Why do you want to work as an assistant when you can get any job you want?" He asks his face not revealing anything.

I laugh again and punch myself internally over and over again. He asked a question not tell a joke.

I clear my throat "Well, it's extremely difficult to get a good job in this economy and this company is the best place to get the best experience in business" I answer trying to remember everything I've practiced saying in front of the mirror a million times.

The only difference is that when I was practicing in front of the mirror, I wasn't gawking at it like it's the reincarnation of all the Greek gods combined.

"Hmmm" he nods then stands up and picks up his keys.

"I have somewhere to be in a few minutes. Mrs. White will be in touch with you" he says referring to the receptionist.

Now I'm definitely sure I've lost this job.

I nod miserably and stand up and make a move to walk out of the office.

As I open the office door, I come face to face with someone and my brain goes blank for a moment.  It's like my brain is trying to remember something.

Why can't I get my memories back?

"Daisy" the person asks in shock before hugging me tightly.

Who is this Daisy person?

Esmeralda's POV

"Lily, Miss Griffin is not Daisy" the deep throaty voice of Mr. Stone comes from behind me.

The girl hugging me pulls back to stare at my face and then looks behind me to stare at Mr. Stone's face.

"Why didn't you tell us you've finally found her" She asks looking hurt and then her face scrunches up. "Wait, what do you mean by she's not Daisy? Of course she's Daisy. Look at her, she looks exactly the same only more beautiful!" She exclaims smiling.

My face heats up a bit as a result of being called beautiful.

"This is Miss. Griffin, she came for the personal assistant interview" he says sternly.

"Oh. I'm really sorry then Miss. Griffin, you look a lot like someone I know" she apologizes.

"Yeah, I figured that out" I answer smiling.

"So, I'll be on my way" I add making a move to walk out.

She smiles as I walk past her and when I look back, I see her hugging him.

So she is his girlfriend then.

When I finally make it out of the building, I decide to hail a taxi since I didn't bring my car. Esther (my car) was starting to give me problems and fixing a car isn't one of the priorities in my budget right now.

As soon as I'm able to stop a taxi, my phone rings and I roll my eyes when I see the name of the caller.

"What?" I snap when I pick the call.

"Baby, I'm really sorry. I don't know what came over me, I was so drunk. Please, all I'm asking for is a second chance" he pleads.

"Listen Jack, I don't care about whether you were drunk or not, what is done is done, you can't take it back" I repeat what I've been telling him repeatedly for two weeks now.

"I know I don't deserve this but please give me one last chance" he begs again.

"Don't you get it, I've given you more chances than anyone deserves and yet you mess up every time. How do I know you won't repeat this when next you are drunk? I think we're better off apart" I say then hang up.

Why can't he just leave me alone once and for all?

This time I'm so determined not to take him back. I won't fall for all his sweet words anymore.

The taxi finally reaches my apartment and I go inside and then go to my desk and tick out The Stone Empire from the long list of companies I've applied to. I'm running out of options fast.

Will I have to later settle for a lowpaying job after working hard in college to graduate with a first class?

My dream of building my own company now seems more far fetched than ever.

The day passes by in a blur and in the evening when i'm preparing to go to the gym I just registered myself into, my phone rings.

It's an unknown number and I start praying for it to be one of the companies I've applied to calling me with a job offer.

"Miss. Griffin?" A lady's voice says from the other end.

"Yes?" I answer eagerly.

"This is Mrs. White from The Stone Empire's headquarters. I believe you came in for an interview today?" She pauses for my response.

"Yes, yes I did" I answer quickly anticipating and dreading her next words.

"You have been offered a job as the personal assistant to Mr. Stone. You're expected to resume tomorrow" she says curtly.

"Really? Oh my God! Thank you so much! I'll work really hard" I squeal out before clearing my throat and trying to not sound like a teenager talking about boys "I mean, thank you, I'll be there"

She chuckles softly "It's okay to be excited and welcome to the team. Be here by eight 'o' clock tomorrow morning. A little advice from me, don't be late not even by one minute, Mr. Stone hates tardiness" she says and I jot that down mentally.

"Thank you Mrs. White" I say beaming and she replies before hanging up.

When I drop my phone, I do a little celebratory dance before going to my closet and picking out my outfit for tomorrow.



I can't wait for tomorrow.

Hunter's POV

"Hunter! Hunter!! Hunter!!! Why did you leave me? You let him take me"

"You let me down Hunter"

"I thought you loved me"

"I thought we were meant to be together forever"

"Now i'm dead because of you"

Daisy's voice keeps echoing around the empty room I'm standing, her words taunting me. I try to block it out but it only gets louder. I can't take this anymore....

I spring up from my bed sweating. It was only a nightmare. It's been a while since I've had this kind of nightmare. I bury my face in my hands and will myself not to let any tears fall. I didn't cry when she died, why should I cry now?

She's not dead, she can't be dead. I will keep searching for her until I take my last breath.

I stand up from my bed and get ready to go to the office. When I get to the office, I go up straight to my office door. I pause when I notice the light of the assistant's office was on.

No one can be around at this time, I  always come in about 1 hour before everyone. I walk forward and when I enter through the door that leads to the assistant's and I's offices, I see Miss. Griffin humming and arranging her table.

Why exactly did I hire her?

Am I being the biggest masochist on earth by having someone so alike to Daisy so close and yet so far?

Her similarity to Daisy is making my heart hurt.

I move forward to make her aware of my presence but just as I'm about to call her name, she steps back to admire what she was doing and collides into me.

She turns around and I drop my briefcase and immediately hold her to steady her. She blinks rapidly in shock and her mouth opens to form words but she closes it again.

I run my eyes down her profile and I feel my body react to her beauty. My eyes linger on her red lips for a few seconds too long before moving back to her blue eyes.

Daisy liked red lipstick.

My eyes trail back to her lips and I gulp to tamp down the temptation to kiss them and see if they'd feel like Daisy's. She bites her lips and I grit my teeth in frustration.

Why does she look so much like Daisy?

I'm definitely going to fire her.

Her hands which I didn't realize were resting on my chest curl and for a moment, I forget this isn't Daisy and move my thumb along her plump red lips. I want to kiss them so badly. I've missed her so much.

Sanity flows in the next second and I give myself a reality check reminding myself that she's not Daisy.

Fuck, what am I doing?

Esmeralda's POV

A breathy sigh escapes my mouth at his gentle touch and I unconsciously lean my face forward and close my eyes. His gentle hands disappear a second later and my body mourns the loss of his warmth.

What am I saying? This is not me. Why am I acting like this? He's my boss for God's sake!

He obviously thinks I'm someone else, which I'm definitely not but why am I not protesting for him to not touch me?

I just broke up with Jack so I can't say it's because i'm starved of affection.

I open my eyes and look up to see his face revealing nothing.

"Good morning Miss. Griffin" He picks up his briefcase and turns to go into his office.

I nod shakily because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to form words if I open my mouth.

Is this how every day will be like?

Immediately his door closes, I collapse in my chair then take a deep breath.

Who is this Daisy? Why is he mistaking me for her? And why am I liking his touch?

I shake my head, I seriously can't be thinking about this right now. I have a new job and it's something I need to focus on. To prove people like Jack wrong.

Fifteen minutes later, Mrs. White comes in to show me the ropes and show me around. I spend the rest of the morning doing that. There really isn't anything much to do today, tomorrow is the day I start the real work.

Now there is only one thing I need to do before the end of the day and that is to prepare Mr. Stone's schedule for the month. The hard part is that, I have to do it with him.

I pick up my notepad and pen then move to his door. I hesitate before knocking, and when I finally do, there is no response. I knock again and again but still no response and before my brain can tell me that this is a bad idea, I open the door and go inside. I mean he could be injured or something....

Shut up Esme, you just want to snoop around his office, don't make excuses.

I'm really starting to hate my subconscious voice. The door closes after me and I walk forward slowly.

"Mr. Stone?" I call out since there is no one in his office and I didn't see him go out unless he had already gone out when Mrs. White was showing me around. But why would he leave his office unlocked?

I really should get out of here now. I turn to go back outside when something catches my attention through my peripheral vision. My curiosity gets the best of me and I approach the picture hanging on the wall almost sacredly. It looked out of place in a office this fancy.

Get out of here! Now!

I don't listen to the sane voice in my head and I finally get close enough to see the picture properly. I gasp when I see the people in the picture.

It's a picture of me well a girl exactly like me and a younger version of Mr. Stone. He was holding her waist from the behind while he rested his head on her shoulder. The girl was wearing a baseball cap bigger than her head probably for Mr. Stone. She was smiling really wide in the picture and Mr. Stone was smiling at her instead of looking at the camera.

My hands unconsciously reach forward and remove the picture frame from the wall. I keep staring at the picture in wonderment. Why do I find this picture so fascinating? Jack and I have many pictures like this and I don't stare at them like a loon.

A sudden migraine hits me and my head feels like it's spinning for a second. My brain goes haywire again and random things start popping up. Things like the sound of my laughter, a guy's laughter and the flash of a camera.

I make a move to return the picture. I suddenly don't feel so good.

"What the fuck are you doing with that picture?" A very deep and extremely pissed voice asks coolly from behind me and I drop the picture in shock.

The glass frame shatters and all I can do is watch it scatter all over the floor.. I turn slowly to face a really angry Mr. Stone. His eyes are trained on the picture lying on the ground. His fists are clenched tightly and I gulp in fear.

I hurriedly pick up the remainder of the picture and try to clean it with my blouse.

"I'm so sssorry Mr. Stone, I didn't mean to ddrop it" I stammer out.

"What. The. Fuck. are. You. doing in. My. Damn. Office?" He asks his voice deeper than usual hinting at the fact that I'm as good as dead.

"I'm really sorry Mr. Stone" I say my voice shaking. I start backing away when he starts walking forward. He looks lethal.

I feel my back hit the wall after a few more backward steps and I really start panicking. He keeps walking towards me until he enters my personal space. I hold the picture frame to my chest as if it can protect me.

He snatches the picture from me and a tiny glass remaining on the frame tears through one of my fingers. I'm too afraid to feel the pain though.

"Don't you ever come into this office when I'm not there and don't you ever think about touching anything in here. You're here to work and reluctance to do what you're meant to do means you lose this job, got it?" He asks lowly and I nod my head hastily.

"Now GET OUT!" He yells and I jump in fear almost in tears.

I run outside his office before he decides to punish me for what I did by firing me and rush to the ladies room. I try to compose myself but I can't stop shaking.

Why did I go snooping around his office?

I notice my finger has started to bleed and I rinse the blood out. It stings and I grit my teeth. I've always had very low physical pain tolerance.

I finally calm down and go back to knock on his office door. As much as I don't want to go back in there, I have a job to do or else I'll get fired.

He asks me to come in and I open the door as hesitantly as I can to delay seeing him. When the door opens wide, I walk in just as his phone rings.

He picks it up and I keep standing there fiddling with my fingers.

"What?" He yells looking shocked.

"You've found her?" He asks again standing up and picking up his keys.

"Wait right there, I'm on my way" He starts to walk towards his office door and I hurriedly move out.

I don't want to be alone in his office ever again.

"Call Mr. Heart right now. I'll be there soon" he says before hanging up and rushing out of the office.

Why is he so shocked?

Who is the person that was found?

And why does the name Mr Heart sound so familiar?

Hunter's POV

I can't believe this. After all these years, I'm going to see her again. She really isn't dead.

I pull up outside the restaurant where I'm meeting with the private investigator and Mr Heart. I hope Mr. Heart is feeling alright this week. He took the news of Daisy's death very hard and he has heart conditions.

As I enter the restaurant, the waitress recognises me and points me to the table where Mike the private investigator was sitting. I walk towards the table and as I take my seat, my father and Mr Heart arrive.

We all wait for Mike to speak and I feel my patience running out when he doesn't say anything.

"Where is she?" I ask impatiently.

"The thing is I haven't really found her..." I spring up from my seat in anger before he can complete the sentence.

"But I finally have a lead. This is better than the fruitless clues we've been having for years" he pauses so we can process his words and I sit down again.

I nod at him to continue talking and he does.

"Esmeralda Griffin?" I ask shocked.

"Yes, your new assistant is the girl in the picture but I have no proof that she is Daisy" Mike says but I'm too shocked to even reply.

But Esmeralda can't be Daisy...

Why would she act like she doesn't know me if she was Daisy?

"She can't be Daisy. She doesn't even recognize me" I state.

"Yes and that is where it gets confusing. Her family have her birth certificate and pictures of her growing up with them. On one hand, I think it's Daisy because the similarity is too much to be a coincidence and there is no trace of Miss. Griffin on the internet or any social media but on the other hand, I think she's just a lookalike because of the proof her family has" Mike answers.

Mr. Heart's face falls and I feel more sad because I could have prevented all this if only I stayed with her that day.

"I'll carry on with the investigations and see what more I can find. When I do get something useful, I'll call you" he says and we all stand up and exchange hand shakes.

I hit my steering wheel in frustration as soon as I enter my car. This happens every damn time. I get my hopes up every time Mike calls only to be let down. But what if Esmeralda is Daisy?

No, that can't be? There is no way she can pretend not to know me. No one can be so good an actress.

There is only one way to know.

Daisy has a birthmark on her back, if I can just be able to check it without looking like a pervert.

An idea pops up and I drive to the office with determination. When I enter her office which leads to my office, I see her typing away on the computer while wearing cute little glasses.

When she notices my presence, she gets startled. Another thing I've noticed about her, she gets scared easily or maybe she's still scared because I yelled at her earlier.

"MMr. Stone, uh.." She fumbles for words.

"We have a charity gala tomorrow night and I always take my assistants as my plus ones so be ready by eight 'o' clock in the evening tomorrow. And don't worry about your outfit, it's on the company" I say and then walk into my office not waiting for her response.

As I enter my office, I dial Lily's number.

"Hunter! Wow, you called today. What favour do you need?"

"Can't I just call you because I want to see how my little sister is doing?" I ask.

"I know you and because of that, the answer is no" she answers.

"Fine, I need you to send in one of your latest designs. One that is classy and backless. And when I say backless, I mean it displays the entire back" I say.

"That order is a little strange coming from you. So you wear dresses now?" She asks.

"Don't be a smartass, I need it delivered in a few hours. And send the bill with it" I state.

"Consider it a gift. I'll have Festus bring it to the headquarters" she says.

I respond before hanging up.

I then sit down and run my hand through my hair. If this goes well, I'll be able to check if she really is Daisy.

A knock sounds on my door and I tell the person to come in.

Esmeralda walks in looking absolutely gorgeous and really uncomfortable. I make no move to make her comfortable. I keep staring and she keeps fidgeting looking everywhere but my direction.

"Take a seat" I say gesturing to one of the seats in front of the desk.

She settles down and opens her notepad.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Stone but we have to prepare your schedule for the month" she speaks up her voice sounding firmer than I expected.

She finally looks at me her face determined. The part of me that enjoyed making her fidget grows more and more.

I nod and we start. She's actually not doing a bad job on her first day. We work on my schedule for thirty minutes. After we're finish, I give her a list of people to send some emails to and some people to call.

By now, she seems so professional and the part that loves making her nervous is now as big as a planet.

I stand up from my chair and move around the desk towards her seat. I sit directly in front of her and she leans so far into the seat as if she wants to enter into it. The evil part of me can't resist smirking and leaning after her.

Her face still remains professional and I take it a bit further by caging her into her chair and leaning further.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" I ask already knowing the answer.

"No" she answers stubbornly. Daisy was stubborn too.

"Really?" I question leaning so close my nose was practically touching hers.

She blinks rapidly and I feel myself get caught in my own trap by getting mesmerized by her eyes. The smirk slowly falls from my face as my eyes devour her features. Fuck, it should be a crime to look this beautiful and be this adorable.

"No, you don't" she insists.

As if enraptured in a spell, I can't resist getting closer and pecking the corner of her mouth. I do it again and when that doesn't seem enough, I throw all caution to the wind and decide to go in for the kill and kiss her. I mean what would it hurt?  Just as I'm about to do just that, she says something that halts me.......

"Hunter, what are you doing?" She breathes out.

Hunter?

My first name.

Nobody ever calls me that except my family since I've graduated high school. Most recent newspapers and magazines only ever write Mr. Stone. No one in the business world knows my first name.

How did she know my first name unless......

Esmeralda's POV

Mr Stone freezes after I ask the question. The dazed part of me wants to ask why he's hesitating but the sane part of me that has decided to be as professional as possible keeps screaming at me to move away.

"What did you just call me?" He asks looking extremely puzzled.

What did I call him?

I then remember that I said Hunter instead of Mr. Stone. Way to go Esme, what a way to get fired. Calling your boss by his first name.

"I'm sorry Mr Stone, I didn't mean to...."

"No, I mean how did you know that my first name is Hunter?" He asks looking suspicious.

Does he think I'm a spy from another company?

"I'm really sorry" I apologize again.

"How. Did. You. Know?" He asks again his teeth gritting.

"I heard it from that girl that mistook me for Sunflower or Daisy or whatever her name is on the day of my interview" I answer not understanding his sudden curiosity about where I got his name from.

"Which girl?" He enquires again.

"Your girlfriend. The one that was complaining about you not telling her that you've found Sunflower" I reply my mind suddenly realizing that I was just getting a little too personal with someone's boyfriend. I frown at that thought.

"Her name is Daisy not Sunflower. And the girl complaining is my sister Lily" he says looking disappointed about something.

A strange part of me is happy that that girl is not his girlfriend.

Get yourself in check Esme, the fact that the girl is not his girlfriend doesn't mean he doesn't have other girls.

"I'll take my leave now" I say hurriedly standing up just as a knock sounds on the door.

The person opens the door without waiting for an answer.

"Hunter baby, Festus couldn't make it so I decided to bring it mysel......" The gorgeous lady who just walked in pauses when she sees me.

She eyes me from head to toe then ignores me completely. She continues moving forward and when she finally gets to Mr. Stone, she places a kiss right on the mouth. I look away and I grip my notepad in...anger? Jealousy?

Get over yourself, you've barely known him for two days.

But any lady would have to be blind not to want to be in her shoes. Mr Stone is perfection.

The girl who I'm guessing is his girlfriend or at least one of his many girlfriends according to the tablets an gossip magazines finally pulls away from him.

I finally did a little research and what I read about his love life wasn't pretty. He changes girls like he changes clothes. He's never seen with the same girl twice. And he has a thing for tall blondes with blue eyes.

She turns to give me a 'he's mine and you're dead if you go near me' look and I internally roll my eyes.

"Jennifer, what are you doing here?" Mr Stone asks pushing her away not so subtly.

"Festus was caught up in something else so I brought the dress myself. It's the perfect size for me, you ordered it for me to wear to the gala right? I chose the one I liked the most, it's so sexy, you're going to get so hard when you see me in it that you'l....." I clear my throat to remind them of my presence successfully halting her purring.

"You couldn't have sent any of the other drivers or don't you think it's strange having the manager of the fashion house making the delivery. What does Lily think about this?" He asks moving away from her to go back to his chair and she follows him.

"She doesn't have to know. Why haven't you called me since that night?" She asks her voice becoming sultry.

"Miss Griffin, please take that dress. That is for the charity gala tomorrow night" he says gesturing to the package Jennifer dropped on the table.

She turns sharply to glare at me as if it's my fault the dress was ordered for me not her. I ignore her and pick up the dress.

"Thank you Mr Stone" I say nodding curtly before moving our of the office and leaving them to to whatever it is they want to do.

I can't help but be angry about something. Mr Stone is such a jerk! How dare he get personal with another woman when he has a girlfriend.

Stupid Esme, why didn't you keep things professional.

After blaming myself for a few more minutes, I get to work and start sending the emails and messages Mr Stone asked me to send to some people.

It takes about half a hour before the girl finally comes out of Mr Stone's office smirking at me like she just won a lottery.

When the time to leave the office comes, I'm only too relieved. I pick up my bag make my way to the elevator. I can't wait to get home.

As I get to the elevator, it opens and two men step out. Not ordinary men, I mean two extremely goodlooking men. I have to resist the urge to gawk at them like a lovestruck teen.

They walk pass me without even noticing me and when they do, one bumps my shoulder. I wait for the apology that never came.

When I realize that they just kept walking away, I get angry. I can't stand rude people.

"Hey!" I call out but they don't answer me.

I turn back to walk ahead of them and then stop in front of them suddenly halting there movement.

"You just bumped into me and you had no courtesy to apologize" I spit out in anger.

"I have no time for this drama right now" The one that bumped into me mutters and makes a move to walk forward.

I block his way again and he sighs.

"What exactly do you want?" He asks exasperated not even sparing me a glance.

The second one was too busy staring at me curiously to interfere.

"Apologise" I state without hesitation.

He finally looks at me at the same time the second one's face lits up with what looks to be recognition.

"Daisy?" They ask at the same time looking shocked.

Okay, this is getting really old now. How many times do I have to say this? I am not Daisy!

Hunter's POV

I pause in signing the documents I'm currently working on when I hear a commotion going on outside. I wait for a few minutes and when the noise doesn't subside, I stand up to find out what's going on.

Those people making such ruckus better have a damn good excuse.

When I step out of the office into the corridor leading to the elevator, I see Blake and Tyler staring in shock at Miss Griffin.

Oh God, not this again.

"Where have you been all these years?" Blake asks.

"We've searched for you everywhere!" Tyler adds.

"This Daisy girl again? For the last time, I am not Daisy!" Miss Griffin says sounding frustrated.

I quickly step forward before things get out of hand.

"Blake,  Tyler, she isn't Daisy. Meet Miss Griffin my personal assistant. Miss Griffin, meet Doctor Blake the CEO of the Denovan's group of hospitals and medical schools and Tyler the CEO of the Grant's shipping company" I say; trying to make the introductions.

"Miss Griffin?...but...Daisy....I thought.... Never mind. Nice to meet you Miss Griffin. Sorry for the mix up, you really look like someone I knew" Tyler; always the gentleman says smiling and offers her a handshake.

Miss Griffin takes Tyler's hand but doesn't stop glaring at Blake.

What the hell did Blake do now?

Since the incident with him and Bloom in high school, he had turned into a complete jerk to women. And with the messy divorce he's going through right now with Stephanie trying to win the custody case of Sophie their daughter, he has been extra moody. So I wouldn't be surprised if he had done something assholelike to DaisEsmeralda.

I frown at that thought and frown more at the fact that I feel protective over Esmeralda.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too" she replies.

"I'll be on my way now" she says giving Blake one last glare before smiling at Tyler and walking towards the elevator.

"Thank God she's gone. My head is too occupied for her drama" Blake says in relief and  I can't help but get angry about the fact that he was talking that way about Esmeralda.

Before I can say anything, Tyler beats me to it.

"You could have prevented all this if you had just stopped being an asshole for once and apologized to her after bumping into her" Tyler says sounding angry.

Blake uses the heel of both his palms to rub his eyes.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm just so tired of everything and it doesn't help that she looks like Daisy, which automatically means she reminds me of BlooHER" he says and I feel bad for him.

He has been through more shit than any of us have and he still turned out great. I never would have thought Blake would turn out to be a doctor. A professional football player? Definitely. But a doctor? I did not see it coming.

We move inside my office and seat down. I then loosen my tie since working hours were over.

"So what's the latest news about Sophie? Does it look like the final verdict will favor you?" I ask Blake and he sighs.

"I don't know but I'll do everything in my power to have my baby with me. Stephanie is not mother material" he answers and Tyler who was sitting close to him pats him on the shoulder.

"If there's anything we can do to help, tell us and we'll do it" Tyler says and I nod in agreement.

Blake's phone vibrate indicating he has a message and he picks it up to read it. When he keeps staring at the phone with a sad expression, Tyler and I immediately know what he's staring at.

"Blake, you know you can't keep doing this to yourself. What do you gain from that except pain to see her with other men?" Tyler asks looking worried.

Tyler snatches Blake's phone and passes it to me after looking at whatever is on the screen. When I look at his phone, I see the headline 'BLOOM GATES; THE QUEEN OF MUSIC SPOTTED LAST NIGHT IN A NIGHT CLUB IN LAS VEGAS WITH FRED THE NEW RAPPER THAT HAS BEEN BLOWING OUR MINDS' on top of the cover of the article.

Below the extremely long headline was a blurry picture of Bloom and a guy with a Mohawk that looks like a rainbow vomited on holding her around her waist.

"Why should you subscribe to getting news like this? I thought you.said you were over her! That you can't forgive her for what she did! You're only hurting yourself" I exclaim angry that he's adding to his burden by torturing himself with pictures of Bloom.

"So what if I'm not over her? At least she's alive unlike Daisy..." Before he finishes his statement, I stand up from my seat, move around the table swiftly and punch him in the face.

"She's alive and yet you can't have her, you can only watch other men have her. That's worse than her being dead" I spit and he gets angry and punch me in the face unaware.

I stumble backwards a bit with the force of his punch.

"Did he just.....he just....he.." Blake tries to form a sentence between his guffaws but can't seem to complete it.

"You just said.....said.......big man panties" he finally succeeds before going into another feet of laughter while banging the table.

I hold on to Blake's shoulder to be able to catch my breath.

"I just mentioned extremely sad things and the only thing you got out of my words is 'big man panties'? Your physique and position in the society might have changed as you grew up but you guys never matured" Tyler says smiling softly and after a few more chuckles, Blake and I finally compose ourselves.

"I'm sorry man, I didn't mean any of the shit I said" Blake says to me offering me a handshake.

"Neither did I" I say taking his hand and going back to my seat.

"I thought you guys were all going to arrive in the city tomorrow evening for the charity gala, why are you here early?" I ask them both.

"We heard from your Dad that there is a lead as to where Daisy is. Do you think Daisy will finally be found?" Blake asks and I shrug casually even though I was feeling anything but casual about this situation.

"Do you know that the lead Dad was talking about is Miss Griffin? But the clues are not adding up so I won't get my hopes up like the other times in the past" I answer.

"But what if Miss Griffin is Dais....." Blake gets cut off by my phone ringing.

"You need to come here right now, I just found out something very important regarding Daisy" Mike says urgently.

Esmeralda's POV

I stomp my feet in anger as I walk to the front of the humongous building to hail a cab. I really needed to fix my car soon. I didn't wait for long before a taxi stopped to pick me up. I describe my address and the driver nods before going back to ignoring me.

When I get to my two bedroom apartment. I throw my bag on my couch with a little too much force. I blame asshole Blake for putting me in a bad mood. I go into my bedroom and change into a casual outfit before moving to the kitchen to microwave dinner for myself.

While waiting, I decide to search up who the infamous Daisy everyone is mistaking me for is. I type 'Daisy and Hunter Stone' into the computer since I didn't know her last name. The computer loaded various articles, gossip blogs and pictures. I click on the first article with the heading "Heiress of the Heart group of hotels gone missing".

The article was about how Daisy was supposedly kidnapped and murdered. This led to the terrible health condition of her father since she was his only living relative. The article reported that the details of the whole incident remain unknown to the general public.

I opened another article but it was only repeating what the previous one said only with different words. All these was really sad but I still didn't see the connection between Hunter and Daisy. Maybe she was a fling.

One article finally catches my attention and I click on it. It read 'Hunter Stone of the Stone Empire and Daisy Heart of the Heart group of hotels ENGAGED!!!'. So she was his fiancé. The first thing on the page was a picture of a younger Mr Stone and Daisy dancing at their engagement party looking so oblivious to their environment. The resemblance between Daisy and I strikes me so hard that I jerk a bit.

The girl is the one in the picture I accidentally broke today in Mr. Stone's office. They looked so enraptured in each other that it almost looked magical. A weird longing stirs up in me as I keep staring at the picture. I shake my head and close the tab. I suddenly remember that I have dinner in the microwave so I rush to the kitchen and I get there just as the timer beeps. I take out the spaghetti and eat silently.

After a while, I get ready to go to bed. I decide to open the box Mr. Stone gave me and check what kind of dress it contained. I pray that it will be something conservative. I'm not a prude but my parents are Catholic and they will blow a fuse if I ever wore something indecent. Besides, I won't feel comfortable in it.

My  jaw drops in shock when I remove the dress from the box. It's basically a mosquito net! I'm supposed to wear this!!! What exactly was the designer thinking when he/she made this? This isn't even worthy to be worn to bed!

I check the tag and gasp at the name of the brand. It's flipping Arianna Cade! Middle class people like me can only dream of wearing this brand.

I bring the dress against my body to see how it looks like and I cringe at my reflection. I can't wear this. The large scar on my back will be bare for everyone to see and I don't want anyone poking their nose into my business. Even I can't remember how I got the scar. My mum told me that it was from the car accident that made me lose part of my memory.

My phone rings and I drop the dress on the bed to pick it up. A shriek is delivered to my ear as soon as I press the answer button and I distance the phone from my  ear to save what's left of my hearing ability. I check the identity of the caller and see that it's my crazy best friend; Keesha.

"Chica, why the fuck didn't you tell me that you've gotten a fucking job? If I wasn't so happy for you, I would be offended right now!" She shrieks some more.

"K, turn down the volume and Jesus Keesha, mind your language"

"Babe, I had to hear the news from your Fucking mom. So....any hot hunk at work?" She asks and I could practically feel her wiggling her eyebrows from the other end of the phone.

I open my mouth to answer her question but she cuts me off.

"What's the name of the company? Your mother said you didn't tell her, why?" She asks again.

"It's not a company...well it is a company but it's the headquarters of all the companies under it's name. You know the Stone Empire, right? And I didn't tell my Mum because she would freak out about being the secretary for such a notorious womanizer" I reply and wait for a response that never came.

"Keesha?....K?..... Keesha? are you still ther...."

"You're working for the younger stone, are you shitting me right now?" She screams into the phone.

I'll never get used to Keesha's loudness.

"Yes, I'm his assistant" I reply picking up the dress again and willing it with my eyes to grow a few more inches.

"I never thought I'd say this because of how much I love my life but I wish I was you right now" she says and I can hear the awe in her voice.

"Just...." She starts in a calm tone.

Calm Keesha was never a good thing.

"What K?" I ask dreading what she was about to say.

"Just please be careful with him okay? I know you just got out of a terrible relationship and I don't want you getting your heart broken again" she concludes.

"I only said I was working for him not that I was sleeping with him. And I'll be fine, we barely even talk." I say.

'Yeah, because almost swapping spit is not close at all' my sarcastic sub conscious chips in.

"If I was you, trying to keep my hands away from him would be the real job" Keesha says already back to her normal self.

"You need help" I say rolling my eyes knowing that she can't see it. She hates it when people roll eyes at her.

"And talking about help, I have a situation here. There's a charity gala tomorrow night and Mr Stone got me a dress and let's just say that the dress isn't even worthy enough to be an underwear. Plus, it'll expose my scar, what do I do?" I whine.

"Well, send me the picture and I'll see if I can get something that looks like it only a bit more conservative" she says.

"That might be a little bit impossible. It's Arianna Cade's design. You can't find anything like it anywhere" I mutter.

The shriek that follow my words were expected so I quickly move my phone away from my ear.

"Oh my God, oh my God! I'm coming over right away. I guess we're going to have a girls night today" And without saying goodbye, she hangs up.

I shake my head, she's crazy but I love her all the same.

My phone rings again and I pick it up knowing it's Keesha. She probably forgot to say something.

"Ever heard of warning people before hanging up?" I chide her.

"I need you Daisy" I hear Mr Stone's broken sob from the end of the line.

What the hell happened to him?

Esmeralda's POV

"Mr Stone?" I call out into the phone.

"You can't be dead, you just can't be" he sobs gut wrenchingly and my heart clench in worry.

I notice the drawl in his voice and guess that he was probably drunk.

"Mr Stone, where are you?" I ask trying to sound calm.

"Tell me you're alive and you still love me. Tell me you don't hate me." he groans from the other side.

"Tell me Daisy" the pain in his shaking voice was so real that I felt it to my bones. I can't even start to imagine what he was going through right now.

"I'm alive" I say trying to ease his pain even though I'm not Daisy.

"Tell me you love me Daisy" he mutters.

"I llove you Hunter" I say closing my eyes at the absurdness of it all.

I had never told any guy I loved him except my father and brother, not even Jack. Saying it so casually is........I don't even have a description for how it feels.

"I love you so much Daisy" he says with his voice drifting off. My heart skips even though I know his words were not meant for me.

Silence reigns for a few seconds and  I just hope that he has fallen asleep because nobody deserves that kind of pain and if sleep can take it away from him for just a few hours, then so be it.

"Why are you looking like someone just stole your puppy?" My heart jumps out of my chest when I hear Keesha's voice.

"Christ Keesha, there's this thing called knocking, it helps to not send people to their early grave with a heart attack" I remark trying to calm my heartbeat.

"What's the use of having a key to this apartment if I still have to knock? And who is Hunter? How come I don't know this guy? And how come you're declaring your love so soon into the relationship? Unless you have....." I cut her off from the relationship speech she's about to give me.

Why don't people know Mr. Stone's first name? Most people refer to him as the younger stone while the media referred to him as Stone Empire heir and the paparazzi address him as a playboy.

"It's not a new guy, and you might want to bring out the takeout you brought along for this crazy story" I say and she opens the pizza while I go get us drinks.

After settling down, I find myself telling her about everything; how Mr Stone and all his friends keeps mistaking me for his fiance all to what just happened right now.

"Finally some drama in your life, I'm tired of it being me all the time" she teases.

I smile because Keesha definitely had a lot of drama in her life. She's the most gorgeous woman I've ever set my eyes upon and she has always been so unlucky with family and guys; always attracting jerks who only wanted her body. One thing I admired the most about her is her strong spirit. Despite all, Keesha never let any of it affect her or at least she doesn't show it.

"They'll soon discover that I'm an imposter and forget about all this Daisy" I state.

"So the dress, Can I see it?" She says and I can practically feel the stars shining in her eyes.

I gesture to the bed and she picks up the dress with awe.

"I can now die in peace" she says falling on the bed with the dress in her hand. I stand up from the foot of the bed where we were sitting and join her on the bed.

"Quit being so dramatic and tell me what to do. I just got the job and I'm treading on eggshells here. If I reject a dress that probably costs more than my apartment, won't it be weird?" I ask bewildered about what to do.

"Well, you can fake sickness and not go..." She responds not taking her  eyes off the piece of clothing.

Yup, Keesha was in love.

With her being a fashion columnist, I'm not surprised she's so fascinated with a particular brand.

I groan and plop face down into my pillow.

"What's that?" She asks and I raise my head to see whatever it is she's talking about.

I notice that she was staring at the gash on my finger that I got when I was trying to pick up the broken frame's glasses.

"Oh that. It's nothing. I was just a bit careless in the kitchen" I say waving it off.

She stares at me suspiciously for a few seconds before relenting. I don't know why I didn't tell her what happened. A little part of me knew that it was because I didn't want her to have anything against Mr Stone. Why? I don't know. It's not like I'm a teenage girl trying to get my friend to approve of my boyfriend.

'You're an idiot' my snobby subconscious says.

I mentally search for an off button for her annoying voice.

'You can't get rid of me' she adds smugly.

And now I'm pretty sure I'm going crazy. Who in her right mind talks to a voice in her head?

"That's it! This wound is the perfect excuse" Keesha exclaims.

"K, I'm supposed to wear the dress on my body not on my finger" I respond.

"Not that you goof. You'll tell him that you can't attend the gala because you had a little kitchen accident, lost a lot of blood and the doctor prescribed rest for you. You don't need to thank me, you're welcome" she says beaming proudly.

I raise one eyebrow and get ready to point out all the loop holes in her plan when she beat me to it.

"Yeah....that's a horrible idea" she admits deflating.

"The last time I checked, the scar on your back was fading. Let me take a look" she requests and I look at her warily before taking off my pajama top and turning my back to her.

"So....." I prod.

"It's almost unnoticeable now. If I wasn't aware of it before, I wouldn't even know" she comments.

I know that the thing was fading but I'm very insecure about it.

"Yeah but...." I sigh putting my top back on.

"No buts, you're going to that gala. It's about time you get over all these insecurities. Jack was a jerk. Hey that almost rhymed. But jokes apart, he's a moron for everything he said, don't let him win by letting his words affect you" she says and I nod solemnly.

I know she's right but insecurities don't just die overnight.

We spend the rest of the night catching up before we fall asleep. Very ungracefully might I add, with her sprawled on her stomach snoring and me sleeping the other way around with my legs on the headrest.

On getting to work today, I find that Mr Stone isn't around. Not that I was worried about him. Definitely not.

I find it hard to type the emails i didn't send yesterday because of my wounded right index finger and because I couldn't concentrate. I squeak in pain as I accidentally pressed my wounded finger too hard on the keyboard.

"Is everything alright Miss Griffin?" I immediately look up when I hear Mr Stone's voice.

"Uhmm....yes, everything's perfect" I answer trying to analyze his expression.

Why was he acting like he didn't ask his own assistant to declare her love yesterday?

Not that I was expecting a thank you; that would be awkward. But.....

I then remember that he was probably drunk yesterday and he might not recall a thing.

That's good then.

"The company car will be picking you up by eight '0' clock in the evening. We'll meet at the venue for the gala" he says making a move to walk into his office.

'Well good morning to you too sir' I mutter sarcastically under my breath.

He turns back to say something but something else catches his attention and when I look down following his view, I notice he was staring at my now bleeding finger.

Nice.

"You're bleeding, what happened?" he questions.

A little kitchen accident, nothing much" I repeat my reply to Keesha.

"Come with me" he orders.

I start to shake my head but he has already turned to walk into his office. Nothing good ever comes out of that office. I sigh and stand up to follow him.

What's the worse that can happen?

Esmeralda's POV

He closes the door after me when I enter his office before opening another door and walking inside. I follow him and notice that it's a bathroom; a very fancy one.

He gestures for me to sit on the closed toilet seat and I mechanically do so. He then opens a box on the counter and takes out something I can’t see before turning to face me making my heart go into overdrive.

He crouches in front of me making his eyes level with mine and he just stares into them for a while before dragging his eyes down to the wound. The blood there was already drying up.

He grabs my wrist to view my finger at a better angle and all my nerves start to tingle. He dabs the wool in something but I was just too distracted to look at the stuff. He then guides me up and makes me wash the blood off before making me sit back down and using the damp wool to clean the surface of the wound.

I bite my lower lip hard to prevent me from screaming because of the sting. I have zero pain tolerance. I feel his thumb rub across the pulse point on my wrist in a soothing manner and my breath catches.

I watch the back of his head as he concentrates on what he's doing. He finishes what he's doing but doesn't make a move to stand up or look at me.

He continues to rub my wrist with his thumb and I sigh already far gone.

Suddenly he looks up and catches me staring and I find it hard to look away but it seems like he didn't because he stood up immediately.

"There you go. Next time please get yourself properly treated before coming into office. I don't want anything to slow down my employee’s efficiency" he says packing the stuffs he took out back into the small box.

My mouth opens and closes like a fish.

Jerk. It’s not like I declared my love for you yesterday or anything.

But instead of saying that, I smile brightly and thank him before walking out. With shaky legs, I walk out of the bathroom into his office, I glance at the wall that the picture was hanging on yesterday but it’s empty. I finally make it to my little office outside of his and I dump myself on my chair.

I need to get my head on straight if I want to keep working here.

Evening rolls around soon enough and apart from forwarding calls to Mr. Stone’s office, I have no other contact with him throughout the day.

By three ‘O’ clock, he calls my desk to tell me to go home early so as to get ready for the gala tonight and I groan after dropping the phone because I still have no excuse for not wearing the dress but I pack up my bags nonetheless and head home.

Thankfully, Esther doesn’t give me any problem before starting up. On getting home and unlocking my front door, I scream in fright when I see Keesha sitting on my couch while munching on some popcorn as she watches a movie.

“Keesha” I exclaim exasperated.

“You should be used to this by now” She says without even turning to face me.

“I came by to help you get ready” She adds finally dropping the popcorn bowl and standing up to walk towards my room. I glare hard at her back before grudgingly following her.

‘Help you get ready’ in Keesha’s terms involves her sitting on my bed and watching me as I struggle to look presentable while munching on the popcorn she later went back to get from the sitting room.

“Why exactly are you here? You’re not doing anything but getting crumbs on my bed” I give her the stink eye when I catch her eyes through the mirror.

“I’m here to live vivaciously through you because I doubt I’ll ever get to wear a dress designed by Arianna Cade” She says wistfully.

“Tell you what? If you help me tame this wild mess I call my hair, I’ll let you borrow the dress anytime you want” I bait knowing that even if she doesn’t help with my hair, she can still wear the dress and she knows it too. I’ve got as much of her clothes in my closet as she does of mine.

She springs up from the bed in an instant and snatches up the straightener.

She ends up doing my make up too and the end result has me admiring myself continuously in the mirror. Although she straightened my hair, my hair was still a little bit curled but it looked longer. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why my face always looks different when Keesha does my makeup, and she also seems to like it when I do hers; says she likes my touch and all.

Finally, I slip on the dress and selfconsciously tug on the back while Keesha gasps with eyes starry like that of a kid on Christmas morning.

“You look so gorgeous” She says looking so sincere that I shake off the self consciousness biting softly at me.

“Thank you” I reply smiling.

As I sit down to put on the laboutins I saved as hell for in celebration of my graduation, the door bell rings and Keesha springs to the front door to answer it.

A few minutes later, I walk out of my bedroom and see a strange man sitting on the couch.  He stands up immediately I step in and gestures politely to the door. I smile at him before waving bye to Keesha. On getting outside, I notice the limo and a childish grin appears on my face since I’ve never ridden in a limo before.

The man opens the door for me and I step in ready to let go of all the sophistication I don’t have and explore every inch of the limo. I however freeze when I see Mr. Stone sitting in the other corner.

“Thought it would be easier to go together” He says. “You look beautiful” He adds and my heart skips a beat.

“Thanks, you also look ummm…” I become tongue tied because I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to call my boss hot which is exactly the way he looks.

His smirk makes a slow appearance and I look away not completing my sentence. His subtle and yet suffocating scent envelopes me and I find it hard to stop myself from shifting closer to him and getting more.

I’m rescued from the battle going on in my head though when the limo pulls up in front of the stone hall. The driver comes around and opens the door for us and Mr. Stone gets out first before extending his arm to me.

I grab it and he helps me out ever so gently that my heart skips again. For a moment, I’m almost blinded by the camera flashes but my brain short circuits when Mr. Stone places his palm on my back; my naked back! He urges me forward with it while his thumb rubs slow circles on my back and I almost trip on my own feet.

Is he even aware of what he’s doing to me?

And why does his touch feel oddly comforting and familiar

Esmeralda's POV

“Mr. Stone, is this your new girlfriend?”

“Mr. Stone, what do you have to say about Everfresh’s shade to your company in their new advert?”

“Mr. Stone, who is this young woman?”

He doesn’t answer any questions as his bodyguards pave way for us to pass through. His thumb continues its slow seduction and it takes all my willpower not to let out a soft moan.

Have some self control, you idiot.

“You only have to interact with people for the first half of it, by the time it gets to the second half, everyone will either be too drunk or too tired to socialize with new people” He says and I nod just as we step into the big hall.

I loop my arms around his arm and we walk into the party. People start approaching him and his expressionless face slips on as we move further into the room. He stops occasionally to talk with some people before we continue moving around.

My eyes widen when I see Jack on the other side of the room talking to a tall man with grey hair. Fortunately for me, he doesn’t notice me. Of course I should have known he’d be here; he belonged to this circle of the rich which is probably what gave him so much arrogance and made him think he could treat me anyhow he wanted.

Our relationship lasted for a year and a half and I really did love him in the beginning or at least the man he had first pretended to be. After about six months, his true colors started to shine through and I tried to hold on thinking it was just a phase.

It wasn’t and our relationship was toxic in every sense of the word.

He still had a pull on me but not because I still love him but because it’s impossible to care for someone for that long and just be able to stop all of a sudden.

However, I hated him for how humiliated he made me feel ever time he appeared in the papers with another lady.

He kept our relationship secret from the media with the excuse that he wanted to keep me away from the public eyes scrutiny. I should have known back then that he was only protecting his image and not mine. But even after everything, I’d still take him back because I was naïve and I believed myself to be in love.

Not anymore.

Mr. Stone finally guides us to a table and pulls out a chair for me and I thank him before sitting down. Seated at the table are his sister, the two guys I ran into a day before; Tyler and Blake I think, two elderly couple and the tall elderly man Jack was talking to earlier. My heart hurt for unknown reasons because of how frail the latter looked. He doesn’t look well and he’s currently staring at me like he would a ghost.

“Mr. Heart, this is Esmeralda, my assistant” Mr. Stone introduces me to the man with a worried crease between his brows.

“Oh…It’s so nice to meet you Esmeralda. You look a lot like someone I used to know” The man says wistfully as he extends his hand to me with a weak smile.

Let me guess? It’s Daisy. Again.

I accept his handshake with a fond smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Heart”

A man takes that moment to walk onto the stage and everyone finds their seats and settles down as the program begins.

The MC greets everyone and chatters on for a while before inviting Mr. Stone up for a speech.

My stomach tightens as Mr. Stone stands up in all his 6’4 glory and walks to the podium. I could very well almost see the drool dripping from most ladies’ mouth; I’m not sure I don’t have drool falling from my mouth either. My eyes refuse to move away from his figure as he begins his speech and my brain tries to comprehend why I feel so attracted to him; well apart from the fact that he’s gorgeous.

He finishes his speech by inviting the kids from the orphanage the donations are going to for their musical recital.

For the next fifteen minutes, everyone is enraptured by the kid’s voices and talent and they are rewarded by a standing ovation making huge grins appear on their cute faces.

The real band invited for the evening then start to play and most people start getting up to dance. I search the room for Hunter and I see him talking to the girl who brought my dress to the office. Jennifer, was it?

Since the elderly couple sitting at our table has already gotten up to go and dance, I’m left alone with Mr. Heart. From the side of my eyes, I see how left out the man feels.

“Will you dance with me, Mr. Heart?” I ask before I can think again.

His eyes light up and he smiles at me before taking my hand. As he stands up, I’m surprised by how huge the man actually is, he definitely doesn’t look frail while on his feet.

We walk to the dance floor and start dancing. By the time we’re done dancing, I’m laughing with tears in my eyes; the man is hilarious.

“I’d like to meet this lazy dog of yours. King, right?” I say with a huge smile as we stop dancing to go back to our seat.

“I have a feeling he’d be happy to meet you t…” Mr. Heart doesn’t get to finish his sentence before someone interrupts him.

“May I steal this lady for a dance” I turn around to see Jack standing right behind me with a wolfish grin on his face.

“Sure, If the lady wants to” Mr. Heart responds.

Since I don’t want to cause a scene, I reluctantly take Jack’s hand and try to smile without it seeming forced in Mr. Heart’s direction.

“You look beautiful Esme” Jack says.

That never stopped you from cheating before. I snipe at him in my head but instead of saying that out loud, I say;

“Thanks”

Given my rotten luck, a slow song starts playing and he pulls me close as we start swaying from side to side. My mind knows it shouldn’t feel comfortable but a part of my heart is a traitor. It still cares for the asshole; no matter how small that part is.

“I miss you so much Esme. I know I was a jerk but I love you, I really do, please forgive me” He whispers in my ear and I start praying for the song to end fast. I’ve had enough of his lies.

Oh, how I wish Keesha was here.

I look over his shoulder to see Mr. Stone dancing with Jennifer and I break a little more.

God Esme, you always choose the worst kinds of guys to fancy. Either he’s a cheater or he’s already taken.

“Esme, please look at me” Jack says tilting my head up.

“I want; no I need you in my life. I know this won’t change the past but those girls meant nothing to me. You’re the only one I care for”

His audacity! When will this damn music end?

A tear slips from one eye unwillingly. Jack always brought out this feeling in me, always making me feel like I’m not and will never be enough for a guy like him.

“Just stop” I croak out.

“May I cut in?” The deep timbre of Mr. Stone’s voice rescues me from the dark pit of selfpity I was sinking into.

Thank heavens.