*
*
"You went too far this time! Are you not worried she would grow to despise you if she finds out? Or are you going to manipulate her emotions too?" Rex shook his head at his cousin.
"You shouldn't have involved her brother in your selfish games! You weren't there to witness the scene, she will definitely not forgive you for this!" Rex spoke again, successfully managing to get a reaction from Sterling who narrowed his gaze at him.
"She'll only get to find out of you don't fucking keep your mouth shut!" He growled.
If he knew Rex won't let him hear a word about it, had would never have asked him for the favor! Sterling thought, glancing at his wristwatch.
She still wasn't here.
What the hell was keeping her! He was growing impatient and restless.
Did she prefer her family to suffer than to come to him for help?
Sterling didn't believe that. He knew her more than enough, she would readily put others' happiness before hers.
Sterling knew he was a bastard for using her kindness of heart against her.
"What if she still won't come, what are you going to do next? I hope you aren't thinking of some other crazy idea after all you've done? Don't you feel guilty at least? You are this cruel to the woman you desire, now, I'm afraid to offend you!"
Perhaps he did go too far, Sterling agreed, but did he regret the action? The answer was a solid no!
He meant every word when he said he would go to any extent to keep her with him, he would stoop to any level, and this time he'd delivered a cheap blow by using her weaknesses.
Four years had been a fucking long time, he'd been patient enough, and now the beast within him was battling to be free from its cage.
He craved her and no one could stop him!
The last three days without her had been real torture, the memories of hot naked flesh and tangled sheets tormented his mind, and civilization had threatened to slip free, he could have had her kidnapped to one of his private islands, but at what cost?
She would have fought him every step of the way and it would have taken an even longer period of time to finally convince her to accept her fate.
It was good that he had successfully managed to trap her in a desperate situation where only he could help her, now, she would have no choice but to do whatever he wanted.
His cock twitched at the thought of stripping her bare, exploring and claiming every curve of her hollow body once again. His lust for her was constant, it used to bother Sterling at the beginning, but now he was used to it, he'd finally accepted his insanity when it came to her.
And the sooner she realized her place by his side, in his fucking bed, beneath him, moaning his hand as their flesh sizzled with heat, the better it would be for the both of them.
Fuck!
He was so hard at the thought.
Sterling didn't feel guilty, he only despised the fact that she wasn't here yet.
A knock sounded on the door, and Sterling had to clench his chin when it wasn't Faith who walked in.
It was Darla. She wore a too happy smile on her face as she approached him.
"These are the marketing documents you requested for." She extended the papers to Sterling, the very low cut of her shirt almost had her breasts falling free as she leaned.
Inappropriate dressings didn't suit his company's image, Sterling made a mental note to tell her senior to address the situation.
Sterling's face deepened in a frown when Darla ensured that her fingers touched his as she handed the papers.
"Is there anything else you might want me to do for you?" She smiled suggestively, staring at him as though to make the actual meaning of her words known.
"No, get out!" Sterling muttered, flipping through the pages of the document, he missed the look of disappointment on her face.
"What about coffee? I can prepare it for you exactly how you like it, or I can fix your lunch?" She tried again, unwilling to give up.
"Do you have too much time on your hands? Or maybe you're hard of hearing, I just told you to leave!" Sterling spoke, with no emotion betraying his features.
Darla flushed beet red, as though embarrassed or perhaps furious.
"Of course not! I just thought that ___" She started again and this time Sterling snapped.
"Well, don't think next time, you can leave now!"
Darla scurried out of the office, her face masked in displeasure. The moment the door slammed shut Rex burst out in a fit of laughter.
"What the hell is funny to you? You can leave with her as well!" Sterling grumbled at his cousin whose laughter only added to his annoyance.
*
*
Faith straightened to her feet, there was no point in continuing to wait if he purposely didn't want to see her.
She didn't know why her heart felt as though it was broken in half, she blinked back salty tears, her eyes were already too swollen and starting to hurt.
Sterling didn't owe her anything. She had no right to feel disappointed, if she had thought she meant anything more to him, at least now she knew it was all her misconception, he had only been kind and considerate towards her because she worked for him and not for any other reason.
She started to head towards the outward entrance when she heard her name. Faith turned around to see the familiar face walking toward her.
Rex.
The bar owner, he must have come to visit Sterling Hunter, Faith thought.
"Hello." She greeted, she tried to smile but it wobbled off.
"What's wrong? You don't look alright to me." He assessed her features and Faith looked away, the last thing she wanted was for a stranger to start feeling sorry for her.
"I'm alright, I came to see Mr. Hunter__" Perhaps she could find out if Sterling Hunter was very busy, maybe he just didn't have the time to see her?
No!
What was she thinking?
When would she learn that it was better not to try to raise her hopes, she would only end up utterly disappointed.
She might as well just ask since Rex was still staring at her expectantly.
"Is he__uh__ very busy right now?"
Rex only shook his head and smiled. "Of course not! He's very free!"
It turned out that Sterling Hunter just didn't want to see her, Faith's heart sank until his next words.
"He's been waiting for you, why don't you go see him?"
Faith's relief was mixed with confusion and anxiety.
"Waiting for me? Did he know I was going to be here?" She asked and saw a strange flicker in Rex's eyes, the look was gone before she could figure out what it was.
"N_no, I mean he kept hoping that you would change your mind and resume back your job, you must be very special to him since he can't seem to be able to replace you with anyone else!"
His words made Faith discover one thing. Darla had lied to her!
Faith clenched her fists, wishing it was Darla's neck instead.
"Thank you, I'm sincerely grateful." She spoke to Rex who waved it off with a brush of his hand.
Faith stared at the elevator, now that she was free to finally see him, why instead of relief, anxiety was all that she felt ___and even fear, but also a mixture of something else that made her heart seem to beat faster and her breaths shorter.
It couldn't possibly be that she was anticipating seeing him.