Chapter 4

Makenna. Two weeks later… My fingers typed away at my keyboard as a victorious smile stretched my face. Just a few more words… and I was done. “Aha!” I huffed, grinning like a Cheshire cat as I emailed the completed manuscript to Sera. My editor was in for a treat. She had no idea what was about to hit her. No doubt she would be hot and bothered when she finally read it. Just like I was whenever I remembered that night. No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t get him out of my mind. He was there at every corner, every turn of thought, lurking in the shadows, reminding me of how much of a chicken I was to sneak out of his penthouse when he least expected it after a night of wild sex. The way he’d made me feel, the manner with which I’d responded to him was out of this world. I never allowed myself to think about it too much because then I would think about how much I wanted to do it again and that was just not possible. Thankfully, from what I gauged after spending all that time with him, we didn’t run in the same circles so the chances of us meeting again was next to nothing. I would die of shame. Besides, Storme City was the biggest city in the States, having the largest landmass. I was safe. Cracking my knuckles, I leaned back against my writing chair– I’d ordered it off Amazon and it was the best purchase I’d ever made in my life– and curled my legs into my body, a mug of hot chocolate in one hand. Yasmine had been over herself with joy when she found out I’d done it. I smiled with a blush, recalling how she’d cheered gleefully especially when I regaled her with tales of mystery man’s superior sexual prowess. My cheeks had been hot as hell since that day. I looked more like a tomato than an actual tomato. While to an outsider, the fact that I’d lost my virginity for the sake of people I would probably never meet in life was a ridiculous thing to do, to me it wasn’t. I was nothing without my readers. They got to see a part of me I would never show to anyone else. They agreed to live in my dream world, held my hand as I took them from emotion to emotion until we came to the end and then all over again. Writing has always been my safe space. Putting words to paper had been my way of self-expression, one that had saved my sanity while growing up with my parents and twin sister. I think it was a blissful escape from the emotional neglect I felt whenever they picked her side over mine and told me I needed to do better, which was all of the time really. No one had cared to ask my side of the story because it hadn’t mattered and so I’d taken those suppressed and unspoken words and jotted them down. Slowly, it went from my side of the story to actual stories. S & Jones Publishing had scouted me on a web novel platform two years ago where I’d taken to posting my short stories, which had gathered enough attention to make me one of the popular writers at the time. My family had been against it at the time because my parents had always wanted to study law. I majored in law in college but the truth was that it was never what I wanted. I’d only done it to make them happy. They wanted me to be more like Kenzie, who was an accountant and just got her MBA and was now working for the family. When I’d explained to them that writing was my passion, they’d spat in my face and called me selfish. If there was one thing I’d learned in my twenty-five years of living, it was that I couldn’t please everyone. And so the best thing to do was to please myself. Safe to say my parents didn’t agree and our relationship had been strained ever since. A buzzing sound drew me out of my reverie. Reaching into my sweatshirt pocket, I retrieved my phone and smiled when I saw the caller ID. Pressing the green button, I pressed the phone to my ear and balanced my mug in between my folded legs. “There’s my favorite junior writer,” Sera’s usually penetrating voice was now singsongy as it flowed into my ears. I chuckled, feeling mighty proud of myself. “That’s me.” “Where have you been all this time? I was beginning to think you’d lost your touch.” Even though she couldn’t see me, I waved a hand. “Just saving the big guns for a special occasion. You know how I do.” Sera’s approval was evident and I could just imagine her nodding. “Good, good. Christ, this is the hottest thing I’ve read all year. Your readers are going to eat this up like candy.” That was the plan. I’d even added a bit of spanking and screaming somewhere in there. “I hope so.” “Listen, I’m calling for two reasons. Firstly, to tell you that this manuscript is fire. Secondly, you’ve been chosen by a VIP client for a collaboration project. And they asked specifically for you.” I straightened, pressing the phone so close to my ear that it might as well have gone through the damned thing. “Don’t mess around with me, Sera.” “I’m serious.” There was ruffling in the background. “Ah, said client just arrived. Are you free right now? They would like to meet you in person and talk extensively.” “Hell, yeah.” I was already running to my wardrobe to get changed. “I’ll be there in twenty.” I ended the call, my heart hammering inside my chest. Grabbing my best dress– one that I had been saving for something special even though my life was as eventful as taking a walk in the park inside the rain, I threw it on, slapped on some powder and mascara on my face and practically dashed to my car. It took me exactly eighteen minutes to get to the company. I sped into the building and to the elevator, holding back a curse at how slowly the stupid thing was moving. Finally, it opened to Sera’s office floor and I emerged, heading straight to her office. Just outside, I stopped to catch my breath, counting to ten. Oh, my God. I was barely able to contain my excitement. S & Jones Publishing was one of the top three publishing companies in Storme City. If Sera said this was a high-end client, then I believed the shit out of her. I had to make a good impression because the next few seconds had the capability to change my career for the better. Knocking once, I opened the double doors and entered the office. From this angle, I could see the client was male. Releasing a breath, I marched forward. Sera’s eyes glimmered with excitement when she saw me. “Ah, here she is now. May I present Makenna Barnes, our top rising junior writer.” Smiling widely – because how could I not? - I walked towards where they sat in the middle of the office. The client chose that moment to stand up, swinging around to face me. “Oh, shit,” I whispered, freezing. No, no, no. I had to be dreaming. It couldn’t be. “Makenna, allow me to introduce world-famous jeweler and owner of Artemia House, Wolfe Wilder, your new client.” Right there in front of me, was the same man that I had sex with two weeks ago at that stupid club that Yas took me to. The same man I’d run out on while he was in the bathroom. The same man from whom I’d drawn inspiration to write spicy scenes. The same man I couldn’t stop thinking about. Mystery man. His eyes widened. From the looks of it, he recognized me too. I was screwed.