by Piper Rayne
In half an hour, Joseph finally reached the hospital and reached the room. He strode forward to the bed to check his son. Four bodyguards in black suits followed him from behind. Joseph smiled at his son even though tears dripped down his face. He wiped his tears away.
“I’m glad that you’re safe,” Joseph muttered as he also went to hug Tanner. “I’m so sorry, son. I’ve blamed you all these years without even checking the truth of that incident eight years ago. Please forgive me.”
Tanner couldn’t return the gesture, so he mumbled instead. “It’s totally my fault for trusting someone who had messed up my relationship with my family. I’m glad that you’ve forgiven me now. I promise to be a better son from now onwards.”
Glancing up at his son, Joseph stammered. “No, I was the one at fault. I raised a snake who had come back to bite me. I happened to meet Mr. Hughes in jail a few days ago. I can’t even hold the shame that he dared to laugh at my stupidity all these years. I’ll be better at judging people from this moment.”
“All right, you shouldn’t hold onto our son for so long,” Christina strode forward to pry her husband away. “Do you know that he’s still injured from his wounds? Let him rest for now.”
In a few minutes, Stacey’s mobile phone rang. The awkward disturbance interrupted the family happiness. Stacey apologized as she picked up the phone. She discussed for a few seconds before she hung up the call.
“Master McGuire, I hope you don’t blame me. The secretary from Williams Shopping Mall called me a few days ago to let me know that Mr. Williams disapproved of Mrs. Lewis’ designs. Since you two are worried about your son this past week, I had no choice but to submit my own artwork to the client. The secretary just called and reported that Mr. Williams approved my own design. He hoped to get these two designs done for the spring so we can use this for a promotion advertisement.”
Joseph smiled. “That’s fine. No need to worry. Thanks to your hard work, this business deal has gone so smoothly so far. I won’t blame you for anything.”
Tanner looked at his parents and Stacey. He’s glad that his parents liked and trusted her so much. He opened his mouth and alerted his parents and butler. “Can you please give us some privacy? I want to discuss a few things with Ms. Nelson?”
Master and Madam McGuire looked at their son and back at Ms. Nelson. In the end, both of them nodded. They told all the people in the room to head out of the room. His mother finally closed the door, leaving Tanner and Stacey alone at last.
“I meant what I said. If you’re still disappointed about what happens in Las Vegas, then I’m willing to take responsibility. You can call the police to come apprehend me now.”
Stacey looked at him for a bit and finally let out a tense breathing. “I refused. I had been thinking in the past few days. Since we’re both under the influence of alcohol, we’re both at faults. I recalled a few flashbacks that I was the one who made the first move. I’m not sure if it was lust or love, but I didn’t fear you or anything. I shouldn’t regret what happens and take my anger out on you. I really appreciate your kindness for rescuing me from Ms. Lewis. I just hope we could put the past behind us.”
“I’m really sorry.” Gawking at her, he didn’t know what to say to her next. He thought for a few seconds before he mumbled, “The way you said made me feel worse about myself. I’ll turn myself in to the police instead if you refused to report me. This way, I can make it up to you.”
Shaking her head, Stacey strode forward and looked Tanner in the eye. “If you want to make it up to me, then please get better. You should get back in shape so that you can wear the wedding suit of the husband to promote in the video advertisement in the Spring.”
“Me?” Tanner stumbled. “You sure about this? Where do you hear this from?”
Stacey nodded. “The client’s secretary told me that Mr. Williams suggested you and I dress in those wedding designs. The client’s mother was really impressed with your words, so she wanted to see the couple who had finally convinced her son to read her books. So, you shouldn’t make me lose face since I always finish my tasks on time. So, please act with me on that promotion advertisement. You heard me?”
Tanner thought for a few seconds, and he mumbled. “I agree.”
Glancing at each other, they smiled as they both shook hands. They had settled their differences and decided to begin anew. With this development, they had become closer as Stacey had taken care of Tanner at the hospital. At last, their relationship may bloomed to something else, maybe even love.
* * *
THE END
If you plan to continue with this series, there’s an epilogue…but I suggest you stop here if you don’t like cliffhangers and don’t plan to continue.
Thanks for reading!
Epilogue
Three months later, Tanner and Stacey stood next to each other under the apple orchards. The buds sprouted on the branches and waved in the wind. White petals scattered from the trees and flew in the air. The sun stood high in the sky, reflecting the sunshine in the surroundings. Tanner and Stacey had to act as a lovely newlywed couple in front of the crowd.
Standing on the left, Tanner dressed in a black tuxedo with a white tie. He used gel on his hair and spiked it towards the back of his head. Stacey, on the opposite side, wore a white wedding gown with a large skirt with many layers. The hem floated onto the grasses. She carried a bouquet of red roses, and her veil flew behind her curled hair. Their smile expression created a sweet atmosphere around them.
“Excellent! Nice positions!” the photographer complimented, taking one final shot. “I’m glad you both show a pleasing facial appearance!” Looking towards the crews, he shouted, "It’s noon now. Take a thirty minutes break, and then we'll continue with the second session. Alert the priest and the guests to join everyone inside the canopy tents."
Tanner and Stacey released their hands. He helped escort her to their resting area in the orchard. Looking at her appearance, his heart fluttered since he had only seen Stacey dressed up for the second time. Right now, she represented a magical fairy from heaven. Tanner had no longer cared about her plain appearance from before since he had preferred to choose personality over appearance. Had he suffered a bad mishap in the past just because he judged a girl based on their looks?
"You're beautiful. I can never take my eyes off you," Tanner smiled, supporting her from tripping on her high heels. "Besides, I'm shocked that you can draw. You amaze me every single time. Is this one of your new designs? Do you think of me when you created these gorgeous drawings?"
Stacey snorted, frowned, and avoided his gaze. "You're still the same as always. Stop with those flatteries. I'm under a tight deadline so I had to make a rash decision to submit my own artwork.” Looking at herself, she sighed. “Pity! I planned to use this beautiful gown for my own wedding."
Facing her, Tanner winked and led them closer toward his parents and Hudson, who sat under the two red and blue stripes umbrellas. "I meant what I said earlier. I appreciate your kindness and gratitude for helping my father to catch the thieves. Our company was saved due to your guidance. If you don't mind, I would like to get to know you better. Can you give me a chance?"
Stacey paused for a few seconds to think of his request and then nodded. "Since you saved my life, I guess you weren't that bad. I also admire those words you spoke to Mr. Williams at the restaurant. I think…. we can give it a shot. But I prefer we take everything slow."
"Thanks. I won't let you down. I'll let you take the lead until you get familiar with me." Tanner grinned, loosening the tie in his neck to ease his tensed breathing "When the photographers finished taking photos in the next few hours, do you want to go eat at a restaurant? We can get to know each other personally rather than just being boss and employee. What do you think?"
Leaning against his ears, she whispered. "Fine. But, we need to keep this a low profile from your parents. I don't want them to know that we're dating until we pass the three months mark. Unde
rstand?"
"Deal," Tanner chuckled. "You're always taking precautions with everything. I should improve myself to become a better man so you'll date me longer than three months."
Tanner and Stacey kept walking ten more feet until they reached their resting area. Under each of the two umbrellas, a brown table stood in the middle with four chairs on each side. Master and Madam McGuire sat on the right table while Hudson stood filling lemonade on several glasses on the left one. On the table surface, Tanner's parents littered papers and pamphlets while Hudson had water bottles, glasses, fruits on his own table. Several luggage bags were placed on the three chairs.
Reaching out her hand, Stacey smiled at her boss. "Based on our progress, I hope you're satisfied with the work. Let me know if you need anything changed in the schedules today. I'll have to call and notify our client's secretary."
Master McGuire dressed in a tan suit and already stood up to greet them. He placed the pamphlet on the table and shook his secretary's hand. "Nice job! With this progressive promotion, I hope we can sell more clothes in the market. I just checked the schedule for today. Do you two know why Mr. Williams still wants to do a wedding scene? I can't stay for another few hours since I need to go back to the company to check on the development of the accounting department."
Stacey started, “It’s because…”
She didn't get a chance to finish her answer since Madam McGuire, wearing a turquoise flowery spring dress, interrupted the conversation. “You’re beautiful, Ms. Nelson. This is the first time I see you in this type of outfit.” Striding past her son, she smiled and glanced at the white gorgeous gown. Lifting her camera, she asked, “Please let me take a few more shots of this lovely dress. Okay?”
“Sure, please go ahead,” Stacey nodded. “Let me know when you’re done taking pictures.”
Tanner had no choice as his mother started clicking on her camera. Signing in defeat, Tanner waved for Hudson, who wore his black pants and white shirt, to bring him a glass of lemonade. He walked past his father and sat on one of the empty chairs. He set his tie on the table as Hudson fanned him with a paper fan. Relaxing, he stared at his father and shrugged.
"I heard our client wanted to shoot a video advertisement based on the wedding scene from his mother's romance book. I guess this will boost up more popularity for her upcoming series," Tanner exclaimed as he drank the whole lemonade glass in one gulp. "Later in the day, I’ll talk to Mr. Williams to discuss more details about the next step of our partnership. Father and mother, you two can leave with Hudson. No need to wait for us. We’ll come back on time to join the conference meeting at three.”
Master and Madam McGuire nodded. As four of them sat down on their chairs, Hudson grabbed a few sandwiches and placed them on the table. All of them ate their lunch and discussed more opportunities for the company's progress.
The conversation kept going on for the next thirty minutes. In the meantime, Tanner waved for Hudson to continue to pour all of them more lemonade or water for them to quench their thirst in the humid weather. Master McGuire kept droning on to the point that Tanner got fed up with the repeating statements.
“Enough! I understand,” Tanner stated as he swallowed the last bite of his sandwich. “I’ll discuss with Mr. Williams about finding more opportunities in the near future. No need to worry. Just finish your meal and be on your way."
Christina interjected in the conversation. “All right. You can take care of the rest. Let me take a few more shots of you two in your wedding outfits. I want to keep these pictures for my album.”
Tanner snorted. “Fine. Help yourself.” Looking at Stacey’s current situation, he nodded at her and turned back to his mother. “After Ms. Nelson finished eating her sandwich, then we’ll pose for you to take a few more pictures.”
Waiting until Stacey finished eating her lunch, Tanner wiped his hands on a towel. He stood up, fixed his tie again, and walked to stand next to Stacey. They were a feet away from the umbrella's location and posed in several positions as his mother continued clicking the camera. Tanner already became stiff from posing in the same postures since the early morning, but he still wanted to make his mother happy by abiding her wishes.
At last, his father and mother marched to the car in the next fifteen minutes. Hudson already packed some of the beverages and stacked it in the back of the trunk. All three of them sat in the vehicle as the butler drove the car away from the orchard. Seeing his parents disappearing in the distance, Tanner took Stacey’s hand as they walked toward the canopy to look for Mr. Williams.
They strolled past several crews and employees from the photoshoot company. Tanner shook hands with some of the important guests. He needed to build connections with other people in the business world. As they finally reached the canopy, Tanner helped support Stacey to go sit on a stool. Tanner looked around the area and waved to an employee to come and give them water bottles. Just at the right time, Natalia Jones approached them on the right side of the canopy.
Drinking a few gulps of water, Tanner approached Ms. Jones. “Do you know where Mr. Williams is staying in this area? I want to discuss a few words with him. Let him know that I want to finish this discussion before we begin the second session.”
Natalia nodded. “Sure. He’s still talking with a few friends on the other side. I’ll head out now and let him know. Please stay here for a bit since we’ll continue in ten minutes.”
As the client’s secretary left them, Tanner sat on the stool next to Stacey. He hadn’t rested for long until he heard a familiar voice within the surroundings. He cleared his ears again to be sure he wasn’t hearing things. Looking up, he saw the woman who ruined his life in the past. He slowly stood up from his seat as he glowered at the couple in front of him.
“What’s wrong?” Stacey asked, following his gazes. Standing next to Tanner, she stared at the other couple, who marched closer to their spot. “Do you know those two people? Why are you giving them that kind of mean expression?”
The woman that Tanner dated in the past still had that beautiful pale face. Though she had short, black hair near to her neck and wore a crimson dress with large golden earrings. The man was taller than her by a few feet, had brown hair, and wore a cream suit. The odd thing about the new couple’s expression was his ex had an awkward look in her eye and the man had a sneer on his face. The atmosphere around them was so tense Tanner nearly no one even breathed.
Reaching out his hand, he snarled at Tanner. “Nice to meet you Mr. McGuire. I’m glad to have finally met you.”
Tanner didn’t want to shake his enemy’s hand, but he had to show a good performance in the audience. He followed along and shook the other man’s hand. In the process, he realized the other man crushed his fingers so Tanner returned the same favor and nearly snapped his bones too. They were both in a tug of war trying to break each other’s hands before Mr. Williams’ voice interrupted them. Tanner and his enemy startled and finally let go of their hands.
“There you are. I was looking for you two. I want to introduce everyone.” Daniel approached them with Natalia following from close behind. Turning to Tanner and Stacey, he said in a clear voice. “This is my university friend and business partner, Liam Lewis. And, this is his girlfriend's name Olivia Miller.” Daniel faced his friend and said, “This is the son of my current client name Tanner McGuire and his secretary name Stacey Nelson.”
Glaring at the crowd, Tanner snarled at Daniel. “Mr. Williams, I didn’t realize your inner circle was this bad. I need to remind you to choose your friend wisely. Please don’t linger with these types of people.”
“Why do you say that?” Daniel retorted before he heard his phone ring. Without looking at the caller ID, he answered the call instantly, “Hello! What? Oh no, I’m not at the company now. Do you need something, mother? Huh? Next Sunday. Yes, I’m free that day.” Daniel looked around the surroundings and quickly to finish the call. “Do you need anything right now? Huh? What? You want me to help you out at a bo
ok club next week? Okay! I’ll join and help with the preparations."
* * *
To Be Continue
Continue with The Heartthrob Billionaire Alliance in book one, The Book Club of Nightmare. Check the blurb below for more details.
The Book Club of Nightmare
* * *
A workaholic billionaire. A shy bookworm. A twisted fate of meeting.
Daniel Williams tries his hardest to help his mother’s author career by promoting a bookclub. He wants to repay her love and become close with her. At an unexpected sighting, a shy librarian that his mother hires to oversee her events caught his eye. Hasn't wooed a woman before, he had to befriend her by becoming extremely interested in their latest tawdry novel.
Too bad, Ellie Evans barely notices his existence. Loving his mother’s romance novels and having an ambitious dream to become an author, she joins the book club to start her career. She never spares him a smile or glance until he gives his opinions on romance novels, women writers, and the voyeur readers. Touching a nerve, she lashed out at him with her sharp tongue, creating a dispute between them.
An unfortunate incident of somone leaking his mother’s work to the public destroyed her reputation. Even worse, a famous author sues his mother for plagiarism. In the midst of problems, Daniel also has a turmoil in his company. Trusting her honest words, Daniel joined forces with Ellie to help catch the traitor in the Book Club and to resolve the lawsuit crisis. Unable to balance the time and priorities, will Daniel rather choose to save his mother’s career? Or will he choose his only dream to save his company? Or will he finally lose his only parent?
