As I peer through the open doorway, a smile finds its way onto my face. She had fallen asleep with her head resting on her arms, her curls spilling out onto the desk. The numbers on my watch remind me that it is fifteen minutes just after midnight.
She works too hard, I thought.
Her ways still haven't changed. Even in college, she was notorious for getting little or no sleep at all.
She shifted closer to my chest as I lifted her carefully into my arms, bridal style, so as to not wake her. Memories of our previous days as friends flooded my mind as I transferred her to the couch. Flashbacks of her laughter and smiles made me realize how much I missed her. I missed her humor, her twinkling eyes, or the way she would squeal at anything she found cute. But above all, I missed our friendship.
Damn, this woman. She manages to break down all the walls I put up to distance myself from the world. I haven't noticed up until now, but she is making me fall deeper into this trap, this trap of love.
But she can't find out about how I feel no matter what. So I put on a mask to make my expressions stone, my reactions hidden, and my feelings concealed. No one knows this, but she is the main reasoning behind why so many fences are constructed around me. Alexis Dainley is why I, Christian Markus White, am so cold and distant from the world.
~~~~~~~~~~
After graduation from college, the two best friends parted ways, each in pursuit of different things: one hoping to be one of the best lawyers in the country; the other longing to start a successful business. That was five years ago, all signs of the lighthearted friendship was stripped away by the world until only cold-heartedness and arrogance of the two remained.
Clashes between the two occur once Christian is fired; he loses everything and is forced to work for his ex-bestfriend, Alexis. Spending time with one another in a building for a while has resulted in them falling hard for each other. The catch? Their relationship is STRICTLY BUSINESS.
Some chapters may contain steamy scenes and mild language so read at your own risk.
Character List
Alexis Levina Dainley - main female character
Profession: software engineer, businesswoman, architect & CEO
and founder of Dainley's Inc.
Christian Markus White - main male character
Profession: lawyer, businessman &Vice President of Operations
(COO) of Dainley's Inc.
Aryel Lilli Kim - Dainley's best friend
Profession: owner of Kimmie's Salon
Kelsie Darnelle SultVander - female antagonist
Profession: receptionist @ Dainley's Inc.
Archer Levine Hunt - male antagonist, Dainley's ex husband
Profession: businessman & CEO of Hunt's Inc. (Dainley's Inc.'s
competing business)
Key
Italicized = thoughts
* = author notes or time changes
^^^^ = POV transition
YOU ARE READING
Strictly Business (ON HOLD)
RomanceIf she is a fire, then he is the wood. If he is the lightning, then she is the storm. They provoke each other, and unknowingly push each other closer to one another. They are what is left after the world stripped away their outer shells, leavi...
