IMPROMPTU TRIP
She stared back at green eyes that were way too wise for their age. The lips beneath it lay straight, set in an unimpressed line. Giselle was something else these days. The more Maria stared back at her little sister, the more she realized that the fourteen-year-old was growing fast and would no longer be a little child in a few years. With her auburn hair packed in a messy bun and hands folded on her chest, Giselle almost looked intimidating. Maria however stared her down from her height of 5'6. It wasn't much but at least this was the one sibling she still had the advantage of height over.
"So you really won't bring home a man any time soon?" Giselle asked again as if the first time didn't do enough emotional damage to Maria.
"It's not that easy. When you're my age you'll understand" Maria said choosing to ignore the knot in her chest. A fourteen-year-old couldn't make her feel this way.
"A lot of boys ask me to prom, it's the most tedious time of the year honestly. Trying to decide who to go with, what dress to wear, and if any of my expensive clothes get to be seen with the male I end up choosing" Giselle sighed, picking at the bacon on her plate.
Maria's eyes shot to their brother warily. Boys?
"When I was your age-"
"When you were my age your nose was dug up in books and you barely went for parties. I can tell, you're like the biggest introvert I know." Giselle finished with a snicker.
"When the time is right, there'll be a man. Now stop concerning yourself with my love life and go up to your room before I tell mom to reduce your allowance.”
"I'll just tell aunt, Athina. She'll be glad to help.”
"Go up to your room and stop bullying your sister Giselle," Their mother's voice came like a savior to Maria and she almost cried for joy when Giselle took up her plate and went up the stairs not before giving a mischievous wink.
"Thanks, Mom, she is something else these days." Maria sighed to Josephine
"It's just Giselle being Giselle. She's always enjoyed teasing people you know that. You don't exactly make it difficult to tease you either."
It was the weekend and just as she promised, she came home to spend time with her family. As soon as she stepped into the house, Ruffy ran to lick her feet and snuggle his fur against her knees. Even the dog misses her so much. The next person to come at her was her father.
"That's my girl," his deep voice boomed with pride as he hoisted her up and threw her on the sofa. He was...quite different from the usual dads.
"Don't be so careless with my daughter!" Josephine scolded before running to where Maria lay chuckling. She missed this love.
After the whole drama with her parents, Giselle ran downstairs and out the door before coming back in with an unimpressed look.
"Back without a man again?" She had asked in the most Giselle way possible the rest was history.
Maria went up to her room for the first time in a long time. It was just as she left it. Pictures of her teenage years lined the beige walls, Athina was present in most of them. The last picture that was added to the collection was the very one she took with Athina on her wedding day. They looked so happy holding hands and whispering things to each other.
Athina wore a big smile and her blue eyes spoke of overwhelming joy. She was happy to get married to the man of her dreams and Maria shared that happiness with her.
She glanced at her phone, still contemplating whether or not to ask Athina for help. She didn't have the boldness to tell her about the state of the business but she owed it to her to tell her the truth. Athina's husband was a business mogul, maybe he could invest or help her out in some way. Of course, she would repay him but she had to think up a business plan first.
Just as Maria was considering drawing up a contract, her ringtone broke her train of thoughts. It was Athina. She gingerly reached for the phone and accepted the call.
"Hello there Minnie mouse. My best friend's been getting a little too comfortable with not talking to me all the time." Athina's bubbly voice reached her ears and Maria chuckled at what she said. Athina really had a way of lifting spirits even without knowing.
"Stop calling me that please, I may just have to murder you someday." Maria playfully said while rolling her eyes. The nickname had set in right from when they were younger and Maria went through a phase where she was obsessed with bows and glitters.
"I still have your embarrassing photos. Try me.”
Athina let out a peal of evil laughter and Maria had to close her eyes in shame. This was the beast they had married off to a responsible man. Be most be putting up with a lot.
"Athina, I have to tell you something." Maria's voice suddenly became serious and she could hear Athina's breath hitch from the other side of the call.
"Is everything okay?" Athina asked sounding worried.
"Relax, everyone's a fine bit the business isn't. Our business isn't doing well." Maria choked on her sob and the dam came loose. All the pent-up frustration came pouring out as she narrated everything to her best friend.
"Oh, Maria. Don't take it too hard on yourself." Athina sympathized knowing how her best friend could be. "This all falls within my plan," Athina added.
"What plan?"
"So I wanted you to come to visit me next week and spend some time here since I missed you so much and I also have some good news to share," Athina shrieked excitedly.
"Really? I can come to stay with you for some time? And what's the good news? Please tell me Gordon died."
Athina laughed so hard at this and Maria couldn't help joining in. Gordon was a kid from high school who just loved to bully her and make her do his assignments. That was before she stood up for herself anyway, but the hatred remained.
"Of course, it's okay for you to come here and as for the good news, you'll just have to wait, darling."
The call ended with Maria feeling happier than ever. She had thought that since her best friend was so far, she wouldn't care too much about the business but time and time again, Athina proved to be a good friend.
Maria went down to spend some time with her family and they all played a game of scrabble. A notification tone from her phone in the middle of the night had her furrowing her eyebrows and squinting in confusion at the picture and I*******m handle Athina had sent.
"Remember him?" The text read with an attached photo of the make she had met at Athina's wedding looking all sweaty and shirtless. Below the picture was an I*******m handle and winking emojis.
Maria facepalmed.
Oh, Athina.
REID'S DILEMMAREID’ S POVReid knew very well how meticulous his father was but taking away what he’d been trained for all his life was crossing a line. His father was dead serious about the six month deadline but he was going to take it as a joke. “What is it with the Martakis mad brothers threatening to take away their son's inheritance.”“It’s all part of the madness, bro,” Colton chuckled as he passed the glass of whiskey to Reid. After his unpleasant visit with his father, he headed over to Colton's house for a surprise visit. They hadn’t seen each other since the wedding, only calling and texting to check up on each other. “How did you do it?” Reid turned to Colton. “Do what?” “Obey your father. We both know he’s ten times worse than mine.” Colton nodded in agreement with a small chuckle. “I guess I just happened to fall in love at the right time.” Reid snorted. “Still can’t get over the fact that you’re in love and tied down. I thought you’d forever be a playboy.”“Well
THE BANE OF HER EXISTENCEMaria's skin glistened under the sun as she stepped out of the airport to look for a cab. She was dressed in a turtleneck grey top and plain black jeans. Thankfully, it was a sunny day and she didn't have to worry about rain or warding off the cold. Her small black box stood beside her and her hair was packed in a bun."Cab," She called as soon as one passed by, and as expected it came to a halt."What's the address?" the cab man asked, leaning forward a little to get a good look at her. He was rather old, with worry lines on his forehead. However, he smiled warmly at her.Maria fumbled with her purse as she struggled to bring out her phone to show him the address that Athina had texted her the previous day. She almost grumbled when the purse slipped from her hand, clumsiness had always been a thing in her life contrasting with how calm and collected she looked. As soon as she was able to get her phone out of the purse, she unlocked it and showed it to the pa
TAKEOVER STRATEGYReid didn’t have many friends growing up with the strict parenting he had and it stuck with him. The only person he could call a friend was Colton and gone were those days they spent their free time together visiting various bars and clubs. His mother being absent was one of the main reasons his father was hard on him. The iron fist training he had as a child molded him into the man he had become.For a child, he was too busy to make friends or hang out with his friends. He was either dealing with academics, athletics, or art. Mr. Martakis believed in versatility and gave his son the option to do whatever he wanted as long as he was the best at it. Fortunately, his son followed in his path.Colton who was like his brother and only friend had become such a bore that getting him to tag along to the club was a struggle. He was either running home to meet his wife or choosing to stay home.Reid thought of how nice it must be to have someone waiting at home. Someone wai
BUSINESS PROPOSAL"So, you guys are pretty chummy with Reid" Maria chuckled nervously as soon as she and Athina stepped into the kitchen. She felt like her chest was loosened and her breaths came out better. That male had a way of sucking up all the air in the room."What do you mean?" Athina guffawed, bending forward to rest her hands on her knees at how hard she laughed. "He's my inlaw Minnie, of course we're chummy with him. But you wouldn't mind though, would you" Athina straightened and narrowed her eyes mischievously at her best friend. Maria's cheeks heat up and she glanced away."Of course. It's none of my business" Maria bit out silently plotting how to repay Athina."There's absolutely nothing between you guys, is there?" Athina asked further, cocking an eyebrow at Maria. There was never a time when teasing Maria wasn't fun, she just made it so easy."Nothing but irritation. In fact! I'm repulsed by that proud inlaw of yours. Now please, let's just make something to eat, I'm
SEALED DEALHell be damned if Maria didn't slap this man in front of her. So it was a bright Monday morning and she had taken the necessary documents to Reid's office so they could finalise the deal and sign some papers. She had woken up in a good mood today, finally deciding to look on the bright side and get over her problem with Reid. She would still get him back of course, but not now, her time would come. She was dressed in a sleeveless burgundy top and black palazzo leather pants that brought out her hips more than she liked but Athina encouraged her that she looked "breathtakingly sexy" and she believed her hundred percent. Athina would not let her step out if the house looking anything short of perfectioni. However, as she arrived at the twenty storey building that had 'Martakis' printed boldly in front of it, her jaw dropped. Reid owned this place?Maria got into the elevator to go to the last floor and a man dressed smartly in a black suit stepped in after her. She almost r
PARTNERSReid could not believe Maria had accepted his offer without too much protest. He expected her to at least demand something else other than the profit percentage they had agreed on. Deep down, he should be feeling lucky but felt bad at how he had cheated Maria.He was so sure she’d never forgive him once she found out about all his terms and conditions. The scowl that she always had on her face when talking to him was sure going to worsen. He wouldn’t be surprised if he got murdered in his sleep or worse, get thrown off a cliff. Knowing the fact that it would be teamwork (Athina and Maria), there’d be no chance of him surviving.The joy Reid felt as he finally got what he’d been dreaming of was un unexplainable. Things were finally set in place to fulfill his mother’s dream.He took his time flipping through the pages of her recipe book, commiserating the tone used in the explanation like she was right beside him and speaking to him. Reid had long gone found the perfect chef t
DEVIL'S ADVOCATEMaria paced to and fro, hand on chin, face set in a tight frown. She couldn't shake the feeling that Reid stood a chance to gain more from the deal and at the same time, she couldn't back out because as much as she hated to admit it, it was a good way to expand the business and make high profits. Maybe leaving Clara in charge of the head branch wouldn't be so bad too, considering she basically knew Clara's family ties and other personal information. Plus, they were considerably close friends.However, that meant she would have to stay with Athina for a while. Her lack of clothes were an issue since she only packed enough for two weeks but thankfully, her mother had decided to come visit Athina and along with her, bring the rest of her accessories. She had just explained to both her parents what had been going on with the business the night before. It was through face time, she could see her mother's smile crack with uncertainty and her father looked down sadly, no dou
ROCK GIRLIt was a quiet ride for the first 20 minutes as they both kept to themselves and enjoyed the uncomfortable silence. Reid considered starting the conversation but decided not to since Maria hadn’t been particularly warm towards him. Turning on the radio seemed to be the solution to ease the tension in the car.Imagine Dragons “Believer,” a heavy base resonated within the car and Reid caught a glimpse of Maria, who was staring out the window, nodding and humming to the song.Reid smirked and said, “I didn’t peg you to be a rock kind of girl.”He judged according to the kind of music Athina tortured him with the first and last time they took a road trip to his uncle's cabin upstate. It was all pop and heartbreak songs that made him groan all through the ride and made him regret not driving himself.He assumed those were the kind of songs someone like Maria would like, or perhaps a touch of hip hop or whatever trended these days.She shook her head. “How stereotypical,” She murm