"Want a ride?" Devlin's devilish face smiled at her from the comfort of a black BMV Convertible with the top down.Why was he laughing? What was there to laugh about? Frustrated and angry, the tears burst out from Faith in torrents."Are you crying?" Devlin asked in disbelief. He stepped out of his car and hurried up to her. "What's wrong?""What's wrong?" She repeated. "What is wrong is that I've been walking through this massive graveyard of an estate for thirty minutes."The words were coming out in torrents. "The guard wouldn't let the cab in which you could have told me ahead. He sent me into this maze with no directions. Nothing! Devlin stood quietly, letting her vent. "All I have is your stupid house number, 387A. But the numbering here is insane! Why would 157A be right next to 226A? And WHY IN THE WORLD would it be opposite 228B!" She finished her rant, breathing heavily.Realizing that she was done, Devlin finally spoke. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I didn't even think of th
Devlin gave her a confused look. "Fired? Why would I fire you?""I d-didn't arrive on time. You said we should meet by six but it's almost seven now.""I don't see how that's your fault. Isn't that what you were yelling at me earlier? That's it's all my fault?" He grinned at how flustered she became as she remembered yelling. "Why would I fire you for something that's my fault?"She didn't have any answer to that. She groped around her mind for what was appropriate to say. She finally settled for, "Thank you." "Yeah, whatever. I know I'm awesome."Faith rolled her eyes and turned to enter the bathroom. There was no way she would sit there tutoring him looking like a homeless racoon.Before she closed the door behind her, she held his eyes, "And I absolutely don't have any mucus on my face." She slammed the door shut in his face.The sound of Devlin's laughter filtered through the thick door. Faith stood before the mirror and checked herself out. She looked horrid. Her eyes were swoll
Faith prepared herself to grab the steering wheel. She would rather die than be kidnapped for whatever evil purposes a CEO would kidnap a person for.Her mind moved rapidly, reminding her of every bit of alarming information she'd heard on the news; from sex rings to strange rituals. She would do down swinging, and take the bastard with her.Devlin glanced at Faith. He must have seen the mad glint in her eyes because he finally deigned to say something. "Calm down, will you? I'm just taking you to your d*amned hostel."It took a moment for his words to register in Faith's half-crazed brain. "What?" She said slowly. "Why would you do that?""Because I'm a gentleman?" He scoffed.Faith responded with a scoff of her own. Gentleman, indeed. If he were a gentleman, then she was the pope."Doesn't seem right to leave you to make your way back this late when I can just drive you home." Faith squinted at him suspiciously. What did that mean? That he was trying to be nice. She don't think he
Faith traipsed self-consciously to her morning lecture. The events of the past few days had set her on edge.As predicted by Sheila, she'd quickly become the talk of the campus. She'd also appeared in several tabloids and YouTube videos.Granted, she'd always dreamed of being famous but not in this way. Rather than being known for her brain and dedication, she was now wildly known for being Devlin Bank's potential love interest.She couldn't go anywhere on campus without people looking at her, pointing at her and whispering about her. Going out of her room at all had become a serious problem.Just to attend her lectures today, she'd donned a face cap pulled down over her eyes and a nose mask to mask her identity.It was surprisingly effective. Sure, some people gave her an odd look or two but they didn't stop to stare and whisper.That very unfortunate night that Devlin drove her back, she'd gotten a text from a reporter at StarTimes requesting a sit-down with her. That very night!De
Before she could say anything, another sound came through the door. This time it was a different voice and a different kind of grunt. The loud moan filled the air. Her eyes widened. A laugh burst through her lips. She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep it silent."Oh, Mr Banks," the moan came again. Faith unconsciously took a step forward. She thought she recognized the voice but she couldn't be sure.Casiuss put out a hand in front of her and stopped. He motioned to her to follow him. They left that area and went to a different room.It was a full-size gym. Every kind of equipment she would expect to see in a standard, commercial was there. "Wow." She stepped further into the gym."You like to gym?" Cassius asked."Do I look like I gym?" She asked with a laugh.He smiled at her. "I guess not. I hope you don't mind but since we're here, I'm just going to get some work in.""Oh, I don't mind at all."He started undoing his buttons. Faith swallowed heavily, the threads of antici
"Look here, Mr Banks.""Over here, Mr Banks.""Hi, Devlin! Devlin!"Everyone was shouting at once. The lights didn't stop flashing for a moment. Faith was starting to feel nauseous.Devlin was forced to slow down and stop the car lest he run over someone. The lights flashing in his face probably made it difficult to drive as well.He folded his hands and leaned back casually in the seat. Meanwhile, Faith practically cowered against the side of the door.She would open the door and make a run for it but they were everywhere, pressed up to the door, to the hood...everywhere! She couldn't even open the door."Hi," Devlin said as casually as he looked.Like magic, they all fell quiet. "How are you guys going today?""We're good, Devlin. Thanks for asking," someone shot back."Is this your new girlfriend, Mr Banks?" Another person asked."Who? Her?" He casually put his hand around her seat. What was he doing? Was he trying to destroy her? If someone took a picture of them in that position
Faith made her way back from her last lecture. She had a session scheduled with Devlin today so Casiuss would be around to pick her up any minute from now.She intended to thank Devlin today for clearing her name. She didn't know why that made her nervous. Actually, she did know. He would probably make some snide remark and make her feel stupid for even attempting to thank him in the first place.She sighed. She really did appreciate him. After her father called that night, she'd repeatedly sent up thanks that she'd been able to prove to him that nothing was going on between them.If they'd only seen the tabloids a few hours before, she didn't know how she would have convinced them. She knew her father. He would've shown up at Barbell and demanded to see Devlin.That would not end well for any one of them. She'd ended up sending him the latest articles disproving their romance as receipts and he finally believed her. Phew!The effect of his deed was also obvious here. No one spared h
Faith ducked her head, embarrassed.Devlin laughed heartily. "Let me guess, you haven't had dinner." She shook her head. "We should rectify that then.""I'm fine," she stated."Hey, don't make me look bad here. I'm not a taskmaster. How would I expect you to tutor me with no food in your stomach?""I'm okay. I'll eat when I get back," she insisted."Absolutely not!" He rolled his eyes. Just then there was a short rasp at the door and a man stepped in. "Can we get a clean plate and Cutlery? She needs to eat.""Sure thing, sir." He left the room quickly. Before long, he was back with a clean plate and Cutlery. He placed it carefully in front of her.Devlin pointed at the few plates she'd stacked earlier. "You can clean up the rest first.""Yes sir." He bowed and got to work. He piled all the plates together and moved them onto a trolley that was waiting outside. He left all the food for her to pick from.Faith sat and stared at the food, not sure where to start. "Try the rice and crab s