Jilted Ex-wife Billionaire Heiress

Chapter 19 All Work And No Play

Ryan finally caught his breath after laughing for a full minute.

Belatedly, he remembered his role as Micah's friend.

'You should be happy,' he said. 'That woman was never good enough for you, and it's not just me who thinks that.'

Micah said nothing.

If he never truly understood Darya, why should he expect his friends to?

'Frankly, I still don't get what you saw in her.'

Micah's hasty marriage to Darya Miller, a nobody, had been bombshell news to his circle of friends.

Ryan thought Micah was temporarily blinded by lust.

Despite his personal opinion of the woman, even Ryan, the professional playboy, had to admit that Darya Miller

was a knockout.

But marriage was built on more than just physical attraction.

'I hope you signed a prenup,' Ryan continued. 'Not that she needs it, now that

she's landed herself that most

eligible of all eligible bachelors in Hagen.'

Ryan considered himself a generous boyfriend.

Some (i.e. his dad) would even say he was reckless with money.

But even he would hesitate to throw away thirty million dollars in one night just for a girlfriend.

'Do you think Avery McAllister is serious about her?' Ryan wondered. 'Or is it just

a fling? When you saw her earlier, did you notice if she was wearing a ring?"

Micah stopped abruptly. 'Are you done?'

Ryan tapped his steering wheel. Just thinking out loud."

He shrugged when Micah fixed him with a gimlet eye. 'Fine. I'll shut up now.'

Five seconds later, he opened his mouth again. 'Do you want to go get a drink?' Micah kept walking.

'Come on, Ryan coaxed. 'You left the party early. I bet you haven't had dinner. It'll be my

treat.'

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Micah got in the car just to silence his chattering friend.

The Hagen Ball was the most newsworthy social event in the metropolis.

Before daybreak, everyone not living under a rock had heard about the incident at the hotel

A tabloid had dubbed it 'The $30 million Breakup Fee.'

When Darya walked into the conference room on the top floor of the Paragon

Group's headquarters, she caught discreet but curious glances.

Which turned into stunned goggling when Avery announced she was the new Vice President of the group, working directly under Avery.noveldrama

Her office was right next to his.

The top management attending the meeting had not been given a heads-up.

Understandably, they were sceptical.

But at Paragon, Avery's word was law.

Darya knew there would be suspicion about her appointment.

But she was confident that with time, she could prove

herself.

Before noon, the corporate grapevine was buzzing with the news.

Since Darya kept her last name of Miller, no one knew she was Avery's sister.

The latest version of gossip was that she was Avery's girlfriend, and they were soon to be engaged.

'Do you want me to do something about it?' Avery asked.

'Nah.' Darya waved a hand, dismissive. 'If you tell them I'm your sister, then I got the job through nepotism. If they think I'm your girlfriend, then I got the job through cronyism. Either way, neither of us comes out smelling

like roses.'

She tapped a finger on the thick folder on her desk. 'I'll let my work speak for itself.'

Avery nodded.

He agreed with his sister.

Actions would always speak louder than words.

'I'll leave you to work then.'

Darya returned to the file.

If she could close the deal with Solaro, she would be one step closer to earning

her position as VP. For every day of the following week, she clocked in before

seven am and clocked out after the night janitor.

gone

home.

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Even Avery was starting to worry about her burning out.

Saturday morning, Darya came downstairs at six-thirty, after a jog and a shower.

She was surprised to find Avery still in the living room,

'I thought you were flying out for a client meeting."

'I pushed it back.' Avery noted the dark circles under his sister's eyes and held

back a sigh.

If she'd started working at the company three years ago, as she was supposed to, instead of running away to marry Micah Cavanaugh, she wouldn't have to work so hard to catch up.

Sometimes he'd come downstairs for a late-night snack and see light from under her door.

'You're working yourself into the ground,' he pointed out.

Darya stretched and yawned. 'Just making up for lost time.'

'Any plans for the weekend?'

Darya took a sip of life-giving coffee and sighed contentedly. 'I'm going to review Solaro's income and cash flow statements for the past five years, do a common size horizontal analysis, see if I can find anything fishy. Maybe there's some leverage I can use.'

Avery waited for her to finish breakfast. 'I'm not working today.'

'You told me that already.' Darya looked up, puzzled.

'Neither are you.'

'What do you have in mind?'

'Remember that saying about all work and no play?'

'Uh-huh.'

'Time to play.'

An hour later, Avery parked his silver Mercedes-Benz S-Class outside Remède,

a luxury spa and relaxation centre owned by the Paragon Group.

'I'm surprised you'd want to come to a spa, Darya teased his brother. 'I thought your idea of playtime involves either a sparring match in a boxing ring or a puttering around the house."

'The centre opened six months ago,' Avery said amiably. 'I don't think you've been here before."

He shot his sister an assessing look. 'When was the last time you visited a spa?' Darya touched her nose and said nothing.

Being Micah's wife meant being daughter-in-law to Judy Cavanaugh, who imposed a strict curfew.

Darya seldom had time for shopping, let alone getting pampered at a spa.

She took in the place, which spanned two levels with soaring ceilings.

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The lobby had big towering columns, porcelain vases with fresh flowers, and a huge reception desk, manned by six uniformed staff wearing identical smiles

I recommend the oxygen facial and the steam chamber. Avery Bodded at the manager and kept walking,

He'd called ahead and had the Oasis room reserved for Darya

"Darya Miller, what the hell are you doing here?

Darya paused, turned to the source of the sound.