Midnight Bride The CEO's Temptation

"This is your best!" Crystal scoffed. Now that she had him in a corner, she asked him if he had given Michelle the bracelet that she wore on her wrist. "I know you did," she insisted.

Eric frowned. The question had come out of left field. "H-H-How d-do y-you know that?" he stuttered.

"I saw it at dinner!" Crystal hissed. "It was on her right hand, and I had to look at it every time she lifted her fork!"

Eric\'s face had turned white. "What makes you think it\'s from me?" he asked.

Crystal glared at him and said, "Last night, when I was in your room, I accidentally opened a gift bag, and I saw a bracelet in a gold velvet jewelry box." Thinking that it had been a present for her, she hadn\'t given it much thought. But today, the bracelet was on Michelle\'s wrist.

Crystal knew why Michelle was wearing it. Typically, women did not wear this kind of jewelry while wearing a nightgown. Michelle was clearly showing off. While she had been having dinner, she had even touched the bracelet a few times on purpose as if to draw attention to it. This proved to Crystal that she was not as gentle and kind as she pretended to be. She is nothing but a scheming bitch - thought Crystal.

Eric put down the mobile phone, smiled, and said, "Do you think you know everything?"

"I know enough." Crystal scowled and said, "Don\'t try to change the subject. I saw that the bracelet had diamonds in it. Tell me why you would give her such an expensive gift."

"It is just a welcome gift," Eric replied.

"A welcome gift?" Crystal scoffed. "Really? And there is nothing else between you two?"

"What do you think?"

"Who knows. You are a man, and men are always drawn to beautiful women."

"That\'s not my style. I would never hook up with a friend\'s woman."

"Really?"

When Eric noticed that Crystal was unhappy, he held her hands and said, "I have no interest in her. I\'m only interested in you."

Crystal was not pacified so easily. She said, "If that were true, you wouldn\'t have given Michelle such an expensive gift... Michelle?!?! Of all people, why would you give anything to her?!?! You know how she abuses Clark!"

Eric took a deep breath and said, "Be rational. We all know that you want to help Nancy, but do not let something so trivial affect our wedding plans, okay? You know that we\'ve received a lot of help from Paul. Thus, it is not appropriate to bully his woman. We have to save his face." He gently pinched her wrists, and in a low voice, he added: "If you want to play with Michelle, I can help you, but not now. You do want to play with her, don\'t you?"

"What are you talking about?" Crystal\' eyes brightened with curiosity. Eric raised his eyebrows naughtily. "Do you really want to know?" he asked.

"Don\'t keep me in suspense!" Crystal exclaimed. "Speak up!"

"Kiss me, and I\'ll tell you."

Crystal did not kiss him, of course, but he told her anyway. "Have you wondered why Michelle is so important to Paul?" he asked. "Well, it has to do with his past. Michelle was Paul\'s childhood sweetheart, but she left him four years ago. Are you curious about why she left or what happened during the years that she was gone?"

"Not really." Crystal shrugged and said, "I\'m not interested in that woman. Why should I care if she was Paul\'s childhood sweetheart?"

"If you don\'t know your enemy, you cannot defeat them," Eric explained.

"What are you going to do?" Crystal asked.

"I\'m not going to tell you," Eric replied. Crystal looked at the portentous and mysterious expression on Eric\'s face, frowned, and said, "I don\'t like your answer." She clenched her teeth together and wished that she could bite him.

Eric touched her leg and said, "Once Clark and Nancy are safe, and we are back home, I will give you a more satisfactory answer."

Crystal had no clue about what his plan entailed. If he were going to betray his friend, though, she could not think of a better time than the present.

****

Nancy watched Michelle from the safety of her secret hidey-hole. Finally, the moment of truth was upon them. Michelle began to pull away from the chair, and one of the servants was pulling the chair away. A moment passed, and then she began to scream.

Nancy felt guilty suddenly, and she looked away. Crystal and Eric were talking in the living room, and she suspected that they were gossiping about her. She walked over and said, "What are you guys talking about?"

"We\'re talking about how we\'re going to get Clark back for you," Crystal replied. Nancy sighed and asked, "What are we going to do in the meantime?"

"Don\'t worry." Eric laughed and said, "As long as we\'re here, we can protect you and your son from Michelle."

Nancy smiled and thanked them both. "It\'s not a problem!" Crystal exclaimed. "Now, why don\'t we go find that son of yours?"

Nancy smiled and said, "Yes. Let\'s." As the ladies stood up, a few of Eric\'s men happened to pass them. They stopped in front of Eric, and one of them handed him a file.

"What\'s this?" Eric wondered.

"This is the information you requested," the guard replied.

Eric nodded and opened the file. Inside, the documents pertaining to Michelle\'s recent history. As he read the first page, he thought - It is just as I thought. That woman is not as simple and gentle as she appears to be.. He nodded to the guard, smiled, and said, "Thank you."