Acceptance (The Stars That Bind Us Series Book 2)

By Asali Wilson

Moira meets Bay at his office under the pretext of discussing the fraud investigation case. When Bay reveals that he knew she was wearing the stolen contact lenses, and accuses Angie of corporate espionage for joining Anderson Tech, Moira is stunned but manages to stay controlled. She sees another apparition, this time from his laptop, which throws out some numbers and letters. And then strange things are getting stranger...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Asali Wilson
• Release date: Aug 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005785512

Asali Wilson

Asali Wilson writes fiction centered in the contemporary, surrounded by fantasy and the paranormal. Fueled by long nights and whirlwind days, we have this story to devour. "Somehow, in the sleep-deprived haze that is being a working mother, I found the time to write my first book."As a child, Asali voraciously read crime and sci-fi literature, inspired by the likes of JRR Tolkien, Arthur C. Clark, and Terry Brooks. "Through the years, I have escaped in the wonder of the written word; reading helped me to cope with the challenges of life and dream big dreams."Asali lives with her family in Oslo, Norway. When not writing, you can find her dabbling in film, and investing, and, of course, investigating the newest advances in AI.

Book preview

THE STARS THAT BIND US

Part Two

Acceptance

Asali Wilson

Copyright 2020 by Asali Wilson

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

About the Author

CHAPTER ONE

I have to admit I was quite surprised when I received your call. Bay leaned back in his black leather chair as he slowly looked me up and down.

I felt a little self-conscious standing in the doorway to his small office in a grey pencil skirt, peach blouse and matching kitten heels. When I picked out the outfit, I had been aiming to come across as serious and professional, given that the last two attires he had seen me in were a hospital gown and a slightly flirty sundress. This was one of my go-to combos for meeting new clients so I thought it would do the job for an interrogation, but I was beginning to think I had overdone it a tad bit. The way his eyes lingered on me, I felt like I should have shown up in my work overalls instead.

Bay must have noticed the discomfort on my face because he cleared his throat, straightened up and motioned for me to sit across from him. I shut the door behind me, pausing for a second to take in my surroundings before I approached his desk.

After his unsavoury appearance outside Tarte, I had been more than a little worried about what state I would find his office, but the space appeared to have been fairly recently cleaned. Other than the rather tasteful weathered-finished timber top desk he sat behind, there was a low level filing cabinet behind him with a matching top. Natural light poured in from the large fixed windows that took up most of the southern wall, looking out upon the serene frontage of Lake Stowe. Bay’s clients clearly paid him much better than mine ever did. 

The first thing I noticed when I settled into my seat was a framed photograph of a smiling middle aged African woman and a South East Asian man with three wide grinning teenagers between them. They stood outside a large detached brick house, dressed in matching Christmas jumpers and holding on to each other. One of the kids looked suspiciously like a younger, skinnier Bay wearing even bigger glasses that threatened to slide off his nose. With most things digitalised, I hadn’t thought people still did the whole office desk photo thing anymore. Not that I’d ever worked in an office to know what was trending.

Bay could guess what I was thinking because he picked the picture frame up and smiled a little bashfully.  

My mother made me promise to keep this here. She said it would remind me to be human if I ever had a crisis of conscience about deciding to take on, I don’t know, a heroin kingpin as a client.

Wise woman. I couldn’t help smiling in return. Does it work?

She certainly thinks so, he said with a smirk, but there was a warmth to his voice which made me believe he really did appreciate his mother’s opinion.

Bay put down the frame and looked up at me with the echoes of a smile still on his lips. Sitting so close to him, and not seething with anger for a change, I noticed he had a small cleft in his chin which I couldn’t take my eyes off.  It wasn’t just the dimple that was distracting, this version of Bay was a total transformation from the one I had encountered only a day ago. Clean shaven and in clothes which had clearly not been recycled from a laundry basket, he reminded me of the self-assured man who had breezed into my hospital room and tried to question me when I lay trapped in bed.

The silence between us carried on for a few more seconds before Bay’s serious expression returned.   

 So, you’re ready to answer my questions?

That wasn’t why I was there, but it was the only logical reason to have asked to see him. I’m an open book, Mr Ngo, I replied, throwing my hands open in an almost comical way.

Bay huffed lightly. Sure, you are. Well, are you ready to share your reason for being at Innovate’s headquarters on the day of the explosion?

I nodded. All I had to do was match what Angie told him, which wasn’t a lot. We had