The Unicorn Project Novels & Stories

Just after midnight on my birthday, I quietly went to the banquet hall where Luke Bennett had prepared my party. I wanted to leave the ring there, along with the project contract I had begged my father to approve for him. But the lights were still on. Bright balloons covered the floor. Luke was still tying them one by one. Someone laughed and asked if he was serious about not breaking up with me yet, even dragging Madison Carter over to help set up my birthday party. Luke put out his cigarette and said, "This one is too sensitive. Too much trouble." Madison laughed beside him. She reminded everyone of their bet: whoever dated all twelve zodiac signs first would owe the other a condition. Luke had already reached his eleventh girlfriend. "Of course I will not quit now," Luke said. "I am already looking for the next one. Just wait until I beat you." I watched his cold profile through the crack in the door, threw the ring and the contract into the trash, and turned away. Someone behind me asked what sign I was. "Scorpio," Luke answered. Luke Bennett, of all the signs you chose to mock, you picked the one that remembers.

I've worked with my wife, Naomi Prescott, for seven long years. Yet, she refuses to make my identity public in the company. Naomi claims that she's worried that the entire company might think of me as a man who relies on his partner. Believing her excuse, I stick to myself and keep a low profile all this time. But on the day my project team secures a ten-million-dollar business deal, Naomi is quick to make me give the credit to her childhood friend, Matthias Crowell. When faced with my questions, Naomi retorts in a matter-of-fact tone, "Matt is new to the company. Can't a veteran employee like you take care of him at work?" I'm furious, to say the least. "What if I say no?" Naomi throws a resignation letter at my face. "Well then, you can pack up and get lost, you pathetic loser!" I pack my belongings calmly and leave the company afterward. Three days later, Naomi's company is on the brink of bankruptcy. She sobs loudly as she begs me to return with her. I produce a business card and give it to her. "Sorry, but I prefer being the boss of my own company. It so happens that my company still needs a janitor. I suppose I can reserve that position for you, seeing as we used to be married and all."

A promising position at a high tech dating app company brings Holly out to Colorado. But when she meets the CEO, and would be boss, she decides he can take his attitude, and the job offer, and stuff it. Holly becomes desperate for work and doesn't want to move back home with her mom and recently divorced sister. She decides to give it one last shot and is immediately hired by the COO, who is also the CEO's brother. Her project is to bring the brother's latest dating app update to life. She needs to find any issues with it, which seems to be everything. Rework the backend. And complete a beta test using employees who volunteer to be testers. What could go wrong during the office beta testing? A lot. No one on the leadership team, including Holly, the CEO, & the COO were supposed to sign up for beta testing of their app that allows people to express their desires anonymously via written messages. What happens when Holly starts messaging with her bosses without knowing who they are? Can the Billionaire heirs of Talon Industries, Noah and Adam, figure out how to charm a girl who doesn't seem to be impacted by their usual charms? Can either of them admit that lust has turned into love? Who can crack the ice cold heart of these untrusting alpha men? She can.

Vance Haidezo, a charismatic journalist guy. He was assigned for a private TV station project that he was working on. Where he will make a documentary film for the daily life of a billionaire heir. Vance did not expect that the alleged mysterious heir to be is Steven Kiazxon. Steven who was a heartthob, bad boy and his boyfriend when they where in college, whom he still loves dearly. Vance waited Steven after he promised to come back but suddenly disappeared three years ago. Now they meet again. He thought his wait was over but it wasn't because Steven didn't know him anymore who had amnesia. What should he do to make his boyfriend remember him? How would he do that if Steven had already forgotten his true identity? That he can also love and dream of a man like him. "Steven, it's me your Vance. If your mind doesn't remember me, I'll remind you of it in your heart. I feel like you feel that I'm important to you so I'll wait for you to remember me. I read in your eyes that you still love me so I won't give up." What mystery will Vance discover in the incident three years ago that caused Steven to lose his memory?

At the company celebration dinner, I had just led my team through a major project and was about to go onstage to give my report. Then someone snatched the microphone right out of my hand. Freya, the newly appointed director, strode onto the stage and claimed all the credit for herself with a single speech. “I’m the CEO’s younger sister. My brother sent me to this branch to gain some experience. “From now on, everyone here answers to me. I promise I’ll get him to give this branch more resources, and I’ll lead all of you to bigger and better things.” I was so angry I almost laughed. I asked her what proof she had. To my surprise, she actually listed several of the CEO’s private habits, things an outsider shouldn’t have known. Then she even pulled out a photo of them together. I was about to argue, but my boyfriend, Chuck, grabbed me and dragged me off the stage. “Are you insane? If she’s the CEO’s sister, then just put up with it. Don’t cause trouble for the company.” I looked at Freya, who stood onstage with a smug smile on her face. Only one thought filled my mind. Since when did my brother have another sister?

In Kieran Chase's eyes, I was not his wife. I was a non-performing asset waiting to be liquidated. When I got sick and asked for help, he became impatient. He said, "This is a minor problem. You can handle it on your own. No need to tell anyone." When I broke down in tears, he reprimanded me. "Losing emotional control shows weakness. It exposes the fragility of our alliance. I'll have the PR team teach you emotional management." Even when I called for help after a car accident, he hung up. "Nothing about you is important enough to interrupt a transaction worth hundreds of millions." I spent seven days in the ICU fighting for my life. On my first day home, I found Kieran leaning over another woman, his voice suddenly soft and coaxing as he convinced her to take her medicine. He opened his mouth to explain. I smiled bitterly and handed him the papers I'd prepared long ago. My tone mirrored his perfectly. "Mr. Chase, regarding our marriage project, the return on investment is unacceptably low after comprehensive evaluation. I'm formally proposing we terminate our cooperation. "Here's the divorce agreement. Sign it."

Zach thought he'd left the drama of high school behind when he started college, eager to focus on his studies, make new friends and enjoy a peaceful campus life. He didn't expect to see the last person he wanted there; Ryder. Ryder Summers, the star jock and notorious player in highschool was infamous for his charm and skills. Girls swooned over him, Guys wanted to be him. He was adored by all. But not Zach. To him, attractiveness aside, he was nothing but a bully that tormented him through high school and his worst enemy. As it seemed, things weren't so different now, whether it was people's reaction to Ryder, his hatred for Ryder or Ryder’s equal dislike for him. He was a different person from the nerd Zach knew before however and he'd show it. When they are paired in a high-stakes project in their class he is sure it's doomed from the start. Forced to work together, Zach is forced to confront Ryder on a daily basis. Yet, amidst the tension, Zach can't help but notice Ryder’s gaze lingering on his lips. Wasn't he supposed to be straight? Shouldn't he hate him? Why then does Ryder seem drawn to him now? And worse, why doesn't he hate it?

Two months after I joined the company, I sold off every stalled real estate project it had been sitting on for three years and pulled the failing business back from the edge of bankruptcy. To keep me, the chairman sold me a thirty-million-dollar sky penthouse for one dollar. On handover day, the new colleague, Ryan Wells, snatched my contract and sneered, "Connor, buying a sky penthouse for one dollar? Keep dreaming." I told him to look at the company seal on the contract, but he burned it on the spot. "Connor, don't think a few sales achievements mean you can use the back door to buy property. "Even if the company really had a benefit like this, Lydia should be the first person to enjoy it!" My girlfriend, who was also the sales manager, looked at me coldly. "Connor, have some principles. The company is struggling, and you're still trying to take advantage?" "Since reporting misconduct deserves a reward, I've decided to give your sales commission to Ryan. "If you have a problem with that, don't come to work tomorrow!" Furious enough to laugh, I took out my phone and called my sister directly. "Victoria, cancel every purchase contract for the Eastbank project. I'm done here."

Valeria Cole has spent years sacrificing everything to keep her younger brother alive. But when his condition suddenly deteriorates, she is given an impossible ultimatum; raise an astronomical sum of money in seven days or lose him forever. Valeria accepts a contract marriage proposal from Julius Sterling, the billionaire CEO of Sterling Holdings, as a result of desperation. The agreement appears simple. She will be his wife for one year in exchange for enough money to save her brother's life. But nothing about Julius Sterling seemed simple. As Valeria adjusts to a world of wealth, power, and carefully guarded secrets, she begins to uncover disturbing inconsistencies surrounding her marriage. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that the contract was never just a business arrangement. The greatest betrayal comes from the one person she trusted most—her best friend, Victoria Whitmore. Unknown to Valeria, Victoria played a crucial role in bringing her and Julius together as part of a hidden corporate project designed to manipulate human behavior and control outcomes. What Valeria believed was a lifeline was, in reality, a carefully orchestrated trap. Caught between a powerful man who knows more than he admits and a friend whose loyalty was never what it seemed, Valeria must decide whether she will remain a pawn in someone else's game or fight for her freedom. When secrets unravel and loyalties shatter, she discovers a terrifying truth: she was never chosen to be wife. She was chosen to be a test.

When the heatwave apocalypse hits the Earth, the ozone layer has completely dissipated, forcing mankind to move into the underground city. My husband, Rhett Calloway, and I get to stay on Level Two, seeing as we've funded the construction of the underground city. On day in the third year of the heatwave apocalypse, Rhett brings back a sickly young woman from the slums located on Level Three out of the blue. "Nora, the living conditions on Level Three are very difficult. Anna is in poor health. I can't just sit by and watch her suffer." After that, Rhett carries Anna Archer into our home. I keep my gaze lowered as I remind him, "Don't forget that there's a strict population count on Level Two. The available slots in every family are fixed." "I know that. That's why you need to head down to the slums on Level Three to replace Anna for the time being. Once she recovers from her illness, I'll bring you home." The moment I hear Rhett's response, I remain rooted to the spot for a long time. After walking out the front door, I do my best to suppress the quiver in my tone as I call a number that belongs to Level One. "I've already thought it through. I've decided to join the project to end the apocalypse on Level One."