Jake.
"There's a new article about you by Lilith Hellman," my sister said.
Furious, I crushed the water bottle in my hands and reached out for that day's papers.
I went through the pile until I found The Daily Paper whose headlining story was about me threatening Lilith Hellman.
"Will call you later," I told Carrie before hanging up.
Quickly, I skimmed the summary and then turned the page to the second one which had the full story.
I sighed in relief when I finished and there was no mention of kidnapping. The girl had some sense, it seemed. However, she was still taking too many liberties as if she had no idea I could ruin her life with a snap of my finger.
The door opened and Jenny entered. "The staff meeting is about to start, Mr. Rylland. "
The meeting was short and precise, just the way I liked them. As soon as it was over, I walked out of the room, immediately turning my thoughts from work stuff and returning into social mode. Lilith was something I needed to get rid of, before she consumed my thoughts and eventually me. Lilith was actually beautiful in a cute sort of way, not my kind of woman but I wouldn't have minded if she wasn't so annoying. Her character was a total turn off for me. I had never liked people who worked in the media because of their sly ways.
My next plan was going to be an indirect hit. It was clear that Lilith was not scared of my direct threats so I needed to be smart about bringing her down. I had to do it in a way that she wouldn't suspect anything until her world was shattered. I grinned, thinking of Lilith's impending destruction. She was going to regret messing up with me.
When I was in my car, I dialled the number of a friend of mine. Johnny Knightley. He was the perfect guy for the job I had in mind. Johnny, who was bored out of his mind, working for his father in some small town, was excited for a change.
All I had to do was call his father and convince him that I needed Johnny for something urgent. His father reluctantly said it was okay, but for only a week since he had a lot of work to complete in the company branch.
A week was enough for what I had in mind because I didn't want to focus on her for that long. If that didn't work, I would set another plan in motion.
Back home, I busied myself with reading a business book while I waited impatiently for my friend to arrive after a two hour flight journey. When he finally did, I went to the airport to pick him up.
"Hey man," he said as we hugged shortly.
"Hey," I said. "Journey was good?"
He nodded. "Sat near some hot chick from Arizona. We'll be meeting up tomorrow night. Hope I'll get some. From what you've said, this Lilith Hellman might be some man hating prude otherwise she would be writing fan fiction about you not hate fiction."
"Shes a journalist. She doesn't write fiction."
He chuckled. "You know what I mean."
Johnny only carried a backpack so we had no luggage delay issues. His penthouse had enough personal effects and clothes for him to change to. Driving through the busy streets of New York, he told me about his work in the country.
"That place is hell," he said. "If it wasn't for all the pretty girl next door chicks that are always fawning over me, I would have run off a long time ago. You should visit sometime. You'll have the best time. You can pick whatever kind of woman you want. They're not like these New York chicks that are all the same, hoes looking for sugar daddies. Those country girls are the real deal, man. Love still exists for them."
The way he talked about them made me quite curious. Of course I knew women everywhere were different from each other but here in New York, I was surrounded by mostly similar ones, who had lost their naivety and innocence a long time ago. A sweet county girl sounded really tempting.
"You're right man," I said. "I think I need one of those women. How come you are not yet hitched?"
"How can I? The moment I settle on one, I'll lose my playboy charm and a lot of them wont be interested anymore. I have no plans of settling with any one of them."
I glanced at him, only to see a wistful look on his face. I started laughing. "You may be able to fool those silly girls but you cant fool me. I can tell that one of them is living rent free in your mind. Do you have pictures?"
Johnny chuckled. "You damn bastard. You know me too well. She's this hot smart chic that challenges me a lot. She was running things before I went and is really unhappy with me being there, stealing her thunder as CEO when I barely do anything. To be fair, she does the lions share of the work."
"You like her?"
"She's not interested," Johnny said. "I think that woman is made of ice itself."
"Then melt the ice."
"If I could, I would have. I'm not going to make a fool of myself in front of some tough woman. Here's a picture."
The woman had been photographed in a black background. She was wearing a dark blue suit and black blouse. Her sandy blonde hair was tied up in a tight ponytail, causing tension on her forehead. Her eyes were wide and sharp looking, staring straight into the camera.
"She does look tough."
"Told you."
"I would unfreeze her within minutes."
"You couldn't."
"Wanna bet?"
"No, she's out of bounds to you. Dont even think about it."
Of course. Johnny was my bro, and I had no intention of snatching his girl even though I could.
As we ate the meal his maid had prepared beforehand, I gave him all the details my Jared, my PI had given me. It included her favourite bar, which we were planning to head to as soon as we finalized the plan details. When we had finished everything, we went to the bar, hoping she would turn up after work. If not, we would pick up some random chicks and leave.it was a win-win for us, either way. Well, maybe not for Johnny who was staring to fall for some boss chick.
When Jared called to tell us that Lilith had left the media office and was headed to the bar with a friend, Johnny went and sat outside while I waited inside. I had no idea how Jared got the information but hoped it was accurate.
All I knew was that Lilith was going to fall into the trap laid out for her.
Lilly's POV“Hello,” I said as I took a step back from the mysterious handsome stranger. His blue eyes held mine, never leaving for a moment. A familiar warmth spread all over my body.“Were you running away from something?” he asked. His voice was deep and smooth.I glanced back at Jake who was clutching a wine glass tightly. His jaw was taut, eyes fixed on us. Smiling, I turned back to the handsome stranger.“Not particularly,” I said. “Sorry for bumping into you.”He shook his head. “It’s alright. I’m glad you did, because I was doomed to spend the evening alone. Would you like to join me? Your friend can join too.”“Sure,” I said. “Why not?”“Good,” he said. “Let’s find a table.”We made our way back into the bar. I could feel Jake’s eyes on me the whole time. He had probably wanted to threaten me, but now I was out of reach. When I turned to glance at him, I saw him walking towards us with a furious and determined look on his face. He was out for war, it seemed. Just as I was abo
“You think that was great?” I asked Johnny before hitting the ball with my golf club. It went right into the hole and I laughed. “Now, that’s what we call great.”Johnny sighed. “It’s been a while since I last played. You know what, I’m tired. Let’s go sit over there.”He pointed to a group of umbrella trees that had created a great and secluded shaded spot. “You boys are lazy.” Mr. Ark, an older friend of ours said while rubbing his bald head. He owned a small bank in George but lived in New York with his children. Golf was one of his favourite hobbies. It was a miracle to come to the golf course and not find it. “What will happen when you’re my age?”“Look, James is here,” Johnny said. James Hacker was heading our way wearing a blue polo shirt, white cap and white pants. Johnny stepped down from the cart and I followed suit “You can play with him.”“I don’t want to talk to him,” I said, and practically dragged Johnny out of there. James was quite a gossip and I knew he was going to
Lilith’s PovI couldn’t stop thinking about Ian. No man had ever done for me what he had done for Leah and I. Although we were technically strangers, he stood up for us. The fight had almost got bloody but security came just in time and separated the two men, all exuding alpha male energy. Later, Ian had dropped us safely, first Leah and then me. Moreover he had not demanded anything in return except my number which I happily gave him.Being a junior reporter meant my life was full of work that the higher ups didn’t want to do. It was always piled on us. While we worked as slaves, doing everything handed to us, the bosses chose only what was convenient for them.Ian lived in my mind rent free the whole of the next day and night. On the day after that, I had an assignment to travel to New Jersey where I had an interview with a producer of a small budget reality show. He was an eccentric man so Leah and I were both going to see him. Sexual harassment and assault was a big problem for u
Ian and I met at The Alternative Ritz, a bar on the outskirts of the city with a daily live band. I was wearing a hot red figure hugging dress and red heels. My hair was styled, and fell in waves on the sides of my shoulders. That was all thanks to Leah who lectured me on putting effort to my appearance for dates. If it was up tom, I would just wear a clean shirt and jeans plus sneakers. Maybe that was I was still single. I literally didn’t try to look sensual or romantic. Only one guy in the office had expressed interest in dating me but then again, there was only a handful of men there. The place was overflowing with estrogenic and progesterone energy which was not a bad thing but it killed all my office romance dreams.“You’re lucky to have survived that mess,” he said. “I have never been in a shooting before but it sounds quite scary to be involve in one. I’m so sorry you had to experience something like that.”“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for being here. I’m glad you called b
When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room. Sitting up, I looked around. There was a bed with blue sheets, and a table next to it. My bag was on that table. Grabbing it, I opened and saw all the contents inside. Everything was intact. I sat back and tried to rack my memory.Ian. Where the hell was he? Most importantly, where was I? I pulled out my phone and unlocked it. 10missed calls from Leah. What the hell. I dialled her number immediately. She didn’t answer which made me panic even more. My clothes! They were nowhere to be seen and I was wearing a blue nightdress I had never seen before. My heart was pounding as I tried to remember how I got there. All I could remember was leaving that white building. Shit. How did I become so stupid to trust a man whose surname I didn’t know. I had finally done it, gone crazy and made a mess of my life.It was already ten am and I had no idea where to get clothes. I dialled the phone on the table but no one was answering. What the hell was this
I stabilized a few minutes later. There were pictures of me on a full page, all kinds. Me entering the so called whore house, me kissing two men, dancing with men and women. There was one of me in bed with a man but thankfully I was still wearing my clothes. That was the only saving grace.“What is all this?” I asked. An ache had developed in my head. I could process what I was seeing. This was no doubt the worst thing that had ever happened to me. I thought of my relatives, who were probably glad they kept their distance from me.I ripped the paper into pieces.“That will not solve anything.”Why, why me?I think it’s Jake Rylland,” Leah said. “I don’t know why some random guy would do this to you and hire a reporter to document it.”“That sly bastard. I only reported what was true about him. I should have reported the kidnapping. If I do now, they will say I’m trying to ruin his name because mine is ruined.”“That’s not the worst.”“What could be worse than that?”“I think you might
It was like I was floating out of the building. It felt as if I was not really there and my mind seemed to be lost in some unknown dimension. There was a bit of dizziness disturbing me, but I felt stable enough to reach home without collapsing on the way. A taxi passed by and I did not bother to stop it because I wanted to walk. Home was over two kilometres away. I decided to walk until my legs gave out.My mind was shut out from almost everything around me. Everything that had happened to me was a mess in my blurred mind. Vehicles cruised past, people passed by, I bumped into some of them because of my disorientation. Life was going on normally for most people, except me and probably a few others with disturbed minds. At some point, I was just staggering along the pavement, pushing myself. I got weird looks from people who probably thought I was homeless and hungry or crazy but didn’t care. The good thing about my job as a newspaper and magazine reporter was that most people did no
I stayed home the first two days after my suspension. I could have stayed for longer if not for the loan I needed to repay. Although it was possible to buy a new TV and computer at some point, I didn’t want to let go of the ones Miles had taken. He had even gone with my hard drive which was really inconveniencing but motivated me to look for the money.Leah offered me what she had, only a quarter of what I needed. The money I paid was a lot considering how serious the crime was.Hailey had kidnapped her daughter from her ex-boyfriend’s place, after stabbing his current girlfriend who had refused to let go of the girl. Hailey was in the wrong because she and the father had shared custody. She was supposed to be with the child during the weekdays. That Saturday, the father had picked up the child a usual. They were together but he ended up being called for an emergency meeting at the school he taught at. He left the child with Carly who actually had no problem with de and always treate