I 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 us, women in the media. Everywhere we went, men looked at as like pieces of meat that were waiting for the right man to devour us. While some women had intentionally booked interview fithy rich and famous in order to lobby for a chance, not all of us were like that. They had ruined the reputation. Not wanting to get groped by the aging man who was known for it, we decided to go with an only male camera team. If anything happened, they would defend us.
The man was currently in his villa which was situated near a lake. We were ushered to the backyard. He was lying in a hammock wearing nothing but shorts. He didn’t even bother to get up when we arrived but we didn’t mind because we were used to the disrespect. As long as he ended up giving us the answers we wanted, we were good.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Parker.” Leah said after we had been introduced by the butler.
“Hello, my beautiful peaches.” He said. I cringed inwardly but maintained my polite smile. If I got a better paying offer outside journalism, I would gladly take it. Not having to deal with fvckers like Parker would be great.
“Hello.”
He got up and stood up. Picking up a robe, he wrapped it around his body. I sighed in relief. He was old, and didn’t not have the kind of body that was very aesthetic to stare at. “Follow me.”
He started walking towards a flower garden. Leah and I glanced at each other, raised our brows, shrugged and followed. It was supposed to be an indoor interview so our guys were setting up their equipment in the living room. Leah had a small camera meant for random photos that may prove useful later.
Hoping he did not have dirty plans, we followed. His flower garden was actually impressive. The air had a sweet floral smell, the kind that made you want to stay there forever. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
We nodded and smiled politely, standing near him.
“They’re beautiful,” Leah said.
“It smells heavenly here,” I commented.
“Not more beautiful than the two of you,” he added.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Flattery didn’t work for me. People who like using flattery are usually very manipulative, which makes them quite dangerous. They know what people want to hear and use it against them.
After telling us about his flower garden and describing almost everything we could see, he led us further away. We came to a small enclosed fish pond. There was a net fenced around it.
“Why is there a net over the pond?” I asked. I had never seen a pond before, having grown up in the streets of New York.
“That’s too keep the birds away. As the smaller fish swim up and down, they may attract bigger birds to grab them. Also in case of animals like squirrels that may be tempted. Have you never seen one before?”
“Not really.”
He chuckled. “Where do you live, under a rock?”
Leah laughed as well. I nudged her when Patrick turned away. He continued to tell us all about the breeds of fish growing in his precious pond. When we had finished the tour of his villa, we went back to the house and started the inteview.
Few minutes into the interview, the sound of a gunshot froze us all. Leah and I immediately ducked under the table while Patrick left the room. One of his guards entered the house. Wounded on the leg, he limped in while I covered Leah’s mouth to prevent her from screaming. Behind the guard, a masked gunman followed.
“Where is he?” he asked.
Leah and I were shaking so much afraid we would be discovered.
“I don’t know,” the guard said before another shot rang out. Small lumps of dry concrete fell down near our hiding spot. He had shot the roof, thankfully.
“Where is the safe?” the gunman asked.
“In the master bedroom,” the guard said.
“Take me there.”
The limping guard led the way to a short hallway on the lower side of the house. A few seconds later, we heard another shot. Leah and I scooted closer and hugged each other, our bodies shaking so hard I was afraid we would fall over and overturn the table.
“You can come out now,” a voice said. Patrick. Sighing, we let go of each other.
When we got of our hiding place, we saw a dead man on the floor. It was the robber. He was quite skinny. Even though I couldn’t see his all of his face, I could tell by the soft features and clothing that he was just a kid. The way he had done things was a sure sign that he was an amateur.
Leah and I were so shaken that we couldn’t continue the interview anymore. We instead used the chance to take pictures and get the first story as we waited for the police. Before long, we had already sent the information to our social media team to provide updates. Patrick said he was not going to keep the news of the break in private so it was okay for our company to write about it. After our interviews with the police, we were finally able to get back to New York. It had been quite a day.
It improved greatly when I saw the message from Ian. He was honestly the only person I wanted to be around at the time.
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
“If you want a drink or anything to eat, find it in the kitchen. You should have called me before you came because this is a wrong time. I have to get to spa. My man is arriving today so I guess you know why I have to go there.”“Why do you have to go there, mommy?” Amy asked.“Yes, why? Hailey.” I asked, raising an eyebrow.My sister rolled her eyes and walked into the bedroom.“Mommy doesn’t like to answer my questions,” Amy said. “I don’t know why. Do you think she hates me?”I pulled her closer. “Oh no, of course not. Some questions require answers that children may not understand so it becomes hard to answer.”“My teacher explains something when I don’t understand.”“Well darling, teachers are trained on how to deal with children. They know better that the rest of us. Don’t worry about it. What are you watching?”I could not tell the child that her mother was a b!tch who only cared about herself. It seemed losing one child had not taught her to treasure life with the living one.
“Lilith Hellman.”I turned to see the owner of the voice that had just said my name. He was a black man of average height and great looks. He was smiling heartily while holding a margarita on his hand.“Hi,” I said. “Who are you?”“Kyle Munther,” he said. “I’ve been watching you since morning. Okay, that came out wrong. I’m not a stalker. I work as a lifeguard here and just finished my shift. Been seeing you move from one activity to another, as if you can’t find one that matches your mood.”Well, he was right about that. My mind was all over the place, and I couldn’t find anything to make me happy.“How do you know my name?” I asked. “I don’t think lifeguards are provided with the names of every person who comes to this beach.”“I got to know you from twitter. You’re that reporter who wrote about Jake Rylland. I worked part time in one of his hotels so I kind of keep up. I liked the man.”“Of course you did. So why are you talking to me? I know you must have read what The Blue Paper
“Why are you so inefficient?” I yelled at Jenny throwing the files she had just submitted at her. She backed away and let them fall to the ground, enraging me. “Pick them up.”She knelt down and started gathering the papers that had scattered all over the room. “Why are you so fvcking slow?”Annoyed, I stood up and strode out of the room. The employees at the outer offices quickly turned away but I could tell they had been staring at my office with alert ears trying to capture what was said.“Get back to work,” I yelled at them. The room immediately fell silent which annoyed me more so I decided to leave and go home where there were no annoying people. I could be alone. That stupid woman was at it again.I thought I had managed to shut her up for good, but she was like an annoying fly, kept coming back even though it was clear it wasn’t wanted. This woman was making me feel so incompetent I felt like going to kill her with my two hands. Not many had been able to resist my orders in t