The Mysterious Women Series:Blackmail

by Paramita Choudhury

  Chapter 21

  Though Zack was following Armel's car yet his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the blackmailer and it was after they reached their destination that he noticed where Armel had brought him, a country club best known for the events they organized. While parking his car Zack was unsure of why they had landed there without any invitation, asked his friend "Why did you bring me here?" "I've got a friend whose birthday party has been organized here "Armel replied."Pray tell me who is that lucky guy," Zack asked while moving towards the entrance. "Someone too famous to have time for himself", Armel pulled his leg, Zack didn’t respond to it though. When they entered hall Zack could see that the place was decorated mostly with orchids, a nice choice. Most of the guests were busy talking, dancing or eating their lunches but just as he entered the spotlight turned towards him to carry the visitors' attention, "You are here finally, I had gone by your apartment to escort you but you were nowhere to be seen," Sara charged. He was totally enchanted by her looks to hear her words which passed like a gush of wind, she had done her hair in a messy bun tonight and her dress was a navy blue, an A-line ankle length dress. After some time he had realized she was gaping at him the same way as he was at her and that she hadn’t as yet wished him, as if realizing his thoughts and the awkwardness of the situation "Happy Birthday", she immediately wished him and the guests followed suit.

  At the same time Michelle was pacing in a room adjacent to the hall. Sara hasn’t returned yet and I don’t know what to do? The door to the room opened and she turned to find a strikingly beautiful blonde standing there in a baby pink gown "You look ghastly", she said in a playful tone "One of the terrible joke I ever heard," Michelle answered, her mood still raw from her encounter with Ryan. "You still angry with him", the other woman asked while taking a seat in the couch. "I want to kiss him hard," Michelle replied. "Don't be Sarcastic Mitch," the other woman replied. "I'm damn serious about it," she took a sip of the brandy that was already giving her companion for the past half an hour, "but with my hands on his cheeks this time," she sneered. "He doesn’t have any idea of what you've gone through Mitch," Changing her expression into a serious one Mitchell told" I'm worried about her". The blonde moved towards the door "She's here enjoying herself already", "She's fast ", she commented while leaving the room, the blonde followed her" I told you ", "So you did".

  "I heard that the Raven Smuts paired up with Jensen's", a plump middle aged man asked Sara. He was trying to manipulate her into speaking more about the company's secrets. And hence she kept most of her answers into monosyllables "Yes, we did". Just as he was about to another of his mind boggling questions, Zack appeared out of nowhere" Sorry to disturb your conversation Mr. Harrison, but May I steal her for a dance?" the man felt like he was caught stealing something and just nodded his head in approval.

  "That was rude", Sara whispered while following him to the floor. "No the way he was intruding into my business was rude". They started dancing and he spinned her twice, before settling down for a slow speed. Zack looked a little relaxed now, his tie had been loosened and the top button had been kept open .He looked too handsome for her making her lose her mind. So what if the orchestra is playing the titanic theme and his annoyingly broad shoulders aren’t making my brain cells super excited and ready to explode, I can't forget the real reason for which I'm here. Many other couples had joined them in the floor now; Lucie and Laney were dancing close at a close proximity. While Sara was dancing of her accord and didn’t follow his directions "Could you please allow me to show you the direction sometimes", Zack whispered."I didn't think you expected me to be a meek woman", Sara retorted. His satisfactory smirk annoyed her. She looks even more beautiful when she is riled up. "Not meek but compliant ", he picked her up for a lift .She wanted to stomp her feet out of frustration which was not possible in air, this man is difficult to be satisfied "If you want me to be compliant, then compliant I'll be", she took two turns of her own making him lose his balance but before he would fall she held him, made a twist and turn and ended the dance piece. She was nowhere to be seen afterwards, literally headstrong, he thought out loud. "And you are going to tame me"? He turned to the voice to find her sitting in a barstool with a glass of tequila.

  The party was running full fledged, but there was someone who still couldn’t enjoy herself. Standing with a glass of wine in her hands, Mitchell stood on the balcony trying to forget whatever happened with her eighteen years ago. She was a little girl then merely ten or eleven years old. She was running around in the patio, her mother had promised to cook her favorite dessert. But suddenly things changed, her father was knocking hard in the main door and before her mother could open the door they knocked him out. They then broke through the door and aimed for her mother who ran towards the patio and screamed "Run, Mitch run". Mitch hadn’t stopped there that day to wail for her mother while she took her last breath. The girl ran through the back door and into the streets of Mexico, protecting herself from the mobsters, but not for long before they caught up with her and sent her as a slave to a ship travelling to New York, with drugs of nearly ten billion. From that day onwards her life turned into a nightmare. During the entire journey she stayed below deck, thanks to the cook who felt pity for her and allowed her to stay there without being noticed by anyone else. By God's grace, the feds already got the information about this ship and raided it. They seized everything including her. When the chief was in a dilemma of where to send her one of the agents came with the idea of adopting her. He and his wife were childless for a few years and after many trials, the doctor finally declared that the couple could not have any biological child of their own. So, when he came to know that the girl was an orphan and had nowhere else to go; he immediately went through the paper work and legalized her as his daughter. Though her foster parents tried a lot to comfort her yet she couldn’t forget the tragic death of her biological parents. She had vowed on her eighteenth birthday to find her parents' murderer and slay them all. "Standing here alone won't help you ease the pain"; she turned abruptly to a familiar voice" What do you want"? She asked coldly. "I was here to beg your forgiveness, No more temptation", he said sensing her uneasiness and scanned her from head to toe I'm tempted to kiss her again. She tried to figure out his motive but the smile plastered in his face won't give out anything “Forgiven already", she said and getting the green signal he asked "Would you like to join me for a dance"? He asked with puppy eyes, softening her affections "In one condition", she replied and as if to ask about her condition he quirked a brow "Keep your lips to yourself", "As you wish mam"; he took her hand in the crook of his hand and proceeded towards the hall.