Did I mention that Sam is a master at manipulation? Her voice doesn’t help matters either.
“No, we won’t be square. You owe me this time Sam. Damn you. Diamonds, I want diamonds and gold Sam”
She lets out a low giggle and at that moment I notice an incoming call and those elephants come back full force.
Although Sam did a good job of keeping me occupied, my nerves are back.
“Listen, you owe me. I have to go, duty calls.” I say and she assures me that she’s got me covered. “Yeah, you better.” I say and she laughs, disconnecting the call.
I take my time to center myself and get into the mood for this chutes and ladders, mission impossible movie I am now featuring in.
I press the connect button and put the receiver on my left ear and give my professional greeting and wait for the caller.
“Is this Miss. Smith?” The gravelly voice asks.
“Yes, this is she.” Knowing exactly what comes next.
“Hello. This is Ben Roach, Mr. Demetri’s broker. I received a message that Mr. Demetri cannot handle financial matters as of now due to some kind of strenuous commitment. Is that true?” Ben Roach’s voice is a bit skeptical so I make sure to lace my voice in steel.
“Yes, that’s correct Mr. Roach, is there a problem?” I ask
“No, it’s just that I have been trying to reach him and get verbal confirmation from him...”
“I’m sure a man such as yourself,” I cut him off, “knows how tiring and involving the work Mr. Demetri does, after all there might be political moves in the future. And since you have been working with him for a long time, you must know that he doesn’t appreciate being questioned, right” I say
“Err, I’m not questioning per say. I just wanted...”
“Was his instruction not clear then? Because I would be happy to run that along to him in your exact words.” To which he seems to panic even more.
“Forgive me, that’s not what I meant. Anyway, upon Mr. Demetri request, you Miss. Smith, will be handling his financial affairs. I will have the latest portfolios and accounts data sent over to you immediately as requested.”
He speaks as if he is still confused but I doubt he will voice those concerns.
He probably knows that it does him no good to get on the wrong side of Stefan Demetri. The only problem with that is, Demetri didn’t make such a request.
“Immediately please, Mr. Roach. There is an urgent matter he would like to deal with as soon as possible.”
I think I’m enjoying this a little bit.
“Yes of course. I will have them over with our in-house messenger.” he confirms as if he is about to hang up.
“One more thing Mr. Roach.” I pause and make sure I have his undivided attention. “He also said you should send all documents, even from his... unorthodox dealings.” I say.
“You do understand that right?” I inquire and I think I hear him gulp. I wonder what exactly is recorded in those documents.
“Yes, I understand. Let me get on that right now.” he says as I hear the clicking of the keyboard in the background.
“Another thing good sir. He said this is an exclusively private matter, as you might know. Meaning you are not to breathe a word of this to anyone” I leave the threat of danger in the air for him to interpret however he sees fit. Regardless, it will all be in horror.
“Of course. My kind regards to Mr. Demetri. Please assure him that we will do business as usual.” I agree and we hang up. I wonder what he means by that. Business as usual?
Demetri is a shady ass scumbag. I can’t wait to see what else he is doing in the underbelly of corporate America besides murdering people.
This strategy, however exciting, was not my idea but rather it came from a more sinister man. More calculating and cold.
Since that night we met, I have learnt so much about him. And what he has been doing to finally end the man called Stefan Demetri. It makes me feel like my plans were child’s play.
A couple of hours later, I receive a package.
A black box from the offices of Mr. Roach. I stare at it and wonder what horrors are in there. Horrors in the form of numbers.
What kind of scheming is in there?
I grab the new phone I bought during my lunch hour and dial a number that I didn’t know I had memorized.
Maybe that’s because you spent a long time just looking at his business card. You even know the font and the space between the numbers. Yeah, so what? It was a really beautiful, quality looking business card.
He picks up after one ring and his low, cultured deep voice bathes me with its sensuality and authority.
I think it’s best if he never finds out how much he affects me.
“I got it.” I say as I look at the box. Waiting for his response but I also enjoy hearing his deep breaths in my ear.
“I know. I’ll come get you when I’m back on Friday.”
The way he says that has heat flooding to the south of me. I can imagine what it would feel like to have a man like him ‘coming to get’ me.
“Where are you?” I ask, trying to keep in line with the conversation, but the way our voices seem intimate over the line like we are lovers has me feeling delirious with want. Want for something I’ve never had before.
“On my way to Miami, then to California. I have an emergency to take care of. Listen, I know you won’t like my next words but they are for your own good.”
I don’t like the sound of his voice so I don’t say anything. I don’t know what to expect.
“I have placed a security detail on you. I don’t want anything to happen to you, especially while I’m away. They will take you home every night and bring you to work.” At my silence he goes on, “They are trained to blend with the shadows, you won’t know that they are there. It’s just a necessary precaution.” He says.
“A necessary precaution huh? Or just monitoring and evaluation?” I seethe, suddenly annoyed. Annoyed at the way I react to him.
“No. Just for your safety. You did say you wanted to be treated as an equal and to share with you what I have, didn’t you?”
That not exactly what I meant but...
“Listen, I have to go. Stay out of trouble.” And with that cryptic instruction, he hangs up.
What’s with these cryptic, shady comments?
One thing I won’t do though, is fall under the authority of a man. Any man. I will find a way to rise above it and get my own way.
And with that thought, I get back to work and make a promise to myself that I will ‘allow’ Gideon’s security to be around but come Friday, I’m going to let him have it.
No way will I just stand there helplessly as if I'm not a capable strong woman by myself. I’ll show him.
Chapter 12
Gideon
I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A penchant of self-control. I have always prided myself in keeping my cool whenever and wherever.
I wasn’t known as a man who can blow a gasket like my grandfather, Samuel Black, back in his day.
At my age, he was already building the foundations of Black House Inc. He had to do it with haters laughing at him, investors turning him away and the ‘know it all’ financers on the street shaking their heads, telling him he was crazy.
There are legends that say my grandfather would growl at all those naysayers. He would tell them to watch the space and he swore that they will never see a company like Black House ever, not in any of their lifetimes, nor of their offspring.
My grandfather worked alongside his brother. They were together in the trenches, digging through the mud of hard work and the sewage of haters. Moone would give them funding for their ‘crazy dream’.
But here we are, almost half a century later and Black House Inc is topping charts, blowing every other projected revenue, coming out the leader of the pack. With me at the helm.
This was not what I wanted, but I didn’t delude myself. I knew for as long as the monster of a company was up and running, tha
t I was one day going to take after my father. I just didn’t know it was going to happen much earlier than planned.
“Hey, I was checking that feed you mentioned earlier, and I hate to say it man, but you were right.”
Max comes over from the other room of the plane, and just delivers the news I already knew. “That asshole Matt is scheming from the car manufacturing plant.” He confirms, as he takes a seat across from me, a small table that holds a clutter of papers and my laptop, between us.
I sigh and just sit back. I hate when these things happen, and it doesn’t help matters knowing that it would be your own ‘loyal’ employees that have been working with you for twenty plus years.
“Yeah, I was hoping we would be wrong.” Max says, disappointed.
The wolves and hyenas have been coming at my family and our company for a long time. It’s been too much sweat, tears shed but the blood has been too much. Everything seems to be coming at me so fast I don’t know how to not duck every time I breath.
“Sucks. Matt was really being sleazy over the past three years. He has stolen over a hundred thousand. I wonder why he needed all that money?” Max says as he scrolls through his tablet, with a frown line marring his face.
Max has been my friend since kindergarten, we have also been working alongside each other since the baton was passed on to me from my father.
I can safely tell you that without him, this ship would have sunk to the bottom of the deepest ocean by now.
Trained in A-grade intelligence, with military and Navy Seals background, Max is the perfect candidate for top security.
Initially I just wanted him to tighten the security around Black House Inc when I took over from my father a few years ago.
But there is something about pain, that just connects people. Gives them more ammunition to further their ‘relationship’.
Max, like everyone else, like myself, has his own story. He has faced his own fair share of pain and grief, is still facing it. Which made him the perfect candidate to be part of my inner circle. And in turn, it’s an honor to be part of his.
He is my eyes and ears. He is the tech brain around here and he brings a tough, raw, uncut realness to the dynamic that is my life. A lot of the things that we have been able to uncover and the progress we have made since my grandfather’s ‘accident’ is due to this man.
“Yeah, dad used to say that Matt liked to gamble, a little too much.” I say in answer to his earlier musings.
“Well, he must have been shit out of luck then. This is too much money.”
And God, don’t I know that. In-house scheming is the last thing I want to deal with right now. I have so much going on, my plate is more than full, it’s literally spilling over from the rim. It has been since my grandfather was admitted to the hospital after his accident, straight into a self-induced coma.
That was a year ago.
Then my father up and had a heart-attack when the accusations started making noise on the streets, effectively sending him to early retirement.
Now here I am, twenty-nine, almost thirty, heading a large company that is sitting a little more in water than above it.
And to think it’s all because of one man.
“I know. I don’t have time to deal with this right now. I guess that’s why he took the chance, thinking with all that’s going on, no one will catch his sticky hands.”
I have a court hearing coming up. I only have a few days to find evidence that will give one of our divisions some much needed absolution.
On top of the agenda though, is to make that bastard pay.
I lean back into the luxury cream-colored leather seat of one of my personal planes. A Gulfstream 650. It’s one of the latest business jets and can fly for longer distances without having to stop to refuel. This has been an advantage over the past months.
There is no time to waste. Everywhere I look, there are fires to extinguish, companies to monitor and people that need to get a little taste of their own disloyalty.
Success has a high price to pay.
My grandfather always said that. I never understood him but now that the two men that held my life down, afforded me the luxuries of my life are both in different stages of suffering, I have to avenge my family.
By myself, well not really.
“I’ll send Tom to deal with it, bring him out here, have a few rounds with him.” Max suggests.
At this point I don’t have any kind of sympathy within me, I just nod, knowing damn well that things are about to get ugly for dear old Matt.
“Speaking of which, have you been in touch with that gorgeous Executive Assistant to your sworn enemy? You do know she tried to ditch her security detail, right?” Max questions, putting his tablet aside and looking at me expectantly, wearing a large smile on his face. I bet he finds this whole thing funny.
“Yes, I heard about that. And they better had not lost her.” I say with alarm.
“Relax man, they were prepared from what I here. Fred had the backdoor covered.” Max explains. “But you have to admit, she is really funny. Most girls would have swooned over having you send them a car and a security detail.”
Don’t I know that. Some girls are more invested in what you can do for them and whether or not you will elevate them to a ‘classier’ level.
“Not that girl.” I say, shaking my head in disbelief. It’s almost like she wants nothing to do with me and feels like her security is a prison that she has to move around with.
“Definitely not that girl.” Max says letting out a chuckle.
Yeah, not like Tabitha.
It’s an unspoken sentiment between us but we both know of the Tabitha incident, we both lived it. I have never been one to bad mouth women but as for that witch, I don’t have any reservations. A gold digger at her finest.
“You know, I think you should tell her everything. Let her know that you know all about her.” Max quietly suggests, changing the subject and effectively also changing the direction my mind was about to take.
He knows damn well I haven’t told her a damn thing, just the PG parts. The non-harmful parts.
How do I explain that from the day I met Chloe, I have been restless, that I haven’t been able to control the assault of feelings within me?
My anger and hate show its ugly head whenever I think of her working for that asshole.
I know why she is doing it of course, I know that she is also on her path of wanting, no, needing, to avenge her family. Her murdered parents.
But I didn’t just stumble upon Chloe.
I wasn’t even looking to find someone in the Demetri camp to infiltrate his camp. That’s the last thing I needed, yet it’s the angle we used to bring her in.
My grandfather actually told me her name before he slipped into the coma.
Charlotte Chloe Hamilton Smith. The daughter of the late James Smith and late Sandra Hamilton, daughter of Alexander Hamilton the successful mogul of Hamilton Luxury Hotels and Casinos International chain.
Royalty at its finest.
This life is amazingly messed up.
Chloe goes about her life unaware that she is the granddaughter of an old man, who knows he has an heir somewhere but he doesn’t know where she is.
I know my grandfather and Alexander Hamilton are friends, really close friends. To this day, Alexander still visits his friend in the hospital twice a week for more than two hours sometimes.
The camaraderie between the two is just beautiful and I know before grandpa’s unfortunate accident that took my grandmother’s life and put him in a coma, he was investigating the death of his brother.
I know there is also a link between my grandfather’s brother and Chloe’s parents. How he ended up with Chloe’s name is proof of that.
“You know damn well I haven’t” I say.
That’s another problem that I have.
I close my eyes and just see her. I swear if I concentrate enough, I’ll be able to smell her delicious scent.
She is fire.
Everything about her, from the soft tresses of her hair that she wraps in a tight, conservative bun, to her office clothes, every single part of her is fire.
Her eyes suck you in, the pain swirling with emptiness, sucker-punches me all the damn time. The guile you often see in the eyes of women her age, is absent. In its place is barely contained anger.
What she doesn’t seem to know or be aware of is that she is so fucking beautiful and sexy at the same time.
I have never really entertained dating women of color, not that there’s anything wrong with them, I have just never been so, captivated like this. Not after Tabitha.
Chloe has my mind running every which way. I don’t even know what to do with myself whenever I’m around her. My fingers itching to touch her soft skin.
Yet I can’t seem to be able to stay away.
She has this uncanny ability to draw you in, possess you, strip you of your common sense, then discard you. Nothing anyone else has been able to do, she does so seamlessly, with no hesitation. Challenging me to an inch of my anger, yet graciously commanding my attention until all that I can see or think of is her.
I have been standing over the edge since the night in my penthouse. Losing control when I usually excel in wielding it tight around me, from myself and the empire I run.
She hides a lot of herself.
She hides her real name, her real eyes. Hell, she must be hiding from herself even.
There is something broken about her that calls to the parts of me that I know are damaged beyond repair.
I constantly find myself pulling up the security report about her.
I want to know where she is at random hours of the day.
I want to know if she made it safely back home and most importantly, I want to know if she is safe from that asshole.
“Well damn, I haven’t seen you like this in all the time I’ve known you.” Max says with a chuckle in his voice.
I think he can guess that this beautiful, curvy woman is twisting me up from the inside, out.
“There is nothing going on. I’m just trying to do what’s best. For her.” I lie. It’s bullshit and we both know it.
The Billion Dollar Plan: Incongruity Series Book 1 Page 9