Fabian turned away from the window’s panoramic view and headed down the linear stair rails to his kitchen, his mind still lost in a web of memories from yesteryear.
“Good morning sir,” a sprightly voice called out from a lone white illuminated box that sat unobtrusively in the middle of his marble benchtop, bringing Fabian’s mind back to the present. It was the only presence he allowed in his house.
“Morning V,” Fabian opened his mirrored double-doored fridge and pulled out a glass of orange juice. V was his ubiquitous virtual assistant - the brainchild of Fabian Williams and one of Virtuex Holdings’ top selling innovations.
“What would you like to have for breakfast today?” the voice quipped. V had access to every part of the two-tone modern house, from Fabian’s master bedroom all the way to his garage in the basement and was, therefore, able to cater to all of Fabian’s commands.
He did not feel like eating. Not after answering the phone call earlier.
“The juice will suffice,” he took a big gulp, feeling the cold savoury juice flow down this throat before settling into his stomach. That was much better.
“Make up the bed, wash the cup and prepare the car. I’m going to shower.”
“Yes sir. By the way, Mrs Williams calling you again.”
At the mentioning of ‘Mrs Williams’, Fabian felt enraged. He slammed the glass of juice against the marbled top, causing droplets of tangerine to spill out. Suddenly the juice no longer held any temptation for him.
His thick eyebrows furrowed and his lips tightened into a thin line.
“Reject all her calls,” he said through gritted teeth and marched angrily back upstairs for a quick shower.
Contrary to Amber’s tiny little bathroom, Fabian’s washroom was a large and spacious one. A sunken bathtub lay in the middle of the bathroom with a spectacular view of the outdoors, but instead of submerging himself in a warm tub of bubbles, he stepped into a monochrome tiled enclosure and turned on the rain shower.
Needles of water from the warm stream massaged him as he stood motionless - hunched over with his head facing down, and an outstretched hand pressed against the wet wall. And as water flowed down his hair and splashed onto his bare back, his mind started to wander.
Mrs Williams. Wife to the great CEO of Williams Towers, the woman who was revered and respected by the community was not his mother.
His birth mother had been driven away by Mrs Silverman long ago, and try as he might, he could not find her. The sly fox had erased all traces of his mother.
All he could remember of his mother were her cinnamon scents and her last embrace before she was forcefully dragged away, begging and crying. He was only four then, but he remembered every heartbreaking detail. His father did nothing to stop the separation, and for that, he was filled with nothing but hatred for them.
Fabian left home for an ivy league boarding school at the age of eight and though he owed much of his luxurious upbringing to his father, he had worked his way up the success ladder by himself. Virtuex Holdings was his sweat and blood and he would die before he let anyone lay a finger on his baby.
***
“Amber!’
“Yes Margaret?” a breathless Amber popped her flour sprinkled head up from under the kneading table, banging her head in the process. Ma’s Bakery bread and pastries were handmade fresh every day.
“Sweetheart! What are you doing under the table?” Margaret rushed in from the bright blue wooden door and helped pull Amber up. There was also flour on Amber’s nose and cheeks.
“The rolling pin dropped,” she grinned, holding up her prize. Margaret laughed and tousled Amber’s hair.
“Silly girl. You can set that down, I’ll take over. I’ll need you to make a delivery to the convention centre. They’ve ordered thirty of our assorted pastries.”
Thirty! That was a lot! But she wasn't complaining, in any case, Amber was glad to see Margaret busy. Her pastries were the best and Amber loved her cinnamon rolls the most. Maybe she would grab one on the way to the convention centre.
“Is there a party?” she asked, wiping off the flour from her apron.
“Oh no, “ laughed Margaret, the woman loved to laugh, everything was funny to her. “From what I know, there’s a talk about teddies going on.”
Amber blinked and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Teddies?”
“Yes, yes,” the older woman said, her attention turning towards the large wooden desk in front of her. She started to knead into the dough, “A teddy talk or ted talk…something like that.”
Oh…a TED talk. Amber nodded with a little smile. She loved listening to people share their ideas. The speakers always seemed so wise, so knowledgable, unlike herself. She wondered if she would be able to stand on stage one day and give a presentation to thousands of spectators.
Get a grip, Amber Banks. You’re just a high school drop out on the way to make a delivery! She shook her head, mentally scolding herself as she quickly went to the counter to check the order. And as she started to load the goodies into the delivery bag, she wondered who the lucky speaker was.
***
Fabian ended his speech to rousing applause from the audience.
“Thank you all for being here this afternoon. Have a pleasant day everyone.”
More applause and soon, the bottom of the stage was filled with people, young and old, all clamouring to get his autograph. Fabian had grown up in the public eye and as such, he was used to the adulation.
“Fabian, I love you!” a busty brunette screamed, waving her iPhone in the air. He smiled and winked at her, eliciting a scream so ecstatic from the young woman that if people didn’t know better, they would have thought he was a rockstar. Women loved him.
“Fabian! Here! Look here!” Lights flashed in his face and the audience tried to take selfies with him. It was a good twenty minutes before he was successfully ushered out of the auditorium.
At the back of the auditorium, the chairman invited Fabian to their lounge. Refreshments had been prepared in advance, but Fabian did not feel like mingling around. Giving a speech was one thing – it would help boost the image of his company, but having to sit, eat and entertain a bunch of people were not his thing. The chairman, a balding middle-aged man looked like he was about to cry but Fabian being Fabian remain unmoved, so the poor man had to concede. He patted Fabian’s broad shoulder and passed him a paper bag filled with pastries.
“At least eat something, my staff were really hoping to get to meet you face to face,” the man smiled sadly, pushing his rimmed glasses back up his thick nose.
Fabian forced a smile, thanked the chairman and made a beeline for his dark grey Aston Martin which was parked just at the back of the convention centre, hidden behind some bushes. He had to shoo away a few kids who were peering into his car in awe before he managed to crawl into his vehicle.
Just as he was just about to start the engine, a motorcycle zoomed by and he thought he saw a redhead riding on it. He smiled, shaking his head, “I must be daydreaming.” Then a growl came from his stomach, he hadn’t eaten anything the whole day. Luckily the chairman, whatever his name was, had given him some food. Fabian randomly fished for a bun from within the paper bag and stuffed it into his mouth, only to freeze.
He had eaten a cinnamon roll and an extremely tasty one at that. But what struck him what how familiar the roll tasted to him – like he had eaten it before. He grabbed the brown paper bag and peered at the logo that was printed on it.
The logo showed a single framed window with an awning over it and right below the window was the name of the shop. It read ‘Ma’s Bakery.’
The La Fire Club was abuzz with excitement. As Amber walked into the dressing room to collect her uniform, she saw women primming themselves in front of the vanity tables with lights, looking even more made up than usual. They were chatting with each other excitedly, some giggling, others gushing and a few were even adding more padding to their push up bras.“Amber! How do I look?” a busty blonde quipped, turning around to face Amber. Her breasts were practically spilling out of her corset.“Um…chesty?” she wasn’t exactly sure what to say but the answer seemed to satisfy the blonde who went back to facing the mirror, apparently to add even more padding.Amber made her way to the back of the dressing room where she found Lola, sitting crossed legged and alone on the sofa where they first met yesterday. Unlike the other girls, Lola had a book on her lap and a pen tucked neatly behind her ear.Amber had to smile, she liked Lola. The girl was as honest as anyone
“Now, now Fabian. I’ve sent you Amber, so please remove the scowl from that handsome face of yours,” Madam Cecil teased, pushing Amber towards Fabian who remained seated on the sofa. Amber felt like a piece of property and did not appreciate it. “Madam Cecil, I’m only here for waitressing works,” she said exasperatedly, suddenly wondering if she should be wary of Fabian Williams. Did a sleazy beast lay beneath the facade of this handsome man? She could feel her heart beating faster. Fabian waved his hand at Madam Cecil, “You may leave us now.” Amber shot Cecil an anxious look and to which the older woman replied, “Amber my dear girl, Fabian is one of our most well-behaved customers here. You’re in good hands.” With that, the head hostess turned around and strode out of the room – her hips swaying against her insanely tight pencil skirt and heels digging into the soft carpeted floor with every step before she finally closed the door behind her
Amber was dreaming, but like everyone else who dreamt, she did not realise that she had tumbled down the rabbit hole…. ‘She was standing alone in a semi-darkened room and mist surrounded her. A single window was positioned above her, allowing a little bit of light to stream down into the room. “Hello?” she called out nervously, trying to see what lay ahead of her. She took a few steps forward cautiously with her arms stretched out, not wanting to knock into anything when suddenly she bumped into something soft. She looked down and gasped. The mist that enveloped the room earlier on began to dissipate to reveal the body of a battered man lying at her feet. He was chained in shackles and curled up like a cat. Then to her horror, the man stirred. Amber tried to run but for some reason, her movements felt heavy, as if she was underwater. She could hardly move at all. Help! She wanted to call
The journey home for Amber was a daze. She had no idea how she managed to even make it back in one piece. What had Anson done? He normally couldn’t even hurt a fly! There must have been some kind of misunderstanding.Her hands trembled as she fumbled with the keys to the door. They jingled too much and she couldn’t fit the key into the lock.Damnit! Open!Frustrated, she kicked the door only to let out a little yelp.Calm down. I need to calm down.She took a deep breath and slowly inserted the key into the keyhole again, this time, it worked and the door creaked to an open.Although it was nearing dawn, the room was still quite dark and while the windows were left open, Anson had drawn the curtains to a close.“Anson?” Amber whispered, closing the door behind her. Then in the corner of their little room, right beneath the window sill, Amber saw her brother, huddled under the curtain that flap
The line sounded too cheesy to be a threat.“I know what your brother did.”“Excuse me?” Amber frowned into her phone. It sounded like a ripoff from the 1997 horror flick ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. And because of that, Amber had trouble taking the call seriously at first.Until the caller said, “I can prove his innocence.”That sealed the deal for her. As much as she had tried to encourage Anson to turn himself in to the police, deep down, she had been filled with dread. The alleyway was a blindspot and all evidence pointed to Anson. There were witnesses from the first night when Anson had a heated verbal exchange with the man. And he had touched the knife with his bare hands for goodness sake!So when the mysterious caller dangled the key to freedom for her brother, of course she had to take it. But Amber was no fool, she knew there would be a catch.“Who is this?” she whis
A numbing icy wave washed over Amber upon hearing Liam’s words. They repulsed her. “What do you mean?” she asked, taking a cautious step back, bumping into the door from where they had entered earlier and shredding her palms with her clenched fingernails. Anson instinctively stepped in front of his sister, shielding her tiny frame with his own. His body language practically screamed, ‘Stay away from my sister!’. At this, Liam began to laugh as if Amber had just asked the funniest question. He laughed so hard he had to hold his sides and the siblings stood silently watching him rocking back and forth in his swivel chair, waiting for him to catch his breath. She took his laughter as a sign of him not lusting after her body; which in a way came as a huge relief. Even Anson started to relax a little. Perhaps Liam Smith wanted something menial, like a week of housekeeping perhaps? It was a naïve thought, but for a moment Amber truly thought all would be we
What have I gotten myself into? Amber wondered as she stared at her reflection. In the full-length mirror that hung from the crimson white walls of the dressing room stood a stranger. Is that me? She gaped, peering into the mirror and raised her right hand, waving it slightly. The redhead in the mirror waved back. She could not believe her eyes. Standing in front of her was a beautiful, elegant and sexy looking woman. She blinked, feeling a little like Cinderella. Except Cinderella had never been auctioned off dressed like this, she thought wryly before her reflection tugged at her attention once more. Her eyelashes had been curled up to bring focus to her emerald eyes and while her face had largely been kept to a bare minimum, it was clean and glowy with only a faint red tint to her lips. Her neck looked extra slender, and it was all due to the silken black kimono with gold butterflies that parted suggestively at her shoulde
Fabian Williams was furious. And rightly so. What the hell is she doing?! He had started the day with a blast - his company had successfully acquired the Silverware, a company from New York specializing in virtual reality systems. He even declined the offer to celebrate the victory with Elon Musk just so he could come to the La Fire Club to see her! Elon Musk! He had turned down the great Elon Musk just to find out that Amber Banks was auctioning herself off! Damn it! Has she gone mad?! Fabian stood in a darkened lounge lit with low lights on the first floor of the La Fire Club. The lounge was big as it was spacious, with plush armchairs sprawled around and scantily clad women serving drinks in sheer lacy kimonos. A few men were here, some of whom Fabian knew and some he did not bother to get to know. These men were here for one thing and one thing only. Sex. Fabian himself had been here before, he had even ‘purchased’ a few