3. The Betrayal

Nik

I woke up to soft hands trailing over my chest. The bloody red nails were an indication of whose it is. 

This is new. I never let anyone stay the night, especially when I'm in my home, not one of my penthouses. The splitting headache is an indication that I was mostly inebriated when I made such a decision.

‘mi amor’ the thick Spanish accent of the brunette who was splashed all over me naked from the waist down, put a downer on my libido if any was brewing. 

Mi Amor. I haven't been called that since Eva. Not since she left me on that bridge eight years ago. The mere thought of thinking about her made my blood boil in anger. You'll think the time that has passed should have lessened the amount of hatred I had towards her and that fool she ended up marrying, but it was quite the opposite. 

I cut down the ugly memories and pushed her off revealing myself in my own birthday suit and the evidence of what we did last night. 

“Get dressed.” My tone was hard, still I didn't give a damn how that made her feel. 

She furrowed her brows in confusion and pouted her lips, and if I found that sexy last night, this morning I found it a tad irritating. 

The way she subtly adjusted, jutting out her breasts and pushing off her hair in an attempt to elicit a reaction from me was cute, but I had my fill last night. 

She crawled on the sheet towards where I am at the edge of the bed and wraps her hand around my waist keeping her at eye level around my stomach and waist region. 

I looked down coldly, not surprised that she wasn't getting the reaction she wanted. 

Sometimes I think Eva ruined me for all other women, but at the same time, I don't think so. Surely, I had been with lots of women after her but recently there was no edge to it. Sex was boring and quick; a lot of times it took a lot to get an erection, and if I didn't know better, I'd think the damn thing between my legs was broken. 

I'm still way too young and I should be in my fertile years, as my mother annoyingly pointed out yesterday. 

Women have become like vases to me. Only to be filled and used, no more no less. 

My train of thought was cut off by the shrill beep of my personal phone, the one that only close friends and family had access to. 

A cursory glance showed me who it was, and it just served to worsen my mood. 

lled me for a few reasons: 

One, To berate me for leaving the family company and spending all my time slaving away. 

Two: To remind me whose child I was and how he would always be part of me. 

Three: To make me feel small by issuing orders while attempting to control my life. 

I ended the call, not bothering to pick it, knowing it was going to infuriate him, but I was honestly past that little boy he whipped in his office anymore. 

I didn't need his money, and I owned my time, and I had something huge lined up for today anyway, which he would probably get wind of, and he could save his anger for then. 

“I’m so sore from last night. But I could go one more round” She whispered huskily. 

I pushed her hands away, “My driver will drop you home with a complimentary gift from me.” I pressed the bell beside the bed knowing the housemistress would come in and take care of the situation. 

I padded softly to the bathroom and locked the door. 

The image that greeted me in the mirror was one of scratches all over my chest wall and back. 

After a quick hot shower, I got dressed in a navy blue piece suit. The Gio Armani suit was ordered from Italy and perfectly tailored. The contrast of the crisp white shirt on my tan skin was one that always did me good.

Today was D-day. The day I've been waiting for since I left home years ago to start my own company. Taking over my father's company was one of the few things that has kept me going as I grew my empire over the years. Today, I sit as the head of the Stavros family. 

When I returned to the room, I saw that she had left and I wasn't surprised. My housekeeper, Mia, whom I have always called Mama Mia since she started working here, was quite good at keeping strangers out and took good care of my house. 

Although I had my main base here in Greece, a large portion of our operations ran from various branches around the world, with the key office being in New York. 

I finished getting ready for work and headed downstairs to see that Mama Mia had a mug of steaming coffee and a bowl of overnight oats served out for me. In my younger years, I didn't care so much about what I ate, but now at 33 I have slowly started changing my eating habits, and it has been doing wonders for my body alongside visiting the gym frequently. 

I ate slowly, taking my time to peruse the hard copy newspaper that was previously neatly folded beside the breakfast. 

I liked my mornings slow and quiet and so far it was looking to be anything but that as my phone rang loudly again. This time it was Keith, the Chief Operating Officer of the New York office. As we were in the process of launching a new biotech device in collaboration with the US government, this wasn't a call I could just ignore even if I wanted to. 

I threw down the newspaper sharply and hissed before bringing the phone to my ear, bracing myself for the bad news I inevitably knew was coming. 

Just as I expected, the first words that came out of his mouth were, “We have a problem. We have a big leak, our entire prototype has been shared with His Wei technology”. 

***********

The announcement over the PA system had me strapping in the belt as the pilot began his descent into the private air strip I usually used whenever I came into New York. 

I pulled off my glasses and rubbed my temples, feeling the beginning of a headache. I also threw down the dossier that had been hurriedly brought to me when I boarded the jet hours ago. 

I picked up the dossier again, staring at the young 21 year old boy who had betrayed my company and, by extension, me. I had spent the last hour reading everything about his life and history that my security team put together. 

One thing I never took lightly was betrayal. I expected loyalty from everyone who works for me. 

He was about to see how I deal with people who betray me. Elias Thompson and his entire family will wish that they had never met me, and he had never stolen pictures and samples from the warehouse to share with another company. 

He was going to pay for crossing me. I would make sure that he got what he had coming.