Donald Garcia was one of the most respected and feared businessmen in the city. His empire spread far into the different parts of the country and even his most vicious critics were unaware of the magnitude of his wealth. Donald had properties in all the major cities in the country. He also had some properties outside the country. NextGen was a brand name he had built when he was a young man and he was quite fond of it. The group allowed him to include many properties into his umbrella without having to account for their ownership and management. This arrangement was very beneficial to him because he managed to hide his wealth in the name of a franchise and hospitality group. What most people didn't know was that more than half of the companies under his franchise were owned by him completely. He owned many pieces of real estate that were leased to private companies, individuals and even subleased to other real estate managers. His income w
It was a warm and sunny day and there was a relaxed mood in the air. Jess woke up to the sight of a beautiful room with large windows. The curtains had been drawn so she could see the landscaped gardens with huge trees and lovely purple flowers. The bed she was lying in had white linen and Jess was hooked up to a drip. Her head felt light but most of the pain in her body had lessened in intensity. She was sure this was not the hospital, but there was no one around to ask any questions. Jess sat up and stretched her limbs so that she could get some relief and then she lay on the bed and looked around the room. There was a sofa set not too far from the bed with a large three seater and two one seater chairs. They were served by a coffee table which had a lovely flower arrangement at the center. Next to the sofas was a trolley which had some partially eaten food. Further on closer to the door, there was a small desk with an office chair. The desk had som
Donald had been on the phone getting updates on Jess’s whereabouts. He was aware that she was awake and lucid. He had also been informed that Pete had been more present in the house and it did not look like he would leave any time soon. Donald had just hung up the phone when he realized that Amanda was standing in the doorway.“Come in darling,” he said. A startled Amanda walked into the room and she sat down meekly. Donald rearranged some papers on his desk and then he turned to Amanda.“Is anything the matter?” he asked.“No. I just thought I heard you talking about Pete,” Amanda said.“Yes I have someone watching Pete because I want to get to the bottom of William’s story,” Donald said. “Maybe if
It was 7a.m at the Garcia household. Donald was both angry and frustrated. He had been informed that Jess had been abducted by armed and masked gunmen who had taken her to a different location. What made him angry was that Jess had been taken to his country home that was on the outskirts of the town. Donald had tolerated many of Amanda’s excesses but this time she had gone too far. Donald did not understand why Amanda had kidnapped this girl or what her mission was. Additionally, Donald was made to understand that Pete had been injured in the whole fracas. Donald had lost all sense of respect for Amanda because she did not seem to have the heart of a mother any more. Donald had intended to keep investigating the circumstances but he was overwhelmed by anxiety. He had spent the night in the office trying to collect more information. Now he was back home and Amanda was at the breakfast table. She acted innocent as though nothing was going on, and
Jess was tossing and turning on the bed as she thought of the information she had just shared with Donald. He had left Jess alone in the room after they had talked.she knew that she had not incriminated Pete in any way because there was no way to link him to the business she had described. Besides, she did not have any information that could be considered actionable for a business rival or for the law enforcement authorities. Despite this, she still felt like she had betrayed Pete in some way. She was thinking back to the early days in their relationship when he presented her to everyone as his girlfriend. She smiled when she remembered how difficult Pete had been and how he insisted on being affectionate in public. Later when they started dating genuinely, Pete would continue this habit more brazenly. He made fun of this when Jess complained, by calling himself an alpha wolf who was marking his territory.
Margaret had been having a terrible day. She had been looking for Adam Harris for three days and she was distraught. She had tried calling his daughter but all her calls were not answered. She did not know where Jess worked or lived so she did not have any other way to contact her. It was late afternoon and she had just got back from searching for Adam in several hospitals. All these activities had been unsuccessful and she was exhausted and frustrated. She was sitting in the yard while pondering her next move when a car pulled into her driveway. She recognized the young man who walked towards her as Jess’s boyfriend but Jess was not with her. This heightened her curiosity although she felt a bit nervous.“Good day madam,” he said.“Good day young man,” she said.“Jess was n
Adam Harris had lived a long full life in his 57 years on earth. He had been a loving husband and exceptional father and a hard working man. During his younger years, he had been very ambitious. He had taken on many shifts at work so that his young family could enjoy the basic pleasures in life. He had scaled down on these tasks when Jess’s mother passed away so that he could spend enough time with his child. He had been a doting father who had attended all her school events without fail. He had also been determined to be a part of his daughter’s life by being close to her emotionally. Although Adam did not consider himself his daughter’s best friend, he knew that she could always come to him with anything. This had not changed even when she had become their sole breadwinner. She had asked him for advice about work ethic, taxes, managing her payslip and many other issues.As Jess be
Four months had passed since Jess had buried her father. She had returned to work and she was dealing with her grief by filling all her time with extra work. Luckily for her, she had not physically met with William since their last discussion at the graveyard. Jess had also made up with Pete and they were on really good terms. She had not fully moved into the penthouse although she spent every night there. Her apartment was regularly cleaned although Jess had carried the gift box from her father. She often looked at the box sadly but she had never gathered the courage to open it. Jess had just arrived at the penthouse and taken a shower when the phone rang. She was thrilled when the caller ID read Leslie and she answered immediately.“Leslie, I’m so happy to hear from you,” Jess said happily.
A pleasant aroma wafted through the penthouse. The aroma was rich in vanilla and cinnamon along with the typical smell of freshly baked cake. Jess was home alone baking cookies after a long exhausting week. She had spent days working, and evenings helping Leslie to find the most suitable nanny for her baby. Leslie had enjoyed her first few days of motherhood and she was in love with her baby. She enjoyed holding him and breast feeding him, although she hated changing his diapers. After interviewing six nannies, Leslie finally settled on one nanny who seemed most suitable. The nanny kept coming to see them at the hospital for the next two days before she finally relocated to Leslie’s house. Leslie had chosen to move back to her parent’s house instead of getting another house. She had already informed the maids about the changes and the house had been set up accordingly. Leslie’s room had been adjusted to accommodate the baby and to ma