CHRIS
I’ve had this argument with Antonio a dozen times but this old man just won’t budge, I don’t know how someone can be so loyal to the dead“Look I’ve told you Chris, but you’re too stubborn and always want your way, the will clearly says that when you turn 30, you must be married for a minimum of two years before you can get the money” Antonio says looking at me smugly“So I should just go out there, pick a random chick and marry her?” I retorted standing up irritated“How you handle your business is not my concern, I’m a lawyer Chris, not a match maker” Antonio says and shrugs“Cmon Barrister Antonio, take the one percent I’m offering and let’s call this a deal” I say in a more serious tone“Young man, even if you give me fifty percent of your money, I’m doing what your father instructed” he replies“But I haven’t found any one worthy of my love, these ladies all want me for my money”“Then let them have it, this isn’t really a big deal, get someone you think fits the profile of being your wife and offer her a contract, the clause didn’t say it has to be a love marriage”He walks over to his cabinet and starts putting some files in his bag, a subtle way of telling me that he’s heading out and I need to leaveI pick up my phone and call my assistant Ben to bring the car around, I have an important eight hundred million pound deal to close with Rico foods I’ll deal with this contract bride stuff later, if that will get me the money************************************************“Hold” I half scream as I see two ladies enter the elevator, Ben half running and half walking to keep up with my paceAs I get close to the elevator, I wish I didn’t ask for them to hold it, it’s none other than my arch business rival Nicole Reyes and her personal assistant Claire Thompson“Hello Nicole, I see you’re here to get your ass kicked again” I taunt her as Ben and I enter the elevatorLast time I beat them to a five hundred million pound hand sanitizer distribution deal during the global pandemic, this time won’t be any differentNicole is a beautiful woman, she’s smart and very hard working, I secretly admire her as far as business rivals go, heck, if she wasn’t married already, we’d be the perfect example of a power coupleEverytime our paths cross, we’re always battling to topple each other over in business deals, that’s what I admire the most about her, despite being a woman in a man’s world, she doesn’t back down, her husband is one lucky chap to have her as his wife“I hope your PA brought enough wipes for your tears when I hand your ass to you Chris” Nicole replies“Sexy” I say as I deliberately scan her outfit, the black thigh slit gown she’s wearing hugs her body perfectly revealing her curves and her red shoes just complement the hot red lipstick she’s wearing.I was throwing her off her game, the last thing she’d expect was me checking her out and complementing her, I’m not about to argue with her all the way up inside this elevator“I’m married you pervert” She replies me staring daggers into my soul“Ben, what rule says a married woman cannot be sexy?” I ask Ben still looking at Nicole in a coy manner“None sir” Ben replies laughing at our interaction“It’s inappropriate to talk to her in that manner Mr Bale” Claire chimes in“I’m in the market for a wife myself, are you married?” I ask her in a mocking toneShe and Nicole exchange quick glances and they both burst out laughing“In your dreams Chris” Nicole answers“I’m not married Mr Bale but trust me, if it were up to me, men wouldn’t exist”“I’m guessing you’re a feminist, I’m a feminist too, I believe in women equality” Ben saysI shoot him daggers with my eyes and he looks away“Don’t go assuming like that Ben, she may be into women, maybe even into her boss” I say with a smirk on my faceClaire frowns and looks straight at the door, counting the seconds till it opens and Nicole defends her“I know what you’re doing asshole, trying to get us riled up before the presentation so we’re off our game right? Well let me tell you the news, It’s not working”“Whatever, I’ll be rubbing you on the floor in this presentation as usual women” I say laying strong emphasis on the word womenThe elevator opens and as I step out, Nicole sticks out a foot for me and I stumble to the floorBen holds his laughter but Nicole and Claire burst out laughing as they walk past me“He wants to rub us on the floor and he’s already kissing it even before we start” Nicole says laughing hystericallyAs soon as the presentation starts, I see the old CEO of Rico foods smiling at everything Nicole says even when she was making little senseHis eyes darting between her exposed cleavage and her revealed laps through the slit in her gownI realize the reason she was wearing a thigh high slit gown now, her charms are obviously working on this old manI get up to do my presentation and I do a very good job, I see Nicole in my peripheral vision giving me the middle finger as I go back to take my seat“Mr Chris, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but we’ve decided to go with Nicole Reyes of Emirates Royal, we hope to work with you in future” the CEO finally says after a short rendezvous with his team“Of course you went with them, you couldn’t stop staring at her thighs all day” I blurt out in anger and storm outI wasn’t one to lose my cool on a normal day but I guess being tripped by her put me off in a way I didn’t expect, the CEO may have given Nicole the contract but I have another ace up my sleeve.NICOLELater that night, I’m sitting with Claire and Mason in my room going over the documents we have to submit to Rico foods tomorrow to finalize our dealWe had beaten Chris’s Strong Haven to secure the Eight hundred million pound deal with Rico foods.The look on his face when we were declared winners gave me nothing but pleasure, he’s been coming out on top against us recently so it felt real good to win this time around“Shit! Guys I have to quickly run out, I promised the CEO of Rico foods that we’ll be having dinner tonight” I say as I grab my car keys“Babe, do you really have to go?” Mason says giving me puppy eyes and rubbing my hands “Yes baby, just for courtesy’s sake” I smile and kiss him“Tell the old man to keep his hands to himself though” he says and we both laughClaire starts to pack the documents in her bag motioning to leave with me“What are you doing?” I ask visibly irritated “You’re leaving, we’ll finish this tomorrow then, just drop me off at home” she says
Imagine my shock when I woke up in a tiny apartment the next morning. The strong smell of sweat, the filth of clothes loitered everywhere, the hard mattress I was lying on, the noise coming from neighbors could only mean one thing, I wasn’t in my mansion but where was I and what was I doing here?I struggled to my feet and head for what looked like a bathroom and the shock of seeing someone else in the mirror made me scream, I didn't sound or look like myself at all. Was I going mad? Was this some nightmare?I ran back to the room to look for my phone to call Mason, I didn't find it but I saw a book that read Bella's journal on the bed, I toss it aside and kept looking for a phone.I found the remote instead and turned on the television, it was on the news channel.The weather reports were coming in when all of a sudden I see breaking news flash across the screen with a picture of myselfI was shocked to see it but even more shocked as I heard the reporter say"Popular business magna
NICOLE I got to the Strong Haven office a few minutes late. One of the challenges of my new reality is public transportation and it took a while for me to find my way here.“Hi, Good morning, I’m Nicole, sorry Bella, Bella Lawrence, I’m here for an interview” I say to the front desk receptionist“What interview?” She asks smugly, looking at me like I’m a piece of filth that needs to get out of her face.“The interview for the post of Junior secretary” I say trying my best to hold the fake smile on my lips“Ohh, go sit over there, you’re late, you’re lucky the boss isn’t in yet” pointing towards the waiting lounge There’s some other ladies waiting there too, I guess they’re here for the same interview As soon as I take a seat, Chris walks in, he’s even taller than I remember, he’s a rather handsome man and his full beards suit him well, I’ve never looked at his face for more than a second beforeHe has a picturesque smile on his face as he waves good morning to his employeesThe int
NICOLEAfter I agreed to Chris’s proposal, I spent the rest of yesterday with Ben, getting a total body, face and wardrobe makeover, he gave me a black Santander card, he was sparing no expense in making me comfortable in my new roleBen was mostly surprised at how I knew all the shops and acted with so much poise when I was being attended to, not like a poor girl who was being thrown into a world of luxury.The next morning I lay on my bed, taking it all in and planning on what to do next, we were going to the marriage registry to officially sign our marriage certificate later today He had taken a photo with me yesterday and put it on his page to keep the media buzzing with speculations and rumors.Chris was right, I may not like him because he was my business rival but if Bella had waited just a little over 24 hours before downing so much Xanax, her life would have changed, she would have accepted the offer on a whim.When all is said and done, I’ll have fifty million and more for
NICOLEA surge of different emotions course through my veins as I hear Mason’s voice, anger, sadness, hatred and even fearThe picture of the vase hitting my lifeless body while I’m on the floor flashes through my mind and I shudder a bit“I’m truly sorry for your loss Mason, she was a rare gem” Chris turns and says to himI don’t know what annoys me the most, the fact that Mason is standing right behind me or that Chris just blatantly lied, we weren’t close enough for him to even call me that, sorry for your loss was cliché enough I try to walk inside to avoid Chris introducing me to Mason but he pulls me back, holding me by my waist“Meet my fiancé, Bella, we’re getting married soon” he introduces me to Mason“She’s beautiful and shy I might add” Mason remarks Chris looks at me and notices that my head is down, I can tell he’s a bit disappointed as he releases his hold “Hi” I manage to force a smile and reply to mason before making my way inside the church leaving them both to it
NICOLE“It is no secret that Nicole and I were not the best of friends or business partners when she was alive but she was a leader in our industry, at the forefront of innovations that constantly put the rest of us on our toes, she was a woman leading in an industry dominated by men and for that, dead or alive, she will always have my respect. On this note I am donating ten million pounds to her foundation and all the charity organizations that she supports” I hear Chris spill from the podium Did he really mean those words? Did he really see me as a woman leading an industry dominated by men? This is the same man who just days ago said he was going to wipe the floor with me, he couldn’t be serious, he was doing it for the press definitely “We can leave now” he says as he gets to me, stretching his hands for me to take themAs soon as I do, he pulls up and holds me by my waist and we stride out of the church.I turned back to glance at my photo one more time, I was really gone, Nic
NICOLEReading Ben’s text at first made me feel bad that I was losing the contract to Chris but then I remember that I wasn’t losing anything, Mason and Claire were, it hurts me that it’s my company but there’s nothing I can do nowRico foods cannot just pull out of the contract though except Mason and Claire forgot to submit the papers, because we were reviewing it the night they murdered meThe universe is really behind me, I haven’t even figured out a move on them yet and they lost the contract already, first of many blows to comeI don’t know if it’s the joy from the news or Chris’s soft hands on my feet but I’m beginning to feel really really good.I never pictured him to be this sweet, he always puts down women but here he is, diligently massaging my feet, the high and mighty Chris BaleHe’s smiling at me again. I don’t want to get carried away but seeing Mason today made me realize that even though he killed me, I still felt a way about him. I hated him, yes, but I don’t know,
NICOLE“Welcome Mr and Mrs Bale, nice to have you here today, we have a few samples ready for you to see” the manager of the prestigious House of bling was welcoming us into one of their stores”Chris and I had just signed the marriage certificate this morning as well as our agreement, but his lawyer advised that we have a proper marriage ceremony to make it look more legit especially now that his mom is in the pictureSo we are here to shop for our wedding rings, Chris had earlier called the manager of ice gallery on our way here but I suggested that ice gallery weren’t exactly the first choice for diamond rings, even though he was surprised how I knew anything about diamond stores, he still called them to inform the manager of our arrival.House of Bling is the go to honestly, they have the best jade and diamond rings, that's where I and Mason got our wedding ringsThe thought of Mason makes my blood boil, that traitor, and as if on cue I see the devil and his advocate the moment we