“You think that was great?” I asked Johnny before hitting the ball with my golf club. It went right into the hole and I laughed. “Now, that’s what we call great.”
Johnny sighed. “It’s been a while since I last played. You know what, I’m tired. Let’s go sit over there.”
He pointed to a group of umbrella trees that had created a great and secluded shaded spot.
“You boys are lazy.” Mr. Ark, an older friend of ours said while rubbing his bald head. He owned a small bank in George but lived in New York with his children. Golf was one of his favourite hobbies. It was a miracle to come to the golf course and not find it. “What will happen when you’re my age?”
“Look, James is here,” Johnny said. James Hacker was heading our way wearing a blue polo shirt, white cap and white pants. Johnny stepped down from the cart and I followed suit “You can play with him.”
“I don’t want to talk to him,” I said, and practically dragged Johnny out of there. James was quite a gossip and I knew he was going to talk about the articles and ask for my opinion so he could tell it to everyone willing to listen. He also worked in another advertising company, a rival to mine.
“Hi Johnny, Jake.”
We turned and waved at him, while walking away fast. Soon we had reached our destination, under a row of beautiful trees. Jake noticed a ball a few metres away and went to retrieve it, leaving me with my thoughts. I end up thinking about Lilith even though I didn’t want to.
Considering that fooling Lilith Hellman had been a piece of cake, she had not lived up to her name. But then again, our plan was quite fool proof so it was going to be quite hard for the she-devil to discover it was a trap. She had already fallen and thought Johnny was a hero, her knight in shining armour who had saved the two damsels in distress. I smiled when I imagined how furious she would be when she found out it was a well-laid trap.
In most cases, I would leave underhanded work like this to Cory but I was actually enjoying driving Lilith down the rabbit hole. She had too much audacity, wings which needed to be clipped. By the end of everything, one of us was going to be ruined forever and I was not about to let it be.
Johnny returned with the ball a minute later and slumped onto the ground, tired after playing only a few rounds of golf. Before he left the city, Johnny could play for hours on end. He had become totally unfit.
“I still can’t stop thinking about how easy it was to fool that woman,” Johnny said. He looked quite pleased with himself and I was pretty sure it was not all about fooling Lilith. “She’s amazing. I don’t know why you’re obsessed with destroying such a sweet chick. She’s really nice and fun to be with. You’d like her if you gave her a chance.”
I sighed. “Are we talking about the same person here?”
Johnny chuckled. “I think you should give her what she wants. What if she just wants your attention? I’ve seen the enemies-to-lovers trope in movies. Maybe she opted for that strategy because she is not hot enough to come on to you.”
Having interacted with Lilith, I knew that was not the case. Not anywhere close to the real thing. If there was a hidden agenda behind exposing, it was wanting fame. Journalists are always looking for attention, wanting to be the next big thing and get paid higher. I was pretty sure that was why Lilith was not willing to let go of the story even after hearing my threats. She wanted to milk the situation for all it was worth.
“Do you ever listen to the nonsense you spew?” I asked my friend. “Lilith wants money and fame. She wants to be known by the world and as long as this is still trending, she will not stop writing about me. That’s why I have to stop her before she goes too far and starts releasing information that would actually destroy me.”
“You might bring down this girl and regret. I don’t know what she has against you but she’s really nice not the type to hold grudges. Besides, she only said the truth in her articles. She even spared you from the kidnapping mess. If she had mentioned that, you would be in trouble. I tell you, she likes you.”
“Hey, will you attend the basketball match today?” I attempted to change the subject.
“Changing the subject huh? Did I hit a soft nerve?”
I chuckled. Talking about Lilith liking me made me a tad uncomfortable for some reason. I couldn’t even imagine dating that woman even if she was the only woman left in the world. “I just want to know. If you’re not attending I could give my ticket to someone else.”
“I’m not. I’m meeting the Arizona chic tonight.”
“Good for you.”
“So tell me more, why did you break up with Heather? She seemed nice. It does seem like you don’t like the nice ones anymore. Don’t worry, I’ll link you up with the craziest one of them all. You just need to show up in that dingy town.”
“I’m not looking for anything serious right now. Once I sort out this Lilith sh!t, I will go on to Illistra. Illistra was an island owned by an oil billionaire. It was where the richest of the rich went for vacations. The best thing about that island was that vast variety of beauties roaming around. Bill had even built a mansion that housed a number of them. And with all the daily parties, it was hard to get bored on that island.
“Whatever you say man,” my friend said. “Let’s go get some drinks. I’m thirsty.”
We rose and made our way to the clubhouse.
Lilith reminded me of one person, one that I didn’t want to ever see again. She had hurt me so much that at one point, I thought it would have been better if she was dead. She was probably travelling around the world enjoying her life and partying like she was twenty. The fact that Lilith reminded me of her when all I wanted was to forget made me hate her even more.
She was one of the reasons I couldn’t stand fame hungry Lilith, using people’s lives to make money.
My mother was dead to me, and I preferred it that way.
If I had to drive Lilith away like I did her, I would.
Lilith’s PovI couldn’t stop thinking about Ian. No man had ever done for me what he had done for Leah and I. Although we were technically strangers, he stood up for us. The fight had almost got bloody but security came just in time and separated the two men, all exuding alpha male energy. Later, Ian had dropped us safely, first Leah and then me. Moreover he had not demanded anything in return except my number which I happily gave him.Being a junior reporter meant my life was full of work that the higher ups didn’t want to do. It was always piled on us. While we worked as slaves, doing everything handed to us, the bosses chose only what was convenient for them.Ian lived in my mind rent free the whole of the next day and night. On the day after that, I had an assignment to travel to New Jersey where I had an interview with a producer of a small budget reality show. He was an eccentric man so Leah and I were both going to see him. Sexual harassment and assault was a big problem for u
Ian and I met at The Alternative Ritz, a bar on the outskirts of the city with a daily live band. I was wearing a hot red figure hugging dress and red heels. My hair was styled, and fell in waves on the sides of my shoulders. That was all thanks to Leah who lectured me on putting effort to my appearance for dates. If it was up tom, I would just wear a clean shirt and jeans plus sneakers. Maybe that was I was still single. I literally didn’t try to look sensual or romantic. Only one guy in the office had expressed interest in dating me but then again, there was only a handful of men there. The place was overflowing with estrogenic and progesterone energy which was not a bad thing but it killed all my office romance dreams.“You’re lucky to have survived that mess,” he said. “I have never been in a shooting before but it sounds quite scary to be involve in one. I’m so sorry you had to experience something like that.”“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for being here. I’m glad you called b
When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room. Sitting up, I looked around. There was a bed with blue sheets, and a table next to it. My bag was on that table. Grabbing it, I opened and saw all the contents inside. Everything was intact. I sat back and tried to rack my memory.Ian. Where the hell was he? Most importantly, where was I? I pulled out my phone and unlocked it. 10missed calls from Leah. What the hell. I dialled her number immediately. She didn’t answer which made me panic even more. My clothes! They were nowhere to be seen and I was wearing a blue nightdress I had never seen before. My heart was pounding as I tried to remember how I got there. All I could remember was leaving that white building. Shit. How did I become so stupid to trust a man whose surname I didn’t know. I had finally done it, gone crazy and made a mess of my life.It was already ten am and I had no idea where to get clothes. I dialled the phone on the table but no one was answering. What the hell was this
I stabilized a few minutes later. There were pictures of me on a full page, all kinds. Me entering the so called whore house, me kissing two men, dancing with men and women. There was one of me in bed with a man but thankfully I was still wearing my clothes. That was the only saving grace.“What is all this?” I asked. An ache had developed in my head. I could process what I was seeing. This was no doubt the worst thing that had ever happened to me. I thought of my relatives, who were probably glad they kept their distance from me.I ripped the paper into pieces.“That will not solve anything.”Why, why me?I think it’s Jake Rylland,” Leah said. “I don’t know why some random guy would do this to you and hire a reporter to document it.”“That sly bastard. I only reported what was true about him. I should have reported the kidnapping. If I do now, they will say I’m trying to ruin his name because mine is ruined.”“That’s not the worst.”“What could be worse than that?”“I think you might
It was like I was floating out of the building. It felt as if I was not really there and my mind seemed to be lost in some unknown dimension. There was a bit of dizziness disturbing me, but I felt stable enough to reach home without collapsing on the way. A taxi passed by and I did not bother to stop it because I wanted to walk. Home was over two kilometres away. I decided to walk until my legs gave out.My mind was shut out from almost everything around me. Everything that had happened to me was a mess in my blurred mind. Vehicles cruised past, people passed by, I bumped into some of them because of my disorientation. Life was going on normally for most people, except me and probably a few others with disturbed minds. At some point, I was just staggering along the pavement, pushing myself. I got weird looks from people who probably thought I was homeless and hungry or crazy but didn’t care. The good thing about my job as a newspaper and magazine reporter was that most people did no
I stayed home the first two days after my suspension. I could have stayed for longer if not for the loan I needed to repay. Although it was possible to buy a new TV and computer at some point, I didn’t want to let go of the ones Miles had taken. He had even gone with my hard drive which was really inconveniencing but motivated me to look for the money.Leah offered me what she had, only a quarter of what I needed. The money I paid was a lot considering how serious the crime was.Hailey had kidnapped her daughter from her ex-boyfriend’s place, after stabbing his current girlfriend who had refused to let go of the girl. Hailey was in the wrong because she and the father had shared custody. She was supposed to be with the child during the weekdays. That Saturday, the father had picked up the child a usual. They were together but he ended up being called for an emergency meeting at the school he taught at. He left the child with Carly who actually had no problem with de and always treate
“If you want a drink or anything to eat, find it in the kitchen. You should have called me before you came because this is a wrong time. I have to get to spa. My man is arriving today so I guess you know why I have to go there.”“Why do you have to go there, mommy?” Amy asked.“Yes, why? Hailey.” I asked, raising an eyebrow.My sister rolled her eyes and walked into the bedroom.“Mommy doesn’t like to answer my questions,” Amy said. “I don’t know why. Do you think she hates me?”I pulled her closer. “Oh no, of course not. Some questions require answers that children may not understand so it becomes hard to answer.”“My teacher explains something when I don’t understand.”“Well darling, teachers are trained on how to deal with children. They know better that the rest of us. Don’t worry about it. What are you watching?”I could not tell the child that her mother was a b!tch who only cared about herself. It seemed losing one child had not taught her to treasure life with the living one.
“Lilith Hellman.”I turned to see the owner of the voice that had just said my name. He was a black man of average height and great looks. He was smiling heartily while holding a margarita on his hand.“Hi,” I said. “Who are you?”“Kyle Munther,” he said. “I’ve been watching you since morning. Okay, that came out wrong. I’m not a stalker. I work as a lifeguard here and just finished my shift. Been seeing you move from one activity to another, as if you can’t find one that matches your mood.”Well, he was right about that. My mind was all over the place, and I couldn’t find anything to make me happy.“How do you know my name?” I asked. “I don’t think lifeguards are provided with the names of every person who comes to this beach.”“I got to know you from twitter. You’re that reporter who wrote about Jake Rylland. I worked part time in one of his hotels so I kind of keep up. I liked the man.”“Of course you did. So why are you talking to me? I know you must have read what The Blue Paper