05 // Dirty Journalist

Sasha-Lee Van der Merwe was never the one to play by the rules. She liked playing dirty, and that was how she rose to the top of the table as a journalist. She was not just dirty, but she was damn good and that was why she could never ever run out of a job. 

At least that was what she thought, until Logan Parker got her suspended a few days ago. She had it coming because no matter how dirty she played, she had to remember to be professional and avoid throwing jabs and personal attacks against their subjects. The day she published the article about Logan Parker, Kyle Davids, and Snegugu; she knew that she was going to get called into her boss's office, but she also knew that he would not fire her, because despite everything, she was good at her job. 

However, she was no longer sure about her future at Dinange after her boss replaced her with her biggest rival. Dinange was her last option around Western Cape, and after everything she put them through in the past six months, she was sure that nobody would hire her in South Africa. 

She needed to broaden her options and look above and beyond if she wanted to maintain her lifestyle. Sasha-Lee Van der Merwe was a trendsetter. She had no child or pet, and after her divorce, all she cared about was fashion, beauty, and expensive food and wine. She did not have anyone else to support but herself, so she did not have a savings account on her, and now that she was quickly running out of cash, she realised the stupidity of her actions. 

She was broke and desperate, she only realised recently that she had made an enemy with the one person who had the authority to help her get another job. 

She blew out the cold air and clutched her long coat as her eyes wandered around the cold, dark, and stormy airport. She was so cold that even the scarf around her neck or the beanie on her head could not warm her up. Her hands were frozen and numb, and rubbing them against each other felt like a task. 'I should have worn my gloves.' She thought begrudgingly, her face frozen into a permanent scowl. 

She scolded herself for coming here of all places with the current weather. She had purposely put her life at risk by lying to security, saying she was the secretary of the jet owner that was about to board, and they let her through without question. She was starting to wonder if she had made the right call. 

She stared at the huge, white jet with Billings Corp. imprinted on it in big, black, bold letters; and shook her head. This was a bad idea. She slid her fingers into her coat and turned to leave, but was stopped by a voice as cold as Cape Town tonight.  

"All my secretaries have access to my jets, even if it means sitting inside waiting for my arrival." MJ said dryly. "I'm sorry, my pilot must have forgotten you." She strode towards the tall woman in her nude heels and long, black coat. She had no gloves, beanie or a scarf, and her dark curls were let down. 

Sasha blew out some nervous steam and extended her cement hand towards MJ. "Hi, my name is Sasha-Lee Van der Merwe." She said. 

MJ shook her hand. "I don't think you would have come to me if you didn't know who I was," She muttered and pulled her hand away. 

Sasha gave a nervous chuckle and put her hands back in her pocket. "Do you have a second?"  

"Eighty seconds have passed since I arrived. What can I do for you?"  

"I have been doing some research on you for quite some time now." MJ nodded her head towards her car, and Sasha followed her there. They stepped into the backseat and MJ turned on the light inside the car. 

"Found anything interesting?" MJ asked after getting settled. 

Sasha shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. "Well, you are a multibillionaire. You own a huge company, Billings Corporations, a company that operates in various business sectors such as fashion, banking, construction, real estate, restaurants, media, hotels, artisan, transportation, etc. You have a history of shutting down businesses and firing people without warning. From what I found out, you like control and you have no boundaries. But that's as far as it goes. There's nothing else about you on the internet or company website; no names, no birthday. Just information about your brother. I also looked at your background, and your story doesn't add up." 

MJ observed her for a second. "What do you want?" She asked after some time. 

"I want to tell your story."  

"There's nothing to tell." 

"Everyone has a story to tell." 

"And not everyone has a story that will get you killed." Silence fell as the two women stared at each other. 

Sasha lifted her chin and stood up straight. "Whether it is by a knife to my throat, a bullet to the head or a terminal sickness; however way it is, I'm going to die anyway." She said firmly. 

"You have a history of betraying people when things don't go your way." MJ stated. "Why should I trust you?" 

"You don't have to trust me. You don't trust anyone and yet you are surrounded by traitors."  

"I don't care about your resume or CV, Miss."  

Sasha nodded her head. "I know, I know. You don't always hire people based on their qualifications." 

"You did your homework."  

Sasha nodded. "And I have something for you." She retrieved an envelope from her handbag, and handed it to MJ. 

MJ took the envelope without any questions and opened it. She took out the contents and skimmed through them. "These are pictures of you with a man in bed." 

"Those are pictures worth my life." Sasha took in a deep breath. "If I screw up, all you have to do is send these pictures to the address at the back, and I'll be dead within the next 24 hours without you lifting a murder weapon." She said nervously. 

MJ placed the pictures back in the envelope and handed it to Liam in the front seat. "Well, I guess you are hired then." 

Sasha sighed in relief. "Thank you so much, I won't let you down." 

"You better not." 

Sasha cleared her throat and took off her scarf. "Uhm... actually, this is not the only reason I came here. There's something else I need to show you." 

MJ narrowed her eyes at her. "What is it?" 

"I think it's better if you see it for yourself."  

"Where is this place?" 

"MJ, I don't think it is a good idea to stick around here after everything that's happened. We need to leave." Liam interjected. 

MJ continued staring at Sasha. "Liam, I don't have to remind you that you are in no position to question my decisions. You lost that right when you left without telling me." Liam gritted his teeth, gripping the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. "Will this take long?"  

"No, Mam." 

"Liam." MJ said in an authoritative voice, and Liam started the car and backed out of the airport without questions, and thirty minutes later, they were pulling up in front of an old two-floor apartment complex. 

They entered the building, and Sasha led them to an apartment on the first floor. They arrived at an apartment with a door made from rotten wood, and she unlocked the chains keeping the door together. She opened the door and entered the dimly lit, empty room. MJ and Liam followed, with Liam holding up his gun. 

There was nothing in the room except for the chair in the middle, on which a slump figure was tied up.  

Sasha stood behind the chair and pulled the person by their hair, forcing their head back. The girl shrieked, and Sasha pulled harder, causing the girl to gradually silence. 

"This is Amber Botha. She is the cousin of David Botha, Logan's best friend." Sasha said. "She is an actress based in South Africa."  

"What has that got anything to do with us?" Liam asked in annoyance. 

"A few days ago, she met up with David Botha. They were plotting to sabotage your plans with Logan. David bought her expensive suits to pretend to be your assistant and deliver a message to Logan." 

"Did she succeed?" MJ asked. 

Sasha shook her head. "No. I managed to stop her using my journalism skills, but she figured it out later, so I had no other choice but to knock her out and tie her up."  

MJ stuck her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out the knife she was using to eat her apple earlier. She stood in front of the girl and studied her face. "You said she was working with David Botha." Sasha nodded. "And she's an actress?"  

"Yes." 

"She's beautiful." MJ muttered nonchalantly while tracing the tip of the knife on Amber's face.  

She was beautiful indeed; her fake blonde hair shone in the dim light, her big brown eyes shining with tears, and her bright skin with blemishes from the harsh cold weather. 

"But no one is gonna want to touch her after this." MJ's hand moved so fast as she carelessly cut Amber's face with the knife as if cutting her name into a tree trunk, causing her to scream into the gag in agony.  

Sasha and Liam stood back in horror, and Sasha touched her face as if the knife were carelessly moving on her own face. 

MJ wiped off the blood on the knife on Amber's blouse and put it away, and then she pulled Amber's head back and watched the trickles of blood rolling down her cheeks like blood tears. "Well, I think we are done here," She said as she let go of the girl whom was quick to let her head fall while in silent sobs, her hot tears burning her exposed skin.  

MJ turned around and headed to the door. Liam opened the door for her and stepped out first, and MJ stopped at the door and turned to face Sasha. 

"You start tomorrow at Beaufort West." Sasha nodded, and MJ gave her curt nod before she turned on her heels and left the building. 

Sasha closed the door and leaned against it. She sighed and glanced at the blooded figure in front of her. "I'm sorry this had to happen, sweetheart. But a girl's gotta to what a girl's gotta do." She said apologetically.