“WHAT DID YOU SAY??” Amber asked as loudly as she could.
She was standing at the bar with Lola as the bartender prepared the vodka, but could make absolutely nothing of what Lola was trying to tell her. The music was too loud.
Lola moved to the music, and jiggled her hips, “GET ON FABIAN’S GOOD SIDE! DON’T CROSS HIM!”
All Amber could hear was the incessantly loud rhythmic music, “WHAT?!”
Lola spotted a customer in the crowd, winked at Amber and headed to the dance floor, moving to the beat under the strobe lights, all hyped up and ready for a good time before finally disappearing into the throng of dancers.
The bartender tapped on Amber’s shoulder, causing her to jump a little.
“OH, THANK YOU!” she said, not exactly sure whether he heard her. Gingerly, she balanced the highball glass on a silver platter, trying hard not to spill a drop and carefully made her way back to the VIP room. It was located a distance away and tucked out of sight from the dance floor, but still visible from a certain angle on the balcony.
Amber would have reached the room in one piece had she not suddenly tripped on her heels and spilt the vodka on a big burly man. The man was slightly drunk and had stumbled to the corridor by accident and was trying to find his way back to the dance floor.
His flashy silken shirt which was unbuttoned revealed a tattoo of a serpent under his hairy chest – it was slightly soaked by the Vodka but he reacted as if she had set his whole body on fire.
Oh no! Was the first thought that crossed Amber’s mind.
“I’m so sorry sir. It was an accident…”
“Bitch!” the man shrieked, hands flailing and nostrils flaring. Amber could see a thick gold chain hanging around the man’s thick neck as he looked down at his chest in horror.
“Do you know much this costs?” he yelled hysterically.
Amber’s heart started to beat faster, she could smell trouble brewing but could see no one in the darkened corridor who could come to her aid. She gulped and apologized again, bowing her head, “I’m so sorry. I…I’ll compensate for your shirt.”
She had meant to pay him back in monetary terms but the man had something else in mind. His demeanour changed slightly and he stepped closer towards Amber, his stiff shiny shoe crushing the glass underneath him, splintering it into pieces.
With a pudgy hand, he grabbed a handful of her hair, bringing it to his nose and inhaling her scent. His sudden movement elicited a jerk reaction in her. His touch was repulsive.
Amber’s breathing became laboured as her mind scrambled to find a way out of the mess.
“Yes, you can compensate me. Come,” he said and grabbed her roughly by the waist, pulling her close towards him.
“No! Let me go!” she shouted but her voice was drowned out by the music. Instinctively she slapped him, hard across the face causing him to let go of her. Under the dimmed lights, she could see a red mark starting to appear on his cheek.
If he had been angry before, he was furious now.
Uh-oh.
He had taken a few steps back when she slapped him but now he stormed towards her, eyes crazed with rage. What happened next felt like a blur, one moment he was marching towards her and the next, he had grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall, giving her no chance to reach for her panic button.
She couldn’t breathe, the air got caught in her throat as she tried to pry his hand away but her attempts were futile. With one hand pinning her by the throat, the other trailed down her waistline and under the hem of her skirt.
“I’ll let you go after you compensate me bitch,” he sneered, a wild glint appeared in his eyes.
No, please no. A silent tear formed in the corner of her eye even as she choked and gasped for air.
“Let her go.”
Three words, each of one syllable. So simple, and yet so powerful. Amber would remember the voice that carried those words for the rest of her life. It was the voice of a man who commanded both respect and fear.
“Fabian Williams!” her preparator, though tipsy was sober enough to recognize the CEO of Virtuex standing in the corridor. He immediately let her go and Amber fell onto the carpeted floor like a ragged doll, gasping for air and cradling her neck. A burst of air entered her lungs and sent her into a coughing fit, each inhalation hurt but the air had never felt sweeter in her life.
“I was just teaching her a lesson. She was..”
“She’s mine,” Fabian ended the man’s feeble explanation. Fear swept over the man’s face and he immediately flew into an apologetic mode, bending down to help Amber up.
She recoiled from his touch, still repulsed by his actions earlier.
“My apologies, I didn’t know..” the man let out a forced laugh and rubbed his balding head, suddenly unsure of what to do.
Fabian’s cold and steely gaze never left the man, “Apologize to her.”
The man seemed to hesitate. Apologizing to THE Fabian Williams was one thing, but he wasn’t so keen on apologizing to a nobody. After all, it was she who had spilt on him.
“Apologize!” Fabian’s deep and authoritative voice boomed across the corridor causing the man to wince a little. It would do him no good to get in Fabian William’s bad books.
He looked at Amber who was still plastered to the wall in fear, “Sorry.”
“You,” Fabian directed his attention to Amber. Her head snapped to attention at his command.
He held out his hand and signalled for her to join him. Amber was just too grateful to get out of the burly man’s presence. Immediately she went over to Fabian and followed him into his private room, leaving the man fuming in the corridor.
From the balcony, Liam Smith noted the exchange in interest before turning his attention to two of the hostesses who were with him.
The door closed behind them and Fabian returned to his seat on the sofa. Sitting down with outstretched arms, he took a look at Amber. She was standing ridiculously still next to the door, almost like a wallflower and obviously still rattled by what had happened earlier. He had been resting in the room when he heard a scream earlier but had decided to ignore the commotion, but when the yelling and shouting escalated, he had to step in. They were just too noisy - he did not like noise. They annoyed him to no end. He had thrown open his door in agitation and was about to give the shouting couple a piece of his mind when he saw Amber. He hadn’t expected to see her attacked like that and for some reason, seeing her hurt made his blood boil. He hadn’t been able to see her clearly under the dim corridor light earlier, but now in the privacy of his own turf and under the warm white light, he finally saw her features clearly for the first time. Her lips, moi
The Banks siblings lived in a tiny rented room at the top of Ma’s Bakery. They had been living here for the past seven years, ever since they lost their parents. Amber had stumbled upon this place by accident. Their late father had mortgaged their house to fund a business plan that had failed miserably and upon their parent’s death, all the money left from the insurance coverage was used to either pay for the funeral or to settle their late father’s loans. Their relative had decided early on that they would not be able to take the two orphaned children in, especially not when they had three other little mouths to feed. So they tried to send Amber and her brother to the orphanage. Amber refused and in the end, they were left to defend themselves. It was a cold winter’s night when the owner of Ma’s bakery, Margaret Cornwell found Amber peering through her frosted windows. Anson had been sick and they had not eaten for days. That fateful night, Margaret to
Fabian turned away from the window’s panoramic view and headed down the linear stair rails to his kitchen, his mind still lost in a web of memories from yesteryear. “Good morning sir,” a sprightly voice called out from a lone white illuminated box that sat unobtrusively in the middle of his marble benchtop, bringing Fabian’s mind back to the present. It was the only presence he allowed in his house. “Morning V,” Fabian opened his mirrored double-doored fridge and pulled out a glass of orange juice. V was his ubiquitous virtual assistant - the brainchild of Fabian Williams and one of Virtuex Holdings’ top selling innovations. “What would you like to have for breakfast today?” the voice quipped. V had access to every part of the two-tone modern house, from Fabian’s master bedroom all the way to his garage in the basement and was, therefore, able to cater to all of Fabian’s commands. He did not feel like eating. Not after answering the phone call earlier
The La Fire Club was abuzz with excitement. As Amber walked into the dressing room to collect her uniform, she saw women primming themselves in front of the vanity tables with lights, looking even more made up than usual. They were chatting with each other excitedly, some giggling, others gushing and a few were even adding more padding to their push up bras.“Amber! How do I look?” a busty blonde quipped, turning around to face Amber. Her breasts were practically spilling out of her corset.“Um…chesty?” she wasn’t exactly sure what to say but the answer seemed to satisfy the blonde who went back to facing the mirror, apparently to add even more padding.Amber made her way to the back of the dressing room where she found Lola, sitting crossed legged and alone on the sofa where they first met yesterday. Unlike the other girls, Lola had a book on her lap and a pen tucked neatly behind her ear.Amber had to smile, she liked Lola. The girl was as honest as anyone
“Now, now Fabian. I’ve sent you Amber, so please remove the scowl from that handsome face of yours,” Madam Cecil teased, pushing Amber towards Fabian who remained seated on the sofa. Amber felt like a piece of property and did not appreciate it. “Madam Cecil, I’m only here for waitressing works,” she said exasperatedly, suddenly wondering if she should be wary of Fabian Williams. Did a sleazy beast lay beneath the facade of this handsome man? She could feel her heart beating faster. Fabian waved his hand at Madam Cecil, “You may leave us now.” Amber shot Cecil an anxious look and to which the older woman replied, “Amber my dear girl, Fabian is one of our most well-behaved customers here. You’re in good hands.” With that, the head hostess turned around and strode out of the room – her hips swaying against her insanely tight pencil skirt and heels digging into the soft carpeted floor with every step before she finally closed the door behind her
Amber was dreaming, but like everyone else who dreamt, she did not realise that she had tumbled down the rabbit hole…. ‘She was standing alone in a semi-darkened room and mist surrounded her. A single window was positioned above her, allowing a little bit of light to stream down into the room. “Hello?” she called out nervously, trying to see what lay ahead of her. She took a few steps forward cautiously with her arms stretched out, not wanting to knock into anything when suddenly she bumped into something soft. She looked down and gasped. The mist that enveloped the room earlier on began to dissipate to reveal the body of a battered man lying at her feet. He was chained in shackles and curled up like a cat. Then to her horror, the man stirred. Amber tried to run but for some reason, her movements felt heavy, as if she was underwater. She could hardly move at all. Help! She wanted to call
The journey home for Amber was a daze. She had no idea how she managed to even make it back in one piece. What had Anson done? He normally couldn’t even hurt a fly! There must have been some kind of misunderstanding.Her hands trembled as she fumbled with the keys to the door. They jingled too much and she couldn’t fit the key into the lock.Damnit! Open!Frustrated, she kicked the door only to let out a little yelp.Calm down. I need to calm down.She took a deep breath and slowly inserted the key into the keyhole again, this time, it worked and the door creaked to an open.Although it was nearing dawn, the room was still quite dark and while the windows were left open, Anson had drawn the curtains to a close.“Anson?” Amber whispered, closing the door behind her. Then in the corner of their little room, right beneath the window sill, Amber saw her brother, huddled under the curtain that flap
The line sounded too cheesy to be a threat.“I know what your brother did.”“Excuse me?” Amber frowned into her phone. It sounded like a ripoff from the 1997 horror flick ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. And because of that, Amber had trouble taking the call seriously at first.Until the caller said, “I can prove his innocence.”That sealed the deal for her. As much as she had tried to encourage Anson to turn himself in to the police, deep down, she had been filled with dread. The alleyway was a blindspot and all evidence pointed to Anson. There were witnesses from the first night when Anson had a heated verbal exchange with the man. And he had touched the knife with his bare hands for goodness sake!So when the mysterious caller dangled the key to freedom for her brother, of course she had to take it. But Amber was no fool, she knew there would be a catch.“Who is this?” she whis