Necessary Endings

Outside the police tape surrounding a fancy hotel, a police officer can be seen blocking my way. "There seems to be a bomb hidden in the hotel! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to get any closer!" I'm just about to dig out my work badge when the intern next to me, Christine Wyatt, covers her mouth in a pretentiously shocked manner. "Officer, there's a detonator and a timer in his bag! Those things look so scary!" The entire scene goes eerily silent. Almost immediately, I see a few guns getting aimed at my forehead. Anxiety begins overwhelming me. "I'm a bomb disposal expert from the Headquarters Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit! My bag contains all the tools necessary to dispose of a bomb!" "Throw your bag over to me and keep your hands where I can see them!" Captain Scott Hunter roars at me. My bag is opened afterward. Things like an insulated cutter, a bomb suppression blanket, and a liquid nitrogen cooling tank are scattered across the ground. Before I can explain myself, Christine suddenly points at me while screaming, "Why are you still playing dumb? You just told me that you wanted to set off an explosion in that hotel! "What, now that the police are here, you dare not admit what you just said, huh? You're a terrorist through and through!" Scott reacts quickly by pinning me on the hood of the police cruiser with my hands folded behind my back. "We're taking you back for a thorough interrogation!" My heart almost stops at those words. The bomb that's packed with enough firepower to take out half a street has already gone on a countdown in the hotel lobby. But I, the only bomb disposal expert who can get rid of the bomb, have handcuffs put on me because of Christine's nonsensical accusations. Right now, there are only 29 minutes left before the bomb goes off.

Lights, Camera, Action. Rebecca Jones is currently at the pinnacle of TV dramas. But how much longer? Everyone knows they don’t see behind the scenes. Rebecca’s private life isn’t for public consumption. What secrets are hidden there? Everett Stone, Rebecca's onetime co-star. He knows several of Rebecca’s secrets as they were once secretly married. Everett’s Gena’s current costar. Everett and Gena have had a tumultuous relationship. This man really gets around. Gena D’Or wants what Rebecca has. She’ll use any means necessary to take Rebecca’s place as the Rose of Black Dawn Productions. Gena’s close to her goal after years of trying. Crooked agents, a billionaire princess, many rumors, and dropping ratings. Rebecca is desperate to survive this cutthroat business. Everett’s interested in cutting his losses after his agent played him like a newbie for years. Everett can’t prove it yet. However, he receives an offer to reprise his original role as Dane Matthews, the male love interest of his ex-wife’s character Bella Cardinal, on the night-time drama Empire Nights. Will he leave Gena’s show, Grandview Place? To return to where he started. What about his ex-wife? Nothing’s the same on the Empire Night’s set. Rebecca isn’t the same. Everett finds he’s not as immune to his ex as he believed. Can he get his backstage pass to Rebecca’s private life back? Will he save her from whatever is destroying her? Or will he be the one to destroy her? How will they respond when the studio forces Rebecca and Everett to marry for the show's ratings? Money, misdirection, celebrity, secrets, and rumors make or break everyone in this business. What happens when the curtain falls and the lights go out?

On Valentine's Day, I paid in full for a sports car and gave it to my wife as a gift. But when my wife arrived at the private dining restaurant, she brought her parents—and her childhood sweetheart—along with her. The moment my mother-in-law saw it, she slammed her hand on the table, furious. "Tyler, do you have so much money that it's burning a hole in your pocket? Is all this really necessary just for a meal? "Megan pinches every penny at home, and here you are throwing money around outside—just to show off?" Embarrassed, I tried to explain that this was simply a token of my love for Megan. My father-in-law, however, kept a stern face. "No matter how expensive the car is, it's still going to get stuck in traffic during rush hour! It's not even as useful as the electric scooter Brandon gave her. If you ask me, you didn't put any real thought into this. "Oh, right. I heard the salesperson who sold you the car was introduced by Brandon. How exactly are you planning to repay that favor? No matter how busy you are with work, you can't just push everything onto Brandon to handle for you." I could hear the hidden meaning behind his words. So that was what this was really about. They were still holding a grudge because a week ago, when my father-in-law had twisted his back, I hadn't gone to the hospital to visit him. But at the time, I had been busy cleaning up the mess Brandon Hayes had caused for the company. I'd even kept him out of prison. Yet, instead of gratitude, they were turning the blame on me. After a long silence, my wife finally looked at me. "Tyler, transfer ten percent of the company's shares to Brandon as repayment." "And if I don't?" My father-in-law barked angrily, "Then I'll have Megan divorce you!" I laughed. Then I calmly pulled a divorce agreement from my pocket and placed it on the table. "Go ahead," I said. "Sign it."

"If you don't give me an heir, you'll lose everything. I've brought a woman to bear you a child," Asher's father, the former CEO of Ingram Corporations threatened his son. Suddenly, a brilliant idea came into Asher's mind. Anne. With her twin boys, he could trick his father into thinking they were his for the short moment he had left to live. "That won't be necessary father. I already have an heir, two in fact, and I can't wait for you to meet them." *** Five years ago, Anne was publicly humiliated and banished, after giving herself to Asher, the heir to Ingram Corporations and the man she truly loved. A one-night affair left her pregnant and she had to raise the children on her own for five years. She's playing a risky game by letting him pretend with her children when she already knows the truth, but her thirst for revenge blinds her. Asher, the stoic charismatic billionaire can't stand his ailing father pressuring him to settle down and have a male heir, completely unaware he already has twin five year old boys. He has no desire to settle down with one woman, but when he meets Anne, the woman whom he once loved but had his father separate them when he was younger, he feels drawn to her all over again. He enters an agreement with her to pretend the kids are his before his father, in order to secure his inheritance. What happens when he discovers the children are truly his? Will she let him into their lives after everything he's put her through? Will he forgive her for keeping such an important part of his life away from him? Or will they let their feelings for each other prevail against all odds?

"Sign it." He said, stretching out the file. "I'm not going to sign that paper, Carlton." I felt vulnerable and scared. I turned to Carlton, and his eyes just cut right through me. Instantly, a huge lump formed in my throat. "I... I... don't..." Carlton's expression suddenly softened. He sat next to me and reached out to cup my chin gently. I felt a shiver run down my spine as his hand brushed against my skin. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I just need this. I won't use it against you." He said gently. I hesitated for a moment, staring into his eyes before I took the pen and file from him with trembling fingers. I signed where necessary and gave it back to him. He stood, kissed the top of my head, and head for the door, but stopped in front of my wardrobe, where the lingerie he had ordered to be brought to my room was. His eyes fell back on me, his lips thinning into a line. "That's the only relationship we have now, Good night, Samantha." He said and closed the door. What? ************* When tragedy strikes, Samantha Jones's life is turned upside down. Forced to drop out of high school and take on a secret life as a stripper, she's desperate for a way out. Her desperate life takes a drastic turn when she's propositioned by billionaire Carlton Williams - MARRY ME, AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE WORLD. But there's a catch: he's only using her to secure his inheritance Samantha's willing to do whatever it takes to provide for her sister, even if it means being a pawn in Carlton's game. Will their arrangement ignite into something more, or will the secrets and lies tear them apart? Find out.