CHAPTER ONE

Lilian walked down the busy streets of New York. It was raining and she was already soaked all the way through. Nights like this weren't strange to her. It was on nights like this that business was always booming. Lots of people standing in clusters, to get out of the chilling rain. 

She headed into a bar. The music blared loud to an almost deafening pitch. Perfect! Business was in session. She sat at a table, hoodie up, eyes sharp, looking for a perfect target. While she searched around, she ordered.

"One dirty martini."

"Dirty martini. You want that with lime or on the rocks?"

"On the rocks."

The bartender got to work. She peered through the crowd and finally found her target: a rich, unsuspecting lady, probably in her mid-thirties, dancing at the far corner of the club. 

"Your martini, ma'am."

She took the glass and downed the contents in one gulp. She paid the bartender and proceeded to make her move. As soon as she got up from the seat, she was pestered by a drunk fuckboy.

"Hey there beautiful. How bout me and you blow this joint, ay?"

"How bout you fuck off," said Lilian. She was not in the mood for games

"Oooh, you're a feisty one, aren't ya? I love it."

Lilian was losing her patience. She rolled her eyes and checked to see if her target was still where she was.

"Go fuck yourself! Now piss off!" she hissed. And with that, she went away. She cautiously approached the lady and spotted her bag in her hand. Bingo! Now it was time for a distraction. She pulled out a rubber snake from her pocket and surreptitiously dropped it near the lady.

"Ahhhh! Snake! Snake!!," cried Lilian and in an instant, the whole place was in disarray.  The lady jumped up in utter fright, almost pale.  Under the cover of confusion, Lilian made for the bag and in a flash disappeared through the front door. She picked up the pace and ran through the streets, taking complex turns and routes to make sure no one was tailing her.

After a lot of zigzagging, she stopped to catch her breath. She turned and saw all was quiet. She found an empty route and headed home. This was her job, this was how she survived, and this was how she paid her bills. It wasn't pretty but it was lucrative and besides, those rich folks had more than enough to spare.

Lilian made it home and opened the door. She looked around behind her before she entered. You could never be too careful. She headed straight to the dining table to check her loot. It was risky opening it on the way. The bag felt heavy. Had she hit the jackpot?

"Yes! This is such a score!" she cried. In the bag was $100,000 in bills of 50 and 100 as well as a new phone and jewelry worth millions. This was more than enough to pay her rent for the year. She sat back, relaxed. In her mind, she made her expenses. Immediately, she made for the phone. She deleted all means of tracing and contact to cover her tracks. She wasn't ready to go be a jailbird.

Life had been tough on her so she had to be tough on life. And tough meant doing everything possible to survive. She had some cheap champagne and got ready for bed. She tucked the money safely away. She would pay the landlord in the morning for a year's rent and get back to work tomorrow. One score was never enough. Soon the alcohol began to take effect and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

"Honestly Adam, how daft can you be!? What do you mean that my flight to New York has been canceled?"

"I'm sorry Sir. The airport said that first class seats were full but private flights were still available."

Damian was losing his patience. He had no time for incompetence let alone shitty airports and canceled flights. He strode, emotionlessly towards Adam who dared not to move.  Damian looks at Adam from head to toe in disgust.

"Well then," he said in a dangerously smooth voice. "Go get me booked for a private flight out of this pathetic country or else..."

"Yes Sir, right away." And with that, Adam left.  He was Damian Richards' assistant and working for him was a nightmare.

Damian didn't enjoy his holiday in Saudi Arabia. The weather was hot and uncomfortable and the women weren't pleasing enough. They were too well-mannered. It bored him.  He couldn't wait to get back to New York. He had tons of work on the table and this terrible holiday was a waste of his time.  He strode to his wine cabinet and poured himself a shot of Tequila Ley. He looked around the room and saw the girl he had for the night still naked in bed. It was seven in the morning and Damian was an early riser. He sat on the comfortable armchair facing the bed and continued to drink.  Soon enough, the lady stirred and woke up.  She had a stellar night but it was now over–forever.

Damian didn't move a muscle till she turned and saw him looking at her.

"Great, you're awake." He then threw a fat wad of cash at her. She stared at him, then at the cash, and then back at him in disbelief. "Now get dressed and get the hell out of my room."

And with that, he turned his back to her. She didn't utter a word. She dressed up, grabbed the cash, and took her leave. Damian didn't even look back as she closed the door. Businessmen like him had no time for–attachments. It was distracting and created unnecessary ties. His life was money first and sex, for pleasure only, after. To him, women were nothing more than tools for pleasure at his disposal. He stood at the window, looking downstairs. He had seen the woman leave yet.

After a while, Adam came back.

 "I have scheduled a private flight for you to New York, by 2 pm, Sir."

"Good. Next time, don't you wait for me to tell you the proper thing to do. Now, get out!"

"Yes Sir."

"And find the lady and show her out. I presume she has lost her way." And with that, Adam left.

 Damian was now alone. He thought about his meeting in New York and the gala he had to attend the following week. He didn't like publicity but he as well couldn't avoid it. Was one of the downsides of being rich. He also hated galas. Being nice and courteous to people wasn't his thing. He wondered why people needed compliments to be self-assured. He continued to sip his drink as thoughts filled his mind and the time flew by.

The afternoon soon came and he headed to the airport.  The staff all politely greeted him but he said nothing. He wasn't the type to waste his breath on pleasantries and compliments. He got on the plane and sat down in his seat.  His bodyguards all took their places and soon enough they took off.  Damian checked his watch. It was 2:10 pm. It was a thirteen-hour flight. He brought out a book to read and pass the time. He had quite a lot he could do to make thirteen hours feel like three. 

After he had covered 5 chapters, he brought out his laptop and began writing up some memos and letters. Money never took a break and neither did he.