FEW DAYS LATER** Ben found himself immersed in his work throughout the day, surrounded by a sea of papers that seemed to grow with each passing hour. The relentless task at hand had taken a toll on him, manifesting in a throbbing pain that pulsed through his head and heavy eyes that begged for respite.Seeking a momentary escape, he leaned back in his swiveling chair, allowing his head to rest against its supportive surface. His fingers gently massaged his temples as he felt the persistent ache in his forehead. He brushed his hands through his face from his forehead down to his chin. A fleeting desire for relief prompted him to rise and walk towards the bedside table.Opening the drawer, he retrieved a small container of pills. Popping a couple into his hand, he dry-swallowed them before turning his attention to a waiting glass of water. The cool liquid provided a brief reprieve as he downed it, momentarily easing the strains of the day.His relentless focus had been directed toward
Two men walked into the empty office with the plump-looking man in front with a mobile phone in his hand, They had just arrived from a board meeting."Hello Mr. Chairman, I trust we have come to a mutual understanding, I expect nothing less than good news from you""Sure Mr. Quin, There should be no hitches with the arrangement, rest assured, I'll make sure to fulfill my end of the bargain, Bye" Chairman Zack cut the call with a huge grin on his face, he is the current Chairman of Veta Energy ltd, a mere look at him and you would see the greed and cunningness boldly written all over him, he represented avarice in all forms."Get the members of the press ready I'm making the announcement, immediately," he said to the man that was standing next to him."I'm selling my company that I have worked so hard to build, I might as well get my time's worth, my decades upon decades of work shall not go to waste, it should at least serve as a cash cow for me one last time," he said laughing out lo
"How dare that small boy think he can pull a fast one over me, how dare he?!" He shouted he hadn't felt this much sensation in ages. As a businessman he is known and feared by many, yet, this young man trampled on him like he was nothing but a piece of shit, like a rag, a tool merely to be used for his end.He was not at all pleased by how things were panning out but he had no choice he was being held by the throat and one wrong move would render him and his reputation tarnished.His secretary looked from a distance and didn't know what the issue was, he wasn't sure what to make of the matter and decided to ask"Sir, is the press conference going to carry on as planned?"Chairman Zack had come to his senses and was now calm after the feat of rage he displayed. He sat on his office chair with his head bent down and despair written all over his face as he buried his face in his palm.His legs were sprawled out as he inclined into a bad posture on his chair, and his protruding stomach
Ben was seated in his office chair with his elbows placed comfortably on the desk and his chin resting on the back of his hands that were interlocked together. He saw how everything had played out at the announcement made by Chairman Zack, his face was coldly fixated on the screen as he stared at the TV in his office, it was as though he was seeing right through the screen.Although there had been a little issue, things ended up pretty much as he had expected, but still, he didn't even so much as smile, he just sat on his seat staring intensely at the screen. He had expected it and it had panned out how he wanted but this wasn't really of much importance because to him this was a common problem in the business world, people hoping to rake in as much profit as they could at the expense of trust and integrity was a common thing. Shortly after a knock was heard at the door. Knock knock"Come in," Ben said.It was Norman, he came in with a pad in his hand as he walked toward Ben's desk
Karl spent almost twenty minutes in Ben's office, he sat calmly on the swiveling chair which was across from Ben on the table. After a while, there was silence in the room and Ben suddenly asked "What exactly did you come here for?" Karl was someone who could come into his office at any time he wanted—even without a reason, but Ben felt like there was something else he had to say other than exchange words with him. Karl clicked his tongue, "I did come here for something and it's a bit urgent, I thought I could speak to you about a few things." His expression turned serious and he stopped spinning the chair back and forth.Ben's brows furrowed in curiosity at his friend's next words. Karl glanced at Aliyah, after which Ben ordered her to go make some coffee for them."What's this about now?" "I've got something for you," Karl said as he brought out a file from a bag that he had brought with him, Ben's gaze followed the file that Karl handed out to him and he received it, partly c
Aliyah was still reeling in the thought of how this situation came to be as those words fell out of his mouth, her mind traveled far and wide to all possible scenarios and reasons why they ended up making preparations for them to share one room.She had to share a room with him, the idea of it made her skin ting with discomfort. But for some reason, she did not seem to outright think it was a bad thing, apart from the apparent awkwardness and pressure she'd be immersed in, breathing the same air as the man. The displeasure of the situation was apparent on her face, but there was something else that also came afloat in her mind, they were finally all alone with nothing standing in her way, not Drago, not Karl, not even work, just the two of them, she finally had her chance to speak to him, to appeal to him for a helping hand, she prayed that his soft side would still be in there somewhere and she'd somehow get reach that part of him.She stared intensely at the unsuspecting man as he
The thought of all that exchanged swirled and turned in her mind throughout the rest of the day, she was all alone in the room, with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. She was sprawled over the bed, restless. Although he had not outrightly decided not to help her he also didn't say anything that indicated that he would. She tossed and turned on the queen-sized mattress of the luxury suite. The bed was placed against the center of a wall right opposite the entrance of the glamorously spacious bedroom, with top-class hand-carved furniture that looked exquisitely opulent. The complexity of how Ben's mind worked was puzzling to her; he'd beat up a defenseless man in a feat of rage within an inch of his life, and he'd make her do all sorts of unreasonable things, but then he suddenly drew the line when it came to her to make her pull off her clothes. He was unreasonable enough to warrant adding 'sexually exploiting man' to his tags. The scent he carried still lingered around an
She stood there and watched him as he wrapped up and got onto the bed. Without even caring to look her way, she scanned the room for a suitable place to lie down, and then her eyes darted toward the couch, without a second thought she strode slowly toward the sectional couch. Lying on a sofa wasn't comfortable for her, she was a little tall and her entire length could not fit well on the couch, leaving her legs propped up over an arm of the cushion. she managed to squeeze herself somehow onto the foamy structure. The comfort of sleeping on a proper bed was worlds apart from sleeping on the couch, but even so, she preferred that, by far to sleeping on the cold bare floor. It was better. The next day, Ben had to leave early also and she did not see him go because she was too deep in sleep. When she woke up, her neck was sore. Twisting and turning was made impossible cause of the size of the couch, so it made her position her neck and body in unnatural ways, being that much of a d
Chloe stepped into her room and went on a frantic search for her phone. Her father barely threatened her but she was sure that whenever he did, it wasn't a joke—this annoyed her to the core. She picked up her phone, intending to make a call, and scrolling through the call log, she dialed a number."Hello, Clarice," she spoke abruptly. "Hey, Chloe it's been a while. How are you? you don't sound so good." Clarice detected immediately that the unease in Chloe's voice was clear."Is everything okay with you?" She asked with great concern.She drew in her breath to recall herself before she spoke. "I'm fine, umm...remember the last time we had a reunion and you invited Aliyah?" Chloe went straight to the point.Clarice was puzzled by the direction their discussion was going since Chloe never tried to hide her contempt for Aliyah. Hearing her start with something that concerned her was off-putting."Y-Yeah I do" she stammered, her lips curling to one side as she waited for her friend's
Dave Thompson sat down in the living room of his opulent house, looking disturbed and worried as he angrily slammed his phone on the table—he was heavily disoelws3d from the news he just heard. Mark was just not anyone to their organization, he had a lot of resources and was like a brother to him, so the news reaching him about the death of his friend shook him to the core, but what disturbed him more was how Mark was killed and tossed in the street close to one of their underground business headquarter—he was certain that whoever killed Michael was not just powerful but daring and he was after something that without a doubt had something to do with him as well. He cursed under his breath before standing up, pacing around, and thinking deeply about something—he would have to get Akiyah out of Ben's territory sooner and not later, cause there was so much time. If he wasn't careful, the next death would be his and maybe it would be more cruel compared to what his friend suffe
Ben held a blank look at her before he shut the door, and the last thing she saw was his lips slowly pulling into a smirk. She zapped out of the room like a scaredy cat, his eyes trailed to the item that was placed stop his table, a small parcel that was no bigger than a brick.His eyes flicked as a thought seemed to extinguish in his mind. he turned his back to carry on with what he was doing.What was that about? She wondered if she could still feel his breath on her skin even though she was away from him already.Aliyah cursed him in a low voice before heading down the stairs. Cecile was nowhere to be found and Aliyah assumed she was already getting ready in her room, so she went straight to the kitchen.She still couldn't find Viola, so she decided to just start preparing the dish, she wanted to do it alone without assistance, so this was fine. Just as Aliyah brought out the ingredients she needed, she stepped over to the refrigerator and opened it, bringing out some vegetable
Cecile might have tried to hide it but getting a compliment from Ben pleased her.She was a little girl at the end of the day and even though she was so against her brother she still sought validation from him, to be seen and to be heard.Viola and Aliyah observed as she came by to drop the plates that had been lined in the room for a while."You are lucky Master Ben didn't get angrier than that, that was a crazy stunt you tried to pull. how could you do that?" Viola stated Aliyah rolled her eyes at the endless nagging she was receiving from her makeshift older sister."Don't worry about it, I was just about tired of his attitude that was why I did that, okay?" Viola only pursed her lips.She took a long probing gaze at Aliyah's and then suddenly relented since she seemed to be getting nowhere with the scolding.With all that had happened and how Ben had reacted to the whole thing it all made Aliyah wonder if he was trying to seem softer to his sister, if that wasn't the case there wa
A black Mercedes drove into a dark alleyway across the street, a narrow way in between long buildings, and after a while, it came to a slow stop. Chris stepped out of the car, and brushed his hair to the back, with closed eyes, he took in a deep breath and ruffled his hair, a smirk seized at his lips. Rolling the car keys in his hand, he approached a door, opened it, and stepped into a dark room. As soon as he walked in, the lights flickered on, his skeptical eyes scanned the surroundings, and he muttered, "Let's get down to business, Ernesto. Unlike you, I have other things to do rather than stay hidden in a dark alleyway while planning an attack on my rival." Chris pulled out a chair, wiped it off with a napkin on the table, and sat down, crossing his legs to sit in a relaxed state. Nearly two minutes after he welcomed himself in, shoe clicks echoed through the small room and a man came into view. Standing tall, emanating a thoughtful presence, his angular jawline was mark
The heat that exploded in his body due to the spice in the food was unimaginably painful, he felt it in every inch of his body as he experienced severe heart burn, he knew for a fact, that beyond any reasonable doubt, this was a malicious orchestration. Heavy beads of sweat formed and trickled down his forehead as he held himself in place with shere will, if he wasn't used to the sensation of pain he'd have been rolling on the floor like a goddamn child.Cecile had a knack for getting back at him but he knew for a fact that she'd never pull such a trick. Already knowingly, there was only one other person who would have done it and he knew.Ben leaned his back against the wall for support, still reeling from the near-death experience he just had before he'd go back into the dining room, if she was trying to play a fast one for him for petty revenge, even if she won he wouldn't let her see that or get the pleasure of her success.Aliyah's eyes scanned around and there was still no sign
Ben left Aliyah seeking clues about what the hell he meant about all that.She was beyond confused wondering what she could possibly do to get through to him, to appeal to that rock-hard heart of his.She suddenly heard the door swing open, and Ben strutted slowly into the room looking ready to go to bed."You have told me to try to earn the privilege but you have given me no clue on how to do that whatever I do, you are just going to have to bear with it then. Until I figure it out.""Whatever I don't care," he replied casually before nestling on the bed.His answer was expected, she grinned as she watched him turn his back to her."Fine then I'll just do whatever I can since he asked for this she thought to herself."With the answer he gave, she was going to find a way to get on his good side one way or another, but before all that, there was something she needed to do first.Something that had been burning within her since the incident, her urge for vengeance, Whatever his reason
Ben pulled his car to stop, right by the corner of the road as a call came in. It was from Levi, and he had been expecting him to call sooner rather than later. He had handed Mark over to him and there were answers that he required."Hello Levi, what has he told you?" he went straight to the point."I got him to tell me all he knew, and as you suspected the Costello family seems to be involved, but I think it's more than just that, there was some sort of connivance, we've also been able to locate Riccardo's sister."He gave a deep sigh and brushed his hand through the loose strands of his hair."Find her and make sure she regains her freedom, do whatever you need to do, and bring her back.""Alright, Sir," Levi replied affirmatively"One more thing, boss, It has to do with your lady," he knew exactly who Levi was talking about."What is it?" Ben asked as his face contorted into a frown."All I could surmise is that a big player in politics seems to have been involved in a series of ki
A tall dark brooding man dropped out of his car, the entirety of his attire was black, as if he had just come from a funeral. His darkened gaze was that of a cold murderer, it was Levi, Ben's right-hand man. He tapped gracefully on the side of the cigar pack and swiped up the first one that popped up, sliding it between his fingers he lit it up and took a long, and deep breath, feeling up his insides with the thick smoke oozing from the burning cigar, he swiped it between his fingers and released a puff.Levi stared around briefly before he ambled into a seemingly abandoned building, his shoe clicked gracefully in the alleyway.tossing aside his half-finished stick of cigarette.Levi took a quick look at the battered man who was sitting on the floor with his hands tied behind his back, clear bruises lining every corner of his swollen face, hardly being able to move around because of the cruel torture he had been through. Sitting and looking pathetic on the floor, with blood oozing ou