KAREN I always knew this joint lunch was going to be a disaster. Of every place to have lunch, annoying Jessica had to choose the most ridiculous place. Or maybe it was only I that found it ridiculous. It was the most exquisite dining place in the Adams building meant for the 'people' I walked in with. But definitely not me. A meal here would cost more than an organ. The last budget I had was to pay off the debt I was owing Jay and couldn't afford to squander it on lunch way above my means. I didn't want to be shameless and eat without paying. No more accepting free offers coated with dark intentions from Collins or anyone else. It always ended in disaster. My stomach grumbled. Thankfully the background sound shielded it from being heard. This was what I hated with men. Their ego and always trying to be the superior ones amongst themselves. This joint lunch wouldn't have happened if Collins didn't intentionally poke at Jay's ego and if Jay didn't have to show his superiority.
When Karen left, Jessica equally excused herself. Jay wiped his mouth with the napkin and got up “I will get the bill.”Collins scoffed and thumped his napkin on the table. “Annoying jerk,” he muttered under his breath.Jay turned. “What?” Collins stood up as well. “We are working as you must have already been verified. By the way, do you always get involved in the life of your workers?” “From the report I got, you are not directly involved. I believe you do not have any reason hovering around Miss Karen with the excuse of working together.”Collins chuckled. “I had no idea you were this kind of person, chairman Jay. Are you still obsessing over your ex when you were in the arms of another woman a few hours ago.”Jay blinked as the memories rushed back. Had Collins Morgan seen him with Jessica or was he just playing guesswork?“What are you talking about?” He feigned confusion. “Of course you know very much what I'm talking about. But if you don't, then it's okay. But don't try to
TINAKaren and I had been friends for so long. For as long as I could remember. Men always desiring her wasn't a new thing. I was always the invisible one and yes, I felt jealous each time we walked together and men skipped me like a sour doughnut for her. Honestly it did hurt. But I held in and always wished for my own destined man. Not until the man I have always had eyes for fell for her too. And now in just one day I have had three men all approach me for one reason — to help them get my friend. Why don't no one ever see me? Was I a stone? It would have been bearable but to have the man I have had eyes for also ask me for such a thing, it hurt. As I was contemplating on what Collins Morgan said to me, I decided to go up the rooftop to cool off and figure out what path to take. But I was forced to a stop as I heard people talking on the stairs. I hid behind the staircase and listened. From the sound, I figured it was a man and a woman talking and for some reason the man's vo
Tina took a step towards Jay. “I have come to give my response to your question earlier today.”Jay inhaled and relaxed a bit. “Please have a seat.” She pointed to the arranged seats and a table in the centre of the room. “Was all this necessary?” Jay frowned, glancing around the room again. It reminded him of a memory he was trying to not recall. And that made it more discomforting. “Please sit. Actually, this will take time and I didn't want to keep you standing so I prepared here.”Jay shrugged reluctantly and finally sat down. Tina grabbed the wine she had ordered, walked to the table and began to pour in the glasses. “There's no need for this. Just go ahead and say—”She handed him the half-filled glass. “Don't rush. Let's take our time,” she whispered. Dazed, Jay's mouth parted. Tina lowered the bottle of wine, took a sip from her glass as she sat on the table, placing her leg on his body. Jay was utterly shocked. “You know, I have always had eyes for you but you someho
KAREN Tina was my best friend. She had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. She had been there for me in my tough times and knew me better than anyone else. Infact, she was like family to me. Apart from my dad and Lily, she was the only one that knew me better. So entering the hotel room to meet her alone with Jay greatly surprised me. Although they were not in any suggestive or suspicious positions, still, it felt weird to me.“Ah. I didn't want to tell you first just in case you refused to show up. Chairman Jay here pleaded with me to have you meet him. I will leave you both to talk. See you at home,” she said and left. It made a bit of sense now after she said that and I relaxed. But the realisation hit me when she left and it dawned that I was in the room alone with Jay. Had he asked Tina to call me to speak to me privately so we could make up? My heart lurched. I gathered myself. “You wanted to talk to me. How have you been?” Being alone with him made me re
KAREN’S POVIt was finally D-day. Even though I had slept off late the previous night, I woke up the next day quite early. Both Tina and Lily were still asleep by the time I woke up and I didn't bother waking either of them up. It was too early to wake Tina and I couldn't wake Lily as it was the weekend. Recalling I still needed to sort out some computer work, I got right into it. When I finished, I selected the clothes I would be putting on. I settled for one of the few well tailored pantsuits I owned. I opted for the black closed-toe shoes and a black handbag. An envelope fell off as I was transferring my things from my bag I used the previous day to the new one. For several seconds, I stared down at the fallen envelope vividly remembering it's content. Jay's attitude was still so confusing. I just didn't understand why he was avoiding me. But I decided to think l was perhaps overthinking things.There were so many things I wanted to ask him and so many things I wanted to tell
TINA'S POV Even though I would have preferred to sleep in all day, I couldn't and for an important reason I had to go for the event–Jay would be there. The thought of it excited me. I wore a beige dress that stopped inches from my knees and clung to my body delicately. People had always complimented me each time I wore it. Men Especially. I just knew it was the perfect one to wear. The inbuilt brassier pad lifted my boobs and the slit revealed my cleavage showing morsel of flesh just enough to drive any man crazy at a close range. My phone beeped. I picked it up and saw it was a message from my mom. "Where are you? Why are you not coming home?"As I read it, I could almost hear her yelling at me for coming back without a man. Don't worry mum, I won't come back without a man this time around. Thank you for making me realize I deserve good things too. My aim that day was simply to meet Jay privately after the event. I had only two months. Two months to make him fall in love with
“I’m alright,” Jay said and ended the call. He felt his head throb and suppressed a grunt. What a way to ruin the rest of his day. If he had known it was Tina calling he would never have picked up. Jay hated that he was under the control of some woman he had only met for the first time. What on earth had he gotten himself into. He groaned and rubbed his eyes feeling the tension gathering around his jaw. He had to stop this. He had to stop her. The only way to stop all of this was to get the recording from Tina without creating a scene. But he knew he had to play carefully. He couldn't trigger her. If she sends the recording to the media as she threatened, his company would receive a lot of backlash and would be greatly affected. All these years he had managed to keep a clean slate on issues related to women. Now he couldn't afford to let one mistake ruin all that he had suffered to build over the years. For Tina to have the audacity to approach him with such a demand, she must h
KAREN'S POV Arriving at Denva after one month of being away felt like I had been away for so long. Like I was stepping in a new place. Maybe it was just that part of me that was feeling a bit refreshed. I got out of the long bus dragging my echolac along. One of the things I wanted to do the moment I returned to Denva was visit Jessica. Glad she was being punished for her crimes. I also heard about Collins Morgan. Maybe at one point, I thought he was cute but not until I learned the other side of him. After I read the things he did to women, I could never see him in a pure light again. He was in jail too. He got what he deserved. As I sat in the visitor seat waiting for them to bring Jessica out, I imagined me being the one on the other side. I mean, it was almost me if not for Tina “I didn't expect to see you here. What is it?” Jessica slurred as she settled down. “Me neither.”“So? Are you here to gloat?”“Why did you do it?”“Why I did it? Because I hate it when bitches like
A MONTH LATERJay pulled up in the empty space of Anderson ‘s front yard which had turned to become his personal parking space in the last month. He had just opened the car door to step down when the frontage of the house opened and both Lily and Mr Anderson poked their heads out. He didn't need them to speak to see the magnitude of disappointment in their eyes. Of course he knew they would rather have Karen be the one appearing in front of the house and not him. And he also knew they always ran out to check each time a car pulled up in front of the house in the hope that it was Karen. They might likely not know because he never showed it but he missed her more than he could describe. He sighed and his teeth grinded in his mouth as he finally stepped down. “Hello, Mr Anderson,” he greeted wearing the smile he had learned to wear in the last month. Mr Anderson, like he always had done, took his hand into a firm shake and welcomed him inside. Mr Anderson offered him his usual kol
WRITER'S POV“You…how…what are you doing here?” Margaret waved a hand as she walked in majestically. “Hello fiancé.” Collins gaped in shock. slowly everything began to make sense. “What did you do to me?” He snarled. “Oh, come on, shouldn’t you say Hi to your fiance first?”“What did you fuvking do to me!”Detective Defoe ordered that Zach and Hunter be taken away from the room leaving only Collins and Margaret. Collins was still clenching and fuming. “You have been spiking my drinks…you are the cause of all this…”“Like how you and your friends have been doing to those innocent girls? Oh, common' you don't think I can stoop to that level now do you.”No matter how much Collins reasoned it, there was no other explanation as to how drugs were detected in his blood. Either detective Defoe tampered with the original results or it was the devil before him. “What exactly did I do to you? Why are you out to get me? Why! Why! No matter how I think about it, I have not offended you in any
WRITER'S POV Jay spoke to the lawyer in charge of Karen's case. What the lawyer told him worried him. Karen risked being detained in the holding cell after twenty four hours. He had already hired a private investigator to investigate the case. His eyes appeared weary. He had not had a moment of rest ever since Karen was taken in. Adams group needed him but Karen needed him too. Against Hugo's wishes, he had opted to stay back in the police station while he let him hold the forte back at the company. Even though Karen sent him away, he had refused to leave. He knew she was upset at him and he completely understood. All he wanted more than anything was to get her out of here. Later he spoke to the officer to let him speak to Karen again. To his relief, Karen permitted. “I spoke to your lawyer,” he said when they were given privacy. “What did he say?”“It's more difficult than we thought. The hitman maintains you sent him. We need solid evidence to disprove his claim and I asked t
WRITER'S POV “Your hands at the back of your head!”Zach's gleeful laughter was booming in the room when the door burst open and a team of policemen barged in. Instantly it seized. Pistols aimed at their faces.Alarmed, Collins sat up. Hunter and Zach frightfully pushed away the girl who looked half dead from the drugs she had been made to shove down. “Who called the cops?” Collins gritted, shooting glares at Zach and Hunter. “We should be asking you that!” Zach slammed back.“Your hands at the back of your head!” The officer repeated his warning. Collins could feel his shirt soak with sudden perspiration as he looked around in utmost disbelief and fear inside. He had been arrested for a lot of things but had never been caught right in the act and why in this place of all places. “Shit!”Detective Defoe stepped forward, a victorious smirk lingering in his lip. “Is there a need for us to read your Miranda rights…this wouldn't be your first rodeo,” he said and pressed the cuff firml
WRITER'S POV A FEW HOURS AGO BEFORE KAREN'S ARREST “What!” Jessica's yelp and her palm finding Craig's face happened in quick succession. “Say it again. What did you just say?”Craig’s jaw grinded. It pained him how he had been foolish to want to accept the challenge of tolerating a spoiled brat. Now he was too deep into the shit to take a step back. “It was Miss Tina that was shot. The hit man mistook her for miss Karen as she saw her coming out of Miss Karen's house.”“Simple job! Just a simple thing to do. Useless people! Can't get anything done right.” Then she spun at Craig, “You brought that idiot to me. You told me he was skilled. What happened? He couldn't take care of one person, just one person! He has been caught and he shot the wrong person. Who did you fuvking bring to me!”She stalked to the wine rack to grab a drink, each step she took fueled by barely contained fury. She had to do something before the man said a word to the police. She had to do something. She had
KAREN'S POV From learning that my friend got shot to hearing the worst news of my life. My friend of many years had wanted me dead because she wanted my man. I couldn't move in my seat. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. I shut my eyes hoping to wake up and find out that everything was all a nightmare until I felt my hand being grabbed and the cold metals clasping my wrist. Maybe it was because I was already numb of any feelings at all that I didn’t feel a pain as the thing locked my arms together. As I was being cuffed, I heard Jay try to speak to one of the officers. Didn't make out his exact words nor the officer’s response but soon they started to take me away. Down the hallway, the pitiful and judgemental gazes of people washed me head to toes. I followed humbly as they led me outside. “I'm coming to the station with her,” I heard Jay say to the officers as they pushed me into the hilux. “No. You don't need to. Officers let's go,” I refused. The last thing I wanted was to wa
WRITER'S POV“What’s wrong?”Jay asked frozen Karen. Karen didn't move. Her hand dropped lifelessly beside her. Every bit of colour was drained from her face as she struggled to process what she had just heard.“I’m sorry, but I have to leave now,” she mumbled absentmindedly and her legs broke into a run. “Wait, Karen!” Jay rushed and grabbed her arm.“You are going the wrong way,” he said. Karen looked and saw she was heading towards the back of the building. She let out a shuddering breath. “I have to go…”“Please, tell me. What's wrong?” Jay demanded softly. “Tina was shot in front of my house,” Karen murmured. “Shot? How…”“I need to leave now. I need to go to her…Tina needs me…” Maybe this was the answer she needed. Tina was more than a best friend. She was her family and she would not have to be made to either choose her or not in order to be with a man. If there was one person who had always been by her side and she would never want to lose, it was Tina. “Jay, about what y
KAREN'S POV It was one of the fewest times I ever wished twenty four hours didn't have to end so quickly. After the exhilarating night, it would have been exhausting if I had to wake up early the next day for work or anything at all. It was already mid day by the time my eyes saw daylight. It was the warm light rays that woke me up. The window, although still closed, allowed a generous trail of sun rays trickling inside. Jay was nowhere to be found. Thinking he would be somewhere in the suite, I called out to him but no response.Something in me kicked. I had seen a similar scenario. Like those times when a man brought his lover for a vacation only for the woman to learn it was actually supposed to be their last time together. Stepping outside the suite and I was welcomed by the workers going about their duties with the nice smell of food and fresheners. I walked up to one of them. “Hello. Excuse me…have you seen a man…”“Yes. He is somewhere around. How about you sit in the wa