*Shelby*“Shelby, what are you doing here?” Giani asked me.“I’m just exploring the area a little. My boyfriend bought a townhouse just down the road, so I thought I’d take the day and get to know the neighborhood,” I explained as Giani pulled me into a hug.“It’s so good to see you. Is your boyfriend who I think he is?” he asked me with a raised eyebrow.“His name is Michael,” I said simply.“Not just any Michael,” Giani said with a smile. “Aubrey told me all about him. You are dating Mr. Michael Astor, arent you?”“Yes, that’s the right Michael,” I said with a smile.Giani and Aubrey had been dating for years, and I’d come to love him like a brother. He had a rather rough-looking exterior, the classic bad-boy look. However, he was one of the most kind-hearted and well-mannered men I knew.“What are you doing here?” I asked, bumping his shoulder playfully.“My family actually lives around here. We’re having lunch at the deli next door, and
*Shelby*Michael and I were seated at a table near a small pond filled with koi fish swimming lazily in circles. The Chinese restaurant smelled amazing, like spices and ginger. My stomach growled in anticipation of our meal.“I’m so excited to try all of the different restaurants in this area. It’s fun to think about how one day we will have our regular places we love to go to, just minutes from the townhouse we share together,” I said with a smile.“I’m excited for us to start that next chapter of our lives,” Michael said with a smile, looking over the menu at me.I studied my own menu, catching a glimpse of my ring. I’d be sad to lock it up in Michael’s bank deposit box, but it would be nice to keep the engagement under wraps until we were ready to share the news. “So, what were you up to today while I was at the office?” Michael asked me.The thought of my conversation with Giani rushed into my memory. I knew I needed to tell him about Blaine being in
*Shelby*It was extremely difficult saying goodbye to Michael on the Sunday morning that Bruce was driving me back to Cambridge. Even though I wanted to stay and spend more time with him, I knew I couldn’t miss classes.The car pulled into town, and my anxiety over telling Lin that we had to uproot everything and move into a new house was building the closer we got to home. I got a text message from Michael, a picture of a stately brick home. Once Lin saw this, I knew she’d have no problem moving out of our apartment.“Miss Hatton?” Bruce called from the driver's seat.“Please, Bruce, just call me Shelby.”“Right,” Bruce said with a smile in the rearview mirror that told me he had no intention of calling me Shelby.“I was just going to tell you that the packers will be here any minute to get your stuff boxed up, and the movers will arrive at noon today to move your boxes over to the new place. I’ll wait down in the parking lot for you. Just call me when yo
*Michael*It was strange sleeping in the bed without Shelby waking up next to me, but I did wake up to a text from her. I stretched out across the soft sheets and grabbed my phone to text her back.Shelby: Michael, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you for this amazing house. I can’t believe how much space there is. Lin’s thrilled too.Michael: I’m so glad to hear that you like it. Did you sleep well last night? I missed waking up next to you.Shelby: I slept okay, but nowhere near as well as I do when I sleep next to you.Michael: You probably sleep better next to me because you're so exhausted from our before-bed activities.Shelby: That makes sense. Sounds like we’ve found our new nightly routine.I smiled at her response before heading downstairs to make myself a cup of coffee. I‘d decided to return to the townhouse rather than my apartment the night before. There was a warmth to the place that my penthouse lacked. The plastic shee
*Shelby*I sat unpacking the last box of my personal belongings, the ones I asked the unpackers not to touch, placing my books on the built-in bookshelves in my office. I’d never had somewhere so nice to work and study, and my office had quickly become my favorite room in my house. It sat in the living room, and the large bay window filled the room with natural light.“Is that your last box?” Lin asked me.She was leaning in the doorway, and I hadn’t heard her sneak up on me. She was toweling her wet hair; she must’ve just gotten out of the shower. “Geez, Lin, you scared me. I didn’t hear you come in,” I said, holding a book to my chest.“That’s because this house is so damn big. We're used to living on top of each other. We always knew where the other person was,” Lin said, wrapping the towel around her wet hair.“That’s true. I guess I’m just not used to it yet. There’s a lot to get used to,” I said with an unnoticeable sigh.“Hey, I don’t know abo
*Michael*I waited for twenty minutes outside a seedy bodega; the sidewalk in front of the store was glowing from the neon signs in the window. The entire place smelled of stale beer and urine. Just when I had enough and was contemplating walking away, a man in a black tracksuit bumped into me, slipping a large padded envelope under my arm.“Watch where you’re going next time,” he called as he walked away from me.I tucked the package further under my arm and walked away from the fluorescent lighting. As I rounded the corner, I pulled out the envelope and ripped it open. I kept walking, seemingly aimlessly as I pulled the contents out. A pile of papers was crammed inside, and on top was a bright yellow note.*So far I’ve been able to trace 100 million to an offshore account. The account is registered to a women’s boutique that doesn’t exist. The funds haven’t moved since the original hack. I’ve included all of the evidence I found. P.S. Don’t forget to pay the man.*
*Michael*I stared at the website in front of me as Shelby waited on the phone for my response. The heading of the article stared back at me in bright red lettering.“Billionaire Playboy Turns into Billionaire Bad Boy: Michael Astor is an Abusive Boyfriend.”My stomach sank at the picture taking up the entire computer screen after the title of the article. It was a poorly timed photo of me pushing the woman away from me in the bar after she felt up my family jewels.The photo made it seem as though I was holding this woman’s wrists, pushing her across the room. Her face was conveniently turned toward the camera, and there was fear etched in each of her features. I looked at my own face and saw the anger flowing from my eyes. If I was Shelby, I’d be worried if I saw this picture too. It looked bad, really bad.“Michael? I need you to explain what’s going on in that picture,” Shelby said, her voice shaking with emotion on the other end of the phone.“Dammit,
*Shelby*As soon as I got to Michael's office, I could tell that something was going on. I made my way to the receptionist's desk, hoping that maybe she had some answers for me. I was glad to see the middle-aged woman sitting behind the desk. I liked her a lot more than Michael's previous receptionist, who had purposely embarrassed me in front of a room full of people.“Good afternoon Miss Hatton,” she said to me with a smile.“Is Michael here?” I asked.She lifted her hand, pointing to the conference room. I could see exactly what was going on inside because of the glass walls. Michael was standing there in front of three large cameras. I immediately recognized Bruce on his left, but there was another man with graying hair standing on his right. Both men looked extremely serious as Michael talked to the cameras.“What’s going on?” I asked his secretary.“Mr. Astor is pressing charges against the news source that leaked the fake story. He’s also goin