Chapter 2

To President Mason, Layla was about to kill two birds with one stone, but to Layla, she was about to use one stone to kill as many birds as she could. She was determined to pay the price for success, to let the public know the truth, and to find the answer to the questions that Ivory left her with.

It had been an hour since Layla had been waiting for President Mason in his office. She looked at her wristwatch and it was already 3 p.m, so she decided to leave. She picked up her bag beside her, and as she stood up to walk out, President Mason walked in, smiling.

He walked to the chair in front of Layla and sat down, and Layla sat back in her seat.

“Good afternoon, sir.” She welcomed him.

He beamed at her, appeasing. “Good afternoon, angel. I am sorry for keeping you waiting. An emergency came up.”

“Okay, sir.”

President Mason changed his sitting posture and sat comfortably, his back relaxed on the couch's back support. “Have you spoken with your sister?”

“Yes,” she responded. “Thanks for your help, sir.”

“Layla, in which country is your sister?” He inquired.

“Spain, sir,” she answered, and he chuckled.

“What happened, sir?” She asked out of curiosity.

“I am sorry,” he apologized, explaining, “after your sister called you yesterday, they moved her to another country.”

Layla lifted her eyebrows in shock and withered her face at him in a haze. She wanted to raise her voice at him, but she took it upon herself to keep her voice calm, even though she felt like grabbing his collar to drag him.

“Why did you do that?” She asked.

“I mean no harm, Layla; I am doing this for everyone, especially your sister's safety,” he explained, assuring, “I will reveal your sister's location once you complete your task.”

“Why did you do that, sir?” Layla queried.

“We don’t know what might happen later and if you contact her constantly till Asher finds out about her, her life might be in danger.”

“Are you sure that's your plan, sir?” She questioned.

“Yes, Layla. I have no other reason to hide her. You are a helper who desires to chase away the horrifying nightmare that haunts me every day.” He said.

Layla sough. She reasoned his idea was great, but she still didn’t feel good about it. Had she known from the beginning she wouldn't accept it, but she had already stepped into the water, and she dared not complain about the cold. 

“Okay, thank you, sir.” She accepted.

“Stop thanking, angel. The little help I render is nothing compared to what you want to do for the nation,” he said. “If you aren't doing this, it's my duty as a human to help a fellow human, whether or not I know you.”

“Okay.”

He took his back off the couch's backrest and cleared his throat. “Now that you are ready, the first thing to do is to change your location.”

“Why?” She asked, raising her gaze.

“Because we have to make Asher see and believe everything. If you want to catch a monkey, you must behave like one. To mingle with Asher, adjust some of your lifestyles," he said. 

“To make sure things work out smoothly, you must move to Tribeca and become Asher’s neighbor before you can present yourself as a conglomerate heiress.” He clarified.

“Who?” She questioned. “Which conglomerate heiress?”

“I don’t know yet; I am having your secretary look into it.” He answered.

“My secretary?!” She let out, surprised. “Who is my secretary?”

“You will soon be a CEO, so I did a wonderful job finding you the perfect lady, and I am sure you will like-”

Before President Mason completed his statements, Mia walked in elegantly in a casual black skirt and a long-sleeve shirt.

Mia faced President Mason, her head bowed a little. “Good morning, sir.”

“Good morning, dear,” President Mason responded, smiling. He glanced at Layla and pointed to Mia. “Layla, this is Mia, your secretary,”

He pointed to Layla, speaking to Mia. “This is Layla, your new boss.”

Layla pulled out her hand for a shake, but Mia ignored it and bent her head. “Good day, ma.”

“I hope it will be nice meeting you.” Layla joked, but Mia didn't answer; rather, she set her eyes on the floor, her right hand placed on the left, positioning them in the middle of her lap.

“Did you find someone?” President Mason raised a question.

“Yes,” Mia answered. She took out her phone and showed him a picture of a lady with her face half-covered amid the crowd.

He collected the phone and had an eight-second vivid look at the picture. He returned the phone, asking, “Who is she?”

“She is the only daughter of Mr. Theodore of HighEnd Investment and she is the present CEO of HighEnd Investment.” Mia explained.

“Wow!” He unlocked his mouth in awe. “I never heard of her.”

“No one does, because she chooses a lowlife. She moved out of America fifteen years ago and never came back, despite her father’s critical health condition. They appointed her as the CEO because she is the only legal successor.” Mia explained.

“Why did you choose her?” He queried. “Is she the only option we have?”

Mia nodded boldly. “I didn't choose her because of the absence of an option, but because she fits best,”

“I contacted her, and she has accepted on the condition that Layla will only use her appearance and not her authority in the company; she will be the legislature, and Layla will be a manager.”

President Mason sighed and glimpsed at Layla's face. “What do you think about this?”

Layla nodded in approval. “It sounds great since we need just her name and power, not her inheritance.”

He looked back at Mia. “So, what's the next thing?”

“Nothing much. I will take Layla to her new house and set up her wardrobe.” Mia made a reply.

“Layla, you will go to your new house with Mia now. She will guide you through.” He said.

“Okay,” Layla stood up. “See you again.”

President Mason stood up and bowed his head. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

Without saying a word, Layla bowed her head, and as she took a step forward, Mia quickly walked to her side and collected the bag in her hand.

Mia bowed her head and quickly reached the door ahead of her, opening the door for Layla to walk out.

Immediately they walked out of the company, Mia took some steps ahead of Layla and quickly opened the Bugatti Centodieci's door that was parked at the company entrance, exactly where the shade ended.

Mia curled her hair. “Enter, ma.”

Layla walked majestically into the car, and Mia closed the door before she entered the front and sat down.

“This is Michael, your driver, ma.” Mia introduced. 

“Good day, ma.” Michael bowed his head without looking back.

Layla saw his face in the front mirror. She wore a welcoming smile and responded, “Good day.”

Michael started the car and drove out of Maximo investment.

TRIBECA NEW YORK CITY

After two hours and thirty-three minutes of driving, the car drove into Tribeca, the wealthiest neighborhood in New York City. And after twenty minutes of driving within Tribeca's neighborhood, the car entered a compound and parked at the apartment entrance.

Mia got down from the car to open the door for Layla, but Layla quickly opened it for herself before Mia got there.

Mia stepped back a little and bowed her head, standing in front of Layla. “Welcome to your house, ma.”

Layla curtsied her head in return, beaming. “Thank you.”

Mia pointed her hand to the door. “Let’s go in, ma.”

“Okay,” Layla grinned, and Mia turned to the door to lead her in.

“Mia.” Layla called her back.

Mia turned back to Layla. “Ma?”

Layla looked down, shying. “Mia, please stop being too formal when we are alone. I don't feel comfortable with it.” 

“Okay, ma.” Mia curtsied her head, beaming. “But, ma’am, this is my job; the reason the president pays me. Besides, we must do this to get used to it in public.”

Layla smiled. “Okay.”

Mia bent her head and she led Layla in. She opened the door and bowed her head for Layla to go in first. “Go in, ma.”

Layla smiled insincerely and walked in. Mia walked in after her, closing the door.

“Do you like this place, ma?” Mia asked after three minutes of Layla scanning the sitting room.

Layla nodded, beaming. “Yes, it looks good.”

“Do you like the interiors?” Mia inquired, and Layla nodded.

“It's fine. They look good."

Mia pointed to the stairs. “Let me show you upstairs, ma.”

“Okay.” Layla walked closer to Mia to go upstairs.

As Mia laid her leg on the first step, a call came into her phone, and she excused herself. “Excuse me, ma.”

Mia walked back to the sitting room center and picked up the call. She stepped back toward Layla and explained, “ma, an emergency has come up, and I have to go now. You can check around and call me if you need anything. I will stop at a boutique to get your clothes.”

“Okay, I will also go home before you come back. We will meet later in the evening.” Layla smiled.

“Didn’t the president tell you?” Mia raised a question.

Layla put up her eyebrows in anxiety, thinking a bad thing had happened. “That what?!”

Mia sighed. “He told me you aren't going home again till you complete your assignment, ma.”

“But…” Layla desired to oppose the idea, but she felt there wasn’t any reason to go back home since she had already lied to Victor and Mrs. Chloe that she was going on a long-time trip.

“Okay, you can go.” Layla permitted. 

“Okay, ma.” Mia bowed her head and walked out.

Layla sighed tiredly. She dropped her jaw and fell into the chair. She bent her back, placing her elbows on her lap as she massaged her forehead.

Tons of mystery thoughts stretched out in her head, but her priority now was Lily’s whereabouts, and she couldn’t wait to complete the assignment to see her sister back.

She released an in-depth breath and put her phone down on the table. She relaxed her head on the chair headrest and closed her eyes.

“This is an entirely new life I have to adapt to.”

LATER IN THE NIGHT

Layla slowly opened her eyes. She stood up and sat on the chair with her eyes half open. She brushed her hand over her face and yawned. She stretched out her hand to pick up her phone, but she didn’t find it.

She turned to the table in the center and saw a new phone on it. She picked it up like it was a piece of annoying trash and glanced at it.

“This isn't my phone.”

She turned to the other side and saw a note Mia had put down.

“I didn't want to wake you because it seemed you were tired. I have set up your wardrobe, and this is your new phone. I have taken the old one to the president.” She read out the note.

She put the note and the phone down and stood up on her feet. She walked to the window and opened the cotton.

“The weather must be great outside.” She grinned and walked out of her house.

She turned to her left and walked down the street for fifteen minutes before she saw cement-made chairs under the tree. She strolled closer and sat down. She looked up at the sky, and the brightness of a star among its pairs caught her attention.

She smiled and soliloquized. “This star is exceptional…”

“How I wish you were here now, Ivory. Wherever you are, rest in peace. If there is another life, let's be twins, not sisters. I will protect you and make sure we don't separate till death.” She wished. Her eyes fixed on the star.

Suddenly, thunder rattled, and a heavy wind blew. She quickly stood up, and before she could wear her slippers, the rain started to fall.

“O-oh my!” 

She quickly wore her slippers and ran fast even though she didn’t see her front clearly, but she kept running because there was nowhere to hide.

Her leg slipped, and she fell to the ground. While she was still struggling to get up, a car came out of nowhere, and its bright light set on her face and she saw nothing again.

She tried to stand up, but she stumbled again. She gave up and set her eyes on the car's lights, anticipating the car would hit her at any moment, but when it remained a few seconds for the car to reach her, a guy came out and carried her out of the road.

He took her to a tree and caged his left arm around her waist, holding the umbrella he used to cover both of them with his right hand. His body pinned her body to the tree.

She opened her eyes abruptly and found it hard to fantasize about what had just happened. She looked around for a few seconds and scanned him from head to toe before she got back to her senses.

“Are you okay?” He showed concern.

She enlarged her eyes in fright and pushed him back a little. “Hun?!”

He wore a nose mask and covered his face with a face cap, so she didn't see his face.

She nodded, feigning a smile. “Yes, I’m fine,”

She bowed her head a little. “Thank you.”

“It’s fine,” he said in a tiny, cute voice.

He set his hand on her shoulder, patting her. “Why are you outside in this silent place?”

His first two shirt buttons unlocked, and she saw a rose flower tattooed on the left side of his chest.

Seeing the tattoo, Layla lost in her imagination. She unknowingly bit her lower lip as her mind embarked on an admiration journey. Her hand failed dominion, and she slowly extended it to touch his chest.

Before her hand reached his chest, he beamed lightly. “Are you sure you are okay?”

“Hun!” A shocked tone broke out of her mouth as she returned to reality, and she quickly held her hand back.

She couldn’t believe she had lost control of her heart to a stranger.

He rubbed Layla's head, smiling. “Whatever happens to you isn't worth imposing sorrow on yourself because it’s minor compared to what some are battling with every day.”

“Thank you.” She nodded.

He took his hand off her head and gave her an umbrella. “Use this and go home.”

She shook her head in disfavor. “No, thank you. What will you use if you give me the umbrella?”

“Don’t worry about me; I am a man, and I will sort it out. Besides, my house isn’t far from here.” He said.

“Okay, thank you,” she beamed. “I will return it when we meet next time.”

“Okay, let’s hope we do,” he said. “And make sure you have overcome all the odds because I want to see you happy when we meet again. Will you?”

She nodded, pledging. “Yes.”

“Is that a promise?” He asked.

“Yes.” She confirmed.

He pecked her and turned to walk away, and she called him back. “What’s your name?”

He turned back to her. “You don’t need to know my name when we aren’t sure if we will meet again. But if we meet again, I will tell you my name.”

“Okay, my name is-” she wanted to introduce herself.

“Fighting!” He cut her off, raising his hand. 

He gave her a thumbs-up. He covered his head with his arms and ran away into the rain.

‘Is this a dream?’

Layla found it difficult to believe as she looked at the guy's back. She pinched herself and closed her eyes, hoping she would wake up from her dream when she opened her eyes.

She opened them, but she didn’t see the guy anymore.

She scanned around to look for him, but she didn't see him. “Where did he go?”

She hit her leg on the floor angrily. “I shouldn’t have closed my eyes. I should have let him disappear with my eyes open.”

She inhaled deeply and glanced down in disappointment.

“Who is this angel I just met in person?”

She stretched the umbrella and covered her head. She took a step into the rain and looked back.

“Will there be a next time to meet you?”