The article

Jake's POV

“Billionaire CEO by day, Playboy by night. The secret life of Jake Rylland.

By day, Jake Rylland is a serious Billionaire CEO who cares about nothing but making profits. He runs his Billion dollar company with a tight iron fist and makes sure his capitalist greed is satisfied. You may think all he cares about is making money but there's a dark and playful side of Jake Rylland he doesn't want you to know...”

Furious, I crumpled the newspaper page into a ball and tossed it to the bin before remembering I had not yet read the reporter's name.

“Jenny,” I said to the intercom and my assistant came running into the room.

“Yes, Mr. Rylland.”

“Bring me an untouched copy of the newspaper.”

Jenny glanced at the copy on the table and bit her tongue to stop herself from asking questions that would get her fired.

“Okay,” she said and hurried out. Barely a minute later, she was back.

“Here, it is.”

I quickly skimmed through to find the page with the article about me. 

Lilith Hellman. That was the damned reporter's name. No one had ever heard of her until the article came out and blew up. Now every blogger, talk show host, and social media influencer was discussing my life as painted by the devil herself. I thought the name was appropriate for whoever decided to ruin my name. 

However, I was going to ruin her before she ruined me.

Standing up, I smiled. “You're going back to hell where you belong, Lilith Hellman.”

Stepping out of my office, I strode into the executive elevator and pressed the button for the basement floor, from where I marched to my sleek rolls Royce and got in. Cory, my head of security was already in the car waiting. The driver revved up the engine and set off.

Back in my house, I briefed Cory and Jared, a private investigator on my plan for Lillith Hellman. 

“You will tail her and make sure you get every detail about her especially her routine,” I told Jared. “When that's established, Rushy will move in and take her to the safe house. If it's possible to get her before the end of the day, even better.”

Yes, I had a safe house. I was a freaking Billionaire not a saint. My safe house was where I did things I did not want to get associated with my name. If it ever got discovered, one of my security guards would take the fall and admit he had been using it for illegal business without my knowledge. 

When I had disseminated that information, I went to my study, grabbed a book and sat by the window that overlooked the city. Within a short time, my coffee was ready and as I drank it, I thought about the tragedy that was Lilith Hellman.

My reputation was of utmost importance to me. Although I didn't have a big problem being exposed as a Playboy, I didn't like the feeling of being followed by a journalist. If I let her be, the next time she'd discover some of the illegal things I did and plaster them all over the media.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

“I told her weren't seeing any visitors but she wouldn't listen,” Seline, my very loyal maid said with an apologetic look.

“It's okay,” I said, staring at the blonde beauty that had just stepped into my study. “You can go, Seline.”

“And I can stay,” Heather said, smiling at me. Her sparkling green eyes became smaller when she smiled. She flipped her hair, hitting Seline's face before strutting towards me.

She wrapped her thin arms around me and started wriggling her body around. “Missed you,” she whispered.

Even with her beautiful face, lush breast implants and long legs, she wasn't able to turn me on as much as before which was why I'd been avoiding her. As she gyrated against my precious jewels, I realized it was time for me to do the inevitable. I had broken up with lots of girls before but had never got used to it. It always gave me mild feelings of guilt.

“We need to talk,” I said. Heather's body stiffened against mine and relaxed after some seconds.

She let go and stood in front of me. “Jake, I have a feeling I know what you're going to say because of the way you've been acting lately, but please don't say anything. We can work on this and make it work. I understand you're stressed out, especially after that trending article. That's why I'm here for you. I'm here to make you feel better, as I have always done.”

Seeing her face and tears made me feel like changing my mind which would not be a good idea so I walked to the window. Heather and I had been together for a only three months so I didn't understand why she was even crying.

“You need to go,” I said. “We're done, Heather.”

Heather came and hugged me from behind. “No, you can't do this to me. I have devoted all my time to you. You can't kick me to the curb when we have such great chemistry. I'll do whatever you want me to do, just let me stay. You can even be with other women but let me remain your official girlfriend.”

And so the truth comes out. The most important part about dating me was not me or my love. It was the prestige of being a Billionaire's girlfriend. Titles and money was all most women I had been with wanted.

“Leave, Heather.”

“No, you can't do this to me.”

I turned. “Lets not make this complicated. I don't love you anymore so I can't stay in a relationship with you.”

“You're not a teenager, Jake. Stop saying nonsense. You know love is the least important thing at our age. Compatibility is the more important.”

“You and I are not compatible.”

A creepy smile curved her lips. “That's where you're wrong. We are more alike than you think. I'm not just some blonde airhead. We're both evil and competitive people which is why I will not go down without a fight.”

I frowned. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Heather laughed. “If you don't stay with me, I will tell the world all your dirty secrets. Lillith Hellman barely scratched the surface of who you really are.”

I laughed so loud my body shook. “Trying to blackmail me? You're even more pathetic than I thought. Do whatever you want but be ready for the consequences.” I said, walking out of the room. 

After listening to what she had to say, my guilt was gone. There was no reason to feel sorry for someone like Heather.