Chapter 2

ONE WEEK LATER...

“Have you spoken with your sister?” Chairman Lexx asked, sitting comfortably with his head on the couch headrest, placing his hand beside him on the chair.

“Yes, I spoke with her yesterday. Thank you for your help, sir.” Carissa beamed.

“Also, I have met with the bank and settled half of the debt.” He announced.

“Just half? But sir, you promised to pay for everything.” Carissa queried.

He beamed lightly. “Yes. But I will pay the remaining half after you submit your assignment.” He said.

“Okay, sir.” She accepted.

“Carissa, which country is your sister at?” He inquired.

“Spain. She chose Spain, and she called me immediately after she landed yesterday.” She answered with the transparent of excitement in her voice, smiling lightly.

“I am sorry, I didn't tell you till now. After your sister called you yesterday, I had my men transferred her to another country.” He announced with guilt.

“Why?” She yelled, standing up in anger. She lowered her voice and asked. “Why did you do that? What are you planning?! Did you harm my sister? Where the hell did you take her to?”

He said nothing and let her yelled to her satisfaction. He stood up on his feet and wore a consoling smile on his face. “I mean no harm, Carissa, I am just doing this for safety. I will reveal your sister's location to you once you complete the task, and you will decide if you will go over there or she will come back to America.”

“Are you sure that's your plan?” She asked.  

“Of course, yes, you are my alliance. You are a helper that wants to chase away the scary nightmare that hunts me every day.” He beamed.

“You should have let me know about this.” She said.

“I want to, but I think contacting her constantly might put her life at risk, and the enemy might later find her whereabout and use it against you. So, the best thing is to keep it away from you, so she will be safe and you will concentrate on the task.” He made a pointed.

She nodded. “Okay, thank you, sir.”

“Stop saying that. The little help I render is nothing to compare to what you want to do for the nation. Even if you aren't doing this, it's my duty as a human to help a fellow human, whether or not I know you,” He said and they smiled happily at each other.

He changed his sitting mode and rubbed his hands together before he discharged a deep breath.

“What's it, sir?” She showed concern.

He looked at her and feigned a smile. “Nothing much. I am still wondering if you are truly ready or not.”

“I am ready. I am ready to give it my all.” She said.

“First, we must change your location...” he stated, and she cut in.

“Why?”

“To catch a monkey, behave like one. To interact with Kayden, adjust some of your lifestyle. Because we have to make him see and believe everything,” he explained.

“You have to move to Tribeca so, you will be his neighbor to make things work out smoothly. And you have to change your background to one of a conglomerate heiress.” He elaborated. 

“Who?” She questioned.

“Not sure yet. Your secretary is still looking into that.” He answered.

“My secretary? Who?” She let out in a surprised-questioning-tone.

“You are a soon-to-be-Ceo, so I did a perfect job to find you a competent secretary. I bet you will like her...” He beamed and before he could add another line, Rathnait walked in.

She faced chairman Lexx and bowed her head. “Good morning, sir,”

She turned to Carissa a little and bowed her head. “Good morning, ma.”

“Good morning.” Carissa responded.

“Carissa, meet Rathnait, your secretary,” chairman Lexx introduced with a smile. 

He looked at Rathnait, pointing to Carissa, and introduced. “Rathnait, this is Carissa, your new boss.” 

Carissa stretched out her hand for a shake, but Rathnait ignored it and bowed her head. “Good day, ma. I am your secretary and I will loyally serve you from now on.”

“I hope it will be nice meeting you.” Carissa joked but Rathnait didn't answer, rather, she fixed her eyes on the floor, placing her right hand on the left, positioning them in the middle of her laps.

“Did you find someone?” Chairman Lexx asked.

“Yes.” she answered and took out a phone from her coat breast pocket and showed him a picture of a lady with her face half covered in the middle of the crowd.

He collected the phone and had eight seconds' vivid look at the picture. He returned the phone, asking, “who is she?”

“Apparently, no one knows her name. She is the only daughter of Mr. Stone Steven, the chairman of Steven's organization.” Rathnait explained.

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

“No one does. She prefers a lowlife, and has no interest in inheritance,” she explained. “They captured this picture while she was on a run, when her father sent his man to catch her and drag her to America. According to my research, she has done surgery to change her face, and not even her father can recognise.”

“Okay, why do you choose her?” He inquired.

“I didn't choose her because she is the only available option, but because it is the best,” she answered boldly. “I have contacted her, and she has accepted to exchange identity on the condition that she will be the one to lay rules for the company. Carissa will just be acting like her in public.”

Chairman Lexx sighed. He looked at Carissa's face and inquired. “What do you think about this?”

Carissa nodded in acceptance. “It sounds great, since all we need is her name and influence, not her inheritance.”

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

“Nothing much. I will take her to her new house and set her wardrobe.” Rathnait answered.

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

“She is a competent lady, and she doesn't need my guide. I will just be helping her with little things.” Rathnait smiled.

Carissa like what Rathnait said and she smile, she stood up and looked at chairman Lexx. “See you again.”

Chairman Lexx stood up and bowed his head. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

“I am not doing this for you, but for the public. They deserve to know the truth, justice deserves to reign, and I must eradicate wickedness.” Carissa said with a smile. She bowed her head and walked towards the door.

Rathnait bowed her head and walked to the door, hurriedly. She quickly opened the door for Carissa to walk out.

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

Rathnait bowed her head. “Enter, ma.”

Carissa walked inside the car, majestically, and Rathnait closed the door before she entered the front and sat.

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

“Good day, ma.” Micheal bowed his head without looking at the back.

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

Micheal started the car and drove out of Lexx's company.

***********

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

Carissa quickly opened the door before Rathnait could get down to open it for her. 

Rathnait stood and bowed her head. “Welcome to your house.”

Carissa curtsied her head in return, smiling. “Thank you. But please, stop being too formal when we are alone. I don't feel comfortable with that.”

“Okay, ma, but this is my job. It is the reason the chairman pays me. And besides, practice makes perfect. We have to practice it so, you will get used to it in public.” Rathnait said.

Carissa smiled. “Okay.”

They entered the sitting room, and Rathnait raised a question. “Do you like these furnitures and its arrangement or we should change it?”

“It's fine.”

“Okay, let me show you upstairs.” Rathanit grinned.

“Okay.” Carissa said, and they turned to the stairs.

As Rathnait laid her leg on his first stairs, a call came into her phone and she excused. “Excuse me, ma.”

Rathnait walked back to the sitting room center and picked the call. She walked back to Carissa and explained. “Ma, an emergency came 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 dresses.”

“Okay, I will also go home. We will meet later in the evening.” Carissa smiled.

“You can't go home. You will stay here till you complete your assignment, ma. That's what the chairman said.” Rathnait declared.

“But... Okay, you can go.” Carissa permitted.

Rathnait bowed her head and walked out and after she closed the door, Carissa sighed in tiredness, dropping her jaw. She relaxed her head on the chair-head-rest and closed her eyes.

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

She placed her phone on the table and laid down on the chair and slept off.

LATER IN THE NIGHT…

Carissa slowly opened her eyes, she stood up and sat on the chair with her eyes half opened. She brushed her hand over her face and yawned. She stretched out her hand to pick her phone but she couldn't find it. She stood up and checked it roughly, but still didn't find it.

She turned to the table at the center and saw a new phone on it. She picked it like it was a piece of irritating trash and looked at it.

“This isn't my phone…”

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

“I didn't want to wake you because it seems you are tired. I have set your wardrobe, and this is your new phone. I have taken the old one to the chairman, as he requested.” 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 walked 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 outstanding,”

“How I wish you are here now, Ivory. Wherever you are, rest in peace. If there is next life, let's be twins, not sister so we won't separate till death.” She let out without taking her eyes off the star.

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

“O-oh my!” 

She quickly wore her slippers and ran fastly even though she couldn't see her front clearly, but she kept going because there was nowhere to hide.

A car came out of nowhere and its bright light set on her face and she couldn't see anything again. She stood dumbly in the middle of the road, expecting the car to hit her at any moment. But when it remains a few seconds for the car to reach her, a guy showed up and took her out of the road.

She opened her eyes abruptly and found it difficult to visualize what had just happened. She raised her gaze twice before she could see him, caging his left arms around her, holding the umbrella with the right hand he used to cover both of them. 

“Hun?!”

She quickly freed her body from the guy's arm and moved back a little.

He was wearing a nose mask and covering his face with the face cap. So, she didn't see his face.

She bowed her head a little, and she appreciated in a low voice. “Thank you.”

“It’s fine…” he said in tiny-cute voice.

He placed his hand on her shoulder and patted her, asking, “Why are you outside in this silent place?”

His first two shirt buttons opened and she could see the rose flower tattoo on his chest.

“I don't know what happened to you, but I am sure what makes you come here to think alone is far better than what happened to some,”

He took her left hand and gave her an umbrella. “Use this and go home.”

“Fighting!” He said and ran away into the ran, covering his head with his arm.

Carissa closed her eyes, thinking she was dreaming. She pinched herself and opened her eyes, but she couldn't see the guy anymore. She turned around to look for him, but she didn't see him and she looked down in disappointed.

“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?”