It felt like I had a jackhammer in my chest. Thump, thump, thumping away.I couldn’t think. I knew I had to but the thoughts weren’t crystalizing.My hand gripped my gun tighter, the closer he got. His face… he meant business if business was putting me in the ground.“Get her, Jack,” Rachel shrieked.I felt air whoosh past me and Oscar came to stand before me, holding his arms up to try and stop Jack.Idiot. We both knew the futility of that. The next thing I knew, Oscar was on the ground, nose gushing blood.“Stay out of my way, pussy,” Jack spat at Oscar’s prone figure before his gaze locked on to me again.The shock of seeing Oscar get laid on his back jarred me awake. I needed to do something or Rachel’s hired muscle would do much worse to me “Remi, your gun!” Oscar yelled.I tried to pull it out but Jack was right on top of me. He slapped the purse out of my hand and grabbed me by my hair.An ear-piercing scream rang out. Only when he threw me to the ground by my hair did I r
One rented, nondescript car later and we were off to the races. As I parked on his street, a safe distance from his house, I couldn’t believe I’d agreed to this.My nerves were on the fritz and every sound jarred me, and I glanced around like a thief trying not to get caught.“This feels so wrong,” I muttered, gripping the steering wheel like my life depended on it.“Oh, relax, Remi,” Sadie chuckled, waving me off. “We aren’t doing anything wrong. Even if we get arrested, what would be the charge?”I instinctively turned my head to face her, making her burst into laughter. “Why would you say that?” I asked, the tension I was feeling rapidly rising, making my heartbeat go haywire.How was she so calm? Why was she so confident nothing would go wrong? I was literally shaking. This was ridiculous, childish, crazy! It was a lot of things and most of all, it was something I shouldn’t have been doing. “Maybe we should leave,” I said, but my voice lacked conviction and I know Sadie picked u
“Hi Sadie,” Ashley said cheerily to Sadie who gave her a tight-lipped smile before glancing back at me. “So, what are you doing here?”I was lost for words. How was I supposed to tell her I was there stalking her cousin?“Umm… I– was coming to say hi?” Even I didn’t believe my own words.“Try again,” Ashley said, skeptically shaking her head“Fine,” I huffed. “I thought he was going out with Petra,” I confessed, feeling my cheeks burn from embarrassment.I was the CEO of the company she worked at but I felt like a child caught doing something wrong.“Really, Remi?” She threw her head back in laughter, further deepening my embarrassment.“I mean, she has been snooping around here for a while but you don’t have to worry. Jesse doesn’t see her like that. In fact, I think he’s starting to get annoyed by her persistence.”Why was I so excited? I mean there was nothing going on between us, right?“Between you and me,” Ashley started, leaning closer. “I think he’s pining for you.”“Really?”
“I was so scared. And then she got mad at me! Like I obviously did the right thing, right?” As I paced around her office, Deandra started to laugh at me. First, it was a chuckle, a rumble from deep within her chest that eventually escalated into a full-blown, mocking laugh, each note going up a crescendo that rang in my ears. “It’s not funny!” I exclaimed. How could she be laughing at something like this? Maybe I was missing the joke but with how much I mulled over it, I can guarantee that there wasn’t any. Deandra tried to compose herself but failed miserably, resuming another bout of uncontrollable laughter. It was beginning to get on my nerves. I had half a mind to walk out. Then she asked me a question that I wasn’t quite sure how to answer. “Why exactly are you telling me this, Remi?” Deandra asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. I was stumped. Why was she telling her? She wasn’t a therapist who could help me work through my issues, and neither were we friends. So why…
“You did what?” I asked, blinking rapidly in disbelief.“You heard me,” Deandra replied, matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow at me as if I was the crazy one. “Don’t pretend like he didn't have it coming. Are you getting soft on me, Remi? You wanted this so what's the problem?”I couldn't believe what I was hearing. “Look, Remi, it had to be done. Don't stress about it too much. I sent Mike and Hugo so it will never be traced back to you.” Her voice was cold and calculating, “Are you out of your mind?” I shrieked, my voice trembling with anger. “You're taking this way too far, Deandra. That's illegal!”Tristan was right. She was a wildcard. Once upon a time, my alliance with her was a thing I cherished. Now… Now it was an anxiety-inducing association.“Oh please, grow the hell up. You came to me for help, remember?” She shook her head, her gaze still fixed on me. “I don't blame you. Daddy's little girl who got everything handed to her. You never needed to get anything you wanted for
“J–Jesse?” I stammered, staring wide-eyed at him.Oh no, how long had he been there? Had he seen me kiss Oscar’s head? Idiot! That was completely unnecessary. I shouldn’t have done that! Surely he knew I wanted nothing to do with Oscar, right? He didn’t say anything. Just stared around the room and behind me to Oscar and Celia. But never back at me.“Jesse!” Celia exclaimed, brushing past me to get to him.She ran to Jesse, arms wide open. He didn’t stop her but it didn’t take a Behavioral Psychologist to tell he was uncomfortable with how stiff he was.I heard shuffling behind me. Oscar must have realized who his visitor was. “What the hell are you doing here?”“You said he was dying,” Jesse said, glaring at Oscar on the bed.Celia extracted herself from him. “What?” she asked.“You said he was dying,” Jesse repeated, shifting his withering gaze to her.“I–I–I” Celia stammered.“Well as you can see, I’m not. We don’t need you here. Family only,” Oscar spat.“Oscar!” Celia scolded w
I was on my bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about my life and how things got so complicated.Jesse had practically gone off the deep end, asking to be part of my revenge on Oscar. I was delaying telling Deandra because I knew how much she loved drama; she would welcome Jesse with open arms, potentially other open things too. And then there was Sadie. She had been calling and texting, but after my meeting with Deandra and the soft- reveal that Sadie wasn’t how she seemed, I decided I’d keep my distance.My phone rang again. I was at my limit with her. I picked it up to scream at her to stop calling me but froze when I saw the caller.Sighing, I answered. “Hey, Tristan.”His voice was calm and soothing. Such a jarring contrast to the storm of thoughts and emotions going through my mind. “Hey, Remi. It’s been a while. How are you holding up?” he asked, his words laced with genuine concern.My heart started racing. I knew this wasn’t a casual check-in because Tristan never called w
Tristan gave me a questioning look but dropped it when I gave him a sweet smile.“I heard you're still working with Deandra,” Sadie said. Her tone was neutral but the implication was crystal clear.“You heard?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Well, Tristan told me. He said he warned you against it. You would think your mentor's words would be enough to convince you, but I guess not.”This woman was hellbent on getting on my nerves. But Tristan stepped in, stopping me from speaking my honest mind.“Oh stop, Sadie. I'm her mentor, not her micromanager. She's an adult. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. Sadie scoffed, casually taking another sip of wine. “If she's working with that… woman, I'm not sure she does.”This bitch. I wanted to rip her hair right off her scalp. I didn't realize how long I was glaring at her until Tristan touched my arm, jarring me back to consciousness.“Remi, are you sure everything's okay? You seem… distracted,” he said.My heart ached at his concern.
I sat in my office, staring at my CEO certificate.‘Congratulations. You’re ready to run a company!’ The golden words said.sI couldn’t believe how far I’d come since I last read those words. The last few months were loud and rough; the betrayals, the struggles, all the pain – it was all finally over.I stared at a picture on my phone – one of Jesse and I at a company event. We were mid-conversation, laughing our asses off at something. For a second, I wanted to be back then. I was care-free then, with no worries on my mind.My phone buzzed, startling me. Jesse texted that he was coming to my office.After a few minutes, the door opened and Jesse walked in carrying two cups of coffee. “Figured you’d need some fuel.”“You know me too well.” I accepted the warm cup from him.“I do.” He sat down and took his own cup. “Which is how I know there’s something on your mind.”I sighed, taking a quick sip and setting down my cup. “I can’t help it. I keep wondering ‘what next?’, you know what I
“Do you think he’s going to kill her?”My head had been on Jesse’s chest all morning. We talked and talked until I finally decided to bring up a burning question I had.“Who, Deandra?” Jesse asked.“Yeah. Those cops seemed like they would probably leak the details to Don Simeon, and apparently, he’s some big shot in the criminal underworld. So?”“I don’t know. Proba–”A loud knocking – no, banging on his front door jarred up alert. WHo the hell thought now was a good time.I reluctantly got off of him so he could go and check it out. I quickly put on some clothes just in case.“Ashley?” I heard him say.It had been ages since I saw his cousin so I went out to see her. Who I saw next stopped me in my tracks.“Mom?” Jesse said, standing stiffly at the door.Celia was standing on his doorstep looking like she’d been sentenced to death.“I’m sorry, Jesse. She wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Ashley said before turning to me. “Hey, Remi. I’m so sorry about this.” And just like that, she wa
“I knew you’d come around.” Deandra poured herself a glass of scotch.As some sort of power move, she made us wait half an hour before we met with her. Sitting in her office, for hopefully the last time, my heart was pounding a thousand beats a second. My mind was reeling. There is no way she was going to suspect us right? I mean, someone who’s had to deal with so many crooked people would be able to spot crooked behavior. Maybe this was a bad idea.Jesse squeezing my hand soothed me a little but the anxiety remained. Only this time, it was a shadow in the corner of my eye as opposed to a looming figure blacking out my vision.“And you even brought little Miss Perfect with you.” She smiled and took a sip from her cup.“I’m only here because you threatened Jesse,” I spat. “I can’t stand being near you.”I crossed my fingers, hoping she would take the bait.“Oh, so she’s the knight in shining armor and you’re the princess?” She asked, cackling. “Either way, I didn’t threaten him. I gav
I couldn't believe how much my life had changed. Things were going so much smoother without the drama from all the enemies I inadvertently made along the way.Better yet, Jesse and I had been making up for lost time. That part was amazing. Zero complaints there. I was firing on all cylinders, almost like all the stress was dulling my senses and now that they’d all been cleared up, I could finally see things. My judgment was impeccable.Which is why I noticed the uneasiness in Jesse. We were in a doughnut shop, satisfying my sugar cravings. He had been trying to hide it the whole time, checking his phone when he thought I wasn’t looking, fielding calls, until he eventually turned off his phone.“Jesse,” I placed my hand on his, “what’s going on?”He dropped his doughnut and sighed. “I thought I was hiding it well. It’s Deandra.”Hearing her name was like a shock. I knew she wasn’t done with us but why was she back so soon? “What does she want?” My voice showed more worry than I’d int
“What? You’ll try and kill me again?”“Stop saying that!” She stomped her feet and crossed her arms like a child throwing a tantrum. “I did that once! Can’t you let it go? Damn, why do you always have to bring that up and ruin the vibe?”Mission accomplished. I hoped Jesse heard everything.“I didn’t want to have to do this, Remi, but you’ve left me no choice.” She snapped her fingers, and like something out of a movie, two hefty men walked out of the shadows, flanking Debbie on both sides. “These men will teach you a lesson now,” Debbie said as casually as if she was ordering a burger. My stomach dropped when the men started to approach me. Run! The voice in my head screamed, but my feet were rooted to the spot. Everything went into slow motion. I couldn't run away from her again. But if I didn't, her men would do unspeakable things to me. Jesse would want to help but I couldn't put him in danger for my fight. Visions of Oscar from the previous day flashed in my mind. I cringed
“To-together?” I stuttered. He probably thought I looked silly with the massive grin on my face but I didn’t care. I was right where I wanted to be, staring into the eyes of the man I loved.My phone buzzed, ruining the moment we were having.It was a text from an unknown number so I didn’t bother.“You’re not going to get that?” Jesse asked.I shrugged. “I don’t know who it is.”He nodded thoughtfully and sat down. I began to feel awkward standing aimlessly in his office. I was hoping he’d say something to ease my tension but he didn’t. He didn’t even look bothered.“I’ll just… go.”The walk to his door seemed a mile long and my legs moved haphazardly like I forgot how to walk but I eventually got to the door. “Um, Remi? Do you want to get dinner la–”“Yes!” I turned around before he could even finish his sentence. I mentally smacked my forehead.“Cool.” He flashed me a smile. “I guess I’ll pick you up after work. When do you get off?”I burst into laughter – a bit exaggerated I wa
Things between Jesse and I weren’t quite back to normal but they were good. Better than I could have imagined in such a short time. We were talking and laughing together again. I was on my way to his office with coffee. I felt silly; I was his boss, why was I getting him coffee? I guess it didn’t matter because when I got outside his office, I froze. Through his slightly-open door, I could hear his voice, sharp and determined.“That was your plan all along?” He sounded shocked, like he couldn't believe his ears. “Something is very wrong with you, Deandra. You need help.”“I see that little miss perfect has gotten to you.” Deandra’s voice was smooth and deceptively soothing. “I had so much hope for you, Jesse. Oscar is a cancer that needs to be cut out, can’t you see that?”My breath caught in my throat. History had shown me Deandra wasn’t to be trusted, but to bear witness to this level of manipulation? It made my skin crawl. “So you want to frame him? What did he ever do to you th
“The day just keeps getting better and better.” Deandra chuckled and sat back down. “Come on in, Jesse. I have some news for you too.”We hadn’t talked much after he kicked me out but I was still his boss. “Did you need something, Jesse?” I asked.“No. Just wanted to say congrats. I heard about the confession,” he said.“Oh.” I puffed my chest out and sat up straight. “Thanks.”“I made it happen by the way so you should be thanking me,” Deandra said.I rolled my eyes.“By the way, Jesse, Remi wasn’t playing ball so I had to find a work around for your Oscar-sized problem.” Deandra’s smile was sinister. “Oscar will be picking up a package later today – I’ll give you the address. Let’s just say some friends will be paying him a not so friendly visit in a nearby alley. Now, you could join them or just watch; up to you.”“What did you do?” I asked, suddenly alarmed. I didn’t care for Oscar but to go to these lengths was just unnecessary. Surely even Jesse could see that.“What I had to,”
I couldn’t shake the queasiness in my stomach. Despite the media frenzy around the bribery scandal dying down, questions still lingered, and Renard's reputation teetered on the edge. To make matters worse, the person I had to depend on for results was none other than Deandra.Just as I picked up my phone to call her, someone barged into my office.A snotty-looking man in an expensive suit, shortly followed by an angry-looking Jesse. “What’s going on?” I asked Jesse.“This person isn’t supposed to be here,” he answered, glaring at the man.“I’m here on behalf of Mr. O’Hearn,” the man said, turning his nose up at me.“In what capacity?” I asked.He rolled his eyes. “As his lawyer.”I already hated this man. He was a lawyer, an occupation that Deandra had shown me was untrustworthy. Strike two was the fact that he was Mike’s lawyer.I needed to make him feel as unwelcome as possible. “Jesse, it’s alright. He won’t be long anyway.”He looked amused. “I assure you, I’m not here to cause y