Mr. Hayes nearly bowled Tracy over when the car came to a stop in front of Jenna's high rise apartment building. He bolted out of the car and onto the curb. Tracy could hear him breathing hard as he headed towards the steps. Putting his life in the driver's hands, a complete stranger, was torture for him.Jenna giggled as she exited the car, still tipsy from the club. "Oh, this place gets bigger every time I come home!" Jenna said, dancing up the stairs. Tracy handed the driver some money and thanked him. She knew that there was no way Mr. Hayes was going to tip him despite the fact that he had done his job well. At least money wasn't an issue for her anymore. She would just get more from him later to make up for it.By the time that she turned back to the building, the doorman had the door open and Jenna was on her way in. "I love the marble floors of the lobby, too!" She spun in circles, nearly colliding with a man exiting the building. Tracy watched her youthful energy. Tracy knew
As expected, Tracy soon found herself as a floating pair of eyes in someone else's dream. She remembered the link she’d experienced with Jenna as they made love, and figured this must be her dream.She was in a gigantic ballroom, lined with mirrors. It was like something out of Cinderella, or a Victorian-era movie.There were people everywhere, all in fancy dress. Their clothes were more in focus than their faces. Jenna wore a beautiful dress with intricate embroidery. The beautiful pattern was clear, even within the dream as were Jenna's necklace and earrings. Tracy watched as they danced with each other, but in a dream-like trance.Suddenly, trumpets sounded, and everyone looked towards the door. There, in a cream-colored dress, was Jenna. Her arm was locked around Mr. Hayes’ arm, and he was much larger than he was in real life. I suppose he can seem larger than life sometimes, she thought. They were obviously the honored guests of the ball.Ha, Tracy thought. Jenna's in for a rude
"Yes James, I understand... yes, of course... yes... Very good." Mr. Hayes spoke smartly into his phone as he and Tracy rode down in the elevator. Tracy had got used to the morning calls from James and had stopped paying attention whenever Mr. Hayes's phone rang. He hung up the phone as they exited the elevator.The doorman met them with a set of keys. Tracy smiled, knowing that Mr. Hayes probably had the car arranged the moment he’d stepped out of the chauffeured car the night before. His shoulders relaxed as the keys slid into his hand, and he knew he was in control yet again.Tracy was quiet as Mr. Hayes started the car. She was still reeling from her premonition and her discovery of the spring-loaded shoe-heel. The implications were staggering. Tracy tried to figure out what Jenna would gain from killing Mr. Hayes.Was it a financial motivation? Jenna's father was simply an investor and would actually lose money if Mr. Hayes died. Jenna was not in Mr. Hayes' will. Emotional reason
"Who does that!?" Tracy yelled at the empty apartment. She wasn't sure if she was referencing herself or Mr. Hayes. She flung her shoes on the floor near the door, feeling a perverse satisfaction at the way they banged the floor. He had paid for this apartment, not her. The scuff didn't bother her at all. She knew in the back of her mind that she would regret it later, but for the moment it felt like a small way to get back at him.She pulled the dress over her head and threw it on the floor. She went in the bathroom and slammed the dials until hot water came out. She wanted to break everything she touched just to get the frustration out of her system. She stepped into the steaming water and let it wash over her.Hot tears poured out, her frustration and pain finally releasing in the hot water. How could he do this to her? She screamed at the water, wanting to know why he would choose to hurt her like that. He knew that Jenna sparked a small jealousy in her, but to keep throwing it in
There were six people in the upstairs room of the mountain chalet while the rest of the party bustled along downstairs unknowing of the treachery above. John Tice sat in a chair in the corner, his head in his hands. Tracy and Mr. Hayes sat next to one another on a love seat with their hands held tightly together. Greg, the security chief, and James, Mr. Hayes' personal assistant, argued about what should be done, while Jenna sat with her hands zip-tied to a chair.The vial had been small, small enough to fit in Jenna's heel compartment. Greg's men had whisked it away to be analyzed, but Greg had smelled the hidden compartment it came from. "Smell the almond smell? Cyanide. You would have been dead before you hit the ground if you’d drank it."At first, John had fought the men to try to get his daughter released, but had relented when they said that they hadn’t called the cops yet. He was obviously a powerful man, but he knew when to quit. Something about him made Tracy uneasy, as if h
Once Jenna and her father were safely off with the security detail, Mr. Hayes turned to Tracy. "There is one person I can give up control to," he said. He leaned in for a kiss.Tracy stopped him, her hand on his broad chest. "You obviously don't trust me, Mr. Hayes."Hurt crossed Mr. Hayes' face. He was still pretty calm for having almost been killed. "I definitely trust you, Tracy. I've never trusted anyone like I trust you.""I don't believe it," Tracy said, sounding as hard as she had during their first sexual encounter, when she had left him tied up in the bed. Only this time, she wasn't pretending. This time, she was legitimately angry. “If you trusted me, I wouldn't have had to threaten to make a scene. You trusted Jenna more than you trusted me today and it nearly got you killed.”"What do I have to do to prove it to you?" Mr. Hayes asked. His eyes were gray as he watched her, waiting for her to tell him what to do.Tracy grabbed his hand and walked down the stairs. Mr. Hayes s
Two months later...“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tracy asked, fiddling with the diamond necklace around her throat. Mr. Hayes had given it to her on a whim, just as a simple gift, but the that it cost more than her first car still made her anxious when she wore it. “I have a bad feeling about this.”He would just get her another if she lost it, but the idea of casually wearing the worth of a car around her neck took some getting used to. Being a billionaire's girlfriend wasn't always easy. Worth it, but not necessarily easy.“Tracy, John Tice has been my mentor for years,” Mr. Hayes assured her, casually pulling up to the valet. “Nothing is going to happen. Besides, it's just drinks.”Tracy bit her lip. Two months. Two months since Jenna had tried to poison Mr. Hayes. Two months since the young woman then mysteriously vanished off the face of the earth. Mr. Hayes received weekly reports on her whereabouts, but even those remained suspiciously vague. The whole situation with Tic
A thundering crash echoed through the empty kitchen when a towering stack of brand-new, stainless-steel sauce pans toppled over."Damn it," Tracy mumbled, just in time to step out of harm’s way.The stack of cookware, worth thousands of dollars, hit the red tile floor so hard that pans flew in every direction.By the time the last pan stopped clattering and dancing, Tracy could feel a rising tide of frustration in the pit of her stomach. There wasn’t much time left before the restaurant – her restaurant – was set to open, and it felt like absolutely nothing had been done. The kitchen needed to be set up, the employees still needed to be finalized, the design crew still had to finish work on the dining room. And what made Tracy more nervous than anything was her appointment with her new head chef: Gordon Baxter.An esteemed chef with dozens of prestigious awards under his apron, Gordon had only agreed to work for Tracy for a salary that ate up much of the restaurant’s start-up budget.