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20 | SHE WAS GONE
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2024-10-29 19:42:56JOY
I was anxious as I entered the elevator with Vincent, my heart racing and her hands trembling. But I knew, outside the elevator door, was a girl waiting, a girl who was just like me—afraid.
“Are you alright?” Vince asked.
I only nodded. Olivia was Vincent’s ex, and that scared me as well. I shouldn’t have compared myself to that woman and yet . . .
The elevator door dinged, and I took a deep breath while the door opened. A polished floor of black marble and bright white ceilings greeted my eyes, and I walked out.
Vince’s penthouse was beyond luxurious. But that didn’t matter at that moment. My eyes paused on the long grey couch and the blonde woman sitting on it with her head dipped. There were many people around, some in police uniforms.
One of the men, in an NYPD jacket, rushed toward me and Vincent and said, “That bastard passed through security downstairs and snuck in. Thank God, your cook alerted your men.”<
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The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 21 | SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER BURIED
VINCE The next afternoon, I was anxiously sitting in my office when Beau stopped by with a file in his hands. At first, Beau didn’t want to hand the file to me, which only made my suspicions grow. “Are you going to tell me what you found or are you just here to sulk?” I asked, pissed at his sudden behaviour. Beau nodded, slowly sliding the file in my direction over the wooden desk. Unable to wait for him to explain, I opened it and read the contents. Name: Joyce GaleAge: 28Birthdate: 30th DecemberBlood Group: O +veNationality: Mixed. Mother Italian and father American. About father: George Gale- The owner of the Gale enterprises, which has been facing a huge downfall and can go bankrupt anytime.- Has been a victim of alcoholism and depression. About mother: Agatha Gonzales- Writer.- Hasn't bee
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 22 | PLANS
JOY I was having second thoughts now. The last time I’d seen Vincent was a week ago. And since then, he hadn’t called. Hadn’t texted. Maybe he and Olivia had finally got back together. Now that Olivia was free from her husband as well. The news had been all over the papers—the supermodel divorces and breaks free of the ten-year marriage. I shook my head. My brain was about to explode with the thoughts of Vincent Brown—the man that I was planning on ignoring for the rest of my life from now on. Mondays were the most hectic day of the week since there were hour-long meetings discussing the previous week's progress and data. I cracked my neck as the elevator door opened to the massive reception plus waiting room with a large mahogany desk at one side and a door at one and a grand bookshelf bursting with books and magazines on the other. A long, round couch encircled the desk. The dress that I was wearing was a
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 23 | NEW BUSINESS PARTNERS
JOY The grand hall of the office was where the party was being held. Pretty much every face was familiar except the interns and the new employees. A lot of faces greeted me, many of whom I didn't even remember started out conversations as if they had known me for ages. Every one of them had the same thing to say about how beautiful I had turned out and how much I resembled Dad. Both Mason and I had Dad's eyes and nose and our grandmother's lips. My hair was after Mom, blonde while Mason was a brunet just like Dad. Dad shifted close to me and whispered, "Oh! He's here. The CEO of the company that we had signed the contract with." I saw Dad’s eyes fixed on the door, and I turned to look. "Dad, what is the name of the company that offered you the project?" I asked. "Rivian Enterprises." With that, he walked toward the man who had just entered through the large doors of the hall. The man I didn't want to see agai
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 24 | NIGHTMARES
JOY "Oh, hell no!" Julia said as she stared Vince down. He was standing with Dad, talking with the directors. Julia had come by after the speech had ended and everyone returned to gossiping. I could bet she pitied me, seeing me all dressed up with no one to keep me company. To have someone near me at this moment was very relieving. Vince had been glancing at me from time to time, making me shiver under his intense gaze. "Damn!" Julia exclaimed, turning back to me. "It's so romantic. And he looks even better than he did five years back." "I know. But what's so romantic about all this?" I asked, hesitantly shifting in my seat while my eyes roamed over him. Vince didn’t smile while talking to those people. It was the most serious I had seen him so far. The absence of his beautiful smile was very disturbing. At least, I understood why people looked so afraid of him. "You guys spent some time in Paris and then departed. T
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 25 | AFTER PARTY
JOY I wasn’t sure how I’d agreed to stay the night at Dad’s because I hated this place. Mason’s room. Mom’s decor. And Josh’s house. Staying here made me look out of my bedroom window now and then like a fucking paranoid person, just to make sure Josh wasn’t anywhere near the neighbourhood. I chose not to wake Dad up since he had returned late last night and left for my apartment. But what I didn't expect was to see Vince sleeping outside my door. Has he been here the whole night? I crouched to take a better look at his face. He was in the same suit that he wore at the party, which meant that he was waiting for me all night. My heart fluttered at the thought. He looked disturbed, his eyes closed and his brows pressed together while his body rested against the hard surface. I was actually happy to see him here. I shouldn't have felt this way, especially after the way he’d ignored me for an entire week.
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 26 | THE MASKED AUTHOR
JOY I was thirty minutes late and when I entered the office, the cold and quiet environment was enough for me to know that something was wrong. Mr Richardson was sitting by the chair before my desk while Bailey was by the side of my chair, a worried look on her face. "Good morning?" I said, my voice ringing with confusion. "You’re the head of the fiction department. The only thing I expect for you to be is devoted, and coming late is not a good sign, Ms Gale," Mr Richardson snapped, without even giving me a chance to breathe. I glanced at Bailey, who was frowning and shaking her head at the same time. "I don't need excuses." Mr Richardson was a nice man, minus his moodiness, when he didn’t get what he wanted. And at this moment, it was I who couldn't complete a simple task. To be fair, it wasn't exactly an effortless task. The masked author was driving me crazy. "The masked author called. Did you know?" My bo
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 27 | FURTHER INTO THE MATTER
VINCE I couldn't think straight. Everything that Beau had fed me with was too much for my head to process. The traffic on top of it was getting on my nerves. The conversation I’d had with Beau had me all heated still. “So, I did the digging you asked and I must warn you, things aren’t as pretty as Joyce,” were Beau’s first words as he stormed into my polished office. “So what? Was it a hit-and-run case, like we knew?” “Not at all,” Beau answered, his tone anxious. “Her brother's death was a more complicated version of a hit-and-run case, Vi." "What do you mean?" I remembered how doleful Joy looked when she talked about her deceived brother, and it pained me to see her like that. "It was a murder." Beau’s words sent me into a state of shock, and my jaw dropped instantly. "The hit-and-run thing was made up. It was a murder." Beau continued rubbing his chin
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 28 | UNCOMFORTABLE
JOY "Who's Paige?" The moment the question left my lips, a frown appeared on Vince’s face, which was quite clear to be ignored. Not heeding my question, he stepped out of the car. Why did he react this way suddenly? Whoever Paige was seemed really special to him from the way his eyes twinkled. Is she his ex?But he had told me that Olivia was the only person he’d dated. He opened the passenger door, bringing me back to my senses, and I stepped out. He just made things awkward and a little embarrassing for me. I followed him inside the restaurant with no further delay, my mind still suffering the qualms of his behaviour. Has this man ever been to any other restaurant that had less than five stars? The marble floor and the clean tiled walls were too shiny for my eyes. I could see my face reflect on them. We followed the waitress to our table. "Seafood?" Vince asked, clearing his throat. "
Latest chapter
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour Author's Note
Hi there, everyone. This is Shreya Sengupta, the author of this book, Healing Mr. Brown. Firstly, I would like to thank you all for reading and investing so much time in this book. Honestly, I know this is not the best work out there and this is definitely not my best work. I will not ramble about how I started writing this book only for fun and how it became a paid story. No. I just wanted to stop by and let you all know that this book is actually a part of a series called PERFECT FOR YOU. Vincent and Joyce’s book is actually book 2 in the series. Richard, Misoo and Beau have their own book and so do Jordan and Aubrey, as well as Olivia Stanton. Book 1 was about Jordan Sykes and Aubrey Evans, but unfortunately, I took it down from every site. Book 3 is about Richard and Misoo. Book 4 is about Beau and his client. And lastly, book 5 is about Olivia and a hot farmer. So, subscribe to my Patreon. Now, this series was all about time pass for me if I’m be
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour Author's Note
Hi there, everyone. This is Shreya Sengupta, the author of this book, Healing Mr. Brown. Firstly, I would like to thank you all for reading and investing so much time in this book. Honestly, I know this is not the best work out there and this is definitely not my best work. I will not ramble about how I started writing this book only for fun and how it became a paid story. No. I just wanted to stop by and let you all know that this book is actually a part of a series called PERFECT FOR YOU. Vincent and Joyce’s book is actually book 2 in the series. Richard, Misoo and Beau have their own book and so do Jordan and Aubrey, as well as Olivia Stanton. Book 1 was about Jordan Sykes and Aubrey Evans, but unfortunately, I took it down from every site. Book 3 is about Richard and Misoo. Book 4 is about Beau and his client. And lastly, book 5 is about Olivia and a hot farmer. So, subscribe to my Patreon. Now, this series was all about time pass for me if I’m be
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour EPILOGUE
[TEN MONTHS LATER] JOY I was at the edge of the dais, watching my dad flirt. That was an unsettling sight. I’d always wanted him to move on, start anew, date and fall in love again. But I had never expected him to choose Jordan’s mom as the candidate for it. God! That is why the sight was so unnerving. Not just for me, but for Jordan as well. He stood frozen beside me, his lips parted and nose crinkled as he watched the same scene as me. I could see him cringing underneath his oh-so-cool exterior. The dance floor was filled with couples waltzing around, our parents being one of them. The hall was grand, and the decorations and everything about this place were equally grand. Dad and Vince had given a lot of effort into the project and today was the success party of MQ3. “I can’t watch it anymore,” Jordan finally scoffed and turned to me fully. “How?” “They met at your grandfather’s birt
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 65 | THE FOURTH STAGE
JOY“Vince,” I called, my voice shaking.He didn’t move. Didn’t turn. Only his shoulders heaved as he inhaled deeply. I stood behind him at a distance, not knowing why I couldn’t walk up to him. I wasn’t afraid of him, but I was unsure about what to do to make him become his usual self.“I’m sorry,” I blurted, looking down at my feet like a child waiting to be punished. Maybe I should’ve just told him about the attack. But he had to understand my side. He had been worried about his mother and I wanted him to have a good time. “Vincent, say something.”“I have nothing to say.”“Good. Then, hear me out.” I finally took a step toward him. “Look at me, please.” He didn’t. Sighing, I began anyway. “I know I did the wrong thing. I should’ve told you about the whole thing.”“You bet,” he snarled.“I know, but with everything going on, I didn’t want to burden you. You were so worri
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 64 | THREE STAGES OF ANGER
JOY I followed Richard into the tall building with long glass windows and excellent furnishing and everything posh. The floor was cream marble and the walls were bright white. Opposite the entrance was the reception table. Two women in proper shirts and skirts, blazers and vests, smiled at us as we entered. “Mr Brown,” one of them said. Richard only gave a terse nod and walked past the table toward the elevator, ignoring their bright smiles. I really wanted to greet them, given how neglected they looked, but I was too worried to even fake a smile in my defence. We’d gone to Vince’s penthouse, but he wasn’t there. The place seemed ghostly. Beau was currently at the police station and his phone was out of reach, like Vince’s. I knew I shouldn’t have hidden it. But who knew he was observant enough to catch it? I remembered his lectures on listening before reacting, but now he was doing the same thin
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 63 | A LOT MORE PROBLEMS
VINCEWe moved to the dining room while Misoo, Joy, and Agatha walked back into the kitchen. I could see Richard’s jaw twitching as he avoided looking at Beau. And I knew if a war broke down between the two at this moment, then there was nothing I could’ve done to stop, no one’s side I could’ve or would’ve chosen.Richard and Beau weren’t the ones to blame, and neither was Misoo for the uncomfortable situation among these three. It was just that life happened.I sat on the chair beside Paige and waited for Richard to settle down as well. But Richard walked out of the room in a hurry, pulling his phone out of his trouser pocket.“I can’t believe you guys,” I began. “It’s been eleven years and you all are still hung up on the same bullshit?”“I’m not,” Beau protested, which made me snort.“Like hell, you’re not. Do you know what the biggest deal about this whole mess is? Misoo isn’t the
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 62 | HIDDEN TRUTHS
JOYBeau entered the living room with a rather tense demeanour, his hands held behind his back and his gaze flickering between the people present in the room. I knew he was uncomfortable about something but couldn’t pinpoint why.That was until I saw Misoo fidgeting through my peripheral vision. I shifted toward her, pretending to not notice the unspoken heat filling the room.“The house seems too packed, no?”Misoo was taken aback and jolted her head up to meet my gaze. “It does.”“Yeah,” I nodded. “I think it’s because of Beau’s presence.” She retorted a laugh, her almond eyes flicking toward the only man in the room before settling back on my subtle eye-hints at their tension. I asked, “So, aren’t you going to tell me what’s with the secret glances between you and him? I’m not blind, you know?”“Maybe some other time,” she said in a hushed tone. “Besides, your man’s coming back. If
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 61 | EVERYTHING’S BETTER
JOYMom parked the car in front of Vince’s house and turned back to check on Paige who was deep asleep. Dad had taken care of Paige while Mom and I had spent most of the Saturday together. I had never realized how much Mom had changed and suffered. But I was willing to move on.Mom was here and that was all that mattered.And when Sunday morning dawned, Paige and I had to return. I felt much more relieved now that Josh was in prison as Beau had confirmed. But Mom wasn’t convinced that I was okay and had decided to stay with me.I looked at her and sighed. “You didn’t have to do this, you know, stay with me?”“I’ve lost a lot of time on you and I think this would be good. All three of us spending time,” she said.“Yeah.” I smiled. “But don’t you have work?”She nodded. “I’m a freelancer. All I need is my laptop and a place to sit.”“Well, you’re guaranteed to get
The Billionaire's Second Endeavour 60 | END OF THE NIGHTMARES
JOY “How’re you feeling?” Beau asked as Dad handed us the coffee mugs. It was way past midnight. I had tucked Paige safely in her bed before coming back downstairs to talk to Beau, who looked too tense within himself. “Good,” I said, slumping back on the couch, my body aching from the struggle. “Frankly, I was terrified to see him, but I think I’m okay now. I realised many things today.” Beau kept the mug on the table and said with all his sincerity, “I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if something happened to you.” Meeting my thankful gaze, he added, “More so, my best friend would've hated me if Josh had—” “I’m fine," I confirmed, not letting him complete. "Besides, whatever Josh did wasn’t your fault.” He shook his head. “But it is. I took him too lightly and kept only two men at guard.” “How many more men would you have kept?” I asked with a raised brow that made him laugh.
