"Please. I can't." Sarah's eyes were beginning to fill with tears and rather than look panicked, she actually looked frightened. With a flash of insight, Mark wondered if it was him she was afraid of or someone else.
"Because someone has something on you, and you're being pressured to do as you're told?" He guessed.Sarah started crying, sobbing. Her hands came up to cover her face."Sarah!" He snapped, drawing her eyes back up to meet his. "Tell me.""I.. can't. He'll...""Henry?"She looked at him and then nodded, crying all the harder now.Mark's mind raced. If Henry was blackmailing Sarah, then he'd sent her to seduce him. The question was why? What was he trying to achieve? Was it a video-recording so he could threaten release of a sex tape? Was it something else? Either way, Henry was trying to create leverage for something."So Henry sent you to my room the other night,Mark's eyes widened. "What did you just say?""That he'd keep it in his secret bunker?" She asked. "Yeah, he's got some kind of cave or something that he disappears into a night. I think it's underneath the kitchens." She shrugged. "Is that important?"Markcouldhave kissed her. Not only had she confirmed it's existence, but she'd told him where it was. "Tell me everything you know about it. This secret bunker of his.""Oh, okay. He thinks it's a big secret, but he sneaks in there every night when he goes to the kitchen for his sandwich. Loads of the staff know about it, but no-one's ever been in it.""Do you know exactly where the door is?"She laughed. "That's easy. He prowls into the courtyard, where all the trash is kept, and then he punches a code into the kitchen door and a trapdoor opens in the floor. That's how he gets in and out. It's kinda funny how he thinks it's all secret.""How do you know?"
Markwalked back to the house, trying to appear physically tired but inside he was elated. The conversation on the Chinook with Sarah had yielded more, much more than he had hoped. He knew that Henrywas guilty of manipulating the poor girl, lying to her, sexual harassment, hell, probably sexual assault, blackmail and a load of other stuff thrown in too.Now Markhad an ally, had confirmation that Henrywas a manipulative fucker, and had the location of the entry point into the safe house. He just had to figure out a way to let Connor know where and ask him if he could stake it out somehow.First though, he had to get to his suite, get into a bath or a shower or something and hopefully avoid an argument with Jasminetoo."I could just tell her everything that's going on,"He thought to himself, but for some reason it didn't feel right. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but that he knew the fewer people who kne
They lay there in silence for another few minutes and Markrealized he was nearly asleep. The days events had been mentally draining and physically tiring too, so lying in the bath with Jasminecradling him against her proved to be more relaxing than he thought possible.He sighed. "We better make a move, I suppose.""Good call. Plus, if we have dinner, a few drinks and some fun with your friends, then we can get up to bed all the quicker." He felt her lips press against his cheek."You have all the best ideas."It took a few minutes before Markfinally gave in and got out the bath, stepping into the shower for a quick rinse off and to wash his hair. Jasminedisappeared into his dressing room, sorted out an outfit and then went to her own room to get dressed.By the time she returned Markhad his jeans, sneakers and a sleeveless black v-necked top on, and was sitting looking at the hooded jersey on the b
Marktook the opportunity to call it a night a few minutes later. Between his late night exercise with Jasminethe night before and the draining day he was shattered. To his surprise, Maddyand Myragot up and walked with him, following him upstairs until they were sat on the balcony. Marklit up and smiled as Myrastole her daily cigarette out his packet."This is my favourite part of the day," Myraadmitted. "But today's been a lot of fun."Marksmiled. "Glad you're enjoying yourself.""Sageand Louisa think you're really cool," Maddysaid to Myra. "They really like you."Myramade a surprised face, and smiled a little. "That's good, I guess.""You guys should hang out when you're in New York," Marksuggested.Myranodded. "Sounds good. Hey, how's your LA trip looking?""Exhausting," Markreplied. "I've got a manic schedule from six or
Marklay there in the dark, trying to figure out what tomorrow was going to bring.Markwoke up and checked the time."Ten minutes until I'm due to get up," He murmured, clicking the light onto it's lowest setting. He turned and looked at the beautiful woman by his side, spread like a starfish across the bed, her hair half covering her face.He smiled and adjusted the sheet, pulling it up a little. The temptation was there to just slide a hand in, touch her in certain places and be balls deep inside her within a minute, but he knew she'd had a restless night."No point in both of us getting up," He muttered and slid out of bed. A couple of minutes in the bathroom and then a quick trip into the dressing room, and Markwas ready to go workout.He jogged down slowly, warming his muscles up for what was to come, saying good morning to the members of staff that he saw out and about. As he turned the corner heading for
Breakfast was eaten and over depressingly quick, the high point of which was Samand Sageshowing up a little late and getting a bit of a ribbing about making too much noise. Markknew the rooms were all nearly soundproof, but they didn't know that and he found it funny watching them squirm a bit.All too soon though, their briefing on the media started and Sam, Sageand Louisa excused themself to go for a walk round the Island. Marksat through the importance of controlling the flow of information to the media, be it the paparazzi and gossip columnists or the tech magazines and business press. Feeding the beast, they called it.His visit to Doctor Kerr perked him up a little though as she gave him a full physical, complimenting him on how rapidly he'd got into shape, and then kicked him out with a clean bill of health. Takigave him a trim, showed him a couple of different ways to style his hair and then got Markto do it and
Markpopped inside and got some gym kit on, then walked down to meet Jayden. While they worked out, this time hammering his arms and upper body, Jaydenexplained how his workout schedule should change now. Half an hour of daily cardio, with alternating days on his arms, torso and legs. No more three workouts per day, only one in the morning, and that would keep him in great shape and continue to develop him for the time being.Markthanked him and walked back to the main house, his arms hanging at his sides after what felt like a monster session, and he got into his suite to find Jasminealready in the bath, waiting for him."Shower first," She said firmly, grinning at his disappointed expression.Markwashed the sweat off his body, rinsed and then slid into the bath, relaxing in Jasmine’sarms."You really like this, don't you?" She whispered in his ear as he lay back on her."It's nice. Real
Markgot dried and slipped on a pair of jeans, boots and a t-shirt then wandered out to the balcony and lit up. He slumped down in his favourite seat and put his feet up on the railings."Why are you so upset, Mark?" He muttered to himself, and the answer came back to him.Because you wanted her to be your girlfriend."So becoming a billionaire with a hot secretary that'll blow you while you bone your way through the FHM Top 100 transforms you into a crybaby man-bitch, does it?" Antshouted over the noise of the speedboat as the three friends raced the girls around the Island. "Man, you need a punch in the balls to remind you they're there.""Ignore him," Samsaid, shaking his head. "I just think you're too close, buddy. You need a little distance from the problem is all.""How do you mean?""Step back and think about what you want. Look at the big picture," Samsaid, mentally reminding Markof the hundreds of