JACKSON
"I can't wait to marry you!"
I muttered to Aurora, my girlfriend,
as I ran my fingers through her long, thick, but soft hair. She was brunette,
like my late mother.
Her skin shone, so bright when the reflection
of the sunlight that peaked through the side of the curtain in the room, hit
her skin. I called her "my mermaid", as she was indeed the epitome of true
beauty.
Slow mornings were my favorite, just
like that day, and with her beside me, I felt on top of the world. Satisfied. Fulfilled. I had money and
a queen by my side.
I could still feel the haze of last
night's champagne, though, we had partied all night and ended the show at mine.
The soothing scuffling sound of the
silk bedspread wiggled down my eardrums as she moved closer, the hairs on my
skin stood, like I was about to be struck by lightning.
Her hair was a little messy, and some
covered part of her face, but it didn't stop her from looking like a model
straight from a magazine cover.
"I know," she whispered as she winked
at me. Her cheeks got all rosy and puffed up.
"You've done so much for me and this
company. Your sacrifices, sleepless nights just to get the deals signed, and
every other gesture you think I don't notice," I whispered.
Her cheeks turned red as she
approached carefully, her eyes locked in mine, and her heart beat raced. She
parted her lips and moved closer to erase the little distance between us. Her
warm breath poured forth on my face, and my eyes shut as she stole a kiss.
She pulled away breathless and
whispered in my ear
"If I kiss you again, I might not be
able to stop."
She muttered, biting her lips,
the squeaky sound of the bed stand brought me back to reality as I watched her
shake those hips into the bathroom.
The sudden bang on the penthouse door
startled me, my brows raised. My heart was pounding out of my chest at
the thought of what was going on.
"The audacity!" I thought
"Who could that be, by this time of
day, Jerry?"
Except Jerry never dared. Whatever
information he needed me to hear came via phone call
I winced, my toe kissed the edge
of the bedside stand, as I tried to reach for my overalls, which lay on the
floor.
My hair stood as I walked to the door.
I pushed the nub on the door, and it unlocked. There he was!
"Jerry"!
I raised my brow, my jaw relaxed as I
caught sight of him. I raised my fist, I was going to punch him, if he didn't
explain properly, the reason for ruining my morning.
Jerry, I swear to God I'm going t
"Good morning, Jack
He began with a stern look across his
face, he glanced at me, from head to toe, and noticed I was draped in overalls.
"Are you alone!" He asked subtly,
"Uhh, morning to you too, Jerry!" I
replied, drowning in shame, I slapped my right hand on my forehead as he walked
past me into the room.
He stood across the room in his
well-tailored Gucci black suit, holding his tablet firmly.
After a few seconds of glancing around
the room, he finally spoke..
"I'm sorry I disrupted your day. Have
you seen the news?" He said as he looked out of the window.
"What news?" I asked in awe
"I guessed you hadn't. Here, you'll
want to see this"
The look on my right-hand man sobered
me up immediately. His shivering hands handed me his tablet. My eyes latched
onto the screen quickly, and my jaw dropped.
There was an instant itchy feeling on
my chest, growing stronger with each passing second as I read the headline, the
letters large enough to cause a sting .
'CEO of Meliś Enterprise Caught
In Money Laundering Scandal, and Stealing from the Poor'
My brows raised and dropped
immediately, my mouth went dry. My sweet had turned into sour between minutes.
I saw the photo of Aurora and I from the gala we attended just last we
I ground my teeth as I read on… the
words "FRAUD", "EXPLOITATION" AND "FEDERAL INVESTIGATION" made my
eyes itch out of irritation.
"What, What was all this?"
The police had filed reports to
undergo full investigations as quickly as possible
"How.. How is this possible? I
stammered
"This can't be.. I forced the words out
of my mouth as I handed him the tab. I paced around from one end of the room to
anothe
My hands rubbed against each other as
I sat back down at the edge of my bed, my chin lowered to my chest, and my
tongue got sour
Jack, I'm afraid, but we need to go
someplace safe, you can't stay here. You... you're not safe here!. Jerry
stuttered
No! I can't run, I must..
"Honey, is everything okay? Aurora
as
Wiping her hair with the white towel,
she walked towards me, her lips slightly parted and her brows raised.
The beads of sweat from your head
could fill a pool. Go shower!
And who were you talking to?"
The smell of lavender from her shampoo
filled the room.
"Good morning, Miss Aurora."
Hello to you, too, Jerry." What's
going on? Why are you here at…
"I'm sorry, but we need to go now!
Protesters would be flooding the gates of your penthouse any minute now.
Statements, Lawyers and Damage
control.. but we must seek refuge elsewhere and wait till this all blows over".
The image of me in my tux, next to
those vile and untrue words, flashed into my mind once more. Then I knew, I'd
been targeted, I'd built my empire from scratch, through thick through
thin, every blood and every tear was thrown into it, I wasn't going to sit back
and watch it all taken down by someone.
"Honey, talk to me! What happened?"
she insisted.
Tension filled the air, I felt the
chills, and my hair stood as her cold hands cupped my face. My head tilted and
my eyes narrowed.
I felt the pain of my facial muscles
as I tried to hold down the tear.. I couldn't bear the silence between us; her
eyes lit up..
I wanted to tell her and explain
everything to her, but there was not enough time for explanation.
"Get dressed! We're leaving the
building."