” I’ll stop here”, I said to the cab driver, who pulled over immediately. I got down and gave him some cash. ” You can keep the change”, I said to him. ” Royal Resorts”, I said under my breath as I stared at the building. Then I walked into the hotel and went to the bar to sit.
” Can I get you anything?”, the bartender asked. He was quite tall. ” Uhm maybe some vodka”, I said. ” Right away ma’am”, he responded as he went in to get my order. A few minutes later, the bartender appeared with my order.
” Here you go ma’am”, he said as he served it.
” Thanks”, I said as I took the glass and then took a sip from it, ” Mmm, it tastes really good! You deserve a lot more than the price written here”, I said as I pointed at the menu on the table.
” Thank you. Besides, it’s already been paid for”, he said to me. ” Oh really? By who?”, I asked.
” The young gentleman over there”, he said pointing at a guy on grey suit with blonde hair, who raised his glass slightly at me with a smirk on his face.
” Uuuu, he’s handsome”, I said. The bartender laughed. ” Don’t worry, he’ll walk up to you the second I leave”, he said.
” Does he show up around here a lot? You seem to be able to read him well”, I asked.
” Yeah, he checked in about three days ago and has been here everyday since then”, he said. ” Three days? Perhaps he’s on a business trip”, I said.
” I really can’t tell, because he showed up with his little sister too”, he said. ” I’d like to have a chat with him”, I said while looking at him seductively from my seat. He got up and began walking over to my seat.
” I’ll leave you guys to yourselves now”, the bartender said with a wink before he left.
” Excuse me”, the blonde guy said, ” may I seat here?”, he asked. I stared at him as if scrutinizing him.
” Sure”, I said with a nod and looked away, before sipping from my drink. ” I heard you were the one who bought me this”, I said as I slightly raised my glass like he did before.
” Oh yes! I just thought a beautiful woman like you should get free drinks”, he said with an awkward chuckle. I could tell he was freaking out.
” I’m guessing you’ve never really been much of a ladies man”, I said as I locked eyes with him.
” Yeah, though that pretty much describes my younger brother”, he said.
” Oh really? what’s your brother’s name? let me see if I know him”, I said.
” Know him? That’s quite the confidence”, he said with a smile, ” my bro is quite the Playboy”, he added.
” Don’t make me laugh”, I said, ” I would know any real Playboy in this city”.
” Alright, I won’t argue with you if you say so. He’s name is Tristan, Tristan Kelly.”, he said.
” Hold up! You mean Tristan Kelly, CEO of Kelly Medicals?”, I asked.
” Humph”, he sighed, ” unfortunately, yeah that’s him”, he responded.
” No way!”, I exclaimed in feigned excitement, ” I’ve seen him on the news a couple of times”, I said.
” Yeah he’s something, that’s for sure”, he said with a sarcastic look on his face.
” It seems like you two don’t really get along very much. You sound a bit spiteful”, I said to him as I sipped from my glass.
” Yeah, he’s kinda like an asshole but you know what? let’s not talk about him. I’m more interested in you”, he said as he rested his face on his palm with his elbow on the table.
” Hmmm, I see your becoming bolder”, I said to him, ” perhaps you actually might woo me”, I added with my eyes locked to his.
” And I’m sure you’d enjoy falling for me”, he said with a smirk.
” I’d like to see you make me”, I said in a seductive voice as I stared at him sensually. And so we talked for quite a considerable length of time, laughing and chuckling sporadically.
” Damn”, I exclaimed as I used my palm to rub my neck which I tilted to the side, ” my body’s aching everywhere”, I blurted.
” Really? must be stress”, he said with an awkward silence brewing as I kept rubbing my neck and shoulders. ” Hey perhaps you can come to my room for a massage”, he said.
” Not so fast tiger. I ain’t falling for that trick”, I said to him with a chuckle.
” What trick?”, he asked, with a perplexed look on his face.
” You just wanna get me to your room”, I said, ” but that ain’t gonna work, at least not on our first meeting”, I explained.
” Oh sorry if it sounded inappropriate. I really didn’t think of it that way”, he apologized.
” Nah, it’s okay. But I really need to go now”, I said as I stood up. ” Wait! can I like get your number?”, he asked in a fidgety voice.
” Sure thing”, I said as I dipped my hand in my purse and got out my business card. ” You can call me when you need me”, I said and winked as I walked out of the hotel. He just stood there, lost in awe as he kept staring at me.
” That was too easy”, I muttered with a smirk on my face as I got out of the hotel. I flagged down a cab and got in. ” Dring! dring!!”, my phone rang. I got it out of my purse and it was Justin.
” Hello, did you meet him?”, Justin asked.
” Yeah I did”, I responded. ” Alright, so how did it go?”, he asked.
” Don’t worry, I’ve already got him wrapped around my finger”, I said.
” Good good, at least we might be able to get Tristan through him”, he said. ” Sure, we’ll surely learn something and then again, we can use his hatred for Tristan to attack Tristan indirectly”, I said.
” Hmm that is really a viable option”, Justin said while he pondered on the idea, ” Anyway, in the meantime, perhaps you should get back home”, he suggested.
” Yeah, no biggie. I’m on my way”, I said before I hung up.
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*** At Kelly Medicals***
” Yeah, I saw it. Good job, although you could have avoided killing the cop”, I said.
” It alright, it’s not like they’ll figure out who did it anyway and besides, he was the one who got in the way of my shot”, he said.
” Alright alright, I get it. I’ll have your money sent to you by tomorrow okay? In the meantime, just keep a low profile”, I said before hanging up.
” Finally, he’s out of the way”, I said as I thought about Luke. ” Maybe it could have ended differently if you just stayed where I told you to”, I said to him in my mind. I kind of missed when he was still working here, but I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go.
” Dring! dring!!”, my phone rang. It was my personal assistant. ” Hello, what is it?”, I asked. ” My sources tell me that there are cops all over Luke’s former apartment”, he said.
” Damn it. What the hell would make them need to go there?”, I asked.
” It’s probably on Justin’s orders”, he said. ” Alright no problem. You and your men keep monitoring the cops and their movement, I’ll think of something”, I said. ” Yes sir, we’re on it”, he said before I hung up.
” Damn you Justin!”, I said as I hit my fist on the desk. I sat in my chair thinking about what to do. Then it hit me.
” That’s it!”, I exclaimed in my eureka moment. I figured it out. ” I need to eliminate Justin from the picture”, I blurted, ” that way, I’ll have Isabelle all to myself and all this tension would end”, I muttered. Now I had to think of a way to get him done away with.
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*** At Justin’s House***
I walked into the living room and crashed on the couch as I got to Justin’s house. I actually felt really fatigued. ” Aiden! Amelia!”, I called out to them. ” Aunt Maddie!!!”, they screamed as they ran to the living room. ” Come here”, I said as they ran into my arms.
” How was school today?”, I asked. ” It was terrible. My teacher didn’t let me fix her make-up”, Amelia said in a sulky voice and with her face pouted. ” Really? why didn’t she?”, I asked rhetorically. She shrugged her shoulders.
” What about you Aiden? How was school today?”, I asked.
” It was boring”, he said, ” I wish they’d let us watch cartoons instead of solving math”, he mourned.
” Awwwn Aiden, if you watch cartoons in school, then what would you do when you get home?”, I asked. ” I’d just watch some more”, he said.
” Well that’s not good. You need to learn other stuff so you can grow up and make some money”, I said.
” Can I ride a unicorn when I make money?”, Amelia asked. ” Uhhm, yeah sure you can”, I said to her. Then Aiden stretched his hand vertically to ask a question.
” Yes what is it Aiden?”, I asked pointing at him. ” Can I fly in rocket when I make money?”, he asked. ” Sure Aiden, I certainly don’t see why you can’t”, I replied, which made him jump around in excitement. Amelia tagged along with him and began to jump also. I was happy seeing them happy. They gave me hope that I’d find Isabelle. Nothing would happen to her as long as her kids remain in her thoughts, even if it’s subconscious.