Victoria grumbled to herself as she found herself in the back of
Malcolm’s limo once again. She really had to talk to him about
invasions of privacy, because this was getting ridiculous. Of course, talking to him about anything seemed pointless. There was no way he’d feel remotely sorry for having someone take her car back to her apartment and offering her use of his driver. Not when he was holding her whole life hostage.
“At least my baby wasn’t hurt last time,” she rationalized to herself. She could feel a wave of sleepiness wash over her and she fought to keep it off. It would have been easier had she been driving, but the smoothness of the limo on the road was lulling her to sleep. “I just want to go home and lie down in bed,” she whined.
There was something unsettling about this entire situation. She wanted to be angry with Malcolm for his threats and the pain he was causing her, but she couldn’t help but admire his tenacity. Somehow despite his threats, he was able to make her feel at ease. Her intuition was telling her that he wasn’t really an enemy. Now calm and tired, she was able to consider his advice about never taking anything at face value more seriously. “Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt,” she said softly.
Shaking her head at her own words, she reached into her purse to pull out her cellphone. There was only one person she could talk to that would be able to provide any kind of solid advice: her mother. She flipped through the contacts of her phone until she found the entry labeled Mom, and pressed her thumb down on the touch screen.
Before the first ring had a chance to end, her mother picked up. “Hey baby,” she said with a sweet voice. “Why are you calling so early? I figured you’d be asleep on a Saturday morning.”
Victoria couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Hey Mom,” she replied. “I actually haven’t been to sleep yet. Friday kept me busy.”
“Oh, really? Now I know there is a story in there somewhere,” her mother said suggestively. “Walk of shame, sweetie?”
“Mother!” Victoria gasped out with a flush in her cheeks. “No-a drive of shame, I suppose. He made me take his limo.”
“His limo? Oh my,” her mother said with a light giggle. “That’s naughty, Victoria.”
Victoria sighed deeply, almost regretting calling her mother. “Mommy, I really need to talk to you about this guy.”
Her mother cleared her throat. “Go on, I’m all ears,” she said sincerely.
Glad that her mother had switched to serious mode, Victoria continued. “I really don’t know what to think of him. He’s really intense and it’s a pain in the ass to get along with him,” she said, blushing because this was literally true as well. Lightly coughing she said, “He’s also dangerous.”
“Sounds exciting,” her mother said with a light laugh. “But what kind of dangerous? Are we talking white collar crime? Or a street thug who might beat you when he gets drunk? Because I’ll kill him if that’s the case.”
Victoria smiled at the protectiveness she felt radiating from her mother. “No, not that kind of dangerous. I might actually prefer that at this point,” she admitted.
There was a moment of silence before Victoria’s mother spoke again. The soft sound of footsteps as she paced was the only audio coming from the phone. “I need more information,” she said with an edge in her voice.
“He’s powerful, mommy. Like a god,” she said even though it made her feel cheesy to describe Malcolm in such a way. “I know that sounds stupid, but I’m serious. Mostly, he’s been kind to me in the short time that I’ve known him.” She didn’t want to admit that she was being forced on an assignment against her will; it would only worry her mother.
“Is he royalty or something?” her mother asked in confusion.
“Close enough,” Victoria said dryly. “He’s a billionaire.”
“Good god, Victoria, you let a billionaire give you his limo? Well at least I raised you to have standards,” her mother said with an overly exaggerated sigh.
Victoria’s face flushed deeply as she was stunned into silence. She couldn’t believe her mother had gone there and she quickly floundered for a witty retort. “Yes, a billionaire gave me his stretch limo. It’s very pleasant.”
Her mother began to laugh over the phone and Victoria found herself joining in. She was thankful for the humor and how it lifted her mood.
“Oh, sweetie,” her mother said softly. “I won’t press for more details because it’s clear you don’t want to give them, but I will tell you this. He’s just a man. He puts his pants on the same way you do; one leg at a time. Don’t let the money scare you into thinking he’s some great being. I know wealth is powerful, but you have something even more powerful on your side. You have the truth.”
Victoria felt empowered by her mother’s words and she eagerly clung to each one. “Thank you, mommy. That makes me feel a lot better.”
“Good. Now go get some rest. I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too. Thanks for talking with me.” Victoria hung up the phone and leaned back into the comfortable seat.
Her mother was right. As long as she was armed with the truth, Victoria would never be powerless. Nothing could take that away from her. Even though Malcolm seemed like an untouchable deity, there was a way she could fight back against him. A plan formed in her mind to escape from under his thumb and become her own person again. She still wanted to help him find his daughter, but she would do it on her terms.
As the limo came to a stop, she looked out the window to gaze up at her apartment balcony. Glad to be home, she reached for the door handle to step out. The metal frame pulled away from her before she could reach it, and the driver smiled down at her as he motioned for her to step out.
“Welcome home, again,” he said jestingly.
“Thank you,” she said as she stepped out into the chilled air. “I’m sorry you keep having to take me back here.”
“It’s not a problem. To be honest, I rather enjoy the change in route. Master Cage’s life is rather predictable and planned out. A little variety is nice.” He closed the door and looked at Victoria with pleasant eyes.
She smiled at him and nodded in agreement. It must have been difficult living in the corporate world and being a servant to someone like Malcolm. “I hope we don’t have to see too much more of one another. I prefer to drive myself,” she said politely.
“I understand completely,” he said kindly as he opened up the driver’s door and stepped inside. “Good day, Miss Chase.”
“You too,” she said as she turned to head upstairs to her apartment with renewed vigor.
As she walked into her building she remembered her mother’s voice echoing inside her mind. She was right: Malcolm was just a man. A beautiful man with a lot of money and power, but still just a man. And there isn’t a man alive that can deal with Victoria Chase. The thought swept away her drowsiness and gave her a second wind. Eagerly, she made her way to her apartment, hoping that Chloe was still asleep.
Victoria had work to do.
Victoria hadn’t managed to get more than three hours of sleep per night since that miserable Saturday morning when Malcolm
threatened her existence. It was now Friday evening, and she lay in bed with her computer at her side as she researched the Chilean Consulate. It was difficult for her to believe she had been living with this stress for six days. The only consolation was that the dull ache in her ass had disappeared completely, but it had been replaced with greater discomfort. She had not been able to find time to properly rest or eat and even perform basic bodily functions. What she lacked in sleep, however, she made up for in progress. She hated admitting this, but working under such pressure thrilled her and this was some of her best investigative work to date. The only problem was that she didn’t have nearly enough information to warrant contacting Malcolm to give him an update.
She hadn’t gotten any word on Brantford’s financials. The account he used to purchase his membership was a dummy account, made for the purpose of his war with Malcolm. It pissed her off that she was an unwitting pawn; she had really thought that getting into Club Luxe was the chance of a lifetime to get a unique story that would earn her the recognition she felt she deserved.
“I’m going to make all you billionaire assholes pay,” she said to herself in irritation. She had been poking around for months trying to find entry into Club Luxe and had been stonewalled at every turn. Just thinking about all the runarounds she had gotten trying to even confirm the existence of the club made her boil up in anger. Worse, when she did prove that it existed, her editor didn’t want to run the story at all. It took all her power of convincing to get him to consider the idea. Thankfully, it had paid off with the homophobic, racist senator from Montana.
She closed her laptop and brought her fingers to her face, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. She needed to get a coffee or something to give her more energy. She had to find a way to crack the Chilean Consular General; she was sure he would be able to help her locate Elizabeth. The problem was that he was doing everything he could to avoid her, almost as if he had been given instructions not to speak with her. That’s fine, Mr. Vega. I don’t care what you’re scared of, because I’m worse. You just don’t know it yet.
She looked around her room, fumbling in the darkness for her clothes. She was too tired to put on makeup and make herself look one hundred percent, but she still picked out a pair of black slacks and a white button up shirt to look a little more professional. Satisfied with her choice, she tied up her long hair in a ponytail and walked out of her dark room. The bright light of the living room assailed her eyes and she had to blink several times before they adjusted.
Chloe was awake, watching some mindless TV show and eating popcorn. She looked up from her program and flashed Victoria a smile. “Hey Sleeping Beauty,” she said cheerfully. “Thought you’d be asleep still. It’s only seven PM.”
Victoria forced a smile back and tried to hide the fact that she was in a hurry. She had been avoiding Chloe since their night at the club, feeling unable to afford the time it took to spend time with her and not wanting to worry her sensitive friend. “I haven’t been asleep yet, actually. I’ve been working,” she said quickly.
“Wow,” Chloe said in astonishment. “Are you living on Starbucks and energy drinks right now?”
Victoria nodded in shame, knowing that Chloe was about to lambast her for the habit. Living with a nurse, there was always something about her health that was being pointed out as wrong.
“Vica,” Chloe said as she put her popcorn away. “You know that crap wrecks your body. You need rest, not mass amounts of caffeine. I don’t care how juicy your senator story is.”
Victoria winced slightly, knowing that Chloe was right, but also feeling guilty for lying to her friend. Raising a brow, she looked at the bag of popcorn Chloe was snacking on. “You should talk, miss extra salt, extra butter,” she said teasingly, trying to redirect the conversation and feeling a bit defensive.
“I just got off a shift at the hospital and I need the carbs and electrolytes,” Chloe said unashamedly.
Sighing, Victoria looked away. “I’m nearly finished with my story. Then I’ll turn it in and sleep for a week,” she said, forcing a fake grin.
Chloe seemed unconvinced as she looked over Victoria with narrowed eyes. “I can tell you’ve lost weight over the past few days. Go out for coffee or whatever, but make sure you actually put some food in your stomach. That’s where the real energy is.”
Victoria nodded gratefully at the advice. “Will do. I’ll catch you later.” She was eager to get out of the apartment and on the hunt for more information.
Chloe furrowed her brow, looking like she wanted to say more but she decided to say goodbye instead.
Victoria hurried out of the apartment, thankful that she didn’t need to spend precious energy entertaining Chloe. She knew that was a terrible thought, but just couldn’t afford to waste any time. As she got into the elevator leading down to the lobby, she began to plan what her next move was. Spying on the Chilean Consular General in his own home seemed like a good start.
It was a sleazy idea, but she didn’t have another choice. All she needed was some kind of leverage; something to use to be able to talk with him. Once she had that, she would be able to get the information she really needed.
Deep in thought, she didn’t realize that the elevator had stopped at first. The chilled night air of Chicago breezing into the small, confined space roused her back to reality. She quickly passed through the closing elevator doors, and clipped her elbow against the metal door. Sighing in frustration and a little pain, she made her way out of the building and onto the mean streets of the city.
Normally she would have driven there, but she didn’t want her car to be anywhere near the Consular General’s home. Instead, she opted to get a cab, stepping out onto the curb and whistling loudly.
A yellow car with checkered painting on the back pulled up quickly.
Opening the door and stepping inside, she found the driver’s eyes.
“Lincoln Park,” she said in a hurried voice.
“Lady, a little more specific,” the driver said in an irritated way.
She narrowed her eyes dangerously. “Just drive and drop me off somewhere, I don’t really care.”
“Whatever, lady,” he said as he stepped on the gas.
The car lurched forward slowly at first and then began to pick up speed. As the driver neared the speed limit, Victoria found herself tapping her foot impatiently. She hated being driven with a passion, as she always wanted to go faster than other drivers seemed to be willing to risk. She had hoped the driver would break a few speed laws since he seemed like the aggressive type. Perhaps he just doesn’t like me, she thought bitterly.
“Get me there in ten minutes and I’ll double your fare,” she said after having enough of the slow pace.
“You got it, lady,” he said with a sly smirk on his face.