"So bothersome!"
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Emily fixed the messy pony she tied in between the crown and the nape before coming to the club. The dark shade of makeup and her dark lens hid the softness of her square face. Her strong jaw, above-average height, and tanned skin that caused the humid temperature in Brazil were a plus, and the muscle she gained from my ritual exercise, and having her apartment close to the beach, her swimming regularly helped to bring out the look of a young countryside man she wanted.
If the manager of the club she works didn't promise to pay her double, she wouldn't have agreed to come to work early in the morning for the decoration for a birthday event she did in the pool bar with the help of a few of her colleagues. Months ago, seeing the praise she received from their foreign clients for the food, wine, and decor, the boss and the manager never left a chance to take advantage of her using her weakness with extra money. Then again, she needed some cash, and dinner was free today.
The moment Emily reached the top of the stairs, the manager rushed towards her with a wine bottle in his hand. "Take this to the poolside. They choose to chill there, so don't worry. Our boss will be there, so don't be nervous about anything. No one more than you know how to deal with these kinds of clients." Before she could refuse him, the manager forcibly handed it to her, saying, "I don't want to hear any complaints about you this time. There wouldn't be anything I could do to save your arse from our boss."
"Okay, sir," Sighing in defeat, Emily took the elevator to the pool bar. She ran into a few men in black who blocked her way to check. She had to keep her gaze lower as, for some reason, she started to feel anxious whenever she saw these agents/bodyguards.
In all her life, Emily had to compromise her privacy with her father's men surrounding her for her protection, but now, that situation scares her more. With so many gazes on her, she couldn't tell whom she should trust or run from after so many attacks on me, and after losing both of her parents from her life, it became frequent. And now, she was in a hideout.
Stepping into the poolside, Emily inwardly cursed at those fellows relaxing in the water. Because of these elites and their last-minute notice, she couldn't go to her grandpa's home for his one sign, even though she knew the chances of him showing up ran negative.
Emily exhaled a breath and circled the pool to reach the bar counter. With over ten to fifteen men and women present there, drinking and swirling their bodies to the tune of music, she couldn't tell how the boss would discuss things for the meeting.
"That man seemed very strange to work with, trust me. We can't deal with someone like him who rules not only this country but has a reach and influence throughout all South American countries."
"You don't even want to imagine how many multinational companies and fast-growing start-ups he has destroyed in one year. Those industrialists who thought they could suppress James Groups & Industries because of the fall of Eriberto Iglesias James, the former chairman, are now struggling to make ends meet."
Emily was startled after hearing them take her father's name.
"Let's go back to the UK, Bash? Your mother will help to establish- "
Emily frowned. She felt as if she had heard that name somewhere before.
"I like to do things my way to my liking without any of their interference in my business. When I have more than thousands of loyal and hardworking people working by my side, why would I bother myself and compromise with anything after coming this far?"
"I didn't mean that, Bash. I am merely showing concern, hoping you will move to Northern America or Europe again. It's better to play safe than expect the unexpected from Emmanuel Iglesias, who now wants to destroy a girl's life with the media's involvement."
Emily froze when she heard that but forced herself to cross the pool to reach the counter where her colleagues could be seen.
"You mean he will call the paparazzi next time if he sees her anywhere close to his place?"
Grandpa! How could he even think about doing this to me?
Her eyes welled up, and she desperately tried to push them back, not wanting anyone to see them.
She couldn't believe her grandpa hated her so much that he now wanted her dead.
It had to be that. Her grandpa wouldn't have done anything to involve the media when he knew what could happen to her after that.
"Why does it sound worse than calling the cops on her?" Our boss laughed while gesturing to the waiters, "Bring our drinks up here."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Emily took her position behind the counter to prepare the drinks. She joined her colleagues to serve the guests but kept her ears open to hear more about Grandpa and gather more information about that man named Bash.
"For the stalking, this girl should be thrown in jail rather than bringing her into the spotlight."
One of them commented, at which Bash laughed, whose back was facing Emily now.
"When I say that, believe me, I have never met someone so shameless who looks proud of the unethical job she has been doing for god knows how long," Emily observed Bash from a distance, still not understanding why he was holding grudges against her. "The only good thing I see about it is that I was not the one she had been stalking but my soon-to-be business partner in this city."
One of the women said as she asked teasingly, changing the subject or maybe the current topic those men were discussing was heavy, "So, Bash. When are you planning to propose to Maddy? After her parents fixed her marriage to somewhere else?"
Bash faked a pain in his tone when he said, "It's my birthday, and you are asking me about buying a ring for my girlfriend?"
Another woman joined, "You see the decoration here...Madeline did all this for you. The jet lag tired us all, but she comes here to prepare everything for you. Since junior high, she has always been by your side, but you still don't have time to give her a wedding."
"Allow him to catch some breath, girls." Mr. Kennedy laughed, "Everything in this city is taking a toll on him."
"How do you even live here, Roberto? It's too hot in this city." Bash huffed a breath as if he was having difficulty in this city. Sounding worried, he asked about his girlfriend, "Why isn't she still here? You told me she would be here."
Emily had been there since morning for the decor, but she didn't see anyone coming to look at the arrangements. All thanks to Mom, who kept her at her side many times while arranging Emily's Dad's meetings and events to keep her boyfriend away from her.
After overhearing their conversation, Emily could predict how she would end up if she went to Grandpa's place again. The Oldman had been planning what she had no idea of, but she could tell why he decided to take this extreme step when he knew what the outcome would be when so many people had seen her because of her mother, who always kept her in the spotlight, going against her dad's wishes.
A chorus of hooting took her out of her thoughts, and Emily caught the couple of the night who stole the show.
Her face warmed up, knowing they were kissing, even when she couldn't see anything because Bash's back blocked the view from her. How could anyone do that when she questioned the ground's existence for not swallowing her whole when my boyfriend used to plant kisses on her cheeks in public, ignoring her mother's warning eyes, her dad's icy glares, and his mother's disapproving look?
The party turned wild, and no one brought up her family in their conversation again, which put her at ease.
Emily immediately left the pool when their manager sent a few servers to replace her and others whose shifts were over or had been there since early that morning. That man was an annoying but thoughtful person who covered for us if we were in trouble.
After changing into her hoodie in the locker room, Emily headed to take the elevator.
She was so exhausted that she wiped off my makeup and put on my glass as she tucked the cap down to hide her face completely.
The elevator door opened, and just when she thought about stepping in, she froze when a man appeared behind her, sneering, "You!"
Suddenly, the man grasped her shoulder only to pull her out as he growled in her face, "Who let you into this private club?"
Her eyes widened when they met with a pair of icy green orbs.
That birthday boy, he was, who talked nonsense about her before his friends and colleagues.
But why did he look familiar to her?
He couldn't be that celebrity guy on that bus, could he?
But he sounded like that guy, and that faint cut on his perfectly shaped eyebrow looked the same.
Oh, gosh!
She couldn't help but stammer in fright, "So...sorry, sir. But I don't know you."
"You followed me here!" Looking at her, he glowered, "How dare you, lass?"
Her heart dropped, seeing him fishing out his phone from his jacket.
"No, sir, please. Believe in me. I am not that kind of person." She begged as she tried to pry his grip over her shoulder.
"I know what kind of girl you are! And...oh, you got the photos of us with you, don't you?" He didn't wait for her response and pushed her inside the elevator. "Wait till the police arrive here. I won't leave you today until I send you to where you belong, lass."
Shivering in fright, she saw the man tapping on the switch panel.
Adrenaline rushed into her, and she began sweating like hell in anticipation in her chest. She thought of doing something, but nothing came to her mind, and no matter what she said, he was not taking any, as he believed in his intuition that she had been stalking him.
The door slowly started to close, and she saw the door of hell opening for her.
If he took her to the first floor, she would lose her job and put her life at stake. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, and she wasted no time kicking his legs, and seeing him off guard, she shoved him out of the elevator before the door closed in his face.
"F.uck!" The last thing she heard from him as he looked at her with astonishment in his eyes.
Her heart was beating loudly against her ribcage in fear still. The man could easily catch her if he took the stairs.
As the elevator door opened, Emily ran out and dashed towards the back door quickly after pushing the crowd away from her way.
"That's her! Hurry up and catch her!"
She heard his voice and footsteps approaching her in the passage behind the club.
Her cheeks paled, and she fastened her pace before the men behind her caught her, but then, she bumped into someone.
Emily looked up, and her heart missed a beat, recognizing the woman was that man's girlfriend.
Is she here to catch me?
Her throat went dry.
But this woman proved her wrong when she left her way, but Emily regretted the moment she thought of thanking her, meeting her gaze. "Don't forget about this day, Emily. You owe me one, don't you?" She smiled at her, which could put anyone at ease, but it freaked her out inside at some point that her breathing halted there in no time. "We will meet soon."
Then Emily fled with yet another threat to her life.
*
The Next Day
The time passed in the blink of an eye, and soon the day ended, and nothing terrifying had happened at her work since that morning.
No one talked about the commotion that Superstar caused last night, either. But how was that possible anyway?
A troop of men chased Emily in the streets until they lost sight of her. She knew that area way better than them, so it was next to impossible for them to look for her, yet a few followed her who wasn't one among them.
After getting a call from the officers who she called last night to tell them everything after taking her lawyer's advice, on her way to the subway, she felt she was being followed again, yet she didn't freak out as the agents were there around her in their civil dress. She quietly took the Jeep she was led to and greeted the lady officer she talked to last night. Thinking they would drop her at her apartment, Emily told them everything that happened earlier and how the couple, especially Madeline, behaved.
While they talked about the abnormal encounter with those celebrities, Emily thought about her coach, who was coming to Sao Paulo. She didn't know what would happen when her Grandpa and Godfather would come face to face. It wouldn't help. Because no matter how powerful Emily's coach was, he couldn't do anything to her grandpa, even if he brought an army here in Brazil.
Not that it mattered to her sister, nor did Cheryl ever feel the loss of their parents, as they were never there for her. But the child cried when Emily cried. She was barely two then. Emily shouldn't expect so much from that girl who misunderstood her as her mother.
Emily didn't correct her sister back then, but she soon regretted it when the authorities took her from their home, and from there, Cheryl came to know the person she thought her mother was not her sister even. If only Emily's ex-boyfriend's family hadn't made a complaint against her in that place. Did those people have to go that far to make her disappear from their son's life?
"Your coach has left for New York." The absentminded Emily didn't hear what the officer said until she noticed their Jeep was running in another direction, and if she wasn't wrong, this road led to the headquarters of the agency she was part of currently. "From an internal source, he found out that Sr. James will be sending someone to the hearing day in the Seattle Courthouse."
Her face turned pale as a sheet after listening to the officer.
Even the word petrified couldn't express what Emily was feeling then. How could Grandpa think about using Cheryl as his pawn?
Before she could digest the whole thing, the agent in the driver's seat had to drop another bomb on me, and instantly, Emily told them to drive me to my grandfather's place. They looked dumbfounded at first and probably wanted to take her to the police station to get her to talk to the commissioner, as a diplomat from Seattle arrived to escort her home safely.
"No, I am not asking you to take me there, ma'am. But I am telling you that I am going right now." She left no room for argument, and there wasn't an ounce of remorse and guilt in her eyes for behaving so rudely to them. "It is something I have decided after hearing you all. This is important, please. We shouldn't travel together, so please drop me here. I am taking a cab to my apartment before leaving for the estate. And if you follow me all the way there, please keep a distance between us, and they will be alarmed."
When Emily was about to jump out of the vehicle, the agent said, "There is one thing you should know."
Emily got a bad feeling from that, but her expression was blank, which gave away the vibe of the calm before the storm. The ground slipped from her feet when the next thing they said was, "It's him. Sebastian Fernandez, who you know as Bash, is working with your grandfather on a project based on the information we have. And..." The lady officer looked hesitant at first but told Emily nonetheless. "...he is the one who sent the money to your sister's foster parents, who live downtown in New York."
Everyone in that car was curious about what Emily was thinking, but she had that expression on her face that could never be read easily. The officers thought she was anguished about the actor's bold steps, but her thoughts were nowhere near their predicament. For what exactly had she been trying hard to hide and didn't let the news about her whereabouts leak to the media? Could her grandpa handle the blow if the whole world came to know the underlying issues on the surface of the companies they owned?
Haa! Emily snorted coldly. "Please make the necessary arrangements, officer. I am going back to Seattle tomorrow."
Since then, Emily started to hate Bash to the core. She'd never have a change of heart in forgiving him for what he did today. Just for a deal from her grandpa, that man went so far that he didn't ever think twice about ruining a child's life? No, a person willing to hurt a child for his gain can never be a good person, and Emily hoped their paths might never cross again in this life. Only if she knew what sufferings were awaiting in the future did she dare to dream of being with her sister she had been trying hard to bring home.
Three years later, "You...how dare you do this to me? Did you forget about our agreement? Have you finally lost your mind..." Ugh! Emily groaned inwardly and repeatedly tapped her two fingers on her forehead to ease her pain. She wasn't in her mood today, feeling as if everything was falling apart, even though she didn't have the slightest idea about the reason behind it. No, she had nothing to do with this couple fighting in this mall close to her workplace, where she went to grab a bite, and everything went wrong there. Of course, Emily wouldn't, as she was someone who avoided troublesome stuff that might give her a headache, but could you possibly leave her friend behind who was getting humiliated by an obnoxious man who was looking down on her friend, enraged by how she turned his whole world upside down? "What agreement? Heh, it was the young matriarch of the family you were engaged to hire me to take you down. Well, even if she didn't pay me for it, I would still have done w
"Ah, look who finally shows up today in my cafe!" Liam jeered cheerfully the very moment when Emily stepped into his shop for the first time in a long while. The owner of this cafe, previously called Sweet Bakes, was the only cousin of Helenite, whom Emily cherished the most after her little sister, so they were naturally on good terms as they were family. "Why? Were you not expecting me here again after the opening of the new branch?" Emily asked as she leaned against the counter. "Of course not! You have no reason to travel this far when my old shop is close to your home. Anyway, I am happy you are here, Emy." His smile widened. "Now, what would you like to order? Tell me, and I will have my stuff to take you to the second floor." No one had great expectations, as this branch was far from the local college and schools. But look how every chair was full of people on the first floor! She was sure this would be the case on the second floor too, and that was the case when she went th
Emily felt cold. She had never felt openly being watched by someone ever before. But could she blame the man in the driver's seat glaring at her coldly? Even if she wanted to be mad at him, she couldn't, not after seeing the video recording he showed of last night's incident. Helen, why did you have to do that for me? What good would it do for you to cause a commotion in someone else's lair? Emily couldn't help but groan inwardly, hearing his sharp tone. "Are you not going to say anything regarding this matter, Ms. James?" The atmosphere in the car was thick. She knew she should say something. Or, at least, beg him for mercy, but why did it feel so hard to talk to this man? She had a feeling that no matter what she said, nothing would get through his brain because he was that angry. "I...I can't decide." Emily looked speechless still. Sighing in resignation, she said, "Let's just have it in your way for now, Sir." Emily took a lungful of air from her mouth from outside the windo
There were three types of people Emily feared most, something like her instinct told her to keep her distance from. The people she knew. The people who forced friendship on her. And the people she didn't wish to know. The reason she chose to be an introvert and docile was not to stand out much in the crowd. Her blooming years were ruined, but she had no regrets. She couldn't afford to get involved in unnecessary matters to survive when her parents wouldn't be around for her. It did work out to her advantage, and Emily didn't have many enemies except for her grandfather, yet it was unexpected to get bothered this much by the kind of person she encountered today. She thought she wouldn't have to deal with the person in the third category she was terrified of coming across, but weirdly, she felt it would be easy to peel him layer by layer to get through his mind. Plus, that man felt weirdly familiar. Emily didn't want to see him again, but why was her intuition telling her that when s
He won't take no for an answer. I found it rather funny, recalling how Bash's bodyguard stalked off after handing me that well-laminated card. That comment sounded like his boss owned the entire Sao Paulo, and every citizen here followed his puppy_love rules. Then where did that make my grandfather, the great Emmanuel Iglesias, stand right now? Under a hybrid actor's thumb? Alpha Grandpa would rather die than wait for that day to come into his life. Someone who loved power would never want to sign any contract with a young and inexperienced entrepreneur unless that man had a strong backup whom grandpa could use in his favor. It might sound like I was looking down on that star, but it wasn't the case. I was in dad's office most of the time for mom, so I was aware of things. Bash would have had a chance if it was my dad in the position, but now, he would get played by grandpa, and, in the end, it would only be him to blame for wasting his time here in this city---oh, sorry, I mean i
"You shouldn't have dragged her family into this. We don't know the person you are helping." Bash's assistant/bodyguard said the first thing as soon as his boss came out of the bathroom after freshening up. The traveling and the temperature of Sao Paulo had taken a toll on Bash. He would rather avoid those southeastern countries where he felt stuffed and suffocated, but his vision led him to where he never wanted to be in the first place. His fair skin was turning red, and he got rashes too, which had him in the worst mood because even the water there didn't suit him. And then, his man brought up a matter he hated to think of for so many reasons that he stopped counting, knowing that would take him nowhere. He hoped to sign the contract with Mr. Iglesias fast, and then only he could return to NYC for his movie promotion, away from that humid city. Wiping his face, Bash tossed the towel on the dressing table in the room where Emily's grandfather's butler brought them to freshen up as
And that was it. Bash left his seat so abruptly that his chair nearly dropped on the ground, and the cutlery and spoons scattered all over the table. He could barely control his anger, and when he found Emmanuel looking at him strangely, Bash gave him a tight-lipped smile, saying, "Sorry, My girlfriend has a conference tomorrow. I have to drop her at the airport right now." "Oh, that won't be a problem." Emmanuel smiled softly at Bash, holding mischief in his eyes that Bash missed seeing. "Bring your dad and brother to Brazil next time. I want to apologize to Andrew for that blunt rejection from Milena. Eriberto spoilt her, you see. I need to make sure your family isn't holding any grudges against me when we have to work together for the time being." The only thing that man cared about was Bash's family, who Bash had as a backup that he would never use, even if his company went bankrupt. Emmanuel wouldn't care if Bash failed to bring him the money he demanded at the end of the year,
Emily flinched the tone Bash used on her. His eyes held accusation and caution for her. She knew she shouldn't feel guilty, but her cheeks still heated up in embarrassment and terror, and then her eyes enlarged as she realized how effortlessly the man caught her when she was still in disguise, or that was what she thought until her feet touched her false hair. She was supposed to put that on after getting in the car, but her nervousness and worry made her completely forget about checking on her appearance. "Water." Suppressing her fear, Emily again held her water for him, "You need this more than my name." Whatever the officers said about Sebastian, she remembered them still. That transaction from his account would separate her from her sister for life, but she knew he was a businessman, and whatever he did to get that deal from her grandpa. Bash wasn't the first person who tried to destroy her, and he certainly wouldn't be the last person her grandfather lured to bring her to her kn