Cheating The Billionaire

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Taylor was dusting and rearranging the furniture in the bedroom when she stumbled upon a worn-out suitcase. Flooded with memories, she opened it extra cautiously and smiled seeing all the things she had gathered along the years. She had kept Zac's soccer ball, his doodle of her when they were in 6th grade, his lucky jersey, the keychain she had gifted him, a picture of him beside his first car and many more that belonged to him. However amidst them all, there was one hand embroider kerchief which belonged to her. It was the only memoir she had saved along the years for it was all that was left of her unknown past. Though it brought her pain, she found it oddly satisfying whenever she looked at it.

Running her fingers delicately over the initials of her name, she shed a tear and smiled before Zac walked in. "Taylor where's my bowtie ?" he complained.

"With your suit..." 

"And where's my suit?"

"You were supposed to pick it up this morning...oh you didn't?" 

"Taylor, you should have reminded me! How am I to walk in to a dinner party without a suit?" he cribbed and blamed Taylor.

"You're going out tonight?" Taylor closed the suitcase and approached him.

"Yes, I told you right? My sponsor is throwing a press conference and a party for me at Hilton," 

"No, you didn't," She paused and stared at him.

"I didn't?" Zac paused and avoided her gaze, realizing she was telling the truth. "Uh...It all happened so fast that I forgot to tell you babe. It's going to be huge, with celebrities and some of the big names in the industry" he exclaimed animatedly.

"Nice, good luck clicking selfies with the celebs," She commented and went about dusting the room.

"Hey, are you angry at me? Look I'll make it up to you by taking you along...fair enough?" 

"I'm not angry and no I'm not coming as a plus one," she refused.

"Whoa , why? We could be the next power couple, the press will cover us all over the world," he showed her dreams which were far from what she fancied.

"I would rather have them live cover our wedding," 

"Ha-ha, good one!" he took it as a joke and rushed out to pickup his suit while Taylor remained at home.

When he returned he found that she had left without informing him. With too much on his mind, he got busy dressing for the evening. It was then that he came across her mails on the laptop which she had apparently forgotten to sign out. Out of curiosity he skimmed through them until Chase's mail caught his attention.

Surprised, he cautiously opened it and read the contents just before Taylor stepped in. "You haven't left as yet?" she enquired while he quickly shut it down.

"I was just about living. You sure you don't want to come?" he confirmed.

"No, I'll feel out of place there. As for meeting celebs I see one every day at the boutique. You go, have fun and enjoy!" she planted a kiss on his cheek and saw him off till the door.

Zac received a grand reception at Hilton. He swore he could get use to all the publicity and limelight. When asked if he were single or seeing someone, he preferred to leave it to their imagination. "When will I be introduced to Chase?" he asked his manager as the party continued.

"You mean, Mr. Franshaw..." The manager gave him a sarcastic look. "He will see you as soon as you address the press conference," he said and guided him to the podium.

After an hour long of questions and answers followed by dinner, Zac was finally called to see him. The men lead him to the suite where Chase waited patiently. Getting a nod of approval from his bodyguards, they walked into the suite and presented Zac before him.

"Chase Franshaw! This is crazy, I can't believe I'm meeting you in person...I" Zac exclaimed in excitement before Chase interrupted.

"Why don't you take a seat and we can talk over some drinks?" 

"Oh, yeah I'm parched! Thank you," Zac sniggered and sat with ease. "Do you have, single malt scotch? I'm very particular," He added while his manager sighed.

"Anything you please, you're my guest for this evening. I hope my people are taking good care of you, liked the new home?" Chase poured him a drink and observed his movements.

"Yeah, they're really on point! I mean I could have expected better, but I'll make do with it for now," Zac pretended he wasn't quite as impressed as one should have been.

"You're ambitious, aren't you? I see a thirst for more, in you," Chase commented. " You have just tasted the beginning of success, but don't worry, I've got more for you in the pipeline," He said.

"Go on, I'm interested to know more," Zac narrowed his eyes in attention.

"My men picked you for a reason, and you proved them right. You're one of the fastest racers out there, just the man I was looking for the job,"

"What job?"

Chase smirked and explained the role Zac was about to play in the mission. His job was to wait outside while one of his trusted men exchanged precious stones belonging to the 17th century with a diamond mafia for eleven thousand billions . Zac was to then drive him back safely to the docks with the money.

"You're kidding right? You could just hire a taxi, why you need me?" Zac felt insulted.

"It's not that simple," Chase took in a deep breath and leaned closer. "I've got those stones, they've got billions. In our world trust is not something we find easily. There's always a risk of treachery and backstabbing. You've got speed, which means I can stay rest assured that my billions will be delivered to me," He finished.

Zac thought over it and asked for a cigarette. "How much money are we talking about?" He enquired and got it lit by his manager.

"Eleven billion....a sum that very few would have the heart to part with..." Chase hinted at the risks Zac would encounter if he agreed to go on this mission.

"And what do I get for risking my life?" Zac crossed his legs and irked his manager who tried to stop him from making a fool of himself.

"I like a man who sees his interest ..." Chase smiled. "I'll give you a percentage of the sum, but before that I would like to make few things clear to you, Zachery. I'm a man of my word and I hate liars more than anything," he quoted.

Zac recalled Taylor's experience with him. "Yeah, I know that..." He replied and surprised him.

"Good, so then...do we have a deal?" 

"When do we get started?"

"Tomorrow, at the crack of dawn..."

Zac agreed and extended his hand for a hand shake, but Chase maintained his distance and instead told him to sign few papers. "What's that?" Zac asked curiously.

"Just the usual non disclosure agreement so you don't leak out our secrets..." Chase said and watched as Zac signed them without reading.

With that done, he took his leave and was about to head home when his manager informed that they had checked him into a suite. "The mission starts tomorrow, be on time!" he said and confiscated his phone and car keys.

Zac was about to get into a brawl, when the manager explained that it was all for security reasons. He instead handed over another phone, a car key and a ticket to the amusement park. Before Zac could ask anything he left and locked the suite from outside.

That night Taylor couldn't sleep a wink. She tried getting though Zac's number but in vain which made her all the more anxious. Worried, she tuned into the news channel and was overwhelmed seeing Zac being interviewed at the press conference. Seeing him surrounded with glitz and glamour, she realised he was probably too busy partying and would come home the next morning. She turned it off seconds before the news anchor mentioned that Chase was his sponsor.

With the first crack of dawn Zac took the subway and walked into the amusement park. He was excited for the mission and kept daydreaming about the percentage he was to receive from the main sum. "Eleven billion..." he repeated the words over and over and conjured what he would have done had he received the whole amount solely to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by a man who approached him with a brief case. He said the code word and recognized Zac when he responded with another. No sooner did he hand over the briefcase to Zac, a bullet hit the man's arm and alerted everyone in the park. "Shoot, Chase knew these people aren't to be trusted. Run and take it to the docks, I'll slow them!" He said and instructed Zac to leave immediately as the rival gang rained bullets in a frenzy. 

Terrified, he ran dodging every bullet in his way and reached for the car. His partner couldn't stop them for long and hoped Zac had left the scene on time, but he was wrong. The mafias had predicted their move and sent a fleet of cars to catch him.

Aware that he had to keep them away from getting close to the briefcase, he pushed the gear and zoomed like lightning on the highway. It was a mad chase as the fleet refused to give up, but Zac knew every trick in the book. He zipped through the city's lanes and alleyways making it harder for them to track his route. Not to mention the insane speed at which he drove, left them impressed and wondering who was driving.

It wasn't long before they lost sight of him and eventually grew tired and gave up. Zac saw the rear view mirror and laughed at their defeat. "So long, suckers! These billions stay with me!" he shouted and glanced at the briefcase.

Not far away, Chase and his men kept a tab on his moves. They were quite happy seeing he had completed the mission until one of them noticed him taking another route. "He's opted for lane 2!" he alerted the manager who subsequently alerted Chase.

"He must have avoided the random police checkpoint, on lane 1," The manger guessed.

"No sir, our sources say there aren't any checkpoints on lane 1, lane 2 takes you away from the docks," the one at the surveillance screen informed and irked Chase.

"Get my car, and keep an eye on the bastard!" Chase ordered angrily and drove in haste.

Unaware that Chase was out there to get him, Zac gloated with pride as he now had all the billions to himself. The sudden change of mind was an impromptu act of greed that developed during the chase. Eleven billion was more than enough to spend a lifetime in luxury. Chase was a billionaire, eleven billions meant far too little for his bank accounts. Zac assumed that he could get away with it and live happily ever after, but he was wrong.

A black ford mustang appeared out of nowhere and hit his car. Jolted out of his thoughts, Zac lost control of the steering wheel and cussed as his car brushed along the barricade. Gaining control of the wheel, he glanced at the car and wondered who was driving it before doubting they were sent by Chase.

"s**t, he figured out !" Zac got tensed and drove ahead.

Chase, chased him down the tunnel and kept dashing his car. Zac was the fastest, but Chase was fast too. Afraid to give up, Zac sped towards the bridge while Chase followed. Much to his surprise, Chase overtook him and stopped right in his way, compelling Zac to take a steep turn towards the edge of the bridge. It wasn't long before the briefcase flew out the window amidst all that action and plunged in the sea.

"Damn my money!" both yelled in disappointment and froze.

Within seconds the cops reached the scene and surrounded them. Chase reversed and escaped, but Zac wasn't lucky. He was arrested and taken into custody for disrupting traffic and creating chaos on the road. 

He spent the night in confinement and was bailed out by his manger the next day. "You breached the contract !" the manger grimaced.

"Look let me explain, it wasn't what it looked like..."

"Mr. Franshaw has revoked the contract. You will be stripped off all the amenities and luxury provided to you including your membership from every auto racing association," he announced and shocked him. "You are black listed from all the racing events," he added.

"B-but..I I need to explain..."

"Oh and it doesn't end there Mr. Zachery Haydon. Since you showed just how committed you were on this mission, you are ordered to return the eleven billion you threw in the sea," he said and stunned him.

"Wait what? I didn't throw it in the sea, and that wasn't even my money!"

"Exactly! That wasn't your money...you owe Mr. Franshaw his eleven billion," The manager sounded stern. "He only bailed you out so you could pay him back his billions, and I'm sure you can. Because if you don't, Mr. Franshaw won't mind testing his new rifle on you," he quoted and began walking away.

"Wait, wait, wait! How the hell am I supposed to pay eleven billion, I don't have that kind of money,"

"You should have thought about this before breaking his trust," 

"I can't, I'm sorry I got tempted," 

"Sorry won't pay for the loss he has incurred. You either pay him with money or life," The manager explained. "Listen speedy, the man wouldn't think twice before ending your life. Remember the papers you signed, well they bind you to a contract where you agree to risk your life and pay all the damages if you are found to breach it. So be a good boy and start paying back what you owe or else buy a decent coffin. Don't even bother hiding or running away, coz we'll find you and kill you," he threatened and left Zac in a fix, rather a big dilemma which he had called upon himself by betraying Chase.

Scared and confused, he returned home only to find Taylor sitting out at the parking lot with all of their belongings. Seeing Zac, she frantically rushed into his arms and cried in relief. "Zac where were you? I was so scared. These people barged into our house and threw everything out!" she cried and clinged to him. "I even called the police but they didn't help, Zac what's going on, talk to me! They locked us out of our house!" she felt anxious and afraid.

"Let's go back to the old place, I'll arrange to get our stuff there," he kissed her forehead and pretended as if things were fine. But Taylor knew something had gone horribly wrong, and she wasn't going to rest until she found it. 

After a lot of pestering, he finally broke down and revealed it all when they returned to their old place of residence. "You were working for Chase Franshaw all along? And you never for once told me about it?" she gasped and went into a frenzy. "Zac, why did you have to do this? He is a dangerous man!" she cried in disbelief and got worked up.

"Baby I can't lose you, why didn't you think what I would do without you? I can't let them kill you, please Zac...tell me they won't kill you, let's run away and settle elsewhere," tears trickled down her warm cheek as she contemplated ways to save him.

"It's no use running, Taylor! His men will find me. But you don't worry, I'm never leaving your sight okay! Now stop crying, I'll think of a way out," he assured and kissed her while she wept.

"The only way out is to pay him back his eleven billion. Zac, be practical. We can never pay that kind of amount in this lifetime. God, why are you putting us through such a big ordeal!" she pulled her hair and felt totally disturbed.

Zac noticed her angst and consoled her with a hug. "I promise, we will sail through this rough time like we have always done. I will never leave your sight, we'll always be together," he whispered and wiped her tears.

"I love you, Zac...you're the only family I have. I'll die if I lose you," her voice wavered as she felt his face with the tips of her fingers.

"Sssshhh...nobody is dying! I'll find a way..." he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her moist lips.

"I can't lose you" her voice muffled under his heavy wet kiss. She kept saying it over and over again while he ran his wet kisses down her neck and breast. Taking off his shirt, she pulled his face away from her breast and brought it closer to her face. Crushing her lips against his, she felt his man part brush against her private and slipped her hand inside his denim. "I won't let them take you..." she whispered.