Chapter One. First Encounter
1632 Words
I sat in the corner of my favorite coffee shop happily enjoying a quiet moment. I knew it was short-lived because the woman I came with was coming to ruin all this. I have been dating her for six months now and had only stayed with her for s*x, she had always been a pain in my a**.
Before going to the bathroom, she had been yammering incessantly on and on and that had made me wish I had come alone, I couldn't even enjoy my favorite coffee and chocolate cake for god sake.
I suddenly noticed a flurry of activity from my security team on opposite sides of the room and then looked up in surprise when a woman I didn’t know sat down in the seat my date had just vacated.
“ Can I help you?” I asked as I lifted a hand to ward off my men. Looking at the woman closely I seem to have this feeling I knew her from somewhere but couldn’t place where.
She slid a thumb drive across the table. “ I know you don’t know me, I don’t know you either other than what my husband, or soon-to-be ex-husband, has told me. Considering how much of a sniveling turd he’s turned out to be, I wouldn’t be surprised if half of what he said was b*llsh*t but it’s irrelevant anyway.”
“ What is this?” I asked, surprised at her method of approach
“ Information.” She said with a smirk on her face
“ Is this an extortion attempt?”
“No, handsome” The pretty brunette with the dark lashes and red lipstick shook her head.
“ It’s the opposite, my ex f**ked me over and badly. He left information on my laptop about business transactions which you might be interested in. I don’t want to extort you, Mr.Yates, I want to bribe you to help me ruin the bastard.” She added seductively.
“ Bribe me how?” I wanted to laugh at the vehemence of her and then she mentioned the name I hated the most.
“ Evan Sampson is my ex.”
I sat up straight at the mention of that name that had become an assignment to me. That weasel was married to this gorgeous woman? I leaned sideways and let my gaze rake her from head to toe and gave a low whistle. “ How did he f**k you over, dare I ask? Please don’t say he cheated.” I asked curiously.
“ With my sister.”
“ Are you twins?”
“ No.”
“ Then why? You’re a solid ten.”
She blushed under my scrutiny, and I fell in love with the color of her cheeks. I watched as she slowly shook her head as if trying to clear the cobwebs.
“ Look, I can’t speak to his motivation. My brother’s hypothesis is he got dropped on his head as a child and my theory is, that he’s a greedy bastard not content with his lot so he wants everyone else’s too. He knocked my sister up at her birthday party.”
“ You know I could ruin his reputation simply with this information alone.”
“ Go ahead, it might make my mother cry more but at this point, I’m not caring too much. They’re getting married this weekend. It’s taken me a month to sift through the information he left on my laptop. He also stupidly forgot to change his email address, so I’ve been looking at his emails every day. He has a hate for you, unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. His entire family does.”
“ What do you want?” I was already intrigued by this woman. A woman scorned was frightening but this one had a chip on her shoulder and a score to settle.
“ Look through the information on the USB and my contact information is on it. If you want more information, I’ll provide it to you but there’s a catch.”
“ There always is.”
“ Ruin him, destroy him, and make his life a living hell.”
“ Is that all?” I’d gladly do it.
“ I don’t want a child to suffer needlessly, so. anything you can do to help secure the child's future should be considered. I don’t care what you do to him and my sister, but I don’t want the child to lose what he or she will be entitled to, I draw the line at harming a kid. It didn’t ask to be born. Did you know there’s a woman who sued her parents for not gaining her permission to be born? I kind of want to send the kid all her videos the minute he turns sixteen. Poor bastard is in for a rough time with my selfish b***h of a sister for a mom.”
“ Does he not pay you alimony? If I take everything from him, you’ll lose as well.”
“ I don’t care, I hate him and I want him to feel the heat of my hatred.”
An argument near the toilets caught my ear and I looked over to see my date telling off another patron of the restaurant.
The woman opposite me giggled, “ Oops, looks like my distraction wasn’t long enough, I’ll let you get back to your date. If you think the information on the device is anything you can use, call me, so we can negotiate.” She quickly rose from her seat and beelined out of the restaurant.
I palmed the USB and motioned to my head of security to take it. “ I don’t know what’s on it, could be nothing, and could be everything. Keep it safe until we’re in the office and we’ll need IT to make sure it’s not loaded with a virus to wipe us out and also, find out everything you can on Evan Sampson’s ex-wife. I want every detail.”
“ Yes sir.” The man moved away as my date reappeared on the table.
“ Cedric, dear, some bimbo spilled water all over my silk skirt in the bathroom, and then when I came out another one crashed into me with another glass of water. How is this your favorite coffee shop when the clientele is so clumsy?”
“ I am certain it’s merely a series of unfortunate circumstances, I will pay for your new skirt.” I tried not to grin as I realized the brunette had arranged for my date to get saturated. I probably already owed her one.
“ The shop should pay,” She huffed, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder angrily.
“ Was it shop staff who spilled water on you?”
“ No.”
“ Then why should they pay?”
“ They should have better control of their guests.”
“ We will agree to disagree,” I motioned to the coffee in front of her, “ drink your coffee, it will get cold.”
“ Fine,” She huffed. “ Who was the lady?”
“ Which lady?”
“ The one who I saw sitting at the table?”
“ She sat at the wrong table,” I lied effortlessly. “ She was quite embarrassed.”
“ Then why did she leave.”
I leaned forward, “ I think her date left her here when she was in the bathroom.”
“ Did she leave without paying?”
“ I don’t know, I don’t really care. What I do care about is not continuing this conversation.”
Twenty minutes later I had completely tuned her out and was struggling to continue this date with her, while I enjoyed the coffee and cake placed in front of me, the woman complained about the fishy taste of her pastries.
I made a mental note that I was coming alone next time.
When the bill arrived, I was surprised to see the restaurant owner approach and tell me it was on the house.
“ I understand there was a mishap in the ladies’ room, and I could never forgive myself if you had a bad experience at my coffee shop.”
“ While I appreciate the gesture, I assure you there are no hard feelings over a minor incident, and I am content to pay for my meal. It will not dissuade me from returning, I promise.”
“ Thank you, Mr. Yates but I must insist, you’re a valued customer and I appreciate your patronage. Please accept this as my way of apology.”
“ Then I accept but next time, I’m paying. Thank you, Cara.”
“ You’re most welcome and please enjoy the rest of your day.”
“ I am sure I shall.” When we got outside, I looked at my driver,
“ Please take my companion home or wherever it is she wishes to go, I’ll ride with security and return to my office.”
“ You’re not coming home with me?” She ran her hand suggestively up my arm.
“ No,” I said and looked at her with a sad shake of my head. “ The truth is, your constant whining and moaning and your incessant need to critique, complain and argue everything today has made my d**k want to retire permanently. We won’t be f*****g. Not today or any other night. Goodbye.”
I walked away as she stood standing with her jaw open. I slid into the front seat of the car my head of security usually drove. “ Take me to the office.” I had a thumb drive to dissect and a revenge plot to contemplate. Despite the odd turn of my evening, I was feeling quite satisfied with the outcome.
- Writer
