Flatline - Murder | Mystery | Intrigue

Chapter 15

Emile

Tony and I met at the office at nine AM as planned. I sat at my desk and leaned back while sipping my coffee, replaying the last conversation with Kay in my mind. Her demeanor had become icy so suddenly, it must have been the text she had received. I wondered what it said.  

“So what’s the plan Boss?” Tony broke me out of my reverie. I smirked and pulled out my phone. I selected the video and handed it to him. His expression ran the gambit as he watched, confusion, surprise, anger, disbelief and then he grinned at me as it ended. He whistled. 

“The b***h is gonna get what’s coming to her,” he fumed, somehow managing to be happy and angry at the same time. “That certainly is an ace up your sleeve,” he continued, “so when are you going to release it?” 

“I’m not quite sure yet, I want to do the maximum damage to her credibility, not only in court, but also in the eyes of the public.” Yes I was a vindictive son of b*tch when crossed. We would never have survived otherwise, especially where we grew up. Kimberly had never seen that side of me, but she would now and she would live to regret messing with me. “She went the social media and tabloid route, so I will probably do the same. That video is juicy, it will go viral very quickly considering the hype she has already created. Once that happens there’s no way she can undo it.”

“True, should I get Edwards involved now?” he referred to my lawyer. 

“Yeah, let him deal with the lawsuit in the meantime,” I agreed. 

Kay

The weekend passed by quickly, I spent most of it at the hospital and on Sunday evening we successfully transferred Seth to a rehab center. He would be there for the next three weeks, if not longer. I had high hopes for his recovery, although I knew it was always possible that he could relapse. 

Monday morning came all too quickly and as I was taken aback as I made my way into the office. There were quite a few unfamiliar faces in various areas looking through piles of paperwork. The staff stood around looking nervous and uncertain of what was going on too. I made my way to my cubicle and stuck my head into Jess’s as I passed. 

“Jess, what’s going on?” I asked quietly. She looked unsure too. 

“I have no idea,” she shrugged, “I saw exactly what you did as I came in, Mr Andrews hasn’t explained anything yet.” I frowned. Just then I heard the phone at my desk ringing and quickly made my way there. 

“Kay speaking.”  

“Kay, Mr. Andrews would like to see you immediately,” Giana’s voice came through softly. 

“Uh, sure. I’ll be right there,” I confirmed. By then Jess had come to my cubicle and looked at me questioningly. “Mr. Andrews wants to see me,” I said, still frowning. I couldn’t imagine what he would want from me specifically. “I better go,” I excused myself and went straight to his office. 

“Sir, you wanted to see me?” I asked after knocking on his door. 

“Yes, please come inside and close the door,” he replied. “Have a seat,” he offered after I had closed the door. I sat down hesitantly, fidgeting with my skirt and then my fingers. 

“How can I help Sir,” I asked, trying to get on with whatever this was. 

“I’m sure you’ve seen the people out there right?” he asked and I nodded. “They are auditing the firm, it seems there are some inconsistencies in the financial records. I won’t lie, this is not good for the company, we may even have to close our doors,” he continued. My eyes widened, how on earth could that happen. We always seemed to be fine, stable. 

“The fact is, the Flatline account is the only thing that can save us from going under. I know it’s a lot of pressure and very unfair to you, but I need you to do whatever you have to to keep the account.” His eyes were beseeching. He was sweating and toying with his wedding ring incessantly. He was a desperate man. 

“I’ll do my best Sir,” I stuttered and nodded. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was asking me to do, I always did my job to the best of my ability, no matter what. 

He nodded and dismissed me with a heavy sigh. I was deep in thought as I went back to my desk, I needed to call Emile about the shoot anyway. I was suddenly reminded that he was actually the CEO and not the assistant, would I need to call the other guy instead? No, I had told him I would call. 

“What happened?” Jess questioned as I got back to my desk. I sighed.

“We’re being audited,” I whispered. “He told me the Flatline account is our only hope.” Jess froze, wide-eyed. “Sorry Jess, I need to get to work on this now,” I said as I gently pushed her out of my cubicle.

I frantically worked on the arrangements for the shoot for most of the day and called in many favors to make it happen as quickly as possible. A shoot usually took months to plan, we already had the venue and didn’t need to book any or wait for available dates. 

I called the infamous photographer, Eric Kent and begged him to clear his schedule for me. He and I happened to go to the same high school. Next I called Taylor, a friend of a friend who owned a model agency and she happily agreed to assist at short notice. The rest was easy, we could start on Friday. I was ecstatic. 

I had missed lunch and it was already time to go home, I grabbed my bag and jacket and headed for the door. As I got to the ground floor, I took my phone out and called Emile. 

“Kay, it’s good to hear from you,” he answered. 

“Hi Mr. Riley, I was just calling to discuss the date of the shoot. We can actually do it this Friday, will that be ok with you?” I asked as I shuffled through the front door of the building towards my car in the parking lot. He sighed.

“Please, call me Emile,” he replied. My lips pursed, that was all he got from what I had said? 

“Sure. Emile, will Friday... ” I gasped as I felt someone grab my arm and swing me around. I went with the swinging motion and brought my phone around to smash whoever was in my space. My phone connected with something and I heard metal hitting the ground. 

I looked into Jason’s crazed eyes. They were unfocused, yet still held malice. 

“You b***h, you’re gonna pay,” he sneered, “always getting in my way,” he continued and grabbed at me again, both hands this time. His fingers dug painfully at my throat, cutting off my air supply. I tensed my neck muscles, put my chin on my chest and dropped my entire body to break out of his hold. He pitched forward with the momentum and I brought my fist up to connect with his chin, a perfect uppercut. He collapsed in a heap on the ground, out cold.

The building security came running out, presumably having seen the altercation via the security cameras. I looked down and found my phone, broken, on the ground as well as a very large butterfly knife. 

“You’re bleeding Ma’am,” one of the guards pointed to my hand. s**t, that must have happened when I hit him with the phone. He handed me something to stop the blood, it didn’t seem deep. A bandage at home would do. 

“Please call the Police,” I asked, “This guy needs to be charged with assault at the very least. I’ll go sort my hand out, you have the footage right? Give them my number and I will arrange a time for them to take my statement. Detain him in the meantime please.” 

I went home. Feeling drained, I sat at the kitchen table with the first aid kit and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s when the doorbell rang. I sighed and dragged myself to the door wishing whoever it was would just go away. I was spent.  

“Emile?” I stuttered as I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”