Mr. Billionaire, I'm Back!

Chapter 14: Why Are You Trying To Hurt Joanna?

Elaine Sikes's grandfather had been a good friend of Brian's grandfather. Twenty years ago, Elaine's family had been murdered, and Elaine seriously injured. Brian's grandfather, Mr. Jones, had saved Elaine, and he had taken her into his home. And he had always treated her like his own granddaughter.

Brian and Elaine had gotten along well with each other, but Brian got sick when he was ten years old. He went overseas for treatment, and he did not come back until recently.

Because of the severe illness, Brian's grandfather had changed his name - for good luck, which was why Joanna hadn't recognized Brian's name. He had come to Devine's for Joanna, though, and running into Elaine was a coincidence.

Elaine went to her knees, and she begged Brian. "I'm sorry," she whined. "It won't be like it was last time. I promise. let's go home."

Elaine hadn't liked the way Brian had been looking at Joanna. She had loved Brian since she was very young, and she was unwilling to let the other woman take her away.

***

The next morning, when Kris saw that the documents on Joanna's desk had been completed, she was shocked – but her shock quickly turned to rage. Joanna was efficient, but she still wouldn't have been given the opportunity if she hadn't been well connected. Kris believed that she could be just as efficient as Joanna. Furthermore, she had the experience, but she hadn't been considered for the job, and that was because she wasn't connected!

The minute Joanna arrived at work, Kris carried over a large stack of documents. If it's going to be this way – Kris thought – then I will do everything in my power to make Joanna's life a living hell!

Joanna looked at them and sneered. But she stayed that night and finished all of the work that she'd been given. Then, as the other employees left for the night, they were even more impressed by her diligence than they had been the night before. One of the secretaries said, "Our vice general manager is a really hard worker. She's working late again!"

"Yeah, she is," her boss agreed. "And she just joined the company. That's impressive!"

In the bathroom, one of the partners told his assistant, "So many people said that the vice general manager was nothing more than a pretty face and a pair of t**s, but they were wrong!"

Mike happened to be in one of the stalls at the time, and when he heard what was being said, he flew into a rage, and when he passed Joanna's office, he glared at her.

***

Joanna had finished dealing with the documents by 10 p.m. She stretched, turned off the lights, and went to the parking lot. Unlike the night before, the lights were on, but she still felt nervous. She thought she knew who had flattened her tire, and she worried that they might have returned.

The night before, it had taken Joanna an hour to fix her tire, and she hadn't gotten home until well past midnight. And she was tired.

As Joanna stepped into the parking lot, she saw Brian leaning against a pillar. "f**k!" she muttered. "Not him again…" She tried to ignore him and walk straight to her car, but he followed her. She knew what he was doing, so she began to walk faster.

Suddenly, a woman that Joanna did not immediately recognize - but looked vaguely familiar - stood up from behind a car. She had something in her hand, and she lifted it in the air as she stepped around the vehicle. Then, as she rushed towards Joanna, a fierce Amazonian battle cry emerged from her lips.

Brian instantly realized the danger and rushed towards Joanna. He pulled open Joanna's car door, just in time to use it as a shield. Whatever the woman was holding – a bottle, as it turned out - had become a projectile, and it hit the upper rim of the door. It shattered on impact, and liquid oozed down the glass.

The places where the liquid touched began to sizzle and smoke, and the unknown substance – an acid of some sort, maybe – began to eat away at the door. Oh. My. God! – Joanna thought in horror – That could have hit ME! She wanted to laugh, but she couldn't - What on earth did I do to make this woman want to hurt me like this? - the laughter refused to come.

Brian stared daggers at the woman.

When the crazy woman saw that Joanna was okay, she looked at her with eyes full of hate, and much to Joanna's dismay, she pulled a second bottle. She gave it an underhand throw, and it would have gone straight into the car, if not for Brian's quick thinking. He jumped in the car, pulled the door shut, and the bottle smashed harmlessly against the door, two feet below where the fist had made its mark.

When Brian had jumped in the car, He'd landed on Joanna, and now that they were safe, he laughed. "She really doesn't like you, does she!" he exclaimed. "Who is she anyway?"

"I think her name is Tina," Joanna replied. "If I am right, she is the woman who held the job I have now. I wonder why she is so upset…"

Brian: "Well, we are about to find out. She's out of ammunition."

Joanna: "Okay. But be careful. Who knows what kinds of tricks she might have up her sleeve still?"

Brian rubbed Joanna's head indulgently, and then he stepped out of the car. He closed the door behind him, and for a moment, he glared at the woman, sizing her up, saying nothing. Finally, he asked her if she was Tina, the former vice manager for Devine's.

The woman nodded. "I am," she said.

"Why are you trying to hurt Joanna?" he asked.

Tina ground her teeth together, and Brian watched as she clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides. "If it weren't for her," Tina snarled, "I would not have been fired from my job!" She pointed at Joanna through the car window. "You made me lose my job, and you need to pay for what you did!"

The way Tina was talking, it was as if she thought she had the moral high ground. And maybe she does – Joanna realized. She frowned and said, "I didn't know that you were fired."

"Well, that's what happened," Tina sighed. "You're the daughter of the president. All you have to do is ask, and you can steal anyone's job from them, no matter how long they've worked for the company or how good they are at their job. Shame on you, and people like you! I worked at Devine's for fifteen years, and I worked hard to get where I was, and I didn't even receive a severance package!"