Cheating The Billionaire

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Hi, I'm Taylor Meyer and would like to seek an appointment today with Mr. Chase Franshaw," Taylor called from the boutique with baited breath.

"I'm afraid an appointment anywhere this month is near to impossible, I can give you a later date though," the secretary answered and disappointed her. 

Taylor expressed that she couldn't afford to wait that long and had to see him urgently, but the secretary flatly refused to fit her in his busy schedule. 

Dejected, Taylor decided to reach him though mail. Hence typed an elaborate email to Chase, explaining how important the job was to her. Apart from apologizing, she requested him not to complain about her to his aunt and if he planned to do so, she should be informed as it troubled her not know what was going to happen. 

"Hope I get an answer!" she sighed and hit the send button.

As she carried on with her usual stuff in the boutique, Zac dropped in unannounced and insisted on leaving work early that day. After a lot of coxing and begging Taylor finally agreed to leave for the day. "Where are we going? You seem pretty ecstatic today," she studied his expression as they drove away. 

"Wait till you see it, I don't want to ruin the surprise for you," He winked and sped through the city before pulling over at an elite apartment. 

Taylor noticed her surroundings and was puzzled why Zac had brought her to that part of the city where the rich and famous resided. She kept quizzing him over what was going on until she let him blind fold her.

Zac lead her to the entrance of a luxury apartment "Here it is...our very own luxury home!" he announced and took off the blindfold. 

Taylor dropped her jaw in astonishment and gasped. "Oh my God! How did this happen, Zac did you encash the cheque you received?" she ran her fingers through her hair in disbelief as she had a good look around.

"No, all it took was my signature. The car, the house and the lifestyle...all come in the contract, honey. I told you we're gonna be rich...and now were living it," he exclaimed and scooped her in his arms.

Late that night, Chase read the email and recalled the whole incident, but he was far from forgiving her. Especially since he was certain it troubled and affected her performance at the work, a little bit of torture would do no harm, he felt and ignored the mail. When Phil walked in he delightfully showed Taylor's email and claimed his share of the bet.

"Told you she'll be undeterred by it..." he smirked while Phil frowned like a kid.

"Seems she's pretty desperate to hide the whole issue from Camila. Had I been in your place I would have asked her to spend the night with me in return of all the humiliation and embarrassment she caused outside the boutique," Phil claimed and stared intently at him.

"I'm not surprised..." Chase rolled his eyes.

"But I sure am...she's totally begging on her knees and when a pretty lass is on her knees you've got to unzip it like a gentleman," he said and amused Chase. "Don't snigger at me like that, I'm serious...trust me she would readily agree to pay the price if her life depends on that job," he continued while Chase paid little attention.

"What? Don't go all saint on me...you've been doing that right since high school," Phil grimaced.

"Right...but none of them worked for Camila Cresto," Chase reminded him.

"So...the bull chickens out in his aunt's presence I see," Phil teased.

"What do you mean, I chicken out?" Chase felt offended.

"Of course you do. You don't have the balls to bed her employees," Phil laughed and slapped his knee. "The billionaire is scared of getting caught by his aunt...what's the worse she can do....make you face the wall or let me guess no desserts post dinner," he ridiculed him until Chase couldn't take it any further. 

"Stop it! I'm not afraid of her and I'll prove it to you," Chase took up the challenge to shut him up.

"Don't just say it...do it!" Phil smirked. "Let's have another bet shall we? If you fail, I become the majority shareholder in your company," he said cunningly.

"Fair enough, and if I win...you get transferred to our branch in Oymyakon, Russia," Chase narrowed his brows.

"One of the coldest cities in the world! Do we even have a branch there?" Phil asked in bewilderment before accepting the terms of the bet.

It wasn't long before Chase replied to her email the next day, stating that he wouldn't forgive her and reveal it all to Camila. "Damn it! Just what I feared..." Petrified, Taylor rushed out of the boutique without thinking and walked into Amethyst Inc. Undeterred, she was seen waiting outside Chase Franshaw's cabin, determined to meet the billionaire and make him reconsider his decision. Having no prior appointment she wasn't given first preference when Chase walked into Amethyst Inc. post noon.

"Has he come yet? How much longer do I have to wait?" Taylor fidgeted with her phone and expressed her anxiety.

"Yes, he has arrived but we can't let you in. You will have to wait a bit longer as he's very busy," his secretary informed and suggested her to have some water.

"I would rather have something to eat, this wait is starving me..." she sighed and returned to her seat. Bored she passed her time watching the rest walk in and out of Chase Franshaw's cabin. She had risked leaving the boutique in the hands of the assistant manager only so she could meet him. As time passed, so did her level of patience until she reached a point of saturation and requested the secretary to at the least inform Chase that she was here.

The secretary had a good look at her and doubted Taylor knew the owner personally. Complying with her request, she quickly informed Chase over the intercom. Chase had just finished signing a contract with his investors, when she informed about Taylor.

"Taylor? Do I have an appointment with her?" He asked suspiciously.

"No, but Ms. Taylor has been waiting here since morning. She's from Camila Cresto's Boutique," She explained.

Startled that she had come all the way here, he took a brief pause and told her that Taylor would have to wait until he's done with the rest of the appointments.

Convinced, she agreed to wait and unknowingly dozed off on her seat. It was quarter past nine when Chase walked out the cabin and noticed her. Occupied with thoughts of his own, he intimated the secretary to send her home as he was leaving as well. The secretary however was too engrossed texting her boyfriend about tonight's dinner plan. Failing to wake her up, Taylor remained asleep, while the last person to leave locked all exits of the building.

It wasn't long before her phone buzzed and broke her deep slumber. Feeling disoriented, she answered the call reluctantly and yawned hearing her assistance's voice from the other end. "Ms. Taylor, I called to inform that I've closed the boutique and carried the keys with me," She informed as Taylor tried to absorb what was going on around here. The entire floor was pitch dark with the lights out, the secretary's desk was vacant and there was not a soul to be seen around.

"Oh no!" she cried in panic and stood up with a start.

"Did I do something wrong? Should I drop the keys at your place?" her assistant enquired in apprehension.

"No you did good...I mean thank you for handling the boutique in my absence...eh Emma, mind if I call you later?" Taylor hung up and rushed towards the blue tinted glass window towards the end of the floor.

Her eyes widened in admiration seeing the city by night from an extraordinary height. Is this what it is like to own an empire, she thought and glanced at her phone. It was way past midnight, and too late to expect anyone present in the building. Nervous, she rushed towards the elevator in haste and prayed she wasn't locked in. Her fears were proved true the moment she found all the exit shut.

"No please no! I can't be held up inside here all night!" she panicked and banged her fist against the doors. "Anybody there...can you heard me?" she cried out for help but in vain.

She called Zac and tried to get through him but he was out of network coverage, to top it Emma's phone was switched off. Frustrated she took in a deep breath and decided to find a way out with a calm mind. 

"It's alright Taylor, just think...think, think, think...." she spoke to herself as she walked back and forth in the reception. "Yes, the Janitor!" she used her presence of mind and ran hither thither in search of the janitor, confident that like any other organization, Amethyst Inc housed one too, to maintain the building.

"Hello! Is there a Janitor...Hello!" she called out desperately as her voice resonated in the hallway.

Her search lead her deeper inside the building, as she crossed corridors and hallways. Her anguish came to a halt when she heard voices from upstairs. "I knew the janitor would be around somewhere!" she took a breather and broke into a smile. Relieved that she wasn't alone after all, she raced up the stairs and stopped when she came across Chase, arguing with a stranger.Watching them from a distance, she contemplated whether or not to go in front him.

"You promised me five million, it was part of the deal," the stranger yelled.

"And lying to me wasn't part of the deal," Chase sounded stern and turned his back on him. "You're wasting my time, this deal is void," he stated and gestured him to leave.

Aggravated, the stranger pulled out a revolver and aimed it at him. "Right, the deal is void and so will be you existence," He threatened.

Taylor knew what was coming up next and alerted Chase from where she stood. "He's going to shoot you!" she screamed in horror and grabbed both their attention.

Chase turned around in the nick of time and knocked him on the face. Twisting his arm, he compelled him to drop the gun before his bodyguards rushed in and pinned him down.

Taylor however remained where she stood, frozen with fright after averting a fatal disaster. Chase glanced at her and then at his men. "Give the man our exclusive, VIP treatment..." he instructed them and advanced towards her.

"Come with me!" he grumbled and pulled her along as they walked out.

"How did you walk in here?" he demanded an explanation but barely let her answer. "Didn't Dora make it clear I didn't want to see you today?" he referred to his secretary. "What in the world are you even doing here at this hour?" he looked at her suspiciously with his hand fixed firmly over her arm.

Terrified and confused, she held back her tears and responded softly. "I fell asleep waiting outside your cabin and woke up to find I was locked inside..."

Chase studied her expression for a brief moment and suddenly burst into laughter. Much to her surprise he found her answer quite funny for a serious situation like this. "You're one of a kind, aren't you? Falling asleep and getting locked inside..." he commented in amusement while Taylor felt embarrassed. "Oh, by the way thank you for alerting me...you're pretty brave," he added while Taylor stood with her gaze fixed to the floor.

Realizing she was too disturbed by the turn of events, he offered to walk her out. "Follow me, I can see you're desperate to get home," he composed himself and lead the way for her like a gentleman. Much to her surprise, he also offered to drive her home since the streets were deserted and there was no sign of any public transport.

"I'll be fine...you need not take the trouble of driving me home," she refused, but he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"I insist, Ms. Taylor....Camila would be enraged if she were to find out something happened to you outside Amethyst Inc..." he said and left her with no option but to agree.

Apprehensive, she cautiously got into his sleek BMW and wondered if Zac was getting worked up not finding her at home. She called him on his phone as Chase started the engine. Waiting for him to answer, they just about left the main gates when the bodyguards flung the man who attempted to shoot Chase, before his car.

He was completely bruised and could barely stand on his feet. Before Taylor could react, Chase shifted gears and brutally ran over him, killing him on the spot.

"Hello, Taylor...hello!" Zac answered the call and wondered why Taylor wasn't responding. Little did he know that she had just witnessed a horrible crime.

"Just so you know...I hate liars," Chase broke the silence between them and turned on the speakers. "Care to hear some music? You'll feel more at ease..."

Taylor gulped and daringly looked at him.  Breaking into a sweat, she sat in fear and prayed she never saw Chase again after what happened.

"Stop the car!" She exclaimed and stepped out in haste.

"Is this where you live?" he enquired and looked at the old houses. "Yes, I do and thank you for the drop," she avoided eye contact and walked towards one of the houses pretending it was hers.

Watching him leave, she heaved a sigh of relief and ran as fast as her feet could carry her home, where Zac awaited her.