A billionaire’s kiss

I waited at the airport, checking the time from my phone. It’s been a week since we came back from Ian’s parents’ house and Alice and I had been keeping contact with each other, searching for a house in NYC. She refused any help Ian offered so it took us some time to get things prepared.

“Hailey”

I glanced up as Alice came running, dragging her suit case with her, her blond hair loose around her shoulders, her brown boots clicking on the floor.

“Oh hi” I tucked the phone inside my coat pocket and turned to her, my gaze falling on her luggage. “Is that all?”

“Yeah” She gave a nonchalant shrug. “I didn’t have much to bring”

“Okay” I beamed. “Then let go”

She nodded with a bright smile on her face.

“Did you apply for a job?” I asked as I walked with her to the parking.

Alice had a rich family here but they cut ties with her after the scandal, when she continued to believe Nathan was loyal. Her siblings kicked her out, robbing her of all her money so she had to start over in California.

“Yeah I applied for several art galleries” She bit her lips and sighed “Hope they call for an interview soon because I’m running out of money”

I opened my mouth but Alice held a hand up. “Say that asshole’s name one more time and I’ll stitch your lips”

I chuckled and raised my hands up in surrender. “Okay okay I won’t”

We strode to a black car in the parking, which I borrowed from Ian, though he told me to keep it since he has many.

“Are we going to the new house you bought?” I asked as I loaded her suitcase to the trunk and closed it.

“No I want to-” She swallowed and touched her pendant. “go to Nathan’s studio?”

I raised a brow in confusion. “Studio?”

“Yeah his photo studio, the one where he…umm died”

My eyes widened and I quickly cleared my throat, concealing my surprise. I remember hearing about it in the news, that Nathan Kingston shot himself in a photo studio he owned. Was that where he framed the two photos before sending them to Ian and Alice?

“Show me the direction” I said.

Alice nodded and we climbed into the car, driving off.

I pulled the car to a halt in front of a closed photo studio, newspapers pasted on the windows from the inside. Alice got out first and put a key to the door, opening it.

I followed her inside but she stopped as her phone rang. She took it out from her handbag and gasped. “It’s a call from the gallery, wait here. I’ll come back”

Then she bolted out the door, hurriedly answering the call. I turned my gaze back to the dark studio, it’s corners covered with cobwebs, things scattered around the floor.

I stepped over a fallen stool and made my way inside. My eyes were trained on the floor as I watched my path, carefully avoiding different gadgets and shards of glass on the floor.

Then suddenly my body went still as I heard someone crunch on the broke glass. It didn’t come from behind so it couldn’t be Alice and neither was it I. Panic surged through me and I quickly glanced up.

A shadowy figure stood before me and I stumbled back, almost letting out a scream had the person not stepped out of the shadows.

I gasped.

“You?” I asked in utter shock as I regained my footing.

In front of me stood the reporter I met at our company, the girl who Brian slept with.

Her eyes widened recognising me and she quickly kept a finger to her lips, shushing me.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed.

“I came here for an exclusive. Pretend you didn’t see me” She whispered back and took a quick cautious glance over my shoulder and then leaped out of the window to my right.

“What the-” She was gone before I could even blink.

“Everything alright?”

I spun around as Alice walked inside.

“Umm yeah yeah” I didn’t want to frighten Alice by saying a reporter sneaked into the studio to dig up the past for an exclusive. That would send Alice straight back to California.

“Sorry I dragged you here” She said jumping over the stool. “You couldn’t even go to work because of me”

“No it’s fine” I waved a dismissive hand. “Actually I took a half day leave but I won’t be going back till noon”

Alice smiled and came over to me, carefully avoiding the things on the floor. “This place needs a lot of cleaning”

“Mmm” I nodded in agreement. “If you don’t mind I can help in the weekend”

“Really? Thank you” She grinned but her eyes faltered as her gaze fell on something over my shoulder.

I turned around and found a table with several framed photos on it photos of mountains and flowers. “Nathan took these himself. He loved photography” Alice walked over to the table and picked up one of the photos. “He went to Himalayas to take this one” She showed me a photo of snow capped mountains.

I approached her and studied the rest of the photos on the table. All their frames had the same flower carving I noticed earlier.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“He likes that carving” Alice said, taking note of where my gaze was at. “He used that photo frame for photos he like”

“Oh it was also in the photos…” I trailed off. Shit shit shit Hailey. Shut up.

Alice faintly smiled and nodded. “He’d framed those photos before he died but Ian and I got the packaging a day after it happened. The police even used it as evidence of his suicide” She swallowed, as the word burned down her throat. “If he gave the photo to me earlier or met me that day I could’ve-” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I could’ve talked him out of it”

I gave a gentle squeeze to her shoulder and Alice let out a pained laugh, wiping a tear off her cheeks. “I easily cry, don’t I? Sorry”

“It’s alright” I gave her a small smile and turned my gaze back to the photos.

“So he likes photography and you like painting?”

Her eyes beamed at the question. “Yeah it’s what brought us closer. I mean, both of them are two different things but-” She smiled to herself. “also kind of alike. You know this one” She showed a photo of lush green knolls and slopes, the mist floating above and mountains behind. “He took this photo while we were in Scotland. He took several photos of this place and wanted me to draw it too. So he ran round and round, searching a good spot for me to sit and do my job, he even baked a cake that day while I drew and God, it was awful”

I laughed and pointed to another photo. “What about this one?”

Alice glanced at me, her eyebrows raised. “If you don’t mind telling me of course” I quickly added.

She chuckled. “I don’t mind, actually I’d love to but I talk endlessly though. You might get bored”

“Oh try me”

…

It was noon and I drove to the company after dropping Alice at her new house. I enjoyed her company quite a lot and it was a relief to see her smiling from time to time. But only if I could put that smile on her face forever. Her eyes carried immense pain and love at the same time, agony burning within. It hurts to see her suffering like this for six long years, mourning for the loss of love of her life.

As the elevator doors opened to our department, Lexi’s hand reached out, pulling me out. “I was about to call you. Thank God you came. Let’s go now”

“Go where?” I asked coming to a halt.

“The meeting”

“What meeting?”

“Chairman summoned everyone in the marketing to the meeting room”

My eyes widened. “Chairman is back?”

She nodded and started dragging me again. “Thankfully you arrived right on time or else VP would have killed you” She jerked her chin forward and I followed her direction.

VP stood at the centre, practicing breathing exercises for the rest of our employees. “Breath in, breath out. You all know how to answer if he asks about our campaign. Don’t stammer. Breath in, breath out. Josh prepared a list of what we did throughout this year, go through it and remember the details. Breath in, breath out. Make me proud, we can do this. Breath in, breath out”

I frowned.

“I know right” Lexi murmured. “She’s crazy”

“Okay now. Everyone stand up” VP clapped her hands and ushered everyone to the meeting room at the end of hall.

We fell into step with the others and walked inside, taking a seat. Our chief arrived after everyone settled and gave us an encouraging smile before sitting down next to VP.

A while later the glass door opened and everyone turned their heads, holding their breaths, waiting for the chairman to enter but instead Ian walked in with Daniel beside him.

I exhaled in relief and slumped back in my chair but I could see everyone else still holding their breaths, their eyes wide in horror. And it reminded me of how terrified the ATC employees are of him, how terrified I was a few months back and also how much the things have changed.

I trained my gaze back to Ian and saw that his face had hardened, his hands balled into fists. He was mad. A lot mad. He didn’t glance my way as he took a seat across our chief.

The door opened again and chairman stepped inside with a wide grin on his face, two of his secretaries following him behind. Ian shot an icy glare at his father but didn’t say anything. I can only assume that his father had forced him to attend this meeting.

Chairman took a seat at the head of the table and placed his forearms on the table, folding his hands together. “Good afternoon everyone” He greeted, his white teeth glistening. “I heard that you all had been working very hard for this year’s product launch”

Everyone gave him an awkward nod and our VP was smiling brightly, happy that he acknowledged our hard work.

“Is the campaign going well?” He asked no one in particular.

“Yes Sir” VP jumped in. “We made a detailed report-”

“Are you the VP of marketing department?” He asked, sizing her up.

“Yes Sir” She gave a sharp nod.

“What’s your name?”

“Louisa Randall”

“How long have you been working here?”

VP beamed. “24 years Sir”

Chairman gave a half smile. “Thank you for your service. You’re fired now”

Chorus of gasps echoed through the room and even Ian looked at his father in shock.

“W-what?” VP let out a humourless laugh. “Is this some kind of joke Sir?”

“I make no jokes Ms. Randall”

“B-but” VP gripped her chair handle for support as panic surged through her. “You can’t fire me. We’re in m-m-middle of a campaign-” She stammered. “There’s no replacement-”

“I already found a replacement Ms. Randall” Chairman said calmly and turned his head towards the door. “Come in”

Then a woman in a black suit with platinum blond hair stepped inside and everyone sucked in their breaths.

It was Lauren White, Nathan Kingston’s mistress.