Chapter 31 Licensed

Chapter 31 Licensed
OUTLINE

Title: Whispers of a Billionaire’s Heart
Genres: Romance – Billionaire romance, Young Adults, Drama, Fiction.
Trope: Alpha Male x Weak female lead, Love triangle, Office romance, twisted truth.
Themes: Love, Power struggles, Status Clash.
Setting: Modern day city, Offices, Present day.
Blurb: He thought love was a weakness. She thought love was unattainable.
After she lost her parents in a car accident and watched her only surviving relative slip into a coma, Emily Carter was left to fend for herself. Fresh out of college and struggling to survive, she kept crossing paths with Eric Rane -the cold callous billionaire who was rumored to have the power to upturn the world with a snap of his fingers.
Eric Rane built his empire on ruthlessness and control but couldn’t understand why a mysterious girl kept showing up in front of him. More so, why he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of her. When fate caused her to start working in one of his companies, accidental encounters became so much more. However, in Eric’s world, love is never simple.
Jealous exes, bitter rivals, family oppositions and twisted truths seem to threaten what they had found in each other.
Will Eric and Emily’s love brave the storms or will it all come crashing down?

Characterization
Eric Rane: Male lead, protagonist.
28 years old. Tall with ocean blue eyes, jet black hair and slightly tanned skin.
Emily Carter: Female lead, protagonist.
22 years old. Average heighted, hazel brown eyes, auburn hair and fair skin.
Jason Reed: Eric Rane’s personal assistant.
Zach Scott: Eric Rane’s closest friend.
Vanessa Donovan: Eric Rane’s proposed wife and ex, antagonist.
Alexander Voss: Eric Rane’s business rival, antagonist.
Damien Cole: A childhood friend of Emily Carter who has always liked her.
Rick and Marilyn Rane: Eric Rane’s parents
Roy and Jane Carter: Emily Carter’s parents
Tracy Carter: Emily Carter’s Aunt
Sherley Rane: Eric Rane’s younger sister who would hate then later like Emily Carter.
Patty: Emily Carter’s colleague at the bar
Rachel: Emily Carter’s colleague at the supermarket.
Susanne: Emily Carter’s roommate.

Plot Exposition: Emily’s parents leave her in the care of her aunt during an outing but are involved in a mysterious and sudden accident. Three years later, her aunt gets into an accident and falls into a coma after finding out some shady things about the accident. The doctors say she would wake up but years after, Emily’s out of college and working odd jobs to cover the hospital bills as well as debts incurred over the years. On the other hand, Eric travels back into the country to manage other branches of his company. Their first encounter is at a bar where she works at night, he was dragged there by Zach, his closest childhood friend. She accidentally spills wine on him and apologizes, it’s a bit dark so she doesn’t see him clearly. She rants to Patty who advises her to be calm but freaks out after finding out it was Eric. She decides against telling Emily because “the shy cat” would probably quit in fear. Their second encounter is at a coffee shop where he spots her while sitting in his car with the window slightly rolled down, he barely recognizes her but is sure he has seen her elsewhere. They share a brief eye contact.
Eric has dinner with his childhood sweetheart, Vanessa, who had forgotten about him after she returned from schooling abroad. The dinner is arranged by his parents who get him there by lying about a family dinner. He recounts that she is still as vain and spoilt as she was when they had tried dating before she went abroad again to work for a while. He leaves the dinner halfway claiming he has other things to do. Vanessa vows to make him love her again. Sherley visits his office one day and decides to stay with him for a while instead of going back to their family house. She forces him to stop her at a supermarket on the way home where he meets Emily again, working part time. They both recognize each other but refuse to acknowledge it. Rachel notices the tension between them and asks if she knows him. Emily denies and points out that he had come with his girlfriend just to stop her from match making. She further describes them as a “model couple”. Eric’s mind goes back to her during a shower on a random day and it unsettles him. He pushes it out of his mind after Jason calls him and reports that Alexander had made a move against them.
Inciting Incident: Eric instructs Jason to fire the secretary who had apparently made moves on him and disgusted him. He mentioned that his touched suit should be disposed of as well. The whole office couldn’t stop bubbling with the gossip. Susanne shows Emily a vacant position for a secretary in a fancy company that pays more than all her odd jobs combined. She refuses to apply because of low self-esteem but uses the excuse of it not being in line with her dream job- an architect. She gets a call from the hospital few days later that they had to pull the plug on her aunt due to her debt. She begged them and promised to have the money in two weeks. At the same time, Susanne had made enquires and realized that the company being a real estate and construction company somehow made her a step closer to her dream job. She agreed instantly and went for an interview.
Jason places the file for those who applied in front of Eric. Eric is about to tell him to choose whoever fits the role but he sees Emily’s picture and points at the file. ‘She’s the one’. Jason is surprised at the command but obeys nonetheless.
Rising Action: She works closely with Eric and she accompanies him on brunch deals and the likes. Vanessa notices and orchestrates people in the office to make life difficult for Emily. Eric immediately wants to fire all staff members involved and Zach, his closest friend mentions this later in a discussion making him realize his deep feelings for her. He tries making his feelings known to her but she shies away due to the fact that they’re from different worlds. Alexander notices the special attention Eric pays to Emily and tries his best to use her as a bargaining chip for the company’s trade secrets. His plans fail but Eric gets injured saving Emily. Emily sees it as her duty to take care of him and nurse him back to health. At this time she starts developing feelings for him. Sherley notices this and reports to her parents; a gold digger and someone of unequal status was trying to steal her brother’s attention. She wasn’t having it. She made things difficult for Emily while Emily lived with Eric, Eric got fed up and sent Sherley packing. She rants to Vanessa who cooks up a plan that seems normal on the surface but is more deadly on the inside. She suggests to Sherley to carry it out. This happens and many people almost die including Emily and Sherley, Emily saves Sherley despite her tantrums so Sherley begins to warm up to her.
Eric’s parents have had enough of the girl trying to climb up the social ladder through their son. They warn him that if he doesn’t let her go, they would deal with her personally. He dares them to and walks out of the house. They investigate Emily and realize that her parents’ death had something to do with their family. If she found out, it wouldn’t do their family any good. They send someone to get rid of her. Eric’s mum, Marilyn gives Vanessa the go ahead to sleep with her son no matter what, so that he’d have no choice but to take responsibility. This plan goes wrong and Emily finds herself spending a night with her boss. She felt uncomfortable at first, she didn’t want to be seen as a loose girl. However, his calm and gentle approach relaxed her; making her give in to him willingly. This strengthens their relationship and kicks off their office romance that Zach and Jason stumble upon. All plans to hurt Emily prove futile as Eric literally never lets her out of his sight. Eric began to teach Emily to fight back telling her that she’s strong and will always have him as her support. Zach and Susanne would meet through Emily and hit it off. They would encounter issues as well but would eventually fall in love.
Climax: Vanessa is fed up and cyberbullies Emily making the world see her as a gold digger. It also dents the company’s reputation. Alexander and Vanessa team up and use a bad egg in Eric’s company to sabotage a major construction project framing Emily for it. She pleads with him sincerely that she would never do such a thing. He investigates but all evidence points to her. In a boardroom filled with lawyers, shareholders and family, Eric has to choose between defending Emily and cutting her off to show that he is a principled man. She attempts to fight for herself like Eric had taught her but her efforts were fruitless, especially as he didn’t support her. He chooses to cut her off to show that he does not mix business with pleasure. Emily leaves downcast and embarrassed. Vanessa and Alexander rub it in her face that she’s a disposable toy. Eric keeps investigating to prove her innocence but feels too ashamed to meet her. He watches her secretly instead.
Damien meets Emily by chance and stays with her in a bid to win her over. Eric gets jealous and is about to throw himself and dignity at Emily’s feet when Sherley meets him at home and stops him. She had learnt secretly from her parent’s conversations that the death of Emily’s parents were as a result of their recklessness. Eric is heartbroken and discouraged. He confronts his parents about it but they don’t respond. He investigates the case and finds out the truth: years ago, his parents had hired one of their truck drivers to haul overloaded construction material during the night despite his warning that brakes were not functioning properly. The same vehicle skidded on the highway and rammed into Emily's parents' vehicle, killing them instantly. Instead of taking responsibility, Rick and Marilyn paid off the police officers, bribed the witnesses, and altered the report to make it seem as if Roy was over speeding. As Tracy began to make her findings of the inconsistencies, they staged her own "accident" and left her in a coma before she could reveal the secrets. The reality shatters Eric, who realizes his parents' greed and pride had almost destroyed Emily's life in every way possible. Meanwhile, Emily grows closer to Damien who shows her a ‘normal’ love without power struggles but she is still unable to love him because of her love for Eric. With Zach and Jason’s help, the truth is brought to light. Eric exposes Alexander and Vanessa’s plans, restoring Emily’s good reputation. Emily grows restless as Eric doesn’t approach her to say anything. She begins to worry that he might not love her anymore. Eric on the other hand is worried about how to make up for his family’s sins.
Denouement: Alexander and Vanessa pay heavily for all their actions. Eric comes clean to Emily about his family’s sins. He explains that he knows that nothing in the world would be able to compensate her for everything she had been through but he was willing to try. Emily takes some time to think about it, she remembers the last word her aunt had uttered before her death which she thought was “Rain” but had turned out be “Rane”. Not knowing what to do, she visits her aunt in a coma and tells her about everything like she was alive. Her aunt woke up a few days after and advised her to live her life and be happy. She deserved it. Emily realized her parent’s would have wanted the same, after all they were simple people. She told Eric she simply wanted his parents to apologize to her parents in their graves. He told his parents who immediately refused out of pride. They further looked down on Emily. Sherley stood up for her not wanting her to be humiliated. This reinforced Emily’s position in the Rane family.
Sherley also reports the situation to Emily who puts herself together and visits the Ranes. She walked in on Rick and Marilyn yelling at Eric. She retorted for the second time in her life after meeting Eric. She called them out on their shortcomings and demanded an apology as that was the least they could do. She spoke firmly, threatening that she could send them to prison. She had realized that power only respected power. After being firmly confronted, the Ranes sobered up and apologized to the Carter family, even to Tracy, Emily’s aunt and covered all her bills. They knew that her threat won’t be impossible if Eric decided to help her. Eric confesses to her about his feelings and intent to settle. She accepts unconditionally. Damien realized he never had her heart and let go peacefully. Eric and Emily get engaged and he helps her realize her dreams too.

CHAPTER 1

You’re twenty two but you move like you’re eighty! Would you hurry up?!” Madame Vee shouted, her voice echoing through the bar.

Emily mopped the floor tiredly, ignoring the ache in her wrists. The floor shone faintly but no matter how many times she moved the mop over its marble tiles, the smell of stale wine never really went away.

Emily sighed. Another crowd, another night. Soon, the bar would be filled with men and women who wanted nothing more than to drown their sorrows in alcohol. She wasn’t judging, everyone had their coping mechanisms but the mere thought of dealing with drunken laughter and slurred conversations left her stomach in knots.

Emily forced a smile but as soon as her eyes drifted to a lady in a crimson dress who had come to drop off supplies, it vanished.

The color struck her hard –blood red. It was the last color she had seen her mum wear.

It was a night not so different from this -the air was filled with warm breeze and the chirp of crickets. An expected ring of the doorbell got Tracy rushing to get it open.

“Hi Tracy, so good to see you again!” Jane said giving her sister in law a tight squeeze. “You’re going to suffocate me if you don’t let go. Good to see you too.” She laughed. “Where’s my brother?”

“Parking the car.” Jane said, her red dinner dress glimmering against the warm light.

“Alright. Come in, come in, where’s my little angel?”

“She should be coming in with her-”

“There she is!” Tracy exclaimed as 12 year old Emily ran to hug her with a cheeky grin.

“Oh my darling, you’ve become prettier.” “Thank you Aunt Tracy. Mum and Dad say they are going to have adult fun”

“Adult fun huh?” Tracy shook her head looking at Roy as he walked in.

“Thank you for looking after Emily, Trace.”

“I got you.” She smiled.

Roy placed a kiss on Emily’s forehead and walked out with Jane.

Emily pressed her face to the window watching them leave, one thing on her mind. They’d be back in the morning.

But they never came back.

It happened all too fast.

One phone call that silenced the laughter in the house.

“Good evening, am I on to Ms. Tracy Carter?” a woman asked, her voice laced with practiced sympathy.

“Yes, you are. How may I help you?”

“This is Nurse Agatha from St. Augustine’s Hospital. I’m afraid Roy and Jane Carter have been involved in an accident.” She said slowly, as if giving her time to process the information.

“Oh my God! Are they alright –please tell me they are alright?!” Tracy mumbled.

There was a pause, then came the truth “Ms. Cater I’m very sorry to inform you ...despite the efforts of the emergency team, they passed away from their injuries.”

“No no, it can’t be. It’s not possible.” Tears rolled down her eyes.

“I know this is difficult to process Ms. But we’d need you to come as soon as you can. We’ll have a doctor here to speak with you”

“I –I’d be there in some minutes.” She stammered. What was to happen to Emily? More tears rolled down her eyes. This had to be a dream –only if she could just wake up.

Two weeks blurred into a burial, endless condolences and the suffocating yet lingering smell of antiseptic from the visits to the hospital. Emily clung tightly to the only relative who’d been by her side through it all –her only anchor in the waves of grief.

Tracy however, began asking questions, too many in fact. It just didn’t add up. They told her he had over sped under the influence of alcohol but she knew her brother. He wasn’t irresponsible. He would never drink and drive. Someone was hiding something and she intended to find out.

Tracy dug for the truth until three years had passed and she finally caught a wind of something. There was another vehicle that night, it was covered up with a single fake report of reckless driving. She knew it. Someone was hiding the truth.

One rainy night, determined to make a few phone calls and wrap up her investigation, Tracy drove home. She felt quite uneasy though, maybe it was the rain that seemed to be warning her with its heavy drops.

She tried to focus on driving safely but a car came out of nowhere causing her to swerve abruptly. Her car skidded off the road and out of control. No, this wasn’t happening to her. Emily needed a care taker, she was just fifteen.

A teardrop rolled down her face as the car tumbled and tumbled until she lost consciousness.

She woke briefly to the voices of paramedics “Are you okay Ma’am?” “We need you to stay calm while we get you out.” Tracy’s body ached. However, she wanted nothing more than to see her niece.

After being placed on the stretcher, she felt her life slowly slip out of her. “Call Emily. I want to see her.” She said.

Nothing the paramedics said made her change her mind. “I want to see her” she whispered again. Emily arrived at the hospital as they were preparing her aunt for surgery.

“Aunt Tracy” she broke down in tears.

“Rain-” she said.

“Don’t talk.” She held her hands. “You’re going to be okay.”

Emily looked at the nurses “She’s going to be okay right?”

Tracy was slowly slipping away “The Rain-” she said finally before losing consciousness.

‘The surgery went well’ the doctors told her. She would soon wake up. She waited and counted the days. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into years. Her aunt was still on that bed suspended between life and death.

By the time Emily turned twenty two, she had stopped counting. She had finished college but found it hard to get a proper job. Her days were filled with shifts from diners, bars and supermarkets, jobs that hardly paid the bills.

But no matter how tired and frustrated she was, she would always squeeze those crumpled notes into the hands of the bill clerk. With the hope that her aunt would wake up some day.

“Emily stop daydreaming and wipe those glasses clean!” Madam Vee’s bark brought her back to the present. Life never waited for anyone. It was cruel and decisive.

Still, now and then, she let herself believe that one day, she’d be happy.

\---

Across the ocean, in the late hours of the night, a private jet descended on the runway.

Many bodyguards filed out of in pairs, creating two fine walls of protection.

Eric Rane had just landed in the country.

The moonlight accentuated his bodybuild highlighting the precision in his strides. His assistant trailed behind him, attentive in case of any demands.

Eric, called out to his assistant “Book a suite in a nearby hotel. I won’t be going home tonight.”

“Yes Sir” his assistant replied.

As he walked to his car, a voice called out to him.

“So you weren’t going to tell me you had returned?”

A man with a calm demeanor walked towards him tutting

“If I didn’t keep a tracker on you, I would never know!”

CHAPTERS TWO
:The First Encounter

Eric’s brows straightened out, the air around him reducing by a few degrees “Who told you I was around?”
“That’s for me to know my friend. Let’s go grab a few drinks, what do you say?”
Eric shook his head “I don’t have time for that.”
Zach slung his hands over him “C’mon I haven’t seen you in what –five years? You owe me a drink at the very least. Your assistant would agree with me on this one.”
Eric raised an eyebrow at his assistant asking him if he really agreed.
Jason looked at his feet and adjusted his glasses. He wasn’t having his bonus deducted this mo