Chapter 2

Amber was not okay.

As she stepped aboard the brightly lit superyacht, worry consumed her thoughts, blinding her from the flurry of activities that were going about on the floating vehicle.

What the heck is Liam Smith thinking? Why is he throwing a launch party when he doesn’t even have the blueprint?

She hadn’t even gotten her hands on the safe yet. Didn’t he know that? With Fabian around the house the past few days, she barely had time to try out the different combinations on the lock, let alone contact Anson!

Damnit!

But she had a feeling the shrewd man had something up his sleeve.

“Amber!” a raspy voice called out from the yacht, bringing her attention back to her surroundings.

Amber looked up at the open balconies above her and caught sight of two beautiful women— Lola and Bree—and they were waving at her happily.

She waved back before taking a peek at Fabian through her Bambi lashes. He looked down at her and gave her a nod, letting go of her hand. With that, she made a mad dash onto the first floor of the yacht where she was greeted by some of her colleagues from the club. A few queries and wrong rooms later found her at one of the guest suites where the two ladies were.

The guest room had a simple queen-sized bed and a balcony overlooking the pale blue waves that bobbed gently under the moonlit sky. Outside, a band of three played jazz on a helipad as a few of the guests mingled around the pool, all eagerly waiting for the unveiling of the mysterious Millenia.

“Amber darling!” Bree threw her arms around Amber and gave her a warm embrace. “How have you been? Has he been treating you well?”

“Yes...” Amber flushed red at the memory of her first night.

“My, my, is someone blushing?” Lola nudged at Amber, who gave her an eye roll. “I think we have a happy girl here Bree,” Lola laughed, ruffling Amber’s hair. The ladies, save Amber were all wearing hot pink bikinis, all that left very little to the imagination. Amber was only glad she did not have to wear it. She wasn’t comfortable showing so much skin in front of strangers.

You had no trouble showing your skin to Fabian, her inner voice reminded her. Her cheeks went red again at the thought. If the naughty thoughts kept piling on, she would probably end up looking like a lobster. She tugged at her own outfit, glad that she was not wearing the bikini. Hers was a modest knee-length black bodycon dress, yet another gift from Fabian. It was simple but elegant and she adored it.

“By the way,” Bree sat on the bed and adjusted her bikini strap, “why’d you ask for Fabian’s birth date?

Lola, who was lounging on the bed, raised an eyebrow.

No, no, no, no, Amber waved her hands in an attempt to stop Bree from talking. Why on earth did she have to ask Bree for Fabian’s information? She was regretting it now. The girl was a blabbermouth. The ladies continued, ignoring her silent pleas.

“Yeah…why didn’t you ask Fabian yourself?” Lola sat up, her eyes narrowing.

Amber chuckled nervously, taking a seat next to her friend. The bed felt soft and cool to the touch, and she could only imagine what would happen in the guest suites for many of the women later on.

“I wanted to surprise him for his birthday,” she fibbed. She was getting used to lying now.

Run a lie detector on me and you won’t even know a thing, she thought wryly.

“Oh! What are you getting for him? His birthday is tomorrow!” Bree suddenly became very animated, her adoration for Fabian was barely masked by her excitement.

How’d she remember his birthday, Amber wondered, a sudden pang of jealousy bubbled inside of her.

Then another thought came, Wait, his birthday is tomorrow?!

A surge of excitement swelled within her. What was she going to get him?

Yet another thought, He doesn’t know you asked for his birthdate you doufus!

Still, her mind started to think of things she could gift him. Something special and personal perhaps? A cake? Nah, she’d baked him too many things already. He was probably sick of her cooking. She thought of getting him a shirt but then shot down the idea.

The man wears designer clothing! Just look at the dress he got you! She was wearing a Victoria Beckham dress.

Then again, his father just passed away. Would he even want to celebrate his birthday? Amber sighed wondering why she was so ruffled over his upcoming birthday.

“Hello? Earth to Amber...” Lola called out, tugging at Amber’s arm. Apparently, she had been staring off into space. 

“We’re going out to serve the guests now, Liam’s starting his presentation.”

Amber blinked, “Oh, alright. I’ll head out with you two.”

They stepped out of the guest room and walked past a few more rooms before reaching the main deck where a gigantic 25-meter-long pool lay. A few of the hostesses were in the water, one lay sprawling in a gigantic unicorn float while another two played suggestively with a large floating ball, much to the delight of the men who stood around. Amber scanned the crowd for Fabian only to see him chatting away with a seductive looking brunette.

Oh.

She stopped in her tracks, not able to move.

“Sexy, isn’t she?” Lola gave her a sympathetic smile before patting Amber on the shoulder. “I told you before, hon, don’t get romantically involved with the men from the club. Once they’re done with you, they’ll just move on to the next chick to conquer.”

Amber remained deadly still, her eyes lingering on Fabian. She was starting to experience another pang of jealousy and this time, it gnawed at her heart, leaving her feeling empty and achingly sore. She’d never felt like this before and decided that she didn’t like this feeling. Not one bit.

Lola continued, “Get whatever you can from him within these two months, wring him dry if you can and get out of there.”

With that, Lola stepped past Amber and into the crowd just as Liam went onto the stage in front of the pool.

He was dressed in a tuxedo with a black bow tie to boot. A golden microphone stood in front of him, and he tapped on it. The jazz band stopped playing.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for gracing this humble yacht with your presence this evening. As you know, Smithsonian Holdings is on the verge of a breakthrough. We have the next evolutionary product that will change your world!”

By then, Amber had inched closer to Fabian. From where she stood, she could see the brunette placing her hand suggestively on his chest and Fabian did not look like he minded it one bit. Amber sucked in her breath and decided not to go near them. Instead, she stood among the crowd and watched as Liam continued with his speech. Overhead, fireworks shot up into the sky and exploded in an array of colors, visibly brightening up the night sky. The crowd cheered and clapped.

A gigantic white screen behind Liam suddenly came to life and a video showing the brief history of Smithsonian Holdings began to play. It ended with yet another round of applause. Liam then cleared his throat, “And now ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, The Millenia…”

At this, the crowd became silent as tension cloaked everyone, as they were all eager to set their eyes on VX2’s rival. Liam stepped down from the stage to allow the crowd a better view of the screen, but not before he caught Amber’s eyes.

With all eyes on the screen, no one noticed Liam slipping away from the crowd. No one but Amber.

She too stepped into the shadows of the yacht where no one could see her and waited—she waited for the man who strung her along like a puppet in his very own show of secrets and lies.