Conrad
I am exhausted as I get ready for work. We didn’t get back from London until late last night. I was supposed to go back tomorrow, but I got a call from my assistant to tell me the guy who was taking care of the place while I was gone decided he didn’t want to come in today, and we have important meetings today. I don’t have a choice but to go into the office.
“I am sorry you have to go in, my love.” Maya sighs from the bed.
“Me too. I was looking forward to spending the day with you doing nothing to rest.” I groan.
I feel the bed behind me move, and her warm body presses against my back, and her arms drape over my shoulder. She peppers my neck with kisses, “Let me know when you will be finished. I will cook us a lovely dinner for when you come back. We can watch a movie and have some wine.”
I close my eyes, “I would like that. I am hoping I can rearrange some of the meetings and be done earlier since I am not supposed to be going in.”
She pulls away to let me finish getting ready.
“I will start a pot of coffee for you. Do you want breakfast?” she asks, climbing off the bed.
“Can you please pop a bagel into the toaster for me, angel? I will have that with some cream cheese. It will for now. Thank you.” I smile.
I am running a little behind. I slept later than I should have because I was tired. When we got home, it was three in the morning. I am working off three hours of sleep. Because of how my morning started, I am going to be off my game all day.
When I arrived at the kitchen, Maya had my coffee in a to-go cup and my bagel on a napkin, “I know you don’t have time to sit and eat.”
“Thank you, my love. I will see you later. I will text you. Come by at lunch if you are bored,” I say, kissing her softly, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She replies.
She swats my ass as I rush out. I shouldn’t be too late getting to the office. I knew I should have found someone else to take care of the office while I was gone, but our trip to London was such a last-minute thing. I had to use whoever was available. I hop into my car and head for work. I am trying not to allow myself to go into a bad mood, or I will be in one all day.
I arrive at the office and head up to my floor.
“Welcome back, Sir. How was your trip?” the receptionist Julie smiles.
“Good morning, Julie. It was great, thank you. We had a lot of fun.” I reply.
I stroll towards my office, where my assistant Abigail is waiting.
“Good morning, Sir. Did you have a good break? I am sorry you had to come in this morning.” She says.
“Good morning, Abigail. Yes, it was great. You have nothing to be sorry for. Can you see if you can move my meetings up? Try to make them earlier so I don’t need to work too late?”
She nods, “I will see what I can do. Sir, there is a parcel on your desk that was delivered not too long ago.”
I thank her and enter my office, sitting at my desk. I see the envelope on my desk. All it has on it is my name, nothing else. No address. No return address. No postage stamps. It is all a little strange. I take my letter opener from my desk and tear it open.
I pull out the contents, which are a sheet of paper and a flash drive. I open the paper, and it is handwritten.
*Hello, Conrad,
I hope you and Maya enjoyed your trip. Did you miss me? Did you think I was gone, or your PI would have caught me? You really should hire someone better. I have been doing a lot of thinking recently, and I have decided it is time I get something out of this since I haven’t gotten Maya yet. I haven’t given up on that yet, but I want something else for now.
I want you to put $30000 into the bank details I have written on a small note inside the envelope. If you tell the police or even Maya, I will make you regret it. If it isn’t in the account by Friday, I will release everything on the flash drive online and to the media.
I have also written a number down next to the bank details for you to contact me on.
I look forward to hearing from you.
From the man who can ruin your girlfriend’s life and your reputation. *
Callum! I should have fucking known! I am not giving the bastard anything! A familiar anger takes over me. I want to rip the paper to shreds, but I can’t. I need to hand it in to the police. I don’t want to imagine what is on the flash drive.
I close and lock my office door. I don’t want anyone to come in. I connect the flash drive to my computer and load it up. When it becomes available, it seems to be photos and videos. No, please, don’t make this what I think it is.
I take a deep breath and start with the photos. They are similar to the ones he sent Maya, but they all seem to be on different nights. She is naked in most. She was in bed, sleeping or passed out when he took them. There are some of the two of them together. Maya seems oblivious to a camera being present, which tells me Callum probably hid it. My fists clench, and my heart breaks as I scroll them. My poor girl, she had no idea what was going on. The tears fill my eyes. I hate I can’t protect her from him, from this.
I swear if I get my hands on him, I will fucking kill him! I will do time for it!
I take a moment and pace my office, preparing myself for what is on the damn videos. I retake my seat and hit play on the first one. They all seem to be only seconds long. The moment it plays, my breathing gets heavier, and my nostrils flair. It is a sex tape. Maya looks like she doesn’t even know she is being filmed. If anything, she looks scared and seems to be crying. The tears roll down my cheeks as I make my way through them. One of them includes Callum and two of his friends. They aren’t touching her, but Maya is sleeping and naked, yet again, and he is showing his friends everything. The three of them laughing.
I switched it off because I couldn’t watch any more of them. It is too much. It is heartbreaking, and seeing her so vulnerable makes me worry about what else could have happened to her. She still hasn’t told me everything from her past, and I can’t help but wonder if this is why. How can one person be so cruel and think what they are doing is okay? The man needs locking up for life. I am sure Maya isn’t the only one. There were probably women before her and once who have come after she ran. God, I hope not. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through this.
I remove it from the computer. I should hand it into the police, but what happens if I do, and Callum finds out? He will release everything; I don’t doubt it. I wouldn’t ever dream of paying a blackmailer, but I can’t sit back and do nothing, not when I know how cruel he is. I can’t let Maya go through this. I don’t give a fuck about my reputation. All I care about is Maya. I can’t allow this to happen.
I can’t tell Maya about it either. I need to deal with it without her knowing. It would break her. She would live in fear again and be worried sick every second of the day. I promised to protect her, and if it means giving him the money, then I will. The only thing wrong with that is what if I give him the money and he still releases them?
Fuck! I need time to work on a plan—one which stops him from releasing them and one that will protect Maya from any more pain. I tug at my hair and hiss in anger. I need to find the bastard or someone better before me because if I ever come face-to-face with the bastard again, I will not be held responsible for my actions. He has ruined enough of Maya’s life; he doesn’t get to ruin any more.