Jonah approached his car in a hurry wanting to escape to the comfort of his home. As he was about to open his car door, a familiar figure caught the side of his eye. Squinting, he realized it was Elaine in a baby pink suit walking into the post office with some middle aged looking balding man walking beside her.
"What the heck could she be doing here?" He thought to himself. He decided to wait for her in his car, hoping to catch her in a conversation. Maybe she knows something about the blackmailer. Jonah settles comfortably into his car waiting and watching.
Thirty minutes passed and she was not still out. Jonah became bored and restless. He looked to his passenger seat where the white take away paper bag laid. He chuckled to himself about his paranoia. He opens the bags, bringing out the plastic case in which the last two cookies were stored. He cracks open the plastic case, his eyes focused on the entrance through his windshield. Rolling one cookie between his fingers he cracked it open.
Stretching out the paper, reading it for entertainment. The fourth one read, "The greatest risk is not taking the risk, do not let fear hold you back." He chuckled at whatever gimmick this was. He threw the cookie in his mouth as he gave the paper in his hand a once over.
Jonah tried to calm himself down chalking all these messages from a so-called "fortune cookie" as a coincidence and nothing more. "I am pretty sure everyone at the diner got the exact same thing I did. So why worry." Jonah said.
Now calm enough, he breaks open the fifth cookie with no sign of Elaine. Throwing the cookie in his mouth before reading. "You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one." The last quote convinced him, he was not being watched it was just some universe luck, good or bad. He shook his head at how easy it had become to throttle him.
Taking a sip of his water bottle from his car, he sighted Elaine walking out but this time without the man. He believed it was the best time to make his move. He pushed open his car door stepping out and walking towards Elaine.
"Elaine! Elaine!" He called out. Elaine stopped, looking around for who was calling her. She squinted as it had now gotten dark and the sun had completely set. Jonah walked up to her, she looked at him scrunching her face in confusion.
"Hi it's me Jonah. Remember." Jonah said to her. Elaine looked on feigning a look of confusion on her face. "We met in the Maldives remember when you were on vacation. You gave me your card in case of anything but you did not reach out, neither did I." Jonah narrated trying to help Elaine's memory.
Elaine's face softened into a false wide smile. "Oh Jonah, it's you." She said pulling Jonah into a hug. "Fancy meeting you here. " She added. "You too." Jonah said. "What brings you to this side of the city?" Jonah asked.
"Well, you know my line of work, as a journalist I always have to be on the move, I came here to interview a witness for a story." She lied smoothly. "Wow, that is great for you." Jonah said. "What brings you here?" Elaine asks him.
Jonah sighs. "Just running some errands," Jonah replied, trying to sound casual. "So, Elaine, you know, it has been a while. I have been... well, I have been going through some rather strange times lately." He paused, looking at her intently.
"Have you, by any chance, encountered anyone trying to feed you information about me or, say, Elliot?" He phrased it carefully, trying to sound like he was just curious, not paranoid. "Anyone trying to sell a story, maybe? Or even just... offering unsolicited details?"
Elaine's eyes flickered, but she maintained her practiced smile. "No, Jonah, nothing like that. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing really, it is just... a hunch," he said, forcing a chuckle. "There has been some... strange things happening. Like, someone has been trying to blackmail me. It is ridiculous, really. They seem to have some... skewed perception of my life. It has been going on for sometime now. It has been quite stressful." He decided to add a layer of fabricated honesty.
"Look, Elaine, I am not going to lie. I'm not opposed to making some money from this whole scandalous mess. I mean, who would not be? But I want to do it on my terms. I have been waiting for Elliot to finish up a final financial obligation to me. Once that is done, I am planning to move on. Break things off, and frankly, use our story to build my own… platform, let’s say. I'm sure you understand." He gestured vaguely, wanting to make it clear he was not trying to hide anything, while still hiding everything.
Elaine nodded slowly, her eyes sharp. "I understand, Jonah. It's a smart move. Control the narrative, right? Well, I have not had anyone approach me with information about you or Elliot yet. But if anyone does, I will hold onto it. I'll wait for you to come forward and tell your side of the story. It's only fair." She gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. "You know, Jonah, you always seemed like you had a story to tell."
"Sorry about whoever has been trying to blackmail you, they have got it all wrong. I really hope that you get to the bottom of this. I will have to go now. Catch you later, I hope this time we keep in touch." Elaine said before walking off.
Jonah let's out a breath feeling an intense pressure in his bladder, he walks briskly into the post office to use the bathroom. Elaine stops and turns around watching Jonah walk into the post office. She lets out a breath of relief. She was nearly caught, this double game she had been playing. She opens her tote, the brown envelope sitting filled with thirty thousand dollars exact.
She looked on, "Was she being too greedy?" She thought to herself. She shook her head, "No she had tasted the good life. Why would she want to go back now. Tabloid sales were dropping since no heavy scandalous headlines and she had to maintain her lifestyle somehow." She thought to herself.
"Plus she was innocent in all this. This was Victor's master scheme all of it. She was just taking advantage and protecting her interest." She thought then shrugged before slipping into her brand new Audi R8 and zooming off.