Chapter 1

It was a cold day. The sky was dark, threatening to rain fury on earth as thunder rumbled through the ominous clouds. There was a hole in the ground where the coffin lay and people in black dropped stalks of roses into it. There were red, pink, white, and yellow roses—all that seemed too bright for a day such as this. It was the funeral of the late CEO of Williams Towers, and though many came from near and far to pay their last respects, his only child, Fabian Williams was nowhere in sight. He preferred to grieve alone and away from the prying eyes of strangers. He was not the only one. A lone figure in black stood behind a shady oak tree, far away from the crowd, watching the funeral procession silently.

The ceremony lasted a grand total of twenty minutes, with the priest reciting a little prayer before the final rose was dropped into the hole. By then, one by one, those who came started to leave, walking down the freshly mowed grass path that led out of the cemetery.

And once more, the place of the departed became quiet, with only the sound of crickets filling the silence. The lone figure stepped out from behind the oak tree. It was an elderly woman whose face was obscured by a wide, black hat. She glanced around to make sure that she was truly alone before making her way to the tombstone of Williams senior. There, she knelt down onto the soft damp soil, placed a single rose on top and whispered, “Goodbye. I will remember you.”

***

It would be two days later before Fabian finally emerged from his room. He hadn’t planned on stepping out of his man cave so soon, but a surprise invitation to attend an exclusive preview of ‘The Millennia’ changed his mind. ‘The Millennia’ was his former partner’s promotional launch of the soon to be rival product of VX2.

A part of Fabian was furious, and yet another part of him was confused. How on earth did Liam come up with his own version so fast? The man had hardly left Virtuex for less than a year and he was already launching a product of his own? Not to mention a product that he claimed to be on par with the VX2? As far as Fabian could remember, the son of a bitch never set foot in the design meetings during the initial stages of VX2 and had practically zero knowledge of its design; so how on earth did he manage to make one on his own?

Granted, the man was smart, but Fabian had been friends with Liam long enough to know of his limitations. Unless he somehow managed to gain some intel on the VX2, Fabian would bet his life that Liam was full of bullshit right now.

The invitation read:

THE MILLENIA

LAUNCH PARTY AT THE DILBAR 9 PM

ESCORTS FROM LA FIRE PROVIDED

But the fact that his former friend managed to get his hands on the 156m superyacht from the Uzbekistani billionaire Alisher Usmanov spoke volumes. This made Fabian very curious. Very curious indeed. He decided to attend the party and see for himself once and for all if The Millenia truly posed a threat to his company. 

“Redd?” he called out from the railing at the top of the staircase.

“Yeah?” she replied from below. He decided to join her, she was probably cooking something again. That woman had been stuffing his face with food nonstop for the past few days. He would start growing a belly if she did not stop playing around in the kitchen. Not that her cooking was bad, it was actually quite good. Her pastry skills particularly stood out like a rose among thorns. He swore he would never eat from another bakery again, especially not after consuming her baked goods.

In a way, she made his house feel like a home and for that he was grateful. Her presence made things more bearable. He thought of telling her about the launch party. Liam had booked practically everyone from the La Fire. He decided to bring Amber, he didn’t want to be in the arms of any other woman besides this particular redhead.

But first, he had to put his paper crane back. He walked into his study and casually headed over to his study desk to put his origami back when something on the opposite wall caught his eye. Gently, Fabian closed his drawer and stepped over to the abstract painting.

A hand went up to his jaw, rubbing it as his eyes narrowed. The abstract painting was no longer tilted.

I could have sworn I tilted it before….

The only people who knew about the safe were Liam and Harry. He made it is as a joke when the company had just started out and to the amusement of the two men, he decided to keep the original hardcopy of VX2’s blueprint in the safe behind this very abstract painting. The softcopy was safely stored in the company’s database.

An annoying voice began to whisper on his shoulder. A logical voice. A worried voice.

Did Redd touch the painting?

He shook his head. He was probably thinking too much. Perhaps she had been cleaning his study. She certainly was a busy bee, cooking, cleaning, and washing non-stop. He was starting to feel he had paid six million for a maid instead. But still…

“V?” he called out even as his hand went to tilt the painting once more, this time to a less obvious angle.

“Yes, Mr. Williams.”

“Did Redd enter this room?” He dropped his hands to his side, satisfied with the new positioning of the painting.

“Redd?” The AI questioned. Fabian realized that V did not know of Amber’s nickname. It was a name only he knew, and he felt that made it extra special. 

I must be getting sentimental...he thought, frowning. 

“Amber Banks.”

“Fabian! There you are!” Amber shouted from the doorway, drowning out V’s reply and panting as if she had run a marathon.

“V, I baked something in the oven. Can you switch it off for me?” Her face was flushed red, and she was clearly having trouble catching her breath.

“Yes, Miss Banks.”

She worried him to no end, and he quickly went over to her, placing both of his sturdy hands on her shoulder, towering above her, “You okay Redd?”

He peered down at her, and she smiled at him, beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, “Huh? Yeah. Never better. Why don’t we head down for breakfast?”

He would much rather have her for breakfast, seeing how sweaty she was. Her t-shirt clung to her body like a second skin, and he was itching to tear it off. But the memory of her crying in his office came flooding back and he quickly brushed off the thought. He hadn’t touched her since that day, not in the way he wanted but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait. The woman was exotically beautiful and so readily available. They were alone in his home for goodness’s sake!

‘C’mon, take her now! On the floor! She’ll love it! I bet she’s horny for you too!’ his devil whispered sweet nothings into his ear.

‘Actually, I agree with that,’ the little angel nodded, eyeing Amber’s assets approvingly.

“Fabian?” Amber called out and both his imaginative spiritual beings poofed into thin air.

“Oh yeah…let’s go down.”

She nodded, pleased that he was finally going downstairs and started towards the flight of stairs when Fabian placed a hand on her shoulder, “Redd?”

She turned around, flashing him her pearly whites, “Yes Fabian?”

“Liam Smith is throwing a party tonight. I’m bringing you with me.”

He could sense a change in her immediately, her body tensed at his name.

“But if you don’t want to go…” It was obvious she was still scared of Liam.

She shook her head and quietly said, “I’ll go.”

Gently he squeezed her shoulder, “The girls from La Fire will be there too. He won’t dare to pull off anything stupid.”

She looked up at him, her eyes big and trusting, “Okay.”