Chapter 19: the start of something

Veronica's Pov

How the heck does he know about Aiden was my first thought? why was the drive with Aiden and not Lexi? is my second thought and after that, I'm just lost in my thoughts.

I was relaxed and freaked out at the same time. I mean is this okay? or is it official that New York actually f*cked me?

Why didn't Aiden tell me that he returned the drive to Leonard? what was the whole point of coming here then?

The drive; he already got it so why did he call me here? Nicole? he seriously wants to help me with her or is this some kind of a sadistic move of his? I don't know.

I just stand there in his study room with my hands resting on my forehead as I slowly take my time to digest all the things.

"Umm," I look at him and took a deep breath, I still need to ask him about the other drive "what uhm the uh other" I clear my throat and just went with the flow "why do you have two drives? the last time I remembered Kelly only mentioned one so???" there it is. I asked him.

I cross my arms and waited for his answer,

"Well for starters" he hesitated but still managed to continue and fill me up with a possibility that the drive was fake all this time and my effort to bring it here was totally not worth it.

You know times like this make me want to punch that german lady that I met before coming to New York who told me that life is unpredictable, like yeah after coming to America I can say that very clearly that life is nothing but a Netflix series filled with dramas that don't intend to end but again starts with a different season with a more complex plot and confusing characters.

I was shocked literally, we both got played. He thought the drive was real so he took his time and hunted down Kelly as for me I got so engaged with my anger towards him that I didn't even look if the drive was real or not or just know what was inside it.

All I wanted was to get rid of it as soon as possible but my history of endings didn't agree with me. Without death or betrayal, there isn't any ending written for me.

I gently chuckled and look at him "What are you planning to do now?"

What is he actually planning? I want to know and also don't; I'm really confused.

He didn't say anything for a long time but Ik he was anxious cause this was like the 13th time he walked back and forth towards me all the while biting his nails,

I got up and hold his fingers "don't" I scrunch my nose at him. I really don't like this nail-biting stuff. It's not healthy and let's be honest it's kinda gross.

He looked up straight in my eyes with an emotion that I wasn't very familiar with "you are going to help me find the real drive" he said taking one of my fingers I just used to stop him from biting his nails closer to his lips and kissed it.

My eyes widened at his sudden affection along with this stupid belly aching whenever he touches me.

"Stop messing around" I snapped and took my finger back from his grasp "I don't want to get involved in your shit," I said

He slightly leaned against the wall and smirked " aren't you already involved?" his eyes dart to mine like a magnet.

I don't want to confess but it is true that I already involved myself in this mess or more like his mess. I don't see myself ending in a huge boulder of responsibility that doesn't even have my say in it and it's not like I'm free or something to help with the drive like I got Nicole and fucking Interview with the Opera.

"I don't see how? The last time was different, I wanted to protect Kelly from you but now I don't see any reason to stick that fucking drive up my ass" I started,

I really don't, why should I help the person who hurt someone close to me. It's his mess and his responsibility to clean it up. Involving more people will get him nowhere.

"plus I already got a situation and it's not like you don't already know" I pointed to the files he gave me about Nicole,

He hummed and brought one hand under his chin and the other supporting it to make it look like he's thinking something.

"Do you know where the real drive is?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and looking at me with an intention that fucking gave me heebie-jeebies.

"If I did, I won't be wasting my time here" I look at him, a sly grin appearing on the side of his mouth "you wanna know?" his eyes intimidating than ever. He fucking knows what he is doing with that bloody expressions and I'm not ready to get swayed by it.

"Not really, but if you want you can tell me" that's a good response right? calm and collected that doesn't give any hints how desperately I wanted the answer.

He seems to sense the difference in my tone and the way I was looking at him like Jesus I really want to know where the real drive is.

"It's with Kelly," he said

"What?"

Leonard's Pov

There it is. I said I'd be using Kelly but it's going to be hard making her believe this lie. The real chip is somewhere in Europe and with my busy schedules for another month I can't go there immediately.

Andrew, Logan, and Spice are already there finding the chip and I'll come once I sort my schedules out but for now, I need to make her believe that the real one is with Kelly so that she agrees to play the game with me.

I don't really like lying to her but if I want her to spend more time with me I'm willing to do any goddamn thing in the world.

Let's freak her out a little more, I like her temper.

"Kelly has two drives Veronica, one that she purposely stole and the other that Jacob planted" I paused and looked at her, if I wasn't trying to freak her out I would be laughing right now seeing how her jaw was almost touching the floor with shock.

"um uh" she tried to speak something but couldn't obviously the thing I said just now must be really surprising to her.

I dart my eyes to her and slowly take in her features; "beautiful" I softly whisper, she's not only beautiful and rebellious but very innocent, no wonder Nicole managed to screw her up.

I slowly walk over to her and gently caress her shoulders " you didn't know about this, did you?" she slightly leans to my touch and hums, fuck this is what I was talking about. She doesn't know what her body is doing to me.

All my life, I've hated women because my super repugnant mother set a very good example for me that women are shellfish, conceited and self-centered creatures and I shouldn't be proud but I believed that.

Still, I think women are all those things except for Veronica who makes me want to wonder if all the things I did with every woman were acceptable. My so-called image of a womanizer was a build-up for the things I hated my mother for, I used this title for her, to make her feel a little guilty that she is responsible for making me like this.

I've used them for my own gains, every week I was seen with a new woman one after the other. Many were from entertainment fields while others were from corporate. I've flirted with almost a zillion women but not once did someone make me feel the literal meaning of commitment.

My relationships lasted for about a month or two and after that, I would jump to other women repeating the fucking cycle again.

I never let them get close to me cause for one thing I thought was; they're are after my money. As long as I give them something monetary they would continue satisfying me and was I wrong? Yes obviously, and fuck Veronica wants me to make amends for all the dirt I did till now.

I still don't know how but maybe this game will help me, I need her to stay with me until I organize my feelings and come to a conclusion that this is all a fucking hormonal thing and nothing more than that.

"Kelly uh" she speaks interrupting my thoughts "so like Kelly also have no clue about the second drive as she has it" she looks at me

"Maybe, I recently found this myself" I lightly grin,

"Why in the fuck's hell do you have two drives? isn't one enough? how many more do you need?" she surprisingly snapped back, her hands resting on her head massaging it.

"The chip is very crucial Veronica, for its safety, I've built three fake ones so fo-" she quickly gets up from her seat and interrupts me

"Safety? what safety? It's already in the field ruining lives"

I close my eyes and took a deep breath; I think it's time, I can't stretch it any longer cause from the looks of it, I think she believes that the chip is with kelly so time to put my move on its gear.

"Listen I'm not intending to hurt anyone, not even Kelly but if she doesn't give me the chip back then I can't promise the repercussion she has to go through and I'm not saying only me, there are a lot of people aiming for that chip and she fucking has it adds more danger to it"

"I'll give you the drive so don't even think of hurting her" she warned me with her cute fingers pointing at me,

I walk over to her and put my hands around her waist, a slow sensation forming inside my body when I felt her tense up against my touch "I need a surety sweetheart" I pulled her closer to me and tilted her chin closer to mine " I'm a businessman after all and in my field trust is a very expensive thing" I finish

I slip my other hand around her waist and pulled her all to myself, our body touching like ice and fire, the burning, the chemistry, and fucking attraction was flawlessly intimidating.

Her hands were resting on my chest giving me everything I forgot I was able to feel, she slowly lifts her face "I'll give you anything" she breathed, her left hand clutching my collar ever so tightly as she continued "just don't hurt her" she said losing the grip on my collar.

I took a deep breath and grin internally, finally, she agreed. "Alright I'll not hurt her and with my word, I'll even protect her from the ones who intend to steal the real chip from her if only"

I paused and looked at her, curious and scared she just stood there waiting for me to finish the word.

I clear my throat "you agree to play a game with me"