Calm down
Kim
*One week later*
“We’ve all raised some good ideas and-”
Harry stopped speaking when I stormed in after opening the door of the boardroom with maximum aggression. He was seated around the table with Sara, Maya, Harlow and one of the accountants. I charged upon Harlow and punched his old head. The idiot somehow managed to erase everything I had on him and I’d never been angrier.
I was just about to send the video to Harlow’s wife after struggling so much to get her phone number. The plan was to send it and blackmail her. There was a possibility she was okay with him sleeping around with younger women but she wouldn’t want to have a video of her husband in that compromising position spreading all over the internet.
“Stop it!” Maya yelled as I rained punches on her boss’ head. Someone grabbed me by the waist as Sara called out for security guards from the doorway.
“Let me go,” I shrieked, trying to get off the strong grip of the person whom I recognized as Harry. Maya was now attending to Harlow who seemed disoriented and pretty shaken up. I laughed, he deserved it and more. I didn’t know how they did it but even Mane lost the two copies of evidence he had. He even lost the evidence of Harry and I’s teamwork. How convenient!
I wanted to suspect him but he was my best friend and I was pretty sure would never betray me. Harlow must have used some kind of software to siphon my data. I didn’t remember clicking on any suspicious link because Mane himself was good at making people click on them. He got paid for spreading malware or some kind of crooked shit like that. He was always warning me to be vigilant.
“You haven’t seen the last of me,” I yelled as two guards dragged me out of the room. No, I didn’t deserve to be treated like that by anyone. I saw two people from the actuaries department which I had been managing in Maya’s absence. I lowered my head in shame as I used to boss them around. They were probably laughing inwardly at me and that assumption made me feel terrible.
I couldn’t believe Harry didn’t try to say anything to support me. He was acting like a saint. I wondered if he had betrayed me somehow. Was he the one who gave Maya the evidence? I couldn’t believe I had been outsmarted by that idiot.
Outside, the security guards went back to their positions. I dialed Mane’s number while arranging my blouse and making sure there was enough cleavage showing. Mane told me to go to his place and I did exactly that. Where else could I go? After this, I couldn’t even afford the apartment I’d recently moved in to.
“The best thing you can do right now is to let it go,” he told me after listening to my narrative which had been filled with very colorful words. “Find another job and start a new life.”
“What!” I grimaced, wondering what had happened to my friend. “Why would I give them the pleasure of defeating me? And by the way, whose side are you on?”
“How can you ask me that?” He said, putting his feet on the table. Gross. “Of course I’m on your side but we both know that those people haven’t done anything wrong. You brought this upon yourself, Kim. You’re still very immature.”
Mane had always been my number one supporter and he was the last person who’d care about morals. What was going on?
“You know what, I don’t need your help.” I stood up and zipped up my cross bag. “I’m a strong woman and I’ll figure it out on my own. I’m going to destroy all those people’s lives single handedly if you don’t want to help me. Don’t forget that I’ve helped you a lot in your crooked deals.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” he got up from the couch and stood between me and the door. I took a step back, surprised. Laughing, he said; “You’ve watched too many movies and now you feel like some sort of badass villain. This is real life and things are not always like the movies.”
“Who are you to tell me what not to do?” He was below my league. He needed to appreciate that I actually spared time for him. What a lowlife.
“The person who knows all your secrets,” he smirked.
“So what? You’re a criminal who has been in jail before. No one will believe what you say so shut up and don’t waste my time. I need to go now.”
“You’ve learnt all you know from me.”
I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t even finish University. You’re just another illiterate criminal.”
“Don’t be so arrogant, my friend. I can make them annul the degree you’re so proud of.”
“How would you do that?” I challenged him.
“I have proof that your internship report was made by someone else and you slept with some of your lecturers to get marks for three of your final year course units.”
“What proof? You’re only trying to threaten me but you know what, it’s not working.”
“Not only of that but of many bad things you’ve done. I have a video that shows you setting up a camera in the hotel room where you went with Harlow and full feed that proves that sex between the two of you was consensual. He now has a copy, too. Do you remember when you took that professor to your room and after having sex, he changed your marks on his phone and showed you?”
“I never told you about that? How-?”
“I have an audio recording. I was right there under the bed. I used to be infatuated with you and I was burning with jealousy.”
“You bastard. You’ve been working against me all this time.”
“Not really. When you’re a criminal, learn to never trust anyone. If you’re working with someone, always have something against that person. That’s my final lesson to you. I knew that one day, you and I would fall out and I had to be quite prepared. Note that if you say anything about me to the police, I’ll say more about you with evidence. You have no proper evidence against me. You’re a girl trying to build a career and I’m a professional criminal. Let’s see, who stands to lose more?”
“Why have you turned against me?”
He pressed the unlock button on his phone and scrolled through it. After a minute, he raised it. His bank account balance was in millions of dollars. For a moment, I was stunned. He sold me out for money. What a prick!
“How dare you!”This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
He laughed. “Calm down, my sweetheart. We can enjoy together if you like.”
He stepped forward and hugged me. Although I was furious, I placed my hands around him. I could pretend, just so I could screw him over later. Seconds later, we pulled away. I needed to get out of there and unload all the frustration I was feeling.
“Can I go now?” I asked.
“No, darling. From today onwards, you’re going to live with me.”
“What the-” he pulled out a handkerchief from one of his pockets and placed it over my nose and mouth. As I breathed in, I felt my body becoming weak.