Secrets and Lies (Book Two): Redemption

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.”

Amber was not okay.

As she stepped aboard the brightly lit superyacht, worry consumed her thoughts, blinding her from the flurry of activities that were going about on the floating vehicle.

What the heck is Liam Smith thinking? Why is he throwing a launch party when he doesn’t even have the blueprint?

She hadn’t even gotten her hands on the safe yet. Didn’t he know that? With Fabian around the house the past few days, she barely had time to try out the different combinations on the lock, let alone contact Anson!

Damnit!

But she had a feeling the shrewd man had something up his sleeve.

“Amber!” a raspy voice called out from the yacht, bringing her attention back to her surroundings.

Amber looked up at the open balconies above her and caught sight of two beautiful women— Lola and Bree—and they were waving at her happily.

She waved back before taking a peek at Fabian through her Bambi lashes. He looked down at her and gave her a nod, letting go of her hand. With that, she made a mad dash onto the first floor of the yacht where she was greeted by some of her colleagues from the club. A few queries and wrong rooms later found her at one of the guest suites where the two ladies were.

The guest room had a simple queen-sized bed and a balcony overlooking the pale blue waves that bobbed gently under the moonlit sky. Outside, a band of three played jazz on a helipad as a few of the guests mingled around the pool, all eagerly waiting for the unveiling of the mysterious Millenia.

“Amber darling!” Bree threw her arms around Amber and gave her a warm embrace. “How have you been? Has he been treating you well?”

“Yes...” Amber flushed red at the memory of her first night.

“My, my, is someone blushing?” Lola nudged at Amber, who gave her an eye roll. “I think we have a happy girl here Bree,” Lola laughed, ruffling Amber’s hair. The ladies, save Amber were all wearing hot pink bikinis, all that left very little to the imagination. Amber was only glad she did not have to wear it. She wasn’t comfortable showing so much skin in front of strangers.

You had no trouble showing your skin to Fabian, her inner voice reminded her. Her cheeks went red again at the thought. If the naughty thoughts kept piling on, she would probably end up looking like a lobster. She tugged at her own outfit, glad that she was not wearing the bikini. Hers was a modest knee-length black bodycon dress, yet another gift from Fabian. It was simple but elegant and she adored it.

“By the way,” Bree sat on the bed and adjusted her bikini strap, “why’d you ask for Fabian’s birth date?

Lola, who was lounging on the bed, raised an eyebrow.

No, no, no, no, Amber waved her hands in an attempt to stop Bree from talking. Why on earth did she have to ask Bree for Fabian’s information? She was regretting it now. The girl was a blabbermouth. The ladies continued, ignoring her silent pleas.

“Yeah…why didn’t you ask Fabian yourself?” Lola sat up, her eyes narrowing.

Amber chuckled nervously, taking a seat next to her friend. The bed felt soft and cool to the touch, and she could only imagine what would happen in the guest suites for many of the women later on.

“I wanted to surprise him for his birthday,” she fibbed. She was getting used to lying now.

Run a lie detector on me and you won’t even know a thing, she thought wryly.

“Oh! What are you getting for him? His birthday is tomorrow!” Bree suddenly became very animated, her adoration for Fabian was barely masked by her excitement.

How’d she remember his birthday, Amber wondered, a sudden pang of jealousy bubbled inside of her.

Then another thought came, Wait, his birthday is tomorrow?!

A surge of excitement swelled within her. What was she going to get him?

Yet another thought, He doesn’t know you asked for his birthdate you doufus!

Still, her mind started to think of things she could gift him. Something special and personal perhaps? A cake? Nah, she’d baked him too many things already. He was probably sick of her cooking. She thought of getting him a shirt but then shot down the idea.

The man wears designer clothing! Just look at the dress he got you! She was wearing a Victoria Beckham dress.

Then again, his father just passed away. Would he even want to celebrate his birthday? Amber sighed wondering why she was so ruffled over his upcoming birthday.

“Hello? Earth to Amber...” Lola called out, tugging at Amber’s arm. Apparently, she had been staring off into space. 

“We’re going out to serve the guests now, Liam’s starting his presentation.”

Amber blinked, “Oh, alright. I’ll head out with you two.”

They stepped out of the guest room and walked past a few more rooms before reaching the main deck where a gigantic 25-meter-long pool lay. A few of the hostesses were in the water, one lay sprawling in a gigantic unicorn float while another two played suggestively with a large floating ball, much to the delight of the men who stood around. Amber scanned the crowd for Fabian only to see him chatting away with a seductive looking brunette.

Oh.

She stopped in her tracks, not able to move.

“Sexy, isn’t she?” Lola gave her a sympathetic smile before patting Amber on the shoulder. “I told you before, hon, don’t get romantically involved with the men from the club. Once they’re done with you, they’ll just move on to the next chick to conquer.”

Amber remained deadly still, her eyes lingering on Fabian. She was starting to experience another pang of jealousy and this time, it gnawed at her heart, leaving her feeling empty and achingly sore. She’d never felt like this before and decided that she didn’t like this feeling. Not one bit.

Lola continued, “Get whatever you can from him within these two months, wring him dry if you can and get out of there.”

With that, Lola stepped past Amber and into the crowd just as Liam went onto the stage in front of the pool.

He was dressed in a tuxedo with a black bow tie to boot. A golden microphone stood in front of him, and he tapped on it. The jazz band stopped playing.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for gracing this humble yacht with your presence this evening. As you know, Smithsonian Holdings is on the verge of a breakthrough. We have the next evolutionary product that will change your world!”

By then, Amber had inched closer to Fabian. From where she stood, she could see the brunette placing her hand suggestively on his chest and Fabian did not look like he minded it one bit. Amber sucked in her breath and decided not to go near them. Instead, she stood among the crowd and watched as Liam continued with his speech. Overhead, fireworks shot up into the sky and exploded in an array of colors, visibly brightening up the night sky. The crowd cheered and clapped.

A gigantic white screen behind Liam suddenly came to life and a video showing the brief history of Smithsonian Holdings began to play. It ended with yet another round of applause. Liam then cleared his throat, “And now ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, The Millenia…”

At this, the crowd became silent as tension cloaked everyone, as they were all eager to set their eyes on VX2’s rival. Liam stepped down from the stage to allow the crowd a better view of the screen, but not before he caught Amber’s eyes.

With all eyes on the screen, no one noticed Liam slipping away from the crowd. No one but Amber.

She too stepped into the shadows of the yacht where no one could see her and waited—she waited for the man who strung her along like a puppet in his very own show of secrets and lies.