Into the Darkness

“Updates please! Don’t leave a single thing out!” Eric exclaimed as I entered my office.

I told him about the whole night: how great Julian was and the fact that I drank an entire year’s supply of margaritas. My head was pounding to a point I swear I could actually see my pulse throbbing out of the corner of my eye. Eric’s high-pitched voice and thirst for information did not help calm the storm brewing in my head.

“You’re my source of amusement, Charlie. I live vicariously through your sexcapades.”

“I don’t know why, E. You’re twenty-one and look like an Asian version of Zac Efron. I should be living through you,” I answered back.

I sat back in my chair and glanced out the window. Life seemed perfect; Julian was amazing, everything I was looking for in a guy. He made me laugh, he was smart and he was so unbelievably hot that I swear my lady parts were in lady part heaven. Yes, Batman definitely ticked all my boxes including the one below. Life at work was busy and thriving on pressure was my

thing. Everything I worked hard for had paid off and I couldn’t help but feel that all of this was too good to be true. Just like my momma once told me though, perfection can never be reached. Shaking my head I thought, screw that notion. Life was perfect and I was sitting on top of the world, wearing my new Louboutins while trying to bury deeper the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that there was a dark storm gathering on the horizon, ready to come and rock me to the core.

Chapter 2

Lex

I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. It was dark but I could see the sun peaking through the drawn curtains. The empty bottle of bourbon was lying on the nightstand as well as my wallet and cell. There was the stench of cheap perfume and sex in the air. Scattered across the floor were my clothes as well as a red halter-top dress. I looked at her sleeping peacefully beside me. A brunette, a rare slip-up. What was her name again? Brandy, Betty, Bindi? I carefully moved off the bed, got dressed, grabbed my wallet and cell, and left the room. The elevator took forever before I rode it up to the penthouse. I started packing my suitcase and called my assistant, Kate. She answered almost immediately.

“Kate, what time is my flight to London?”

“Eleven, sir.” She yawned as she answered.

“Book me a room next to the airport. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

This wasn’t the first time I had called Kate at five in the morning asking for a hotel change. I just didn’t want the aftermath of trying to cut loose the hussy from last night. I arrived at the new hotel and showered before grabbing a quick bite to eat. The flight was quiet, thank God, which gave me a chance to catch up on work. I shut the lid of my laptop and closed my eyes, remembering how last night began.

“Excuse me, sir, you left your credit card at the bar.”

I looked up and before me was a gorgeous woman wearing a red halter dress, black pumps, her long brown hair flowing down her back. Of course she noticed when I eyed her from head to toe. Not bad, I thought to myself, it’s been a while since I got some pussy.

“Thank you...?” I searched her face, waiting for an answer

Her eyes lit up. “Brandy,” she answered, batting her eyelashes.

Brandy and I sat at a table and started talking. She told me she was a flight attendant from Alaska and continued to talk but all I could think about was the hair… The long brown hair which flowed down her back, I ached to touch it, remembering how it felt running my fingers through it. Fuck no, don’t reminisce. Brandy smelled fantastic, like sex. Probably wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Such a dirty little whore.

“So tell me, Lex, what do you do?”

I broke out of my thoughts and quickly answered her question. This chick was really starting to bore me. I offered her another drink which she gladly accepted before inviting me to her room. I don’t remember much, only that she was loud and wanted me to pull her hair harder. I didn’t do brunettes but tonight I let my guard down. I fucked her twice before collapsing on the bed.

…

The plane arrived at London on time. My driver was waiting for me at the gate, as usual. I decided to go straight to the office, knowing I had a busy day ahead of me. It didn’t come as a surprise when we drove out of Heathrow to see that the skies were grey, the clouds forming in a cluster. It was summer and you would think that after five years living in London I would be used to this, but I still missed the constant sunshine back home.

Our office was on the top floor and had a fantastic view of the Thames River. I was proud of what I had built; I spent years pushing myself to build my empire, dedicating my life to my work and goddamn, it paid off. I knew what my net worth was, and so did everyone else after that Times Magazine interview. I never regretted the path I took. I knew that becoming a doctor was my father’s dream, not mine. That’s not to say I didn’t respect him; I had never met a man as driven as my father. His dedication and compassion astounded me. Our fallout years ago after I decided to quit the medical field and focus on building my empire was like a kick in the guts. Neither of us would back down. My mother was devastated, trying her best to repair our relationship. It took the passing of my grandfather for us to start talking to each other again, though our relationship still remained strained, something I preferred to ignore. I was his son, the big fat failure, even if Bill Gates would argue that in a heartbeat.

I entered the lobby to see the staff nervously shuffle around me. It fucking pissed me off every time; they better not have been slacking off. I reminded myself to contact human resources and have performance reviews done. These twenty-something girls thought they had it all figured out—gossiping during work on my time was not acceptable. Fuck, I was getting more annoyed by the minute. Slamming the door behind me, I walked to my desk and pressed the speed dial button to reception.

“Gretchen, get Kate in my office now.”

“Yes, sir,” she answered.

I sat at my desk and started checking my emails: same old bullshit. Honestly, did some fuckers need me to hold their hand for everything? I may have been the CEO but fuck me, bend over and I’ll wipe your ass too! I didn’t get to the top by playing on the safe side; I made decisions and whether or not they were right at the time, they paid off. The stress of this upcoming merger was really starting to irritate me. I wasn’t a patient person, those around me knew that, years of planning and I was itching to close the deal and move forward. Trying to take my mind off it as I waited for Kate, I checked to see how our shares were holding up.

“Good morning, Mr. Edwards.”

Kate walked into my office, sat herself down and opened up her laptop. She started reading her calendar and began reeling off my schedule.

“You have a three o’clock conference call with The Windsor Group regarding the merger, and your flight to New York leaves tomorrow morning at six. I will accompany you on this flight and your stay in New York will be till next Monday. During this time you have meetings scheduled with the After Dark investors.” She continued to scroll through her schedule and typed as she spoke. “I have made an appointment with a commercial realtor to look at potential office locations.”