Age 24
Son of entrepreneur Bill Henderson
Interests: women
Notable information: Mother was a surrogate, identity unknown.
Smith was also blond though his was almost platinum. His hair was short and spiked on the top of his head. He kept a dusting of stubble on his chin. On the photograph he had been pictured leaving a club, an arrogant look on his face.
Jayden Bryant
Age 27
Son of Movie Producer Felicia Bryant and Business Analyst John Bryant
Interests: parties.
Notable information: Mother was part of reality series set in Malibu and Jayden featured from a young age.
Jayden had coffee-colored skin, large chocolate brown eyes and kept his dark hair shaved close to his skull like a shadow. He looked like a bad boy, just like Smith. Those two looked like they'd be a dangerous duo.
Well, soon I would see for myself. All I needed to do now was pack ready for my next adventure.
***
I needed to meet with Leonie, the woman who had approached the magazine to glean as much information from her as I could. Leonie had already signed legal documents to confirm that she wouldn’t reveal either my identity or that she’d even met with us to discuss the article. For that purpose, I met with her in a hotel in Malibu I’d booked just for one evening near to Surfrider Beach.
A knock came to my door. Looking through the spyhole it revealed a nervous looking brunette. It was time to put her out of her misery. I opened the door.
“Hey, you must be Leonie, right? Come in, I’m Serena.” I didn’t give her my surname. She didn’t need it. I gestured through to my living room area. “Take a seat. Would you like a drink at all? Wine, coffee, water?”
Leonie bit her bottom lip. “I’m okay but thank you for asking.”
I tilted my head and raised my right eyebrow in her direction. “You sure? Talking is thirsty work and I’m opening a bottle of wine. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, yeah?” I laughed, and she gave a nervous giggle in reply. I checked the clock. It was 3:23 pm. If I could get her out of here for 5pm, I could treat myself to a burger somewhere overlooking the surf.
“Okay, I’ll have a glass.” She agreed. “Just a small one.”
Of course, the main reason I wanted her to drink wine was because I wanted to loosen her tongue. I required as much information as possible on these guys. The truth was, I hoped that a top expose might take me up the Revealed food chain, and I was looking for a promotion, a bigger salary and a larger apartment. I lived in Manhattan in a room-share and desperately wanted a place of my own.
Leonie had taken a seat on the couch and so I took the chair adjacent to her. I didn’t want her to feel like she was being interviewed—I wanted her to chat to me like a friend or confidante—so to start with I asked her about where she bought her shoes, moved onto what she did for a job (she was now a housekeeper in Bel Air), and then asked her about life in Malibu.
When I’d first arrived and seen the beach view it had taken my breath away. Stunning views of the Pacific Ocean greeted me, and I couldn’t help but compare it to my city life in New York. These places were worlds apart, well, apart from the fact that billionaires liked to play in both.
When we were on our second glass of wine, I placed my notebook open on my lap, picked up a pen and started asking questions.
“So, let me just go over what it said on my print out and you can add anything else you’d like to at that point. Of course, none of what you tell me is going in my report. I want to reassure you that there is nothing that will connect you to my expose, it just helps me to work out the best way to approach this.”
“Okay.” She answered.
“So, let's take this right back to the beginning. You were working as a masseuse at the Spa in The Malibu Dream and Smith Henderson booked in?
Leonie swallowed before speaking. “Yes. I asked him what he wanted me to concentrate on and he said he was feeling tense around his neck and shoulders.”
“Right. And during this massage, did Smith come on to you in any way?”
“No. He was so lovely and charming and left me a huge tip.”
I wanted to make a quip about his huge tip, but I refrained.