A Billionaire Next Door

Ch. 5 - The Warning KAITLYN  The cafe was too cheery for the conversation Aria wanted to have.  Morning light spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, painting the marble tables and polished chrome fixtures in a warm gold. The cafe filled with laughs from nearby conversation, the clinking of mugs, and the smell of cinnamon and fresh-brewed coffee. Everyone else is having a good morning. And then there's me sitting across her best friend, wishing she hadn't agreed to meet up. "You can't keep on doing this, Kait."  Aria's voice cut through a few conversations, loud enough to turn heads. Well, she's never been the one to cover up her word with bubble wrap to give a soft landing. I pull up my cup half-filled with coffee to my lips, taking a small sip before placing it back on the table. "Doing what?" "Pretending you can fix everything alone." she says, leaning forward with her eyes dark. "This scandal isn't just a rise-to-face scheme anymore; people are talking, taking it seriously. It's blood in the water, and the sharks can smell it. If you won't let someone help, it's going to eat Rhodes Designs up." She says sharply. I force a smile at her. Reassuring. "I've always fixed things alone." She returns the smile, "That's not strength, that's what we call stubbornness." I know she wants the best for me, but I just can't. Receiving help is exactly like asking for a favour, you're going to have to pay back tenfold.  My phone buzzes against the table. I pick it up, and it's an email from my assistant. The word 'URGENT' is the subject.  I flipped it face down. "It's not stubbornness if it works." Tessa groaned, dragging her hands down her face. "You're impossible. I swear, one of these days-" "One of these days what?" I asked lightly, tilting my head. "You'll be right? Don't hold your breath." Her silence this time wasn't sharp, just sad. That was worse. I hated that look in her eye, the one that said she could see through the armor I wore, even when the rest of the world couldn't. But I let the silence linger, because I didn't know what else to say. A few minutes later, I got my things, went back to the apartment to change into a more work-appropriate outfit. By noon, I was back at the Rhodes Designs office. The energy inside was off. It was quiet, the type of quiet that spoke volumes. The tension insde the building was hushed but present. My assistant, Olivia stood outside my glass-walled office waiting to be let in. Hanging my coat, I let out the words "Come in" to her, and she did.  "Lancaster pulled out." She said, without giving me the chance to turn to her. "What?" I asked,  the fear echoing through my voice. "The Lancasters." her hands twisting in her tablet. "They pulled their investments." She clarified. "Alright, you may go." I say, stopping the pain from tearing more into my heart. As she left, I turned the glass room opaque. Tears streaming down my face, the thoughts of everything I've built crashing down act as an initiator for more tears. My hands grip the edge of the table as a means to calm myself down.  No one can see me like this. Not one person.  By the setting of the sun, I was back in my apartment. The estate echoes sounds of the wind, the little chatters, and cars driving into their garage. The gala was tonight, another charity event, I was a usual attender of things like this and I had to continue because the world didn't need another reason to think they broke me. I needed to be seen, more this night than any other. I set a bottle of champagne, set it on my vanity table. Hand pick a wine glass from my dining area pouring myself a drink from the champagne bottle. I can't get through this night without being a little bit tipsy. Foundation, peerfectly blended with my skin Eyeshadow like amor, sharp winged liner, lashes thick and long enough to cast shadows. A bold red lipstick for me to hide my fears behind. Every brush stroke and dab of powder building walls was a layer of protection added. On the dresser, a velvet box sits open, which houses a diamond necklace passed from my mother to me. I reach for it, then stop. The image of the necklace hung around her neck like a leash which my father used to control her. She wore it  to dinners, where she kept quiet and to parties, where my father spoke for her. A symbol of submission. It sounds as a warning in my ear.  I close the box, and tuck it away someplce in my closet. Instead, I reach for a statement piece, a sleek gold choker, that sets itself on my lower colarbone. It pairs well with my dress. A royal blue dress, long enough to cause a train, witha slit that stops at my mid thigh. It's cut to skim curves and commad attention without having to beg for it. My heels click against the hardwood, every sound it makes sharp and precise.  The image that stares back at me through the mirror, looks unrecognizable, the sleekness of the hair, the caramel which disguises as skin to the color of the dress which copiments my eyes.  My black car pulls up to the front of the hotel hosting the gala, the red carpet welcomes me momments before I walk on it. The flashes of lights from multiple cameras fall on the car, the papparazi already waiting. As the driver opens the door, the flashes hit my face. My name as a chorus sound with different voices. "Kaitlyn, are the rumors true" "Is Rhodes Design actually going under" "How were you invited to this event" The question hit me like bullets. My figers dig deep into my skin, but my face was serene, I'll never let them know that they get to me. A practiced smile falls from my lips, my chin upwards with my chest forward. The cameras don't stop. I walk on the carpet with confidence so high, my world seems normal. Every step deliberate. Controlled.  They could whisper. The could talk behind my back. They could speculate. But I'll still walk through those doors like the world belonged to me.