Fulfilled Affection: The Billionaire And The Ex-Convict

"Thief, thief, you're a thief!" The young lady screamed in the lobby of the hotel.

"Ma'am, what's going on?" People gathered around her to question her reason for raising an alarm.

"What's the problem?"

"Call the corps, I've been duped, this woman is a thief,"

"What exactly is the problem, Miss?"

"Yes at least tell us ma'am"

"Let me cut off this bull, and save you all the stress, I did nothing, you know what you're doing and I have no hand in whatever you just did"

"Tell that to the corps when they arrive"

"You won't go scot-free for what you're about to do" "You think framing me would save you?"

She leaned in and spoke into her ears, "You see, things would always go my way, you have no power to stop me from doing whatever I want."

Catherine stood in front of the lady panicking and watched her blame her for something she didn't do.

Proving herself was only going to make it worse. She was the daughter of a rich man and they'll only listen to the one who holds the dough.

All Catherine remembered was helping this lady with something on her phone, the greatest mistake she ever made was to get dragged into a bank account issue.

The police came and grabbed Catherine like she was some bag of cherries, "Let me go, I'm innocent, I've done nothing, I did nothing" Catherine pleaded her innocence but it was all futile.

"Anything you say will be used against you in the court of law, behave yourself if you don't want to spend the rest of your life in prison."

They threw her into the van and drove off.

************

Catherine sat in a bar situated in the middle of New York city as she drowned herself in the shots and memories of the past.

Catherine was released from prison a few hours ago, with nowhere to go, she went and sat in the bar.

"Ma'am, what should I bring?"

"Another shot of your strongest whisky" Catherine winked at the bar man and took the last shot in front of her. "Why's the bar so empty?"

"Today's one of the bad market days for us, we get low on customers on days like this, but then, I must say ma'am, you're an active drinker" the bar man commented.

Catherine sat there and laughed to herself , only if he knew where she was coming from, he wouldn't say that.

Her first days in prison were nothing she wanted to reminisce about, but the memories kept on coming.

*************

"Hey, you, softie," a huge lady sitting at the corner of the room called to her. "What are you here for?"

They all burst into laughter. They laughed for a very long time, then one of them blurted out.

"She stole from the ice cream truck"

"No, she was on Santa's naughty list."

"I think she ripped off the head of her teddy bear, I hope Mr. Snugly didn't die"

The last comment made the whole room burst into heavy laughter. The lady who spoke last was the one who became the closest with Catherine while she was in prison.

Catherine didn't know if she was embarrassed by the fact that she was in the same room with these kinds of women or if she was embarrassed by the fact that they think she couldn't commit a real crime.

All of them, including herself, were wearing orange overalls.

"Really, why are you here?"The lady asked again.

"I- I- I was framed for theft and duping a very influential company,"

"Framed?" She looked at the other inmates, "Is there still a thing as framed?"

"The moment you're here, we don't care if you were framed or not, you're one of us and we've all got each other's back, till we're released, you're lucky you didn't get thrown into the, what we call, Toxic block, softies like you barely get out alive."

"They get into fights and some don't back down till you see blood or when the opponent is knocked down completely."

"That's the home for top criminals and murderers, thinking about them gives me the creeps"

They read the fear on my face, "Never worry, we've got you." They patted Catherine's back and gave her ten shots of very strong alcohol. Catherine couldn't see the name, but it was horrible and too strong.

She took the first ten shots as a welcome initiation, but it went on for days and she got addicted.

*****************

A waitress came up with a drink and offered it to Catherine.

"From the man at the corner, he says hi"

Catherine bent her neck over and saw the man, she waved and he waved back.

The waitress dropped the drink on the table and left.

Moments later Catherine heard a voice behind her.

"Hey" A man walked up to Catherine and asked if he could join her on the counter.

She responded and offered him a seat.

"Hi, what's good?" She was already getting tipsy.

"I bought you a drink, I think we both know how that works," He said rudely.

"Your drink's still on the table, you can take it back with you" Catherine retorted, she was tipsy but she was also aware of what was going on.

"That doesn't sound nice" He claimed.

"No, you, thinking every girl you come across is a call girl isn't nice" Catherine snapped back at him.

"I bought you a drink, the least you could do was come over to say hi, and then you can continue with your zeal to get drunk"

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint your ass, I'm not what you're looking for, get out of my sight and let me peacefully drown in my business"

"You wouldn't tell me what I want and what I do not, I know what I want and I know I want you" He insisted.

"Can you please leave or I call the security on you" Catherine said sternly.

"You think the security will listen to you when you're in this drunken state, just put the drink down and let's go to that corner over there and have some fun" the man held on to Catherine's hand tightly and put his mouth in her ears.

She hit him to let her go, but his grip was too hard.

She thought about how she worked out really hard in prison and now it's failing her?

"Don't struggle, you're not as powerful as me" he tried to force himself to kiss her. Catherine struggled but he held her head.

The bar was empty and the bar man was inside.

"Let me go, Let me go," Catherine shouted.

"Let her go this instant" A voice came from the door of the bar.

"Thank God" Catherine stood up and ran to the other end of the counter.

"Who do you think you are?A savior?"

"You should be ashamed of yourself, harassing a helpless lady?, You should face one of your kind, someone in your caliber"

The man said nothing but he walked up to the harasser.

"Why don't you mind your business and keep on going, this should not be your concern"

"It is my concern and standing there watching you disrespect a lady will not be easy to let my business interrupt what I should in fact interrupt".

The man said and stood in confidence as he spoke.

"You're only talking gibberish, and I think you should leave" The man insisted.

"Why don't you face me, someone in your level"

The man went in to punch him.

He dodged it and planted a punch on the harasser's face. The man fell to the ground.

"You're a sick person you know" He stood up and ran out the door.

Catherine came out from where she was, timidly but intentionally she walked up to him and wanted to thank him.

"Thank you so much," She quietly muttered.

He paused for a while and finally said,

"Be more careful how you drink and how late you stay out at night, you must be new to this place, but this should be a waking call to what New York City's lowlives are"

That was all he said before picking up his keys and phone, then left the bar almost immediately.

"What's wrong with people out here in this city?He didn't even wait to hear me show gratitude" Catherine nagged to herself and took position back where she sat previously.

She really wanted to leave the place but having nowhere to go made it a very tough decision for her to make.

"What happened?, I heard your shout from the back room" The bar man rushed out from the back room.

Catherine gave him an awful side eye and he stopped in his step.

"Why is your bar less effective in the security of the customers?, I was almost raped, right here in your bar, right on this counter."

"We've never had or recorded any scenario like that in this bar"

"Well you have now and your security should be tightened to stop riffraff from entering the bar"

"Yes ma'am"

"That man,"

"Who?"

"The one that just left here," "tall, dark hair, I think his eyes were brown" Catherine tried to remember his physique.

"Oh him, I've never seen him, this was the first time"

"So you knew when he was here and you didn't bother to come out until after he took care of the situation"

"I'm an ordinary bar man, ma'am, not Anthony Joshua's incarnate." The bar man retorted.

Catherine stretched out her glass and he added another shot.

The argument between Catherine and the bar man came to a halt when the doorbell rang indicating the entry of someone. Catherine realized that the man who saved her was already inside the bar and was already provoked before he took action, because she didn't hear the bell sound when he came in.

He was a huge, tall man, probably in his early forties, gray hair was on the side of his light brown hair, his nose was slightly big but pointed, he wore a suit but she couldn't see his eyes due to the shades he wore, which added a little mystery to how he looked.

Catherine saw the bar man's face light up and immediately suspected that he was one of their loyal customers.

"Good day sir," he hesitated a little bit before talking.

"Good day," The man's voice was husky and full of power.

Catherine sat up straight in the chair and was impressed at how one man's presence could hold so much valor.

"Welcome here sir, what drink will you have today sir?" The bar man asked.

"The usual," He answered and unbuttoned his suit jacket before sitting on the counter where Catherine sat. She became uneasy.

He noticed it but chose to say nothing. Catherine kept on glancing over. She attributed that to the alcohol she was taking, nothing else.

"Alright, here you go sir" he slid the glass and he caught it.

It was the same drink Catherine was taking.

Catherine strained her eyes to see if it was really what she was taking.

"I don't bite you know," he said as he took a shot, his face was straight, looking forward and not turning to look at her.

It gave her more opportunity to soak his profile in. His jaw was as sharp as a knife and she could clearly see the gray hair on his sides.

"Maybe he's in his forties," Catherine thought to herself. She shook her head yet again to clear thoughts of him that were oddly appearing in front of her.

"It must be the alcohol," she muttered to herself but it was loud enough for him to hear her.

"What?" This time he turned to look at her this time.

"No, not you," "didn't expect you to hear those things".

There was an awkward silence. They sat for a while, he took many shots and Catherine was getting suspicious.

"Are you ok?" She blurted out.

"What?"

"Are. You. Ok?"

She repeated herself.

"Of Course I'm fine, why'd you ask?"

"You look like you're trying to forget something, something that's bothering you, what are you trying to forget?"

"What gave you the impression?"

"I've been in this bar for over five hours, almost got harassed and you, in one sitting have drank more bottles than I have in that five hours"

"Maybe some of us just have really high resistivity to alcohol"

"No, maybe some of you have things that bother you and feel it's ok to bottle it up" Catherine retorted.

"What were you saying about harassment?"

"Don't try to change the topic" "look I know I'm a stranger and we need to be careful who we give out information to, but, you really don't look ok and saying something will help reduce stress" Catherine raised her hands to touch his cheek.

His shades were no longer on his face and she could see his ocean blue eyes more clearly.

He was way older than she was but she didn't mind. Her palm was on his face.

"What are you doing?" He jolted backwards.

"I'm sorry" Catherine wanted to remove her hands but he held her hands back in place.

"Maybe I have things bothering me," He stared at her, "with your consent, I'd like you to drive them away"

He was already drunk and Catherine knew she needed this, being celibate for five years was a hard thing to keep up with.

The bar man was not at the counter and nobody else was in the bar.

He leaned in for a kiss. Catherine was more at ease now, he wasn't forcefully acting, he was being gentle with her.

She took his lips into hers as she was on the chair and gently bit his lips.

His hands wrapped around her and he drew her close to him.

"Can we go in?" He whispered into Catherine's ears.

"One night with you wouldn't hurt."

'At least I had a place to sleep last night.'

Catherine woke up in a bed in a strange place.

She didn't know where she was but she was happy she slept somewhere.

It was a small place, a small apartment.

The man she lodged there with was no longer there.

The sun through the tiny opening in the window was what woke Catherine up. The bed was so soft and she hadn't slept quite so peacefully for five years, she didn't feel like standing up.

A knock came in the door and Catherine quickly stood up to cover herself up.

"Good morning ma'am" a short lady walked in, she looked like she was a cleaner.

"The man who lodged this room, has he gone?"

"Oh, Mr. Daniel, he left early this morning and told me to give you this cheque"

Catherine was shocked at what the lady said.

"A cheque? Like a real cheque?"

"Yes ma'am, is there something else they call a cheque that I don't know?" she walked over to the table and handed Catherine the cheque. The amount on it almost made Catherine open her mouth wide.

"Why did he give you this?"

"To give it to you of course, I don't get it."

"I mean why did he choose to give me money?"

"I have no idea why you chose to ask me that, he's your boyfriend, call him and ask, unless he's not and that explains why you woke up all alone here." The lady spoke rudely.

"And why did I deserve that attitude from you?"

"Asking me questions you obviously know I can't reply to can be very insensible of you, here's the menu, you need to have breakfast and leave before he gets back"

"He asked me to leave before he gets back?"

"He obviously didn't want you here, I've given you the instructions, it's left to you to abide by it or face the consequences"

She banged the door as she went out.

**********************

Daniel, a man in his early forties, owner of one of the biggest companies in New York City. Known to be vile and very strict.

With such great power comes a very naggy girlfriend in handy.

Daniel always thought his company to be the best and he had kept it that way, with the best of staff and caretakers.

"Danny, honey are you in the office?" Eve's voice sounded over the phone.

"Yes, Eve, I'm in the office, what do you want?"

"Well that's a "not-so-nice" way to greet your girlfriend who just came home after long weeks of traveling"

"You're back here?, Like you're in New York right now?" "You don't sound excited," "Of course, I'm excited, Eve"

"Well I don't hear an I miss you and all i hear is you calling me by my name"

Daniel is obviously not glad to know that Eve is back, she's been a pain in the neck and she's currently being one now.

"Eve"

"What" she muttered over the phone.

"We don't have to fight about everything all the time" "when did you get back?"

"Last night"

"Last night? Was your flight delayed or you just decided to come in late?" Daniel only asked out of curiosity and concern.

"What is this? interview or something?, sounds like you don't even miss me at all". Eve nagged.

"Babe, come-on I am so excited, really" Daniel didn't have the energy for her troubles this night, "okay, how was the journey?" he said, feeling exhausted already.

"Well, they do not regret going on this adventure but I do," Eve sighed over the phone "those nincompoops of girls kept our schedule really busy, I barely had 'my time', you know what was worse" Eve asked, hoping to keep him on the phone.

"No, I don't,what was?" Daniel asked.

"They did not tell me when they were going to the beach, and so I did not get the chance to shave my legs or put on sunscreen. They made me look like a monster, literally and I was the least hottest," she said as she was about to cry.

Daniel was already used to all her whining and it was all for herself, all Eve knew was to extort and collect money from Daniel. She never really cared about his business or how it was faring, but he had no choice but to stay with her, because he couldn't be lonely and Eve had a way of coming back to him whenever she senses that he was getting less interested in her.

"That is so sad, I am so sorry about that Eve, my love." Daniel said in a bid to make Eve smile.

"'Sorry', that is all you can say Danny, I was really humiliated and all you can say is sorry?, why are you so selfish, do you even love me" she said nagging again.

"Eve, what do you want me to say, I have said everything I could, and I have tolerated you so many years, what was possibly there to say, and I really love you, I do, but it is just so hard to leave you when you are not letting me to" he said with a tone of both anger and passion.

She was silent.

"But you know you'll always be the hottest girl to me right" Daniel finally stated.

"You're only saying that because unprompted you to"

"Oh Lord!" Daniel exclaimed.

"You know Danny, at this point I don't think you do, by the way I was glad that you once called me babe" she said and then hung up on him.

He sighed, and since there was nothing else he could do, he put his phone away and continued his work.

He wished what happened last night could come again. It has been the most peaceful he's had.

But Daniel had concluded that what he did last night was a very disgraceful act and didn't want to set eyes on her ever again. He didn't wish to be reminded of the shameful act.

Although he didn't know the lady, she gave him this kind of peace Eve has deprived him of since he started dating her five years ago after she helped him stop a huge fraudster that took his money.

"Goodbye Mr. Daniel" one of the Personal Assistant said, waking Daniel from his thoughts.

"Good night, Sophie" he glanced over to her table, "but those paper works are yet to be completed"

"Mr. Daniel, I think it's high time you get a new Personal Assistant to assist me in the work I do, it's all getting choked up and I can't handle them like I used to.

"What are you suggesting?" He asked, not only feeling tired from the work, but also the conversation he had with his girlfriend in his office that he was sure his personal assistant heard.

"You hold an interview on Friday for a new Personal Assistant." Sophie suggested.

"You think that's a good idea?, Sophie?" Daniel asked for confirmation.

"If you want all this work to get done and don't want to go to jail for the death of your only Personal assistant, I do suggest that to be a very good idea sir." Sophie joked sarcastically.

"Alright then, create a link and send them across all platforms and also to the news headquarters inform everyone that we are recruiting new workers as soon as possible."

Sophie smiled in satisfaction.

"Yes, Mr. Daniel."