Ruin The Billionaire

1: The article

"Billionaire CEO by day, Playboy by night. The secret life of Jake Rylland.

By day, Jake Rylland is a serious Billionaire CEO who cares about nothing but making profits. He runs his Billion dollar company with a tight iron fist and makes sure his capitalist greed is satisfied. You may think all he cares about is making money but there's a dark and playful side of Jake Rylland he doesn't want you to know..."

Furious, I crumpled the newspaper page into a ball and tossed it to the bin before remembering I had not yet read the reporter's name.

"Jenny," I said to the intercom and my assistant came running into the room.

"Yes, Mr. Rylland."

"Bring me an untouched copy of the newspaper."

Jenny glanced at the copy on the table and bit her tongue to stop herself from asking questions that would get her fired.

"Okay," she said and hurried out. Barely a minute later, she was back.

"Here, it is."

I quickly skimmed through to find the page with the article about me.

Lilith Hellman. That was the damned reporter's name. No one had ever heard of her until the article came out and blew up. Now every blogger, talk show host, and social media influencer was discussing my life as painted by the devil herself. I thought the name was appropriate for whoever decided to ruin my name.

However, I was going to ruin her before she ruined me.

Standing up, I smiled. "You're going back to hell where you belong, Lilith Hellman."

Stepping out of my office, I strode into the executive elevator and pressed the button for the basement floor, from where I marched to my sleek rolls Royce and got in. Cory, my head of security was already in the car waiting. The driver revved up the engine and set off.

Back in my house, I briefed Cory and Jared, a private investigator on my plan for Lillith Hellman.

"You will tail her and make sure you get every detail about her especially her routine," I told Jared. "When that's established, Rushy will move in and take her to the safe house. If it's possible to get her before the end of the day, even better."

Yes, I had a safe house. I was a freaking Billionaire not a saint. My safe house was where I did things I did not want to get associated with my name. If it ever got discovered, one of my security guards would take the fall and admit he had been using it for illegal business without my knowledge.

When I had disseminated that information, I went to my study, grabbed a book and sat by the window that overlooked the city. Within a short time, my coffee was ready and as I drank it, I thought about the tragedy that was Lilith Hellman.

My reputation was of utmost importance to me. Although I didn't have a big problem being exposed as a Playboy, I didn't like the feeling of being followed by a journalist. If I let her be, the next time she'd discover some of the illegal things I did and plaster them all over the media.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

"I told her weren't seeing any visitors but she wouldn't listen," Seline, my very loyal maid said with an apologetic look.

"It's okay," I said, staring at the blonde beauty that had just stepped into my study. "You can go, Seline."

"And I can stay," Heather said, smiling at me. Her sparkling green eyes became smaller when she smiled. She flipped her hair, hitting Seline's face before strutting towards me.

She wrapped her thin arms around me and started wriggling her body around. "Missed you," she whispered.

Even with her beautiful face, lush breast implants and long legs, she wasn't able to turn me on as much as before which was why I'd been avoiding her. As she gyrated against my precious jewels, I realized it was time for me to do the inevitable. I had broken up with lots of girls before but had never got used to it. It always gave me mild feelings of guilt.

"We need to talk," I said. Heather's body stiffened against mine and relaxed after some seconds.

She let go and stood in front of me. "Jake, I have a feeling I know what you're going to say because of the way you've been acting lately, but please don't say anything. We can work on this and make it work. I understand you're stressed out, especially after that trending article. That's why I'm here for you. I'm here to make you feel better, as I have always done."

Seeing her face and tears made me feel like changing my mind which would not be a good idea so I walked to the window. Heather and I had been together for a only three months so I didn't understand why she was even crying.

"You need to go," I said. "We're done, Heather."

Heather came and hugged me from behind. "No, you can't do this to me. I have devoted all my time to you. You can't kick me to the curb when we have such great chemistry. I'll do whatever you want me to do, just let me stay. You can even be with other women but let me remain your official girlfriend."

And so the truth comes out. The most important part about dating me was not me or my love. It was the prestige of being a Billionaire's girlfriend. Titles and money was all most women I had been with wanted.

"Leave, Heather."

"No, you can't do this to me."

I turned. "Lets not make this complicated. I don't love you anymore so I can't stay in a relationship with you."

"You're not a teenager, Jake. Stop saying nonsense. You know love is the least important thing at our age. Compatibility is the more important."

"You and I are not compatible."

A creepy smile curved her lips. "That's where you're wrong. We are more alike than you think. I'm not just some blonde airhead. We're both evil and competitive people which is why I will not go down without a fight."

I frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Heather laughed. "If you don't stay with me, I will tell the world all your dirty secrets. Lillith Hellman barely scratched the surface of who you really are."

I laughed so loud my body shook. "Trying to blackmail me? You're even more pathetic than I thought. Do whatever you want but be ready for the consequences." I said, walking out of the room.

After listening to what she had to say, my guilt was gone. There was no reason to feel sorry for someone like Heather.

One of the best moments of a journalist is their big break, when our names finally get known by the whole world. Every young journalist is always seeking to write a breaking story that will blow up and catch everyone's attention. When that happens, your career is cemented. All that's left is to live up to the name.

I had written a number of stories on the rich but they had never trended or caught a lot of attention. That's why I was the happiest woman in the world when my story on Jake Rylland blew up.

The day had started normally, me being late at work and starting off with my new article immediately. It was an hour later, when my editor came screaming to my office and told me that everyone was talking about my article. The physical copy of the paper had been brought, and the e-copy was doing exceptionally well because everyone was talking about my story on Jake Rylland.

I opened a browser and all the newest articles popping up were about my article. Leah even said she'd been receiving calls from people who wanted me to work for them.

Before that day, I was just a poor girl with a very unfortunate and cursed name given to me by a mother who never wanted a child but was forced to go through with the pregnancy. As soon as she had me, she disappeared to go live her life the way she wanted, single, rich and child-free. No one had seen her since then.

I could have changed the name as I grew up but it was the only thing that I reminded me that I had a mother. It remained my legal name but I went by Lilly.

Getting out of my car, I smoothed by new beautiful shiny green dress, took a deep breath and walked to Leah's house where party music was coming from. Leah had bought me the dress and thrown a party to celebrate my success.

The party was already in full swing when I arrived. All my friends cheered when I made an entrance, making me feel shy and mushy at the same time. Tears welled in my eyes as the most important people in my life enveloped me in a group hug.

My crazy father was out somewhere vacationing with his sixth wife. I had grown up mostly alone and only found family when I started working at The Daily Paper.

After a lot of congratulations, I settled and downed my first drink as I danced. First with Leah, and then Declan who couldn't keep his hands off me. We cut a cake, had a feast and continued to dance. Three hours later, the party was over and I was still sober.

"You can stay over and leave tomorrow," Leah told me.

I shook my head, glancing at the bodies sprawled over on her couch. I would be much better at my home.

Leah escorted me to my car. "Call me when you get home."

Getting into my car, I drove off. The city suburbs were still and quiet save from the occasional car passing by.

Soon, my apartment building came into view and I warmed up in anticipation of a good night's sleep after the best day of my life.

After parking my car, I started to walk towards the stairs before something hit me on the head and the world morphed into complete darkness.

When I came to, I was in an empty room with white walls. The only thing in it was the wooden chair I was tied to. When I tried to shake myself free from the restraints, they got tighter.

A minute later, someone walked into the room and stood in front of me. I blinked to make sure I was seeing correctly. It was Jake Rylland.

He smiled before ripping off the duct tape that had sealed my mouth shut.

"What do you want from me?"

"I should be asking you that question? What do you want from me, Hellman? Money, love, sex. Just say the word and you'll get it."

"I don't want anything from a disgusting man like you," I said. "All I wanted was to expose your hidden facade to the world. Because you seem to live a calm hidden life, the world has always wanted to know more about you. I gave them what I wanted, that's all."

"Calling me disgusting in my own house. You're a brave one. But then again, you have been following me around. I don't like that at all."

"So what? Did you kidnap me so you could threaten me? Didn't think you were this pathetic?"

He chuckled, and took a few steps to where I was. Reaching out, he grabbed my chin forcefully and made me look up. "I can do more than threaten you if you don't do as I say. You're going to refute that whole story you write and say it was a little girl's fantasy with no truth at all. TV stations will be lining up to interview you about me but you will tell them that you've never met me. You just made up everything."

"Will you let me go if i promise to do that?" I asked.

He nodded then removed his hand from my chin.

"Okay, I will try to write an article saying that maybe I threw in some exegerations to make it sensational. I can't refute the whole story because that would ruin my career. My job is all I have."

He thought for a moment. "That will do. Rushy."

The door opened and a burly man walked in. He wore a vest, exposing all the muscles lining up his arms and chest.

I watched as he moved closer and placed a handkerchief over my nose and mouth. I had no choice but to inhale whatever it had been laced with.

The next time I came to, it was night time and I was inside my car.

If Jake Rylland thought his threats would faze me, he was completely wrong. The world finally wanted to listen to me, and I was going to give it what it wanted. Moments like that did not last forever so I had to make the most of it before people moved on and focused on something else.

I spent the weekend studying all the reactions to my article. I watched video clips, read articles and commentaries, and went through the hilarious memes on social media.

By the end of the weekend, I knew that people wanted more gossip about Jake. I was sure that even if I made up something, people would eat it up.

But I was not that kind of journalist. I had integrity and would never cook up lies about anyone for money and fame. That was a low I swore not to reach in my life. I wanted to do my work right, only publishing nothing but the truth. Occasionally, I would spice things up a bit but nothing significant.

On Sunday evening, I took a big risk and wrote an article that I knew would blow up and drive Jake crazy.

Jerk Rylland? Jake Rylland Threatens Reporter for Writing About Him.

"Nice, I love it especially the title." Leah sent in reply to my email.

I slept with a big smile on my face. Jake was going to be really angry. All I had to do was use the taxi so I didn't have to go the basement alone. The basement parking of our rundown apartment didn't have any cameras so I was on my own.

I couldn't prove my claims that someone kidnapped me there. In any case, I knew that the person had probably paid off our dodgy security guard in order to get away with the crime.

Back then when I walked into the company building, no one seemed to notice. Even the security personnel barely glanced at me. I was a no body.

But things were different on that Monday morning. It was like a movie. I walked in and every eye turned to me, making me feel shy and confident at the same time. I wearing a blue suit and black heels, my black hair in a tight ponytail.

Despite the intense gaze, I managed to make it to my desk without falling over, a miracle considering that I rarely wore heels. Being the current star reporter did feel quite good. I'd admired others for way too long but finally my time to shine had reached. It would soon end if I wasn't careful.

I was called to Leah's office immediately.

"Today's article was even better," she said. "You're blowing up. Even Athena wants to meet you. There are so many people still calling to interview you to get more info on Jake. We'll be having a meeting in an hour to decide who'll go with."

I barely heard the rest after Athena's intentions. Athena Morgan was the head of our newspaper generically named The Daily Paper. Getting a private meeting with her was one of the most desired things. It was a dream come true.

An hour later, I entered Athena's office. It was..

Athena was wearing a crisp blue suit and black heels. A smile lit up her face when she saw me.

"My favorite reporter," Athena said, making me blush. I had spent my entire career trying to get noticed by her and thanks to Jake Rylland, I finally got what I wanted.

"Good morning, miss Morgan." I greeted, staring in awe at one of the most influential women in the publishing business. Athena has got to the top through hard-work and grit. I had read every interview of hers and tried each day to be more like her which was very hard because Athena breathed publishing.

"Good morning, Lilly." She said. "Please take a seat. I love your follow up article on Jake Rylland. While I know he's capable of making threats, all money hungry men are, I just want to know from the horse's mouth if it's true."

"It's true."

"If it's true, why did you not provide more details like where the incident occurred, how and many others. Although the tabloids are swallowing it up, details could have given your story more credibility."

"If I divulged details, Jake and I would face off in court because he committed a crime. I didn't talk about it because when it comes to an actual crime, the system is rigged. Jake has contacts on the legal system and instead him ending up in jail, it would be me instead. Besides, I have no proof other than my word. Some people will think I'm just trying to ruin his name and I don't want that to happen."

"As long as whatever happened didn't hurt or traumatize you, we can move past it. Things happen, terrible things too. Moving on, Leah gave me a list of platforms that wish to interview you and I want us to use this opportunities to promote our paper so I'm going to help you choose the best one."

"Sounds good," I said. I knew Athena cared more about her company than me but that didn't matter. It was her company that had seen potential in me when I was a lowly graduate with zero experience. It was that company that gave me the family I never had. I would fight for it.

Athena and I went through several options before settling for five of them. She asked Lena to contact them while I was released to focus on my other stories.

At the end of the day, Leah and I went to our favorite bar to relax.

"Cool car," Athena said. We both stared at the rolls Royce that was looking out of place among old cheap cars that the regulars drove.

"I wonder what rich dude decided to pop in today," I said.

"Probably some celeb looking for nomalcy."

I froze when I spotted Jake Rylland in the club. He standing by the bar scrolling through his phone. A few regulars were scattered allover the bar minding their business. They were middle aged local folk who didn't care about celebrity gossip.

"We need to leave," I told Leah.

Jake was casually leaning against the counter, staring at us. His stare was hot, sexy and intoxicating. If he wasn't such a Playboy, I might have thought he was one of the most eligible bachelors in New York. He was top notch attractive.

"We can't leave because of him," my best friend, the voice of reason said.

Jake started walking towards us and I quickly turned to leave before bumping into a rock hard chest that smelled so good.

Looking up, I saw a handsome man with a perfect stern face.

"Hello," he said.

For a moment, I forgot that Jake existed.