“If Madden wins it will be a malicious attempt to prove that he can buy out any woman with his money and yes it does tramp on women’s rights.”
Nate watched the clip again and again watching the pink glossed lips enunciate every word. A corner of his mouth lifted. He knew her by name only and by the reputation she built over the years as the epitome of virtue spewing words about family, morals, and all the nonsense he didn’t believe in. Morals were relative and susceptible to personal bias. Yet he was intrigued by her. Not because she had a beautiful face to look at. She was a nobody now – no worse than a nobody. She was a has-been. A pariah. An object for mockery. But even he could see that the public who were now strongly behind her husband, the man named Jacob Henderson who was rumored to be seeing another woman, was on the wrong side. Ten to one, he knew Rachel Rivers was innocent of the allegations. Which was why he had called for the meeting today.
Today should be fun.
Rachel was surprised at how easy it was for a man like Nate to clear up the hungry reporters still waiting for her to make an appearance. After she had finally cleaned herself, washed her hair, done a little run from her sitting room to the bedroom, and worn the outfit she found in the closet which she figured she must have left there from the last time she and Jacob had vacationed at the cottage, Rachel decided she was ready to meet Mr. Nate Madden.
From the corner of her eye, as she walked toward the taxi Larry had graciously called for her, she could see the cameramen and the beasty eyes of greedy reporters watching her, just waiting to take the perfect photo but the problem was that they weren’t taking any photos. They weren’t even coming toward her, trying to get her to trip herself up in their microphones and cameras, they simply watched as she walked steadily – even though her heart was beating a million miles per hour – toward the waiting taxi and boarded it. It was all strange and it begged the question, what exactly did Mr. Madden want with her? And just how much power did he have that he could keep a whole country of vultures off her?
Honestly, she didn’t dwell on the question for too long. Whatever it was, as long as it got her back on her feet, she was fine. The past week had been the most hellish of her life. Maybe she would finally call her sister. Mabel had been blowing up her phone since the whole incident. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to her sister just yet, even though she knew Mabel would solidly be by her side.
Contrary to what everyone thought, Mabel actually had called the shots 5 years ago when Rachel announced that she was going to marry Jacob. Mabel had seen him for the bullshit person he was and had tried to warn Rachel but at the time she was too blind to see what a sham he was. Well now she could see clearly, she just hoped it wasn’t too late.
The taxi took the G2 exit onto the familiar streets. It was the home of billionaires, a place where politicians came to invest stolen wealth, a place where the trade in gold and high volumes of cold cash flowed. It was a cornucopia of high-rises brandishing various enterprises. She spotted her destination even before the taxi stopped. The roads were bustling with activities. It was past rush hour but the train was just pulling into the station and different famous brand cars pulled into private parking spaces. 5-star hotels, 5-star restaurants, 5-star everything was everywhere. It was the heart of Gem Hills.
Rachel pressed her hat on her head and put on the glasses that would shield her eyes. She was among enemies. Many of the people here were people she had once critically criticized when she was still the star of Celebrity, Lifestyle, and Everything In-between. They knew who she was. No point throwing herself into the lion’s den now.
After paying the driver who looked like he longed to get an autograph, she stood for a few seconds admiring the sun glinting off the black glass windows of the 48-floor building. It was beautiful and imposing. It was rich and oppressive. It was her last hope.
Sucking in a deep breath, Rachel walked into the building. She was going to ask questions about how to see Mr. Madden but before she could ask anybody, a young man was already walking towards her.
“Rachel Rivers?”
She nodded, furtively looking around and hoping no one had heard him even though his voice was loud enough to wake the dead. But even though workers who were milling around, filing away documents and making phone calls heard, they didn’t react. She released another deep breath. So far so good.
She followed Mr. Loud Voice. He led her to a bank of elevators and they rode up in silence which was more awkward than the taxi driver trying not to ask for her autograph. But if Rachel had to choose, Mr. Loud Voice’s aloofness was a better welcome than anything she had been expecting.
Without a word, Loud Voice delivered her to the 40th floor where a nice-looking early twenties-looking woman with silky black hair stood to greet her. She smiled and looked friendly enough for Rachel to extend her hand for a handshake.
“Rachel Rivers, I watch you all the time on ABN. I always thought you were perfect, whoever is in charge of your wardrobe deserves a raise! Oh but then again I just remembered you were replaced with that Dana something woman.”
Even though the girl looked and sounded really apologetic about it Rachel couldn’t help but think, Go ahead and rub it in, will you?
“That Dana is such a bore. Her jokes are tired and dry. Did you watch that interview she had with the Finance Minister yesterday?”
Yes, yes, Rachel thought, I watch my rivals glow in the spotlight while I drain wine faster than a sailor.
“It was kinda embarrassing really…” the girl continued to talk not realizing Rachel was still standing waiting to be asked to sit. Loud Voice had quietly retreated into the elevator. Lucky him. Rachel’s ears were beginning to get hot.
Luckily, she was saved by the loud shrill of the intercom. Talkative Brunette stopped talking, apologized profusely, and went to the intercom. She blushed furiously as she listened to what was going on on the other side. A few seconds later she dropped the phone and released the button.
“Mr. Madden will see you now,” she said finally serious for once.
Rachel nodded, ankles aching because Talkative Brunette for all her stories couldn’t remember how to be courteous to visitors. But if there was one thing Rachel learned from the one-sided conversation with her, it was that there were still people who preferred her over Dana.
Rachel nodded her thanks and went past her to the huge black oak door which seemed too formal even for a formal setting. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest and why not? The man behind the door was promising to help rebuild her life. But she wasn’t new in this world, she was no novice to how these things worked, Nate Madden wanted something in return. Now the problem was, was it something she could afford?
What could a billionaire possibly want from her?
She pushed the door open and thought, damn. In the line of her career as a professional gossip under the guise of the professional name; journalism, she had been guests to high profile events, visiting the most exquisitely built houses, offices, hotels, you name it. This was no different. Yet it was because the man in the room exuded such power, charisma, and enigma than anything she had ever felt.
And then she heard it.
“Nathaniel Madden is a lying, cheating, sexist son of a bitch who has gotten away with many corrupt business deals, robbed the nation off its wealth and enslaves many children in Gabore” – the equivalent of Botswana – “mining diamonds to swell his already bursting bank accounts.” Rachel could almost faint as she listened to herself drone on and on about Nate Madden, the man who was standing in front of the glass windows overlooking the skyline of Gem Hills with arms crossed as he watched her dig herself into a deep hole on his huge television. The same man who was willing – although now she was beginning to have doubts – to help her revive her career. He stood with his arms crossed watching the screen without paying attention to her but she could tell he was aware of her presence in his office because she could just detect that hint of smugness. Should I say something? She thought. But what could she say when the taped interview of Celebrity, Lifestyle and Everything In-between was
Rachel gulped. That was a threat, right? The Vera Chang and Nate Madden public divorce had been years ago, two - or was it one - years ago. Between then and now there had been worse news for the media to strip apart. But the Chang-Madden divorce had really taken the Hills by storm. Nate Madden, billionaire playboy had finally settled down with one woman. No one had expected the fragile, sweet-spoken Vera to be his kind of woman given his dating history and they had been the talk of the town. Everyone said she made Nate Madden look almost human for the first time. So when the divorce news got out every news outlet had latched onto it like vampires on virgins. The rumor that Nate neither confirmed nor denied was that he was a wife-beater. Even though Nate never went out of his way to make any official statements Vera had evidence to prove it. There were images of bite marks, whip marks…everything that would make Ted Bundy proud. Still, Nate’s lawyers fought hard. Eventually, they lost
On the 3rd floor of ABN the crew of Celebrity Lifestyle and Everything In-between were setting up the final moments before going on air. In the gallery Ben was talking to the camera crew and the technical men in charge of the teleprompters, getting them ready for the show. Ben was in a foul mood. Dana was late. He hated Dana. As much as he hated people who thought Taco was a sandwich because it had meat. He preferred Rachel. She was smart, and tough, asked the right questions and she was funny. She was a natural in show biz. But Dana…no Dana was a dumb street rat trying to be crème de la crème. She lacked the charisma that Rachel had. All she had going for her were her crude jokes and her hatred towards anyone she viewed as better than her which was why she hated him. At least Ben thought that was why she hated him. How she had gotten the position as Rachel’s replacement just within 12 hours he didn’t know but what he knew was while Dana was going down on the Allen Brothers- like t
Rachel wanted the ground to open and swallow her up. The red velvet carpet of Sheldon’s looked like a good place to hide from the glares and gloating looks she was getting from the patrons – was that the Joan Rivers lookalike Susan Mists looking at her? Rachel had ordered chicken, salad, and wine. It was all nice and delicious but all she found herself reaching out for was wine and more wine. Nate was generous enough to order two bottles of red for her alone. She could just see the tabloids: Rachel Rivers drowning in a river of red. She didn’t care. Actually, she did which was why she was trying to forget by drowning herself in the bottles of wine. Across her Nate ate slowly, chewing every bite and watching her intently. Between the glare directed at her by the same people she made enmity with on her climb to stardom and the direct look Nate was giving her, she didn’t know which she preferred. But she guessed she should be grateful that Nate’s presence with her put the enemies at
He didn’t let her go as they drove to his home a mere 5 minutes away from the Hermes bridge. To Rachel, it felt like forever. Her body was awash with a new fire she never felt before. Sex with Jacob was routine. She got undressed with the lights turned off, he kissed her, took off his clothes, and climbed over her. He entered her slowly, sometimes fast if he was feeling wild. Her mother had told her that sometimes men were so caught up in their own pleasures that they forgot about a woman’s satisfaction. Patricia Rivers had told her that she was supposed to endure it. Marriage was about endurance. Yet here she was in Nate’s car feeling her mother must have been wrong. He held her firmly against him, his fingers toying with her nipples. He nuzzled her neck and ears but didn’t go any further until his driver pulled into the drive and he led her under the cover of darkness into his house. Rachel could barely see. She vaguely made out the huge silhouette of his house. She could barely w
Rachel tossed lightly under the warmth surrounding her. Whatever it was around her was warm and soft and so comfortable she wanted to burrow deeper into it and what was that delicious smell? She flipped on her belly and the dull tingling sensation between her legs brought back hazy memories from last night. She was suddenly awake, her eyes shot open and she gazed around her at the strange surroundings. Once she threw the huge warm blankets cocooning her aside her eyes stretched even further. She was naked. She had barely comprehended that bit of information when she looked across the room to the figure standing by the window looking out into the void. She couldn’t see what he was looking at but Nate seemed to be staring at something out the windows of his Vancure apartment. Maybe he was watching the city wake up beneath him. Maybe he was replaying the events of yesterday night in his head. Worst of all maybe he was regretting it. Was she regretting it? Rachel wondered about that
But Rachel wasn’t thinking about going back to Gem Hills any time soon. She spent the rest of the day hiding in her old bedroom away from the August visitors who had heard that she was back in Ermernia. Any false move and she would be hiding from people trying to take pictures of her. It was later during the day while she was watching two birds have a conversation about which electric lines to land on that Mabel brought the newspaper one of their old neighbors, Mrs. Smith, the renowned town’s gossip had brought on her visit to see if the rumors were true. True to Nate’s warnings, they made front page. There she was in his arms. Well given her affinity for the front pages lately she wasn’t surprised. Nate looked as good as ever, his fingers were placed dangerously close to her boobs. And she looked like she had wine for dinner, which she did. The article wasn’t flattering though. There were speculations about her confession about teenage boys and if Nate Madden was somehow running an
They stumbled out of the bar. The cold night air blew against Rachel’s naked thighs. She pulled the gown down hoping her underwear wasn’t showing for everyone to see. Leo didn’t seem to mind that. His slender fingers were running up and down her body, testing the waters, gripping her waist, and tickling her skin. There was a sense of urgency about him that excited her still she needed to be cautious. “Hey be careful,” she warned when she tripped on the curb and almost fell. Leo was right behind her holding her up. She could feel his erection on her butt. “Aren’t you a bit too eager to get me out of my dress tonight?” she murmured in a slur. He laughed. Once he righted her up he led her away from the bar area leaving the music and noise. On the sidewalks were blissfully drunk people making out. Rachel stared and giggled at a couple being sloppy over each other. She was so drunk to her eyeballs that she even pointed at them. Leo’s drinks had been so delicious she drank them without st