Club Luxe 2: Secrets Exposed

CHAPTER 1

Victoria anxiously looked at the clock on her dashboard to check the time: 8:04 AM. She had less than twenty minutes to get to Malcolm’s downtown office building. She was furious and fearful as she navigated through the streets of Chicago, trying to determine what she could possibly say or do to make this all better. Nothing came to her. Her mind was still in a state of shock from having all her assets frozen; but mostly, she couldn’t fathom that a man who had been so tender the night before could be such a demon in the daylight.

She had been to Cage Tower several times, and had even gotten thrown out once or twice trying to get an interview from Malcolm. Now that he was demanding her presence, and brutally threatening her, it was the last place on earth she wanted to be.

I can’t believe he would do this to me, she muttered as she reached over to turn on the radio. Unable to think straight, she decided it was better to blast music in order to drown out her useless thoughts. She turned the volume all the way to max, so that the music emanating from the speakers was loud enough to be felt in her bones.

The vibrations and rhythm brushed away her thoughts, stimulating her senses until it was impossible to consider anything else. Her eyes narrowed as she drove over a pothole and her car shuddered at the impact. A low growl was ripped from her throat as she saw the ominous orange signs up ahead. She had forgotten there was construction in this part of the city. The road workers were attempting to fix the damage that had accumulated over several harsh winters.

Traffic slowed to a crawl and Victoria felt panic rising in her chest. Her eyes glanced to the clock to see the time: 8:10 AM. Fuck, only ten minutes! Her eyes scanned the area for any kind of shortcut or opening that she could use to speed up her trip. Come on. Come on!

A car that was far in front of her turned left, down the street Victoria needed. There was a traffic cop in a bright neon vest waving people through the intersection safely. Her foot wouldn’t stop twitching as her Lancer inched up to the turn lane. She was so close to the building; just another street corner and she’d make it before the deadline.

Several more cars were allowed through, and Victoria began feeling hopeful that she would make it. She winced as she glanced down at the clock again: 8:13 AM. She still had a few moments to find parking and get up to the front desk. Surely Malcolm would understand the delay as long as she could make it into the building on time! She gritted her teeth in anger at the thought of his handsome face, and arrogant, superior expression. She tried to focus on the music and the road as she flipped her left turn signal on.

The traffic guard lifted his stop sign just as it was Victoria’s chance. Her heart sank as she watched the man wave for pedestrians to cross in front of her. One of them happened to be an old woman with a walker. She slammed her palm against the center of her steering wheel in frustration. The loud horn echoed through the air, screaming at the cop that dared to stop her. He glared at her and raised his stop sign again as if to make a point.

Oh, fuck you, buddy! she said hotly. She glanced down at the clock again as a vein began throbbing in her forehead: 8:15 AM. She felt like her chest was going to explode in rage as she watched the old woman inching across the intersection at a snail’s pace. Just as soon as the old woman had crossed in front of her vehicle, an extremely fat man eating an ice cream cone began waddling across the street. Are you kidding me? she screamed. Fuck this! She shifted her car into gear and slammed her foot on the gas.

Tearing through the street, Victoria swerved around the enormous man viciously. She glanced into her rearview mirror just in time to see him drop his ice cream cone in surprise. You didn’t need the calories anyway, chubster! she shouted triumphantly as she returned her attention to navigating through the oncoming traffic. She gasped as she saw a large oncoming F-150, and she instinctively grabbed her handbrake to drift her car out of the way of getting t-boned. The sound of screeching brakes caused her heart to pound, and she gulped at knowing how narrowly she had avoided the collision. She raced down the road, and seeing more construction blocking her path, she moved boldly into the opposite lane. Her eyes were glued to buildings on the side of the street as she frantically searched for a free parking spot. Of course, there were none.

She didn’t care about breaking traffic laws anymore. It was actually thrilling, and a small part of her wished that she would get into a collision and knocked unconscious. Anything not to have to face Malcolm and be forced into working on an assignment she dreaded. Worst of all, as furious as she was with him, she was afraid that he’d somehow manage to ignite the feelings she knew she still had toward him. This was what scared her most.

Seeing no parking spot, Victoria drove onto the sidewalk and up a small flight of stairs until her car screeched to a stop in front of the massive Cage Tower. She turned her key to shut down the car and quickly grabbed her purse. Glancing at her phone, she felt panic flood her chest at the time it displayed: 8:18 AM. She shoved her door open and stepped out of the car as the sound of sirens filled the air.

Whatever, she muttered as she slammed her door. She didn’t care if she was arrested at this point; pretty soon she wouldn’t even exist, according to Malcolm. What could be worse than that? Maybe getting arrested while she was still a person would be a better experience than being Malcolm’s little office slave.

She crossed the distance between her car and the rotating door of the building with hurried steps. A doorman approached her with a serious expression on his face.

Miss, you can’t— he started to say but was cut off by several cop cruisers pulling into the area in front of the building.

As you can see, I really don’t have time for this, Victoria said in irritation.

The police officers stepped out of their cars, and several of them screamed at Victoria to put her hands up and get on the ground. A few even had guns aimed at her.

She looked at them with baffled expressions. Sure, she had broken the law, but she felt like they were overreacting. Really boys, guns? she asked in disbelief.

Get on the ground! one of them shouted again.

I have got to stop letting men say that to me, she idly thought to herself. She knew she should be terrified, but somehow even with all their guns and aggressive yelling, the police officers seemed like pussycats compared to the vicious lion that was Malcolm Cage.

Fine, fine, she muttered as she rolled her eyes. She lifted her hands and lowered herself onto her knees as Chicago’s finest surrounded her. She had missed her deadline; it didn’t matter anymore. Being arrested was the least of her worries.

She already didn’t exist.

The cold steel of handcuffs clasped tightly around her thin wrists. She couldn’t even be bothered to grunt in pain as the sharp edges dug into her skin. Her mind was numb as her rights were being read to her, along with the charges. She vaguely heard something about reckless endangerment and attempted vehicular manslaughter. She felt strong arms struggling to lift her to her feet. It wasn’t that she meant to struggle against them, but she just didn’t care any longer.

Don’t make things worse for yourself. Just walk, an officer said gruffly as he shoved her forward.

She was too tired and distracted to catch herself, and felt her balance crumble. Her eyes darted to the ground rapidly approaching her face. Glumly, she wondered how much time it would take for her face to connect with the concrete of the ground and how much pain she would feel. It took her a moment to realize that while she was contemplating her impending fall, she had somehow stopped falling.

Her eyes glanced up to see the reason for her sudden deceleration and she instinctively recoiled in horror as she recognized the one face she couldn’t bear to see.

Good morning, Victoria, Malcolm said with a sunny smile. He looked like he was having a spectacular morning. Glancing away from her, he spoke to the officers as if he owned them. As much as I like seeing my assistant in handcuffs, gentlemen, I’d appreciate if you’d let her go.

Of course, Mr. Cage, the arresting officer said nervously. We didn’t realize she was with you,

She struggled against him, but her state of mind sapped all her physical strength. What the hell are you doing, Malcolm? she asked with what little sass she could muster.

I’m making sure that my treasure doesn’t get thrown behind bars, he said in a low voice. Only I’m allowed to do that.

She could feel the metal being removed from her skin. Once freedom of motion had been returned to her, she couldn’t help feeling like she lost every other sort of freedom. She lifted her arms in front of her to rub at the soreness the cuffs had left behind. Malcolm noticed her pain and encircled his strong hands around her wrists, gently massaging her. Instinctively she pulled away, but found that his grip was too tight.

Let go,