JON SMILED AND shook his head. Chris bent over and placed his hands on his knees and laughed loud and long. Then he stood up straight, still chuckling and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He tried to regain his composure as Jon and Amanda looked on. "What's the matter?" Jon asked, a smug smile plastered to his lips. "I mean, we can all clearly see that," Chris said. "That is a big fake." He looked at Amanda who was still caressing the bag gently with her fingers, "It looks pretty like an original to me. It even feels original." "It's a good fake." Chris argued, "You know how much an original designer item costs?" "Yes, Chris." Amanda deadpanned Chris with a killer stare, "I do know how much a Louis Vuitton original cost." "Y-yes y-yes. I didn't, um, m-mean that question to you." Chris stammered, "I was talking about him. How would he afford it?" "I don't know. But I am glad he brought it –" Her hands had touched a piece of paper. "Oh wait, what is this?" She removed the small slip
JON STOOD IN THE road, waiting and looking out for any signs of the limo. He constantly rubbed his palms together and blew into them from his mouth to keep them warm. The sun was just beginning to set and from his watch, he could see that he was been waiting for almost an hour. He was just about to turn and return to the party when a voice called at him. "Oi, Jon!" He groaned even before he looked at the person. "Kim!" He nodded at her in acknowledgement, "I was just going back to the party." "Did you think about what I said earlier on before those moron friends of yours came in the way and interrupted us?" She asked. "I didn't think of anything you said, Kim." Jon snapped. "We are done and done for good… and you can go to the police about any whimsy story that you can come up with.""Oh, is that so, huh?" Kim asked. "Yeah…" The silky sound of an expensive car engine drifted to them as a limousine approached. They both turned to look at it. Jon saw the bulky figure of Peterson
"I KNOW YOU," Jon muttered under his breath. He could not believe it. He had seen that face multiple times, he recognised the figure too. "Yes, you do," Stefan said, he smiled. "You were with us till about 6 years old." Jon shook his head and took a step back. "So those were not my imaginations… they are real." "Sure, Jonathan." Stefan said, "They are." "My mother? Where is she?" Jon asked. Stefan sighed and said, "Sit down, Jonathan." He gestured to a lush sofa by the corner. "Where is she?" Jon repeated, not moving from where he stood. "She died, son." Stefan sighed. Jon stiffened. Stefan held him by the arm and led him to the couch. Jon sat limply on the couch. Stefan poured more whiskey into Jon's glass. "Drink up." He sat heavily beside his son and handed Jon a little paper. Jon collected it and saw that it was a little picture of a pretty woman. "I got her cheekbones." Stefan snorted. "Like hell. You got her whole face. The only I gave you is your stature." "Can I k
"Yo, bro. This is banging!" Jeff said as he twisted and turned in front of the mirror. "Yeah right!" Paxton said. "We are going to be the talk of the party! Hey, Jon… where did you get the money to buy all these for us?" Jon smiled but did not answer. He did not yet want to tell the rest of his friends the truth about his family. "Dress quickly. The limo would be here soon." Jon said. "Did he just say limo?" Paxton yelled. "I think he did." A gentle horn sounded outside. "Yep," Jon said. "Come on boys. Our limo is here." They cheered and walked out and into their amazing ride. THE PARTY WAS already in full swing when they got there, so there were surely a lot of eyes on them when the limo pulled over and the young men stepped out, looking elegant and expensively dressed. The crowd seemed to part to let the men walk by and into the main hall. "Oh damn," Paxton muttered. "This party is wild.""Come on. Let's play it chill." Jon said, "Let's head to the bar and check the place
"OH SHIT!" JON ducked into the crowd of dancing people and tried to make his way to the bar where his friends were. The words that Vincent had said that first night suddenly rang in Jon's head and it all made sense now.Vincent had said, “The family has lots of money, power, riches... and also enemies,”"Was it like the Mafia?" Jon asked himself. "Oops!" He dodged a flailing hand as he tried to lose himself in the constantly moving crowd and flashing bulbs. He looked up and saw that the leader of the SUV men had gotten to the bar and was starting to engage Paxton in a conversation. "Shit!" "Come here!" A hand clamped on Jon's wrist and twisted him. He turned and reflexively punched hard at whatever he could find – which turned out to be the man's throat. The man released Jon and clutched at his throat. "Sorry…" Jon said, mixing up and disappearing into the crowd again. He glanced up again and saw that Paxton, Rick and Jeff were laughing and nodding at whatever it was the man wa
"IS HE DEAD?!" Rick asked. "Is he dead?" "Shut up, Rick." Jeff snapped. "Why didn't he say anything?" Jon asked no one in particular. He tried to sit Paxton up. "He probably didn't feel it. The adrenaline." Stefan said from the limo. "We need to try and stop the bleeding," Jeff said. "Bring him in, we'll call for a doctor," Stefan said. Jon looked at him warily, "I thought you wanted him out of your car, now there's a possibility of blood stains on your plush seats." "Don't be a hard ass, Jonathan," Stefan replied. "Your friend's life is at stake." He's right. Jon nodded stiffly. "Let's carry him in." With the joint effort of Rick and Jeff, they carried Paxton into a seat at the back. Paxton groaned as they dropped him. "He's awake, don't let him fall asleep. Keep him talking." Stefan said, whipping out his phone and dialling a number. "Paxton. Paxton." Jon slapped his friend's face hard. "Hey, wake up. Wake up." "Stay with me, man," Rick yelled. Jon and Jeff turned and l
JON COULD NOT believe his eyes as he stared at the woman he thought he would never see again. Then slowly, she looked up and directly at Jon. He gave a small smile and was about to wave, a man came to stand by her side, he put his hand on her waist and she stiffened at his touch. "You know her?" Stefen prodded his son. "Um, No… I mean, Yes. Who are you talking about?" Jon feigned like he did not know who his father was talking about. "You know who I'm talking about." Stefan said, "You were staring pretty hard." Jon sighed. "Okay, I met her once. The night I met Vincent for the first time. I helped her at, um, a bad time." "And since then?" "She left in a hurry but she left me with her contact card. But I've not thought of giving her a call." "Why not?" Stefan asked. Jon shrugged. "I don't know. She seems out of my league." "What?!" "You know, I was almost arrested for being seen with her," Jon confessed. Stefan chuckled. "Are you being serious?" "Yeah." Jon muttered, "She
"GOOD JOB, SON," Stefan said, patting Jon discreetly on his back. "I did well?" Jon asked. He could not believe it. "You did very good." Stefan said, "This little show would keep them buzzing for a long while… and you've made yourself a personal enemy." He gestured with his head to where Maxim Ivanov sat stiffly, staring daggers at where they sat. "Damn." Jon said, staring back at him, "That look is pure hatred." "Yeah. Now, we have to leave." Stefan said, "Our financial staff will handle the payment. Let's move." He stood up, brushing away an imaginative speck from his suit's arm. Jon followed his father's movement, buttoning up his jacket as he stood, they walked outside to where their limousine and media were waiting. "Wait for your prize. I'll be in the car." Stefan said, walking out. Jon could hear the sound of shutters snapping as the journalists took as many pictures as they could. Jon stood near the door, waiting for 'the dejected lad' to be brought to him. Then he saw