Zach's body was slick with sweat, but he still shivered. The frigid water had not been his idea. He didn't like being naked in front of anyone except his girlfriend, and even that was a rare occasion these days. His friend Joe had invited him to go swimming at his house after work. It sounded great, Joe always had the best buddies around when they got together for beers on friday nights and Zach really needed some time away from all this paperwork stuff he'd been doing since starting out at an advertising agency just six months earlier. He had entered into the world of business casual as part of the new job, which meant jeans every day until 5 p.m, then a polo shirt paired with slacks or khakis. A jacket only came along if it looked too chilly outside, usually right before the sun set over the horizon each night. A look that complimented his lover far more than it did himself. Zach had always been more accustomed to T-shirts and bargain barrel jeans. Anything that he could afford wit
Zach had been walking for hours now. He hadn't eaten since last night's betrayal, nor had he stopped for sleep. Now, his legs ached in pain, numb from exhaustion after having walked nonstop for so long. His face hung down low with hunger, his stomach aching with emptiness. But he hardly had the chance to consider food as he evaded the watchful gaze of the city's police. Without any clothes to cover his naked body, he would surely be taken in for questioning if he was caught. Luckily, he had managed to avoid detection thus far by hiding himself behind buildings and alleys whenever possible. He stumbled upon an old cardboard box just off the side of the street where he sat down wearily and let out a deep sigh of defeat. Using the scraps of whatever was left behind by the box's previous owner to cover his body, he rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. Sleep would come soon enough when he couldn't fight it anymore and his eyelids seemed heavy as they began to
The room was quiet for several moments after Zach had announced his engagement with Amanda, a woman that he had only just met minutes prior. Amanda didn't seem to take the news well, but the thin man looked even worse. He knew well, that Zach had no relation to the young entrepreneur whatsoever. "You... Engaged to her?" He asked through gritted teeth while holding back the urge to strangle Zach. "I don't see why I should tell you anything, more. It's none of your business what we do with our lives." Zach answered without fear. At least that's how it appeared on the outside. He had been screaming internally since waking up in this situation. He wanted out of it as quickly as possible and this seemed to be the best way. He just needed Amanda to play along. He gave her a glance to alert her to his plan and with a few moments of deliberation, she began to nod slowly as if she understood his intention. "It's just as he said. This man here is my... Loving... Fiance. How could a scandal
Amanda led Zach out of the hotel lobby and onto a crowded street full of stores selling different types of luxury goods ranging from fashion to jewelry to high tech gadgets. Though some of these storefronts were more familiar than others, most were not. He had hardly ever been to such a luxurious location before. Zach followed close behind as they made their way through the crowds of people who walked in front and around them until they arrived at a parking lot containing high end luxury vehicles. There was even a limousine parked there that could easily hold over 15 people comfortably along with a personal driver. Walking through the lot, Amanda made her stop at what looked to be an old model sedan that was very distinctively designed with a long body along with angular headlights and grill. Zach couldn't help but feel curious about why she picked this particular car given its age. It was like staring at a relic from the past. Something that you could find in a museum. Yet despite
Amanda pulled into the property of a luxury mansion that looked to be built within the last decade or so. The building itself was massive, looking almost like two buildings fused together due to its size which spanned an area roughly a quarter mile wide. It was painted in an elegant shade of blue with white trims along each side, though there were also black accents in some places. By all accounts, it was a beautiful house. It was a shame that this beauty was not shared in the yard that surrounded the property. Dead leaves and dirt were all over the ground outside making it seem as if the owners did nothing but neglect their lawn and gardens on purpose. Even worse than the lackluster look of the garden was how poorly kept the landscaping around the grounds seemed to have been left as well. Amanda could tell what Zach was thinking as she watched his eyes scan through the poorly maintained garden. She was well aware of the state of the home's exterior. Many of the home's employees had
Zach mindlessly worked away at cleaning while Amanda took a seat on the couch. She was engrossed in something flashing on her laptop screen. Every now and then she would mutter to herself with a constrained expression as if she was deep in thought. She didn't notice when Zach stopped what he was doing and walked closer toward her. Taking a peak at the laptop revealed what she was so intently reading. News of their entanglement had already made its way to the internet. Zach watched silently as she flipped through various news sites, each one carrying the same story followed by the blurred photos taken by Sanntach. "They spread that photo around a lot faster than I thought they would," Zach observed. "We must have really ticked him off." "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Amanda replied nervously. "Either way, I guess I have to give a statement now..." "What are you going to say?" Zach asked. "I don't know exactly. I mean, we were never together and I don't even
"Okay then... I think we're ready to get started!" Amanda announced as she collected an assortment of ingredients and tools needed for her cooking endeavor. Looking amongst the counter top filled with various types of food supplies Zach couldn't imagine what she could be making. She claimed to be making something sweet, but whatever was on the counter looked to prove otherwise. But Amanda looked confident enough that he figured that there must have been some sort of logic behind everything she was doing, even though he didn't understand why any of it made sense. Maybe it wasn't important that he understood. Just so long as she got the job done? He took a seat beside the counter watching quietly while she busied herself by opening up a package of assorted spices and herbs and adding them into a mixer along with a scoop of sugar and butter before turning it on low. She poured in two eggs and beat them into the mixture before continuing to add in vanilla extract followed by a dash of s
"Good morning Mr. Parker. Are you feeling better? You fell asleep so suddenly yesterday." Amanda's face peered over the edge of the large bed that Zach was laying on. "Ugh... Where am I? Why does my head feel like it's full of cotton?" He rubbed the side of his skull where the most pain seemed to be originating from and then looked up into the beautiful angelic smile upon Amanda's face. Her hair was all done up with curls falling into her eyes and she wore a tightly fitted business suit with a pair of round glasses sitting neatly above her perfectly straight nose bridge. Seeing her dressed so properly in comparison to her normal casual attire almost made his heart skip a beat. He glanced around the room to find that she must have taken him into one of the spare bedrooms. The room was decorated in dark brown wallpaper that reminded him of an old library, while the floors were carpeted in an off white color that went well with the furniture pieces scattered across them. The bed itsel