“What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing, Jason.”
“That’s Agent Anderson, to you.”
Jake chuckled. “Why should I address you by a title that is no longer yours?”
Jason glowered at Jake. He was a tall, hefty man in his fifties with greying black hair, icy blue eyes, a square beardless jaw and an ego the size of Texas.
He’d been fishing quietly at the lake which was a short distance from his small house on the outskirts of town. When Jake and Darius showed up at his quiet place, his hand had instinctively flown to his pistol which he kept hidden in the waistband of his pants.
He disliked Jake at first sight because the billionaire seemed like a cocky prick and talked like one. Jason wondered if he could empty a few rounds into this intruder and his companion, and get away with it.
“Don’t bother,” Jake said calmly as if reading his mind. &ldquo
“What an honour it is to finally meet you in person,” Atticus Fletcher beamed happily as he shook Jake’s hand backstage after he received the award for the most enterprising CEO.He was the organizer of this awards ceremony and he was a retired investment banker and now a renowned business consultant with solid connections in every sector of the economy.Jake had been avoiding this event every year since that time when he and Morgan were attacked on their way home after his first award. Pierce had been standing in for him since then but unfortunately, his dependable COO was out of the country for a much-needed vacation with his family.Since that first win, Turner Group had won a variety of awards over the years and different categories. However, this year, the award was specifically for him and he didn’t want to snub the event by giving flimsy excuses not to show up.“Thank you, for always finding me and my conglomerate wort
One week after Jake’s run-in with Sandra, she followed through with her threat and published another explosive piece about him.However, this time around, she included excerpts from his rivals including Jude Weiss, Patrick Sawyer and other former members of The Association who had participated in the class action lawsuit against him in the past.Jake was so pissed he couldn’t hide his anger. Within 24 hours, the media was thrown into a frenzy by the shocking claims made by Sandra’s sources in the publication.Before Jake could even call his lawyers, his story was already trending worldwide and a petition was made, calling on the authorities to investigate his questionable business ethics.“Am I supposed to ignore this too?” He asked Fletcher angrily.“Well, we could sue her for libel but let’s not forget that Patrick Sawyer has enough evidence to support everything he said in that interview. That’s not a good look for your case.”“What are you saying? That I let that stupid woman get
“Where are we?” Sandra asked with a yawn.“Honolulu,” Jake replied. “I bought this private resort recently. It’s still under construction but it will be ready to open in a few months.”“It looks perfect to me. It’s such a relaxing place and I especially love how secluded it is from the rest of the city.”“That’s the idea.”“You’re such a brilliant guy. Is it any wonder that I am hopelessly attracted to you?”“You have a strange way of showing your feeling though. Why would you air me out like that?”“Are we back to that again? I thought I already apologized. Besides, you can tell me the truth now.”Jake adjusted himself and put a little distance between him and Sandra. They were lying in bed in one of the executive suites in the unfinished resort.He prided himself on being a man with solid self-control but this insanely sexy woman had shattered all of that and gotten him right where she wanted.He’d known that sex with Sandra would be a feisty affair but nothing in this world could
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Mr Turner. I’m Detective Louis Logan from the Chicago Police Department.”“Chicago?” Jake marvelled.“Yes, sir. May I sit down?”“Of course,” Jake answered, pointing at one of the chairs in front of his office desk.The lanky man sat down and adjusted his grey jacket that was worn over a multicoloured shirt. His tan hair was thinning and tied back in a neat ponytail. His full moustache reminded Jake of Burt Reynolds.“So, I’m not going to take much of your time, I’ll just go straight to the point.”“Ok.”“I’m here to talk about Patrick Sawyer’s death.”Jake was stunned. “He’s dead?”The detective was watching him closely. “Yes, that’s what I said. Didn’t you know?”“No.”“Well, he died last week Thursd
The tension between Jake and Megumi extended into the next day. He’d called Fletcher the previous night to come to the mansion before the detective showed up again.“So… how far have you gone with the planning of my birthday getaway?” He asked her at breakfast.She ignored him and instead, focused on feeding James who was sitting in his highchair beside her.Jake cleared his throat and tried again. “Are we still travelling for my birthday?”“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she replied flatly. “I don’t enjoy hanging out with liars.”“You have got to be kidding,” he said in disbelief. “So, my birthday trip is cancelled?”“Did I say that?”“Ok, fine. Let’s not go anywhere then. I’ll celebrate it alone.”“Perfect.”When Fletcher showed up, Jake took him to his study to discuss the
“We’ve got a problem, Jake.”His ears perked up immediately he heard the worry in Sandra’s voice. “What is it?”“I’ve just received a heads-up from a friend about a story that is about to hit the media first thing in the morning. We’ve been discovered.”“What?”“Some nosey paparazzi caught us leaving that Malibu resort together yesterday.”“Aw, shit!”“My friend just let me know as a courtesy but there’s nothing we can do to stop the story. It’s going live in a few hours.”“Damn it! We’ve been very careful this entire time.”“I know but I guess we got sloppy this time. Our disguise wasn’t good enough I guess.”“What do we do now?”“Prepare for impact. That’s all we can do.”“You’re taking this rather calmly.&rdqu
“My phone has been ringing off the hook all morning. Photos of you and that shameless bitch have been making the rounds all over social media and beyond.”“I’m sorry about that, Meg,” Jake replied tiredly and sank onto a nearby sofa.“Where did you spend the night? Were you with her again?”“Hell, no! I was at the office.”“I didn’t even know when you left the house. Why didn’t you come back home?”“Because I was on the phone with Orlando’s boys. I wanted them to get me everything they could find on Sandra.”“Why?”“Because it turns out that she has been running an undercover operation with the CIA to spy on me.”“What?”“It gets worse.”“What’s worse than being spied on by the CIA?”“She’s been meeting with Rex in prison.”
“What the fuck?” Jake whispered in awe as he stared at his former bodyguard who had been pronounced dead in Jersey more than a year ago.He’d grown his hair out, gotten rid of his tattoos and was less muscular than Jake remembered. His skin had even lost its usual tan.“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” said Barry/Orlando.“How are you still alive?”“Because I never died. Come on, let’s get out of here. The noise is starting to do my head in.”He walked past Jake into the games arcade, leading him past a labyrinth of gaming machines that are manned by enthusiastic gamers. They passed through a door that led to the parking lot of the bowling alley.“Where are we going?” Jake asked.“My crib,” Barry answered. “It’s a short walk from here.”“Ok,” Jake said and fell in stride beside his host. He wondered if
“In a shocking plot twist, all speculations about Jake Turner, also known as the Underdog Billionaire possibly faking his own death have finally been laid to rest following a confession from his former PA, Gregory Lowe, who has admitted in a social media post to being the brain behind the leaked emails. “According to Lowe, he conceived the idea after months of battling with emotional instability due to a terrible break-up that he never recovered from. He created deep fake emails and posted them to gain attention and create excitement in what he has described as a boring life.“The story is still developing and we have with us in the studio a behavioural analyst who will break down this topic and – “Pierce flipped a button on the remote control and the TV went dead instantly. He swung his swivel chair around to face Jake on the desktop computer screen where he’d been watching the news report f
As Pierce already predicted, the hacker sent Jake another email two days after the viral leak, threatening to reveal Jake’s location. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he had doubled his fee and was now demanding 200 million dollars.“This is ridiculous,” Jake laughed after reading the email. He showed it to Shadow a.k.a Fransisco, and he too laughed.“What an idiot.”“I hope Pierce is wrong about his suspicion though. It would break my heart if he’s right.”“At this point in your life, nothing should surprise you anymore. I could even be your enemy.”“Please, don’t be. Let me have at least one human being that I can trust.”Shadow smiled. “I’m just kidding. I value loyalty and integrity above everything else in life.”“That’s refreshing to know.”“I better go out and catch us some fish for dinner. We do
On the seventh day after Jake received that dreadful email from the anonymous hacker, a troll account on IG released several pages of what was purported to be emails sent from Jake Turner’s email account since his death.Several media outlets and online bloggers were tagged in the post and within minutes, the news was everywhere. The Underdog Billionaire might still be alive after all.Pierce was hounded by press people who stormed his villa and camped outside the Turner Group office building, demanding answers to this explosive revelation. Even the CIA wanted in on the details.“Is it true that your boss is still alive?” Tessa Sanders asked him over the phone.“I am just as surprised as everyone else,” he lied.“But you’ve been communicating with him. Everyone has read the leaked emails and I’m made to believe that they are authentic.”“Is that so? Then it means someone is imperson
“I’ve got some not-so-good news for you,” Pierce said gravely.“What is it?” Jake asked eagerly.“Your wife is selling the Hawaii mansion and relocating to Japan with James.”“What? Why? Is she broke already?”“I don’t think so. I guess after that tragic incident that happened at her party last month and the ensuing negative media coverage, she has decided that it’s time for a change of scene.”“That’s a rather drastic move.”“I agree. Victoria is pretty upset about this. She doesn’t want her brother to be taken away from her but there’s nothing any of us can do to stop it.”“Damn… even if something happens to Meg, her family will step in and take care of James. The only way we can get him back is to prove beyond reasonable doubt that her family is unfit to care for him.”“That’s
Megumi’s case against Pierce was thrown out of court because the law supports the provisions made in Jake’s will regarding how the Turner estate is to be divided and who can be Victoria’s legal guardian.The same thing happened with Jude Weiss and members of The Association who had crawled out of their holes to try to rock the Turner Group boat with hopes that something would come out.It had been six months since the fatal explosion that supposedly took Jake Turner’s life and the world was starting to move on quickly. The CIA finally beams their searchlight on Irina, tasking her to produce her boss in exchange for a commuted sentence.The offer was way too juicy for her to pass up, so she agreed. Unfortunately, she never lived to deliver her end of the deal.She was shot in the head by a long-range sniper at the airport as she was being escorted onto the flight that would take her to Finland. She died instantly and her killer was
“That’s incredible!” Victoria gasped after Jake had finished speaking. “So, it’s really you. You’re alive.”“Yes, Vicky. I’m alive,” Jake replied with an apologetic smile.Victoria’s eyes misted and she reached forward to embrace her father. He wrapped her in his arms and let her weep on his chest.Even he was overcome with emotion. It felt good to be reunited with his daughter.“I am so sorry for deceiving you like that,” he said softly as she continued to cry. “It was the only way to make sure that I could escape from Hawaii without being discovered.”She broke the embrace and nodded slowly. “I understand. You did what you had to do to protect yourself.”“You’re wiser than your age.”“You’re braver than you look.”“What about Megumi? Are you going to tell her the truth?”
San Fransisco, three months ago…“What you’re asking me to do is not impossible, but the time frame for its execution makes it seem… undoable.”“I’ll quadruple your fee if you can get it done in 24 hours.”The Ferret’s eyes widened slightly. His services didn’t come cheap, so earning four times that amount on a single job was too juicy to pass up.“If I may ask, why the urgency?”Jake shrugged. “Many people want me dead anyway, so I might as well beat them to it.”“You have an army of bodyguards to protect you. So why did you choose this drastic option instead?”“Do you want the job or not?”“I’m just curious.”“Don’t be. Pierce told me you’re very discreet. I hope that’s true.”The Ferret looked insulted. “Of course, I am discreet. I just like
Victoria was silent throughout the boat ride. She was thankful for the noisy boat engine that made normal conversation impossible.The boat rider sat in front of them and looked straight ahead. Victoria wondered if the elderly man spoke English.Would he help her if she told him now that her father’s PA was kidnapping her and taking her to an unknown destination? Or was the man in on the plot?The ride took over an hour and by the time they reached their first stop, the sky was dark. They stopped on an island that was anything but secret.The place was alive with tourists and locals dancing to music, eating, drinking and laughing loudly. Gregory led her past the noise to a beach on the other end of the small island.They got into another boat and began another silent ride across the ocean. At this point, Victoria lost all hopes of ever getting found.Not even the FBI can track her to this remote destination. She should’ve probabl
“So… where are we going?”“Indonesia.”“For real? I’ve never been there before!” Victoria said excitedly.“Me too but I’m looking forward to exploring the place,” Gregory replied with equal enthusiasm.For the first time since her father died, Victoria did not feel that heavy weight of grief that constantly clouded her thoughts. For once, she felt eager and excited to see what the rest of the day would bring.The only thing she found odd about this trip was that Uncle Pierce had insisted that they travel without any of the bodyguards. She never went anywhere without them since her kidnapping, and she felt a bit nervous about not having them around this time.It didn’t matter that they were flying in one of her dad’s private jets. Not having an armed guard nearby just in case something unexpected happened, didn’t quite sit well with her.She could only