Ruin The Billionaire

“Lilith Hellman.”

I turned to see the owner of the voice that had just said my name. He was a black man of average height and great looks. He was smiling heartily while holding a margarita on his hand.

“Hi,” I said. “Who are you?”

“Kyle Munther,” he said. “I’ve been watching you since morning. Okay, that came out wrong. I’m not a stalker. I work as a lifeguard here and just finished my shift. Been seeing you move from one activity to another, as if you can’t find one that matches your mood.”

Well, he was right about that. My mind was all over the place, and I couldn’t find anything to make me happy.

“How do you know my name?” I asked. “I don’t think lifeguards are provided with the names of every person who comes to this beach.”

“I got to know you from twitter. You’re that reporter who wrote about Jake Rylland. I worked part time in one of his hotels so I kind of keep up. I liked the man.”

“Of course you did. So why are you talking to me? I know you must have read what The Blue Paper said about me, that I’m a hoe. If you want to pay me for sex, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“If you had a secret life like that, I doubt you would be keen on exposing other people’s secrets. Also, you wouldn’t have entered a place like that using the main door because no one ever does. It shows how naïve you were. I believe the statement your company released that you may have been framed but they’re investigating the issue nevertheless.”

I didn’t know that The Daily Paper had released any statement about me. I developed goose bumps, realising I was not as alone as I thought. I knew that Leah and a few of my other friends were fighting for me and my reputation.

I had not yet spoken about the incident, but had been planning to do it in my first blog post which I was yet to write even though the blog was already live.

“That’s good to hear. However, it doesn’t mean I believe it. You could be saying it just to get on my good side. What do you really want?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m looking for company, and thought you could use some. Maybe I might be able to put a smile on that beautiful face.”

I smiled. “The last handsome man I dated turned out to be a fraudster who led me to ruin. He was hired to take me to that awful place, a place I had no idea existed before that day. Still trying to track him but keep hitting dead end after dead end. So, don’t blame me when I decide to stay away from people I don’t know.”

He nodded. “I understand the dilemma you’re in but trust me, I mean no harm.”

“That’s exactly what a psycho would say.”

We both laughed. It was the first time I had laughed that day. That was a good sign, I hoped.

Meeting Kyle showed me that the whole world was not against me as I had thought after reading negative comments on social media. It had seemed like my world was crushing down. Checking social media first thing in the morning is one of the worst things a person can do to themselves. Leah had always warned me about it but I had never accepted the reality of the statement until that morning when all I could find where negative posts and reactions about me.

I was able to cut myself from the phone but it had ruined everything already. I became extra miserable and couldn’t enjoy anything because of that until Kyle came along and made me feel so much better.

This time I was not about to open my heart to a stranger, after the lessons my involvement with Ian had taught me.

At the end of the day, we parted ways and I travelled back to my apartment. I was glad to see that my sister hadn’t come and tried to break it down. I had read all her threatening messages and instead of being filled with fear, I just laughed. I was pretty sure she could live comfortably without one necklace and a pair of earrings.

I lived without any, except the ones Leah forced me to buy. I never wore them of course. When it came to beauty, I was not patient enough to spend time applying makeup or accessories. As long as I was dressed, I was good to go.

I spent the next four hours writing away, the delicate buttons on my laptop’s keyboard nearly popped out from the extra strain they had not experienced in a while. That was very insignificant compared to the satisfaction I got when I saw my finished work. Five good posts introducing myself, why I started the blog, and disputing the nonsense the blue paper had published about me. I was dying to publish the posts but they needed editing so I decided to sleep and do it the next day.

I could barely sleep as I thought about the stir I was about to cause. Jake was probably somewhere celebrating my downfall, and he was going to be totally surprised by my return and defiance. I smiled as I wondered what he would do next to keep my mouth shut. If it wasn’t for the risk it gave my source of income, I would have been enjoying the game we were planning. Who was going to be the one man left standing? Jake or me? time would tell.

I was up by six. Without wasting time, I turned my laptop on and started editing. Within an hour, I was sure the articles were presentable enough for non professional blog like mine. Publishing them felt like declaring war against jake Rylland, exhilirating.

After publishing them, I shared the post to all my social media pages. I was sure that some gossip hungry reporters and writers were lurking around waiting for my words. I gave them what they wanted and sat back to wait for the reaction.

Jake was going to be extra mad, and I was all in for it. I had to admit it was becoming fun.