Timeless Jewel

Three

Talia, Ace, and Tracy found themselves immersed in the lively atmosphere of their cherished club.

"Here's to new beginnings," exclaimed Ace, lifting his glass in a celebratory gesture, and the girls mirrored the sentiment with their own glasses raised.

Tracy, with a mischievous glint in her eye, replied,

"We seem to be making this sort of celebration a habit," as she effortlessly downed yet another glass. Talia, appreciative, chimed in,

"Does it matter? Thanks to you, my life is running back on track."

Intrigued, Tracy turned her attention to Ace, teasingly asking,

"You're welcome, darling. Now spill, how handsome was he?" Ace, slightly exasperated, face-palmed and retorted, "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you two talk about boys."

The banter continued carrying the joy of new beginnings in the vibrant ambiance of their favorite club.

Tracy laughs and wraps her arm around his shoulder. "But he's no boy, Ace my man."

"He's the world's richest bachelor."

"He's also my new boss. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's gorgeous." Talia's eyes glowed brimming with affection.

"But alas, he's out of your league. Heck I won't be surprised if he has an entire harem of sexy ladies around him."

"Yeah yeah, reality is cruel. Don't worry, it's nothing more than a little crush."

Tracy clasps Talia's cheeks. "Atleast, you managed to wash away the painful memories with Graham."

Tracy's words lead to the atmosphere darkening. A string of solemn silence followed.

Ace coughs to break the awkward silence.

"Graham is trash. No, he's worse than trash. But guess what?" He grabbed Talia's hand. "Regardless of what he did, you're back to your feet and in a better environment."

"Thankyou Ace." She said with pure affection. Her eyes became teary as single teat dropped down her cheeks.

She had recalled her recent breakup with her boyfriend turned fiancé a couple of weeks ago.

For the past couple of weeks, Talia had countless sleepless nights shedding tears until she was dried empty. Her heart grew heavy over the magnitude of the betrayal she faced from Graham.

They were supposed to live a happy life raising the business they started together... They were supposed to be the power couple but he fell victim to the clutches of a seven deadly sin, he was blinded with lust.

'I was good to him. He was my first love.' Talia ended up riding her train of thoughts while her friends argued about random things.

'I can wear dozens of masks hiding my pain, I can open countless other businesses, I can become extremely wealthy.

But, I can never forget this betrayal.'

"Earth to Talia." Tracy snapped Talia back to reality. She was standing beside Ace now.

"I hope you were daydreaming about Grover Jewel and not some bastard that deserves the beating of a lifetime."

"What? No!" Talia refutes.

"Come on," Ace stretched his hand to her. "Let's do some Kareoke."

Talia grins and gets up to continue their celebration. But regardless of how much she tries, she couldn't get Graham off her head.

He lives rent free now.

___

Grover's mansion was a mixture of modern architecture with classical elegance.

The structure itself adorned the landscape, commanding attention and admiration from anyone fortunate enough to lay eyes on it.

"Good evening sir," Grover's head butler greeted him as he exited his car.

"Are my parents home?"

"No sir, The Mrs went off sees, she said something about seeing the Safari. The Master hasn't left work yet."

"That's strange, Father rarely stays in the office for long. Well, thanks for the update."

"I take it your day went well?"

"Yes," Grover nods. "It was eventful even. We had a new intake and she showed promise."

"..."

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"My apologies, it's just that I've never heard you talk about anybody that's not your parents before. This new employee of yours must be someone intriguing to have caught your attention."

Grover smiles. "She is." He then recalled the e-mail he received earlier. It was from Graham.

"I'll retrieve to my room now, have the cooks bring my dinner to my room since there's no one at home."

"Yes sir."

Grover proceeded to navigate through the lavish halls, each corner had servants greeting him as he passed them.

He reached his room, the bed was at the center. It was vast and beautiful, just like the rest of the mansion.

He took a shower and changed his clothes. He sits on his desk and turns his computer on.

"Now let's read the remaining contents of this email."

Below were the contents of the e-mail:

Graham: The new employee you just hired is a fraud and a scammer. She is an expert manipulator who leaves a path of destruction everywhere she goes.

She is a vixen and a fox. She seduced me leading me on with promises of a happy life. When we finally started our business, she vanished with the documents of ownership. The next thing I knew, the company was sold off. If you know what's good for you, you'll fire her right away.

Attached to this e-mail are documents she forged to steal and sell off my company.

Grover didn't know what to make of this revelation. He had his eyes on Talia since the first day he saw her. He kept things professional and hired her. She proved herself a valuable asset and he was glad to have her abroad.

"I will let hell freeze over before anybody touches my family's legacy."

Grover spent the rest of the night contemplating on what to do regarding this.

Should he approach Talia with the e-mail and demand answers?

But what if she is who Graham says she was? She'll just do as she did and dissappear.

Grover was put in a dilemma. He can't risk the growing little bond he could build with her. But he also can't risk his company's faith. Harboring a fraud will only lead to his downfall.

"That's it." He came up with the perfect answer to this. "I'll keep a close watch on her, I am no fool. This Graham fella... I'll also keep a watch on him."

"Nothing and Nobody will sabbotage my Father's hardwork. Especially during the year I took over as CEO."

One thing was certain... This is just the beginning.