The Billionaire’s Secret

CHAPTER 2

The door opened, and Esmeralda passed through the computer security into the clothing store.

Largely spaced with racks filled with clothes arranged before her, she instinctively looked for the receptionist's table to her right.

One step forward, and her phone vibrated from within her purse.

‘Who’s calling?’ she thought to herself as she paused and managed to pull out her phone with the extra bag she held.

At the second loop of her ringtone, she swiped right and took the phone to her ear.

“Hello, Jude?” she started while balancing her bags in one hand. “No, I’m not busy. Talk to me.”

“ It’s about the case, boss. I sent you some information, but I thought it was important. ”

“What is it? Tell me.” she lowered her voice as she moved from the open space to a corner in front of the water dispenser and dropped her bag.

“The suspect… Beckham Archer? He’s invisible.”

“What do you mean, invisible?”

“He’s impossible to find. There are no photos of him anywhere. Even in the nation’s demographic database.”

“How can you say he’s invisible? How then did he become a prime suspect for murder?” Esmeralda whispered when a couple passed her, smiling briefly at them before she returned to listen to Jude’s response.

“His fingerprint. He was in the army for a while, so his fingerprint was recognized.”

“And there’s no photo of him?”

“Strangely, no, boss.”

“That’s odd, don’t you think?”

“Yes, boss.”

Esmeralda smiled at another group of girls that passed before she re-focused on her conversation. “So, we’re dealing with a faceless murderer.”

“Are…are you sure you want to take on this case, boss?” Jude sounded hesitant and slightly wavered, but Esmeralda’s reply was stern and unwavering.

“Yes,” she told him. “I was just awarded employee of the month. So, what better way to continue my legacy than to take on a story this juicy?”

Then she widened her eyes upon the realization of a solution. “You know what? Stop looking for him. I want you to stop looking into the Archer guy and start digging into the people around him. He might not have a wife or kids, but someone gave birth to him.”

“True… he’ll have parents…”

“And even if, for some reason, he killed them, he’ll have teachers or classmates, alumni, co-worshippers, or even neighbors. Even if he doesn’t have a face, he has a name, and anyone that bears the name Archer has officially become a suspect.”

“Understood.”

“Good. Let me know what you have by Sunday so that I’ll have a tangible report for Monday.”

When Jude acknowledged her instructions, she nodded to the air and hung up her phone.

‘We’ll catch you, and I’ll show the world the secrets you’re hiding. You can’t run from me, Archer,’ she said to herself before she looked up and was shocked to see a man standing before her.

He was staring at her expectantly, and she was confused as to why a random stranger would be glaring at her.

“Can I help you?” she finally asked after about three seconds of awkwardness.

“I asked if you could move. I need to pour myself a cup of water if you please,” the man said to her, and she couldn’t help but notice how deep his gruff voice was. He also had a slight British accent, which made the hair on her skin crawl.

‘He’s good-looking too,’ she thought to herself before scooting to the side. “Sorry about that. I was thinking about…”

“Didn’t ask. Don’t care,” he replied sharply, poured the water, and left just as suddenly as he had appeared before her.

‘Rude,’ she thought to herself again before picking up her bag and heading for the receptionist’s counter.

After waiting in line for about five minutes, many of the customers before her complained about irrelevant things, including the one girl who complained that the yellow hue of the blouse she wanted was not as perfect as her skin was.

‘Who cares?’ Esmeralda had shouted in her head during the argument, and she had caught the attendant roll her eyes one too many times.

So, it was a relief for both parties when Esmeralda stepped forward with a bright smile.

“How may I help you?” the pretty lady with a petite figure asked.

“I was wondering if you could help me with my jeans. I got it here yesterday, but silly me, I didn’t try it on because I was in a hurry to get to work. But anyway,” Esmeralda cut herself off when she realized her rambling. “When I got home, I tried it, and it was a tad too small. Think I can switch it for a bigger size?”

“Sure,” the attendant replied politely. “May I see the pair of jeans? I’ll need to check if we still have those in stock.”

“Oh, I hope you do,” Esmeralda said while pulling out the cloth from her bag. She handed it to the attendant, who checked the label.

As soon as the attendant’s face caught the name on the label, her expression went sour.

Esmeralda’s heart skipped a beat at the possibility that she might be stuck with a small pair of jeans in her house with no younger sister or petite friend to pass it on to.

“What is it?” Esmeralda finally asked to settle her curiosity.

“The brand… only the manager might be able to help you with this. Did you come with the receipt?”

“Yes… yes, I did.”

“Great! So, just go up the elevator to the third… Oh,” the attendant stopped at her words as her attention diverted. “There she is.”

Esmeralda turned to find the person the attendant was referring to, and when she couldn’t find anyone, she returned her attention to the attendant and asked, “Who?”

“The blonde woman walking with that man, and… I think she’s leaving.”

“Leaving?” Emerald rechecked again to find the person the attendant referred to, and as soon as she caught the sight of a blonde woman in a pink dress walking alongside a taller man, she collected the jeans from the attendant in haste.

“Thank you,” she added before leaving the counter to pursue the pair, who had already left the building.

“Hey!” Esmeralda shouted as she paced towards them. “Please, stop,” she called out again, but they didn’t stop until they got to a black Porsche sports car.

“Hey,” Esmeralda called to them once more as she drew closer, and the lady snapped back to find who was calling their attention.

“Hi, are you the manager of this store?” Esmeralda asked when she reached them.

“Someone like her,” the man replied instead, catching Esmeralda’s attention. She looked up and found the same face that had rudely replied to her at the water dispenser, and her countenance fumed.

“What do you mean?” Esmeralda asked in a voice tainted with annoyance.

“Sorry about that,” the other lady replied. “It’s just… Beck and I were talking about the kind of lady he can have s*x with, and he said…”

“Someone like you,” he said again, and his voice was deep and dark, just as she remembered because his voice and slight British accent weren’t something she thought she could forget that easily.

Esmeralda swooned, but her anger toward his earlier rudeness filtered her slight amusement through his appealing brown eyes, an intriguing smirk, and that husky voice of his,

“I’d say I’m flattered, then,” Esmeralda replied, but he cut in before anyone could respond.

“Don’t be. I said I can have s*x with someone like you, not you.”

“Beck!”

“Wow, I can’t tell if I am offended or…”

“Please, don’t mind him. He’s just…” the woman turned to him, glaring in frustration. “He’s just an ass. Anyway…” she returned her face to Esmeralda. “What did you need?”

“I’ll be leaving now,” the man said again with a sly smirk, cutting Esmeralda off.

“Okay. That’s good,” the woman replied to him and whispered a ‘Please, excuse me’ to Esmeralda before continuing. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Sure,” he replied.

“Don’t be late.”

“How would I be? The party’s at my house. You, don’t be late.”

They exchanged cheek pecks before the man unlocked his car, got in, and sped off.

“He’s rude,” Esmeralda commented in a low voice, but the woman heard and smiled while they walked back to the building.

“He’s not... Beck’s just really messed up.”

“Beck… that’s his name?”

“Yeah. And I’m Mary Jane, the manager of this clothing store.”

“My name’s Esmeralda. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” Mary Jane replied. “It’s nice to finally meet the kind of woman Beck can have s*x with.”

“I guess it’s an honor,” Esmeralda replied with hints of amusement in her tone. “Plus… as much I’d hate to say it to his face, he’s not too bad himself. If only he weren’t as messed up as you say he is.”

“I know, right?” Mary Jane laughed, and Esmeralda joined, brushing away the thought of how perfect his diamond face and thin lips looked.

‘He’s cute, but that’s all there is to it,’ she convinced herself.