Blackmailed by the Billionaire

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Zurie

Why the hell does Niko Armstrong want to see me?

Working in the research department at Mantabo Industries hadn’t put me in the position of meeting with the founder and CEO thus far. So, when I got the call that he wanted me to come to his office, I immediately assumed the worst.

I’m going to get fired.

But for what?

I hadn’t done anything wrong. At least as far as I knew.

Brushing shoulders with someone as I rushed past them, I mumbled an apology, “Sorry.”

“Hold up.”

I stopped and turned to find my supervisor staring at me with narrowed eyes. “Oh, Tommy. Sorry,” I muttered.

“Where are you going in such a rush, Zurie?”

“Armstrong’s office.” I looked down at the floor, my stomach pinching and grinding upon itself as worry filled me.

I cannot lose this job.

Tommy came closer to me, his eyes now wide with what resembled worry to me. “He asked for you?”

Nodding, I began wringing my hands. Even he knew that being called to our boss’s office wasn’t a good thing. “I don’t know what he wants. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong. I’m your supervisor. It would be me you’d be reporting to if you did anything wrong.” He sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t like this at all.”

“Yeah. Me neither.” I didn’t want to make my boss any madder at me than he must’ve already been. “I’ve gotta go, Tommy. I hope I’ll get the chance to let you know what happens.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to leave him waiting.”

As I turned to leave, I felt his hand on my shoulder. Turning back, I asked, “You want to say something?”

“Do you have anything you’d like to tell me?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, Tommy. I swear I didn’t.” I couldn’t blame him for asking, though.

“K. Well, get in there and try to keep a stiff upper lip. The man hates weakness. Act tough. I mean, I guess you should act that way. And hold your head up high, shoulders back, positive attitude. You did nothing wrong. Own that.”

Pulling my shoulders back, I took a deep breath and tried to steady my mind. “Yeah, I did nothing wrong. He can’t break me if I have nothing to hide. Thanks.” I turned away, walking at a slower pace, feeling less frantic than I had before.

I am innocent and have nothing to fear.

Confidence filled me. Until I got to his office and found his personal assistant’s desk empty.

“s**t. We’re going to be alone.”

I knew this was bad. I could feel it tingling in my spine.

Niko Armstrong was an intimidating man. Tall and muscular, with ridged facial features that made him resemble a Viking, he was the face of the weaponry division of Mantabo. Stern, stoic, and hard to the core, the man was impenetrable.

And he wants to see me in his office.

Guts twisting, I knocked on the door. “It’s me, Zurie Nala, Mr. Armstrong.”

The sound of something buzzing had the door coming open. At first, all I saw was black emptiness. Then, as the door opened wider, I saw a large stainless-steel desk. I got the eerie feeling that he liked to s*******r lambs on top of that desk. It seemed like something out of a meat market instead of common office décor.

My eyes caught movement from the corner of the room, and then a hulking figure emerged. “You took your sweet time coming to me, Zurie.”

Stepping inside, I tried my best to keep my shoulders back and my head high. “I came as soon as I could, sir.” I had to keep reminding myself that I’d done nothing to warrant this visit.

The black jacket of his business suit lay draped over the back of a long red sofa. He was only wearing a white, button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off his muscular forearms. I didn’t care for how hairy they were. Not that I was there to look him over.

Averting my eyes, I scanned the room. “You should take a seat, Zurie,” he suggested.

Striding over to a chair that looked completely uncomfortable with its straight wooden back and no cushion at all, I took a seat. I thought the discomfort would help me keep my posture in the appropriate position. Looking right into his ice-blue eyes, I asked, “Why did you call me, sir?”

He leaned back against his desk, his long legs jutting out in front of him, arms crossed over his massive chest. Only then did I notice the top few buttons had been left undone, and a tuft of black hair had billowed out, meeting his dark beard.

The man is as hairy as a bear.

“Forward, aren’t you?”

I didn’t want to come off as weak, since Tommy had said he hated that in a person. So, I c****d one brow. “To the point, is more accurate.”

“Fine. I’ll get right to it then, Zurie Nala. I know about your ex-fiancé, Reece Andrews. He and I share the same stature in this city.”

“Meaning you both are billionaires,” I quipped. “Yes, I know.” What I didn’t know was what that had to do with me being called to his office. “What about that?”

He stood up and walked slowly around his desk to take a seat behind it. The red, leather wingback chair came out on either side of him, shrouding him like a red cloak. Somehow, that made him look more powerful.

“You were engaged for a year. Before that, you dated for two years. In that time, I’m sure you became used to having money, being able to buy what you want, when you want.”

“I’m not spoiled, Mr. Armstrong, if that’s what you’re insinuating.” I liked having money — as anyone would. But it hadn't defined me in any way.

“I know you went from living in a mansion on his estate to living in a tiny efficiency apartment in town. You drove a Mercedes that he let you use, and now you drive a used Kia. You’ve made some drastic changes in the last year since you and he split up. I can help fix that a bit for you. I’m not offering billions, but I am offering you a million dollars.”

Please don’t ask me to have s*x with you. YUCK!

I didn’t want to ask. I didn’t want to even think about what he wanted me to do to earn that amount of money. But my mouth opened anyway, the words spilling out. “What do I have to do to get the money?”

Although I didn’t need or even want the money, my mother and sister back home in Pretoria, South Africa needed it desperately. I’d been sending home all the money I could.

My sister had been born with special needs, both mentally and physically. She was only two years younger than me, and our mother had had a hard time caring for us both. Dear old Dad left not long after Antiqua’s birth. She was too much for him, especially when she cried hours on end at times.

A recent fall had my sister needing surgery to repair her right hip. Even with public healthcare, the cost of the surgery and support she needed was more than our mother could afford.

Mom was in need of surgery herself as well. Her eyes had gotten bad — cataracts. She was nearly blind. But she didn't have the money for it. A million dollars would get them both the surgeries they needed.

I’ve got to do whatever he wants — for my family.

“Are you familiar with the Duran brothers who work here?”

“I don’t know any of them, but I have heard of them.”

“Cayce Duran is the oldest of the four brothers. He will be your target.”

Target?

That sounded unbelievably bad to me. “I’m not a killer, sir.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m not a killer either.”

Funny. You look like you could most definitely be one.

“Please explain.”

“Cayce and his brothers quit their jobs here a few days ago. They’ve gained a loan somehow to start working on this ridiculous idea they have to make something to get electricity out of the ocean. They’d been bothering me about that for some time now, but I wouldn’t give them the time of day. It’s an absurd idea anyway and not worth my time or money.”

“What do you care if they want to work on that rather than work on making weaponry?” I saw no need to target anyone over something like that. As a matter of fact, I thought their idea quite brilliant.

Just as I finished my sentence, his fist slammed down on the metal desk, making a terrible sound, hitting my ears sharply. “You don’t ask questions!” he shouted at me, his face a deep shade of red.

Nodding, I stayed silent — I wasn’t about to apologize.

I watched the color fade away, and then he said in a calm voice, “They know too much for me to let them go. I want them back, and I want that to happen as soon as possible.”

Everyone who worked at Mantabo had to sign a nondisclosure agreement that stated we couldn’t tell a soul about what went on inside these walls. Why he thought these men would leak company secrets, I didn’t know. But I wasn’t going to ask either. “And you want me to make that happen?”

“Exactly. I want you to target Cayce Duran. I want you to get something on him that we can use as blackmail. Once that's done, I want you to tell him that he has to get all four of his brothers back to work here.”

I had to point something out. “With all due respect, sir, how am I supposed to make that happen? Why would I, a person who works in the research department, want to blackmail anyone to get them to come back to work here? He’ll know you’re behind this.”

“I know that.” He grinned, revealing sharp incisors. I was quite sure he sharpened them to look that way too. “I want him to know it’s me who ordered you to do this. He wouldn’t take it seriously otherwise. If I could get him to do something that I could hold against him, then I would. Being a woman, you’ll find it much easier to get him to do things that can be used against him.”

“Why me?” I had to ask the question. There were other women who worked at the company. Why would he pick me to do this terrible thing?

“Do you not realize how beautiful you are, Zurie? That long, silky, silver-blond hair is alluring. And your dark-as-night eyes give you a dangerous air. Your creamy, ivory skin almost makes you look like an angel. You’re a mixture of both darkness and light. You’re beautiful enough to reel him in and dangerous enough for him to take what you say seriously.”

My appearance had never been described in such a way. “You have faith in me. But I’m not sure I can pull this off.” I didn’t want to pull anything off. But I did need that money.

“You can do it, Zurie. I know that you can. Just put on an act. Pretend you’re someone else. You can act, can’t you?”

I’d never acted before. Mom and Antiqua came into my mind, both wearing frowns at the thought of me deceiving someone, but also looking helpless. Both of them desperately needed money. “I can act. I’ll do it, Mr. Armstrong.”

“Call me Niko, Zurie. After all, we’ll be working closely on this. You know you can’t speak a word of this to anyone.”

Nodding, I knew this was a huge secret.

Now how can I get this Cayce Duran guy to do something inappropriate — or illegal — that I can use to blackmail him?