Her Suspected Billionaire

Chapter 12

A week went by before Alice had another encounter with edy649. She had gotten the hang of things at her role at Sterling Industries already and the day before, Evan had even complimented her coffee.

“You should record what I’m about to say now and set it as your ringtone because you might never hear it again,” he had begun. “This coffee is great.” Alice had only laughed and when she told Sheila about it during dinner that night, they had a good guffaw, with Sheila asking if that was Evan having a sense of humour.

​Alice was on her way to First Bites that evening when her phone beeped. She waited till she was in the parking lot before she checked it. It was a message from an unknown number. She stepped out of her car and quickly looked around - at the people walking about in and out of the shops and bars and clubs that littered Peacewalk Avenue. Nothing looked suspicious to her. But Alice was still scared. She got back into her car as hurriedly as she had stepped out and dialed Sheila without opening the text message.

“Hey, babe,” Sheila cooed into the phone as soon as she picked up.

“Could you come get me, please? I’m at the parking lot, just outside First Bites.”

“Get you? Is everything okay, Alice?”

“I don’t know, but I’m too scared to find out.”

“Oh my God, Alice. You sound so scared. Stay right there. I’m coming out now.” Alice remained in her car, with her head bowed down on her steering wheel until she heard a tap on her window. Steven was smiling at her from outside with Sheila standing behind him. She smiled back at him, grabbed her bag and opened the door.

“Girl, what happened?” Sheila asked, pulling Alice into a hug while Steven took her bag from her.

“I got a text from an unknown number and I…I just panicked.”

“Lemme see that,” Sheila said and grabbed the phone from Alice’s hand before she could protest. She opened the message, read it and then burst into laughter.

“You really need to start wearing big girl pants, Alice. It’s just someone named Edith from your workplace asking about some schedule,” Sheila finally said after she was done laughing. Alice took the phone from her and looked at it.

HELLO, MISS JAMES. PLEASE, I’M REQUESTING A COPY OF MR. STERLING’S SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY NEXT WEEK. HIS MUM IS ASKING. THANK YOU.

​Alice sighed loudly and leaned on her car. Sheila was still laughing at her and telling Steven all about how she couldn’t sleep with the lights off and it was only natural for her to freak out over a text message from an unknown number.

“I wasn’t freaking over it. I just had a little anxiety attack,” Alice began in an attempt to clear her name. She didn’t like as Sheila was making her look bad in front of Steven. Sheila chuckled a bit, and then her expression switched from amused to concerned like she had just understood what Alice was trying to tell her.

“And would you be having an anxiety attack cause if a text, girl? Did anything happen with your phone?” she asked. Alice shook her head slowly and blinked her eyes at Sheila. That was their girl code for ‘stop talking’.

“It’s okay, sweets. Anyways, Steven and I have already set our table. Chicken fajitas are on the menu todayyyy!” Sheila squealed while Alice let out a loud ‘whooooop.’

“Drinks are on you though, girl. You haven’t given me a treat since you got your new job.” Steven laughed at this and went over to hug Alice.

“Congratulations on the new job, Allie.” Alice smiled. Steven was the only one who didn’t think her name was too short for her to not have a nickname. He’d been calling her Allie since their college days, and now he was dating her best friend. She was so happy and excited for both of them, especially as she knew Sheila had had her fair share of bad relationships.

“Thanks, Steven.”

​The three of them walked into the restaurant chattering about how Alice’s job was going on so far and Steven’s new apartment, as he’d just recently moved. Alice felt a loving warmth wrap around her as she sat at the table with her two favourite friends. She hadn’t been to First Bite in over two months and this was their first dinner together since Sheila agreed to date Stephen. Alice liked how far Sheila had come in chasing her dreams and she was glad she hadn’t turned Stephen down. Looking at them together at that moment was soothing for Alice.

The fajitas were glorious and Alice savoured every bite. They had just finished their drinks when Alice excused herself to go to the restroom. She had had a little too much to drink and she’d been holding it in because she was enjoying hearing Steven tell them how he worked up the nerve to finally ask Sheila out. Luckily for her, there was no line at the ladies’ restroom and she was done within three minutes.

While washing her hands at the sink, her phone beeped in her trouser pocket. She dried her hands off and got it out to check the message. Probably Sheila calling to tell her to meet them outside or something. As soon as Alice’s eyes saw the message on her phone, she let out a loud scream and the phone fell from her hand to the floor. A lady who was still inside one of the stalls came out hurriedly on hearing the scream, with her trousers down at her ankle. Alice is crouched up in a corner of the restroom, hyperventilating with tears streaming down her face. Two other members of staff along with Sheila came inside the rest room as they’d heard her scream too.

“Thank God,” Alice exclaimed, as Sheila walked into the restroom and covered her face in her hands, still crying. She looked so relieved to see Sheila there.

“What happened?” one of the staff asked. Alice just pointed at her phone that lay on the floor with a shaky finger. Sheila picked it up before anyone else did and as she saw what Alice had seen, her eyes popped wide open in fear.

“Oh my God,” a lady who stood behind Sheila and had seen the picture exclaimed.

​There on the screen was a picture of Sheila lying on a road with torn clothes, eyes closed and blood dripping from her nose and mouth. The picture of Sheila was also contorted into a weird shape. Her arms met at the top of her head, with her elbows touching each other and her legs were sprayed apart from each other as well, with her knees touching.