The Billionaire’s Secret Empire

ChapterThree

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, please excuse me." She blurted out several times, bumping into every employee in her path as she tried to weave through the throng of overworked corporate sycophants who wanted to get home as quickly as possible, all to put a watchful distance between herself and the man she was determined to follow.

"This is a stupid idea, Taylor," she muttered under her breath.

But what could she do? She had to know who he really was.

Xavier Johnson had ruined her life and was probably responsible for her mother's bakery burning down. She couldn't present concrete proof of how he might be connected, but her instincts had never failed her once. Xavier's disappearance and the arsonist who burned down her mother's building were definitely linked.

Now here he was, or not, standing before her, walking with strides that seemed legitimately heavy for a man of his status. No one dared meet his gaze as his attention remained fixed on the watch at his wrist, clearly checking the time and walking briskly as if he were late for something.

Or was he simply anxious to get away from her?

She shook her head, too many thoughts swirling in her mind. Everything was so confusing it was almost painful, and she simply couldn't bear it any longer. She just had to know who this man really was!

And so he followed Theo Gianni, keeping a very good pace to avoid being detected, until he got into the black Porsche that was parked right in front of the company building.

Xavier never drove a Porsche. He owned a beat-up sedan that he wouldn't trade for anything in the world, claiming it belonged to his late father.

Was it the same man, now locked in a luxury car? A damn billionaire?

"Taxi!!" She waved, quickly jumping into the taxi that stopped right in front of her, "Please follow that car!"

The driver, amused as he probably felt a little too good in this kind of situation, said, “Husband?”

Taylor, irritated and too focused to hesitate, now stared at him, “Uh… what?”

The slightly older man chuckled: "I'm asking if it's an unfaithful husband, or perhaps an ex-lover. It's important to know the seriousness of the situation before proceeding."

She had neither the patience nor the time for his antics. It was definitely obvious that he was a man who admired theatrics, so she sighed deeply: "Ex-lover."

"Okay then." He nodded with a smile, "Let's buckle up, shall we?"

***********

Two hours later, at dusk, Taylor felt even more frustrated than the next. It almost felt like a pointless search at this point, since her boss had always been driving.

He'd only made a few stops that were on the normal side. A Chanel store where he bought something in a medium-sized bag, then a restaurant where a chef had come out with a package, probably his lunch. The only thing out of the ordinary was that Theo Gianni was driving in circles, almost as if he were delaying his trip home.

"Oh." The driver muttered, "Are you sure he's not playing with you?"

She snorted, "We've been careful. There's no way he'd know I was following him."

“He must have hurt you badly to be like that,” the driver chuckled softly. Taylor just wanted to shut up and do her job: “I’ve seen a lot of crazy things, but never a woman harassing a man for over two hours. You know this is going to cost you dearly, right?”

She swallowed hard. She'd made a little money selling some of her mother's jewelry, following her boss around and paying the taxi fare would probably make her frugal for the next two weeks, but she'd prosper.

Discovering the truth was important.

Then she looked.

She waited patiently.

She stalked and yawned from exhaustion.

All to discover the true identity of the man who abandoned her because of filth.

Right up until the car stopped in front of a bar,

"Wait. Stop." She held her breath.

Theo came out, now wearing a very different outfit. Gone was the rigid figure I knew from the office; his hair was all thoughtful, and he was wearing simple black trousers and a polo shirt. He looked like he was meeting someone.

She held her breath for a second, and then her heart finally shattered the moment she saw a woman leaving the bar. Her boss/likely ex-fiancé and this woman were exchanging words.

And then the woman put her arms around his neck and her boss gave her a soft kiss on the kiss on the temple.

"Oh." The driver reflected as he witnessed the scene: "Well, there you have it. Your man has clearly moved on."

Clearly.

It probably wasn't Xavier, but the possibility that he was this man, and seeing him in another woman's arms, broke her heart. The disgusting feeling in her chest was worse than when she'd walked into the church and seen an empty altar.

A tear fell quickly, one that she wiped away without hesitation: "Take me home... please."

**********

She'd almost convinced herself to quit the next morning, but living in a big city was expensive, and Taylor had a fresh start to commit to. So, reluctantly, she got out of bed and dragged herself to work, looking less polished and more haggard than when she'd cried herself to sleep the night before.

"Are you okay?" An employee whose name she didn't bother to find out asked the moment she stepped into the elevator: "Rough night?"

Taylor nodded, her voice high-pitched: "Yes."

"A rough night" was definitely an understatement. She thought her boss was the man who broke her heart and pathetically followed him to the city only to find him with another woman. Then she cried herself to sleep, heartbroken over a man who claimed not to know her.

They were all versions of being in bad shape. She hated herself for it.

The employee invited her to the lounge to talk later during lunch, and she accepted, though she wasn't going to indulge herself. She stepped out of the elevator and headed straight to her station; only seconds had she been there when she heard his disgruntled voice astonishing her ears.

"My office, Miss Hempstead."

Ughhhh… couldn't she just die already? She thought to herself.

Clenching his lower teeth, he knocked on the door for a few seconds and entered his office.

He seemed angry... even furious.

“Good morning, sir—

"Save your jokes," her voice was bitter, "Would you mind explaining why you were harassing me last night?"