CHAPTER 2

The black sedan pulled to a stop in front of Grayson Automobiles. The security guard at the entrance walked briskly towards the car and opened the back door.

"Welcome ma'am." The security guard curtsied slightly.

Ava Grayson sighed. British people and formalities. She gave a slight nod, adjusted her jacket, and walked into the building.

As she walked through the revolving doors, she glanced at her reflection in the glass and smiled, satisfied with her appearance.

White long-sleeved jacket spotted with small blue circles matched with navy blue pants and navy blue stilettos. Honey blonde hair packed up.

As she breezed through the hallway, heads turned. She could hear the whispers.

"Damn, she's hot."

"Nah man, she's beautiful."

Ava smirked. Of course.

Just as she pressed the button for the eleventh floor on the elevator, an ebony-skinned redhead scurried towards the elevator, files in hand. She jumped in just as the doors were about to close, panting heavily.

"Beautiful morning, Miss Grayson." The redhead gasped in between breaths. Ava rolled her eyes. The elevator doors closed.

"Ava, Alex, there's nothing beautiful about the morning. Look at the time," she glanced at her watch, "You were supposed to come to pick me up, Lex".

"Ugh no, Miss Grayson. Let's maintain the formalities at work." Ava chuckled, "Lex you make me wanna roll my eyes a hundred times a day," she added.

The elevator dinged at the eleventh floor and they got out. Ava glanced at Alex to see that she had a straight face, and she smiled. Lex would always amaze her.

Alexis Scoffied is her best friend first, then her assistant. They've been together since their university days when Alexis sang and danced in the K-pop group, while she joined the relay team.

Even on the good days and the bad, they stayed together. Alex was the kind of girl who sleeps on the rooftop on a drunken night and catches a 6 am flight to Dublin for a conference meeting the next morning.

When her father placed her in charge of Grayson Automobiles, she had employed Alexis as her Personal Assistant, because she knew no one could handle being a psycho and a perfectionist so well.

Typical Alex.

Alexis stifled a chuckle, "Well act professional, Miss Grayson," She said as she reached the door to Ava's office and opened it.

The whiff of jasmine that hit Ava's nose gave her a pleasant heady feeling. She breathed in deeply, savoring the scent, then she exhaled and picked up her nameplate.

"I have to say, Lex, I've missed this space," Ava admitted as she strolled to the leather couch in the middle of the office and sank in, observing the nameplate.

Alexis walked to the table and dropped the files, facing Ava. "Of course, Miss Grayson." "It just gives this... homey feeling, you know what I mean?

I nodded as I muttered a small yeah.

"Miss Grayson, you need to sign these documents today. They're long overdue. So please," she gestured to the files on the desk "If you'd kindly get to work." She urged.

Ava groaned and stood up. "Alright, Boss." she joked.

"By the way, I am not about to be the youngest Billionaire in Europe. You are. Your Dad just has to die sooner." Alex joked.

Ava laughed. "Lex, that's crazy." Alexis shrugged and arranged the files in front of Ava. "Get to work."

"Can I see the blueprint of the Red Lexus, model 3?" Ava asked Alexis as she turned to go.

"Sure, Miss Grayson." She stepped out the door and returned a minute later with the blueprint.

She handed it to Ava and after a quick scan at it, Ava got up and pushed her chair back. "Huh, I'm going to fix myself some coffee. Here, she said, handing the blueprint back to Alex.

"And since when do you do that yourself Miss Grayson? Oh, don't tell me this is about your phobia of red cars kicking in?

"Argh! Fine, I'll test run the car myself." Ava groaned as she stood to step out of the office.

Alex let out a chuckle. "Here we go again."

"Screw you, Alex." She yelled.

Alexia sighed and looked up. "It's about to be a long day" Ava giggled and strolled out the door, shouting from the corridor "What do you mean?"

Luke Carter opened the door to room 302 and stepped out. He turned to look at the lady in the doorway.

"Forgive me. Maybe I was just under the influence of alcohol." He said, buttoning his shirt.

The lady at the door scoffed "You know you're a real arsehole," she said and banged the door in his face.

Luke sighed and hung his head. Of course, he was an arsehole. He had met the lady at the hotel bar, where he had sat alone, reminiscing the events of the day.

The lady had walked over to where he sat and offered to buy him a drink. "Two shots of blood Mary, please." She said to the bartender and sat on the stool beside him.

Luke had been so lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice when she sat there.

"Hey," No answer.

The lady tapped him then, knowing he was lost in thought because he looked like it. It was then he looked up and stared at her, a blank look on his face.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" The lady asked, passing him a shot. He had looked at the shot and smiled, rubbing his stubble.

He looked up at the lady again and studied her face. Pretty Wild. Maybe he could just entertain her to distract himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name," he said, lifting the shot glass to his lips. "Sam. Samantha." She answered.

He smiled, "Nice name, Sam." He raised the shot glass to her "Thanks for the shot" he said and poured the drink in his mouth.

They spent the next hour taking more shots and getting acquainted.

Somehow he had found himself kissing her, then she had suggested they go up to her room.

Their make-out session was pretty intense, but Luke had caught himself and pulled away from the lady. Then he got up and told her how he couldn't go on with it.

Disappointed, the lady tried to know why he had stopped, but he wasn't forthcoming with any reason.

He knew why he stopped though, but he didn't want to hurt the lady's feelings any further.

That was when he excused himself and left the room. He headed back to the bar, jacket in hand, another hand in his pocket.

He got to the bar and sat at a secluded spot. He knew he attracted too much attention, and he hated having to deal with people. It's been quite difficult keeping a low profile though, being the son of a Billionaire and an insanely good-looking man.

He brought out his phone and dialed a number. He got the same response he had been getting since earlier that evening.

"Sorry, the number you've dialed cannot be reached at the moment. You can leave a message after the beep."

He sighed and ended the call before it could even beep.

He had left a series of messages. How many more did he have to leave?

Just as he signaled to the waiter, his phone rang. He picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID, he sighed and dropped the phone on the table, leaving it to ring.

The waiter had arrived to take his order when the phone started ringing again. Luke cursed under his breath and picked up the call.

"Look man, I told you I needed some ti-"

"There's a problem." The voice on the other end interrupted him.

There was a pause and Luke waited for him to continue, not knowing what to expect. The silence stretched long, which he found odd because he knew how precise his cousin, and secretary, could be.

"What's the problem, Darrell?" he finally asked.

"It's about your brother," Darrell paused again.

"What about him?" Luke sounded a little irritated now.

Darrell paused for another minute, contemplating the best way to deliver the news. "Matt sexually abused his patient."