Chapter 6

The reflection on the window of the luxurious black SUV showed a rather young man. At 27 years old, Yohann Cooper was practically a baby in the business world. However, it was his father's decision to step aside and let his only son take over the business. Yohann ran his hand through his disheveled hair a few times until it fell into place. He had dark hair, a clean-shaven, almost pale complexion. Despite his handsome appearance, he had a somewhat boyish demeanor, which hadn't endeared him to the old guard of his father's firm. This was offset somewhat by his broad shoulders and rather tall stature. Yohann was used to towering over his peers; he had shot up in height as a teen. He had always had a lot of excess energy, and through exercise, he had managed to channel that into a toned, though lean form. He didn't work out as much as he used to back in high school and college, though. The workload after taking over his father's firm meant he couldn't have as much fun. However, whenever he could, he did try to release some pressure.

After a draining day at the office, Aeron who also used to be his father's driver is taking a shortcut in reaching Yohann's house, just out of town. In doing that, he passes through a rather unsavory neighborhood. Yohann sees in the distance the silhouette of a woman being chased by two men. As the car approaches her, Yohann can see them threatening her, until finally they grab her, trying and failing to silence her, but succeeding in dragging the poor woman into an alley.

"Nigel, stop the car," Yohann demands, getting out of the car.

Clara was a busy woman; she always had something to do in her packed schedule. She had to work two jobs to keep her home in order, as her husband didn't help at all. She married him pretty young at 18, while her husband was 20 at the time. Her father was delighted when she announced she was going to marry his best friend's son, thinking his daughter would be well looked after for life. However, her husband quickly got addicted to drinking and drugs whenever he would party, which led him to blow all his father's money on gambling in casinos. When Rachel's father died, she was distraught. The only good thing that came from it was her huge inheritance, which her husband managed to gamble all away. So here she was, working two jobs to keep her family from getting thrown out of their rented house in one of the roughest areas in the city.

She worked as a pharmacist receptionist in one of the nicer areas in the city, but her second job as a cleaner wasn't far from home, and the pay was good for only a few hours of work. Being a receptionist meant she had to dress smartly. She had two different sets of business clothes, one being a navy blue skirt, white shirt with a navy blue blazer to match, and the other being the same in black except it had an additional waistcoat that hugged her figure well. This was the one she decided to go with. As she got off the bus, she noticed a couple of guys whistling at her and calling out to her. She ignored them before panicking as they got closer and began running until they caught up to Clara. Quickly, they grabbed at her, trying to cover her mouth, but being a fighter, Clara bit at their fingers and shouted for help as they dragged her down a dark, dimly lit alleyway.

"Sir, I really don't think-" the old driver tried to say, but Yohann was already out of the car. The half-broken flickering streetlight did not help much; most of the street was still shrouded in darkness, and the alley even more so, but the shrieks of the poor woman could still be heard, although less and less as one of the thugs was doing his best to put his hand over her mouth.

"Hold that woman still!" the other guy grunted, and a slap was heard as his friend shouted from getting his fingers bitten.

"Do that again and-"

"Leave that woman alone!" the thug looked to the end of the alleyway. The dim light from the streets showed the silhouette of Yohann.

"Run along, buddy, this doesn't concern you!"

That's when Yohann sprinted forward, bodying the thug that stood in front of the woman, making him fall back, then with a swift punch knocking the guy behind her down to the ground.

Meanwhile, Aeron had turned the car around, and the nose of the car poked into the alley, the headlights providing quite a bit of illumination now. Yohann could see the poor woman strewn across the filthy ground. He approached her slowly, kneeling down as he held out his hand.

"Hey there, it's alright, it's alright. Don't be scared, I just want to help you out," he said gently, noticing her hair had fallen messily over her face. "Take my hand, and I'll help you up."

After struggling against the three men with all her power, Clara was exhausted. Laying on the ground, she was breathing heavily, using her arms to prop herself up, looking sideways at Yohann, who was a stranger to her at this point. She looked away from him and to her shoulder where her jacket had been ripped down the sleeve. She took Yohann's strong hand and lifted herself to her feet with his aid.

"Thank you so much for your help," she said after looking over her shoulder and making sense of the situation. Her adrenaline was fading, but she instinctively jumped into Yohann and gave him a large hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated over and over as tears filled her eyes. "I can't imagine what would have happened if you didn't help me," she said, taking a step back and wiping her eyes, moving her hair out of her face. She still hadn't seen who this hero of hers was since the beams of the car were too bright; she was just staring at a dark outline of Yohann.

Yohann helped the woman up but was taken a bit by surprise as she lunged forward, hugging him. "Woah... that's alright, you're alright," Yohann repeated, tentatively keeping his arms on either side of her. His smile faded a bit as he saw tears running down her cheeks. The poor thing was likely traumatized, and as her hair was moved off her face, he could see that she was an older woman, but quite attractive. "I'm just glad I happened to drive by," he added. Turning back, he made a signal to Aeron to turn off the headlights that seemed to be blinding her somewhat. The alley became dark, but at least she didn't need to wince anymore just to see.

"Come, let me give you a ride h-" Yohann reached for her hand, feeling something wet drip down to see that her sleeve that was cut open, her forearm had a gash and blood was dripping. Concerned, he gently took her arm. "That doesn't look too good," he mumbled to himself. "Nigel, call Dr. Nielsen, tell him to come to the penthouse," Yohann called out for his driver. Coming to the side of the woman, he put an arm around her. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Thank you for stopping, you wouldn't believe how many people drove past before you stopped," Clara says, sniffling before breathing in through her nose. As the alley became dark and her eyes adjusted, she almost audibly gulped at how attractive Yohann was. She enjoyed the look of his strong jawline and his chiseled features; his broad chest and shoulders were obvious, but she didn't expect him to be so handsome.

"Oh no, please, no doctors. I'm sure it will be fine with some bandages. I can't afford treatment right now," Clara admits as she slowly stumbles towards the car, more following the guidance of Yohann's strong arms than moving on her own. "You've already done so much, please, just a ride home will be fine," Clara says, not wanting to intrude on this young man's night even more. "I'm sure you don't want your girlfriend to see you bringing home an old woman with a cut all down her arm anyway," Clara says, laughing out loud at the thought of that situation.

The woman was a bit of a mystery to Yohann. On the one hand, her words, her mannerisms, they were all measured and with a certain degree of poise that made it clear she had a rather distinct upbringing. However, the clothes she was wearing, the cheap perfume, and even her comment about not being able to afford a doctor clashed somewhat. He led her to the car, his hand pressed to the small of her back as he guided her to the back seat, opening the door and helping her step inside. He laughed at her assumption, shaking his head.