Ruin The Billionaire

Lilly.

Kyle got what he deserved, a long sentence. The evidence I presented and the testimonies from my neighbours were the final lead to the coffin. His past was dug up and more women came up to testify against him. They had been so afraid of what he’d do to them. There was even case in which he almost murdered a woman and was seen by witnesses. Some people who testified came from his town. When the judge announced that he had been found guilty, we all rejoiced. The 40 years of jail time he was given were sufficient. By the time he came out, he’d be 66 and people would know what kind of person he was so they could stay away from him.

I was too relived that the psycho was finally out of my life. Now I could live a normal life. Kyle was out. Jake was out. It was just me, alone. The best part about it was that I was not scared. Being alone seemed so good, my life would be so much better without all drama relationships had caused me. Had I just focused on my career, none of that would have happened. Since I didn’t want any more complications, I decided singlehood was the best option.

The bus was fairly quiet. Some people were chatting and laughing but most of us were lost in our thoughts. Had Athena not been in the bus, it would have been a very different story. But, with the boss around, everyone was on their best behaviour.

The resort soon came into view. It was a beautiful place with well cut grass, big rocks, homely little houses and a very clear view of the lake. We all grabbed our backpacks and stumbled out of the bus.

We had gone there for a team building exercise, which is more like an excuse for employees to hang out and have fun. Team building was supposed to bring together people who worked together and help them know more about each other. This helps in bringing them closer, strengthening work relationships and thereby increasing productivity. If you work with people you don’t know well, you’re more likely to be wary around them. There will be little trust and you will not feel very safe, and that can affect work.

“Welcome to Alpine’s resort,” Kady said. She was the human resources manager at The Daily Paper. “This is an amazing place but remember we have come for a team building exercise and not to have fun willy-nilly. There will be no wandering off without permission. Until we complete the necessary sessions, we will all be together. This will end at 4pm. After that, you’re free to go wherever you want. The bus will return with those who wanna go back to the city. Those who want to continue their weekend over here are so free to do so. Now, we shall all move to the tent for the introductory session. Once that is over, you will be told where to go next. Let’s go now.”

We went into the tent and sat on the arranged seats.

“It’s really cool here,” Leah commented.

I nodded.

“Before you settle down, we shall pick out some folded papers. These papers have been placed in this bowl randomly. Inside each of these papers is either letter A or O. Those who will A will sit on the column on the eastern side of the tent. Those who get O will sit on the other side. We can’t have people from the same departments seated next to each. We definitely can’t have friends seated together. You’re supposed to get to know other people in the company, not fraternize with those you already know.”

I groaned. “That sucks.”

“I know right,” Leah said. “This is so annoying. I came to have fun, not to sit next to people I don’t know.”

A woman who was seated in front of us turned to face us. “Well, you came for the wrong reasons, darling.”

Leah just rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be like that,” I told her right before the woman turned away.

Kady started moving around with her bowl. When she had passed us, we unfolded our papers.

“I got an O,” Leah said. “What about you?”

“Damn it, it’s an A.”

The woman at the front laughed out loud. We were pretty sure it had something to do with us getting separated.

When the papers had all been distributed, we all went to our designated positions. Each of the columns had four rows, and each of the rows had four chairs. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to go anywhere since I was already seated on the eastern side and at the edge of the tent. I could only have a neighbour on one side.

“Hello.”

I looked to my right where the voice had come from. A very handsome young man was taking the chair next to mine. He also smelled perfect.

“Hello.”

“I’ve always wanted to meet you,” he said.

“Oh, that’s nice to hear.”

“Why?”

“Your career has been very interesting. Ever since you wrote about Jake Rylland, you’ve always found yourself on the news one way or another. Yet, the rest of us have remained unknown despite writing for years. You’re lucky. I wonder why you stay and work for this company yet you allegedly get offers trickling in all the time.”

I sighed. “I wish you knew the whole story. My life has been a mess since I started writing about that men. Sometimes I wish I had never started the whole thing. It was fun at first but it hasn’t been too good lately.”

“I’m not sure how to feel about that.”

“I can see that some of you have already started getting along with each other,” Kady said. “While some are acting like they’re with people they’ve never seen in their whole lives. Leah, why do you look so gloomy? Is Lilith Hellman the only person you can talk to?”

“No,” Leah replied. I raised my head to look at her and nearly burst into laughter when I saw who she was seated with. She was with the lady who had just been mocking us. I could see why Leah looked like she was about to murder somebody.”

“I admire you and your friend,” the guy next to me said. “You people seem so close. Too bad she had to be moved away, but good for me because I would never have got the chance to talk with you if that had not happened.”

“You never told me your name.”

“I’m Matt Jenkins, from the finance news department.”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

The session soon got serious, but fun at the same time. Even Athena joined in. I had never seen the fun side of Athena before. I thought it didn’t exist, but was pleasantly surprised that day. As we all interacted, I got to know more about the people I worked with. The layers people did not show in the office showed up and it was nice.

To be honest, I enjoyed the session more because of the person next to me. Matt was not only good lucking but had a great sense of humour. He cracked jokes that made me laugh a lot, sometimes excessively. During those times, Athena would give me an evil eye that shut me up immediately.

Overall, it was great. When we went for a tea break, Matt and I sat at the same table. After getting a cup of tea and a piece of cake, Leah joined us.

“Hey, you looked so moody,” I said.

“I hate that woman,” Leah said. “Can you imagine, she followed me and insisted she wanted to sit next to me? I even moved away and she followed me again. She’s so annoying. I wonder what she wants from me.”

“Maybe she’s a sadist. When you show those kinds of people that their behaviour is affecting you negatively, they continue so as to infuriate you. Pretend that her actions have no power over you. She’ll get bored soon enough.”

“Wow,” Leah smiled at matt. “Not only are you hot and handsome, you’re also wise.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“But don’t read too much into it. When I see a man with Lilly, I get scared of them.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Yes, why don’t you tell us the reason?” I added.

“Because, most of the guys you date are nice at first, but turn into psychos. Look at Jake Rylland, Kyle…” Leah gasped and her palm flew to her mouth.

My heart skipped a beat. No one was supposed to know that Jake and I had dated, not especially a person who wrote for the paper.

Leah laughed nervously. “What did I say? Jake? Oh no, she only had a huge crush on him but look, he turned out to be such a womanizer.”

“Yeah, I always crush on the wrong men,” I said, glancing at Matt, hoping that would fool him.