The Billionaire's Getaway Tryst

~Chapter 21~

Joey, my dad's friend and also a client now, was a short, stout man with a permanent beaming face. From seeing him firsthand, I could tell that his jolly personality was somehow linked to the little kids and so maybe he built a planet toy store for them. They were all just my assumptions but it was pretty much showing on his face.

My dad was inside Joey's office at the back of his planet store, discussing and going over the last minute details while I cruised from aisles to aisles. If it were in my hands, I'd have bought the whole shop by now. The miniature version of the planets amazed me while the books on the same were pulling me to them like a magnet.

Once I was tired from all the trudging around, I finally sat down on a small, white couch in a corner, facing the window to rest my not so tired feet.

I placed my chin on my hand as I absent-mindedly watched the cars passing by through the window. Just as I was sweeping my eyes everywhere, they fell on a hunched over figure behind the camera held by a tripod. He lifted his head to look around him quickly and my eyes widened when they landed on Rick hyena.

Scrambling to my feet hurriedly, I bolted outside the store and onto the street. My feet thumped against the ground angrily like they had a mind of their own.

The cacophony of angry honks screeched around me but I just had one mission on my mind. It was to choke off his circulation and ask him about Ms. Maxwell's corrupted plans. The sudden noise alerted Rick and he gulped audibly.

Everything went back to normal the moment I was done crossing the street. Hyena's huge eyes widened even more when I approached him but he knew he couldn't run, not without his camera equipment.

I clapped my hand on his shoulder with more than an intended force and he almost fell over. "Well, hello… hyena," I greeted him with a sickly, sweet smile. "You must feel so good to be America's household name, huh?"

The pervert looked ready to combust with the way he was trying to take a step back.

"What are you doing here? Are you following me?" I was really trying to keep my anger down but I guess it wasn't working.

"Look, man… I-I mean, woman, I am just following the orders," he stammered, fear stricken.

I retreated my arm back, shooting daggers at his DSLR. "Orders from whom?" I crossed my arms across my chest, giving him my best 'spill now' look.

"I don't know, I swear!" He showed me his arms, getting all fidgety. I tilted my head to the side with pursed lips. "Don't give me that look, man! I mean, wo-woman!"

"Don't play games with me, hyena-"

"First of all, my name is Ri-"

"I don't care! So." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "So, who set you up with this? Tell me. It is Katherine Maxwell, isn't it?" I smirked like I had won a lottery.

He scrunched his nose and stared at me as if I'd lost my mind. "What? How'd you know the name? I didn't know she's a woman."

"What do you mean?" I rolled my eyes, clearly annoyed by his snake and ladder game.

"What I mean is that the person who's tipping me off is anonymous to me. They've been using this androgynous device to conceal their voice when talking to me on the phone. And I'm also asked to send my emails via American Remailers Anonymous (ARA) to keep their identity secret. So, basically this person prefers to stay incognito. I have no idea who I am talking to," he answered with a grave frown.

As soon as those words left his lips, I reeled back in shock. "Wait, so all this time you've been clicking these pictures because some boogey ordered you to?" I was shocked beyond belief.