The Goldmaster

Sunlight drifted through the open window and hit his eyes.

Lucas groaned and rolled over, brushing against something soft and warm.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Lucas woke up from a hangover to find a strange woman lying next to him—very young, probably in her early twenties.

She had a slender hour glass figure, her dark hair spilled across the white pillow. Her lips were parted and her face was as pale as the summer sun.

Lucas’s gaze shifted downward—beneath the silk sheets were, without a doubt, two

Naked bodies, marked by a night of excess and indulgence.

“Damn it,” he muttered.

The woman slowly opened her eyes from the continuous movements he made on the bed. At first she stared at him for a while in confusion, then her eyes sharpened and she immediately pulled the sheets over her naked body and screamed “What the hell?!”.

She shifted away from him, then yelled “Don’t!”

“What did you do to me you-” she questioned not completing her sentence.

Lucas noticed her rising tension and panic and so he immediately responded with his hands in the air, “Whoa, chill miss. I didn’t do anything to you, okay?!”

She scrambled back from him, nearly falling off the bed.

“You bastard! You spiked my drink didn’t you?! you just couldn’t restrain your sexual urges could you?!”

Lucas reacted immediately to her comment, “What the f-, I don’t even know who the hell you are”

Her breathing came in short heavy gasps, her eyes glancing around the room like she was looking for an exit or at least a weapon to protect herself. She held the sheets tighter like it would actually save her.

Lucas slowly sat up, feeling like he was about be arrested for a crime he didn’t even remember committing.

“Alright” he muttered,

“one, I don’t remember you or its probably because of this throbbing ache on my head”

“two I don’t know how you got on my bed okay? I should be the one asking the questions here instead”

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, then in that moment, a memory struck her, she remembered something.

“Wait….no, somethings not right” she said briefly massaging her temples over and over.

He immediately turned to her, “Do you remember anything?!” he said watching her carefully.

She shrugged then said,

“I remember I came to you because I had been drugged,” she muttered softly

He nodded in response to her realisation, “Yeah, you walked up to me staggering”

She buried her face in her hands with embarrassment, “I-I asked you for help didn’t i?” she stammered.

“From the looks of it, it seems so” he responded.

She stared at him in silence. “This can’t get out. If it does, I’m finished.”

Without a word, she stood, the silk sheet tight around her. At the table, she grabbed a pen and paper from her bag, scribbled a note, and walked back—calm.

“Here’s a $50k check, I don’t want anyone to know about this encounter except for us” she said, handing him the check.

He stared at the check, then back at her. “What do you take me for exactly?” he asked.

She smiled, “Oh come on, don’t act like this money won’t solve all your problems”

He scoffed, then laughed “You really got to be kidding me right now”

“what’s so funny?!” She questioned, her mood changing.

“It’s how you think I need your money to survive that baffles me” he said, still laughing.

“What else?” she said, eyeing Lucas’s clothes by the bed with disdain.

“I mean, look at those things you call clothes. I don’t think anyone who is comfortable would wear those” she said, smirking.

Her comment made his expression to change, “What about them?”

“Don’t be so arrogant and take the check” she said, her face showing slight emotion of disgust.

“You should be grateful someone like me is staying under the same roof as you, do you know how I am?!”

He smirked, then asked “And who might you be funny lady?”

“I am the heir to the Bellingham family, and soon to be CEO of the Bellingham group of industries!”

“If you’ve ever lived in Berkley, you’d know just how powerful the Bellingham family is—they stand at the very top of the pyramid, controlling nearly half of the city’s Industries”

The thought made her smile with pride. As the future heir, she would become the sole queen of this vast business empire.

He placed his face on his palms which was resting on his knees, “Is that so?”

His reaction mocked her and only seemed to fuel her fury, How dare he talk to her like that!.

“Your parents possibly couldn’t attain such status and that’s why you ended up like this”

Her comment cut through the quiet, sharp and cold. He clenched his fists, trying to keep calm, but his mind raced.

“Why won’t she just drop it?” The anger he’d held back since she started talking surged beneath his skin, ready to break free.

He stood up, took her by the wrist and pinned her on the bed.

Her chest and whole body bounced, and the silk sheet slipped down because of the force but he didn’t bother or care about what was beneath the sheets.

“This is a warning for the future” he said staring intently into her eyes.

“The next time you drag my parents into an argument—might be your last.”

“And another thing—didn’t I say I didn’t want your money?”

“So why the hell are you still pushing it?!” he warned staring at her intently.

“Tsk!, fine. But get off me!”She started breathing heavily and struggling to set herself free from his grip.

“Good” he muttered, then released his grip and rose up.

He picked up his clothes with the intention of leaving the room to her but then he noticed her heavy breathing didn’t stop even after he had let go of her.

He turned back and stared at her face which was now pale, her cheeks slick with cold sweat. This weren’t normal signs, they were signs that something was happening to her, possibly an illness.

He leaned in closely to examine the possible reasons for them but her instincts kicked in “Clap” She slapped him hard across the face.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Trying to rape me again?!”

She screamed her breath ragged and her heart beat increasing rapidly