Chapter 4

Christian

I slam the newspaper on the desk before stabbing my finger at the intercom.

“Veronica, get my PR team on the phone in the next five minutes, or you’re fired.”

“Yes, Mr Hayes.”

I take a deep breath. I am going to fucking kill these fucks. I pay thousands of pounds for these useless twats, and my company name is being dragged through the mud. They are supposed to get ahead of situations like this on my behalf.

My mobile phone rings. I see it’s a senior partner of the PR firm. Good. If I need to tear someone’s asshole up, it might as well be him.

“Kurt, good of you to call me. Tell me, what the fuck am I paying you for? First of all, you haven’t rectified the news clip, and now I’m in the goddamn papers?” I shout at him.

“Mr…”

“You know what? You have 24 hours to fix this shit or consider yourself fired for breach of contract. Include a lawsuit for such a shit job you have done.”

I hang up on him. I’m too furious to speak to the imbecile. I walk over to my drinks cabinet. That deviant little bitch did this to me.

I pour myself a large Scotch before returning to my desk. I glance down at the paper again and feel my blood pressure rise again. It’s headlined Hayes Properties evicts vulnerable tenants with a picture of the people in front of my building holding their shitty little signs. I take a large gulp of my drink. I enjoy the burn at the back of my throat.

Using the intercom, I buzz through to Veronica again.

“Get me the property manager for 20 Weston Road on the phone.”

“Yes, Sir. Straight away.”

I need to see this pain in the ass since it’s not going away anytime soon.

I hesitate before knocking on the door. I might be dealing with an angry husband. Looking around the hallway. The paintwork seems dirty and chipped. The floor looks nice and clean, at least.

The door opens suddenly, and my jaw drops.

She is wearing just a black t-shirt. My gaze drops to her amazing legs. I could just lift her t-shirt up a few inches…what the fuck! She is the enemy. I pull my eyes away from her legs. She looks shocked to see me standing at her doorstep.

This is what she wanted, wasn’t it? My attention.

She steps back quickly before hiding behind the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“You have made enough of a fuss to drag me out here. I will give you a moment to put some clothes on unless this is how you normally entertain people.” I say.

Her eyes narrow on me before she slams the door in my face with a resounding banging noise. I pull my head back slightly, considering my options. She might not be getting changed. For all I know, she might not open the door for me again.

I hear another door open, and I turn my head around to see an old lady. She has grey hair and curlers in her hair. Her gold metal glasses are perched on the tip of her nose, and she looks over them to give me an evil glare.

“I know who you are. If you don’t leave here. I will call the police and tell them you flashed your genitalia at me.”

My jaw drops, and I gape at her. Is everyone in this building fucking insane?

The door in front of me opens up again, and Mrs Calder is wearing some baggy sweatpants now. Her hair is tied up in a messy bundle on her head. She isn’t looking at me. She is peering around me to speak to the crazy old woman.

“It’s okay, Mrs Geller. I can handle it.”

“I’m going to stay awake until I hear him leave.” I turn back to look at her as she points two fingers in front of her eyes before poking her bony fingers back at me. “I’m watching you, boy.”

She closes her door while muttering about parasites.

What the fuck happened to sweet old women who gave out candy?

I turn back around and face Mrs Calder. She swings her door open and holds her hand out, inviting me in. I walk into the hallway and wait for her to close the door. She doesn’t say anything. She simply walks past me down the hallway. I follow her. She leads me into a small, homey looking living room. I can see pictures on the wall. They look like a happy couple. There is a large picture of her husband looking down at her and the way she is looking at him with a soft smile on her face.

I give myself a mental shake. I am here for business. When I turn back around, she has moved over to one of the single seat of her couch set. She sits perched on the edge of the side arm.

“What do you want?”

“I’m sorry?” She asks with a frown on her face.

“I want this mess to go away. You’re the ringleader. What is it you want?”

“I want nothing but a roof over our heads.” She replies with anger clear on her face and in her voice.

“So…”

There is a knock on the door again. Good, this might be her husband. I am sure I can talk some sense to him. I watch as she leaves the room. If she doesn’t hold this visit over my head, perhaps I can accommodate them with another building. But it won’t be in this location. I mull over the options I can offer. I hear raised voices. I make my way towards the door to listen to them.

“Mavis, I have told you this isn’t a good time.”

“Wilfred, are you taping this? She is refusing to let me see my granddaughter.”

Good to know I’m not the only one who has problems with her.

“Mavis, you can’t just barge in here like this. Bella is sleeping right now. She has nursery in the morning.”

I move back from the door, not wanting to get caught listening in on their conversation. Just in the nick of time, an older woman barges through the door.

“Wilfred!” She screeches. “Wilfred! Get this on camera. My son is barely cold in the grave, and this whore has another man here. I knew you were nothing but a worthless whore. From the moment Reese brought you into our lives, you have been nothing but trouble.”

I look back at the photo on the wall.

Fuck! She must be a widow.

I run my hand through my hair.

“Mavis, this is my landlord. For God’s sake, keep your voice down.”

The pinch-faced woman faces me again and looks me up and down. Although I don’t want to get involved in whatever this is. I’m not too fond of this woman’s attitude.

An older man walks through the door, holding his phone up in the air towards me.

Perhaps I should have waited for Kurt to get back to me with a solution.

“Mummy?”

I look down and see a tiny little girl wearing all pink pyjamas holding a big blue teddy under one arm as she rubs her eye with the other.

Jasmine swiftly goes and picks her up in one arm, moving her body to the side as if to protect the girl from who must be her grandparents.

“It’s okay, darling. Sorry to wake you up.”

“This is why Bella needs to be with us. I don’t want your taint on what is left of my son. I bet you were sleeping with that man while my son worked himself to death.”

“Mummy, why is the lady shouting at you?” The little girl asks in a quiet voice.

I have heard enough.

I walk over to the woman and tower over her until she steps back.

“I suggest you leave right now.”

“Wilfred. Get this on camera. He is threatening me.”

“Wilfred, why don’t you get your wife out of here? While you’re at it, you may want to take your balls out of her purse.”

I take the woman by the elbow and shuffle her towards the door.

Wilfred is looking from me to her now. His eyes are wide with uncertainty.

“Get your hands off me.” She shouts at me.

I glance back at Jasmine. Her daughter has buried her face in her neck. I lean down and whisper into her ear.

“You don’t know who I am, but I can find everything about you within a day and destroy everything you care about within the week.”

I watch with satisfaction as her shrivelled-up face loses colour. I don’t hesitate. I frog march her to the front door, holding her up to the side of the small hallway so I can open the door. Her spineless husband is shuffling along behind me. I nudge her outside, waiting for her husband to follow before I slam the door in their faces.