Until Midnight Said Otherwise

Her black heeled boots clicked against the polished floor as she walked towards a neatly arranged table. Lisa had agreed to meet Luis, her childhood friend, after he assured her of his discretion. Immediately, their eyes locked, and she plastered a weak smile on her face.

When Luis waved with a charming smile of his own, she felt nostalgia creep up her spine. Yet, before their conversation could even begin, the atmosphere shifted as a figure loomed in the doorway, glaring hard at her.

Arthur Brook.

Lisa's breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened in disbelief. What was he doing here? How did he find her? And why now, of all times?

Without a word, Arthur approached their table, his presence attracting respect in the room. Heads turned to know who he was.

Ignoring Lisa's bewildered expression, he turned to Luis. "What are you doing with my wife?"

The word echoed in Lisa's mind, sending shockwaves through her senses. Wife? She glanced at Luis, who equally mirrored her confusion, before turning back to Arthur, searching for answers in his intense gaze.

"Are you married?" Luis asked Lisa calmly, but she could feel the storm beneath his composure.

Before anyone could react, Arthur motioned for his bodyguards to intervene, and within moments, Luis was high in the air, ready to be removed forcibly from the restaurant.

"What the hell–" Luis didn't get to finish his words. As he was roughly escorted out of the restaurant, his protests were drowned out by Arthur's presence. A commotion broke out in the restaurant as everyone began to take pictures of what was happening.

"Clear the restaurant." Arthur simply ordered his bodyguards, who then began to ask everyone to leave.

"That's not fair! You can't throw us out..." A man began to protest. He gulped when Arthur didn't even spare him a glance.

"I already have. Now scram!" Arthur Brook thundered, watching in satisfaction as the man stormed off, humiliated beyond his imagination.

Lisa remained rooted in her seat. She wanted to flee, to escape the piercing gazes and whispers that now surrounded her. But she couldn't move because, no matter where she went, Arthur Brook would find her.

As the commotion died down, Arthur dragged a seat opposite Lisa. Unfortunately, she couldn't read his demeanor. She suddenly found her voice. "What's the meaning of this–?" Her words trailed off when Arthur didn't answer immediately. Instead, he motioned for the bodyguard to bring a briefcase to their table. Lisa watched in silence as the briefcase was placed in front of her, her heart pounding in her chest. What was he up to now?

With a flick of his wrist, Arthur opened the briefcase, revealing a stack of documents neatly arranged inside. Lisa's brow furrowed as she glanced at the papers.

"I don't like where this is going..." Lisa muttered.

Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring case, placing it on top of the documents with a soft thud. Seeing she refused to reach out to the case, Arthur decided to help her. He opened the case, revealing a dazzling diamond ring within.

"What... what is this?" She stammered lamely, her eyes widening with each passing moment.

Arthur leaned forward, his gaze intense as he locked eyes with her. "We're getting married, Lisa Ryan."

Lisa felt dizzy as she processed his words. Married? To Arthur Brook? It seemed impossible, yet here they were, on the edge of a life-changing decision.

This was not what she had expected, not at all. Lisa opened her mouth to protest, but Arthur cut her off before she could utter a word.

"It's only because of the child," he explained. "I need to protect my reputation, and this is the only way."

"The only way?" Lisa blinked uncontrollably. "Don't you care about my reputation?"

"I don't." Arthur deadpanned.

How did she get into this situation? Her worst mistake was breaking her own rules-sleeping with Arthur Brook.

********

A few weeks ago, Lisa Ryan was the female lead 'love for hire' contractor. Her life seemed perfect and etched in gold until that fateful Monday morning.

Her assistant, Stephanie, had mistakenly scheduled 15 ''love for hire' clients. While knowing the emotional turmoil that came with acting as dates for disgusting pot-bellied billionaires, Jeremy Stone, the owner of "Love for Hire," refused to let her back down.

"It's a good day," Jeremy had remarked, looking at her expectantly. "How many clients do you have today?"

Lisa paled, turning to Stephanie urgently. "How many?"

A quick glance at her notebook had Stephanie hesitating. "Fifteen clients today." She admitted.

Lisa herself laughed in disbelief as she reached for the schedule note. "How could you schedule everything today?!"

"It wasn't my fault," Stephanie mumbled, but her voice was soft with guilt. "You said you wanted the whole clientele for the week today."

"And you didn't care to tell me?" Lisa shot back. "When did I ever say something like that?"

Well, nothing came to mind.

"You know what?" she sighed. "Hand me the schedule; let me see if I can cancel it."

"No." Jeremy's timely intervention brought their conversation to an abrupt halt.

Lisa had almost forgotten that her boss was still there. He collected the note from Stephanie, his gaze scanning the contents with a thoughtful expression.

"You can't cancel them. How much time is there between each appointment?"

"Thirty minutes, starting now." Stephanie replied quietly, avoiding Lisa's deadly glare. If only eyes could kill.

"You are our best staff. Don't disappoint me." Jeremy said sternly. In other words, he meant: "Attend to all fifteen clients today."

Lisa's response to his words was robotic. Once Jeremy was out of sight, she turned to Stephanie. "Who is my client?"

"Roland Emmerich."

Lisa froze.

Just then, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Lisa's expression widened with realization. She remembered the drunken conversation from a frustrating Friday night.

A client had torn her dress to rape her. It was after she escaped that she decided to drown her sorrows in alcohol.

She would never forget the name of the man who nearly raped her all in the name of clientele-Roland Emmerich.

What does he want now?