Rising Up: Finding Me book 1

by J J Harper

  “They thought the sun shone out of his arse, so trying to explain his violent streak as well as being a manipulative, controlling and cheating bastard, they just never listened and always took his side. You know the drill 'Oh but he's so handsome Heidi, you're lucky to have him' and 'He's got such a good job, he's a star Heidi.' Like I give a fuck if he's rich and famous, he's still a twat.”

  We both got positions at a hot-shot law firm, Maddie is going to be working in the media department managing press releases, handling the press on high profile cases and stuff that I don’t really understand, but she loves it. I have a Master’s in business and will be reshaping and restructuring the junior teams and the office staff, although it is going to be challenging, I am excited to start.

  We have a year’s contract, but an option to extend if we are successful in our positions.

  Four months ago when we first started to plan this move, we only wanted to stay the year, and then move on to something new again. I never expected us to get such good positions.

  I can't stop looking around our new apartment. It's owned by the company we will be working for, the kitchen is to die for with granite worktops, and every stainless steel appliance you could wish for, the coffee machine looks like you need a degree in applied science to work it. Opening the huge fridge door I can see it's been stocked with all the essentials, even beer and wine, which is a really nice gesture.

  The main room has a rich warm cream paint throughout, and has a gorgeous tan colored leather sectional corner sofa, that's big enough for both of us to stretch out on, a large soft rug covers part of the hardwood floor, and the floor to ceiling windows look out onto the private parking area, beyond that is a municipal park with large trees shading seating and picnic tables, past that is the downtown area where we will be working.

  We both just stand there watching young families walking lazily as their kids ride their bicycles, and there's a group of young guys throwing a ball about, while a few girls sit on blankets watching them, and enjoying the sunshine.

  But it's my bedroom that does it for me, I've got a large king sized bed in the middle of the room and it is facing another full length window, looking through the other doors I see a walk-in closet, and to the left, a bathroom with a huge shower plus a bath and a two sink vanity unit.

  I just can't believe my luck. I am still reeling from the sneaky planning and escape, my parents are going to go ape-shit crazy when they realize just what I've done, and as for Jake, well he can go and rot in hell.

  I hope I never have to set eyes on him again. I owe Vanessa and Maddie my eternal gratitude for the help and support as we secretly planned my new life. Now I just have to prove it to them that I am worth the effort. It may take me a hell of a lot longer to believe that in myself, but I am just taking baby steps in to a brand new me, and I can get excited to find out who I really am.

  We'd spent all afternoon unpacking our bags, Maddie keeps squealing as she finds some other new thing or gadget. The flat screen TV is enormous, and has about a million channels to surf. But for now we've got my iPod in the top of the range Bose music system, and Tinie Tempah is rapping away loudly.

  By seven o'clock we have finished unpacking, and ready to do something before jetlag creeps up on us. “Shall we go out and get a drink? There's a bar just down the street.” Maddie is jumping up and down.

  “Yep, let's go.” We grab our bags and phones and exit the apartment, and head for the elevator, giggling all the way.

  The bar is exactly what we hoped for, it's a sports bar, and the waitresses are dressed in hot pants and tight sports shirts, and they all look like supermodels.

  There are tables scattered around the large wall- mounted flat screen TV’s showing a baseball game on one screen, and a football match on a couple of others.

  It’s still early but there’s a lot of people talking and laughing over a beer after work.

  As we stand and look around taking in our new surroundings Maddie points to an empty low table with four leather chairs around it, nodding back at her we make our way to sit down.

  “Shit Ginny, these girls are gorgeous I'm feeling very lacking here!” Maddie laughs because even though she is only 5' 2' she is beautiful, with long blonde hair and flawless skin and dark blue come-hither eyes, she has never had any trouble attracting men.

  “Yeah, sure you are! I'm the one that should feel self-conscious!” I know I should have more confidence, but after having it literally beaten out of me it’s very hard to see what my friend sees.

  “Fuck off Ginny, you're gorgeous, and you should have a bit more confidence. This time you have re-invented yourself, no-one knows us so we can let our hair down and have fun.”

  Grabbing my hand to reassure me, and I nod squeezing her hand back appreciating her concern. It's really busy but the pretty server gets to us quickly, and I order us a couple of beers, I know we'll switch to our signature margaritas soon, but a beer is a good start.

  After about half an hour I get a strange tingle down my spine, as if I'm being drawn to something, and my stomach is alive with fluttering, bustling butterflies, and goose-bumps erupt over my skin as the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up.

  I've never felt anything like it before, it feels like a cross between nervous excitement and panic, and that there is something I’m missing. I feel myself being drawn towards something or someone, and I turn my head towards two guys looking in our direction, and I feel my heart rate increase and my skin flush as I stare at one of them in particular, as he scrutinizes my face and a slow lazy smile appears on his rugged handsome face. What the hell is going on?

  Maddie follows my eyes and sees them too. “Hey Ginny, we're being checked out,” she turns her head to look back at me.

  I pull myself away from his intense stare with a shiver running down my spine. “Don’t stare Mads, they’ll think we want to be picked up.”

  “Why not? They're well hot! The blond one can pick me up any time he wants.” She smiles sweetly, but turns away from them.

  “Because we don't know them, they could be serial killers for all you know.” But the pull is still there, so much so that I look around again at the dark haired stranger and see he is still scrutinizing me.

  “Don't be stupid, they're just hot guys checking us out, and let's face it, we are gorgeous!” Laughing and taking a slug of her beer. “Anyway it looks like they're heading over our way,” Running her hands through her hair shaking it down her back she looks at me and winks. “Play it cool Ginny, you don't need to tell them anything, just have some fun.” Giving me a wink.

  “Yeah right, that's what I said to myself about Jake, and look where that got me.” I shrug my shoulders and pick up my drink.”

  "Well he's nothing to do with you now, so whatever shit he drummed into you it's time to let it go. Please believe me Imogen, I want my friend back to her old self, not this diluted version. You're 27 years old and beautiful, and it's time to relax and start living."

  "Well okay, as long as you know that when we're being kidnapped and about to be cut up into pieces, I'm going to blame you." This causes her to laugh and snort her beer out of her nose, just as the said hot guys reach us. "Classy move there girl!" I can't help laughing too and that's how they found us. Laughing our heads off!

  Jake

  "Heidi, Heidi? Where the fuck are you? I've been trying to call you all week and the office said you'd called in sick, what the fuck is going on?" I’m shouting as I walk through the door, I haven’t been back here since the morning after what can probably be called the best night of my life so far.

  I’ve been watching the recording all week and getting harder and harder each time, the boys did such a complete job on Heidi, the next morning she was still unconscious but the marks all over her body made me want to do it all again, except it looked like she’s vomited in her sleep!

  And now I can't believe this, I've been working away for near on three weeks, none of the stupid bitches on set wo
uld even give me a blow job, let alone a shag, and now the stupid cunt isn't even here and I’m shouting out to an empty apartment.

  As I start walking through the apartment it feels different, unlived in, cold and empty. The mail hasn't been collected, and the bed is still the same as when I left, the sheets are still soiled with blood and cum and vomit.

  Where the hell is she?

  Shoving my case on the bed I strip off and head for a shower. Crap, there's no hot water, striding out of the bathroom I grab my phone and dial her number again. "Where the fucking hell are you Heidi? The place looks like shit, and I've got the boys coming over tonight so do yourself a favour and get back here now! We can make it very hard for you again and you know it."

  I call her parents place, her mother is way older than me, and has a crush on me, but she's nowhere near cougar material, but they've both been useful to me over the years, and it’s good to have them on my side, so with a bit of flirting and a casual touch, has her eating out of my hand, and she never believes anything Heidi says to her.

  It's her that answers.

  "Hi Elizabeth darling, It's Jake. Have you got Heidi staying with you, the office said she was off sick." I turn on the charm and can hear her silly giggle, not really listening to what she's waffling on about, but then I hear what she is saying. "What do you mean she's missing? Where has she gone? How the fuck did you not know about this, when did this happen?"

  Looking around the room my eye catches on a note on the dresser.

  Jake,

  Goodbye you shit!!

  Heidi

  I drop the call without saying another word, stalking towards the wardrobe I pull the door open and all of her clothes are gone, and all of her make-up and shit has disappeared from the shelves in the bathroom.

  The fucking bitch has left me. How the hell did she manage it? Well she's not getting away with it, she can cause a shit load of trouble, and my career is too damn important to me. I rush to my computer and start it up. Fuck, she's worked out my password! All my private photographs and home videos are gone, she’s deleted the whole fucking lot of them. My body goes cold when I realize she has probably copied them and falling back into my chair and stare around me, this could go very wrong if I don’t find her and stop her.

  First I call my friends, canceling tonight which includes my extremely ruthless lawyer and let him know what has happened.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Mason

  I've had a weird feeling all day, I'm all twitchy and restless, and even after a punishing session at the gym and a five mile run, the anxious feeling is still there, it’s like I’ve forgotten something important. I call my cousin Lake even though his apartment is just down the hall from mine.

  He answers straight away. "Hey dude, what's up?"

  "I'm bored and going stir-crazy, and I want to go out for a beer, are you up for it?" Maybe just getting out of here will do me good. I’ve been wallowing in self-pity for long enough, it’s time to man up and get out again, plus my dick is sulking from the lack of action it’s had lately, maybe a quick fuck is needed, just not anything serious I’m not getting suckered into that trap again.

  "Shit Mason, really? You've finally got over that bitch Lauren, thank fuck for that." I hear my cousin blow out a deep breath.

  "Don't start Lake, I'm not gonna talk or think about her anymore." A sick feeling builds up as I get angry at her again, but shake it off, it’s been nearly six weeks and I’m pissed off and bored.

  "Well thank God for that. Gimme ten minutes to shower and change and I'll be with you. Have you called Lucas?"

  Lucas is Lake’s brother, and runs a security and surveillance company, so spends a lot of time away.

  "Nah. He's still out of town, it's just us."

  I've already showered so I can just throw on a clean T-shirt, and scrubbing my hands through my hair, I'm ready to go. I've never bothered too much about my appearance but standing at 6’5” and being pretty fit from the gym, and running every day, seems to work, and girls have always come on to me, so I must have something going for me, but Lauren managed to knock all my confidence away, it’s time to see if I’ve still got what it takes.

  Standing at the bar watching a baseball game on the big flat-screen across from me when I feel a shift in the air, and as I look around I notice two girls walk in, and just like that, the twitchy feeling in my gut is back and a shiver runs down my spine,

  I nudge Lake. "Look at those two that have just walked in, I've not seen them here before."

  "Shit they're fucking hot! I want the tiny blonde one, you can have the other." He starts checking his hair and shit in the mirror behind the bar.

  I watch them look around taking it all in, yep they're definitely new here. I look the tall redhead up and down and feel my dick twitch in my pants, and that's something it hasn't done since I kicked Lauren to the curb. I look at her wondering what it is about her that has me getting hard.

  She's tall, probably about 5'10, which is a plus for me, and thin but not too skinny, and has what looks like a great pair of tits under her loose top, but it's the soft smile on her face and the sparkle of her bright emerald green eyes that has me staring.

  Luckily she hasn't noticed me checking her out. I've never been a fan of redheads before but her hair is a stunning color, it looks like the leaves in autumn, and hangs like a waterfall in soft waves down to the middle of her back. Shit I sound like a complete fucking pussy! Rein it in Mason.

  They find a table and order a couple of beers and start looking round the room, her eyes focus on us, and I can’t tear my eyes away from hers as I smile languidly, she whips her head back to her friend who also turns to look.

  "I think we're on mate." Lake taps my arm and we start to walk through the crowd to get to them, just as we reach their table the blonde laughs and chokes on her beer and the other laughs hard, fuck me that laugh has me trapped. When we reach them, Lake smiles, "Hey ladies, can we join you?" His eyes run over the little blonde and pulls out a seat before they even answer.

  "Um, well it looks like you already have, but sure take a seat." Blondie says.

  "Thanks, I'm Lake and this is my cousin Mason, we haven't seen you here before, are you new?"

  The redhead looks at us but doesn't speak, I can see the remains of a blush fade from her face, but when I keep my gaze on her it starts to spread again. "Hi, are you sure you don't mind?" She doesn't look too happy to me, but she smiles and nods but a frown appears on her face.

  "Hi, I'm Maddie and this is my friend Ginny. We've just moved here today." Blondie speaks

  "That's not an American accent where have you moved from?" I ask.

  "We're from England." Ginny answers hesitantly, her voice is quiet and low but sweet, and sends another message straight to my dick, but by the look on her face I can see that she really is not happy about us being here, but her friend is already talking a mile a minute to Lake.

  "Can I get you another drink?" I can't stop staring at her, she's fucking stunning and my heart is going crazy in my chest. The restless feeling is back in my stomach and I think it has something to do with this gorgeous redhead.

  I've got the strangest feeling building up in me, I want to scoop her up and run off with her. What the fuck is going on!

  "Um, okay I'm not much of a beer drinker..."

  Her friend interrupts her "No, we normally drink wine or margaritas."

  "How about a margarita then? I believe they make a mean one here." I'm talking directly to her and she nods back.

  "Okay then, yes please." This time she looks straight at me, her vibrant emerald green eyes shining and I know I'm a goner.

  "So are you just on holiday?" I actually think I stuttered, and I’ve had to shift my hands to stop them from reaching out to touch her, any part of her.

  "No, we're going to be working here for a year. I'm really excited, Maddie and I have always talked about working abroad, so when the opportunity arose we jumped straight in."

 
; Her voice stays soft and low and is making me feel like a schoolboy as I need to adjust my dick in my jeans. I look over to Lake and he's laughing at something Maddie has said, and when I catch his eye he raises one eyebrow and smirks at me, so it seems he's onto a winner with her, the poor girl.

  Time passes quickly, but I realize that it’s me that’s doing most of the talking, and she hasn’t given me much information about herself, but regardless of her shyness, I am so drawn to her that I’m finding it difficult to concentrate.

  Ginny says something and I turn back. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

  "Yeah, I noticed you were staring at your friend, are you trying to get his attention? You don't need to keep us company, y'know." She looks at me warily as if she’s fighting an inner conflict, which is exactly what I’m doing to keep myself from touching her.

  "So you don't want us here?" I smile at her laying on the charm hoping she'll give in and carry on talking to me, but she doesn't. "Well it was nice meeting you, maybe we'll see you around? C'mon Lake let's leave these ladies alone." I give Ginny one more look and see her apologetic smile, and I again have to fight the urge to sweep her off her feet and keep her to myself.

  Lake gives Maddie a kiss on her cheek and hands her his cell number. "Give me a call sometime soon and we can meet up."

  Imogen

  "What the fuck, Ginny. Why did you say for them to leave?"

  I can see that Maddie is cross with me. "I just didn't think it was a good idea, you know what you're like, you would have ended going back to his place, and then you'd be pissed off when he never called you again. You don't have to get off with the first guy you meet."

  I shake my head using that excuse rather than admit that I was drawn to Mason like a moth to a flame. There is something about him that I don’t understand, I don’t get it, I wanted to touch him and to let him touch me and that is not something I ever thought I’d feel again.

  "For God's sake you're not my mother, and if I want to shag every guy in this bar then I will, so get off my case and lighten up a bit. Not every man you meet is going to be a shit. I'm going to pee so get the drinks in and sort your head out. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize our time here, so just relax."