Bad Boy Mystery Boxed Set (6 in 1): Dark and Crazy Mystery and Billionaire Stories (BBW Cozy Mystery Bad Boy Billionaire Romantic Suspense Series)

by Oscar Watson

  For a moment she was glad that it was not Kate under that sheet but then the harsh realization came to her. She had to face the facts that at the very least her best friend had been involved in this tragic death. And that she had somehow dumped her own sister’s body.

  Lang cautioned both Colton and Susan not to say anything about this discovery to anyone and that they both should be careful. In fact, he had suggested that Susan check into a hotel under an assumed name in case Kate tried to contact her. But then, he had wondered if perhaps they could use Susan to find Kate and bring her in for questioning.

  In the end Susan had decided that she needed some time to think. This was her best friend they were talking about after all. Colton argued with her but in the end had to respect her wishes. She dropped him off at the hotel and then drove way, promising to be careful and to not go to her apartment.

  Chapter Eighteen: When the Room is as Dark as Night

  Susan had not been lying when she said she would be careful nor was she lying when she said she would not go to her apartment just yet. But, she was not exactly truthful when she said she was leaving. She had instead pulled around the corner and then slipped back into the hotel. She quietly made her way up the back stairs to the floor where Mr. Colton Pidcock was staying and there she made herself comfortable hoping against hope that her gut feeling was wrong.

  She had been sitting there for about an hour when she realized that she was not cut out for this cloak and dagger stuff after all. Her foot was asleep and she could not stand up without falling and of course her phone was ringing, set on the most annoying and the loudest ring tone ever. The door she had been watching swung open slowly and she answered the phone sheepishly. “Yes?” she said.

  Colton put his own phone down. “So, would you be more comfortable in here, then?”

  She shrugged, still cradling her phone to her ear. “I might be but my foot is asleep and I can’t move.”

  “Silly girl.” He laughed and picked her up, swinging her easily into his arms and carrying her into the room. He placed her on the chair and was offering her a drink when she suddenly froze.

  “Did you lock the door?”

  “I…” was all that he managed to say when the lights went out and the room was plunged into utter and complete darkness.

  Chapter Nineteen: When the Shivers Run Down Your Spine

  There was a moment that the darkness seemed to be the only thing alive. Nothing moved or dared to move. There was only that darkness and the way it surrounded them. Susan reached out her hand for Colton; he reached out a hand for her. He had been standing so near to her but now it was like miles separated them and there was nothing that he needed more than to touch her or to hear her voice. And then there was the sound, an echoing crash of a sound that seemed to bounce from wall to wall to wall to wall and then die back in the center. There was that crash and then a small sigh and then a smaller crash and then there was nothing.

  Security arrived quickly, throwing open the door and letting weak light from the hallway in at first. They turned the lights back on and then scrambled into action, calling for emergency assistance and an ambulance at once. The police were called and the hotel was put on lockdown but the main goal was to get the victims to the hospital.

  Colton Pidcock was still clutching Susan Cabot’s hand when they loaded them onto the gurneys. The police tried to get some information but there was really nothing that they could say. Just before she lost consciousness again Susan looked up and whispered, “You always know that danger’s close when the shivers run down your spine.”

  The Office Affair

  Chapter One - Meet Mr. Kabot

  “You’re an asshole and only got your position because of your Daddy. You wouldn’t know hard work at all. You’ve had everything handed to you. So you can take this position and shove it up your privileged ass.” I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I swept my long black hair into a bun and buttoned my shirt. I had practiced this speech a million times but I never had the nerve to tell my boss, Sir Douche, to his face how I felt. I needed this job, after all it was my dream.

  My whole life I wanted to be a journalist. I would watch the news and read newspapers while other girls were playing with Barbies. There was nothing I wanted more. So after I graduated, I took the chance and applied for one of the up and coming e-magazines. During the interview process, everything was going so well. The hiring manager, Abigail, loved me. We clicked.

  “Okay Angela I see here that you not only graduated within the top 5% of your class, but you were in several clubs and organizations. Your resume is amazing and the clips of the articles, you have written is exactly what we’re looking for here.”

  “Thank you.” I was beaming. It was all about to fall into place but then the door opened, and there he was.

  “Ah, Mr. Kabot, you’re just in time.”

  Franklin Kabot was the CEO of Triumphant Magazine and he walked in like the boss he is. I felt him staring right through me. When he pulled a chair and sat right next to Abigail, I could feel this tension come into the room.

  “I was just telling Angela that-”

  “Her name is Ms. Egan. Let’s not call her Angela as if she’s part of the company already.” He said in a gruff tone. “Hand me the resume.” She did. He looked it over. “I see you have no work experience.”

  “I was hoping to start here and-”

  “This is not a place where you learn as you go. We’re prestigious, we’re elite, we’re…” He paused. “We’re the crème de la crème. We are not going to fill our staff with.. amateurs.”

  “I can ensure you, I am not an amateur.”

  He looked at me shocked. He leaned back in his chair. I usually kept myself in check but he could just bring that side out of me. I wouldn’t call myself reserved or shy, but I just knew where and when to let loose. Work is definitely not one of those places. The interview was definitely not one of those places, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  “Hmmph.” He gruffed. He handed my resume back to the HR. “So Ms. Egan, why should we take the chance on you?” He crossed his arms with a smug look across his face.

  “You speak of me as if I don’t have any experience with writing in the first place. I’ve written for my college newspaper, high school newspaper and I’ve contributed to several other online magazines.” I said through a smile.

  “I’ll let you know now that we’re nothing like those other places you’ve written your cute stories for. We at Triumphant Magazine hold our writers to a certain caliber. We are writing articles on not only fashion but hard hitting news.”

  “I’m not writing about fashion.” I tried not to snap. I was smiling but I wanted to scream. He scoffed and waved me off.

  “If we hire you shouldn't presume that you’d be writing for us any time soon. You’ll have to start off as one of our paid interns. Hopefully within a year we’ll consider you for one of the writing positions. But with the short glance of your work, it might be two years.”

  He got up to leave and my face was burning. I took a sip of the water provided for me and smiled at Abigal. Her eyes told me that she was sorry. I knew she couldn’t speak up, not with Mr. Kabot still within an earshot of our conversation.

  “Offer her the internship position. She should be so lucky to even work with us.” He begun to walk away.

  “Sir.” I called out to him. He turned to look at me bewildered. I got up and walked right over to him. “It would be a pleasure working with you. You won’t be disappointed.” I reached out my hand for a handshake. His face turned from shock to a smug grin. His footsteps soon faded away. I turned to Abigail.

  “You’re so awesome.” She beamed.

  That was eleven months ago. I’ve taken Mr. Kabot snide comments because I was inches away from my dream. True to his words, I haven’t written an article for Triumphant yet, but I’ve learned so much. I’ve gotten to go with other writers on assignment and sat in a few meetings. My notebooks were filled with n
otes and suggestions. I even had a few sample articles. I just knew that I was going to become a writer for Triumphant. Everyone wondered why I haven’t left, but as much as I hated to admit it, Mr. Kabot was right. Triumphant was one of the best magazines a writer could ever be lucky to write for. I just have to hold out because I was inches away from my dream and I wasn’t going to let Mr. Douche stand in my way. So for now, I’ll just practice telling him off in the mirror, because it was all a month away.

  Chapter Two - Triumphant Presents…

  I walked in twenty minutes early for work. I was always early but today was different. Today was the day they were going to announce the new writers for the staff. I wore my lucky earrings. They were lucky because in high school, my friend Tiffany stole them from a jewelry store. I was so ashamed so when I went to return them, they not only let me keep them, but offered me a gift card. The owner respected my honesty. Every time I wore them, I had the best luck. When I applied to colleges, I wore them and got accepted into the school that I wanted, with a four year scholarship. When I went to the interview, I wore them. So it only made sense that on the day of my big announcement, I wore them.

  There was nothing that anybody could tell me today. I was floating on cloud nine. I started the coffee machine, got all the bagels and doughnuts ready, and got the conference room in order. I wanted everything to be great today.

  As I was pouring the orange juice into a huge pitcher, Sir Douche walked in. He looked startled to see me.

  “Ms. Egan.” Yes that’s how he greets me. No there’s no “good morning” or even asking how I’m feeling. I’ve grown use to it though, and even his attitude today couldn’t put a damper on my day.

  “Good morning Mr. Kabot.” I smiled. He didn’t even bother to look my way.

  “Coffee.” He held his hand out while still looking at his papers. I handed him his coffee. He held the cup and before even putting his lips to it, “This is cold.” He set it on the table.

  “If you bothered looking at the cup, you would see that I put two sleeves over it. Yesterday, you complained that it was too hot...sir.” If I smiled any harder, my cheeks would fall right off my face. He didn’t say anything. He just sipped the coffee and took his seat in the front.

  Minutes later the room filled up. Abigail took the seat to the side of him. I gave her a half smile and she just nodded my way. Before taking my seat, I made sure everybody was alright with their food.

  “Okay.” Abigail started. “Good morning everyone. As you all know we are here to announce the promotions and of course adding new writers to our staff. First and foremost, I want to thank all of you for doing a great job and-”

  “Regardless to say that if you didn’t do a great job, you wouldn’t have one here.” Mr. Douche added. The room felt tense and I shook my head. He just couldn’t let that one go, could he?

  “Yes.” Abigail awkwardly continued, “Either way, thank you for all that you’ve done. Triumphant is a stellar magazine because of each and every one of you.”

  “Let’s get down to business. We can get to all that fluffy crap later.” He interrupted yet again. “Shall we announce the promotions?”

  They went through every department and when they got to mine, I could feel myself floating and flying. My day was finally here.

  “Now as far as new writers, we take our choices very seriously. We only pick the best of the best.” Mr. Kabot leaned back in his chair.

  “Yes. We would just like the people to know that we know that they are extremely talented and that-”

  “Let’s wrap it up.” Mr. Kabot motioned for her to move along. She looked at him, exasperated.

  “I just wanted to-”

  “I’ll do it.” He stood up. “To reiterate what Abigail said, we chose the best because we are the best. So without further ado, we decided to add one new writer. Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed and we’ve been scouting this talent for quite some time. It is my esteem pleasure to welcome Mr. Adam Gordon.”

  There was a small round of applause as he walked over to the door and welcomed in a tall, lanky, man. He was fit but standing next to the very muscular Mr. Kabot, he looked puny. Adam had black short hair, while Mr. Kabot had the slicked back blonde hair. They shook hands and I saw the most peculiar thing, Mr. Kabot smiling from ear to ear. I looked over at Abigail and she was looking directly at me. She had the same sympathetic look that she had on the day of the interview.

  “Mr. Gordon has been writing for our competitor, but when we heard that he was looking around for a permanent spot, we jumped at it. It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to give the position to someone this immensely talented.” He was stabbing me with his words. “Let us make sure that he feels welcome with the rest of our staff.” I could feel the emotions pour out of me but the only thing I wasn’t sure of was whether I was going to scream or cry. Was I angry or sad? “Ms. Egan, you make sure that Mr. Gordon feels welcomed.” I’m angry.

  “Fucking bullshit.” I grabbed my things and made it out of the room before he could say anything.

  Chapter Three - Poetry Night

  I sat at my favorite spot. I love living in Philadelphia. It was so fully of opportunity, not that far from New York, but most of all it was filled with culture. Years ago, I stumbled into this lovely poetry club. People often came here to read their work or hear others. After the day that I had, I needed to get away.

  When I stormed out of the meeting, Abigail was hot on my heels. She apologized profusely and told me that she fought hard for me to get the position, but Sir Douche refused. He kept saying I wasn’t ready. With that said, I told her I needed to get out of there. She understood and she told me that she was going to tell the others that I had an emergency. I thanked her and high tailed it out of there. I cried all the way home. I decided that I should go visit my poetry club. It had been so long and I needed to indulge.

  “And now coming to the stage, Angela Egan.” The MC introduced me. There was small applause as I headed to the stage. The semi bright lights in the face and the strangers staring at me, put me at ease.

  “This poem is titled, Sir Douche.” The crowd chuckled.

  My pain amuses you

  My agony turns you on

  It pains you when I’m right

  And you live for when I’m wrong

  You teased me with an opportunity

  That I never had

  You teased me with a chance

  That I wanted so bad

  All to strip it away from me

  And watch me leave incompleted

  But I refuse to let you win

  I will not be defeated

  So you can enjoy this little victory

  That you’ve have been having so far

  The battle you may have won

  But I’ll own you in the war

  The crowd broke out in applause, cheers, and laughter as I exited the stage. A few people patted me on my back as I made my way back to my seat. A few minutes into the next person’s poem the waitress came over with a drink from the bar.

  “Excuse me, I didn’t order this.” I informed her.

  “No this was sent to you by a gentleman that wants to go by a rather interesting name.”

  “Oh yeah what’s that?” I rolled my eyes.

  “Sir Douche.” She laughed and placed the drink on my table. “He’s over by the bar.”

  When she walked away, my eyes raced to see who it was. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. But there he was. It was hard to recognize him at first because his hair wasn’t gelled back. If anything it was a little bit in his eyes. And he wasn’t wearing the slacks and shirt that I was use to him wearing. He had on a green shirt and khakis. His nearly blue eyes danced when they saw that I recognized him. I looked away and took a slow sip of my drink.

  “Ms. Egan.” He was standing next to me. “Mind if I have a seat?” I just looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. I actually wanted to say no, but I had work tomorrow. I didn’t want there t
o be even more bullshit. “ I liked your poem.” So much for no bullshit.

  “Thank you.”

  “Who was it about? But I already have my suspicions.”

  “So let’s not fill the air with pretenses shall we?” I sipped my drink.

  “You’ve always been a feisty one.”

  “Feisty?’

  “Yes feisty. I knew that the second right before I hired you.”

  “So is my feistiness the reason why I wasn’t offered the writing position.?”

  “I was hoping you’d wait before getting into that.” He signaled for the waitress. “I’ll take a beer. Would you like anything?” I shook my head no. “Just the beer.” He turned back to me. “The decision was business.”

  “Bullshit.” I got up and put the money on the table. “Let’s not pretend that you didn’t offer me the position because you hate me.” I gathered the rest of my things. “Always have and always will.” I was about to leave but then I turned and added. “And the feeling is mutual.”

  He protested for me to come back but I was already out the door. I just had to make it to my car, lock all the doors, and scream for bloody murder. I got in my car but before I could lock the doors, the passenger side opened up. Mr. Kabot sat in and locked the door.

  “What the f-”

  “Listen.” He started. “I just-”

  “What are you doing here? How did you find out that I was here? Did you pump Abigail for information and she told you that the poor little wannabe writer that goes to the poetry club? Is that how you found out that I was here?”

  “Honestly, this is all just a coincidence. My friend Vince owns the place and he’s always begged me to come down and listen to the talent. I just happen to have come down here tonight.”