With her firm ass wriggling away in her tight-fitting skirt, Izzy made her way toward Cody. Mia watched and heard Eliza say, “Don’t worry sweet Mia, she doesn’t stand a rat’s chance in hell with Cody, he only has eyes for you, girl.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh, come on for fuck’s sake, you know exactly what I mean; you’re friggin jealous cos you like Cody,” Eliza snapped.
Mia turned to look at her pink-haired mate who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat, “Fine, okay, I like him; there, you friggin happy now?”
“Yep! And about time you were honest cos everyone else can see it a mile off, even Cody, I reckon,” Eliza said.
“Well, he should know Eliza as we sorta kissed when you lot left,” Mia whispered, blushing wildly.
Eliza grinned even more, “Shut-up—you didn’t, did you?”
Now Mia really did feel like a teenager. “Yes we did, and I gotta a thigh massage from him, very hot indeed!”
Eliza punched her arm and pretended to sulk, “So not fair you bitch; I’d love to get more than just my thigh massaged by him.”
“You’ve got Dwayne, don’t be so friggin greedy,” Mia laughed.
They watched as Izzy started to wriggle her way back toward them both, “Good friggin God could the hooker make it more obvious?” whispered Eliza, making Mia laugh.
“Yep, he’s an arrogant son of a bitch alright, even these beauties didn’t help,” Izzy sighed, pushing her big heavy breasts up and rolling her big brown eyes at the same time.
“Wow, really? He didn’t go for the fake tits?” Eliza scoffed, making Mia cough loudly.
Izzy shot her a look that would certainly see Eliza buried at least six-foot underground, and Eliza simply smiled back at her. The simple smile worked, and Izzy stomped off.
“You mean cow, Eliza.” Mia laughed, nudging her in the ribs.
“What? Silly bitch deserved it!”
“Who the fuck’s that god-awful woman?” Cody asked as he joined them.
“That’ll be one of my colleagues, Izzy. She wants a story on the whole ‘missing Shane’ episode, and you, of course,” Mia replied. Cody stood in front of her, smiling down, “Well, my little Mia’s the only one getting any story from my lips.”
“Oh, it’s your little Mia now is it?”
“If you want it to be,” Cody said, grinning down at her with his beautifully dimpled face. Eliza had conveniently left the scene.
“Maybe,” teased Mia.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Wilson, but we’re going to find a hotel for the night,” Shane’s dad said, smiling at Mia.
“Mia Adams,” Mia said, holding her hand out toward him.
“Mr. Campbell Shane’s dad. You’re a journalist?” he asked shaking her hand firmly.
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” she replied.
“Mia’s not like other journalists sir; she’s very fair and is here covering a story on me. She’s not actually here because of Shane,” Cody said.
“Well, that’s a shame, Mia. I was hoping you’d be covering the story rather than that other vulture with the enormous chest!” Shane’s dad said.
Mia laughed. “You mean Izzy. I’m afraid she’s here for Shane’s story. I’ve got to report on what I’ve been briefed to do, Mr. Campbell.”
“Listen, you and Mrs. Campbell are both more than welcome to spend the night at the center, don’t look for a hotel now sir,” Cody offered, once again displaying his sensitive and compassionate side.
He agreed, and Cody went with them to find a room.
“See, told you he wouldn’t like Miss Cleavage didn’t I?” Eliza asked.
“Where did you vanish?” Mia asked.
“I left cos you and Cody got kinda intimate; how’s Shane’s dad doing?”
“Okay, I think; they’re staying at the center tonight,” Mia replied. “It’s so cool of Cody to offer them a room isn’t it?”
“Yep, you’re in love for sure!”
“Don’t be foolish, you don’t fall in love that quickly,” Mia snapped defensively.
“Says who? There are no rules when it comes to affairs of the heart, Mia.”
“I guess not. I think a lot of him that’s all; not sure it’s actually love, Eliza.”
The girls began making their way indoors, fighting their way through the media and the police. They knew they’d be questioned by the police soon because they’d already seen some of their group being interrogated. It was strange how they’d all arrived so quickly, as normally a person had to be missing for at least 24 hours.
Maybe it’s due to who Cody is; perhaps he’s still got a lot of influence when it’s needed.
They made their way to the main lounge area and joined the others watching TV. The news was on, and surprisingly, Thrill Seekers was mentioned: ‘Teenager missing on the Ink Pots trail,’ the reporter read out.
“Jeez, there’s a lot of attention on this story, considering Shane’s only been gone a couple of hours,” Mia exclaimed.
“Shush, we’re listening!” Dwayne snapped.
“Yes, it’s tragic, but I’m sure Shane Campbell will turn up safe and sound; the teens went for a stroll without me, and when they returned, Shane was missing. Here at Thrill Seekers we always endeavor to keep our groups safe and always, always do several headcounts,” Cody’s voice oozed out of the TV set.
The group cheered when the camera shot panned around the entrance to the center showing the teenagers standing around, “God, listen to yourselves, Shane’s still out there alone and scared, and all you guys give a damn about is seeing yourselves on TV.”
“Chill, Mia. We’re all concerned about Shane, but there ain’t a lot we can do right now,” Alice said.
Mia left them to it in the lounge and made her way to the elevator, remembering when she’d seen Shane and Cody last night leaving the very same elevator. Cody was now by the entrance being interviewed with his photograph being taken left, right, and center. He looked relaxed and seemed to be enjoying all the attention; surely not, no, he wasn’t enjoying it, he was enduring it.
You foolish girl. Why would he be enjoying it? Cos it’s bringing him the much-desired attention that he’s missed recently.
“It’s not his fault Shane’s gone,” she mumbled as she entered the elevator and pressed the button.
Or is it? You do seem to be reveling in the media being here, and you’re even on the TV.
The thought wouldn’t leave Mia. Had Cody had something to do with Shane’s disappearance? Had they planned it together? It’d explain the shifty behavior when I saw you both. What have you done Cody?
Mia raced to her room and scribbled her thoughts down. Once they were down on paper, she felt instantly better. She had to admit to herself that Cody’s behavior did seem odd. He didn’t seem shocked when the group returned without Shane, and he didn’t seem overly bothered by the fact that technically he’d lost one of the group.
He wasn’t even that perturbed when Shane’s parents showed up at the center. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. Mia unpinned her long black hair and let it flow over her shoulders. She ached to see Cody, to speak to him, and to confirm he’d nothing to do with Shane going missing.
She hated doubting him.
After a quick shower, she dressed in a pair of satin pajamas and crawled in bed; within seconds of her pretty head hitting the pillow, Mia was asleep.
The following morning brought rain, and as Mia went down for breakfast, she caught sight of Cody again being interviewed. He acknowledged her with a wave, which she responded to with a slight nod of her head. Her high ponytail swished from side to side as she walked to the dining-room.
It was quite empty, no Dwayne or Eliza, no Alice or Toby, just Emma and a few others who Mia didn’t really know. Emma motioned for her to join them, which Mia did.
“Have you heard?” Emma asked while Mia sat down opposite her.
“No, heard what? I’ve not even switched the news on.”
“Cody has an idea where Shane’s at, isn’t that incredible?” Emma blurted out excitedly.
“Yeah, incredible, Emma.” And friggin suspicious.
Cody caught up with her as they were all heading out after breakfast to search a small cavern where Cody thought Shane might be, “I suddenly had a thought last night Mia that Shane might be in Sann Caverns. A small almost hidden cavern in the forest behind the Ink Pots; won’t it be amazing if he is?”
“Yeah, amazing. How come you didn’t think of it yesterday?”
“Dunno, caught up in the moment, I guess. Hey, what’s up? You okay?” he touched her arm gently, but Mia pulled away from him.
“No, not really, Cody. Did you have something to do with Shane’s disappearance?”
“For fuck’s sake Mia, what do you take me for?” he replied, shuffling from foot to foot nervously. “You and your vivid imagination.”
“Funny how you’ve got so much attention from it though, Cody,” God, she didn’t want to be right, for once she wanted to be totally wrong. Her gut was telling her she was right, and a good journalist always trusted their gut.
“Outside Mia, now!” he ordered. Mia dutifully obeyed his command without saying a word.
“If I don’t tell you the goddamn truth, you’re going to find out anyhow cos that’s what a good journalist does. Yes, me and Shane orchestrated the whole friggin thing; he gets money from me for helping me find stardom again. Nobody gets hurt,” Cody admitted.
“Except his poor parents. For fuck’s sake, Cody, what were you thinking? I thought I was getting to know the real you, but now I see I wasn’t. You’re just a fucking fake like most other billionaires, you fucking jerk!” Mia shouted.
Cody tried to apologize. “Save it for someone who cares, Cody, cos right now I dunno how I feel about you. I fell in love with a liar, good one Mia.”
“Fell in love? You did?” Cody asked. Mia could see the tears beginning to form in his ice-blue eyes.
“Yes ‘did’ being the appropriate word in that sentence. I trusted you, Cody, and you’re just a fraud, get out of my way,” Mia pushed by and stomped back toward the center, passing the group as they went to search Sann Caverns.
The only one she glanced at was Izzy. “You’re welcome to that son of a bitch Cody Wilson and all his fucking arrogance,” she hissed, leaving Izzy standing open mouthed in the doorway to Thrill Seekers. Once inside, the tears flowed from Mia’s eyes; was it over? Could she ever forgive him?
8. Chapter Eight
“No fucking way!” Mia screamed at Stuart who was looking decidedly awkward as he closed his office door quietly.
Stuart wasn’t the bravest guy on the planet by any stretch of the imagination, and Mia knew and appreciated this. She also knew he didn’t want to be the one standing in front of her delivering the news that had made her scream in the first place.
“Calm down, Mia, please. I’m simply the messenger here. You’ve gotta understand that I’m being screamed at by my big boss to give you your assignment,” he explained while wiping his brow with the back of his shaking hand.
Stuart was 40-years-old, and Mia always thought he looked like a candidate for a heart attack, always sweating profusely, shaking, shouting, and consuming junk food.
“Seriously, you’ve got no one else that can go? What about that hooker Izzy?”
Stuart laughed, “Probably not the kindest description of one of your colleagues Mia, and no, she can’t go as she’s on vacation; my boss wants you to go as you covered the initial story and built a relationship with this Cody guy.”
Mia smirked. “Yeah, you don’t really build a relationship with that guy cos he’s an arrogant jerk!”
“So we’ve gotta hooker and an arrogant jerk; way to go, Mia, I get the feeling you’re not liking people too much at the moment.”
“Jeez, I’m sorry, Stuart, but really my feelings are justified. I tried to get to like Cody, I truly did, but he’s not a likable human being—if you can call him a human being that is.” Mia was determined to never go near Thrill Seekers again, and yet here she was being told she had to return.
“Look, if I give the assignment to someone else, and I don’t know who that’ll be I might add; it won’t look good on you, Mia. You’re doing so well. You’ve covered some terrific stories recently, and I know it was about a year ago now that you were at this Thrill Seekers place, but do it for me as your boss and mate,” Stuart was almost begging now.
Since when were we friggin mates?
Mia sighed loudly and tucked her long black hair delicately behind her ears. The weather was warming up now as the month was July. She was well aware it’d been almost a year since Thrill Seekers and Cody.
“Fine, alright I’ll do it, but I expect more money, Stuart, cos it’s costing me my self-esteem and pride to even face that son of a bitch again. I don’t see why it shouldn’t cost this company something too!”
A smile broke out on Stuart’s face, “That’s my girl, Mia!”
I’m no more your girl than I am your goddamn mate!
Mia was determined to at least gain something from having to go back to Thrill Seekers and face Cody again. She’d not heard from him since she left; she hadn’t even said goodbye to him that August morning.
It’d since been reported that Shane had been found, not that the news was a shock for Mia as she knew it’d all been a hoax anyway. He was exactly where Cody predicted in Sann Caverns; he was hardly going to be anywhere else when they’d both worked on the plan together.
“So you’ll head to Banff tomorrow, and I’ll negotiate a deal for you while you’re gone,” Stuart said.
“Deal first, or I don’t go,” Mia replied.
“Fine. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll go talk to my boss right now,” huffed Stuart.
She felt bad for putting Stuart in such an awkward position, but she really didn’t want to face Cody again. Mia understood the urgency; Cody’s latest venture would be a major scoop if they got there first.
The word was that he was going into partnership with Doctor Robert Gregory: a leading therapist/counselor dealing specifically with troubled teenagers.
It was a smart move on Cody’s part. Thrill Seekers could then offer the perfect, complete package to teenagers. The youngsters could enjoy themselves and have fun while also being able to talk to a professional about their troubles. Cody was obviously trying to attract more families to use Thrill Seekers for their teenagers.
That was all Mia knew. Her brief was to report on the planned partnership, and that was it; her last report on ‘Cody: the real man’ had impressed everyone. It’d all but choked her to write such a glowing report on him after his involvement with Shane, but she’d done it.
Mia’s lips had remained tightly shut about how Cody and Shane had worked together on Shane’s supposed vanishing act: there was nothing to gain from her speaking the truth. It’d simply be a journalist speaking out about a billionaire. The public would undoubtedly back the billionaire over her.
“Okay, Mia, you’ve got your deal. Here, read this ...” a very red-faced Stuart mumbled shoving a crumpled piece of paper in Mia’s hand before he collapsed on his office chair.
Mia unfolded the paper and glanced at the words; she was being offered quite a sizeable amount to return to Thrill Seekers. It’d be an all-expenses paid trip with her accommodation being one of the better rooms within the adventure center complex.
“You gotta deal Stuart. Thank you for sorting it out for me,” she said quietly.
“You’re welcome, Mia. Listen, I don’t know what went down between you and Mr. Billionaire, and I don’t wanna know, but just get the story and come back. You’re there just as a journalist, nothing more, nothing less, okay?”
Mia smiled politely at her boss and rested a hand gently on his shoulder, “Okay, it’s all good Stuart. I’ll do my job and be a professional about it. I won’t let you down.”
Stuart placed a sweaty hand on top of hers, “
That’s good Mia as I’d hate to lose you, you do know that, don’t you?”
It was the first time Stuart had ever been physical toward her, and she hoped the last, “Don’t sweat it, Stuart, you won’t lose me.” Mia’s soft skin was crawling; Stuart’s actions and the husky tone to his voice reaffirmed what she thought might have happened between him and Izzy.
He was obviously quite accustomed to seducing his female journalists and probably helping himself to a quick grope in the stationery closet. In Izzy’s case, there was plenty of cleavage to grope, and all she’d have to do was stroke his growing erection a few times and the 40-year-old guy would give her any assignment she wanted.
Does he now expect me to do the same? Shit, I friggin hope not!
She watched his hungry eyes drop down to the natural curve of her breasts and linger on her hard nipples as they pressed their way against her sheer white shirt. Now Mia felt uncomfortable and wished she’d not worn such a thin shirt to work that day.
She knew her delicate cream colored push-up bra could be seen through the sheer material and was well aware that the two buttons she’d left undone revealed the top of her ample breasts.
“Well, I better be making a move,” she said.
“You can make a move my way anytime you choose Mia, there’s always something hard waiting for you here,” Stuart breathed, lightly touching the hardening bulge in his crotch.
“Okay then, Stuart, cheers for the deal, and I’ll catch you when I return from Banff.” Mia couldn’t leave his office quick enough.
Close escape there, girl.
Even though Stuart was a dirty 40-year-old guy, he wasn’t a horrible person, and Mia guessed if Izzy was willing to let him fondle her heaving breasts, and whatever else took his fancy, then was there really any harm done?
That said, though, he really shouldn’t expect every other female journalist to offer the same service.
She gathered her stuff and went home.
Home was an apartment in Hastings-Sunrise, Vancouver, Canada. Mia loved the one-bedroomed apartment with breathtakingly stunning views of the North Shore mountains. She’d often sit on her small patio for hours on a summer’s evening staring at the mountains, and usually Cody would pop into her thoughts.
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 6
