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“Charles, wait for me here. I shouldn’t be more than half an hour or so.”
“Yes, ma’am.” he replied, holding the door of the limousine for her, while extending a hand to help her out.
She strolled through the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel, checked in quickly, and as soon as she walked into her room, she pulled a phone out of her quilted leather Chanel handbag and texted her room number to him.
Ten minutes later, a knock on the door startled her. He was early. She smoothed her hair, then her skirt, took a deep breath and opened the door.
Victor Valentine stood there, his face wrinkled in anger, his body fidgeting with impatience. He was a high-strung man who managed to look immaculate no matter how much stress he was under. A lady-killer in his youth, he was now a silver fox that made friends of women and enemies of men everywhere he went. He had schemed his way to the top, and he didn’t do much to hide the rumors that surrounded him. His philosophy was the more controversial you were, the more people talked about you. And the more people talked about you, the more they wanted to be around you and do things for you.
And that was what he was accustomed to. People doing exactly what he wanted.
Which was why he didn’t have any patience for vague meetings like this where he was sure someone was going to ask something of him that he couldn’t provide. Since entering the campaign for mayor, he had been inundated with calls like that. Normally, he would have had his assistant politely decline, but this woman was unusually insistent and had mentioned Vanessa’s name.
He hadn’t heard from Vanessa in six months, and as much as he was determined to continue with his tough-love treatment towards her, he was still curious how she was doing, and to be honest, what she was doing.
If this woman had news of her, then it was worth five minutes.
But he didn’t want to discourage her if all she wanted was some mundane favor.
“I have five minutes before I have to be at my next appointment,” he said, as he walked briskly into the room, not bothering with pleasantries.
The woman closed the door, turning to him as he stood near the window, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at her expectantly.
“Monsieur,” she nodded. “I see you are man of a few words, so I will get right to the point. I have your daughter.”
“What do you mean you have her?”
“She is safe. For now.”
“Where is she exactly? Who are you?”
“Never mind who I am. If you want to see Vanessa again, you will listen carefully to my demands.”
“Demands?” He scoffed. “I don’t do demands, ma’am.”
He stood to walk towards the door but she stood in front of him.
“It’s in your best interest to listen to me, monsieur.”
“Is it? Isn’t that interesting? Okay, I’ll play along. What are these demands? And what have you done with my daughter? I’m not even sure I believe you. For all I know she is safe and sound in Nebraska or something. I haven’t talked to her for months.”
“I assure you, like I said, she is safe and in my possession. But she won’t be for long if you don’t adhere to my wishes. I will return Vanessa, safe and sound, without a hair on her pretty little blonde head out of place, after you bring me three million dollars in large, unmarked bills. You will meet me in Malibu at a designated spot that I will inform you of one hour prior to our meeting time. You will not call the police. And I will free your precious daughter.”
“I don’t believe you. I don’t even know who you are.”
“I was afraid you would say something like that.” She pulled her phone out, punched a few buttons and pulled up a picture of Vanessa sitting in a wooden chair, her mouth covered in duct tape and black rope tying her to the chair. She looked angry and confused, but not harmed.
The woman showed the picture to Victor silently.
His nostrils flared with anger, and his mind was filled with regret. Regret for not walking away from Vanessa long ago. She had been the black-sheep of the family from the beginning of her childhood. She was always the one getting in trouble, the one who was an embarrassment to the Valentine name and the one he was always apologizing for. Luckily, her small scandals had fallen under the radar for the most part, and the public had a short memory, so his political career had remained unscathed, but here she was again causing trouble at the worst possible time.
The election was in a month, and he was thick in the middle of the campaign. He had absolutely no time for this. Torn between paying this woman off to get her out of his hair, or walking away completely and hoping for the best for his wayward daughter, he stood there, weighing the consequences in his head, staring at the picture the woman was holding out in front of him.
He cleared his throat, wanting to ensure she heard his every word.
“Give Vanessa my love. And, please tell her to stop these crazy antics, and get a job. I’m sorry, but I won’t help you.”
He turned and walked out the door as quickly as he had come in.