Authors: Marian Tee
Nick tried to make Lilac look at him, but she refused.
“It’s too late for that, sweetheart.” He pried her fingers open, twining his fingers with hers.
Lilac’s eyes flew open in shock. “Why?”
Nick answered with savage honesty. “Because I
need
you too much.”
Lilac shook her head rapidly. “No…” She looked at him pleadingly. “We’re friends…right?”
Nick tightened his grip on her hand. “Yeah, well. We’re friends that kiss.”
Lilac’s head bent down and her shoulders slumped at his answer.
He hated how Lilac wanted his smiles but shunned his kisses, but what he hated even more was the fact that Nick couldn’t afford to respect her wishes. “Lilac---”
She pulled her hand away. “Take…me home?”
The Seventh Encounter
The executive office of Christakos Industries occupied half of the penthouse and boasted its own cocktail bar and seating room. It had eight-foot glass walls on one side and the rest were black carbon fiber walls that concealed Nick’s private quarters. It was perpetually hailed as one of the most gorgeous offices in the state, with half of the ceiling made entirely of UV-ray-protected fiberglass. It gave one the sense of working underneath the skies, regardless whether it was the sun or the moon shining brightly down.
All around Nick, the empty silence mocked him, and it wasn’t just because he was alone in the entire building on a Sunday. The urge to contact Karla intensified – he felt like such a goddamn failure. If Karla was here – everything would be all right. Everything would go back to normal and he wouldn’t need to use Lilac like a fucking Band-Aid on his heart.
If he called her now, maybe this time she would answer.
Maybe…
Nick reached for his phone, but before he could pick it up from the desk, a knock sounded on the door.
****
“Everything I could find is in there.” Mark Clayton was in his mid-fifties, with a preference for well-ironed buttoned-up shirts and jeans. He had a friendly face, but his stiff posture betrayed his military background.
He watched the younger man’s gaze stray towards the thick folder he had placed on the huge granite desk that was easily the size of a bed. “You guarantee that? No stones left unturned?”
Although the question was asked in a flat voice and nothing of Nick Christakos’ clean-shaven and well-dressed appearance betrayed his emotions, there were still signs for Mark Clayton to read.
Ever since he quit the army after Vietnam, Mark had accepted a consulting position with CI with its security division, preferring to keep his senses honed than letting his brain rot watching dumbass reality TV in his home. Right now, his instincts were telling him one thing: Christakos Industries’ CEO felt very strongly about this subject.
Keeping his face blank, Mark answered, “Yes, sir.”
“Give me your unadulterated opinion about what you found out.”
Mark thought back to what he had unearthed.
Statutory rape
would always feel too technical, too weak to describe how vile it was for an adult to take sexual advantage of a child. But in Mark’s book, a spade was called a fucking spade, and that made James Caruthers a rapist pig even though Lilac York at 14 had only been three years younger than the asshole.
Finally, Mark said, “If you’re only out to fool around with this girl, I think I might just come back and shoot you.”
When his head investigator left, Nick remained on his feet, gazing at the thick folder and feeling like he had just allowed a serpent into his office.
With the truth about Lilac within his reach, the urge to contact Karla disappeared completely. Now, all Nick could think about was Lilac, and how the image of her haunted his every step.
He took out his phone and clicked on Lilac’s name to send her another message. He couldn’t remember how many he had sent, how many calls he had made, since he had driven Lilac home.
Nick: We can fix this. Just tell me what you want me to do.
Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed.
He knew he was waiting for nothing.
Loosening his tie and tossing it into his chair, he took the dossier and tossed it on the center table in his office’s seating area. He filled the ice bucket, grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and picked up a glass. Settling down on the couch, Nick reached for the dossier again and started to read. He had a feeling he would need a drink pretty soon.
By the second page, Nick felt sick to his stomach, unable to stop it from churning, unable to keep himself from fearing for a fourteen-year-old Lilac who was slated to trust the wrong man.
James Caruthers: Subject #2
Code: S2
Age: 17 at time of incident, 23 at present
Background: Resided in same locale as S1. Hometown football hero, kicked out of college for repeated offenses of drug use and physical battery of another student – rumored to be his ex-girlfriend – but all records made completely confidential in exchange for S2’s quiet exit; impregnated at least 2 local girls; both did not name him as father; acquainted with S1 since they were kids.
M.O. for S1: Volunteered as assistant in hospital, discovered S1’s reason for therapy, and offered to privately help with speech practice in his home
By the third page, Nick had started to drink.
Incident 1: S2 made S1 buy a Macbook Pro for him as an apology for accidentally “biting” him because of how she stuttered when he kissed her. According to his friends, S2 lied about this and boasted that it was all part of the “plan”.
Incident 10: S2 is unable to convince S1 to have intercourse so settles for oral sex. She accidentally stutters when he speaks to her while doing it. According to his friends, S2 says he is “shocked” at how stuttering can make a blowjob feel so much better.
Incident 12: S2 has convinced S1 to do it every day after school.
By the tenth page, Nick had drunk half the bottle.
Incident 23: S2 threatens S1 to tell her parents about what they have been doing if she does not give him a blowjob while he is working at a fast food counter. She was also made to stutter while performing oral sex.
Incident 24: S1 breaks up with S2 when he visits her at school the next day. It is not amicable, with school security forced to take him away. The incident is reported to her parents.
Incident 25: S2 breaks into her home. He is high on drugs and attempts to kill S1 for ruining his life. Parents and family security manage to save S1. S2 sent to authorities. All videos of Incident 23 have been collected and destroyed successfully. Present-day investigation confirms this.
By the twentieth page, Nick found himself in a rage so livid his fingers ached to crush someone’s skull.
Incident 34: Verdict is not guilty for S2 as he was also a “minor”. Subsequent research now shows evidence that the judge had received payment in exchange for verdict. Evidence is available in Appendix.
Incident 37: S1 convinces parents to end her speech improvement lessons.
Incident 39: S1 sinks into depression and younger sister convinces her to see Dr. Susan Petersen, who is an aunt of a schoolmate. S1 is still continuing therapy.
Appendix:
James Caruthers, current location still unknown. Client will be contacted immediately once new information has been verified about S2.
****
“I have the most amazing surprise for you,” her thesis professor Lori Flynn exclaimed the moment Lilac entered her office. The older woman normally had a calm disposition, but now her face was flushed with excitement. She waved at Lilac to sit down and burst into speech even before Lilac had pulled her chair back.
“We received an invitation to
Briarwood,”
Ms. Flynn revealed.
Lilac’s eyes widened.
Briarwood
was the most famous Regency structure in the country, a hidden gem that slumbered within the pines of the Everglades. It had been built in the 1820’s but remained a well-preserved icon of 19
th
century architecture, funded as it was by its billionaire owner.
She closed her eyes, and the vision of Briarwood from numerous photos online immediately came to fore. Lilac pictured its legendary arched and columned entrance, so majestic it rivaled even the greatest manors of England. It had balconies and balustrades all around, grand ballrooms, elegant drawing rooms, sprawling gardens, and even one famous zealously guarded pathway on which only horse-drawn carriages could tread.
This,
Lilac thought, was exactly what she needed to forget about Nick Christakos. An actual exploration of Briarwood alone was more than enough to fill her mind with weeks or even months’ worth of daydreams and research for her thesis
and
her novel.
She grinned at Ms. Flynn, whose excitement was so contagious Lilac had to hold her chest, willing for her heartbeat to slow down.
Oh, to explore such a place!
Ms. Flynn grinned back. “Yes, I know. It’s incredible, isn’t it?”
“I am…beyond words.” She rolled her eyes.
Ms. Flynn laughed, aware of the intentional irony. Lilac’s parents had thought it necessary to inform her of Lilac’s condition, in the event that her student’s upcoming thesis defense would cause Lilac to panic.
Lilac asked, “The place is…open to public now?”
Ms. Flynn handed her a sheet of vellum paper, and Lilac took it with care, immediately noting the elegant fineness of the material. “It’s an exclusive invitation for a private viewing. As it turns out, once a year the owner carefully selects an academic student to write about the house to preserve its place in history. Their only request is not to let anyone know about it. You can note that you’ve been given private access to videos by the foundation associated with Briarwood.”
Lilac glanced down at the invitation, and her heartbeat sped up to the point that she was almost breathless.
The Master of Briarwood
Requests the presence of your company
For afternoon tea
~~~
RSVP
Lilac noted the date and time indicated at the bottom of the invitation and choked. “But…this is…
today
?”
Ms. Flynn assured her, “I’ve spoken to all your professors and they’ve given you leave. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, my dear. Don’t waste it.” She checked her watch. “You still have about three hours to go back home and pack then someone will fly---”
“
Fly
?” Something was starting to feel not quite right, but Lilac couldn’t put her finger on it. All she knew was everything was happening too fast once more, and it reminded her of someone she did not need reminding of.
Ms. Flynn’s eyes sparkled. “My dear, your host is a reclusive billionaire. Of course, he’d send a chopper for you if he wants to. I’ve been informed that a cab…”
Lilac relaxed. Surely…if Nick Christakos was behind this, he would never send a cab to fetch her? She recalled his derisive look when she suggested taking a cab home on her own. The memory was bittersweet, and her heart ached.
He had been...a very good friend.
It was just so unfortunate she was starting to need him to be more than that.
****
A cab was at her doorstep at a quarter to ten, and she was quickly taken to the closest helipad. There, uniformed personnel resumed care of Lilac, their quietly deferential manner making Lilac shy and awkward.
Once she was securely strapped in her seat, the chopper took off and took Lilac’s breath away was it. It wasn’t her first time to fly, but this wasn’t the kind of flying she was used to. In a plane, being thousands of feet above ground in an enclosed cabin was surreal. Inside the chopper, it was more than real, something that the whipping wind, the sometimes-eerie silence, and the queasy feeling in her stomach made more vivid.
Lilac gripped the edge of the open door, and a feeling of exhilaration swept through her, prompting Lilac to laugh. That one simple act just made the ride more…incredible, in the true essence of the word. With her hand partially out, it was as if she was inches away from touching the fluffy-looking clouds, turning her into a goddess who could look down on skyscrapers and find the rest of the world so tiny.
“Ms. York?”
The pilot’s voice burst through the headset she had been asked to wear, making Lilac jump slightly in surprise. “Y-yes?”
“If you look to your right, you’ll see Briarwood.”
She looked to her right and her lips parted in a silent gasp of wonder. Even from a distance, Briarwood looked more spectacular than Lilac could ever imagine, its pristine perfection transporting her to a world she only once dreamt of.
The estate, with its gleaming walls and brick-red roof, was like a redheaded queen in white overlooking its vast domain. The acres and acres of lush greenery and beautifully landscaped gardens and walkways, its zigzagging manmade pond, with its shimmering surface and – Lilac shaded her eyes, squinting. Another silent gasp broke out from her at the sight of paddle boats anchored at one end, and her mind started to drift, imagining Lilia with a parasol as the duke paddled for the both of them using his strong arms.
As the chopper started to descend, her heartbeat raced double, triple, and quadruple its regular rate. Lilac took several calming breaths, but it was no use. She was just too excited and she wished she could babble just like any normal girl would.
This,
Lilac was very sure, was the perfect moment to babble for a girl who lived mostly in the clouds, daydreaming of days gone by.