Trembling, she headed for the bathroom. Inside, she saw a display of men's toiletries, reminding her of the stranger who had been there. She shook her head to clear the fog and ran a bath to soak her aching limbs. As the warm water surrounded her, the flashes of the previous night's madness began to return. "How did I get myself into this?" she whispered to the empty room and sighed heavily.
Evelyn glared at the unruly marks which seemed to occupy all parts of her body as she washed in the bath.
"You are an adult!" she chastised and hissed at her reflection in the mirror. This was not the time to panic. She assured herself as she finally stepped out of the bath. Her bag and phone were nowhere to be found, leaving her completely cut off from the world. After another quick glance around the room, she dried her hair, and picked up her pieces of discarded clothing from the floor. Without wasting any more time, she threw on the clothes and escaped the hotel room as quickly as possible.
A few minutes after she left, the door opened again, and the man strode back into the room. Noticing the empty room, he paused, and his gaze swept across the entire suite. The bed was empty and the clothes on the floor were also missing. That only meant the girl had run away. She didn't even touch the package that had been meant for her. Walking over to the nightstand, he noticed a small, handwritten note sitting on the surface. He picked it up and his eyebrows quirked when he saw the words on it.
"Hello, 'Professional,' it went. 'Last night was a huge mistake between you and me. I expect you to maintain your professional ethics, and if we ever cross paths again, you don't know me, and I don't know you. Next time, wait for a client to actually hire you before doing the work! Goodbye."
"Professional?" A client?
For the first time in his life, the man's handsome face flashed with utter confusion, then followed by a cold, simmering fury. He crushed the note in his fist and threw it across the floor. His eyes drifted to the white sofa, where a small, dark red stain marked the fabric like a design. It confirmed she had been a virgin. Yet, she had walked away as if it were nothing. Maybe he has seriously misunderstood her.
The midday sun was brutal, and Evelyn felt a wave of dizziness as she stepped onto the sidewalk. She hailed a cab and, using the driver's phone, placed a call to her assistant. Evelyn's first instinct had been to call her boyfriend, but the shame of the previous night made it impossible to face him. The call rang for a while but there was no answer.
"That's strange!" she muttered to herself and tried again. After the third ring, the call was finally answered, but the voice sounded strange and distant.
"Who is this?" "And how can I help you?"
There was silence, and then Evelyn responded.
"It's your 'boss.' and what's with the tone?" There was another silence, but this time from the other end.
"Miss Meyers?" the assistant sounded stunned and checked the unfamiliar number.
"Yeah, it's me. I'm taking a cab to my place, have some cash ready for the fare, okay? I lost my bag and phone."
"Uhm.." The assistant started but stopped. There was another awkward silence and this time around Evelyn lost it.
"Why are you being so weird today? I'll be there in a few minutes. Just wait for me by the road."
She hung up, thanked the driver, and leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes. The cab's radio was muttering in the background;
"... His shares were transferred two months ago, meaning his career has effectively ended. Our reporters are tracking the fallout of the Meyers Corporation scandal..."
But Evelyn's mind was still trapped in the dim light of the hotel room. She didn't hear a single word.
Minutes later, the car pulled up in front of a gated community. Only private transportation was allowed inside. The assistant hurried over and paid the fare, then scanned Evelyn's face, but aside from looking exhausted, she seemed normal.
Evelyn noticed her strange behavior but concluded it was due to the fact that she lost contact yesterday and only appeared today. As they both headed to the car parked beside the road, the Assistant mustered up courage and questioned her.
"You didn't go home last night, Miss?" she asked, and Evelyn's heart dropped to the floor.
"Why..., why do you ask that?"
Had the man from the hotel contacted her father already? " ..nothing!" the assistant stuttered and quickly moved her eyes away. Then she hurriedly moved forward and opened the car door for Evelyn. Evelyn paused at her strange behavior, but eventually settles into the car waiting for her to get in and drive. The assistant finally gets in after hesitating for a while, and the car pulls away.
A few meters away from the house, the assistant suddenly pulls over and stops driving, causing Evelyn to stare at her in confusion.
"Is there something you are not telling me, Lucy?"
She questioned, her eyebrows furrowed. Lucy places her hand on her forehead and massages it, then turns to Evelyn.
"Miss, I need to tell you something. You need to prepare yourself.
She took her phone from the side and began to scroll quickly. "I am going to show you a video, Miss. But please, just stay calm."
"Video! What video?" she asked, her voice trembling, and her mind began to race. 'Was it a video of her from last night? Had that man recorded her? If the whole city sees that, I am dead.'
" Lucy, I didn't know what happened last night," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I was drugged or something, I didn't mean to be in that bed..."
Lucy ignored her rambling and handed her phone to her.
It wasn't a bedroom. It was the exterior of a building she knew better than any other; her father's company.
".... reporting for Arise City News. Information has surfaced that John Meyers, President of the Meyers Corporation, has been accused of embezzling public funds, illegal share trading, and money laundering. We are here at the headquarters to investigate..."
"Dad?" Evelyn gasped. "Corruption? Money laundering? That's nonsense! My father is the most honest man in this city!" "Don't get excited. Keep watching," Lucy said softly.
The video cut to the conference room doors. A swarm of executives Evelyn recognized poured out, looking frantic. At the back of the crowd were two faces she knew intimately; Joseph Watson, the Vice President, and his son, her boyfriend, Tail Watson. There was no sign of her father.
Joseph Watson stepped towards the microphones, looking strangely revitalized. "It is unfortunate that President Meyers has seen fit to resign under such circumstances," he told the cameras. "As of today, I will be taking over all operations for the Meyers Corporation. I hope for your continued support."
Evelyn's mind went blank. Her father's life's work had been handed over to Uncle Watson? Her father's "best brother"?
"Where is my father?"
" Still at the company," Lucy responded. "Please take me there!"
She cried and Lucy turned the car around.
The heat outside was suffocating as they pulled up to the Meyers Corporation building. To Evelyn, the sun felt like it was trying to expose her, burning into her skin. But as she stepped into the familiar marble lobby and the blast of cold air hit her, her survival instincts finally kicked in. She wasn't just a girl who had a bad night anymore. She was a daughter whose father was being erased.