Beneath the Billionaire’s Mask

"No woman in her right state of mind would speak to you the way those two women did unless you screwed them." He commented while Owen sat on the couch in Olivia's office.

Even at thirty years old, Owen frequently found himself in trouble. Anyone with eyes could never overlook Owen's apparent troublemaking tendencies. He wore black jeans, a white silk shirt, and white boots, adorned with a large silver chain around his neck. His thick black hair was a tangled mess, and his lips pressed together in a pouty pattern. His gray orbs confronted David when he failed to reply to his previous comment. "What the hell! You were able to screw both of them, weren't you? On the other hand, David did not answer his question; instead, he sighed and sat on the couch.

Ryan Hall stood up, yawned, and then glanced at his watch. He was currently standing. "I really ought to get going," he said. "I have an early trip tomorrow morning, so I must rest as much as possible." At the same time, he rubbed his eyes. "It's hard shifting between time zones after every hour." His muttering was sluggish.

Owen said, "Wait for me; I'll just go and freshen up a bit," then he got up from the couch she was sitting on.

David whispered, "You don't even know where the bathrooms are," as Owen moved towards the entrance.

"No, but I know how to read and talk," Owen chuckled as he left the office. As soon as he left, Ryan and David lapsed into a deep quiet; they were still not accustomed to being in each other's company.

"I can't take him with me; I have a job to get to." But David covered his eyes and mumbled, "Sure." Ryan commented, but David did not respond.

They traveled silently to free Owen from prison, and their only conversation came when David asked why Owen was in custody. Ryan sighed with irritation, as this had been their routine throughout the journey. In response to Ryan's statement, David gazed up at him with worn but indifferent eyes. "To be honest, Miller, I acknowledge my mistakes," Ryan said. "I sincerely apologize for carrying out my duties in the appropriate manner. You asked me to search for your sister, and I successfully located her. However, it's important to note that I was simply carrying out my duties." Ryan shrugged. "I do my job very well, and 99% of the time, I am right. I'm pretty sure I was right about your sister too."

David laughed mockingly. "Maybe that one percent is my sister." 

Ryan confidently declared, "The 1% does not exist," and his assertion proved to be accurate. "If you don't believe me when I tell you that I saw your sister years ago in the streets of London, homeless and pregnant, then you should probably hire another investigator to reinvestigate her or ask her yourself, because we both know you have never asked her," Ryan asserted. Ryan posed a challenge, and David's back stiffened at the thought. David glared at Ryan with eyes that were so icy and searing that they would have scared anyone away.

On the other hand, Ryan did not attempt to retreat; instead, he moved forward and took a position before David. Ryan remarked, "Your sister disappeared for three years and showed up at the age of eighteen with this big business idea," as he put his hands in his pockets. "You just bought into it without asking any questions," Ryan said. "You had no relatives in London, and your father was in the States then; where do you think your sister was all this time?" David responded by taking a deep breath. When he left the office, Ryan said, "If you are so certain that I made a mistake, ask her."

David, unable to deal with the reality of Ryan's statements and the likelihood that he was right about Olivia, strolled up to the stand, retrieved a bottle of whiskey, and drank all the contents in one go. He let out a grunt and gave a tiny shake of his head in response to the effect that the alcohol had on him before placing it back on the stand. He walked up to Olivia's chair, sat down, and then began to massage his temples out of frustration. He did this for a few minutes.

David knew that Ryan had a point somewhere in the lines, even though he could not admit it. Olivia ran away from her family when she was fifteen years old, and after a month without any sign or word from her, a missing persons case was considered. David took a long time to report the incident because he believed Olivia was staying at her friend's house. Ultimately, Olivia found herself in a dire situation. However, he later discovered that Olivia's only best friend, who had gone overseas when they transitioned to high school, had been missing for three years. Following a search that lasted for two months without yielding any results, David decided to employ Ryan Hall, a friend of his best friend, to try to locate her. London was one of the places that Ryan had sought for the entirety of the year until he finally returned home one day with some news. He considered all possible places Olivia could have visited, and London was one of her passions. Not only did he share with David that he had seen Olivia in London and that she was pregnant, but he also mentioned that she was destitute.

When David does not believe this, Ryan arranges for them to go there. However, upon their arrival in London, they found no trace of Olivia in the streets. When they inquired about her, no one knew anything about a homeless and pregnant fifteen-year-old girl. Ryan was unable to find any information about Olivia. Despite David's anger, Ryan continued to insist that he had seen Olivia, which led to a gradual decline in their relationship.

David continued his search for Olivia, but when a year went by with no sign of her, he lost hope and ceased his search. Olivia, however, showed up a year later, after a full two years had passed, and she informed him about her new business idea. When he sought information from her, she attempted to flee, leading him to abandon the investigation. After living in Fort Lauderdale for a month, they returned to London together. After that, they began working on Miller Corporation, and he has yet to find out where Olivia had been for those three years. This ignorance has continued until the present day.

"Hello, there. Where is Ryan? At first, I believed that he would wait for me and ask Owen. It had been thirty minutes since he had gone to the restroom, and now he was returning.

"That took a very long time," David remarked.

Owen declared smugly, "Yeah, I ran into blondie somewhere downstairs," and then proceeded to throw himself onto the couch inside the room.

"Do you mean you went downstairs to find someone to show you the restroom? Where did the phrase "I can read" go?" David cocked his eyebrow in his direction.

"I was shown more than just the bathroom by blondie; why do you think it took me so long?" Owen exclaimed. Owen chuckled out loud.

David drew a tiny line with his lips and spoke something. "Owen, you just don't want to grow up, do you?" He inquired furiously. "This is exactly why Noah refused to bail you out; you just never learn!" He lost his temper and snapped before he understood what he had just done. "Shit." Simultaneously, he sighed, covered his face with his palms, and mumbled something under his breath. He peered between his fingers and caught a glimpse of Owen's face; he was surprised.

"Noah refused to bail me out." Owen, clearly distressed by the revelation, inquired in a hushed tone.

As David became aware of the extent of his words, he jerked back. "Owen."

"Noah wanted to keep me locked up." In a tone that betrayed him, Owen asked the question. "My brother?" As he began to pace around the office, he murmured something to himself. The only thing David did was remain silent and stare at his desk. However, he broke his promise to Ryan that Owen would never learn about Noah, which led to Owen discovering the truth. "As I was thinking about it, I realized I ought to call my brother and express my gratitude for saving me. I mistakenly believed that he had assigned you and Ryan to rescue me, as he was unable to make it." Owen let out a harsh laugh and fixed his gaze on David. "I was wrong."

"Look, Owen, is it OK if you let it go? The only thing that matters now is that you are out. Make your way home." He sighed. Owen could do nothing but accept his fate and move on because the damage was done.

"Where are you? Which residence?" Owen became angry. "Are you going to take me back to the same house where my brother, who was trying to keep me locked up, lives? This is not going to happen."

"It doesn't matter who else lives in it; it is still your home," David responded.

"For a very long time, that house has ceased to serve as a home for me. There is nothing more to that house than a dwelling." Owen spoke in a low voice and then walked out of the office, running his fingers through his hair.

David did not stop the man. No matter how annoying he was, Owen needed time to himself because his statements had a deeper truth. You may construct a house that costs several million dollars and fill it with fine furnishings, but it would never accomplish the goal of turning it into a home. Material possessions are less valuable than a home full of love, family, and pure happiness.

That was something they all lacked, and they learned the hard way that money cannot buy happiness.

After taking a long, deep breath, David exited his chair and walked out of the office, taking his phone and the keys to his car. After leaving the elevator, he went to the reception area, where Aria was packing her belongings. When she turned around and noticed him standing before her desk, she offered him a slight smile. "David," she said.

"Aria." At that moment, he inquired about Zoey. "How is she?"

"She's not handling this too well." With a sigh, Aria folded her arms and sighed. David gave her a look that suggested he was curious, and she recalled that he was unaware of what was going on with Zoey. "Zoey found her biological brother, who goes by Xander Gomez."

"Gomez as in Gomez International?" David inquired with his eyes wide open.

"Yup, that's the one." Aria gave a slight nod.

"Wow. It's a big deal." David inhaled deeply. "But why was Zoey crying earlier?" He frowned.

"Well, they agreed to meet up for dinner tonight, and Zoey was all excited about it, but he bailed on her," Aria remarked with a heavy sigh. "There was a lot of excitement surrounding this dinner."

David said, "That's a terrible thing."

"Tell me about it. You should have seen Zoey when his assistant called; she looked so crushed," Aria responded with sadness. Which reminds me of the guy you were with earlier: dark jeans, a white shirt, sneakers, dark hair, and gray orbs?" Aria waved her hand, and David became rigid as he knew it was Owen she was referring to.

"His name is Owen, Aria. Screwing anything with a tail between its legs is the sole action you will ever take. How could you possibly sleep with someone whose name you don't even know? What is your level of desperation?" It was a wrong statement, and Aria recoiled in response to his tone. Aria's eyes welled up with tears when David concluded his rant, and I could see them rolling down her cheeks.

"Wow!" A harsh laugh came out of her mouth, and she shook her head in astonishment. "I'm so stupid, aren't I?" She inquired in a cynical tone, to which David responded with laughter. "I was going to say that he looked a bit crushed when he left, so I called him a cab and told the driver that he was going to stay at the hotel close to the airport," Aria remarked while wiping away her tears. "How did I know that he had slept with Becky from the fifth floor? Now that you've brought it up, I feel compelled to share this information. As a trio, I could take advantage of any situation that presented itself." Her tone was scathing.

David heaved a sigh and moved his fingers down toward his face. Even though he excelled at hurting everyone today, he had gone in the wrong direction this time. "Aria." He initiated the conversation, but she resisted it.

"Save it, David!" After losing her temper, Aria hurriedly left the building.

"Shit."