Young & Reckless

Chapter 9 - Amina

Chapter 9 - Amina

I clicked through the pictures Dennis sent me, looking for the ones I can use for the spread. They were excellent. I've got to hire him again. He captured every detail. He was worth every penny. I paid him in cash. I had to, my account hasn't cleared of my deposit. What the hell was taking him so long? I knew his meetings aren't prolonged. He skips them for a shot and a quickie with one of his assistants. I dropped the camera; the receptionist picked up, and I asked if I could speak to him. It's urgent. She put me on hold. Damn it.

I picked at my nails as I waited. Ten minutes, fifteen. Nineteen. I growled, when i see him, i'm gonna wring his fucking neck. "Hello?" He came on. His voice made my skin crawl and hot at the same time. His deep timbre always set me on edge and curled my toes.

"Where have you been?" I asked in a hushed, harsh voice.

"What do you mean?" Bennett wondered, acting innocent.

"I've been trying to reach you all day."

"Is everything okay?"

"No. I heard about money laundering in the company." It was the first thing I saw as breaking news on CNN. What's worse was that I put all my trust in Bennett. I gave him my last check to invest in their new product. I didn't need this shit today. Trusting an ex, what was I thinking? And the news about the party. It shouldn't have gone that way. We were careful. Two issues were doing my head in.

"I got it under control."

"Do you?" I was confused, paranoid even. I was looking over my shoulder all the time. I wasn't even sure I could trust putting most of my money to him.

"Yes." I licked my lips, the last time he said that we broke up during a horrible situation. His aunt was horrid, his mother tolerated me when she wanted to. His father's condition worsened. We were bad timing, it was half of my fault. Not looking at the red flags. I thought at least he would be my partner in his business. Not to cheat me and leave me destitute. I thank god that I have my own business but he still shared a profit.

"I'm putting my money and trust in you, Bennett." I pleaded.

"I know. How have you been?"

"I've been better. How are you?" I missed talking to him. Hearing his voice. There were times he was sweet. I missed our cuddles and day dates. The sex was mindblowing. Our quickies were worth it. He's not marriage material

"Not so great. My aunt wants to be involved."

"Oh god." I rolled my eyes.

"Exactly. She thinks she deserves a portion. Even though dad didn't want her to be a part of it."

"What does your mom think?"

"I haven't spoken to her yet. I'm still in the office."

"Oh." I slouched in my chair, "how is she doing?"

"It's day by day." I picked the lint off my sweater, rubbing my tongue across my teeth. I knew it was a sore subject speaking about his dad. It did show that I still cared.

"Right." I paused, hearing him breathe softly.

"We weren't good with awkward conversations, were we?"

I chuckled, "no. We liked talking to each other."

"Our longest was until 3 am. No pauses."

"Oh my God. That's true." I bit my bottom lip. All night we just talked about nothing and still had a laugh. Bennett was one of the good ones, it's his family and his job that gets in the way. Most of his friends from high school had to cut them off because of betrayal and two timing. He could be cold hearted. Around me, he opened up, softened.

"How was the photoshoot?"

"Fluid. It's gonna be one of my best. I can send you some candids if you want. The models look like your type to bring around corporate parties." Dennis did an amazing job capturing everything. He did have an eye for his vision.

"Sure, I'll look at them later."

"Just make sure you find out who's dipping in the company cash."

"It's on the top of my list." I smiled to myself. Hanging up before we had anything else to say. Sitting back in my chair, I drummed my nails against my thighs. I'm hungry. I stood up, opening the fridge until I heard my phone ring again.

I answered without looking at the caller ID, "hello."

"Amina Fitzgerald?" a woman on the other end asked politely.

"Yes?"

"Hello ma'am. This is Wells Fargo. It appears there has been some suspicious activity. A large sum of money has been taken out of your account."

"Huh?" I frowned. I requested them to call and email me for any malicious purchases or withdrawals.

"There was a large deposit made a few days ago then it was withdrawn electronically yesterday."

I was confused, I didn't make any deposits or withdrawals. Only my fee was paid for the shoot. And then I bought a new love seat last Wednesday. I leaned on top of my countertop, "can you tell me who and where the withdrawals were from?"

"Yes, ma'am. It appears someone deposited $10,000 and then withdrew $9,000 on Monday, 5 PM from a PayPal account." I gulped the air, almost choking. That was the amount I gave to Bennett. He must have paid me back, someone stole from me. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

"What?" I squeezed my hand into a fist.

"The activity is here, ma'am."

"I didn't make any withdrawals." I placed the agent on speaker, signing into my app to confirm what she said. After a PayPal withdrawal, it was still processing. From an email address that wasn't mine. "I didn't authorize that. That's not my PayPal." But I did know who it was. That sneaky son of a bitch. He did it. I told him not to.

"I apologize, Ms Fitzgerald. I will stop the payment process. It will take a couple of weeks before it clears and will be funded right back to your account."

"That's fine. Thank you." I breathed out a sigh, holding my chest.

"You're welcome. Have a great day." I calmed down a little. Who the hell? Why the hell would someone do that? My assistant had my account number, so does Bennett. And... him. That fucking junkie! I give him a job and this was what he did to me! Me? Of all people. I"ve helped him so many damn times. He's roadkill.