Breaking his Mask

Chapter 1

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My name is Isla Richards. Just recently I moved to New York City. It actually gets quite lonely here. There are so many people, but no one would understand. They would probably deem me crazy. What kind of person travels to the other side of the country to leave their rich parents? There is a reason why I am so closed off. I don't want people to judge me based on my past. Yes my parents are millionaires and I have a special love for plants. Plants are my babies honestly. I would rather grow old with my favorite, most exotic plants than cats. It is most likely gonna happen, no question.

Everybody runs from something. My best friend, Riya ran from her too strict Indian parents. I ran from my past. I know the past will catch up to me eventually and Riya's mother will jump oceans to get a hold of her. For now it is peaceful and that is all that matters to me. For once I want to show my parents that I am a strong, independent woman. A real feminist at heart. I don't want to be cooking and waiting for my husband's approval to do something. I want to prove myself of what I am made of: strong will.

After my last and final heartbreak, I would never open myself to another man. I didn't spare a glance at any boys during college. Guys always thought I was pretty. Being different was probably why Riya and I bonded. Where Riya was kind and quiet, I was loud and defensive. Well, that was then. Now I am complete opposite of what I used to be as well as Riya. I grew out of it and wanted to pursue my passion. I majored in botany, might as well be with plants. Riya of course being the smart ass as she is, sent her applications in for medical school. Nobody would deny her a spot at her dream medical school.

I had never met the Ceo of ClarkeSmith industries. Working here for over a year, I have barely even seen my head botanist. I only see him during research presentations. It's quite a shame actually. He has sandy blonde hair with big blue eyes. His personality is literally a clear blue sky. Always so happy and carefree. I really respect his passion for botany and to top it off he has the most warmest smile. If I had to marry a guy it would be him. After completely ignoring guys in college, I wanted to shake it up a bit. If he asked me on a date, I would faint. Then I would say yes of course. The way my name rolls off his tongue makes me swoon, but I don't. I have to keep it professional. What am I even thinking? Mr. Jake Smith won't even spare a glance at me. It is not like I want him to. I have to keep it professional. Unlike some girls, I dress modestly.

I grabbed a cup of coffee on the first floor on my way to the 18th story.
"Hello Mr. Smith. Would you like me to hold that for you," I offered my head botanist. It looked like he was having some trouble holding on to 10 different files, a cup of coffee, and his umbrella.
"Ah. Ms.Richards, would you mind holding on to the blue file on top?" Mr. Smith asked.
That right there was mistake number one. Me being all kind and helpful agreed to place the blue file on top of my folders. Just at the second the elevator was about to close, a young intern motioned for me to hold the door. Just as I was, Mr.Smith reached for the door. Our arms collided and the momentum threw both of us off. I was never any good at sports and definitely had no balance. I fell backwards and the papers I was holding flew into the air along with the various colors of files. My coffee cup landed with a sick thud on the ground next to me and the hot coffee splashed me precisely in the bust area. I jumped up waiting for scorching coffee to cool down. Shooting a glare to the wide-eyed intern, I bent down to pick up the files. How could this happen to me right next to Mr.Smith. God, the one time I directly meet him, this happened to me.
"Ms.Richards, are you alright? Here let me help you with this," said Mr.Smith.
"I am quite fine. If you could have your file back, I will need to fix this," I gestured to large coffee stain on my blouse. I passed the blue file to Mr.Smith.
"Thank you. If you need anything, feel free to come to my office," said Mr.Smith while giving me a pitiful glance at my ruined blouse. I gave the intern another pointed look, and he glowered under his hat. The elevator opened to the 18th floor. I looked at the buttons. The 30th floor was where Mr.Smith was located along with the higher positioned employees. I straightened the files in my hand and headed to the restroom.

I looked at my reflection with a groan. My hair was a mess with the strands soaked in coffee. My blouse had a brown stain in the front and my skirt had coffee splotches as well. At least my paperwork was safe. I set my folders down. And tried to wipe off the coffee stain on my shirt. The water made it smear and if I kept going my shirt would be see through in no time. I groaned again thinking how my boss had to see me like this. I looked to my left and felt like something was wrong. Turns out the files were switched. My shade of blue for my file was darker. To double check I opened the file. The first page read, classified. I decided against looking any deeper, it definitely wasn't my file. As I was checking the ones underneath for damages, the blue file slipped and fell onto the tiles. It landed in a small puddle of water. Cursing my luck, I bent down to pick it up. It opened up to a page of business transactions. I was very good with numbers and financial records. I knew something didn't add up. There was a contract along with it, it was of another company. The company signing off millions of dollars to ClarkeSmith industries. A large portion actually went to the botanical section. We were the smallest unit of the industries. Why would we be receiving 500 million dollars. It was all very skeptical. I flipped the page. My eyes widened in terror. There were pictures, all of them with a red x mark on them. The page was labeled terminated.

One thing I have learned from my parents was morals. There were good people and bad people. At this moment I believe I need to the right thing and call the police. I decided to go home with the file and look through it to make sure I wasn't mistaken. I picked up all of my folders. I took the blue folder and stuffed it in my handbag. It fit just fine. I calmed my breathing and stepped out of the restroom. I quickly shuffled to the elevator. Once it stopped at the main lobby I told myself not to look suspicious. I was very close to leaving until someone stopped me.
"Isla, where are you going?" It was just my coworker Liz.
"I realized I didn't want to keep this stain on me any longer. I need to go home and rest because I haven't been feeling good hence the coffee accident," I lied.
Liz smiled and bade me a goodbye. I rushed into the busy sidewalk of New York City. My flat was not too far from the office building. My heels clicked and clacked but the crowd drowned out the sound. I did not realize I was alone until I heard them again when I turned into an alley. That was mistake number two. I wanted to take a shortcut to my flat. The dark alley was getting creepier, maybe I should have just went through the main street. It was too late because I was already half way. I saw a shadow to my left. I flinched but did not look back. I was just being paranoid. Nobody knew I had the file. I fastened my steps. I could see my apartment building. I was so close. My foot tripped over something and I lost focus. Then a hand grabbed me by the shoulders and covered my mouth with gloved hand.
"Mmmhhh HELP! mhhhh," I struggled to get free. Then there were more shadows surrounding me. They could just be typical pick pocketers, but their eyes held a different story. They were cold and menacing. The large one in front of me slapped me as hard as possible. My face turned with the impact.
"Be quiet or else I will have to do worse to you," he hissed. I struggled even harder. The two next to me dragged me to a door in the side of the alley. They pinned me against the wall and looked for permission to the large one. I dug my heel into one of them.
"Arfg," he let out. The other snickered.
"Ben where is the car?"
Ben, the large one pointed to the exit of the alley and the three dragged me to the car. They pushed me in and pointed a gun in my direction. Now I knew this was serious. I had to cooperate or else they would pull the trigger. I took deep breaths. The three men felt more relaxed. The one with the hand on my mouth loosened his grip. I took the last ounce of my energy and fought. I turned sideways abruptly to bite the hand. He let out a shriek. I kicked the man next to me in the balls. Ben, the driver took a sharp turn, leaving me out of balance. I tried to open the door and leave since the car was not going as fast yet. I opened the lock, then I felt a sting of a needle. Then everything went black.