The Billionaires(#1)

52

Jorge and Anita spent their entire morning trying to evaluate the extent of MJ’s fury, and it was not good at all. Companies were being shut down. Five companies were closed within a span of eight hours and many shares had dropped by at least fifty percent.

Many people were out of jobs and they were protesting against their former employers for their salaries. It was only the 26th of April today; some employees were supposed to be paid yesterday, but they were not. People were angry, and Jorge saw it safe to stay away because after all, he was a Billings - the brother of the woman who ruined their lives.

They had an early day, so Anita suggested that they go back to the beach house and take a nap before their next meeting. However, it would appear that Jorge wanted anything but to rest because the moment they came back, he went to dive at the beach, followed by a shower. After taking a shower, he went to the kitchen to grab a snack when something caught his attention.

Jorge picked up the paper that Anita was reading earlier and wondered why the maid had not thrown it out. “What do I pay her for?” He commented, agitated. He sat down on the counter and paged through the paper. “What has Logan done this time?” He shook his head and read the article, and then he looked at the pictures of him carrying the woman out of the restaurant. Jorge was laughing loudly when Anita walked into the kitchen, wearing a bikini and a clear brown scarf wrapped around her waist to cover her lower body.

“What’s so funny?” She asked, leaning against the frame.

Jorge looked up and smiled. “Just reading an article about a friend.” He said.

“A friend?” Anita asked curiously and moved to where Jorge was, so she could take a better look at the article.

“My best friend.” Jorge corrected and pointed at the picture of Logan alone.

“Is that his wife he’s carrying?” She asked, and Jorge laughed, causing Anita to frown.

Sighing, Jorge said, “Logan is a womanizer, and he is scared of commitment, so believe me, he will not get married anytime soon.” He smiled and drank the energy drink he had retrieved from the fridge, clearly not looking for any reason to rest.

“Why is she hiding? Look at all the pictures that were captured of her; none of them shows her face. It is like she doesn’t want to be seen or known.” Anita said as she walked to the fridge to get herself a drink too.

“She’s probably scared of cameras.” Jorge chuckled. “Reminds me of MJ, she is scared of the paparazzi and big crowds; she always sends me to all these big functions.” He said and gulped down the drink, and then he continued scanning through the pictures. “You know, nobody knows who MJ Billings is.” He said with a small smile.

“What do you mean?” Anita asked with a frown.

“If you browse through the internet, you will never find her pictures, let alone her personal information. People know her as MJ Billings, they don’t know her full name, and they don’t even know her birthday. All they know is that her name is MJ Billings and she is a multi-billionaire and the CEO of Billings Corporation. And the only pictures they have connected to her are my pictures and the company buildings.” He explained, not taking his eyes off the paper.

“How is that even possible?” Anita asked.

“MJ has the best IT experts in the entire world, and she doesn’t pay them to sit around and do nothing.” He said arrogantly. “The moment a picture of MJ’s goes online, they take it down before anyone could even get a screenshot, and if they do get a screenshot, it is only a blank page.” He said with exaggeration, and Anita fought the urge to roll her eyes. “If I didn’t know my sister I would swear that this was her, but trust me, after everything that happened, she would never go anywhere near Logan.” He said and heaved a sigh. “I mean, she hates him, and I doubt they would stay under the same roof for three split seconds considering the fact that they were cut from the same cloth.” He laughed. “But the way this woman is dodging the cameras…MJ can dance perfectly just to dodge cameras.”

“Really?” Anita asked and sat down on a chair.

“Yeah, and besides, where did you say she was again, for her meeting?” He asked and raised his eyebrows.

Anita shifted uncomfortably in her seat; she had not told Jorge where exactly his sister was, and she had not heard a thing from Liam since she last saw him.

“Cape Town.” Anita said hastily and took a sip of her drink.

Jorge frowned. “That is strange because she would have been staying in this house; the maid would have said something.” He said.

“Well, maybe she’s booked into a hotel or something.” Anita suggested, trying to get him off this topic.

“Yeah, maybe.” He said quietly. He took another sip of his drink and continued looking at the pictures. Seconds of silence passed and his eyes widened; he ran his fingers over the pictures and then spat out his drink, chocking in the process.

“Jorge, are you okay?” Anita jumped out of her chair and touched his shoulder, but he kept pointing at the pictures. Anita grabbed the papers to have a closer look and her eyes widened in recognition.

The gold watch on the woman’s left hand.

Jorge would recognize that watch anywhere, and it was as clear as daylight that it was MJ in the pictures. Once you saw the watch and acknowledged that it was hers, you started to see every other thing about her - her hair, her skin tone, and her height – everything.

“That is MJ. We need to get to the city, right now!” Jorge shouted angrily and walked out of the kitchen, but Anita stopped him.

“We can’t, we have a meeting in about an hour!” She reminded him, and he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

“Dammit!” He cursed and ran a hand through his wet hair.

What was MJ doing with Logan Parker after everything that happened? Any association with Logan Parker, she was bound to get hurt beyond repair, and she knew it. So, why was she with him now?