Taming Mr. Black

Naomi’s POV

” I can’t believe him. How could he do this to me?” I muttered to myself the minute I got home.

I’m dressed in lazy clothing. Pajamas bottom and Killian’s t-shirt that I stole as I sit on my favorite couch opposite the TV, weeping into my palms. I can’t get it out of my head. He had an ex who was dead. She took her own life because she lost the second best thing in the world.

I can’t really understand what she must have gone through, but I knew she felt alone, sad, and betrayed. The man whom she thought loved her, never actually loved her. I can’t imagine getting pregnant, even if it’s by accident, and then forced to get rid of it. That child might have meant a lot to her even if the father walked out on them. I don’t blame Killian, maybe he wasn’t ready to be a father and he was thrown off guard the minute Gianna gave him the news. He wasn’t ready. The least he could do was support her and be there for her. And the most painful part about this story is the fact that Gianna took her own life after she lost her baby.

It hurts to think that Killian would lie about something as important as this. We are in a relationship and we’re supposed to share things amongst ourselves. Keeping something as important as that, makes me feel like he never actually trusted me. I’m no longer a child and I could possibly handle myself. What was he trying to prove? We were supposed to work this out and find a solution, but instead he kept me in the dark. He lied to me about something so important. And I nearly died because he couldn’t actually tell me what happened and what’s happening.

What if this baby’s out there? Alone? Whoever is doing this, threatening me and even trying to kill me, knows something and they might be related to the late Gianna Haines.

Wait a minute. Her last name, why does it sound familiar? Oh my God, it can’t be. They can’t share a familiar last name. That must be a coincidence.

” Oh God. What’s going on? Why’s this happening? What does this even mean?” I mutter to myself.

” Who are you talking to?” Bianca’s voice makes me jerk around.

She looks at me as she drops her keys and approaches me.

” Are you okay?” She asks as she sits down next to me, dropping her bag on the floor.

” Yeah, I’m fine.”

” Well, you don’t look fine. Did she send you another threatening message? What did this bitch do this time?”

” Not really.” I say with a sigh. ” I gotta ask. Have you been trying to go to the police about what’s happening?”

” Oh. How did you know about that?”

I shrug as a response.

Bianca sighs. ” I worry about you, doll. I got scared something bad is going to happen to you before we could stop whoever that’s doing this. I’m sorry if I’m not supposed to.”

” It’s okay. I don’t want you to get hurt, Bia.” I tell her as I smile.

Bianca smiles at me. ” Were you crying?”

I look away, quickly wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes.

” It’s nothing.”

” What happened? Are you okay? Did something happen?”

” Killian told me about his ex.”

” His ex? What ex?”

” Yeah. Her name was Anna. She got pregnant, and Killian forced her to abort the child, but she didn’t. I guess she kept the baby, moved to this apartment where she raised the child by herself. The baby died eight months after she was born due to some strange illness. Anna took her own life later.”

” What the fuck?”

” Yeah.” I sigh as I stand up.

” When did all this happen?”

” Six and five years ago. I…” I run a hand through my hair. ” This is hard to take in. I told Killian we needed a break because I just can’t be with him right now. For some reason, someone who might be related to Anna is the same person who is trying to hurt me.”

” What the hell? What makes you think the person trying to hurt you is somehow related to Gianna?”

” I just… I don’t know what to think. The other day we visited Club K, I got this text from her. She told me I was gonna be a stepmom soon. I’m so confused. Is the baby actually alive?”

” Oh my God! You’re gonna be a stepmom?” Bianca says as she stands up.

She slowly strides towards me as she puts her hands on my shoulders.

” I don’t know what’s happening or what to think. I feel like all of this is happening at the same time, and it’s too much to comprehend.”

” Hey, look at me.” Bianca says. I turn to look at her. ” Everything’s gonna be alright. We will figure this out.”

” I don’t know what to do.” I start to sob. ” God, I love him so much it’s just… I hate it when we fight or when he just lies about little things.”

” Hey, I know.” She hugs me. ” I know. It’s okay. Maybe you should talk to him.”

” I can’t. I can’t look at him right now. How could he do that?” I sob in her arms.

” Everything’s gonna be alright, I know that. And if you want, we could look for this baby together. I guess it should be a relief that there’s no baby out there. Whoever this woman is, she’s just trying to mess with you and Killian. I bet she wants you two to fight so that she can just screw everything up. I’m pretty sure, there’s no baby out there. And what happened to Gianna is not your fault.” Bianca says, pulling back to look at me.

” I don’t know. But I think the little we can do is look for Anna’s baby, just to be sure if she’s dead or alive. I feel bad she had to take her life.”

” Well, it’s not your fault. I guess everyone has their own ways of dealing with grief. Killing herself was the best option. I bet she felt alone and betrayed.” Bianca says, hands still on my shoulders as she looks at me.

” Yeah.”

” Everything’s going to be okay. I’m here for you and I’ll always be here for you.”

” Thanks, Bia.” She hugs me again.

We pull apart. ” You wanna do something fun? You know, to try and get your mind off of things?”

” I don’t know, Bianca. I wanna drink my pain away.”

” Well, we can do that at home or at a bar with music and pretty things to stare at.” She says as she grabs her bag and walks towards her bedroom.

” Yeah.” I answer absentmindedly as I stare at Bianca.

Bianca’s last name is Haines. Bianca Haines. And how the hell did she know Anna’s full name is Gianna? I never told Bianca her real name. I actually called her Anna and not Gianna. And when she called Anna by her real name twice today, I didn’t know what to think anymore.

Is this just a coincidence or is she kinda related to Gianna Haines? It can’t be. This can’t be true. Bianca has been nothing but a friend to me. She’s like my sister and I’d do anything for her. She cares about me and we’ve been best friends since college.

Come to think of it; how much do I know about Bianca? I know a lot about her, but how much do I really know?

” Are you hungry?” Bianca calls from her room.

” No, I’m fine!” I call out to her.

I pull out my phone, going to the internet as I typed in Gianna Haines on the Google search. A web page comes up, showing photos and information concerning Gianna Haines. I went through the information, and truly, she died by jumping into a lake. I click one of her images and I’m awed at her picture. She’s young. She looks to be 21 years old and she’s a redhead, with freckles dusting her nose. She has fair skin, long red hair, green eyes, and she’s beautiful.

” What are you doing?” A voice makes me jerk around as I quickly lock my phone screen.

Bianca stands in front of me, smirking.

” What? You looked like a child who got caught stealing.” Bianca says, chuckling.

I chuckle too, nervously. ” Sorry. Just going through something on the internet.”

” Was that Killian’s ex?”

” What?”

” I saw you staring at a picture, Naomi. Calm down. Are you okay?” Bianca asks as she sits next to me.

She grabs my phone from my hand as she types in my password. She knows my password and I know hers. My phone unlocks as the picture of Gianna that I was staring at pops up.

” Wow. A redhead. Isn’t she pretty?” Bianca says as she stares at the picture closely. ” She’s so young.” She mutters.

” Yeah.”

” Gianna Haines?” Bianca reads out. ” What the fuck is this? Why do we have the same last name?”

” I don’t know. It doesn’t mean anything, obviously. There are countless people out there with the last name Alderson.” I say as I smile at her.

” Right.” Bianca sighs and hands me back my phone. ” So what exactly are you planning? If truly there might be a chance that Gianna’s baby is alive. Where do we start from?” There she goes again. Calling her by her real name.

” I don’t know. Why don’t we worry about that later and get wasted tonight.”

Bianca smiles. ” Great!”

My phone rings on the couch and it’s Killian calling. He has given me over ten missed calls and I haven’t bothered to pick up. I am not in the mood to answer his calls or talk to him.

” You should maybe talk to him. Look at you, you’re miserable without him.”

I roll my eyes, grab my phone as I end the call. Pulling the top of my screen down, I put my phone on ‘do not disturb’

” There. I can finally get the space I’ve been asking for.” I mutter, throwing my phone on the couch.

” I hope you know what you’re doing.”

” I hope I do too.” I say as I stare at Bianca.

She smiles and shakes her head as she walks to the kitchen. I follow her.

” Are you hungry? I can try and make something for us. I know you’re hungry and exhausted with what’s going on with you.” Bianca says, backing towards me as she goes through the kitchen cupboards.

” Can I ask you something?”

Bianca stops rummaging through the cupboards as she turns to look at me.

” Sure. What’s up?”

” Anna. Killian’s ex.”

” What about her?”

” You called her Gianna. How did you know her name’s Gianna?”

” You told me, silly.” Bianca says as she smiles at me. ” Is everything alright? Is this about my last name?”

” No, I’m sorry. It’s not that. It’s just… I didn’t think I told you her name’s actually Gianna.”

” Well, you did tell me just a few minutes ago, remember? Are you okay?” She asks, voice low as she stares at me. She sounds concerned.

” Yeah, I’m fine. What do you say about us getting wasted tonight? You don’t have to cook anything. Let’s just get dressed and go get wasted.” I say to Bianca.

” Yay.” She giggles and hurries towards her bedroom.

Tuesday morning at work, I’m barely concentrating. I locked eyes with Killian this morning on my way to my cubicle but I looked away the minute we locked eyes. He’s desperate to talk to me and I know it. I went through every file on the internet concerning Gianna Haines and any known family member. She’s an only child, originally from Europe, according to an article I saw online. She had her baby in a private hospital in New York called Madelyn Christian hospital. I dial the hospital number into my work telephone as I wait for it to ring. It rings for a long time, before someone answers.

” Madelyn Christian hospital. How may I help you, please?” A female voice says on the other side of the phone.

” Um, hello. My name is Camille and I’m calling about a patient from six years ago by the name of Gianna Haines.”

” I’m sorry, Camille, but we’re not allowed to share any information concerning our patients.”

” Please, you gotta help me. This is serious.”

” Are you a reporter?”

” What? No. I’m not. I’m a friend and I’m just trying to know if she had a baby there.”

” Yes, she did. The baby died.”

” Of what exactly?”

” Botulism. It’s a rare condition and somehow Gianna’s daughter suffered from it. She didn’t survive the disease. Now, bye.” The person on the other end says and hangs up.

” Fuck.” I mutter as I slam the telephone back down.

” You good, Mami?” Stefan’s voice calls. I look up to see him standing in front of me.

On Monday, yesterday at work, the workers were weird. I mean, I knew some of them usually talk behind my back, but this was different. I felt like it was because of this stupid rumor that has successfully died down. Today, it’s a little better than yesterday. I mean, they’re still acting like jerks, but it’s not that worse.

” Yeah. Hey, Stefan. How are you doing?”

” I’m doing okay. We haven’t really had a chance to talk since you got back.”

” Yeah.”

” Boss said you were sick. How are you feeling?”

” Okay. I’m okay. Thanks, Stefan.”

Stefan nods. ” I’m glad you’re okay. And I want to tell you to ignore what people are saying. I don’t believe the rumors and I know there’s more to what’s going on between you and Mr. Black.”

” Okay. You’re not helping, Stefan.”

He chuckles. ” I’m sorry. I’m trying to say, I know you two aren’t fooling around and I got you, girl.”

I nod. ” How are you and Jamie?”

” I really gotta thank you for that. We’re going strong and we’re taking our time. He’s a great guy.”

” Yeah, I know.” Stefan blushes. ” I should get back to work. See you around?”

I smile and wave at Stefan as he leaves. With my elbows on my desk, I run my fingers over my hair, itching at the scalp in frustration.

” Fuck, why am I not getting anywhere?” I mutter to myself.

” Ms. Alderson.” A voice says beside me.

I sat up at once, faced with Raymond Knight.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

” Hi, Mr. Knight.” I address him, with my hands reaching up to my hair to tame the strands. He smiles and nods at me.

He drops a couple of files on my desk. “Take these to Mr. Black and help him go through them. It’s the record on the sales of our new program. You’ve done well. Your marketing skills have really proved itself.” Raymond says as he leaves, leaving me no room for argument.

I sigh, eyes scanning around the room.

” I can’t believe him. Why doesn’t he understand I don’t wanna talk to him?” I lament to myself as I stand up, picking up the files.

With a deep breath, I head towards Killian’s office. I greet Jamie and he responds in full spirit. Killian’s door is slightly open when I reach there. I knock once and let myself in as I close the door behind me.

” Stop coercing Raymond to make me bring you things when you can easily make someone else do them.” I say as I drop the files on his desk.

” I can’t do this right now, Killian.” I tell him as I turn to leave.

” Babe, please. Let me explain.”

I sigh and turn to look at him. He’s standing up as I watch him round his desk.

” You’ve done enough explaining, already. I just need a break.”

” I know. I’m sorry and I need you. I miss you and I don’t know what to do with myself right now with you being mad at me.” Killian whispers, taking slow strides towards me till he stops in front of me.

” I can’t do this.”

Two steps and we’re breathing the same air with him holding my hands.

” Please. I’m never gonna keep anything from you and I’m never gonna lie to you. I want you and I love you.” Killian whispers, slowly bringing his hand to push my strands of hair behind my ear.

” What do you want me to do? I’d do anything. I just want things to go back to normal.” Killian whispers, hand cupping my face as we stare into each other’s eyes. “I’m sorry I hurt you, please believe me. The last thing I wanna do is hurt you. I love you so much and I don’t think I can go on like this with you being mad at me.”

Sighing, I step away from his hold as his hands fall to his sides. He’s pained and I can clearly see that he’s hurting.

” I can’t right now.” I whisper as I turn around and leave his office, not before hearing him mutter:

” Fuck.”

***

” Um, it’s Bianca and I’m busy right now. Please, leave a message and I’ll get back to you ASAP.” Bianca’s voicemail says and a beep follows.

” Hey, Bia, it’s Naomi. I’ve been trying to reach you but I don’t know, it’s not connecting. Are you free this afternoon? I wanna visit Gianna’s grave and maybe the hospital where her baby died. Please, call me back and let’s talk.”

I sigh as I drop my phone on the table. I’m at a cafe, with a bottle of diet Coke in front of me. There’s a lot I need to know and sitting in a Cafe won’t give me answers. I requested an Uber a few minutes ago and it should be here soon. Just as I imagined, my phone pings with a notification that the Uber is outside waiting for me.

I grab my phone, my coat, and my bag as I scurry out of the cafe.

Colton Corp is nothing like KB TECH. The company is located at the top of a huge building with its sign at the top of it. I walk in, glancing at the reception and its design. The interior is beautiful, well designed, and well managed. I know I shouldn’t be here without at least calling Bianca to tell her that I’m coming, but I’m desperate. I need to find answers, and if I’m gonna get answers, I need to have a word with her. Today and face to face.

There’s a receptionist taking calls and checking in guests. She’s a blonde, with short pixie cut and too much lipstick.

” Hello.” I say to the receptionist.

” Hi. How may I help you?” The receptionist asks, not once looking up at me as she types non-stop on her computer keyboard.

” I’m looking for Bianca Haines.” I tell the blonde with a pixie cut.

Slowly, she raises her head to look at me. She gives me a once over as she types something on her computer.

” I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone with that name.”

” What do you mean?”

” I mean Bianca Haines doesn’t work here.”

” That cannot be right. She started working here a few months ago. She’s Mr. Ernest’s assistant.”

The receptionist stops typing as she stares at me.

” No, you’re wrong. For one, there’s no Bianca Haines who works here and secondly, Mr. Ernest or whatever you call him is not a staff here, either. I have no data in my computer which says Bianca or Mr. Ernest works here.”

” What? Is this Colton Corp?”

” That’s correct. Who are you exactly?” The receptionist asks as she looks at me.

” Just someone close to Bianca Haines. I thought she worked here. I mean she’s supposed to be working here. She told me she got a job here a few months ago.”

” Well, it’s either Bianca is lying or you must have the wrong company. You have a nice day now, why don’t you?”

My eyes fall on the receptionist’s nameplate and it reads Amanda Payne. I look up at her and she’s already staring at me like I’m not supposed to be here. I plaster up a smile as I turn around to leave, asking myself how long has my best friend been lying to me.