CHAPTER FIVE

“The question you should all be asking right now is do you really want to trust your money with a man
that spends his money on girls in a strip club. Is that who you really want?”

This statement caused whispers among the crowd. This was exactly what Kennedy Nectar wanted. His
smile and pencil thin mustache gave him a rather sinister vibe. His opponent stood at the other end
expressionless. If what Kennedy had just said shocked the crowd, it did nothing to the man he was
referring to. Julian kept his face like a cold mask.

Kennedy had married a big woman at a very young age. If you asked him, he’d say it was love at first
sight with a smile. If you asked Maggie Nectar, she’d change the topic fast and talk about Western
movies. His family had always eaten from the political pie and now it was his turn.

The noise and whispers receded enough for a tiny reporter with a voice the sound of two thunders
colliding to get a question through, “How are we sure these aren’t just rumors.”

Kennedy smiled like a mice. This was just the opening he needed. This small ant of a reporter had given
him the nail he needed to finish Julian’s cross. He gestured for his aide to appear. The wiry man
whispered something into Kennedy’s ear. Julian stood, his expression impossible to read.

“You can watch the video on the evening news. Don’t miss it.”

**

That evening’s news showed the young billionaire Julian Edelman with several young ladies who were all
barely dressed. It was obvious the video had been shot without his awareness. He was having a good
time. Whoever made the video was sure it would be useful one day and this was that one day.

As Julian sat alone watching the tape play, his brain buzzed searching for an explanation. He had
unknowingly fallen into a futuristic trap. This was the type of humiliation he had hoped to avoid. There
was only one thing left to do now. His handsome face burned with rage. He tried to steady his shaking
hands as he grabbed for his phone. He dialed the number for the news station and fixed an interview
within the hour. They were more than excited to get the call.
Julian was at the news house some minutes late and before long, they were live. Julian denied the video
completely claiming it was an obvious sabotage by his opponent. The girls in the video had all gotten a
visit from John who gave each enough incentive to agree with the sabotage story. Julian sounded like he
was sincerely hurt as he spoke to the people. He said he was currently in a serious relationship and that
this nonsense had created a rift between him and his lover. He went on to tell the listeners that he was
getting married soon and that he would not fail them. It all went smooth. Some days later, the video and
every memory of it had cease to exist.

The week that followed the video’s release, Freddie, John, and Julian thought of ways to use this to his
advantage. If was the pre-forensic era, they would have opted for hiring a killer to take care of Kennedy.
Life would have been easier. The only other logical option was an arranged marriage. Even Julian himself
couldn’t deny this felt like the only alternative.

The next plan of action was selecting a suitable bride. Hopefully one from a respectable family. It has to
be coded enough not catch the eyes of a story hungry reporter.

Finally they stumbled across the perfect candidate for the job. Serena Vans. Freddie had known her for a
good part of his life.

Her family was well known for making Minks and owning a few refineries. According to Freddie, she
would love the idea and when he called her over the phone to give her a little nibble of the information,
she had been interested.

Julian had told John to get a man that had no connection to him. A man that would travel to Spain to get
this new bride of his. They would let the public feel like it had been a long distance relationship for a
while till she finally comes over to stay with the man of her dreams.

It was the perfect plan. The best they could come up with given the urgency of the matter. Everything
had been going smooth so far. Everything had been going perfectly well until Lola had hit the man they
had sent to accomplish the most important task in the world.

The three men had been in Julian’s study waiting for word of Floyd’s arrival and eventual success getting
Serena to the States. They had waited longer than expected. Julian had started pacing the big room
dominated by exotic books hen the call came in. the first thing he noticed was the change in John’s
expression. He knew instantly something had gone wrong. The call cut and John had told him to relax,
he would handle it. With John gone, Freddie had distracted the erratic man with different topics.
Meanwhile, John had arrived at the hospital. He had noticed the woman responsible for the inevitable
ruin of their plan as gorgeous. Thinking fast, John had discovered an alternative. One that was even
better than their initial plan. He had roped the scared girl in and she had agreed.

On returning, he encountered some difficulty getting Julian to see the beauty of this new plan. Even
Freddie thought the idea was perfect. Freddie had laughed at the way it all felt so unreal. To him, the
new girl had a lot of guts accepting such a bizzare deal from a stranger in crème suit she knew nothing
about but he and John agreed she didn’t have much of a choice left given the circumstance and neither
did Julian at that very moment.

The next day, John had gone early to fetch the girl. Freddie had to meet up with one of his girlfriends.
Julian was left alone with his thoughts. He had lost his parents at a very young age. The killer had run
away and was never found. He hated the idea he was about to get married to a woman that almost
killed a person. The man John had sent for the job could die that very minute. He didn’t like the idea of
marrying her one bit. John had been sure he would like her even though he was aware Julian had never
been able to give any woman love.

The women that had come into his life all wanted different things from him. Some a taste of wealth.
Some, more than a taste. Some wanted sex. Some wanted the publicity. Love was an abstract idea to the
man. He was handsome in every way. Charming any girl of his choice was no problem but he never had
the desire for such.

In his world, his work was everything.

Julian Eldeman owned one of the largest Campaign managing company. Politicians knew him and they
accepted him into their circle. His shipping company grew too because of his political ties. During the
death of his parents, the campaign managing company was just a dream. Now he had fully accomplished
that dream.

As he sat in the bar he had picked for the meeting, Julian had been fighting the desire to get up and
leave. He cursed the day he had gone to congratulate Herman. Running for office had given his enemies
the perfect opportunity to strike and he was sure they’d do it again very soon. He was damn sure.

The first thing he noticed when John and the girl walked in was the faint scent of lavender. Something
that reminded him of a variety of fruits. Her hair looked like the coat of a grizzly bear but she had
enough sense to pack it into a ponytail. She looked nervous and stared at him waiting for him to say
something or smile. He did neither of those things. He just watched her. Suddenly he turned his
attention to John, his face showing his disgust and disappointment.

Finally he spoke. “Is this the thing you brought? This ‘thing’.”

The girl’s face burned red. She looked like she was about to hit him. Or worse, stab him.