The Dark Stranger: A Sharon Brown Erotic Romance (2 page)

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Twenty five years later

The intercom buzzed loudly as Jake stepped into his office
, returning from a meeting with his executives. Slamming his coat against the chair, he picked up the phone.

“Mr.
Michelson, your mother is online.” His secretary informed him.

“Put her on.” He said.

“Hi, Mom.” He called out as soon as she was online.

“
How are you?” She said and without waiting for him to reply she went on,“I was going out for my afternoon tea, when are going to be home? We have to attend that birthday party at your aunt Nancy’s.” She said that all in one breath. Jake smiled into the receiver. His mother always got worked up about the smallest of things and it was up to him to work out things for her. He felt he was in the adult in their relationship and somehow, that worked fine for him.

“I will be there in time for the party, mom. Don’t worry.” He said.

“Okay. I’m running late with my tea party. Stay safe.”   Jake knew how his mother was. She was a whirlwind of activity, never at the same place for more than twenty minutes. She was happy go lucky and sometimes he felt that she was the child and he was the adult in their relationship but then he enjoyed the position he held in her life. She had sacrificed her life for him and he was forever indebted to her.His mother was all he had and he, in no way, was going to abandon her. When she had returned home, she had graduated from a local college with high honors and taken up writing as her job. Now, twenty five years later, she was a best-selling author.

Jake looked up from work at exactly ten minutes to five. He was going to be late if he did not
leave right now; therefore grabbing his jacket he was out of his office door in ten minutes. The United Group of Industries was the result of his hard work, determination and extra hours he spent planning to become what he was today. He knew what belonged to his grandfather would be his someday as his mother had never married but his grandfather’s attitude towards him had pushed him over the edge and made him what he was today. His eccentric grandfather had repeatedly verbally tortured him and abused him due to which resulted in Jake, as a young boy, he was an introvert, quiet, studious. He didn’t converse much with anyone except his mother, with whom he was quite close. Since the age of ten, he had vowed to work hard and make his mother proud, who had given up her life for his sake. He carried out his dreams while he was still in college and laid the foundations of the United Group of Industries. While others his age was having the time of their lives, Jake spent all extra time working hard to become what he was today and he was proud of what he had accomplished in such a short time.

He had worked hard, studied in one of the best universities in the state and
looked after his newborn company as well. He was proud of what he had accomplished and therefore, the first thing that he had done was show his success to his grandfather. But with his success and accomplishment came a rapid change in his attitude. Jake became a cynic, he didn’t believe in love as he already had an example, his mother, to look forand anything associated with it and moreover, he had no concept of what a family entailed. His idea of a family was the love that his mother showered on him. Therefore, over the time he changed into a hardworking businessman, who spent more time at his office than his home, although he was always available whenever his mother needed him. Life was going smoothly for him and he was happy with the way he was.

“Good evening, Mr. Michelson!” his secretary called out as he passed her desk. He nodded in acknowledgment and kept moving towards the elevators.
The employees of the United Group of Industries knew Jake to be quiet and personal as he didn’t converse much. Some feared his displeasure, some were just intimidated by him but he treated everyone cordially. He had only one friend, Gordon Blake. Gordon visited the office occasionally as Jake and he was doing a joint venture. Gordon was the jolly, friendly kind of person and all the females in the office mooned after him, but he was unaffected with such popularity.

Jake walked through the lobby, with his coat over his arm as he took his car keys from one of the valet at the entrance to his office building. He walked towards his car, parked at some distance from the entrance. His mind was lost in the ordeal he had to face tonight with his grandparents being there as well.
He was looking forward to meet his grandmother but he wished with all his might he didn’t come face to face with his grandfather. He was opening his car door when a screech behind him caught his attention. Turning around,he saw a female lying on the road, her body crumpled and blood was pooling beside her head and the car driver who had run her over revved the car and drove away. Jake ran over to her, shouting for a guard from inside the building.

The guard rushed out, holding a band aid box in his left hand. He gave Jake the box but she was bleeding incessantly.

“Do you think we should call an ambulance, sir?” the guard asked him, worriedly looking at the girl whose color was turning ashen gray due to loss of blood. Jake shook his head.

“The ambulance will take time to come and we can’t let that happen. She is losing too much blood. Help me get her to my car and I shall take her to the hospital.” He said.

The guard whistled and the two other guards came rushing towards them. There was a herd of onlookers collecting there. Jake, with the help of the guards laid her on the back seat of his car and drove towards the nearest hospital. He looked at her in the rearview mirror; she lay as still as death and he got more scared for her as the minutes flew by. Her face was slowly turning a weird shade of gray. Once at the hospital, he quickly got a doctor to treat her while he impatiently waited outside, completely worried at what had happened in the last few minutes.

His cell phone rang.

“Oh, shit!” He had forgotten about his mother and the birthday party. He was supposed to be there right now and his mother was waiting for him but telling her the predicament he was in was not the right decision at this time. He pressed the green button on his cell phone.

“Hi, mom! I’m stuck in some work, you go on I’ll join you as soon as I am free.” He said.

“Is everything alright, Jake? We had planned this party for weeks.” Sarah called back to him. 

“Everything is fine, mom.
I am in an urgent meeting right now. I’ll join you there in an hour.” He said, as the doctor walked out of the room. Pressing the red button on his cell phone, he stood up and walked towards the doctor.

“Evening, Mr. Michelson.” The doctor called out.

“Evening, doctor.” He called back. “How is she?”

“She is already on the road to recovery
but she lost a lot of blood due to the bruise on her head but she will be fine in a few days. Right now, what she needs is a good nap and then in a few days she’ll be good to go.” The doctor said. “There are no lasting injuries.”

“Thank goodness.” Jake said. “Can I see her for a moment?”

“Sure.” The doctor placed a hand on his shoulder as a gesture of sympathy.

Jake walked in the room and
looked at the patient in bed. She had a bandage around her head like a turban, her right arm was bandaged as well and it lay on her chest, as she slept peacefully. Her skin was pale and her long, curly lashes lay like fans on her creamy, satin cheeks. Her color was slowly returning in her face and the rosiness of her lips was quite evident. He could clearly make out her high cheekbones. Her hair was bound beneath the turban so he had no idea of the color of it but he believed it to be either brown or black, he wasn’t sure. She was slender in stature and looked quite peaceful sleeping. Jake closed the door behind him as he left.

He wrote his name and contact number on a piece of paper and left it with the nurse at the reception. When she saw his name, she positively beamed at him.

“Of course, I recognized you when you first came to the hospital, Mr. Michelson. You have been all over the newspapers and television for years. I will inform you when the lady wakes up.” She said. Jake nodded and left.

****
 

The clock chimed the hour of eleven. She opened her eyes with a start and wherever she
turned, she sawdarkness. She was in a darkened room but where? She did not remember. She turned around but her arm was bandaged and when she tried to get up, she hurt badly.

“Hello? Anybody there?” she called out, hoping someone would speak out to her. The door opened, the light switch was flipped on and
she took in her surroundings.

SHE WAS IN A HOSPITAL ROOM.

A nurse walked in, carrying a tray of medicines in her hand. She set them on the table and began checking her blood pressure.

“Why am I here?” she asked her.

“You had an accident, a severe one. You were unconscious and Mr. Michelson brought you here. He is overlooking your treatment as well.”

“Am I badly hurt?” she grimaced at the bandages on her body and the way she hurt when she moved.

“Badly.” The nurse said. She helped her eat some food, gave her the pain killers the doctor had prescribed for her.

“Who is Mr. Michelson?” she asked, completely confused.

“My, don’t you know him? Everyone does.” She said and left the room.

She lay back on the pillow, frustrated and angry. How had she come to be so much bruised? Why was she being kept here, in such an expensive hospital and a private room to boot? She had no answers to that. She had to wait for the morning to have answers to all these questions.
Having decided that, she closed her eyes and tried to remember.

All she remembered was that she had
visited the United Group of Industries building to meet up with a group of designers over her next production of clothing. She had quite beautiful designs to show and was quite sure that her proposal would be accepted. She had wanted a sponsorship from them, as they were the biggest sponsors to be known. She hadn’t met the CEO of the United Group of Industries but she had met the CEO of the design department, Mr. Benedict and she did not like him at all. She was quite distraught when her proposal was rejected. The last thing she remembered was that she was fishing for her cell phone in her bag to call her friend, Gary Wilde, while walking towards her car. She shivered at the thought of what had happened to her; therefore she snuggled deeper into the bed and was asleep within a second.

****
 

Jake sat between his mother and his grandfather, listening to the discussion they were having about the current affairs. His mind was
in the accident and the girl who was the victim of such brutality. His grandmother moved around his mother and sat adjacent to him.

“Jake, dear.”
She said, worry evident in her eyes. “Are you alright? You aren’t eating much.” She motioned to his plate, which was untouched.

“
Yes, I’m fine grandmamma.” He said, as he took a small bite out of the piece of cake and gave her a small smile. His grandmother smiled back. Sarah looked at him, over the rim of her cup, completely worried.

“How was everything?” Nancy asked, as she sat down beside Sarah.

“It was amazing, as always.” Sarah beamed back.

“Jake, did you like the cake?” Nancy asked, smiling at him.
“I made it for you; it used to be your favorite when you were just a baby.”

“Absolutely.” He said.

“My, I can’t believe it Sarah, Jake has grown up to be such a fine young man. I used to be worried about him all the time. I thought he was weaker for boys his age.” Nancy said. Sarah smiled.

“He has become a fine young man due to an impeccable education, money and looking after, which Sarah was incapable of giving him.” His grandfather put in. Jake exchanged a look with his mother, a look that said all that he could never say to her.
Before he could say anything, his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller, and then excusing himself from the group he left the room.

“Hello.” The call was from the hospital.

“Good evening, Mr. Michelson. The lady is awake and asking questions.” The nurse, he had left his number with told him.

“I’ll just be right there.” He said. Turning towards the room, he walked in purposefully.

“An urgent business came up, mother. I have to go.” He said.

“But it’s eleven in the evening. Why do you
have to work at this late hour?” she said.

“It’s urgent, mother. Don’t wait up for me I may get late.” He hugged and kissed her on her cheek, then kissed Nancy and his grandmother and left.

He drove to the hospital, his mind still on what his grandfather had said. Whatever success he had achieved, however hard he tried, his grandfather always made him feel the illegitimate child of a banker, who had no idea who he was. He had met is father, Liam Michelson, over many of the business dealings but never had he shown a single emotion to the man who was supposedly his father. He hated him from the bottom of his heart, as he hated his grandfather.