The Beautiful Billionaire

LINDEN “You can’t pay me to shut up. Look at me. I’m ugly because of that stupid lipstick and low-quality mascara.” Tatiana kept crying. Her lips were still swollen, but they healed a little, not the same as in her second video.

“Even for one hundred thousand dollars?”

I wanted to roll my eyes at Sax’s ridiculous offer. I knew he just wanted to get her reaction. Right now, I could feel Sax grinning deep inside as Tatiana stopped crying. Her unaffected eye widened a little.

“How much do you earn in each video? Does it depend on the views?”

“Ma’am, I’m sorry for what you went through. Is there anything we can do for you?” I asked politely.

“Who are you again?”

“I’m Gabe Linden. I’m here to find out what happened. As you know, you have everyone’s sympathy, including me.”

She grabbed her phone and typed something while I waited for her reply. “You, son of a bitch. You are Estelle’s husband. Estelle’s low-quality product almost killed me.”

I ignored her outburst. That was acceptable, considering what she’d endured with the allergic reaction. I remained calm. “I didn’t come here as Estelle’s husband. I came here to know the truth.”

“Do you think I planned this?” She pointed at her face. Yeah, maybe. That’s why I am here to find out. “To ruin Star Cosmetics.” That idea was my first thought. “Then what? What do I earn in return?”

“We would like to see and examine the products, the same products you used.”

“No. I’m filing a complaint against Star Cosmetics. I know my fans believed me. They saw the whole video. It now has more than ten million views and hundreds of thousands of comments and shares. Your wife’s company will go down the sink.”

“I won’t stop you. That’s your right.”

“We can also countersue you with fifty million dollar damages if we find your claim false. You’ve used the old products, and nothing happened to you. Doesn’t the product use the same ingredients?” Sax had a point.

“So, I did this to myself to gain followers? To gain likes-”

“To earn and gain attention. Yes.” Sax was right, but he was making the situation worse. “Why else would you waste your time?”

I glared at Sax. I knew he was forced to be with me because I hadn’t apologized and told him what Moses and I talked about. I was trying to sort it out and not escalate, but he was doing the opposite.

“It’s an honest review, mister, and I’m making an honest living not to destroy a company’s image. It just happened her products were not what she advertised. They’re below average, good-for-nothing, and she’s greedy, taking all the money for herself.” She stole a glance at me.

“That contradicts what you said on your video before that happened to you.” Sax finally had a point. “And you said what you’re doing is giving an honest review.”

“I wouldn’t lie to my followers. They depend on my reviews, and not everybody can afford top beauty brands, so they watch my videos. Now that they see what happened, nobody will buy Star products anymore, including her activewear, because they suck.”

“We want to take a small sample of your lipstick and mascara.”

“No. I want an expert. Bring the cops if you wish, but you. You will not give a fair report.”

“I was not going to do it myself, Ms. Golds. I was hoping to find the FDA at Star LLC. As of this moment, the Star Legal team is conducting a meeting for lawsuits of the damages, and my company will be involved with FDA for the investigations. We will also find out where you purchase the products. We will find out if you are allergic to any food or allergen. It’s only a matter of time. If you cooperate, maybe we can settle things out, and you will be well-compensated.”

“You can’t scare me. You can’t bribe me. I’m the victim here.”

“I know.” I subtly nodded. “Where did you buy the products?”

“Get out of my apartment, Mr. Linden. Good luck to you and your wife in finding new investors.”

My brow arched. “What made you say that?”

She rolled an eye since her right eye had a patch on. “Duh. Everyone will back out. No one will buy her merchandise, even if she donates them. No one would use it because that’s how poor the ingredients she used were. She did not even apologize.”

“So you want her to apologize?” Sax asked her.

“That’s the common courtesy when she makes mistakes for making everyone believe her products are safe.”

“Thank you for your time, Ms. Golds. Here’s my card. Call me if you need anything.”

“I won’t need you.” She narrowed an eye at me.

Once we were in the car, I looked at Sax. “You’re reckless. You almost blew my inquisition.”

“But I didn’t.”

“I know you’re mad at me. If you’re waiting for my apology, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Of course, boss.”

I sighed exasperatingly. “Don’t do this. I have a lot of things on my plate right now.”

“I’m just doing my job, boss,” he replied nonchalantly.

“Jesus Christ, Sax. We’ve been best friends for years. Can I still trust you to have my back?”

“My job, man.” He shrugged, and nothing could budge him, even if it pissed me off.

“Stop fucking with me. I know why you’re mad at me. I wish you could trust me that the reason why I am doing what I’m doing is for everyone’s good. I would never hide anything from all of you if not our safety is involved.”

“Even my life is at stake?” He snapped his head at me, shooting me a glare. “Do you think I don’t deserve to know?”

“If you know it, I just risk your life.”

“Are we still talking about what happened last week or something else?”

“Everything. You can be pissed at me, but I need you to trust me on this.”

“Fuck you. I’m done with your bullshit.”

As soon as the car parked in front of Star Building, he opened the door. “I quit. Good luck, Linden.”

Unblinking, I stared at my brother, who just gave up on me, got out of the car, and walked out. Just like that, because I was protecting him. Unbelievable.

I found my wife in her office, her hand under her chin, her other hand on the mouse as she scrolled through the iPad.

“What did I tell you?”

She barely looked at me. “Hey.”

“Estelle, turn that thing off, please?” She’d been obsessed with reading comments and watching videos about her products. She barely slept and ate. I knew how she felt. It’s her company, and her reputation was on the line. And if there were a bad review from a good source, everything would fall apart like a domino effect. Her company, her life’s work would be over.

“Shut up.”

“This is not your fault.” I came behind to massage her shoulders. “We’re still looking at all angles to find out what really happened.”

“Then what happened, baby? I’ve tested the product myself. I didn’t get the same reaction as hers. We have different bodies and will not get the same result, but it doesn’t add up.” She paused and stood up. “Come with me.”

“Yes, boss.” I opened the door for her.

She glared before she went out. She took me to her staff. From the stairs, she called out, “Hey guys, may I have your attention, please?”

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

“I need two of you to bring me one box of liquid lipstick the same color as Tatiana used and Starlash, please?”

“I’ll go, Estelle, Mrs. Linden,” The guy volunteered.

“I’ll go with him,” said the young woman.

“Thanks. We’ll wait for them to come back with the products.”

A few minutes later, they came with two boxes.

“Please take one each. One lipstick and one mascara.” When at least twenty of them had two products each, Estelle continued, “Open them and start with the lipstick. I’ll tell you later what this is all about.” She observed, and I did the same.

“At least tell me what you are doing,” I whispered to her.

“Later. Okay, guys. Open the mascara.”

They did as she asked.

“Use the lipstick, please?”

They used the product without hesitation, except for the two people.

Estelle went to the first two staff who hesitated. “Why did you not use it?”

“I’m afraid I will get the same-”

“As what happened to Tatiana? What made you think the lipstick would give you an allergic reaction?”

“I don’t know.”

“How about you?” Estelle asked the next lady.

“I wanna see first if they get what Tatiana got.”

“Why?”

“I’m more curious than scared of getting an allergic reaction. I have the free products at home. I’m using it right now.” She showed Estelle her lips.

“Oh. So you still used it even if you watched what happened to Tatiana?”

“She could easily tamper it with, changed the lipstick with another. Considering how she opened the box, I couldn’t see the seal. Also, maybe she hates Star and wants to destroy the brand’s good name. I don’t know, Estelle, but I trust your company that you do not intend to harm consumers.”

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“How about you guys? Why didn’t you hesitate?”

“Same as hers. We actually love the lipstick. I didn’t use it right now, but we are using the free products you gave us,” said the one in front.

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t trust you, the scientists, the CEO, and Mrs. Linden,” the guy in the pink shirt said. Without a doubt, he was gay.

“Thank you, guys. Those are gifts.”

“So you wanna know if they still trust you?” I followed her back to her office.

“Yeah. I monitored the comments because I wanted to know if someone got the same reaction. That’s why I didn’t listen to you.”

Impressed, I smiled. “What did you find out so far?”

“None. I’m waiting for the FDA to arrive and confiscate my products. It’s kind of disappointing.”

“Your confidence is admirable. I saw your post.” She still posted a short video about the viral videos.

“I still received mixed reactions.”

“You can’t please and convince anyone. There are still haters out there even if you don’t do anything bad.”

“Enough that my staff still trusts us.”

I kissed her head. “You’re the best boss, you know.”

She sighed. “Mom is giving a statement right now. I told her not to follow the PR. Just say what she wants to say.”

“Good advice.” I sighed as I sat across hers.

“What’s wrong?”

I turned to her and smiled. “What made you think there’s something wrong?”

“Baby, I know you. Even before you come, I know.”

“Before I come?” My brow arched, amused.

“Before you will have your orgasm.”

I barked out, laughing. “So there’s no way I can fake it?”

“Sorry. You can’t. Now tell me, what’s wrong?”

“Sax quit.”

“What?” She was shocked. So did I. “Why?”

“I haven’t apologized. I haven’t told him about my plans and what happened out there.”

“But we already talked about it, Gabriel Rembrandt.” She looked disappointed. I expected nothing from her.

“I’m protecting him, okay? And if he still trusts me, he shouldn’t insist.”

“Even about Skyla? You know he’s interested in her. He needs to know.”

“Is he?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

“Then he’s planning on something if he’s so adamant to know.”Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“He’s your brother. You can’t keep the truth from him. Tell him before you completely lose another brother, baby. Please?”