***
“Harris Rhinehart? The only good thing about him is how good he looks despite his age. Other than that he’s a slave driver who I've imagined killing in a few hundred different ways.” – Jennifer Holt, Harris Rhinehart’s ex-secretary.
***
“Leona, if you didn’t want to spend your allowance and wanted a diamond ring, you could have just asked me, why resort to stealing?”
“Uncle Harris, are you really suspecting me of stealing right now?” I cry out, appalled that my own uncle is doubting my innocence. He shrugs unapologetically.
“Well, you’ve been through a lot. It might have affected you somehow to think of stealing as a stress reliever? I’ve heard of daughters of rich parents shoplifting because they were craving attention.” And look. He even tries to justify himself.
“Shoplifting and organized burglaries or heists are not the same thing! And me? Craving attention? When have I ever suffered from lack of attention? You have people spying—SPYING on me. You think I want that kind of attention??” Spying is the only way I can explain his presence here in Japan right now.
“Spying? I would never stoop so low. What do you think of your uncle?”
“I could say the same to you! What do you think of your niece?”
“Fine, fine, I believe you. You didn’t steal. Not even for the fun of it.” he sighs, exasperated. “But can you please explain this to me? Why on earth are you being suspected of stealing a diamond ring? Shareholders are paying extra attention to any mistakes from you. Did you forget about how detrimental a bad image from you, the biggest shareholder, can be? Those cousins of yours are praying that you’ll mess up somehow! How did you get yourself involved in this mess?”
The company is privately held and shares are divided amongst the family. Bearing in mind that my father was the 4th generation successor, there are quite a few second and third cousins still holding onto some shares who would love to kick me off the picture. Although I would happily give up the seat of the successor, family traditions and rules and first cousins and uncles won’t let me off so easily. Oh there's also Dad's will, so you know..
I glare at his angry, disapproving look. “Don’t act like you don’t already know.”
“Fine. I’ve had my secretary investigate it. But I still don’t understand how this can happen. I mean, getting arrested wasn’t enough, you had to beat up the policemen as well? Do you not think that your image affects the image of all Rhinehart branches across the world? How can you get into such idiotic messes? Do you purposely do these things to yourself?” he asks, his face showing a mix of incredulity and fury.
“Do you think I would purposely do this to myself? The police were acting all scary! I thought they’d kidnap me or something! Is a girl not allowed to defend herself? And how was I supposed to know some other redhead would go stealing on the day that I’d go shopping there? I mean, that’s the stupidest way of identification! By my hair! Don’t just blame me! Blame the police's incompetency instead!” I shout indignantly.
He sighs again and pinches the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes in supressed anger. “You didn’t disclose to anyone you were vacationing in Japan did you?” he watches me with suspicious eyes.
“I’m not new at this stuff you know.” I spit back.
“Not even to your friends?”
“I’ve mentioned to them at I’d be somewhere in East Asia, but how would they know I’d be in Japan and at that store during that specific time, when I’d only decided to go there yesterday on a whim? So don’t even suggest conspiracies.”
YOU ARE READING
Running into her
General Fiction"I just want to see if this will teach me how to feel again. And since you seem to want to die anyhow, will you please let me kill you?” Dubbed as the Walking Disaster Magnet, Leonara Rhinehart, the Rhinehart conglomerate's sole heir, only goes to T...
