Harper's POV

That night I couldn't sleep , for one of the first times in my 18 years on this planet I was terrified. Someone knew about my job in Opal , even though I'd tried my hardest to make sure my job stayed a secret , someone had found out. I'd thought about texting Angelo and telling him what had happened but I couldn't bring myself to do it , not when he was in an important business meeting , I might have been scared but I wasn't selfish. I'd deal with this on my own until he picks me up in the morning , I wasn't going to bend to the threat from whoever sent me the text message , I wasn't weak. My life had thrown bigger curve balls at me than this , and if this person expected me to submit to a threat they had no idea who they were messing with because there was no way over my dead body that I'd let Angelo go , not after last night. I was going to fight this and I was going to win.

When my alarm went off in the morning, instead of feeling scared, I felt empowered. After I had showered I put on my best work outfit, a ruffled white blouse and a black pencil skirt paired with my black Louis Vuitton peep-toe heels and with some light make up on I were ready to concur the world. At 8:30 am precisely the familiar black limo pulled up outside the house. Shouting a quick goodbye nan, I picked up my phone and bag and made my way out to the car.

Climbing into the back of the limo I immediately chucked my phone to Angelo , "We have a problem." I stated as I made myself as comfortable as possible in my seat. The car was healthy quiet , you could've heard a pin drop. I looked over at Angelo and his face was void of any emotion but I knew just simmering under the surface there was raw anger , the way his usual light blue eyes darkened was a clear indicator on how he was currently feeling even though he hadn't spoken two words to me since I slid into the car. 

"Are you okay?" His voice was icy cold , I knew he was having a hard time controlling his anger. Grabbing his clenched fist I managed to pry it open and slip my hand in , "I'm fine , it's nothing we can't handle. Everything's going to be fine." My voice was strong , filled with confidence but a little part of me was freaking out because someone somewhere knew my secret.

The car was quiet for the duration of the journey , I could tell that every cog in Angelo's mind was working at full capacity to solve the text message mystery , then it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks , the thought made me want to slap myself for not thinking of it earlier. "Jessica" I blurted out into the silent car. If there was ever a time to see rage consume a person it was now , the muscle in Angelo's jaw was ticking and I was fearful that his teeth would crumble if he clenched his jaw any tighter. " I thought she'd be smart enough to stay away but clearly not."

The rage was evident in his voice and the way he ran his fingers through his hair. " I know some people that can tell me where the text came from, but they'll need your phone, is that okay?" His voice and features had softened when he turned to face me.

" Of course it's fine , what are we going to do if it's her?" I had never been a violent person, but I couldn't say I'd feel bad if I accidentally happened to slap the little troll.

" Were not going to give her what she wants if she wants to play dirty, we can do the same. She's not going to win this one." I could see the fear in his eyes; he was scared that I was going to run and that the fear of having my secret told to the whole town would make me run.

But what he didn't realise was that I was a much stronger person now. I had an amazing job and now I had Angelo by my side , my life finally felt complete and there was nothing on this earth that could make me leave the man who was sat beside me.

After we got to work we parted ways , leaving for our allocated offices. I couldn't help feel a little disappointed , while I had a ridiculously quiet day it seemed Angelo had the complete opposite with his day being packed full of important meetings and conference calls , but he did reassure me that he would find some time to get my phone looked at to determine if the text was actually Jessica. 

A part of me hoped it was , so that at least I knew the person that was currently black mailing me. The problem was if it wasn't Jessica who else could it be?

I sat at my desk , twiddling my thumbs for most of the day. My mind shifting between trying to figure out how someone could've figured out about my job at Opal and what would I actually do if everybody found out. I knew I'd defend my position in my previous job till I was blue in the face , nothing I did while I was there made me feel like I was doing anything wrong or feel as if I was a 'whore' or 'slut', but its whether people would believe me over her.

 Because when the rumour mill kicks into gear its extremely difficult to stop it and that's what worried me the most , not being in control of what's going on in my own life.

At around lunch time I was practically a bundle of nerves , all of the little odd jobs I had to do were done. I'd even tidied up my office and I hated cleaning. As soon as the clock hit 12pm I almost burst through my office door. 

I needed to get out and decided that taking a trip to the deli would be a good idea , I was hungry and I wanted to distract myself so why not kill two birds with one stone? The weather was surprisingly warm for the end of January and I couldn't help let my mind drift to what me and Angelo would be doing this time next year , would we still be together ? Would I still be working for him ? There was an ocean of unanswered questions in my mind but I couldn't help but smile , even contemplating a future with Angelo was a new experience for me but one that felt natural and comfortable to me.

 I would never have imagined that my life could have changed so drastically in such a short period of time.

I was surprised to find Angelo pacing around my office when I came back from lunch , as soon as I walked through the doorway I was bundled up in his arms. His lips met mine and a sense of panic and urgency filled me , not because of my own feelings but because of his , he kissed me like I was air and he was suffocating.

 When we eventually pulled away I cupped his face in my Hands , " what was that all about? I was only gone for half an hour I can't believe you missed me that much." I chuckled

" I thought you'd run , I came in here and you were missing you didn't even tell me where you were going." His voice was full of anxiety , something I'd never witnessed before.

" Oh Angelo" I sighed and wrapped my arms around him " I went out to lunch I couldn't sit in here any longer. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going out , I didn't mean to make you worry." His response was an earth-shattering kiss , I'm sure if I wasn't wrapped up in his arms my legs would have buckled.

Any news on the text?" I asked as I settled down into my chair

" That's the reason I came in here; we found out who sent the text. It was Jessica." His voice was cold but laced with something dangerous.

" That fucking bitch , how could she even know about Opal ? The gentleman's club is a secret and not forgetting she's not a man , how could she have gotten past the bouncers at the door?" I was seething , my whole body felt like it was shaking , I'd be damned if I let knock off barbie ruin my life. I think it's time to bring the bitch down a few pegs.

" That's what I've been trying to figure out for most of the morning." I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes , I knew that Jack wouldn't betray me like this , he'd been nothing but good to me since I met him. The whole thing was confusing to say the least , that until a thought popped into my mind.

"What about her dad?"

" What about him?"

" I've never seen the man and I don't typically grill jack on who he does or doesn't give the little gold cards too , he could've easily gotten one and seen the both of us together. I'm more than certain if he'd seen us he'd have told Jessica and he could have taken that photo too , I don't doubt he ever says no to what his little girl wants. That's the only logical way this has happened , if I'm wrong that means Jack could possibly be involved and I don't even want to think about that".

" You might be on to something , pack your things you're staying at the penthouse tonight we've got some phone calls to make." I couldn't help but let the smile I was holding back appear on my face.

A few hours later, I found myself lounged out on Angelo's sofa in one of his shirts and much like last time full of food that we'd ordered from the restaurant. "Would you pass me my phone please Angelo, I'm going to ring Jack and see if Jessica's dad has one of the little gold cards."

I mouth a thank you as I pull up Jack's number from my contacts , I had my fingers crossed and hoped he'd be able to answer his phone. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard jacks voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Harp, what can I do for you?"

"Hey, can I ask you something? It's essential and I wouldn't ask you about this for any other reason."

" Sure , ask away."

" I need to do a name check on someone you might have given one of the little gold cards too."

" Why do you need to know what's happened?"

It took a few minutes to fill jack in on what had been happening over the last few days, and by the end of it, he was less than happy, mostly because I'd not informed him that I'd been threatened.

"Of course ill check the name for you Harp, I'll have to get back to you tomorrow morning things are manic tonight. Is that okay?"

" Yeah sure, Jack, thanks for all your help." And with that, the line went dead.

" It's just a waiting game now I guess to see if your little hunch was right." Angelo mumbled as he pulled me into his lap " let's forget about all of this for the rest of the night and watch a movie."

"Great idea" I answer as I wriggle around to find a comfy spot in his arms.

The last thing I remembered was laughing at an episode of family guy that was playing, and now somehow I was being carried into Angelo's bedroom, oops I must have fallen asleep. Before I could argue that I was more than capable of walking to bed myself, I was already drifting off to sleep again.

A/N

Just a quick Thankyou to all the people reading this story, day and night has now hit 500+ reads, and I couldn't be more grateful❤️ Thankyou so much to everyone who continues to read this book

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