You owe me.

Three words, from an unknown number. Three words that shouldn’t mean anything but give me a feeling of dread. I’ve been getting the same message every day since my wealth became public knowledge. I’ve already changed my number twice but somehow whoever is sending me the messages still manages to get hold of the new one. Now, I just ignore the messages when they come in. Lately, though, I’ve been getting calls from an unknown number. Under my security team’s advisement, I haven’t been answering and I delete the voicemails instead of listening to them.

To be honest, I’m afraid to listen. I’m not sure I want to hear what this unknown person has to say. The fact that this all started after my name and wealth became known to the public is a huge clue that I don’t want anything to do with the person trying to contact me. It’s obvious from their messages they think I owe them something and I don’t. I don’t owe anyone. Except Sheriff Johnson, but five years later and the man still refuses to let me pay him back. Despite the dark cloud of my unknown harasser hanging over my head, I can’t help feeling happy. Not only did I snag a date from the sexiest man I’ve ever seen, but I’m meeting my realtor to view the house I plan to buy. It’s the only house I want, so I’m taking the tour to see if there’s anything I want to change or anything that needs fixing before I put an offer on it.

I should be worried about dating one of my employees but I’m not. While I did come up with a fraternization policy, it isn’t in place to stop employees from dating each other, instead, it’s in place to make sure those relationships don’t affect their work in any way, whether it’s sneaking off for a quickie or trying to sabotage each other because of a break up. Personal stays personal, business stays business. We don’t bring personal into the workplace. Well, that’s the goal anyways.

As the SUV rolls to a stop, one of my security guys opens the door for me and I step out. The realtor is standing on the porch of the house, waiting for me. I didn’t see the point in hiring a driver since I had an entire security team. I just pay my two main bodyguards extra to drive me around. I do have a driver’s license and my own vehicle for when I want to go out on my own but at least one of my security guards follow behind me in another vehicle to keep an eye on things. After five years of this, I’ve gotten used to going to places on my own without really being alone. The only time I’m ever alone is when I’m at home.

Now, that I’m buying a house in the middle of the forest, I’ll have to up my security. One thing I do plan to add to the house is a panic room since the house itself is so far away from town. If there’s an intruder hiding in the panic room will give my team and the police time to arrive. I also plan to have the long driveway paved with heaters put in it, so it doesn’t get icy in the winter.

Climbing the stairs, I shake hands with the realtor who unlocks the front door and leads us inside. The house is everything I’ve ever dreamed of and I knew as soon as I saw the pictures of it online that I’d be buying it. It’s a bit expensive but worth it. The house itself is like a log cabin, but with one whole wall of windows that is mirrored so you can see out but now one can see in and sits on seventy acres of land that’s nothing but forest. In fact, it reminds me of the house from that sparkly vampire movie.

My dream home has always been a cabin in the woods with no one around. Living in a trailer park as a kid, with shitty neighbors, and then living in an apartment with paper thin walls clued me in to the fact that I never want to live in a place surrounded by people ever again. I’m also hoping that by buying a place so far out, I might catch another glimpse of the paranormal creatures who live in Rockydale as well as the local wildlife.

As the realtor leads us through the house, I hear my guards behind me discussing where to put cameras and whether or not to update the alarm system. Looking around, at the hardwood floors and the open layout of the house, I find myself picturing what it would be like to share this place with someone. Cooking meals together in the kitchen, watching movies in the living room, and maybe somewhere down the line, having a couple kids to fill the extra bedrooms. It’s a life I want, and when the tour comes to an end, I turn to the realtor and say, “I’ll take it. Tell the owners I’ll give them their asking price plus an extra million if we can close within the week. I’ll have a home inspector out here tomorrow to check over everything in case any repairs are needed, as well as an exterminator as a precaution.”

Then, I turn to my security guards as my realtor calls the other realtor who represents the owners, and say, “As soon as the papers are signed and I have the deed in hand, I want you to get a contractor in here to put a panic room in the back of the master closet, add heaters to the driveway and pave it, then do whatever security updates you need, before I order furniture and start moving in.”

Jesse one of my guards says, “I’ll make a few calls,” then pulls out his phone and walks off.

The realtor ends his call, and says, “I just had a conference call with the other realtor and the owners. They’ve accepted your offer and we can close within the week like you wanted.”

“Good. Have their agent send me an account number and I’ll wire the funds immediately. Then, let me know when the closing date will be.”

“We should be able to do it Friday as long as the money is in the seller’s account by then.”

“It will be.”

“I’ll call you with the exact time.”

“Great. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

When Jesse returns from making his phone calls, we exit the house, leaving the realtor to lock up. Jesse opens the SUV door for me, and I climb inside. As soon as Jesse and Dwayne get in, I grin and say, “Take me home, Jeeves.”

Jesse shakes his head but starts the car. I didn’t have any meetings scheduled for the afternoon because I wasn’t sure how long the meeting with the realtor would take. Which means, I have about six hours to kill before my date tonight. Looks like I’m going to spend the next five hours trying to beat that boss level I’m stuck on in that game I’ve been playing. Better set an alarm on my phone for six o clock so I’m not late. Actually, better make the alarm for five thirty so I can research the restaurant and decide whether or not to go in jeans and a t-shirt or to dress a bit nicer.

I remember the first time I walked into a menswear shop for a suit. Caleb decided to celebrate my getting my degree by helping me pick out a brand-new suit. Almost had a panic attack when I saw the price tag of the Armani jacket, he had me try on. Since then, I’ve gotten used to buying suits. Being CEO of my own company requires looking the part. In the five years during the resort’s construction, I started my own company. The future of said company rests on whether or not the current resort is a success. I’ll know within a year if it is or not.

If I make a sizable profit from it, then my company will open others like it in different cities around the world. If I didn’t have the help of Caleb and his brother Wyatt who owns a club in Venetian Hills, I never would’ve been able to get the investors needed to get my company off the ground. They even helped me with the hiring process and found me a great deal on office space in the city’s center for the company’s headquarters.

Resorts won’t be the only thing my company will build. I also have plans to open some regular hotels and motel chains as well as multiple low-income housing operations and more homeless shelters that will do the same thing my resort does if all goes according to plan. A lot of the shelters will be geared towards the LGBTQ community because I know I’m not the only person who was thrown out of their house for being who they are and after experiencing life on the streets, I want to make sure that other kids in the same situation never have to live that way. If I can also help other kids who are already on the streets get off them, then I’ll count that as a win.

As soon as we get to my apartment, I wait for Jesse and Dwayne to clear it before I head inside and change out of my suit. After setting my alarm, I plop down on the couch with a couple cans of my favorite soda and a bag of Doritos, ready to tackle the boss level on my game. When I was younger, I used to entertain the idea of maybe one day becoming a video game programmer because I loved games so much but that all changed when I was kicked out of the house. It’s crazy how different experiences can change the way someone thinks about things.

If this had been seven or eight years ago and someone asked me what I planned to do with my life, my answer would’ve been a lot different than what I’m doing now. While I still love video games and play them often, I no longer wish to program them. Instead, I want to help people, and if the money I won through the lottery can help me do that, then I’ll use every last penny of it.

“Die you slime ball piece of shit!!”

Hitting a button on the controller repeatedly, I keep firing my weapon until the boss finally keels over. I can’t count how many times the sucker has killed my character before I could finish him off. As the game automatically saves, I stretch and check my phone. Five minutes to go until my alarm is set to go off. Turning off the game console after it finishes saving, I open the clock app on my phone and turn off the alarm, before I click the internet app and search the restaurant.

After looking at the pictures, I head into my closet to choose my outfit, knowing my excitement will have me changing my mind quite a few times before I actually decide on something. I know it might seem odd for a guy to be so nervous about a date, they change their outfits multiple times, but this is my very first date ever and I want it to go well. I want Griffin to like me.

Not only is the man my every fantasy come to life, with that blonde hair, green eyes, muscular build, and five o’clock shadow, but when I saw him in the lobby having a panic attack, I felt this pull to go to him, to help him, and take care of him. It was a strange feeling, like someone pulled me to him. It sort of piqued my curiosity and I found myself agreeing to a date when I probably wouldn’t have done under different circumstances. I’ve never had time for dates, nor have I ever met anyone I was interested in enough to try and pursue something with until Griffin, that is. I don’t know what it is about him that’s drawing me in but I look forward to finding out.

Despite what happened to me at the hands of my mother’s boyfriend, I still consider myself to be a virgin because I’ve never done anything with a man willingly. It’s my hope, that sometime soon, after getting to know Griffin, he’ll be the first person I give myself to willingly. Only time will tell though, he could turn out to be a total asshole, but I won’t know until we go on a few dates together.