1 Illusion

Jenna's POV

I was in my friends' apartment with a large suitcase and two small bags as she was kind enough allowing me to move in soon after my brother's death. I was jobless and I've been so since I was 16 years old. My only job was as a waitress for a couple of weeks before I stole some money from the cash register to pay my brother's debt at the casino, since then I perfected myself into becoming more than just a petty thief, I learned how to manipulate, cheat and deceive to get what I want. My life was an emotional Rolle coaster after he died one week ago from cancer and, with the few money left from our parents, I had to give him a proper burial; he was a bastard but he was my bastard and even with his gambling problem, we managed to survive together. Now that I lost the only person who was my family, I turned to my friend for help in hope she would let me stay at least a month in her apartment until I could find a job.

"Jenna, you can stay as long as you want here" she said compassionately, touching my right shoulder in a gesture of sympathy. I knew she was just telling that to make me feel better and I was aware that deep inside she wished I would move out as soon as possible but I appreciated the effort of her trying to boost my moral.

"Thanks, Tania! I appreciate it!" I said forcing a smile. I carried my luggage to a dull room with a small bed, a black wardrobe and a nightstand on the right side of the bed. As I was arranging my things, my mind was filled with thoughts of how to procure enough money to get me out of the country and help me survive for a couple of years, maybe even start a small business but I startled when I heard a knock on the door:

"Do you want to eat?" she asked me.

"You don't even need to ask...I'm famished!" I left the rest of the clothes on the bed and went to the kitchen where she was waiting for me with some sandwiches. Tanya was a good friend, but not a bestie. I could not say that we had much in common except for the fact that we both knew how to party. She was a petite girl with blue eyes and medium blond hair, a little chubby and a total gold digger. I felt good in her company though, and I was able to act natural without being judged for who I am... we all have flaws but and I was no different from the rest of the world, especially when I got drunk and did a little pickpocketing here and there to keep the party going. My thoughts were interrupted by Tania:

"Girl, tonight we're going to party!!" saying that she took from the kitchen cabinet a bottle of tequila and waved it to my face.

"Tanya, I'm not in the mood tonight. I have a lot on my mind...maybe some other time."

"No no no..." she said pouting." We have guests coming over later on" she added with a smile. I knew who the guests were, some superficial stuck up bitches with bad sense of humor and fashion.

"Let me guess...Christine, Sasha and Clarisa" I said smiling ironically at her.

"Jenna, don't be crazy, they are nice girls. I mean Christine just broke up with her boyfriend and she has this mole on the left side of her arm..." Jesssuuss!!!My head is spinning right now from so much unnecessary information. Her mouth is like a water tap that keeps spiling and spiling information which I don't want to hear...wait what?

"...and there's some rich guys coming to pick us up later on. She hooked them up from a sugar daddy app.". That's interesting...

"Rich guys you say?" I asked waiting for the confirmation.

"They are loaded! I heard one of them has a house in Bali, he doesn't even stay there, it's more like a resort than a house." That suddenly gave me an idea.

"And what's the name of the app?"

"Jenna, girl I didn't know you're into rich guys. I didn't even know you're into guys. I thought for a while you were a lesbian." she said laughing but I thrown her a frowned look which made her smirk fade" ...but of course I don't judge. Whatever makes you happy girl. The name of the app is 'SuggarForYou'" she said while opening the tequila bottle to smell the content inside. Tanya inhaled deeply and then passed me the bottle.

"What do you want me to do with it?" I asked puzzled.

"Smell it, Jenna. It smells like party and sex." I rolled my eyes and took another bite from my sandwich watching Tanya shaking her ass all over the kitchen.

After five minutes I was done so I went back to my room to finish organising the rest of my stuff. I was very tired and emotionally exhausted as the last few weeks were excruciating. Soon I went to sleep but I was woken up by a knock on the door and three soprano voices which scratched my ears:

"Girls, you're here! It's so good to see you again!" I heard Tanya saying excited and loud. I heard kisses and heels moving all over the place.

"Hey girl, did you miss us? Are you ready to party hard tonight?" another asked on the same tone.

"Oh, you read my mind...we're keeping this for later when the guys show up." another suggested thrilled by what other girl showed her. I realised in that moment I could not sleep anymore so I woke up and started preparing for tonight. After a while, Tanya knocks at my door and shouts from the other side:

"Sweetie, you need to get ready cause we're getting drunk as fuck soon." she said amused by what the other girls were doing.

"I'll be out in five minutes." I said monotonously.

I quickly grabbed a fit red dress from the closet which had a generous cleavage and accentuated my slim waist and a pair of black high heels that would make me look taller since I was 5.4 feet which was not too small but not even close to my desired height. I let my long curly hair down and applied some red lipstick and an eyeliner to look like I give a fuck about my appearance. Ready to go and meet the girls, I got to the door but remembered swiftly that I forgot to apply foundation. After a second thought I said "fuck it!" as my face skin was without imperfections and I stepped to the living room where the girls were already drinking like they were part of a marathon.

"Jesus, slow down!" I said to one of them who chocked from a tequila shot.

"Noo..." the girl said looking at me judgmentally. "You can't go out like this" saying that she moved her index finger up and down to my direction.

"What are you talking about?" another said moving towards me. "This..." and saying that she made the same gesture as the previous one "this is hot, but this" and she pointed to my face "this needs work.". When I heard that, my initial plan was to burn the bitches to the ground and bounce but I slowly gathered my patience and waited for them to finish their shit eating contest. It was going to be a long night.

Henry's POV

When I got to the office, my P.A., Kim was waiting for me in the hallway with a stack of papers.

"Mr. Strauss, these are the new contracts you will have to sign and also your mother called to remind you she will arrive for lunch."

"Thank you, Kim." I grabbed the contracts and analysed her generous cleavage that showed a pair of big tits which suddenly opened my sex appetite. She was a tall slim redhead with long legs and green eyes that would easily go for a professional model. I sensed she was practically inviting me to fuck her since our little escapade during my last business trip when we both got drunk and she sucked my cock all night blaming it on the alcohol the following morning.

"Kim, go freshen up and I'll wait for you in my office in half an hour."

"Yes, sir." I watched her leave with a smile on her face and I thought to myself "What a stupid bitch...".

After my encounter with Kim and a few hours looking over the new contracts, I received a phone call from one of my old friends, Mark who was excited for our meeting tonight after two years since we last saw each other. He was my best friend as well, from humble origins but with a golden heart and also one of my business partners to the first company I established 12 years ago. He moved to France shortly after I got the CEO position to my father's company and he took charge in expanding "Treesence" in Europe. He was capable of promoting even rotten tomatoes so his success was soon to be noticed as, after three years, "Treesense" was one of the most successful jewellery company in both USA and Europe.

Henry's POV

"Hi Harry! I just got home from the flight, what plans do you have for tonight?" he asked excited.

"Why? Do you have any ideas?" I was certain he already planned something and it usually involved alcohol and plenty of sex.

"I got in touch with a girl man, she's on this app for sugar daddies..." I didn't wait for him to finish his idea because I knew exactly what his plan was.

"No, Mark, I'm not going to pay for sex or waste time with crazy women from a dating app." I said coldly.

"Harry you don't have to pay for sex, I am". I burst in a laugh as I heard my friend 's idea of paying for sex with some random girls.

"In my case, they will have to pay me only to have the chance to breathe the air around me." I knew I was an asshole and sometimes I treated women with disrespect but that was only because usually they came to me and not the other way around. They were like flies attracted by honey and it was hard to dispose of them after I got bored as some were quite persistent in their intentions to have a place by my side and in my bed, hence my rude attitude. After a couple of seconds thinking about Mark's stupid idea, I answered with resignation:

"Sure, let's do it...if they will bore us we can get them drunk and leave them somewhere populated...maybe some guys will get lucky" and we both laughed at my bad joke.

"I knew you'll back me up man. I'll come and pick you up tonight! See you soon!".

"Sure" I said and hanged up.

I was a workaholic most of the days as I ran a successful IT company and the thought of disappointing my father's expectations, even after he passed away was haunting me. My mother was a pain in my ass, constantly fixated on the idea that someday I have to get married and she persistently found new ways of tying me up with her friends' daughters but failed miserably as every time it ended badly.

"Harry, you have to wake up from your bachelor fantasy and become a man." she said annoyed taking a mouthful of salad and pointing the fork at me. I guessed she was probably upset from the most recent date I had with Lucille, the daughter of her friend, which posed as the most innocent and genuine woman in front of her mother, but a real stuck-up bitch when she was not around. And yes, I sort of gave her a lesson she would remember for the rest of her life when I fucked her for hours in a five star hotel and the second day, I left her stranding with a generous bill she had to pay and my ass nowhere to be found.

"Mom, I am 32 years old. I don't understand why we keep having this discussion.��� I was annoyed by the subject that dated since my father was alive.

"Because you don't get any younger. My friends already have grandchildren, I go to them every day and..."

"And what mother? Everything has to be about you. Do you think about me and what I want?" I said repulsed by her lack of understanding. She didn't know me as she never bothered to find out what I really want or what I would enjoy talking about. Being an old-fashioned woman with outdated beliefs and a bad habit of caring what people think, she always decided for me until I reached puberty...that was a real challenge for her. Learning how to disobey her choices and defy her authority, I soon ended up becoming the pariah of my family which was interesting giving how dysfunctional it was.

"But do you think what people are talking behind my back? Maddy won't even talk to me anymore after how you treated her daughter. You took her to a hotel?" she yelled, her face turning red and her lips shaking furiously. I watched her amused as I always did every time she snapped at me, thinking that someday she will learn her lesson, but that day never came...I was hopeful though. And as she was saying...

"Why would you take a girl like Mel to a hotel? She is an angel and you received a better education than that".

"And she sucks the dick like one..." I was about to say but then I remember that, even though she was not the best mother in the world, she was still my mother so I granted her the respect she deserved.

"How much did she pay?" I asked amused guessing her friend mentioned about the impressive bill for the room.

"What do you mean?" she said frowning her eyebrows. Suddenly her eyes were wide open, looking like two ping pong balls ready to pop." You paid her for sex?". I started laughing frenetically..." Jesus..." I thought to myself," ...she always understood everything backwards.".

"No mom, you don't understand..." but I didn't even have the chance to finish my phrase as I felt a hand slapping my right cheek and then another one with a fraction of a second difference the other one. It was painful as fuck, not emotionally, but physically. I guess old habits die hard...I rubbed my cheeks to get rid of the stingy sensation and I watched the furious woman grabbing her coat and leaving my office before I had the chance to justify my behaviour towards the so called "innocent" girl.

I got home at 6:00 PM after a hard day of work and I released my frustration at the gym for about 2 hours when I got a message from my friend Mark:

"I'll come to pick you up in an hour and then we're going to meet the girls." I was not excited for tonight but as I thought shrinking the plans with Mark, I remembered that tonight was either this or a cold meal followed by a good sleep.

"Sure" I texted.

I took a hot shower and changed to a simple black t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans when I heard the door bell ringing. I went outside to find Mark dressed in a black suit, elegant compared to my casual outfit.

"I won't go back and change" I mentioned briefly while hugging him.

"You don't have to" he said smiling at me and we both got into his limo. We were very happy to see each other and our entire trip we spent discussing about our business and personal lives. Finally, we got to a building in the suburbs and spotted four girls smiling and waving, dressed in short skirts and half drunk. I analysed each of them briefly when I spotted a fifth one with long curly hair, apparently irritated by someone or something as she was walking agitated from left to right and stopped from time to time, holding her hands to her chest and adopting a killer look while arguing with the others. The limo driver stopped the car right next to them and opened the door for the "princesses" to get in. After the forth one got in, she made a sign to the fifth girl to follow them. I was approached by one of them as she sat next to me. She was blonde, chubby and the opposite prospect of the girl I would have in my bed:

"Hi! I'm Tania! Mark told me..." but when she was about to finish her idea, we all heard someone falling so I turned my head curiously to see the girl we were all waiting for picking up her purse from the ground and rising up visibly affected by the fall as she was rubbing her ass with an upset grimace. "What a clumsy bitch" I thought to myself as I watched her face turning red when she faced me. After she got in, the girl sat in front of me so I took a moment to analyse her features starting from her legs to her face, concluding she was not the most beautiful woman I've ever seen but certainty she was the most intriguing one from that flock of gold diggers. She was athletic with small breasts and fit body, her big brown eyes met mine and she blushed even more, frowning her eyebrows as a little child that got upset over a stolen candy. I found that cute so I stretched my hand to introduce myself.

"Hello beautiful, I'm Harry!" I said waiting for her to make a move. When she extended her hand, I grabbed it and pulled her in my lap." ...and tonight, we're going to have fun together." She pulled it quickly like she just got burned, looking at me puzzled and I watched her reaction amused when all of a sudden, I felt a slap on my left cheek which was even stingier that my mothers' and an angry high pitch voice in my ear:

"Fuck off, you idiot!". Out of nowhere she got up, but not before punching me in the left shoulder as well and destroying the last shred of tolerance I had for despiteful and sadistic women like her.

"I have to teach this bitch a lesson..." I thought to myself as I watched her moving back to her seat.