Insta Empire

"Ever since my Grandpa kicked me out of the Williams Family estate, I shut down. I had to numb myself in order to deal with the pain of losing everything. And sadly, I know that It's hurt my marriage with Lily and my career. But now that my investment with Orion has paid off, the tables have turned and I am ready to be the man who I used to be. First things first though, I need to find out just how rich I really am."

Kevin hurriedly pulled out his wallet and found his black card. It had been over two years since he had last touched his black card. To this day, his wife, Lily, still didn't even know that it existed…just like she didn't know a lot of other things about his past.

"I've got this," Kevin said as he turned the black card around and dialed the VIP number on the back. A sweet, supportive voice answered, "Hello, Mr. Williams. Welcome to the black card private VIP customer service. May I ask if you need any help?"

"Hello, I would like to check the balance of my account!" Kevin seemed very excited. His voice could not help but be a little louder than usual.

"Of course. Just one moment please." The customer service was quiet for a while. Then Kevin heard the soft voice again. "Hello, Mr. Williams. Are you still there?"

"I am. Would you, um, please be able to check my bank balance?"

"Mr. Williams, uh, I apologize, but the balance on your black card is unfortunately too big for me to handle over the phone. It appears that the digits are higher than our computer is able to process. In order to get your exact account balance, we would need you to come in person and meet with someone from our VIP office. Would that work for you?"

Kevin coughed, "I'm sorry did you say that my balance has more numbers than your computer can handle?"

"Yes, I didn't know that that was even possible. I have worked this job for over ten years and this is the first time that I have ever had this happen. Mr. Williams, I think it's safe to say that you are the richest man in Chicago."

After hanging up the phone, Kevin excitedly mouthed, "YES!"

Just then, he heard Rachel cackle from the other side of the door, "Lily, did you hear that? Your husband just called to check the bank balance! So pathetic."

Rolling his eyes, Kevin opened the door and ran up to Lily, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop earlier, but I heard you mention that your company urgently needs four million dollars or else it will go bankrupt. I can help you solve this problem."

Rachel burst into laughter, "You help Lily solve a problem? Ha! Kevin, I think you are crazy! She needs four million dollars – not four million IOUs. You have been living off your wife for the last two years, don't pretend like you're some big hero now. When in reality, you're just offering her empty promises. We all know that there is no way that you would ever be able to give her four million dollars."

"Oh? So, you don't believe me?" Kevin snapped back. After a long pause, Kevin turned to Rachel and smiled, "Remember this moment. Because it's going to feel really good for me to tell you 'I told you so'."

Lily shook her head, "I don't appreciate you both laughing at the fact that my company is about to go under. This isn't some competition between the two of you – these are people's lives that you're joking about. And it's my responsibility to save them. So Kevin, as much as I would love for you to pay the four million dollars, we both know that that's impossible since you haven't been able to hold down a permanent job since we got married. And Rachel, I love you, but you're not being helpful right now. I should go to bed. It's going to be a long, painful day tomorrow. I need to get some rest."

Without saying goodbye, Lily held back her exhausted tears as she went to the bedroom at the back of the house.

Kevin pursed his lips and replied, "Okay." Then he really shut up and walked away. That night, Kevin could tell that Lily wanted to be alone, so he slept on the couch hoping to give her space. As he lay on the couch, he couldn't stop thinking about the conversation that he had with his bank, "Am I really the richest person in Chicago? If that's true, then I can finally be the man that I was when I first met Lily. She has taken care of me these past few years and now it's my turn to take care of her. Things are going to be different from this moment forward. I'm going to build her an empire."

The following morning, Kevin woke to the sound of his mother-in-law, Dorothy, scoffing, "Of course you fell asleep on the couch. You probably were playing video games all night instead of finishing your chores. I don't know what my daughter sees in you."

Kevin quickly got off the couch, "No, that's not what happened. I actually slept out here because Lily –"

Dorothy interrupted, "Speaking of Lily – she should be on her way to work now."

"I'll go check on her."

"Great and can you tell her that I need her car to run some errands. So why don't you make yourself useful for once and drive your wife to work."

Biting his tongue, Kevin nodded, "But I don't have a car. I only have my old motor bike." "It'll have to do. What are you waiting for? Go get your wife!"

Kevin, paused, "Of course. I'll go get her now." Walking down the hallway, Kevin knocked on his bedroom door, "Lily, you up?"

Lily answered, "Yes, I'm running late though. I don't have time to talk, I need to head to work."

"That's what I wanted to tell you. Your mom is taking your car so I'm going to drive you to the office." Lily opened the door and Kevin felt his mouth literally drop when he saw her. Standing in a feminine take on a classic pinstriped business suit, Lily looked absolutely stunning. "You look beautiful," Kevin gasped.

Lily tucked her hair behind her ear, "Thank you. But can we continue this conversation in the car? I'm in a hurry."

"Of course, let's go!" Kevin replied.

Kevin helped lift Lily onto the back of his motorbike. Lily wrapped her arms around Kevin's waist as he thought to himself, "I love this feeling. From this moment forward, I am going to start steering our relationship. I am going to be the man who Lily wants me to be…the man that she deserves."

Stopping at a red light, Kevin turned around to find Lily biting her bottom lip. With a gentle sigh, Kevin asked, "How are you feeling? You look great, but I know you and you only bite your bottom lip when you're stressed."

Lily nodded, "You could say that I'm a little stressed. I checked the report this morning and it confirmed my worst nightmare. The company isn't going to get any external investor support which means that by the end of the week, we're going to officially declare bankruptcy. This morning, the major shareholders are holding a shareholders meeting. As the company's chairman, I have to be there. And to be honest, I just feel so terrible about all of the employees that are going to lose their jobs. It's all my fault."

"You weren't the one who made the mistake which caused this," Kevin replied.

"Yes, but I'm the chairman and as a boss, it is my job to hold myself accountable for everything that happens with the company." Lily stopped herself, "The light turned green.

"Would you mind gunning it? I'm already so late." Kevin nodded and sped forward.

Minutes later, they arrived at the company's entrance at a record time. Lily smiled as she let go of Kevin's waist, "I can't believe how fast you got me here. Maybe I should have let you drive me to works months ago."

Just as Kevin was about to respond, he was interrupted by the sound of a car parking next to them. Turning to their right, both Kevin and Lily saw a brand-new BMW I8 pull up beside Kevin's old motorbike. The door opened and a tall man in a tailored suit stepped out of the car.

"Hi Bradley," Lily politely smiled.

Ignoring Kevin's presence, Bradley stepped forward and hugged Lily, "Good morning Lil', it's so good to see you!" Bradley Smith then turned to Kevin and laughed, "Lily did you order the world's crappiest Uber or what? If you needed a ride, I could have driven you. That motorbike is pathetic…no offense."

Kevin forced a smile, "I'm not her Uber driver, I'm actually her husband." Seeing Bradley's shocked face, Kevin smirked as he reached his hand forward, "I'm Kevin. It's nice to meet you."

Reaching his manicured hand towards Kevin's, Bradley replied, "So this is the famous Kevin. I've heard so much about you. You know Rachel – Lily's best friend – well, she does the best impression of you. It's so nice to put a face to your…name. And Kev, you are exactly what I expected."

Lily uncomfortably shook her head, "Bradley, that's out of line."

"Of course, I was just messing with him. You can take a joke, can't you Kevin?"

Kevin nodded, "I can when they're funny."

Bradley smirked, "Touché…Lily, I'm so glad that I bumped into you this morning. I've heard about everything going on and my heart aches for you. So, I brought you a little pick me up."

Bradley went back to his car, opened the trunk, and took out a stunning, rectangular gift box. With a snakelike smile, Bradley handed the box to Lily "Take a look, do you like it?"

Lily opened the box and gasped, "Oh my goodness. This is the most beautiful necklace that I have ever seen. Bradley, you shouldn't have. This is much too extravagant of a gift."

Bradley smiled, "I knew you would like it."

Feeling his chest tighten, Kevin thought to himself, "I am going to help save Lily's company, but first things first, I need to handle Bradley. He's up to no good and it's my job to stop him."