"You bitch, how dare you- stop it, stop it!" The man yelled and Absalom spoke up. "What is all this about a payment?" He asked looking at Charity.
Charity avoided his eyes and the plank in her arms fell to the ground. "She owes us all money!" The man yelled, "yeah, Dawn! Are you happy now? I knew I shouldn't have borrowed your money."
"Dawn? That's Isabelle, you're name is Isabelle isn't it?" The man from her apartment asked and she looked away causing the men to sigh and grunt in disbelief. Absalom just watched her silently, "so what is your real name?"
"It doesn't matter, you guys are not going to get paid right now either way and don't you think this is too much? It's not as if I haven't paid back half of the money!" She insisted.
"Are you raising your voice right now? You came into my office, begging and crying with a sob story that your fiance left you with all this debt now you are raising your voice?!"
"Ahhh, I see she told you that story as well, yet she was just lying, look she already has another man, the little whore" another one added.
"If she could lie about her name why are you surprised her story is false? She is just a scammer and a bitch, look what I found in her room, a passport out of the country!"
Charity's eyes widened and she stepped forward, "give that back! You had no right to go through my stuff!" Eyeing Absalom, she shut her eyes in embarrassment, "why are you guys doing this to me? I have paid half of the money already, yes I know I am past the deadline but what did you expect? My bar closed down things have been hard." Charity tried to get them to see the reason but all they did was call her names and threaten her.
"Perhaps it was wrong of me to come here, I should just tell my boss I would go to your sister's place instead," the only man that didn't walk up to fight Absalom and his driver said, and in an instant Charity was on her knees.
"What are you doing?" Absalom growled, "get up, stand up this instant!"
Charity fell to the side the moment he yelled and even the men surrounding them stepped backwards, it was like he became a different person, his eyes spat fire and his entire body stiffened, the air around him suddenly chilled and danger rolled off him in visible waves. Charity trembled beneath that dark gaze and the moment it was turned away she couldn't help the whimper of relief that left her lips.
"How much do you even owe them?" Absalom asked and she looked away, too embarrassed to tell him the amount but she didn't need to, they said it for her.
"Three hundred thousand dollars"
"Hey! It was 250! I already paid off half" she insisted, rising to her feet.
"Yeah well, the interest rate has gone up since then."
"You owe each of them 300 hundred thousand?" Absalom asked and she shook her head.
"Altogether, it's a different amount, I owed him" she pointed to the first person, "50 thousand, and him 70 thousand, this one I only have ten thousand left to give him" she scowled at the man. "Him, his boss rather I owe one hundred and twenty thousand." She pointed at the last guy.
"That's 250 thousand, it is not accurate, I said the interest rate went up."
Charity glared at the man that spoke, "even if it went up I am still only paying you 15 thousand so why are you so eager?" She huffed in exasperation. "Look you don't have to do anything, I'll figure it out myself."
Absalom never once broke eye contact with her, never allowing her to same either, "send your account numbers to my driver over there with the amount she owes you and he will wire the money."
"I said-"
"I don't care what you said, this doesn't look like handling it to me, fighting with how many men on the street like this is that your definition of handling it? Hell you are even in your pyjamas" he said and she folded her arms across her bust in awareness. Leaning down to her ear, "how dare you come out of your house without a bra, in a shirt like that?" He whispered and Charity's cheeks caught fire. He bent down and grabbed the Jacket he dropped and placed it over her shoulder, tapping her head he turned back to face the men, "what are you doing don't you want to get paid?"
As he stepped forward Charity's grip on his arm became desperate, and she pulled him to herself while his driver took their accounts, "look this is nice what you are doing but I really can't pay that money. I was just talking big to them" she paused drawing in a deep breath, "this is embarrassing but I won't be able to pay you back that money I have nothing but 20 dollars and nothing more to my name."
Absalom sighed, his fierce eyes losing their intensity and becoming warm, "I'm rich I don't need money."
"And I am proud, I don't need charity."
Absalom smiled, "yeah but I do."
"What?"
"Pay me back by going on a date with me."
Charity tilted her head, "what?"
"You can get changed and we can go now, that is it just one date."
"That can't be all, you are giving the three hundred thousand, just like that. Unplanned, unbudgeted money."
"Yeah, I'm rich, I hear it's my biggest charm, think of it as my way of convincing you to go on a date with me." He said, "I won't sleep with you though" she added.
Absalom wanted to pull his hair in frustration, "I am not asking, although if you are down gladly. Just a date okay? A fancy one, give me the chance to charm you, you owe me. Three hundred thousand dollars" he emphasized.
"Fine, a date and nothing more, no funny business."
"That seems to be your motto, my driver will take you, see you tonight, Charity, if that is even your name." He said with a charming smile as he walked away.