It was only when I crossed to the next street that reality began to dawn on me. I paused abruptly, causing the couple walking behind me to bump into me.
"Watch it," I heard one of them say. But I wasn't listening.
I had just lost my job. My only means of livelihood. The only way I could afford to foot daddy's medical expenses.
"No. No, no, no," I chanted repeatedly, raking my fingers through my hair. I carefully lowered myself into a park bench nearby.
What do I do now?
One part of me instantly regretted hitting Jeremy, but the sensible part of me knew that the last thing I would ever do was let some disgusting pervert get all touchy with me because he handed me a measly paycheck at the end of the month.
I buried my head in my hands. What was I supposed to do now? I didn't know how long it would take to get a new job. Where do I even start looking from? I wondered. Dad was in critical condition. I needed to save him...
Tears threatened to well up in my eyes as I tried to get ahold of myself. I needed to be strong. For Dad, for myself. No one was going to fight my battles for me. I had to get up and do my thing.
I wondered if things would have been different if Mom was here. Maybe they would. Maybe not. I'd never know.
Sniffing, I pushed my hair backward, opening up my purse to see how much I had left.
"Fuck," I gasped. I didn't know why I was so surprised. It was the exact same amount as it was when I'd checked this morning.
I sighed heavily.
I guess poverty always takes you by surprise, I decided, laughing at my own joke.
I frowned at the pedestrians that sent weird looks my way. Ignoring them, I picked up my purse and began to trod my way slowly down the street.
What I really needed was a drink.
.........
CHRISTOPHER
"You're fired," I stated simply, flinging the iPad Ethan had handed me. It landed with a loud crack, making the room go silent.
Irritated, I stood briskly from my chair, casting a glance at my employees. "I don't pay you to sit your ass down and gape like morons, do I?" I thundered.
The sound of shuffling feet as they all scrambled back to their positions to continue their work only irritated me further.
"Why aren't the files for the project on my desk?" I asked, my anger starting to build up again.
A timid looking lady, who's name I didn't care to know, hurried forward, presenting a stack of files to me with shaky hands.
My eyebrows shot up as I looked from her face to the file in her hands. "What's your name?" I asked her.
She murmured something I couldn't quite make out. I shot her a glare.
"Rose Bennett, s-sir," She spoke louder this time.
I nodded. "Okay, Rose. After you have organized the files the way they should be, put them on my desk and clear yours."
She faced me, tears already beginning to form in her eyes. Without a word, she sprinted from the office, sobbing.
My jaw clenched at how incompetent these employees were. They could never do anything right. I had been patient long enough. Making my decision, I resolved to fire them all by Monday if they continued to delay the process for the projects.
They parted like the Red Sea as I briskly stormed off to my office. I paused at the door, watching in amusement as my secretary Aaliyah hurriedly exchanged the black flats she was putting on for pair of black red-soled heels.
What the hell was she doing? I wondered, still leaning against the glass door. Deciding I was more curious than angry, I watched her dig her left hand into the leather handbag she had procured from the bottom drawer, smiling as she swiped a red colored lipstick over her lips.
As if on second thought, she loosened her hair out of the bun it was in and popped two buttons off her cardigan, bringing her cleavage into full view.
Now I was interested. She would go through all this trouble just to impress me? Of course, I couldn't blame her. Every woman was desperate and willing to fall into the arms or bed of a successful billionaire. But regardless, her struggle was pathetic to watch.
After a few seconds of fluffing her hair into shape she stood up straight and approached the office door, pausing in shock when she saw me. She recovered quickly, opening the doors to usher me in whilst standing dangerously close to me. She rubbed my chest against my back shamelessly.
"Would you like something to drink, sir? Water? Juice? I know it's tough handling all of this, but I'm sure the project will be ready on time," She said, letting her hand linger on mine for longer than necessary. in–head held high and hips swinging she struck the most seductive pose she could muster.
I smirked, wondering if she was stupid enough to think she could calm me down.
I didn't say a word to her.
"You have new appointments scheduled today, sir," She continued, undeterred. "Would you like me to read them out for you?" She purred in what she thought was a seductive tone.
"Forward the details to me and get back to work," I replied coldly, reopening my computer and resuming my work.
She only nodded, biting down on her lip she wanted to say something more.
"Yes sir. Of course," Was all she said. "If you need anything, sir. I'm just a call away."
Saying so, she gave me a wide smile, heaving her chest upward so that I could get a good view of her full tits.
I toyed with the idea of taking her to bed. It was obvious that she longed to be fucked senseless. And from the way she was acting I knew she would only be too happy to oblige.
But I waved her away, focusing on my work at hand.
Speaking of work, I had to hire a new research and development manager. And possibly a new secretary as well.