The words hit Luca like a punch to the gut. His knees nearly buckled, but he caught himself on the edge of the table.
"Please," he said, his voice cracking. "You can't fire me. I need this job. My sister, she's sick, and I need the money for her treatments. I'll do anything. Please, Mr. Ben. Just, just give me one more chance."
"You're a liability now," he said flatly. "Coleman could ruin me with one bad word to the press. I'm not risking my business for you."
Luca's heart pounded in his chest, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. He opened his mouth to plead again, but before he could get another word out, Mr. Ben stepped forward and yanked the apron off his chest.
"Get out of my restaurant."
Luca staggered back as Mr. Ben threw the apron on the ground in front of him. The stares of the other customers burned into his skin as he stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do.
"Go!" Mr. Ben shouted, shoving him toward the door.
Luca stumbled, his shoes slipping in the sauce still clinging to his clothes. His mind was spinning, he couldn't think straight, couldn't breathe. He needed this job. He needed to pay the rent, to get medicine for Rosa.
"I'm begging you, please," Luca tried one last time.
But Mr. Ben was already walking away, muttering angrily to himself.
With trembling legs, Luca bent down, picked up his apron, and walked out of the restaurant, the door closing behind him with a heavy thud.
Outside, the cold air hit his face, mixing with the tears that had finally started to fall. He stood there, alone on the street, his hands still clutching the apron as though it could somehow bring him back inside.
Just then, his phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket.
"Hello!" Luca said flatly as he answered the phone. "Who's this?"
"Am I speaking to Mr. Luca?" The voice asked.
"Yea," Luca replied. "Can I know who this is?"
"I'm the nurse at Riveridge hospital calling to remind you that you haven't sorted your sister's bills yet."
"I'm going to work on it." Luca replied.
"Sir, if you don't pay the bills on time then—"
"I'm aware of the consequences that come with it." I cut her short. "Give me some time."
"We aren't running a charity home sir." The nurse's voice sounded edgy. "It's either you pay or your sister stops getting treatment."
He was about to reply, when the phone call ended.
Luca sighed, he didn't know what step to take when an idea crossed his mind.
He began to walk, taking the road that led to the street owned by the most famous people in town when he arrived there.
He knocked on the door, and the door was opened by Annabelle, his contract wife. She was dressed in a long flowing gown, and wearing heavy make-up which indicated that she was heading somewhere.
"What are you doing here?" Annabelle asked.
"I need your help!" Luca said with a shaky tone.
"The contract is over, Luca." She snarled. "I can't offer you any help."
"Please, my sister's medical bills need to be paid, and—"
"Ciao Luca." Annabelle went down from the porch.
"I helped you to get what you wanted, Annabelle. Please don't do this to me. "
"The world doesn't work that way Luca." Annabelle laughed. "Don't you know that? Just because you helped me means I have to."
She pulled open her door, and Luca rushed in her direction, grabbing her hand.
"Annabelle—"
"Get off me, you filthy thing." She yelled, her voice had alerted her father who happened to be in the garden. He rushed in our direction, and the minute he saw me his face grew stern.
"What are you doing here?" He snapped.
"I asked him the same thing. This dirt bag doesn't know his place anymore, father. After the money we gave him after the contract, he still wants more."
"What's all the commotion?" He asked.
"Is that true?" Annabelle's father asked.
"I need some money to sort my sister's medical bills. She's really sick."
"I thought you had a job," Annabelle's father asked.
"I did, but I got sacked. I really need the money sir, I could do some work around the house." I said in a desperate tone.
"We already have enough maids," Annabelle snapped.
"What about a chauffeur?" I asked. "I can be Annabelle's chauffeur. Just please help me."
"I'm sorry boy, we have nothing to offer you or no vacant position at the moment," he said.
"Why don't you lend me the money instead?" Luca said, fighting back tears that threatened to take over his face and over again. "Once I get a new job, I will pay you back."
"The audacity." A voice said behind me, and I turned to see Karen—Annabelle's mother, who hated me more than Annabelle.
"This lowlife thinks he can borrow money from a prestigious family like ours how hilarious." She spat.
"Very," Annabelle added.
"Go back to the filth hole you crawled out of, boy. We have nothing to give you."
"Please!" Luca said, dropping on his knees.
"Didn't you hear what my mother and father said?" Annabelle spoke up. "Or are you deaf?"
"It seems he's," Karen said chuckling. "I guess that's what poverty does to you."
She stopped laughing after a while, taking a step forward. "Are you going to leave or do you want us to call the police on you for trespassing?"
Luca was about to speak when Annabelle's father spoke up.
"Wait Karen!" He said, and his wife looked in his direction.
"I have the perfect job for Luca," he said.
"What is it that?"
"The down brothers." Annabelle's father said. "I'm sure he can handle it."
"I can." I said, without knowing what the job entails.
"If you do this job well," he said, wrapping his hands around my shoulder. "You will become a multimillionaire."
My eyes shore brightly. "I can, sir." I said. "Trust me."