Chapter 1 Pretty One

Chris entered his Apartment, it was a magnificent home, the kind of home only men of his calibre resided in Beverly Hills, in the city of Los Angeles.

After the four-hour meeting at work, He was exhausted, this was his daily routine as he was no stranger to stress or wealth and affluence.

Twenty-sever-year-old Chris Rowland was the youngest billionaire in the city, he owned the biggest and most renowned Pharmaceutical company there. He was tall and handsome, but handsome in an alarming way, his dark brown hair was as bright and beautiful as caramel, and his strong jaw and full brows were nothing compared to the rest of his face, particularly, the hazel-coloured eyes he inherited from his mother, Mrs Rowland.

Chris walked up the stairs of his luxurious and well-furnished home to his spacious bedroom where he took off his Suit, revealing a well-toned body.

Apart from work, the gym was another place he frequented.

Sliding on an orange shirt and a pair of shorts, he climbed down the stairs as his stomach grumbled, he couldn't recall the last time he had a decent and well-cooked meal, the usual five-star restaurant meals were not an option this time around as it was all class and charade, tasteless and insipid.

He loved good food, and the restaurant foods only tortured and betrayed his taste buds.

Opening the fridge, he peered into it, there was a carton of milk and nothing else in it, he sighed, he had forgotten to call the elderly woman, Mrs Phina, who often went grocery shopping for him, cleaned his home and also cooked for a stipend.

He walked over to the bar and poured himself a glass of Champagne to drown the hunger, then walked towards the big window which revealed the beautiful and ever-busy city in all its glory,

Dialling Mrs Phina's number, he curtly said as she picked,

"Mrs Phina," his tone was serious, "I'm out of groceries and food, can you please come over this evening?"

At the other end, the elderly woman sighed in distress, "Mr Rowland, you'll have to forgive me, I've been Ill for some days now, I think I caught a flu,"

"Oh!" Chris Exclaimed in concern and slight disappointment, "yikes! I'm sorry about that, I was just hungry. But it's fine, I guess I'll sort it out. Meanwhile, please stay home and take care of your health Mrs Phina," he said and was about to end the call when suddenly, he heard the elderly woman call desperately,

"Oh please hold on Mr Rowland! why don't I send my granddaughter over instead, although she's new to this city, she'll be able to find her way around going grocery shopping for you,"

"And she cooks pretty well too," she quickly added knowing fully well how it went with these wealthy people, once they found another hand they could trust, they would comfortably discharge their old staff, and she didn't want that, that Job was the only reason she and her grandchildren could feed comfortably, also, it was the only job she ever got in a rich man's home where she was treated as human even though she was poor.

Chris sighed, normally he would have declined as he preferred eating home-made food prepared by just one person as he didn't quite enjoy the change of hands,

He very well knew his position in society, he had enemies who were constantly after his life and company, so he could only trust a few, and Mrs Phina had been his chef and maid for over three years after his mother moved away with her new husband.

He trusted her and was hungry, he didn't have enough time to get a replacement for her,

"Alright Mrs Phina," He sighed, "you can send your grand daughter over, and quickly too, I'm famished,"

"Oh thank you, Mr Rowland, thank you!" Mrs Phina said gratefully, as he ended the call,

After gulping down his drink, he walked back to the centre of the room and leaned back on the sofa to relax his aching back, he was tired, and hungry, he couldn't remember the last time he craved or thought about food this much, instead, he was either thinking of one office work or another.

Which was why he had a lot of supplements and sleeping pills in almost every corner of his home, he hated having to run out on them when ever he needed them because no matter how he tried, he couldn't go to sleep without taking them.

He barely had good sleep as he mostly slept with an eye-open in case of danger, which was why his doctors recommended the sleeping pills to help him fall asleep.

Yawning in hunger and exhaustion, he reached for one of the sleeping pills bottle on the chair and swallowed one pill before shutting his tired eyelids, maybe a few minutes of sleep would while away time till Mrs Phina's granddaughter arrived. He also had some work to do with Lucinda that evening, so, he shut his eyes and slept off.

In what felt like only a few moments later, Chris heard a knock on his door,

Sitting up in alarm he rubbed his eyes groggily, "was it Phina's granddaughter?" he thought, Indeed Phina lived in West adams, a suburban part of the city which was relatively close to his home but not that close, but Lucinda, his secretary lived only a floor below him as he had made sure of that, he liked to keep her close just in case there was business which needed immediate attention and for him, the term 'business' went beyond the office meaning with the hot high-class Lucinda as she was a regular visitor to his bed.

Another knock came, "Hold on!" he called, as he groggily walked to the door and looked through the peephole, he couldn't see who noticed it was a woman with fill brown her, just like Lucinda's, so he opened it, believing it her.

Turning away swiftly he walked back to his sofa,

"Thanks for coming Lucinda, I hope you brought the document for the new business deal we're about to commence. I plan to speak to the clients tomorrow morning so hopefully..." he froze, he had turned around and was left stunned and speechless,

No it wasn't Lucinda, it was one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on, she stood at his door with a timid expression written all over her,

she looked nothing like an upper-class girl which was typically his type, but she was pretty, his eyes travelled down her knee-length and loosely-fitted gown,

As he walked back to the door unable to take his eyes off her, she stuttered, timidly,

"Goo...good evening Mr Rowland, I'm Raina, Phina's granddaughter,"

He held the door and leaned on it, staring at her slyly as he broke into a mischievous and seductive smile, this was certainly going to be a long cosy night for him, he thought.

"Hey beautiful," he said coyly, "Your grandma never told me she had such a pretty granddaughter."