Chapter 4 Ten Million Dollars

LISA FERNANDO

My name is Lisa Fernando. I was born poor and will probably die poor. There's something they call late bloomers, and I honestly don't believe in that. I don't believe I'm meant to suffer and would enjoy it later in the future.

If I was not enjoying my life now, what was its usefulness?

Five years ago, I could probably say my life was manageable, but right now, it was in shambles, and I needed real help. Even though I wasn't financially stable, I had a therapist. I wasn't going to let my mental health bring me down.

It's been three days since that happened, and I hoped my father visited the hospital. I was already living with Tonia, and even though I hated it, it was better than staying with my dad. Now, I was visiting my therapist for a checkup. It wasn't that much of a great idea, but I did it anyway. It was late in the afternoon, and it soon became something I regretted as soon as I stepped into his organisation. Regretting my actions, I wanted to leave right away, but I couldn't because I was already there.

"Hey ma'am," The receptionist, whose name was Veronica, called out as soon as she saw me. I was totally sure they must have missed me so much because I hardly see my therapist except when I need help, and this time I wanted help.

I faked a smile at her. "Yeah, long time. I stopped coming for a while because I felt lost in everything in life, but now that I have found something to make me live, I'm back." I replied.

"Uhmm, I assume you're here to see Mr. Holmes. He didn't tell me you would be coming, so I'm quite surprised to see you here."

I nodded. Yeah, she was right. I didn't even think I was going to be there. It was more of a last-minute thing. I was on the verge of losing my job because I worked at a publishing organisation, and if I lost my job, I wouldn't be able to take care of my sick grandma.

The doctor said she had Lupus, a disease that affects the body from the inside, and she urgently needed a kidney transplant. After I lost my parents, I was living with my grandma and my friend, but now, a new means of survival would help me a lot.

It felt like I was slowly running mad because everything was happening at once.

First, MAPC, the organisation I'm working for, is low on money to pay workers, and they went on a strike and even protested, which raised the awareness of the public. As if that was not enough, the hashtag #BANMAPC began to trend on social media, especially Twitter, for four consecutive days.

Yeah, let's just say I'm depressed. I feel completely useless and sad, and I can't help myself to think that way. Seeing my therapist might be a better option for me right now, because I was seriously losing it.

"I didn't tell him either. I'm not here on an appointment."

She nodded and picked up her desk phone to place a call. "Alright, I'll inform him right now." She looked at me and gently lowered her voice. "Although he's with his wife, you might have to hold on a little bit, but if you can, you could come tomorrow, and if you're lucky, which I know you'll be, he could decide to see you first."

I didn't want to cause issues with his wife, but I felt she would understand because I was just a client and nothing more was going on with her husband.

"You know what? I'll just wait and meet him."

She nodded with a smile, dropped her desk phone, and jotted some things down on paper before taking an elevator straight into his office. I stared at the aesthetic design of the organisation; it was extremely beautiful.

A few seconds later, Veronica came out of the elevator and walked straight to me. "Congratulations; you're extremely lucky. He would love to see you now."

"And his wife?"

"He told her you were once his junior in high school."

"Alright, thanks for your help." I replied and walked calmly to the elevator. I pressed a button and walked in as soon as it opened. I wasn't expecting to see a man inside, but I wasn't scared; I just pressed the floor number and stood at the edge calmly.

He was on a call, and he seemed visibly angry. "You know what? Fuck you. No, you were the one who promised to get me a girl that could help me out."

I didn't want to eavesdrop, but at the same time, I just couldn't help myself from doing just that. I just couldn't.

"Wait, you what?" he continued. "She backed out; why would she? Look, I'll use all the time I have to look for someone here who would be good for the job. I'll look for someone who'll pretend to be my girlfriend."

Personally, I wouldn't even take that offer for any reason and wouldn't advise anyone to do it. I could see the main reason why that girl refused to do it. Why would you fake a relationship with someone? Why would a reasonable lady even agree to do something like that? It would have been better to just get married than fake things that would later bring trouble to him.

He was probably doing it for the public too, and it just wasn't worth it.

"No? Okay, hold on," he paused and put the call on loudspeaker. "Can you hear me now?"

"Yes, sir," the person at the other end of the call answered.

"Okay, this is going to be easy if you make it. We really don't have much time. You know I told you not to tell them the amount we'll be offering; I take it back. Tell them that I'll be offering ten million dollars to any girl who agrees to be my fake girlfriend." He added.

My eyes widened. Ten million what? I know I didn't just hear him call that huge sum of money like it meant nothing. Was I standing next to a billionaire?