Becoming Mrs. Hilton

"Hurry up! Dave," Ivy cried out loud to her brother, who had gone to get water for their mother, Mrs. Smith.

Dave rushed out from the kitchen with a cup of water, stretching it to his mother, " Here mum, I hope it relieves the cough."

Their mother has been really sick and she doesn't seem to be getting any better. They could imagine the pain a single person must be going through trying to stay alive.

"Sorry mum," Ivy said as Mrs. Smith made a louder cough after gulping more water from the cup.

"I hope I can raise enough money by the weekend, at least I will be able to get you more drugs," she added.

Mrs. Smith got a bit of strength to speak for the first time in a while, "Don't worry kids, I'll be fine."

"Doesn't look like you will," Dave murmured.

They felt so much pity for her, it's been over a year of getting drugs and even sorting hospital bills, yet all doesn't seem to be well.

Mrs. Smith's health has greatly worsened. And now, they could no longer afford the bills from the hospital so they had opted to just buy drugs only since they were barely trying to survive.

"Don't say that!" Ivy cautioned her brother.

"Come on Ivy, I really want mum to be healthy. I'm in pain knowing she hasn't been herself for months, knowing we could lose her if we don't take her for a proper surgery and treatment," Dave answered almost in tears, taking a seat close to his mother and patting her.

A louder hack came this time around, it was continuous and felt like it wasn't ending anytime soon as Mrs. Smith held her chest in pain.

With worry, Ivy let out, "I think I'll have to use the little cash with me and see what I can get at the pharmacy, I had thought I could wait till the weekend and get more money to add as soon as I get my wage for the week."

Making her way out, rushing toward the door, Dave stood up too. "Please let me come with you," he said.

"No Dave, you need to stay here with mum. At this point, we can't leave her all by herself," Ivy insisted.

"I know, but... or just let me go instead, I'll rush down as fast as I can and I don't think you have that much strength, you were with her all day and probably haven't rested," he persuaded.

Mrs. Smith, who was persistently coughing, tried to speak. Although, it was low, like a person on their deathbed, "You both can go, I'll be fine."

They rushed to the nearest pharmacy where they were only able to get just one tablet of drug. Obviously what they could afford with the money they had at the moment.

"Please, can you help us with some other drugs to hasten her recovery, the cough has really been too much lately," Dave begged the pharmacist.

"Y-Yes Ma'am, I will pay you the balance by weekend, Please," Ivy added tearfully.

" I really wish I could, but I can't, I'm so sorry" the pharmacist, who was only an attendant in the store replied.

With no delay they headed home while they had all their mind and thoughts on their mum.

"Gbaamm!!!" the sound of a loud thud surfaced on the busy road.

"No! Daveee!!!" Ivy cried out as she watched her brother struggle for his life on the ground, while people already gathered at the scene.

"These kids, you shouldn't cross the road without watching properly," the drunk driver spoke out, as he smelled of alcohol and some sort of rich wine.

"R-Really?" Ivy said rushing at him, but later turn back to her brother who was moaning in pains, as he was bleeding profusely.

"He wasn't watching, so relax girl. Not everything that happened is my fault; if you had both been paying attention to where you were going, this could have been averted, and I wouldn't be in such a mess," the man spoke, rolling up his sleeves as he was sweating amidst the chaos.

"Okay, I'll give you some money, take him to the hospital," he offered rudely.

"Why not drive us to the hospital, please. My brother is in dying need of help, he is bleeding," Ivy cried, trying to support Dave off the road where he laid.

"Look girl, I don't have such time, you can see I was heading somewhere. I'm just trying to be kind here and help, but I guess you don't want it," he said blatantly, then went back to his car and zoomed off.

Some of the kind observers came to assist her as she took her brother to the nearby clinic but it felt like the day was already cursed for Ivy.

"We lost him, he already lost so much blood before he was brought here Ma'am," the doctor announced.

It was a shock, a big cut in the heart to Ivy, "What do you mean by that? Where is my brother?" she yelled as she tried to gain her balance on the floor in the hospital.

How was she going to break such news to her parents, especially her mother, who was almost dying when they left home that evening

"I'm so sorry, we tried all we could but I guess it was too late," the doctor said.

She couldn't do anything as she sat there shedding hot tears with no one to console her. Her legs were rather too heavy to walk home. She wished she had been able to save him.

She could not get the gruesome sight off her head; her beloved brother, her only sibling, died right in front of her eyes, it was one of the worst nights in her life.

A knock came at the door which brought Ivy back to her reality, as she was carried away still unconsciously mourning her brother even after months of his death.

"Who's there?" Ivy moved out of the room into their somewhat dated-looking sitting room to get the door.

She had earlier given Mrs. Smith her evening dose of medications and left her to sleep, so she knew it wasn't her knocking.

"Is anybody there?" she questioned again, seeming a little scared.

Getting no answer, Ivy turned back to her room, " I guess that knock wasn't from here, I must have been too carried away in my thoughts," she said to herself as she dragged her feet back to her room.

But the knock came again, louder than the first time. Ivy hurried to unlock the door.

" Dad? Where have you been for two days now?" she queried, "And you're drunk again," she added.

"Move away and let me in," Mr. Smith said, staggering and unable to control himself.

"This is not fair...I mean mum's health is in bad state and this is all you've been up to?" she cried, trying to pick her words.

"You are not even helping matters. Yes, I know that seeing your business crash hasn't been easy for you, but this won't help us in anyway, we've got to move forward," she added, instantly irritated at how her father had changed.

Mr. Smith used to be extremely passionate about improving the future for his family, but now, he has not just become a shadow of himself, but indifferent to life in general.

As expected, Ivy got no response as Mr. Smith was already dozing off. She was left with no choice but to help him in.

"Get up, let's go in," she said trying to pull him up from the floor.

He got to his feet gradually, stumbling a little, but with Ivy's assistance, he was steadied enough. She took him to the sitting room where she allowed him spend the night.

Going back into her room, Ivy was optimistic that things will improve as time passes. She spent her night thinking about all the different ways she could make money and recalling how her father had spent so much money on her to complete her university degree, but she had never landed a well paying job.

Her income from running errands and menial jobs only helped her pay one or two bills at a time, and it was never enough.

Like every other night , she picked up her phone and browsed through her mail while stretching herself on her bed.

"Hm, same old shit," she whispered to herself as she scrolled through the mails and found lots of rejected job applications.

She nodded off to sleep while going through her phone.

************

Ivy was awakened by the sound of her phone ringing loudly at 7:45 a.m., the following morning. Though still in slumber, she made blind-folded movements on the bed, as she attempted to find her phone as it rang.

"Good morning, Am I on to Ivy Smith?" on the other end of the phone, a female voice inquired.

Appearing to be more conscious rather than drowsy, "Yes please, how may I help you?" she asked.

"Okay, great! This is from The Shield Limited,

I'm calling to let you know that you've met all the requirements for the position after reviewing your application and certifications," the voice at the other end stated.

"You...you mean I'm getting the job?" Ivy, who was overjoyed and at a loss for words, asked. This time, she was already fully awake.

"Yes Miss, You are to arrive at the office by 9 a.m. to pick up your employment letter and begin working right away," the lady insisted.

"Wow! Alright Miss. Thank you," Ivy said happily.

As soon as the call went off, she hurriedly went to the shower to take her bath and make preparations to start off her day.

She never imagined that she would receive the job, especially not from Shield Limited, so her excitement was indescribable.

"Ivy, what are you up to?" Her mother asked as she walked in on her.

"Good morning Mum. I hope you had a good sleep?" she answered, inadvertently dismissing her mother's inquiry.

"I did, did you sleep well? You look so happy today,"

She noted, slowly grabbing a space on her Ivy's small bed to sit, watching her get dressed and apply some makeup on.

"I slept well Mum. I was going to stop by your room to see how you were doing and inform you that I received a call this morning from one of the organizations I interviewed with, asking me to come pick up my job letter and begin working right away," she glanced at the mirror and remarked, putting some lipstick on.

"Really? That's a great news, good luck my dear Ivy," she said.

"Thank you mum, please take care of yourself. I'll see you when I get back, do not hesitate to call me if there is an emergency," Ivy replied, feeling concerned.

Mrs. Smith giggled and said, "I am no child and I can care for myself, just that I'm sick...and also getting old and weary."

" No mum, you are not old," Ivy insisted, giving her mum a quick smile.

"Alright! I agree. It's time to go so you don't run late," her mum replied.

Rushing out of the house, panting, Ivy had to walk down to the closest bus station to get a cab.

She finally got a cab and hopped in right away, "I'm heading to The Shield Limited," she told the cabman.

"Okay Ma'am," he replied as he started the car engine.

"Could you drive a bit fast? I have an appointment to catch up with and I won't want to be late," she requested.

"Sure Ma'am, I think I know a shorter route to your destination," the driver answered nicely.

"You're sure? Well that's fine by me, take whichever route you think is faster," she replied.

"Yes Ma'am," he responded, glancing at her through the front mirror.

Truly, the route was shorter and in no time they arrived at the main gate to the company.

"Shit! Oh no!" Ivy exclaimed sadly.

"What is the problem, Ma'am?" the driver asked.

She bent over and picked up her purse, which she had previously assumed she dropped at home or

fallen off on the way.

"Not to bother, It's nothing," she replied. "How much is my ride?" she asked.

"Your fee is $10 Ma'am," he replied.

"Here," She handed him over the money and headed towards the company's gate.

Walking towards the reception, Ivy realized she was about 7minutes late already. She noticed a lady on a white-sleeved shirt with a pink skirt at the counter. She had nice and catchy brown eyes and packed her blond hair into a ponytail.

"Good morning Miss," Ivy greeted.

"Good morning Ma'am, how may we help you? Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist inquired.

"Uhnn... Yes, I was called this morning to come get my job letter and resume work here," Ivy said.

"Okay, let me confirm that," she took a quick look at her schedule, using her finger to scan through the file.

"Ivy Smith?" she asked.

"Y-Yes," Ivy answered.

"Alright, take this way to the second floor, the first door when you turn left," the receptionist directed.

"That's the C.E.O office and you can get your letters from him" she added.

Ivy said gratefully before heading upstairs, "Ok Miss, thank you."

A male voice from inside responded to her soft knock on the door, beckoning her inside. A fine tall man, with dark brown hairs, and an athletic built body was seated in the office.

He was on a call and giving how much he laughed and joked, she assumed the person he was speaking with on the phone was a close buddy. She waited there, biding her time till he was done.

As the call ended, he slamed the phone on his desk, noticing there was someone in his office, "Yeah? How may I help you?"

"Good day Sir. I'm Ivy smith. The receptionist requested that I reach you to obtain my work letter and other employment-related documents," Ivy stated

"Oh!" he took a quick look at his wrist watch.

"Such an audacity on a first day at work! When were you asked to resume?" he sounded.

"I'm sorry Sir. It won't happen again," she apologized, completely ignoring the question.

"It better not!" Jay said, stretching out the letter at Ivy.

"Thank you, Sir," said Ivy as she received the brown envelope from her new boss.

Focusing on the laptop right in front of him, he added, "Ask the receptionist to direct you to the recruitment department, one of the team members will take it from there."

"Okay Sir," she said as she headed out of Jay's office.

Ivy found her way to the recruitment department after being directed by the receptionist and a young lady, probably about Ivy's age, from the recruiting department, showed her to a coworking area, where she'll be sharing with some other workers.

"Phew! I'm glad I can relax a bit," Ivy sounded as she settled onto the office swivel chair, content with her already exhausted state.

"Thank you," she said to the lady who was already making her way out.

"You are most welcome. Please let me know if you have troubles in any area," the lady responded with a kind of smile that would make anyone feel so comfortable within a blink of an eye.

Ivy returned the smile and pick up some files to sort.

"OMG! $2500 is such good pay, only if I can deal with this rude and bossy C.E.O.," she thought.

As she got engrossed in her thought, the telephone on her desk beeped, it was Jay. She got up carrying another file, heading straight for his office after answering the call.

"What's my schedule like for today?" he asked her as she walked in.

Flipping through the pages on the file, Ivy answered,

"You have a meeting with Limelight's CEO by 12, Sir."

"And?" Jay queried.

"That's all for today Sir," Ivy replied.

"You may go," Jay said, using his finger to demonstrate.

Ivy returned to her desk, and was busy sorting some files while waiting for the day to be over, when the lady from the recruitment department came by again.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," Ivy responded feeling a bit distracted.

"The name is Maria," she replied with a chuckle.

"I'm Ivy, nice to meet you Maria. Thank you for helping me out earlier.

Maria threw a smile across her face and responded, "I'm glad I was able to help. How are you coping with your assigned role?" she asked.

"I was going to ask; the C.E.O.... is he always like that?...like..." she paused trying not to sound offensive and minding her choice of words.

Maria smiled and answered, "Oh, Jay Hilton? You mean...like rude?"

They both laughed together.

"All I know is that Jay is very strict with his employees, but not to worry you'll get used to him, give it time," Maria assured.

"Everyone in the office has grown accustomed to his demeanor. But I believe that is his sole flaw," she added.

Ivy wasn't having it. "That's what you think though. Personally, I do not find it cool when people are being unnecessarily rude or impolite regardless of class. But it's okay. I'm here to work, as long as I'm getting paid," she said jokingly, and immediately turned back to the files piled up on her table.

They chatted for few more minutes till Maria left her to work.

Soon, it was closing hour. Ivy reflected on her first day at work with her boss as she sat at the back seat in the cab heading home, she noted that it didn't go as expected but just hoped that because she will be reporting directly to him, things would improve.

If she had a positive working connection with Jay, it would be advantageous and at least make a lot of sense, and also save her ass some stress.

************

Before returning home, Jay decided to stop by a restaurant so as to grab some food and snacks for himself and his girlfriend, Rose. Upon entering the eatery, he is undoubtedly taken aback and disheartened by what meets his eyes.

What a terrible way to begin his evening!