Between Two Billionaires

I checked my mobile.

No texts.

No missed calls.

I knitted my brows at the unusual occurrence.

Jess probably forgot to, yet my instincts kept screaming at me not to let this slide.

I sighed heavily and opened my personal computer to check my email for reviews on my new book.

Furthermore, I smiled when I saw two new emails.

Sure, it was a rejection and this will not stop me from my dream of being a successful writer, but the second mail was something else.

I clicked on it, and it was a final interview invitation from a publishing company I had recently applied to; Quinn's House.

My mouth fell open, and I screamed. I picked up my mobile to text Jess about the joyous information. I did not care that he hadn't called or texted for two days, twenty minutes, and seven seconds.

' Jess, I've been called over for the final interview at Quinn's. Call me when you see this. Love you! '

My door flung open, and she walked in, flinging her bag and shoes all over.

" Why were you screaming like you just got stung by some bee? " She scolded, sniffling her nostrils.

" Just don't disorganize my room, girl" I handed her some medication.

Her eyes widening with curiosity, she stared at me, waiting for some spills.

" Okay! I got called in for a final interview at Quinn's"

Excitement glowed in her eyes as she squeezed herself all up and crawled up to me. She touched my nose and I cringed.

" Congratulations! You haven't spilled it all up yet, I'm waiting to hear about your book review and if Jess called you already" she looked at me with caution.

" What? "

" Ooh! You forgot you made me stay awake all night while you were lamenting about how he hasn't called or texted you?

Oh, Please"

I closed my eyes for a moment, sighed deeply, and told her of my book being rejected again.

" And as for Jess, it's still the same" I replied.

She cupped my jaw in her hands and gazed into my eyes.

" You don't worry about it. You're more than what you think you are. This wasn't your first rejection, but still, you continued to push forward.

Now, who knows if you're being rewarded with being an editor at Quinn's.

About Jess, you know things will fall back in place. He's probably busy and will contact you in no time.

You lovelies will get to see more of each other when you get employed. "

My face brightened, I would be able to see Jess more when I get employed. I clapped my palms together and prayed in my heart.

" See? You're much older but little things brighten you up and that makes you look cute"

I looked at her and hugged her as tight as I could.

Zoey and I have been best friends since middle school, and we have always been there for each other. But after we graduated from high school, we attended the same university, but in different majors.

While I majored in Communication, she was a Cosmetics Technology major. I had always felt grateful for having a friend like her.

Same outfits

Same birthdate

Same age

Same vibe

I always thought she was my sister in my past life as we never had misunderstandings that escalated.

We got into trouble and came out of it together. If not for our different surnames, everything would have been perfect, but I still loved her nonetheless.

" You got anything for Jess's birthday yet? " Zoey said, bring me back to reality.

" I'm off to pick up a gift today, you want to tag along? " I noticed her holding my portable desk calendar.

" You're looking at the new head of the cosmetic department of Binge Agency. I got promoted yesterday" Zoey spilled as she held my both hands.

" Congratulations! You should have informed me about it immediately" I questioned, raising my brows at her to hear her excuse.

" I wanted to tell you in person"

" You're living your dreams, while I'm still stuck on a failed one. I look pathetic, right? " I pouted.

She moved closer until there was no space between us and hugged me tightly. I was moved to tears. I hated this feeling of pity, but not from her anyway.

" Tasha Rowan, my best friend!

You are my biggest motivation for not letting go of what I truly want.

I hope you get to see what becomes of you. I hope you patiently wait to see that. You're only in your 20s, and you're doing great..."

"You too," I said, cutting her off her speech.

" You sure have a knack for spoiling good moods, do you know that? "

I laughed out loud and gave her a slight punch on her arm.

" Girl, you have a bachelor's degree in Communications. I bet you are the best writer there is".

"Bachelor's degrees don't guarantee good writing. Besides, if that's true, why do I keep getting rejected? " I stared at her.

" You don't get to say that, you should extend your networks. Those companies don't know the value of your books" she explained.

" That was the last company there is"

Cornered, she batted her lashes and changed the topic.

" Dinner's ready" Mum called out.

We rushed to the kitchen and we sat down, ready to dig in.

The smell was mouthwatering, as I could not wait patiently to get served. I took a bite from the stir-fried chicken and pasta.

" Mrs. Rowan, your fried chicken is the best. I honestly wish I can eat this every day" Zoey complimented as she raised her thumb to show appreciation.

Mum smiled and glanced at me.

" While some are busy complaining about the everyday dose of fried chicken"

I stopped halfway as I was about to take another bite

Mum smiled and glanced at me.

" While some are busy complaining about the everyday dose of fried chicken"

I stopped halfway as I was about to take another bite of the food. I looked at Mum, and she turned her face away. Likewise, I resumed eating as I had the feeling shades were being thrown at me.

" Do you need another plate, Zoey? " Mum asked with a brightened face.

" Sure, Mother"

" I'll serve you two portions for calling me Mother"

My mouth fell open as I dropped my plate harshly. Mum observed me with a questionable expression and I reacted positively.

I continued to eat as I watched with jealousy. I could no longer take it and burst out.

" Mum, why would you give her two portions of my favorite? "

Mum eyed me and answered after hesitating a little.

" Are you getting mad at me, you are raising your voice"

I recoiled like a puppy that had just been warned by its owner.

" You eat all my money up, You should get married soon, or should I set you up with someone? "

" Marriage? " I laughed hysterically and Mum got scared.

" Stop scaring me, That is not funny" Zoey laughed at my mother's expression but decided to keep mute.

" Don't you try setting me up, I have a boyfriend" I warned.

" Then tell him to come over for marriage discussions, "she retorted.

I was lost as to how the marriage discussion came about. I looked at Mum's annoyed face,

" What's with the marriage discussion? What has that got to do with my pasta! "

" So you can stop eating up my money! " She screamed, and I dropped my fork in surprise. That was intense and it caught me unawares.

Mum will never stop this if I try to prolong it more than it already is, and I decided to lift the mood.

" Well, you have to put up with me and spend more of your money because you will spend mine in the future. Can I get another portion of pasta now? "

" Yes, My chubby princess" Mum chuckled softly and took my plate to the kitchen.

Zoey nodded her head in affirmation for a job well done as we talked about her hysterical boss who loved to bully at any given opportunity.

Of course, that was before she got promoted. We wrapped up dinner and Zoey left.

I lay on the bed and covered myself up with the duvet. I stared at the ceiling, thinking about how the final interview was going to turn out.

I wished I were called immediately, but then I was grateful for having enough time to prepare myself. Having thought about that, I decided to sneak a peek at my mobile.

Jess has not read my message.

I'd have gone to check up on him at his office, but he restricted me from that.

Going to his house was out of the option because I had to call him first.

Worrying about him was eating me real up.

" Is he that busy? " I thought to myself as I rolled on the bed, then my mobile rang.

I checked the caller ID and it was Jess.

" Hey Jess, I've been worried"

8:35

Good Gracious! , I'm late.

I scrambled from my bed, distorting the sheets that covered my naked body, and climbed down the bed hastily.

Biggie's going to kill me!

I ruffled through the pile of clothes on my stranded sofa, picked up a skirt and a gray shirt, which was originally blue.

Took my courier bag and shoved whatever I could lay my hands on from my closet into it; lipstick, concealer powder, mascara...

No, No! I had forgotten to stitch up my mask. Getting another one would have cost me more money, I burped.

Eww! That stinks.

I dashed into the toilet to brush my teeth and found myself staring at a ghost in the mirror. Placing both hands on the sink, I breathed heavily.

©Bella Lyonn

My hair was messed up. I rushed back to my room to get my hairbrush and straightener. My room was messier. I had to shuffle between piles of both clean and dirty clothes to get my brush.

Phew.

Then, I remembered

Straightener

I checked my closet and my bed table, but it was nowhere to be found. I squeezed my face tightly, as though I were in pain.

I hated searching through my messy room. It wasn't really my fault that it was messy, though. Every time, I tidy up my room, it just gets disorganized a few hours afterwards.

I stood in a corner of my room and wondered where it could be until I looked up and saw my hair straightener dangling from my overcoat. I walked towards it and placed my placid hands on my face as I took it out and rushed into the toilet.

Fixing up my hair as fast as I could, it was still evident that I was sleepy. I stared at the clock.

©Bella Lyonn

9:00

I picked up my dusty boots and produced a napkin from a drawer and wiped up the settled dust on it. Old but classy, all my boots needed was just a wipe. It shone like a new pair of polished boots.

I ran out of my room, locked my door and proceeded towards the door when I froze.

Coat

I unlocked my door, ran back in, and pulled off the nearest overcoat from a hanger which I wore before I proceeded to lock my door again.

" Tasha, have some cookies before you go" My mum screamed.

I looked at her, and she shoved a disappointed look at my face. Defeated, I took one cookie from the tray she presented to me and bit it as I dashed out of the house, waving my hands and saying my mum goodbye.

.....

" You surely don't need to apologize, it's going to be a double shift today"

I gasped, I knew I was going to get a good scolding, but getting a double shift was the height of it.

I was burning with anger as I took my tag and locker key off her desk and stormed out of Biggie's office. I changed into my uniform and proceeded to my assigned section-The VIPs.

Likewise, I appeared with a bottle of champagne as requested by one of the VIPs when he requested for me to change it.

I did not mind doing that since it was also a part of my job and people were prone to making mistakes.

I came back with yet another new red wine when he looked at me and sized me up. I've never been that embarrassed my whole life, yet I tried to look composed.

" I asked you to bring me champagne ", his pupil flared as he raised his middle finger at me.

I was annoyed at his expression and not at the fact that he deliberately wanted to frustrate me.

Anything for the money, I thought as I swallowed hard and was about walking away when I heard him say to his friends.

" You need to make people like that know their place, she's only a prostitute. "

I stopped to look at him and made my way towards him, his brows knitted, and was about to speak when I cut him off.

" You should go pick up the champagne, PERVERT! ", I growled.

His face contorted as his friends stared at me with their mouths wide open.

" Pervert? Did you just call me a pervert?? " He asked surprisingly, and gave a half smile.

Realizing what I had done, I squeezed my eyes tightly and blamed myself for letting my pride get the best of me.

He stood up, walked fiercely towards me and moved his mouth closer to my left ear.

" I'll never be interested in someone like you, you're just an embodiment of fat", he whispered, and moved away from my face.

My eyes swarmed with tears as I rushed out,

I was burning with anger as I pushed through the crowd and grabbed three bottles of beer from a tray and made my way to the car park.

Fat!

Embodiment of fat!

I opened and gulped down a bottle of cold beer. I sat down on the tarred floor and continued to drink the beer.

What does he even know?

Calling me fat, he is an unapologetic pervert, I said to myself as I stared at the remnants of the last bottle of beer before gulping it down my throat.

As I hanged my head comfortably in between my laps with my intertwined hands over it, I reminisced over what had transpired earlier and coughed involuntarily.

I raised my head up to see four men dragging their feet lazily onto the floor.

Drunkards, my lips twitched.

I returned my head to sit in between my laps, but I lifted it up almost immediately.

Pervert!

The man who had embarrassed me from before was drunk?

Gosh!

I wished I could take a picture of him immediately.

I stood up and shuffled my feet to meet with them.

It's not over yet!

I tried to catch up with them as they had walked over to a car.

" Hey! What do you think you're doing? "

" Move away from the car"

" Is she CRAZY? "

I gave a half smile as I produced a big stone and waved it for them to see.

Pervert walked towards me and I raised my hand for him to stop.

" What? Fat? Pro...prostitute? Why would you even call me that?

I am a waitress here, but that doesn't give you the leverage to talk me down.

I am just a gentle chubby girl who is trying to make ends meet, and you call me a prostitute? "

He proceeded to move closer to me and I warned him," I swear if you move an inch closer, I'll lose it all"

" We can talk, right? If you want me to apologize, say it. Just put the goddamn stone down" he pleaded.

I chuckled softly," Ooh! Now you've given me something to use this stone one".

There was no going back.

.......

I could hear some voices speaking out loud, could be some drunk fellows going this way, I thought.

"Be quiet" I shouted as they were too loud for me to sleep comfortably, then I felt a twitch of pain from my wrist.

I couldn't move my hands. I opened my eyes and realized that I was handcuffed.

Handcuffs!

Was I kidnapped?

Am I going to die?

I stood up and started to bang on the door while crying.

Please!

I would rather not die!

I had leaned on the door lazily when I heard the door open.

" Do you not know where you are? "

I began to check out who had come in, a fully clothed man with a cap on his head putting on a uniform.

Uniform...

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my palms, and stared at him widely and walked a few meters away from him.

There was a group of injured people who sat on a bench like they were involved in a fight. Men and women putting on tags sat in front of a computer. Handcuffs on each table.

I stared back at the man who had come in, and he shook his head mildly as he walked out and signaled to me to follow him.

I was at the police station and the cage I had thought I was in, was me actually locked up in a police cell.

As I walked behind him to his desk, I could hear whispers and loud gossip, too.

" She might be a sex worker"

" Maybe she stole from him"...

Getting to his desk, a man sat in front of him, and while the police officer sat down. I began to think of who the mysterious man might be.

" What's your name, Miss? " The police officer asked.

"Tasha Rowan"