THE RISE OF JEREMY COLLINS

Jeremy stood outside his boss's office, contemplating whether it was a good idea to go in. He had not needed to go into his office for anything other than to hand him a few documents or get him his morning coffee in a while.

They had a cordial relationship- okay that was a lie, He hated the man's guts and he had a feeling he hated him too, but then again, the man was not exactly friendly with everyone else. He was what you called a tyrannical dictator, and Jeremy was sure if he'd been born in Hitler's time, he'd have been much worse than him.

He took in a deep breath and opened the door to his office, knowing that his livelihood and his mother's recovery depended solely on him now. It didn't matter how he felt about him, his mother's medical bills still needed to be paid and to do that he needed a raise and he couldn't get one if he didn't at least try to speak to him.

The man glanced up from his computer to look at Jeremy, giving him a cold and irritated stare. Jeremy's first instinct was to immediately turn around and leave, but that would make him look weak, not that he had to do much to become weak in his sight. He believed everyone not as wealthy as him was a Beta and while Jeremy thought it didn't make any sense, it explained why he treated his employees like trash.

"What do you want, Gerald?" The bald head man snapped. He was a young man in his thirties but he looked like he was pushing sixty with his receding hairline, fine lines marring his forehead and wrinkles covering his face.

Jeremy had a feeling his premature wrinkles were also as a result of his wickedness, but who was he to judge? Oh right, his underpaid employee.

"Sir, I wanted to talk to you about something..." Jeremy began, marching closer to his desk.

"Obviously, why else would you be here? To braid each other's hair?" He said with a roll of his eyes.

Jeremy snorted at the ironic statement, but quickly covered it up by clearing his throat. The last thing Jeremy needed was to be denied a raise because his didn't like the way he laughed.

"Speak," his boss spat impatiently, like he was some kind of insignificant bug buzzing around him.

"Right, sir. I'd like to discuss a raise. I've been working..." He began his speech but was quickly cut off by him.

"A raise?" His boss asked with a mocking expression that confused him a little.

"Yes sir, a raise, I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important. See, my mother is extremely sick and needs urgent medical attention..."

"And you can't take care of her?"

"Well yes." He nodded, glad he understood my predicament.

"And how is that any of my concern?" He asked with raised brows. It was remarkable how he lacked so much hair on his head, but had an abundance of it as eyebrows.

"It's not sir. It's just that I'd like a raise."

"Why the hell do you think you deserve a raise?" All his attention was on Jeremy now, and he almost wished his boss was ignoring him like he had been. He wasn't scared of him by any means, he just robbed him off the wrong way.

"Maybe because I work my ass off..."

"And...? The janitor works his ass off, you don't see him demanding a raise."

"I fail to see what that has to do with this, sir."

The man had to be slow or something or just dense, but Jeremy knew that wasn't the case. When he'd decided to come to him, he already knew what he was going to get. His employment letter had stated that employees of the establishment would only get a raise every five years. At that time, he had been desperate, so he had taken the job, but now he felt cheated.

"How long does it state in your employment contract it takes for an employee to get a raise in this company?"

"Five years..." Jeremy answered reluctantly, knowing exactly where he was going well with this.

"And how long have you been working here?"

"Three years."

"Now do the math."

"Sir, I know all of this, but I was hoping you'd make an exception."

"Typical behavior of a beta male begging for scrap, you can't even take care of your mother."

"Well maybe If you paid your employees properly I would be able to!"

Jeremy spat, annoyed by his audacity. Who the hell did he think he was? Granted, he was his boss, but it didn't give him a right to look down on him.

Jeremy's outburst seemed to have shocked him because he glared at him with contempt.

"That's a bold voice for someone whose girlfriend is sucking my dick every night for money!"

"Excuse me?" Jeremy's voice came out in an angry whisper as his words sunk in.

"You heard me, Alex, boy. Your girlfriend is fucking me every night because you can't afford to take care of her." He mocked, his eyes boring into Jeremy's, taunting him to do something about it.

"You are lying, my girlfriend would never do that!" He spat.

"Oh come now, I'm way above lying, especially to the likes of you, but if you really want proof, doesn't she have a penguin tattoo on her inner thighs?"

He asked with a sick smile on his face.

There was a long pause as he digested his words.

"You are a fucking monster." Jeremy whispered.

Feeling his heart break at his revelation.

He did not want to believe his girlfriend was capable of cheating on him, but it would seem he was wrong.

"I can afford to be a monster, you, on the other hand, cannot even afford to keep your woman." He mocked.

"Shut up, you old fuck!" Jeremy seethed, his hands balling into fists.

"Well Alex my boy, that just earned you a demotion, from now on, you'll be getting half of your paycheck, that should teach you to control your tongue,"

"Fuck you!" He cursed harshly. He could feel his eyes stinging with unshed tears, but he refused to cry.

"Another reduction." He smirked.

"You are a fucking tyrant, you know that? And I hope you get what you deserve, you old swine!"

"That's a lot of words coming from a man whose mother is dying."

His words sank in, and before Jeremy could stop himself, he lunged at him, he was about to punch him when the doors to the office opened and a bunch of security men came in and held him down.

He was not exactly sure what had transpired in the office after the first punch he had given his boss, all he knew was that he was now outside the company with his things on the floor, spotting a bruised knuckle and badly bruised body.

The weight of everything hit him at once, he could not believe Laura had been cheating on him with his boss. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew it wasn't a lie. My boss was a lot of things, but a liar, he was not.

Jeremy was still licking his wounds later that day in a bar when he noticed a woman walk up to him.

He glanced up at her, she was beautiful, with hair packed in a bun. She looked like she'd come straight from work, judging by her pants suit.

"Good evening, Mr. Alex." The lady said.

"Good evening. How do you know my name?" He asked, despite his need to be alone. He would rather not be rude, especially not to a beautiful woman.

"I am Ariel McDonald and I have a proposal for you." She said as she took her seat beside him.

He eyed her skeptically but urged her to go on.

"What kind of proposal?"

"A simple one, actually. I'd like for you to marry me."

Jeremy sat with his mouth hanging low and brows furrowed, staring at the woman before him in confused shock. He wasn't sure he heard her right.

"I'm sorry, did you say marriage proposal?" He asked, dropping his glass of whiskey on the counter to be sure the drink was not the reason he was hearing things.

"Precisely." She said matter of fact.

"Is this some kind of joke lady because I am not interested..." He snapped. He was the worst person to play a prank on today. He had had enough for just one day.

"Do I look like the sort of woman to joke around?" She asked evenly, her voice not giving away a single intention.

He searched her eyes, trying to make sense of what he had just heard, but he couldn't get anything from her. It was like staring at a brick wall, a gorgeous decorated wall.

"I wouldn't know, I have no Idea who you are!"

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes at him. "I knew you wouldn't recognize me. I am Ariel, Ariel McDonald..." she said, like he was instantly supposed to know who the hell she was.

He stared at her blankly. Was her name supposed to ring any bells? Because it didn't. The only bells ringing in his head were bells of alarm.

She heaved a disappointed sigh when she realized he still had no idea who she was.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out an envelope and handed it over to him.

He collected the envelope hesitantly and opened it to find a picture inside, he took it out and gasped when everything finally clicked.

Jeremy glanced up at her and back at the picture again, flabbergasted by the remarkable change and difference after five years.

It was amazing how she'd changed. She'd gotten rid of her braces and acne and from what he could see, was no longer the overly religious girl she once was as the pictures suggested.

"Do you recognize me now?" She tilted her head in question.

"I do, you have..."

"Changed? Yeah, I get that lot." She said, snatching the picture from his hand and shoving it back into her bag.

"Now, what do you say about my proposal." She turned around to face his, her expression much more serious than before.

As he examined her even more, it was even more clear how much she had changed.

From her clothes to her face to her mannerisms, the Ariel he knew from five years ago could not even look at someone in the eyes.

"I'm... not sure what to say... I mean I'm flattered, but I'm not looking for a wife right now and even if I were, I still would want to get to know my wife first and not jump into marriage. I have too many troubles plaguing me to be thinking of marriage."

"What kind of troubles?" She asked a little too quickly.

I watched her for a long before shrugging and speaking up again.

"Well, I just got dismissed from my job, so I'm jobless. I just found out my girlfriend has been cheating on me with my ex-boss and my mother is in the hospital sick to an inch of her life, but the doctor refused to treat her any further until I brought the needed amount.

He said rapidly. He was sure he sounded incredibly pathetic to her, but he didn't care, he was too intoxicated to mince his words.

"I don't want your pity." He said to her as an afterthought. He hated the idea of people feeling pity for me.

"I'll pay." She said, ignoring his statement.

"You will pay what?" He asked with furrowed brows.

"For your mom's medical expenses, you can come work under me or if you don't want that, I can buy you a business of your choice and your house and whatever else you'd need."

He blinked at her rapidly, not sure of what he was hearing.

"Are you being serious?" He asked.

"If you agree to marry me, all of what I've mentioned will be yours."

If he had heard right, she had just promised to pay my mother's medical bills, that was all he needed to hear to say yes, so why the hell was he hesitating?

Maybe because it's weird for a woman you haven't seen and barely spoke to in high school is offering your hand in marriage.

A tiny voice in his head supplied.

"What do you say, Jeremy?" She pressed.

He glanced up at her and nodded.

"Okay."

"Good." She said, and began to rummage through her bag.

"Here's my card, you can reach me through the phone number. I want you to meet me at the town hall in two hours with your marriage permit."

He glanced down at the card and read out the name of the company..."McDonald Enterprise" and his eyes widened.

She was apparently the owner of the biggest cosmetic company in the United States, he knew this because his girlfriend had taken him to one of her shows sometime this year.

"Okay, I'll be there." He glanced up at her.

"Good."

"Don't you need my phone number to call me?" He asked after her.

She just smiled and said,

"Already do." He watched as she walked out of the bar, both mesmerized by her and flabbergasted at what had just happened.

He wasn't sure if he should jump for joy or be scared of what I had just agreed to, afterall this could just be a ploy to collect his innards and sell it to the black market, it wouldn't be the first time a rich person did that.

"You can still get out of it if you like," that annoying voice in my head spoke.

If he refused her offer now, that would mean he won't be able to pay his mother's Medical bills, which means she wouldn't get treated.

His phone chimed, indicating that he had just gotten a notification. He picked up the device and opened the message icon.

His eyes widened in shock as he read that he had just been credited with fifty thousand dollars.

It didn't take Him long to leave the bar and head straight to the registry to get his marriage permit.

It was relatively easier than he thought, but he had a feeling it was because of Ariel's influence.

He still couldn't believe she'd transferred fifty thousand dollars to him just like that.

He wasn't even married to her yet, for all she knew he could easily just disappear with the money. After all, fifty thousand dollars was more than enough to pay the rest of my mother's medical bills with a boat load of change.

"But you won't though, her deal was too good for you to pass up." He ignored the words of his inner voice, even though he knew it was right.

Her offer was way too good to refuse, maybe a little too good, which brought numerous questions to his mind, like why she was doing this.

She was beautiful, so it shouldn't have been hard for her to meet men. None of it made sense to him, but he wasn't going to question a miracle, at least not right now, his only priority now was his mother.

Jeremy stopped his barely functioning Honda car in the parking lot of the hospital his mother was currently at and rushed inside.

He immediately paid for the medical expenses.

"Hey mom." He hugged her as soon as he got close to her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, pulling away from her.

"She's doing better than yesterday." His sister, Naomi, said behind him.

"Here's your water, mom." She handed their mom a glass of water before coming to hug him.

"How are you?" She asked, her voice soft as she looked up at him.

"I'm fine. How are you and Mom holding up?"

"Good actually, I just met the doctor in the hallway. Said you paid all the medical bills."

"Yes." He nodded, stroking his mother's hair. She was still a bit weak, but there was nothing a good rest couldn't fix.

"How in the world did you manage that on such short notice?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes it does, where did you get thirty-five thousand dollars to pay mom's medical bills? "

He phone rang just then, saving him from answering any further questions from his sister. He picked up the phone without looking at the ID.

"Hey baby." My girlfriend's voice poured through the phone. There was a time that her voice was all he needed to function, but now they felt like needles and nails pricking his ears.

"What is it?" He said as civilly as he could in front of his mother and sister.

"Well that's a rude way to greet the love of your life." She said in a pouty tone.

"I'm sorry, how are you?"

"Not so great, baby. I'm in the mall right now, and I'm short on cash, could you maybe send me $500?" She said in a flirty tone that was annoying rather than arousing.

"Are you crazy?" He asked out of anger, completely forgetting about the presence of both his mother and sister, who were now staring at him curiously.

"Baby that's rude! Why are you speaking to me like that?" The more she spoke, the more annoyed he got.

He was so pissed, he didn't think to dignify her with a response. He immediately hung up.

He was so irritated and annoyed by her. She knew the tight corner he was in, especially with his mother's hospital bills, yet she was more concerned about her clothes.

He went back to talking to his sister, and she explained to him what had been going on with her health. The doctor had already briefed me before now.

"What about you, how are you taking all of this?" He asked, worried about her. She'd been looking after their mom almost twice as much as he was. He had been too busy trying to find the money to pay for all the bills, since their insurance barely covered anything.

"I'm... alright." He knew instantly from her hesitation that she was lying for his sake or at least not telling the complete truth and he wanted to comfort her, but the look in her eyes told him she needed everything but comfort. She needed to rest and go to college and be just a normal nineteen-year-old.

That was why he knew he had to take this deal. If he was going to get his family out of the slum life, he had to latch on to this opportunity, no matter how good it might be.

"Have you had anything to eat?"

"Yeah, I got snacks from the vending machine earlier."

"That's not food, bro!" He scolded her.

"Yeah, well, I'm not hungry."

"Bullshit." He glared, tired of having to beg her to eat something.

She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"You are being dramatic, I just forgot to eat."

He blinked at her ridiculous statement before letting out a sigh. "How did you even forget to eat? You know what? Don't answer that. I'm going to go get you something to eat." He said and stood to leave.

"Be right back mom," He kissed her forehead and left. He was about to get in his car when he saw Stephanie, his girlfriend, walking towards him.

'Boo bear!" She called out to him as she walked faster towards him. He waited patiently until she got to him with zero expression on his face.

She kissed him on the lips, but he didn't move. He couldn't at that point.

"What are you doing here?* He asked.

"Well, I thought I'd come collect the money here instead."

"What money?"

"The five hundred dollars I told you about on the phone, duh."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any money to give to you."

"Then how the hell am I supposed to shop?"

"I don't know, maybe you could ask my boss, you know. The man you've been fucking behind my back for money."

Her face widened in shock.