Taming the Italian billionaire

It's official, Noelle hates Fridays. Normal people would be happy about the weekend but for her, it is the complete opposite.

She hates pressure and Fridays at 'The Brennan's. Working there was already hell on its own. Now to add, the pressure and rush that comes with Friday evenings.

She dreads going to work there but she has no choice, this is her only means of survival. She has tons of bills to pay and they are not going to settle themselves.

She sighed and got up from bed. Freshened up and she wore my work clothes, a neatly ironed shirt and a black skirt.

"My keys? Check. My phone? Check. what else, what else? Yes, my card. Where is it?" She said to herself.

She searched everywhere for the card but she couldn't find it. Then she remembered that she had forgotten it at work the previous day.

She locked the door and walked to the bus station. She was almost there when she saw the bus leaving.

She ran after the bus, yelling and flagging it down. The bus finally stopped and she entered. When they finally got to my stop, she payed with the remaining cash with her and got down.

She saw her boss through the window and faked a smile as she entered. She was late again, her boss hated tardiness and he always threatened to fire her.

"Good morning sir" she said to him

"Noelle..." He started

"I know, I know. I am very late but trust me I have a really good reason." She said cut in. Her boss opened his mouth to speak again but she stopped him.

"Yes sir, there is no good reason for being late. I am deeply sorry sir. It won't happen again" she explained.

"That is what you say all the time but nothing changes. I told you the last time.."

"Oh shoot! Look at the time, customers would start entering anytime soon. You know it's Friday. I should start preparing the table" she cut in again.

That worked everytime. My boss left her to start preparing the table and she smiled, it was real this time. She was content with herself for escaping that hurdle. Now , just to get through today.

She placed the menus on each table and made sure every thing was in place. The bell at the door ringed, our first customer for the day. It was a woman and her kid. They sat at the table close to the window and skimmed through menu. She walked up to them to take their orders.

"Hi, what would you like to order this morning?" She said with a practiced smile.

"What would you want Bobby?" The woman asked her son and he pointed to the first one on the list.

She could not believe my eyes, this was the first time a parent allowed their child to choose from the adult menu. It made her happy and obviously the child too.

"Okay, you want pancakes and the honey syrup? Do you want coffee to go with that?" She asked

"Yes please, can I get an orange juice for my son?" The customer asked.

"Sure, your order will be ready in no time" Noelle replied and walked to the counter. She told the chef the order and he prepared it.

She served them their order and went back to arranging the table. When she was finally done the woman and her son had finished eating so she cleared their table when they left.

We did not have any customers after that, she was so surprised. Today was Friday and we have had only one customer since morning.

It was almost afternoon. The clock hand hit One o'clock and people rushed into the diner.

She was shocked, it was almost like they had just released them from prison. The force they came with was overwhelming. She sighed and put on a professional smile. She walked up to the first table.

"Hi, what would you like to order today?" She asked.

There were Three people on this table, a boy and two girls. The blonde one picked up the menu and glanced through.

"Can we get toasts? And milkshakes too." She asked

"Of course you can" Noelle replied

"What would you guys like to have?" She asked her friends.

"I don't know, what ever you order man. You're paying" the guy joked and three of them laughed.

"That would be all please" she said to Noelle

"Three toast and three milkshakes, got it" Noelle said and walked to the counter. She submitted the order and moved to the next table.

Her co-worker, Ariana, was attending to other tables. Their Rush hour had begun. As soon as customers were leaving, more were coming in. There were no empty tables left.

They worked continually for hours and when it was finally seven o'clock, they closed. She left work with Ariana.

They stood at the bus station but when there was no sign of a bus, they decided to Walk home.

Ariana was her best friend and also her neighbor. She was the only person close to Noelle.

They had been friends for six years, ever since Noelle moved from Texas to new Orleans. Noelle was born in Texas but she moved to new Orleans when she lost her parents. Their death was hard in her and it made her withdraw into a shell but that changed when she met Ariana.

Ariana helped Noelle settle in town nicely and she helped her get a job at The Brennan's.

"Girl I don't even want to go home" Ariana said.

"Why?" Noelle asked

"Because my cousin is coming over" Ariana replied

"Omg, the one we hate?"

"Yes, the one we hate. Apparently she is going through some difficulties and she is devastated, now I have to be her support system. Girl I need a support system myself" Ariana said.

"That is actually crazy. So they can come to you for help now but they turned you down when asked for help. If I were you I would kick her out of my house" Noelle said.

"Girl, I wish I could do that. My dad thinks we are indebted to them since they trained me through school" Ariana explained.

"That does not even make sense"

"Rich people and rich problems" Ariana joked and they laughed.

When they finally got home, Ariana's cousin was standing in front of the door.

"You are very late, I have been standing here for hours" Ariana's cousin said

"Girl, don't lie. You probably haven't stayed here for thirty minutes" Ariana replied and opened the door.

"Good night Ariana" Noelle said and she entered her apartment.

Noelle walked into her apartment and switched on the lights. She dropped her purse on the floor and she sat on the bed. Looking around her room, she sighed.

"Mom would probably be rolling in her grave right now" she said to herself. Her room was a mess but she did not care. Some days, like today, she felt a pang of guilt. Her mom raised her better than this, her mom always loved a neat and tidy home but this apartment was the complete opposite of that. There were clothes every where. The kitchen was an eye sore, days old dishes were in the sink. The bin was full and was due to be emptied. The only clean place was the bathroom. She kept it clean because she hated a dirty bathroom. What an irony.

"I am a very busy person, I wake up really early and come back real late. I do not have time to clean" she defended herself, trying to kill the guilt that was eating her up.

"Fine, I will clean it now" she said to herself. She connected her phone to the speakers and played songs from her 'favourite playlist'. She started from the kitchen, she cleared the table and put the dirty dishes in the sink. After clearing the table, she moved to the sink. She washed the dishes and put them in the rack to dry. She swept and mopped the floor.

Moving to the living room, she picked every piece of clothing she found, she put them in a rack to dry.

After she was done with cleaning, she was tired and hungry. She wanted to order pizza but decided against it. She chose to visit Ariana.

She went to Ariana's door and knocked on it. Ariana opened the door the second time she knocked.

"I have been knocking for hours".

"Hey, sorry I was in the shower, I did not hear you knocking" Ariana apologized

"It is okay, can I come in?" She asked

"You don't even have to ask" Ariana said and opened the door wide for Noelle to enter.

When Noelle entered she looked around for Ariana's cousin but there was no sign of her.

"Where is she, where is the queen bee?" She whispered

"In the shower, she entered as soon as I came out." Ariana replied.

"I am starving, is there any food?" Noelle asked walking into the kitchen.

"There is some left over lasagna in the fridge." Ariana replied

"Is it still edible?" She asked as she opened the fridge, she brought out the plate of lasagna and put it in the microwave.

"Of course it is still edible, I made it this morning" Ariana replied

"Some times I wonder how you have time to do all these things but then I remember that it is you. The great Ariana. You can do anything you put your mind to, I wanna be like you when I grow up. You are so amazing" Noelle praised Ariana

"Girl, enough the praises. You can sing my praises from now till next year but I am still not letting you drink my wine." Ariana said

"Ariana, that wine has been sitting on that shelf for months. It is so lonely. It is literally calling my name, listen"

"Noelle, Noelle please save me. I am so lonely here, it is so scary up here. Save me by drinking me please " Noelle said faking a tiny voice. The microwave dinged and it was time to take the plate out of the microwave.

"Girl, take that plate out of my microwave and don't burn down my house." Ariana laughed.

"You are so mean, I thought we were friends" Noelle said as she brought out the plate from the microwave.

"We are"

"Friends share wine, they do not hide sweet wine from each other." Noelle said as she began to eat.

"Friends also save each other, I am saving you from hang over and terrible headache. You will thank me tomorrow. Besides you can not control your liquor, you drink till you are drunk then you pass out and I would be the one to carry you. Plus, you have to go to work tomorrow. You know Mr Brennan is already pissed at you, any more mistakes and you are losing that job." Ariana explained.

"Okay mom, you did not really have to tell me that boring story" Noelle was being sarcastic and they both burst out laughing. Their laughter was interrupted by Ariana's cousin entrance.

"Is there any food?" She asked

"Oh, you are too late. Noelle just ate the last of it. I could make a sandwich for you" Ariana said.

"I would love that, thank you" she replied.

Ariana stood up from her chair and started making the sandwich. She was just spreading the mayonnaise when Noelle came to drop the plate in the sink.

"Did she just say thank you or do I need hearing aids?" Noelle asked quietly, making sure Ariana's cousin did not hear her.

"I thought I was the only one that heard it, she was probably being sarcastic." Ariana replied.

"Is it just me or she looks different. I don't know, calmer I think" Noelle asked

"Her engagement got called off" Ariana whispered and Noelle gasped.

"No way, how sure are you? Was she engaged? I had no idea. I wonder what type of guy would even dream of marrying her. Crazy bitch, no wonder he called off the engagement, no one can stand her crazy attitude" Noelle said

"That's not why the engagement was called off, it was because she was caught in bed with another man" Ariana said.

"Are you not done?" Ariana's cousin called out.

"Almost done " she replied.

Ariana handed the sandwich she made to her cousin and she went into the room with Noelle.

"Tell me everything" Noelle said excitedly

"Okay so she was caught in bed with Luca Amante" Ariana explained

"Luca amante ? The Luca Amante? Our Luca? Grace was with Luca? I can't believe this" Noelle asked surprised.

"Yes, she was on a yacht with him three days before her wedding and there were pictures and videos to prove it" Ariana replied

"It is not what you think" Grace said from the hallway.

"And yes, I heard everything" she continued when she entered the room.

"We did not mean to gossip about you, it just came out that way" Ariana quickly apologized.

"No it is fine, it is totally fine. I understand but you do not know the full story. At least if you want to tell a story, you should say it correctly" she said as she sat on the bed beside them.

"So what is the full story?" Noelle asked

"I used to date Luca Amante, that was long before I met Julius, my fiance or should I say ex fiance. Luca reached out to me, he said he wanted to see me. He invited me to his pent house. We had drinks and I drank too much. He took advantage of that." Grace explained and Ariana gasped.

"So you mean he invited you over, made you drunk and he raped you? He also took pictures and videos and he also posted them?" Noelle asked surprised and Grace nodded

"Now that is disgusting, he is an animal. He should be locked behind bars" Ariana said clearly disgusted.

"But that is the problem, he is Luca Amante. He is untouchable. No one can make him pay for what he did. That is why I am here, hiding." Grace said sadly

"That is unfair, he should pay for what he did, fuck the law" Noelle yelled.

"That is the world we live in, where men like Luca do things like that and get away with it" Ariana added

"There is a way to make him pay though, but I am have not found any one to support me" grace said

"What's that?" Noelle asked

"We seduce him and Make him fall for some one, then she breaks his heart but not only his heart, she destroys his company and everything he built." Grace replied.

"But that is heartless, that is horrible. How did you even think of such?" Ariana said

"It is the perfect plan, after what he did Grace? It is only fair that he should suffer some losses too." Noelle supported Grace's idea.

"I need some one to do it, I can not do it myself since he already knows me. I need some one different, some one new and unknown. It would be a huge shock to him. I am willing to pay the person though. I'll pay five million dollars to who ever would help me in carrying out my plan " Grace said

"Five million what? You are a crazy girl" Ariana said shaking her head

"If you have been through half of what I went through then you would be crazy, you would understand where I am coming from" Grace yelled.

"But still, this plan is disgusting. It is inhumane. You should find another way to make him pay." Ariana tried to discourage her cousin

"There is no other way, were you not listening to what I was saying? It is Luca Amante, the Luca" Grace said

"I will do it, I will help you" Noelle said after thinking for a long time.

"No you will not" Ariana yelled.

"I will do it, that bastard gotta pay for what he did"

"And who are you to decide that? What are you now? A human rights activist? You must have lost your god damned mind " Ariana yelled.

"She will pay me, you are you to pay me right?" Noelle asked

"Yes, three million before and two after the job is done" Grace confirmed

"Can you hear that! Five freaking million and I still get to make him pay for what he did, it is literally the best deal on earth. It is just like taking candy from a baby"

"Except he is not a baby, he is a twenty seven year old billionaire that can ruin our lives with only one call. So think about this, what am I saying? Do not think about this, forget the money. We will find another way to get out of poverty. This is not the way." Ariana said, hoping to change Noelle's mind

"I have made my decision, Ariana. Do not try to stop me or change my mind because it is not going to work. Some one has to teach that man a lesson" Noelle replied.

"And that some one is not you, it will never be you. Few hours ago you were obsessed with him and all now you want to ruin his life? Listen to yourself. Can you even hear what you are saying?" Ariana said

"Listen Ariana, if you won't do it, do not try to discourage her from helping me. I came here looking for help from my cousin, My blood but I guess she does not love me enough to help me. Now a stranger wants to help me and you are discouraging her. What exactly is your problem?" Grace yelled

"You are my problem!" Ariana shouted on top of her voice.

"You are my fucking problem, you and your whole family. Wanna talk about blood and relation? Well I have the perfect story. Every single time I ask you guys for help, you ignore me and I've lived my life in poverty because you guys are too selfish to help. Now tell me why should I help you now?" Ariana continued

"I am not asking you for help, your friend here is generous enough to help so just stay out of it" Grace argued

"I can not and will never stay out of it. Noelle is my best friend and also my responsibility I will never let you put her in danger like that." Ariana stood her ground

"Stay out of it, I have made up my mind. Do not ruin this for me" Noelle said firmly