ARCANUS: WHO IS WHO?

CHANCE OF A LIFE TIME

SAMANTHA'S POV

*Dailing sounds*

"Hello." The person at the other end of the phone said.

"Uhm, hi. Good afternoon." It was already twelve thirty in the afternoon.

"A good afternoon it is. Please, who am I speaking with?" She asked from the other end.

"My name is Samantha, I was a waitress at Nessa's cafe." I said.

"My friend told me you were looking for me." I said to her.

"Oh, Samantha. Hi, I am Katherine, the assistant of the lady who had croissants and coffee at your shop yesterday, do you remember?" She asked.

"Yeah, of course, I do remember. So ma'am, why were you looking for me?" I asked.

"Uhm, I heard from your friend that you moved to the city and that you don't longer work at the café. Is that true?" She asked.

"Yes, Ma'am it is."

"Wow, nice. Well my boss has an offer for you, that is if you are not occupied already." She said.

"I am not, actually." I told her.

"Okay, where are you at?" She asked.

"Uhm....." I said, looking for a sign post

"Oh! Twelfth Street Earlston Road." I said.

"Okay, wait for me there." She said as she ended the call.

Five minutes later, I saw a fine looking car pull in front of the shop where I sat.

That was faster than expected. The car's back window rolled down, and I saw Katherine.

"Get in." She said.

I stood up and turned to the shop owner: "I'll be heading out to now, sir. Thank you very much." I said as I walked to the car quickly.

When I got in , the car started moving immediately.

We got to a very fine looking mansion. I have never seen a house as beautiful as this one.

The driver stopped the car exactly at the front door of the mansion. We both came down from the car and walked into the mansion. The mansion was even prettier inside than outside. The inside was layered with marble floors, and it had very beautifully detailed furniture.

"You can have your seat," she said, pointing to a sofa.

"Would you like to have anything?" She asked.

"Can I?" I said shyly, pointing at the water sitting on the table in a jug. I was very thirst. I hadn't gotten a sip of water since I got off the bus.

"Please, help yourself." She said.

"Wait here while I go get Miss Margo."

"Okay." I nodded at her words as I downed a glass of water as she walked away.

As I was about to take another cup, I heard the door open and then slam shut.

"Ugh, so annoying." I had a very familiar voice. Maybe it was a coincidence I said in my head as I drank the water slower this time.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps walking towards where I was. I turned around to see who it was.

I almost choked on th water, seeing who it was.

"You? you? Why are you here? Are you following me?" She roared.

"I let you off the hook, and you still dared show your face? Who let you in anyway?" She scoffed before I could breathe a word.

"Hi, let me give you answers to your questions." I said to her.

"Uh, no, I am not following you. If you noticed I was seated here before you walked in, if I were following you, I would have to be behind you, meaning you'd be here before me. That was pure logic, I wonder how it escaped your notice." I said bluntly, there was no need to fake respect. I lost my job because of her, and she said we were equal. At least that was what her words meant.

"And, I was invited here, by someone." I added.

"Hey, you guys have already met." I heard the lady who bought me breakfast yesterday. Her voice was so lovely that it was hard not to recognise.

"Hey there, how are you?" She said to me.

"Mum, you know her?" Rose asked. Mum? My brain asked immediately. Wow! for someone like Miss Margo, her daughter was out of what I imagined her child to be like.

"Yes." Miss Margo said.

"She was the kind and beautiful waitress I told you about yesterday." Margo said as I instinctively smiled at her compliment.

"You are way prettier than me." I said to Miss Margo as she smiled, making Rose turn pink.

"Why, thank you." She said.

"But I don't agree that I am prettier." She said as I gave her a little smile.

"Rose darling, you just got back. Go freshen up, sweetie." She said to Rose as Rose walked off, giving me one last dirt look before vanishing.

"I think it would be better we talked in my office." Margo said.

As we walked to her office, I saw more part of the house. It was beautiful, her office, which looked more like a library, was on the second floor and it was wide a very spacious room. It was bigger than any room I had slept in.

"So Samantha?" Miss Margo called cutting my thoughts short.

"What brings you to the city?" She asked.

"Well, I want to make a living so I can send myself to school." I said.

"That's very beautiful." She said, nodding her head with approval.

"So what do you want to study?" She asked. I can see the expectations in her gaze.

"Finance and statistics." I said wearly, praying my answer would not affect anything good that was meant to come out of the conversation.

"Wow! wow!" She said, staring at me with these proud happy eyes.

"You know I am very happy with your answer. Those two courses are core courses in business life, and as a business lady, I just felt so happy hearing you say that." She praised my ambition.

"May I ask why you want to study those?" She said.

"Well, I didn't have anything growing up, so I thought to myself that making money was what I was born for. As I grew older, the ambition grew from just making money by working for others but having my own independent company one day." I said to her.

"I like you. When I was younger, I had that same midset. You remind me of my younger self. " She said, turning to look at Katherine, who was smiling.

"I have a proposal for you." She said.

"I want to be your mentor. You want to walk a path that I am already walking, so guiding you would be the right thing to do." She said as my mind exploded.

"I mean, if you are okay with it." She added,unsure, I would agree.

"Of course, why not?" I said, almost jumping out of my seat.

"Okay, so here's the thing, I want you to be my secretary. You will be receiving an annual salary of ten million." She said as my jaw dropped. Did she just say million? I was speechless.

"Wait, what?" I blurted out. My brain was finding it hard to process what it had just heard.

"Are you for real?" I asked.

"Yes. It is very real."

"I am speechless. Why? Why would you help me? I am a total stranger, and you are offering this much to me." I said, believing in my head it was all a prank.

"Like I said earlier on, I like you, and you have this strong confidence that I like, that's why I want to help you reach your goal." She said.

"Thank you so much for your kindness. I will surely repay you. I haven't even repayed you for breakfast yet." I said as I brought out a croissant from my bag and handed it to her.

"I know it's not much, but to say thank you for the breakfast." I said to her.

"Thank you." She said as she looked at the croissant with a smile.

"As your mentor, I must see to it that you have a proper education, so your college life will be covered by me. But there is a catch." She said.

"You'd have to live under my supervision." She said.

"Are you okay with that?" She asked, scanning my face.

"Yes, that won't be a problem." I said, suppressing my excitement. How would living here be a problem? This was literal paradise.

"Okay. I have arranged for someone to get your things, I have also contacted the apartment agent so you don't need to worry about that." She said casually.

I wasn't surprised. If her daughter could do what she did at that coffee shop, then Miss Margo could do far more as to getting my personal info.

"I have a task for you." Miss Margo said to me.

"Me?" I asked, pointing to myself.

"Yes, you. This assignment is very important and would help you grow when your business has skyrocketed." She said as I grew very interested.

"What is the assignment?" I asked.

"This." She said, pushing a folder into my hands.