THE BILLIONAIRE'S LOVE CHILD

I stood in the mirror, half-naked, and carefully examined the scars on my body. My name is Skylar Rae; it means 'beauty.' I was named Skylar because I looked a lot like my beautiful grandmother, who had the same name. I was raised by my mother, who was constantly bashed by my father. When I was little, my father hit me. I was twelve when he was arrested by the police for hitting me. My mother called the police on him. As soon as he was released, he packed his bag and left. I didn't know where he was till now. I am twenty-one. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in English, and I am also a baker. My mother taught me how to bake. She learned that from my grandmother. I am a writer for Pixie Publishing Company. I won't lie; I am not paid well, and I am not given enough credit for my work. Despite that, I am glad that my ideas are out there for people to read. I looked at the time to see if I could still eat before leaving for work because one thing about me is that I am always punctual. "I still have a few minutes left," I muttered to myself. I wore white pants with a blue flowered shirt and glass heels. I took extra care to look good today because I wanted to speak with my boss, Lindsey. My phone vibrated. I picked it up, there was a voice message notification displayed on the screen. I played it and listened "Hey, Skylar! I won't make it to your birthday. We have an emergency meeting." I frowned, and muttered to myself: "There he goes again. He promised this would be the last time. He is never around for anything with me." That is Jerry, my boyfriend of three years. He is a manager in a consulting firm that is owned by his family. Since he got that position, he is always busy at work and doesn't come home on time like he used to. Don't get me wrong, he is a good guy, though he is not big on emotions. He is very handsome and comes from a rich family. He hardly talks about them, except when he is drunk. We met at the university; I helped him ace the courses that he found difficult. We were friends for a couple of months before we started dating. Today is my birthday. He promised he would do everything to make sure that he was back on time. Once again, he broke his promise, just like he has been doing since. I did not bother to reply, instead I grabbed my bag and walked out of the house. I waited at the bus stand for the bus to arrive. It did not take time for it to come. I boarded it. I arrived on time for work, greeted the secretary, and then took the elevator. I was pretty nervous because of the task ahead. I wanted to request an increment in my salary. Two of my books are pumping money into the company, so I believe I deserve an increment. Once I got to my office, I started editing the work that was handed over to me yesterday. "I will go and meet my boss during lunch break" I concluded. "Skylar, Boss wants to see you," her assistant Megan announced. "Okay, I will be there" I answered. I picked up my note, phone, and pen and followed her. Before I could knock, I heard: "Come in," a sultry and cool voice ushered me in. I walked into the room and saw two more guests inside. She pointed at the seat and I sat down. "Skylar, this is Margot Wilson and Edgar Allan. They need your help in proofreading Mrs Margot's book. Edgar is a good friend, that is why I assigned them to you." "She wrote Alpha Terror, right?" The man she pointed at before asked. "Yes, Skylar is very talented." Margot smiled at me, "Good book, I did not sleep till I finished it." "Thank you so much" I beamed. "They want it done as soon as possible. Money is not the issue, so make sure to add a lot of cliffhangers in the book like you did with your book" she demanded, while using her hand to demonstrate. "Of course" I had a fake smile on my face like I was thrilled to hear about the job offer. I took the book and glanced through it; then I nodded, seeing where I needed to touch it. She wrote out a check which my boss, Lindsey, collected. "Please send me the names of your favorite books to read. Here is my card" Margot said, and handed the card to me. I took the card and examined Lindsey's demeanor to know whether she was okay with that. When everything was concluded and business cards were exchanged, they left. Now is the time to speak to my boss. I quickly cleared my throat to get her attention. "Boss, I need to speak to you about something. I wanted to wait till lunchtime, but since I am already here, I might as well tell you," I muttered in a calm voice. "What do you want?" she questioned me, her brow raised in an enquiring manner. "Boss, you know that since I joined this company, I have contributed positively to the growth of this company", I reminded her. "So?" she asked, still busy with her laptop. "Boss, I believe I deserve an increment in my salary" I blurted out. She raised her head, and from the look on her face, she was pissed. "It is not happening, don't even go there" she declared. "You have forgotten that I made you who you are" she fumed. I decided there and then that I was tired of being pushed around, so I continued. "Boss, I gave my all and even worked overtime in this company. I think it is high time I am appreciated." "I put my heart and soul into my work. Please, I would love to continue working here, but if nothing is done about my salary, I am afraid I will have to leave", I said to her with a blank face. I waited for her to say something, but nothing was forthcoming. She continued typing away. "I guess I should go pack my things," I said out of desperation to get her to react, yet she did not move. The way things are going, I might be fired before I even get to resign. I walked into my office, regretting what I had done. "Well, either I go back to pastry making, or I become jobless," I said, mocking myself. "It has been a long time since I baked to sell, so it might take time to gather customers. I will probably find a small shop to rent. The shop won't cost much, because I cannot afford it and I have to take a loan. It will help me to buy the equipment and all I need for my baking, since I had little savings. "I will have to decorate the shop so that it will look attractive," I kept calculating while pacing. "What will I use to take the loan? I am still paying for my house; even Jerry has been helping, too. He often gives me work and I do it for him in exchange for money to pay off the debts I incurred." I got tired of calculating and threw myself on the chair. I felt tears well in my eyes. "What will I do now? How will I get out of this mess?" I lamented. "I should not have taken such a hasty decision. I should have waited to finish this new job that she told me about this morning. Once it is completed, in the euphoria of it all, I would mention the salary increment", I lamented. I took my bag to leave. I wanted to go home and plan for myself. I was almost out of the door when Megan stopped me. "Sky, the boss wants to see you again," she uttered, without waiting for me to join her. I paused to see her expression so that I could find out my faith. I followed her quickly into the office. My boss was pacing. She looked bothered. I stood there for some minutes waiting for her to acknowledge my presence. She, as if waking up from a trance, turned and addressed me. "Sky, you are good at your job; I would hate to lose you now." "As you know, the company is currently trying to pay off some debts incurred by our last employee who extorted money." "You might see our inability to increase your salary as you are being cheated because of the huge amount of money your books generated at this company, but it is nothing like that. You are on our top list of people we want to increase their salary, Once everything is settled. Since it has gotten to this, there is no problem; I will add twenty percent extra to your salary, take it or leave it," she declared. "I will take it," I said quickly to her before she changed her mind. I was thrilled about her offer. I was so afraid that this would end badly, but instead, I got what I wanted. This is better than nothing. I know her; she wouldn't have said anything if she had not meant it. "Boss, will the increment be reflected in next month's salary or the one I will receive in two days?" She stopped what she was reading from her laptop and looked at me. I stood my ground; I wasn't going to leave without getting an answer since I had gotten this far. "Why are you still standing here?" "Shouldn't you get back to work?" she asked me, her pale face was already purple with rage. For a little while, I have known my boss, and I have never seen her lose her temper. The look on her face suggested that she was about to lose it. "Thank you, mam," I said to her and ran out. It was already time for a lunch break, so I rushed to my best friend's office, which was around the corner, to tell her the good news. She was the one who urged me to ask my boss for a salary increment. Her family is not well off, so she works herself to the bone. She is ready to take any job offer as long as she gets paid. I was about to cross the road when I saw her standing on the other side. I took my phone and called her. "Grace, I am on my way to your office. I have good ne..." "Don't bother coming. I think I came down with something, so I went home early." I was stunned, but I decided to play along, "Do you want me to come over and take care of you? Jerry canceled on me, "I offered. "No, don't bother sweetie, go out and enjoy your birthday. I will make it up to you later", She said to me, before the line went dead. A black Lamborghini pulled up in front of her. I noticed that there were two occupants inside it. A man came out. She kissed him and proceeded to enter the passenger's seat. I did not see the man's face, so I had no idea who he was. The black Lamborghini was familiar, though; Jerry had one, too. The plate number was his. I tried not to think much because they might be planning a surprise for me. I will stay back later than usual to give them time to finish working, then I will act like I was truly surprised and did not see them.