DANCING WITH A BILLIONAIRE

CHAPTER 1 Eloise squirmed on her seat; beads of sweat already forming on her brow as she listened to her financial advisor go on about how she’d soon lose her papá’s bar – the last tangible connection she had with him. It hurt that this was happening, and it made her hate this woman sitting across her, and the fact that she was even here to begin with. Well, maybe not the woman, she apologized in her head. She was just doing her job and only trying to help; besides it wasn’t her fault that she was in this mess. “… so that’s my advice. You’d need to come up with these deposits to clear up the mortgage arrears or you’ll lose your property. Do you understand that?” The woman’s voice although professional, held some compassion in it. Eloise simply nodded, shook her hand, and then left. There was nothing else for her to say anyway. All she had to do now was just break the news to her mom. On a normal day, an incident like this would’ve made her cry; she was a crybaby and her papá always teased her for it; but being out on the street now, and seeing people go on about their day, kind of soothed her. It made her think about how much they all had going on but it didn’t stop them from doing whatever it was they were doing, and she took that as motivation not to give up. With this determination, she hailed a cab that would take her to Central Park Tower where her mom worked. Her mom worked as a help and nanny for the Bennetts. As in, the billionaire family who owned the Bennetts Group. They were into the oil industry, real estate, financing; you know, those fancy stuff that make rich people rich. Eloise liked the Bennetts: well, not because her mom worked for them. She liked them because they weren’t like most rich pricks in New York who liked to step on poor people. When she was much younger, they even used to let her mom bring her to work, until she accidentally burnt their only child, Steve, on the arm. This mistake nearly cost her mom her job, but then it was just an accident. Or was it? After all, the older boy was always making things difficult for her mother and she didn’t like it. Whatever happened to Steve now she chuckled at the thought of him. Last she heard; he was in London Business School; this was after he completed his bachelor’s program in business at the University of Zurich. Lucky him, she mulled over the privileges that trust fund boy had. People like her could never have access to that kind of education. Heck, she was even lucky she went to college given the financial background of her family. Well, it is what it is, she summed it up just about when the cab pulled over in front of Central Park Tower. Alighting from the cab, and entering the building, Eloise took an elevator up to the penthouse, where the Bennetts lived. Much had not changed since the last time she was here, she noted this with content. Okay, maybe except for these new artworks that hung on both sides of the hallway. They belonged to Mrs. Bennett, she could tell; the woman had a habit of spending lavishly on art; once again another privilege reserved for rich people. Other than that, everything was about the same; even the Steinway sat in the same position it had been in for years. “Who are you?” a strict feminine voice brought her back from her mental inspection. “Eloise… Mrs. Garcia’s daughter… Mrs. Garcia, the help?” she answered while regaining her composure. It was Mrs. Bennet asking. Speak of changes, this woman still looked the same way she remembered: tall, slender, pointy nose, and high cheekbones that could blind her if they grew higher; just like a model. “Oh. She’s busy in the kitchen” Mrs. Bennet’s reply came after she was done sizing her up as if to determine if she was lying or not. “Thank you” Eloise excused herself. Something about the way the woman looked at her unnerved her; like a predator curiously analyzing its prey. At least true to her word, she found her mom in the kitchen, and it warmed her heart. Eloise was a carbon copy of her mother; except she was younger, and not chubby; also, her mom was a shade or two darker than her. Aside from that, everything else was the same: an oval face, brown curly hair, narrow nose with soft contours, full lips, almond-shaped eyes, and thick but naturally groomed eyebrows. “Good afternoon mamá” She hugged her mom from behind and then popped one of the cherries she was working with into her mouth. “This is a lot. What’s the occasion” she referred to the assortment of dishes in the kitchen. “There’s no occasion, Steve is coming back today and I want to surprise him” If her mom was surprised by her visit, she did not show it. “Mi niña, you could’ve told me before coming you know” “I just wanted to surprise you mamá” Eloise finally adjusted to give her mom more room to work with. “Thank you mi vida but I don’t know if that was necessary. Why are you here anyway? It’s been a while” “Well, mamá I just came from the accountant’s, about dad’s bar” She earned herself a disapproving frown from her mom. “I thought I told you before to leave it alone. We can’t afford to keep it. Where do you think we’re going to get $500,000?” “Mamá, but we could find a way around it” “What way mi niña? I don’t have that kind of money, and I’m sure you don’t. Who knows, if you had talked or written to Mr. Bennet like I told you, maybe by now you would’ve had a job that can give you that kind of money.” to her dismay, her mom reminded her of a topic she had been avoiding. She didn’t have the right words to explain to her that things don’t work like that in the corporate world. “Alright mamá, I’ll do it; but let’s keep trying too.” She said instead. “Mi niña, I don’t want you to keep trying. You’re just 23. You’re too young to be putting that kind of pressure on yourself. Besides, I’m sure your papá wherever he is now would not like to see you suffer like this” Her mom was right and she knew it. If her papá could find a way to communicate with her, he would tell her not to bother anymore; but she loved her papá. Opening the bar had always been his dream, and she wasn’t ready to let that dream die like him. “Hmm?” her mom pressed after sensing the uncertainty in her face “Okay mama” Eloise lied. She wasn’t going to drop the case but she didn’t want to stress her mom either. “That’s my chica. Now help me go clean Steve’s room, okay? I have a lot of work to do here” her mom beamed with a smile then went back to work. Eloise entertained the idea of seeing Steve as she made her way to his room. How long had it even been since she saw him? She couldn’t tell but she sure as hell still remembered he was an asshole; he was always picking on her. Good thing she gave him that burn she scoffed triumphantly. The first things she noticed when she entered his room were his clothes littered on the bed, and water running in the bathroom. Her mom must’ve done his laundry but didn’t have time to fold them away, she surmised. She would attend to that but first, she’d have to turn off the water; she went straight to the bathroom to do that but stumbled on someone bathing instead “Who the f**k are you?!” she shrieked, reaching for a vase instantly but the man didn’t flinch; he just stared at her with a mischievous smile; water still running down his tall athletic body. Something about his posture, tattooed arms, and broad shoulders gave him a looming aura; one that matched his cliché-perfect face. It was cliché to her because he had an oval face, soft jawline covered with beard, brown tousled hair, blue hooded eyes, full lips, pointy nose, and high cheekbones. “Maybe if you focused on my arm instead of my jock, you’d see the burn you gave me” he laughed then continued to take his bath as if she wasn’t even there. Eloise did not notice she was doing that but his nonchalant attitude convinced her that that was Steve. But what the hell was he doing at home now? And what the hell was she still doing in his bathroom watching him bath butt naked?