The Arrogant Billionaire's Grandson

Maria bent her head down as she sat in the Taxi with Gabriella, her mother. She pondered about her life generally, her abusive father and the slums she grew in, she thought about all those she had watched murdered, the curfew and the drug addicts, the dirty streets and naked children. Now she had left all those people and that life behind and she felt some kind of sadness in her. Gabriella looked at her, smiled and said Todo va a estar bien. Maria nodded and smiled. We will stop here señor, Gabriella said to the driver. Maria looked up towards the car mirror and found the driver staring at her. Of course he looked away immediately, their eyes met and she giggled. She got down and waited while her mother paid the driver. She looked around her and YES, this is a rich neighborhood. Most houses are fenced and the few ones without a fence have Exotic cars parked at the front. She took a few steps away from the cab and faced her mother. “How did you know this man mamá?” “A friend of mine happens to know another friend who works for him,” she said with a grin. “A friend of yours by any chance should be Samson?” “Yes” Gabriella responded with uneasiness and walked at a faster pace towards the giant gate. “She is not denying the allegations after all” Maria thought. When her father suddenly turned into Drunk and abusive husband, their intimacy crashed and her father's friend Samson, an African man would always console her mother and fill in for his friend, he would buy groceries and do every other manly duties around the house until Maria notices there is some kind of intimacy between Samson and her mom. When her Father found out, he beat her mother up. The small part of the door opened and a man in a well ironed white Uniform ushered them in, she couldn't believe she was lost in thought for seconds before. The compound is huge and the mansion looks decades old by structure. There are workers outside, A man with a mower and another washing a Rolls Royce, who should be the driver. The escort opened the giant entrance door and they entered a huge living room with golden coloured chairs and big wall attics, they went directly to another door that led to the hallway with thick red rug as the flooring. There are at least 20 doors which she guessed are rooms, but why so many? She asked herself. They were led to the end of the hallway where there is an opening which is the backyard of the house. It is designed like an open lounge, there are multiple bamboo sheds, a bar and a pool. In the bar, seated on a high stool is a man who is probably in his eighties, with gray hair and beards. They were led directly to him. Marshall Snr spoke before the got to where he was seated, he smiled widely and said, “Hola Gabriella and Maria, I have been waiting for you both, how was your trip here?” “It was bumpy and wild, crossing here illegally is hard and the taxi driver couldn't find this place on time but of course your home still stood out!” Maria looked at her mother and was surprised at her eagerness to talk to this strange man. It's been a long time since she has seen her this excited. She was amazed at how he knows their names already. Suddenly he faced her. “And you Maria, how was your trip?’ He is now trying to light a cigar. “It's exactly as she said” she's quite aware he is checking her out, she has always been a lady with high self esteem, she wore a baggy top on fitted trousers. “Santos, my chauffeur, the man who brought you here was an illegal immigrant too, I helped him and now he has been working with me for six years. Maria wondered what he meant by sharing such information, she watched him pick a telephone which was fixed on the wall right beside where he was seated. “Who still uses a telephone?” She mocked her thoughts. His cracked voice brought her back to the spot. “Tell Santos to come to the lounge right away” he faced them again and smiled. “You are probably wondering why Santos again? He is pretty much the most idle man around here, of course he is better than me because I literally spend my days smoking and drinking” he laughed Gabriella joined and Maria wondered why she was trying to please the old man because he obviously made a failed joke. She smiled faintly and turned away from his stern gaze. Gabriella tapped her, probably encouraging her to laugh. There is now an awkward silence. “Here am I Boss,” Santos said after clearing his throat as a way of getting their attention. “Take them to their rooms, give them fresh towels and toiletries” he filled his glass and puffed his cigarette again. “I'll take you round the Mansion tomorrow myself after breakfast” he looked away as he dismissed them. “Goodnight señor” Gabriella muttered in suppressed anger. Maria knew she would be scolded when nobody is with them but she made up her mind not to apologize first. She knows it's not advisable to make enemies of their supposed helper but she still won't forgive the fact that he is doing this for some reason known to him only, or her mother might have a hand in it. She low-key wished she had stayed back. Her dad loves her even though he is abusive, he has never laid hands or screamed at her once, she knows she's doing all of these for her mother and she hopes it will be worth it because what if they got themselves arrested for being immigrants? “This is your room” Santos stopped when they got to the room tagged ‘18’ “I will bring in supplies for you soon” he walked hurriedly down the hallway with Gabriella following at a slower pace. Maria and her mother's eyes met when Gabriella looked back and there was fury in her eyes. Maria knows why she is angry. Maria opened the door and it was dark, she fumbled for the light switch for a few seconds. She was held spellbound at the simple luxury. She ran towards the king-sized bed and jumped on it. She stood up after several attempts and began to access the rest of the big room. There is a dressing mirror and chair, two cushions, a full sized wardrobe and even a mini chandelier. She opened one of the doors and it was the restroom which looks like one in hotels. She opened the second door and it was the balcony, “quite a view” she said to herself. She went back into the room and started arranging her clothes into the wardrobe. She sang Ice spice’s ‘Deli’ while she worked happily. Suddenly she heard a soft knock and stopped. This is probably her mother or Santos. She ran towards the door still excited about the whole room of a thing. She opened the door swiftly and right in front of her is Hutton Marshall Snr, she stuttered backwards like she'd seen a ghost.