Tutoring The Billionaire's Son

Chapter 2

Lachlan Gray sat in his office as he listened to report analytics on the new building projects. His mind  sailed off to past memories of him growing, loving, falling out of love and healing. Lachlan reminisced on  his achievements over the years, more expansions, and extra funding. His mind drifted off to Elijah, his  son. He couldn’t fathom in years what had led to Elijah's withdrawal, could it be neglect on his path, no  mother’s love, or plain rebellion? Elijah had been suspended from school this past month due to  unacceptable behavioral patterns and a possibility of expulsion. He had gotten him two home teachers  that quit barely two weeks into teaching the boy. Apart from issues with his offspring, Lachlan could  proudly boast of his achievements. 

“Excuse me, Sir? May I proceed with the financial accounts?” The voice of his accountant brought him to the present and he glanced at her before clearing his throat.

“Of course. Go on,” he replied before his phone began to ring and he held up a hand while using the other hand to pick the phone up. “Excuse me," he muttered when he saw who it was and answered the call. “Paula. Is Elijah okay? ...Alright. Later.” 

He got to his feet after ending the call and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “Can you run me the reports and email them to my secretary? There's something I have to attend to.”

“Alright. Good day, sir.”

Lachlan left his office and quickly made his way to the company's underground parking lot, got into his car and drove home. When he got to his destination after a couple of minutes, he got down from the car and headed straight for the door which Paula, his son's nanny, was standing next to. Paula had also been Lachlan's nanny when he was young and she was the only person he had utmost  respect for. She was also like family to him and he happily kept her in charge of Elijah. 

“Mr Gray, Elijah’s home teacher called this house this morning to tender his apologies and resignation.  In his words, he can no longer continue teaching Elijah and has found an easier opportunity somewhere else.” 

“What the- That man better take up his job or I'll make his life a miserable hell wherever he might  be going to because it was stated in his contract that he would give a one month notice if he ever wanted to switch jobs,” Lachlan announced in annoyance as he loosened his tie and headed for Elijah's room upstairs with Paula following him closely. “Make sure you call my secretary to set up an open job application or something. We have to find a replacement as soon as possible. I do not want delays nor excuses.” 

“Right on it, Mr Gray,” she said just as they came to a stop in front of Elijah's room and Lachlan turned to face her.

“For the millionth time, call me Lachlan, Paula. Lachlan.” 

“No, Mr Gray," she firmly stated with a smirk and Lachlan couldn't stop himself from letting out a laugh as the woman walked away.

“Stubborn old woman,” he muttered to himself and took a deep breath before knocking on Elijah's room door.

“The door is open,” a voice called out from inside and Lachlan opened the door to find his son staring at him from the bed. He pressed his lips together as his eyes focused on the freckles dotting the little boy's cheeks and after a little while he looked away from him because the freckles reminded him of someone he had pushed to the dark parts of his mind.

“What happened with your home teacher?” Lachlan asked as he walked into the room and Elijah quickly sat up in the bed.

“It wasn’t my fault,” the little boy answered in defense. 

“It wasn't your fault? Of course it was. This is your third teacher in 2 weeks. Your school doesn’t even want you. Why won’t you do something right for once?!”

“It is not my fault none of them chose to stay! I would rather play games all day than go to some stupid school!” 

“That is it. You are grounded. No televisions, no gaming. Not until you get a new home teacher that stays. I’ll be leaving now.” 

“That’s all you do. Just like everyone else! You always leave! I hate you,” he spat and quickly got down from the bed before running past his father and out of the room.

“Elijah! Come back here! I’m not done with you, young man!” he called out but he received no response and after a little while of waiting for the boy to come back, he let out an exasperated sigh and left the room.

****

“Hello. I hope you excited to meet the town's new unemployed spinster?” Halle squealed after answering a call from Charlie, her best friend.

“It is an honour, my lady. A friend of mine just updated me on a teaching vacancy. Would you like to be a home teacher?  Good pay and reliable source. Should I forward the details to your email?”

Halle's eyes went round with surprise and she quickly got up from the couch she was sitting on. “Yes! Yes! Thank you so much, Charlie. How much time do I- I mean, when's the interview?” 

"The interview is in three days so you should apply as soon as possible and be on the next flight to New York. Where you'll be working isn't far from my place so you can stay with me for as long as you like."

“Thank you... Why do you sound so positive that I’ll get the job though?”

“That's because I am positive. You are good at what you do and I am ready to pull extra strings for you. Just focus on moving here, okay?” 

“Okay, Charlie. I love you.”

"I love you too." 

Ending the call, Halle recalled growing up with Charlie. Charlie was her only friend and confidant aside her father. They met during a school drama. Halle had been waiting patiently for her father to turn up and support her by lifting up the placard they designed together the night before.. Charlie had been in charge of  the backstage dressing and lighting. He had cheered her up, held up the placard throughout and given  her enough motivation to go up the stage and kill it. Her dad had showed up late because Derek had  developed a fever and he had to stay with him at the hospital. Charlie would visit her, assist her with  chores, insist on her going on outings with him. He was the first person to ever mention Halle's interest in teaching. He could see right through her. When he got that huge scholarship to school in NYU, she couldn’t stop herself from crying as she waved him farewell. Now, they would both be together  once again.

Halle smiled at herself and checked her email before quickly applying for the job. The details were very brief and direct.

Tutor needed to home school a seven year old boy ASAP. Tender an application letter and a show up at Gray & Lake Tech Industries, 9AM sharp on Monday morning . 

Today being Friday, she needed to be in New York latest on Sunday. Halle packed a light bag in case she didn’t get the job but if she did, she would call for her things later when she got settled. 

****

It was already Monday morning and Halle was exhausted as she rushed into Gray & Lake Tech Industries. She had gotten to the city this morning instead of yesterday because her flight was delayed due to signs of a storm so she was currently running on zero hours of sleep.

"s**t," she muttered under her breath when she realized that she was fifteen minutes late after checking the time and quickly made her way to the secretary's office. Surprisingly, she was the only one in the waiting area and the secretary waved her over with a smile on her face when she saw her.

“Are you Halle Anderson? I am Lauren, Mr Gray's secretary,” she said and Halle smiled back at her before smoothing down her dress.

“Good morning. I'm so sorry I'm late. My flight got delayed. Is Mr Gray in?” 

“Mr Gray wouldn’t be available to interview you. I’ll be holding the interview. I’ve gone through your  qualifications and I’m glad to tell you you’ve gotten yourself the job. Your payment and perks will get  through you once you get to Mr Gray's residence.” 

Puzzled, Halle retorted, “Is that all? No questioning? I-“ 

“You were the only one to apply,” Lauren cut her off. “Also, Charlie put in enough good words. I hope you  can withstand though, Little Mr. Gray is a bit too much to handle,” she added a reassuring smile. 

Her smile made Halle wonder how bad it could be to tutor a 7 year old. She was so sure the poor boy was misunderstood.  

“If you are ready now, the chauffeur will take you straight to Mr. Gray's residence. You can get to familiarize yourself with Elijah Gray and the house.” 

“Yes, of course,” Halle replied and she was led to the parking lot by Lauren before getting into the car that was to take her to the Gray residence.

On the way to her destination, Halle could not help but marvel at the beauty of the city. The tall buildings, the constant  booming of people's voices, the rush, it was all beautiful to see. A couple of minutes later, the car finally turned into the gravelled driveway of a big ivory mansion which had a beautiful water fountain and a flower landscape that was a sight to behold. As Halle got down from the car after it came to a stop, she longed to run her hands through the flowers but refrained from doing so. On the doorway stood a tall woman in white, she looked pale and frail. The woman leaned close to Halle and pulled her into a tight hug, releasing her before she firmly shook her hand. Although the woman looked weak, her grip was rather strong.  Halle had to admit her admiration for this woman. 

“Welcome love. I am Paula, Mr. Gray's nanny and caregiver. I’ll be putting you through, I hope you enjoy your stay.” 

“Thank you, ma'am. This house is lovely.” 

“Oh please, call me Paula. I think that compliment belongs to Mr. Gray. Come in. What can I offer you?” Paula ushered her in. 

“I'm good. Thank you.” 

“Have your seat. I’ll bring Elijah down in a minute.” 

Halle was admiring an art piece on the wall when a little boy slowly walked down the stairs. His expression was gloomy but he was a beautiful child with shining blonde hair and scanty freckles. If it wasn’t for his frown, she would have marked him as extremely cute. 

“This is your new teacher, Miss Halle. Halle, this is Elijah,” Paula announced before leaving the two.

“Good morning, Miss Halle,” the boy greeted grudgingly. 

“Hello dear. How are you?” 

“Good. How long will you be staying? I doubt you’ll last a week,” he retorted. 

Halle was shocked by the boy's utterance and she stood stiff. A tough nut to c***k, huh? Few seconds passed as she tried to collect herself and stated, “I plan on staying for awhile. How about we work together to achieve that?” 

“No but we’ll see. You look pretty. I love your hair,” Elijah said before he bounced off. 

Halle subconsciously touched her hair and smiled. In her mind, she knew she had to work with the boy and she knew that she could help him.