Billionaire's Favorite Actress

2 - New Jobs

"Steve! Steve, wake up. We are going to Garret women's hostel right now." Lisa woke him up.

"Why?" asked Steve, groggily.

"It's about the girl. Nicky."

"What happened to her? Is she okay?" Steve was wide awake. He checked the time. It was 2 am. "I forgot to call her. I fell asleep as soon as she left."

"Your driver called me. She's been thrown out of her hostel." Lisa informed.

"Oh! Okay. I thought she met with an accident or something." Steve sighed in relief. "Ask him to drop her off at a good hotel." He slept again.

"Wake up, you i***t. Do you think she is rich enough to afford a hotel room? It happened because of us. I am going there. And you are coming with me." Lisa ordered him.

He couldn't argue with her. Her word was the law. He stood up, yawning. "Go, wait by the car. I'll be there in five minutes." He washed his face and wore his hoodie and sunglasses to go unnoticed.

They reached her hostel in an hour. "Patrick, what happened?" Lisa asked the driver.

"The warden asked her to vacate by 10 am in the morning." He answered.

"I'll talk to her" said Lisa. "No Steve. I'll go alone. You stay here." She walked towards the building.

"Why did she have to wake me up when I am not allowed to go inside with her?" Steve muttered.

"This is a women's hostel, sir. A place where mothers don't usually take their grown up sons to." Patrick answered, grinning.

---***---

"How can you ask her to leave? Where will she go now?" Lisa fumed at the warden.

"She should have thought about that before breaking the rules." The lady answered. "She arrived at 1 am. This is the second time in a week since she came here."

Nicky stood a few feet away, looking at the women arguing. It reminded her of a tennis rally.

"What rules? Most working women have night shifts. Are you going to ask them all to leave?" Lisa raised her voice.

"But she is not one of them. She doesn't have a job. So, what has she been doing till 1 am? She returned in a luxurious car which might have belonged to some rich--"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Lisa was furious. "How can you speak such horrible things about a girl? I was here to tell you why she was late. But now I think this hostel is unfit for her." She turned towards Nicky. "Nicky! Go, get your things. We are leaving."

"Where to?" asked Nicky. "The other hostels in this area won't allow me to stay there after what happened here. And I can't go back to my uncle."

"Why not?"

"Because he betrayed me by stealing my work."

"Oh my God! Your own uncle?"

"Yes." Nicky decided to be honest with her. "We always worked together. Last month I told him I want to work on something different. He pretended to be happy. When I asked him to segregate my work from his and give me credit for everything I did, he simply said 'What did you do? Everything's mine.' He made it look like I tried to steal his work because of which I lost my job--"

"Will you two ladies have this discussion outside?" The warden said rudely.

"Sure. It's not like I am dying to be here." Lisa led Nicky out of the room. "Don't lose hope Everything will be fine. You will get a new job."

"No. Until I prove my innocence, no one will give me a job offer." Nicky sighed. "You know what the worst part is? It's my father, who helped him become a scientist. And he betrayed me by taking everything that belongs to me."

Lisa felt a rush of anger towards that man. "Come with me. You can stay at my place. I will find you a new job."

"But ma'am--"

"You are coming with me. That's it." Lisa spoke with a sort of finality in her tone.

Nicky was partly apprehensive and partly happy. "Thank you so much ma'am." She went to collect her luggage and returned in fifteen minutes.

---***---

"Well, hello again." Steve greeted Nicky.

"Who are you?"

"It's me." He removed his sunglasses. He was surprised she didn't recognize his voice. Girls usually loved his voice.

"Okay." She got inside and closed her eyes.

It then occurred to him that she didn't ask for selfies and autographs like all his fans did. He shrugged it off and started driving. They reached home.

"Nicky will stay here with us until she finds a comfortable place of stay." Lisa announced. Steve was surprised to hear it. "Steve. I want you to give her a job."

He lowered his voice so that only his mother could hear him. "Mom. How can I give her a job? She's a physicist. We are film stars. Movies always defy physics in every possible way."

Lisa glared at him. "Is that a joke? It's not funny."

He thought for a while wondering what work a scientist could possibly do for him. "Ms. Nicky, do you know how to make posts in social media?"

"Yes. I do."

"Then handle my social media accounts from today. I will give you a list of what work is expected of you. Don't use complex language. Don't use simple language either. And don't forget to show me or my mother before posting. Your salary with be 50K per month. Will that be okay?"

"Oh my Dumbledore! Fifty thousands for playing with twitter and f*******:?" Nicky's face lit up. "Thank you so much sir." She accepted the offer.

Lisa called one of the maids and told her to show Nicky where she would be sleeping. After making sure that the girl was out of earshot, she said, "She is the daughter of your father's old friend. She needs our help Steve. Hope you understand."

"Of course I do mom. Time to sleep." He held his mother's hand and led her to her room. He left only after making sure that she fell asleep.

He reached his room. He felt tired. He always slept like a log. For solid eight and half hours per day. He checked the time. It was 4 am. He asked the servants not to disturb him for another five hours.

No sooner had he slept than his phone rang waking him up once again. "Steve boy. Are you sleeping?"

"This is night, Chris. People usually sleep at night."

"I thought you are awake. I couldn't sleep after hearing the news."

"What news?"

"Didn't you hear it? The producers backed off. They said they won't produce our film." Chris informed.

"What are you saying?" Steve was shocked. "Why?"

"They said they are doing this as a mark of respect for the late director. According to them asking someone else to direct the film will be an insult to your father's memory. This was his dream project. So, it should be left untouched after his death."

"What nonsense! A very pathetic excuse. They are cowards." Steve was angry.

"I know. But we can't force them. Can we? We are left with only two options. We should either find a new producer who is willing to buy the rights from the old production house or stop making this film. Even if we find someone who is ready to invest hundreds of crores on a huge project like this, the question is, who is going to direct the film?" He said in a worried tone.

"I don't know, Chris." Steve was confused. "Let's see if we can come up with a solution." He ended the call wondering how much more bad news he could endure.

He tried to sleep. After several unsuccessful attempts, he accepted defeat and went into the kitchen, to make some coffee.

He absent-mindedly added three sugar cubes. He was about to add the fourth one, when Nicky stopped him. "This is the last sugar cube. May I have this, please?"

"Yeah. Sure." He looked at his cup.

"Just dilute it by adding more milk. That's what I used to do in chemistry lab external exams." Nicky advised.

"You actually performed the experiments in exams? Strange. I used to learn all test results by heart and write it down in answer sheet" said Steve.

Nicky looked shocked as if he mortally offended her.

"Steve, you woke up?" Lisa entered the kitchen.

"Yes mom. You want coffee? Wait till I dilute this."

"I got the news. I spoke to the producers. They think investing in this project is useless because no one can handle it like your father. So, I asked them to give the rights to me. They agreed."

"WHAT! You are going to produce the film? But mom, this is a very big project. It involves lot of work. I don't think--"

"I have decided, Steve. This was your father's dream project. I can't let it go unfinished. I must do this for him" said Lisa, trying to hide the pain in her voice.

"Who is going to direct this film? Did you find a replacement?" Even as he said the words, his heart was filled with pain. Some new director will take his father's place and walk away with all the credit.

"I know someone who can." Lisa answered.

"Who?"

"You." She said.

Steve dropped the cup of coffee. He opened his mouth several times to protest. But his voice seemed to disown him. He stood still, trying to convince himself that he was dreaming.

"All the best, ma'am" said Nicky.

"Don't call me ma'am. Call me Lisa aunty. And now, I think your duty is doubled. You have to handle the social media accounts of Steve as well as this project. If you come to my office tomorrow, I'll introduce you to the other members of PR team."

Nicky felt happy. "Thank you, aunty. I'll open a new account for the film right away."

Lisa nodded and left to talk to her manager.

"Steve sir? Steve sir?" Nicky waved her hands in front of his eyes to gain his attention.

He looked at her. "Sir, now that my work is doubled, will the salary be doubled too?" She asked in a low voice. He gaped at her.

"I am just joking. To ease your mind. You seem shocked." She added.

"Okay. Thanks." He left to argue with his mother.

"Miser." Nicky muttered.