Billionaire Bad Boy, Broken Underneath

Chapter 6

Carissa's POV

My entire family is seated round the table and that consists of both my parents, myself and my older sister, Olivia. My mum had made her special dinner recipe this weekend and demanded that everyone be in attendance, leaving no room for excuses. We say grace and begin eating.

“You never miss, mum. It gets better every time” I say, complimenting the food.

She looks up at me and smiles warmly. “It's made with love. I bet that's what makes it taste good” she says in a cheery voice which elicits a snort from Olivia and I playfully nudge her shoulder.

I return back to my food as my dad speaks. “How's your new job, Carissa? Hope you're coping alright?” he turns to me.

I'm taken aback for a moment at the mention of my new job but I quickly mask it up. “It’s going well, dad. The pay is good so I can't complain” I take a sip of water and give my sister a side glance only to catch her staring deeply at me. I quickly look away. Lord knows what's going on in her head. I won't put it past her to discover the nature of my job soon. You never really hide these things from Olivia.

“But honey, don't you think it's stressful for you? Handling two jobs is a lot” my mum chips in. I feel really bad about lying to them but I just can't tell them. At least, not yet. It's not like I'm doing anything illegal but my parents would never agree to a job that requires me sleeping in the same house with an unmarried man. They would never understand. But we need the money. The deadline to pay up what's left of the mortgage is fast approaching. I would eventually tell them when I pay up the bill but till then, it stays a secret.

“I know mum but I need the money. I told you I need to register for a culinary upgrade in a few months and the fee is a lot so I need all the extra cash I can get” I say

“It’s alright. We understand. We just don't want you stressing too much like your elder sister. This one here doesn't take a rest. Her face is always buried in her books and the little time she has to rest, she spends it at her part time job” Dad says letting a small smile out which didn't reach his eyes. I know he hates the fact that we get to work extra hours just for some extra cash. He feels he let us down. He doesn't say it but I sense he feels that way. The more reason I can't tell him about my plan to pay off the mortgage. My dad is a nice man but he takes pride in providing for his family and doing that would only crush his pride. But I can't sit back and watch us get evicted. He'll be mad at me, yes. But at the end of the day, we'll still have a roof over our heads.

“Well, you can't blame me dad. Pursuing a doctorate degree can be very demanding. But this is what I signed up for. At least, this degree would increase my chances of getting a high paying job” Olivia says as she pops a piece of honey coated chicken into her mouth.

“I just don't want my babies working too much. I want you to enjoy life as you go” mum says

“Of course we do enjoy our lives. Don't we, Carissa?” Olivia asks

“Sure” I reply with a smile. She shakes her head and lets out a small laugh.

Dinner goes by smoothly and I'm finally in my room. I change into my pajamas and I'm pulling the covers over my body when I hear my door open. I sit up as Olivia walks in and plops on my bed with a loud thud.

“I guess you've never heard of knocking, Olivia” I squint my eyes at her.

“Oh please” she says dramatically and I roll my eyes at her antics.

“You can clearly see I was about to sleep so whatever it is you want to talk about, can we do that tomorrow?” I say with pleading eyes.

“No can do” she shoots back.

“Fine” I say when I know there's no convincing her. “Let’s hear it”

“There’s something you're not telling me about your new job and I want to know what it is” she bluntly states.

“What about my new job?” I do a bad job of looking unfazed.

“You know what I'm talking about Rissa. Don't play games with me. Where do you work? And what's the nature of the job? I need the truth” she deadpans.

“And who says I lied about my job? I got a new job with better pay. What's so concerning about that?” I ask feigning ignorance. She gives me a threatening look and I finally cave in.

“Fine! But promise you won't say a word to mum and dad” I look up at her.

“I promise. Now spill” she gets comfortable on my bed.

“Well, I work as a private chef in a mansion uptown. It's a live-in job but I get the weekends off. I quit my job at the restaurant” I say in a low voice, looking everywhere but my sister.

“What!? Carissa! Are you for real!!?” she yells as she takes a sitting position.

“Can you stop yelling! You're going to make mum and dad walk in here and you better have a reasonable explanation to give them” I whisper yell.

“You don't know these people and you get to sleep there every night?” she fumed.

“Technically, it's just weekdays, not every night” I say

“Still doesn't change a thing!” she shoots back. “Tell me about this family. How are they like? I mean, I need to know for security reasons”

“Well… it's not a family per say. My boss lives alone. I haven't seen any family members around at least for the time I'm there. But he has a house keeper. Ms Michelle. She lives there full time” I answer slowly.

“So you mean to tell me you’re living with a single man? Alone in his house?” she squeezes her fingers. Something she does when she's really upset.

“Listen, I know how this looks but trust me it's nothing weird. I'm just there to cook his meals and he’s barely even at home. I really need the money. I promise there's nothing fishy going on” I try to call her down.

“There had better not be. Mum and Dad can't know about this for now till you figure out how to tell them and you better make that quick. The longer you keep this away, the heavier it gets. I'll let you sleep for now. But text your boss’ name to me. I need to do a background check on the man my sister is practically living with” Olivia exaggerates and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

“Alright. I'll do just that. Thank you, Olivia” I say, meaning it.

“Whatever. Go to bed” And with that, she's out of my room. I slum back into the pillows and hope this doesn't escalate into something bigger.