Rejected Hearts

April; I groaned as I glanced at the expired milk. It expired about three days ago and I didn't have enough money to go shopping yet. I contemplated between taking the milk as it was or throwing it away. Pros, I'd have taken milk, even though it was spoiled. Cons; it might send me to the hospital, thereby incurring an extra cost that I had no intention or even the money to spend. I glanced at the cupboard and sighed, it was almost empty and the fridge was worse, I only had two bottles of water left. After mixing whatever I had and taking it with a cup of black coffee, I got dressed and made my way to the bus stop. I was already ten minutes late, but if I took a cab, it would incur more costs that I wasn't ready to spend. I had been working for Jethrocup for almost a year. It has been good so far as I was just a high school dropout. Even though I was a high school dropout, I was smart. I was the best student in my class and it was only when my mother had gotten sick and couldn't care for me that I had to drop out to care for. I had taken on any odd jobs I could find. The previous jobs I had gotten were a disaster. In my last job, the manager had refused to pay me my salary until I slept with him. At every other job I went to, the managers threw my papers back in my face and told me that I wasn't qualified for the job. It was a miracle how I had worked this long for Jethrocup. The late Mr Jethro was a nice man and I didn't know what to expect from his son who had taken over the business immediately after his demise. Mr. Jethro's death had taken us all by surprise and I remembered vividly how I was at a local pub that evening, a week ago, when they announced his death on television. I quickly called my colleagues and they confirmed it. I cried for days as He was like a father to me. He was kind and made sure I wasn't harassed by anyone. He even helped me out sometimes and gave me loans several times. Today was the first day since the holiday we went on, in order to mourn him. I was late and it wasn't unusual for me as Mr Jethro would just let me off easily, but I had heard stories about his son. Nick Jethro, is rude, arrogant, and proud. He would be probably angry with me, but maybe I could just make up an excuse and ensure that I come early the following day. "Good morning—," I muttered and stopped as I noticed his hard glare on me. His thick, dark brown rose questioningly and I swallowed hard. He looked intimidating with his 6'5 height as he glared down at me. I noticed the other employees looking at us and I felt embarrassment washed through me. I raised my head a little to glance at him. He had thick, black hair that curled softly around his ears and the nape of his neck,a prominent, perfectly straight, and narrow nose, a strong jaw, and a pair of olive green eyes that were currently flickering with disdain as he glared at me murderously. He looked like the younger version of the late Mr. Jethro. I had heard that he was breathtakingly handsome, but the rumors did nothing to prepare me for the beauty in front of me. He was overly attractive and his eyes were seductive. His full lips which were currently holding a frown were tempting and inviting. I berated myself internally for thinking of him like that. I was late for work and had to make up an excuse instead of gushing over how he looked. "Miss Dowers, you seem to be fed up with your job," he said with his deep, smooth, velvety voice. "N-no sir," I said slowly. "I'm sorry, it won't—it won't happen again," I stuttered out. I couldn't afford to lose my job, I had no money and lots of loans to pay. My mother was currently in the hospital as she had a chronic heart disease. Everything fell on me as my father had abandoned us a long time ago. "Why the hell are you crying!" He barked and I shook with fright. I had no idea that I was crying and I shook my head. "No-nothing sir," I said slowly "This is your last chance. Do you understand me?" He barked, shooting me a glare before storming off to his office. I nodded my head vehemently and ran back to my position. The day went by in a blur and immediately I was done, I went straight to the hospital. When I saw my mum, I burst into tears. She looked worse than before In that vegetative state. I went straight to the doctor, to solicit for his assistance. My mother was my whole life, I don't know how I'd survive without her. "Miss Dowers, there is absolutely nothing we can do to help you. Once you come up with the money, we'll carry out the surgery immediately, and as I've told you, the earlier,the better." I burst into fresh tears at his words. I had nothing! I had no way of getting the money and I didn't want to lose my mum. "Doctor—please—please, don't let my mother die—please help her," I croaked out. I was in an even terrible mood when I went back home and I couldn't sleep. I cried to bed and when I woke up, my eyes were red and puffy and I realized that I had overslept. I cursed myself internally as I realized that I was in more trouble as my boss had warned me that if I came late today, he'd fire me for sure. I prayed silently as I entered the office building. It was located in the heart of the city. I glanced at my wristwatch and realized that I was already an hour late for work. The first thing I noticed was the sympathetic look in my colleague's eyes and I assumed that it was because I was late again. "Good morning," I said cheerfully, but they muttered amongst themselves, none of them bothering to reply to me. My breath hitched in my throat when I saw it and the bag I was holding fell from my hand. I quickly regained my composure and picked up the bag quickly. There was someone else at my duty post, another colleague of mine and I furrowed my brows. "Hi, this is my post," I said slowly and she glanced at me without as much as a word and continued doing whatever she was doing. "This is my post!" I said again and she glanced up at me. "It's mine now. Mr. Jethro said so," she said and I scrubbed my face in confusion. "What?" She huffed. "Not my fault that you keep coming late. I mean you're not the only one with problems, we've all got problems too, don't we all guys?" She turned to them and they chorused in agreement. I was beyond shocked. I had thought that my colleagues understood my situation. They always seemed to pity me and even though I hated being pitied, I was thankful that they were nice to me. "It's not like you're even qualified to be here," she said again and I winced at her harsh tone. Tears pricked my eyes and I winced as I blinked them back, not wanting them to cascade down my face. "I—" "Miss Dowers, glad to see you've finally joined us," I spun around to see Ari, Nick's personal assistant. "I—" I attempted to speak, but she cut me off by holding out her hand. The others were quiet now and my heart was racing. I wondered if he had sent her to come fire me. Tears flowed down my cheeks uncontrollably and I sniffed as I used the back of my palm to wipe them off. "Mr. Jethro wants to see you In his office." I wanted to say something but before I could speak, she interrupted me again. "Now!" I stood in front of his office door, breathing heavily as I muttered a silent prayer. I then knocked. His gruff voice came almost immediately. "Come in." I opened the door, my heart beating wildly in my chest that I thought I was going to die. "You sent for me sir," I avoided his gaze. There was just something about his eyes, something I couldn't explain. "You're fired Miss Dowers, but I'm sure you know that already. Your lackadaisical attitude isn't good for my establishment," he said and then as an afterthought. "Take a seat please." My heart sank and I swallowed hard as I sat down, wondering why he wanted me to sit down if he intended to just fire me. I had a gnawing feeling in my chest that I wouldn't like what he was going to say next. "I do have another job for you. One you seem to be the perfect candidate for," he said and my eyes shot up at that. What exactly does he mean by that? I wondered but didn't get a chance to ask as his next words took my breath away. "The pay for this job is five hundred thousand dollars monthly." I gasped at the mention of that amount. It was way bigger than the highest sum of money I've ever held. It would solve all my problems. It would pay my mother's bill. I wanted to convince him that I could do anything but I stopped short. What kind of job was that? The pay was way higher than the measly three hundred dollars I was being paid before and he knew that I wasn't punctual, so why would he offer me such a huge paying job? "This job is for you, you fit it perfectly," there was an unreadable expression on his face and it left me nervous. "This job won't have anything to do with the office premises, it would be done in my room." He said as if he noticed my concern. In his house? my eyes widened. Does he want me to be his maid? But what Maid gets paid such an amount? "I am hiring you to be my wife for two years—" My eyes widened as I glared at him in disbelief. "What?" "I'm proposing marriage right now, April." He spoke in a relaxed tone, my name coming out of his lips in a drawl. To say I was in shock was an understatement, I didn't know how to react to that news and just kept staring at him with my mouth wide agape.