Contract with the devil

CHAPTER 3

Mia's POV

I visibly tense up at his question. “ I remember asking you a question”, I heard him say.

“Yes sir, you said that the day I come late, is the day I will be given my sack letter”, I finally answered him.

“Very good you remember, so..”, he starts saying but I do not let him finish, I immediately go down on my knees and start begging, “Sir, please I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional I have no other means of earning a living”, I try to plead with him.

But, he wasn't paying me heed.” Get out of my office, you're fired, I do not want to come back and see you here”, he told me.

“Justine,” he calls the secretary. “ Follow me, we have a meeting to attend, you'll be filling in for my assistant in the meantime, seeing as she is incompetent to do her job.”

“Ok sir,” she responds and they both leave me there feeling dejected at the world.

So many thoughts go through my mind, how do I pay all my debts, how do I pay for my mother's treatment, how do I meet my basic needs, all of these thoughts and so much more swirl in my head.

I stay there crying for a while before I use my last strength and get up and pack the little things I have at the office.

I get into a taxi to take me home because I have no other place to go, when I receive a call from Leah, the nurse who takes care of my mom, telling me that my mom slumped and had been rushed to the hospital.

I quickly call a taxi and tell the driver to take me to the hospital quickly. I'm already in tears because I don't know what else to do.

I arrive at the hospital and one of the nurses in the lobby recognises me as I'm a regular here. “ Your mum is on the second floor room 22”, she let me know, even before I asked.

“Thank you so much”, I tell her and quickly run up the stairs to get to her, I do not even bother about using the elevator. When I get there, I'm already panting and I see Leah.

“Where is she, how is she”? I ask all at a go.

“Calm down, breathe, she's inside but, she's asleep right now. We thank God the doctors were able to make her stable. She wouldn't want to see you this way, put yourself together before you go in to see her”, she tells me with pity evident in her voice.

“Ok thank you”, I tell her.

“That reminds me, the doctor wanted to see you”, she lets me know.

“Ok thanks, I'll go right now”, I tell her as I walk away in search of the doctor.

I know what he wants to say but the problem is, where am I expected to get five hundred thousand dollars from? To make it worse I am now jobless.

I knock at his office and get in. “Good morning Dr. Johnson”, I greet him.

“Good morning dear, how are you doing”, he asks.

“I'm trying, you asked to see me?” I ask him going straight to the point

“Mia I know you're trying, but your mom's condition is not getting any better at all, she has nothing more than six months left if we do not conduct the surgery on time. I've tried talking to the hospital board about your mom's case and you can make a payment of 70% so that we can commence treatment”, he lets me know.

“Ok Doctor, thank you so much I'll try my very best. I'll be going now”, I tell him as I get up to leave.

“No problem, please do try”, was the last thing I heard him say before I left.

“Your mom is awake”, Leah the nurse lets me know.

I entered the hospital room and the mom I once knew when I was younger was no more, she was looking so frail but she still tried to put on a smile when she saw me.

“Mummy good afternoon, how are you doing,” I ask her but my eyes are teary.

“My baby girl, you look so beautiful and all grown. I'm fine, how are you doing, what's going on with you, tell your mummy everything, there's no means of me connecting with the outside world,” she complains to me.

I just stay quiet reasoning what part of my life I should start telling her about, from all the bad things going on with me to the part of me losing my job, our only means of clearing our debts and her hospital bills. I cannot bother her with my problems, not as she is in that state.

“I'm fine mummy, everything is ok, Lilian is ok we are all doing well. My boss though hard-headed still pays me well,” I start telling her while trying to sound ok and like I'm not lying to her.

“I hope you are not hiding anything from me”?she asks me.

“No ma, why will I do that?” I jokingly ask her. I spend some more time with her talking about nothing and everything and just catching up with her, when I notice that she's getting tired.

So I tell her, “ I have work to do mum, I'll check on you later.”

“Ok my darling, bye”, she replies.

I quickly leave and speak a little with her nurse telling her thank you and she should please look after my mom and call me if anything goes wrong.

I got back home and everywhere was quiet, meaning that Lilian was still at work, then it hit me that I'm currently unemployed. I cry my eyes out thinking of what next I'll do with myself.

I feel someone shaking me to wake up. I began to wonder when I fell asleep. I turn and see that it's Lilian. “Girl, what's wrong with you, why are you sulking?” she asks me.

I start crying again as I remember the pain and the fact that I no longer have a job.

Stop crying and talk to me, we will solve it together she tells me as she tries to pacify me

I explained everything that happened to her from the morning to me going to work and everything that happened with my boss and my mom.

“So sorry my love, you'll get another job dear, well both apply together and I'll talk to Daddy, something can be done. There's no need to cry”, she tells me and I know she's telling the truth but I don't want to stress her and her family more than I already have.

“You know I won't accept the money from your dad for my mom's treatment”, I tell her.

“Why do you like doing this?”, she asks looking visibly angry.

I do not reply to her. I just keep quiet and I think she already gets the answer from my silence.

“Well get up, there's no point in you sulking around, we're going clubbing today”, she tells me.

“No, I can't go. I do not have any clothes nor strength nor the money to go”, I try to make up excuses

“There's no room for excuses, we're going and that's final. I have the perfect dress for you,” she tells me squealing. She comes back with a black sequin dress, I must say that the dress was very beautiful.

“Have your bath and dress up, when I come back I'll do your make-up and style your hair”, she tells me. I quickly have my bath and wear the dress. I look at myself in the mirror and the dress brings out my curves and compliments my black doe-like eyes. “Oh my God, it looks so good on you”, I hear Lilian say.

“Come let me style your hair,” she tells me and starts doing her magic and I must say the result was really good. I truly felt beautiful at the end of her makeover.

“You like it right? Yes I know I'm that good, you don't need to say it,” she tells me as she flips her hair. Our car is already here let's start going else we'll be late she tells me as she rushes out. I'm left wondering when she booked a ride, she's just like that.

We arrived at a club named , INFERNO, what a name, I began to wonder. Lilian cuts to the front line and says something to the guard with a flirty smile and we're let in.

“What did you say to him”? I ask her.

“Just a little something”, she winks at me. “Let's go get drinks”, she tells me.

As we get our drinks, about to go to our table, I bump into something

hard but I surprisingly feel it move, I look up and see that I poured my drink on my ex-boss. The fury in his eyes is evident.