The Pauper's Billion Dollar Revenge

"Oops. Sorry, I was in a hurry. Could you please clean it up?" said the woman in corporate attire who had spilled her coffee on the floor. "It's alright," Gabrien replied briefly while grabbing a fresh mop from his cart. He had just finished washing his cleaning tools and was about to return them to the utility room, but he had no choice but to clean up the spilled coffee on the floor again. He would wash the mop again afterward. Gabrien had been a janitor at Vantage Point Solutions for over a year, and it was the only job that sustained him. He only finished high school, and there was no one to send him to college because he was asked to leave the orphanage when he turned 18. He had grown up in an orphanage since childhood because his mother passed away in a car accident when he was young. His father? He had forgotten he had a child in this small, struggling town ever since he married an actress in New York. He couldn't help but feel jealous and harbor resentment toward his father because he continued to live a luxurious life while he knew he had a child struggling in another place. "What's taking so long, Gabrien! Hurry up, the clients are arriving soon. We need this day to be perfect because they are our biggest clients so far. Clean faster, and move out of the way," Mr. Rustom, the CEO of this company, reprimanded him. It's funny because the Van der Bilt Empire is well-known, and a lot of people know that Gabrien is the son of the famous Sebastian Van der Bilt, but he was never treated as special. He don't complain about it, as this is the life he have become accustomed to. "Yes, sir. I'm almost done," he replied respectfully. "Alright, and after that, can you please stay a bit longer? We're short on janitors on this floor, and you'll need to clean the meeting room after the meeting. You'll be paid overtime, so I assume you won't mind," Mr. Rustom instructed. Tired, he sighed and nodded with a smile. He didn't really have a choice because they never accepted "no" for an answer. "No problem, sir. I'll wait in the utility room," he said. Mr. Rustom simply nodded and quickly walked away. He finished cleaning up the floor and swiftly headed to the utility room to rest there. While waiting, he took out his cellphone to call Amarah, his girlfriend. It rang for a while before she finally answered. "H-hello, l-love?" She answered, with a hint of breathlessness in her voice. He immediately thought she might be working out since her voice carried traces of exhaustion. "You sound really out of breath, love. Where are you? Have you eaten?" He asked. "Uh, well... I'm just tired. I, uh, I am just having a... workout. I felt like I'm not in shape anymore, so I decided to work out," she replied while still catching her breath. "Hurry up, Amarah." Gabrien's heart skipped a beat at what he heard on the other end of the line. It was a deep male voice. Doubt and mixed emotions surged through him. "Who's that, love?" He asked. "Oh, uh, he's my gym instructor, love. We have this very strict time limit that we need to follow, that's why he's like in a rush," she replied, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He honestly thought he was just being paranoid and tired. He decided to dismiss what he had heard. "Alright. I thought it was someone else. By the way, I'll be late coming home. The boss requested overtime," Gabrien informed her. "No problem, love. I'll go ahead, okay? My instructor has quite a short temper. Bye, mwa!" "I love--" Before he could finish his sentence, she ended the call. He sighed and closed his eyes. He was tired, but he couldn't go home just yet. A while later, his phone rang, and he checked the screen to see who had sent the text. It was from Mr. Rustom. "The client spilled coffee. Hurry to the meeting room and clean it up," he said in the text. He rolled his eyes in disbelief. He can't help but to think what's wrong with people these days, spilling coffee all the time. He stood up to gather all the cleaning supplies he needed for yet another spilled coffee mess. He quickly went to the meeting room, and right at the entrance, he saw the spilled coffee on the floor. It came from the female client who was sitting with her back to him. "Thank goodness. We already have the janitor here to clean the coffee for you, Miss Tayla," Mr. Rustom said, visibly relieved now that Gabrien had arrived. "Good thing. This is so sticky. I don't want to be all sticky," the "big client" said in her sophisticated tone. After picking up his cleaning supplies, he approached Miss Tayla's seat to begin cleaning up. While wiping the floor, Gabrien accidentally brushed the mop against her foot, which resulted in an unfavorable reaction from her due to what he had done. "Oh my gosh, be careful! Oh no, I just said I don't want to get sticky. Your janitor here isn't careful at all. Oh my," she said in an affected manner and slightly lifted her foot away from his mop. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—wait, you?" Gabrien exclaimed in surprise as he finally saw her face. He initially thought it was a coincidence that this client had the same name as Tayla, but of all the wealthy people in the world, the last person he expected to be that Tayla is his sister. Tayla Van der Bilt, the youngest of his half-siblings on his father's side. She's the only daughter of Gabrien's father and his actress wife. Clearly, she's here for the Van der Bilt Empire. "What's your problem with me? Who are you?!" she snapped at him, seemingly annoyed by his presence. His expression instantly soured, and he couldn't hide his lack of enthusiasm upon learning that this Tayla here is his sister. "Uh, I'm sorry, Miss Tayla. This is Gabrien, Gabrien Van der Bilt. He's your father's child from his previous partner," Mr. Rustom said, introducing Gabrien to his own sister. If others thought he is pleased to introduce himself to his own sister and inform her that he is also a Van der Bilt, they were mistaken. The last thing Gabrien wanted was to see any of his family members from his father's side. "Oh! Hahah, small world it is! Hi, brother! I didn't know I have a sibling here. Why do you know, and I didn't even know I had a sibling in this company? Gosh. And why are you a janitor here? Interesting!" Tayla said. Her face showed excitement, and she seemed overly delighted by what she had witnessed. Gabrien raised an eyebrow and stood up. "You don't care, Tayla." "What the hell? Hey, don't act so rude!" He heard her say, but he felt like what he did was entirely justified. He quickly walked out of the meeting room. Gabrien didn't care what his boss would say to him tomorrow. He would rather be scolded by his boss than spend another second in the same room with that Tayla. If she pretended not to recognize him, she was overreacting. Gabrien knew she recognized him because she had always made fun of him and never treated him as a sibling. Gabrien despise her so much, and it will never change.