The Billionaire's Low-Budget Assistant

Chapter 6: The Slums

The tiny room felt unusually quiet. Addie sat cross-legged on the thin mattress, carefully folding her clothes into neat piles. She ran her hands over each shirt, trying to smooth away the wrinkles. It didn't help much. She couldn't afford an iron anyway. With a small sigh, she placed the last neatly folded shirt inside the cracked plastic wardrobe.

Her thoughts refused to stay still. She wondered what she was supposed to do now. Every restaurant she knew belonged to someone who knew someone else, and news traveled fast. News about a waitress who had soaked Damian Sterling in ice water would travel even faster. She buried her face in her hands.

"If nobody hires me..." she murmured, "...how am I going to pay for next week?"

The rent. The groceries. Nyla's school fees. Each thought settled heavier than the last.

A cheerful little voice drifted from behind the faded curtain. "Sister Addie?"

Addie looked up immediately. "Yes, little sunshine?"

"I'm making my doll go to school."

A tired smile tugged at Addie's lips. "Is she behaving herself?"

"No."

"Oh?"

"She keeps talking during class."

Addie laughed softly. "Then her teacher should give her extra homework."

"I already did."

"Good."

The laughter faded almost as quickly as it came. "Nyla..."

"Yes?"

"Can you stay behind the curtain and keep playing for a little while?"

"Okay."

"I need to think."

"About money again?"

Addie hesitated. "...Yes."

There was a brief silence. Then Nyla answered in the sweetest voice imaginable. "Don't worry."

Addie blinked.

"I'll become a doctor when I grow up. I'll buy you a big house. And lots of food."

The words hit Addie harder than she expected. Her eyes stung. She smiled even though Nyla couldn't see it. "I'll hold you to that."

"You promise?"

“Yes baby."

The tiny room fell quiet again. Outside, children laughed somewhere in the alley. A radio played faintly from a neighboring apartment. Someone argued over the price of tomatoes in the street below. Ordinary sounds. Comforting sounds. Home.

Addie drew a slow breath and leaned back against the wall. Maybe tomorrow won't be so bad. Maybe she'd wake up early and try every restaurant in the city. Someone had to give her a chance. She had to believe that.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A heavy knock slammed against the flimsy wooden door. The wardrobe rattled. The old window vibrated. Even Nyla's toy doll toppled over behind the curtain. Addie jerked upright, one hand flying to her chest. Her heartbeat thundered as she wondered who could be there.

The landlord? No, rent wasn't due until next week. Another knock shook the door, louder than the first. BANG! BANG!

The sound echoed through the tiny apartment. Nyla peeked nervously from behind the curtain. "Sister Addie..."

"It's okay." Although, Addie wasn't sure she believed her own words. She forced a smile anyway. "Stay behind the curtain, alright?"

Nyla nodded and disappeared from sight. Addie wiped her sweaty palms against her skirt before walking slowly toward the door. Every step felt heavier than the last. She reached for the old metal latch. Took one shaky breath. And pulled the door open.

The smile on Addie's face vanished. Standing outside her door was Damian Sterling. He filled the narrow doorway with his broad frame, his charcoal suit perfectly tailored despite the afternoon heat. Behind him stood two bodyguards in black, their expressions unreadable.

For one long second, nobody spoke. Addie's mind went completely blank as she realized how he had found her.

She blinked rapidly before words finally burst out of her mouth. "Big sir?" Her voice cracked. "What... what are you doing here?" She looked past him at the bodyguards, then back at him. "You didn't get lost, did you?" Another nervous laugh escaped her. "This place is very confusing. Even I get lost sometimes."

Damian didn't answer. Instead, he stepped forward. Addie instinctively moved aside. He crossed the doorway without asking permission. His polished shoes clicked softly against the worn linoleum floor.

Silence settled over the tiny apartment. His eyes moved slowly across the room. A single mattress. A cracked wardrobe. A faded curtain. Nothing luxurious. Nothing hidden. Nothing that explained how Addie could afford an elite boarding school.

Behind him, one of the bodyguards quietly closed the door. The soft click echoed through the room. Addie's heart skipped. She clasped her hands together. "Big sir..."

"If this is about your suit... I really am sorry. I've never attacked anyone with water before."

Damian finally looked at her. "You seem to have trouble telling the same story twice, Miss Addie Lee."

Her smile faltered. "I... what?"

"You told me you were asleep at two o'clock." His voice was calm. "You told my mother you were awake rubbing ointment on your feet." He took one slow step toward her. "My security team found someone wearing a hoodie matching yours... running away from the alley shortly after my mother was attacked."

The color drained from Addie's face. For a split second, panic flashed openly across her eyes. Then her mouth started moving faster than her brain. "Oh... The cameras? They're old. Very old. They probably need glasses."

Damian said nothing.

She kept talking. "Maybe..." She pointed toward the ceiling as inspiration struck. "...it was my ghost."

Silence.

"My ghost likes hoodies."

More silence.

"It borrows mine sometimes."

One of the bodyguards lowered his head. His shoulders shook once. Addie noticed and looked genuinely offended. "I'm serious!" She turned back to Damian. "Ghosts get cold too."

Damian's expression never changed. "Do you always lie this much... or only when you're frightened?"

The question hit her harder than she'd expected. She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. For the first time since he'd arrived, she didn't have a joke, an excuse, or another ridiculous story waiting to escape her lips. The room fell into complete silence. Addie stood frozen where she was, her fingers twisting tightly together.

Damian watched her for a long moment. She was clearly terrified, and not of him alone, but of something else she was desperately trying to keep hidden. His gaze drifted away from her and slowly swept across the tiny apartment once more. The cracked wardrobe. The folded clothes. The worn mattress. Then, a faint sound.

Tap.

His eyes shifted toward the faded curtain hanging in the corner of the room. Another tiny sound followed. Almost too soft to hear, like something small bumping gently against the floor. Addie's heart lurched.

Behind the curtain, Nyla had accidentally knocked over her doll. Damian's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. "There is someone else here." It wasn't a question.

Addie forced out a nervous laugh. "No."

"No?"

"No." She nodded far too quickly. "I live alone."

Another soft rustling sound came from behind the curtain. Addie squeezed her eyes shut for the briefest moment, hoping Nyla wouldn't move.

Damian took one slow step toward the curtain. Addie immediately stepped into his path. "So!" She clapped her hands together awkwardly. "You've seen my house! Very small. Nothing interesting. Would you like some water?"

The words escaped before she remembered exactly how they had met. She gasped. "Oh... ...not water."

Addie's heartbeat slammed against her ribs. “Not the curtain. Please...Anything but the curtain.”