The Billionaire's Personal Assistant

Chapter 5

Harper’s POV

I paced back and forth in front of the hospital room, anxious. It was already 6 in the morning. I’d been here with Harry throughout yesterday, after the ambulance picked them up. Though all the tears had dried up, my face felt as moist as a desert. I got here faster than Superman, and after all this waiting, I still couldn’t think straight. Dr. Ola stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

“Harper, is Momma going to be okay?” My little brother, Harry, asked with teary eyes. “Yes, she will be. Don’t worry yourself. You’ll stay with Aunty Anne for the time being, okay?” I grabbed his hand and rubbed my thumb on it comfortingly.

“So, your mother is resting right now, and she has been stabilized. We checked her vitals, and she’s doing much better now,” she breathed. She flipped through her pile of papers attached to her clipboard, reading through them.

“So, what else, doctor?” I looked at her with glossy eyes.

“She had a stroke. We immediately had her put on tPA, which will work effectively in breaking up blood clots that are blocking the blood flow back to her brain. She also received some pain relief, and she is on IV fluids right now just to help her with rehydration,” she explained, fixing her glasses every once in a while.

“She might or might not be suffering from amnesia currently, but as we’ve observed, she has a hard time moving a particular side of her body and difficulty swallowing,” she glanced at me. “It’s not permanent, but these are the after-effects of her mini-stroke.”

Tears flowed down my face the whole time, and I could taste the saltiness as they slid over my lips. “How about our next course of action?” I asked.

“Well, there is nothing to do at the moment, since she has shown a little significant improvement in the last 6 hours. All she needs now is rest, but you are free to see her. She will be in the hospital for a few months, just to monitor her and make sure it doesn’t happen again if that’s fine with the guardian, which I would assume is you.”

I nodded, “Of course, Dr. Ola. Thank you so much.”

She hummed and walked back to her office. “Wanna see Momma now?” I asked Harry. He nodded quickly, eager.

I placed my hand on the handle hesitantly before pushing it open. The hospital room was quite spacious, and there was a TV, which was good since my mom loved telenovelas.

The window in the room also overlooked the city a little, giving it a nice view. I wrinkled my nose, as a strong smell of the hospital surged in. It wasn’t a smell I really liked. It smelt, more like incoming death than it did life, and it made me feel off.A combination of hand sanitizer, sterile packaging, coffee, floor cleaner, a hint of blood and fear…

I’ll return to decorate the room since she’ll be here a while, I thought to myself.

Harry was already by her side, gripping her hand tightly as he cried. “Mommy, I miss you so much. Please be okay!” He whined. She was asleep, but she looked extremely skinny and pale. I sighed, pulling Harry back. “Don’t wake her up.”

“Has Momma been smoking again since I left home?” I looked down at him. He nodded his head, “I told her not to! I told her that you’d be really angry when you found out, but she still took them anyway.” He sniffled.

I patted his back and said, “It’s okay; everything will be okay.”

I moved closer to Momma, kissing her on the forehead and praying to the stars that she’d be back to normal in a jiffy.

“I want to pee,” said Harry, dashing into the toilet.

I grabbed her hand, it felt cold, so I rubbed it soothingly with my thumb, humming gently until Harry popped back out.

“Ready to go now?”

“Mhm…”

Harry and I made our way out of the hospital room and back home, so he could pack up. I didn’t like the idea of him staying with Aunty Anne, but he had to. I called a taxi and escorted him to Aunty’s place. I bought him a little phone on the way, so he could call me whenever need be. We stopped at a Burger King and I watched Harry eat. Even though my stomach grumbled with hunger, I couldn’t bring myself to eat, but I’d have to soon enough.

“Bye, baby! Be good, okay?” I waved to Harry after giving him multiple kisses and hugs. He just didn’t want to see me go. “I love you! Bye Aunty.”

“I love you too,” his meek voice called out, as Aunty waved back smiling.

In the taxi, I pulled out my phone and called Ravi. “Hey,” I breathed, “I need your help.”

—

“You want the job?” asked Ravi, raising his eyebrows.

I nodded, desperate. “I need it.”

“Well, no problem,” he smiled, “And I’m sorry about your mom too, she’ll get better in no time.”

“It’s okay Ravi, thank you. I really appreciate this,” I said as I grabbed my coffee, sipping slowly so it didn’t burn my tongue. The cinnamon spices made me feel warm and cozy on the inside. It was still cold outside as winter approached, and ever since I left the hospital, this was the first thing my stomach had received.

The Upper East Side was so posh. The coffee shop heightened my senses; the pastries all looked so good and smelt even better. I was salivating internally.

“Do you want something to eat too?” he looked at me nervously, “Maybe a croissant.. Or a bagel?”

I shook it off. “Oh no, that’s okay.”

“Harper, your stomach has been growling this whole time. I get that you’re down but you need to get your energy up and eat,” he complained, looking at me with pleading eyes.

“FINE. I’ll have a chocolate croissant and a blueberry scone.” I complied, huffing.

He smiled, walked up to the counter, and placed my order. He sat back down with two plates in hand. Two croissants in one, and one scone and a cream cheese bagel in the other. “Oh wow, a bagel, Ravi? Really?” I questioned teasingly.

“I took a wild guess, you look like you have bagels for breakfast,” he chuckled, setting the plates down in front of me. I was salivating, the pastries looked so good and I dug in immediately.

So, I ate everything on the plate and left no crumbs, pushing it all down with the remaining coffee in my mug.

And Ravi was watching me eat the whole time, which made me a little bit more self-aware of how I ate and chewed.

I really hoped I didn’t have crumbs on my face.

He seemed so content. “Bills on me,” he said in a sing-songy voice.

I giggled for the first time in almost 24 hours as I nodded, “Thank you.”

“Nonsense. What for? It’s my pleasure, milady.” He pulled his wavy hair into a bun and paid at the counter, me following right behind him.

“So, the job is very convenient, a totally new slot. You’re going to be the Personal Assistant to our CEO,” he explained, pushing the door open and leading me outside. “We can go there right now, so you can get an idea of what the office vibe is like, perhaps meet the CEO as well,” he smiled, shrugging.

“Oh, I’d love to,” I agreed.

“Let’s take a taxi then.”

The taxi ride went on for about 30 minutes, and by the time it pulled to a halt, I was already half-asleep with my head resting on the window. Ravi nudged my shoulder gently, “We’re here.” He got out, looping around the taxi, and opened the door for me.

I thought this only happened in movies.

I stepped out, handing a $20 note to the driver. Ravi’s brows wrinkled, “You should’ve just let me pay.”

I shrugged and walked with him side by side into the building towering over me. It was enormous and looked so elegant on the outside.

Even better on the inside.

The floors were neatly polished, and the interior had a pattern of black and gold, I noticed. People all around me were either in professional suits and ties or skirts and blouses with their red-bottom shoes clacking against the tiled floors.

I probably looked like a homeless person Ravi was taking into shelter, with my skinny jeans and Timberland boots. My coat didn’t help either, as it looked a bit shabby, but it didn’t matter since it worked incredibly well for me.

Ravi and I took the elevator upstairs, stopping on Floor 30.

Duly noted.

I stepped out, looking around. Each office was located in a glass cubicle, tinted except the door. Fancy.

The plates on each of the doors signified the names and top roles in the company.

A bunch of f*****g Nepo babies.

I approached the biggest office. The CEO’S Office.

Ravi knocked, before going in and I followed meekly behind him.

“R, this is your assistant,” he gestured towards me.

I was still looking around at the office, the walls were covered with beautiful paintings, some of my favorites.

“Ahem,” Ravi coughed.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, stepping up.

“I’m Harper Crusoe sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you finally. You are?” I extended my hand, finally looking at him.

Wait, those blue eyes.

It’s Mystery Guy.