The Billionaire's Child

"Oh my God, I’m going to be late for work again,” Serena said to Kaycee, her best friend, hurrying outside her one-bedroom apartment which was on the other side of town from the restaurant where she works with her best friend. She dips her hand into her brown fur-like handbag and pulls out her phone which had been ringing nonstop. “Oh my God, it’s Meg; she’s going to kill me for sure." “Hey, are you late again? You are always running late" Meg asks, angry over the phone. “Hey, Meg, don’t worry, I’ll be there in ten minutes ." Serena pleads, “Okay, but that wasn’t why I called you." “Oh, okay, what is it then?" Serena asked, feeling relieved, “I was going to give you and Kaycee a heads-up about a last-minute reservation in the restaurant; it's for a birthday, so it will be a long night." “Oh, Meg, I don’t know how long I can do this; you know how sick my mom is, Kaycee, and I can’t keep working long nights like this and leaving my mom all by herself. I need to be there with her." Serena complained, “Oh, honey, I know, but you don’t exactly have a choice, plus the pay is good this time, I promise; you could really use it for your mom's treatment. I call that a win-win.'' Meg countered. Serena thought of this; she wasn’t exactly wrong; people who can afford to reserve a meal at the restaurant where she worked aren’t your regular kind of people, and she could definitely use the money. “So, come to the restaurant already, we need more hands.” “Okay, fine, I’ll be there.” She hangs up the phone and calls out for Kaycee. “Whose party do you think it is?” Kaycee asked, curiously scrolling through the social media to see if any elite had posted anything about a birthday party happening at Wood Stone’s restaurant. “I don’t know Kaycee, but as long as I am getting paid, I could use it for my mother’s next treatment, plus I’m sure it would be some big shot or something." “Very true, but still, I want to know who the big shot is, so I can write about it on my blog, but so far no elite has posted anything.” Kaycee responded, “Well, maybe it's a very private birthday party. Not everyone likes to put their business out there. Maybe they value privacy. Who knows?" “Oh, no, no they don’t have the right to be private about things like this; I have to post something juicy, or maybe this person is just rich and doesn’t even matter to the elite, talk less of society." She drops her [phone] in her locker to change into her work outfit. “Don’t worry, Kaycee, as long as you are here to witness the party itself, I am sure there will always be more than enough juicy things to write about; just watch out.” They proceed to change their outfit when Meg rushes in. “Oh my god, you guys are already here. Thank goodness, I need more hands here. Serena and Kaycee follow me: “the client has requested a surprise party for his brother, and they will be arriving soon, so please, the both of you will help the decorators set up while I see how far the kitchen staff have gone.” She blows them a kiss and dashes off to the kitchen. A few hours later, guests started to arrive. Kaycee was popping out of the kitchen window to make a guess of whom the celebrant was by taking note of whom the guests were. “Oh my god, what is Mr. Wood Stone doing here?” Serena rushes to the widow to take a closer look . "Oh, I hear he is acquitted with the guest. I heard Miss Meg talking to him on the phone,” said one of the kitchen staff. . “But is he not like going through a divorce right now, his marriage ended badly from what I heard?” Serena asked the kitchen staff. “Who knows? Maybe he is here to scout for a new bride. It seems to be a hobby of his. I think he actually enjoys the multiple chases” Kaycee responded. Dexter Wood Stone, the owner of Wood Stone’s restaurant, one of his many big businesses, is said to be one of the richest men in San Francisco, Serena’s boss, and also one of the rare men to have attended so many weddings in a lifetime, of which ninety percent happened to be his wedding. Some guys finally came in to tell everyone that the celebrant is finally here and everyone needs to hide for the surprise effect. A few minutes later, he stepped in and everyone screamed "SURPRISE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.” Well, everyone except Serena and the hidden staff in the kitchen said, “Oh my God, he is back. I did not see this coming, this is definitely a twist of the century." Kaycee says in shock, “Who is he? What is the fuss all about?" Serena asked, looking confused, “Oh, my darling Serena, you are asking the right question in the wrong way." “I’m lost; how else should I ask?" “Try this” Kaycee cleared her throat. “Who is that honey-looking sweet bubble-gum man out there?. Don't even get me started on how handsome this man is. Look at his well-carved beard and innocent-looking aqua-blue eyes and pink lips, he is perfection in human form. “Okay, okay got it, so who is he?" “That is Devyn Balch,” Kaycee said with a smile. “Balch like Balch industries? I thought they had only one son who prefers to remain anonymous." “Yeah, that’s like a very funny story. Mr Balch actually has two sons but no one knows what happened to him after his father sent him away. Some people say he was in jail and some say a rehabilitation center. It is almost like he disappeared from the face of the earth, and now he is back. Oh my God, I need to post this on my blog asap." Kaycee runs off. Meg comes into the kitchen about to throw a fit. "Serena, go help the staff serve our guest, and please guys, this isn’t the time to make jokes and laugh right now. We are on the clock, and where in the world is Kaycee?” Serena helps serve the guests from table to table, and afterward, she would have to take the cake out. Surely these elite people sure know how to throw a party.``If I had not been working here, I wouldn’t believe this place was actually a restaurant; they’ve just turned it into a club, and this Devyn guy is such a hoe; look at how girls are all over him; no wonder his father sent him away,” she thought to herself . As Serena sets the cake on the table for the guests, their eyes meet for a second before she looks away. “Serena Campbell,” Mr. Wood Stone calls out, “I’m so glad I ran into you. I’ll be giving a speech next week, so I’ll have my secretary send you the speech to edit." “Okay sir” “You know you can work with me full-time; this job isn’t suitable for a pretty girl like you." Mr. Wood Stone said he placed his hands on her upper arm, and that made her uncomfortable, a major reason why she could never work for him full-time. Who knows what stunt he might pull when they are alone? Besides, she needed a job that allows her to take care of her mother, but he isn’t wrong. She did study business at San Francisco State University and even finished top of her class, but her mom got sick, and she couldn’t find jobs after graduation. ``I understand, sir; I can’t right now, my mom; she needs me to be present." “I understand, and the offer still stands till you are ready, and about your mother, you know I can help you right; all you have to do is ask, that's it." "Yeah, right, says the man with over seventy pairs of concubines. Serena thought and smiled. “Thank you for the offer. I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, and she excused herself, meeting the gaze of Devyn again. “What in the world is wrong with these rich men?” She gets back to the kitchen, already tired. She thinks to herself about the kind of man Devyn Balch is to have such an intense and scary glare that it makes her heart beat faster for a minute before her thoughts get interrupted. “Hey, Serena, your phone has been buzzing for a while now. I think you should go check it out,” said Sais, one of the kitchen staff. “Thanks, Sais. Have you seen Kaycee anywhere? I can’t seem to find her." “I think she’s in the locker room; she’s making a write-up for her blog, I guess." Sais answered. , “Okay, thanks." Serena walks to the locker room, but on her way there, she sees two figures in the alley away from the party; one seems to be Devyn, but the other she can’t see her face. She’s probably one of the girls from the party, and they seem to be in a very heated argument with no interest whatsoever. She walks past them, heading straight to the locker room. "Kaycee, don’t tell me you’ve been here all this while. Meg will lose her sh*t if she finds you using your phone." “That’s why I’m in the locker room; Meg hates it here. How is the party going? " Kaycee asked, “Good gracious, I can’t wait for this day to be over; I’m extremely exhausted. "Serena says, picking up her phone to see who called. It's her mother giving her ten missed calls. Panicked, she calls the number back but has no answer. She tries it several times until someone picks it up. "Hello, mom, are you okay? I got your call, hello..." The voice on the other end sounded different, it was definitely not her mom speaking. "Is this Mrs Campbell's guardian?asked the stranger on the phone". Serena feels even more terrified. Yes, I am what is going on. Why do you have my mother's phone? Where is she? "This is Saint Luke's hospital. My name is nurse Amy. Your mother was rushed here a few minutes ago and your number was saved as her emergency contact. You need to come down to the hospital right now." The nurse hangs up the phone. Serena stared at Kaycee, tears building up in her eyes. “Mother was rushed to the hospital”