A Contract Wife for the Billionaire

Emma's POV “For the last time, Emma, what did you do?” Clarke, the restaurant manager asked, hands tucked into his too-tight trousers. I rubbed the space between my brow, already tired of whatever this was. “Clarke, for the last time, I said I did nothing. I just concluded my shift now and you called me in here to accuse me. I don't even know what the accusation is about,” I said, growing impatient now. I had more important things to do than going back and forth with my boss. He turned to Aria, who was standing next to him, arms folded. “Aria, what did you say she did?” “I saw her take some money from the register while she was clocking out.” “You what?” I asked, completely taken aback. Clarke turned back to me, his face and evidence of his irritation, “Hey, keep your voice down. You had your chance to speak,” He looked at Aria again, with a smile that was inappropriate between a boss and his subordinate. Then I understood. Everything – the whispers I had ignorantly claimed were wrong – were all true. Aria was having an affair with Clarke. Clarke, who was not only her boss but was married with three kids. “When I saw her, I told her to return the money and I would lend her some if she needed money that bad. But she told me to keep my f*****g bucks to myself,” “That's a senseless lie. I don't even curse,” I said, “Aria, what is this you're saying? I haven't even seen you all day,” And it was true. I was a waitress and Aria worked with cleaning, so our paths rarely ever crossed even when I was clocking out of work. “So you say you didn't take any money, huh? Let me see your bag then,” I tossed it on his table, confident that he wouldn't find anything. Yes, I was tight on money but I wasn't one to steal. Especially from Sweet Temptation, with their stringent anti-stealing policies. Aria smirked as Clarke pulled open the bag and folded hundred dollar bills fell out. My eyes widened in shock. “No, no…” I grabbed my bag. “I never took any money I swear…” “Look at you. A liar and a thief. A sloppy one at that,” Clark said while Aria gave me an evil grin that told me everything I needed to know. She had orchestrated all this. I always knew she never really liked me. It was there in the snarky comments she made about me, always quick to put me down whenever we were out together with our other colleagues. I didn't just realise how deep the animosity went. But now I knew. “I guess your services here are no longer needed,” Before I could even think, I found myself kneeling, my hands clasped together in a plea. I needed this job – it was my first job since coming out of college because apparently an art degree didn't mean much in a city like this. It had been my only source of survival for the past two years and now I was losing it all because of this black haired witch. “Clarke, sir…” Before now, I never called Clarke ‘sir’ in the past. I didn't think he deserved it. But desperate times called for desperate measures, “... please, you can't do this…” He rubbed his temple, “Would you like to be escorted out by security then?” Even I knew there was no use begging. Over the years, I had watched them sack colleagues over the smallest of things – second chances did not exist at Sweet Temptation. Worse, they had a no tolerance policy for stealing. So, on top of being sacked, I was not getting any pay even though it was the end of the month. I made the hard decision to just count my losses and move on. “You'll regret this,” I said to Aria, my voice filled with venom. She didn't say anything, only smiled like she had won a lottery. She leaned over and pulled Clarke into a kiss as I made my way out of the office. I didn't stop for a cab. What I needed was a walk. Maybe that would help me feel better. As I stepped out of the sliding doors, a figure bumped into me. “Watch where you're going, stupid,” I said before I could stop myself. I looked up to see a gorgeous man in a track suit, staring down at me like I was some little fly. “Rude much?” He said. I scoffed and continued on my way. By the time I arrived at the small cramped apartment I called home, I was boiling in anger – so much that I threw the fare at the cabbie – and slamming things. I found my childhood friend, Nala and my brother, David, locked in a kiss when I entered. They didn't notice me till I slammed the door hard. Nala practically jumped away from Robert, “It's not what you think!,” “Save it,” I said as I descended the three steps that I still couldn't decide their use in the living room. “That's the last of my problems now.” I was never in support of Nala and my brother being together. Because my brother was a jerk and was most likely to break her heart. Not to mention he was five years younger than her. But Nala wouldn't hear any of it. “You're in a mood.” She said, “What happened?” I sighed and walked to the kitchen to grab some milk to calm my nerves. “I lost my job,” I said, pouring some into a cup. Nala gasped, “Oh my God, what happened?” “That b***h Aria,” My fingers tightened around the cup. Nala loosened them and moved the cup away from me. “She framed me,” “Well, good riddance then. You're not paid enough for all the s**t you go through there,” “Well, Nala bear…” Nala bear was the cringe nickname David had given her. I made a point of using it whenever I was being sarcastic, “...I wouldn't be working there if I found another job,” I rubbed my forehead, “Just give me a moment, please,” She nodded and walked back to the sitting room. I heard the cutting voices from the television as she tried to pick a channel to watch. David came into the kitchen few minutes later. “Try to be nicer to Nala. She's being a good friend,” He said. He took my unfinished milk and gulped it down. I exhaled, “I know I just…” “Guess who came around today?” I rolled my eyes. I hated when David cut me off but him speak. “Who's that?” “A man from the bank,” “And what did he want?” I asked, stalling. I knew exactly what he wanted. I knew it was about the seventy five thousand dollar debt we were neck deep in. I also knew as a matter of practice that if the bank had started sending people to our house, it was only a matter of time before they took more measures in recovering the debt. “It's about the money, Emma,” David said, giving me a look that said ‘don’t play dumb with me,’ “He said we've only got two weeks and if we don't pay up, we'll lose the house,” I took the pack of milk and drank straight from it, willing it to be something stronger. “Does that know?” I asked. “Yeah. He was here when the man visited. He went out to find help,” I chuckled. That was the usual. Dad always went out to find help but help never seemed to come. “Right.” I placed the pack back in the fridge. “I'm going out tonight,” I said, heading to my room. Much to my displeasure, David followed. “To where?” “A date,” After a three year hiatus, I had decided to get back into the dating circle and find a nice man to settle down with. And just earlier this week, I had found a match. We had arranged for a date tonight and I was not going to let this stop me. “Shouldn't that be the last of your problems right now, Emma?” I turned to him, “Yeah. And so should shoving your tongue down Nala’s mouth,” I said loud enough for the both of them to hear.