Once A Billionaire

A Billionaire's Test

When he woke up, he didn't recognize where he was, or why he was lying on a comfortable fluffy bed. He tried to get up but his arms refused to move no matter how hard he tried, making Max feel completely helpless.

A few hours passed before the pain subsided and Max managed to get up, staggering on the edge of his feet. Just then a voice filled with sympathy said:"What the hell are you doing? Don't try to get up, you are not healed yet!" Max turned and saw a woman glaring at him. She wore nothing but ripped blue jeans and a black leather bra underneath her shirt. Her blonde hair was tied in a high ponytail which revealed her pale skin. The woman was beautiful and her light complexioned skin shown bright under the influence of the sunlight streaming through the window

'

the words seemed to flash before Max's eyes but he shook his head. He couldn't say anything, it was like the words were stuck in his throat, unable to escape.

Max watched as the woman approached and took the glass of water from the nearby table and held it out towards Max. The woman looked concerned, "Drink slowly, don't rush it, it won't make you better." Max nodded slowly and gulped down some of the liquid as the lady helped Max get to his feet. Max grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his forehead and then leaned against the bed and breathed heavily. The woman placed a wet towel onto Max's back which caused him to flinch at first but after a couple of seconds, he started to relax and the pain started to fade a bit. Max thanked the woman and said:"Thank you very much." the woman just smiled and said:"You're welcome, I'm Michonne."

Max smiled gently at the woman,"My name is Max." he replied and the two of them just stood there looking at each other. Suddenly the front door slammed open, making Max jump slightly, scared that someone was coming. Both of them looked towards the entrance of the room but they didn't have to look long since a guy in a suit rushed over to the pair, holding a large piece of paper.

"Michonne, Mr. Hartman said you could bring him now if he's awake," the man said nervously, clearly anxious. Michonne gave him a nod and told Max to follow her as they headed towards the elevator. Max followed the woman silently as she pressed the button to call the elevator and waited for it. Once it arrived, the two of them entered and then waited for the door to close as soon as they reached the lobby level. As the door closed on them, Michonne glanced at Max once more and gave him a weird satisfactory look which Max did not understand.

As the elevator doors opened, Max stepped outside to see a man in a crisp white dress shirt standing there with a stack of papers in hand. Max noticed how the man was also wearing a suit jacket and he noticed the ring on his finger.

"Hello, Max! I am David Hartman." the man greeted, offering his hand for Max to shake. When Max looked at David's hand, he noticed that there were rings on his fingers, each showing different colors and designs with different initials. On the ring that is currently on David's right middle finger is a ring shaped like two stars.

"Nice to meet you..." Max trailed off, not knowing what to say. He didn't know who this man was. But he wanted to say something. Something to ease the awkward atmosphere that had been growing between them. The woman stood next to Max, watching everything unfold.

"Ah! You must be Miss. Lillian's assistant, I was wondering what her name was...Maxine, I believe?" David asked Michonne curiously, noticing that Max was holding himself stiffly.

The woman nodded,"That's right, she requested that you come by today because she has a question for you." the woman explained while nodding towards Max as David nodded and looked at Max expectantly.

"What kind of question?" Max muttered, shifting his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Well, I think you should come to my office first." David said, looking down at his papers, "I have been told that Ms. Lillian is quite a busy girl. She can take forever to write down everything she wants to tell me. Please come along." David handed the papers to Michonne and then took Max's wrist, leading the boy towards his office.

Max followed the man reluctantly while the woman walked on either side of them. They walked past the receptionist desk without stopping and walked down a corridor that led directly to a small lift. Once the three of them boarded the lift, it descended downwards. Once the doors opened, David let go of Max's wrist and led him inside his office. He sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

Max shuffled closer towards David and watched him carefully. Max still didn't trust this man yet he couldn't help but feel curious about how he got mixed up with Lillian. David looked up and said,"So, Max..." he paused for a second, "How are you?"

Max shrugged and answered,"Alright, I guess..." Max looked at the desk behind David and found a photo frame sitting on it, displaying an image of two kids in the center of the frame together. The boys looked around 10 years old or 12 years old. One of the boys looked similar to Max although he couldn't remember exactly where from could have gotten that similarity. Max looked at the photograph for a while, studying it intensely.

"Who is that?" Max asked, pointing at the taller boy in the frame.

David chuckled,"That's your great-grandfather and your great-grandfather's friend when they were still a kid," David answered, "Infact, you are here today because of your great-grandfather."

Max was confused by this, "Why?"

The man laughed, amused with Max's lack of comprehension towards the situation, "Your great-grandfather passed away in Hong Kong five months ago. He was a wealthy business tycoon and when he died, he had no one as his heir except you Max. You are the only relation he left behind.``''What do you mean?" Max looked at David questioningly, his eyes widened in surprise. He didn't understand any of what David had just told him.

"Well, any one related to your great-grandfather is dead leaving only you as his sole heir. He only learnt about you on his sick bed and willed all he had left to you," David explained. Max stared at him blankly with his mouth hanging open and his mind running wild trying to comprehend all of this information he had just received.

Max swallowed down a lump in his throat and then asked,"So, what happens now?"

David chuckled again and then said:"There is really nothing to worry about really, Your great-grandfather grandfather left a video tape which he said to be played in case he ever died of his sickness and never gets to meet you in person.""Please play it, I wanna see what happens." Max insisted. David looked at him for a while and then picked up the remote and pressed play on the device, turning it off when it finished playing and putting it into a drawer. Max leaned forward and peered at the screen intently waiting for something to happen on the screen. However, instead of showing a picture of Max, there was the sound of footsteps and then a voice appeared.

"Hi Maxie, it's me, your old great-grandfather Dan."

The boy looked startled by the sudden introduction but then the picture began to materialize on the screen. It showed a familiar figure: Daniel. His short hair covered his forehead and his face and shoulders looked gaunt and thin but despite that his eyes looked alert and strong. Daniel continued speaking:

"It's been a long time now, but I haven't forgotten what happened when I met your dad and how I carried him in my hands. He was so young then and he was always smiling.

Max, it was with my last breath I made this recording. I felt really ashamed when I learnt that you were the only relative I have left, you lived a wretched life and not worthy to carry on my fortune. So to make sure you truly deserve all my wealth summing up to $900 billion, you have to prove yourself worthy.

So I have set down a test. A test for you to spend $50 billion within a month, if you fail not to finish spending the money before a month, all assets and the money left will be stripped off you, and you won't have anything left and will have to return to your wretched life...." Dan coughed a little bit as he talked, and then took another deep breath as he continued speaking:"But if you pass, you can become rich. If you don't pass, then your inheritance will be taken away and you will live an even worse life than the one you already had...."

Daniel paused briefly as he thought about his decision. He knew it wouldn't have been easy for Max to pass his test but he couldn't afford to put his fortune in the wrong hands.