THE BILLIONAIRE'S HEART

It was a bright evening, though it was 4:30 pm and the air buzzed with anticipation as Emma Hearts, the simple girl downtown, hurriedly took her bath. Her phone has been buzzing since she entered the bathroom. “Emma, Emma, could you come to make this thing quiet, I cannot concentrate on what I am watching with that noise,” her Mom cried out. “Please. When will you change this noise you call a ringtone?” Her Mom asked, “When she starts getting up early, Mom,” Said Terry, Emma’s younger brother who was very brilliant at school and very fond of her. “Mom! I know it’s Susan, please, can you help tell her I am on my way,” Emma shouted from the bathroom. “Why should I do that? That’s a lie, I won’t do that,” her mother replied. “Mom, if I miss this one-time job, you may have to sleep without a heater for two days exactly, and that is not a threat Mom, I need this opportunity,” Emma told her Mom, still shouting from the bathroom. Upon hearing that, her Mom quickly picks up her phone and answers the call. It was Susan, and they could hear her shouting from the other side of the line, “Emma, you do not want to miss a three hundred dollar deal because of your lateness. Please, where are you?” Emma's Mom replied, “She is on her way, she is taking her bath,” she was not comfortable with what she had just said, but she knew Emma was doing too many things to help keep the family and if it was Susan that called, it was one of those weird jobs. “Ma, I don’t get you ma, you said she was on her way, and she is taking her bath?” Susan’s voice could be heard from the other side of the line a bit confused. It was at this point that Emma took the point from her Mom. “I will be there, I am already leaving,” said Emma as she put herself together. Emma was always rushing. This is because she has to do several jobs to ensure that her brother remains in school and that her sick mother maintains her medication. She was not doing badly in taking care of them at the moment, but she was not doing a good job of taking care of herself. “Are you sure they are going to pay that much for a simple ushering job? Her mother asked. “I told you, Maah, it is too good a great opportunity to miss,” Emma replied her mother, who was shocked that someone would pay that much for a job she considered to be easy. “Can I come too? We could make four hundred instead of two,” her mother inquired. “Mom! They are not looking for your type, ma, and you know, you are on medication. See ya!” Emma said. As Emma hurried through the crowd to get to the grand entrance of the upscale event venue, she never knew it was the day she would meet someone who would change her life forever: The handsome billionaire Alexandra Sterling. Alex was already dressed up while Lara was still in bed. They had just finished having fun and Alex did not find it as exciting as before. “You are getting boring, do you know that?” Alexandra Sterling asked his bedmate, Lara, who was slowly getting up and putting on her panties. “Hmm, I wish you knew who was bored. Your mind was not with us all the while. I do not know whether it’s the event or you are getting tired of me,” Lara said. Alex was already putting on his watch as the last accessory he needed to put on before leaving. He looked at the bed and saw how sluggish Lara was getting prepared. She did not seem interested in the event and Alex seemed worried. “Are you sure you are my date for this event because you are not acting like one,” Alex said, accusing Lara. “With the way you dealt with me in bed, do I need to be anywhere except here,” Lara replied. “Please hurry. We may run late. I can not launch a new product for my firm, and I am still late. Stephen called to say the guests had all arrived. Please let’s go, our ride is downstairs,” Alex said, trying to make Lara appreciate the lack of time they had. Alex, all dressed in black with his beautiful date Lara, dressed in a beautiful red gown, arrived at the venue on time. The guards and the men in protocol scamper to attend to him and Lara. Meanwhile, Emma, dressed in a simple black uniform, approached the entrance of the venue. She clutched her temporary ushering job badge and glanced at her watch anxiously. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she fumbled to answer. "Emma, the event has already started! You need to hurry," Susan's voice crackled through the line. "I'm almost there, Susan. Just a few more steps," Emma replied, her breath quickening. She reached the entrance, where the organizers seemed agitated. Emma's mother's words echoed in her mind, she knew the odd jobs were necessary to make ends meet for her family. She squared her shoulders, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. "Excuse me, I'm here for the ushering job," Emma explained to the organizers, showing her badge. The stern-faced man of average height glanced at the badge and then at his watch, a dismissive frown creasing his forehead. "You're late. We've already filled the positions. Sorry, but you can't go in." Emma's heart sank, and she desperately pleaded, "Please, I need this job. I have a family to take care of." Before the situation escalated, a commanding voice cut through the tension. "What seems to be the problem here?" The crowd parted to reveal Alexander Sterling, the young billionaire, impeccably dressed and exuding confidence. Lara, his companion from the night before, clung to his arm, her gaze fixed on Emma with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. "Sir, this woman claims she's supposed to work here, but she's late, and we've already filled the positions," the organizer explained, gesturing towards Emma. Alexander raised an eyebrow, sizing up the situation. "And what's your name?" he asked, turning his attention to Emma. "I'm Emma," she replied, her voice steadier now that she had an unexpected ally. "Well, Emma, it seems we have a little misunderstanding here," Alexander said with a charming smile. "Let her in. I'll take responsibility for her being late." The organizers exchanged uneasy glances but eventually relented, allowing Emma to pass. As she walked through the entrance, she turned back to thank the mysterious benefactor, only to find herself locking eyes with Alexander Sterling. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, time seemed to stand still. Emma's gratitude mingled with confusion, while Alexander's gaze held a warmth that went beyond the expected courtesy. Their smiles met, and inadvertently, their hands brushed against each other as Emma passed by. Lara, growing impatient, forcefully tugged on Alexander's arm. "Come on, Alex. We're already late." As Emma moved further into the venue, she couldn't shake the feeling that this chance encounter with the enigmatic billionaire would change the course of her evening and perhaps her life. She wondered why everyone greeted him the way they did. It was like they all knew him. She admitted he was handsome but could not place the name of the handsome man she had just met. She decided she was going to ask her friend Susan about him after the event. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of a story that would intertwine her fate with Alexander Sterling's in ways she could never have imagined, and it would happen that fast.