The Billionaire's Request

ELENA POV Mornings when I go to work after staying all night in the hospital with Mum are always stressful, but nothing beats getting to spend quality time with her. The sound of her voice echoing in the cramped general ward of the hospital is enough fuel to get me through any obstacle life throws my way and, trust me, life has been hurling and raining more obstacles than I could bear. Little did I know that I was about to experience a Category 4 hurricane. I quickly got home to freshen up and head to work. Home for me is a shared apartment with my best friend Sophia. Life is horrible, but it doesn’t seem that bad when I get to do it with my better half. I’m straight by the way…. Wait, that came out wrong. For clarification, I’m not homophobic, and I’m a proud advocate of the l***q Community. Come, I'll show you my badge……. Not now though. Now I have to make sure I get to work in 15 minutes, or I'll be on the streets by next week. Yeah, you guessed right, MY RENT IS COMING UP! It’s sad how I work two jobs but still can’t make ends meet. I can’t get myself designer bags or clothes or at least get a burger without internally judging myself for bad spending habits. I work as a receptionist at Kingsley’s Corporation and I have part-time shifts dancing anonymously at a strip club at night. So yeah, you can call me Bat-woman, hehe. If that sounds crying to you, just call me Elena. I was kicked out of my long trail of thoughts by a sharp scream from Sophia. Don’t worry, I didn’t flinch, I’m used to it now. Our apartment is cockroach and rats-infested and Sophia hasn’t accepted our forced roommates. I took my head out of the shower and yelled “Bug spray at the top left cabinet, Soph!” and she responded “Well, bug spray doesn’t kill rude rats Elly” and I couldn’t help but giggle. I got out of the shower in four minutes and immediately dived into 1 out of my 3 corporate outfits. You could already see the fade on the collars of my shirt. I promised myself to get a new pair when I received this month’s salary, but the doctor said my mum needed some new drugs, so I’d have to get a new shirt another time. I put my hair in a slick bun and ran downstairs immediately. “Hi Soph……., Bye Soph” I said as I ran out the door. I checked my phone for the time. “Good, I have 7 minutes to pick up my coffee and head to work”. Now, I might joke about everything else but not my coffee, especially on days when I spend the night dancing or taking care of my mum. I rushed into the coffee shop opposite my workplace and saw a long line. My face dropped instantly and just by the corner of my eyes, I saw a hand stretching a cup of coffee towards me, and it was Ann. “Double shot espresso with one shot of vanilla and caramel swirl,” she said way before I could comprehend what was happening. “Oh my God, thank you, Ann,” I said, not being able to hide my smile. "You can come back later to pay, go on…. "You have just 2 minutes left,” she said, her hands gesturing to me to leave. “God!, I'll marry you!” I said while rushing out quickly. Now I need to get to my workstation in under two minutes, and on days like this when I don’t need anything to get in my way, I usually get a lot of things in my way. I rushed through the doors and I saw the elevator doors almost closing. “No, no, no….” I muttered while running and just as I got to the elevator, I tripped, and my coffee decided, ‘Hey! Why don’t I leave the safety of this plastic cup and spill over and not only spill on the floor? Why don’t I spill over on a shirt that’ll cost way more than my owner’s entire lifetime earnings? And then it happened. My face crashed into the luxurious-looking shirt that I just spilled my unpaid coffee on. My day hadn’t even started, and I’d already gotten myself into trouble and the elevator door closed. “I AM SO SORRY!” I said while pulling out paper napkins from my purse and trying to get the stain off the shirt, still not looking at the face of my victim. At that point, I heard the elevator chime and I held my victim's hand and pulled him out of the elevator and into the first restroom I could lay my eyes on. “The stain’s not coming off. How about you take it off, and I drop it off at the laundry unit” I said, and for the first time in that chaotic moment, I looked at my Victim’s face and I felt cold chills run through my spine. The unique eyes I’ve ever seen. They hold so much depth, so much darkness, the eyes greener than matcha -or grass, anything you’d like to compare them to, all in sync with a well-sculpted face, plump red lips, and the sharpest jawline I’ve ever seen. Is this real? Or am I hallucinating from tiredness? And then it finally hit me. We weren’t alone in the bathroom, they were 4…., NO!, 7! Suited men in the bathroom with us, all looking at me like I was a ticking time bomb. “Um….., If you don’t mind, I’d get going,” I said, turning quickly, my eyes fixated on the exit, and then I felt a cold hand wrap around my arms from behind and, before I could react, I was pulled harshly, and turned to face the culprit. I could barely look at his face. “And who’s going to fix this baby girl?” I heard the deepest voice whisper into my ears.