The Billionaire's Secrets - Book 1 & 2

Book 1-Love at first sight

A year later, Allen got used to his daily routine. Every morning, together with John, they were working as baggage boys in the market and attending school in the afternoon during weekdays. In their spare time, they would also help Terrie sell cold water over the bridge or just sit down on the river dike, where Allen would teach John about school assignments while also doing his own.

But Lucas also continued messing up with them, specifically with Allen.

“I will break your neck once I got you, Allen!” Lucas yelled. The gang leader was alone but with a wooden bat in his hand.

“Uh-oh. It’s you again. Catch me, indolent man.” Allen ran as fast as he could. He knew how furious Lucas was at him but he would never let him snatch his money or touch him. He ran across the street and slipped through the gate of Beverly Valley Subdivision.

“You son of a b!tch!” Lucas yelled again.

“Prrrt!”

The guards at the gate whistled and yelled at them to stop but Allen did not stop as Lucas was just some feet away from him. He kept running but accidentally bumped into a car and then he toppled down.

“Jesus Christ! Kid, were you hurt?” A worried voice cried.

Allen sat down on the pavement massaging his knee with his hands. Lucas also stopped and ran away.

The man with eyeglasses approached Allen, helped him stand up, and took him to the sidewalk. Allen looked at his savior, a tall and good-looking man probably in his forties.

“Good thing the car was at a full stop when you bumped into it. Are you okay?” the man asked worriedly.

Still gasping for breath, Allen shook his head and apologized, “I’m okay, Sir. I’m sorry,” he said though his knee was hurting.

A woman, probably of the same age as the man, peeked and asked from the car window. “Darling, is he okay?”

Allen stared at the woman, who looked so elegant and beautiful. Allen thought the woman was more beautiful in her younger years.

“He is sound,” the man replied to the woman, then faced Allen again. “Why was that small man chasing you? Do you have a problem with him?”

“He wanted to snatch my earnings,” Allen answered. His eyes caught the face of a girl seated beside the woman in the car’s back seat. Suddenly, his young heart beat faster as his eyes were glued to an angelic face who was also looking at him as if memorizing his face.

The man's forehead furrowed. “Take care next time, Boy,” he said and then skirted to the driver's side of the car.

Allen just nodded without looking at the man. His full attention was on the girl while his heart was beating erratically. He smiled at her but the girl did not smile back and just kept looking at him.

Allen waved to the girl who kept on looking back at him. He watched the expensive car until it vanished from his sight. Then he looked around and was in awe at the sight of the huge and beautiful mansions. The place of rich people, a place of luxury and abundance.

‘So, the pretty girl and her family live somewhere in this place,’ Allen said to himself. Rejoicing inwardly, a dream formed inside his young mind. ‘I’m going to see her again. I need to know where she lives.’

When Allen was walking back to the main gate, he saw the signboard hooked on one of the gates. ‘Wanted: Errand boy’. He unhooked the signboard and smiled because probably he would get another job.

Happy weekends for Allen began as Saturdays became his favorite days. He got a job in a car wash shop inside the subdivision. He would leave early in the morning to have a pleasant time looking at the luxurious mansions along the way and would always stop in one of the most beautiful mansions on the block.

He admired it for its beautiful flower garden, but the main reason why he kept on peeping from the iron-barred fence every morning was someone very important to him. He wanted to see her, the girl’s angelic face. And it was his lucky day. There she was, seated on a chair with some kind of paintbrush in her hand. He hid between bushy plants outside the steel fence and made sure the guard couldn’t see him.

The pretty girl, at one instance, stared in his direction. He waved his hand and cast his best smile at the girl with the hope of seeing her smile back at him. But the girl just kept on looking at him, then looked down and started to draw on some kind of cloth.

Unaware of his long stay, Allen kept on watching the girl who was doing some kind of painting. The girl’s mother came out of the door with a food tray. He saw the mother hold the girl’s chin and say something. Allen kowtowed when the mother turned to look towards his spot.

Though he wanted to stay a bit longer, it was time to leave. He ran as fast as he could to catch up for the morning time entry in his work.

Miss Mortem, the car wash hellcat owner, greeted him with a mad face. “You’re two minutes late.”

Allen who was breathless said an apology. “Sorry, Ma’am,”

“Next time you come this late, you’ll be fired,” the owner said in a sharp tone.

One or two minutes late would be equal to a thirty-minute deduction from Allen’s eight hours of pay. Anyway, he had seen his angel and it brought him into an ecstatic mood. He prepared his cleaning tools and started his work right away.

Sundays were also Allen's favorite days. He was preparing for a Sunday church mass, wearing his one-and-only trousers which he bought from a thrift store. He checked the fitting of his clothes in a small mirror and then combed his hair.

“Allen, can I come with you?” John approached, who was wearing old trousers, and a shirt and slippers. “Whoa! Am-boy!” He teased as he looked at Allen.

Allen tapped his friend on the forehead jokingly. John always teased him as Am-boy because of his American features, light brown eyes, symmetrical face with a high-bridged nose, and fair skin color though it turned light brown due to too much exposure to the sun. As he was growing up, he became much taller than John.

“Let’s go. We shall walk,” Allen said jokingly, pulling John by the shoulder.

“I don’t even remember we ever rode a jeep when going to church, stingy boy,” John murmured.

Allen chuckled at John’s comment. “Am I stingy? Then let’s walk.”

The church was a little bit far from the bridge and it took them three or more kilometers of walking to reach it. It was already full of churchgoers when they arrived and they huddled to pass through the crowd and looked for vacant seats.

Allen’s heart thumped faster as they got nearer to the pretty girl’s family. He looked for a nearer seat to have a closer look at his angel. Luckily, they got seats behind the girl, which was beside the two bodyguards of the family. The girl, with brown hair and a creamy white complexion, was sitting between her parents. Allen was wishing for her to look back, but it never happened.

“You’re not listening to the Priest’s homily,” John whispered in Allen’s ear.

“Quiet, just concentrate on your own,” Allen whispered back.

Allen closed his eyes and prayed silently. ‘Dear God. Help me find a way to know her name.’

The church mass was over and people started leaving the church. Allen followed the girl’s family and walked as close as he could behind the two bodyguards. He ignored John’s poking at his back.

“Are we going to follow them?” John said impatiently.

“Mister and Mrs. Imperial, I’m so glad to see you!” An excited woman’s greeting put the family and the bodyguards to a halt.

Allen also stopped and anticipated a conversation between the family and the woman.

“Oh, is she Angela? You’re so pretty, Darling,” the woman said.

“Yes!” Excitement suddenly came out of Allen’s mouth. John stared at him in surprise.

‘Thank you, dear God. Angela Imperial. Nice name,’ he said to himself and he was still beaming while walking back home.

The trouble with Lucas’ gang had been a shadow of the two boys, specifically to Allen. The leader would not stop his retaliation against them. The two boys were in the garbage landfill for their daily routine of recyclable trash picking when the thieves’ group blocked their way.

“Hey! Son of b!tches!” Lucas yelled.

Allen and John halted. They would not let Lucas's group mock them. Lucas and his three companions, with weapons in their hands, were approaching and ready to attack them.

“Allen, they are four and they have weapons,” John said in an alarmed tone.

Allen's grip tightened on his steel rod. They were on a mountain of trash and they could not just run. But he was no longer the frail Allen and already burnt out and weary running away from these thieves. It's time for them to resist and fight.

“We’ll bury you in the trash. Arrogant womanish,” Lucas said scornfully, showing off his brass knuckles in his fingers. Lucas members were holding an old shovel, rusty chains, and a wooden bat.

“Ready with your rod. We must disarm them.” Allen warned John and moved closer to John’s back. “Stay close to me. This is a one-to-two fight.” He threw his sack aside.

“I’m ready,” John said and kicked away his sack.

“Braggart!” Lucas yelled and his group laughed scornfully.

“Move closer and you’ll get hurt,” Allen warned bravely. He tightened his grip on his metal rod.

The group attacked and a clashing of weapons followed. In an instant, Allen hit with his metal rod the two attackers on their feet, and they rolled over down the mountain trash and they ran away.

John was disarmed and struggling so as not to choke with the wooden bat of his bigger attacker. Allen beat the legs of John’s attacker and as the wooden bat loosened, John released his extra strong punch on his attacker’s face and his enemy rolled down along with the rubbish. He was bursting with laughter while watching his fleeing enemy.

Lucas was retreating. His allies fled and he was alone in front of his two enemies. A cunning person like Lucas who depended on others’ strength for personal gain was scared to death when alone.

But Allen would not just let him go away. “Let’s have a fair fight.” Allen threw away his steel rod. “Removed your steel knuckles,” he ordered, then blocked Lucas’s path. But Lucas did not remove the steel knuckles and clenched his hands instead. "No way!"

“Hey, coward. Don’t worry, I will not intervene,” John said scornfully. He picked up his steel rod and sack and then left.

“So, what are you waiting for?” Allen clenched his two fists into a ball, ready to meet his enemy’s attack.

“Kyaaaaaaaa!” Lucas swooped. He wanted to topple down his much taller opponent.

But Allen was ready, who side-tracked quickly and overlaid Lucas’ back. His continuous heavy work in the market made him stronger. He punched Lucas’ face multiple times until the small man groaned in pain.

“Stop! I gave up!” Lucas raised his two hands. His nose was bleeding.

Allen released him and the small man retreated fearfully and ran as fast as he could.

Allen breathed out and looked down at his aching knuckles. He looked around for his steel rod and sack. Time to think of an excuse for Terrie about their wounds and skin scratches when they got home.