"Delivered her safe and sound boss." Calcius casually walked up to the screen desk and dropped into one of the chairs facing the man.
"Good job." His voice dripped with sarcasm. Calcius didn't respond. He simply pulled out his phone and typed away. So much for the camaraderie she was expecting."I figured you'd come after all." He said with a smirk.Faith huffed and folded her arms. What could she say to that?"I take it you don't think I'm a kidnapper or rapist anymore then."Cassius snorted. The man eyed him. Calcius didn't look up from the screen."How would I know?" Faith scowled at him."So let me get this straight, you still aren't sure that I'm not a kidnapper or rapist yet you came all the same?"Again, she didn't answer."You're more interesting than I thought.""You didn't give me much of a choice! My manager was going to fire me, remember?""So?""So!? So!? I need that job, you assh*me."He seemed taken aback by her outburst. "Why not just quit?"Faith shut her eyes and clamped her hands over them. "You--you are so arrogant." She stuttered angrily."Not all of us can afford to leave our jobs. We don't all own ten-story buildings or have secretaries or have bodyguards or whatever the hell Cassius is or have tables that are tablets!""Cassius?" He looked over at his bodyguard. "You're on a first-name basis already?""That is what you could pick out of all that?" She gaped at him."What? I'm just saying...that was fast." He shrugged. Cassius just grinned without looking up from his phone. "Anyway, are you going to stand there all through this meeting?""Is this how you organize your meetings? Threaten people to show up.""Yes." He said it simply. Faith's eyes widened. He burst into laughter. "I'm kidding, little lady."She could understand why he called her little lady. She couldn't even be mad at that. At merely 5'5, both of these men towered over her.Faith sighed heavily. "Why am I here?""Because I'd like to offer you a job."Faith's ears perked up at that. "A job? Here?""Here?" He barked a laugh. "Of course not. Aren't you in like your first year of college?"Faith glowered again."Anyway, you see, I recently returned to college--""He's a dirty dropout," Cassius cut in."You didn't even go to college at all!""Exactly. Means I'm not a dropout.""It means you're worse than me."Faith watched their exchange with narrowed, disbelieving eyes. What in the six-year-old banter was going on here?"You were saying!" She cut in.He turned his attention back to her. "I was never good at studying, and I'm even more rusty which is why I need to employ a tutor.""If you're not good at studying, how did you get into Barbell?""The same way half the students did? I bought my way in, of course."Faith eyed him in disbelief."Heard about the new swimming pool arena in the school?"Faith nodded. She'd heard about it alright. It had been top news at the school. It was the social hotspot of the school for a few weeks.She just hadn't had the time for frivolous side activities between her jobs and studying."I donated that to the school. They let me in quite easily after that."Faith felt a headache coming on. She rubbed the sides of her head with her fingers to relieve the pressure.It was best not to think too deeply about what he just said. She already knew quite a number of the students were mega-rich kids who bought their way in.She just didn't need to have the information tossed in her face like that while she was struggling so hard to stay despite being the top entrant."So, you want me to be your tutor?""Yes. I asked around and heard that you got the top score and I only want the best. Nothing serious, just the main subjects; Advanced mathematics, Calculus, Algebra, some science courses.""You didn't need to bring me all the way here to ask that. I could have given you the answer back at the cafe. Not interested. I'm too busy to tutor you."She turned to walk out the door.He jumped to his feet and rushed around the table to stop her. "Wait! Busy with what?""Geez, I don't know, maybe with the three jobs I'm working? Or with my own studying? Take your pick."He huffed. "And here I thought it was a major issue."Faith felt her eyes begin to twitch. In how many different ways was this man going to dismiss her struggles? Surely, he couldn't come up with any more ways."What I'm trying to say is, I told you I was offering you a job, didn't I? I'll pay handsomely."Faith eyed him. "How handsomely?"He went back to his desk to grab a pen and paper, scribbled something across it and handed it over to her folded.Faith opened the paper and peeped at what he wrote. Her mouth fell open. $8,000 was scribbled across the paper."For the year?""The year?" He seemed genuinely confused. "That is for each month."Faith felt her knees go weak. This was twice way more than she got from all her jobs combined.With this, she could easily quit all her jobs and even have some money left over to send home."Are you okay? You look a little white.""Yeah, you kind of do." Cassius chipped in, finally looking up from his phone."I need to sit down.""Finally." The boss said, circling around his desk to take his seat again. "I did tell you to sit at first, didn't I?""Shut up, Devlin. She looks like she's going to faint."Faith barely registered that he just told his boss to shut up or that the boss, whom she thankfully now knew was named Devlin, only huffed in response.Faith sat down next to Cassius. She took a few steadying breaths. They waited in silence for her to comport herself.The silence didn't last long. "I don't need to call you an ambulance, do I? That won't be a good look for me or the business.""I'm fine," Faith assured him. When she was sure that she was breathing properly again, she opened the paper slowly and peeked at the figure again. Yup, she was not mistaken."So what do you think?" He asked impatiently. "Can you take the job?"Faith folded her hands in her lap and smiled. She registered that the smile was much the same as the one Anthony gave to this same man earlier but she didn't care. She only had one thing to say;"When can I start?"Faith was on cloud nine. She practically floated back to her hostel. Honestly, she wasn't entirely sure how she got there. All she knew was that she'd entered a cab and was dropped off at the University gate. Her body hadn't even registered the walk to her hostel.She walked the Halls of the hostel blankly. This time, she didn't stop to think about the fact that a single room here was more luxurious than her entire house back home.When her parents and siblings drove down to drop her off at the start of the semester, she could tell that they were all exceedingly jealous of her even if they didn't say it. She didn't blame them for it.She'd felt guilty and awkward standing in front of them, knowing that she would now live here with the rich people she'd so desperately wished she were a part of from childhood while they would have to go back to their shabby home. She was officially the one that made it out. She felt guilty about that. The least she could do was finish well, get a good
"You know him?" Faith asked with surprise. She looked over at Adele who was also gaping at her."Who doesn't know him?" Sheila shook her head at Faith. "Girl, have you been living under a rock?""No, just living under a lot of work."Sheila rolled her eyes but didn't make any comment about that. "He is one of the richest, most successful people in the country.""It's true. He owns a tech company." Adele chipped in. "I can't believe you don't know him. He's always in magazines. He was voted most eligible bachelor by the Star Magazine last year.""So he's like a big deal?""The biggest deal. I can't believe that he's schooling here and no one knew till now. They really worked hard to keep it out of the media." Sheila shook her head."You seem to know him quite well.""More like I know of him. My father does some business with him so I've met him a few times. Nothing deep."Faith gulped. If her super-rich friends were acting so wonderstruck, just how important was this Devlin character.
"This is Devlin. Here's my direct line. See you at 6 on Monday for our first session. Address attached."That was the content of the message that had turned her stomach to a sludge pudge for the past four days.From the moment she read the message, she was filled with apprehension. At first, she didn't understand why. After all, this was not her first rodeo. She'd tutored all through high school for the extra bucks.But this time, the stakes were higher. She wasn't tutoring for a few bucks anymore. This job was now her lifeline especially since she dramatically quit two of her jobs over the past few days.She recalled her encounter with Anthony the manager just two days before. She'd come in to work as she was scheduled and gone in the back to inform him that she wouldn't be working there any longer.He did not take that information well. "You can't quit now! Where do you expect me to get a replacement? The session is already underway.""Perhaps you should look in the same place you
"Want a ride?" Devlin's devilish face smiled at her from the comfort of a black BMV Convertible with the top down.Why was he laughing? What was there to laugh about? Frustrated and angry, the tears burst out from Faith in torrents."Are you crying?" Devlin asked in disbelief. He stepped out of his car and hurried up to her. "What's wrong?""What's wrong?" She repeated. "What is wrong is that I've been walking through this massive graveyard of an estate for thirty minutes."The words were coming out in torrents. "The guard wouldn't let the cab in which you could have told me ahead. He sent me into this maze with no directions. Nothing! Devlin stood quietly, letting her vent. "All I have is your stupid house number, 387A. But the numbering here is insane! Why would 157A be right next to 226A? And WHY IN THE WORLD would it be opposite 228B!" She finished her rant, breathing heavily.Realizing that she was done, Devlin finally spoke. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I didn't even think of th
Devlin gave her a confused look. "Fired? Why would I fire you?""I d-didn't arrive on time. You said we should meet by six but it's almost seven now.""I don't see how that's your fault. Isn't that what you were yelling at me earlier? That's it's all my fault?" He grinned at how flustered she became as she remembered yelling. "Why would I fire you for something that's my fault?"She didn't have any answer to that. She groped around her mind for what was appropriate to say. She finally settled for, "Thank you." "Yeah, whatever. I know I'm awesome."Faith rolled her eyes and turned to enter the bathroom. There was no way she would sit there tutoring him looking like a homeless racoon.Before she closed the door behind her, she held his eyes, "And I absolutely don't have any mucus on my face." She slammed the door shut in his face.The sound of Devlin's laughter filtered through the thick door. Faith stood before the mirror and checked herself out. She looked horrid. Her eyes were swoll
Faith prepared herself to grab the steering wheel. She would rather die than be kidnapped for whatever evil purposes a CEO would kidnap a person for.Her mind moved rapidly, reminding her of every bit of alarming information she'd heard on the news; from sex rings to strange rituals. She would do down swinging, and take the bastard with her.Devlin glanced at Faith. He must have seen the mad glint in her eyes because he finally deigned to say something. "Calm down, will you? I'm just taking you to your d*amned hostel."It took a moment for his words to register in Faith's half-crazed brain. "What?" She said slowly. "Why would you do that?""Because I'm a gentleman?" He scoffed.Faith responded with a scoff of her own. Gentleman, indeed. If he were a gentleman, then she was the pope."Doesn't seem right to leave you to make your way back this late when I can just drive you home." Faith squinted at him suspiciously. What did that mean? That he was trying to be nice. She don't think he
Faith traipsed self-consciously to her morning lecture. The events of the past few days had set her on edge.As predicted by Sheila, she'd quickly become the talk of the campus. She'd also appeared in several tabloids and YouTube videos.Granted, she'd always dreamed of being famous but not in this way. Rather than being known for her brain and dedication, she was now wildly known for being Devlin Bank's potential love interest.She couldn't go anywhere on campus without people looking at her, pointing at her and whispering about her. Going out of her room at all had become a serious problem.Just to attend her lectures today, she'd donned a face cap pulled down over her eyes and a nose mask to mask her identity.It was surprisingly effective. Sure, some people gave her an odd look or two but they didn't stop to stare and whisper.That very unfortunate night that Devlin drove her back, she'd gotten a text from a reporter at StarTimes requesting a sit-down with her. That very night!De
Before she could say anything, another sound came through the door. This time it was a different voice and a different kind of grunt. The loud moan filled the air. Her eyes widened. A laugh burst through her lips. She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep it silent."Oh, Mr Banks," the moan came again. Faith unconsciously took a step forward. She thought she recognized the voice but she couldn't be sure.Casiuss put out a hand in front of her and stopped. He motioned to her to follow him. They left that area and went to a different room.It was a full-size gym. Every kind of equipment she would expect to see in a standard, commercial was there. "Wow." She stepped further into the gym."You like to gym?" Cassius asked."Do I look like I gym?" She asked with a laugh.He smiled at her. "I guess not. I hope you don't mind but since we're here, I'm just going to get some work in.""Oh, I don't mind at all."He started undoing his buttons. Faith swallowed heavily, the threads of antici