Chapter four.

"Ah...." Lisa released a breath, and a scowl settled on her lips. "He was so arrogant, as if he thought I wouldn't be able to reject him."

"And what did you say?" Karen leaned closer, even though she already knew the answer.

"Of course I said no."

"He must have been surprised." Anyone in his shoes would feel so. Karen thought.

"You should have seen his face." Lisa giggled.

"If I were you, I definitely would have been tempted." Karen pointed out.

"Who said that I wasn't tempted? It was a whole ten million dollars after all."

"But you didn't give in. You should give yourself credit for that."

'right. You did well, Lisa.' She smiled.

"So, are you going to go back?"

"I don't know. I might as well hold on for a few more days."

"Right. I was also thinking the same." Karen nodded.

'Hopefully, I will never see him again.' Lisa prayed.

★★★★★★

Wearing a big bear costume on a hot day was definitely not a good choice.

Still, Lisa had to do it. Handing out seasonal fliers to passersby.

It was hard not to feel comfortable wearing the dummy head, and Lisa, who was very sensitive to heat, started to feel dizzy after some hours.

It was her second month on the job, and she was still unable to get used to it, blaming her tiredness on the shift she worked at the bar the night before.

She picked up the carton of flyers, wanting to take a break, when someone bumped into her.

She lost her footing, her back hitting the railings. The carton flips out of her hand, falling right down to the first floor.

"Oh my gosh, I am really sorry." The person who accidentally collided with her apologized profusely, helping her up.

"I'm fine. It's okay." Lisa couldn't bother with him. She toom off the bear head, looking down at the havoc she has caused on the first floor.

There were fliers scattered everywhere, and the part that made her heart skip a beat was that the carton had actually fallen on someone's head. And from the way he was dressed, she could tell he wasn't just anybody.

'Should I just make a run for it?' She thought, only to shake the idea off, quickly rushing down the stairs.

Just as she arrived on the floor, the man removed the carton, staring straight at her.

His eyes narrowed at her. "It's you."

Lisa also recognized him, and she wished she had taken the earlier advice and made a run for it.

Bowing her head, she apologized. "I am so sorry. Someone knocked into me. I didn't mean to throw it on you."

"This is the second time now; isn't it fate?"

"I am really sorry about what happened."

"First at the bar, and now here. Do you perhaps work everywhere?" The two were on completely different pages.

"I—no." Lisa said bitterly

'Out of everyone, why did it have to be him?.'

"You—you, how could you do this to an important customer?" The manager glared at Lisa upon reaching the scene.

Lisa bowed her head sincerely. "I am sorry."

"You should be sorry. Immediately turn in the costume. You are fired."

"But sir!" Lisa panicked. She couldn't lose the job.

"Shut up!" He shouted at her lividly.

"I am the one who was offended. Why is it that you are the one who is getting all angry?"

"I apologize, Mr. Axel." The manager's voice turned sweet as honey when it came to the powerful man in front of him.

"You—" Axel gestured at Lisa, and she tensed up.

He won't sue her, will he?

"Do you need work?"

"What?" Both the manager and Lisa echoed.

Axel pretended to think. "My office is missing an errand girl. The salary is not that bad. If you want, you can come for the interview."

'an errand girl.'

Axel passed her his business card. "I hope to see you." Sending her a wink as he walked away.

"What just happened?" Lisa blinked blankly, feeling puzzled.

 ____________________

Axel's smile faded the moment he walked out of the building, turning to the bodyguard to his right.

"That manager. Fire him."

"Yes, sir." An immediate reply came.

'good. Next time, he will know not to yell about. Hah....my ears.'

__________________

Lisa contemplated Axel's offer. She was very familiar with the company's name on the card. K-Tech Company is the CEO of Mr. Axel's.

What does he want with her?

'Forget about it. It's not one of my concerns. I am going to pretend that this never happened.'

With the help of kind-hearted passersby, she managed to gather all the flies scattered on the ground, thanking the group of students that had contributed the most and even stayed till the end.

"Here." She fished some cash from her wallet. "Buy yourselves some drinks."

"No way, auntie." The tallest girl in the group shook her hands, saying so solemnly. "We were happy to help."

"Yes, we couldn't stand and watch you do all the work. That guy that bumped into you earlier was really a meanie." A cute one with a short bob pointed out, and the rest nodded in agreement.

"Thanks a lot, you guys." Lisa smiled.

"It was no problem." They all responded. "Bye-bye, pretty auntie."

'Ahh, it's good to be young'

Lisa sighed with a hand full of flyers, forgetting that she had just clocked 24.

She turned in her stuff, like the manager requested, walking into the busy streets of Florida.

She didn't feel that sad about losing the job. Maybe it was because she didn't like the job in the first place.

Or maybe she was too tired to care.

On her way home, she made a stop at the convenience store she always visited to buy some things.

She had just paid when she noticed something wrong. "These drinks aren't mine." She quickly pointed out.

"I know. Share them with your brother." The old man said, Seeing her hesitation, he added.

"It's getting late for a lady to walk around alone. You should hurry and go home."

"Thank you, sir." Lisa said sincerely. The doorbell attached to the door jingled as she walked out.

She hadn't walked far when she heard a loud call of her name. She turned around and saw a group of three boys sprinting towards her.

The load she was carrying was immediately taken away, a smile blooming on her lips. "You guys are done with practice today?"

"Mmm." Bruce nodded, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Big sister Lisa, how long has it been? I really miss your cooking."

"The only thing you think about food." Roy helped Felix drag him off her and then asked naturally. "Big sister Lisa, what are we cooking for dinner?"

Lisa shook her head at the two. She was planning on heating up the food in the fridge. But now that the two had asked, she pursed her lips, brushing back the hair on her shoulder.

"What about pasta?"

"Yes." Bruce grinned.

"You two, I can't believe I know you guys." Felix rolled her eyes at their behavior.

"Say whatever you want; I don't care." Bruce grinned happily, while Roy pretended not to hear.

'seriously. These guys.' Felix sighed.

Lisa watched them argue back and forth as they climbed up the stairs.

Arriving at the door, Lisa's eyes fell on the small notice next to the door. It was from the landlord, urging her to pay the month's rent. She stood, unmoving. She had almost forgotten about the rent. Her bank balance was a minus, and it was already hard enough to survive through each day.

Lisa was the epitome of broken. There was no way she could find a way to gather the amount in a short period of time.

She touched her pants' pocket, where she kept the business card she had squeezed and almost thrown away.

"Big sis Lisa, aren't you coming in?" The boys called from the inside, and she snapped back to reality, forcing a smile on her lips.