2. THE MEETING

Juliet's Point of view 

The cab driver drove off from my spot, and I kept on waving at other cars to stop, with the hope that I would get a cheaper one to take me to Monument Bank.

After a few seconds, I saw a taxi cab reversing in my direction. As he got closer, the plate number became clearer to my eyes. I opened my eyes widely again, and it was the same taxi that had left a few seconds ago.

"Get in now, before I change my mind." He said, and I quickly entered without hesitation, before he changed his mind like he said.

"Thanks so much, sir." I appreciated him immediately as I sat comfortably at the back of the cab.

Monument Bank is an hour's drive away from where we are, and as he drove faster towards the right direction to Monument Bank, I couldn't control the welling tears anymore.

"What's wrong with you, miss?" He asked in a low tone, but I remained speechless. I felt he's a stranger, so why would I tell him what I'm facing personally?

"My name is Donald; what's yours?" He introduced himself in a soft tone, and I remained calm and speechless.

"I'm Juliet." I responded with my name and switched back to my mute mood.

He kept on looking at me from the small mirror above him, checking if I would say anything, but I remained silent.

"I know you must be facing a lot that can't be expressed with only words. I understand; I lost my parents at the age of 15 years old." He said, and I cut his words short with my sudden question.

"You lost your parents?" I asked, as he had finally gotten my attention.

"Yes, I did. My father and mother died in the first outbreak. I got back from school to meet that evening to meet a lot of people outside the remains of my father's house," he explained, but he stepped on the brake when he sighted the traffic light turn RED.

The sudden stop made my whole body move to the front and bounce back to the seat. "Sorry, Juliet," he said, and balanced it with a quick smile.

"I was heartbroken when I saw my parents on a stretcher, burnt from head to toe; they had already lost their lives." He concluded, and I couldn't hide my sympathy for him anymore.

"So sorry for your loss." I said to him, but I was shocked by his response.

"Never mind, I've gotten over it, and since then, my life has had a bad turn until I became a cabman." He spoke sternly with his voice barely above a whisper.

He drove off after the traffic light turned green, and after an hour and a few seconds, we arrived at Monument Bank. I stepped down and opened my Gucci purse; I took out the $50 note and gave it to him, but he rejected it.

"Why reject it, Mr. Donald?" I quickly questioned him, and he just smiled, without taking his hand from the steering.

"Don't worry; use that as part of my own token for your sick mother." What he said surprised my ego; I didn't tell him my mother was sick.

"How did he know?" I asked myself in silence until I remembered that he must have overheard me speaking with Sarah on the phone when I first entered his car.

I walked through the walkway of Monument Bank; at the front, I could see five security guards, one at the entrance ready to open the door for me and the others scanning for any threat.

My eyes couldn't resist the good cologne of the flowers in my nostrils, and the beautiful paintings on the wall were attractive. I complimented the smart-looking ladies and gentlemen working tirelessly in different departments.

"Welcome to Monument Bank, ma'am." They all said uniformly to me and other customers beside me.

"Please, kindly direct me to the loan department." I requested an assistant from the customer service agent's desk, with four different ladies who stood by, ready to render their services to different customers.

As I stood straight In front of them, I shake off my eyes from their beauty; I depreciate the quality of my short black gown as I sighted how ravishing they all look behind their desks, with no boss to molest them into having sex with him.

"On your right-hand side, ma'am, entering through the door, there is a female attendee ready to attend to you." The fair-looking customer agent said so and also pointed in the direction.

"Thanks," I appreciated her and left towards the direction.

When I entered, I met a lady; judging by her look, she's living in her twenties too, just like mine.

"Good morning, ma'am, welcome to Monument Bank; my name is Jane." She greeted me with her voice barely above a whisper.

"Please, I'm here regarding my loan application that was rejected. I beg you to grant me the loan today." I pleaded in a low tone. 

"Okay, let me run a check on it." Jane said and started checking her laptop for my loan application.

I sat down with my stomach filled with butterflies, my heart racing second by second. I awaited her approval; this is my last option; if I lose this, I've lost everything.

After a few seconds, we overheard a knock on the door. "Oh my God," she clenched her fist on hearing the disturbing knock on the door.

"I'm coming, please," she said and approached the door; the voice of a man was already there to receive hers.

"Good afternoon, Miss Jane," the faint voice of a man, uttered in a low tone, the sensory in my ears reacted as if it's a familiar voice, but I have no interest in any other issues apart from solving mine.

"Mr. Mark Thomas, please come in." She said and smiled.

The man entered into the office, and she asked him to sit on the long waiting chair at my back. The bank knows what they are doing when it comes to customer service; they made the long sofa a queuing process for any customer that comes in apart from the one in front of her.

On the table before him were different daily newspapers and magazines. Mark reached for the newspaper, and Miss Jane came back to her chair.

"I'm so sorry for that delay." She pleaded and continued with her checking on the laptop, "So ma'am, regarding your loan application, the sum you requested for is above the bank's simple loan threshold and..." She muttered, and I cut her words short.

"What do you mean by that?" I inquired; at that moment, I was gritting my teeth.

"What I mean is that to give you that sum requires a tangible collateral, like an asset. You can't get a loan of 22.5 million dollars with just your identity." She declared sharply, and that sends a shiver down my spine.

"I beg you, please." I began to plead, but she ignored my pale eyes.

"I just can't; I don't want to lose my job. The man behind you is helping us to investigate a person we gave a $30 million loan to, and he ran away with it, so I can repeat the same mistake twice." She spoke sternly, and without any other conviction, I think that scenario alone has proven that I can't get the loan.

I stood up and picked up my Gucci purse from the table, and then I headed out of the office. As I was walking slowly towards the door, I stumbled on Mark Thomas.

Mark is tall, dark, and handsome, with piercing eyes that seem to see right through me whenever we share direct eye contact.

"Mark!" I exclaimed, my voice soft and firm.

"Same Mark Thomas from London High School?" I questioned with my voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, that's me. What are you doing here?" He asked, but I just pretended to be alright.

As we talked, I found myself drawn to him, helpless against the charm and charisma that radiated from him like a palpable force. I felt like I was drowning in his eyes, and I knew, in that moment, that I was in another trouble.

"I'm just here to sort out some things with my bank." I said in a lower voice, "Are you the investigative officer?" I asked in accordance with what Miss Jane had told me.

"Yes, Jul..." He stammered on my name, "Juliet.". "I quickly completed it for him, 

"My bad, it's been a long year, so can I see you after my brief meeting here?" He asked.

"Maybe next time." I said and went out of the room.

I never bothered giving him my number, although Mark and I dated during our school days, but I wasn't ready for all that shit now, but my cool gaze was fixed on his calm face the whole time while I swallowed my urge, trying to control myself around him. 

"I'm not getting mixed feelings again just like I did when we were in school." I whispered a strong warning to myself in silence, while he continued to giggle and smile; he couldn't let go of my hand at that spot. It was just like the last time he held onto my hands like that; something great happened to me for the first time in my life.

"I lost my virginity to him." I gasped sharply, said my regards, and walked out of the room.

Only one thing on my mind: how will I save my mother from dying? I don't want to lose her like I lost my father in a car crash.

As I walked out of the bank with no hope of getting the required money from anywhere, my phone began to ring.

When I took it out and checked, Doctor Frank's name was displaying boldly on my phone screen, so I quickly picked it.

"Hello, Doctor, How's my mom?" I asked in a soft tone.

"She's not doing fine; she needs to do the transplant today, or we might lose her," he mused thoughtfully, and I could sense seriousness coming from his voice.

"We've found a match for your mother, and he's here already, but mind you, Juliet, there are two different patients here with the same condition, but we have only one donor." He explained further with his voice etched with confusion.

"What do you mean, doctor?" I questioned

"You should understand that we need to save all lives, so we make it first come, first served." He said and ended the call, and my heart began to race faster than usual.

I am left with only one drastic option: Mr. George Watson. Although my boss is a billionaire, and he is also my father's friend, can anyone settle with a molester?