04. The Billionaire is Hiring

POPPY:

I hated Sebastian’s guts. He reminded me of people who looked down on me because I was raising my daughter alone in this world. He reminded me of those assholes who pointed their dirty fingers at me while saying I will  not succeed in raising my poor child alone. 

“I am waiting, woman. I’ll be giving you a minute to think. After that, you will never waste my time anymore.” 

He looked at his expensive watch where I could only see at an online store which billionaire’s could only afford.

It was not definitely designed to brag. 

I crossed my legs.

“You are desperate, Mr. Holding. You barely even know me.”

“Poppy Brooks. You are twenty-nine years old. You are living with your five-year-old daughter named Kelly Brooks in this rented house. Your neighborhood is protective of you and would willingly kill anyone who dared to harm you or your daughter. Your ex-husband was Nolan Wood. You lost contact with your family.”

Fuck.

That was comprehensive information about me. It was amazing how he managed to spend a hefty sum to get that information about me.

"I have no family," I muttered. 

I did not lose contact with them.

It was my decision not to stay in touch with them after they told me that they had nothing to do with me after I married Nolan at such an early age. They wanted me to pursue my studies instead of pursuing a bastard, as what they called Nolan.

Unfortunately, if I listened to them, I would never enter this mess. However, I had no regrets about having Kelly. She was the only thing that happened to me.

Still…there were instances in which I would ask what if I listened to them? Could I give my daughter the kind of life she deserved?

“You were not surprised a bit,” Sebastian pointed out. He sounded disappointed. 

Nothing shook me anymore. 

You can control the world if you have the money. 

“Why should I? I had met dirty men like you. Men who would use their money to get whatever they want. You hired someone to investigate me. I can see that.”

Sebastian Holding cocked his brows.

I hated how handsome he was in my eyes. I hated how he looked at me with so much intensity, making me feel as if I was going to melt. 

"You are smart. I will give you credits for that. Good, since I will not be wasting my time in explaining everything to you.”

“The only one dumb between us is you, Mr. Holding. Anyone who enters someone else's house without knowing whether they will kill you or not is not a wise thing to do.”

“Enough of your baseless threats. My security will always be here when you attempt anything, Ms. Brooks. Let’s get back to the matter at hand, shall we? What do you think of my offer?”

“A million dollars for how many months?”

Sebastian’s grin widened.

He was liking every single turn of the events to his side.

“A month. Two months. A year. I don’t have a specific time. I will give you an additional payment if I can do it within three months.”

A million dollars in exchange for torturing myself to be with him. I just hoped I wouldn't be killing him in the end. 

"How much is the bonus?"

"Twenty percent of the principal amount."

Was he for real? Twenty percent was twenty percent. Imagine the things I could pay for if I had that money.

Eyes on the target, Poppy. 

I need to do this job well. 

“If that’s the case, I want partial payment. Half of the payment should be deposited in my bank account.”

I was expecting he would be furious at my demands. Because who in their right mind would accept such conditions for someone whom they barely know?

However, if this billionaire was going to use me to get back at his beloved fiancee, I wanted it with the correct price.

Sebastian Holding smirked. “I was right. You are smart.”

“No. You can call me desperate. I have a child and I am raising her alone.”

“That child has a father. It was the man earlier.”

He was observant. I will give credit to that. 

“Stop being nosy, Mr. Holding or I will drop this conversation. As much as I wanted the money for my child, I did not care about it if you started digging into my private life. Let’s not waste our time with each other’s privacy, shall we?”

He held his hand in the air. “You have a point, woman. Fine. Give me your bank account and it will be deposited to you within this day.”

My heart jumped.

That fast?

Was this really happening? Would I get half a million dollars in helping him get back to Olivia?

This was too good to be true and everything that was too good to be true might not be true. At all. 

However, this man might be reliable and trustworthy. He was not the type who would be scamming people. Those jewels and the gold he was wearing were not fake at all.

“You don’t have any questions for me? Will we not sign any contracts?”

“What for?”

My mouth slackened.

“Are you freaking serious? You are not afraid I might ran away with your money?”

Sebastian grinned. 

The hairs on my stand. I did not like any of that. This man was dangerous, yet it was already late to back out. I needed this money for Kelly’s bright future.

“You can try, but I already know almost everything about you, sweetie. You won’t succeed in running away from me. I don't give second chances. I will kill anyone who dares to betray me.”

A shiver ran down on my spine, and tried to hide the fear I felt. 

Was he part of a mafia clan?

There were threats in his words. A threat that I know should not be taken lightly. 

You still have time to back down, Poppy. This man is dangerous!

I needed the money. 

“What are you?”

Sebastian leaned on the couch. He looked like a king, staring down at his subjects and that subject was me. He had the talent of making you inferior and insecure with yourself.

Sebastian Holding chuckled. It was not something pleasant. It was more like a chuckle from the devil itself. 

Do not entangle yourself with this kind of man, Poppy. 

As if I had a choice of this.

Meeting Sebastian Holding was one of the worst experiences I had so far. It felt like he was bringing a bad omen into my house.

“Hmm…What do you want me to say? That I am the leader of a mafia? Or I am some blood-thirsty man that is why I am rich?”

I balled my palm into a fist. “Anything as long as it is the truth.”

Sebastian gave me a half-shrug. His eyes twinkled, and said, “Let’s just say I am a man who is madly in love with my fiance and was devastated when she broke up with me. And now, I want her back and I am hiring you to help me win her back.”