1. The Job offer

IVY

“Miss Anderson, we can’t keep her on these medications any longer unless you at least pay up your outstanding bills.”

“I promise you, I’ll come up with the money as soon as possible, please just give me more time.”

“You’ve been saying that since last month Miss Anderson, I am sorry but this is as far as I can go, it is out of my hands now and if you don’t pay up by tomorrow, she will be taken off the medications.”

“B-But you said she would die if she…”

“I am sorry but there is nothing more I can do.”

The sound of the line disconnecting made my heart race with fear. Five good months since we found out about Mom’s stage four cancer and our lives have been nothing but torture ever since.

Even with all the part-time jobs in the world, I was still unable to come up with anything, the cost of the medications was just too much compared to my paycheck. My back slammed against the locker in the workers changing room as I crumbled to the floor, my chest heaving heavily as I fought back the urge to break down in tears right there and then.

My throat stung so badly that my vision suddenly turned blurry.

“Ivy! Ivy!” Someone called out my name and I immediately rushed to take over my shift.

I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open but I had to work, I needed to because there was no one else to do it for me. The hospital bills were piling up and it was almost time to…

“Hey!” The customer in front of me snapped her fingers at me and that snapped me out of my trance. It now happened often, I continuously spaced out in the middle of work and what I could think about most times was my mom’s health and how it kept getting worse.

“I’m sorry, so sorry,” I mumbled with my head bowed as I hurried over to the coffee machine to get her order ready.

She was all I had left and I couldn’t just lose her, I just can’t. I forced back the tears and wiped my eyes with the back of my hands to get rid of the ones that had gathered at the corners of my eyes.

I was scared of losing her and I knew the reason she was getting worse was because she didn’t have access to the drugs that could help her and that was because I had failed to meet up with the monthly deposits again.

“Hello!” The customer in front of me yelled again as she snatched the coffee cup in my hand away from me, “Ugh… you’re so fucking slow. Bring the rest to the table down there and can you be fast about it?” She hissed as she walked over to one of the tables on our right.

I hurriedly prepared her order and rushed over to serve her and the people she was with. The hours went by and my legs ached so badly by the time I clocked out from work to rush down to my next part-time job for the night.

Since I had missed my shift last night to attend to my mom, I now had double shifts to attend to at the club and I was already running late. To save up every single penny, I couldn’t take the bus, instead, I ran down to the club.

By the time I arrived, I was out of breath and panting heavily but I refused to stop and catch my breath because I had to get in before my boss caught me coming in late again.

Luckily for me, I got in and took over before he stepped out of the VIP lounge to instruct me to serve some of his top customers a bottle of champagne and some alcohol.

I hurriedly grabbed the tray and rushed inside. The room was dimly lit but I could find my way and I could barely breathe due to the thick smoke of their cigarettes in the air. My legs stung so badly with each step I took and every single part of my body ached.

I was exhausted but I still had one more shift before calling it a day, then by 5am I had to start my day with my first part-time job of cleaning a hospital, and I was barely getting enough sleep.

“Look at that firm ass.” One of the men whistled out loud behind me as his palm suddenly landed on my butt.

This wasn’t the first time something like this was happening at the club so I did what I always do in situations like that, I ignored him.

I was not in the right frame of mind to deal with things like that, I was just so exhausted and all I wanted to do was sit down for a few minutes since my legs were already trembling so I forced myself to ignore him.

“Would that be all?” I forced a smile on my face as I turned to face the bastard that had just slapped my Butt.

I couldn’t believe I had to put up with crap like this but I couldn’t afford to lose any of my jobs right now, not with the amount of money I had to raise.

My life was bad enough as it was.

This was the only job that paid me the highest so losing it wasn’t an option. I forced myself to swallow every single thing I wanted to say to him, my fists clenched tightly by my side.

“No beautiful,” he slurred as he rose to his feet, staggering around, “come ride this d*** and that would be all.” He grinned at me.

I ignored him and was about to head out when he reached out and groped one of my breasts. Shocked, I shoved him back roughly and his drunk state caused him to trip over his own feet and crash to the ground.

Everyone gasped in shock as he slammed his head against the table.

My heart skipped a beat but before I could react, one of the men in the room walked over to me and landed a slap on my face. My cheek burned from the impact and I had barely recovered from the first when he landed another.

At that moment, my boss rushed in and sent me away so he could pacify the customers. By the time he returned to speak with me, I was already feeling very nervous.

I was trying to catch my breath and praying fervently that I wouldn’t lose my job.

The whole thing made me feel even more miserable and anxious.

That was a top client, why couldn’t I just keep it in and walk away?

“What’s wrong with you Ivy?!” I sobbed as I gripped my hair, painfully.

I forced myself to remain still even though my legs were threatening to give in to the pain, just as the door burst open and my boss came face to face with me. He looked really angry as he handed over a brown envelope to me.

“Take this.” He said with a very harsh tone and my brows furrowed.

“What’s this?”

“I can’t keep going back and forth with you Ivy, I’ve done the best I could for you but you keep making it so difficult to work with you.”

“S-Sir I can…”

“You were not here yesterday!” He snapped at me angrily, “You were late for your shift on Monday too and you are always so sloppy with your work, I mean harassing a customer!”

“No sir, he touched me. I can explain, my mom, the hospital called and said my mom had to…”

“Excuses upon excuses, that’s all you ever do Ivy, give me excuses. You know what, just take this and don’t bother coming to work again, you’re fired.”

You’re fired!

That word echoed in my head over and over again as I just stood there staring at him, wide-eyed and unable to comprehend what he had just said.

“He could even sue the club, just imagine what would have happened if his injury was severe. You’re not the first girl to be touched in here so why do you have to make a fuss about it? Harassing a customer is not something I can tolerate so just clear out your locker and leave Ivy.” He added and I opened my mouth to protest but the words never came out.

For some reason, I couldn’t speak.

I just stood there, the tears blinding me as the ache in my throat spread further down so badly that I was now struggling to breathe as if I had been plunged underwater and unable to come back up for air.

I needed to tell him, I had to tell him that I needed this job to keep my mother alive but before I could say that, his men threw me out with my things in the middle of the road.

What was I supposed to do now? What do I say to the nurse who had stuck her neck out for me since I promised to deposit by month's end? She had pleaded on my behalf to keep Mom on her meds for one more day so I could raise the money and I had been planning to ask my boss for an advance payment for the third time that year.

What was I going to do?! I sobbed as I collapsed on my knees in front of the club.

A blinding light suddenly flashed at me and I squinted my eyes as I tried to see where it was coming from. A black, sleek car was parked on the other side of the road and almost immediately, the door opened and an elderly man stepped down from it.

As he walked towards me, I couldn’t help but notice his white hair styled elegantly. His well-polished shoes and properly tailored and ironed outfit stuck out boldly along with the thick scent of his perfume.

I had no idea I was gawking up at him from my position on the ground until his firm voice snapped me out of my trance.

“Hello Ivy.” His tone had a rough edge to it as his dark eyes stared down at me.

My brows furrowed, “Do you know me?”

“I am Paul Silver and I have a job for you.” He said.