CHAPTER TWO: DEAL OR NOT?

Faye’s POV

I woke up to find myself barely clothed with a stranger in the same bed with me. I gasped immediately I realized my state at that moment. Could I have slept with this stranger? Why can’t I recall the previous night’s event? I gazed at him, he was fast asleep and could barely notice my movements in the room.

My phone chimed, almost awakening the young man who was seen turning over to the other side of the bed. I quickly had my clothes put on, ignoring the phone till I was able to sneak out of there. “Whatever it is, can wait,” I murmured

“Greenwood Estate,” I said, flagging down the taxi. The driver was kind enough to give me a lift with my incomplete fare of twenty dollars. I pulled my phone from my pocket, finally having the chance to look at it. It was a text from Evie, my best friend. She sounded like she was in a panic and needed an urgent help. What do I do? I needed to be at my parent’s restaurant and at the same time, I should be running over to my best friend’s house right now.

On reaching the restaurant, I found my parents dedicatedly serving the customers. Surprisingly, this had to be the highest recorded number of customers that had patronized our business in an odd time.

“Faye!” My father exclaimed, enclosing the distance between us. “You look so worn out. You must be ready for work?” Huh? Ready?

I batted my eyes, fighting the urge to freak out. They can’t know my whereabouts, especially in detail.

I won’t let them…

“Work?” My mom queried. She has always had a battling spirit and tends not to accept anything at just one hearing or seeing. “Isn’t this your clothes from yesterday?

“W-what?” I stuttered. “No, it’s not. You probably didn’t see me leave for work,”

She gazed at me for a while, her eyes giving away her conflicted self. “Anyway, the loan sharks were here. Faye, you need to do something about this,” she breathed, deciding to drop the issue arising. You? Really? But I didn’t give birth to myself.

I sighed. “I have stopped my part time jobs at the other places so I could focus more on my job at the food company,” I relayed. I had thought critically about it. Maybe I haven’t been doing so well financially enough that I could pay off our debts because I was doing so much at a time that I could achieve nothing but little from all of it.

“Are you sure about this?” My father asked, reaching out for my face. I had always been his favorite.. not that I had any other sibling anyway but then I could say that I had a better relationship with my father than my mother.

I nodded my head in agreement, smiling weakly at him. “Yes, I have made up my mind,”

“You better work your ass off to meet up with bills,” my mother retorted, making me snort out a laugh. A panic laughter actually.

“But…”

I tried to speak when suddenly, a loud crash sound cut me off. The noise was so jarring that I felt my heart skip a beat. My parents and I exchanged worried glances, and without a word, we rushed outside to see what had happened.

As we burst through the doors, I saw a scene of chaos. Mr. Grey, a man in his late forties who owned the rival restaurant across the street, was standing in front of our restaurant, wreaking havoc. He had already smashed two of our outdoor tables and chairs and was in the process of overturning a third. He had been an enemy and a rival for a long time and would take any little opportunity to cause us damage so we could get busy with bouncing back while he made lots of sales in our absence.

I felt my anger rise and the sound of shattering glasses and splintering wood filled the air.

“What are you doing, Mr. Grey?!” I yelled at him. This was our family's livelihood he was destroying! My parents and I rushed towards him, shouting for him to stop, but he was beyond reason.

He was a big man, with a red face and a thick beard, and he was using his bulk to inflict maximum damage. He kicked over a trash can, sending garbage flying everywhere, and then proceeded to smash the windows of our restaurant. I could see the fear in my parents' eyes, and I knew we had to act fast.

My dad tried to reason with him, “What's gotten into you, Grey? This is senseless!” But he didn’t say a word.

“Mr. Grey, stop! Please!” my mom begged, trying to grab his arm, but he shook her off.

I felt my anger boil more and more with my hand balled into a fist. I rushed over to him, trying to stop him from causing more damage but in the process, I unintentionally pushed him down causing his back to hit the broken glasses scattered on the floor.

“Faye!” My parents yelled in unison

He winced in pain, cussing at me. “You must pay for this!” He exclaimed angrily

“You started it all. What did we ever do to you?!” I said in tears

“I will make sure I sue you in court for attempting to kill me!” He yelled

My eyes widened in shock. Sue me? If he really sued me in court, it would definitely be over for me. I can’t let it happen.

“Please…” I begged softly. If anyone had told me that there would come a time in my life when I would plead mercy to someone who hurt me and my family, I would never have believed it.

“Get lost, losers!” He seethed, shooting daggers at my parents who offered to help him stand on his feet.

“Please, Mr. Grey, I would do anything you want. Just don’t sue me,” I begged in tears. What would happen if I get sentenced to jail? How do I pay the people I owe? What about my job? The chairman of the food company where I worked had made his son who had just returned from the States, President of his company and he was rumored to be arrogant and inhumane. He wouldn’t hesitate to fire me if this matter got at hand.

He gave me an icy smile, stopping in his tracks. “$1000,” he blurted out, turning his face away.

My parents gave me a look that gave away their confusion, prompting me to ask him questions. “W-what? $1000 for what?” I queried

“For your freedom,” he replied. “And you have twenty-four hours to get the money,”

Twenty-four hours? Seriously? Where does he expect me to get such money from?

“Sir…”

My phone shrilled instantly, interrupting the moment. I took a quick look at the caller ID displayed on the screen, it was Evie.

“Hel…”

“Faye!” Her voice beamed with panic over the phone. “Faye, I really need your help,”

Fear gripped me instantly. I didn’t know what to do or think. What was going on? Could she be in any trouble?