The Billionaire Stripper's Bargain

“Dear, I'm entrusting into your hands the responsibility of taking care of your mother. Never let her shed a tear, she's the only family you've got now….” Andrew's quivering voice lingered in the room as he struggled to breathe.

Tears coursed down Sophie's cheeks as she held her father's hand even more tightly.

“Dad, please stay with me. Don't say that, you're still here with me. You'll be fine” Sophie encouraged her dad but it almost sounded like she was trying to make herself believe he would survive.

Andrew's face split into a dry smile, “Honey. You know I love you, take good care of yourself.” As he slowly placed his hands on Sophie’s hands.

Sophie shook her head in disagreement, “No dad. You can't stop fighting now, you have to keep trying, please.” Her bottom lip jutting out, with tears furiously streaming down her eyes.

Andrew's opened his mouth to speak but all that came out were coughs.

The huge sum of money he had spent to cure himself of pneumonia amounted to nothing as he was now on the verge of death.

“Mom..Mom, stop crying and come, dad won't stop coughing.” Sophie called the attention of her crying mother.

Maria rose up quickly from the couch, “Andrew, Andrew, are you okay? Shou.. should I call the doctor? Please talk to me.”

Observing the situation, Sophie's instincts wouldn't let her be, “Doctor! Doctor! Doctor! Something is wrong with my dad.” She yelled while dashing out of the room.

Sophie arrived immediately with a doctor.

Andrew's cough was reducing, which would have been good news if blood wasn't dripping from his nose.

“Mr Young. Hang in there.” The doctor said as he placed his stethoscope on Andrew's pale body in a fit to hear his heartbeat.

Maria and Sophie stood by in silence, while trying their best to stay positive.

Andrew took one last inhale of air before going silent. He finally succumbed to the cold hands of death. Andrew Young lived no more…

The doctor's sad bow said a lot but Maria relied not on her assumptions.

Gulping down hard on the lump that formed in her throat, Maria asked, “Doctor…What's wrong? How's he doing?”

The doctor lifted his gaze to Maria's, “I'm sorry Mrs Young. We lost him.”

Maria was so overwhelmed by shock that she fell to her knees without realizing it.

Sophie was struck by shock as well, her eyes bulged out so much in fear. She rushed back to her dad in bed. “Dad, you can’t leave me like this. No. Wake up! Stay with me.” She yelled, shaking her dad a bit, before some nurses came to hold her still.

Were her ears working fine or did she just hear the most heartbreaking news?

“Dad, wake up!!!” Sophie screamed as she turned to look at her father's corpse.

*****

The doorbell blared through the living room.

“Who could that be?” Maria thought as she removed her hand from the dough she was kneading.

The doorbell rang again.

“I'm coming!” Maria replied in a sing-song tone while trying to wipe off the flour on her hands. “Or let me call Sophie to get the door.” She muttered to herself before yelling her daughter's name.

“Alright mom, I'm coming down already.” Sophie called while walking down the stairs.

Sophie twisted the door knob open to meet unfamiliar faces at the door.

“Who..who are..”

“Hello ma'am. Are you Maria Young?” A lady dressed in a corporate outfit asked Sophie just before she could finish her sentence.

Sophie hesitated before responding, “No. She's my mother.”

“Alright, please go inform your mother of our presence.” The man standing by his female colleague instructed.

With a subtle nod, Sophie yelled her mom's attention to the door.

Maria appeared at the door with a towel in her hand, “Hi, how may I help you?”

“We're from the citizen's bank. Apparently, your husband, the late Mr Andrew Young, borrowed some amount of money from the bank and he used this building as collateral. He also made you his guarantor in case of his absence or inability to pay up.” Michael explained.

Maria was utterly speechless.

She had barely recovered from the death of her husband and now they were faced with another problem?

She sighed as she tried to gather her thoughts, “Umm, I actually never knew about this until now. I'm currently not working, My daughter and I feed on the little that I am able to provide, so please give me some time, when I find a good job, I'll sort out this loan.” She finished while scratching the top of her nose to ease the helplessness she felt.

“I'm sorry ma'am but unfortunately we won't be able to give you enough time. You have to pay up the loan of three hundred thousand dollars or else we'll have to ask you to evacuate the building.” Marilyn declared in an assertive tone.

Sophie felt embarrassed on her mom's behalf, she knew she couldn't just stand there without trying to placate the situation.

“She said she would sort it out. If she has a job, paying the loan wouldn't be a problem, please understand.” Sophie implored but the officials stood firm on their words.

“The loan's already overdue. We can't give any more time.”

“How much time is left until we're asked to vacate the building?” Maria inquired.

Sophie, who stood behind her mom opened her mouth in surprise. What's mom asking? She wondered.

“Seven days. After that, you'll be forcefully evacuated from the building.” Marilyn said.

“Such a short notice? This is unfair.” Maria complained.

“Not paying a loan in the due time is also unfair ma'am.” Michael retorted.

Maria pursed her lips, “I understand.”

“We'll take our leave now. The ball is in your court. Good day.” And with that, the officials turned on their heels and exited the compound.

With the officials out of sight, Maria closed the door gently.

The tears she had been fighting back began to flow freely, seeing her mother in tears, Sophie drew her in for a hug.

“Mom, please don't cry. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine.”

“Ever since your dad's death, life became terribly difficult for me. We can barely afford good food and now I'm supposed to pay up a loan of three hundred thousand dollars?” Maria sobbed even harder in her daughter's arms.

Sophie patted her mother on the back softly, “We'll surely find a way out…don't you worry mom.”

******

Samantha took another look at the book in her hand, “The only job available is that of a garbage collector.”

“No. I can't do that.” Maria refused immediately.

Samantha raised a brow. ”Aren't you the same woman who crawled in here begging desperately for a job? You really got preferences on this?”

Maria frowned, “Just because I'm in desperate need of a job doesn't mean I'd take any kind of job.”

Samantha scoffed, “Would you look at that? So much pride from a lowlife?”

Maria's eyes widened, “Samantha! Mind your language.” She warned with a pointed finger.

“Wow, I'm over here trying to look for an available job and you talk to me in that manner? Just leave my office.” Samantha declared angrily while gesturing towards the door.

“Fine. Silly woman.” Maria hissed.

“I got a job for you.” A voice said by the door the moment Maria stepped out.

“Sophie, I'm home!” Maria's voice echoed through the living room after the door slam.

“I'll be down in a minute!” Sophie replied from upstairs.

“Just come down already, I have something to tell you.” Maria sighed heavily as she took a seat on the couch.

Hearing that, Sophie dropped her books and headed out the door, curious to know what her mom wanted to talk about.

Sophie ran down the stairs, stopping in front of her mom.

“I'm here mom. What did you want to talk about?” Sophie said.

Maria started, “So I went to Samantha's office to have her help me look for a job around but she talked rudely to me so I left her office.”

Sophie pursed her lips in disappointment, “Does that mean you didn't get any job?”

“Well, I wasn't going to take the job of a garbage collector from that silly woman. Anyway, I managed to get a job.”

“Really? How?”

“On my way out of the office, I met a man, from his appearance he seemed like a wealthy man. He told me there was a vacancy for a nanny at his billionaire friend's mansion and I should apply for it.” Maria explained.

“A nanny?” Sophie asked surprisingly.

“I know dear. I also didn't want this job but I don't really have a choice now do I? We have so many bills to pay.” Maria said.

“No, no it's fine. I mean it's the best option we can take right now.” Sophie tried to encourage her mother.

“We’ll be moving too. The job requires me to be in the house throughout the day so I have to live there.”

Sophie wasn't ready to move but she wouldn't tell her mother that.

“Alright mom, I'll go anywhere as long as you're there.” She smiled.

“We should probably go and start packing our belongings,” Maria suggested as she rose up from the couch.

Sophie lifted a brow, “Wait, we have to leave so soon?”

Maria turned to Sophie, “Of course we do. I'm starting in two days. And remember we had just seven days to vacate.”

“What about school?”

“Dear, your school isn't far from the mansion at all, you'll go to school from there.”

Sophie hummed, “Okay, cool.”

Maria smiled, “Of course it is.”

*****

“Why does this tea taste so sweet?” Russuo asked, annoyance evident in his tone.

The chef trembled in fear as he tried to stammer a quick response, “I..I added sugar to it sir.”

Russuo glared icily at the chef, “Since when did I start having tea with sugar?”

The chef lowered his head to avoid Russuo’s angry glare, “I..I didn't know whether to make the tea like that or add sugar sir. I'm the new..the new chef sir.”

The chef's reply only fueled Russuo's anger, “Excuses. Did you think the manual in the kitchen is some irrelevant book?”

The chef shook his head from side to side, “No, no sir”

“Then why the hell didn't you make use of it?” Russuo yelled, his eyes widened in frustration.

The chef trembled there in silence, not knowing what to say to pacify his angry boss.

“I hate stupid mistakes a lot. If you make such a foolish mistake again, then I'll make you understand why you're the new chef.” Russuo warned with a pointed finger.

If the chef heard him correctly, Russuo meant that he would fire him. But who fires someone the moment they hire them?

Russuo was such a strict and disciplined man. The way he treated his workers was enough reason for him not to have anyone around except that he was a billionaire. He could get as many workers as he wanted.

Maria stood rooted at the entrance door, “I don't think I want to go in there. This man might just devour me for nothing.” She mumbled to herself in anxiety.

Russuo rose up from the dining table in annoyance, ready to leave for work when his eyes spotted the figure at the door.

“Who's that?”

Maria's nervousness increased knowing he already saw her at the door.

“It's…It's Maria Young, sir.” she replied from the door.

“Am I supposed to come meet you and welcome you into my house?”

Russuo's rhetorical question was the cue for Maria to walk in, she wouldn't dare risk her chances at this job.

Maria's steps towards the dining table were careful and precise, “Go.. good morning, sir.” Maria stuttered with a smile.

Russuo's indifferent expression made her smile disappear.

“The nanny?” He asked without even throwing a glance at her.

Maria nodded softly, “Yes sir.”

Russuo rubbed his chin, “Upstairs, Room 8 on the left side. Get to work.”

Russuo's words almost sounded like gibberish in Maria's ears because she barely knew her way around.

“But..but sir, I just got here. I don't even know my way around and…” Russuo's icy glare made Maria's mouth snap shut.

She swiveled her heels in the direction of the stairs and went up without a word.

“Now you..”

“Beep!” Russuo's phone saved the chef from an incoming scolding.

“Speak.” Russuo ordered.

“Sir, the actress we hired isn't doing her roles properly and it's affecting the movie.” The voice said from the other end.

Russo smirked, “Seems she doesn't like her job then.”

“Should I lay her off?”

“No. Put everything on hold until I'm there.” That was all Russuo said before disconnecting the call.

*****

“Alright students, where did we stop in our previous class?” Mrs Rose asked.

“We stopped at gas laws.” A student replied.

Mrs Rose took a seat in front of her desk, “Great, so who can do us the honors of recapitulating what I said about gas laws?”

Seeing that nobody was willing to, she looked through the room to find someone.

“Wilson. Please explain what you understand by gas laws.”

Wilson stood up in surprise, “Ma'am.. actually, I wasn't in class.”

Mrs Rose frowned slightly, “That's just an excuse. Even if you weren't in class, you've had the scheme and you know what we're supposed to do in every class.”

“Yes ma, I do. But I was ill and that's why I missed classes.” Wilson explained.

“So what illness was it?”

“The flu?” Mrs Rose asked before Wilson could reply.

“Yes exactly. The flu.” Wilson nodded.

“Silly boy. You can't even lie properly, it's way past the flu season but for some reason, you had the flu.” Mrs Rose's words made the class break out into laughter.

“Sophie Young. Please report to the principal’s office.” A voice blared through the speaker at the top edge of the room.

This made the laughter in the class disappear.

Sophie rose up while staring at Mrs Rose, she was trying to seek permission without using her words and Miss Rose understood it.

“Yeah, sure you can go.”

That was all Sophie needed to hear before leaving the classroom.

“Good morning Mrs. Nicole.” Sophie greeted warmly as she walked into the principal's office but the woman wasn't really in the mood for pleasantries.

“Take a seat.” Mrs. Nicole instructed.

Sophie sat down across from the proprietor.

“Dear, I've got bad news for you.” Mrs Nicole declared.

“Bad news? What do you mean?” Sophie asked with curiosity tearing at her face.

“I’m afraid you won’t be graduating.”