Chapter 10

 "I didn't say black coffee, Miss. I said I wanted a macchiato" June apologized for the third time that moment as she started making another cup of coffee for the man that was already losing his patience.

   "You should be more focused on your work, Miss" the man advised as he collected his now correct order and walked out of the Cafe. It wasn't even 9 yet but June had mixed up over four orders and she still couldn't get her brain to correspond with her mind.

   The encounter with the strange billionaire the previous night had left her with tears rolling down her cheeks as she hailed a taxi without looking back if he had followed her or not. She couldn't possibly believe he had approached her with a more insane offer than the first one. A lot had happened in two days and it was overwhelming for her but the list kept on going up and up.

   After falling into an exhausted sleep after crying for hours after she got back home from the club, June had woken up to her sister still in bed without making any attempts to get ready for school.

   "Mrs Shelby said my fees and due and I shouldn't come to the school unless you had found a way to settle them" Layla had said as she wiped tears off her face. The whole scene had broke my heart and I found myself engaging in yet another hour of crying before I left for work.

   "Are you alright, June?"

    "June!"

   "Are you okay?!" June opened her eyes and realized tears had started falling, again. Her coworker was standing in front of her with worry written all over her face as she stared at her.

   "Are you alright, June? Do you need to take a break?" The coworker whispered and June gave a slight nod. She actually did need a break.

   The restroom was empty as she walked in and headed for one of the stalls, it was usually the perfect place to think and this time around, she needed to think more than anything. With all that had happened with the stranger and Stephen, June was struggling to put all her thoughts in one place long enough to find a solution and a solution was what she needed, fast.

   The whole scene from the previous night kept on sipping in as June tried to comprehend all that had happened. Stephen had fired her from the job she hated but almost entirely relied on and then as if someone sitting in heaven was testing her, she ended up running into the same person that had caused her dismissal in the first place and still had the audacity to make such an offer to her.

   The neighbor had volunteered to babysit Layla but June knew she had to somehow get Layla back in school before her mum finds out about the whole thing. Her mum was terribly sick and she needed money for her treatment urgently but June knew the only way she would be able to raise such an amount was if she still danced at the strip club, so she made a decision, she was going to put everything aside, pride, self respect, whatever it was, she was going to put it all aside and go back to Stephen.

   The day went by quietly as June struggled to keep her mind on the two jobs she was left with while trying to draft out a plan to get Stephen to accept her back to the strip club. Stephen was a very strict businessman and as much as he was a womanizer and an occasional drunk, he was ready to do anything to move his business forward and that was where June found leverage.

   "She's fine, the drugs are starting to kick in like I told you but we need to start making plans for the surgery, June. The sooner, the better" Doctor Rachel's voice sounded on the other side of the line as June made the call from the taxi that was headed to Emmys.

  "Isn't there something you can do for her, Doctor? Anything till I can find a way to arrange for the money, please, doctor" June knew if there was something the doctor could have done, she would have done it already.

   "Thank you, Doctor. I'll be there soon" the line clicked off as June slid lower into the seat of the taxi, it seemed like everything was just against her and she struggled to hold back the tears that were already threatening to fall down.

   "Thank you and have a good evening" June called out to the taxi man as he drove out of the parking lot of the club. It was time to execute the half baked plan she had spent most of  her day cooking up and her heart was threatening to give up on her. Stephen was a tough cookie to crack and now that she no longer worked for him, he would be tougher to crack but June wasn't going to back down without a fight.

   It was 8:42pm and the parking lot of the club was filled to the brim. It seems the regulars had finally come to terms with the fact that the amber masked redhead wasn't going to be performing anymore and they had to accept whatever they were given. June knew that was mostly how the world worked but she wasn't going to succumb to it, she was ready to fight the system and win even if it took everything she had in her to do so.

   Frank Ocean's Nikes rang out of the little tote bag June carried, the caller ID was Anita but June decided against answering. It was best she handled the situation on her own, Anita was a wonderful friend but anyone would do anything for money and a hot man and June had a feeling Anita was related to the whole encounter with the billionaire, Michael Stahom.

   "Hello Amber" Someone called out to her from across the parking lot and June knew who it without even looking. Michael Stahom.