A new status

CHAPTER FIVE 

Marie's POV 

If Ryan Cole didn't show up the next day or send people to come for me the next day, I was fucked. 

My life had just gotten more complicated in the past twenty four hours. 

Before Ryan Cole, I had a stable job. Brandon was toxic and he hated me, but he let me have my job for over two years. Now that was gone. 

I was home now. Tired from all the cruelty I'd had to deal with in just one day. 

The electricity had been disconnected from my room because I hadn't  paid up the bill. And  I didn't have water running in my apartment.

This was classic rock bottom. This was probably the point where people gave up completely. 

I dropped on my bed, kicked off my shoes and decided it was the best time to cry. 

But I didn't cry. 

I just lay staring at the dark ceiling. 

The only source of light I had in the room was the light from the streets streaming in through the window. 

Ryan Cole. 

The man looked like he had stepped out of an exotic magazine. He had everything that women would kill for.  He had good looks, a sexy body and a mean face. 

He had money. Load of money. Probably more money than he knew what to do with. 

He was offering to pay me two hundred dollars just to pretend to be his fiancee for a week. 

It sounded way too fantastic to seem true.

But all I had was hope. Because I was sure that by the time I woke up, I would not have a home anymore nor would I have a job to go back to. 

“Rock bottom.”

This was the last word on my lips when I fell into a deep sleep. 

The bright morning light from the window woke me up. I got up with a start, not sure about what to do with my life. 

A knock came on the door. 

I sat up immediately. My hair was a mess and I had drooled all over my pillows. My voice was still raspy. 

But I called out. 

“Who's there?”

It shouldn't be my landlord. Dear god. I held my breath as I waited for the response. 

“This is Randolph. I'm sent by Ryan Cole, CEO Turnip Corps.”

Maybe my heart missed two beats at a time. Because I sprang up on my feet. 

There was a bottle of water somewhere. I grabbed it, washed my face, and in a minute, I was standing at the door. 

“Good morning, how may I help you?” I asked, looking from the man to the woman standing next to him. They were formally dressed and sharp.

“Mr Ryan says that he had quite some conversation with you yesterday and you took the deal he offered. We're asked to see that you get everything you need. Also, we are to take you to him in his penthouse.”

A penthouse?

“Wait, you are moving a little too fast. Is that it? You show up, whisk me away and take me to him?”

“Papers will be signed, ma'am,” the man maintained. 

I folded my arms across my chest. If I was going to have any dealings with a billionaire, then I would be signing papers.

But before I could voice this, my phone pinged. 

“Oh, we just processed a transfer of hundred thousand dollars to you, courtesy of Mr. Ryan.”

The world started spinning instantly. I rushed back into the room and grabbed my phone. 

Right on the screen, a transfer of a hundred dollars had been sent to me from the Turnip Corps. 

“You're saying I'm supposed to go with you to see Mr Ryan?” I asked when I stood in front of them again. 

My hands were trembling again, but this time, it was for not so bad reasons. 

“That's the down payment for the deal, ma'am. Please, only take what you consider extremely necessary. Mr Ryan has ordered for new things to be gotten for you as long as they're replaceable.”

I blinked twice. 

“You can come with us now if you have nothing to pick from the room.”

I had nothing to pick from the room. I didn't have any family portraits or any fancy gifts that I wanted to go with. 

I only had a dusty plastic single rose Callum had given me a year ago.

“I don't think there's something I'd like to go with,” I said.

I didn't want to be sad, but I was really going to walk away from the life I've lived for twenty four years without anything that I was unwilling to part with. 

“Then we can go now. We'll get you shoes and clothes and bags that match your new status. The CEO likes to have his woman appear elegant and polished all the time. You know, fitting for his image,” the woman said, finally speaking. 

I nodded. I knew I didn't look like the kind of woman someone like Ryan Cole wanted to be seen with. So it would cost him some more money to scrub the smell of hardship off me and finally get me integrated into his world.

My hair was loosely tied on top of my head. I hadn't looked in a mirror since I woke up, but now I had a hundred thousand dollars in my bank account.

I stepped out of the house and followed them. 

Outside, I saw the cars they had come with. Two dark Bentleys. 

The man held the car open for me. 

I got into the car to find myself sitting right next to the fucking CEO. 

Ryan Cole had been sitting here in this car all along, waiting for me to be brought to him. 

“Good morning, Little one. How does it feel to be playing the fiancee of a billionaire?”

“Fuck hell.”