Elisa Campbell tried to shake off the annoyance she felt after talking to that jerk wearing expensive clothes. She threw his business card in the trash as soon as he left the café.
"Do you know him?" Annie asked while wiping down a table. She was supposed to be the one taking care of Mr. GQ's table, but Elisa was the one who got stuck doing it. What a nuisance that was!
She recalled the first time she met the guy at her old job. He was so arrogant and obnoxious just because she accidentally bumped into him. Elisa had always been the most temperamental out of all five of her siblings, so she couldn't control herself and went off on him then quit her job before her manager could say something to her. She regretted it as soon as she walked out and realized what she had done. She was now unemployed. She wished she kept her anger in check.
"No. I don't know that self-preening asshole," Elisa shook her head.
"Looks like someone rubbed you the wrong way," Annie laughed. "I couldn't help but overhear him asking you out. You should go out with him!"
"I would rather stick my hand in a garbage disposal," Elisa said nonchalantly.
Annie's eyes turned wide. "He doesn't seem that bad. what did he do to make you so angry?"
"I can't stand these corporate assholes who walk around acting like they own everything. I have no tolerance for that bullshit," Elisa said.
"I don't know. He seemed nice enough, and it didn't hurt that he looks like a Greek god," Annie was swooning, which annoyed Elisa even more.
"Greek god? More like the knock-off version of Ian Somerhalder," Elisa scoffed.
"And that's a bad thing?" Annie narrowed her eyes.
It's true. Elisa couldn't help but agree with Annie. The man was attractive. Elisa would be blind not to notice those intense and gorgeous grey eyes and dimples on his cheeks. She could see the outlines of his muscles through his shirt. He was lean and muscular without an ounce of fat. He must work out almost every day.
That didn't mean she would fall all over his feet.
She couldn't imagine why a clean-cut corporate snob type of guy would be interested in her. All she did was humiliated him in public. Was he some type of masochist who got off on being verbally abused?
She simply did not have time to entertain his fetishes. She had to worry about how to make ends meet.
After her shift, she went straight home. She was exhausted from working a 10-hour shift and needed to lie down.
"Mommy!"
Her six-year-old daughter Audre screamed from the top of her lungs and lunged at her as soon as she entered her apartment. "I missed you," Audre pouted and wrapped her little arms around her neck.
Elisa smiled. No matter how hard her day was, Audre always made it better. Her perfect little angel.
"Thank you for looking after her, Esmeralda," Elisa looked at the babysitter with gratitude.
"Oh, you're welcome, Miss Campbell. Audre and I had a lot of fun together, didn't we?" Esmeralda looked at the little girl fondly.
"YES!" Audrey chirped.
Elisa felt uncomfortable as Esmeralda stood there and waited for the payment. Elisa put Audre down and took her wallet out.
"I am really sorry, but I don't have the full amount because I didn't make enough money on tips today. Is it okay if I only pay you half for now?" Elisa said.
Esmeralda looked disappointed, but she didn't protest. She took the money from Elisa and left without arguing. Elisa let out a sigh of relief. She felt terrible, but there was nothing she could do. The little money she had left, she needed for food.
"Let's get you to bed, little one," Elisa picked up Audre again.
"No, mommy! I wanna play!" Audre whined.
"No honey. Mommy is tired. We can play tomorrow. As much as you want," Elisa cooed.
Audre pouted but allowed Elisa to carry her to the bedroom. Elisa's apartment was small with one bedroom, so she had to let Elisa sleep in her room. God knows she could never afford to have a baby room with her paycheck!
Elisa read Audre her favorite bedtime story. It was the same story she had read a hundred times before, but Audre insisted she couldn't fall asleep without it. Elisa sat on the bed and watched her daughter fall asleep, which made her envious. She could never fall asleep this fast.
After Audre fell asleep completely, Elisa got out of bed carefully and went into the kitchen. She called her father, who lived a few miles down from her. He was old and alone after her mother died. She knew none of her siblings bothered to check on him, so she wanted to make up for them.
"Dad, how are you," Elisa asked gently after he picked up the phone.
"I am glad you called. I need money," her dad said. "I'm one month behind on my mortgage payment. Your brother stop sending me money, so I got nothing," he complained.
"Dad, I can't..."
"The bank keeps calling me. They want me to pay them, or else they'd take the house away," her dad sounded desperate.
Elisa sighed as she barely had any money to spend on her rent. In fact, she was a month late on that too. "Why don't you ask Kaelan to get a job?"
Kaelan was one of her younger brothers who did nothing but sit around at home even though he was over eighteen.
"That kid is never home, and he had been hanging out with those thugs in my neighborhood," her dad sounded annoyed.
Shit, this wasn't good. She needed money, and she needed it fast. She tried to find a second job many times, but it was hard for her since she dropped out of high school. She didn't have a choice as her mother got sick and she was expected to take care of her.
She said goodbye to her dad as she heard a knock on her door. Her heart sank when she opened the door and saw who it was.
Her landlord Albert Mulligan stood in front of her with a grim expression on his face.
"Mr. Mulligan, I wasn't expecting you," Elisa said, forcing herself to smile.
"You're way past due on your rent, Missy," Albert frowned.
"I...I know. I'm sorry. Is there any way I can get an extension? My waitress job didn't pay me as much this month, and I ran out of my savings," Elisa pleaded.
"A pretty lady like you shouldn't have a problem making money," Albert looked her up and down. Elisa fidgeted uncomfortably as his gaze lingered on her chest a little too long.
"I'll come up with the money soon," Elisa insisted even though she had no idea how or from where.
"You know, if you can't pay me, just come over to my apartment, and we can discuss other plans. I'm sure we can come up with some other options for payment," Albert rested his hand on her shoulder.
Elisa carefully removed his hands and stared into his eyes. "I will come up with the money." Albert shrugged and left the room.
Elisa tried to pretend like she didn't understand her landlord's nasty advancement, but it was impossible to ignore. She went to the bathroom and took a long shower as talking to Albert made her feel dirty.
"So remind me again why you dragged me out here in the middle of the afternoon?" Connor narrowed his eyes.Ansel was looking at the view of the city through his wall-to-wall glass window. His best friend and brother-in-law came to visit per his request."I need your help to find more information on Elisa. The waitress who insulted me a few months back," Ansel said.Connor smirked. "Anya told me about her. Maybe you should leave the poor girl alone. It seems like she has no interest in an asshole like you, so just buzz off."Ansel shook his head. It wasn't like he acted like an asshole all the time. Sure, he liked to have a lot of one-night stands and ghosted a few of them, doesn't mean he was a bad person. Last week, he donated a large amount of money to a charity event. Would a complete asshole do that? He didn't think so."Whatever, dude, just give me the number of a private investigator. Didn't you say your cousin's friend did that for a living?
Elisa looked at Kevin with a horrified look on her face."I don't understand," her voice shook."I am afraid I'm going to have to let you go," Kevin cleared his throat and repeated himself. He knew it'd be hard as Elisa didn't do anything wrong, but he couldn't refuse Ansel Adams. Aside from the money he offered him, he was a powerful man. Who knows what he would do if he crossed him."But why? There must be a reason," Elisa asked.The timing couldn't be worse. She just found out her father needed money from her, and she was almost getting evicted alongside her six year old daughter. And now she was about to lose the only job she had. It was as if her whole world was crumbling down. What did she do to deserve this?"All I can tell you is that you offended someone very important. I can't give you any more details. He is very powerful and well. He donated a huge amount of money to our café, so I can't afford to lose his support," Kevin said ev
Ansel smirked as he saw Elisa's shocked expression. He thought about staying out of the interview and reveal himself later but then changed his mind. Besides, Anya would have a fit if he didn't show up."So, Ms. Elisa Campbell. It's a pleasure to meet you," Ansel said, acting as he had never met Elisa. He looked over at Anya. She was giving him a dirty look. He guessed his sister figured out that he had something to do with it, and she wasn't too happy with his tricks."Can I talk to you in private?" Anya forced a smile and grabbed Ansel's arm. "Excuse us for a moment, Ms. Campbell," she dragged him outside before he could say anything.Anya punched him on the arm."Ow! What was that for?" Ansel winced."What the fuck is she doing here? Is this one of your dumb pranks? You are too old to be doing this, Ansel," she hissed."What are you talking about? She has every right to interview for a job," Ansel feigned shock."Don't play dumb wi
Elisa looked like she'd burst into flames anytime now. She didn't say anything for several moments and just stared at him. Most likely contemplating his murder."Are you threatening me?" she asked. Ansel could tell she was trying her best to control her anger which excited him even more."Absolutely not, darling. I don't have to threaten anyone to sleep with me. Women usually fall right on my lap. I'll admit you're turning out to be a challenge but trust me, you are just like all the others and will eventually end up in my bed. Mark my words." Ansel said. His eyes never left hers."You're infuriating and completely delusional. Since this isn't about work, I'll excuse myself now." Elisa stood up."Until next time. Oh, I know! Why don't you join me for dinner after work? Since you owe me and all," Ansel smiled sweetly.Elisa let out a low groan and stormed out of the office. Ansel laughed to himself. This was turning out to be a lot of fun. He knew h
Elisa tried to focus on work after Ansel left, but she was so annoyed. No, not just annoyed, furious. Darn that arrogant man. Who does he think he is! Just because he was rich and good-looking, he had no right to act that way. He is the worst!Elisa stormed inside her apartment and slammed the door shut."Ugh!" she groaned."Um...are you okay, miss?" Esmeralda asked with her eyes full of worry.Elisa almost forgot Esmeralda was babysitting Audre. She looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry. I am fine. I just had a rough day.""Are you sure? You looked really upset just now. Anything I can do to help?" Esmeralda asked.Elisa didn't want to burden Esmeralda with her personal problems, so she decided to laugh it off. "It's nothing really. Just some work-related frustration I needed to let out. Don't worry about it," she said."Oh, by the way, A man called earlier," Esmeralda said.A man? The first person who came to mind was Anse
Anya stared into space and frowned. It was Sunday afternoon, and her husband Connor was making her favorite breakfast. Chocolate chip pancakes with real maple syrup. The kitchen was filled with a delicious aroma, but even that wasn't enough to cheer her up as she had something in her mind."Alright, what's going on?" Connor finally asked. He had been observing her for a while now."What do you mean?" Anya looked at him."You've just been sitting there, not saying a word. Normally you wouldn't keep your mouth shut even if I tried," Connor smirked."Ha, ha... well, I've been thinking," she said."What else is new?""Connor!" Anya scolded.Connor chuckled. "Sorry, just joking. What are you thinking about? Do tell.""I am worried about Ansel. He has no respect for women, and one day he'll get himself into real trouble," Anya said.Connor shook his head. It was normal for Anya to worry about her twin brother, but Ansel was a
Ansel locked up his office for the day and headed home. He decided not to bother Elisa on his way out this time. He didn't want to appear too desperate for her attention. Also, he was exhausted.He took his key out and unlocked the door, and was surprised to find the living room light was on. He had always been careful not to do that. It wasn't that he was afraid to waste electricity bills. It was because his mother drilled into his brain that he shouldn't waste electricity, and he got into the habit of turning all the lights off.He heard a noise in the kitchen and stiffened. Fuck, is that a burglar? he thought. Well, if it is, he was in the wrong apartment!Ansel picked up a fire poker and carefully approached the kitchen, ready to take down whoever dared to rob him.He slowly opened the kitchen door with the fire poker still raised, then gasped when he saw the woman sitting on one of his barstools."What the fuck, Jessica! What are you doing her
Elisa took a quick shower and lay down on the couch. Audre was already asleep, so she had a moment of alone time. She decided to spend it by watching movies all night since she didn't have to work tomorrow. The weekend was finally here. She barely ever had alone time ever since Audre was born. Such quiet moments like this were rare for her.Her cellphone suddenly rang, breaking her peace. It was her father calling. It was 2 AM, so Elisa became worried. Something must be wrong if her father was calling this late! He was usually in bed by 10 PM."Dad? What's the matter? Why aren't you sleeping?" Elisa said as soon as she picked up the phone."It's Kaelan! He is trouble,"her father sounded breathless."What did he do this time?" Elisa said irritably. Kaelan was always causing problems, making their lives harder than they should be."He got arrested. You have to bail him out," her father said.Elisa held back from cursing out loud