RAYVIN: FALLING FOR THE WRONG BILLIONAIRE.

CHAPTER ONE

R A Y V I N

"That son of a b***h thinks he is high and mighty just because he is wealthy. He thinks it is polite to treat people that work for you like trash. I will show him that being under him doesn't make me some kind of dog who will be running after bones thrown by him. What an asshole,” grunting due to frustration and anger.

One thing I hated more than carrots was being insulted. And, being insulted and degraded, I didn't appreciate it much. Carlos Gonzalez would pay for the rest of his life for embarrassing me in front of everyone. It is hell already for me, and he just had to worsen the whole situation. Reminding me that I don't have much of a choice rather than to suck it up. It was disgusting, and all I wanted to do was to slap him hard across the face for being such an i***t. But of course, I wouldn't dare do such a thing unless I wanted to end my time in his company. That would be the end of my work in CARLOS & Co.

CARLOS & Co., a gigantic firm that has been around for so many years. It was one of the biggest and rival to so many in the city. I bet it was everyone's dream come true to be working here, but it wasn't mine. I just needed to raise enough money and quit on their ass. My boss was so terrible, and he made his employees work overtime.

“Are you even good at anything else other than wearing cheap makeup and heels?”

“I am sorry, Mr. Gonzalez. I'll have this fixed within seconds.”

“Why did I even employ you? To tell me sorry why I lose millions of dollars? Your careless mistake has cost me, four clients. Four clients, Miss Hall. I suggest you go back to your job description manual and study it properly!”

“Yes, Mr. Gonzalez.”

I knew that I won't be taking it for so long. If he keeps doing this, then I'll be quitting on his ass very soon. I just need to raise a couple of bucks so that I can be able to pay Marcus for this month.

“There will be no second chance. The next time a thing like this happens, I will have you escorted out of this building. Be rest assured. Now, leave my sight!”

The scenario kept playing over and over in my head. The shame of having to walk past the other employees with my head down. It was a walk of shame. I wished for nothing more at that moment than for the earth to swallow me up.

“Nitwit!” I spat.

Not only that, but I am so pained. Carlos doesn't know that I've been working my ass off, keeping it cool, smiling with even people that I despise just to avoid shits like this. Trying so hard to save me from one of his episodes, but no! He just had to show the whole office that he is Carlos Gonzalez, and I am nothing.

Sobbing, “I won't let him reduce me to nothing. Never!” Placing both hands over my mouth to muffle my scream. I held back my tears for so long. It was threatening to leave my eyes, but I would never cry before Carlos, even if it is the last thing I boast of. I would hold my head high and my shoulders tall for doing so.

The intercom on Rayvin's desk beeped. “Miss Hall, come to my office now,” he said. Mr. Gonzalez's voice wasn't as stern as it had been. It was subtle but firm.

“What does he want now?” I murmured to myself in between sobs. From the packet of tissue paper placed on my desk, I got out a few, wiping my tears. From the yellow purse, I came to work with, I produced a small mirror. Looking at myself briefly to make sure that my face wasn't a mess and that I didn't look trashy, that would only give him the satisfaction that he wants. I tossed the mirror back into my bag, straightened out and walked to Mr. Carlos's office.

Payment is half now and the remaining when he's done. Understood!” Carlos ordered into the phone.

“I bet whosoever that was at the receiving end was trembling to have this phone call with him,” I thought to myself. Does he even put himself in our shoes when he does all these screaming and ordering around? I wish that for once he would be under someone, then he will have a taste of his medicine.

I understood the effect his voice had, talk more of his presence. You will reduce to nothing before him. It took determination and lots of crying for me to remain sane while working for him.

“How much did you hear?” He asked me as he turned to meet me, standing fixed like a statue. The calm, subtle tone he spoke to me on the phone with, was gone. That is how fast his mood can change. He was displeased but covered it up with his poker face. One that made reading his attitude or mood difficult. He hadn't noticed that I had long walked in.

“N....n...o.....not much.” I shuttered, fixing my eyes to the ground. I couldn't bear to look into his eyes now because I know that he is furious. He is always furious and now that he has an excuse for it, I know that he is shooting me daggers. He is a perfectionist.

Walking back to his table, “you know how much I don't appreciate being spied on. What The f**k is wrong with you?” He shouted.

'Did he honestly think that I would bring myself so low as to spy on him? If he has such a thought, then he has gone nuts. What does he take me for? He must hold himself so high that he feels everything revolves around him. For f***s sake! He was the one who called me moments ago' I was dying to say does to him, but I wouldn't dare and that made me the biggest coward.

“Have you gone deaf?” He snapped.

“Pardon? With all due respect, Mr. Gonzalez, you called me to your office.” I summoned courage and said boldly to his face. But, it was cut short when he threw a set of documents on me that went flying everywhere.

“Just sort those out. This time, try to do a proper job, or you will be the next thing thrown out of the door. You may leave.”

Thing? Did he just refer to me as a thing? Never in my life have I been referred to as something insignificant. Oh, Carlos, you have done it. If he thinks that I would break down in front of him and make me feel worthless, I'll see to it that I deny him that satisfaction. Bending down, I gathered the documents that were scattered everywhere. After I'd successfully put them together back into the folder, “would that be all, Sir?” I said with a smile on my face. This smile is what my mother taught me to put on instead of crying. “Never let your enemies see the weak side of you,” she would always say to me. And I've carried it within me for a long period.

Mr. Gonzalez nodded and gave me a nonchalant wave without even looking up. Rather, he had his eyes fixed on something he was signing. Something he thought was more important than I was.

I wasn't to expect anything from him. All I wish is that, for once, Carlos would treat his employees right. We are all humans with feelings, and he keeps treating us like those documents that he deals with every day. I can even vouch for the fact that he treats those papers with more respect than he treats us. But none of us had the balls to say how we felt to his face.

I walked out of his office back to mine. This time around, I didn't let him affect my mood. I just had to survive this day as I've always done.

My office wasn't that big, but, it was okay for me. It was a place of peace and maintaining my sanity. Even though it was in the building owned by Carlos, and I was bound to see or run into him one way or another, I was still delighted that it was my space. It pleased me to know that, I wasn't constantly staring into those mean eyes of his or under his gaze. I had a place to go back to after facing him each time.

Everything in my office pretty much belonged to Carlos & Co. except a few; my flowers, the painting that I got from my niece last Christmas and the pink teddy bear that I carried around for good luck. With everything that has been happening to me, I had doubts that my Lucky Teddy still remembered that it was supposed to bring good things my way.

My office is painted bright yellow and nude. It has a telephone, on which most of the calls coming from it belonged to James. There is an Apple laptop, a desk, my chair, and a spare one for visitors. The right side of the office has a printer, a bookshelf that contains different documents and books on business, nature, health, and meditation. The left has my painting hung on the wall, my flowers arranged neatly, and a trash bin. Still, on the left side, there is a door that leads to the bathroom. It has a few of my toiletries, spare work clothes and a few casual clothes for nights that I worked so late into the night and ended up sleeping in the office. Have you ever decided you thought was for the best, then later, you realized it wasn’t? Like, maybe it was the worst decision you’ve ever made, and now you’re stuck having to clean up the mess you made? And would do anything to turn back the hands of time when you made that decision?

Yeah. That was what my life looked like after I got myself entangled with Marcus when I needed help. I tried as much as possible to not be on that side of the cards, but the things I'd done wrong far outweighed the things I've done right in my life. Karma decided to pay me back in a way that I couldn't escape, which now led me to be stuck with Carlos Gonzalez and his establishment. The only thing that gave me hope is that one day I'll finish cleaning up what karma brought to my doorstep, and I'll be free. Then, I'll have the balls to pour out everything I've been holding in, to him. I hope that day comes fast because, with the way it is going, I might not wait that long.

I had plans and aspirations, but they turned into a dream at the end of the whole day. Mere dream. I never pictured myself stuck with a person like Carlos and still, I had no voice. I never saw it happening. But it happened, anyway. I am young and what I need is to live my life, but that wasn't happening because I was living most of it for Carlos & Co.

Thankfully, the rest of the day at the office was eventual, which was a good thing. Because Carlos was occupied and so was I. He didn't need me at all which saved me from lots of the shouting some of the other employees who he worked with, received. He even fired six employees because they had made a mistake and at the moment, I counted myself lucky because I didn't deal with him when his temper was this bad. One of the blondes that worked with the accounting department came out wailing. Her face was so red, makeup messed up and hair scattered. I made it my business not to ask but whatever the case was, wasn't good at all.

I finalized the last set of documents and emailed them to Carlos before sneaking my way out of the office immediately it was closing hours. Normally, I would walk to his office and ask if he needed anything from me before I leave, but today, I wasn't in that state of mind. I hope I haven't given him ample reason to fire me.

I took the elevator from the last floor where my office and his was located. Riding silently and peacefully down to the last floor where my bolt ride was waiting for me.

“Bye, Anastasia,” I waved to the receptionist at the entrance. A slender, beautiful and black-haired girl who paid attention to her work a lot more than others. She was the only person I spoke to. Not that we engaged in long conversations, but we exchanged pleasantries and engaged in shallow talks once in a while.

As I walked to the door, I felt free once more. The air outside seemed different from the inside. It felt more suffocating, tensed and demanding inside. But here, outside, it was beyond all that. The honking of cars, ignition of car engines, chattering of people and the booming music from different advertising billboards for no reason made me smile. This whole thing made me count the days when I'll finally be free from Carlos.

“Hi,” waving to the bolt driver in a black Camry.

“Welcome, Miss. Where to?” The driver asked politely.

And that made me appreciate the attitude of being polite. That is one thing Carlos doesn't understand. Just because a person is under you or at the moment temporarily working for you does not automatically reduce them to nothing.

“216 Brooke Street. Thank you.” I sweetly said to the driver.

“You are most welcome, Miss.”

The ride was quiet, and I was grateful for that because I wasn't in the mood for talking. Rather, I took the time out to enjoy the music coming from the MP3 player of the car, 'I will get through it all by Stargirl.' The music relayed everything that I was passing through, but the best thing it did for me was to give me hope.

“Here we are.” the excited voice of the driver brought me back to reality. Listening to the song and being lost in it shortened the journey.

“Thank you,” I said, shutting the door and waving goodbye to the driver.

The house had columns of windows upon windows. That is neighbours upon neighbour. Always working round the clock and not been much of an outside person made me not to know many of my neighbours.

The house was an old brown tumbledown wreck, its clapboard weathered and cracked, several roof shingles missing, but I can't complain. This was where my money could pay for, for now. As soon as everything is okay, I'll save up and move into my dream apartment, which will have fewer noisy neighbours and more peace.

I walked the flight of stairs up to my apartment. My door was so little that I always questioned the fact if this particular apartment was originally designed for that purpose. But just like my office, my apartment wasn't so big but the difference between it and my office was that, unlike my office where most of the things belong to Carlos & Co., here, everything was mine. From my purple pieces of furniture to my flat screen television and the rest of the properties was mine.

Small with clean white walls, a twin bed facing the window. I love having the view of the sky and feeling the warmth of the rising sun every day. That made me place my bed close to the window, where I got that satisfaction. A desk with a blank blotter on it, sliding closets opposite the bed, a full-length body mirror hanging close to the closet and a thin grey shag rug surrounding my bed area. My computer faced out the window too. To my far left is my flat-screen TV, which I hardly watched due to not being able to pay for the channels. I had to save up every little dime, so spending on something as insignificant as a TV subscription wasn't on my list. To my right is a framed picture of me with my dad and sister. The apartment has a kitchenette. The kitchenette doesn't have much in it except for a few plates, a single cooking gas with an oven and a mini-fridge. The furnishings were cheap, black painted and the single purple sofa that faced the TV. There is a single door close to where the pictures hung, which led to the bathroom. The bathroom has a toilet and an old but working shower which was always out of hot water. Not that I bothered about it.

Sliding off my heels, I wore the pair of yellow flip-flops that was always close to my door at the entrance of my door. I was a no shoe in the house person. And definitely, you do not walk around in my apartment barefoot. Either wear socks or put on the spare set of flip-flops that I kept available. I have always hated seeing people walk into the apartment with shoes they wore outside.

“Thank God for another successful day,” I murmured, tossing my door keys into the key plates, collapsing on my sofa. It is a good thing that I saved myself from Carlos's death claws. I know it comes with a price, but I won't think about it today. What I owe myself is a nice soothing bath, my usual pizza and coke and a nice long sleep.

A hot shower did the magic of relaxing every nerve in my body. Subsequently, the leftover pizza I had in my fridge saved my ass as I forgot to get dinner for myself. Okay, you caught me. I didn't forget to get dinner, it skips my mind most of the time because I am always on the move, so whatever I've is fine. I can't even remember the last time I had a pleasant dinner.

I couldn't even finish the slice of pizza I was struggling to eat because I kept yawning and yawning until sleep overwhelmed me.