The Arrogant Mrs. CEO

CHAPTER 2

Cindy walked out of the female shopping boutique, carrying her white polythene bag filled with all her purchases. She struggled to walk with the load in the white nylon bag, as she wasn't used to carrying heavy items.

Cindy was sweating profusely, and she used her left hand to clutch tightly to her red purse while holding the white polythene bag in her right hand.

Stepping back into the scorching sun, she cursed under her breath. There were many people on the road, blocking her way to her car, which she had parked in the shopping plaza parking lot.

Cindy couldn’t walk quickly, so she moved toward the curb to step onto the pedestrian walkway, subtly bumping into some passersby. It was the weekend, and a lot of people had come to the shopping mall.

Cindy's phone rang in her red purse, but she was unable to answer it as she pushed her way through the crowd, making her way to the main road.

As she struggled to move again and turned toward the parking lot, which was far from the shopping mall, a fine fair-complexioned man who had just helped an elderly woman with her bags spotted Cindy and saw her struggle.

The man had finished helping the elderly woman place all her items into her car's trunk.

He walked up to Cindy to offer assistance with her small polythene bag.

Cindy looked frustrated and somewhat comical in the man’s eyes.

He could see her anger at having to carry something so small.

"Hello, ma'am. Excuse me, let me help you with your load. Helping people is my job," he said.

Cindy was taken aback by the handsome, masculine voice she heard.

She looked up at the man's face and gulped hard as she met his captivating gaze.

For a moment, Cindy seemed shocked; her jaw dropped at this man's handsomeness, and her cheeks flushed red. However, noticing that he looked dirty, she remembered that this was his job.

Finally, Cindy asked him, "Really, how much do you charge for helping people carry their loads?"

Cindy felt nervous, continuing to blush in front of this man. She had never seen a handsome man like him before, even if he was helping different people with their loads for work.

Even the men Cindy had dated in her previous failed relationships never compared to this laborer's attractiveness.

Cindy stared at the man's face, waiting for his response. However, the sweat odor emanating from his body—the result of his faded yellow shirt and black shorts—made Cindy's nose twitch in irritation. She grimaced as she inhaled his manly scent, and her frown deepened when he replied, "20 cents, ma'am."

Peter, the man offering assistance, was excited to help the beautiful lady in front of him carry her small load for free, since it was so light. He felt he didn't even need to charge her at all.

However, he noticed Cindy's frown, perhaps from the sweat dripping down his forehead as he rushed to assist her right after finishing with the elderly woman.

Peter wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right palm since he didn’t have a handkerchief. But his silly action annoyed Cindy.

"Gross! How dare you do that in front of me? Please stop; it's very irritating!" Cindy scolded.

"How much is a handkerchief that you can't afford one? Or do you plan to use that smelly hand of yours to carry my bag? No, no, no!" Cindy refused Peter's help, repulsed by his action.

Peter gulped hard, embarrassed by the beautiful woman in front of him who was yelling at him.

Peter couldn't reply directly to Cindy and said, "No, ma'am. Let me use my shirt to wipe off the sweat."

"No! No, no!" Cindy exclaimed, even more annoyed as Peter turned his shirt inside out to wipe his sweaty forehead under the hot sun.

"That's enough. That's so gross. Here’s a $100 bill. Use it to buy a new handkerchief and some clothes for yourself because you stink badly. Please get out of my way; I can manage to carry my bag myself before you give me a disease," Cindy said, not caring that people were staring at them.

She threw the $100 at Peter and walked away before he could catch it.

Peter was shocked by Cindy's insult, especially since she had thrown the $100 bill at him, which landed on the ground.

He hadn't expected such a large amount of money for doing nothing, especially since he was struggling to find good work.

Peter quickly picked up the money before a breeze could blow it away or before another passerby could claim it.

He stood up and looked in the direction where Cindy had gone but didn’t see her again.

Peter clutched tightly to the money that the young lady in the white dress had given him, unsure of how he had come to possess it.

He said, "Wow! She's so pretty."

Peter didn’t take Cindy's insult to heart. "I just hope to see her again," he said.

Peter smiled and finally decided to close for the day, quitting his errands of helping people carry their loads.

He decided to go shopping and save part of the money in his account, so he went to the nearest bank to deposit the cash.

Most of the female bank staff were familiar with Peter, and they stared at him in admiration as he walked in. He approached the lady who usually helped him save the little money he had gathered for the day.

She collected the $100 bill from him, and her gaze made him feel as though she thought he had stolen the money. Peter wanted to save half of the money and use the other half to buy food.

Peter needed new clothes for himself since his sweaty ones were torn.

"What's the problem, ma'am? Is the money torn, or is it a fake note?" Peter asked, glancing back at the female bank staff who was eyeing him suspiciously.

He was still soaring with joy over the cash Cindy had handed him for little to no work.

"Where did you get this money? Did you steal it or something?" the female bank accountant couldn’t suppress her suspicion, as she knew Peter was poor.

Peter replied, "No! How can you accuse me of that? I come here every day before you close to deposit my money, and now you think I’m a thief?"

Peter glared at the female staff. She quickly gulped and looked down as she noticed her colleagues and manager watching her.

She muttered quietly, "I'm just asking to be sure, Mr. Here’s half of the money you requested. The other half has been deposited into your account."

"Are you sure? Or are you just lying to me? Let me see the receipt," Peter said, as he knew the female bank staff had her eyes on him and seemed interested in a relationship, which he wasn’t inclined to pursue.

The yellow-clad female bank staff bit her lower lip before she printed the receipt and slowly handed it over to Peter, who snatched it from her.

Peter examined the receipt and saw that the money had truly been deposited into his account; he smiled in satisfaction. "Thank you," he said.

Peter turned and left the bank with the remaining cash. He walked out to meet a vendor selling men’s clothing along the roadside.

He purchased some new clothes and shorts that he needed, along with a new top and black trousers.

Peter then went to the public bathroom to shower, as he didn't have a home. He changed into the new clothes he had bought, as he was squatting with his friends under a bridge.

"I just pray I meet more pretty young ladies like her again. This is the first time I offered to help a young lady carry her load without expecting something in return, and she even gave me money without any strings attached," Peter gushed about Cindy's kindness, even though he didn’t know her name. "I just hope we meet again."

Peter sighed and went to a nearby restaurant to order a delicious meal to fill his almost-empty stomach as night approached and he hadn’t eaten since morning.

"Peter, is that you?" He heard a familiar voice call to him, and he turned to see his friend Tom, who stayed under the same bridge.

Tom was with Peter under the bridge at night, and Peter moved slightly away from his dark-skinned friend, who wanted to touch him after he returned from the restaurant.

"It's me, Tom," Peter said, avoiding Tom's touch. "No hugging."

Tom smiled and asked, "Tell me the secret, Peter. Where did you get the money to buy those beautiful clothes? Or have you finally agreed to service a woman in bed and she paid you handsomely for it? I know you're a handsome man and women want you. So how much per night does she pay you? Let me know so I can quit helping people and join you in this handsome sugar-boy business."

Peter narrowed his eyes at his friend Tom Elliot and walked away first to sit on a bench in an empty shop where the owner wasn't around. Tom gulped as he moved closer to Peter and asked, "What wrong did I say, Peter? I was just assuming..."

"I know, Tom. But I didn’t sleep with any woman for money," Peter replied.