Forcing The Billionaire

Chapter 1

Drunk

“Where is your father, Ms. Levrinne? Isn’t he supposed to be the one who’ll face us today?” One of the board members asked. His eyebrow raises and a grin is plastered on his face. Bast*rd!

I look at him coldly to hide my gritting teeth. Everyone knows why my father can’t go to today’s meeting yet here they are, continuously digging into our family problem that is considered confidential. My gaze traveled to the board members. Many are irritated and some have the satisfying look on their faces. Either way, I am certain all of them are happy with what my family is facing.

These people in business are waiting for this to happen—the fall of our family. L. Corporation—our company that was established by my great grandparents, is facing bankruptcy. In this meeting’s agenda, I will discuss the project that will compensate for the losses of our company. But seeing the faces of the board, I do not think they will vote for this.

“My father couldn’t attend today’s meeting. I will be the acting CEO—”

“With all due respect, Ms. Levrinne but that title that your father holds will soon be grabbed from him. After what he did with the funds do you really think we will still trust him?” Said the old lady. I stop myself from talking back and cutting her off. My father is the one at fault here and the way they react to the situation is normal.

“That fund that he spent on god knows where is supposed to be the one that will help the company back on its feet!” a woman in her 30s commented. Her eyes drop to my chest and raise a brow. She looks in the other direction with furrowed brows.

I looked at where she was looking and a small smirk without humor flashed on my lips. My million-worth of a necklace from a luxurious jewelry brand is hanging proudly on my chest. I’m bankrupt but I won’t act and never dress like one.

“Your father should be held liable!”

I nodded, agreeing with what they said. “This is why I’m here. I am willing to help—”

“Everyone’s willing to help Ms. Levrinne… but help is not what we need right now. We need your father’s appearance and face all of these.”

My eyes narrowed to the one who speak. Mr. Macher, the current vice president of the L. Corporation. He has the second majority of the shares next to my father.

My father already warned me about him. It is not unknown to us about his interest in the company. Knowing the current situation of my father, I doubt he will let a chance pass to lead this company.

This greedy old assh*le! He already has a company on his own yet he still wants what’s ours?!

“Mr. Macher, I am the one who will face this. After all, I will be the next CEO of this company,” I say with full confidence even I can see in my peripheral vision the smirk on their faces.

Being surrounded by people who were once loyal to us and willing to kiss our asses but now have the guts to fight us makes me not trust anyone but myself.

I roam my eyes to the long table. If they think I will let this company fall into their greedy hands, well, they thought wrong. I am a Levrinne. I do not accept defeat.

“Then what’re your plans? As you can see, the employees are rallying. They know that the company is failing.”

“All of them will get paid correctly. Including their salary that was failed to be given by the company for the last two months.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. The salaries for the employees were used by my father. It was partly my fault. After what happened to him and my mom, I should have kept an eye on him.

The company is already at the edge of bankruptcy five years ago. I can still remember my mom and dad fighting over some money issues which my 17 years old self can’t understand. ‘L’ is the leading fast-food chain not just in the country but also in the nearby states. Only that, these past years, several fast-food chains are rising which our company neglected. Being complacent, we failed to provide the demands of the masses and stick to our conservative methods. I thought a simple project will do. But given the recent news that some establishments are forcibly kicking our franchisee to be replaced by other fast food stalls made our franchisers close their business.

“And how will you do it? Where will you get the funds for the salaries of thousands of employees?”

We don’t hire an agency for our employees. We provide our own crews because my great-grandfather wanted all employees to come from us. Hence, when a franchise decided to close, the employees on that franchise will be given back to us. We can’t just fire them because the franchise that hired them closes. The only thing we can do is to relocate them to our other fast-food restaurants—which made most of our franchise full of workers. A little to no income is being earned because the restaurant needs to pay the high number of workers.

And the result is now in front of me. Almost no income for months and we are being buried by our debts, plus the irresponsibility of my father.

“I have a plan. I will lay them down to all of you next week. Just give me time.” Luckily, I did not stutter. I do not want to tell them my plans because it is not the kind of business plan these board members would professionally agree with. Also, I am not sure if my plan will work.

“For now, I would like to ask the Chief Financial Officer to give me the latest data.” I have to review the financial state of the company to think of what else I can do to somehow address our current situation.

When I was a teen, I was thinking of living the best years of my life in my 20s as an heiress of a multi-millionaire company. Yet here I am, struggling to keep everything intact—our company, my family, and myself.

“That’s it for now. Let’s meet next week. I will send the details through my secretary…. Oh! Before I forgot… the managers…” I pause and look at the managers who attended today’s meeting. “Organize your crews. Tell them the company will pay them this month…” if my plan works. I’m sure it will work. It has to be.

Their faces lit up. Of course, the company also failed to give them their proper salary. I know they also have a family to feed. And now that I finally gave them an answer, just like me, this will somehow give them hope.

My plan will work. It should be.

I dismissed the meeting and went straight to my Porsche. I motioned for the valet to toss me the car keys. I hop in and step on the gas.

The mansion welcomed me silently. We cut off some maids and guards and let a few trusted people stay. I can’t believe that even paying our housemaids became hard for us.

I swiftly park my car in front and let Emy, my all-around maid, park it properly for me.

“Good afternoon!” she enthusiastically welcomed. She’s smiling widely at me as I toss her the key.

I hate noises but she’s an exception. She doesn’t know who her parents are, but her grandmother was once our maid. She passed due to her age and Emy was left to us.

“Where’s dad?” I ask, ignoring her smiles. I am not in the mood. I have to be vigilant of the people around me… especially those people who are trying to steal my family’s hard-earned achievement from us. That company is built by my family, therefore, it is ours.

Emy look at me closely and her eyes narrowed. “What?” I raise a brow.

“Let me guess… it didn’t end well. Did Mr. Macher try to steal your position?”

I look at her intently. Unlike our other servants who would lower their heads and avoid eye contact with me, Emy wiggle her eyebrows and soon roll her eyes. “That bast*rd!” she whispers to herself before hopping in my car.

I shake my head as I watch her maneuver my vehicle. This is why she’s the only maid I let this close to me. She’s not scared to voice out her thoughts. She’s too straightforward and never lies. She’s our most trusted maid and she’s the only one I trust to openly talk about our family issues. After all, there's nothing I can hide from her. She’s only months older than me and she’s been here since the day she was born. She knows almost everything that happens inside this mansion.

I grace my way inside. Aside from the sound of my stiletto clicking against the floor, the background noise of the television is being heard. My brows furrowed and my pace became faster.

When I reach the living room, I am stunned by what I see. My father is slumping on the floor with half a bottle of liquor in his hand. In front of him is the news about the ‘rumored’ divorce issue between him and my mom. I walk towards the center table and pick up the remote to switch off the TV.

This is not a surprise to me. It’s been a week since the rumors regarding my parents’ divorce. What’s shocking is that it took a week before it was mentioned by the media.

“I told you to rest,” I say and put my hands on the sides of my waist. I tilt my head when I notice that his pale face reddens. “How many bottles did you drink?” I ask.

Didn’t I tell Emy to not let him drink? He is old! If he will continue this… I shake my head to brush the thoughts away. I walk toward him and level our faces. I politely grab the bottle from his hand. Fortunately, due to his drunk state, he did not put in a fight.

I place the bottle on the center table and sit beside him not caring if the beads and jewelry of my dress scratch against the marbled floor.

“Dad…”

“Ari,” he calls weakly.

I sigh. His weary eyes say a lot. The rumored on the television screen is not rumored at all. My parents got divorced a month ago. Our small family tried to hide it but of course, as one of the well-known families in the country, it is impossible to have a private life. At least for now, it is still a rumored divorce for them.

“Daddy comes on, we need to take you upstairs.” I pulled him up by his arm and tried to make him stand. He’s drunk in the middle of the afternoon and his breath reeks of alcohol! I will note in mind to ask Emy about this.

“I want to stay here,” he says and made his weight heavier. I refuse and did not let him go but comparing our weight and height, I couldn’t forcibly do it. In the end, I just let him sit on the floor.

His shoulders are slumped, and his eyes are glued to the floor. His body is moving sideways as if he is fighting the urge to fall asleep.

Exhausted, I watch him weakly.

“Dad, you need to take care of yourself…” I say. I may act cold and snob to others, but I am a completely different person in front of my parents.

“Your mom called.” This time, he caught my attention. My mom did not contact him after the divorce. Although she did try to talk to me, I did not bother picking up the phone. “She said she called you but you’re not picking up.”

“I’m sorry. I was busy with the company.” Obviously, I lied. My mom has my full respect and I do not want to lose that. I do not think I am ready to act casual with her. She left knowing we are at the rock bottom of our life. She left her dad and abandoned her duty as a wife because she can’t take being with someone having problems. She left me—her own child, and passes to be her responsibility.

“You should talk to your mom.”

“I will…” but not now.

He held his chin up and look straight into me. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble. This shouldn’t be your first-hand experience in the business.”

“It’s fine dad,” I shortly utter. I do not want to talk about business with him. He is not in the right state to hear any of what’s happening in our business. I want him to focus on himself. He’s been a wreck since their divorce.

I once tried to help him stand but he’s too hard-headed. He looks at me and smiled. His body is swaying sideward. I would not be surprised if he’ll fell asleep here!

“Is it selfish for me to tell you to not pick up the phone if your mom calls?” My brows furrow. Since their divorce, I’ve been distant to my mom. But my dad always reminds me to not lose my respect for her. I never did. I respect her as my mom but I do not think I can look up to her as wife material.

“…so she’ll call me instead. I miss her voice.”

I gulp. I avoided my gaze at him. I couldn’t bear to watch my father in this state. He’s a good father to me. He never cheated nor abuse my mother. But no matter how much we love a person, if we are not the one they want, it will never work out.

They never let me see them fight. Our mansion is big but not big enough to conceal our family problems from me. I know that this is all about money. Our company is slowly sinking even before the gambling issues with my father. Our business situation only got worse when they divorced.

She loved him because of his money. The same reason why she left.

His body fell straight to the floor. Luckily, I manage to catch his head. If not, he will hit the floor. “Dad! Dad!” I call.

I sigh. He is unconscious. If he’s not snoring, I would think he’s under some sort of alcohol poison or something.

I tried to transfer him to the sofa seat but his full weight depending on me is too impossible to carry.

“Emy!”

“Yes—Oh…” she blurted.

Emy called two other maids to help me with my dad. We carry him back to his room. He is now sleeping soundly while his feet are hanging at the edge of the bed.

“Fix his position,” I commanded. My father grunts when one of the maids lifts his leg and positions it properly.

I look at Emy. She only shrugs her shoulder. “I tried to stop him but he is too hard-headed.”

I sigh. I glance one more time at my father. I can’t let him be in this state. If our company will continue to sink, things will get worse than it already is.

“Ready my car.”

“What? I just parked it—” I glare at her to cut her off. This is not the time for her loud mouth. She raises her hands in front of her and even made a step back. “Okay, I will.

I went to my room and put on light makeup for a retouch. When satisfied, I go straight downstairs. A ring from my phone was heard before I completely get in my car. I look at the caller ID and slide the button to answer the call.

“Jaira…”

“Are you coming? We’re waiting!” She sounds annoyed. I roll my eyes as I secure my seatbelts.

“I will. Wait for me there.”

“Okay. Are you going to pay for tonight’s party?” My brows furrow. I’m used to paying every time we’re hanging out. It’s weird for her to ask me that. “I heard about your company,” she added. The image of her raising a brow flashes in my head.

“I’ll pay. Don’t worry,” I coldly answer and dismiss her last sentence.

We are at the edge of bankruptcy but it does not mean I cannot afford to pay for a one night bill. What does she think of me?!

I quickly ended the call and drive to the place. To be honest, it was not in my plan to go here. I have a lot of things to do and socializing is not on my list. But I won’t be here to socialize. I need to execute my plan as soon as possible.

It is a party held in a high-end bar. I’ll try my luck tonight but I bet I’ll have a lot of options. Several bachelor’s go here.

I smirk. ‘If he’ll refuse, then I’ll jump to others. He is not the only choice I have.’

~~~

“Ari!” I trace the direction of the voice and it landed on Jaira. Sitting at the VIP table, she waves her hand at me. I close our distance by slightly pushing those who are drunk dancing on my way. Why did they choose the table near the dance floor? They know I hate this table.

“Hi miss—” I ignore the guy who tried to lend a hand to me. Tss. Not you. You’re far from someone I need.

“What took you so long?” Jaira welcomed. She’s with Gela and Chinie, my friends since college.

We kissed each other’s cheeks before I sat down. “I was at a meeting.”

I notice that they didn’t order anything yet, so I raise a hand to call a waiter.

“Is it true?” Asked Chinie. I’m not sure if she’s asking about the state of our company or my family, but I do not have plans to answer any.

I only shrug my shoulder at them and turn my head to the waiter who attended to my call. “A bottle of tequila please.” He nods at me and turns his back to get my order.

“I heard from someone that your mother is with a billionaire. Is it true?” This time, it was Gela.

My face crumpled. Where did she get that? Even I, the daughter, did not hear that kind of news. I face the two of them and raise a brow. “I don’t hear anything like that.”

“If this is proven as true, then it will make your mother a gold digger.” She shrugs as if what she said is something none of us will take seriously. They were my friends since college. I am already used to them gossiping about the life of others.

Gela is a daughter of a senator. Chinie’s family owns a law firm. Both of her parents are lawyers. While Jaira’s family, the one I am closest with, owns a five-star resort in the country. Being in the same world, we all have access to the life of other people.

But talking about my family right in front of me is different. It was my mom we are talking about. My family. I saw how Jaira glances at her meaningfully and soon smirk.

My brows furrow. What does she mean by that? I do not know if they became this nosy because of my life’s issues or if they are naturally this way and I failed to see it before.

Aside from the fact that they are always the ones I’ve been with to social gatherings, I do not exactly remember how we became friends.

I glare at Gela and look at Chinie. “Don’t talk to my family that way. I may forget we’re friends.” I shoot a brow up before keeping myself busy eyeing the place. I notice Chinie straightening her back while Gela and Jaira shifted in their seats.

The waiter comes back with our order. Good thing our table’s atmosphere went light. Our conversation shifted to Gela’s ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend.

“This is Nate's new girl?” asked Jaira.

“She’s not that hot,” Chinie commented while looking at a photo of a girl from Gela’s phone. If I’m not mistaken, she’s a model from TalentY. “You’re better!” she added and gave Gela a hug. All of them looked at me, waiting for my comment.

I glance at the photo and nodded. “Yeah, not that hot,” I say languidly. I was about to leave the conversation since I am not into gossiping but my eyes caught something in the picture. “Is she wearing a snake print stiletto?”

“She is,” Jaira confirms.

“Ew,” I whisper to myself.

I hate any kinds of animal prints. Be it a bag, dress, shoes, or accessories. You won’t see me wearing one.

The night went too fast. They were done bashing Nate’s new gf and Gela is now on the dancefloor, dancing wildly. Jaira is making out with someone while Chinie is dry humping the guy she pulled from the dancefloor. Hours earlier, the four of us are only the ones sitting at the table. I don’t remember when and how these two men got here.

In my peripheral vision, I see someone approaching our table. The way he dresses and moves, he’s not yet speaking but I already turned him down. He’s wearing luxury brands from head to toe but he’s too young for me.

“Hi, miss…?”

“Not interested.” I shove him away by looking in the other direction. Jaira eventually stopped making out and look at me. She frowns. The guy continues kissing her neck with his arms wrapped around her waist.

As I take a shot of my tequila, I hear Jaira growl dramatically. “Seriously Ari? You’re ruining the night!”

I know, right? I am not this uptight before. I was once a carefree and wild girl who does nothing other than burn cash and make out with boys.

“Is it because of your company?” she added but I ignore her. While pouring another shot of drink into my shot glass, my eyes darted to someone at the other VIP table across from us.

I can already sense the alcohol kicking in my system. My head’s a little bit heavy and my sight’s getting blurry. However, when I saw him, I feel like all the alcohol that I had drank left my body.

“CR,” I announce and stand in my seat.

In the middle of booming music, I hear Jaira calling my name but I continue walking. Instead of turning left on where the comfort room is, I walk towards the VIP table.

Good thing I manage to keep my balance. My gold stiletto is struggling to make me walk straight. A small playful smile appears on my lips while I walk towards my target: Hyko Frantz.

As I near their table, his friend, Clyver, already notices me. He whisper something to Hyko which made my target’s face grim. He lift his head and our gaze met.

“Ma’am, you’re not allowed here. This is a VIP—”

“I am also from a VIP table,” I point in the direction of our table without facing it. I am a regular in this bar. I am fully aware of the rules. VIP tables are strictly secured here but nothing can stop my desperation.

I tried to walk toward them but one of their personal guards tried to stop me by placing his arm near my waist. I notice Hyko’s finger raises lazily, stopping his guards from blocking me.

I smirk. “See?” I wink at the guard as he steps aside, letting me in.

“Hi!” I greeted. My fingers make a small wave at him. I almost fell on my feet but good thing I manage to hold onto Clyver’s shoulder.

“Woah! Careful, Ari.” He stands from his seat and helps me. His hand rests on my waist as he helps me to their table. I am planning to sit in front of Hyko but Clyver made me sit right beside him. I never saw him this close. I narrowed my eyes as I scrutinize his face. Rough features, perfectly angles jaw, thick eyebrows, and hooded eyes. His long sleeve top hugs perfectly against his protruding muscles.

He looks cold, rough, and intimidating—completely far from what he was in college. I remember him on his thin body and thick rim eyeglass. Who would have thought that he would turn out this way?—Hot and f*ckable.

I smile at my own drunk thoughts and chuckle a bit. Oh Lord, the alcohol is starting to kick again. The illuminating neon light of the bar did not help me stay sober.

My chuckle made him look at me. His thick eyebrow almost meets each other. My head falls back when I laugh at his expression. I know there’s a sofa seat that will catch me, so I let my body fall. However, instead of a soft cushion, I feel a hard-stoned arm on my back.

I half-opened my eyes and see Hyko looking at me, irritated.

“I leave you two.” I hear Clyver says. I notice a movement on my side but my thoughts were haywire.

My body almost hit his chest when he pulls me up to sit properly. I instinctively hold onto his arm. My eyes drop on it. Unknowingly, I squeeze his arm a bit. My smile grows wide. Was he going to the gym?

“I like your arm… It’s hard,” I caress his arm up and down. He did not flinch nor move which make me look at his face. I am certain that the alcohol has already taken over my body. I do not even know if my friends are doing fine back in our table.

“You’re drunk.” He pulls me closer. I can feel his breath against my cheek. My lips are almost brushing his neck as I lift my chin to reach his ear.

“Marry me,” I whisper without thinking clearly.

Stern hands held both of my arms and pull me away. He makes me face him. The coldness of his stares almost slaps me to sober up. At that moment, I froze.

He is tall. Even we are sitting, the top of my head only levels his chin. He leans forward, closing our gap. His lips are inches away from mine. He’s too close to me. Due to our distance and drunkenness, I couldn’t look at him properly.

His hand tucks some hair strands behind my ear while his free hand goes on the side of my leg and presses them together. My dress has a long slit which made my right leg exposed, but his rough hand stayed on my side, covering it.

The small hair in my body all went up and I felt a shiver down my spine when his hand moves a little into my inner thighs. He tilts his head and leans closer to my ear.

“I don’t marry girls who let themselves get drunk in a place full of strangers.”

-----

Forcing The Billionaire

by: Joanne Cristel

©2022

-----

Note: Unedited. English is not the author's first language so expect grammatical errors. Thank you!