Forcing The Billionaire

Chapter 8 (Part 2)

“No, I’m not busy,” his cold eyes dart at me. Stunned in my seat, I wasn’t able to move.

I feel so low… so unwanted. I never felt this way before. Men flocked to me, never did I experience being pushed away.

“You should go, I have an important meeting to attend to…” he pauses. He walks towards his desk and picks up his coat and wears it.

My insides are rattling, but I force myself to stand in my seat. He is currently fixing his wristwatch as I go to him. He stops for a while and lifts his head to look at me. He then goes back to buckling his watch.

“P-Please…” my voice cracks. “I n-need your help.”

I am trying to maintain my composure since I step in here. And him leaving me after I set aside my pride hurts so much that I refuse to leave without gaining anything.

Hyko stares at me. This time, he straightens his back and inserts his hands into his pockets. He tilts his head while looking at me. I never felt this intimidated. His eyes drop to my chest, revealing the line in between my rounded mounds. At that moment, I want to cover myself. Why does he have to be attentive at times that I do not want his attention?

“You know how business works. I don’t think I still have to explain to you why you need to let go of your company.”

The frustration that I was controlling the whole time is getting out of my hands. My chest rises up and down and my knees want to hit the floor just so he will understand how desperate I am. Not that he doesn’t understand tho. The fact that I went here and fought his security downstairs is enough for him to understand my struggles.

“I can save it… just help me. Please!”

I reach for his arm and hook my hands on it. His hands remain in his pocket while my hands wrap around his wrist.

“Why me? Why not your friends? Your family? Your cousin, Gerix?”

I look straight into his eyes. Tears are slowly blurring my vision. I quickly blink them away. As much as I want to answer him, I don’t want to show another weakness. Begging him to help me is the only weakness that I will let him see.

“Your company is what I need,” I say without stuttering. I maintain a calm face even though my insides are in chaos.

My hands slowly slip away from him. I notice how his eyes drop at my sudden move, but he did not say anything. When his eyes crawl back to mine, he says, “I have nothing to offer. I suggest, let go of the company and let it sink, instead of letting yourself sink with it. You can start—”

“No!” My tone rises. I know I do not have the right to get mad at him because I am the one who is asking for a favor. But everything seems heavy lately.

I do not know how long I can maintain my sanity. “You don’t understand! You will never understand my situation because you are not in my place!” I shout. I have fair skin. I am certain my face looks red right now.

The audacity to tell me to let my company sink and save myself. Can he tell that to himself if he’s in my position?

“You know that’s the only way. You don’t have funds for your projects—”

“That is why I’m here!”

“I don’t do charity. I do business.”

“And I am here for business.” The desperation in my voice is very evident. I swallow down the lump forming in my throat to compose myself. “Let our fast food stalls open in your malls. That way, we can generate income and compensate for the losses.” I want to give myself applause for not stuttering even though my heart is beating loud and fast. I take a deep breath before continuing. “I let you do whatever you want to do to me. My b-body is yours…”

His thick eyebrows went into a straight line. Irritation resurface in his façade.

“You are this desperate, huh? You’re willing to sell yourself for what? For the sake of money?” he hisses. I gulp. The smirk on his lips is filled with no humor. He looks pissed.

I understand why he acts this way… because he will never understand me. He is on top of our world, while I am slowly hitting rock bottom. For him, this is all about money. For me, this is integrity and my love for our company.

“Yes,” I bravely answer.

This was built by my grandparents who both passed away. I just can’t toss it and live my life like nothing happened… as if L. Corporation did not happen.

To be honest, I can live without the company. I can work. I am majoring in business and I have talent. But I will never leave the company that helped me be who I am today. If it will sink, I will sink with it.

I am in the middle of struggling to stop myself from crying when suddenly, the telephone resting on his desk, rings. However, he remained still in his place. I look at him, confused.

“I will say this for the last time...” his jaw clenches and I can hear the irritation and frustration in his voice.

When the ring stops, silence envelops the room. We are both looking into each other’s eyes. Mine is in the middle of being hopeful yet hopeless, while his looks are stoic and firm.

I gulp. I can already sense what he is about to say.

“Let go of your company and start a new one. That’s my advice as a business owner.”

This time, I could not take it anymore. I already did everything. I lowered my pride multiple times. I go to the extent of selling my dignity to him, hoping he will understand… that he will lend a hand to help me.

My chest tightens. My heart is beating loud and fast. My legs are shaking, and my eyes are getting blurry.

Out of a sudden, I found my knees touching the cold floor of his office. A bullet of hot fluid of tears run down my cheek. It was followed by another… and another… and another.

I want to cover my face so he to not see how fragile I am right now, but I can’t force myself to even lift my arms.

My mom’s rumored relationship. My father’s gambling and alcohol issues. The state of our company.

Everything’s adding up and I do not know how to handle myself if I am busy cleaning up the mess around me.

“Stand, Ari.” His words are all stressed as if he is only stopping himself from being angry.

I did not listen to him. Instead, I stayed kneeling in front of him, hands on my lap, and eyes on the floor.

I do not care what he thinks of me. I am too weak to move and all I hope right now is for the world to stop. I need rest but I can’t do it if the world keeps revolving and I have to keep walking.

In the middle of self-pitying and Hyko standing in front, the door of his office room opened. Out of surprise, I lift my head and turn in its direction—forgetting that my face looks red and my eyes and cheeks filled with tears.

A woman with a slender body, probably 5’8 in height minus her heels, is standing in the doorway. Both of our expressions looks surprised.

Humiliation crawled into my system. I am kneeling in front of Hyko, crying, while wearing a provocative dress.

“I do not know you have a visitor,” the woman said.

I want to stand, but I feel like my knees are glued to the floor. I can’t find the strength to move.

“Leave, Leah.” Hyko’s cold voice echoes.

“Okay, I’ll go back later…” the woman softly said. I did not look at any of them. Tears are blurring my vision and I am too busy not to cry.

Just when I thought everything will go smoothly, I almost forgot that people will always have an opinion based on what they see.

“Another one asking for help? It's really exhausting being good at everything, e?” The woman said before I hear the door closing.

Another one? So, I am not the only one who asked for his help? Why am I even surprised? Of course, everyone wants their help. The mere fact that you are friends with the Frantz is already an achievement for business owners. That is how powerful being at the top of everything. Everyone is willing to do anything for them—and I am not excluded.

“You’re only wasting your time. Stand and leave. I have no plans of using you.”

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Forcing The Billionaire

by:

Joanne Cristel

©2022

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Note: Unedited. English is not the author's first language so expect

grammatical errors. Thank you!