The Billionaires(#1)

16 ||

"That went well," MJ muttered to Liam. They were currently seated in an old building in the abandoned city. It was past twelve in the afternoon, and they had been there since morning. "They look happy, and they love their new clothes," MJ said calmly as they watched the children move around the hall, looking, sharing, and showing each other their clothes.

When they arrived outside the apartment building, Liam was already waiting. At first, he was a bit sceptical about Chad and kept asking him questions. He was trying to figure out what MJ was doing with the boy; he asked him to take them to where they stayed, and then Chad took them to where he and the other street kids spent most of their time, and to MJ and Liam's surprise, it was the abandoned part of the city.

Chad reasoned that it was the only place they were free to do as they pleased without someone to call the police or security at their mere presence. Chad knew the place inside out. He knew what each building used to be, who used to own it, and the entire history about the place. After giving them a tour, he introduced them to the other kids. There was about fifteen of them; four girls and eleven boys. MJ and Liam told them to wait for them there, and then they left with Chad to get them food and new clothes. Chad and the other kids were excited. MJ never imagined that she could make someone so happy. She felt like she could save the world.

"I can't believe they live in this place," Liam said.

MJ gave him a quick glance before averting her eyes to the kids again. "Back in the days, street kids in London and other parts of the world literally lived in the streets, under a bridge, or in public toilets; if lucky," MJ said with a blank face.

"True." Liam sighed. "There's one thing I don't understand though." He said, casting Chad a suspicious look. MJ followed his gaze. Chad was sitting in a circle with some of the kids while sharing jokes. "This place is at least an hour away from the city of Cape Town, and by foot, it could at least take two hours. So how did Chad get to the city all by himself?" He asked. MJ cast him a look, and then looked at Chad with narrowed eyes. Liam was right, she had never thought about it, but this place was too far, even the car ride seemed too exhausting, but she understood the struggle and the need to hustle- one would go to any lengths to survive.

MJ was about to say something when her phone blared up. "Excuse me." She muttered to Liam and stepped outside the building. She took her phone out of her handbag and answered. "MJ Billings speaking, hello?" She answered in a business tone, but her statue crumbled into a frown when the person on the other side sniffed. "Samantha?" MJ asked, and the caller spoke but MJ could not hear anything she was saying because of the weak reception. "Samantha, the reception is bad, I'll call you back later," MJ said and hung up.

*****

"Logan, calm down; I'm pretty sure she has a good excuse as to why she is not here yet." Natalia tried to calm Logan who was now beyond pissed.

"Dammit, Natalia, don't fucking tell me to calm down!" He snapped, and Natalia flinched. Logan was angry and Natalia failed to understand why. Sonya Smith spent the entire day in the office, but he did never need her unless Natalia was out or assigned on another task. Natalia was the one who attended to his calls, attended his meetings with him, went on business trips with him, and was responsible for every other thing Logan needed at the office. When Sonya Smith was first hired, she was hired to assist Natalia whenever needed, but over time, it began to look like her help was no longer needed.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you want to get rid of both the Smith sisters or not? 'Cause from what I see right now, it looks like you want to kiss and make up with one of them." Natalia said, pissed at him for acting so crazy.

Logan ignored Natalia and picked up his office phone. He dialled a number on his phone and lifted the phone to his ear while eyeing Natalia who stood with her hand on her waist, an angry look on her face. The phone rang three times before the person picked up. "WHAT?" The person snapped. Logan kept quiet and waited for the person to shut their trap. His muscles kept ticking, and Natalia looked at him suspiciously. "Seriously? Who the hell are you? Het jy enige idee hoe laat dit is? Jy kan nie net iemand bel en dan niks sê nie, veral nie die tyd van die nag nie. (Do you have any idea what time it is? You can't just call someone and say nothing, especially at this time!)" Sonya snapped into the phone, speaking in Afrikaans.

"Dit is ek, Logan Parker, binnekort jou eks baas. Dit is een uur die middag en jou sister het nog nie opgedaag vir werk nie. Ek stel voor as jy enigsins omgee oor jou werk dat jy uitvind waar sy is." (It is I, Logan Parker; your soon-to-be-ex-boss. It is 1 o'clock in the afternoon and your sister still hasn't shown up for work. So I suggest, Miss Smith, that if you still care about your job, you find out where she is held up.) He replied in a stern tone, sarcasm lacing his words. It was unusual for Logan Parker to speak in Afrikaans, the only time he did was when he was beyond furious.

He did not need to see Sonya know she had gone pale for obvious reasons: she just snapped at her boss, he threatened to fire her, and he spoke in Afrikaans- which meant that he was angry. Sonya could not believe that MJ Billings was not making an effort to secure her job at Parker's Enterprises. Logan was not impressed, and it did not help the situation because Sonya knew that he was trying to get rid of her. She quickly hung up and dialled MJ's number.

MJ was about to walk back into the building when her phone rang again. She sighed and answered it. "MJ Billings speaking, hello?" She answered, rubbing her eyes.

"You might want to refrain from using that line; we wouldn't want anyone to figure out who you are." Sonya's cold voice resounded on the phone, and MJ stiffened.

"What do you want?" MJ asked calmly.

"Why the hell are you not at work?" Sonya asked angrily. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Work? Am I starting today? Oh my God! It is 1 p.m.!" MJ gasped in mock shock

The line went silent as Sonya contemplated what to say next. "Listen..." She sighed into the phone. "I know I messed up, and I know you hate my ass, but Logan just called and he is not impressed at all; he threatened to fire me." She said, but before she could continue any further, MJ hung up and threw her phone inside her purse before she walked back into the building. "Hello? MJ, are you there?" Sonya asked and waited for a response, but it never came. "Listen, you homeless bitch! You'd better show up at Parker's Enterprises, otherwise, I'll tell your brother your dirty secret!" She yelled into the phone and groaned in frustration, and then threw her phone on the bed.

"Is everything okay, MJ?" Liam asked as soon as she walked into the hall, but MJ did not answer until she reached where he was.

"I have to go back to the city ASAP." She said with a deep sigh.

"Sure, I'll take you," Liam said and stood up, but she quickly stopped him.

"Stay here with these kids; I want you to keep an eye on Chad." She said, casting the kid a suspicious glance.

"Are you sure? I mean I could take you and come back again." Liam suggested, but MJ shook her head. "Okay, take care," Liam said as she walked away. Chad looked at her retreating back and looked at Liam before quickly looking away when Liam caught him staring at him. There was something off about this boy, and Liam wanted to find out what it was; it was his job to protect MJ, even if it was from a 13-year-old street kid.