Jasmine's POV
My sister and I waited for the midnight bus to take us back home. The night was still, calm and quiet. Well, at least that was what it felt like to me because I became numb.
"Your mother's health is at a critical stage. There's nothing more we can do unless she gets that lung transplant. Without it she'll only have three months to live, or less. I'm sorry."
Those words were haunting me and hung on my shoulders like a piece of clothing I couldn't shake off. I had absolutely no idea on how I was going to be able to pay for my mother's lung transplant. The given total was over half a million dollars, and I wasn't sure what her Medicaid would cover. Regardless, I would have to hit the lottery to obtain that kind of money.
I had to pay the bills and the rent at my apartment, support and provide for my sister's education, put food on the table and provided for myself as well. It was all too much. I didn't know what to do or where to turn to. My mother was dying and there was nothing I could do to save her. I wouldn't be able come up with all that money in the span of three months or less.
The tears flooded my eyes again as we got onto the midnight bus and found a seat.
Zenia's arms circled around my waist. "It's going to be okay sis. We have to pray. That's all we can do for now," she comforted me with teary eyes.
We loved our mother so much. She had been through everything with us since our first day on this earth and she did it all by herself. We had no relatives and no friends. It was only my mother, my sister and me.
I wiped my tears away with the hem of my T-shirt. It was at that moment I noticed what I was wearing. I did not have a chance to change into anything decent. I was wearing a worn out shorts and a plain T-shirt that was a bit over-sized for my form because it belonged to Mom. I had on flip-flops and my pedicure was so horrible it looked like it was done by a blind person. My hair was uncombed, but I just couldn't be bothered. It was late and there weren't many people on the bus.
When we got home, I threw myself on the couch. The same couch Mom was sitting on before the incident. I cried again and, right there, I fell asleep.
___________
I woke up to my phone ringing. My heart skipped several beats as I thought about my mom.
What if it's the hospital with the awful news I would never be prepared to hear?
I held the phone with trembling hands.
My workplace number flashed on the screen.
I heaved a sigh of relief.
''Miss Blackman,'' his voice spoke from the other end.
"Yes Mr. Hollen?" I answered but I couldn't understand why he was calling me.
I looked at our wall clock, it showed 9:30 am.
9:30 am! 9:30 am!
Holy shit, I overslept and I was late for work. Oh, dear God, I could be fired for this. Mr. Hollen didn't tolerate things like this.
"Sir, I'm... so... sorry," I stuttered. I couldn't tell him I overslept, that wouldn't be something sensible to say to the world's strictest boss.
''Miss Blackman,'' his voice spoke again.
Oh sweet God, he just repeated my name. I'm in big big trouble. I think I'm fired.
''Why aren't you at your desk?''
I took a deep breath.
"Sir, my mom got sick last night and I've been at the hospital with her. I came home late and I... I..." I answered while already bracing myself for his response. At any moment he would tell me that I was fired.
''Be here in one hour,'' he said and hung up.
I exhaled my fear. I still had a job.
I got up from the couch quick as lightening and ran towards the bathroom. I took the fastest shower performed by man and put on one of my formal work dresses. It was easier to get into a dress than a shirt and pants. I combed my hair and threw it into a high bun. I grabbed my makeup; I would do it on the bus. I took my house keys and ran out the door, locking it behind me.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to a bus stop. Luckily, I got a south Brooklyn bus as I soon as I arrived at the stop. I looked at my wrist watch: 9:50 am.
The ride took fifteen minutes so I arrived at Hollen Tower's premises at 10:05 am, which meant that I had exactly twenty five minutes to find myself behind my desk.
I already had my employee pass so I wasn't held up by security. I ran to the entrance and into the elevator. I didn't care who saw me acting like an animal who was making a run for it from the zoo. I found myself behind my desk at 10:15 a.m. There were two faces sitting across from me, looking at me with sarcastic pity.
The interviews! My mind recollected.
I heaved a sigh from exhaustion and got myself busy immediately.
My line rang.
''Send in the other person.''
"Who is the other person, sir?" I asked.
''If you were here on time then you wouldn't be asking me that stupid question now. Send in anyone! I don't care!''
His words were hurtful, like a carving knife cutting away at my flesh. Why was he so mean?
"Next person, please," I said to the applicants.
A young woman, who could have been around my age, got up and walked towards Mr. Hollen's office.
The tears crept onto my chest, waiting to be spilled out of my eyes; but I was not about to cry at my desk.
It became too heavy.
I excused myself from my desk and went to the bathroom and cried for five minutes. I wiped my eyes with some tissues, gathered myself again, and went back to my desk.
I stopped short of my desk when I saw the same young lady who had gone into his office a few minutes ago, behind it and the other no where to be found.
"Are you Miss Blackman?" she asked.
I nodded yes.
"Mr. Hollen would like to see you in his office immediately," she said. She already sounded and looked professional.
Oh no.
He had already replaced me, and if he used the word 'immediately' to seek someone's presence in his office, trust me, that's not good news.
I headed towards his office, knocked and turned on the door's handle. I opened the door and walked in, fear putting a slow pace on my movement.
His back was turned towards me.
He swiftly spun around in his chair and faced me. His eyes locked on mine, getting darker and darker by the second.
That's definitely not good.
Evan's POVI watched her standing at my desk in my office. I was antagonized by her behavior. She had already arrived late and when she eventually arrived I called her desk and she wasn't answering the line. I had to put an applicant in her place because Miss Blackman was nowhere to be found. She, of all people, should know better. I hated slackers and she was becoming one, which was very disappointing. She was one of the best employees I'd ever hired and I really didn't want to regret hiring her."Miss Blackman, what's the meaning of this?" I asked, referring to her absence a while ago from her desk.She hesitated to answer. I looked at her carefully and noticed her makeup had be smudged.She was crying. Maybe because of her mom. What's really wrong with her mom anyway?"I'm... very sorry Mr. Hollen," she stuttered and lowered her head in trepidation.She was trembling, sending all the signs of fear from being in such a po
Jasmine's POVOh my goodness, he actually fired her. He actually fired Miss Rhino, his COO and second in command. I counted my lucky stars that I hadn't been previously fired as well.After the meeting and the firing of Miss Rhino, I went back to my desk and found a tall, blonde haired woman standing there. She had bright blue eyes, cream skin and wore an expensive suit. She had to be one of Mr. Hollen's girlfriends because she was not wearing a company name tag or a badge. She was also too overly dressed to be an employee."Hello, can I help you?" I asked her."Yes. Is Evan in?" she asked.I knew Evan was Mr. Hollen's first name. His father and mother called all the time asking to speak to Evan-- their son."Yes he is, but he's not in his office. He should be here any minute now.""That's fine. I'll wait in his office.""No, you can't," I said."Excuse me?" she asked, turning around at m
Evan's POVAfter work, I went to a local pub to meet up with Zack. I desperately needed a drink to digest the unforeseen feelings and situations popping up in my life and in my mind-- Jessica Hills' return and an unexplained lustful feeling for my personal assistant."Well you look like hell," Zack greeted as I walked over to him."You have no idea man." I snatched the extra beer he held in his hand."What's going on?""Remember Jessica from high school?""Yeah, umm, her sister is Regina, right?""Right.""Well what about her? Isn't she in Canada?""No. She's back and wants us to reconnect.""Dude. No.""And that's not the half of it," I went on."What else?"I knew Zack and the way he can get when told new information about my personal life and affairs so I let it go.I heavily exhaled a breath and raked my hand through my hair. A beer wasn't cut
Jasmine's POVI received a phone call from my little sister right after I stepped out from my place of employment. She needed me to come get her and take her home from a bar-- she'd had a few drinks. And by a few drinks, I mean she'd been heavily drinking and now she was intoxicated.I found the bar after walking for half an hour. She was sitting at a table surrounded by beer bottles. Her eyes were slightly closed and she was holding onto a beer bottle like she was holding on for dear life.What the hell?"Zen, what are you doing?" I asked furiously, embarrassed to see her in such an unusual state."Hi *hiccup* Jassy," she answered."Come on, get up. I'm taking you home!""No, I'm not ready yet anymore. I need to finish drinking this beer.""What the hell are you doing Zenia?" I asked angrily."Drinking this beer. I just told you that. Duh!""Zenia, listen to me. You need to s
Jasmine's POVMonday came like a blur. It took everything in me to get over what happened between my boss and I Friday evening. I wished he would have at least listened to what I had to say.What did I expect? He was Evan Hollen. One of most powerful and successful twenty five year old males in all of America. People paid homage to this man-- loved by many, hated by few, but respected by everyone.I, on the other hand, was a mediocre black woman who could only afford an apartment and couldn't save her mother's life, now that she was depending on it.I heaved a frustrated sigh as I walked up to the elevator at my work place. I gathered myself together and erased my emotions and feelings. I had to act professional and forget about what happened with Mr. Hollen.I walked out of the elevator and slowly headed to my desk. Once there, I started my desktop computer and began checking emails so I could respond to them.The doors to
Evan's POVAs the clock struck twelve, I was out of my office and into my Lamborghini and driving towards my mansion. Apart from the mansions I owned in Paris, Italy, London, Indonesia, Canada and Bora Bora, I loved the one in Brooklyn the most. I never called it home though. To me, a home was having someone or a family to go to, and I didn't.Mom had already called me three times to ask if I was ready for the trip to the Cayman Islands.Jessica roamed around the house and I headed straight for my shower. I shampooed my hair, took a long shower, and changed into a simple T-shirt and pants with sneakers.Afterwards, I dropped Jessica off at her work place. She wanted me to be intimate with her but I wasn't into her like that anymore. The feelings had faded and I was only tolerating her presence to get rid of the feelings that were building for Jasmine.I did not want to be involved with any of my employees.As I arrived at my p
Jasmine's POVAfter work on Tuesday, I went to the hospital to see my mom. I walked slowly to the room she was in. I hated hospitals. The scent of antibacterial cleaning products lingered in the halls and it always felt like the cold hands of death were reaching for me.I pushed in room fourteen and saw my mother lying down on the bed with machines attached to her to help her breathe, a mask over her nostril area to flow oxygen to her lungs, and a monitor beeping to indicate her heart rate. She looked like she was asleep. Or dead."Mom, I'm here. I know you're slipping away from me and Zenia as the days go by, but I'll do something to get that money so you can have a successful lung transplant. I can't let you die knowing I've done absolutely nothing to save you. I don't care if I have to sell my body to make that money, I'll do it for you Mommy."I buried my face at the side of my mother and I began crying bitterly. I hated seeing her like
Evan's POVI was already tired of seeing sea water and seasickness had come onto me. I just wanted to to be back in my office, in my chair, doing what I loved to do most. Work. I shouldn't have agreed to come on this god forsaken sea voyage.I laid in my cabin and tried to relax and stop having regrets.We had finally arrived at the Cayman Islands at night fall. The captain docked the boat at an island called Grand Cayman, which is the largest of the three islands.The Cayman Islands are made up of three islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. The largest, Grand Cayman, has a cosmopolitan vibe, gourmet restaurants, world-class diving and the famous Seven Mile Beach. Cayman Brac is a nature lover's paradise with stunning diving and breathtaking walks along the rocky bluff. The smallest island, Little Cayman, is home to just one hundred and fifty people. Visitors, like myself, enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and sunny sky.&nbs