Chapter 7 Dissatisfaction

• Julien's call seemed like a lifeline, and I eagerly picked up. “Hello, Mr. Starck.”
• “Same room, same hotel, eight o'clock sharp. Clean yourself up and wait for me there. If you show up, I'll hire you. I'll even lend you the money to pay off your mom's debt as well as her medical bills.”
• He hung up without awaiting my reply.
• He knew my situation like the palm of his hand; there was no way I would reject his terms.
• It's not like I have a better choice. My only way out of this emergency is to set aside my pride for an intimate association with Julien. That way, I can start plotting my revenge on Cary as well.
• Later that night, I showed up at the hotel in my interview outfit instead of changing.
• Two hours later, Julien was still nowhere to be seen. Since he had shown up late yesterday, I continued waiting patiently for his arrival. He finally appeared when the clock almost struck eleven.
• He whipped out a cheque from his wallet. “Five hundred thousand, enough to solve all of your present financial problems. I'll need you to sign an IOU.”
• I was elated. Five hundred thousand was a sum beyond my wildest imaginations.
• As if noticing my excitement, a hint of displeasure crossed Julien's face. “While you're my debtor, you are to be at my beck and call. You can't see other men or have such arrangements with them during this time. If I find out that you defied my orders, I guarantee you'll be in deep trouble.”
• I briefly considered defending myself but eventually dropped the idea. He thinks of me as nothing but a saleable commodity. Since I'm taking his money, he's not entirely wrong. I'm not going to bother explaining myself to him when the situation isn't in my favor.
• Retrieving a pen and a piece of paper, I wrote out a simple IOU to him before keeping the cheque.
• He appeared slightly disdainful as he read the IOU. “Since this is a lump sum, I'm assuming we don't have a hard limit, yes?”
• I did not know if it was the relief of receiving that life-saving cheque, but he got me off quicker than expected that night.
• He seemed to be in a good mood, and I decided to take my chances and broach the topic on my mind. “Mr. Starck, there's an employee in your company called Cary—”
• “I don't want to discuss others with you.” He cut me off again.
• I guessed I would have to bring up the topic of Cary some other time since he was uninterested. He forbade me from leaving, and I was too scared to disobey him. In the end, I lay beside him on the bed in silence.
• We were lying quietly for almost a quarter of an hour when my phone started to ring. It was a call from Frank. Bolstered by my windfall, I answered the call immediately. Once the line connected, Frank bellowed, “Send me the money now, or I'll send this crazy lady to her death!”
• I could hear my mom shrieking in the background. “Don't push me! It's so high!”
• Isn't Mom in the sanitarium? How did Frank get his hands on her? The strong winds in the background implied that they were in a tall location.
• “Don't harm my mom. I've got the cash! I'll pay you back right now!” I yelled anxiously in reply.
• Frank barked, “Come to the roof of the Building of Trade and Agriculture; it's an abandoned building in East Jadeborough. You have ten minutes to get here, or you can say hello to your mom's dead body!”
• I grabbed my purse and rushed for the door.
• Julien shouted from behind me, “Where are you going? Did I allow you to leave?”
• “I'm going to save my mom,” I replied hastily.
• Rumor had it that a former leader organized the construction of the Building of Trade and Agriculture during his time in office. After his fall from grace, the project developer and contractor followed suit, turning the building into its abandoned state.
• The building had some thirty-over levels, and I was panting heavily when I finally made it to the roof.
• Two men were holding my mom against the railing while Frank was leisurely smoking a cigarette nearby.