Billionaires with Benefits

113 113. Reconciliation

“What do you mean?” Lea asked, displeased with the girls’ questions. Rather than asking for advice, their words sounded like a joke. Or even a mock.

“You always get rich boyfriends, don’t you? Formerly William, now your new boyfriend is also rich,” Ciara replied with twinkling eyes. “Renovating the house to be this pretty, must cost a fortune.”

Lea sighed. Of all her sisters, Ciara loved to preen. That girl was very lazy to do rough and dirty house chores. Several times she witnessed how Ciara took advantage of Tia to do the chores when it was Ciara’s turn. Instead, Ciara loved to practice preening and made vlogs for makeup tutorials. She would use the money she got to buy expensive makeup and branded items.

“Cia, it’s not like that. You can’t determine who you fall in love with, you also can’t determine who falls in love with you,” Lea answered patiently. “And I also don’t have a boyfriend right now. So, don’t get me wrong.”

Lea glanced around at her sisters, much to the chagrin of her explanation.

“If you want to have money, earn it honestly. Don’t depend on man! Be a smart and independent woman,” Lea said again.

Lea realized that she was not a good role model for her younger sisters. But she didn’t want them to make the same mistake or even worse. Looking for rich men to pay their bills was wrong in so many ways.

***

Days changed. Lea had applied for jobs in many companies, but with her pregnant condition, she always failed the interview. No company was willing to recruit her because her competitors were single women who didn’t have babies in their tummies.

.....

After washing the dishes, Lea checked her email again, in case there was an interview call. However, today was the same as yesterday. Empty.

“Jeez, how can I give the money back to Mrs. Decker?” Lea murmured while massaging her forehead.

She did give the baby to Dave and Clara. However, she would not exchange the baby for money. It would make her feel guilty for life. She planned to return the two million from Linda, even little by little.

She sometimes wanted to go back to work for Dave because he would definitely get her a job. However, she knew that she couldn’t do that or Clara would be madly jealous.

The last news she got, Dave and Clara would be getting married soon. That meant Clara had agreed to her offer. Dave was able to convince his fiancee. Since her last meeting with Clara, she never discussed personal matters anymore. She was tired.

The sound of the doorbell took Lea back to her senses. There was no one in the house but her. She got up from her seat and quickly opened the door. Perhaps it was a delivery man, sending a package for Ciara.

However, it turned out that her guess was wrong. A familiar blonde-haired woman in a white coat was standing there.

“Hi, Lea!”

The visitor was Paula. The woman who left a deep scar on Lea’s heart.

“Hi,” Lea greeted awkwardly. “Please, come in.”

Lea nervously asked Paula. Of course, Paula rushed into the house enthusiastically because it was too cold outside. Paula wanted to save herself immediately from the chilly weather.

“Wow,” Paula said subconsciously as she complimented the beauty of the living room’s interior. It was minimalist and cozy, but it still glinted luxury touch.

Realizing that what she was doing was impolite, she immediately turned her attention back to Lea. “Sorry, the interior design is very cute. I love it.”

“Thank you. However, this has absolutely nothing to do with my family. A friend did this for free,” Lea said flatly.

Paula nodded. Lea then asked Paula to sit down on the couch.

“What would you like to drink? I only have soda and juice,” Lea asked as she opened the fridge. She took a clean glass as she waited for Paula’s answer.

“Just water. I’m on a sugar diet,” Paula answered casually.

“Ah, I forgot that you are also pregnant. The doctor put me on a sugar and carb diet too. But I’m too lazy to comply,” Lea said as she filled Paula’s glass with water. “Hopefully they don’t put me on a salt diet. That would be torturous because I love potato chips with sprinkles of salt.”

Paula smiled at Lea’s chatter. Normally, their encounters weren’t of this kind. As a rule, their meetings were full of tension and swearing. However, as fellow expectant mothers, they could compromise at this time.

Lea put the water on the table, shoving it closer to Paula. “Why do you pay me a visit? I think William gave you my letter, right? I won’t bother you two anymore-”

“Ah, how is your mother?” Paula asked, interrupting Lea’s words because she didn’t like it when Lea was talking about things that had passed. She wanted to show that there was no more hostility in her heart.

“My mother is good. The heart transplant is over. After another month of surveillance, the doctor said mom can go home,” Lea replied, smiling.

Paula also expressed her gratitude for the good news. She then explained the purpose of her visit.

“My apologies for just finding out about this a few days ago from William. He ... didn’t tell me about this before because he was afraid I’d be jealous,” Paula said regretfully. She hissed, blaming William for his ridiculous thoughts at the time. “I don’t know what was going through William’s mind at the time. But, he should tell me no matter what since it’s all about life and death. I’m so sorry, Lea!”

“It’s okay,” Lea replied with a bitter smile. “That means, he truly cares about you. Don’t blame him!”

Paula tightly gripped the glass in her hand. “I don’t know if your financial problems are over or not. However, if it’s not too late, I intend to pay off the rest of your mother’s hospital fees.” She was afraid that Lea would feel offended. However, she was already prepared.

Lea smiled briefly. She didn’t expect that Paula would calmly talk about the matter she was preoccupied with.

“Why do you want to help me?” Lea asked then. “I almost ruined your marriage.”

Paula was stunned. She looked at Lea intently. “Can I say that we are even?”

Lea didn’t answer. She just squeezed her fingers nervously. A bit of an old wound opened up on her chest.

Seeing Lea’s awkwardness, Paula then said again. “This is not a matter of winning or losing. But, since we’ve all made up our minds, can we just forget about what happened in the past?”

Lea’s eyes heated up as tears welled up in her eyes. She nodded and said, “You’re right. It’s better if we just forget about the past.”

Lea realized that she was not in the position of an innocent person. Many incidents made her realize that if people can make peace with the past, they should just reconcile.

“However, that amount is too large, Paula. I can’t just take your money freely,” Lea said later when her fingers wiped away the tears that slipped down her cheeks.

“Too much?” Paula asked again. She was confused about how to persuade Lea to accept it.

“Right. I also plan to return the money to William. However, maybe not now,” Lea answered again.

“Didn’t William give it to you for free?” Paula asked in surprise.

“Yes, now that William ... has been kicked out of the house, I don’t want to burden him with my financial problems,” Lea replied in a bland voice.

Paula then nodded, understanding Lea’s decision. “Okay. Give it back to him. In that case, I’ll transfer the two million bucks to your account in exchange.”

“Paula?” Lea gasped in surprise. “I told you, it’s too much!”

Paula didn’t care. She asked Monica to help her transfer the amount of money to Lea’s account. She then turned back to Lea.

“How about you take this as a gift instead? Like, your friend who fixed the interior of this house,” asked Paula forcefully. “Do you agree?”

Lea shook her head. She said many things that made her feel uneasy when she had to accept that kind of money from someone she didn’t really know for a long time.

It was then, Paula accidentally saw Lea’s inbox on the laptop. She then came up with an idea that could be the best solution.

“How about if you work for me?” Paula asked then.

Lea, who had been busy and nervous about rejection, suddenly stopped ranting, looking at Paula in disbelief. “Work for you? Do .... Do you offer me a job?”

Paula nodded confidently. “I need new staff in the finance department. If I’m not mistaken, you studied economics, right?”

An unimaginable sense of joy crept into Lea’s heart, crossing her face. Her mouth was open, speechless.

“I ... of course, I’m very happy. But ....” Lea then paused, suddenly doubting her abilities.

“Why?” Paula asked again. She thought that giving Lea a chance to work would save the woman’s pride.

“I, you know that I’m pregnant. Do you mind?” Lea asked, doubting herself.

Paula laughed heartily and showed off her little bump. “You and I are both pregnant, right?”

Tears of happiness spilled from Lea’s eyes. She was very happy because Paula understood what was on her mind. Working with Paula would be the best solution at this point.

“Thank you, Paula!” Lea whispered with emotion.

Paula shook her head with a genuine smile. “No problem. You can start working tomorrow.”