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After the meeting ended with the Domino limited company, Beatrice began walking towards the elevator when her smartphone rang on the files she was holding in her arms.

She stared at the caller ID and realized it was the housing agent who linked her in renting her current penthouse apartment.

'Why is he calling?' Beatrice thought, stopping in her tracks, then she grabbed her phone.

'Maybe he wants to tell me that my rents are due,' She thought to herself as her hair fell over her shoulder and she flipped them back immediately before she clicked on the accepting icon.

"Hello, Mr. Shawn," She greeted and at the same time tried to hold the files in her right arm properly, so they won't fall to the floor while waiting for the response from the other side of the call.

"Hello, Ms. Coleman," He responded after a few seconds, in a deep baritone voice that vibrated through Beatrice's left ear.

"I guess you know the reason I'm calling you, ma'am," He said audibly.

"I know," 

"My rents are due, and I was just about to transfer for the renewal," Beatrice told him, feeling quite proud of herself.

"Now, that's where the problem is, Ms. Coleman," Mr. Shawn uttered, and Beatrice frowned slightly.

"Is something wrong?" Beatrice asked, knitting her brows together while her heart skipped a beat.

"There have been some changes in the penthouse rent, and I'm calling you to inform you about the new rental price of the penthouse," He informed.

"New price?" She asked, surprised and curious.

'New price?' Beatrice thought, her heart beating faintly.

'What the hell is he talking about? New price for what?' She pondered.

"Which is?" Beatrice asked throatily. The back of her throat suddenly getting dry and itchy, and she wanted to cough out so badly to clear her doubts about what the new price of renting the penthouse might be.

"One point two million US dollars," Mr. Shawn briefed, and she coughed out, almost letting the documents and files in her arms fall to the floor.

"What!!?" Beatrice shrieked Loudly, her eyes bulging out of her socket before she cautioned herself, realizing that she was still in her workplace.

"What do you mean by one point two million US dollars? And why is the price doubled, for Pete's sake?" She questioned in frustration, her voice coming out in a low growl as she looked sideways, hoping no one was around to hear her.

She already had a lot she was dealing with, and this one entering into the picture was a stroke of total bad luck for her.

"I'm sorry Ms. Coleman, I'm afraid we need to meet somewhere confidential to discuss this matter further," Mr. Shawn said and Beatrice nodded.

"Ok-Okay," She stuttered.

"Good, I'll text you the address, please let me know what time you'll be available,"

"Don't let me disturb your day at work," Mr. Shawn spoke.

'You already have,' Beatrice cried in her mind.

"Okay," Beatrice retorted and hung up the call.

"One point two million?" She questioned herself in disbelief.

'What the bloody hell is that?'

Why did the price shoot up from six hundred thousand US dollars to that amount? Why was it fucking doubled, for what reason exactly?

Beatrice didn't have any answers to her questions as she frustrated, tapped her left foot on the floor and became so anxious.

"This is so bad," She told herself, placing her smartphone on the files she was holding in her right arm.

'I need to act fast, my salary won't be able to keep me sane if I pay a house rent of one point two million dollars yearly,' She bawled inwardly, beads of sweat already forming on her forehead.

Her car was faulty, now the next one is having to deal with an increased house rent she had no idea of.

Beatrice sighed, biting her lower lips, she turned around suddenly and saw Ben standing right behind her back, and she gasped, taking a few steps back in shock as Ben stared at her.

'What the hell is he doing at my back?' Beatrice fumed, staring at him with a straight and awkward face.

How long has he been standing behind her?

'I hope he didn't hear my conversation with the agent,' Beatrice thought to herself, holding the files in her arms a bit tighter and almost on the verge of squashing them.

"Are you all alright?" Ben asked her, tilting his head to the side, hands shoved in his pocket as he studied her while displaying that arrogant bossy look of his to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She answered, putting on a fake smile on her face which was beginning to wear out suddenly.

' I'm not fine,' She cried, basically how was she going to deal with her baby girl's life when things were going this way for her?

Things were getting rough for her, and she's beginning to understand that adulthood is a scam.

"Mm, are you certain?" Ben asked, moving closer to her, a kinky smirk appearing on his lips.

'If only you know what I'm going through,' Beatrice thought to herself, being unfazed by Ben's cocky look, but she had no choice but to nod at him with a fake smile still plastered on her face, acting like everything is fine for her... she was trying so hard to show she was okay when she wasn't.

But she would rather not let her guard down or show the battles she was trying to fight within herself to the outer world, most especially to Ben.

Ben shrugged, raising his shoulders at her since she wasn't going to say anything or tell him what was wrong with her to him, even though he could see clearly that something was bothering her.

"If you say so," Ben snickered at her dropping the conversation on purpose and walked past her, slightly brushing his arm with hers, and minced his way towards the elevator, a sly smirk curling its way on his lips.

A part of her drowned in darkness wondering why he hadn't pressed further and asked what was really wrong with her, or maybe he didn't hear her conversation at all, which was good at the same time for her.

Beatrice closed her eyes and inhaled sharply before she turned around, she opened her eyes and started trailing behind him.

Ben pressed the button to the elevator, and it opened, he stepped inside and turned around to face Beatrice, she looked so moody as she stepped into the elevator too, but he ignored her and didn't say anything.

Then he pressed the button to the first floor and the elevator door closed.

Beatrice was lost in her thoughts, different ways of how she could lift herself from all the problems she's diving into came into her mind.

She frowned again, knowing she can't meet her parents for any assistance knowing that they have spent a lot of money to treat her father's sickness. She wants to avoid being a burden to them or anyone.

She needs to buckle up and sort her ways out herself immediately.