Billionaire Alpha 1(2)

     



 

"I'll take a cup of tomato soup and a water, please?"

"Not very hungry today?" He smiled and took her menu, winking at her as she smiled back.

"Nope. Big breakfast."

Her mother ordered as Bethany reached for a roll. Her stomach softly   protested, the deep burn of hunger an old friend. She hadn't had a big   breakfast, or any breakfast at all. Every penny she had went to books   and supplies for school. She ate once a day and sometimes not even that,   unless her roommate brought home leftovers. She'd have given anything   to order a cheeseburger with fries and a coke, but life wasn't that   giving.

The waiter moved away and Bethany shoved the rest of the roll in her   mouth, the soft white bread melting in her mouth. Worry covered her   mother's features as she pushed the basket toward her.

"Are you not eating again?"

Bethany finished chewing the roll, her thoughts far from the   conversation at the table as she enjoyed the flavors rolling across her   tongue. She ate out every once in a while, but it was usually on a  date,  and that always ended with some random horny guy demanding sex.   Disgusting.

"I have to spend what little money I get from my grants on a place to live and books, Mom. Food is a luxury."

"Baby, you shouldn't starve yourself."

"What options do I have?" Bethany laughed, the sound falling flat.

"Take a semester off and come back home with me." Her mom crossed her   arms over her chest, her eyebrow raising as Bethany reached for another   roll and picked up the small cup of butter, dipping the bread in it   without concern for her actions.

"I can't take off from school, Mom, and I don't have a car that runs   very well. One more year of this and I'll be able to finally take care   of myself."

"I don't like that you're not eating."

"I don't like it either, but you're as broke as I am."

"I'll ask Kent to give me some money for you."

"No." Bethany leaned forward, her mouth pursed into a tight line. She   didn't want handouts from someone who wasn't connected to her family   intimately. She needed Kent to move into the position of being her   father, and then it would make sense to get financial help from him.

"Yes."

"No, Mom. Just stop messing around and get married. You're going to get married anyway. He loves you and you love him."

"What would being married to him change?"

"I would be his daughter, mom. I would finally have a dad and maybe,   just maybe, he would see my struggle and offer to help me." Tears burned   her eyes and she picked up her napkin, wiping at them quickly. Being   emotional or weak hadn't gotten her anywhere in life, and it certainly   wouldn't do her any favors now.

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry I don't have more to give you. If only I'd been   a stronger woman when your dad put us through all that shit."

"I don't want to talk about this." Bethany dropped the napkin in her   lap, her emotions pressing hard against the confines of her chest. "I   have one more year of school and need help. You're going to marry Kent   anyway. I'm just asking that you move it up and do it in the next month,   Mom. Please."

Her mom bit at her lip, looking up and thanking the server as he put   their lunch down in front of them. Bethany constrained herself as the   steam rose up from the small cup before her. She could have ordered   more, but she knew her mom was broke and struggling as well. The older   woman in front of her hid her own suffering and strife as well as   Bethany did. No one knew how much they'd been through and how they   continued to persevere.

"Let's pray over our food." Her mom bowed her head and prayed, Bethany   closing her eyes and listening to her mom ask God for the millionth time   to help them. He'd seemed to turn a blind eye or deaf ear to them for   all the years Bethany could remember, but six months ago he had   delivered Kent into her mom's life.

Kent owned several companies and had been a widower for ten years. He   was older than her mom and had two sons, one a complete loser and the   other the center of his enterprise in the heart of downtown Dallas.   Bethany had yet to meet either of them, but she liked Kent and knew he   would treat her mother like a princess.

If only the woman could get past being hurt and used by Bethany's   father, giving love another chance and opening up a world of   possibilities for them both.         

     



 

"Kent would be thrilled to hear I'm ready to move forward, I guess." Her   mom's words lit a spark of hope in Bethany's chest as she looked up.

"He loves you, Mom. He's told you that a million times."

"I know, and I love him too. I'm just a little worried about fitting   into his world. I come from the wrong side of the tracks, Bethany. His   friends and work associates are going to see beneath my layers of makeup   and call me out as the phony I am."

"You're not a phony. You're the most real person I know, Mom." Bethany   reached around her soup to touch her mom's arm, concern pulling her brow   together. "You just need to be yourself and not anyone else. You can't   change for someone, or you'll end up hating who you've become."

"How did you get so wise?" Her mom winked at her, patted her hand and   picked up her spoon, taking a tentative sip of her own soup.

"So, you'll think about it? I'm on a short leash, and I'll start looking for jobs this afternoon, but I need help quickly."

"Wait until Monday for the job thing. You're graduating tomorrow, and I   want you to just enjoy the accomplishment." She put her spoon down and   picked up the last piece of bread, tearing it in half and handing the   larger piece to Bethany. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom. I'm sorry to bother you with this. If I could figure it out on my own, I would."

"We will always have each other. I'll talk to Kent tonight about   everything. When he proposed a few weeks back, I wanted to say yes, but I   just haven't been able to move around my past. He's so much better  than  I am." Her mom shrugged, heaviness sitting on her pretty features.

Bethany reached up and pulled her long locks into a messy bun before scoffing at her mother.

"He's not better than you. He's had a different path, Mom. His life is a   different story. I'm just glad that your path crossed with his. He's   going to be great for you. He thinks you hung the moon."

"He is a great guy." Blush touched her mother's cheeks and Bethany laughed softly, romance a lofty thought in her own world.

Bethany had seen the same guy, Jake, a few times, but he was horribly   proper and far too feminine for her own tastes. He was easy to get along   with and a great study partner, but as far as physical   attraction-nothing.

"Is Kent coming with you to my graduation tomorrow?"

"He sure is. I invited Damon and Matthew, his boys, but they both have   something to do. I was hoping for you to meet Matthew. He's a sad soul   with far too many demons to fight, but a pure heart lies in his chest."

"And what about the other boy, Damon?"

"Honestly, he's an ass. He's the typical rich boy, and he has far too   much control of Kent's company and ten women around him at all times. I   hate to even say this, but he sometimes disgusts me." Her mother's   expression resembled someone biting into a lemon. Bethany laughed and   leaned over, tasting her cooling soup.

"Money corrupts. I'm surprised Kent is as good of a guy as he is. He has more money than God."

Her mom laughed and took one more bite of her soup before pushing it   across the table to Bethany, the small cup still more than half full.   Bethany pulled it toward her, working hard not to lift her own cup to   her lips and drink the thick tomato soup.

"Get yourself a sandwich or something. I have a little bit of money in   the bank." Her mother turned as if trying to get the waiter's attention.

Bethany reached over and patted the table in front of her. "I'm good.   I'll eat this and be stuffed. We'll make it through this, we will.   Tomorrow will be a great day, and if your conversation goes well with   Kent, then maybe my luck will change for good." She pinched off a piece   of the bread and popped it in her mouth. "You sure I'm not pushing you   to do something you didn't want to do?"

"Have you ever known me to do something I didn't want to do?" Her mother smirked as the waiter stopped by with the bill.

"They must have higher paying customers waiting on our seats." Bethany looked over to the large crowd gathering at the door.

"Pretty soon that will be us, baby. Hang in there and I'll work to change our situation."