Billionaire Flawed 2(58)

I know it's owner, Pavel Belyakov is a Russian, and that the company is quite new. I believe the company has existed for two years and that Mr Belyakov buy and sells residential properties in the Manhattan area, Ella said.

That just about sums it up, Mike said, trying his best to keep eye contact. Our job Ella, is to complete the financial paperwork on the deals Mr Beljakov agrees. Our work calls for a high degree of accuracy, and in most cases speed. I have never seen a deal go past me that was for less than five million dollars, and most of them are above twenty million. Mike noticed Ella's eyes roll as she tried to image such sums. It's the lawyers job to make sure the contracts are water tight, and our job to make sure the money gets from Mr Beljakov's account to the vendor, on time. In addition, we are responsible for keeping an eye on how the investments perform over time. We need to check rental incomes against maintenance expenditure and so forth. As time goes by, you will learn how we do that. Any questions before we start to work?

No, I don't think so. I guess I'll have a thousand questions once I get started, but for now, I don't.

You've joined us at a great time actually. Last year Mr. Beljakov threw a mid-summer party, and he's decided to do so again. It's next week, and all his employees are invited. So you'll meet him then, Mike added as he stood up.

Ella sat at her desk and looked down to the street below. She'd never been so high before, and she was amazed to see how tiny the people looked as they scurried around. Mike gave her some easy tasks to do, to ease her into the job but before she began. Before she began, she took a moment to realize where she was, and what she had achieved. She, a black woman from a low-income family, had landed a well-paid job in a real estate firm, with luxury offices somewhere up in the sky. She smiled to herself. She was on her way in life, and nothing could stop her now.



Ouch, Mom, that hurt, Ella squealed.

Sorry honey. I'm just trying to get these pins in. I think I need some new glasses, her mom said, as she held the hem of Ella's dress. It's a pity this party is taking place before you've got your first paycheck. You could have gone downtown and bought yourself something beautiful instead of this rag.

It's not a rag, mom. It was very nice of Jenny to lend me her best dress. I told her I would replace it when I got paid. It fits okay doesn't it? Ella was petrified. When Mike had told her about the summer party at Mr. Beljakov's, she had given no thought whatsoever to what she would wear. With two days to go , she'd suddenly realized that she didn't have a dress. Not even an old one. She'd managed to buy a couple of skirts for work, but a dress was well out of her financial reach, so she'd called her best friend and pleaded.

It'll fit fine when I've finished with it, her mother said without managing to convince her daughter.

Ella looked at her mother as she knelt in front of her, trying to pin the hem of the borrowed dress. Ella felt a knot in her stomach when she saw her mom's arthritic hands struggling with the tiny pins. Her Mum had gone gray, quite suddenly after she'd lost her job. She'd thought her world had come to an end because she and her husband desperately needed the money. Ella hadn't told her mom how much her new job paid. She wanted it to be a surprise when she came home and gave her more housekeeping in a week than her mom could earn in a month at the fish factory.

There, that's the last pin. Now go and have a look in the mirror, Ella's mom said.

Ella stood in her bedroom and looked at herself. It looks okay, she shouted back to the sitting room where her mom was rubbing her sore joints.

Of course, it looks okay. You're a beautiful girl; you can carry anything off with your figure. Whoever you fall in love with, will be a very lucky man indeed.

When Ella had first seen the dress, she hadn't been sure at all. It was made of shiny red silk, and she'd thought it too trashy. It was also low cut and showed a lot more bust than she wanted to. But after her mom's alterations, she felt more confident.





Are you okay, Ella. You're trembling, Mike shouted.

It so high. I don't mind admitting, I'm scared, Ella replied as she stood on the roof of the building in which their office was located, and tried to prevent her dress from lifting in the wind.

Look, it's coming. Only a couple of minutes and we'll be off, Mike shouted as he pointed towards a dot in the distance.

As the helicopter got closer to the landing pad, Ella didn't' know what to do. Either put her hands over her ears, and risk her dress flying up over her bottom, or keep hold of her dress and risk being deafened.

When she was safely inside the vehicle, she surveyed the damage. Her hair was all over the place, and her ears were ringing. At least, she'd been able to keep her modesty, she thought. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a mirror and a comb. While the helicopter flew over Manhattan, she did her best to fix her hair. She was less than satisfied with the result when she'd finished. The mirror was too small for hair, and it was a bumpy ride, so her hands kept moving all over the place. Heaven knows what Mr Beljakov would think when he met her, she thought.