The Fast Rising Billionaire

A Useless Man

Unknown to Christopher, Jim had overheard his speech, and he looked on appreciating at him. One of his biggest worries when he had met the man his sister wanted to marry was that he was after her money, especially when he considered the fact that he was poor and Laura had quite the inheritance. 

It was a welcome relief, even though he did not approve of the man, to see that he was not the kind to incite tension or problems over the money that they had. 

“For a poor man, at least he has a little bit of morals, when you move out, you can have your morals for dinner” Jim snorted, poking at his food. 

As he watched on, his fiance seemed to ruminate on what he had just said, and then turned suddenly to him, her face the perfect picture of displeasure. 

“You pathetic waste of space. How dare you speak to her husband that way? How does his financial status affect you?” she asked, sneering.   

Taken aback, Jim sat there, his mouth gaping open and shut like a fish. His girlfriend was not the type to poke herself into an argument, but every time that she did, it was a whole explosion of insults that left him feeling bullied. 

He could remember the early days of his sister's marriage, when he had advised Christopher not to allow himself to be bullied, and now he sat there while his fiancée walked away after delivering a verbal attack that would leave him deep in thought for some time. 

Laughing around a bite of chicken, his sister, Laura, said, “very good! It's about time that someone put you in your place. You always have a lot to say about everyone else, it's nice to see someone recognize the weakling in you. Goodnight,” she said, tossing down her fork and heading towards her bedroom, her quick strides an indicator of her rage.

Refusing to react outrightly, James continued to chew on his food, looking around the table. The two empty seats at the table stared back at him, and everyone else continued to have the meal in silence, choosing not to say anything more. They had had enough excitement for one day. 

Tentatively, James looked over to where his parents sat and noticed the look of disapproval that his mother sported. Risking a glance at his father too, his spotted the same look of disappointment, and instead of saying anything more, he ate his food and kept his glance focused on nothing but his food.

Once dinner was over, Christopher excused himself from the table and went into the room he shared with his wife. He tried calling out to her, but when she ignored him, he figured she didn't want to talk about it. 

Shutting his eyes, he tried to fall asleep. 

A few hours later, unable to sleep, Christopher got up and went to the left side of the bed, where Laura lay. She was alseep, but even in that state, there was s frown on her face, and a salty trail painted a white crust on her face. That was a telltale sign that she had fallen asleep crying. 

As though she could sense his presence there, she frowned in his sleep, and he felt his heart squeeze against itself. He felt terrible about the predicament he had put her in, and in an attempt to comfort her, he stroked her hair and muttered under his breath. 

“It's going to be okay, my love. Moving out will be fine, we'll figure out what to do.” 

Pulling the bedcovers over her, he got up from beside her and tried to settle into sleep. He had a long day ahead of him. 

The next morning, Christopher and Laura left their home together, ignoring the tension that had settled over the house like a cloud, and decided to go on into work together. 

“Are you all set?” asked Laura, smiling at Christopher. “Big day today. You don't want to forget anything today of all days.”

“I'm ready,” he said, “I have everything I need. Do you trust me?” he asked, pulling his jacket down further. 

Holding each other's hands, they drove over to work at the

Philly group. As their car rolled to a stop, they met a few cars in the parking lot. 

Christopher recognized his nemesis, River's car, and he realized that he had arrived for work a lot earlier than he needed to be there.  

“Is he already here?” asked Laura, turning her head over to Christopher. 

“Knowing River, he probably just wanted to come early so he could get a front seat to my downfall. ” 

“Wait, before we go in,” paused Laura, placing her hand over his where it sat in the door handle. 

“I know you said I should trust you, and I do. But the market has been slow and property sales have been terrible of late. Are you sure that you will be able to pull of selling 100 properties?” 

“I'm sure, Laura,” said Christopher, “now stop fussing.” 

Getting out of the car, he went over to where the signing in sheet was. 

Takingbsime time for herself, Laura sat in her car and thought over what was happening. It was unusual for Christopher to have this much resolv for anything, and truthfully, she was looking forward to him managing to sell all 100 of the properties and silencing all of the people who had thought ill of him. 

Yet again, the market was at a really bad time right now, and most people were not going to be able to afford getting property. He had asked her to trust him though, and trust him, she would. 

Inside the building, while he was signing in, River beckoned over to Christopher with an arched finger. “Christopher! Come here." 

Raising his head up, Christopher paused, and then decided to ignore him. Affronted, Miller, another employee who was standing beside him pushed an elbow into his ribs. 

Christopher turned over to him and made eye contact to him, realizing the unspoken threat. Blinking away, he ignored the stares and then walked over to the elevator, ignoring the jeering that had begun to come from his other workers, he walked into the elevator. 

Just then, Laura walked into the room, and heard the last of the heckling, the color draining from her face. 

“What a useless man.” 

“He definitely drains his family. ” 

“Especially his wife.” 

“No, she deseves what she gets. Why would she stay with a loser like him? She's going to lose her job today, along with him.” 

“Imagine River calling him and he ignored!” 

As she waited for the elevator, she avoided meeting anyone's gaze. She was not going to pay them any attention. From what she could interpret, Christopher had been summoned by River and had chosen to ignore him, and she felt a wave of admiration wash over her for his response. 

The elevator opened, and two more people walked in with her, muttering under their breath. It was going to be quite an uncomfortable work day. She hoped more than anything that Christopher was going to manage to pull this off.