CHAPTER 9

Ruby walked erratically, not sure of what to do. She was left with nothing but the clothes she had worn this morning. Her bag had been stolen, which meant that she had no money for bus or cab.

She walked to the bus stop even though she was sure she couldn't board the bus without any money.

The rain was falling so heavily, and it had drenched her to the bone if that was a thing. She wanted to go into an alley and scream her throat out, getting out the fury that she was feeling.

She was so angry at herself and if she had a chance or even the courage to do so, she would have taken a blade to her wrist even if it was just to punish and not to kill herself.

Why was she so stupid, so much that she had forgotten something so important? She asked herself.

Her dress, or rather, Olivia’s dress, clung to her body with the rain that had drenched her. She was starting to feel the cold creep into her body so deep that her teeth were starting to clash.

She was beyond a reasonable doubt, hopeless and she was probably going to have to start job hunting again. She wondered why she was so nervous in the first place when she had thought that the dress would help keep her calm, seeing as she looked good in it and she wouldn't have to worry about anyone looking weirdly at her.

Her tears had mixed with the rain so, no one around could tell that she was crying. They probably doesn't even care that she was crying anyway, even if they could tell that she was. Some would probably see her as a weakling, or miserable person if they knew that she was crying, and she couldn't afford for the labelling or the look they would throw her way. She was the only one that get to call herself a weak person.

When she got to the bus stop, there were only two people there, and she looked at them to see who she could approach for help with paying her bus fare, but that wasn’t happening.

There was an old woman who was about seventy or so sitting down on the chair that was placed there, and a young boy of maybe sixteen.

Damn! That was bad. She couldn't approach any of them. It was wrong in all ways.

She was going to have to walk, so she proceeded to go towards her destination.

The rain took that time to get even more heavier than it was and she cried even more. It was as if the universe was out to punish her for her stupidity. Well, let's just say that she deserved it.

As she walked down the sidewalk, a car honk the horn beside her and she glanced up to see a black sleek car slowing down beside her. She furrowed her brows in a frown, confused about why a car like this was honking at her.

What did they want with her, whoever that was? She slowed down as well but didn't stop. She was wary of what could happen if she did. Was this a kidnapper? Or someone else who just wanted to ask her something?

She couldn't see any reason or what this kind of car owner would want with her.

A man came out from the driver's seat with an umbrella and he walked towards her.

"Hey, woman!" He called. What are you doing, walking in the rain?" He asked.

Ruby frowned and looked at the man's face to see if she could recognize him, but she couldn't. She was not sure why he cared about her walking in the rain when it was obvious they didn’t know each other.

She shrugged and said. "Well, I didn't meet the bus." She lied. What was she supposed to tell a stranger anyway? Was she supposed to narrate how stupid she had been and how she had lost a job as well?

The man smiled, knowing that she was lying. He introduced himself. "I'm Lee. I saw you left Haven company about a while ago. I kind of saw what happen, but what I don't know is why you didn't go back for your interview." He asked.

He had just left his best friend’s office when he came downstairs in the elevator and then he had thought to drop by and say hello to Mrs. Diana, the front desk receptionist who had worked for Haven for as long as he and Cam were kids.

Ruby drop opened her mouth in wonder. She had never seen this man before but he had seen her and even what had happened to her.

Sighing, she said. "I wasn't allowed back. They concluded that I was incompetent because I forgot my bag and then when I got out, I found out that it was stolen." She said with a shrug.

She had no choice but to walk home, but she didn't add that to what she told him. He didn't need to know that.

The man nodded and said. "I see. You came for the secretary position interview." He said, not asking, showing that he knew that information already. He had asked Mrs. Diana what the interview was about. They were recruiting secretaries for manager level employees.

Ruby nodded her head in agreement. She wasn't still sure who the man was, but she could tell that he was someone important to the company, seeing as he knew so much about them, and the kind of car he was driving and what he was wearing told her he belonged in high class. He had a dark suit on with a black shirt, and he was handsome as he should be, with a ring on his finger, which told Ruby he was married.

She squinted her eyes at him, suddenly skeptic about him after she saw his ring, wondering what he wanted with her.

"All right, miss. What's your name?" Lee asked.

She realized that she had not offered her name to him when he introduced himself.

"Huh, my name is Ruby Miller." She said.

Lee nodded. He had stopped his car when he saw her because he had seen what happened to her, and by the time he went out to look for her, she was already gone, so he had gotten in his car ready to go home to his wife when he saw her again. Lee didn’t know what made him want to help her, because it sure wasn’t her beauty that beckoned at him, but there was something behind her eyes that made him felt like he should.

"Okay, Ms. Miller. Get in the car. The rain is really heavy." He said.

Ruby wasn't sure if she wanted to get into a stranger’s car, but then she thought that she couldn't lose anything. She had nothing to lose anyway. And the man didn't seem like the type that was going to kidnap her for ransom.

She was sure that if that was the case, she wouldn't be his victim. She doesn't even look like someone that had someone who would pay for her ransom, and she definitely can't pay by herself too. She nodded, her body a little bit less drenched under the umbrella, but she was still very cold.

She walked to the car with him and entered it as he opened and held the door for her.

She muttered her thanks and watched as he walked around the car to the driver's seat. He instructed her to fasten her seat belt, and she did just that.

He increased the warmer in the car, and soon, the clattering of her teeth stop.

“I can't get you back your interview,” Lee started, "but my wife run a firm that fix people in different position. Right now, someone need a nanny for their kids and I can get you that, if it's something you can do.”

Ruby stared at him with an open mouth and she wondered how she had suddenly developed a luck. Of course she could be someone rich people’s nanny as long as she was getting paid.

She nodded her head. "Oh, yes please. I can be a nanny, I love kids anyway, so I don't mind.” She said. It was true that she loved kids, because she does fine with the ones that were in the children ward at the hospital where Olivia worked.

“That’s fine then. Now you can stop crying like it's the end of the world.” Lee said, smiling at her. "We'll just go to my wife’s office and we’ll have things finalized.”

Nodding her head, yes, Ruby thanked the man and then her luck for this rare opportunity.

After that, there was silence in the car and Ruby was able to think better now, and she saw that she had been given another chance at life, and everything now was going to be just fine.

She turned her head to face the window so that Lee wouldn't see what she was about to do next, and so she smiled, and did a thumb up.

Things will definitely turnaround at this point.