THE RISE OF JEREMY COLLINS

Jeremy stood outside his boss's office, contemplating whether it was a good idea to go in. He had not needed to go into his office for anything other than to hand him a few documents or get him his morning coffee in a while.

They had a cordial relationship- okay that was a lie, He hated the man's guts and he had a feeling he hated him too, but then again, the man was not exactly friendly with everyone else. He was what you called a tyrannical dictator, and Jeremy was sure if he'd been born in Hitler's time, he'd have been much worse than him.

He took in a deep breath and opened the door to his office, knowing that his livelihood and his mother's recovery depended solely on him now. It didn't matter how he felt about him, his mother's medical bills still needed to be paid and to do that he needed a raise and he couldn't get one if he didn't at least try to speak to him.

The man glanced up from his computer to look at Jeremy, giving him a cold and irritated stare. Jeremy’s first instinct was to immediately turn around and leave, but that would make him look weak, not that he had to do much to become weak in his sight. He believed everyone not as wealthy as him was a Beta and while Jeremy thought it didn't make any sense, it explained why he treated his employees like trash.

“What do you want, Gerald?” The bald head man snapped. He was a young man in his thirties but he looked like he was pushing sixty with his receding hairline, fine lines marring his forehead and wrinkles covering his face.

Jeremy had a feeling his premature wrinkles were also as a result of his wickedness, but who was he to judge? Oh right, his underpaid employee.

“Sir, I wanted to talk to you about something…” Jeremy began, marching closer to his desk.

“Obviously, why else would you be here? To braid each other's hair?” He said with a roll of his eyes.

Jeremy snorted at the ironic statement, but quickly covered it up by clearing his throat. The last thing Jeremy needed was to be denied a raise because his didn't like the way he laughed.

“Speak,” his boss spat impatiently, like he was some kind of insignificant bug buzzing around him.

“Right, sir. I'd like to discuss a raise. I've been working…” He began his speech but was quickly cut off by him.

“A raise?” His boss asked with a mocking expression that confused him a little.

“Yes sir, a raise, I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important. See, my mother is extremely sick and needs urgent medical attention…”

“And you can't take care of her?”

“Well yes.” He nodded, glad he understood my predicament.

“And how is that any of my concern?” He asked with raised brows. It was remarkable how he lacked so much hair on his head, but had an abundance of it as eyebrows.

“It's not sir. It's just that I'd like a raise.”

“Why the hell do you think you deserve a raise?” All his attention was on Jeremy now, and he almost wished his boss was ignoring him like he had been. He wasn't scared of him by any means, he just robbed him off the wrong way.

“Maybe because I work my ass off…”

“And…? The janitor works his ass off, you don't see him demanding a raise.”

“I fail to see what that has to do with this, sir.”

The man had to be slow or something or just dense, but Jeremy knew that wasn't the case. When he'd decided to come to him, he already knew what he was going to get. His employment letter had stated that employees of the establishment would only get a raise every five years. At that time, he had been desperate, so he had taken the job, but now he felt cheated.

“How long does it state in your employment contract it takes for an employee to get a raise in this company?”

“Five years…” Jeremy answered reluctantly, knowing exactly where he was going well with this.

“And how long have you been working here?”

“Three years.”

“Now do the math.”

“Sir, I know all of this, but I was hoping you'd make an exception."

“Typical behavior of a beta male begging for scrap, you can't even take care of your mother.”

“Well maybe If you paid your employees properly I would be able to!”

Jeremy spat, annoyed by his audacity. Who the hell did he think he was? Granted, he was his boss, but it didn't give him a right to look down on him.

Jeremy’s outburst seemed to have shocked him because he glared at him with contempt.

“That's a bold voice for someone whose girlfriend is sucking my dick every night for money!”

“Excuse me?” Jeremy’s voice came out in an angry whisper as his words sunk in.

“You heard me, Alex, boy. Your girlfriend is fucking me every night because you can't afford to take care of her.” He mocked, his eyes boring into Jeremy’s, taunting him to do something about it.

“You are lying, my girlfriend would never do that!” He spat.

“Oh come now, I'm way above lying, especially to the likes of you, but if you really want proof, doesn't she have a penguin tattoo on her inner thighs?”

He asked with a sick smile on his face.

There was a long pause as he digested his words.

“You are a fucking monster.” Jeremy whispered.

Feeling his heart break at his revelation.

He did not want to believe his girlfriend was capable of cheating on him, but it would seem he was wrong.

“I can afford to be a monster, you, on the other hand, cannot even afford to keep your woman.” He mocked.

“Shut up, you old fuck!” Jeremy seethed, his hands balling into fists.

“Well Alex my boy, that just earned you a demotion, from now on, you'll be getting half of your paycheck, that should teach you to control your tongue,”

“Fuck you!” He cursed harshly. He could feel his eyes stinging with unshed tears, but he refused to cry.

“Another reduction.” He smirked.

“You are a fucking tyrant, you know that? And I hope you get what you deserve, you old swine!”

“That's a lot of words coming from a man whose mother is dying.”

His words sank in, and before Jeremy could stop himself, he lunged at him, he was about to punch him when the doors to the office opened and a bunch of security men came in and held him down.

He was not exactly sure what had transpired in the office after the first punch he had given his boss, all he knew was that he was now outside the company with his things on the floor, spotting a bruised knuckle and badly bruised body.

The weight of everything hit him at once, he could not believe Laura had been cheating on him with his boss. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew it wasn't a lie. My boss was a lot of things, but a liar, he was not.

Jeremy was still licking his wounds later that day in a bar when he noticed a woman walk up to him.

He glanced up at her, she was beautiful, with hair packed in a bun. She looked like she'd come straight from work, judging by her pants suit.

“Good evening, Mr. Alex.” The lady said.

“Good evening. How do you know my name?” He asked, despite his need to be alone. He would rather not be rude, especially not to a beautiful woman.

“I am Ariel McDonald and I have a proposal for you.” She said as she took her seat beside him.

He eyed her skeptically but urged her to go on.

“What kind of proposal?”

“A simple one, actually. I'd like for you to marry me.”