Althea's POV
I was gazing out of my mom's car window while the rain was dropping on the windshield. She fetched me from school because her boss wanted to meet me after flashing my achievements to him. Mom said he has a proposal for me, and I am intrigued because it might be a good source of income for me.
"How's your first day, Althea? Did Catherine tell you about the school?" She asked.
I nodded without looking at her, "My day is terrific. Aunt Catherine told me stories I'm not interested to hear."
"Well, I know Catherine. She's humble and kind. She just wanted to know you're doing okay after what happened to your father."
"I'm okay, Mom. That's why you don't need to use the Dean to spy on me," I answered.
"I'm not spying on you, Althea. I just want to know you're going to be alright on your own since you grow up in a different environment," she reasoned.
"Exactly. Which means, I can take care of myself. Stop pretending you care because if you did, you should've done it 13 years ago."
Silence wrapped the car and I know I hurt her feelings, but I meant it. We haven't had a good relationship because she often visited me and sometimes got into a fight with my dad. Mom pulled the car to the restaurant where her boss was waiting, and I got out before she could park properly.
I heard her sighed but I kept walking towards the restaurant door before entering. The ambiance impressed me, and I can really tell this is an expensive restaurant.
Mom stood beside me and said, "There he is."
She walked ahead of me and I followed her. We approached his table, and a good-looking middle-aged man stood up to greet my mom. After that, she sat down at the empty chair and I did the same.
"She is the daughter I've been telling you about, Mr. Stone. Althea, this is Mr. Howard Stone."
"Nice meeting you, sir."
"The pleasure is mine, Althea. I heard a lot of good things about you and I must say your mom was very proud of you," he praised me.
I smiled firmly, "I guess so. I heard you have a proposal for me, sir."
"Yes, I am. You are very straightforward, and I like that. Anyway, I have a son. My only son, and he's not doing well with his studies. He's a hockey captain and his coach has no choice but to remove him as a captain if his grades didn't improve, so my proposal is I want you to be my son's tutor and help him get his grades back on track. If possible, change him."
"Change him? What exactly do you mean, sir?" I asked.
"He's a troublemaker and hates being around simple people, so I thought hanging out with you will help him change his point of view. In return, I will pay you one thousand dollars every tutor session."
I widened, "One thousand dollars? That's a lot of money."
"I heard from your mom that you want to start earning money on your own and since she flashed me your achievements, I decided to offer you a job as my son's tutor."
His offer was tempting and I mentioned to my mother that I will not ask her for money when it comes to my needs, but I wasn't expecting to be paid so much.
"What do you think, Althea? This is a one time offer," he stated.
"You don't have to decide yet. Mr. Stone will give you time to think about it," Mom said.
"I'll take it," I replied.
"Really? That was fast. That's great!"
"This is a one time offer, right? I can see your eagerness to save your son from humiliation, especially since you seemed not a typical rich man. So, I'll take it."
Mom chuckled nervously and interfered, "Forgive my daughter, sir."
"That's fine, Ms. Jones. Anyway, my son is here with me. He's in the restroom—oh, here he comes. Randall, son."
His son's features were playing in my mind. He's a highschooler and a total headache, so it will be easy for me to tame him. I stood up to greet his son but when I looked around, I was backfired to see who it was.
We were both stunned, not expecting to see each other in this place. He's the one I'm going to tutor?! How unfortunate I am.
"You?!" We said in chorus.
"You know each other?" Mr. Stone questioned in confusion.
"Well, it turns out your son is my schoolmate. So, yeah. We know each other," I answered.
"Great. Randall, he is Althea. The girl who will help you get your grades up—" he cut his father off. "No! I'm not taking this human as my tutor, dad!"
"Lower your voice, Randall. You had enough trouble for today, young man. We are in a five star restaurant, so watch your tone."
He glared at me, "Did you plan this, nerd?"
I furrowed and scoffed, "No. I didn't know my mother was working for your father."
"I protest, dad. I can't be seen as a nerd! My reputation at school will drop, so find me someone else. Someone hot and knows how to wear clothes," he complained.
"No, Randall. I'm not finding you a new tutor. I wasted my money with those tutors you had before becoming instead of helping you with your attitude and grades, they work on you. So, Althea will be your tutor."
"No!"
"Enough!" He shouted.
I can sense the eyes coming from the people inside the restaurant, but I'm enjoying the show. I want to back out because he's a devil, and he will make my life worse than my first day. However, I need the money. I don't want to rely on my mother because she had enough trouble, and I don't want to add it.
"Don't accept the offer, nerd!" He glared at me.
"I'm sorry but I did," I said.
He walked towards me and said, "Then you're fired!"
"Didn't you hear your father, Mr. Stone? I am hired by your dad, which means he's the only one who can do that."
Randall pointed at my face, "You will regret this, nerd. I swear!" After that, he walked away with big steps.
I sat back and could see the frustration in Mr. Stone's face. He took the brown envelope on the chair by his side and pushed the contract towards me.
"All you need to do is sign it, Althea."
I nodded before taking my pen and signed it without second thought, especially since I know Randall will use that as my ticket to hell.
"You can start tomorrow, Althea. I hope you'll be able to help my son," he exhaled deeply.
"Don't worry, Mr. Stone. I'll do my best to tame your son," I murmured.