The Billionaires Too (#2)

Immediate Effect

For someone who lived a fancy life, she sure did not look like it. Although she wore designer clothes and ate at fancy restaurants; she did not drive any fancy cars or own a multibillion mansion in the outskirts of Cape Town.

Growing up and living in the city of glamour, Sasha wanted to be what everyone around her wanted to be; a super model. She wanted to travel the world, wear every shoe ever designed, and own a wardrobe full of clothes from renowned fashion gurus around the world.

And she had lived that life once. She did not grow up living in this single storey, two-bedroom house located in the low income part of the town; she grew up in a mansion with multiple rooms, pools, a house where the sight of beautiful chandeliers was the first thing that greeted you upon entering.

She had fancy clothes, shoes, expensive makeup kits, and every other thing that she ever desired; but all that faded when her parents died and they were left in an ocean of debts, and then they had to move when she was only fifteen.

A lot of things changed after that; she had to move to a public school, move to a new town, and had to depend on her eldest sister to look after her and her two younger sisters; thankfully, her distant grandmother took her two younger sisters in.

But that did not change anything; taking care of one child was the same as taking care of three children for her sister, and thus, she could not control Sasha.

Their parents' death had shuttered Sasha, especially her father's. She had a good relationship with her mother, but it could never measure up to the relationship she had with her father. She was a daddy's girl, and everybody knew it, and after he died; life was never the same for her, she was never the same.

She had no one to talk to, no one to take her to school, no one to lift her spirit up on sad days; she had turned to her diary for comfort, and before she knew it, she was a journalist leading on a dangerous path.

She was a great writer, and that made her the most sought out journalist in South Africa. She had many followers on social media, and most people turned to her for exposure. Every media house out there wanted her to work for their company, and she had never lacked employment before.

However, none of her jobs lasted long enough because of the personal vendetta she had with almost all of South Africa's richest people, and mostly, her feud with Logan Parker. But that was not what cost her most of her jobs, it was her ambitions that got the better of her.  Sasha-Lee wanted nothing more than to expose the people who killed her parents, however, every time she got closer to her target; her bosses would object and do their best to get rid of her.

That was another reason why she got suspended for three months at her current job. Her bosses had just turned down her proposal to expose drug dealers in Cape Town when she received the phone call from Logan, thus making the article she wrote, personal. This boss was kind enough to suspend her instead of firing her on the spot, and for the first time since her journalism career started; she would be resigning.

Sasha walked into Endabeni Publications and Media House with her head held high, ignoring the stares her soon-to-be ex colleagues, gave her. She was not surprised though; the day of her suspension, she had left the building in a hailstorm, and now it had not even been two weeks since it happened, yet here she was.

"Hi, Dumi." She greeted as she reached the reception desk.

The African girl sitting behind the desk, gave her a bright smile. "Hey, Sasha. Didn't think I would see you anytime again." She said as she walked around the desk and then gave Sasha a bear hug.

"I missed you too." Sasha chuckled.

"So, I take it you are here to see Mrs Taunyane." Dumi stated, and Sasha sighed and nodded. "Let me check in with her first." She picked up the phone and speed dialled her boss's office number. "Ma'am, Sasha is here to see you." She rolled her eyes and turned to Sasha. "Says you can come through." She placed the phone down and walked around her desk. "Good luck!"

Sasha strode towards Mrs Taunyane's office and knocked on the thick, brown door.

"You may come in." Came her boss's deep voice.

Sasha opened the door and entered, taking a seat opposite the beautiful woman. "Amandla." She greeted with a sweet smile.

Mrs Taunyane gave a weary smile. "Sasha-Lee Van der Merwe." She mused. "You were always the only person brave enough to call me by my first name." She said timidly.

"Well, bravery is what it takes to survive in your company." Sasha shrugged.

"You know me too well." She leaned back against her chair and rotated from side to side, silently observing her employee. "So, what brings you here?" She asked, glancing at her watch.

Sasha rolled her eyes. "I know you were not planning on taking me back."

Mrs Taunyane shrugged with a knowing smirk. "So why are you here then? To beg me?"

"On the contrary," Sasha retrieved a small envelope from her handbag and placed it on the desk. "I came to deliver my letter of resignation in person."

Mrs Taunyane took the envelope and placed it aside before folding her arms. "Let me guess, you want me to write you a recommendation letter?"  She smirked.

Sasha sat back and watched her with a neutral face. Amandla was a beautiful woman; she was light skinned, one would think she was coloured if not for her thick African accent and how she intertwined her home language with English everytime she spoke. Nonetheless, she was a powerful woman in her own realm, and although married to a rich man; she exuded wealth and power on her own.

Though probably not dangerous like MJ Billings, she liked to play dirty; she was spiteful and greedy, the former being what made her and Sasha click on the first day. But the later was more dangerous; she did not mind publishing fake news or half news for a million rand cheque. If it was not for her brother, Shaka who actually found a way to swing things around, her business would have probably collapsed.

"How much did they pay you?" She asked, and Amandla stilled, her entire demeanour changing.

"What are you talking about?" She retorted, composing herself.

Sasha gave her a knowing smile, pushed her chair back, and stood up. She picked up her handbag and fixed her white overcoat. "No need to pretend with me; all my other previous bosses had the same reaction." She said with a haughty look before she strode out of the office. "Don't worry about the recommendation letter!" She shouted over her shoulder and disappeared from sight; the only sign of her lingering presence being the sound of her Ginger Mary, high-heeled boots.

Amandla listened to the sound of the heels, her eyes lingering on the envelope on her desk, a dreadful look masking her face. If only Sasha knew that the only payment she received was her family's life on the line; she would not be so pushy about this case.